WawonaNews.com - February 2022
YOSEMITE-WAWONA ELEMENTARY CHARTER SCHOOL
Board of Directors Regular Meeting
Tuesday, February 8, 2022
5:30 P.M.
Wawona Elementary School
7925 Chilnualna Falls Road
Wawona, CA
MONTHLY ITEMS AND FINANCIAL REPORTS
3.1- Approval of Agenda
3.2– Approval of Minutes of the regular meeting of January 11
3.3 - Approve Warrants/Payroll
3.4 – Accept Donations to YWECS
ACTION ITEMS
INFORMATION ITEMS
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
Request that various items be placed on the next agenda for discussion and/or action.
Second Interim Budget Report
Audit Report for 20-21 (?)
Board of Directors Regular Meeting
Tuesday, February 8, 2022
5:30 P.M.
Wawona Elementary School
7925 Chilnualna Falls Road
Wawona, CA
- CALL TO ORDER
- ROLL CALL
MONTHLY ITEMS AND FINANCIAL REPORTS
- CONSENT AGENDA
3.1- Approval of Agenda
3.2– Approval of Minutes of the regular meeting of January 11
3.3 - Approve Warrants/Payroll
3.4 – Accept Donations to YWECS
- HEARING OF PERSONS WISHING TO ADDRESS THE BOARD
ACTION ITEMS
- APPROVAL OF 2020-21 AUDIT REPORT FOR YWECS
INFORMATION ITEMS
- REVIEW THE SUPPLEMENT TO THE ANNUAL UPDATE FOR THE 2021-22 LCAP
- REVIEW P-1 ATTENDANCE REPORT
- REVIEW DRAFT DONATIONS POLICY
- REVIEW BID PROCESS FOR NEW ROOF
- REVIEW PARK SERVICES FACILITIES USE AGREEMENT
- YWECS FUNDRAISER UPDATES
- STAFF REPORTS
- BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
Request that various items be placed on the next agenda for discussion and/or action.
Second Interim Budget Report
Audit Report for 20-21 (?)
- NEXT BOARD MEETING
- ADJOURNMENT
COVID Tests For Wawona Residents
The Wawona Ranger Office now has a limited number of COVID tests available for use by Wawona residents and employees. This is not a self-test and will be administered by a trained ranger. The testing we are able to provide is rapid molecular test which, according to the company, has a 97% agreement rate compared to PCR (laboratory) testing, meaning it's quite accurate. Results are available in 15 to 20 minutes on-site and requires a nasal swab.
Testing will be available until the end of February or until our supply of tests is exhausted, whichever comes first. This is meant to be an alternative to driving to Yosemite Valley or Oakhurst for testing, but due to the limited number of tests available we ask that you only request a test if you:
- Are symptomatic for COVID-19, OR
- Were exposed to a confirmed positive case of COVID-19 in the past 3-5 days.
Currently Chad Andrews and I are able to perform tests and we are available all days except 2/3, 2/17 and Fridays. If you/your employee would like a test please call:
Saturday/Sunday/Monday: Heidi at 209-347-3198
Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday 2/10 or 2/24: Chad 209-742-8269
Please do not show up without calling ahead as we may be tied up on incidents or other operational requirements. If you have any questions please reach out to me or Chad by email or phone.
Thank you!
Heidi L. Edgecomb
U.S. Park Ranger
Wawona District
Yosemite National Park
209-375-9520 x 228 (o)
209-347-3198 (c)
The Wawona Ranger Office now has a limited number of COVID tests available for use by Wawona residents and employees. This is not a self-test and will be administered by a trained ranger. The testing we are able to provide is rapid molecular test which, according to the company, has a 97% agreement rate compared to PCR (laboratory) testing, meaning it's quite accurate. Results are available in 15 to 20 minutes on-site and requires a nasal swab.
Testing will be available until the end of February or until our supply of tests is exhausted, whichever comes first. This is meant to be an alternative to driving to Yosemite Valley or Oakhurst for testing, but due to the limited number of tests available we ask that you only request a test if you:
- Are symptomatic for COVID-19, OR
- Were exposed to a confirmed positive case of COVID-19 in the past 3-5 days.
Currently Chad Andrews and I are able to perform tests and we are available all days except 2/3, 2/17 and Fridays. If you/your employee would like a test please call:
Saturday/Sunday/Monday: Heidi at 209-347-3198
Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday 2/10 or 2/24: Chad 209-742-8269
Please do not show up without calling ahead as we may be tied up on incidents or other operational requirements. If you have any questions please reach out to me or Chad by email or phone.
Thank you!
