Police department gets $1.1 million for new officers

A federal stimulus plan to fund more police officer positions will mean four new officers will be patrolling the streets of Turlock.

TID extends irrigation season, offers more water

Local growers will be the beneficiaries of a wetter than expected rainy season this year, as Turlock Irrigation District customers will be entitled to a longer than anticipated irrigation season and an additional 15 inches of water allotment and additional 6 inch cap.

Local Assyrians protest Iraqi church bombings

In a 72 hour span, from July 11 to 13, seven Christian churches were bombed in Iraq. The reverberations of those bomb blasts were felt a half a world away here in Turlock, as Assyrian-Americans gathered at Monte Vista Crossings on Saturday evening to protest the lack of protection given to Assyrians still living on their native soil. "Our people over there need more support, more security," said Charles Givargis, Executive Director of the Assyrian ...

Adult school reaches out to community leaders

Turlockers who drive down Colorado Avenue on a daily basis probably do not even notice the Community Continuum College. The building sits so far back on the property that, despite large letters on the front of the building, it is easy to miss from the street. The physical isolation of the building reflects the relative obscurity of the school in the Turlock community.

STEPPIN’ TO THE BEAT

The Turlock Steppin Pards danced the night away at their Hootenanny on Friday. The evening started out with rounds and progressed into squares. Dancers each brought a can of food for the "hobo stew," a meal made of whatever vegetables and canned goods the dancer brought, and eaten out of a can.

Turlock lauded for eco-friendly ways

It's not easy being green, but Turlock excels at it, according to the non-profit National Resources Defense Council.

PRESCHOOL PARADISE

Campers at the Turlock Nursery School enjoyed a break from the summer heat this week with a "water fun" themed week of day camp. Kids slid down the zip-line in the back yard of the Turlock Nursery School on Friday while others painted sea-themed decorations during the arts and crafts portion of the camp. This week's theme allowed kids to play outside in the pool. Next week's theme is "rescue heroes," and campers will be ...

COMMUNITY: HORSING AROUND

Despite the triple-digit temperatures, over 80 4-H and FFA members have been competing in the annual pre-fair horse show at the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds.

Pie contest sweet deal for bakers and USF

As the opening day of the Stanislaus County Fair draws close, so does the annual Apple Pie Contest. Each year local bakers put their talents to the test hoping that their pie earns top honors, while also giving back to the community. Each pie contest entrant is required to bake two pies - one for the judges and one to be given to the United Samaritan Foundation's Daily Bread trucks which serve a free lunch to those in need.

Smoggy car owners to get PASS at cash

Owners of vehicles that have a hard time passing those pesky smog checks may be eligible for a new program that offers cash to get repeat polluters off the road.

Power line project fizzles out

The Transmission Agency of Northern California officially ended its effort to install 600 miles of high-voltage electricity transmission lines stretching from Lassen County to Turlock on Wednesday.

Denair poker star finishes in the money at WSOP

Turlock area poker players have again done well on the sport's biggest stage, as Shayne Heine, a cattle broker from Denair, finished in the money at the 40th Annual World Series of Poker No Limit Texas Hold'em World Championship this week.

COMMUNITY: TWILIGHT MANIA

Turlock tween Haley Brock is one of the many young readers across the country who have fallen in love with the story of Edward and Bella as told in Stephenie Meyer's best-seller, "Twilight." When the movie version of the book came out, Haley's fascination with the vampire love story grew. So it was no surprise that when her family took a recent 10-day trip to Oregon, Haley's first thought was how close they were to ...

Jobless rate remains high for Stanislaus County

Stanislaus County's unemployment rate held steady for the most part for the month of June, increasing by just .2 percent, according to the latest data released by the Employment Development Department.

COMMUNITY: LLAMA LESSONS

"Llamas are always magical for children," said Lora Crawford of Lora's Llamas, "they just love them."

Investigation continues into largest case of animal cruelty county has ever seen

The investigation is still ongoing into what Stanislaus County Animal Services Executive Director Annette Patton called the worst case of animal cruelty the county has ever seen. A citizen complaint call on Tuesday led to the discovery of an estimated 50,000 hens starving to death at an egg farm off South Carpenter Road. Patton said a third of the hens were found dead, and most of the rest have been "properly and ...

