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Hey everyone! Welcome to another episode of Local Turlock Podcast for the week of July 2nd. I am here to give you some of Turlock’s latest scoops, news & stories, with 2 business highlights for the week. Starting with our first story, after a year hiatus because of the pandemic, Turlock Police plan for return of National Night Out. For those experiencing homelessness, Turlock Gospel Mission has opened a cooling center at its Broadway Street shelter. Moving on to our next story, after making an impact on local high school students with special needs through coffee, Turlock resident Destiny Silva seeks donations for coffee cart with a cause. Finally, after the coronavirus pandemic shut the business, The Ten Pin Fun Center in Turlock is open for business again! Care for some entertainment? The Ceres Concerts in the Park will return after a two-year hiatus this Friday! Get yourself some hobby as Ceres Community Garden is back after pandemic. Beat the summer heat as The City of Ceres’ Aquatics program resumes for first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. Sharing the latest updates bout COVID 19 in Stanislaus County. Also, give your love and support to our local businesses especially during this pandemic as I highlight 2 businesses this week. All that and more for this week's Local Turlock podcast.
Turlock Police plan for return of National Night Out
After a year hiatus because of the pandemic, the Turlock Police Department is putting plans in motion for the annual National Night Out celebration. This year's event is set from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Aug. 3. The police department is currently looking for neighborhoods to register their location and join in on the city-wide festivities. National Night Out is a night when residents lock their doors, turn on outside lights and spend the evening outdoors getting to know their neighbors and local law enforcement. National Night Out is designed to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness, generate support for local anticrime efforts, strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships. In previous years Turlock has won awards for the number of neighborhoods participating in the event and it's a trend the department hopes to revive this year. The deadline to register is July 16. As part of this year's National Night Out, the police department is hosting two pop-up events. One event will focus on pedestrian and bicycle safety. There will be contests and the traffic unit and bike team will be out for a helmet giveaway. The second pop-up event will be on animal safety and the dog walker watch program. The animal control unit and K9 team will be on hand to provide tips on dog walking safety in the heat and the Dog Walker Watch program. Times and locations for the pop-up events have not yet been set. To register a neighborhood party or for one of the pop-up events, visit https://ci.turlock.ca.us/policedepartment/getinvolved/nationalnightout.asp.
TGM opens cooling center for area homeless
The Turlock Gospel Mission is offering people experiencing homelessness a reprieve from the summer sun with the opening of their cooling center at 437 S. Broadway. To help those experiencing homelessness survive triple-digit temperatures Turlock Gospel Mission has opened a cooling center at its Broadway Street shelter. The center is open to anyone seeking relief from the heat from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The cooling shelter is a clean, climate-controlled purpose-built structure open seven days a week for men, women and children. The Mission also offers provision for storage of personal items, with some restrictions. There are also options for comfort and support for the animal companions of unsheltered residents of Turlock and southern Stanislaus County. Temperatures in Turlock will remain in the high 90s for the next week with nighttime lows in the 60s. TGM will be providing meals to those using the cooling center. Breakfast is served at 8 a.m., lunch at 12:30 p.m. and dinner at 6 p.m. Those wanting to help TGM can donate bottled water, hygiene items, pet food, human food and light wearable clothing for use by homeless individuals. Anyone who wants to help can drop these items off at 437 S. Broadway in Turlock. Everyone who is interested can sign up on the website (https://turlockgospelmission.org/).
