Staff Report

The Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District is restructuring its leadership team in order to strengthen leadership, provide greater accountability, and prepare the district for the important work ahead, the district announced in a statement released on Friday, Sept. 5.

Pending approval at the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District’s regularly scheduled board meeting on Sept. 9, the district will move from a combined principal/superintendent model with three assistant principals to a more balanced structure where Dr. Kimberly Sheehan will continue in her role as district superintendent, Victoria Martinez will be appointed to the role of principal, and Jasmine Day and Kelley Carter will continue in their current roles of assistant principals.

“This change reflects the district’s commitment to aligning with best practices in education as it prepares significant initiatives in the coming years,” the statement said. “With a dedicated principal in place, the district can more effectively address instructional leadership priorities and the continued expansion of educational program opportunities for students. At the same time, Superintendent Dr. Sheehan will have the capacity to focus on additional executive leadership responsibilities, including financial oversight, facilities planning, consortium management, charter authorization, accountability measures, and labor negotiations.

“The restructure also strengthens an important system of checks and balances. By separating the superintendent and principal roles, the district adds an additional layer of oversight and internal control. This change provides additional clarity for students, families, and staff.

The district also noted the change is essentially budget-neutral. The adjustment eliminates the need for payment of additional assistant principal work days and reallocates existing funds, including a reduction to the superintendent’s professional development stipend. In return, the district gains a leadership model that is more efficient, equitable, and sustainable.

Martinez has been a dedicated leader in the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District since 2019. Most recently, she has served as an assistant principal at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School, where she has coordinated and drafted master schedule development, overseen the Counseling Department and the Health & Wellness Center, provided oversight of WASC accreditation, and drafted the district’s LCAP. Prior to that, she served as the Refugio High School’s administrator and a teacher on special assignment, where she developed the district’s Independent Study and Online Learning programs. With a background in teaching English and communications, Martinez brings both classroom experience and extensive leadership expertise, all centered on her deep commitment to student success and community engagement.

“With Sheehan, Martinez, Day, and Carter leading the way, the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District is well-prepared to meet the challenges ahead while keeping student success at the heart of every decision,” the statement concluded.

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By Pamela Dozois

Contributing Writer

Happy Endings Animal Rescue Sanctuary is holding its annual “Rock for Horses” fundraiser at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13, at the sanctuary. The fundraiser is a ‘70s-themed evening, complete with peace signs, flower power galore, and live music by LiveWire. The evening also includes dinner, beer, wine, and a silent auction. The sanctuary is seeking auction items in support of this wonderful cause.
Happy Endings Animal Rescue Sanctuary was founded in 2007 by C.C. Beaudette-Wellman. It is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to educating children and saving animals’ lives. All profits go directly to the horses so that they may ensure the future of the Valley’s homeless, neglected, and abused horses. These horses are an integral part of their Horse Angels and education programs.
“Horse Angels focuses on engaging at-risk youth, especially those currently in the foster or welfare systems, with abused and neglected horses,” said Beaudette-Wellman. “We believe that children benefit from interacting with horses (and animals in general), and we feel that learning about compassion and empathy early in life can help build moral character, and self-esteem, reduce violence, and build a sense of responsibility and community. For horses with trust issues, we have found that children offer them gentle and happy interaction, which can, in turn, help these horses be more apt to accept people in general and become adoptable. All together, a mutual, beneficial bond is created.
“Coinciding with this program is a separate session that helps foster communication between Horse Angels’ youth and their families. One hundred percent of the participants we serve are low income. There is no cost for whoever wishes to attend any of our programs.”

The sanctuary also helps financially struggling seniors feed their horses.
“We have also expanded our rescue program this year to help seniors who are struggling financially feed their horses. We became aware that many of these folks will feed their horses before they buy their own food and medicine. That’s unacceptable!,” Beaudette-Wellman said. “They are good folks who love their horses like children, so we want to keep the ‘family’ together. These participants are carefully vetted before we accept them into our program.”

The sanctuary is eager to greet people at the fundraiser and always looking for help.
“We would be very honored for any assistance you could give these kids, seniors, and horses. We would also welcome the opportunity to have you come to our sanctuary for a visit and see for yourself the amazing understanding and love these horses are gifted with,” said Beaudette-Wellman. “We are so very grateful for your consideration and support of our big event and for your extreme generosity and commitment to our community.”
Tickets for the Rock for Horses fundraiser are $95. Reserve your spot by calling (805) 448-7138.
Happy Endings Animal Rescue Sanctuary is at 1326 Dove Meadow Road in Solvang. If you cannot attend but would like to donate, or for more information about the organization and the many programs Happy Endings offers, visit www.HappyEndingsAnimalRescueSanctuary.org.
To donate auction items, please call (805) 448-7138 or email happyendingssanctuary@gmail.com

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Every high school football coach has to deal with roster turnover from year to year — you know, with the pesky reality that every player is going to move on eventually, most because of graduation.

