New Fire Chief presents Annual Fire Report for 2022 services

By Jacob Hoffman Express staff writer

On March 7, newly hired Fire Chief Jack Snyder presented the Winters Fire Department’s annual report to the City Council, presenting to them some of the department’s work and successes in 2022, as well as plans for this year.

Coman is Winters Senior Citizen of the Year

By Jacob Hoffman

Humble doesn’t begin to describe Rob Coman, a tireless Winters historian and Museum curator described by his colleagues as “the keeper of Winters history” and who was named the 2022 Winters Senior Citizen of the Year.

Polite, composed, and honest, but also quiet and succinct with his words when asked about the award, Coman said he was “surprised and honored” by the news, saying he is “feeling good about representing the team” at the Winters Museum, which he stresses is “really a team effort.”

But his compatriots at the Historical Society of Winters were sure to highlight Coman’s centrality to the group’s efforts for recording and unearthing the stories of Winters. Coman’s nomination, written by his Historical Society colleagues Gloria Lopez and Vicki Jacobs, succinctly and aptly described him as “Mr. Winters History,” noting his years as a member of the Historical Society of Winters as well as a curator for the Winters Museum since its founding in 2018. “He is the most knowledgeable person in Winters when it comes to the founders of the town,” the nomination letter reads, lauding his dedication to the Winters Museum “rain or shine” as well as his work with other groups in town, including as “a driving force in helping other nonprofits, especially on the Big Day of Giving” and as working with the Winters Participation Gallery’s summer history mural projects.

Valerie Whitworth, Winters Participation Gallery chair, gave Coman credit for lending his technical expertise in creating the WPG Facebook page and leading its efforts in its Big Day of Giving campaign.

“His support in this manner has been crucial to WPG’s ability to focus on art and get it done. He is a miracle worker who quietly accomplishes big projects in a humble and unobtrusive way,” Whitworth said. “WPG would not be able to produce the lovely murals half as easily as it does without his amazing behind-the-scenes work. We cannot ever thank him enough for bringing us into the technological age. Without him, we would be much less as an organization.”

In a further statement to the Express, Lopez praised Coman’s, “very unique style of leadership” in which “he works quietly but effectively and efficiently to get things done” and described him as “driven by his passion for history and his dedication to service to the community of Winters” and “clearly the driving force behind preserving Winters history.”

When noting his proudest accomplishment, Coman noted that “five years ago we didn’t have a museum, and now we do” which has “told some good stories and had some good exhibits…and I’m proud of that.”

Among his favorites, he cited the exhibit on Japanese families in Winters and on the town of Monticello. But Coman still has historical work he would like to accomplish, such as the completion of his work on the Yolo

See COMAN, Page 3

Snyder, officially sworn in on Feb. 7, marked his first month by saying “2022 was a great year for the department, but it definitely had its trials and tribulations and challenges we faced, but ultimately another successful year.” Snyder reported that the department’s organizational staffing chart is “back to full staff” as well as noting that “volunteer staff is still going strong” as well.

Snyder provided a few statistics regarding the WFD’s work in 2022. Calls for service increased in 2022 from 791 in 2021 to 959 this year, up from 850 in

2020, with Snyder calling 2022 “a record-setting year for us” and likely a trend that will continue.

“People are calling 911 a lot more to get the help that they need, and I think a lot of that stems from them not calling 911 during COVID,” Snyder said.

Mayor Bill Biasi inquired if the increase in calls was related to the new homes being built, which Snyder said was possible, but that with current data “it’s hard to tell, we’ll see with next year’s data.”

Snyder also presented average WFD response times to calls, which improved markedly in the 2020–2022 period. Average response times in 2020 were five minutes and 16 seconds within Winters and 11 minutes and 45 seconds in the fire district. Then in 2021, the average response times improved to four minutes and 23 seconds in Winters and eight minutes and 50 seconds in the district. Finally, last year the average response time improved to three minutes and 51 seconds and sevent minutes and 52 seconds for the city and district, respectively.

“The standard for the response time within the city is four and a half minutes, and we are exceeding that now, and we’re very proud of that,” commending the fire team for its efficiency, which Snyder called “a testament to the people that we have on staff because they truly care about this community…and this is a direct reflection of that.”

Snyder also noted the extensive training WFD personnel undertook last year, totaling 1,027 training hours in 2022, including training in “structure fires to EMS, to tech rescue, car extrication, and mentoring our young volunteer firefighters” all on top

See FIRE, Page 3

Courtesy photo

Winters FFA members achieve State Degree

Four Winters High School FFA members recieved their State Degrees on March 8. Luke Dondero, Ava Skinner, Kiana Miller and Jose Martinez show off the state degree certificates. The State FFA Degree is awarded to members who have demonstrated the highest level of commitment to the California State FFA Association and made significant accomplishments in their Supervised Agricultural Experiences.

Council approves staff salary adjustment, County compost agreement

By Jacob Hoffman Express staff writer

In its brief March 7 meeting, the Winters City Council passed a number of resolutions via its consent calendar, including a salary adjustment for Winters department heads and managers and the approval of a draft agreement with Yolo County Central Landfill to keep Winters compliant with California environmental legislation.

The first of these resolutions, numbered 2023-16, approved the salary increase for a number of city department heads and management employee groups. As stated in the staff report, this includes implementing a five percent general salary adjustment, a two percent one-time stipend, and other changes retroactive to the first full pay period of July 2022, and appropriating $36,478 from Fund 347 (American Rescue Plan Funding).

The department heads included in this adjustment are the Director of Administrative Services, the Winters Police Chief, and the Winters Fire Chief, as well as the Director of Community Development, though this position is currently “unfunded, vacant” but still an “active classification” and thus was included in the adjustment. Manager salaries being adjusted

See CITY, Page 3

Ashton Baylor

Ashton Baylor, a Winters High School junior, is Pisani’s Athlete of the Week. Baylor plays for the varsity baseball club. Although the season is just getting started, he’s been instrumental in the team’s success and its winning identity. “Ashton went 2–4 last week against Dixon with two doubles and one of those being a double to knock in the go-ahead run,” raved head coach Austin Calvert. “He always has a positive, motivated mentality and has really proven himself as a leader so far this year. He’s a great young man.”