Lost camper found after four days of desperation

Chris Dellis went into the Stanislaus National Forest on Feb. 18 for a night of camping and a day of target shooting. What followed was an epic struggle for survival as the 32-year-old man wandered lost, dehydrated hungry, injured and burdened with a deep despair that he would never look once more upon the faces of his wife and three children. Sustained by his higher power and digging into a reserve of strength ...

Missing teen may now be with Turlock boyfriend

The search for a missing 14-year-old Livingston girl continues, though authorities now believe she left her family's ranch voluntarily with her 17-year-old boyfriend. The Merced County Sheriff's Department is continuing to actively search for 14-year-old Sarah Wade because she is considered "at risk" based on statements she has made about committing suicide. Wade was last seen at her home at 11933 W. Rose Ave. in Livingston around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. She went ...

Stanislaus Library launches mobile app

Smartphone users can play Scrabble, update Facebook, and tweet to their hearts' content, thanks to the myriad apps available in their respective app stores.

Fun center project still on hold

Last week's announcement that retailers Old Navy and ULTA Beauty are soon headed to Turlock's Monte Vista Crossings had Turlockers abuzz.

Diamond Foods, Pringles part ways

An acquisitions deal between Diamond Foods, Inc. and Proctor and Gamble that has been dogged by an internal accounting probe and lawsuits, came to an official end Wednesday when The Kellogg Company stepped in and purchased the sought after Pringles snack brand.

Pump prices dig deeper into consumers’ pockets

The recovering economy may be good news to investors, but it's bad news for drivers.

State closures leave TID looking at options to keep Turlock Lake open

Since moving to Turlock in 2002 the Turlock Lake State Recreation Area has become Nancy Jewett's home away from home, offering swimming in the summer, hiking in the winter, and a verdant natural landscape year-round. But Jewett's days of visiting Turlock Lake may be near an end, as the State of California is set to cease operations at the state park on July 1 in a cost-saving maneuver. "The entire recreation area ...

Turlockers open county’s first mobile cupcakery

Dry winter sparks increase in Valley burn bans

When the San Joaquin Valley's Check Before You Burn Program comes to a close in two weeks it will cap off a season that has seen a record number of banned burning days and some of the worst wintertime air quality. The dry and relatively wind-free weather that has been routine for most of this winter has had an adverse affect on the region's air quality and sparked an increase in the number ...

Turlock Chamber wins big at Western conference

The Turlock Chamber of Commerce made quite an impression last weekend at the Western Association of Chamber Executives' annual management conference in Las Vegas. Turlock Chamber President/ Chief Executive Officer Sharon Silva was named the Chamber of Commerce Executive of the Year and the Business News was awarded first place in the Magazine competition for chambers with under 1,000 members. "It's a very big honor for the Turlock Chamber," said Paul Porter, chamber ...

TID looks at possible dry-season irrigation allotments

With the Turlock Irrigation District's 2012 irrigation season just a few months away, an ongoing dearth of rain has forecasters projecting below-average allotments. As of Sunday, just .08 inches of precipitation had fallen in February. As much as 1.2 inches could fall in the TID watershed this coming week, per TID forecasts, but no rain is projected in the following week. New California Department of Water Resources projections suggest 1.03 million acre-feet ...

Gas prices climb

The pump prices have jumped in every single metro area across Northern California, according to the latest report from AAA Insurance, which tracks gas prices as a service to consumers. According to AAA, all of the Northern California metro areas tracked by the organization had double-digit increases over the past month. The Golden State's average for a gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline is $3.85, up 15 cents since last month's AAA report ...

Grape crush down 3 percent from 2010; price of all varieties reach record high

California's 2011 crush totaled 3,869,894 tons, down 3 percent from the 2010 crush of 3,986,314 tons. All wine varieties crushed totaled 3,342,689 tons, down 7 percent from 2010. Red wine varieties accounted for the largest share of all grapes crushed, at 1,917,132 tons, down 7 percent from 2010. The 2011 white wine variety crush totaled 1,425,557 tons, down 7 percent from 2010. Tons crushed of raisin type varieties totaled 372,551, up 36 percent ...

Farm exports hit record levels

U.S. farm exports reached a record $136.3 billion in calendar year 2011, reported the United States Department of Agriculture. "The data released today by USDA represents a record-breaking calendar year for farm exports, demonstrating-once again-that American agriculture remains a bright spot in our nation's economy. We saw a rise in both the value and volume of U.S. agricultural exports worldwide in 2011, as international sales rose $20.5 billion over the previous record set ...