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SINCE 1916 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CV, NO. V
GOVERNMENT
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022
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EVENT
EDUCATION
Annual Father-Daughter Dances Return with Love
Head and Event Chair Step Down from CAPS
City Council Votes to Join 3CE The Council will continue to meet virtually
Committee looking for new people to step into lead roles
By CHRISTIANNA MARKS christianna@atascaderonews.com
By CHRISTIANNA MARKS christianna@atascaderonews.com
ATASCADERO — The Atascadero City Council met for their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 8, at 6 p.m. It was preceded by the City Council’s closed meeting. The agenda for the night passed unanimously. The Consent Calendar, which featured draft action minutes from the Jan. 25 meeting, the continuation of virtual meetings, and a website redesign for atascadero.org, passed unanimously as well. During Public Comment, L ee Perkins from the Atascadero Pickleball Club addressed the Council as a player. “When the pickleball permanent courts opened, the Atascadero Pickleball Club had to negotiate with the City to continue inside play by using the Atascadero Recreational Center inside Basketball Courts, with temporary nets for inside pickleball play, which has been the case for over five years. Setting a precedent,” she said. She then went on to say that there is a group of older players who are affected by both the cold and heat and prefer to play indoors. Unfortunately, the temporary, inside courts are no longer available due to the City negotiating 10 hours of indoor play a week at $61 an hour, adding up to $610 a week to play inside. Perkins asked why the City was asking for such an exorbitant fee? She also let the Council know that the outdoor Pickleball courts are much loved by the club and are pulling in lots of new players. Mayor Heather Moreno asked that staff to reach out to Perkins. “It’s not something that Council gets involved with at that detailed of a level, but we certainly are glad that we’re able to bring those Pickleball courts to fruition,” she added. The meeting then moved on to a Public Hearing for Community Choice Aggregation (CCA). At the Council Meeting on Mar. 9, 2021, the City Manager was asked to
ATASCADERO—Over the last 15 years, the Committee for Atascadero Public Schools (CAPS) has played a pivotal role in funding much-needed grants to the Atascadero Unified School District (AUDS). It was recently announced that both Head-Chair, Nicole Hider, and Event-Chair, Lori Bickel will be stepping down from their roles, leaving CAPS with a full committee looking for new people to step into the lead roles. “We’re a committee without a leader at the moment. But the committee is there to support anybody who has an interest in stepping in,” said Bickel. “We really are stepping out so other people can step in. There might be some new ideas that come in. There may be a new generation of volunteers that have their own friends that want to come in and make something [new] of it [CAPS]. It’s really time for that to happen.” Bickel has been supporting or volunteering for CAPS since the very beginning and took over the role of Event-Chair in 2020. While Hider attended the CAPS dinner-auction its second year before joining the Auction Committee the following year. “And then the next year, somehow I became the Auction-Chair,” Hider said. “The last four years, I’ve been the Grant-Committee-Chair. I guess the last four years, I’ve been the Committee Chair overall.” Bickel still plans to keep her role as Grant-Committee-Chair. CAPS puts on an annual fundraiser, which has, up until COVID, been a gala dinner with both a live and silent auction. The night also hosted a mini-casino, music, and performances from the High School choir and band. “It was particularly fun because of the time of year. We always had it right before, or right as school was starting,” added Bickel. “So when COVID happened,
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SPORTS
An excited father and daughter enjoy themselves at this years annual Father-Daughter Dance on Friday, Feb. 4, at the Atascadero Lake Pavilion. Contributed photo
The dances kicked off a month of Valentine’s Day fun By CHRISTIANNA MARKS and CAMILLE DEVAUL
NORTH COUNTY — Every year, father figures and the young ladies in their lives look forward to dressing up and attending the annual Father and Daughter Dances hosted by the City of Atascadero and the Main Street Dance Company in Templeton. After a brief pause in 2021, due to
Father and Daughter dancing at this year’s annual dance in Atascadero. Contributed photo
COVID-19 restrictions, the Atascadero dance returned for its 17th annual year, coming back strong and better than ever! On Friday, Feb. 4, the evening was reserved for 12 and under and sold out before the dance even started. With over 250 attendees. Then on Saturday, Feb. 5, the night was held for ages 12 and over also had over 250 guests. With a total of over 500 people, it’s safe to say that locals missed the dance last year. “[There was a] variety of dancing, pictures, treats, and fun games with the
DJ,” said Deputy City Manager Terrie Banish of the night’s festivities. Atascadero’s dance took place at the Pavilion on the Lake. It included professional photos by Jim Dee, and Manuel Medina with Medina Light Show Designs was the DJ for both nights. In the Paso Robles and Templeton area, Main Street Dance Company hosted the Sweetheart Ball at Life Community Church. The dance company has hosted the Sweetheart Ball CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
NON-PROFIT
Atascadero Kiwanis Club Supports Youth
Opening night for Centennial Bandstand in 2013. Contributed photo
ing Atascadero’s youth and partnering with local non-profits. “We are a service organization. Our main priority is serving the youth of Atascadero. After that, we extend that By CHRISTIANNA MARKS out to Seniors and other groups in need,” christianna@atascaderonews.com said president, E.J. Rossi. Who has been a part of Atascadero Kiwanis for the last ATASCADERO—The Kiwanis Club 16 years. “We have multiple projects going on of Atascadero has been a part of the community for over 50 years, support- around town that are smaller projects.
The Kiwanis Club of Atascadero has been a part of the community for over 50 years
COMMUNITY
HISTORICAL
Right now, we’re remodeling the Senior Nutrition Center to help them with their food distribution. Every month we do food distribution through Loaves and Fishes. And we help provide meals at ECHO homeless shelter, which happens monthly also.” The Atascadero charter can be seen all over the city, and their community-based work even bleeds into the rest of the
WEEKLY FEATURE
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