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Local Turlock 2020-09-11: Ceres Drive-in, Dutch Brothers, COVID-19 & Wildfires

in Health/Podcast Archive

This is the Local Turlock Podcast for the week of September 11, 2020. For this week’s stories and updates, air quality unhealthy as wildfires continues to burn throughout the state. Talking about sports, Ceres High grad Nicole “Sis” Bates ranked sixth on Softball America’s list of the top 100 college players for the 2021 season. Something exciting we are all looking forward is the come-back of Ceres Drive-In! While local senior citizens may not be able to gather together for a midday meal due to the coronavirus, the Stanislaus County Area Agency on Aging is offering weekly frozen meal boxes to senior citizens throughout the county. Wondering what’s coming to new construction projects underway in Modesto? The highly anticipated opening of Dutch Bros Coffee, and the latest news bout COVID 19 in Stanislaus County. All that and more today in this week’s Local Turlock podcast.

The heatwave may have broken but the horrible air conditions and wind are still driving people indoors and continuing the wildfire danger. The Creek Fire and other wildfires burning around California are causing smoke impacts to all counties of the Valley. The District anticipates unhealthy air quality to affect various parts of the Valley through the week and into the weekend and warns residents to stay indoors. Anyone experiencing poor air quality due to wildfire smoke should move indoors, to a filtered, air-conditioned environment with windows closed. This year, wildfires have now burned over 2.2 million acres across all fire jurisdictions. This is a record for the number of acres burned in California. 

Softball America released its list of the top 100 college players for the 2021 season. Ceres High School grad/University of Washington shortstop Nicole “Sis” Bates landed in the No. 6 spot. Nates has developed into one of the top players in NCAA Division-I softball history. She was also voted best shortstop on ESPN’s Greatest All-Time Softball Team via a fan poll on June 9. She didn’t commit a single error during the 2020 COVID-19 shortened spring season. A first-team All-American two times and the Pac-12’s Defensive Player of the Year as a junior and sophomore, Bates has made just 11 errors during her career. She committed just two the past two seasons.  She’s helped lead Washington to three trips to the NCAA Division-I Women’s College World Series, including a finals appearance in 2018. Bates will return for a fifth and final season with the Huskies in 2021

This is exciting news as Ceres drive-In is finally making a comeback. With the advent of the VHS tape, DVD, and now internet streaming for movies, the drive-in slowly disappeared. But with COVID-19 and social distancing, drive-in movies are making a comeback. Mark Stotzer of Lucky Shoe Productions – a promotor of large-scale concert venues who restored the classic Golden State Theater in Monterey – is hoping his investment of time and money to resurrect the Ceres Drive-In will pay off in the era of TikTok. The Ripon resident and his crew of 16 are excited to open the Ceres Drive-In the weekend of Sept. 25-27. So make plans for that hot date or family night out.  Plans are to run movies Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and charge $30 per carload. A special priced “boxed seating” covered area will be designated closest to the screen so that people can view from chairs out of their car and socially distanced. The Ceres Drive-In is located at 1651 E Whitmore Ave. Ceres, CA. right off of Highway 99.

The Stanislaus County Area Agency on Aging is offering weekly frozen meal boxes to senior citizens throughout the county. Each of the frozen meal boxes includes five entrees with vegetables, fruit juice or cup, sliced wheat bread and a dessert, and area available for pickup or delivery. Reservations are required at least one day prior to wanting a box to ensure an adequate number of meals will be available. A voluntary contribution of $3 per meal is requested. Any amount helps fund more meals and no eligible person will be denied meals due to inability to contribute. Distribution sites across the county are Donnelly Park parking lot in Turlock from 11 a.m. to noon on Fridays starting Sept. 11 and at the Hughson Senior Center, 2307 4th St., on Wednesdays. Fresh lunches will also be available for daily pickup Monday through Friday at the Turlock Salvation Army, 893 Lander Ave.

Despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, work continues on planned retail projects across the city. New construction is underway on a handful of commercial developments in Modesto. In north Modesto, across from the Kaiser Permanente hospital on Dale Road, crews have been busy on several developments in the city’s planned Kiernan Business Park, which has been under development for years. The new construction includes The Brass Tap, a national chain of brewpubs, which will open its first Northern San Joaquin Valley location later this year. Also in the Kiernan Business Park, construction work continues on a 22-unit luxury apartment complex . Permits have also been approved, but not pulled yet, for another 6,846 square-foot retail complex across the street from The Brass Tap that could include another gas station and another restaurant. Staying in northwest Modesto, on Pelandale Avenue work is nearly complete on a planned another Starbucks coffee shop in front of the new Valley Children’s outpatient clinic. 

