Show: Insight Station: KNCO File: 10:21.mp3 Air date: 2026-10-21 Source: OpenAI whisper-1 · shrunk from 98.6 MB to 12.3 MB --- transcript --- Welcome to KNCO Insight, Nevada County Action, KNCO's local issue talk show. This is your chance to gain insight into issues affecting Nevada County. Be a part of the show. Call with your questions or comments. The number, 477-5626, that's 477-KNCO. The opinions expressed are those of the hosts and callers and do not reflect the opinions of the advertiser, staff, or ownership of Nevada County Broadcasters. Now here is your host, Tom Fitzsimmons. Okay, NC News time, just about 907, 61 degrees and clouds out there. We have had some rain overnight. At least the puddles were there when we came to work, I don't know if it was sprinkler that went awry or what, but it really hasn't done much since. But rain is in the forecast, so be prepared if you have stuff outside that needs to be covered up, get to it, and just have a day or two of this before the sun breaks back out. It's supposed to be a very nice weekend and such. It was amazing how great the weather was for fall break for the kids, it was almost summer like at times. A guy that arranges that, a lot of people don't understand that the calendar is set, the superintendent is kind of in charge of the calendar, but also the weather during fall break. So Dan Frisella, great job. Thank you, yeah, it's one of my primary responsibilities this fall. It really is. That is such a rite of passage, isn't it, the way the fall break has developed, that it is an important thing for families and for the staff. Very important thing, basically a sacred cow here in Nevada County, comes up sometimes when we talk calendars and building the next year's calendar, but nobody is going to touch that one for quite a long time it seems. Now did you have a chance to do anything during fall break? I did not actually this year. My middle son plays football at Nevada Union High School, so they practice every day and a game on Friday, so nowhere really to go. My wife won't travel without the whole clan, so I was home taking care of yard work and resting up, licking my wounds, and getting ready for the rest of the fall semester. There you go, fair enough. All right, Becky Browning is here, last time I saw Becky was trades day at the Nevada County Fair. Becky, how are you doing? Good morning, I'm doing well. Oh wait a minute, I have to get your, you're on a separate thing, okay go ahead. Good morning, I'm doing well, thank you. It's great having you here. You know, we even have Becky Browning liners, I don't know if you know that, in the radio station. Yeah, back in my Lyman Gilmore days with my musical theater students, we had some one-liners that I did with the kids, and it was pretty fun. You're like a star, you're like high profile and stuff. Yeah, pops up once in a while when we're listening, so it's pretty fun. Great having you here, we're going to be talking CTE programs and stuff. Can you tell our listeners your role with CTE? Yeah, I just recently took over the new director of CTE and state and federal funding at the district, and I'm very excited about that. I hear you replaced the guy that really was kind of struggling in the position, is that true? Kind of a bum, yeah. Oh my goodness. No, I have some shoes to fill, but yes, I did replace Luke Browning, that you may know is my husband. Yes. And yeah, it's actually, it's been super awesome because it kind of, like I said before, it's kind of a family affair, all the things that are going on and the events, and we've all kind of been involved, and so I'm excited to kind of keep the fire going and pass the torch kind of person. All right. And I don't want to get too personal, but did you guys meet like in FFA or something like that? Was it like a- Yeah, that's actually- One of those Storybrook- Yeah, it is pretty funny. We both were on the same state officer team right out of high school, and we served as state officers that year, and definitely over time, we got to know each other better, and I was at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and he was at Chico State, and then eventually, I kind of landed up transferring over, and the rest is history. Was he kind of goofy as a young guy? Yes. He was. He's still goofy now. Yeah, sure. You guys always see his serious side, but yeah, he's pretty, he's pretty goofy. All right. Fair enough. And Tom, I don't know if you know, I don't know if the listeners know, but a state officer for FFA is sort of a big deal, you know, there's five officers selected out of how many candidates a year? Yeah. Now, it's a little different, but I believe there was 150 to 175 this past year, and we actually had one from our district that was represented from Bear River this year, but it is a pretty fun honor because you get to travel the state and represent FFA, and then also do a lot of things on the national level. So for example, there's a national FFA convention going on right now, and Katie Alling, one of our ag teachers at Nevada Union is being honored with her honorary FFA degree, and like all the state officers are there, and we have like some national delegate representatives from our district as well, which is a pretty big deal. So anyways, yeah, being a state officer is pretty fun and gets to represent the state. Faith Escoto is our current student Bear River graduate from last year who's serving as state officer right now. Very cool. I will say about Kate Alling, she is a stud. I know. I mean, during the junior livestock auction and stuff, she's kind of right where I broadcast with Mr. Drew, and she's like right there, and she becomes an octopus with papers and stuff like that. I know, and just to, I know we're sidetracked on conversation, but like Katie is amazing, and not only is she a star as an ag teacher, but she also is just a great teacher on the Nevada Union campus. Like she is an amazing leader, helps out other teachers, is on the site guiding coalition, and a department head, and she's always just doing things and thinking outside the box, like just to help others as well. So it's- Just this month, Tom, she was recognized as the Nevada County Teacher of the Year. Wow. Yeah, for the whole county. For the whole county. It's awesome. Correct. Yeah. Pretty big deal for Miss Katie Alling. All right. And then we have Matt here. Matt, what's your last name again, Matt? McCulloch. McCulloch. What's your position at the district? I am the Director of Maintenance and Operations. Boy, oh boy. Oh boy. I feel sorry for you. This is like not the easiest thing to be in charge of. That's a huge job in this high school district, isn't it? It's a really fun position. It's a fun position? Yes, sir. All right. There's been a whole bunch of things going on and stuff. When fall breaks happen, this is kind of an interesting thing, do you and your crew have time to get into facilities and kind of fix things up that maybe needed some attention? Yes, sir. Like what? Well, we went through, we did some siding on some portables. Right now, we