Turlock woman seeks donations for coffee cart with a cause
After making an impact on local high school students with special needs through coffee, Turlock resident Destiny Silva is hoping the community will support her endeavor to branch out and employ even more people with disabilities. In the fall of 2018, Silva helped Denair schools start a small pop-up coffee cart that provided Special Education high school students with the chance to earn real life work experience taking orders, making drinks and counting change. The support from the community has grown overwhelmingly in the years since, Silva said, inspiring her to start her own coffee business in Turlock with the same mantra of kindness. Aptly named Kind Koffee, Silva’s goal is for her forthcoming business to hire community members with developmental disabilities who may otherwise not have a chance to be hired by others. The only catch? She needs the community to buy in. Silva officially unveiled her idea this week and started a fundraising campaign on the website Kickstarter, where independent creators and entrepreneurs can start community-backed projects without the hassle of grant applications or the stress of loans. Silva needs to raise $11,200 in order to start her mobile coffee cart and the website gives users just 60 days to reach their goal. As of Friday afternoon, the community had already raised nearly $2,300 for Silva’s Kind Koffee Kickstarter campaign in just two days. As she anxiously waits to see whether or not enough funds will be raised, she’s stayed busy searching for a cart to host the business and making sure she can secure all of the proper machines to offer drinks and breakfast bites to the community. If all goes according to plan, Silva hopes to open Kind Koffee within the next 10 months. The cart will have a permanent Monday through Friday location in the parking lot of Cen Cal Detailing in downtown Turlock, and Silva also plans on attending pop-up markets and other events. Eventually she hopes to partner with Turlock Unified School District’s On Track program, where her sister attends school, and offer the same opportunities she’s made a reality for special needs students in Denair to students in Turlock. To donate to the Kind Koffee project, visit https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kindkoffee/kind-koffee
The Ten Pin Fun Center in Turlock hadn’t even been open for a year yet when the coronavirus pandemic shut the business down last spring, but on Thursday the bowling alley celebrated its Grand Re-opening complete with a ribbon-cutting ceremony following the removal of COVID restrictions statewide earlier this month. While laser tag is still closed for the time being, the arcade, bowling lanes and food from Deadwood Social are all available to customers. The restaurant space is open for overflow seating on Fridays and Saturdays and will be revamped soon, but Ten Pin is hoping to hire more kitchen staff before fully reopening the eatery. For those looking to visit, the family entertainment center is open 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 4 p.m. to midnight Fridays, 11 a.m. to midnight Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays.
Concerts in the Park resumes this Friday
The Ceres Concerts in the Park will return after a two-year hiatus now that the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be phasing away. Concerts traditionally were held on Tuesdays but were moved to Friday nights in July from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Whitmore Park in downtown Ceres and are free to the public. The concert series kicks off this Friday with a performance of the Gottschalk Concert Band for patriotic music just in time for the Fourth of July weekend. The fun continues the next five Fridays with the following concerts:
• Friday, July 9 – Los Reales De Norte (Banda music);
• Friday, July 16 – Church music night with Valley Community Center & Big Valley Grace Ceres groups;
• Friday, July 23 – True South (country music);
• Friday, July 30 – MCW Band (playing a variety of classics for the 1980’s).
Those attending are invited to be comfortable by bringing along a lawn chair or blanket as the City Recreation Department presents a fun-filled night of live music, food (for sale), and games. The food offering will be tacos, Mexican hotdogs and fries on July 2 served by Azteca restaurant; on July 9, tacos and quesadillas by Carlos Tacos; July 16 and 23 Mexican food by Azteca; and on July 30 hamburgers barbecued by the Ceres Fire Department.
Community Garden back after pandemic
It seems fitting that an empty lot in the historic part of Ceres – named for the Roman goddess of agriculture – is yielding produce in great variety thanks to a collective of green thumbs. The 6,500-square-foot Ceres Community Garden was introduced in May 2018 at the southeast corner of Fifth and Lawrence streets thanks to the generosity of owner Shane Parson. Since then, community members who are able to get beds on a first-come, first-served basis have been successfully growing grapes, artichokes, squash, corn, green beans, carrots, turnips, okra and tomatoes. The garden is back this year after COVID-19 stifled activity in 2020. Each person who has given rights to plant a bed is responsible for its upkeep. While it’s too late for anyone to get in on a summer garden, persons can get on the list for a fall bed. The best way to get involved is to message the Ceres Community Garden Facebook page. Those who plan to get a bed will be expected to help do some of the fall preparation, like pulling up the old plants. The garden also has a community library box for reading materials.
