BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

While the Turlock Municipal Services Department appeared to be getting geared up to begin construction of a BMX park in Turlock following Parks, Recreation, & Community Commission approval, the Turlock City Council put the brakes on the process late Tuesday evening. With the decision postponed for further review on the staff level, the bike park now seems to be spinning its wheels.

The proposal to develop a small portion of the North Walnut Christoffersen Storm Basin into a BMX park would require a $15,000 investment from the City to be supplemented by $10,000 worth of donations and in-kind labor by supporters. A parcel less than one acre, near the corner of Paseo De Leon and Panorama Avenue, would be fenced and filled with dirt, sculpted into berm-like jumps that up to 50 BMX jumpers could enjoy at a time.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The Valley’s next generation of lawmakers has the unique opportunity to see how government operates from the inside this coming fall, thanks to United States Congressman George Radanovich (R-CA 19). Radanovich’s office is currently seeking student interns for the fall term, either in his Modesto, Fresno, or Washington, D.C. offices.

Those interested in applying to the Fresno and Modesto offices must have at least achieved sophomore standing in college, while applicants to the Washington, D.C. office must hold junior standing. Interns will handle tasks such as phone support, assisting constituents, processing constituent mail, conducting research, and working on the staff with special projects.

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Air museum welcomes newest additions

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

It may be hard to imagine a day when thermonuclear weaponry would be welcomed into most towns. For a contingent of Castle Air Museum volunteers, employees, and executives, however, it was all smiles when a flatbed truck pulled into Atwater on Friday morning with four former hydrogen bombs strapped onboard.

“You got clearance for this?” joked Castle Air Museum Director Joe Pruzzo as he watched volunteers unload the former bombs.

“Oh yeah, top secret,” replied volunteer Harry Kauffman.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Turlock may be forced to say “Hasta la vista, baby,” to redevelopment funds for the next five years. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s recent, unprecedented, third budget proposal includes a scheme to take, not borrow, redevelopment money at a rate of either 5 percent of the city’s total redevelopment funds or $225 million, whichever is greater.

The proposal could cost Turlock more than $400,000 yearly for half a decade.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

While the plans to develop a short-term solution to homelessness in Turlock have all but stalled, the effort to address homelessness long-term is still right on track. The group tasked with drafting a charter for the new Turlock Homeless Action Committee held its final meeting Thursday evening, and the new group is expected to be off the ground by October.

The concept of a Homeless Action Committee was first proposed by the September 2007 report on homelessness generated by the California State University, Stanislaus Center for Public Policy Studies at the bequest of the Turlock City Council. After some gnashing of teeth, the council approved funding a second CPPS-facilitated effort at their April 1 meeting, intended to further develop the concept of an action committee.

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Making lemons into lemonade

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

As a group of Turlock High School cross country athletes ran down Canal Drive during their Monday afternoon practice, a wayward look down Edwards Avenue led the runners to see what, at first glance, appeared to be no more than a mirage. Sitting there, an oasis in the unbearable heat, stood a lemonade stand and 5-year old Logan Prestage.

When practice was done for the day, eight students made the short trip back to the stand where, for just 50 cents, Logan offered the runners a glass of the finest lemonade money could buy. Those first eight were hooked, not just by the allure of an ice-cold concoction after a four-mile run, but also by Logan’s contagious excitement.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Despite numerous hold-ups and sticking points in the original plan, the proposed CVS Pharmacy is still a go for the corner of Monte Vista and Geer Road, according to corporate staff. The former site of Liberty Market is expected to host the new 13,000 sq. foot drug store, despite some potential wrenches thrown in the works of the operation by a City Council decision and a multi-billion dollar merger.

“We have signed a lease for the Geer Road property, and we’re currently evaluating that decision,” said Mike DeAngelis, Public Relations Director with CVS Caremark. “Right now we have plans to open a store there next year, but beyond that we don’t have any comment.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Turlock High School troublemakers beware, there’s a new sheriff in town.

Gabe Ontiveros, previously a teacher with the Turlock Unified School District for 11 years, was officially hired as the new THS Dean of Students last week.

“I had an opportunity to meet this gentleman, and I think he’s going to do a great job as Dean,” said Turlock Unified School District Superintendent Sonny Da Marto as he introduced Ontivaris to the TUSD Board of Trustees.

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City to explore alternatives for winter services

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

With just five days left until September and three months until the Dec. 1 deadline once imposed by the city to open an Emergency Cold Weather Homeles Shelter, Turlock now has no idea what services will be offered to the homeless this winter. Time has, quite simply, run out, leaving the city with no real options despite a three to two majority support of the City Council to operate a shelter this winter.

Given the impracticality of bringing the 400 B Street facility, which once housed the shelter up to required health and safety codes, an operation that would cost between $1.5 and $1.7 million and last until March, the Council voted 3-2 to sell the facility with Councilwomen Beverly Hatcher and Mayor John Lazar dissenting. A sealed bid process will be conducted to accept the highest qualified bid, with a minimum bid of $300,000, received over a 15-day bid period.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Multi-track year-round education, once heralded as a savior to Turlock’s overcrowded elementary schools, may soon be considered just another experiment whose time has passed.

On Tuesday the Turlock Unified School District Board of Trustees heard an informational presentation about the possibility of returning the three elementary schools still on MTYRE to a traditional school calendar for the 2009-2010 year.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

A long, contentious process of design, redesign, and yet more revision has finally come to an end, with the Turlock Unified School District unanimously approving the scope of work and proposed budget for the modernization of Julien Elementary School. Just over $4.5 million was approved for the project, which will change the layout, look, and amenities of Julien.

The most controversial part of the modernization project was the planned increase in parking lot size, reduction of play areas, and removal of old trees. However, planners insist that the changes are necessary from a traffic safety standpoint and that the trees set to be removed are dead or dying.

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‘We did not sneak people into Turlock,’ says State parole

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

At last week’s Turlock City Council meeting, allegations of sex offender parolees being hidden at the Turlock Cold Weather Emergency Homeless Shelter ran rampant throughout the meeting. In response to the claims, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has admitted to using the Shelter to house paroled sex offenders last year, but also claims that a lot of the things said at last week’s meeting were factually untrue.

“It is true that we did use the (Turlock shelter) last winter, probably between January and March,” said Jenni Avila, CDCR Parole Administrator. “There were about eight different sex offenders, not there all at same time, there at different times during that period.”

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New program fosters leadership in local youth

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

“Am I too late to grab a brownie?” asked one Turlock teenager as he slid into the Turlock Chamber of Commerce as the clock struck 8 a.m. Wednesday morning.

The four administrators, with a quick glance to one another, decided that there was, indeed, enough time for the late student to grab a snack before the inaugural meeting of Teens in Action came to order.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

While the State of California enters the eleventh week of this year’s budget crisis, the repercussions of a state trying to operate without funding have begun to hit home here in Turlock. Verda’s House, a Children’s Crisis Center of Stanislaus County emergency shelter for at-risk youth from birth to age 17 located in Turlock, was forced to close its doors earlier this month without the funding to keep it afloat.

“This has everything to do with the state budget impasse,” said Colleen Garcia, Executive Director of Children’s Crisis Center of Stanislaus County. “If not for (the impasse) we would be open and fully operational.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

You may think that members of the Fresno State Bulldogs’ College World Series winning baseball team would be dog-tired of talking about their victory at this point, but Turlock natives Blake Amador and Tommy Mendonca still seem to be enjoying the limelight. Both took time out of their busy schedules to make an appearance at this week’s Turlock City Council meeting, where they were awarded with one of the city’s highest honors for their performances in the College World Series.

“We have a couple of celebrities with us tonight,” said Vice Mayor Kurt Vander Weide as he took to the podium, feigning a mock bow in response to the thunderous applause.

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Kanna speaks about life in the war zone

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Yonadam Kanna, a member of the Iraqi Parliament, took time out from the legislative calendar of the Iraq National Assembly to visit Stanislaus County this week. An Assyrian Christian from northern Iraq, Kanna serves as the Secretary General of the Assyrian Democratic Movement, also known as Zowaa.

The ADM and Kanna first gained American recognition as an Iraqi opposition movement on Dec. 9, 2002, while Sadaam Hussein was still in power. As a result of his opposition, Kanna had been a target of the Hussein Ba’ath regime for many years.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Should you peek through the barred windows of a small, unassuming building in the back yard of a 100-year old house near the corner of Colorado Avenue and Tuolumne Road, you’ll not find the rusty tools, lawnmowers, and boxes of old clothes you might expect. Instead, set against the light blue walls of a room perhaps 300 square feet in size, you’ll see pen and ink sketches taped to the walls, photographs and art books scattered across the floor, and enormous wood panels with artist Emma Thompson hunched over them, tiny paintbrush in hand.

“It’s sort of a cell here, trapped in to think about bloody art all day,” artist Emma Thompson said, “but apart from the bars on the window, it’s a really good gallery,” she quickly corrected.

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Accusations of out of town sex offenders using facility surface

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

In a unanimous decision, the Turlock City Council upheld the July 3 Planning Commission decision to deny a Conditional Use Permit to the proposed 501 South Walnut shelter. As a result, The City of Turlock now finds itself with no firm plans for an Emergency Cold Weather Homeless Shelter come Dec. 1.

The 5,000 square foot facility, proposed to replace the 400 B Street shelter that had been deemed unsafe for residence, was projected to house 70 homeless from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. each night from Dec. 1 to March 31.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

While no one ever called the existing Turlock Irrigation District meters stupid, the Board of Directors recently decided that it’s time to get smart. The TID will invest $12.6 million to install smart meters throughout their service area, which will allow for detailed remote meter reading, eliminating the need for visits by meter technicians.

“With the old meter they could say, ‘I didn’t use that much power,’” said TID Director Rob Santos. “Now if they think something’s off, we can show them every 15 minutes how much power they are using.”

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Skunk shuts down business at local antiques shop

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Turlock’s own Pepé Le Pew terrorized downtown Thursday afternoon.

An adolescent skunk wandered into town and camped out in front of Main Street Antiques for several hours.

“It’s not good for business having a skunk outside,” said one Main Street Antiques employee as she stood outside the closed store.

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Potential candidates get five more days

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

As the clock struck 5 p.m. Friday evening, the first filing deadline for the Nov. 4 City Council elections came to a close with seven candidates set to contest just two available seats. However, as the incumbent councilwoman Beverly Hatcher failed to apply for reelection, the due date was automatically extended to this Wednesday at 5 p.m., allowing yet more last-minute candidates to apply.

“I can’t find my desk because of what’s going on,” said City Clerk Rhonda Greenlee jokingly in reference to the piles of paperwork generated by the nominees.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Well, it’s just about that time of year again. The leaves are turning, the weather’s cooling, and the nation’s schools are set to open their doors on yet another year of education.

And, of course, along with school comes back to school shopping.

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Cold storage company buys Westside property

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The City of Turlock announced last week that the Westside Industrial Specific Plan, the city’s 2,600 acre shovel-ready industrial park, has secured its first occupant. Vorhees, New Jersey based United States Cold Storage has acquired property to build a 200,000 square foot temperature-controlled warehouse facility on Fransil Lane near West Main Street.

“This is what we hope to be the first of many companies to reap the benefits of Turlock’s multi-year effort to establish the (WISP) area,” said Turlock Mayor John Lazar. “US Cold Storage, with 32 facilities in ten states, is a great example of the caliber of firms we hope to attract to the WISP, providing more job opportunities in our community.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Mayors from six Stanislaus County cities stood alongside police and fire chiefs in downtown Modesto Tuesday afternoon, united against proposed state budget measures. A ceremonial “local government credit card” was cut in two, signifying the local leaders’ opposition to the state’s habit of “borrowing” funds from local government, transportation, and redevelopment tax revenues.