have a Nevada Union and Bear River Locker remodel going on. And so we went in and kind of prepped some of the spaces. And we're actually getting ready to complete that project. And we also had some roof repairs. We're just touching a lot of different places. And we try our best to touch the places where the students are during the school year, just because it's harder to get in there when they're there. All right. Now, are the solar panels energized and working? I think we have to go to commercial break. Yeah, well, you will in a second, Kevin. Break time? Just the superintendent, we will in a second. Bear River is, Nevada Union is getting close. Bear River is working? Yes, sir. All right. It's operational? It's producing power? Close. Okay. It's working. It's functional. It's functional. All right. As I share with these guys and my listeners this morning, I actually stepped away, I got radiation treatment. Do you want me to go up there and hang from a rafter or something like that? Would that help? If you don't mind, I'd love to get a photo. I might be like a fresh charge going up there and stuff. Tom, Matt's here because of the marriage between him and maintenance and operations and really lots of overlay into facilities and construction for us and what's going on in our CTE program with the district ranch. Both Becky's predecessor, Luke, and Becky have been driving a lot of projects out there and lots of development's been happening. Matt's been really instrumental in a lot of those things and will be instrumental in the long-term plans out there as well. Matt, you're instrumental in getting the infrastructure and stuff up and going? Is that what's going on out there at the ranch? Yes, sir. And some of the planning. I like to let them do most of the planning and just tell me what they want to build. Then do you say, okay, well, that's fine what you want, but this is reality? Yes. We start with dreams and then we reel it into reality. Then he comes to me and he says, do you know how much this is going to cost that they want to do out there? And then we circle back. I have never heard though of something, Dan, that's been as exciting for any school district as that ranch. It is really from day one, it seems like it's just been growing in possibilities and it just seems like a wonderful gift to the community and to the district. 100%. And I can't even keep up. You've heard me talk about it enough on the radio and I can't even do it justice and honestly things are moving so rapidly out there. Every time I turn around, there's new animals being born or we find chickens running around or there's the guard dog that's protecting the goats or whatever the case may be, vineyard grapes are going in this month or this fall, right? Yeah, they're working on that. Vineyard? Oh yeah, for sure. So the Grape Growers Association has been working with us. So there is going to be a vineyard put in and it's right below the pad, so it's actually going to be a beautiful view from where a pad is and the pond is, but it's a really great association or that the associating with the Grape Growers Association is awesome because it's going to give the students a chance to kind of see what the whole process is and they also got a donation of rootstocks from UC Davis, so there's a partnership there as well. So it's just, again- What was that donation called? So the rootstocks for the grapes, yeah. And then it's also, it's just not putting in the grapes, but it's also putting different varieties and turning it into a lab for students to kind of see what is our soil type, what works better, also, you know, with irrigation, doing different tests and the possibilities with that. So again, it's just, it's a partnership with community groups, a partnership for students to be able to do hands-on learning and see how things are working and to see what it's like in our county as well to grow different things or raise different things and how that works. Do you foresee wine being developed from these grapes and stuff? Yeah, so we have lots of different opportunities, but I think right now we're focusing on like putting it in and then ultimately with the Grape Growers Association, then we'll work on like the next steps on what that looks like. So one step at a time, we'll see what happens. There could be a thing about a wine press going on, right, and all that stuff and maybe you testing it and stuff? Well, that's his next proposal, yeah. We don't want the kids testing it. But it is very exciting stuff. This is like another level of stuff. I had no idea there was a vineyard going in because this is, again, another business presentation for kids to possibly go into. And the fact that we've been working closely with Matt right now is that we, Ellen, who works as a ranch coordinator, she wrote a grant and received a grant through Cal Fire. It's over $800,000 that was given to purchase a sawmill that will also go in at the ranch. And so we currently have a sawmill there now. But this is like really beefing up the operation and the possibilities of what we could do with that sawmill. Yeah, commercial grade sawmill. I was going to say, you're drawing wood. Because the one they had at the fair is kind of the one they've been using, it's a portable. Yeah, that's what you've seen. Yeah. So this is like the real deal. Like a more permanent. That you could, you know, basically it includes the kiln as well. So you're going to get a finished product with that. And then we've been working with Matt to try to figure out, great, what are the next steps? There's a three-year timeline to get this project going with this grant that Ellen was able to secure for us. And again, it's just providing more opportunities for the students to take it to the next level. Can I say something? I mean, it's not just two other guys present here. That's very sexy that you talked about milling lumber and having a kiln for the finished product. Just that a woman came up with that. I used to work at a lumber yard. Did you mention you had treatment this morning? Just what happened. That's what happened. All right. Let's wake Ranger up. Oh, yeah. That's a good point. It's time for that break, Matt. We're going to do that right now. Yeah, we've got KSU Insight highlighting the Nevada Joint Union High School District. So a quick break. We'll be right back. Rain or shine, all about gutters and awnings has your home covered. From custom seamless gutters and leaf guard systems in 26 colors to choose from, to beautiful retractable awnings and motorized shades, they'll help protect your investment while making your outdoor space more enjoyable. Contact us today for your free estimate. With quality products, expert installation, and friendly local service, it's easy to see why homeowners trust. All about gutters and awnings. Why is my lawn still drinking like it's July? Good question. Even when it's still hot outside, it's a good time to check your water use. Check your irrigation timer. Look for leaks and broken sprinkler heads, and don't forget to check faucets and