It’s something that Santa Ynez High football head coach Josh McClurg deals with every year, but this year it’s pretty steep: Thirty-three seniors have moved on from last year’s Pirates team that finished 1-3 in the Sunset League and 4-8 overall, but did gain the Pirates’ first postseason victory in over a decade.

However, McClurg isn’t lacking any confidence as Santa Ynez gets ready for its season opener this Friday, Aug. 22, when the Pirates travel to Goleta to take on Dos Pueblos. After all, there’s alway reinforcements coming.

“Yes, we got hit by graduation, but I think we’re looking good,” McClurg said at a recent practice. “We’re two-deep at most positions, and I think we’re well-stocked at middle linebacker and defensive line.”

Of course, it doesn’t hurt when you have last year’s Sunset League Offensive Player of the Year, quarterback Jude Pritchard, back for one more season. In 2024, Pritchard passes for 1,661 years and 12 touchdowns for the Pirates, and also led the team with 513 yards rushing.

“Jude looks the best he’s ever looked back there,” McClurg said. “This is his third year starting and he seems very comfortable. I’m excited to see what he can do this year.”

Pritchard should benefit by some decent weapons in the receiving corps, senior WR Mason Skidmore had 28 catches last year, good for second-most on the team, for 357 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, senior Diego Pulido will return after being the Pirates’ Swiss army knife. Despite being hampered by an injury for most of the season, he was able to help SYHS at wide receiver, defensive back, and as kicker.

In the offensive backfield, returning seniors Greyson Foy and Levi Snow, two of the Pirates’ captains this year along with Pritchard and senior lineman Kaj Kretzschmer, are expected to pick up most of the carries though juniors Austin Willis and Cael DeForest could also make their mark.

“We lost a lot of seniors, but we have whole lot of talent,” Foy said. “I’m looking forward to playing a lot, at running back, linebacker, and maybe even kick returner.”

On the offensive line the Pirates got some beef, as Joey Duarte (6’3”, 290), Deagan Johnson (6’1”, 290), Javier Nungaray (6’1”, 285), and Vincente Perez (6’1”, 275) anchor the group.

“I really like what he have on the line,” Johnson said. “There are some big guys for people to deal with, and we’re becoming a real tight group.

On defense, many of the offensive group will be playing both ways; Johnson is looking forward to seeing some time at noseguard, while Jaxon Glover, who had four sacks last year, will play some at defensive end, and Pulido looks to excel at free safety.

Although the Pirates start the season on the road, they will have a bonus this year: an extra home game.

Santa Ynez was scheduled to play at Lompoc for its second game on Aug. 29, but an extensive revamp of the lighting systems at LHS’s Huyck Stadium means that Lompoc and Cabrillo will have to play their home games during the daytime this year.

However, according to McClurg, who’s also the athletic director at SYHS, Lompoc wanted to play the Pirates under the lights and offered to come to Rio Memorial Field for what’s usually a well-attended.

“They called and said, ‘hey this needs to be under the Friday Night Lights,’” McClurg said. “So we said ‘sure.’ Truth is, it’s not as huge a home-field advantage as you might think: Lompoc always travels well and they’ll be here in droves. It should make it a very exciting atmosphere.”

Elsewhere on the schedule, Santa Ynez will have its Homecoming game on Sept. 26 against Santa Maria. Other nights of note include Sept. 19 against Nipomo, when the newest members of the SYHS Wall of Honor are recognized; the Go Pink game Oct. 3 against Atascadero, and Senior Night (which is also Halloween night) Oct. 31 against Righetti. All home games will start at 7 p.m. at Rio Memorial Field.

2025 SANTA YNEZ FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Friday, Aug. 22 at Dos Pueblos

Friday, Aug. 29 LOMPOC

Friday, Sept. 5 SAN MARCOS

Friday, Sept. 12 Mission Prep at Cal Poly

Friday, Sept. 19 NIPOMO

Friday, Sept. 26 SANTA MARIA (Homecoming)

Friday, Oct. 3 ATASCADERO

Friday, Oct. 17 at Pioneer Valley

Friday, Oct. 24 at San Luis Obispo

Friday, Oct. 31 RIGHETTI

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For the third time this year, local demonstrators lined up in front of the Solvang Veterans Memorial Building on Saturday, Aug. 16, to protest the policies of President Donald Trump. The latest demonstration, was titled “Protect Our Checks,” amid concerns that the president’s policies will threaten Social Security.

Worries about the federal program came after recemt comments made by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who called a new Trump initiative a “backdoor for privatizing Social Security.” Bessent later clarified his statement in a social media post and said the Trump Administration is “committed to protecting Social Security and to making sure seniors have more money.”

On Thursday, Aug. 14, Trump signed a proclamation honoring the 90th anniversary of Social Security, and siad he said he will honor his “sacred promise” made on the campaign trail to protect the program.

The Solvang rally, as well as many across the country, including ones in Santa Barbara and Lompoc, was held on Aug. 16 because it was two days after the 90th anniversary of the Social Security legislation being signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The local protest was organized in part by Indivisible SYV, a local political action group.