“That felt good,” said Modesto Mayor Jim Ridenour as he finished cutting the symbolic credit card.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Turlock’s homeless have long spent their days on a narrow strip of grass near the intersection of Broadway and A streets. Across the street from City Hall, adjacent to a fenced city parking lot, and next door to the United Samaritans Foundation, the grassy knoll provided a convenient, acceptable place to sit in the shade, or so it had seemed.

Earlier last week, City employees paid a visit to the grassy patch to take measurements, leading many homeless to believe that the nearby fence was to be extended to cover the grass. According to Turlock Municipal Services Director Dan Madden, that may not be the case.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

When Dick Burton left the post of Turlock City Attorney on June 30, a position he had held for 14 years, there was a bit of a stir in Turlock City Hall. Burton’s departure left large shoes to fill, and city staff seemed unsure if anyone would be able to replace him.

“I want a little Dick Burton,” said Mayor John Lazar earlier this year at a meeting to determine criteria for the new attorney.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Baseball and soccer players, builders, and local businesses alike will be hit by increased costs in dealing with the City, as the Turlock City Council unanimously adopted an updated schedule of fees for City services last week. As a result of the move, many recreation and engineering costs will increase substantially.

“The resolution represents staff’s annual review of the fees that they charge and how they charge them,” said Marie Lorenzi, Senior Accountant with the City. “(The City is) also looking to see if there are things that we do now that aren’t in the fee schedule and adding those.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The State of California has yet again missed its July 1 budget deadline, and as the weeks drag on the state has begun to run out of cash. On Thursday, that lack of funding began to trickle down to local health service providers, as Medi-Cal has run dry, putting local community health centers in a very precarious position.

“This poses a dire, dire threat,” said Jason Vega, Central Valley Health Network Governmental Affairs Director in a press conference held Thursday at Modesto’s Golden Valley Health Center, which offers 25 locations in such local towns as Ceres, Dos Palos, Newman, Le Grand, Los Banos, Merced, Modesto, Newman, Turlock, Patterson, Planada, and Westley.

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Heat doesn’t keep crowds away

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

More than 100 people stood in line at the Mocse Credit Union gate on opening night of the 2008 Stanislaus County Fair, eagerly eyeing the entrance and awaiting the clock to strike five. The excitement was palpable as the early birds, many of whom had stood for more than 30 minutes in 90 degree heat, awaited their chance to experience this year’s fair for the first time.

At the head of that long line of eager fairgoers was 80-year-old Turlocker Joe Cruz. As he looked back to the past, he quickly recalled more than 35 years he had waited in that line.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Not too long ago, Lisa Gilleland-Viney made the big move to the Valley alongside her husband, who had been offered a position at the University of California, Merced. Coming off four years spent in Scotland and years before that in Oxford, England, it’s not a stretch to say that Atwater represented a bit of a change in scenery for Gilleland-Viney.

“Scotland is a beautiful country, but there’s not a lot of sunlight or shadows there,” she recalled.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The proposed West Park project has moved into the next phase of planning, with the County of Stanislaus announcing that it will be taking the helm in preparing a comprehensive Environmental Impact Report for the 4,800 acre industrial park and inland port planned for the former Crows Landing Naval Air Station.

The EIR will consider the broad environmental effects of the sizable development in almost every regard. Aesthetics, agriculture, air quality, noise, traffic, growth inducement, and cumulative impacts will be among the issues addressed by County planners.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

While the Turlock Irrigation District has always been concerned with water, the local utility has generally been more concerned with the type in canals than the sort that falls from the sky. At the July 15 meeting of the TID Board of Directors, however, the District entered into an agreement with Stanislaus County to operate two Remote Automated Weather Stations on TID land.

A 15 by 15 foot parcel of land at both the Westley 115 kV Substation, off the California Aqueduct near Highway 5 and Kern Creek Road, and the Oakdale Substation, near the intersection of Albers Road and Patterson Road, will be used to install the new RAWS.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Just less than two weeks ago, IndyMac Bank collapsed in one of the most spectacular bank failures in history. While IndyMac may be based a few hundred miles south in Pasadena, Turlock residents have been sitting up and taking notice of the dramatic collapse right here at home.

“We’ve had many inquiries with customers calling (to ask if their money is safe),” said Turlock Commerce Bank manager John Vercammen. “I just assured them our bank is pretty solid as are most banks in the area.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

This year’s Turlock City Council election may still be almost four months away, playing the role of undercard to the Nov. 4 Presidential Election, but contenders are already beginning the walk down the long road to election night. The 2008 campaign trail formally kicked off on July 14, as nomination papers became available from the Turlock City Clerk’s office.

“At some point, if they want to run, they’re going to have to come see me,” Turlock City Clerk Rhonda Greenlee said. “There are things that people running need to know.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The effort to build a Miracle League field in Turlock, a rubberized baseball field for physically and mentally disabled children, appears to be a hit with Turlock city government. But while the Park, Recreation & Community Commission unanimously voted to endorse the project last Wednesday, attempts to locate a suitable site for the facility have struck out so far.

Representatives from the Miracle League of Northern San Joaquin Valley originally proposed recommissioning the center field at the Turlock Regional Sports Complex as the Miracle League field. However, that idea was struck down by Municipal Service representatives, who cited excess demand for the limited number of existing soccer fields at the sports complex as reason the location was unsuitable.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Best RV Center first opened its doors to the public in 1997 with a modest 1.2 acre lot at 1397 N. Main St. in Manteca. Despite the relatively small facility, owner Naiel Ammari wasted little time in setting out to become exactly what the name of his fledgling RV Center proclaimed. Ammari wanted to become the best.

In just 11 years, Best RV Center has grown to become the tenth largest dealer of towable RVs, such as travel trailers, fifth wheels, and toy haulers, in the entire state of California. Despite the rapid growth during the past decade, Ammari has bigger sales yet in his sights.

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Crosses adorn Faith Home Road to remember fallen soldiers

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Staff and program participants at Turlock’s Faith Home Teen Challenge Ranch planted thirty crosses adorned with ribbons in honor of fallen local soldiers yesterday. The effort was a part of a patriotism class at FHTCR, just one small portion of a 12-16 month live-in program for adult men attempting to deal with life-controlling problems.

“At this point, they’re just trying to put themselves back together,” said Sheila Kendall, a sixth-grade teacher from Newman who volunteers with FHTCR.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The San Joaquin Valley looks to continue its pivotal role in not only agricultural production but also legislation, as this week Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani (D-17), who represents nearby communities such as Atwater, Delhi, Hilmar, and Newman, was appointed Chair of the Assembly Committee on Agriculture for the next legislative term.

“The expertise these Assemblymembers will bring to these committees will be essential to a productive 2009-2010 legislative session,” said Assembly Speaker Karen Bass when announcing three Chairmanship appointments on Monday.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The Turlock Irrigation District serviced almost 100,000 clients in 2007, using more than 3.4 million megawatt hours of electricity. Those numbers are certain to grow in the coming years, but TID is doing everything in their power to deal with increasing demand in the most ecologically responsible manner.

The District recently made the commitment to shift 20 percent of their energy production to renewable resources by 2017, while at the same time educating consumers on how to conserve valuable power.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

While news of the Turlock City Council’s struggles to establish an Emergency Cold Weather Homeless Shelter has dominated the media in the wake of a Planning Commission decision to deny a Conditional Use Permit to the proposed shelter last week, another council-backed initiative to solve homelessness has been flying along successfully under the radar.

A local planning group has been diligently meeting for the past three months to develop a grassroots action committee to seek a long-term solution to homelessness in Turlock, with the sponsorship of the City Council.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

City Manager Tim Kerr confirmed last night that, despite last Thursday’s Planning Commission decision to deny a Conditional Use Permit to the Emergency Cold Weather Shelter proposed for 501 S. Walnut Rd., the City Council will likely take up the issue again at the Aug. 12 meeting with the potential to override the decision.

The new, $900,000 facility had been approved by the Turlock City Council in May to replace the past Emergency Cold Weather Shelter site at 400 B St. The current facility was determined unsafe by the City Council due to its failure to meet fire and safety codes.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Turlock’s west side looks to be the site of a new neighborhood shopping center, following a Planning Commission decision Thursday evening. Plans call for a sit-down restaurant and 92,700 square feet of retail space to occupy 8.98 acres of land at the southeast corner of West Main Street and Kilroy Avenue.

The undeveloped property, located just across West Main from the Regal Turlock Stadium 14 theatre, has long seemed a natural site for construction. However, the parcel’s industrial zoning, preventing the kind of commercial development that might be fitting when considering its proximity to the theater, has dogged the site.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Liberty Market, a longtime Turlock fixture at the corner of Geer Road and Monte Vista Avenue, could soon be torn down to make way for a CVS Pharmacy. The pharmacy is expected to operate 24 hours a day and include a drive-through window.

“I’d like to start tomorrow,” said Bill McDermott, Project Manager with Armstrong Development. “We’re still working through things with the existing tenants and landlord, but we’re looking at the first week of October right now.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The proposed Emergency Cold Weather Homeless Shelter was back out on the street Thursday evening, as the Turlock Planning Commission unanimously voted to deny the Conditional Use Permit that would have been required to operate such a facility.

Without that Planning Commission approval, it is uncertain what will become of both the shelter and the Industrial-zoned land at 501 South Walnut where construction had been slated to commence shortly in the race against time to finish a new shelter by Dec. 1.

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Local mixed martial artist wins televised bout

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Regardless of how much Raymond “The Real Deal” Daniels (0-1 in MMA, 18-0, 8 KOs in kickboxing) was paid for his bout with Turlock-based mixed martial artist Jeremiah Metcalf (9-4), it wasn’t enough. “The Real Deal” must have felt like got a raw deal after the match, as the champion karateka was thoroughly outclassed for two rounds by Turlock’s finest fighter.

The two squared off on the undercard of Friday Night’s San Jose-based Strikeforce “Melendez vs. Thompson” event in a 185-pound, middleweight contest where promoters had heavily pushed Daniels.

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American East squeaks by Nationals

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

In a double elimination tournament, like the District 10 Little League 11 year old All-Stars tournament currently in progress, every game counts. And when those games are only six innings long, every at-bat matters that much more.

“The Turlock National All-Stars were a tough team,” said Turlock American East All-Stars manager Rick Evans. “They gave us everything we could handle and played great defense. We were pretty easily matched. What it came down to was that we got the last run.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

A 20-year, half-cent sales tax intended to raise $700 million to benefit the roads of Stanislaus County has moved one step closer to November’s ballot. Concerns from Turlock City Councilman and Stanislaus Council of Governments Representative Ted Howze have been addressed by StanCOG, and the modified plan was approved by the Turlock City Council last week.

Should the measure meet the approval of voters this November, about $2.4 million would be allocated to Turlock’s city streets each year, while an additional $5.83 million would indirectly affect the city through the expansion of the Southern Regional Corridor, better known as West Main Street, extending all the way out to Interstate 5 near Patterson.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

California is the only state in the United States that commercially produces almonds. California produces 80 percent of the world’s almonds due to its Mediterranean climate. And like other specialty crops grown only in California - walnuts, kiwi and avocados to name a few - thrive off of the mild winters and dry, hot summers of California.