toilets for leaks around the house. A small leak may not seem like much, but over time, those drops add up. Take a few minutes to make sure you're using water wisely. Nevada Irrigation District, serving our community since 1921. Never underestimate the power of a great bed. It's the key to that better night's sleep that we all crave. Well, the best beds in the world with top sleep technology, all designed to give you that great night's sleep, are waiting for you at the sleep shop. You know there's no better feeling than waking up completely refreshed after a great night's sleep. All the big brands with top sleep technology are at the sleep shop. Brands like Tempur-Pedic, Heirloom, Simmons, Sealy, Stearns, and Foster, just to name a few. Now, it's a big decision to buy a new bed, but Roxanne and I chose the sleep shop because they're locally owned by the Miller family. They don't work on commission there, and the Millers made it very comfortable to check out all the options. Again, your comfort's guaranteed in riding at the sleep shop, so you're not going to make any mistakes. And the bottom line on the bottom line, no one beats their price or financing. Check out the sleep shop, and there are three great locations. Two of those are in Auburn, Highway 49 at Palm. They have a clearance center and gift store called The Nest at 3880 Highway 49. They're right here in Grass Valley, 410 Brunswick Road, right next to Safeway. Navo & Sons is more than a plumbing and septic service. They're part of the community. For generations, their family has provided reliable service with a personal touch. With Navo & Sons, you get the best of both worlds, hometown care and the expertise to handle any job, big or small. For all your septic and plumbing needs, trust Navo & Sons, a company that treats you like family. Call 530-273-2964 or visit navo.com today. What if the care team you trust today could be there for every step tomorrow? At Partners in Care, that's exactly what you get. We provide compassionate in-home care to help with daily needs like meals, transportation, lighthouse keeping, and personal care, along with the companionship that means so much. And if your needs change, you don't have to start over. If hospice care becomes necessary, you already know your caregiving team and we can add the support of skilled medical professionals such as nurses, social workers, and spiritual care at no additional cost. When engaged, our hospice professionals provide 24-7 support, focused on comfort, dignity, and quality of life, while caring for patients and families physically, emotionally, and spiritually. All services are personalized and designed around your family's specific needs. Visit PICseniorcare.com or PIChospice.com for more information. Partners in Care, bringing comfort, continuity, and peace of mind when you need it most. I thought swine was my go-to project for the fair. Other livestock exhibits were not for me. The rabbits were out to get me. That's the way it seemed. Lots of floppy bunnies haunted all my dreams. And then I saw their face. Now I'm a believer. That is Harper Browning bringing us back. Mom Becky here, one of our guests as we're talking about a joint union high school district. She is a barrel of energy. Yeah, and she got to talk to you during the fair too. She was actually a little jealous that I was coming here. She didn't get to come. Should have brought her. Yeah, I should have brought her. We love her and we love the energy that the Browning family had. As a matter of fact, I guess it would be Grandpa was in the Hall of Fame now for the fair. Yeah, he was honored this year and it was pretty awesome. He was pretty special. Yeah, but he got the special recognition and the plaque and all. Yeah, it's pretty good. All right. Of course, real quickly because we kind of covered it when I introduced you, Becky. The trades day that was out there and stuff, how did that go? Was it well received by everybody that was out there, the contractors and the like? Yeah, we have our update meeting coming up next week where we're kind of doing a review officially, but so far unofficial. Everything seemed to work really well. I have been to the trades expo just as a staff member and checking it out. And I'm just always amazed how much all of the exhibitors and people that come in and put the booths together. They step it up and offer more activities for the students to participate in, try to make it engaging for them. And it seems like almost a little competitive in nature of like, oh, man, they see something and really try to raise the bar the next year. So, yeah, the amount of activities that the students were participating in and the contacts and that they were receiving and networking with local businesses was just untouched. Even Harper participated because she's enrolled in an ag mechanics class this year at NU. And it's a big deal because Harper has some sensory stuff and sometimes loud noises are super challenging for her. And I am so proud of the work that they're doing with her. And she actually was on one of the Hanson Brothers backhose where they put the tennis ball on a string and then have to put it right on the cone and line it up perfectly. And she did it with like a little lollipop in her mouth. It was hilarious. But yeah, it's it's so it's there's so many different opportunities. Anything from that to there were senior students that I was talking to that said, man, I didn't spend my time on the passport because the students can fill out a passport and enter in for a raffle that they want a big bucket of tools. He said, I actually spent my time trying to really just engage with certain businesses that I'm interested in possibly working for in the future. So I didn't kind of bounce around like I did in the past. Like, I really just spent some quality time with specific people. And and he's like, it went really well. I'm really excited about it because I have some opportunities for next year. So, Matt, do you see possibilities of some of these high school kids joining the NU staff as well? Yeah. You know, maintenance and stuff. We actually hire last summer. We hired five students to come work with us and it worked out great. We have an amazing team of 22 staff members, custodian, grounds and maintenance. And the five students just jumped in like they're meant to be there, you know, and they were trimming trees, helping service HVAC units. They did a great job and not goofing off. I noticed this about the kids. I even told these guys that they weren't goofing off at all. They were like focused, very focused. Yeah. And at the end of the summer, we wrote everyone a letter of recommendation for the next job. And, you know, they're they're great students. They're great workers. They're good employees. So as superintendent, this is like something to be just really amazed and proud of. This is how this community has come together with the CTE programs and stuff. It's really at a different level here. It is at a different level. And that that is the appropriate word for it. I am super