Crowds stood along the sidewalk in front of the Veterans Building on Mission Drive (a few on the other side of the street) with signs with slogans like “Make America Think Again,” “Democracy Not Dicktators,” and “Crybaby-in-Chief” while some motorists passing by honked their support. While Social Security was the catalyst for this particular protest, demonstrators also had other issues in mind.

“This is happening because we just had the anniversary of FDR signing Social Security into law,” said protester Donna Small. “But we also have our issues with the ICE immigration raids and the redistricting in Texas. We need to keep people aware of what’s going on.”

Also at the protest, leading the crowd in chants via his bullhorn was Benjamin Vizzachero, who had a personal reason for attending the rally.

“I got fired by the Trump administration after the budget cuts,” Vizzachero said. “I got involved with the group [Indivisible SYV] and I thought it needed a little more energy.”

One part-time local resident who wasn’t at the Solvang rally, has been a booming voice in support of Democratic Party causes.

Jon Bauman, who has a home in the Santa Ynez Valley, is the president of a national political action committee called Social Security Works, which advocates for protecting and expanding Social Security, and is also a member of the steering committee of Indivisible SYV, a local branch of the national organization that has established itself as one of the key groups resisting the current administration’s policies.

However, many remember Bauman by his nickname “Bowzer,” and his standing as one of the lead singers for the popular group Sha Na Na in the 1970s and ‘80s, a deep-voiced, musclebound, slicked-back-hair crooner who could belt out the band’s trademark ‘50s doo-wop sounds with the best of them at concerts and during the group’s weekly TV show.

These days he’s still using his booming voice to work up a crowd, but this time mostly with the help of a bullhorn at rallies protesting many of the Trump administration’s severe budget cuts, federal worker layoffs and harsh immigration policies. Small said Bauman was taking part in the Protect Your Checks protest in Bakersfield that day.

The theme of the Aug. 16 rallies is one that’s particularly close to Bauman’s heart. Since his Sha Na Na days, he’s become a nationally known expert on Social Security legislation and an advocate for a variety of senior issues. It has been widely publicized that if no changes are made in Social Security funding, benefits may have to be cut by as soon as 2034. Recent statements from Trump’s Secretary of the Treasury have made Bauman even more worried about the future of Social Security.

“Treasury Secretary (Scott) Bessent really did say the quiet part out loud the other day when he said ‘Oh, this is a backdoor way of privatizing Social Security,’” Bauman said in a press release before that protests, referring to the $1,000 ‘Trump Accounts’ for newborns that are envisioned in what Bauman calls the “Big Ugly Budget Bill” that Congress passed in July.

To Bauman, the Protect Our Checks rallies was provide a way for people to support not only the future of Social Security, but other threatened programs that are critical to seniors, including Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.

“The biggest line of attack are the DOGE cuts,” Bauman said, referring to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, which has slashed the number of  Social Security employees by 7,000, or more than ten percent. “They’re trying to destroy the Social Security Administration so that it doesn’t function. And then they’ll say ‘Oh, see this whole program doesn’t work … we’ll have to give it over to Wall Street and they’ll make it work.’”

Back at the Solvang rally, protester Mike Brady, who is a 50-year resident of the city, said he was speaking out for Social Security, but his reason for being there was much broader.

“I’m here because I belive in democracy,” he said. “Our constitution is being taken away, and if we let it, there’s nothing left but a dictator. Do we want that? I say no.”

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The owner of the Farmhouse Motel on Avenue of Flags objected to the Buellton City Council’s attempt to remove his business’ standing as a housing unit, as the council introduced a first reading of a proposed update that would limit hotel rooms to just short-term rentals, during the council’s regular meeting on Thursday, Aug. 14.

The council put the public hearing, Resolution 25-06, on the agenda to eventually prohibit hotels rooms from being long-term rentals, or single-room occupancies (SROs). Farmhouse Motel was one of the lodging establishment that eventually became residential units for low-income individuals that the city believes does not fit in with the planned redevelopment of the Avenue of Flags corridor. The city also desires hotels on that street that will bring in more Transient Occupancy Tax (TOR).

However, due to the state of California designating the motel as a low-income residence, the city would have to arrange alternate housing for any displaced residents to move into.

During Public Comment on the item, Kerry Moriarty, owner of the Farmhouse Motel, protested the proposal to take away his business’ designation for long-term residence, believing his motel is being singled out.

“My property is really the only one that’s affected by this proposal,” said Moriarty, who noted that the nearby Red Rose Court was deterimined to be exempt from the ordinance, and the San Marcos Hotel, which only rents long-term to “three or four” tenants.

“I’ve had this property for 20 years; I’ve operated it as an apartment building, I’ve got a mortgage on it underwritten as an apartment building,” he said. “If it goes back to being a motel, guess what happens to that mortgage — I go in default.”

“I don’t know how you’re even considering this with the state mandate on affordable housing,” he continued. “My property is what the state mandate is trying to preserve.”

Later on, one of Moriarty’s tenants spoke on behalf of the owner.

