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‘Guys and Dolls’ Page 7
Templeton Life
MARCH 2015
Sense of Identity
Community Spotlight
TUSD allocates H12 funds Vote to increase grad requirements to 280
Atascadero Library art exhibit features THS students
By ALLYSON OKEN Of Templeton Life
By ALLYSON OKEN Of Templeton Life
ATASCADERO — The Atascadero Library and a Templeton High School arts educator have created an exhibition for student art to be on display. Amber Wickersham, visual and preforming art department head at THS, partnered with the Atascadero Library to share her student’s art in a gallery-like forum. The art will adorn the walls of the library through March 5 and is open to viewing during regular library hours, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The art is on display in the children’s section of the library. The art illustrates what Wickersham’s students have learned and created using Adobe Illustrator and graphic art techniques. “The students have been working on vector graphics,” she said. “They would look at the different cultures and compare and contrast the artwork, compare that to modern-day designs and they could pull from the different cultures to be inspired. It restricted the animals that they could use based on the art of ancient cultures. It helped them to learn the illustrator program. Most of the students had never used Adobe Illustrator so this gave them something fun to create instead of just doing a tutorial.” They also created grids by hand to practice composition and
Photo courtesy of Connie Pillsbury Heather Matteson and Linda Vogt, the mother-daughter team at Totally Tile, pose in front of some of their favorite showroom.
Mother-Daughter team at Totally Tile
By CONNIE PILLSBURY For Templeton Life
W
hen Linda Vogt opened Totally Tile off Ramada Drive in 1989, she was the first tile supplier in North County. Her husband, a tile setter, had always driven down the grade to get tile, and he felt it was time for Templeton/Paso Robles area to have their own tile showroom and warehouse. They rented a 5,000 square foot space off of Ramada Drive and opened for business. Her daughter, Heather Matteson, who graduated from Paso High School and then San Diego State in 1992, soon joined Linda in the business. “It was a struggle at first, and it took about seven years to really get established,” said Vogt. By 2005, Vogt and Matteson had outgrown
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their overflowing showroom, and purchased three acres across Cow Meadow Place where they designed and built an eye-appealing 12,000 square foot showroom and warehouse. “Our builder, D.A. Craghead, did a great job,” said Matteson. The new expansive interior could offer much more inventory and showcase a huge selection of tile for every purpose. Vogt enjoys working with customers who come from all over the county, from Arroyo Grande, Cayucos, Los Osos and of course, new and repeat customers from North County. With her family roots in Reedley and college degree from Fresno Pacific, Vogt enjoys connecting with her clients from the Central Valley who select tile for their vacation homes on the coast. Customers often comment to Vogt, “You Please turn to Page 2
TAAG elections on March 5 By ALLYSON OKEN Of Templeton Life
Hot Air Balloons Theatre Festival Castoro Cellars This and That Community calendar Guys and Dolls Building a Roof Best of North County
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Cecil H. Martinez has lived in the district for 30 years. He is a graduate of the Templeton High School class of 1991 and has his bachelor’s in Political Science from San Francisco State University and also obtained Juris Doctorate NCOC. He is a local business owner who breeds horses and expressed being willing to take on any role through committees to support the constituency. On his resume, he gave three reasons for becoming a delegate on TAAG: 1. I genuinely care about what happens to the great town of Templeton, its future, and the way it progresses
William A. Pelfrey has lived in Templeton for 28 years and is an active member of the community and currently holds the position of vice chair on the TAAG board. A graduate of the University of Colorado with a bachelor’s in Psychology and one in Anthropology, Pelfrey took a completely different direction in his professional career, working as a financial analyst, investor and predictive analyst. Pelfrey’s three reasons for wanting to re-join the TAAG board are: 1. My continuing interest in Templeton as a community,
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Monthly publication dedicated to covering Templeton, CA
TEMPLETON — The Templeton Area Advisory Group is having its elections from 5 to 8 p.m., Thursday, March 5, at the Templeton Community Services District office. The elections are held yearly. The candidates that have thrown their hats in the ring are all Templeton residents, who are registered to vote in the community and have submitted resumes of intent. This year’s eight hopefuls are:
into the future. 2. I believe I can help bridge the gap between old school Templeton values and the new school thought process being that I have lived within the community for 30 years. 3. Templeton is the best place to live. We are truly blessed to have such a grand town to call home. I want to keep it that way!
On Feb. 9 the Templeton Unified School District School Board, after taking into account the concerns of the community, staff and students — voted to approve measure H12 bond allocations. In addition, the TUSD Board of Trustees unanimously approved increasing high school graduation requirements from 260 to 280 units. Since 2012, when the measure H12 bond was approved, the TUSD has gone back and forth about allocation of funds. Over the last year, they had talked about allocations going to an entirely new school site project, the Vineyard Annex. After determining the project did not fit the guidelines for bond fund uses and the community objecting to tax dollars going to the project, the TUSD began looking at other bond money projects. Superintendent Joe Koski presented the allocation plan to the board saying, “We lost focus two years ago when we realized that an overcrowding problem existed now that didn’t when we made the bond request. We have seen that the number of students that populate Templeton Elementary School is detrimental to student success and hoped to be able to allocate funds to a new school project in the Vineyard Annex.” Koski added that H12 bond was never intended to solve the crowding at TES and is why the allocation plan does not address this issue. “What we are looking at is about $35 million to foot the bill for an $85 million project wish list,” he said. “We can’t fix everything, but we will serve every location in the district and fund what improvements we can.” As a result, Templeton High School will be granted $19.75 million, TES will be granted $8.3 million, Vineyard Elementary School and Alternative