Salida MAC Newsletter - December 2015

LIKE “Salida MAC” on Facebook and follow on Twitter https://twitter.com/SalidaMAC

and sign up to receive our newsletter via e-mail. ~ Katherine Borges, Editor

NOTE: SALIDA HAS NEW OUTDOOR WATERING RESTRICTIONS

The Modesto City Council passed new watering restrictions unanimously on November 25, 2015. Homes and businesses with even number addresses can water Saturday and those with odd addresses Sunday. No watering is permitted from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Fines are up to $500 so make sure you only water on your watering day during the weekends and during those hours.

Public Comments
Richard Barboza spoke about the VA commission and the next meeting will be held at County Center 3 at 5:30 pm on the 4th Monday of the month. They are looking for volunteers.

Stanislaus County's smartphone app to report
issues can be found under 'GORequest"

Stanislaus County Sheriff Department
Lt. Marc Nuno stated the substation should be opening soon and will be staffed with STARS volunteers. The sheriff's department is still working on getting staffing levels up.

Salida Fire Department
Chief Dale Skiles thanked everyone who volunteers in Salida. There have been 1100 calls to date with expecting that number to reach 1400 by the end of the year. Average response time is 5 minutes and 53 seconds. Chief Skiles reminded everyone to change the batteries in their smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Applications for volunteers will be taken for next year, apply at salidafire.com

Salida Union School District
Superintendent Twila Tosh reported there will be an upcoming meeting regarding LCAP on November 5th at 5:30pm at Salida Middle School. Salida Union has a partnership with the U.C. Davis Nutrition Program for parent classes, see flyer here.

Salida Chamber of Commerce
Lana Moore stated the Salida Chamber of Commerce will be participating in the Salida Community Christmas program again this year to give toys and gifts to needy families in Salida. Barrels to donate toys will be located at the Salida Library, Salida Post Office, Kaplan College, Salida Christian Fellowship Church and Tender Years Nursery School. Please buy gifts up to 5th grade level: books, games, puzzles, toys, etc. and drop off at one of the barrel locations.

Modesto Irrigation District
There is a public meeting on November 17 at the MID office regarding the current electricity rates.

Nick W. Blom Salida Regional Library
Salida Library Director Carol Blomquist shared many programs for people of all ages. Wee Move and Play for small children is on December 8. No StoryTime in December. LEGO Day on December 22. Shakespeare for All will perform "Hamlet" for free on December 5 at 3 pm. A lot of additional resources are available online at the Stanislaus County Virtual Library.

Special Presentation - "Helping Salida's Homeless" presented by Katherine Borges
Katherine Borges has been participating in Stanislaus County's Focus on Prevention program. She has been learning about the different groups/charities/services available for those who are homeless and for those who are about to be homeless. She asked for people in the community to volunteer to help the homeless in Salida with a follow-up presentation in early 2016.

Stanislaus County Supervisor Report
Stanislaus County Supervisor Terry Withrow stated the new coroner's facility is open. The county will be going to Sacramento to look for funding for storm water capturing grants and grants for other water projects. Supervisor Withrow also shared that the County has a new website.

Announcements
Salida Sit-N-Sew will be on 11/19/15 at 6pm at Salida Christian Fellowship.

Former San Joaquin County Supervisor, Ken Vogel was recently inducted into San Joaquin Farm Bureau Hall of Fame

Next Salida MAC Meeting:

Tuesday, December 1, 2015 at 7 pm @ Salida Library Community Room

4835 Sisk Rd. - Salida

Featured Department: "Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department STING Team"

STAY IN TOUCH WITH YOUR SALIDA NEIGHBORS - JOIN NEXT DOOR

Salida MAC Newsletter - August 2015

LIKE “Salida MAC” on Facebook and follow on Twitter https://twitter.com/SalidaMAC

and sign up to receive our newsletter via e-mail. ~ Katherine Borges, Editor

Stanislaus County Sheriff Department

Lt. Marc Nuno said more sheriff deputies are being hired, but even so, crime is getting more violent. Lt. Nuno is tasked with getting the Salida substation manned. He reminded everyone that National Night Out is August 4 but said that he didn't know if the Sheriff's Dept would make it by any gatherings in Salida due to staffing.

Mary Alpers with the STARS unit announced she has magnets available that have the sheriff's emergency and non-emergency numbers printed on them.

Public Comments

Stanislaus County Department of Public Works did not make it to the meetings so residents relayed their concerns to Supervisor Terry Withrow. Concerns include the broken wall at Finney & Gold Valley that was hit by a car and has not been repaired for months now. Also, the condition of the landscaping along Finney and Murphy Rds, and the removal of mailboxes by the Salida Post Office.