proud. And Becky maybe hasn't heard this. Luke's heard it a ton and I'll have an opportunity next week to do the same thing. But I and mixed company superintendents up and down the state say that we have the best CTE program in the state. And so far, nobody's kind of challenged me to that. And the few people that have asked, you know, I start going down the list and there's not enough time to talk about the accomplishments and the opportunities that we offer and the community engagement and the I think for me, like kind of the reciprocal relationship between us and the community where I don't know who was having more fun at Trades Day, like the representatives from the local businesses that were engaging with students and recognizing that they have skills and that they're interested and that they're like to Matt's point, really potential future employees for them or the students themselves. So between facilities and the ranch opportunities and what we offer in terms of programming internships that we have right now in place, we have over 200 to do you have the number in front of you over 200 over 200 student like formal student internship placements. Many of them paid opportunities for our students. So those are students that have gone through advanced level pathways in whichever particular sector, whether it's health, health and skills and health career or automotive or or agriculture. And they're out in placements in the field working in the community. And, you know, the community is benefiting from it because it's either free or cheap labor, labor, or it's a training opportunity for future employees for them. And the students certainly are getting a ton of life experience, work experience and tools that they are going to take with them to be successful in whatever it is they choose to do in the future. So, yeah, I'm incredibly proud to Matt's point. You know, he came to us. We offer summer work for for all of our staff who want to work in the summer on on on projects. Like you mentioned earlier, when the students are gone, there's a lot that they can get done on campus. And when we didn't have enough spots filled, Matt's idea was, hey, what if we offer this to students? And we had more students than we had spots. And seeing them throughout the summer working and driving our equipment and clean it up and, you know, blowing, blowing our properties, taking pride in the facility. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Real heartwarming. And, yeah, absolutely. Couldn't be prouder. Yeah. They have ownership of it if they're kind of maintaining it and fixing it and stuff. Yeah, no doubt. I will say this, you know, traditional college prep type of thing where they've been pushing young ladies get involved with like STEM programs, the science, technology, math, things like that. CTE is kind of the same way. I was very impressed by the young ladies who would walk up, say, to the plumbing display and start soldering and doing like that. They're very assertive, which is a great thing to see in young ladies. Definitely. Yeah, I actually if you look at some of the programs that might be heavier female than male, like some of those programs and whatnot. But it is it is it's just giving multiple opportunities for all students. And even like I said, whether it's a student who is maybe not normally like into those types of things, just opening their eyes to the different possibilities. Like I even give the example of like Harper, I never thought she would actually like that. I mean, class, we actually kind of doubted it. And she the other day when we were camping, they were using a grinder to fix something on the campsite. And she's like, oh, yeah, I use that in class the other day. And I was like, wow, that's not something I thought I would hear her say. And she it's just what I mean. So anything from that to an advanced student who's like really honing those skills and, you know, looking at potential employers and trying to, you know, get right into the workforce. So, yeah, it's great. All right. All right, Becky, you know, and the three of us all looked at each other when you said there was a grinder out at a campsite. Yeah, well, we've been coming in. You guys normally bring grinders out to a campsite? I'm not surprised at all. It was Tom Browning and Luke Browning and there was a bunch of tools. What were you grinding? Were you grinding bones or what were you doing? It was a handle to a bike. And I don't know why the grinder was in the trailer. But, yes, there was a whole bunch of power tools in the trailer. So we were fixing a bike handle. Now we all want to go camping with you guys. It didn't faze me at all when I heard it. Yeah. Yeah. I just got it. We all kind of had a moment. We all looked at each other, which is kind of special. Anyway, we're going to take our news break here by the hour. We come back when I talk about this thing with the maintenance and the CTE program come together at the ranch, which is an incredible thing. And go into details about that. We've got a news update, weather forecast. We'll be right back. Good morning. I'm Paul Haas with a KNCO local news update. A look at western Nevada County's home market shows a surprisingly steep drop in sales for the third quarter, according to a local realtor. Brian Hamilton says sales covering July through September were the slowest for such a quarter in at least a decade. Three hundred twenty one were sold, which he says is the fewest for that time of year since before the pandemic recovery began. And Hamilton notes that only eighty nine sales were recorded in escrow last month, which is not an encouraging indicator for a healthy market. Factors in the sales drop include higher interest rates. Folks who got in, you know, five, six, seven, eight years ago and they got great rates. And to give that up and then try to find another home, even if they're downsizing, they might end up paying more per square foot and that sort of thing. It's a pretty challenging market, but it's been slow and steady ever since, you know, the white hot sales frenzy, so to speak. So this is a little bit eye opening. Hamilton also cites escalating fire insurance premium rates and an overall spike in the cost of living in this area due to inflation. He also mentions that the median home price in September was five hundred forty seven thousand dollars up. Twenty five thousand dollars from a year ago. But he says prices have actually been up and down for a number of months. Hamilton says the number of homes for sale dropped by seventy five in September compared to a year ago. And each month, the Nevada County executive offices partners with Sammy's friends, Animal Shelter, to help bring awareness to the number of available dogs at the animal shelter and hopefully increase the chance of one or two dogs finding a new forever home. Tales of Nevada County is taking place today. The event has been extremely successful with visitors and staff as well. Tales of Nevada County takes place from eleven thirty a.m. to twelve thirty p.m. So it's a good chance