It takes quite a bit to produce a good almond crop, according to The Almond Board. First, a good chill in November and December brings the first almond blossoms from their buds. Pollen grains begin appearing by mid-December, but the buds remain dormant until early January when warmer weather leads them to grow.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

It should come as no surprise that the Turlock Masonic Lodge is one of the oldest institutions in town. After all, the Masons trace their roots back almost 2,000 years to the building of the Temple of Solomon.

But Turlock’s masons aren’t celebrating their bimillennial this year. In what is perhaps a more remarkable feat, the Turlock Masonic Lodge is turning 100, just like the great city of Turlock that its members not only inhabit, but also helped to build.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

About a year and a half ago, Terry Battcher was forced to pack up his family and move from Visalia to Turlock to follow his job. While the distance between the two towns may not be great, to say Battcher wasn’t exactly excited about the move would be an understatement.

“It was against my wanting to move here,” said Battcher. “I didn’t know why, but I knew God put me here for a reason.”

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Sheriff’s department on lookout for illegal fireworks

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Governor Schwarzenegger’s message may be that fireworks should be avoided entirely this Fourth of July, but Stanislaus County officials have a different approach to the always-difficult balance between safety and entertainment. Instead of passing up fireworks this holiday season, simply make sure that you are purchasing legal, safe and sane fireworks as they go on sale today.

“There’s a state fire marshal’s seal on each approved firework,” said Turlock Fire Department Captain Mark Gomez. “You’ll see it on every single firework, not just on the box.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Since the old Carnegie Library stopped hosting dances more than 20 years ago, Turlock’s teens have largely been without a place to gather. The newly revitalized Parks and Recreation Commission, formerly the Community Services Commission wants to change that, as they look to put a new teen center atop their list of priorities for the coming years.

The search for a facility is still in the early stages, but some of the locations being mentioned include the old Turlock War Memorial and the current Turlock Police Department buildings, which are set to be empty once construction is completed on the new Public Safety Facility planned for the lot next to the Carnegie.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Turlock Mosquito Abatement District workers have been buzzing all over town for the past few months in search of neglected swimming pools that have become mosquito breeding grounds. In hopes of better isolating problem spots before they start, mosquito hunters have adopted a tactic employed by their prey; they’ve taken to the air.

In mid-April the TMAD hired an airplane equipped with an in-flight camera, similar to the type used for crop surveying, to photograph all of the communities within the district. Through careful examination of the photographs, the district identified 477 swimming pools that were potential spawning grounds for the bothersome insects.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

When the N/NS Giants, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Turlock, faced the N/NS Cubs, sponsored by Lucas Dairy, in the Little League Junior National finals on Wednesday night, the Giants’ players seemed to be the calmest patrons of Pedretti Park.

Despite the importance of the game, acting Giants’ coach Rufus Keaton took an interesting approach to the contest, opting not to tell his team that the victors would precede on to the City Championship. Keaton said he didn’t want the Giants to feel any pressure, just to go out and play their game.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

As the sun set over Pedretti Park on Wednesday evening, the Little League American Junior finals were just getting started. The A/AE Giants, sponsored by JKB Homes, were set to take on the A/AE A’s, sponsored by Allen Mortuary.

And despite a convincing 10-5 victory from the Giants, the A’s will be the team that goes on to play for the City Championship due to their superior record. The Giants finished the season 11-5, while the A’s final tally was 12-4.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The City of Turlock averages just over 12 inches of rain a year. In this year’s drought the pastoral community has been hit especially hard, with every last drop of water vitally important to the area’s livelihood.

Fortunately, Sacramento legislators are paying attention to the water crisis in the Central Valley. While Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed a statewide drought earlier this month, last week he declared a state of emergency in nine Central Valley counties, including Stanislaus.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Turlock has always celebrated the Fourth of July, but this year, in honor of the centennial, the city is going all out. What has in the past been a one-day celebration will grow to become a weekend-long set of festivities.

Friday, the Fourth of July, things start off with a bang, quite literally. Beginning at 10 a.m., the American Legion will officiate an opening ceremony at Central Park with an honor guard and a 21-gun salute.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Over the course of the next 40 years, Stanislaus County’s population is expected to more than double. By 2050, more than 1.2 million people will call this county their home.

To Lark Downs, senior regional planner with the Stanislaus Council of Governments, it’s easy to foresee how that could happen.

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Married at last

By Alex Cantatore
Staff Reporter

MODESTO - The city was cool and quiet as the sun came up yesterday morning. The birds were singing. All in all, it was a day almost indistinguishable from the myriad days before it.

That is, of course, until Cynthia Soto, 48, and Beth Holden, 27, strolled up to the Stanislaus County Clerk-Registrar’s office at 6 a.m. Despite the fact that the office wouldn’t open until 8 a.m., the duo didn’t mind waiting outside.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

After more than four years of meetings, community input, and planning, the Merced Board of Supervisors unanimously approved Hilmar’s new Community Plan late Tuesday night with a 5-0 vote.

“The Board was very pleased with the community-driven plan; the meeting was actually pretty uneventful,” said Alfredo Castillo, the planner with RRM Design Group, responsible for the plan. “This plan has been a long time in the making. It’s been 20 years or so since Hilmar adopted their last plan.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Turlock’s golfers now find themselves facing a considerably long drive - almost 5 miles from downtown Turlock - to reach the nearest greens at the Turlock Golf and Country Club. In the near future, however, Turlockers may find their nearest golf fix just a chip shot away.

The Turlock Golf Center, Stanislaus County’s newest driving range, is currently being planned for the north side of Taylor Road, between Golden State Boulevard and Tegner Road.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

On Aug. 20, 2007, the City of Turlock began road work at the intersection of Golden State Boulevard and Tuolumne Road. Today, almost 10 months later, the majority of the work may be done but Westbound Tuolumne is still closed to through traffic between North Tully and Golden State due to ongoing construction.

“It’s been a lengthy process,” said City of Turlock Assistant Engineer Nathan Bray. “Currently Union Pacific Railroad is doing their portion of the upgrade.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The vast majority of the events scheduled for the 2008 Summer Olympics, to be held in Beijing, China, are the tried and true sports that have been constants for years. But in addition to the swimming, gymnastics, and track and field events that define the Summer Olympics, this year will mark the first occasion that men and women’s BMX races will be contested as Olympic events.

And no one may be keeping a closer eye on those races than those in Turlock, as construction may very well be underway on Turlock’s very own BMX park at the same time that the best in the world are flying through the air in Beijing.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

With $1 million and a plot of land on South Walnut finally set aside for the new, 5,000 square foot Emergency Cold Weather Homeless Shelter, city staff has plunged full steam ahead into the process of turning the proposed facility from concept into reality. According to city staff, the new shelter is still on track to open Dec. 1.

“We’re still moving along,” said Assistant City Manager John French. “We’re trying to get a (Request for Proposals) out for operation of the shelter, and there’s been movement on construction.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

When the musical “The Music Man” became popular in the early ’60s, Turlock’s planners may have been paying a little too much attention. No, it’s not the story of a con artist trying to swindle a city’s residents that seems to have impacted Turlock policy, but instead the warnings of the dangers facing the youth of River City, Iowa.

“Trouble,” the character Harold sings, “with a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for pool.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

After weeks of intensive budget negotiations, which City Manger Tim Kerr termed, “one of the most exhaustive budget reviews (I’ve ever been a part of),” the Turlock City Council passed the 2008-2009 budget late Tuesday night with a $1,288,247 deficit.

Like everything else in this trying budgetary process, the decision, which included several votes of varying support, went anything but smoothly, eliciting frequent, uncharacteristic outbursts from members of council.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

As California’s budget woes have worsened, the state’s proposed high-speed rail project has recently lost some steam.

Fortunately, California Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani (D-17), who represents such communities such as Atwater, Delhi, Hilmar, and Newman, has pushed through a new bill that may keep the transportation proposal from going off the rails.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

When Les Weidman formally conceded the District 2 Supervisor election to Hughson Farmer Vito Chiesa at 9 p.m. Tuesday evening, the former Stanislaus County sheriff was less than 700 votes, just 11 percent, behind in the results. When the dust settled, however, Chiesa had secured a convincing 17 percent margin of victory, with 2,100 more votes in his favor than Weidman had been able to garner.

“We’re very excited,” said Chiesa Campaign Consultant Carl Fogliani. “We were obviously cautiously optimistic running against such a strong candidate as (Weidman), but we thought we had a superior candidate with a superior message and a superior campaign, and in the end we thought were going to see the result that we did.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The cards look to have fallen in the Turlock Poker Room’s favor, as the local card room is now one step closer to their goal of inhabiting a larger, 6,750 square foot facility following a Thursday evening planning commission decision. The five voting commissioners moved unanimously to approve a conditional use permit to allow the TPR to take up stakes in a vacant suite at 2321 W. Main St., located between Lamppost Pizza and the Regal Turlock Stadium 14 movie theatre.

The new location should allow the card room to operate the full ten gaming tables that their license allows, a near impossibility in their current cramped corners on the Southeast corner of W. Main and Locust streets.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

While the average gas price nationwide for regular unleaded fuel is near $4 per gallon, in and around Turlock drivers are lucky to find a station whose signs read less than $4.30.

A year ago, that price was far closer to $3.30, and the sudden increase in price has left many riders scrambling to find alternate means of transportation, according to Brad Christian, Stanislaus County Public Works Transit Manager. The Stanislaus Regional Transit bus system has seen an 8 percent increase in ridership versus this time last year.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

After a year and a half of meetings, discussions, and votes, Turlock is finally ready to roll out a new shopping cart ordinance after a unanimous vote from the city council.

The new ordinance, drafted at the direction of Vice Mayor Kurt Vander Weide, is intended to reduce the work of the police department, improve driver safety, and help stores keep tabs on their carts.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

For most Turlock High School juniors, winter break is a time of relaxation. Football season is over, the prom looms near, and students are finally getting comfortable with their class schedules.

For THS Junior Lauren LaVelle, however, there was no time to rest after finishing fall finals. She had packing to do.

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Chiesa looks to take supervisor seat

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

In an election marred by marginal voter turnout, yesterday’s election managed clear victors in nearly all elections. The difference, said some poll workers, was simply found in which campaigns were more capable of getting voters to the polls.

The Turlock Junior High School polling location reported less than 80 votes tallied during the 11 hours the polls were open. St. Francis Episcopal Church, reported less than 70.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Southern California’s San Fernando Valley has long been known as the “Silicone Valley,” the hotbed of United States pornography production, but now Central Valley lawmakers are looking for a part of the action. No, politicians aren’t lobbying for a new Playboy Mansion in our neck of the woods, they just want the same thing they always want: money.

Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani (D-17th district), representing nearby communities such as Atwater, Delhi, Hilmar, and Newman, is the primary co-author on a bill that would impose a 25 percent tax on nearly all forms of adult entertainment. While the bill may be known as “Taxation: Adult Entertainment Venue Impact Fund,” many in Sacramento are referring to it as the Porn Tax.

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Supervisor and eminent domain top issues

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

As the clock struck midnight and Friday turned to Saturday, less than four days remained before this year’s black sheep election, the California Statewide Direct Primary Election. The election set for Tuesday, may not be the most talked-about of elections during this politically charged year, but the outcome will have quite an impact on both Stanislaus County and California.