Salida's MID Director, Jake Wenger

Modesto Irrigation District

MID Director Jake Wenger shared that budget workshops started today. Each item is gone through and the budget can be viewed on MID's website. Good news on electric prices – the board does not foresee the need for a rate increase. The CARES program forgives four and a half million dollars a year for low income ratepayers. Irrigation season ends October 9. 684 ft is the elevation of the reservoir. MID has one of the lowest outage times in the country.

Nick W. Blom Salida Regional Library

Tuesdays are Family Days Programs which will continue through August. On August 4 at 4 pm is Bubbles and Boredom Blasters – a program exploring bubbles, marshmallow shooters and other fun experiments and activities. August 11 at 4 pm is Wee Move and Play – a music, movement, and sensory play program for ages 1-5. August 18 at 6 pm is Family Dinner and Movie Night. Enjoy a family-friendly movie and bring a picnic dinner. The library provides drinks and popcorn. This month's feature: “Planes – Fire and Rescue”. August 25 at 4 pm is LEGO blocks while learning early math and engineering concepts. Children ages 4 and under need to be supervised by an adult. For adults is the Modesto Money Mavens Couponing class will be held in the community room on August 8 at 3:30 pm. Summer reading program ends August 4 and there will be drawings.

Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors

Supervisor Terry Withrow reported the board issued an emergency water proclamation to help those homeowners whose wells have dried up. Its not looking good for the negative bailout bill due to being opposed by the League of Cities because they would lose redevelopment monies. And while several Stanislaus County lighting districts saw a rate increase, Salida's did not go up.

Announcements

National Night Out on August 4th at 6pm.

Salida Town & Country Festival – Saturday, August 22

Salida Fire Department 59th Annual Chicken BBQ – Saturday, August 22

Salida Sit-n-Sew Quilting Group meets Thursday August 23rd at 6pm at Salida Fire Station 12 (Salida Blvd & Broadway Ave)

Next Salida MAC Meeting:

Tuesday, August 25, 2015 at 7 pm @ Salida Library Community Room

4835 Sisk Rd. - Salida

Featured Department: "Stanislaus County Department of Public Works"

Salida MAC Newsletter - July 2015

LIKE “Salida MAC” on Facebook and follow on Twitter https://twitter.com/SalidaMAC

and sign up to receive our newsletter via e-mail. ~ Katherine Borges, Editor

Salida Family Movie Night
Salida Family Movie Night at Segesta Park was a huge success, about 60 people attended to watch the movie "Hook". Our thanks to Eastside Mosquito Abatement for spraying the park earlier in the day and to Capt. Rizotto and Salida Fire Department for their support.

Stanislaus County Sheriff Dept

Mary Alpers with the STARS unit has magnets available that has the emergency and non-emergency numbers printed on them. They also have small badges for children. The STARS have driven around Salida and Anderson Care Home and have seen issues that has been brought up at previous meetings.

California Highway Patrol

Officer Chuck Leon reported there have been 6 auto accidents in Salida. One was a DUI accident at Ladd and American.

Salida Fire Department

Capt Rizotto giving Salida Fire report

Captain Joe Rizotto reported there has been 111 calls for service in the last 30 days and 597 calls in the last 6 months. Average response time is 5 minutes and 55 seconds. They have gone to all the elementary schools in Salida to give demonstrations and safety information. There was a structure fire at Hope Lane and Salida Blvd. Another structure fire occurred at Kiernan Village in April which displaced 26 residents as well as a large vegetation fire on McHenry on June 18. Additionally, SFD and Woodland FD fought a hay fire consisting of 35 tons in Wood Colony. The fire assessment failed 1878 ballots were returned, 941 yes votes, 937 no votes. Due to the weighted ballot, the assessment failed 52% to 48%. 16 new volunteers have recently joined the department. The chicken BBQ dinner will take place on Saturday, August 22 and tickets are $12 each. Fireworks sales start on June 28th.

Salida Sanitary District

Brad Johnson reported that they are in the process of getting a loan to pay for projects and several businesses on Pirrone were paying for service but were not hooked up to the system.

Salida Post Office

John Paul Cabral reported that many homes in Salida who only have a post office box can start getting mail delivery at home via community mailboxes. No mailbox break ins recently. 

Salida Chamber of Commerce

The Salida Chamber of Commerce held a well-attended mixer on June 5 at Salida Veterinary Hospital hosted by Dr. Paul Sessa.

