Hi everyone; I hope you are each having a great day. I hope you are well and you are all ready for our Oakdale Rodeo. The rodeo will be kicked off with a weeklong series of activities, leading up to Rodeo Weekend. This year the Rodeo is on April 12th and 13th at the rodeo grounds.
Today I would like to share a bit about a young and very talented Oakdale cowboy. Wyatt Bankus is a friend to many here in the Cowboy Capital of the World. Wyatt spent much time rodeoing with many of you. He is definitely a special kind of person. Today Wyatt is SSgt USAF Wyatt Bankus. He is a crew chief with the prestigious United States Air Force Thunderbirds. (More to come on this amazing young man).
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It was a very special time for Byron and Dardelee Farquer this last week. Both of their amazing rodeo sons made the Leaderboard on TV. The brothers, both graduates of Oakdale High School, are extremely talented in the rodeo world. Both travel all across the country to rodeo. This time, Caden flew in to join his big brother Colton in Arizona. Their parents were excited to watch on TV as the Leaderboard announced the winning cowboys. Both sons had made the Leaderboard. What a tremendous accomplishment. The PCRA Rodeo was held in Cave Creek Arizona. Congratulations to Colton and Caden, we are so proud of you both.
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This week I have exciting news to pass along to each of you. Dolly Haskell, Vice President of the East Stanislaus Fire Safe Council, has shared that the council will be resuming in person meetings on April 21st. Sidelined by COVID, it was hard to get information out to folks. The Fire Safe Council has worked hard to promote wildfire safety in East Stanislaus County, and to reach out and earn grants to further this important work. Even with COVID they were still able to complete a very significant fire reduction project. This pilot fuel reduction project took place in the community of Knights Ferry. Please take the time if you can to attend this very important meeting on April 21st at 6 pm. You can make a difference in your community. The meeting will be held at the Gene Bianchi Center in Oakdale. For more information you may call Dolly at 209-681-2402.
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We would like to welcome retired Police Captain Jason Grogan … Captain Grogan will serve as interim Police Chief for the City of Oakdale while Oakdale Police Chief Jerry Ramar serves as Oakdale’s interim City Manager.
We are sending our very best wishes to our former City Manager, Bryan Whitemyer, who is now in Folsom.
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We have some really great news; Logan Lignowski, US Army, is much, much better. He is out of the hospital and will be heading back to North Dakota. Thank you to each of you for all your prayers for Logan.
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We were so excited to see Valley Home’s own Bambi Porter on TV this past Sunday morning. Bambi, who is an amazing cook and a great teacher, was showing the canning process. Bambi appears quite often on “Good Day Sacramento”. It’s always amazing to watch her and learn. To find out more about Bambi’s cooking classes, go to Bambi Porter.com
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We end this week’s column with a big “Happy Birthday” to a beautiful little cowgirl … Swayzee Quinn Nunes turned seven years old this week. Happy, Happy Birthday Swayzee.
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As always you may reach me by email at winniemullins51@gmail.com or by text or telephone at 209-985-5233.
Until next time, “Happy Trails to All!”