Some of the voter apathy may come from the fact that the “primaries” referred to in the election’s title are all foregone conclusions. The runoffs for the myriad State Assembly and U.S. Representative seats in the area were expected to be up for grabs, but not a single primary election is being contested.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

In the face of a severe budget deficit, the Turlock City Council delayed the decision on the 2008-2009 budget for two weeks until the July 10 meeting. Councilmembers Ted Howze and Beverley Hatcher are expected to meet with city staff during the off week in order to hammer out a compromise budget that meets all of the council’s wishes.

Coming in to the May 20 budget workshop meeting, the City of Turlock was looking at a $570,311 deficit on a $33 million budget. With the council’s unanimous support to add funding for six new firefighters and implement year two of the police strategic plan, the budget shortfall quickly grew to a $2.2 million deficit.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Jeremy Rocha, a 20-year old Political Science student at California State University, Stanislaus, is looking to change the public’s perception of what a college student is capable of. Rather than hitting up the party scene, Rocha has been listening to Turlockers and filling out candidate applications, and this November Rocha will be among those running for a seat on the Turlock City Council.

“I’ve always been interested in government, even since high school, and I’ve always wanted to get involved,” said Rocha. “At my age, it is the perfect time to get involved and to show others my age that you can be involved.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

This year, the City of Turlock is among the legions of governmental agencies that need money, facing a $570,311 deficit on their $33 million budget. Should the budget pass with a general fund deficit still in place, it will mark only the second time in memory that the City of Turlock has operated in the red, according to City Manager Tim Kerr.

“What we’ve done is put together a budget that reflect what’s happening in the national and state economy,” said Kerr in his opening remarks during Tuesday night’s budget workshop. “That we face challenges is no secret. We know we’re in an economic downturn, but it’s not the first that Turlock has seen and it won’t be the last. It’s important to keep in mind that this is cyclical.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

It’s often said that where there’s smoke, there’s fire, but the reverse is also true. When close to 90 acres in and around Turlock were set ablaze on Thursday afternoon, the smoke could be seen, and smelled, for miles around.

“You’re definitely going to see serious spikes in particulate matter levels as a result of the wildfires,” said Dimitri Stanich, Spokesperson for the California Air Resources Board.

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Metcalf takes Cage Combat crown

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

To most people, a trip to Sonoma County involves wine tasting, spa treatments, and perhaps a hot air balloon ride to soak up the leisurely coastal life that defines the area. When promising local mixed martial artist Jeremiah Metcalf (8-4) traveled to Santa Rosa last weekend, however, a restful vacation was the farthest thing from his mind.

Metcalf had been training for months in anticipation of stepping inside the cage and fighting James Terry (5-1) for the 170-pound Cage Combat Fighting Championships Welterweight title at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds’ Grace Pavilion.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The Turlock City Council voted unanimously in favor of the construction of a new Emergency Cold Weather Homeless Shelter late Tuesday night after budget revisions from last week’s proposal cut nearly $700,000 off the proposed price tag. At a cost of just a tick less than one million dollars, the city now expects to construct a 5,000 square foot homeless shelter on South Walnut Road on city property near the city corporation yard and Kelso’s Auto Wrecking and Towing.

The majority of the savings came through eliminating the planned use of an outside architectural firm and instead handling all planning and management in house.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

A new location is in the cards for the Turlock Poker Room, but not the downtown Broadway and Main hotspot that the owners had been betting on. As the popular area card room has outgrown its current location near the intersection of West Main and Locust, plans are in the works to move down West Main to a vacant storefront near the Turlock Stadium 14, next door to Lamppost Pizza.

“The reality is it’s going to take considerable amount of money to do what we need to do downtown,” said Phillip Rheinschild, co-owner of the TPR. “With the current economic conditions there’s a greater difficulty in getting bank lending, so it’s going to take a little longer. We’re going to have to earn a little more.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

In 1942, the San Joaquin River transformed almost overnight from a free-flowing river into a trickling stream. When the Friant Dam began operations near Fresno, the livelihood of those that depended upon the waters of the second-longest river in California - primarily farmers and fishermen - found that 63 miles of river was now just sandy ground.

It has taken more than 60 years, but environmentalists and politicians alike now hope to restore some of the glory that was once the San Joaquin River.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Members of the United States House of Representatives and Senate seemed to have the interests of California in mind when they were drafting this year’s $300 billion Farm Bill. More than $2 billion, the most ever, will be directed towards specialty crops like fruits, vegetables, nuts and berries that make up the heart of San Joaquin Valley agriculture.

“We must recognize the importance of the historic achievements for specialty crops in this legislation,” said Rep. George Radanovich (R-CA 19). “California agriculture may never again benefit so greatly from a Farm Bill as they will from this legislation.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

When San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom decided-unilaterally-to allow gay marriages in the City by the Bay on Feb. 12, 2004, many scoffed and guffawed, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Now, four years later, as the California Supreme Court voted 4-3 on Thursday in favor of the argument that restricting marriage to men and women amounts to unconstitutional discrimination, it’s Newsom doing the laughing, and local gay rights organizations that are smiling.

“Honestly, we’re thrilled,” said Nick Freitas, Executive Director of the Stanislaus PRIDE Center, a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community center located in Modesto. “It’s a step in the right direction for equality across the board. We feel like full citizens.”

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School district weary of BMX bandits

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The proposed Turlock Bike Park started out in December of 2006 as little more than the half-pipe dream of 14 year-old Dominick Rufo. Tired of being forced to ride makeshift dirt jumps hastily-and illegally-thrown together in abandoned lots and parks, Rufo sent an e-mail to David “DJ” Fransen, the man responsible for Turlock’s Skate Park, to see how to go about getting a BMX park built in Turlock.

The bike park is an amenity that has recently found support in other communities, including, Pleasanton, Santa Monica and Manteca who currently has a massive, $850,000 park in the works, so Fransen agreed to help.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Atwater’s Castle Airport was once one of the most important air bases in the United States, home to the massive Boeing B-52 Superfortress bombers that helped battle the Iraqi Republican Guard in Desert Storm and provided a constant threat to communism throughout the Cold War. Today, however, Castle now looks to put their military past behind them as they usher in a new era and welcome much smaller planes to their runways.

Vision Airlines, a North Las Vegas based airline, hopes to bring passenger flights to Castle Airport as soon as July 3, should the Merced County Board of Supervisors have authorized a contract in a meeting that occurred after our deadline last night.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The Turlock City Council, upon the advisement of City staff, moved Tuesday night to table discussion on the construction of a new Emergency Cold Weather Shelter proposed for city land near after the corporation yard on South Walnut. Concerns were raised by council members over the proposed $1.7 million price tag for the building.

“I immediately got calls at home when we sent the packet out to council,” said City Manager Tim Kerr. “Their concern seemed to be, ‘Boy, that’s a lot of money.’”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

A city only turns 100 once, and Turlock’s centennial planners are putting on a year-long celebration that should be remembered for at least 100 years to come. The next major event of the centennial calendar is a full day of activities in downtown on May 17.

Starting bright and early at 7 a.m., the Kiwanis Club of Turlock and the Turlock Rural Fire Department will combine to serve their pancake breakfast at the TRFD building at 690 West Canal Drive. This annual event serves as a fundraiser for both organizations. Admission is free, though donations are accepted.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

District 12 State Senator Jeff Denham’s future in the politics looks much rosier than it did last week as, in the face of potential budget delays and the overwhelming support that Denham has garnered from key constituents, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata announced Wednesday that he has called off the campaign to the recall Denham from office.

“Today - in the spirit of putting politics aside to solve problems - I’m ending the recall campaign,” said Perata.

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Crane Park welcomes new addition

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

For more than 70 years a deodar cedar, also known as a California Christmas Tree, has sat overlooking the play area at Crane Park. The historic tree became a favorite for Turlock High School photography students over the years, who would use the trunk and a large nearby root as a natural frame for pictures.

But now, this historic tree has become home to a family of bears.

Perhaps we should back up a bit.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Room 34 is harder to get in to than Pure, Tao, or any of the hottest clubs in Vegas. But there is no velvet rope, no exorbitant cover charge, and no heavily tattooed bouncer barring your entrance to this exclusive dance spot.

No, to get into Room 34 of Turlock’s Crowell Elementary School, you simply have to pass the audition.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The home of American Legion Auxiliary member Gerry Shippee may not be Flanders Field, the former World War I battlefield made famous by John McCrea’s poem, but the poppies most certainly blow. In fact, more than 4,000 crêpe paper poppies, each hand-made by a hospitalized or disabled veteran, have made their way to Shippee this year in preparation for poppy week, during which members of the ALA and local Boy Scout Troop 21 will work to raise money for those hospitalized and disabled veterans by distributing the flowers.

“A lot of people come up to us when we are distributing the poppies and don’t know what this is all about,” Shippee said. “That just seems so strange to me.”

Shippee has been a member of the ALA for 61 years and acting as head of the poppy program for more than 30 of those. She joined the ALA after the Japanese shot down her husband’s plane during World War II, an ordeal which he fortunately survived, and the two moved to Turlock in January of 1947.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

As the candidates for County District Two Supervisor race towards the June 3 election date, the finish line has just begun to come into focus. A major bend in the course has been rounded with endorsement season nearing its close and one of the final remaining endorsements, that of existing District Two Supervisor Thomas Mayfield, landing in favor of former Stanislaus County Sheriff Les Weidman.

“Les Weidman is as honest as the day is long,” Supervisor Mayfield said. “He is a fighter who has had success in bringing additional resources to the county. Les has proved his dedication and abilities as a deputy on patrol and as our elected County Sheriff. He is exactly what we need in county government at this time. I wholeheartedly support his election in June.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The first Delhi Community Informational Night, held just over a year ago, served as a modest starting point for the program, attracting around 100 residents. The second, marred by a rainy day last November, was a bit of a let down in terms of attendance.

But, proving Goldilocks correct once again, the third Delhi Community Informational Night, held last Thursday evening at Delhi High School, was just right.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Everyone thinks they know about oil. It’s black, you need to change it every 3,000-10,000 miles, and it costs too much. But what do you do with the oil once you change it?

In hopes of answering this question for the residents of Stanislaus County, the county Department of Environmental Resources has begun a new campaign, known as “Dump Used Oil and We All Get Soaked.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The era of the temporary Emergency Cold Weather Homeless Shelter at 400 B Street has now, beyond any shadow of a doubt, come to an end. In a narrow 3-2 decision the Turlock City Council moved Tuesday night to authorize the sale of the warehouse that once housed more than 50 homeless each winter night.

“We are disappointed with the council’s decision, but I’m still going to be in the community, and I fully intend to be involved in next year’s shelter,” said Bill Sturtevant of We Care, the organization which operated B Street. “I didn’t happen to agree with their decision, but the decision was theirs to make.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

After a marathon five-hour meeting yesterday, the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 in favor of supporting the West Park inland port proposal, set for development on the former Crows Landing Naval Air Station and the surrounding 3800 acres. Supervisor Jim DeMartini cast the lone dissenting vote.

An even mix of supporters and detractors of the West Park plan filled nearly every seat of the county chambers as lead developer Gerry Kamilos of PCCP West Park elaborated on some hithertofore unknown details of the development, which claims it will bring in more than 37,000 jobs at full build-out, in 30 years time.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

Spring is in the air; birds are singing, bees are buzzing, and, unfortunately, the house needs cleaning. Planting some flowers and washing the windows are easy enough tasks to take care of, but the real question when cleaning quickly becomes what to do about the inevitable clutter and junk?