Modesto Irrigation District

Board member Jake Wenger reported they have been actively monitoring water levels and and being proactive to avoid water thefts. Many farmers have taken advantage of MID's drought incentive programs. Some board members went to Washington DC and met with Senator Boxer and Nancy Pelosi's staff to talk about the drought. It doesn't look like there will be an electric rate increase this year. 

Nick W. Blom Salida Regional Library

Wiggle Worms is on Wednesday mornings at 10:00 - open only to children under age 3 and their caregivers. Wednesday mornings at 11:00 - open to toddlers, their siblings, and their caregivers.  Preschool Story Time - Thursday mornings at 10:00 - open to children ages 3 to 5 and their caregivers Preschool Story Time is followed by Stay and Play... Play and Learn each week.  Summer Reading Program goes through August 4 - all ages. Gift basket prizes on display at the library. A Kindle Fire and Amazon gift certificate are possible prizes.

Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors District 3

Supervisor Withrow reported the board passed the county budget two weeks ago and there will be an increase in spending on public safety. The negative bailout failed in the state government. There is a water community meeting June 25 in Knights Ferry. Completion of the new day reporting center and coroner's office is almost completed. Homeless action meeting June 30th at the Sutter Gould building on McHenry ave at 1pm.

Announcements

Salida Sit-n-Sew is a new quilting group organizing and if you quilt, you are invited to attend an organizational meeting on Thursday July 23rd at 7pm at Salida Fire Station 12 (Salida Blvd & Broadway Ave)

Former San Joaquin County Supervisor Ken Vogel is running for Kristen Olsen's assembly seat and he was recognized and thanked for attending our Salida MAC meetings and listening to the communities concerns.

National Night Out on Tuesday, August 4th at 6pm.

Salida MAC's website - visit: http://salidamac.weebly.com/

Next Salida MAC Meeting:

Tuesday, July 28, 2015 at 7 pm @ Salida Library Community Room

4835 Sisk Rd. - Salida

Featured Department: "Stanislaus County Department of Public Works"

Salida MAC Newsletter - April 2015

LIKE “Salida MAC” on Facebook and follow on Twitter https://twitter.com/SalidaMAC
and sign up to receive our newsletter via e-mail. ~ Katherine Borges, Editor

Stanislaus County Sheriff Dept
Deputy Scott Block reported that seventeen new deputies will be graduating the academy in April. He also shared that he was aware that there were two areas of concern on either side of the freeway. He asked that residents continue to call and report issues.

California Highway Patrol
Officer AJ Palazuelos shared that the CHP has received complaints about speeding on Wallasey Way and Pirrone. Residents shared many concerns regarding speeding and school traffic issues.

Salida Fire Department
Salida Fire Chief Dale Skiles asked residents to bring people by the fire station or stop by if they have programs. Salida Fire will be co-sponsoring the "Every 15 Minutes Program" with Gregori High School. Salida Fire Department is averaging 120 emergency calls per month and many of the calls are overlapping calls. To research recommendations for better service, the Salida Fire District asked citizens of Salida, Del Rio, and Wood Colony to serve on a Citizens Advisory Committee which has been meeting since September. The Salida Fire Board will hold a public workshop at the fire station on Salida Blvd and Broadway on Thursday, April 2 at 7 pm to discuss recommendations for Salida Fire.

Chief Skiles also asked that citizens pull over if they see a fire engine with their sirens and lights on. He also asked that if any residents had tall weeds to please cut them down.

Salida Sanitary District
Salida Sanitary District board member Brad Johnson reported that the loan for the solar dryers is almost paid off and the director has suggested that the Sanitary District take out another loan for capital improvement costs. Board member Johnson invited the public to attend the meetings which are held on the 2nd Thursday of every month at 6:30 pm at the Sanitary District's headquarters off of Pirrone Rd.

Salida Chamber of Commerce
Amanda Sorenson shared the Salida Chamber of Commerce's project for Love Salida on Saturday, April 18 at 9 am will be care packages for Salida firefighters (including volunteers), sheriff deputies and CHP officers. Salida Chamber welcomes donations of the following items: Starbucks gift cards and/or coffee, Girl Scout cookies, Energy bars/granola bars, sunflower seeds, eye drops, razors, (travel sizes of the following) shaving cream wet wipes/hand sanitizer, Gold Bond powder, shoe polish, sunscreen lip balm, or cash donations. Please feel free to call Amanda at (209) 232-5022 or contact her through the Salida Chamber's website at www.salidacachamber.com

Nick W. Blom Salida Regional Library
Salida Library Director Carol Blomquist shared there will be no preschool or Wiggle-worms storytimes, or stay-n-play this month; these programs will resume in May. Tuesday's for Family Day programs "Wee Move and Play" for 5-yr olds is on April 14th @ 4pm. Lego day is on April 28 @ 4pm and children under age 4 need to have any adult with them. Dance exercise continues on Mondays at 6 pm, Modesto Money Mavens couponing class is Saturday, April 11th at 3:30. Money Smart Week for Kids is April 21 @ 4 pm ages 9-15 only. On April 25th at 1 pm is an identity theft program hosted by Bank of the West. Visit the website for more upcoming events. Ms. Blomquist also announced that after 10 years at the Salida Library, Barb will be retiring.