“I’ve been a Farm House resident 14 years, disabled 15 years ago and this is the only place I can afford,” said the man, who did not give his name. “It just doesn’t seem right, it’s a nice place .Cary keeps it up nice. With the homeless problems in that state, to take our home away from us, I don’t understand.”

When it went to council, it was pointed out that this was just a first reading, and wouldn’t have a chance to pass until the next council meeting on Sept. 11.

Vice Mayor Elysia Lewis said she was uncomfortable with the Dec. 31 deadline for residents of the Farmhouse to move out, citing the probable cold weather at the time. Councilmember Hudson Hornick thought the deadlines were too tight also, while John Sanchez (who incidentally was on remote from Nottingham, England), suggested the Farmhouse could get an extension and noted that his son had stayed there at one point.

Ultimately, council moved to approve first reading, but with the ameneded dates of April 1, 2026 (instead of Dec. 31), to vacate the motel, and Oct. 31, 2026 (instead of June 30, 2026) to be moved into other affordable housing. The motion passed 3-1 with Sanchez dissenting.

In other business:

The City Council approved a $48,800 outlay to the upcoming Buellton Theatre Project, a 14-week theatre arts program that will culminate in a performance of the Broadway musical “Annie.”

City Manager Scott Wolfe introduced the item because the original choice, Allison Firey of Buellton Parks and Rec, will be a volunteer on the project and recused herself. In fact, it was Firey who made the presentation to council, noting that her love of performing was inspired by being in a production of “Annie” as a child. Council passed the item 4-0, with Hornick calling the proposal “awesome.”

After the approval last month of Hundred Hills School operating on the Willemsen site by the library for up to five years, council discussed initiating the process of investigating possible uses for the Dairyland Road parcels once the school finds another permanent location in Buellton and leave it temporary site. If approved the council would then appoint two members of council to appoint an ad hoc committee to lead the effort.

While three of the councilmembers backed the idea, Sanchez opposed it, citing animosity in the debate over the school’s location, and said they should let the school settle in at the site before thinking about a replacement. “Let the school have its time there. Put it off for a year,” he said.

However, Lewis believed that with the complaints during the HHS debate about the lack of transparency and notification on the proposal, the council needs engage with the public early. “Getting ahead of future project, being proactive would benefit city more,” she said. “Also it would be a show of faith to public.”

Interestingly, when the council decided there was a consensus to go forward with the committee, Sanchez immediately volunteered to serve on the committee. However, Wolfe believed that the Distict 1 representative, Hornick, should serve along with Mayor Silva. Silva and Hornick agreed and were voted as the ad hoc committee by a 3-1 vote, Sanchez dissenting.

The City Council will not meeting on the next scheduled Thursday, Aug. 28, and will return to session on Thursday, Sept. 11.

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The Solvang City Council culminated a busy Monday, Aug. 11, regular meeting by directing staff to draft a new ordinance focused on short-term rentals (STRs) in the city in an effort to limiting them to the Village Mixed-Use zone. The council on this evening was just four members, with Councilmember Claudia Orona absent.

During the meeting, the council also voted to change how the city handles retirement benefits, discussed plans for the upcoming Julefest Christmas celebration and next year’s Wine County Half-Marathon.

Back in March, the City Council had directed city staff to begin revisions to the City’s short-term rental (also known as vacation rental) ordinance, which would include a framework of an ordinance for further input from the City Council and residents.

Planning Development Director Rafael Castillo in giving his report, said the main objective of the ordinance is determining where the rental (which by definition are homes where people reside for 30 days or less) was where the council would allow the STRs in the city.

Currently, the areas in the city zoned for STRs are the Village Mixed-Use Area (VMA), and some lots in the R-3 zone of the city, along Copenhagen Drive, east of Fifth Street. Castillo said staff recommend that the STRs be limited to the Village Mixed-Use Area only.

Residents who spoke in Public Comment agreed the STRs should be kept in the VMU area. Dennis Beebe said the council needs to make the VMU boundaries “explicitly defined,” along with the limits for STRs. C.J. Jackson and Aaron Peterson reiterated their views that city’s should not allow STRs in residential areas. “Have a nice neighborhood and put in transient people is not something we should not consider,” Peterson said. “Hotels basically are vacation rentals.”

Although the council was on board with limiting the rentals to the VMU area, Councilmember Elizabeth Orona did remind her colleagues of the importance of tourists and visitors, including those using STRs, to the city’s economy, and wondered if there could be a way to allow them outside the VMU with further conditions like caps, allowed usage, and a minimum distance betweens STRs.

However, Councilmember Mark Infanti said his problem was with the “outside the VMU part of that,” and Mayor David Brown agreed the rentals should be focused within the VMU.

“I’m not sure the juice is worth the squeeze — doing the entire city,” Brown said. “If we can limit it to Village we’ll be OK, outside that, there would be lots of problems.”

Castillo then suggested the compromise of limiting STRs outside the VMU to “homestays” where the property owner would have to be present, Mayor David Brown also favored limiting them downtown.

Castillo and staff were directed to draft an ordinance limiting the STRs to the VMU, but adding the possiblity of allowing the homestays outside the VMU and listing the conditions of them. Castillo said the draft could be presented at the next meeting in September.

