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SINCE 1916 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CV, NO. XLVII
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2021
atascaderonews.com • $1.00 • WEEKLY
HOLIDAYS
EVENTS
Paso Robles Lights of Hope Kicks Off Holiday Season
Favorite Holiday Events Return to Santa Margarita After two years of scaling back, in-person festivities are back! By SIMONE SMITH For the Atascadero News
Paso Robles City Park was full of families who were ready to light the park and sing Christmas carols. Photo by Hayley Mattson
35,000 lights illuminated 17 oak trees for the Lights of Hope fundraiser
nity members on Friday, Nov. 26, to turn on the lights and begin the holiday season. At 6 p.m., the light switch was flipped, and 35,000 lights illuminated 17 park oak trees. By CAMILLE DeVAUL Following the lighting cerecamille@atascaderonews.com mony, the crowd lit their candles and sang carols with Chad Stevens, PASO ROBLES — The Paso the Co-Chair of the Light Up the Robles City Park was filled to the Downtown, dressed up in a suit brim with families and commu- and a top hat to lead the singing
along with the Snow King and Queen and Mrs. Claus all if the goal to grow the Grinch’s heart and show his Christmas spirit. Paso Robles Mayor Steve Martin and Councilman John Hamon, with his wife Marjorie, joined the sing-along as well. Although the Grinch was a bit stubborn at first, he eventually came around. I mean, who can resist singing along to Rudolph
the Red Nose Reindeer? Mayor Martin concluded, “Everything went smoothly. We managed to convert the Grinch to Christmas, which is a good news thing. Mrs. Claus said we definitely have sufficient Christmas Spirit for Santa Clause to show up at the Christmas Parade, so we’re very happy about that. And we had a great time singing together and holding our candles together, and
it was a very successful and happy event.” It has been said that the Grinch’s soul is an appalling dump heap overflowing with the most disgraceful assortment of deplorable rubbish imaginable, mangled up in tangled up knots! But he managed to leave that all behind and danced the night away with CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
COMMUNITY
HERITAGE
37th Annual Thanksgiving for Paso Robles Serves Thousands Over 1200 meals were distributed on November 25 By CAMILLE DeVAUL camille@atascaderonews.com
Amanda (left) and Lilli (right) co-run the Jewish book club, Matzah Book Soup together. Contributed photo
Traditions and the Meaning of Hanukkah from Jewish Authors This year Hanukkah falls on November 28 through December 6
night celebration of Jewish liberation can fall anywhere between late November and late December and changes dates every year on the Gregorian calendar. However, on the Jewish calendar, it always falls on the 25 By CHRISTIANNA MARKS of Kislev. For the Atascadero News “Whether we celebrate in December, November or [like one memorable occaATASCADERO — Hanukkah showed sion in my own family, in March], the celeup early this year! The Jewish Festival of bration itself feels like coming home,” said Lights started on the night of Nov. 28 and will end at sundown on Dec. 6. The eightCONTINUED ON PAGE A15
NON-PROFIT
EVENT
PASO ROBLES — On Thursday Nov. 25, over 1,200 meals were distributed to the community for the 37th Thanksgiving for Paso Robles at Centennial Park. Chairman David Kudija reports that while it was one of the lightest days they’ve had for dine-in meals, Turkey Day went “Amazingly!” The Thanksgiving crew delivered more meals than ever before, which Kudija attributes to COVID and people wishing to stay home. There were 1,500 meals prepared and about 1,200 meals distributed, about the same as the past few years. Originally, Kudija said they prepared for meals to be in higher demand due to challenging circumstances from the last two years. This week, Thanksgiving for Paso Robles is working on distributing leftovers from Thursday’s meal. Some leftovers were brought to the El Camino Homeless Organization (ECHO) shelters in Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo (SLO). About 20 pumpkin pies were brought to the Bridge Christian Church in Paso Robles and given out to the congregation. Afterward, three leftover pies were taken to the Centennial Park Staff. “They [the staff ] went above and beyond this year, helping us do all the
GOVERNMENT
Leftover pies were brought to a church and staff members at Centennial Park and other food was brought to ECHO locations in SLO and Paso. Contributed photo
arrangements to make this happen,” said Kudija. While the annual Thanksgiving dinner went off without a hitch, three weeks prior, there were concerns the group would not be able to pull off the dinner due to a lack of volunteers. Thanksgiving for Paso Robles is 100 percent funded by donations and run by volunteers. It takes approximately $9,000 and 200 volunteers to put on the annual dinner. Volunteers begin prepping and cooking the meals on Monday and are ready to serve almost 2,000 people by Thursday.
WEEKLY FEATURE
SANTA MARGARITA — Excitement is building in Santa Margarita as the month of December rolls back around, this year bringing the return of some “in-person” favorite holiday events. After nearly two years of scaling back, cancellations, or having events go remote, Santa Margarita’s community organizers have made plans to move forwards with the return of the Santa Margarita Friends of the Library Annual Craft Faire, in-person caroling and lighting of the Christmas Tree and the Holiday Stroll. As containers of mass-produced merchandise continue to sit idly by on ships or in ports, we continue to learn more lessons about the importance of producing and buying locally. In addition to directly supporting our own economy and reducing travel miles for goods, we have the opportunity to purchase one-of-a-kind, local and handmade items by artisans right here in our own backyard. After skipping last year’s event due to COVID, the Friends of the Santa Margarita Library (FOSML) will host their 18th Annual Craft Faire and Bake Sale. The event will take place on Saturday, Dec. 4, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Santa Margarita Community Hall, located on the corner of I and Murphy Streets, at 22501 I Street in Santa Margarita. According to FOSML President Sheila Wynne, this year’s event will feature 24 local artisan and craft vendors. Among the array of modern and traditional crafts, you will find fabulous naturally constructed wreaths and ornaments by Polly Mc Mullen; goat milk soaps, organic lip balms, and alpaca socks by Giving Tree Family Farm; hand-felted alpaca and merino wool hats, vintage and handmade hat pins by The Woolly Pearl; beautiful and plush rag rugs by Larianne Huntsberger Koch; and wonderfully creative stuffed animals by Sewn So Sweetly. Do you have a sweet tooth, want to start early, or purchase something delicious for friends
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WEATHER
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ECHO TURKEY TROT Returned For In-Person Run On Thanksgiving Day | A3
ATASCADERO HOLIDAY Celebrations Return In-Person Starting on Friday, Dec. 3 | A4
SUPERVISORS APPROVE Patton Map After Heated Debate from the Public | A5
POINT SAN LUIS MEMORIES A Guardsman’s Brother Remembers | A13
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