Modesto Irrigation District
MID Director Jake Wenger gave an update on the Prop 218 process that the district is involved in. Director Wenger said that this year will be the most difficult one in the history of MID, they are looking at a 16 inch allocation per acre. Last year was the largest reduction with 24 inches in allotment.  The district is looking at different drought programs to make water available, like farmers selling water they don't use back to the district. Director Wenger also addressed the recent letter to the editor in the Modesto Bee asking why there is water in the canals. He stated that its groundwater, there's no water coming out of the reservoirs right now. MID owns about 100 wells and farmers are renting those pumps and wells in certain sections. April 5th will be the start of the irrigation season.

Special Presentation - "Focus on Prevention - Quality of Life Initiative" Program 
presented by Aaron Farnon

Aaron Farnon shared Stanislaus County's new initiative called "Focus on Prevention" which includes nine sectors of our community: Arts, Sports & Entertainment; Business, Education, Faith-based, Government, Media, Neighborhoods, Non-profits, Philanthropy. There are four quality of life areas to be addressed and the first one is Homelessness which will convene on October 1st at Modesto Centre Plaza. Mr. Farnon said they are close to starting "Action Councils" which he is hoping to have some representation from towns within our county like Salida. The goal is to have membership within a community to oversee and develop action plans, and work with the community to see where there are gaps in our services. They are looking specifically for someone in the community who has a passion for prevention. He gave an example of an overlapping gap in service when different housing providers didn't coordinate efforts and when people apply at one group, they can lose out on permanent housing at another group. Mr. Farnon stated that beginning at the end of May, they will be reaching out to people who wish to be on the action council. Citizens who serve on the action council will be lending their voice and be a set of eyes for our community. For questions or to volunteer for an action council, please contact Aaron Farnon at farnona@stancounty.com

Click here for a copy of the Focus on Prevention handout

Stanislaus County Supervisor's Report
Supervisor Terry Withrow stated that the county has finalized their mid-year budget. The budget is recovering from the recession and revenues are coming in higher than expected. The Board of Supervisors' priority is for increasing public safety, hiring more sheriff deputies, etc. The goal right now is for 172 deputies, including one designated for Salida. Supervisor Withrow also shared how the county wishes to partner with the court system to reduce costs.

Announcements:

Salida Town and Country Festival - Salida Civic Association needs volunteers to help with putting on this year's Town & Country Festival. Contact Kathy Paioni at (209) 545-0601 if you can help.

Love Salida - Love Salida will be held on Saturday, April 18 with meet-up at Salida Park at 9 am. As mentioned above, the Salida Chamber of Commerce will be compiling care packages for local safety personnel and running a freeway clean-up along the Hammett Road exit ramp. The Rotary Club of Salida project is to clean and weed the center median on Broadway. Other Love Salida Projects include: graffiti removal, alleyway clean-up, Salida Food Bank donations, clothing donations, and cleaning up illegal dump sites in Wood Colony. For more information and/or volunteer, please contact Dan Miceli at micelit@juno.com or show up at Salida Park at 9 am. Event ends at 1 pm.

Salida MAC's website - visit: http://salidamac.weebly.com/

Next Salida MAC Meeting:

Tuesday, April 28, 2015 at 7 pm @ Salida Library Community Room

4835 Sisk Rd. - Salida

Presentation:"Gangs in Stanislaus County"
presented by Sheriff Dept Detective Frank Soria

Salida MAC Newsletter - March 2015

LIKE “Salida MAC” on Facebook and follow on Twitter https://twitter.com/SalidaMAC
and sign up to receive our newsletter via e-mail. ~ Katherine Borges, Editor

Stanislaus County Sheriff Dept
Lt. Grom introduced Deputy Block who has been assigned Salida as a regular beat. 

Source: https://twitter.com/stansheriff

Salida Fire Department
Salida MAC Chairman Katherine Borges reported on behalf of Salida Fire Chief Dale Skiles that there were 127 calls for service which were broken down into: 72 EMS calls, 4 fire calls, and several false alarms.

Salida Postmaster
Nanette Spyksma emphasized the need for people to pick up their packages and don't leave them on the porch as packages have been stolen recently. There have been no new mailbox break-ins in Salida.