If you were considering holding a garage sale as part of your spring cleaning this year, you might want to think about giving Turlock Neighborhood Services Supervisor Bob Boyd a call first.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

Feeding the hungry is certainly a noble cause, but when the Turlock Gospel Mission began their Meal Ministry program just over three months ago the organization seemed shrouded in mystery and garnered a certain amount of distrust from the homeless community. After all, anything new can be scary, even for the people organizing it.

“Through our seven day a week food operation we have serviced a lot of people, and become very knowledgeable in a short 90 days,” said Chris Kiriakou, president of the Turlock Gospel Mission Board of Directors.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

Imagine taking a gaze into your crystal ball and seeing an unassuming white building near the corner of Canal Drive and Golden State Boulevard come into focus. You’ve probably seen the building a thousand times before, but now, in this vision of the future, a yellow sign hangs from the window that says, “Psychic Readings.”

Well, perhaps you don’t have a crystal ball of your own, but at this point you don’t need to be a psychic to see that Turlock is about to welcome its first licensed clairvoyant to the city.

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Clock ticking as deadline approaches

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

To most people, the Fourth of July is a day about fireworks, barbecues, and freedom best enjoyed under the summer sun. For a small group of Turlockers, however, this Fourth of July has changed from a celebration of freedom to the deadline on a desperate search for shelter.

The Turlock Emergency Cold Weather Shelter 2008 committee, primarily comprised of city staff and members from social service organizations around Turlock, has become involved in a frenzied search to locate a structure capable of housing a city-sponsored homeless shelter this winter. Their deadline, in order to be able to meet all necessary city regulations in preparation for a November opening, is July 4.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

Sure, everyone thinks that the big oil companies are fixing the price of gasoline, but can anyone prove it? That’s the question that Scott D. Roberts and Jeremy Wagener set out to answer in their new documentary “GasHole,” set to premiere in Turlock on Friday, and while they don’t find any concrete answers, it’s amazing what they’ve managed to dig up.

From buried patents to internal oil company documents citing modified street cars that have produced hundreds - even thousands - of miles per gallon, “GasHole” paints an intriguing picture of the lengths that oil companies will go to in their pursuit of the almighty dollar.

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Candidates face off in Chamber of Commerce forum

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

While the Candidate Forum held by the Turlock Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday was originally purported as a chance for the two District 2 Supervisorial candidates to differentiate their positions, the evening quickly degenerated into a game of one-upmanship as it became apparent that the two held very similar positions on most issues.

Both Vito Chiesa and Les Weidman began the evening by reading prepared statements, but then went quickly off-script as they alternated answering prepared questions.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

When Turlock Community Services Commissioners came before the City Council on March 11 to present their annual report, council members were likely expecting a relatively brief, somewhat boring rundown of statistics, achievements, and goals for the commission. While things did start off with the numbers, the tone of the meeting changed quickly as chairman Brent Bohlender, who has served the CSC for over 20 years, began to speak.

“I have seen a lot of the responsibilities of this group whittled off,” he said. “Right now, we just receive reports. In the old days, our meetings in the TID building always drew 20 to 30 people. Now, there’s nobody, and there’s no reason to come.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

Gasoline may not be the only thing getting more expensive in Stanislaus County, as the Board of Supervisors took the first step in raising the cost of indigent cremation/burial fees last Tuesday. The fees will jump to more than five times the previous rate as a result of the move, should the ordinance pass through a public hearing, set for 9:15 a.m. on April 22 at 1010 10th Street, Modesto.

For more than ten years the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department Coroner’s Division had contracted with Hughson’s Lakewood Funeral Home to provide cremation services at a cost of $133.50 for those unable to afford such services themselves. The low price lasted until May of 2007 when Lakewood Funeral Home changed hands, releasing the new owner from the previous agreement.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

Five-year old Henry Johnson was born with a congenital disorder known as Apert Syndrome. Instead of having fingers Henry’s hands looked like mittens, and that wasn’t even the worst of his problems.

Apert Syndrome caused Henry’s skull to fuse early, leaving him with troubles breathing and a look that separated him from many of his peers despite his normal mental capacity.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

The Turlock City Council put any differences - real or perceived - behind them last night during the course of a special meeting held to discuss homelessness in Turlock. The council agreed on a two-pronged strategy intended to address both the short-term and long-term challenges presented by homelessness.

The short-term strategy hinges on locating a new site to house a cold weather shelter next winter. All members of the council stated their support for a shelter, though they were concerned with the viability of the long-standing facility at 400 B Street.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

Turlock-based fighter Jeremiah Metcalf left his mark on the Lemoore, California-based Palace Fighting Championships last Thursday evening with a convincing second-round victory over hard-hitting Fresno middleweight Jimmy Dexter. With the win, Metcalf improved his professional mixed martial arts record to 7-4 and firmly positioned himself as next in line for a shot at the PFC welterweight title.

“The fight went really good,” said Gene Fields, Metcalf’s trainer and manager. “When he walked out the crowd booed Jeremiah to the max (in support of local fighter Dexter), but afterwards they were cheering. They considered it one of the best fights of the night.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

Nearly every seat in the Turlock Youth Center was full on Wednesday as members of the Turlock Police Department, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department, the Modesto Police Department and the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office all joined together to present a new plan intended to deal with vagrancy. The Habitual Transient Offender program and the Behavioral Health Outreach program both look to offer treatment to those on the streets rather than perpetuating the “catch and release” cycle of judicial enforcement.

“You can find yourself dealing with the same person three or four times a day,” said TPD officer Joey Mercado, who is in charge of the new programs. “You’ll arrest the same individual and take them to jail for public intoxication two or three times a day.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

The San Joaquin River, teeming as it is with fish, game, and a variety of botanical life, is also the final home of treated water leaving the Turlock Wastewater Treatment Facility. Unfortunately, over the past eight years there have been a few instances where the water wasn’t treated quite enough for the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board’s liking, and the City of Turlock could be looking at a $216,000 bill as a result.

The CVRWQCB has charged the City of Turlock with 72 discharge regulation violations. Each violation could refer to a single second where the outgoing flow is outside of required standards.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

After four long years of meetings, Hilmar is one step closer to a plan for expansion, as the Hilmar MAC unanimously supported a new Hilmar Community Plan late Monday evening. The new plan, designed in collaboration with Merced County, looks to add new roads, new parks, and perhaps most importantly new houses to the community, with population expected to more than double over the next 20 years.

“This all started in February of 2004,” said Alfredo Castillo, planner with Oakdale-based rrm design group. “In this long process, we’ve had five workshops and a study session in July, all culminating in this meeting tonight.”

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Movie to open at local auditorium

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

Turlock has long been known as ‘The City of God,’ but as a city of glitz, glamour, and red carpet premieres?

“I don’t know the last time a film premiered in Turlock,” laughed Hollywood writer, producer, and director Scott Roberts.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

Former psychiatric hospital patients, prison inmates and those simply without access to psychiatrists alike may soon find themselves without their needed psychiatric drugs. The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors decided Tuesday to cut funding for psychotropic drugs for medically indignant adults in a narrow 3-2 decision.

As a result of the ruling, approximately 160 of the county’s poorest residents, suffering from serious mental illnesses, will find themselves looking for new ways to obtain needed medications when the measure takes effect in 60 days time. While the state requires Stanislaus County to care for medically indignant adults, those who are not covered by Medi-Cal or Medicare and cannot afford private insurance, the county is not required to provide mental health treatment.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

While the Turlock City Council plans their April 1 forum to receive community comment on the various issues regarding the homeless that have dominated recent meetings, the Turlock Police are planning a meeting of their own to address their role in the process.

A public meeting will be held to discuss the new program, known as Habitual Transient Offender & Behavioral Health Outreach from 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesday at the Youth Center located at 1030 East Ave. in Turlock.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

For Enclave Community Church Pastor Brian Miller the choice to join the clergy seemed almost obvious. For Miller, he was just following in the footsteps laid out for him.

“This is just who God made me to be,” said Miller. “There I was in junior high, and I just felt called to it. I just said, ‘I think this is what God wants me to do.’”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

Tomorrow evening, starting at 5:30 p.m. the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, Calif. will open its doors to the Palace Fighting Championships VII, featuring a full card of 11 mixed martial arts fights with contestants ranging from spry 125-pound flyweights to hulking 225-pound-plus heavyweights. For the city of Turlock, however, it’s a fighter right in the middle, 185-pound middleweight Jeremiah Metcalf (6-4), that all eyes will be watching as he takes on Fresno’s Jimmy Dexter (2-4).

“I see this fight going my way,” said Metcalf. “I usually get a feeling before my fights. I see me knocking him out on my feet, or else getting the clinch, taking him down, and pounding on him.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

June 30, 2008, will mark the end of an era in Turlock city management, as City Attorney Dick Burton has announced his impending retirement. Burton has served as City Attorney for 14 years.

“During his tenure, Dick provided the City Council with candid and thorough legal advice,” said Mayor John Lazar when he learned of Burton’s retirement. “He was a steadying influence during periods of unprecedented growth and organizational change. He will be missed.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

Good news for West Park, the 4,800 acre inland port proposed for the land previously occupied by the Crows Landing Naval Air Station, comes as bad news to organizations that oppose the development, such as WS-PACE.

The California Transportation Commission has recommended that the development be awarded $25 million from the over $3 billion available in the state’s Trade Corridor Improvement Fund.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

At this point it has become old news that the economy is slowing down and many local businesses are suffering. However, some enterprising outfits, like the Turlock Poker Room, are finding ways to make ends meet during these hard times.

“Like all businesses we’re seeing the effects of what’s going on in the economy, but we’re holding our own,” said Phil Rheinschild, General Manager and new co-owner of the Turlock Poker Room. “We’re on a steady course trying to operate our business the best we can.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

Despite over an hour of impassioned pleas from members of the homeless community, the Turlock City Council voted down a suggested month-long extension of the Emergency Cold Weather Homeless Shelter at 400 B Street at their meeting last night. Rather than remaining open until April 30 as had been proposed, the shelter will now close on March 31.

“I’m going to go sleep on their front porch,” said one disappointed homeless man as he left City Hall after the vote.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

This year it’s all about the budget for California State Senator Jeff Denham, who represents the cities of Turlock and Keyes as part of the 12th district. While in a normal year he would have spent the first few months introducing a myriad of bills addressing issues ranging from farming to education, there is simply no money for new programs in 2008.

As the state lacks the funds to implement the changes that Denham and his constituents desire, the senator is instead putting all of his legislative effort into making changes to the California budget process. He hopes to ensure that future budgets are balanced and passed on time, with enough money to spare for important local programs.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

The opportunities for higher education in Turlock have expanded once again thanks to a new partnership between California State University, Stanislaus and the Turlock City Council. A new Executive Master of Business Administration degree, targeted at full-time working professionals, will be offered in Turlock with classes set to meet on Saturdays in City Hall.

“This is a fast-format, 15-month program done in a business environment to give students the opportunity to work collaboratively and collegiately to get a master’s degree,” said Assistant Turlock City Manager John French to the City Council last Tuesday evening.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

There may not be a single area candidate running for President, but don’t be surprised to see a significant number of Turlockers on the November ballot for that other, local race. With the official filing period still four months away, candidates are already coming out of the woodwork for the upcoming City Council race.

Amy Bublak, a Modesto City Police Officer and Turlock Planning Commissioner, was the first candidate to officially announce her candidacy in the form of a press release issued Sunday. Bublak, who unsuccessfully ran for council in the heated elections of 2006, cited the continued support of local residents as the impetus behind her early announcement.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

When Jane Poindexter’s daughter Alex lost her battle with cancer last March, times were tough. A single mother had lost her only child, and the bills had stacked up during Alex’s three-year fight.

