$1
School district to begin summer improvement projects News, Page 3
including tax
In memoriam of Roy Irwin Features, Page 1
Volume 142, Number 17 — Locally-owned since 1884
The hometown paper of George Griffin
Winters, Yolo County, California, Wednesday, May 28, 2025
See Inside for City of Winters
150th Anniversary “City of Winters”
Celebrating 150 Years of Winters: Honoring Our Founders, Serving Our Future. From pioneers to public servants — saluting the people and history that shaped our city. This Special Section Brought To You By
Fire Chief highlights year of growth, challenge
Honoring Memorial Day
By Sonora Slater Express staff writer
Courtesy photo
Two residents joined local veterans to raise American flags in downtown Winters in honor of Memorial Day. After the morning effort, the group gathered for breakfast at Putah Creek Café before returning at the end of the day to retire the flags. The group included (l-r) Oscar Barraza, U.S. Army (Vietnam); Tim Hurst, civilian friend; Roy Jones, U.S. Army (Vietnam); Gail Wingard, U.S. Navy (Korea); Ray Boone, U.S. Air Force (Vietnam); Joe Bristow (civilian friend); Don Davis, U.S. Air Force (active); Winston Jamison, U.S. Marine Corps (Vietnam) Tom Sedlack, U.S. Air Force (Vietnam Era) and George Elrod, U.S. Army (Vietnam). Read about the Winters Memorial Day event on Page A8.
Winters JUSD to serve free summer meals for youths Express staff
EXPRESS
The Winters Joint Unified School District is participating in the Seamless Summer Option and will provide free meals to all children 18 and younger without charge. Acceptance and participation requirements for the program and all activ-
ities are the same for all regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability, and there will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service. Meals will be provided at the sites on Monday thru Friday from Monday, June 9 to Friday, July 25. The program is closed on June 19, July 4 and July 5. All children 18 years of age and under can access free breakfast and lunch meals at no charge at the following loca-
tions: John Clayton, 200 Baker St. • Breakfast 8:15 to 8:30 a.m. • Lunch 11:15 to 11:30 a.m. Winters Middle School, 425 Anderson Ave. • Breakfast 7:45 to 8:15 a.m. • Lunch 11 a.m. to noon Winters High School, 101 Grant Ave. • Breakfast 8:15 to 8:30 a.m. • Lunch 10 to 10:15 a.m. For additional information, contact
Index Features ........................ B-1
We at he r Rain
High
Low
May 21
.00
90˚
57˚
May 22
.00
94˚
60˚
May 23
.00
87˚
50˚
May 24
.00
81˚
50˚
Eventos hispanos ....... A-5
May 25
.00
88˚
50˚
May 26
.00
85˚
54˚
Opinion ......................... B-3
May 27
.00
86˚
53˚
Real Estate ................... B-2
Rain for week: 0.00 in. Season’s total: 19.27 in. Last sn. to date: 23.29 in.
Community .................. A-2
Sports ........................... B-6
See FIRE, Page 3
Student-led teams present inclusivity prototypes
Date
Classifieds ................... B-4
Patty Jimenez, Director of Nutrition Services, at Winters Joint Unified School District, 909 West Grant Ave., call 530795-6100 Ext. 8004 or email pjimenez@wintersjusd.org. To file a complaint of discrimination, call 800-795-3272 or 202-720-6382 (TTY) or write to: USDA; Director, Office of Civil Rights; 1400 Independence Ave., SW; Washington, D.C. 20250-9410. Winters JUSD is an equal opportunity provider.
From new firefighters joining the team to a growing number of medical calls, the Winters Fire Department has had a busy year. Fire Chief Jack S. Snyder III presented the organization’s annual report during the city council meeting on May 6, highlighting his team’s accomplishments and challenges throughout 2024. Call volume has notably increased over the past several years, with total calls in 2019 resting at 727, and that same metric in 2024 coming in at 1,171. In the past year, more than 300 of these were also overlapping calls, according to Snyder, which sometimes resulted in slower response times and higher stress for firefighters. “This year, we responded to a record number of calls for service, highlighting the growing needs of our community and the dedication of our team,” Snyder wrote in his report. “I want to thank every member of our department for [their] tireless efforts and professionalism in meeting these demands.” Snyder said that the majority of these calls were medical (around 700), but there were also calls for fires, fire alarms, service and other reasons.
Combating the rise in call volume has been difficult due to a lack of specific trends in the data — many of the medical calls have been related to extremely varied issues — but there are some things they’ve done to try and change this. For one thing, the department has begun partnering with seniors in the community to do regular blood pressure and glucose checks during the weekly Meals on Wheels program at the Winters Community Center every Thursday. They’re also working to reduce the number of faulty fire alarms in the city. Beyond that, the passage of the city Proposition 218 got the ball rolling on funding for three new full-time firefighter positions at Winters Fire, including two fire engineers and one firefighter. The positions were officially approved by the council in March of this year, and the hiring process is currently underway. Snyder has previously said that this will help improve their response efficiency, as well as decrease the burnout of current staff and volunteers pushing their limits to answer the growing number of calls. And for the record, their turnaround time is already considered
Winters rainfall season began 7/1/24. Weather readings are taken at 9 a.m. daily by local weatherman Joe Bristow.
Trustees hear WMS FLEX update By Logan Chrisp Express staff writer Students and staff presented the outcomes from a student-led collaboration with the National Equity Project to create a Culture and Climate team and an update on the outcomes from the FLEX schedYOUR
ule at the May 15, Winters Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting. Assistant Superintendent Phoebe Girimonte was joined by student members of the design team, who presented their work to foster an inclusive, welcoming environment at the middle and high schools. The design team utilized the Liberatory Design model, a
human-centered approach that encourages participants to reflect on power, privilege, assumptions and biases, to center student experiences. “The intent of the design team and these efforts is to strengthen our relationships with students and create more opportunities for them to share directly with us what
See STUDENTS, Page 3
Congratulations!
2 Main St., Winters, CA 530.795.4503 buckhornsteakhouse.com
Service all makes & models Accept all major credit cards Family owned & operated
1920 North First Street, Dixon
27990 County Road 90 Winters, CA 95694 www.pearcehvac.com
Brakes • Alignment • Farm & Truck Tires Short Drive to Dixon for Big Savings!
State Contractor Lic# 864483
1 Main St., Winters, CA 530.795.2682 putahcreekcafe.com
TIRE in Dixon 707.678.8271
116 D Street Davis, CA 95616 530-798-5500
www.smith-funerals.com FD-992
105 E Dorset Drive, Dixon 9253 Johnson Road, Winters, CA 530.212.5161 • monticelloveterinary.com