Dutch Bros Coffee opened its highly-anticipated Turlock location over the weekend, bringing java, jubilation and traffic jams to the corner of Monte Vista Avenue and Crowell Road. It is known for its massive menu of drinks, which includes everything from coffee and smoothies to teas and sodas. There are over 10,000 drink combinations to choose from, but owner, Isaac Schaaf noted that the Rebel Energy drinks and the seasonal crème brûlée pumpkin cold brew are among the shop’s best sellers. The future Modesto location is scheduled for an October opening.

Let’s talk about COVID 19 Updates: Stanislaus County reported four more deaths to the virus Tuesday but also had its lowest daily infection rate since June. A total of 299 residents have died according to Health Services Agency but details were not provided on the four most recent deaths. Wednesday brought just 50 new positive tests, raising the total to 15,685. As of now, there are 2,052 positive cases in Turlock, Modesto has 5,609 positive cases, 1,916 are in Ceres, 767 are in Riverbank, 744 are in Patterson, 331 are in Oakdale, 313 are in Newman, 218 are in Waterford, and 138 are in Hughson. The county remained in the lowest purple tier, part of Gov. Newsom’s new grading system that will go toward measuring the ability to begin fully reopening businesses.

That’s all we got for now. Thank you for listening to our local Turlock podcast. You can find us on Facebook at facebook.com/localturlock and leave some comments and stay up to date on your local news. Our website is localturlock.com where you can see some interesting news stories, and you can always email me at turlock@localturlock.com. We’ll see you next week. Have a great weekend!

Stanislaus Faith Leaders Unite in Call for Masks to Fight COVID

in Health

To Our County Leaders and the Communities we Serve,

Over the last several weeks we have seen alarming increases in COVID-19 infection rates in the city of Modesto and Stanislaus County. As faith leaders, some of us have witnessed the effects of this virus on vulnerable persons in our congregations and many of us have been watching how this virus has spread and overwhelmed communities across the nation.

COVID-19 has caused so many disruptions in peoples’ lives, including mental, physical and financial stress. While we all look forward to a time when our congregations can come together again in person, we also understand the risk to the health and well-being of our communities. We cannot return to sustainable economic health if we neglect the health of the people who live in our county.

Many studies now show the effectiveness of wearing masks in partnership with physical distancing to reduce the spread of the virus, particularly as we now know that the virus can spread pre-symptomatically and asymptomatically; that a person can spread the virus without knowing they are infected.

Continue Reading on The Modesto Bee

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California Card Clubs Get Creative with 24/7 Outdoor Gaming

in Health

California card clubs in counties where Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has maintained a ban on nonessential indoor business operations and gatherings have become quite resourceful in keeping the cards in the air.

COVID-19 resulted in Newsom ordering California card clubs to suspend their indoor operations back in March. After easing certain restrictions on indoor businesses, the governor reimplemented a second round of closures on 19 counties.

One of those counties is San Mateo, home to Artichoke Joe’s Casino. However, as of last Friday, September 4, the Bay Area cardroom reopened for business under a large tent. The 13,000-square-foot, open-sided canopy is equipped with 32 card tables, as well as a dining area.

Continue Reading on Casino Org

Health Officials: Keep It Small, Short and Outside for Any Labor Day Gatherings

in Health/Event News

Last Tuesday, Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, gave an update about the state’s new color-coded tier system for reducing COVID-19 activity in a press conference.

Ghaly was joined by Dr. Erica Pan, the acting state public health officer, and they emphasized the importance of maintaining safety measures, including wearing masks, physical distancing and hand washing, to decrease the spread of the coronavirus during the Labor Day weekend to avoid the surge in cases seen after gatherings on Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.

Pan said for any gatherings outside of a person’s household, keep them small, short and outside, as those factors help to decrease the risk of viral spread.

Continue Reading on The Modesto Bee

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Trump Administration Halts Closure of California Meatpacking Plant Despite Eight COVID-19 Deaths

in Health

The Trump administration intervened last week to postpone the closure of a poultry processing plant in California that had been ordered closed by local health officials after at least 392 workers tested positive for COVID-19 and eight died of the disease.

Last Thursday, Merced County public health officials ordered that the Foster Farms plant in Livingston, California, be closed within 12 hours, but the order was suspended following the direct intervention of the administration through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). As a result, Foster Farms has forced the plant’s roughly 2,500 workers to remain on the job, with the complicity if not outright support of the Democratic Party and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union.

Immediately following the initial public health announcement, Foster Farms emailed its workforce ordering workers to report to work that evening. Then, following a call from USDA Undersecretary for Food Safety Dr. Mindy Brashears on behalf of the Trump administration, public health officials announced a 48-hour delay in the shutdown. The decision was supported by Democratic Livingston Mayor Gurpal Samra, who backed Foster Farms’ assertion that the initial shutdown time window was not sufficient.