to interact with dogs and take care of business. This month's featured dog is all ready for a new home. And this week we're going to have Enzo there. He's a male shepherd mix puppy, less than one year old, black, very sweet face. He is house trained, neutered and vaccinated and good with other dogs. He looks like a really sweet dog. So we encourage people to come out and meet him, say hi, maybe drop off your ballot Wednesday, October 21st at eleven thirty. Join us for our next local news update at the bottom of the hour for news, traffic and weather. Anytime visit KNCO.com. I'm Paul Haas, KNCO News Talk 830. Discover the stories that shaped Nevada County on History Unfolded. Hosted by Tom Fitzsimmons and myself, Mike Stewart. With special guests, the second and fourth Mondays at nine a.m. Brought to you by Mowl Paint and Glass, serving Nevada County since 1949. And Smarter Broadband, local, reliable, high speed Internet. Don't miss the voices, the stories and the history that make our community unique. Right here on KNCO News Talk 830. When you're shopping for insurance, you might say, what? I'm so over this. But what you really need to say is something that could actually help. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. When you get a local State Farm agent, they can help make it easy and help you choose the coverage you need. Plus, they're available online, over the phone or even in person. I'm so into this. Call State Farm Agent Mike Bratton in Grass Valley at 530-273-0521. This from the KNCO B&C ACE Home and Garden Center Weather Center. ACE is the place. Here is your forecast on KNCO News Talk 830. Mostly cloudy with areas of scattered showers or a thunderstorm during the afternoon. Our high will be in the upper 60s. Rain will continue into this evening and overnight until 047. Areas of showers and thunderstorms again during the day on Thursday. With a high in the upper 50s to around 60. For weather anytime, click on the weather center at knco.com. I'm meteorologist Dan Holiday on KNCO News Talk 830. Hi, this is Becky Browning from Lyman Gilmore Middle School. And you're listening to Star 94 FM. How about that? Almost that right. Oh my goodness. We even have Taylor Browning liners here as well. The whole Browning family has been here at KNCO. But yeah, Becky's here. We got Matt here. We got Dan here. Talking Nevada Joint Union High School District and highlighting not only the building maintenance that's going on, but building maintenance is part of the ranch property that the Nevada Joint Union High School District is improving and constantly working on for the CTE programs. And Becky, you taking over the program, you're kind of in charge of like the timing on the new projects that are going on out there? Yeah, it's a team effort. But yeah, ultimately, we are trying to, we have a really awesome master plan that we're working towards. And so some of that has to do with long term bigger goals. And then some of those are what are some things that we can do right now to get the ball rolling and get students out there and give them opportunities. So like right now we have our we have some classes happening at the ranch right now. So it's amazing to see students working out there. But that's not only, you know, the agriculture classes that are happening. But we also see like there are other schools like Silver is bringing out groups of students to do different labs and projects and things like that. So we as a group work really closely. We meet weekly to talk about facilities and planning. And then in addition, just kind of trying to look at the long term of whatever we're trying to do to kind of keep that in mind to, you know, keep the big picture in mind, if that makes sense. Yeah, Matt, did you have to get extra staffing to make this happen? Or do you have to juggle your staff to help out out there? We juggled staff a little bit. We did hire a new operations manager out at the ranch when there were students going out there. But no, pretty much just juggling around. And yeah, pretty much that's it. How tough is it to develop something that's like a blank canvas when you think about it? I mean, it's a piece of property. I've heard everything from, oh, last year we were doing the driver simulator, you know, getting that going. Maybe having a driving track out there maybe for kids for behind the wheel training and stuff. I mean, it's something to look at that blank canvas and make that happen. Yeah, it is. It's thinking about the long term and also all the different events like we host a ton of different events too. And like I mentioned, Ellen, the ranch coordinator, is constantly trying to juggle that schedule to get other community members out there. Anything from rotary meetings. I think she was at a Moose Lodge meeting yesterday. Really? And then you're going to be hosting something out there coming up. But yeah, it's great to, again, just kind of keep the community in touch and know that it's an opportunity for them to be engaged in it. And then also the master plan was built with a group of people to keep all those ideas in mind of like how could this best serve our community and our students. And, Tom, there are a lot of moving parts. So lots of folks that want to help out. We've been able to earmark some money out of our developer fees funds, which are pretty restricted, but they're allowable to use for expanding student programs. And so we've been kind of trying to leverage those dollars to get certain things done. We've had lots of in-kind support from people like Hanson Brothers, Weiss Brothers. And when things come along, like the grant that we talked about, that Becky spoke about from Cal Fire, we're going to need to move a bunch of earth and create some access with our roads and make some land improvements to be able to allow path of travel for trucks that are going to be coming to deliver large logs and also to build a platform out for this big commercial size sawmill. So we're constantly looking at that. And then where are matching dollars available for another grant or that we can use? You know, we had a couple of early grants for stalls and for corral fencing for the pig barn, but also for the corral. So lots of moving parts. We've got this master plan that was developed, gosh, almost eight years ago now, I want to say. Eight years ago. Well, what are we, 2018? Yeah, six years ago, I guess, which is evolving. And then we, you know, in the world of facilities where the district's required to maintain a facility master plan overall, that we have a process for board approval and whatnot so that when there are opportunities that come down from the state or if we were to ever go out for a facility bond, we've clearly articulated what are the projects that there's a need for in the district so we can leverage the funds that come around. But we're constantly, and I look around because it's Becky, it's Matt, it's our whole, you know, our business office, our chief business officials just looking at, okay, where are our streams of money? What are we trying to