In other business:

The council voted 4-0 to move its city employees retirement plan from the management of CalPERS to that of the Public Agencies Post-Employment Benefits Trust administered by Public Agency Retirement Services (PARS).

Administrative services director Wendy Berry introduced Rachel Sanders from PARS to make a presentation on the program to the council. Sanders said benefits of the program would be complete local control over assets, pension rates stabilization, establishment of a “Rainy Day Fund,” and more diversification

The plan would see the city’s retirement fund go into two “buckets” — a Pension bucket and Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) bucket —, require a plan adminstrator, and would be subject to annual reviews or more frequents reviews, if desired. It also gives the city the option of active and passive approaches to investments within the plan.

The council approved the item, along with an add-on to add language that council will select strategy and annually review the strategy.

Solvang Marketing and Events Coordinator Candice Libera addressed the council on two discussion items, one regarding plans for this year’s Julefest Celebration in December, and next May’s Wine Country Half Marathon.

She first spoke on the half-marathon, which has run in Solvang every Mother’s Day weekend since 2008, and draws approximately 2,500 participants plus their friends and families, Libera said. However, she also said that there were complaints about restricted access to businesses with the race’s finish line on Copenhagen Drive, as well as concerns about litter and damage to the grass at Solvang Park, where the post-race gathering is held. Libera said that changes would be made to the race course, placing the finish line at a new location that wouldn’t inhibit access to merchants, and measures would be taken to mitigate the litter and placement of equipment at the park to protect the grass.

She also said advertising and promotional materials would more prominently feature the Solvang name, another point of contention.

For the Julefest, Libera said that the city was close to a deal to bring in snow at some point during the monthlong celebration, and with consideration for traffic and safety on Copenhagen Drive, the street would be closed to vehicles between Alisal Road and 1st Street for the entire Julefest and the light diplay at Solvang Park would be expanded.

Libera said options to address parking concerns were being looked at, including the opening of Lot 72 east of Alisal Road for additional parking.

The City Council will take a scheduled break, with no meeting on Aug. 25, and will next meet on Monday, Sept. 8.

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By Mike Chaldu

michael@santaynezvalleystar.com

August is a time of bustling activity on our local schools’ campuses: Students coming back to classes, seeing old friends, getting started on extracurricular activities. And, of course, it means late summer practices on the turf in anticipation of playing the season for the Santa Ynez High varsity football teams.

Wait, did you say teams? As in plural?

That’s right! Because in addition to the traditional football season played by the male students, the females will also have their time on the gridiron as the Pirates field their first girls flag football team this year.

Eighteen girls came out for the school’s inaugural campaign, which begins Tuesday, Aug. 26, with a game at Dos Pueblos in Goleta. After another road game at Paso Robles on Thursday, Sept. 4, and tournaments at Pioneer Valley (Sept. 6) and Lompoc (Sept. 13), the Pirates will have their home debut on Tuesday, Sept. 16, against Lompoc.

The team will be led by co-head coaches Maddie Quiroga and Hannah Wright, who also coach the junior varsity girls basketball team. The two established their own legacies while at SYHS: Quiroga, a 2014 graduate of SYHS, was the captain of the varsity girls basketball team her junior and senior year, and also broke the school record for 3-point shots in a game and points in a season. Wright, then known as Hannah Cantrell, graduated in 2015, and was a captain of the girls volleyball and basketball teams before playing volleyball at Santa Barbara City College and eventually graduating from UCSB.

“We’re so appreciative of being trusted with this new program,” Wright said during a recent practice. “It’s going to be hard work, but it’s exciting — we don’t know what’s coming, it’s a big unknown.”

Quiroga echoed her colleague’s thoughts.

“It’s a huge deal to launch this program and we’re honored to do it,” she said. “It’s great to give back to the school we went to.”

While Wright and Quiroga didn’t get the chance to play football while they were at SYHS, their families have a history with the sport, and with SYHS in general. Wright is the daughter of Rob Cantrell, the Pirates girls soccer coach, and her brother Austin Cantrell played football for SYHS for four years, and her cousin Brennan Swanson played for the Pirates in the ‘90s and eventually had a short stint with the San Francisco 49ers.

Meanwhile, Maggie’s late father MIke Quiroga was a standout was a standout in four sports (basketball, football, baseball, and tennis, during his time as a Pirate. She also is sister to Ashley Quiroga, a standout in basketball, and niece to David and Lydia Quiroda, who were also athletic standouts at SYHS.

“I think there are a lot of things from other sports that we can translate over for football,” Wright said. “Plus, my husband is a huge football fan, so I watch the games with him, and I’ve even gotten into fantasy football,” she said laughing.

The football bloodline doesn’t stop at the coaching staff: Pirates junior Campbell McClurg is the niece of head football coach and SYHS Athletic Director Josh McClurg, while players like Leighton Casey and Ella Gotschall are names that have been found on the boys football roster in past years.

But the girls are thrilled to make their own legacy as trailblazers in a new sport.

