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Welcome to Local Turlock Podcast! Buckle up for another episode as this podcast gives you some of the interesting scoops, news, and stories for the week of October 2nd! And oh, it’s already the 2nd of October, 2020 going by so quickly. Hope you guys are all safe and tuning in to our podcast this week. Let’s start with a very inspiring story – a local Turlock retiree and Red Cross volunteer for the past 22 yrs makes his free time worthwhile as he helped those affected by the onslaught of fires in the northern half of the state. Good news to those who are missing the outdoors, the California Department of Public Health has given the greenlight for parks and playgrounds to reopen statewide, and speaking of going outdoor, here’s a fun one - GO Drive-Up Turlock, a drive-in movie theater located at the Turlock fairgrounds, has opened its doors to the public! A bit of a bad news - A fire at a Turlock home Wednesday morning displaced 10 residents in the 400 block of Julian Street. Moving on, wondering when to get the Fair food in October? Stanislaus County Fair food will make an October appearance the next two weekends in Stanislaus County Fairgrounds. the latest updates about COVID 19 in Stanislaus County. All that and more today in this week's Local Turlock podcast!

Turlock retiree makes free time count with Red Cross

Being a volunteer with the American Red Cross for the past 22 years, Turlock resident Dan Hardesty thought he had seen it all — from helping those affected by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to making sure team members could communicate with one another in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. That was the case until this year, when he was called upon last month to help those affected by the onslaught of fires which had engulfed the northern half of the state. While Hardesty was no stranger to providing aid during a crisis, this was the first time he had to do so during a global pandemic.  He was asked to accept a position as Disaster Services Technology Chief. The position would be part of a Rapid Response Team and Hardesty’s job was to ensure that up to 450 Red Cross staff could communicate with each other and Red Cross Headquarters.  After 17 days on the job, Hardesty was relieved by a fellow Red Cross volunteer. He’s already helping out with fires again, however, filling in for a staff member in Fresno and driving down to help every other day. While most retire from their day jobs to relax, Hardesty doesn’t mind dedicating his free time to such a worthy cause.

Parks reopen as Stanislaus County remains in widespread COVID-19 tier

The California Department of Public Health has given the greenlight for parks and playgrounds to reopen statewide, regardless of what tier the counties are in currently. The authorization was granted Monday and is only for outdoor parks and playgrounds. It also comes with a lengthy list of rules designed to minimize the spread of COVID-19. Playgrounds that are allowed to open must be fully outdoors, free to enter and use, and publicly accessible. Stanislaus County is making progress towards moving to the next tier down in California's Blueprint for a Safer Economy, but currently remains in the widespread purple tier. Under the purple tier most non-essential indoor business operations have to remain closed or make modifications to operate outdoors, like restaurants, or decrease capacity. In order to move out of the purple widespread tier and into the red substantial tier, the county must meet both metrics and sustain that level for two consecutive weeks. Under the red tier, some non-essential indoor business operations can open and/or increase capacity.

Turlock's Ultimate Drive-In Movie Theater Experience

GO Drive-Up Turlock, a drive-in movie theater located at the Turlock fairgrounds, has opened its doors to the public! Movies being shown at the drive-in include family friendly favorites such as “Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse,” “The Fast and the Furious,” “The Lion King” and “La Bamba,” among many others.  The organizers of the drive-in theater have set up three shipping containers on top of each other to create a larger screen. You can enjoy the movie while having blankets and pillows in the back of your car, you can set chairs outside within your slot, or you stay inside your car. No matter which way you choose to watch, the screen is big enough to support any method of watching. To make the experience of the drive-in more enjoyable, there are also concession stands offering classic theater and fairground foods that have been set up for customers to buy from. Customers are encouraged to not take outside food or drinks but instead to purchase food from their concession stands helping them to stay in business. The theater is open weekly at 6 p.m. from Thursday to Sunday. For more information, head to their https://godriveup.com/

Fire displaces 10 from Turlock home

A fire at a Turlock home Wednesday morning displaced 10 residents in the 400 block of Julian Street. Ten residents were displaced from the home because of the significant fire damage. The first crews from the Turlock Fire Department to arrive at the scene found a significant amount of smoke and flames coming from the single-story home. According to the fire department, the residents were outside of their home and confirmed that everyone had gotten out but three family dogs were missing and presumed to still be in the home. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Displaced resident are now being assisted by American Red Cross for immediate shelter needs.

Fair food in October? When to get it at the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds

Stanislaus County Fair food will make an October appearance the next two weekends. “Sit tight, Fair bites” will have a fall return at the fairgrounds in Turlock, according to a press release. Drive-thru options only are available. On Friday-Sunday, Oct. 2-4, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., the VFW 5059 Auxiliary Booth’s Famous Fair Hamburgers and Warrior Fries will be offered along with Yonan’s fresh hand-dipped corn dogs and curly fries, as well as offerings from Funnel Cakes Express. On Friday-Saturday, Oct. 9-10, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., the VFW hamburgers and fries and funnel cakes will be available. Staff will practice safety guidelines set by the county and customers must stay inside their cars. The Stanislaus County Fairgrounds is at 900 N. Broadway, Turlock; call 209-668-1333.

Coronavirus update, Oct. 1: Stanislaus adds 3 deaths; September numbers lower

The COVID-19 caseload continued to grow slowly in Stanislaus County on Wednesday. It also announced three more deaths, for a total of 362. The 16 new positive tests bring the total to 16,512, according to Health Services Agency . There were 102 deaths in September, down from 148 in August. In July, the county reported 60 deaths. The county remains in the lowest, or purple, tier in the state rating system that decides how much restaurants and other businesses can loosen its coronavirus restrictions. The county’s five hospitals had 45 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, up from 39 on Tuesday. As of now, Modesto has 6,135 positive cases, Turlock has 2,227, and Ceres has 2,068 cases.

Thank you for sticking with me until the end of this episode. Make sure 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.