Graduations, a new downtown Morning Market, the Stanislaus County Fair and more were among the main stories unfolding during the months of May through August in and around the Oakdale area.

This week, we present the second installment of the annual Year in Review, looking back at 2023.

MAY

The City of Oakdale has once again shown Stanislaus County at large, that while the population may be small, its community is mighty. That was once again made evident on Saturday, April 29 as over 650 volunteers gathered to participate in the annual Love Oakdale event and would complete 50 projects located in the 95361. “It was a big one,” Love Oakdale Director Lisa Kjeldgaard said of the annual citywide day of service.

Making a triumphant return to Knights Ferry after a three-year absence, the Gold Country Peddler’s Faire offered something for everyone on Sunday, April 30. And the crowd turned out to support the many vendors coming in to the hamlet to set up shop for the day.

Oakdale Joint Unified has once again exemplified academic excellence as the Fair Oaks Falcons recently secured First Place honors for the third time at the Stanislaus County Science Olympiad competition. Coached by Fair Oaks educators Mary White and Jessica Fisher, the team of 18 earned a number of team medals in addition to the coveted championship trophy. “This is our third time in a row of getting first place,” White said of the team, noting approximately 80 percent of the team returned from the previous year.

While the weather seemed poised to pose a threat, the power of prayer may just have worked for Oakdale Morning Market Manager, Roxanne Simons, as well as the close to 50 vendors who set up shop for the first Oakdale market of its kind on Saturday, May 6. “It definitely exceeded our expectations for sure,” Simons said of the packed event, sharing that she herself was nervous about the weather and called on some prayer warriors to ward off the rain. Simply refusing to accept there would be rain for the event opening, by 8 a.m. Saturday morning, the prayers seemed to have worked. “Nerve-racking at first,” she confessed, as shoppers began trickling in a little past 8 a.m., “but we were totally happy with the numbers, especially with the weather we were fighting a little bit.”

Kennedy Jones is moving on to big things. The Oakdale High School senior and 2023 Leo Volz Scholarship recipient leaves little doubt that she intends to not only do OHS proud, but the community as well. The honoree intends on attending University of California Davis this fall where she plans to major in Medical and Molecular Microbiology.

It was a busy week for Oakdale Joint Unified School District parents as well as students as the 2022-2023 school year came to a conclusion. Beginning Wednesday, May 24 OJUSD hosted not one but four Commencement ceremonies for Oakdale Charter, East Stanislaus/Valley Oak, Oakdale Junior High and Oakdale High School. A large number were in attendance at each of the ceremonies, with alterative ed on Wednesday, junior high on Thursday, high school on Friday. And on Friday night, May 26 it was an enthusiastic group of seniors entering The Corral for the final time as Mustangs. After the playing of the traditional Pomp and Circumstance, with the soon-to-be graduates entering to the cheers, shouts and occasional air horn blasts from the crowd, ASB President Tyler Cooley welcomed the attendees and his fellow seniors and urged them to bring about “meaningful change” as they move on.

Dozens of volunteers fanned out all across the Oakdale Citizens Cemetery on Saturday morning, May 27. They were on a mission – to make sure that each veteran buried in the East J Street cemetery had an American flag placed on their grave for the Memorial Day observance on Monday, May 29.

JUNE

In an effort to be more competitive with neighboring cities, the City of Oakdale will be transitioning to a modified 9/80 schedule which will change the office hours for City Hall at 280 N. Third Ave., and the Public Works Corporation Yard at 455 S. Fifth Ave. “City Hall and the Public Works Corporation Yard will have extended hours Monday through Thursday and will be closed on Fridays,” City Manager Bryan Whitemyer noted. The new operating hours will take effect as of July 1, 2023. City Hall will be open Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; closed on Fridays. The Public Works Corporation Yard/Planning, Building and Engineering will be open 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday; closed on Friday.

It’s an anniversary which is even hard for her to believe, yet the summer of 2023 marks the 25th season of Hutton’s Hamlet Performing Arts Center Youth Theater Workshops. Since the beginning, Annette Hutton has been at the helm. Performances for the annual summer series began last Friday, June 9. First stepping onto the property and calling it home 26 years ago, Hutton shared her husband and business partner Richard was not as convinced of the vision as she was. “I never worry. Richard worries,” she chuckled. “He’s the one I had to pull kicking and screaming onto this property.”