do? What's allowable? How can we use this to match dollars? How can we be eligible for this grant? How does this grant support the large project that we're trying to do? And then sometimes we have to shift to make things fit, and we're trying to piece it all together and slowly, not slowly, we're rapidly making progress, even just getting classrooms out there for this school year to actually hold classes out there. And you say classrooms. Are these, Matt, like portables that are being put out there? Yes, correct. There are two portables that are out there. They were moved, I think, in beginning of August. May? May. Oh, well, I think the project started in May. Yeah, the groundwork. Yeah. Where do the portables come from? They come from NU or Bear River or both? Nevada Union. From Nevada Union. We had a surplus of portables, so we moved them out there. Wow. Yeah, it's just… Well, that's totally good, too, because it's reusing stuff. Yeah, no, that's what I mean. Like Dan said, kind of, it is. This is piecing the stuff together, trying to problem solve and figuring out how we can make this work. But again, the community support and just everybody… It's great that everybody sees the value in this project and what it can provide for students. So that's where everybody is kind of pushing hard to see how we can make it happen. But it almost sounds like it could become kind of self-sustaining in some respects and actually turn… That is the… Talk about a turn of profit where the money can get reinvested, say, from, I don't know, lumber sales? Yeah. Stuff and things like that. Multiple different opportunities. And then, like we said, we're constantly having events there, so part of that master plan would be, like, having a better facility that we could host something. So, yeah, the idea was that eventually it could run itself. It is a big part of the master plan is to have a pretty beautiful event center, you know, pavilion, event center, overlooking the vineyards. I mean… Gorgeous views. It's a gorgeous piece of property. It is. We need to do a show out there, Tom. We do. I haven't been out to the property. Well, we have some on the town schedule, so we can do one coming up on the schedule. Okay. So, does it have Wi-Fi out there? Yeah, we do. Okay, that's all I need. Where is it located, or do you want that out there? Yeah, well, actually, I can kind of promote something, especially like you're saying. A lot of people have come out and seen the ranch over the last couple of years, but just the work that has been done over this past year is pretty amazing. So, we are having an open house coming up on November 14th. Very nice. Okay. So, we can share that info with you and put it online and whatnot, but it will be on our district website as well and on our social media pages, so you can follow us there as well. But anyways, on November 14th, this is just an opportunity to kind of have an open house. The admission is free, but we are going to have some tri-tip barbecues, so if you want to purchase some food, kids are welcome, but we're going to have student showcases there. We're going to have demos and animals and petting zoos and tours available, so people can kind of see the work that has been done and the progress that has been made, and or if you haven't seen it at all, to check out and kind of see what's happening. So, yeah, it's a great possibility just to kind of see what's going on. Where is it located? People know, if you go down McCorney, where Clear Creek School is. It's right past Clear Creek. Clear Creek, I know. I can see that. So, yeah, it's right past that, and if you know where the old country store is, it's right behind that, so that's kind of the best landmark to kind of show you where it is. All right. Are the neighbors okay with everybody being out there and stuff? I haven't heard any complaints about anything. So, ultimately, part of our group of having a ranch advisory board is trying to ensure that we have a community input of what's going on, and so that includes trying to get community involved and see, like, hey, this is the plan. This is what's going on, how it affects neighbors or the surrounding areas and whatnot, but ultimately, we just try to work really hard with everybody and try to make sure that we're communicating well and supporting each other. I mean, because at some point, when you put in a vineyard and you say how beautiful a property is, can't you see people having their weddings out there? Oh, my gosh, yeah. Having it catered by maybe the culinary program. Right, and, like, the work that was done on the pond. Flowers by the floral program. Yeah, and culinary and all the things. Right. So, the work that was done by the pond and where the pad is right now, like, the pond is just beautiful, and actually, Taylor, my other daughter, has worked with RCD a lot for one of her internships. And the just restoration work that they've done with the pond is just beautiful, and it is very picturesque. I will say this, what impressed me with Taylor, when I first talked to her about the ranch, it was on a town over at the Northridge, and I think she just got done, I don't know what the term is, it's a vaccination or inoculating cattle, I think, or something like that. Yeah, no, we have cattle out there, and calving, and the pigs, they, I don't remember when the next litter is due, but they have a litter that they're getting ready to sell to a different county fair, not ours, that they were asking for some extra pigs for. And then, in addition, the goats, and there's some sheep coming as well, so, yeah, there's all the different opportunities. We're going to have goat yoga, too, right? Yeah, we're offering some yoga through the dance program, we were talking about, hey, we can combine some forces here. I could see that happening. It does seem endless, doesn't it, Matt? I mean, does it, okay, but as a maintenance guy, does it drive you a little crazy? Or is it kind of exciting because there's new challenges to kind of take on? It's very exciting. Every day is a different day. And it's really neat to be able to get lumber from the mill and put it towards the portables, right? So, right now, we just did all new siding on one of the portables out there, and all the trim pieces are going to come from the mill, all the soffit pieces are coming from the mill. It's really neat to see the students working out there with us. And the students are the ones that are milling the lumber and all that stuff? Yes, sir. All right, so who's out there watching them? Is it Mr. Drew, or who? Yeah, yeah, we have our ranch advisors. So, basically, same thing besides Mr. Drew. There's others as well. But they are helping supervise the students, and then the students are doing the work and keeping things rolling. And, Tom, there are maintenance and facility directors out there that do get spooked by this type of progress. Matt's not that guy. He's not wired that way. Yeah, exactly. No, I mean, seriously. He very much sees the vision, and he very much goes along and tries to say yes as much as he