Heidi L. Edgecomb
U.S. Park Ranger
Wawona District
Yosemite National Park
209-375-9520 x 228 (o)
209-347-3198 (c)
Fire Information
Last week fire crews completed ignition of 81 piles on Garnett Ridge Road (Crane Flat area) and three piles in Wawona. We will wait for some snow to melt before finishing additional piles at Garnett Ridge.
Garnett Ridge piles were created after recent mechanical thinning (the removal of some trees to reduce hazards and forest density). Burning some of the debris in place allows us to reintroduce limited healthy fire to these areas and prepare for future prescribed burn projects.
This week we will focus on piles the Merced Grove area and continue working around Wawona/Mariposa Grove.
Thank you for your continued interest in Yosemite Fire!
Yosemite Fire Information
[email protected]
go.nps.gov/yosefire
Facebook @YosemiteFire
Twitter @YosemiteFire
Instagram @YosemiteFire
Last week fire crews completed ignition of 81 piles on Garnett Ridge Road (Crane Flat area) and three piles in Wawona. We will wait for some snow to melt before finishing additional piles at Garnett Ridge.
Garnett Ridge piles were created after recent mechanical thinning (the removal of some trees to reduce hazards and forest density). Burning some of the debris in place allows us to reintroduce limited healthy fire to these areas and prepare for future prescribed burn projects.
This week we will focus on piles the Merced Grove area and continue working around Wawona/Mariposa Grove.
Thank you for your continued interest in Yosemite Fire!
Yosemite Fire Information
[email protected]
go.nps.gov/yosefire
Facebook @YosemiteFire
Twitter @YosemiteFire
Instagram @YosemiteFire
Video from 2008 by Tom Bopp - part of an event called Yosemite Heritage Holidays. This charming vignette celebrates the early days of the Yosemite Winter Club’s “Fancy Ice Skating Carnival.”
Skater Gayle Delaney recreates a Sonja Henie performance at the ice rink in Yosemite Valley. The annual Yosemite Heritage Holidays ran from 2002 - 2009 and was co-directed by Cherie Oliver and Tom Bopp.
For more about Yosemite Heritage Holidays, see http://yosemitemusic.com/hh_main.html
Gayle Delaney's website is https://yoursleepinggenius.com/
Skater Gayle Delaney recreates a Sonja Henie performance at the ice rink in Yosemite Valley. The annual Yosemite Heritage Holidays ran from 2002 - 2009 and was co-directed by Cherie Oliver and Tom Bopp.
For more about Yosemite Heritage Holidays, see http://yosemitemusic.com/hh_main.html
Gayle Delaney's website is https://yoursleepinggenius.com/
What to Expect When Visiting Yosemite in 2022
SF Chronicle - Yosemite National Park is in the midst of its most expansive infrastructure upgrade in nearly a century. With funds flowing via the Great American Outdoors Act, campgrounds, hiking trails and roads around the park are being rebuilt and repaired in accordance with Yosemite’s long-term plans to continue hosting millions of visitors each year.
These are once-in-a-generation kinds of projects that the park wouldn’t have the opportunity to repair,” said Frank Dean, president and CEO of the Yosemite Conservancy, a nonprofit that helps finance park improvements. All this comes as park officials decide whether to again impose a reservation system during the high season to limit crowds.
In the next two to three years, the park will have renovated its largest campground, repaved one of its most popular thoroughfares and upgraded one of its most popular trails in Yosemite Valley. But in the meantime, construction in the valley and elsewhere may pose traffic delays, parking challenges and other inconveniences to folks traveling to the park, beginning this spring.
To help visitors plan their trips, here is a comprehensive look at the various projects under way, which together will amount to tens of millions of dollars worth of improvements.
Day-use reservations and trail permits
At the front of everyone’s mind is whether Yosemite will once again require summer visitors to book tickets to the park in advance, a program it began during the early days of the pandemic in 2020 and reinstated last yearto help limit the number of visitors, which can approach 20,000 during peak summer days. The decision is under consideration, park staffers say. While the park is open to drive-up visitors during the winter months, Yosemite leaders are still analyzing whether the pandemic may necessitate a third straight year of advance reservations between May and September.
With regard to wilderness permits — which are required to access popular backcountry areas like Half Dome’s summit and the John Muir Trail — those will be available through Recreation.gov, the portal the park has long used to manage campsite reservations. Due to increased interest, many permits will be issued through a lottery that opens rolling dates for booking six months in advance.