City officials revealed future plans for the Greger Sports Park at a special community workshop to a modest but receptive crowd Thursday, June 15 at the Bianchi Community Center. Based on social media engagement with posts regarding the future sports park, city staff anticipated more people than City Hall could accommodate, necessitating the move to the community center. Although attendance was less than anticipated, the attendees were receptive and offered quality suggestions moving forward on this massive project.

Friday morning, June 16, Oakdale Police Department’s Rapid Response Team, along with multiple partner agencies, served four high-risk search warrants following a nearly two-month investigation. The investigation was triggered by a drive-by shooting at Dorada Park on April 27. During the investigation, detectives discovered that one of the suspects of the search warrant was manufacturing firearms, and others were selling illegal firearms. The investigation division was able to obtain four search warrants for various locations throughout Oakdale.

People packed in to the front room and spilled in to a couple of adjoining rooms at the ‘Prowse House’ in Oakdale on Saturday morning, June 17, as Friends of Oakdale Heritage, FOH, officially dedicated the Tim Haidlen Research Room. Part of what is included in the room are the bound volumes of The Oakdale Leader and at least one of its predecessors, with issues dating back to the 1880s. “Thank you all for taking time out of your busy weekend to show up to our rare little occasion,” Friends of Oakdale Heritage President Barbara Torres said in welcoming the crowd, then offered a little background on the Oakdale Museum and History Center at 212 W. F St. “The home was built in 1869 by Robert Sydnor, one of Oakdale’s earliest pioneers, who had a general store and was Oakdale’s first postmaster.”

Marking its fifth year with a celebration to remember, the Oakdale Enrichment Society hosted its annual All-American Bash on Saturday, June 24. Kicking off with a parade from the area of Lee and Poplar at 4 p.m. Saturday, the entries made their way along Poplar and then turned north to follow a route to Dorada Park on North Second Avenue. With classic cars, trucks and the occasional motorcycle, some equestrian units, a tractor or two, there was plenty for parade watchers to enjoy. A special feature was the several vintage fire trucks, which were in the city Saturday for a 100-year celebration of the P.E. Van Pelt fire apparatus company.

JULY

Four Oakdale residents and one Riverbank resident have been seated on the 2023-24 Stanislas County Civil Grand Jury. Oakdale representatives on the panel include Jarrold Fouts, Scott Hicks, Carl Hill and Steven Webb; the Riverbank representative is Jeffrey Olson.

The 2023 edition of the popular Stanislaus County Fair opened for its 10-day run on Friday, July 7 and continues through Sunday, July 16. Each day features a variety of specialty acts, musical entertainment, displays and exhibits, rides, games, fair food and beverage options, and more. BMX races, Monster trucks, a PRCA Rodeo, and popular hypnotist Suzy Haner are also among the returning favorites.

It was an item from Closed Session, listed under Personnel Matters, which seemed to prompt most in attendance at the July school board meeting in Oakdale. When the meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m., President Tina Shatswell reviewed the items which had been addressed in Closed Session, followed by a statement indicating “there was no action taken.” As the Public Comment portion of the meeting was opened to those in the room the “Parent Complaint Against District Employee” from Closed Session, however, continued to be a topic of concern for both parents and students.

Oakdale is launching a one-stop place to discover all things happening in town. The Oakdale Community Calendar is being made possible thanks to a partnership between the City of Oakdale, the Oakdale Chamber of Commerce, and Visit Oakdale. The group contracted with Oakdale’s newest digital marketing agency, Invoke Solutions, to build the calendar website. The new website will be an all-inclusive master calendar showing events in Oakdale concerning residents, businesses, government, and tourism. The Oakdale Community Calendar can be viewed in its entirety at https://oakdaleevents.com.

Hot July days are here and if you need a way to stay cool, there are some local options. For those who do not have a pool or don’t want to load up the vehicle and deal with the inconvenience of heading to the lake, Oakdale’s public swimming pool has you covered. Known informally as ‘The Plunge’ the facility is available to the public for open swim and is also offering swimming lessons.

