Other Views Section
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Back To School Safety I always remembered being late on the first day of the new school year.My day would usually start by sleeping through the alarm clock and being awakened by my parents pounding on my door. I would jump out of bed and quickly rummage through my closet for something to wear. If I were lucky I would have enough time to eat a piece of toast, before I ... |
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What Is A City Manager? Recent media scrutiny of city managers — or, more specifically, their compensation — has reached a fever pitch in California and across the country. The city management and governmental compensation abuses uncovered last month in the small Los Angeles suburb of Bell are deplorable and warrant a full investigation. Such trespasses are rare in a profession known for transparency and populated by talented and dedicated individuals.
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Cop Corner – Identity Theft Each year, identity theft, one of the fastest growing crimes in the nation, harms thousands of consumers throughout the Central Valley. Ultimately, the identity thief aims to obtain personal information about you, your Social Security number, birth date and credit card numbers. With this information, the identity thief can assume your identity and establish bank accounts or credit in your name, leaving you to deal with ... |
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For Your Information – So Why Do They Do That!? |
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Cop Corner I thought for this month’s article I would write to you in the role of a criminal. I am going to tell you what I am thinking and what I am looking for in order for you to protect yourself against me. Here we go: |
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For Your Information - Do Your Retirement Plans Need Retooling? Where does your retirement plan stand? Although this phase in everyone’s life looms in the future, many people fail to set aside the money they will need to fund a healthy and happy retirement. Others who have saved diligently over time may have been hit hard by the stock market declines of the last couple of years, finding that their nest egg has declined sharply in value. |
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For Your Information – Home Remodeling Can Make Financial Sense My wife and I survived two major home remodeling projects and we’ve got the battle scars to prove it. Like most people feeling cramped for space — thanks to two growing children in our case — we weighed the plusses and minuses of remodeling versus moving to a larger home. Because we live in a great neighborhood with strong local schools, we ... |
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Cop Corner - Auto Alarms: What Works And What Doesn’t Automobile thefts occur once every 27 seconds in the United States. One in every five vehicles stolen has the keys inside. In Oakdale, we have had 58 vehicles stolen and 36 vehicle burglaries in the city in the last 10 months. There are many ways you can reduce your chances of becoming a victim. |
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Guest Opinion - California Dairies Meet Our Needs The month of June is set aside as a celebration of all things dairy. In California it also is a celebration of Real California Milk and the hardworking dairy families who bring this nutritious food to the table. California milk and dairy foods are high-quality, economical food sources that come in an endless array of flavors and formats to ... |
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SavetheStan: A Life Or Death Fight Both the South San Joaquin and the Oakdale Irrigation Districts are in a fight for their lives against the federal government’s misguided attempts at helping salmon and steelhead in the South Delta. Our two agencies have filed suit to stop the same government decision that shut the pumps down on the westside of the Central Valley and destroyed much of its agriculture and economy last year. That same decision (known as ... |
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Superintendent’s Spotlight - People Who Made A Difference In the field of education as we approach the end of each year, educators evaluate how much growth they have achieved during the year. Those individuals then make a plan and determine what steps need to be taken to make next year even better. This evaluation and renewal process is very healthy and positive. On occasion the plan they select is bittersweet for the ... |
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The Civic Sentinel - Arizona’s Hot Potato Two weeks ago, Jan Brewer, Governor of Arizona, signed SB 1070 into law. Also known as the “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act,” this bill is an extremely stringent piece of immigration enforcement legislation. |
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Cop Corner - “Pedestrian XING” Regardless of the time of day that I am on patrol, there is one traffic infraction I am sure to see: pedestrians crossing F Street outside the confines of a clearly marked crosswalk. You’ve seen it, too. Referred to as “jaywalking,” it is clearly unsafe. Everyone has jaywalked at some point in their life. Many think of this as a “victimless” crime. However, in 2009 there were 17 ... |
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Guest Opinion - Keeping It Local As CEO of the Oakdale Chamber of Commerce, I’d like to take this opportunity to ‘rally the troops’ around our local businesses and services. |
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Superintendent’s Spotlight - Questions On Budget Cuts As people look at the newspapers and listen to the media reports across California, many of them are asking me questions as to why the Oakdale School District seems to be in better shape than most other districts. |
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Take The Financial Capability ‘Challenge’ In a major crisis, our first impulse is to address people’s immediate needs. With the Haiti and Chile earthquakes, that meant providing food and shelter to the victims. In the case of the recent economic recession, the government stepped in by extending unemployment insurance, providing COBRA subsidies and promoting mortgage refinancing guidelines, among many other programs. Once the dust settles on ... |
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Cop Corner – A Matter Of Safety A number of California newspaper publications recently ran stories about how DUI/drivers’ license checkpoints serve to benefit police departments, police officers and tow truck companies. These stories appear to be based on a study conducted by an investigative news entity that calls itself “California Watch.” The author suggests that, because there has been an increasing trend in the use of DUI/drivers’ license checkpoints and a corresponding increase ... |
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Museum Community Needs To Come Together The Oakdale Museum is once again a treasure for the community. |
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Ag Council Meeting Success The Agricultural Council of California (Ag Council) recently concluded a successful joint meeting with CoBank. More than 150 farmers and cooperative members met during the Ag Council’s 91st Annual Meeting in Sonoma to discuss issues impacting the future of agriculture in California and the United States. |
