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."

Turlock woman dies in crash

A Turlock woman was killed in a solo crash Sunday night in Hilmar. The deceased was identified as 25-year-old Cassy Mancebo. The California Highway Patrol suspects Mancebo was under the influence of alcohol when she crashed her 2003 Ford Focus. Mancebo was driving the Ford eastbound on American Avenue, west of Columbus Avenue in Hilmar around 8 p.m. Sunday. The CHP said Mancebo drove her vehicle off the road and ...

Balloon festival raises money for children’s hospital

RIPON - Holding the palms of his hands over his ears to soften the roar of the flame shooting into his hot air balloon, 7-year-old poster boy Adham Hamza had the thrill of his life during the opening day of the Color the Skies balloon festival Saturday. The official ambassador for the event, Adham had developed brain cancer when he was only eight months old and is a regular ...

Wildlife center opens doors to public for annual event

THE FIRE LANE

The Turlock Fire Department responded to a total of 426 incidents during the month of August. These included a total of 259 emergency medical service calls. Turlock Fire responded to 19 motor vehicle accidents, and 26 commercial/ residential fire alarms. There were a total of 26 fire type calls: five building fires, three vehicle fires, two unauthorized burns, three cooking fires, eight vegetation and/or rubbish fires, two fires in structure "other," and three additional ...

United Nations takes issue with water quality in Central Valley

Poor water quality in the Central Valley – and the relative concentration of that water in poor, rural areas – has drawn the attention of the United Nations. Catarina de Albuquerque, United Nations Independent Expert on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation, issued a report to the UN Human Rights Council on the state of water and sanitation access in America earlier this month. Playing a large role in that ...

Local church offers free after-school tutoring

First Presbyterian Church is giving back to some of Turlock's youngest residents with The Learning Zone, a free after school tutoring program for kids in first through sixth grade. The Learning Zone offers one-on-one tutoring to students for an hour and a half per week. Sheri Cripe, a director at The Learning Zone, said the program mainly targets students from Julien, Crowell, Denair and Dennis Earl elementary schools because these schools are closest ...

BUSINESS: GREEN AGENCY

Green isn't just in this insurance agency's name – it's a way of life. Winton-Ireland, Strom & Green Insurance Agency representatives announced this week they have installed an electric vehicle charging station at their 687 E. Canal Dr. offices. The charging station includes a 220 volt attachment for Chevrolet Volts, and a 110 volt adaptor for other electric vehicles. Winton-Ireland, Strom & Green Insurance Agency is believed to be the second business ...

Valley air historically clean in August; Air Alert issued for September

One day after announcing for the first time the San Joaquin Valley has seen August pass without recording a single violation of federal air standards, the Air Pollution Control District issued an Air Alert for the first week of September. The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District said Thursday that this was the first time in recorded history that the air basin did not incur an exceedance for the standard in August. ...

City comes together to welcome visitors — and their economic impact

While communities across the state continue to struggle with the economic recession, there have been small gains in a few industries, among them tourism. In Turlock, businesses and organizations are coming together to compete for those tourism dollars. "We're working really hard at pushing the Turlock stay," said Turlock Convention and Visitors Bureau director Desa Cammack. The Turlock CVB works hand in hand with promoters, local facilities, the City of Turlock and ...

Long road to economic recovery, finds report

A new report of labor data shows California making progress on unemployment rates but predicts that the road to a full recovery is going to be long and slow moving. The Economic Development Department looked at labor data through July and found that unemployment in most areas of the state has begun to trend downward and that job growth was returning to the private sector, albeit slowly. The San Joaquin Valley, which ...

Local woman makes fitness dreams reality

Lori Hooper might be the successful owner of two fitness studios now, but just a few years ago she was Lori Avila, a student at Turlock High School and a member of the cross country team. Hard work paid off for Hooper, who opened her second studio in Turlock in January. "I was studying at Stan State when I had my daughter and had to quit going. But I told myself I would ...

Turlock boy helps ‘Color the Skies’ for Valley hospital

Hot air balloons, jets, kites and skydivers will all fly over Ripon on Saturday and Sunday in a show of support for the Children's Hospital of Central California. Color the Skies balloon festival will offer two days of family entertainment and fundraising activities this Labor Day weekend. And presiding over all the festivities will be Adham Hamza, a Turlock resident and ambassador for Children's Hospital Central California. Hamza was chosen by the hospital ...

California reaches new high in farm revenues for 2010

Not only was 2010 a banner year for Stanislaus County agriculture - with a farm gate increase of $260 million for an all-time record total income of nearly $2.57 billion - but the entire state also saw new highs in agricultural income. California agriculture revenues increased 9 percent for 2010 from the revised 2009 income level of $34.6 billion, according to USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service and Economic Research Service. The state's 81,700 ...

Gas prices rise — just in time for holiday travel

The price of gasoline has surged once again – just in time for the Labor Day travel weekend. "Retail gasoline prices finished last week quite strong in some areas on concern surrounding Hurricane Irene," said Patrick DeHaan, GasBuddy.com senior petroleum analyst. "The concern surrounding refinery production on the East Coast helped boost gasoline prices outside that area as well." According to gasoline price-tracking firm GasBuddy.com, average retail prices for gasoline in Stanislaus ...

Carnegie readies for reopening

From the fire in 2005 that left it in ruins to the political wrangling that almost sank it, the Carnegie Arts Center has risen like a phoenix from the ashes more than once and is set to begin a new chapter with a grand reopening Sept. 10. With the opening a little more than a week away workers have been busy installing lights for the Ansel Adams show and putting on all the ...