The park typically sets aside some wilderness permits for walk-up hikers, but it eliminated those for a period last year. Whether it will issue those again this summer is up in the air
In a new development, the park is starting a lottery for landing sites at North Pines Campground, on the eastern end of the valley, between July 21 and Sept. 14. The goal is to more fairly mete out in-demand campsite reservations that for years have been scooped up within seconds of becoming available online.
“There’s a federal effort to centralize everything on Recreation.gov for the purpose of equitability,” said Yosemite spokesperson Scott Gediman. “Consolidating access to wilderness permits and campsites (on the website) is where a lot of national parks are going.”
Tuolumne Meadows Campground
The park’s largest campground, with more than 300 campsites, will be closed this year and next for a major face-lift. It will involve: relocating one loop of campsites near the Tuolumne River to the campground interior; relocating a backpackers campground closer to the John Muir Trailhead; adding two new restrooms and improving accessibility to the older ones; installing new water pipes; and replacing old picnic tables, food lockers and fire rings.
“This campground is from the 1930s and it has barely been touched since then,” said Kathleen Morse, Yosemite’s chief of strategic planning and project management. “This is a major event in the camping experience.”
It is expected to reopen in 2024 or 2025.
Glacier Point Road
One of the park’s most popular roadways, which terminates at a spectacular view of Half Dome across Yosemite Valley, will be closed this year for maintenance on a 12-mile stretch from Badger Pass to Glacier Point. (The road is currently closed, as it always is during winter months.)
“It has deteriorated to such a degree that it needs to be overhauled,” Morse said.
The road will be resurfaced, and certain narrow sections on tight curves will be widened. Also, a larger parking area and new restroom will be built at a popular pullout near Sentinel Dome.
It will reopen next year. However, 30-minute traffic delays should be expected while workers finish the project.
The Bridalveil Creek Campground (110 sites), on Glacier Point Road, will also be closed this year while the park replaces its water distribution system.
Bridalveil Fall
A three-year project to renovate the parking area and trail system around Bridalveil Fall, one of Yosemite Valley’s top sites, is expected to be finished this fall.
The trails have been redesigned into more cohesive loops and repaved; the upper-level viewing platform has been expanded and wrapped with a safety railing; and smaller viewing areas lower down the trail have been built out with benches and more space for visitors to stand and watch the fall, which typically flows year round.
At the base of the trails, the parking area has been reorganized to minimize traffic issues and restrooms have been expanded and upgraded (vault toilets have been replaced by flush toilets).
Mariposa Grove
Famous for its groves of ancient sequoias, this popular nook, near Wawona, underwent a $40 million upgrade as recently as 2018. But a fierce wind event last year toppled 15 of the tall trees, destroying boardwalks and a restroom. Since then, visitors have had to park at Yosemite’s south entrance and hike 5 miles round trip along a paved road to see the sequoias.
The park hopes to rebuild the boardwalks and restroom by Memorial Day and once again run a shuttle along the roadway to spare tree lovers the long walk.
Yosemite Valley Visitor Center
A series of projects converging around the Yosemite Village welcome center are sure to cause some short-term inconveniences for people driving around Yosemite Valley. Two separate parking areas near the center are due to be paved this summer; a third nearby parking area will be set aside as the staging area for the work. In the short-term, it’will remove nearly 300 parking spaces while the projects proceed.
It’ll be a frustration for some visitors, I’m sure, but we’ll manage through it,” Morse said.
At the same time, the visitor center will be updated with a space for people to plan their trips and get oriented in the valley, as well as a new restroom.
The park’s beleaguered valley shuttles were shut down at the beginning of the pandemic and then relaunched at reduced capacity. They are expected to resume a limited service with fewer stops.
Crane Flat Campground
Near the park’s western entrance along Highway 120, Crane Flat Campground (166 sites) will be closed this year for rehabilitation. The rustic campground, which looks across meadows that bloom with wildflowers in springtime, is built against slopes where drainage has become an issue. The sites will be outfitted with flat tent pads and new picnic tables, food lockers and fire rings.
Gregory Thomas is The Chronicle’s editor of lifestyle & outdoors. Email: [email protected]. Twitter: @GregRThomas
Wawona Power Outage Monday
There will be a planned PG&E power outage in Wawona on Monday, January 31 from 8AM to 4:00 PM.
For more information call Heather Gonzales, PG&E Outage Coordinator, at 726-5588. (C. Flores)
There will be a planned PG&E power outage in Wawona on Monday, January 31 from 8AM to 4:00 PM.