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Superintendent’s Spotlight – Something Old, Something New The Oakdale Sports Boosters is 35 years old and going strong. On Saturday March 6th the Boosters held their annual dinner dance and auction. The Oakdale Sports Boosters did a fabulous job of both honoring the past and looking forward to the future. The Oakdale Sports Boosters Officers and Board of Directors had a large array of auction items, silent bid items and a short program that highlighted ... |
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FYI - Limit Predation Saves Salmon “One fish. Two fish … Some are red. And some are blue. Some are old. And some are new. Some are sad. And some are glad. And some are very, very bad.” These lines from a famous Dr. Seuss book also symbolize the current imbalance of native Chinook salmon to non-native predator fish in the Delta waterways. |
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How To Protect Against Vehicle Burglary Within the past few weeks the Oakdale Police Department has seen an increase in vehicle burglaries throughout the City of Oakdale. Because of this, vehicle burglaries are becoming one of the most common crimes occurring within the City of Oakdale. Here are some simple helpful tips to avoid becoming a victim of a vehicle burglary. |
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Superintendent’s Spotlight - Passing Of A Role Model |
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Cop Corner The loquacious Mark Twain once wrote, “If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes and it will change.” After several dry years we’re finally getting some much needed rain. This is great for our area reservoirs and farms but not so great for our area roads. |
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Cop Corner: Be Winter Street Smart Winter is here and the cold weather has set into Oakdale. The change in weather and temperature means there needs to be a change in some of our habits, namely when it comes to our cars. Whether it is our driving, our time allotment, or visibility, please make driving adjustments for this time of the year. |
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Superintendent’s Spotlight: Good News In Tough Times I was very pleased to be invited by the Oakdale Chamber of Commerce to present the Oakdale Junior Achievement Award nominees’ profiles at the Annual Awards Banquet. There were seven outstanding Oakdale High School students nominated for this prestigious award. The award was presented the evening of January 15, but at the time I submitted this article, I did not know who won the award. |
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Superintendent’s Spotlight - What A Year! Well here we are rapidly approaching the end of the first semester and it seems like only yesterday I was saying, “Welcome back to school” to everyone. Time sure seems to fly when great things are being achieved. I am pleased and proud of the accomplishments of our students and our strong group of staff and supporters. I would like to share just a few of the ... |
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Superintendent’s Spotlight - What Is Best? I recently picked up a Bay Area newspaper, and the headline shouted: “Layoffs Despite Recovery.” An uneasy smile crossed my face as I realized we have been talking about this in public schools for almost three years now. Although Oakdale has had the benefit of a stable school population with a slight growth and excellent planning, we still will look at major cuts in the next six ... |
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Way To Grow, Oakdale! |
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Superintendent’s Spotlight – Promises Kept OJUSD Superintendent |
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Cop Corner Throughout my years as a police officer, I have dealt with numerous parents who have wondered if their child was using or experimenting with drugs, but were not knowledgeable enough to see the symptoms and find the truth. Many times, I have arrested juveniles for being under the influence, contacted their parents and were immediately faced with the statement, “I had no idea.” |
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September Is National Preparedness Month September Is National Preparedness Month By CAROLYN NICOLAYSEN TotallyReady.com Whether it be a failing economy and job loss, concerns over natural disasters or terrorist attacks or just the desire to be in control of their own destiny, more and more Americans are returning to a back to basics life style. Self-reliance is not a new concept. For thousands of years the wise among us have practiced storing in times of plenty to provide during lean ... |
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Superintendent’s Spotlight I had the opportunity to meet with the Board of Directors of the Oakdale Sports Boosters on Sept. 8 to ask for their help with funding transportation for our Oakdale athletes. The meeting was very cordial and it was very apparent why this group of dedicated citizens was in attendance. They were all there for one reason: their sole purpose was to make Oakdale schools’ sports programs ... |
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Cop Corner Crime is an unfortunate reality of daily life. When law enforcement investigates crimes, it is often a good witness that can make or break a case. What does it mean to be a good witness? |
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Superintendent’s Spotlight The 2009-10 school year is off to a great start in spite of the woeful condition of California’s budget. Oakdale opened its schools with more students than anticipated, but we were prepared to provide our students with a great education. I would like to share some information about areas that may have changed over the past year. |
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Heed Cell Phone Laws In July of 2008, California passed California Vehicle Code section 23123(a) that prohibits a driver from talking on a cell phone without the use of a hands free device in a motor vehicle on a highway (Roadway). This California Vehicle Code section was written in an attempt to reduce the number of traffic collisions on the roadway by allowing the driver to keep both hands on the steering wheel and ... |
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A Water War Coming Early in June the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued a Biological Opinion (BO) on the impacts of the State Water Project and Federal Water Project (Projects) on endangered salmon and steelhead fish populations. Both Projects pump water out of the Delta to send to the South part of the State and it is these actions that the BO addressed. The BO stated that in no uncertain terms, both salmon and steelhead were being harmed ... |
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Cruz’n w/Jake-Closing The Book It was the same old speech I’d heard a thousand times before. Something positive and uplifting, but nothing really authentic or new. So instead of listening to the speaker, I was reading some sort of graduation guideline handout and daydreaming about something more interesting. Now it’s been almost two years since I didn’t hear that speech. |
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What’s All This Blogging Fuss? So we have finally, officially, caught up to the rest of the online world and we now have a few certified bloggers on staff at The Oakdale Leader. |
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