“I miss her intensely,” said Poindexter. “It’s really sad, but it hasn’t been dark.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

As Black History Month came to an end yesterday, the Black Students’ Union at Turlock High School honored famous black people in America’s history. “At Last” by Etta James played through the public address while students perused posters filled with biographies in a fitting conclusion to a month spent recognizing the achievements of African-Americans.

The celebration of music and posters was the culmination of a month’s worth of events, the cornerstones of which was a game called, “Who am I?” Students were given clues referencing famous Black Americans during their advisory period and asked to make guesses to the identity of these historic figures in exchange for some admittedly goofy prizes.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

Today, many Turlockers must get on Highway 99 North and make the long drive to Sacramento, Oakland, or even San Francisco to catch a flight to any of the myriad destinations that await them. In just less than a year’s time, Turlockers could instead find themselves turning south on Highway 99 and making the short, half-hour drive to Castle Airport in Atwater.

The planning firm Mead & Hunt displayed airport layout plans for the former Castle Air Force Base in Merced County last week that project as many as 3,000 commuter airline flights per year as early as 2010. As to what the available destinations would be, or to what airline will be flying the routes, that much is still up in the air.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

When faced with the opportunity to finally move forward on the path towards finding a solution to get Turlock’s homeless off the streets, the City Council instead decided last night to put the decision off for 40 days to receive further public feedback.

Councilmembers voted unanimously to table to the motion to hire the Center for Public Policy Studies at California State University, Stanislaus to head a grassroots action committee.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

There is good news for local residents struggling to afford a house, as Governor Schwarzenegger announced last week that Turlock will be among the cities receiving the benefit of some $73 million in housing funds raised by Propositions 1C and 46. Self-Help Enterprises, a non-profit organization based in Visalia, will be the recipient of $200,000 that will go towards the development of a new self-help housing project at the southwest corner of West and Montana avenues.

“This will create hope for some of the people in our state who need it most,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “Building a better life and pursuing opportunity begins with having a place to live.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

Despite already funding a year-long study intended to identify hurdles that must be overcome in addressing homelessness, the Turlock City Council will consider an additional six-months of inquiry at this Tuesday’s council meeting. Should the motion carry, an additional $24,000 will be spent on the formation of an Action Committee, responsible for translating the recommendations of the previous report into a plan for action.

The committee would be helmed by the Center for Public Policy Studies at California State University, Stanislaus, who drafted the aforementioned report on homelessness at a cost of $70,000 to the City of Turlock.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

Fewer homeless Turlockers have been going hungry in the past month, thanks to new meal ministry provided by the Turlock Gospel Mission. The program, which feeds those in need through the help of local churches, celebrated its first month’s anniversary last week.

“It’s been a good start,” said Jeff Woods, Director of the Turlock Gospel Mission. “We started off the first week and we hardly had anybody.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The biggest milestone yet for the West Park development, an intended 4,800 acre industrial development planned for the site of the former Crows Landing Naval Air Station, is just two days away as state officials will meet in Fresno on Friday to determine if the project will be a recipient of State Proposition 1B funding. One local organization, The West Side - Patterson Alliance for Community & Environment, hopes that funding won’t materialize.

“We plan on attending (the transportation funds meeting),” said Ron Swift, President of WS-PACE. “It’s a key meeting. It’s how they’re going to ultimately decide on those transportation funds and how they’re split up.”

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Wastewater worker keeps it clean

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The idea of working in a wastewater treatment facility may sound appalling to many average citizens. To someone who has never been to a facility, it seems like a dirty, disgusting job that no one would wish on another human being.

After all, who wants to deal with other people’s poop all day? Just imagine the smell.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Despite the apprehension of individual members of the Turlock City Council to a proposed sales tax measure, the council voted as a whole to endorse a proposal that will bring $2.4 million a year to the city to pay for road repairs and improvements, should voters approve the measure in November.

The 20-year, half-cent sales tax would divvy up proceeds between the cities of Stanislaus County and three major regional projects.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Despite the recent setbacks and cuts in local mental health programs, it’s not all bad news when it comes to services available to help Turlockers in need. Stanislaus County’s Behavioral Health and Recovery Services just started a new program - the Consumer & Family Member Orientation, that aims to find help for those who need it.

“We’re trying to reach out to families that have that uncle in the back room that has never gotten treatment and don’t understand how,” said Tim White, Peer Recovery Advocate.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The Turlock City Council made the first steps towards pursuing a part of the solution to the city’s homeless problem at their meeting Tuesday night. The directed staff to prepare a request for proposals to build transitional housing that will help get homeless off the streets and into long-term housing.

“Turlock, like most cities, has a growing homeless population,” read the staff report prepared for the council. “Homelessness is a complex almost intractable problem with many causes.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE

As a modern American, it is rather difficult to imagine the sorts of things that might concern the first settlers of the Turlock area back in the distant year of 1867. It may seem as though there would be countless problems with forming a town from nothing, but two issues dominated the thoughts of those struggling to farm their land: water, and the railroad.

While the water supply was certainly a concern, Stanislaus County residents had managed to find ways to survive with the amounts that they had. The county had grown to become the largest grain-growing area in the entire country through the use of dry-farming techniques during the late 1860s.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE

Walt Whitman once said that, “A great city is that which has the greatest men and women.” Fortunately, Turlock has had the support of great men, women, and most importantly leaders that have guided and shaped the city from a railroad stop into a great city of almost 70,000 citizens.

In order for this city to grow into what it has become, it took 69 residents of what we now call Turlock who were fed up with a lack of water, sewage systems, or electricity. A petition was filed, and with a vote of 61 to 43, Turlock was incorporated as a city.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff reporter

The plan to rebuild the Carnegie Arts Center cleared another hurdle on Thursday night, as the Turlock Planning Commission voted unanimously in favor the project. The Carnegie will now continue development with construction currently projected to begin in the fall 2008 with completion expected a year later.

“I think we’re pretty excited to be talking about this project today,” said Debbie Whitmore, Planning Manager with the City of Turlock. “We hope it will blend in with the entire community and harmonize with it.”

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Big turnout seen at local polling places

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Super Tuesday and the California Presidential Primary have come and gone, and standing atop the Stanislaus County vote tallies appear to be Hillary Clinton and John McCain.

While the massive wave of voters that some had forecasted for Tuesday’s California Presidential Primary never really materialized, turnout was still extremely high among Turlock voters. Most polling places reported almost five times the number of votes that were cast as in November’s local elections.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Only three days now remain before California’s 2008 Presidential Primary. This Tuesday California and more than 20 other states will choose from the six candidates still in the running to become the President of the United States of America.

Of the eight Democrats who had thrown their hats into the ring for the Iowa Caucuses that kicked off the quest to find a presidential candidate on Jan. 5, only two now remain. Of 11 Republican who originally sought their party’s nomination, just four are still standing.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Turlockers are taking a stand against the growing problem of gangs through an organization known as Turlock’s Alternatives to Gangs. The group met on Tuesday at the United Samaritans Foundation to discuss how to convince the youth of Turlock that there are better things to do than join a gang.

“We’re still hooked on that change them when they’re little thing,” said Linda Gillespie.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

While next Tuesday’s 2008 California Presidential Primary Election may still be far off in the minds of some Stanislaus County voters, to those working in Stanislaus County Clerk Recorder Lee Lundrigan’s office the election is already well underway.

“We’ve already received over 23,000 mail ballots,” said Lundrigan. “That’s about all we had for the whole last election.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

In efforts to ease tensions between Columbia Park users and adjacent property owners, the city council decided Tuesday to purchase the vacant house located at 609 High Street and expand the park into this land.

“The reason is twofold,” said City Engineer Mike Pitcock. “One is to add parkland to the Columbia Park for our citizen’s use. The other is that those residential units are a prime target for graffiti, and they also block visibility to officers patrolling the area.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Getting heard before the Turlock City Council should now be easier for those unfamiliar with the inner workings of the organization, as the council has passed a formal procedure for adding items to the agenda for the first time. Before now, the council had no official policy governing how items made it on to the agenda.

“Frankly, it’s the way we’ve been doing it all along,” said City Attorney Dick Burton, who prepared the proposal that the council reviewed and passed on Tuesday evening.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Turlock’s Emanuel Medical Center has taken a major step forward in the detection and treatment of breast cancer as Dr. Walter P. Maynard has been named the new medical director of the Ruby E. Bergman Women’s Center. Under his leadership, the Bergman Women’s Center will expand to 6,000 square feet of space in the Emanuel Medical Plaza, located on Tuolomne Road.

Maynard, who was the breast imaging specialist at several major institutions in Los Angeles prior to coming to Emanuel, looks to make annual screening a priority in his new post.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Despite support from the Stanislaus County Council of Governments, not all of the county’s residents are in favor of the West Park project, the 4,800 acre industrial development and inland port planned for the site of the former Crows Landing Naval Air Station.

The West Side - Patterson Alliance for Community & Environment has already attracted more than 500 members and raised more than $15,000 from those opposed to the plan.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

On October 15, 1988, Robert Stevens, stood in the kitchen at Latif’s Restaurant, expecting it to be a day just like any other. Then the phone rang.

Vice President George H. W. Bush, he was informed, would be dining at Latif’s that afternoon.

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Top citizens honored at annual event

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Ringing in a new year is a chance to reflect on the year gone by. With Turlock entering its centennial year, the opportunity arose to not only look back at the past year, but also those of the last 100 years.

The Turlock Chamber of Commerce took on the heavy task of considering the events of 2007 and the 99 years preceding it on Friday night, as the 2008 Best of Turlock awards recognized the year and century’s most excellent citizens.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

A city only turns 100 once, but for Turlock it’s time. It is hard to ever be ready for such a milestone, but those in charge seem up to the task.

“We better be ready,” said Sharon Silva, Turlock Centennial co-chair and president of the Turlock Chamber of Commerce. “We’ve already kicked off!” Read the rest of this entry »

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The roads of Stanislaus County have long been a concern for residents and politicians alike, but thus far cities and citizens have not seemed able to get on the same page regarding a solution. Turlock City Councilman Ted Howze may have found an answer that the whole county can agree on, in the form of a new ballot measure to raise funding for roads via a half-cent sales tax.

“This proposal comes as a result of negotiations between myself and Supervisor Jeff Grover,” said Howze at last week’s council meeting. “Turlock is demanding the most local return possible on their sales tax dollar with this proposal.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

“We need your support if we are going to bring 37,000 jobs to Stanislaus County,” wrote Gerry Kamilos, the developer behind the West Park project, in a recent mailing to thousands of Turlock residents.

The West Park project has been a source of controversy among Stanislaus County residents and politicians, as many have questioned both the motives and the feasibility of the plan.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

With the California presidential primary less than a month away, time is running out for Californians to register to help choose America’s next president. The deadline to register to vote in the Feb. 5 primary is Jan. 22.

The timing of this year’s primary is taking some voters by surprise as it comes much earlier than past California primaries. The date was moved forward in order to become part of what some commentators are calling “Super Duper Tuesday.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The agricultural future of the Central Valley looks bright, as Ladi Asgill of Delhi, a local agricultural leader, was recently nominated to The California Agricultural Leadership Program. Asgill will become a member of the 38th class of CALP, which is one of the premiere agricultural leadership programs in the nation.

