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Solano Sheriff retires after 45 years News, Page 2
Presenting Homecoming royalty Features, Page 1
Volume 142, Number 34 — Locally-owned since 1884
Winters, Yolo County, California, Wednesday, September 24, 2025
The hometown paper of Jean-Marc Leininger
City manager addresses community at inaugural State of the City event By Crystal Apilado Editor-in-Chief
Courtesy photo
Alfonso Mederos Jr., one of three new hires for the Winters Fire Department, has been promoted to fire engineer after more than 10 years of volunteer service with the organization. A Winters High School graduate and former fire cadet, Mederos brings CalFire training and recent Company Officer Academy credentials to his role.
Mederos hired as second new fire engineer ‘It is truly an honor to return home in this role,’ says new fire engineer By Sonora Slater Express staff writer
EXPRESS
Alfonso Mederos Jr. is the second of three new hires for the Winters Fire Department. He joins Andrew Love-Fields as a new fire engineer for the team after more than 10 years of volunteer service with the organization. Mederos trained as a firefighter in the ranks of CalFire, as well as graduating from the Company Officer Academy recently, after receiving training in leadership and decision-making under pressure. But as
a graduate of Winters High School, as well as of the Winters Fire Cadet Program, it’s safe to say that he knows his way around the town and the department. Fire Chief Jack S. Snyder III says that level of familiarity will serve Winters Fire and residents in town well. “Alfonso’s roots in the community he grew up in, combined with his long history of service with Winters Fire, provide the department with invaluable institutional knowledge and a deep understanding of the community we serve,” Snyder said. And Mederos is certainly excited to return to working in the place he calls home. “Over the past nine years, I’ve served with CalFire in the Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit,” he said. “When the Engineer position with Winters Fire Department became available, I was eager to apply and give back to the community that has given me so much. It is truly an honor to return
home in this role.” So now that Mederos is transitioning from being a volunteer to a staff position, what will his new role look like? He and Snyder both said that it’s a combination of tasks, including driving the fire engine, operating the water pump and finding a water supply, and maintaining and repairing the station’s equipment. Snyder has previously noted that in a small town like Winters, fire department staff often have to juggle multiple roles. But hiring Mederos, along with LoveFields, will lessen the demand on each staffer and allow other officers to focus on their specialties. “In his new role, Alfonso will enhance operational capacity and firefighter safety,” Snyder said. “(Alfonso’s) journey from local volunteer to Fire Engineer reflects the very best of community-based service and exemplifies the department’s
See MEDEROS, Page 4
Index Features ........................ B-1
We at he r Date
Rain
High
Sept. 17
.00
98˚
61˚
Sept. 18
.00
102˚
68˚
Sept. 19
.00
96˚
63˚
Sept. 20
.00
83˚
61˚
Eventos hispanos ....... A-5
Sept. 21
.00
92˚
61˚
Sept. 22
.00
94˚
62˚
Opinion ......................... B-3
Sept. 23
.00
96˚
63˚
Classifieds ................... B-4 Community .................. A-2
Real Estate ................... B-2 Sports ........................... B-6
Low
Rain for week: 0.00 in. Season’s total: 0.01 in. Last sn. to date: TRACE Winters rainfall season began 7/1/25. Weather readings are taken at 9 a.m. daily by local weatherman Joe Bristow.
The Winters District Chamber of Commerce hosted its inaugural State of the City address featuring guest speaker Winters City Manager Jeremy Craig on Sept. 16 at Hotel Winters. Guysell Geter, Hotel Winters general manager, opened the event by welcoming guests and providing background information and updates on the hotel. Winters Mayor Albert Vallecillo served as the opening speaker before introducing Craig. Vallecillo shared the challenges city council faced following the city manager’s medical emergency in January, which put him on medical leave for several weeks. Despite the setback, the mayor said that upon Craig’s return to office, city staff accomplished many pending tasks. “We were able to begin prioritizing the strategic planning for the next year. The budget was completed and adopted, and I am very proud to say that of the four cities that make up Yolo Coun-
Crystal Apilado/Winters Express
Winters City Manager Jeremy Craig (right) thanks Winters District Chamber of Commerce president Carla Wroten and Hotel Winters general manager Guysell Geter for hosting the city’s inaugural State of the City address ty, Winters began the new fiscal year in the black,” Vallecillo said. On behalf of the council, the mayor spoke about the work and collaboration of city councilmembers, city staff and the community in making Winters the charming place that people find welcoming and innovative. “As a member of the team — and we are a team — who may not always be in agreement with one another, but we strive to work together with each other and city
manager Craig and our great staff in our government to address the issues and concerns in managing a community and the physical place that Winters is,” Vallecillo said. “I truly believe that the collective ‘we’ is able to work together and move forward, because ‘we’ reflect the community that Winters is, where members of the community work together to support one another and take on big things and accomplish them.”
See CRAIG, Page 5
Council approves tentative map for Farmstead Development By Sonora Slater Express staff writer At the Sept. 16 meeting, the Winters City Council approved a tentative map for the Farmstead Development, as well as certifying the environmental impact report, approving a general plan amendment and zoning amendments to correlate with the tentative map, and approving a broad-scale development agreement with South Market Court. The map of the 61.9acre development project located north of Grant Avenue and east of Morgan Street, which was previously presented before the planning commission in August, includes 3.3 acres of commercial lots, a large park, and space dedicated to an extensive array of single-family, multi-family, and townhome residences. The map that exists today is a modification of the one that existed pre-COVID, with changes based on community feedback and an attempt to right-size the zoning. In this case, that
means the amount of commercially-zoned land has significantly decreased from the original plan, while the amount of residentially-zoned land has increased, thereby necessitating a zoning amendment by the council. Council members, commissioners and the developers have all generally agreed that the new plan makes more sense for the economic point Winters is at currently, prioritizing new housing options over an excess of commercial lots. The Sept. 16 meeting also served as the first public hearing for the Farmstead Development at this stage of the project, and several community members attended and took the opportunity to voice their thoughts on the tentative map. Much of the public comment portion of the meeting focused on requests for bike lanes throughout the development, and on details of the Grant Avenue, East Main Street intersection that will eventually be incorporated as an
entry point into the development. Currently, the tentative map includes a Class III bike lane on Broadview Lane, which means that this road will be a shared space for drivers and bikers, delineated by a painted white bike lane on the pavement. However, many community members at the meeting advocated for a Class II bike lane, which would mean adding a painted white stripe as a visual barrier on each side of the road, creating a separate space for bikers to travel on the road apart from cars. Many of those speaking in favor of a Class II lane emphasized the importance of having safe routes to school to encourage kids to bike. With the current layout, this type of bike lane would not fit on the road. Council member Richard Casavecchia suggested looking into modifications for the design, like shrinking the planting strip along the sidewalk, reducing the size or amount
See MAP, Page 5
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