Community Corner - Celebrating Delicious, Diverse Dairy

Happy June! The sun is shining, kids are heading into summer vacation and the round of graduations, weddings and backyard get-togethers have just begun. Each June, in addition to these activities we take time to celebrate June Dairy Month – an observation of not only a delicious, diverse and nutritious food but also the dairy farm families who bring it to the table.

Community Corner - Your Hospital’s Health

Like all organizations today finances for a hospital are challenging. Yet, for the first 10 months of this fiscal year (July, 2011 to April, 2012) the hospital has generated revenues in excess of expenses (a profit) of $458,000. We are well ahead of our projected loss for the same period of $293,000!

Rich In Thought - The Dog Rescuer

Napoleon once said that a dog teaches us a lesson in humanity. As a big-time dog lover, I tend to believe the truth of that especially with my recent scholarly experience with the subject.

Marg-ins - Exhilarating Exhaustion

Except for a strange early afternoon wind that acted like a mini twister and uprooted a handful of tents in a corner of the soccer field, the 2012 Oakdale edition of Relay For Life can go down as a success.

Stuff N' Nonsense - A Time For Reflection

Call it fate or coincidence but it seems, at the very least thought-provoking, that two weeks before the Oakdale Relay For Life event April 28, I would be going through my own personal cancer scare.

Community Corner - Introducing The MOPS Group

I joined MOPS, Mothers of Preschoolers, last year as a participant. At the urging of my friend and the fearless leader of the group, Tracy Mota, I decided to devote two mornings a month to myself. So on the first and third Thursday of every month, I go to River Oak Grace Church in Oakdale for fun, fellowship and really great food.

Editor’s Notebook - Just Take A Minute

If there's one thing I've learned over the years in this business, it's that the 'story behind the story' is often the more interesting to tell.

Marg-Ins - Awash In Memories

For those of you who wanted rain, looks like you got your way. Of course, it is desperately needed, although it would be preferable if it came at a nice, steady pace instead of the way it has been dumping on us in a couple of strong storms here and there. Either way, though, we need it and weather, like many things, has a mind of its own and we take what we get. There ...

Community Corner - Museum, Rodeo Part Of Area History

Rodeo time in Oakdale is also anniversary time at the Oakdale Cowboy Museum. It was the second week in April 1996, when Chamber of Commerce staff and volunteers invited merchants, and members of our community to celebrate the grand opening of the Museum by hosting a Chamber Rodeo Mixer. After all it was during a planning meeting of the Chamber Board of Directors that the idea to create an institution that would celebrate our unique ...

Mommy Musings - Roles In Friendship

I love learning. That's a pretty broad opening sentence, but it sums up much of what I have been feeling as of late. Through some pretty amazing family members and friends I have begun learning a little more about food, medicine and the human body. There are many, varying opinions on each of these topics and (since I love to learn) I appreciate hearing all sides to the argument. ...

Technological Wonders

There's really no question in my mind that computers are smarter than we are. Well, perhaps I should speak only for myself. My computer is smarter than me. And just when I think I have it figured out, something else changes and the learning curve starts all over again. My laptop has been home with me on several occasions now, I have finally gotten over the fear of unplugging ...

Ramblings - Save Us From Telephone Solicitors

May the Good Lord preserve and keep us from telephone solicitors - please. It isn't bad enough the mail carrier stuffs my letterbox with advertisements and invitations to buy everything from bathroom tissue to pink elephants. They go, mostly unopened, into the kitchen garbage can and from there to swell a county garbage dump with useless paper. The waste is ferocious. That accompanies the daily task of separating gaily-colored ads from the newspaper's reading material ...

Mommy Musings - Bye-Bye Winter?

I think I missed winter. If it were not for the two little people I try desperately to keep up with and my slight case of insomnia I would swear I have channeled good ol' Rip Van Winkle. The only logical explanation for missing an entire (not to mention necessary) season would be sleeping through it. But indeed it is fact, somehow we have made it through the latter ...

Dawn's Column - The Newlywed Word

Are we still newlyweds?" My husband and I looked at each other and asked that question when we recently saw our pastor who officiated our marriage ceremony. He greeted us with, "Oh, there are the newlyweds" and then he remembered that it's been over a year since our wedding. In fact, it'll be two years in just a few months. He quipped that he must have tied the knot good for us. Newlyweds. Hmmm. I ...

Marg-Ins - Full Speed Ahead

Time just has a way of sneaking up on you. Those of you that have reached a certain age plateau – and you know who you are – can probably attest to the fact that once a certain age comes that ends in a '0' time seems to move a little faster. Perhaps the thing that made this most abundantly clear was the recent class I took with my daughter. We were required to attend ...

Still Matters - Love Matters

May always makes me think of Mother's Day and flowers. And this year we added a graduation, planning for a wedding in June, and everything else in between.

EDITORIAL – Attention Oakdale – All Units: 11-99

Attention Oakdale – All Units: 11-99

Marg-Ins – In With The New

Stuff ‘N Nonsense - Adjusting To The Dream Job

Who knew there would be an adjustment period to living the dream? I certainly didn't. Many of you know I published my first book in December 2006 and it's been a dream of mine for longer than I can remember to support myself solely on my fiction writing income. After many years of incredibly hard work, I managed to make that dream a reality and I left my post at The Leader to live the dream.

RICH IN THOUGHT -Toes In The Water, You Know The Rest

As I write this column, I am planning to be off work for an ROTC assignment.

Reporter’s Notebook – A Tainted Finish

Monday, April 15 did not start for me as it did my friend and running teammate Cathy McClelland or Oakdaleans Vanessa Walton and Tom Burchell, or Jesse Santana of Riverbank. I did not board a motor coach in my sneakers with a race bib pinned to the front of my shirt in anticipation of running the 117th Boston Marathon.

Marg-ins - No Fooling Around

No need to check the calendar and this isn't an April Fool's Day joke – I am just trying to get my column schedule back 'on track' after having been haphazard about it the last couple of months. I know one ran just last week, so forgive me for the back-to-backs.

Marg-Ins - Two Decades And Counting

Marg-Ins - Love Lost … And Found

More than a week past deadline, I finally have taken a few deep breaths and will try to get this column written. Typically, the 'Marg-Ins' column appears the first Wednesday of the month, which means it is running a week later than normal this time. Being the editor comes with certain privileges, one of which was giving myself a break on writing this last week. It's because the subject ...

Rich In Thought – All The X’s, L’s, V’s And I’s

The Super Bowl Season is upon us as many of us gather for what is as close to an American holiday as it can get.

Still Matters – The New Girl

Hello, Escalon, Oakdale, and Riverbank. I am the new girl at the Oakdale Leader office. You may have seen my name on a few different articles, pictures, or both in various issues. Or by now, you may have even met me in person.

Community Corner – What’s Growin’ On …

Happy New Year! We all survived the Mayan calendar apocalypse and the "Fiscal Cliff" – kind of started to remind me of the Y2K phenomenon 13 years ago.

Stuff ‘N Nonsense - A Graceful Exit

I have an issue with finality. At the end of every year, as everyone is celebrating the ball drop on a New Year, I'm lamenting the fact that I'll never be in that moment again - another year lost to time, never to experience again. In that second before the big calendar change, I panic just a little knowing that it's over. I'm happy to report that the panic doesn't last but ...

RICH IN THOUGHT - Be Prepared, Do Something, Denial Kills