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Martinez Orchards acquires nursery News, Page 3
Art and science collide at upcoming event Features, Page 1
Volume 142, Number 06 — Locally-owned since 1884
The hometown paper of Lucrecia Sandoval
Winters, Yolo County, California, Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Youth Day seeks grand marshal nominations Express staff
Crystal Apilado/Winters Express
Winters Middle School students who took on youth school district roles met with their adult counterparts in part of the inagural Youth Civic Engagement Day at Winters Joint Unified School District on Thursday, March 6.
Students participate in inaugural youth engagement day at Winters JUSD office Express staff The Winters Youth Day Board hosted the inaugural Youth Civic Engagement Day at Winters Joint Unified School District on Thursday, March 6. Following the revival of the Youth City Council last year, the Youth Day board collaborated with Winters JUSD staff and Winters Middle School Principal Jose Bermudez and leadership teacher Madeline Castro to bring the first Youth Board
of Trustees from an idea to reality. While select WMS leadership class students participated in the engagement day, the entire class helped to propose ideas to consider for the meeting agenda as well as vote upon the Winters JUSD Youth Board of Trustees logo — which features a tractor and water tower. The Youth Board of Trustees members are Sophia Valeriano, Carmella Wroten and Gracie Zaragoza; Su-
perintendent Madelynn Kendrick; Director of Technology Services Leo Lanfranco; Director of Facilities and Maintenance Antonio Romero, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Cyrus Laughter; Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Galilea Ramos; Director of Nutrition Services Meadow Davis; Director of Human Resources Athziry Lopez; Public input speakers Abbey Carrion and Paige Gerard.
Under the guidance of Express editor Crystal Apilado, who serves as the youth engagement coordinator and memberat-large on the Youth Day board, the youth trustee group met with their Winters JUSD counterparts to learn about the inner workings of the school district, the impact the specific roles make for students and received insight on the proposed agenda items for the youth trustee meeting.
The Winters Youth Day Committee is now accepting nominations for the 2025 Winters Youth Day grand marshal. This year’s honoree will lead the 87th annual Youth Day Parade through historic downtown Winters on Saturday, April 26. To qualify, nominees must have demonstrated significant involvement with the youth of Winters and the community as a whole. Nominations can be submitted via email to wintersyouthday@ gmail.com. The deadline for submissions is Monday, March 31.
Youth Day parade The Youth Day parade remains a cherished community tradition, with participants marching down Main Street in downtown Winters on Saturday, April 26. Cash prizes, trophies, and ribbons
will be awarded in various parade categories. There is no entry fee to participate, and all community members are encouraged to join. Registration forms are available online at wintersyouthday.com. A new requirement for horse entries this year is to provide a pooper scooper to clean up after horses. Details are on the parade entry form at www.wintersyouthday.com on the “Parade” page. For younger participants, Kiddie Parade registration takes place on the morning of Youth Day at the corner of Fourth and Main streets at 8:45 a.m. Pre-judging begins at 9:15 a.m., and the Kiddie Parade will commence at 9:45 a.m. The Youth Day Board is working on launching online registration for the Kiddie Parade, with details to be shared once
See EVENT, Page 5
Trustees hear demographic study update By Logan Chrisp Express staff writer
EXPRESS
On Thursday, March 7, the Winters Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees heard a presentation with the newest demographic study results from King Consulting. King Consulting’s Director of Demographics, Rob Murray, outlined that Winters JUSD’s enrollment was positioned to remain stable based on demographic trends. Murray estimates that Winters JUSD
will see 1,865 enrolled students by the 2031–32 school year. That is up from 1,576 enrolled this year. He said that factors outside of housing will contribute to steady enrollment gains in the coming years. Some of the factors include increasing transitional kindergarten eligibility and additional students moving into new residential developments. Currently, there are 1,226 single-family homes planned to be built in Winters, which will generate a total of 165 students by 2031–32. These numbers are somewhat smaller than the last King Consulting demographic study, but that is due to
some of the housing that has since been constructed. However, two of the Winters housing developments — Farmstead and Winters 183 — are not yet finalized. The Farmstead project is currently undergoing the Draft EIR process with the city of Winters. Winters 183 has not yet been submitted by the developer. The Winters 183 residential development is slated to construct 800 of those 1,226 homes and may not be finished by 2032. If those 800 homes are not constructed, that would equal roughly 280 students who would not enroll in the district.
See SCHOOLS, Page 5
Crystal Apilado/Winters Express
Winters Girl Scouts (front) Isabella Banuelos, Ella Cooper, Sophy Tufveson and Emily Coleman with (back) Assistant City Attorney Joanne Gin, Mayor Albert Vallecillo, Council member Carol Scianna, troop leader Crystal Apilado, Council member Jesse Loren and troop leader Caroline Tufveson celebrate the Women’s History Month proclomation.
Council celebrates Women’s History Month, approves street closure Annual police report sparks comments on staffing discrepancy By Sonora Slater
Index Features ........................ B-1
We at he r
Express staff writer
Date
Rain
High
Low
Mar. 05
.00
64˚
46˚
Mar. 06
.00
64˚
41˚
Mar. 07
.00
62˚
36˚
Mar. 08
.00
67˚
35˚
Eventos hispanos ....... A-3
Mar. 09
.00
70˚
36˚
Mar. 10
.00
71˚
40˚
Opinion ......................... B-3
Mar. 11
.00
72˚
42˚
Real Estate ................... B-2
Rain for week: 0.00 in. Season’s total: 17.29 in. Last sn. to date: 21.03 in.
Classifieds ................... B-4 Community .................. A-2
Sports ........................... B-5
Winters rainfall season began 7/1/24. Weather readings are taken at 9 a.m. daily by local weatherman Joe Bristow.
Representatives from three of the four Winters Girl Scout troops attended the meeting to accept a proclamation recognizing March as Women’s History Month at the March 4 Winters City Council meeting. The proclamation focused on the ways in which the leadership and contributions of women have benefited the community as a whole in Winters, including through a long history of female
leadership, including mayors, council members, school board presidents, and more. Troop leader and Express editor Crystal Apilado thanked the council for recognizing the month and noted some of the many ways the Girl Scouts serve the community, including by cleaning local parks. She also said that one of the benefits of the organization is the way it teaches girls many skills to help them be successful and gives them confidence in
their career ventures as they grow up. “‘When women succeed, we all succeed,’” Council member Jesse Loren said, quoting author Kendra Spencer. “I’m really happy that we’re recognizing this month.” In other news, the consent calendar for the meeting, which was passed unanimously, included a street closure approval for the annual Downtown Winters Spring Open, which will take place this
See CITY, Page 5
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