McDonald’s to hire 50,000 in single day

Now all those people who say "I'll flip burgers if it comes down to it," can put their money where their mouth is. McDonald's is hiring 50,000 new full and part-time people during a national hiring event on April 19.

Local business gives teachers money through grant program

Two years ago GDI president Grant Davis started the "Adopt-A-Teacher" grant program. But in two years Davis said he has only received a grand total of two requests for funds.

Learning about space

Walnut Elementary Education Center celebrated "Space Week" this week. Space week started 15 years ago to commemorate astronaut Alan Sheppard's first U.S. manned space launch. Students at Walnut learned about aerodynamics, flight control and design, and rocketry. Fifth grade teacher Bret Sutterley said Space Week is now done in conjunction with California Standardized Testing to loosen up what can be a tight atmosphere on campus.

Renaissance kid

Pitman High School Principal Rod Hollars has worked in education for decades and has never seen a child so young and gifted as Kohl James.

School district dealing with Sacramento failures

After months of trying to work out problems with legislative Republicans, Gov. Jerry Brown called off budget negotiations on Tuesday.

Beekeepers could get stung by proposed fee

A proposed assessment fee on beekeepers that do business in California is causing a storm of controversy amongst the industry.

BBQ FOR LIFE

Some tasty barbecue ribs were cooked up over open flames during the 4th Annual Century 21 M&M and Associates Rib Cook-Off benefiting the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life on Friday. Over 400 people attended the event, which featured 17 barbecue teams, raffles and even cupcakes. The team with the best barbecue wins bragging rights and a traveling trophy. M&M hopes to raise $6,000 this year.

TUSD school communities raise funds for sixth grade camp

Where there's a will, there's a way. In a remarkable display of cooperation, dedication and commitment all nine Turlock Unified School District elementary schools raised enough funds to send every single sixth grader to Foothill Horizons camp in May.

Wakefield students have ‘no excuses’

There is a simple theory that if you tell kids over and over again they are unlikely to succeed because they come from bad neighborhoods and are growing up in poverty, they will do exactly what society tells them to do, which is fail.

Cancer doesn’t keep Osborn student down

If you ever get a chance to meet Adham Hamza it will be hard to forget him. He has that much personality. He has been known to literally talk non-stop for hours and the whole time he will have a smile on his face and unrelenting enthusiasm for wherever his creative mind takes him.

Julien students blast math at competition

A group of sixth-grade students from Julien Elementary in Turlock recently competed in the Stanislaus County Math Blast. More than 200 sixth-grade students from across the county participated in the event.

Crowell principal earns top honors

Before Linda Alaniz became principal of Crowell Elementary School in Turlock five years ago, there was a slight disconnect between parent, teachers and administrators. While the school was functioning, it wasn't doing so at its highest level, according to numerous parents and teachers on campus.

Local students excel at Occupational Olympics

The 26th Annual Stanislaus County Occupational Olympics and Career Exposition was held Wednesday at the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds in Turlock. More than 800 students from county high schools participated in 23 competitive events. In addition to the events 54 business and industry representatives exhibited and spoke to students during the Career Expo.

Turlocker named Middle School Teacher of the Year

Turlock resident Jeanne Hartman, a resource specialist teacher at Empire Elementary K-8 School in Empire, was recently named the California League of Middle Schools' "Middle School Educator of the Year."

Junior high rallies ‘Just for Jeremiah’

About a month ago Turlock Junior High School seventh grader Jeremiah Coghill started feeling ill. He was weak, had random nose bleeds, and was sleeping 20 hours a day and he had lost 15 pounds.

Arts in the classroom

Turlock High student rises above tragedy

From the outside looking in it would appear as though Heather Johnson's story is one of absolute tragedy - but Stephanie doesn't see it that way. At 14 she lost her mother, and last year she lost her father. Both parents led troubled lifestyles that ended tragically. If there was ever a reason for a teenager to give up hope, she certainly had one. But Heather, now a successful junior at Turlock High ...

Hilmar kids get gold fever

Family on mission to raise epilepsy awareness

The first time Earl Elementary second grader Calliey Gomez suffered an epileptic seizure her parents thought she might have been choking. They had no idea their daughter was having the first of what would become nightly battles with a form of sleeping epileptic seizures. Every night while she sleeps, Calliey has dozens of twitches and mini-seizures. While her epilepsy is not directly life-threatening, a lack of deep sleep and a host of medications can ...

TJHS student honored posthumously for courage, positive attitude

Mikaylah Partin was well-known at Turlock Junior High for her warm smile, quick wit and positive spirit. Mikaylah passed away unexpectedly over Christmas break last year due to health complications - but her spirit lives on at the campus. In the months following Mikaylah's death, her fellow students constructed a painted tree with multi-colored paper leaves. As the days went by the number of leaves on the tree grew and grew with reflective, heart-felt ...

A closer look at NJROTC

Q: What is the role of NJROTC at Turlock High School?

Local students shine at Occupational Olympics

When Leo Scheuber was the Stanislaus County Regional Occupational Program Director 27 years ago he launched the Occupational Olympics in an effort to expose students to vocational and employment opportunities in the Valley. "Back then not everyone was expecting to go to college, so for those kids who weren't we especially wanted to expose them to vocational programs," he said. "This is also a good avenue for kids to find their niche and ...

Mountain View student is normal on the outside, miracle on the inside

Very few of Griffin Boyd's classmates at Mountain View Middle School know that he is a walking, talking miracle.

California Common Core Standards unveiled

California has begun the shift to a nationwide set of new academic standards for public schools. The standards, known the Common Core State Standards, have been adopted in 46 states.

Local charity looks to make prom dress dreams come true

Alix Ribeiro is proving that at least one New Year's resolution can stick. Her resolution was to make her community a better place, and, unlike many who soon forgot their goals, she has stuck to her resolution. Recently Ribeiro started a charity, Closets Couture, which is collecting prom dresses to give away to girls in need, something she said is in huge demand. "With the economy like it is there are a lot ...

Girl Scouts centennial celebration

Local girls joined millions of others across the country this week in celebrating a century of Girl Scouts. On March 12, 1912, founder Juliette Gordon Low gathered 18 girls for the first Girl Scout meeting in Savannah, Ga. Today, 3.2 million girls are members of Girl Scouts in troops across the country.

Spratling girl pushes beyond ‘disability’

Karina Mora, a seventh grader at Spratling Middle School in Keyes, doesn't see herself as a kid with significant hearing loss and she refuses to become a "victim." Since Karina was a baby she has had little to no hearing in both of her ears. She began learning sign language early on, and by third grade she was learning to read lips and taking speech therapy. Two years ago she received a cochlear ...

THS Election Convention promotes democratic understanding

Most high school student body elections are fairly simple. The school has a rally and each candidate speaks, maybe throw in a skit, and then the student body returns to their homeroom and fills out ballots. But at Turlock High School student body elections are far from the mundane. On Friday, more than 400 students participated in an all-day election process for five student body officers. The process is modeled after an actual ...

Band students give command performance

Turlock Junior High School band members Ross Valenzuela, Isaac Tucker, Angel 'Big Daddy' Avalos and Diego Basulto earned a command performance at a recent event at California State University, Stanislaus. The sax quartet has been performing together for two years. Thanks to their superior command performance they have been invited to perform at the Gallo Center for the Arts during the Modesto Community Concert Association Young Artists Concert, to be held March 25.

Mast Blast stars