For more information call Heather Gonzales, PG&E Outage Coordinator, at 726-5588. (C. Flores)
Burn Piles in The Wawona Area
Last week fire crews completed ignition of 50 burn piles around the Hetch Hetchy Entrance Station and 10 piles in the Mariposa Grove. As weather and air quality conditions allow, starting tomorrow through the end of this week, fire crews plan to continue work in the Mariposa Grove/Wawona area and around Crane Flat. Smoke may be present throughout burning operations and may linger into the following weeks as large logs are consumed.
Fire managers work closely with Park staff and local air pollution control districts to time burning operations to coincide with favorable weather and smoke dispersion conditions. Smoke impacts are always a consideration in the decision to begin any burning and operations will only be conducted under favorable conditions.
Last week fire crews completed ignition of 50 burn piles around the Hetch Hetchy Entrance Station and 10 piles in the Mariposa Grove. As weather and air quality conditions allow, starting tomorrow through the end of this week, fire crews plan to continue work in the Mariposa Grove/Wawona area and around Crane Flat. Smoke may be present throughout burning operations and may linger into the following weeks as large logs are consumed.
Fire managers work closely with Park staff and local air pollution control districts to time burning operations to coincide with favorable weather and smoke dispersion conditions. Smoke impacts are always a consideration in the decision to begin any burning and operations will only be conducted under favorable conditions.
Photo from last year's wind event
Wind Advisory for Friday, January 22
All, if you haven't already seen this, there is a wind advisory for our area tomorrow morning through noon on Saturday. Spot Forecasts are attached. There is real potential for falling trees, downed powerlines and power outages. We are advising people to minimize their travel and outside activity for the next two days. We are premptively closing the Badger Pass Road for Friday with a plan to reopen on Saturday. Highway 41 will remain open but there is potential for closure of that road, both in the park and south of the park.
- Advise your employees and guests of the potential hazards.
- Minimize travel in and out of the park and within the community.
- Call 9-1-1 if you see a downed power line. Do not attempt to touch it, go near it, or drive over it.
- Sign up to recieve emergency alerts here:
- https://member.everbridge.net/index/453003085619123/#/signup
Chad Andrews
Wawona District Ranger
Yosemite National Park
(W) 209-375-9520
(C) 209-742-8269
Possible Smoky Conditions
Over the next few weeks, as weather and air quality conditions permit, fire crews plan to conduct pile burning operations. Locations include the Hetch Hetchy Entrance Station, Crane Flat, Merced Grove, and areas around Mariposa Grove. Smoke may be present throughout burning operations and may linger into the following weeks as large logs are consumed. Pile burning has been an efficient and effective way to reduce excessive fuel build up on the landscape.
Fire managers work closely with Park staff and local air pollution control districts to time burning operations to coincide with favorable weather and smoke dispersion conditions. Smoke impacts are always a consideration in the decision to begin any burning and operations will only be conducted under favorable conditions.
Over the next few weeks, as weather and air quality conditions permit, fire crews plan to conduct pile burning operations. Locations include the Hetch Hetchy Entrance Station, Crane Flat, Merced Grove, and areas around Mariposa Grove. Smoke may be present throughout burning operations and may linger into the following weeks as large logs are consumed. Pile burning has been an efficient and effective way to reduce excessive fuel build up on the landscape.
Fire managers work closely with Park staff and local air pollution control districts to time burning operations to coincide with favorable weather and smoke dispersion conditions. Smoke impacts are always a consideration in the decision to begin any burning and operations will only be conducted under favorable conditions.
By: Scripps National
Posted at 9:32 AM, Jan 18, 2022
and last updated 10:20 AM, Jan 18, 2022A White House website that allows people to order free COVID-19 test kits directly to their homes appeared to be operational on Tuesday, a day ahead of its scheduled Wednesday launch date.
Visitors to COVIDtests.gov on Tuesday were able to click through to a USPS website and order four free rapid antigen test kits per household. The USPS website said the kits would ship in "late January."
According to a fact sheet released by the White House Friday, everyone in the continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories will be able to place an order through COVIDtests.gov beginning Wednesday. The White House said that tests would ship in between seven to 12 days.
Packages will be sent through USPS First Class mail in the continental U.S. and through Priority Mail in Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories.
Orders will be sent first to "households experiencing the highest social vulnerability and in communities that have experienced a disproportionate share of COVID-19 cases and deaths, particularly during this omicron surge."
The Biden Administration also added that it would launch a call line, where people without internet access will be able to place orders for free tests. The White House has not yet announced the number for that call line.
The White House says 500 million tests will be available once the website launches. Earlier this week, the Biden Administration said it had placed an order for another 500 million tests, which will be available later this year.