“We knew in the middle of the last school year that this was probably going to happen,” Casey said. “I played basketball for Coach Quiroga and Coach Wright so I was clued in on it pretty early, and when they asked me about it, I told them I’d do it.”

“I don’t think we’ll have too much trouble learning this, because we played Powder Puff football and it’s been a good crutch to lean on, so I think we’ve got a head start””,” McClurg said.

The game will have some differences from the boys game, most notable of which is the lack of contact. As indicated by the sport’s name, a ballcarrier is down when a defender takes the flag off her belt, and blocking with any contact in prohibited — you can try to impede a defender’s effort to get to the quarterback, but you can’t touch her.

“If you want to try and keep a defender away, you need to do it like a screen in basketball,” Wright said. “So that’s familiar to us.”

Also, the field is 80 yards, split into four 20-yard zones. There are no yard markers, so the midpoint 40-yard line and each 20-yard line are each known as the “line to gain,” meaning the offensive team must get past that line to keep possession. And, every player other than the quarterback (or “passer”) is an eligible receiver when the ball is snapped.

Helping out Quiroga and Wright with the game plan is Allen Pinoli, the current track head coach who is also on the boys football staff and is considered the offensive coordinator for the girls team.

“Josh (McClurg) saw this was going to happen, so he asked me if I would step in and oversee the offense, and I was happy to do so,” Pinoli said. “I’ve actually coached my son in flag football when he was young, so I’m pretty familiar with this.”

Pinoli has been very impressed with the girls’ progress so far.

“They’re showing the things they’ve leared on a daily basis; they’re really stepping up,” he said. “The positions are being filled by girls who are showing interest in what they do. It’s really filling out nicely — I think they’ll be fine.”

The addition of Santa Ynez gives the Central Coast eight girls flag football teams this year. League opponents for the Pirates will be Lompoc (coached by former SYHS Athletic Director Ashley Coehlo), Santa Maria, Righetti, Cabrillo, Pioneer Valley, and San Luis Obispo.

Those on the roster for the Pirates include (asterisks for team captain): Isabella Rubio*, Leighton Casey*, Presley Pinoli*, Myah Dunn*, Regina Guerrero, Skyla Oslin, Angela Guerrero, Campbell McClurg, Ella Gotschall, Maleah Knightley, Lylah Rueff, Chelsea Stepien, Karely Vasquez, Danaka Cantrell, Anna Carpenter, Lucianna Chavez, Alexandra Herrera, and Chanel Batastini.

All of whom, no doubt, are looking forward to the beginning of the season.

“I’m just super-excited to get the season started,” Casey said. “We’re making history.”

2025 SYHS GIRLS FLAG FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Tuesday, Aug. 26, at Dos Pueblos                      

Thursday, Sept. 4, at Paso Robles (Parish Field)

Saturday, Sept. 6, Pioneer Valley Tournament

Saturday, Sept. 13, Lompoc Tournament

Tuesday, Sept. 16, LOMPOC*

Monday, Sept. 22, Madera South at Lompoc HS

Thursday, Sept. 25, at Santa Maria*

Tuesday, Sept. 30, RIGHETTI*

Tuesday, Oct. 7, CABRILLO*

Thursday, Oct. 16, at Pioneer Valley*

Tuesday, Oct. 21, SAN LUIS OBISPO*

The post Are you ready for some (girls) football at Santa Ynez? appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

By Mike Chaldu

michael@santaynezvalleystar.com

Every high school football coach has to deal with roster turnover from year to year — you know, with the pesky reality that every player is going to move on eventually, most because of graduation.

It’s something that Santa Ynez High football head coach Josh McClurg deals with every year, but this year it’s pretty steep: Thirty-three seniors have moved on from last year’s Pirates team that finished 1-3 in the Sunset League and 4-8 overall, but did gain the Pirates’ first postseason victory in over a decade.

However, McClurg isn’t lacking any confidence as Santa Ynez gets ready for its season opener this Friday, Aug. 22, when the Pirates travel to Goleta to take on Dos Pueblos. After all, there’s alway reinforcements coming.

“Yes, we got hit by graduation, but I think we’re looking good,” McClurg said at a recent practice. “We’re two-deep at most positions, and I think we’re well-stocked at middle linebacker and defensive line.”

Of course, it doesn’t hurt when you have last year’s Sunset League Offensive Player of the Year, quarterback Jude Pritchard, back for one more season. In 2024, Pritchard passes for 1,661 years and 12 touchdowns for the Pirates, and also led the team with 513 yards rushing.

“Jude looks the best he’s ever looked back there,” McClurg said. “This is his third year starting and he seems very comfortable. I’m excited to see what he can do this year.”

Pritchard should benefit by some decent weapons in the receiving corps, senior WR Mason Skidmore had 28 catches last year, good for second-most on the team, for 357 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, senior Diego Pulido will return after being the Pirates’ Swiss army knife. Despite being hampered by an injury for most of the season, he was able to help SYHS at wide receiver, defensive back, and as kicker.

