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SINCE 1916 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CV, NO. XXXI
THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2022
ELECTIONS
Atascadero Gears Up for 2022 General Elections
atascaderonews.com • $1.00 • WEEKLY
CONTEST
CITY
Printery Hosts its First Talent Show Council Approves Cost of Vegetative Growth, Refuse Abatement
The nomination period is set to close on Aug. 12 at 5 p.m. By CHRISTIANNA MARKS christianna@atascaderonews.com
ATA S C A D E R O — Atascadero City has four seats up for re-election later this year on Nov. 8. The open seats are as follows; Mayor (currently held by Heather Moreno), two City Council seats (currently held by Mayor Pro Tem Heather Newsom and Susan Funk), and Treasurer (currently held by Gere Sibbach). Mayor Heather Moreno, who filed her nomination paperwork on July 27, and qualified for the ballot on Aug. 1, is running for re-election. As of now, she is unchallenged in her re-election campaign. Gere Sibbach is also running for re-election for his current position as treasurer. Sibbach filed his nomination paperwork on July 22 and qualified for the ballot on Aug. 1. As of now, he is the only candidate running for Treasurer. Positions on the Nov. 8 ballot are as follows: • One (1) Mayor for a full term of two (2) years. • Two (2) Members of the CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
Boy Scout Troop 51 led the Council Chambers in the Pledge of Allegiance By CHRISTIANNA MARKS christianna@atascaderonews.com
The Atascadero Printery Foundation’s first North County Talent Show second place winner Shay Angles (center) poses with the nights two judges Doriana Sanchez (left) and Jeannie Malik (right). Photo by Christianna Marks/ATN
The show raised approximately $2,500, benefitting the Atascadero Printery Foundation By CHRISTIANNA MARKS christianna@atascaderonews.com
ATASCADERO — On Friday, Aug. 5, a large crowd of residents gathered in the courtyard on the side of the
Printery building to watch 11 talented acts perform in the Printery’s inaugural North County has Talent Show. The show kicked off at 6:30 p.m., sold 150 tickets, had food and drinks available for purchase, and displayed all the North County has to offer artistically. Emmy Award-nominated Doriana Sanchez returned to the Printery to act as one of the two judges for the night’s
competition. Sanchez is known for her disco choreography on “So You Think You Can Dance” and has collaborated with a plethora of our favorite musicians. The night’s second judge was Jeannie Malik of the Malik Real Estate Group, who also has a background in the arts. “This building did have really cool stuff happening, and I feel like it’s such a great
opportunity that this beautiful structure is here, and how we can all save it and support the arts,” said Sanchez, who used to attend classes at the Printery before it was red-tagged. “As we know, arts save lives, they save your mind, they save your spirit, and it’s really the most pure thing that we can do as human beings, to have beautiful music, poetry, dance, CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
COMMUNITY
Hop’s Bounce House of Atascadero Donates Over 100 Backpacks This is Hop’s fourth year hosting its community back-toschool drive By CHRISTIANNA MARKS christianna@atascaderonews.com
ATASCADERO — Back in 2018, Hop’s Bounce House owners David and Laurel Shepherd saw a need in Atascadero and decided to help fill it. Four years later, Hop’s back-to-school drive is still going strong, providing backpacks and school supplies to children in the community, making their transition back to school a smooth one. This year the back-to-school drive started on Wednesday, Aug. 3. “The first year, we just wanted to give back to the
COMMUNITY
community. We bought like 20 backpacks for people that needed them. And then each year, it’s just kind of grown,” said Hop’s Bounce House co-owner Laurel Shepherd. “This year, we could see there was a major need for it, so we ended up buying 140 [backpacks], and those were gone within two days.” All year long, Hop’s has a donation jar set out in their business for anyone to contribute to the project. This year they raised around $300 to help buy school supplies, which is the most they’ve ever raised. On top of the money raised by the donation jar, the family-run business fills in the rest of the funds needed out of pocket. Shepherd also commented that people from the community have dropped off whatever
COUNTY
Backpacks and school supplies donated to the community through Hop’s Bounce House’s back-to-school drive sit ready to be distributed. Contributed Photos
they could throughout the year Bags of markers, crayons, paper, “We just fill them [the backfor the back-to-school drive, lunch boxes, and even extra packs] with what we have here, especially in the last two weeks. backpacks. CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
NEWS
EVENTS
ATA S CA D ERO —T h e Atascadero City Council met for their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 9, at 6 p.m. The hybrid meeting was held in the City Council Chambers. This week’s meeting started with Boy Scout Troop 51 leading everyone in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance. “Thank you very much; it is always an honor when we have the Boy Scouts come and do the flag salute and lead us in the pledge. Thank you so much,” said Mayor Heather Moreno. The Agenda for the evening passed unanimously. Before the Consent Calander passed, Councilmembers Susan Funk and Mayor Heather Moreno had questions on items 6 and 7, respectively. Funk asked if item 6 was specifically for awarding a contract for $310,500 with Tesco Controls, Inc. to purchase a new Motor Control Center for the Lift Station No. 13 only and would the rest of the project be bid separately through the normal process, which was then confirmed by City Manager Rachelle Rickard. Mayor Moreno asked a question on item 7 (Temporary Contract for Nighttime Police/Fire Dispatch Services). The cost comes in at $94,000. “We do mention that some of that cost will be offset by reductions that we have in staffing, but I’m also noticing that there will be a reduction CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
WEATHER
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