Modesto Irrigation District
MID Director Jake Wenger reported there might be a decrease in the amount of water farmers receive due to the drought. Last year saw the largest reduction of water delivered in the history of the Modesto Irrigation District. There is currently a 40% water rate increase proposed that is currently in the Prop 218 45-day review process period before it can be voted on. It does not mean that 40% will go through, the MID Directors can approve less than 40%. There was a proposed 3 1/2% rate increase made by staff for electric rates, but no action has been taken at this time. MID customers might see a decrease in the environmental energy adjustment on their bills because MID collected more than was needed for the renewable energy fee last year.

Salida Library
Salida Library Director Carol Blomquist shared about the following library programs. For children: Wiggle Worms will continue through March on Wednesday mornings at 10:00 - open only to children under age 3 and their caregivers and on Wednesday mornings at 11:00 - open to toddlers, their siblings, and their caregivers. Preschool Story Time in on Thursday mornings at 10:00 - open to children ages 3 to 5 and their caregivers Preschool Story Time is followed by Stay and Play at 10:30. Tuesdays are family day. March 24th is Lego Day at 4 pm. March 31 at 4 pm is Día de los Niños/Day of the Child to celebrate Latino culture: this day of celebration will surprise and delight you as we dance, play games from Mexico and enjoy a craft together. For adults: Dance exercise classes continue on Mondays at 6 pm. 

Jeremy Ballard presenting on Holt sign

Stanislaus County Planning Dept.
Stanislaus County Senior Planner Miguel Galvez reported that due to the economy improving, they are getting more applications. Assistant Planner, Jeremy Ballard presented information on an application for Holt of California's sign variance (an additional sign at their location 4400 Salida Blvd.) The Stanislaus County Planning Commission will need to approve the added sign. The public hearing for the sign will be at the Planning Commission on March 19th.


Special Presentation - Salida Union School District's Green Programs

Twila Tosh holding one day's worth of
SUSD's recycled trays and composted
food waste.

Superintendent Twila Tosh shared that Salida Union School District has two solar voltaic arrays which haved saved the district about $36,000 in energy costs and they've installed HVAC controllers.

SUSD instituted a recycling program where they recycle the styrofoam trays as well as any uneaten food. The styrofoam is put into a machine that is located behind Sisk Elementary School where it is melted down to about the size of a textbook. A company comes and picks up the melted product where it is recycled and used to make items such as picture frames. This recycling program saves the school district $12,000 a year in waste service costs.
The food waste is put into a dehydrating pulping machine where it dehydrates the food reducing the amount of waste thrown away. The school has had people from all over the world come to learn about their recycling programs and SUSD even received special recognition from the White House.

CHP
Officer AJ Palazuelos reported that there have been officers out in the morning patrolling around the schools. There's been a lot of traffic complaints on Finney and Covert. They have also seen an increase in false registration tags on cars. Those vehicles will be towed.

Stanislaus County Supervisor's Report
Supervisor Terry Withrow shared "The Tale of Scott" from the State of the County speech and the county's plans for facilitating in bringing different community members and groups together to work on helping youth, the homeless, and recidivism. The annual budget is being worked on and is stronger than the last few years. The county is working on restoring public safety. Sixteen cadets are graduating the sheriff's academy and another sixteen should be going into the academy soon. A larger building for the county coroner is being rehabilitated and expanded.

Announcements
Salida Civic Association needs volunteers to help with putting on this year's Town & Country Festival. Contact Kathy Paioni at (209) 545-0601 if you can help.

Neighborhood Watch contest is still going on through July 31, 2015. Contact Deputy Vern Blagg to establish a neighborhood watch group: (209) 652-0356 and to be entered in the contest, send an e-mail with the date of your neighborhood watch meeting to salidamac@gmail.com 

Salida MAC's website - visit: http://salidamac.weebly.com/

Next Salida MAC Meeting:

Tuesday, March 24, 2015 at 7 pm @ Salida Library Community Room

4835 Sisk Rd. - Salida

Presentation:"Focus on Prevention - Quality of Life Initiative" Program
presented by Aaron Farnon

 An effort that is coming alongside local initiatives focused on a number of Quality of Life areas, in partnership with cross-sector leaders (Education, Non-Profits, Faith, Business, Arts, Entertainment & Sports, Media, Neighborhoods, Philanthropy, and Government). 

The effort begins with a Focus on Prevention in the following Quality of Life areas:

Homelessness (October 1st, 2015 Convening);

Strengthening Families;

Investment in Young Children; and

Reducing Recidivism.