In the offensive backfield, returning seniors Greyson Foy and Levi Snow, two of the Pirates’ captains this year along with Pritchard and senior lineman Kaj Kretzschmer, are expected to pick up most of the carries though juniors Austin Willis and Cael DeForest could also make their mark.

“We lost a lot of seniors, but we have whole lot of talent,” Foy said. “I’m looking forward to playing a lot, at running back, linebacker, and maybe even kick returner.”

On the offensive line the Pirates got some beef, as Joey Duarte (6’3”, 290), Deagan Johnson (6’1”, 290), Javier Nungaray (6’1”, 285), and Vincente Perez (6’1”, 275) anchor the group.

“I really like what he have on the line,” Johnson said. “There are some big guys for people to deal with, and we’re becoming a real tight group.

On defense, many of the offensive group will be playing both ways; Johnson is looking forward to seeing some time at noseguard, while Jaxon Glover, who had four sacks last year, will play some at defensive end, and Pulido looks to excel at free safety.

Although the Pirates start the season on the road, they will have a bonus this year: an extra home game.

Santa Ynez was scheduled to play at Lompoc for its second game on Aug. 29, but an extensive revamp of the lighting systems at LHS’s Huyck Stadium means that Lompoc and Cabrillo will have to play their home games during the daytime this year.

However, according to McClurg, who’s also the athletic director at SYHS, Lompoc wanted to play the Pirates under the lights and offered to come to Rio Memorial Field for what’s usually a well-attended.

“They called and said, ‘hey this needs to be under the Friday Night Lights,’” McClurg said. “So we said ‘sure.’ Truth is, it’s not as huge a home-field advantage as you might think: Lompoc always travels well and they’ll be here in droves. It should make it a very exciting atmosphere.”

Elsewhere on the schedule, Santa Ynez will have its Homecoming game on Sept. 26 against Santa Maria. Other nights of note include Sept. 19 against Nipomo, when the newest members of the SYHS Wall of Honor are recognized; the Go Pink game Oct. 3 against Atascadero, and Senior Night (which is also Halloween night) Oct. 31 against Righetti. All home games will start at 7 p.m. at Rio Memorial Field.

2025 SANTA YNEZ FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Friday, Aug. 22 at Dos Pueblos

Friday, Aug. 29 LOMPOC

Friday, Sept. 5 SAN MARCOS

Friday, Sept. 12 Mission Prep at Cal Poly

Friday, Sept. 19 NIPOMO

Friday, Sept. 26 SANTA MARIA (Homecoming)

Friday, Oct. 3 ATASCADERO

Friday, Oct. 17 at Pioneer Valley

Friday, Oct. 24 at San Luis Obispo

Friday, Oct. 31 RIGHETTI

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It was a picturesque, sunny day in the Santa Ynez Valley on Saturday, July 26, warm, but not too hot, and the perfect day to hold a barbecue. Well, the Valley got two notable ones on this day.

At River View Park, the City of Buellton held its 23rd annual BBQ Bonanza, where all of the city’s residents were invited for a free barbecue lunch and many fun activities to go with it. Meanwhile, later that day in Los Olivos, just past the point where Alamo Pintado Road becomes Santa Barbara Avenue, the Women Winemakers and Culinarians Foundation gave some of the men a chance to show their grilling skills at the inaugural BroBBQ.

The Buellton BBQ Bonanza was started in Buellton more than two decades ago by the city’s Parks and Rec Department to thank the residents of Buellton for their support in making the city a great place to live, and has become a summertime staple in town.

“It’s been a good day today,” said Buellton Parks and Rec Director Paul Smith. “I got to meet a lot of new families, and we’ve been able to get in a lot of activities and entertainment that has just run the gamut of fun things to do.”

Along with the delicious barbecue food being served up, the event also offered plenty of fun things, like blowup waterslides for the kids, games and activities, and even a karaoke machine at one of the booths.

“We even had an Elvis impersonator come in earlier, and he sung the entire ‘Trilogy’ of songs he’s famous for,” Smith said.

Another successful Bonanza came and went, and another one will be planned next summer.

Meanwhile, a little later that afternoon on a property off Santa Barbara Avenue in Los Olivos, the Women’s Winemaker and Culinarians Foundation, a nonprofit whose mission is “to empower and support female winemakers and culinarians by fostering a community that champions their craft, creativity, and leadership,” according to the group’s website, put some of the men on the grills for the first-ever BroBBQ.

According to the organization’s Karen Steinwachs, the BroBBQ came about inadvertently due to some complaints about the food at the group’s fundraiser in March.

“We had our big fundraising event where our female chefs displayed their cooking skills, and it was vegan and gluten- and sugar-fee cookout,” Steinwachs said. “Anyway, some of the menfolk came around asking why there wasn’t any meat dishes, and we said ‘Well, if you want some meat cooked so bad organize other barbecue and cook it yourself, and we put the event together.”

Brooke Stockwell, a former Valley chef who recently moved to the Bay Area, came back down to organize the roster of male cooks, dubbed the “GrillMeisters.”

