Local restaurants are opening their doors for sit down dining. The 50s Roadhouse, The Rivers Edge, and Spoons have all announced they will serve customers inside their restaurant. Be kind, supportive, and patient with our businesses as they accommodate patrons and the ever-changing guidelines! Last weekend was the first weekend the river parks were back open after being closed to the public for two months.

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Oakdale Fire Protection District has scheduled a workshop to discuss the future of the Oakdale Fire Protection District on Wednesday, May 27th at 6pm at the Valley Home Fire Station, 13200 Valley Home Road, Oakdale. Please come and be a part of the solution for local fire protection!

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This is the fourth and final week of celebrating the Knights Ferry School’s 8th graders! Janet Skulina, Principal and Superintendent has invited the community to line Main Street Knights Ferry to celebrate the 8th graders as they move on to the next chapter of life, high school. On May 29th at 9:30am, the 8th graders will drive through town and at 10am the Kindergarteners will drive through town. Please follow social distancing guidelines and be sure to arrive early!

During a ‘typical’ final week of school the Knights Ferry School students would be clearing out their desks, signing yearbooks, and getting phone numbers to stay in touch over the summer. Most of the students are excited to move on to the next grade yet sad to leave their teachers and classrooms! I truly feel for each and every student who wished for nothing more than to celebrate the final days of school. Here are our final group of 8th grade graduates of Knights Ferry School, congratulations Colby Crofts, David Chiara, and Austin Swier!

Colby Crofts came to Knights Ferry in the 7th grade and he will miss the individualized attention due to the small class sizes. After high school, Colby will attend college. In his spare time, he enjoys playing the guitar and baseball. Colby’s five items he would bring on a deserted island would fit in a small bag: food, water, lighter, blanket, and a flashlight! He would probably be less detected by the natives due to his light luggage, but if he was given a million dollars, he would get a lot of attention when he purchased his big house and McLaren!

David Chiara began Knights Ferry School in the 4th grade. As with most of the students, David was really looking forward to his 8th grade graduation and his advice to the younger students at Knights Ferry School is: “Do your homework.” David’s favorite hobby is scuba diving. He had the most unique list of items he would bring on a deserted island; he would bring a motor boat, gasoline, map, ice cold Coke, and a phone with Apple Music. His list of items showed ingenuity. While most people would bring items to survive on the deserted island, David’s list was items to get him off the island and in good fashion. Nothing says, “beach vacation” like an ice-cold Coke and good music playing in the background!

Austin Swier began Knights Ferry School in the 7th grade. He had some key advice for the younger students at Knights Ferry School: “Keep moving forward and don’t get into trouble!” Austin’s favorite memory at Knights Ferry School was the Water Day of his 7th grade year. He sat on Colby Crofts’ shoulders while water from the firemen’s hoses rained down on everyone! Austin was really excited to go to Great America but mostly, he will miss recess with all his friends at Knights Ferry School. Austin is looking forward to welding in high school and he dreams to become an engineer and work with his dad out in the field and in the shop. His favorite hobby is hiking though he really enjoys hiking around Pinecrest Lake. If Austin was given a million dollars, he would buy a car, a regular house (nothing too large), plenty of food, and save the rest up for something big. Austin’s down-to-earth answers were refreshing. I can tell that Austin wants to work hard to put food on the table, take care of his family and enjoy every minute of it. I know he will take his own advice and keep moving forward while he stays out of trouble!

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