Hometown News Since 1889 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CXXXI, NO. VII
THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2020
LEISURE SPORT
pasoroblespress.com • $1.00 • WEEKLY
SUMMER PROGRAMS
CHAMBER
Board: Templeton Chamber is ‘On Solid Footing’ Moving Forward
View of Hole 2 at the Paso Robles Golf Course. Contributed photos
North County Golf Courses Stay Open For Business By CONNOR ALLEN brian@pasoroblespress.com NORTH COUNTY — While many businesses around the Central Coast were forced to close their doors again as the state takes on a second wave of COVID-19 cases due to the pandemic, there is one type of business that has kept its doors open, golf courses. The outdoor nature of golf already requires a fair amount of social distancing, especially for those out there hacking away, sending balls shooting across greens and fairways. Local courses have also gone the extra yard in setting COVID-19 precautions to ensure the safety of both their customers and their workers. North County contains four golf courses. Three of those courses, Hunter Ranch Golf Course, River Oaks, and Paso Robles Golf Club, are in Paso Robles with Chalk Mountain Golf Course in Atascadero. They are all open for business, with some even experiencing an uptick during the pandemic. Some of the measures being taken include single carts per person sanitized and washed before use. All ball washers are covered up and now you won’t even have to grab a rake after spending some time on the beach as course marshalls and ground crews are repairing the bunkers instead of the public. Perhaps the most innovative of the changes and, maybe, the only one to outlast the pandemic is the small mechanism placed in the bottom of the cup, keeping patrons from picking the ball out of it. Some courses have a lever you can pull up with your putter to flip your ball out without even bending over while others have placed some styrofoam in the bottom of the cups, but either way, the flagstick must stay in. Not only are the courses taking precautions around the course but also inside their pro shops. “We have hand sanitizers CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
COMMUNITY
Boys and Girls Club of Paso Robles Youth Development Professional Guadalupe Anguiano helps Jaden Hanna with a Brain Game project on Tuesday. YDP Kaithlin Flores was the designated COVID-19 screener and sanitizer on Tuesday at the Boys and Girls Club in Paso Robles. Between activities children are required to wash their hands in the restroom at the Paso Robles Boys and Girls Club. Photos by Brian Williams
Paso Robles Boys and Girls Club Summer Camp People watching to see if COVID-19 precautions are working By BRIAN WILLIAMS is kind of a big deal, and people brian@pasoroblespress.com are closely watching. “It can be done. We are doing PASO ROBLES — The it,” said Jillian Shumate-GunPaso Robles Boys and Girls derson, Boys and Girls Clubs Club is entering the final week of Mid Central Coast North of its four-week summer camp. County Area Director. Typically, having a summer The Boys and Girls Clubs camp is not usually a big deal of Mid Central Coast — for the Boys and Girls Club, but Atascadero, Paso Robles, having one during a pandemic Shandon, Santa Maria and
Guadalupe — were closed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in March when he issued his stay-home orders. Paso Robles and Santa Maria reopened with summer camps on July 13. The other sites remain closed but are planning to open when school resumes next month. The Paso Robles Club’s
building is owned by the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District and is in the middle of Bauer-Speck Elementary, next to Flamson Middle School. The club needed approval from the school district to run the abbreviated summer program. “We work with Paso Robles CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
EDUCATION
PRJUSD Trustees Approve ‘Safe Reopening of Schools’ Plan District approves expenses needed for distance and hybrid learning plans By BRIAN WILLIAMS brian@pasoroblespress.com PASO ROBLES — Paso Robles Joint Unified School District School Board trustees approved “the plan for the safe reopening of schools” during a special meeting on Thursday, July 23. The approved 96-page plan included three main options — in-person learning, a hybrid of distance and in-person learning, and distance learning. The goal, according to Superintendent Curt Dubost, has been returning to in-person learning, if allowed. But it’s not. The decision was taken out of the District’s hands by Gov. Gavin Newsom on July 17. The resolution for the safe reopening of schools was modified to include the District looking into a waiver that would allow for in-person learning for elementary school students, Kindergarten to fifth grade. Trustees approved the District’s plan with a 6-1 vote, Chris Baush voted no. Newsom directed any district in a county on the state’s watchlist to begin the school year with distance learning. A county has to be off the watchlist for 14 consecutive days before it can provide hybrid or in-person learning.
LOCAL NEWS
San Luis Obispo County has been on the list for a couple of weeks and will likely be on the list when PRJUSD starts the school year on Aug. 20. Schools in the state were closed in March and finished the 2019-20 school year with distance learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent directives from the governor and state and county health officials. PRJUSD is going to start the year with distance learning and move to hybrid and then in-person learning when permitted. Dubost said they could bounce between options depending on what happens with the COVID-19 pandemic based on recommendations from state and county health officials.
school year. Attendance will be taken. Students will receive letter grades based on performance. The state’s minimum daily instructional minutes requirement is also back — 180 minutes for Kindergarten, 230 minutes for grades 1 through 3, and 240 minutes for grades 4 through 12. Schools must develop procedures for re-engaging students absent from distance learning for more than three school days in a school week. Paso Robles teachers were in step with the District’s plan as well. A letter of support from Jim Lynett, executive director of the Paso Robles Public Educators, written on behalf of the teachers union, was read. The results of a PRJUSD teacher five-question survey was also made public. Teachers in each question overwhelmingly supported returning to in-person and or hybrid learning. Trustees also approved expenditures that will improve technology at school sites and put Chromebooks in every teachers’ and students’ hands. The one-time cost for the Chromebooks was $552,000 and was approved 6-1. Trustees approved increasing bandwidth to support live streaming of classes and upgrading the District’s internet The District’s plan also includes home- connection to 10 Gigabits per second at a schooling and independent learning monthly cost of $2,000 and $1,000. They opportunities for parents to consider. approved one-time charges to purchase District staff ensured trustees that a new firewall for $67,560 and a new distance learning would be significantly enhanced from what was used to end the CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
COVID UPDATE
SPORTS
By BRIAN WILLIAMS brian@pasoroblespress.com TEMPLETON — The Templeton Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors realizes moving forward without a CEO is not ideal, but they believe it is best for everyone they serve — local businesses and community. In late June, in a letter to members, the chamber board announced its decision to let CEO Jessica Main go. Back in April, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Templeton Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors furloughed Main with the hope of bringing her back to move forward on summer events. Summer came on the calendar, but not much was happening due to COVID-19. “Like other communities and businesses within Templeton, the Templeton Chamber was also forced to make some hard decisions in response to the economic uncertainty brought about by COVID-19,” said Greg Modica, Chamber Board president, speaking on behalf of the Board of Directors. “The board worked diligently and thoughtfully to assess all options and made a decision that allowed the organization to continue to be a viable and productive Chamber for the community.” San Luis Obispo has slowly reopened, but large events with gatherings of more than 25 people are still not permitted. The Templeton Chamber of Commerce canceled its popular annual 4th of July celebration and Summer Music in the Park events. Modica said the board would continue its approach and rely on its ambassadors until the COVID19 guidelines allow for larger gatherings. “The Templeton Chamber has a working board, meaning we as a board fully participate in our events; not only do we show up to events, we are the ones that actually work them,” Modica said. “With this Board and the volunteers, we are fortunate that getting great things done on a shoestring is not too difficult.” While some may think of the CEO as mainly a revenue generator, the board saw Main, her position, and the chamber as much more. CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
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WEATHER
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ELEMENTARY WAIVER
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