possibly can. And when he needs to say no, it's for a very valid reason. Here's a little Tom Fitzsimmons trivia. I was a part-time custodial guy, high school district down in the Bay, when I was finishing up my master stuff. So that was like my nighttime gig. And so I remember how we did projects, whether it was summer vacation, obviously, but even at different times of year. Well, Tom, just throwing it out there, we are hiring two custodians at Nevada Union. Oh, I'm all over that. If you're interested. Yeah, I can do that. Or if your listeners are. Yeah, I'll start with the crow's nest in the Allied Gym. Hey, I was telling – can I take a little sideways turn? So I was telling Matt that you climb up into that crow's nest in Allied Gym to do commentary for the NU basketball games. Yes, I do. And I told him about my money line, and he wants no part of it. He's very interested in liability and keeping everybody safe on our campuses. But I don't know. We might discontinue that. Well, I will say this. I got really discouraged when it got into DraftKings, Matt. They had the money line, Tom climbing up the crow's nest. Oh, my gosh. Big money's on Tom climbing down. Yes, is he falling, climbing up, or falling down? And it's like an over and under type of thing. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness. Thank you. That's right. Oh, my goodness. Anyway, let's take our last break down the homestretch here of KNC Insights. So a quick break. We'll be right back. Escape the everyday and enjoy a little more time to relax with the weeknight getaway. Because this year, Stellar Rewards members of every tier can enjoy 50% off all suites and 30% off all standard rooms Sunday through Thursday. Settle in and relax in our luxurious rooms and enjoy everything the resort has to offer. From casino excitement and free live entertainment to award-winning craft beer and delicious dining at the brewery. The Lodge at Feather Falls Casino Resort. Your place to stay. Must be 21 or older. Blackout day supply. Management reserves. All rights. All you can eat. Prime rib and crab legs? Oh, yeah. This is not a drill. Feather Falls Casino Resort's Dream Catcher Buffet is serving up the ultimate surf and turf. Slow roasted prime ribs, sweet buttery crab legs. Pile your plate high. Then go back for seconds or thirds. Maybe fourths. Hey, we don't judge. Join us Friday and Saturday from 4 to 9 p.m. Just $34.99 for all you can eat. Prime rib, crab legs, and all your buffet favorites. Dream Catcher Buffet. Come hungry. Leave impressed. Only at Feather Falls Casino. Your place to feast. Great. Now I'm hungry. Hi, this is Ryan Valdez with Rock Rose Risk. Like many Californians, I've watched homeowners face rising insurance costs, policy cancellations, and growing uncertainty, especially in wildfire prone areas. That's why we created Rock Rose Risk. We work with homeowners, ranchers, farms, HOAs, multifamily, and businesses to better understand and reduce wildfire risk and help insurance companies recognize the mitigation work being done. The result? Many of our clients save an average of 21 to 35% on insurance premiums while making their property safer and more resilient. We believe people who invest in protecting their property should have better options. If you're frustrated with wildfire insurance, let's have a conversation. Visit rockroserisk.com to learn more. That's rockroserisk.com. Are your floors embarrassed? Do they squeak, sigh, or make that don't look at me face when company comes over? Then it's time for an upgrade from Bob's Discount Carpet. Since 1975, they've been matching floors to homes like a perfect blind date. Carpet, hardwood, vinyl. If it goes on your floor, they've got it. And the team at Bob's Discount Carpet will help you find flooring so stunning, your neighbors will swear you must have won the lottery. And if you're a senior, veteran, or active military, be sure to ask about their special savings just for you. So go ahead, give your floors the makeover they've been secretly begging for. Stop by their showroom today at 995 Golden Gate Terrace in Grass Valley. Bob's Discount Carpet. Because floors have feelings too. You are one of a kind. Your smile, your laugh, the way you look at those you love. So when it comes to cancer care, you deserve a treatment approach that's as unique as you. Dignity Health Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital features a comprehensive range of services from advanced diagnosis and treatment through supportive care and recovery. So you get the plan that best fits your needs. Learn more at DignityHealth.org slash Sierra Nevada Cancer. Dignity Health. Hello, humankindness. Hi, this is Luke Browning from the Nevada Joint Union High School District, and you're listening to Nevada County's number one popular music station, Star 94 FM. All right. That took Luke five times to do. The only difference, Becky, was one take wonder. But Luke has an authoritative voice. Without a doubt. Without a doubt. Yeah, down there, home stretcher of KN2 Insight, Dan Frasella's show. He has the superintendent of Nevada Joint Union High School District. Been highlighting the CTE program, one of many programs going on. And there's new programs that have evolved. I know we were talking about the ranch, but I'm always kind of curious because one of them is, I think, law enforcement. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. That's a super exciting one. Matt and I were just kind of talking about it this morning. So we have criminal justice both at Bear River and Nevada Union. And it's just a great opportunity for the students to get involved, and especially because that is a clear pathway where we're talking about, great, how can we prepare our students? And this is a brand new program, so we only have first-year students. But now we're having these conversations of how are the courses going to progress? How are we going to prepare students to possibly engage them in our community in some way and fill some of the needs and gaps that our community needs? So the teachers are doing a great job. We have Adrian at NU and Dustin at Bear River. I just popped into Adrian's classroom this past week, and he's just rocking it. Like, he's doing such a good job. He was actually a campus supervisor with us at NU. And so he kind of had some relationship with some of the students on campus already. But just seeing him in his new role in the classroom instruction is just very exciting. He's doing a good job. In addition to criminal justice, we also have a new aviation pathway at Nevada Union. They're actually doing a field trip to the airport tomorrow. So that's really exciting. They're going to check out the Cal Fire planes before they kind of head out. So it's good timing for it. But yeah, we're going to go kind of visit that field trip and see how it's going. And it's really, Jared White is doing a great job trying to just get the kids pumped up and excited. And same thing, like these new pathways, it's just now we have this opportunity to grow them and to meet the needs for