The two-year fellowship is not focused solely upon agriculture, but instead looks to improve leadership skills through a focus upon both personal improvement and current issues that are relevant to agriculture.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Turlock will be challenged to come together in the name of finding a cure for Cancer as the Turlock Relay For Life, a fundraising event for the American Cancer Society, will be holding an informational kickoff meeting on Jan. 14 at Cornerstone Covenant Church, located on the corner of Christoffersen Parkway and Crowell Road.

“Every relay has a kickoff 4 to 5 months prior to the event to act as a jump starter for the community to get ready for the season,” said Miranda Welsh, Executive Chair for the Turlock Relay For Life.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The streets of Turlock may look more like rivers than thoroughfares, but it’s still possible to be safe when you take to the streets, according to the California Highway Patrol.

With weather forecasts predicting rain all the way through next Friday, it is important to know how to drive safely on wet roads.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The Turlock City Council announced Friday that they will be holding a special, previously unscheduled meeting at 9 a.m. today to evaluate the performance of City Manager Tim Kerr. This meeting is closed to the public, and may well decide Kerr’s fate with the City of Turlock.

Councilman Ted Howze met with the independent evaluator hired by the city to assess the Kerr’s performance on Friday in preparation for the meeting, but declined to comment on employee related issues.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The whole nation has been a bit on edge in the four years since George Russell Weller, then 86, drove his Buick LeSabre through a Santa Monica Farmers’ Market. The incident brought to light the serious issue of senior driver safety.

Ten people, one as young as 3, were killed as Weller apparently accelerated through the crowded open-air market. Fifty-four people were wounded as he drove straight ahead, watching victims fly over his windshield, only to exit his vehicle and ask casually how many people he had hit.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

As the clock strikes midnight and the big ball drops in Times Square, several new measures will go into effect that will impact drivers around the state. The new regulations, drafted by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger, are intended to improve safety, allow for increased enforcement, and defend drivers.

In order to be prepared for the changing laws, it is vitally important that all drivers are aware of their new responsibilities.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Boyd and Melva Haskins first met in 1937 in the small town of Sallisaw, Okla. The details of that fateful day were still clear in their minds on Christmas Eve, as they celebrated their 69th wedding anniversary.

“We had gone to church, which they held in a school house,” recalled Boyd Haskins. “I was coming back afterwards, and we went by a house that had a porch where there were young people talking. And I stopped to chat, and for some reason, Melva pushed me off the porch.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Sometimes courage, that incredible strength in the face of great pain, is best seen in the young. It is inspiring to think that twice in the same year, in our small town of Turlock, that we should see children suffer massive trauma only to recover greatly.

The first incident occurred in March when 9-year old Coleton Horner was hit in the face by an errant pitch during the first game of his first Little League majors career. The ball, traveling somewhere between 55 and 70 miles-per-hour, destroyed his facial orbital bones.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

It simply makes sense that Arbor Day, a holiday established to encourage citizens to plant and care for trees, would be an important day to an agrarian community such as Turlock. And it makes even more sense that, in Turlock’s centennial year, the city would make a larger than usual commitment to such a holiday.

In honor of Turlock’s first hundred years, the Turlock City Council has appropriately named the new park at the corner of Countryside Drive and Pinto Way, “Centennial Park.” The name of the park, however, is somewhat secondary to what will occur within it come this Arbor Day, April 28.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Enough is enough when it comes to stray shopping carts, says the City of Turlock. The Turlock Police and the city council have taken a stand that local business owners need to keep better track of their inventories. City officials met with local businesspeople to discuss a possible new city ordinance on Wednesday at City Hall.

“We’ve had ongoing complaints about shopping carts and the unsafe conditions created by them,” said Turlock Chief of Police Gary Hampton. “We have retention basins cluttered with carts that are essential to managing water run-off. We have had countless traffic hazards caused by carts. The whole cart situation has really begun to impact the community.”

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

As the holidays approach, family delicacies like ham, tamales, and plum pudding fill the minds and stomachs of citizens around the country. Unfortunately, as people are busy eating, drinking, and being merry, the eggnog and champagne used to wash down such delights have the unfortunate side effect of drastically increasing the number of intoxicated drivers on the road. Fortunately, both federal and local governments are aware of the potential danger and are working to keep the roads as safe as possible.

As a first step in the war against driving under the influence, the White House has worked to increase awareness about the dangers of driving while intoxicated by declaring December National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The Turlock Convention and Visitors Bureau looks to have a banner 2008, with a larger than expected budget thanks to increased tax revenue from the area’s new hotels.

The CVB expect to generate $214,634 through the city’s Transient Occupancy Tax proceeds in 2008, with the newfound income set to fund several projects intended to improve the appeal of Turlock to visitors.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

It seemed as though half of Turlock turned out for Friday’s Turlock Lights On Parade, watching floats, enjoying music, and spending time with loved ones.

Leonard Mendonca announced the parade for the 15th year in a row, but he doesn’t credit his talent for the job.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Advanced technology will soon be available to healthcare providers in rural, under-served areas of California, thanks to a $22 million grant from the Federal Communication Commission. The grant was awarded to the California Telehealth Network, a coalition led by the University of California.

The $22 million, which will be used in addition to the $200 million in funding allocated in Proposition 1D, will support telemedicine initiatives around the state.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The past year has been busy for Kelvin Jasek-Rysdahl, who has served as a professor of economics for California State University, Stanislaus since September of 1996. In addition to his position as professor, for which he was awarded 2006-07 Outstanding Professor of the Year, Jasek-Rysdahl also serves as co-director of the Center for Public Policy Studies.

Perhaps most importantly to the people of Turlock, however, Jasek-Rysdahl has spent the last year working as the co-author of the recent report on Turlock’s homelessness commissioned by the Turlock City Council. Last Thursday, Jasek-Rysdahl spoke about his research to the CSUS campus community for the first time.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Another candidate has entered the fray in the already-heated contest for the District 2 Supervisor seat, as Les Weidman announced his candidacy on Tuesday. While the Board of Supervisors will not elect new supervisors until November of 2008, Weidman is the second candidate to announce his intent to run for office.

Vito Chiesa, who served as Stanislaus County Fair Board of Directors President for the past fair, is currently Weidman’s sole opposition. The number of candidates is expected to grow before ballots arrive, however, as entrants have until February to file the proper paperwork.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE

Staff Reporter

Highway 99 may be getting a makeover, should research currently underway by DKS Associates, a transportation planning and engineering firm, determine that high-occupancy vehicle lanes and ramp metering will benefit traffic issues.

Terry Klim, an employee for DKS Associates, presented a preliminary outline of the study to the Turlock City Council on Tuesday. The project is sponsored by the Stanislaus County Council of Governments, and a final recommendation is expected in June.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Despite the hard work of the Pitman Pride and a near-comeback, the Lincoln High Trojans scored the win in Friday night’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division I football semifinal by a final score of 37-21.

The Trojans took the lead on their first drive at the Alex G. Spanos Center in Stockton, a beautiful new football stadium with artificial turf when Robb Post scored with a 27-yard field goal. Post was phenomenal kicking all evening, scoring a touchback on the ensuing kickoff and forcing the Pride to start from their own 20.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The holiday shopping season is in full swing with Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas less than a month away. For those with relatives and loved ones across the United States, the clock is already ticking on finding the perfect gift and, more importantly, making sure that perfectly wrapped present makes it under the tree on time.

Fortunately for holiday shoppers everywhere, the various postal organizations are well prepared for the upcoming surge in shipping, which DHL says will account for a 50 percent increase in daily shipping volume.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Let’s face it. The holidays are right around the corner, and you’ve yet to start your shopping.

You’re known for always finding the perfect gift, but this year you don’t even know where to start. Why? Because all the hot gifts this year are tech gifts.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

In a gorgeous house in one of the highest-rent districts of San Francisco, a well-manicured woman flits about the Democratic elite, talking about what the future holds for one presidential candidate and collecting the checks that may well fund the footsteps of our next president. This is not just Andrea Olson’s profession, it is seems to be her native habitat.

Given her ease and grace in the chaos of the event, a fundraiser for Senator John Edwards’ presidential campaign, it’s a little hard to believe that Olson, a Turlock native, is not a lifelong campaign worker and is, in fact, still attending college at the University of California, Berkeley.

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Fraternity members sleep on the streets

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Imagine only being able to call a square of cardboard your home. You have no food, except what people give you. You sleep in nighttime air that can get colder than a refrigerator. Then, imagine doing this by choice.

Six members of the Nu Alpha Kappa Fraternity Delta Chapter at California State University, Stanislaus made that decision last week in honor of National Homeless Week.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

“We have a cancer growing on the West side,” said ex-Patterson City Councilman Dale Borman at Tuesday night’s Turlock City Council meeting. “That cancer is the development of the Crows’ Landing Naval Air Station.”

Borman attended the meeting in efforts to convince the council to vote against supporting the 4,800 acre development at Wednesday’s Stanislaus County Council of Governments meeting.

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Alex Cantatore
Staff reporter

Criminals beware: The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors has ensured that the Spousal Abuser Persecution Program, operated through the District Attorney’s Office, will see its 13th year of prosecuting accused abusers. This year’s resolution will see $151,999 flow into the coffers of the program in a combination of county and federal funds.

“This is a very important program,” said Beth Owen, Deputy District Attorney. “Without it, we wouldn’t have the time or the funding to really get into these files. With SAAP, I can spend more of my time handling homicides, attempted homicides, and three strikes cases.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The City of Turlock came to the forefront at Tuesday’s Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors meeting, as the supervisors allocated funding for two projects in the city. The streets of Turlock will benefit from the Economic Development Bank program, while the Turlock Groundwater Basin Association will see funding from the Department of Environmental Resources.

An $889,305 loan was granted for construction of a traffic signal at the corner of Fransil Lane and West Main Street in Turlock, which is located within the Westside Industrial Specific Plan area.

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Poor turn out reported at polls

BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

What if you held an election and nobody came? At the Turlock Junior High School polling location, only 48 voters out of the 890 assigned to the location had arrived with less than a half-hour before the polls closed.

“It was sad,” said Debbie Jeheber, who has worked the polls since 1996.

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ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

As the seasons change and residents of Turlock enjoy the beautiful colors of fall with leaves changing from green to red and gold in a splendid last hurrah before the days turn rainy and coats become a common sight. Turlock residents do not, however, enjoy the mess that is made as leaves begin to fall and carefully manicured lawns become cluttered and messy.

That’s where the City of Turlock and employees Wayne Rogers and Casey Williams come in. Monday marked the start of the annual leaf pick-up program that will run until Feb. 8 at no cost to city residents in association with Turlock Scavenger.

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Alex Cantatore
Staff reporter

Thursday officially marked the end of the Stanislaus Behavioral Health Center and the beginning of the Doctor’s Behavioral Health Center. The county mental healthcare facility was transferred into the control of Doctor’s Medical Center, a Tenet Healthcare hospital, at the bequest of the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors.

Under the terms of the sale, DBHC will be required to allocate 35 beds from the 67-bed facility to the treatment of county clients, who were previously the sole focus of the center.

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Alex Cantatore
Staff reporter

The children of Turlock will have better care available to them should they become ill, thanks to a new service being provided by Turlock’s Emanuel Medical Center. Children’s Hospital Central California of Madera, and Specialty Medical Group of Central California will be working with Emanuel to provide care from board-certified pediatricians, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“Children’s Hospital is famous for its pediatric care,” said John Sigsbury, President and CEO of Emanuel Medical Center. “This affiliation means families in Turlock are getting the very best care available for their children without having to leave town. We’re proud of that.”