Nine students from Oakdale and Riverbank have spent their summer immersed in theater. The five Riverbank students and four from Oakdale will be on stage for “The Addams Family – School Edition” at the Gallo Center for the Arts in Modesto. Riverbank participants are eighth graders Mahannah Williams and Naya Martinez; freshman Vayda Valderaz; junior Ella Tichenor Holliday; and senior Zuhey Perez. Oakdale students in the production are sophomore Jamie Ruddy; juniors Haley Perez and Daniel Campbell; and senior Zach Zopfi.

With open doors – and open arms – the crowd was welcomed to the Oakdale Cowboy Museum on Saturday, July 22 as the community observed National Day of the American Cowboy. Outside, there were displays and exhibits, refreshments offered by the Mid Valley Cowbelles, work being done on a saddle restoration project, a dummy roping area, beverages by Seed 2 Cup Coffee, commemorative button making and more. Centerpiece of the event was the viewing of several new plaques, placed around the iconic Yesterday Is Tomorrow sculpture, and the dedication of those plaques. Funds raised through purchase of the plaques – which can be recognize families or individuals for the participation in and/or support of the Cowboy way of life, help support Cowboy Museum programs and services. The plaques are diverse, ranging from Cahoots Corner Café to the William W. Dyer Family, Cook Ranch in Farmington to Pat Paul, and from Love Oakdale to one placed In Memory of Chuck Pennington, a longtime local rodeo legend.

AUGUST

Oakdale residents turned out for a number of gatherings on Tuesday, Aug. 1 as they helped to mark the 40th anniversary for the nationwide National Night Out. Designed originally as a way to ‘take back the night’ from crime and drugs, the goal of NNO is to get neighbors out of their homes, interacting with their neighbors and first responders, getting an opportunity to visit with police, fire and ambulance personnel in a relaxed setting.

Clothes shopping has been done. Backpacks, lunch boxes and shoes accounted for. PE clothes purchased and, in some cases, student ID photos taken. On Thursday, Aug. 3 all the campuses of Oakdale Joint Unified School District will open their doors, gates and classrooms for the 2023-2024 school year.

Stanislaus County Library officials have announced changes to its business hours, a move designed to enhance customer convenience and provide increased access to library services. Effective Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023, library branches will expand operating hours to better align with the needs of the community. In total, there will an additional 91 public service hours per week across Stanislaus County Libraries, bringing up average weekly branch hours from 32 to 39 per week.

Oakdale High School senior Grace Miller has a full year ahead of her. In addition to being active in sports and well versed academically, Miller is the reigning 2023-24 Oakdale’s Distinguished Young Woman and come this Monday, Aug. 14, will take her seat as the Oakdale Joint Unified Student Board Member.

It’s a distance which spans almost 2500 miles, yet for Ike Loa Candle Co. owners Erica and Roberto Escobar, the tragedy of the Maui wildfires may as well have been in their own backyard. Upon hearing of the tragedy which devastated the Lahaina community and at least 10,000 acres of land, the couple jumped into action. Erica Escobar shared as soon as the couple saw the devastation, they knew that they wanted to help. As a small business they don’t necessarily have the financial means to cut a check by way of donation. They did, however, have the resources to make candles from items left from other projects. And so the Maui candle was created for the sole purpose of raising funds to donate toward helping the region and its residents recover from the tragedy.

In response to the recent Stanislaus County Civil Grand Jury (SCCGJ) report that found several Oakdale Police Department officers out of compliance for mandated Domestic Violence training requirements, Police Chief Jerry Ramar on Monday night, Aug. 21 shared with Oakdale City Council members how the department has rectified the oversights.

There were classic cars, music, food, and lots of reminiscing, as a Saturday, Aug. 26 gathering in Valley Home paid tribute to a longtime fire chief. The late Jerry Benedix, who served as chief for decades, passed away earlier this year. He was remembered and honored at the Saturday night event. Prior to the 6 p.m. dedication ceremony and special unveiling of a plaque in Benedix’s honor, residents turned out to enjoy a classic car show and a meal.

In next week’s issue, Jan. 17, The Leader will highlight top stories from the final four months of the year, September through December.