Continue Reading on World Socialist Web Site

Stanislaus County Experiences Spike in Fentanyl-Related Deaths

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STANISLAUS COUNTY, Calif. (KTXL) — A family and addiction doctor in Stanislaus County is warning residents about fentanyl-laced pain medication after the county has seen a spike in deaths.

The Modesto Police Department reports that since January the county has seen at least 20 deaths compared to just six last year.

“The color, the imprint, the scoring, everything’s the same,” said Dr. Vikram Khanna.

The little blue pills are made to look and feel like real oxycodone, but Khanna said what may look like pain medication may really be laced with fentanyl.

Continue Reading on Fox 40

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Weekly Dinners Keep America Legion Afloat Amid Pandemic

in Health

Vietnam veteran and Turlock resident John Haggstrom has been cooking dinners in the American Legion Hall’s kitchen for 50 years, but none have been more important to the organization than those he’s hosting these days to raise funds during the coronavirus pandemic.

Turlock’s American Legion Rex Ish Post 88 is a haven for local veterans and community members alike, serving as a gathering place for not only those who have fought in our nation’s wars, but also as a space where birthday parties are held, weddings are celebrated and organizations can convene. Haggstrom has been an American Legion member for 54 years, he said, and the state shutdown due to COVID-19 has put the group’s mission of “continuing to serve America” at risk.

Through community outreach, veteran support and monetary donations, the American Legion makes it a point to give back to the communities they’ve already served in uniform. Post 88 previously made a majority of its funds through their beer booth, or “fun booth,” as Haggstrom refers to it, at the Stanislaus County Fair. One year the organization earned just over $100,000 in beer sales alone, but now that annual revenue is gone with the fair’s cancellation.

Continue Reading on Turlock Journal

At Least 8 Released Inmates Were Held at Turlock Hotel for California’s Project Hope

in Health

TURLOCK, Calif. — Stanislaus County officials confirmed at least eight inmates were held at the Candlewood Suites in Turlock as part of California’s “Project Hope.”

Project Hope is a state-funded program for inmates being released from prison during the coronavirus pandemic. It allows both state parolees and those released on Post Release Community Supervision (PRCS) to quarantine or isolate in a hotel upon their release from prison.

Mark Ferriera, chief probation officer for Stanislaus County, told ABC10 that the Turlock hotel was the only Project Hope location in the county. It has seen eight inmates on PRCS held there from April to August 21, all of whom Ferriera said had their last residence in Stanislaus County.

Ferriera said inmates on PRCS are supervised by the county while, generally, those who committed serious or violent offenses are overseen by State Parole. The type of supervision the released inmate gets is based on the offense that put them in prison.

Continue Reading on ABC 10

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Lower Positivity Rate, Other Factors Gets Orange County Removed from California’s Coronavirus Watch List

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FULLERTON (CBSLA) — Orange County was removed on Sunday from the state watch list about areas of concern in California during the coronavirus pandemic.

Officials reported 153 new coronavirus cases and one additional death on Sunday, bringing the countywide total to 45,954 cumulative cases and 897 deaths.

Orange County’s positivity rate is 5.4%, below the state’s desired threshold of 8%, which contributed to the county being removed from monitoring.

The number of people hospitalized in the county has also been dropping leading to more availability of intensive care unit beds and ventilators.

Orange County is currently at 380 coronavirus-related hospitalizations as of Sunday, with 111 of those patients being treated in the ICU.

Continue Reading on Los Angeles CBS Local

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Mosquitoes Able to Spread Yellow Fever, Other Diseases Found in Turlock, Ceres

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Mosquitoes capable of transmitting yellow fever and Zika have been discovered in both Turlock and Ceres, the Turlock Mosquito Abatement District reported.

The Aedes aegypti, also known as the yellow fever mosquito, are black and white with bright white stripes on the legs. They bite aggressively during the day, and feed almost exclusively on humans. Additionally, the larvae of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes require much less water. Females lay their eggs just above the water line in small containers and vessels that hold water, such as dishes, potted plants, bird baths, ornamental fountains, tin cans or discarded tires. The eggs can survive for up to eight months after the water dries out.

“This is a very challenging mosquito to control. It prefers to live in hard‐to‐reach suburban environments and bite people. They require very little water to complete their life cycle and their eggs are capable of surviving for months on the insides of containers before they come in contact with water,” said David Heft, general manager at Turlock Mosquito Abatement District.

Continue Reading on Turlock Journal

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