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Career Day gives students a real look at work

Alex Cantatore
Staff reporter

The Turlock Noon Rotary Club and the Turlock Unified School District partnered to sponsor Rotary Career Day on Tuesday, inviting Turlock and Pitman High School seniors to see what it’s like in the working world, even if just for a few hours. For one student, the glimpse was a bit too much.

“I don’t know what happened,” said the student after fainting while watching Dr. Doug Marks perform surgery at the Monte Vista Small Animal Hospital. “I think it was the cutting.”

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Alex Cantatore
Staff reporter

Whatever you do, don’t call Monday night’s City Council meeting an emergency meeting.

“It was a special meeting, not an emergency meeting,” said Councilman Tim Howze.

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Alex Cantatore
Staff reporter

The over 200,000 registered Stanislaus County voters will be asked to cast their ballots on Tuesday, Nov. 6. Up for grabs will be several local offices, including various school district positions and director of the Turlock Irrigation District.

The registration deadline for the upcoming election was Oct. 22. Anyone who has previously registered to vote in the county is eligible to vote, regardless of how much time has passed since last voting.

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Alex Cantatore
Staff reporter

The Children and Families Commission of Stanislaus County has found success in its mission to support children from before birth to age five, but the future of the commission seems cloudy with an expected decrease in funding.

The SCCFC was formed as a result of California Proposition 10, or the California Children and Families First Act, which passed in 1998. Prop. 10 placed a 50-cent per pack tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products to fund early childhood development programs.

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Alex Cantatore
Staff reporter

The Southern California wildfires may seem distant to most Turlock residents, but to members of the Turlock Rural Fire Department the fires are a constant thought. TRFD has committed to help fight the Southern California fires and sent three firemen to San Bernardino County.

TRFD firefighters are among 1,359 working the Slide Fire, which has burned 13,378 acres at Green Valley Lake near Running Springs.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

The amount of healthcare provided by the county will be dropping in an effort to make up a $6.2 million budget shortfall.

The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 in favor of a resolution that will cut 19 positions, reduce urgent care hours, close the clinical lab, reduce radiology services, and reduce the level which qualifies as a Medically Indigent Adult.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

Janel Tyson, Director of Steps to Freedom, was a heroin addict for over 25 years before she found the right solution to help her become sober. Now, Tyson is working hard to share her answer with others through the program Steps to Freedom, which offers transitional living and individualized programs for women that are suffering from the effects of drugs and alcohol.

“In Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, they tell you we have a ‘higher power,’” said Tyson. “Most people have no idea what that means.

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Alex Cantatore
Staff reporter

Jeffry McCardia, Chairman of the Stanislaus County Advisory Board on Substance Abuse Programs, expressed both concern and contentment with the state of Stanislaus County’s drug and alcohol treatment programs. ABSAP provided its somewhat-mixed yearly report at the Oct. 16 meeting of the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors.

“(The county) provides excellent short term treatment for both men and women,” McCardia said. “Employees are very dedicated and go out of their way to help their patients.”

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Alex Cantatore
Staff reporter

Only one woman, Stormy Stroud, is responsible for making magic - the Modesto Magic, that is.

The Modesto Magic are a new expansion team in the National Women’s Football Association, the largest full-contact women’s professional football league in existence.

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Alex Cantatore
Staff reporter

Thanks to the actions of Admissions Counselor Carolina Alfaro and the California State University, Stanislaus Student Outreach Department, Chicano/Latino area youth are receiving a better view of the importance of higher education.

Last Saturday, CSUS hosted the somewhat misleadingly-named third-annual Chicano/Latino Youth Conference.

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Alex Cantatore
Staff reporter

In a game marked by huge plays and inclement weather, the Denair High School Coyotes defeated the Le Grand High School Bulldogs by a final score of 45 to 20.

The sky was calm when the Varsity Coyotes took the stage, but the field was undoubtedly still muddy due to the torrential rain that fell during the JV game, with visible puddles in places.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE

It was a standing-room only crowd at Tuesday’s Turlock City Council meeting, with the vast majority of those in attendance wearing multi-colored stickers that read, “Be Creative! Support the Carnegie.” Due to the outpouring of support and a slow economy, the City Council approved the full vision of a rebuilt Carnegie Center for the Arts, as proposed by the Carnegie Building Commission.

The rebuilding of the Carnegie Center for the Arts has been a contentious issue with the council in recent weeks, as councilmembers expressed their interest in using funding for issues other than the arts center.

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Governor creates 360 new positions

BY ALEX CANTATORE

The California Highway Patrol’s West Sacramento academy trains all the cadets who join the CHP, and the academy is in need of more cadets to train. Recently signed legislature, backed by Governor Schwarzenneger, has created 360 new positions to fill.

“This is the first time since 1969 that new positions have been added which were not a part of special mandates or programs,” said CHP Commissioner Mike Brown, who was appointed in 2004 by Governor Schwarzenneger.

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Alex Cantatore
Staff reporter

The Turlock and Modesto irrigation districts recently expressed concern with San Francisco’s planned improvements to their water system which may affect various environmental concerns, such as the Chinook salmon population.

“While TID and MID strongly support San Francisco’s efforts to replace its aging water infrastructure and make the earthquake retrofits needed to meet modern seismic standards, the irrigation districts are concerned about how other aspects of San Francisco’s plan may impact the Tuolomne River and their agricultural and urban customers’ water supplies,” said the districts in a recent joint press release.

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Alex Cantatore
Staff reporter

Turlock’s outstanding schools were on showcase Tuesday when State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell paid a personal visit to Cunningham Elementary School and Dutcher Middle School to congratulate them for their hard work and rising test scores.

Cunningham is part of the Turlock Unified School District and was recently awarded the title of a “safe harbor” school as a result of their achievements.

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Alex Cantatore
Staff reporter

Roadrunner Angus of Turlock had an excellent showing at the 2007 Western Washington Fair Angus Show that occurred Sept. 8 in Puyallup, Wash.

Don Cardey, owner of Roadrunner Angus, has been raising Angus cattle for “about 15 years” but has been in the cattle business for over 50 years.

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Alex Cantatore
Staff reporter

Last August, Denair High School student Megan Herrington, 15, was enjoying the last few weeks of summer before the start of a new school year. She was looking forward to her sophomore year and getting back to playing softball for the Denair Coyotes. But then, during a freak accident, she suddenly became paralyzed.

“We were laying out in the sun, and my friend grabbed the hose and sprayed me with cold water. It was cold, so I jumped up. Twenty minutes later, I couldn’t walk,” Herrington said.

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Alex Cantatore

Staff reporter

Adolf Hitler once used The Armenian Genocide as a sort of justification for his actions when he stated, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”

The United States Government is today speaking of the annihilation of the Armenians, as a new resolution seeks to formally acknowledge the Armenian Genocide for the first time.

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Alex Cantatore
Staff reporter

The Carnegie Center Building Committee’s Wednesday night meeting was a somber affair, but also one where hope was expressed that, through the public’s support, the community vision for the Carnegie might still be built despite the city council’s reluctance to approve funding.

“I don’t know if there’s anyone in here who doesn’t know what’s going on,” said Lisa McDermott, Community Arts Facilitator, to a room full of people.

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Funding is key issue for councilmembers

BY ALEX CANTATORE

Members of the Turlock arts community and the Carnegie Center Foundation expected to proceed with plans to rebuild the Carnegie Center for the Arts after a seemingly routine appearance before the Turlock City Council Tuesday, but were instead surprised to find things held up by indecisive councilmembers.

The council was expected to consider funding options for the restoration of the Carnegie Center for the Arts at the Sept. 25 meeting. However, the meeting was adjourned with no decisions made. Supporters of the Carnegie Center fear that the City Council might redirect funds for other purposes.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE

Good news comes from the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, as the 2007 Spare the Air season ended with a record low number of Spare the Air days in Stanislaus County.

Only two Spare the Air days were declared for Stanislaus County in 2007, compared to 13 in the year previous. This number also bested the previous all-time low of three Spare the Air days in 2004.

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Alex Cantatore
Staff reporter

Dan Madden, Municipal Services Director, came before the Turlock City Council on Tuesday to announce the results of the Proposition 218 process intended to raise the minimum fee for metered water customers. Proposition 218 required the Turlock Irrigation District to notify property owners of any proposed increase in fees.

Notification of a $.50 increase in the monthly water meter replacement fee and an additional $.50 increase in the monthly metered rate minimum were delivered via U.S. Mail to customers on Aug. 6. If more than 50 percent of the over 19,000 customers notified responded in writing to oppose the change, the increase would not be allowed under Proposition 218 rules.

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Turlock seeks to end pet overpopulation

Alex Cantatore
Staff reporter

Turlock Animal Services are tired of begging pet owners to spay and neuter their pets. Law enforcement will now attempt to stem pet overpopulation from a different angle.

Turlock’s Breeder’s Certificate Law prevents the sale or gift of dogs or cats unless the owner first obtains a breeder’s certificate. Only animals older than 7 weeks old and those with their first vaccination can be transferred under the new regulations.

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Alex Cantatore

Staff reporter

The Bulldogs learned that, perhaps, you really can’t come home again, as they fell 27-21 in an overtime loss to the Atwater Falcons.

The Bulldogs came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, taking the ball 71 yards in a 12 play drive which was capped by a 5 yard run from tailback Tharon Gallegos.

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Alex Cantatore
Staff reporter

The Stanislaus County Mental Health Board presented an upbeat report to the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors at their Tuesday, Sept. 18 meeting, but the bottom line was one of budget cuts and nagging concerns.

Most of the successes reported by the Mental Health Board seemed to come on a case-by-case basis. The Board of Supervisors were told a story by Chip Langman, a member of the Mental Health Board who spoke about what he called “One prime example of incredible success in adult care.”

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Alex Cantatore

Staff reporter

The Pitman Pride dominated the field Friday at Joe Debely Stadium, besting the Thomas Downey High School Knights 21-7 in a game that was never really close.

Downey’s junior running back Ian Larsen was injured on the opening kickoff, which was a major loss for a team that had counted on him for more than 30 yards in each of their past two games.

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BY ALEX CANTATORE

The rumors of Stanislaus County’s SCATE program’s demise may have been greatly exaggerated, if the voices of several speakers at the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors are heard.

A budget shortfall due to overwhelming success of SCATE, or the Stanislaus County Alternative to Euthanasia program, has caused the Stanislaus County Department of Animal Services to restrict availability of the low-cost spay and neuter program beginning Oct. 1. SCATE vouchers were previously available over the counter at the Stanislaus County Animal Services Department and will now only be available at monthly clinics.

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Girls fall to the Cougars 8-9

BY ALEX CANTATORE

Turlock High’s varsity boys water polo team won a heart-stopper against Golden Valley at the brand new Steve Feaver Aquatic Center on Thursday, with a score of 9-8 in overtime.

“The win was exciting,” said Coach Feaver. “We talked about the historical perspective going into the game as this was our first game back at Turlock in 20 years. It’s real satisfying to get that first win back.”

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HS Bulldogs fight back, drop the Davis Spartans

BY ALEX CANTATORE

After a lackluster first half, the Turlock High Bulldogs came out of the locker room re-energized to defeat Davis High of Modesto in a game that seemed much closer than the score may have indicated.

Turlock High’s 26-13 victory over the Spartans at Joe Debely Stadium evened up their record to 1-1 on the season, but the highlight of the night was undoubtedly the defensive skill of Anthony Rendon and Dillon Scholler.

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