Posted at 9:32 AM, Jan 18, 2022
and last updated 10:20 AM, Jan 18, 2022A White House website that allows people to order free COVID-19 test kits directly to their homes appeared to be operational on Tuesday, a day ahead of its scheduled Wednesday launch date.
Visitors to COVIDtests.gov on Tuesday were able to click through to a USPS website and order four free rapid antigen test kits per household. The USPS website said the kits would ship in "late January."
According to a fact sheet released by the White House Friday, everyone in the continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories will be able to place an order through COVIDtests.gov beginning Wednesday. The White House said that tests would ship in between seven to 12 days.
Packages will be sent through USPS First Class mail in the continental U.S. and through Priority Mail in Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories.
Orders will be sent first to "households experiencing the highest social vulnerability and in communities that have experienced a disproportionate share of COVID-19 cases and deaths, particularly during this omicron surge."
The Biden Administration also added that it would launch a call line, where people without internet access will be able to place orders for free tests. The White House has not yet announced the number for that call line.
The White House says 500 million tests will be available once the website launches. Earlier this week, the Biden Administration said it had placed an order for another 500 million tests, which will be available later this year.
Pile Burning Beginning January 19
Fire crews are planning to conduct pile burning operations beginning January 19, as conditions allow. Locations include the Hetch Hetchy Entrance Station, Crane Flat, Merced Grove, and areas around Mariposa Grove; burning will likely continue over the next few weeks. Smoke may be present throughout burning operations and may linger into the following weeks as large logs are consumed.
Fire managers work closely with Park staff and local air pollution control districts to time burning operations to coincide with favorable weather and smoke dispersion conditions. Smoke impacts are always a consideration in the decision to begin any burning and operations will only be conducted under favorable conditions. Email [email protected] for more information. (N. Phillipe)
Fire crews are planning to conduct pile burning operations beginning January 19, as conditions allow. Locations include the Hetch Hetchy Entrance Station, Crane Flat, Merced Grove, and areas around Mariposa Grove; burning will likely continue over the next few weeks. Smoke may be present throughout burning operations and may linger into the following weeks as large logs are consumed.
Fire managers work closely with Park staff and local air pollution control districts to time burning operations to coincide with favorable weather and smoke dispersion conditions. Smoke impacts are always a consideration in the decision to begin any burning and operations will only be conducted under favorable conditions. Email [email protected] for more information. (N. Phillipe)
School Board Meeting on Zoom
Stacy Boydstun is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: YWECS school board meeting
Time: Jan 11, 2022 05:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/98499928906?pwd=UDBxQ1FLNDc0RWhDejFKSG9WdjhzUT09
Meeting ID: 984 9992 8906
Passcode: SBMeeting
Stacy Boydstun is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: YWECS school board meeting
Time: Jan 11, 2022 05:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/98499928906?pwd=UDBxQ1FLNDc0RWhDejFKSG9WdjhzUT09
Meeting ID: 984 9992 8906
Passcode: SBMeeting
YOSEMITE-WAWONA ELEMENTARY CHARTER SCHOOL
Board of Directors Regular Meeting
Tuesday, January 11, 2022
5:30 P.M.
Wawona Elementary School
7925 Chilnualna Falls Road
Wawona, CA
MONTHLY ITEMS AND FINANCIAL REPORTS
3.1- Approval of Agenda
3.2– Approval of Minutes of the regular meeting of December 14
3.3 - Approve Warrants/Payroll
3.4 – Accept Donations to YWECS
ACTION ITEMS
INFORMATION ITEMS
Accept Audit Report for the 20-21 year (?)
Board of Directors Regular Meeting
Tuesday, January 11, 2022
5:30 P.M.
Wawona Elementary School
7925 Chilnualna Falls Road
Wawona, CA
- CALL TO ORDER
- ROLL CALL
MONTHLY ITEMS AND FINANCIAL REPORTS
- CONSENT AGENDA
3.1- Approval of Agenda
3.2– Approval of Minutes of the regular meeting of December 14
3.3 - Approve Warrants/Payroll
3.4 – Accept Donations to YWECS
- HEARING OF PERSONS WISHING TO ADDRESS THE BOARD
ACTION ITEMS
- APPROVAL OF SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT CARD (SARC)
- APPROVE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU) WITH BASS LAKE SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION SUPPORT SERVICES.
INFORMATION ITEMS
- FIRST READING OF A DONATIONS POLICY FOR YWECS
- YWECS FUNDRAISER UPDATES
- STAFF REPORTS
- BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS
- FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
Accept Audit Report for the 20-21 year (?)
- NEXT BOARD MEETING
- ADJOURNMENT