our community and figure out, like, hey, what's our next steps and what our next course is going to look like. Yeah, and I imagine, Dan, as the superintendent, there's one thing about, you know, our generation. You know, my age, we were definitely focused on college. And I think it kind of carried over to my kids. But there's options out there now that I'm glad that's finally being talked about a little bit more. A hundred percent. The pendulum swings. Yeah. And high-wage, high-demand jobs, especially when we talk about the trades and we talk about artificial intelligence and what can be taken over by, you know, programs or robots. And, yeah, and for us, you know, Chris Gilbert called me over the break because the state published our state test scores, and we took a small dip in our English language arts and math scores. But we made a big jump in our college and career readiness indicator by 13 percent. So we're well exceeding the state average, and it speaks to what our students are leaving our schools prepared to do. And they are prepared to enter jobs and high-wage jobs and high-demand jobs. So lots of opportunity out there. It does not mean just college. And, in fact, you know, depending on who you ask, college is a lot of money. Absolutely. And I'm hearing more and more from businesses and businesses that traditionally require degrees that are, you know, they're placing less and less value on those, to be honest, because kids can learn in different ways, and it doesn't necessarily need a college education to acquire those skills. Yeah, because, as a matter of fact, our young lady up front that is at our front desk now, she's a recent NU grad, she's kind of figuring out what she wants to do, whether it's going to be college or something else and stuff. And that's the beauty of these type of programs, gives you those options to get turned on to something. It does. Yeah, my son who graduated last year is at school, and he's saying, Dad, I don't know if this is worth your money, which, you know. No, I do remember those days, though. And he's a money-conscious guy, and it's like, well, you know, there's obviously still value. And depending on what it is you're going off to study, there's definitely still specialized areas where, you know, a college education is going to be required or needed to have the skills to work in that industry. But, yeah, there are definitely options. Both, and to add it on, like, I know I was talking to Mr. Whittle at Bear River, and he is taking his agriculture construction class and trying to work out a field trip to take him to Chico State because they have a program there that's pretty awesome. And so he's kind of just trying to show his students, like, great, you can work right out of high school and do this, and or if you want to continue this and go to Chico State, this is what that program would look like. So, yeah, I think it's just there's all different types of needs for students, and we're just trying to fill that need and just give them all the possibilities so they can go straight into the workforce and feel prepared. And or I did the same thing in college. I remember, like, dabbling around and changing schools and trying to figure out, like, oh, man, like I spent my time here where maybe you can do some of that earlier and kind of try things on and see how it feels. Yeah, that's what I think was very popular about Trades Day. You know, people got to kind of just get it, get the feel for doing like inside. They're doing sheetrock, I think, tape and texture and things like that. That was a great project. I don't think I saw that, but I was like they were on it was on it. It was really cool. That's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. So AI, since it was just brought up real quickly for your building maintenance, do you guys use that at all? Yeah. Some of that stuff. Yeah. A little bit of chat GPT. It helps with spreadsheets. It helps with interacting with lawyers. I'm not the highest educated person in the room, so it helps me to be able to send an email and feel a little more confident. But, yeah, we use AI to help do our deferred maintenance, other things. Yeah. It works really well. All right. It was AI in the CTE program and FFA program. That means something different I found out because I was interviewing kids at the fair. Yeah. I just had a question from the business office about a specific order. Yes. Yeah. AI means like artificial insemination, right? Animal husbandry. Yes. Yes. And so I asked kids about AI and they said, oh, yes, we do AI. And then they went into like animal husbandry type of stuff. Yeah. Yeah. You got to specify. Yeah. The invoices that come out of the CTE program are interesting. Yes. Yeah. I think they just wanted to make me blush, but I guess that's really legitimate stuff. That's what they call it. Yes. I think the question was, there was a rush on an order and they're like, it's a frozen order. Why is there a rush? And I was like, oh, well, the pig's in heat. So you got to make it happen. There you go. All right. Now I'm blushing again. Here's the thing. Is there enough things offered for the kids that want to do CTE? It seems like it's growing in popularity as well, right? Yeah, definitely. Well, I think it's a balance. It's a balance of offering what our students are looking for, what our community is looking for. Like today, I'm going to a talent development meeting at the county and part of that meeting is trying to figure out, okay, what are some of our leaders in the county and what are some needs that they're seeing or projecting to see? And then trying to meet our programs to tailor what's going on locally. And then it's also that student interest piece as well. So when we offered criminal justice, it was offered before, but there wasn't really kind of that need or desire and the class didn't fill. And so now they're super popular and it's filling and we're meeting that need. But it's also a balance too. We don't want to spread ourselves too thin. We really want to focus on robust programs and tailoring the need of supporting students in those programs and making sure that they're prepared and not just kind of spread it too thin as well. All right. Well, just like that, we're out of time. Perfect. Great job, guys. Wow, that was quick. That was very quick because it was very exciting stuff. It's exciting for listeners to hear not only what the kids are doing, but what the district is doing, providing these opportunities and stuff. It makes you feel really good. November 14th, open house out at the ranch. All right. Come check it out. And what time is it that it happens? Five to eight, I want to say. Yeah, five to eight, I think. But we'll have it on social media. We'll blast it out today so everyone can check it out. All right. Very good. And there's going to be Tri-Tip out there? Yes, there will be Tri-Tips if you want to purchase them. Woo-hoo! All right. I'm all over that. Thank you, guys. That does it for us. We've got ABC News and Swap Shop up next. Bye-bye. --- end of transcript ---