“I was sort of the wrangler of the cooks, and I’m still doing it. We’re all enjoying our wine and conversation and I’m trying to get them to start cooking,” Stockwell said with a laugh.

The team of GrillMeisters are considered locally famous for their barbecuing skills, according to Steinwachs.  Don Layton, Rafik Tadros, Nate “Tater” Stricker, Loren Tarquinio, Mike Mesikip, Dan Dominquez, Ryan Layton, and Randy Jones were out grilling sausages, elk tips, ribs, tri-tip, tofu (!), brisket, lamb lollipops, artichokes, seasonal veggies, and sides! And while savoring the aroma of the different grills, attendees got to sample a number of wines.

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For the second time within a month, opponents and proponents of the proposed expressed their views on the potential Hundred Hills School (HHS), a Waldorf-inspired private school, to be temporarily placed on three parcels on the city-owned Willemsen property, this time to the Buellton City Council in its five-hour meeting Thursday, July 24, meeting.

After hearing the arguments, both pro and con, for the school founded by husband-and-wife Sundeep Chanana and Whitney Stevenson, the council voted 3-1 to approve the Conditional Use Permit allows the private educational facility to be established on four parcels next to the Buellton Library on Dairyland Road. The decision overturned the 2-2 vote at the Buellton Planning Commission meeting on July 3, which was technically a denial of the CUP.

After that decision, the council unanimously agreed to approve a license agreement for HHS to operate on the property for up to five years, with a fair-market value compensation of $1,750 per month, to give the school time to find a permanent location in Buellton.

Buellton Planning Director Andrea Kiefer started off the presentation by describing the school that would come to the neighborhood: It would be a Waldorf-inspired school serving preschool through the fourth grade. The campus, on the topmost portion of the Willemsen Property at 202, 208, 212, and 218 Dairyland Road, would consist of four classrooms, one administration building, and one restroom, all of the California Roundhouse building style, more commonly know as “yurts.”

The school’s founders spoke on their proposed school, with Montgomery starting off calling HHS a project “small in size, but enormous in possibility.”

Alluding to the opposition that been stated against the school and the founders, Stevenson told her story as someone who was raised in Buellton and went to numerous local schools, and said that heirs of the Wilhelmsen family that used to own the land approve of the plans.

“My husband and I were lucky to be exposed to an approach to education that deeply resonates with us,” Stevenson said. “Now we’re in a place where we can help bring it home to share it with the place that raised me. I just ask that we pause and consider what tonight means to this town.”

After that, Stevenson’s husband Sundeep Chanana spoke about the project, and listed a number of reasons why he felt the project would benefit Buellton: It would keep the land away from developers who wish to build high-density projects, it would allow the city to collect rent and fees for the property, it would give local families another school option, and it would help the “preschool crisis” for a town that has just one preschool.

“I can’t think of a single reason to vote anti-school,” Chanana said.

During a long public comment session, that saw 55 people speak on the project, many found reasons against the project, with pretty much all indicating that while they didn’t have problems with the school per se, they did not like it being proposed for the parcels on Dairyland Road next to the library.

As in the Planning Commission meeting, most of the objections came from residents of the surrounding neighborhood who believed there would be a negative impact with traffic and noise because of the school. Others did not like the idea of city-owned land being used for a private school. Others were concerned that some of the trees would be removed (although Chanana stated earlier that would not be the case), and residents would lose the use of the green area on the site.

An informal count of the 55 people who spoke found 34 that opposed the project.

Some of those who spoke in favor of HHS noted the lack of options for students in early education, most notably preschool, while others praised other Waldorf schools and said it would be a great experience for Buellton children. Some said they had to drive their kids to a Waldorf school in Santa Barbara and would appreciate being able to go to the same kind of school in Buellton.

When the item came back to council, Councilmember Hudson Hornick agreed with arguments on both sides, saying he felt the school would be a huge benefit, but also believed its proposed for the wrong site. However, he said he would support it, noting the site would be temporary and that he hoped “the open space would return.”

“It’s important we guide city in positive direction, and the Waldorf school is part of that,” he said. “The preschool is very important in this, we need more locations.”

Councilmember John Sanchez said he also supported the project, downplaying the complaints about traffic.

“I don’t see the additional trips as a deterrent; there will always be traffic,” he said. “It would be an honor to have a Waldorf school. I don’t see the problem.”

Vice Mayor Elysia Lewis said supported the school for the same reasons Hornick did, although she agreed the location was not a good one. She also thanked the public speakers for their decorum during comment.

Mayor David Silva said his decision on this is “the most torn I’ve ever felt,” and admitted that he was a bit detached on the subject because he doesn’t have kids.

“I sat through experience of people living next to site concerned about it,” he said. “I’ve struggled with it. Hard to make decision you aren’t impacted by, and you’re against. This is one subject where there hasn’t been neutrality, either you’re for it or against it.”

Lewis moved to approve the resolution overturning the Planning Commission decision and OK the Dairyland Road site for the school, with Hornick seconding, and the motion passed 3-1, with Silva dissenting.

The City Council will next meet on Thursday, Aug. 14, at 6 p.m.

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