Our 164th Year
75¢
F r i d a y , M AY 8 , 2 0 2 0
COURTESY PHOTO
The Santa Barbara County Fire Department rescues a fawn during its response to a vegetation fire Friday at Hollister Ranch.
156-acre fire
RAFAEL MALDONADO/ NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
From left, San Marcos High sophomore Henry Jessup and Santa Barbara juniors Noach Wood and Andrew Douglas unload produce to donate to the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation.
Spring gleaning
Local high school students collecting, donating excess produce to those in need By MITCHELL WHITE NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
A
s the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County ramps up operations to serve those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic, food delivery has taken top priority. With this in mind, Santa Barbara High students Andrew Douglas and Noach Wood learned that local fruit trees were overflowing, and gleaning took a back seat. Enter Teen Glean, a community service program focused on collecting excess produce from trees and delivering them to the local Foodbank or other organizations — free of charge. On Thursday, Andrew and Noach were joined by San Marcos High sophomore Henry Jessup as the boys visited the local office for the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation, pulling up in a pickup truck with a full truck bed of avocados, oranges and grapefruits. The students carried countless boxes of produce into the secondfloor office building on upper State Street, which will be put towards the TBCF’s Mother’s Day fruit drive. Over the past three weeks, Andrew and Noach have been making stops at local residences
equipped with a truck, ladders and some much-needed manpower to gather up whatever they could. Whether it’s a neighbor with a few trees in their backyard, commercial locations that are closed due to the pandemic, or even local avocado orchards — every little bit makes a difference, said Noach. Both Dons credited their parents for kickstarting the program, though the boy’s hard work has helped turn it into something much bigger than they anticipated. “We kind of came up with it together,” Andrew said. “(Our parents) really pushed us to start and to do something while we’re in this quarantine instead of just sitting around. “We heard about all these people who weren’t getting food, and how the Foodbank — they weren’t being able to pick anything because all their time was going to deliveries.” After being able to count their clients on one hand during the initial rollout, the boys are now serving some 40 people as they visit two to three locations a day to collect the fruit. The program has not only been able to keep them busy while schooling has gone remote for the remainder of the year, but also opened their eyes to those who are less fortunate. In addition to
Thursday’s delivery, the boys have delivered produce to the homeless at Pershing Park. “We obviously wanted to do something that helped people out, especially because it’s a hard time for a lot of people,” Andrew said. Added Noach, “And we just feel good about it. You don’t feel good just staying home and playing video games all day. It makes you feel fulfilled.” As the program was developed, Noach and Andrew considered growing their own garden in their backyards to distribute. “But people needed food now and that was going to be a threemonth project,” Andrew said. “This would just get a lot more.” Tessa Boyce, volunteer coordinator for the TBCF, was at the office Thursday to accept the donation. Due to the pandemic, the organization has been thinking of new ways to engage volunteers. The organization posted on Facebook last week about developing a fruit drive, and Noach and Andrew quickly reached out. “I had been thinking about doing a fruit drive, and with it being Mother’s Day on Sunday, I thought it would be a perfect way to get people involved in the community,” she said. “We’ve got flowers donated as well, and Girl Scout cookies. It’s all coming together.”
The organization is planning to donate packages to 40 families in the Tri-Counties— from Santa Maria to Oxnard — this weekend. “It’s just a really easy way to support families in our community who have a child going through a pediatric cancer diagnosis,” she said. “We have a lot of newly diagnosed families within the last month, so especially being able to help those families has felt good.” Ms. Boyce, who was diagnosed with brain cancer eight years ago, has been with the TBCF since October 2017. After relocating to Santa Barbara from Colorado, she recalled initially finding it tough to meet people and get involved in the community. All that changed when she found the TBCF. “When I found Teddy Bear, it completely changed my life,” said Ms. Boyce, who has been in remission for the past seven years. “I feel connected to the community, and now I can’t imagine the fact that I didn’t like Santa Barbara.” Those interested in a gleaning can call or text the team at 805455-8987 to set up a visit. The group is also accepting donations through the Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade. To donate, visit www. sbbucketbrigade.org. email: mwhite@newspress.com
Vegetation blaze strikes Hollister Ranch, potential up to 500 acres By PAUL GONZALEZ NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
A
n early Friday morning vegetation fire burned 156 acres of vegetation in Hollister Ranch. The fire could reach up to 500 acres. Santa Barbara County Fire Department spokesman Capt. Daniel Bertucelli said at 2:15 a.m. on Thursday, the department deployed a “first alarm” vegetation fire response team
Please see fire on A2
Nordstrom ends Paseo Nuevo era Nordstrom at Paseo Nuevo will close permanently by August. The news was confirmed Thursday by the store’s corporate headquarters in Seattle. The company issued this statement.: “Our goal is to best position ourselves to serve customers in each market where we operate. “Because of the impacts COVID-19 has had on our business, we need to take a critical look at the physical footprint of our stores to determine which we will continue to operate.
“To respond to the impacts of COVID-19 and ensure we’re able to continue serving customers well into the future, we will be closing 16 of our fleet of full-line stores, including Nordstrom Tyler, Nordstrom Santa Barbara Paseo Nuevo and Nordstrom Montclair Place. We selected these 16 stores based on a variety of factors, including the unique needs of the market, the current state of our business and real estate agreements.” Nordstrom has been an anchor at Paseo Nuevo for three decades. —Dave Mason
COVID-19 testing
Santa Barbara County opens second site at Earl Warren Showgrounds By JOSH GREGA NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
T Fom left, Andrew Douglas carries donated flowers from Carpintiera. At right, Henry Jessup carries a box into the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation office.
with one fire engine. “Upon the arrival of the first engine company, they upped the response to a ‘second alarm’ vegetation response to include an additional four engines plus additional dozers and hand crews as well as water tenders,” Capt. Bertucelli said. When the reinforcements arrived, the fire had burned 20 acres and was spreading rapidly. Capt. Bertucelli said offshore
he Santa Barbara County Public Health Department held its first day of COVID19 testing at Earl Warren Showgrounds Thursday, expanding upon its first testing site that opened on Tuesday at Santa Maria Fairpark. A third testing site in Lompoc will be added Saturday at the Anderson Recreation Center. One-hundred and thirty-two people, the two sites’ maximum appointment capacity, were booked for testing at both
locations Thursday, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Conducted by contractor OptumServe, the sites’ COVID-19 tests entail swabbing the inside of an individual’s nose and have a turnaround time of between 48 and 72 hours. OptumServe’s tests are diagnostic tests for COVID-19, rather than antibody tests that detect whether someone has been infected with the coronavirus in the past. Whether or not they had symptoms for COVID-19, the individuals who spoke to the News-Press after getting tested at Earl Warren all liked the Please see testing on A2
ins ide
L O T T E RY R ESU LT S
Comics................. A6 Local................. A 2-8 Obituaries............. A8
Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: 5-8-19-37-39 Meganumber: 11
Wednesday’s DAILY 4: 6-0-3-4
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 7-13-17-21-45 Meganumber: 14
Wednesday’s FANTASY 5: 10-20-22-27-29
Tuesday’s DAILY DERBY: 01-04-02 Time: 1:45.97
Saturday’s POWERBALL: 7-8-35-50-65 Meganumber: 20
Soduku................. A5 Weather................ A8
Thursday’s DAILY 3: 5-5-7 / Wednesday’s Midday 8-3-6