Aquatics program resumes for first time since 2019
The summer aquatics program offered by the city of Ceres will resume for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic changed life in the world. The program kicks off last week at the Ceres High School pool. Open swimming is offered Wednesday afternoons from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. through Aug. 4; and Friday afternoons from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. through Aug. 6. Cost is $2 per person. Children 12 and younger must be supervised by an adult. All participants must wear swimming suits only in the pool. Flotation devices are not allowed, however Coast Guard approved life jackets are. A team of Red Cross certified staff members will be offering classes at the Ceres High School pool to teach youngsters six months and up how to swim. Session I swim lessons run from Monday, July 12 to Thursday, July 22 while Session II runs Monday, July 26 to Thursday, August 5. All eight lessons run 30 minutes. Cost is $48 per session and includes eight classes. Preregistration is required. Lessons are for those six months of age and up. Lessons are staged on different levels based on swimming ability. Teen and adult swim lessons are also offered for those 13 and older and meet at the following times: July 12 to 27 from 6:50 to 7:20 p.m. The sessions for July 26 to Aug. meet those same times. Cost is $48 per person. Pre-registration is required. Register online at www.ci.ceres.ca.us, in person at 2701 Fourth Street, or by calling Recreation Coordinator Crystel Aguilar at 538-5682 for more information. The city is offering a host of youth sports classes this summer, including tennis classes, Skyhawks sports camps for basketball, flag football and volleyball as well as gymnastics. In addition, arts and craft classes are offered this summer. All of the city’s recreation and classes may be viewed online at www.ci.ceres.ca.us and clicking on the Recreation button and then going to the Activity Guide. Pre-registration is required for all classes. Register online at www.ci.ceres.ca.us, in person at 2701 Fourth Street, or by calling Recreation Coordinator Crystel Aguilar at 538-5682 for more information.
As Stanislaus County emerges from COVID, don’t forget regular health checkups
After more than a year of Stanislaus County residents enduring sacrifices to keep ourselves and loved ones safe amid the most pressing public health crisis of a generation, our state has finally been able to safely lift most of its COVID-19 restrictions. California’s safe reopening was the hard-earned result of people doing their part to reduce or prevent the transmission of COVID-19 to family members, friends, neighbors, and coworkers. As we all celebrate the full reopening of California’s economy and gradual return to normalcy in time for summer, let’s not forget to schedule regular health care checkups for ourselves and our children. The pandemic created several health care access challenges for Stanislaus County residents. However, as the state reopens, more health care providers are welcoming patients back to catch up on preventive health care services. These services are particularly important for the healthy development of children, who are recommended to receive various scheduled immunizations and screenings to identify diseases and conditions in their most treatable stages from birth through early adulthood. Individuals and families, especially those with young children, are encouraged to schedule a checkup with a health care provider as soon as possible. Throughout Stanislaus County, providers and their practice staff are eager to help.
Business Spotlight
Turlock Dental Care
Turlock Dental Care provides a calm, warm and relaxed dental environment to help you feel as comfortable as possible at their office. They also cater to the needs of our patients by providing virtual consultations, clear aligners and sleep apnea treatment! Their practice has been in the area for over 35 years, working hard to provide the best possible dental care in Turlock, California, and the surrounding areas of Denair, Livingston, Keyes, Ceres, Modesto and Merced, California.
Location: 990 Delbon Ave. Turlock Ca
Tel. No. 209-667-7889
Hours: Monday – Friday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Dean’s Pizza
Dean’s Pizza likes to think that parents who care, won’t settle for just the cheapest pizza. They’ll consider the value of fresh ingredients, the benefits of great taste, and the pleasure in giving their kids something satisfying. We also know—kids may not care about such things as freshness and quality—but of course, that’s what mom’s and dads are for. Parents can feel good about serving their family Dean’s Pizza. Order a specialty pizza for the adults and a traditional favorite for the kids. Kids’ll love the taste, you’ll love the quality and everyone’s happy.
Location: 2390 W. Monte Vista Turlock, CA
Tel. No. (209) 668-0800
Hours: Sunday - Thursday: 11am - 8pm
Friday - Saturday: 11am - 9pm
Thank you for tuning in to this week’s episode. Don’t forget to visit our website, localturlock.com, to stay up-to-date on our local news. You can always email me at turlock@localturlock.com and visit our Facebook at Facebook.com/localturlock and leave us some comments! Stay tuned for next week’s exciting episode! Have a great weekend and always stay safe!
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