Join Relay, Make A Difference
Dear Editor,
Cancer has changed my life. I lost my dad and husband to the disease, and 12 years ago I was diagnosed with uterine cancer. I underwent surgery and five weeks of radiation treatment. I am now cancer-free!
That’s why I am participating in an American Cancer Society team event called Relay For Life on May 6 and 7, at Oakdale High School. Relay For Life is a 24-hour fundraiser that takes place across the country and around the world. It’s a way to honor cancer Survivors, remember those who have passed, and fight back against the disease. The Oakdale-Riverbank event has already raised over $24,000 this year for cancer research, programs and services.
I’m looking forward to walking the Survivor’s Lap with my fellow cancer Survivors. I am also anticipating the emotional Luminaria Ceremony, when we will light candles to honor cancer Survivors, those still undergoing treatment, and those lost to the disease. In addition to being on a Relay team, I am on the event leadership team as Caregiver Corner Chair and I am helping with the Survivor Brunch, which will be held on April 1.
Of course, I wish that I’d never gotten cancer in the first place, but I did. For me and for many others touched by cancer, the Relay For Life motto rings true: “There’s no finish line until we find a cure.”
I hope others who have been touched by cancer will get involved in the Oakdale-Riverbank Relay For Life. For more information about Relay For Life, which will take place on May and 7, or the Survivor Brunch, to be held on April 1, please call the American Cancer Society at 209-524-7241 or visit www.cancer.org. Together, we can make a difference in the fight against cancer.
Sincerely,
Marilyn Boatright
Drain The OID Swamp
Dear Editor,
The proposed Recall Election of Linda Santos is again emphasizing the control of “The Good Old Boys” over the Oakdale Irrigation District. In November of 2015 we elected two new members to the Board of Directors; Gail Altieri and Linda Santos to clean up the mess of lack of transparency and confidence of two previous board members that had remained on the board far too long. I recently attended two board sessions since the beginning of the year. I was shocked by the disdain and disrespect afforded to Linda Santos in the board room every time she raised a question or objection to an issue before the board. One could cut the air in the room with a knife due to the tension between Santos and Director Webb. Barnum and Bailey Circus may have closed its doors but a circus of chaos remains to be viewed in the OID Board meetings. The courts have ruled twice this past year slapp9ing OID for barring these two members from private strategy sessions. Judge John Freeland noted that the supposedly leaked information had “nothing whatsoever to do with the case,” and called OID’s reasoning on Santos’ alleged conflict “utterly unpersuasive.” Introducing an unknown candidate such as Nate Ludlow in the recall election is simply another attempt by OID’s longtime power brokers and upper management to silence a member due to her probing questions and insistence that the public’s business be conducted in public. I urge Oakdale voters to Vote NO on the coming Recall Election in April. For a city of 20,000 plus population to have to endure the expense of a recall election such as proposed in the case of Linda Santos is an insult and a slap in the face to the taxpayers of Oakdale.
Richard E. Jorgensen
Oakdale
