 |
|
|
New Manager - Council Taps Jill Anderson
| By a 4-0 vote, with councilman Jesse James White absent, the Riverbank City Council named Jill Anderson as its next city manager on Monday night, Jan. 23, pending the outcome of final negotiations on her contract. The council met in closed session prior to the start of their regular Monday council meeting and announced Anderson as their choice for the new manager following that closed session.
Target starting date for Anderson is Monday, Feb. 27 with a proposed annual pay rate of $137,500.
Council members had discussed the finalists in a special session on Wednesday, Jan. 18 out of the field whittled down to three candidates from more than 40 applicants. They had also presented the three finalists to the public at a mixer held the previous evening, Jan. 17.
Anderson, a former assistant city manager of Seaside, was introduced that evening in addition to the other two finalists for the post, Mark Prestwich, a special projects manager for the City of Sacramento; and John Sims, executive director of Stanislaus County's Children and Families Commission.
Attendance at the Teen Center mixer was sparse on Jan. 17, about two dozen and most of those present were city hall employees. The three candidates for the post each made five-minute presentations and then mingled with the crowd to chat with individuals.
Saying Riverbank is in many ways similar to Seaside, Anderson noted that while serving in the coastal city she was involved in contracting with the sheriff for its police services and in working with Army personnel to close down the adjacent Fort Ord and convert it to civilian use. Her job covered a variety of duties from supervision of city parks to management of the water system.
"I'm interested in moving forward, taking it to the next level ... I'm in a place that needs what I have to offer. You have accomplished so much already. Your downtown is beautiful..." she said.
Prestwich said he was proud to come from the small town of Hemet that is based on agriculture and like Riverbank had a population of about 20,000 back in 1980. He started his career there as a staff analyst for the League of California Cities working closely with the mayors and council members of surrounding communities.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 |
News at-a-glance 01/25/12 to 02/01/12
|
|
|
|
| Opinion
| | Stuff 'n Nonsense -
Delving Into A Dangerous Place | Recently, I turned in the rough draft of my 18th novel to my publisher. Initially, there's always a sense of exhilaration that I completed this monstrous creative task but after the high fades, I'm swamped by feelings of loss.
For months these imaginary people have lived in my head, their voices have twittered about whatever plot point I happened to be working through, and I've become accustomed to the chatter.
But once the book is finished, the voices go away and I'm left with just myself.
Ugh.
On my Facebook I wrote, "Somedays I wander into crazy and it feels familiar." This statement was starkly true. But then artists are stereotypically odd, right? I mean, if I didn't wander into Crazytown and book a room now and then, could I create character after character, plot after plot repeatedly? It's a good question.
One thing I have discovered about myself after 18 books is that my creative process is dangerous.
I need pressure to get the words to flow. And I'm talking extreme pressure; the kind that would pop the eyeballs from an ordinary person's skull.
Last weekend I spent every waking moment writing so I could meet my deadline. I took very small breaks to eat and then I went back to the computer until late at night, then rose early and started again. I wrote 100 pages within 72 hours. My fingers were swollen, my brain started to misfire and I'd started to lose feeling in my rear from sitting too long. When Monday came, it seemed as though I was punch-drunk. I'd gone to bed at 11 p.m. the night before and rose at 4:30 a.m. to write the last two chapters. That's roughly 20 pages. Remember in high school how you used to lament writing a two-page persuasive essay? I can write two pages in my sleep. (I think I have, actually.)
But the end result? The words flowed from my taxed brain onto the page in large torrents of prose that when I went back to reread what I'd written, I couldn't believe it was me.
Sure, there were some missing words here and there, which is a natural consequence of writing at a speed that would send some into a paroxysm of shock, but overall, I was impressed with the essence of the story.
As impressed as I was with the work, there was a scary aspect to it, too, that might surprise most people; I didn't remember writing some of it.
This isn't new. When I hit my stride, I slip into what I liken to a writer's trance. I lose track of everything around me, and I'm lost to the words flowing around me and the voices in my head vying for attention. It's all I can do to keep up.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 |  |
| Sports
| | Varsity Basketball Girls Drop Heartbreaker To Ripon |  |
A one-point lead with under four minutes to play gave Riverbank High's varsity girls basketball team a good shot at host Ripon during Thursday's key Trans-Valley League contest, but the Indians made the shots that counted most.
Ripon exploded for an eight-point rally to close the game and bested Riverbank in a 49-42 final score to claim the No. 2 position in the league standings behind three-time section champion, Modesto Christian.
"Ripon was exactly what I thought they were going to be," Riverbank coach Tim Carnes said. "I think we are a better team than we played."
The Bruins capitalized on aggressive offensive play to sideline Ripon's leading scorer, Ruth Waters, with four fouls at the start of the fourth quarter. Waters returned with just over three minutes to play and sparked Ripon's late rally that put the Lady Bruins away for good. Kelsey Alexander broke past the Bruin defense and drained a baseline jump shot to put the Indians up five points with 45 seconds to play. She was Ripon's top scorer of the night (15 points) after repeated crashes into the paint against smaller Riverbank defenders.
"I didn't have anyone to match up with her size." Carnes said. "Ripon shot the ball well, moved well and defended okay."
Riverbank freshman Olivia Luu managed a game high 23 points with seven steals and a 7-for-10 showing from the foul line.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 | | | Bruin Hoop Boys Shoot Past Indians |  |
Riverbank High varsity boys basketball players had the hot hand on Friday, and put on a show at the perimeter with 10 three-point shots as the host Bruins beat Ripon in a 59-54 final tally.
The victory allowed Riverbank (16-1 overall, 4-1 Trans-Valley League) to keep their hold on the No. 2 position in the conference standings with only one contest remaining in the first half of league games as of Monday.
Riverbank played Hughson (5-13, 1-4) on Tuesday, though results were not available at press time. The Bruins host Modesto Christian (14-4, 5-0) on Friday.
"At this point every game is huge," Bruin coach Jeff Jennings said. "Obviously we want to take care of home games. We have played pretty well at home and we want every advantage we can get."
The Bruins led Ripon 17-11 after a quarter and 40-34 after three periods. The Indians exploded for 20 fourth quarter points, but late free throws kept Riverbank ahead after a 19-point scoring effort in the fourth. The Bruins got a huge game from sophomore Rolaun Dunham, who led all scorers with 26 points. He drained four treys and watched Alex Reynaga (16 points) also sink four three-pointers. Logan Nabors scored five points for Riverbank while Robert Martinez (four), Markus Benson (three), Anthony Navarette (two), Kenny Veliz (two) and Armando Manriquez (one) also scored. Dunham and Martinez each pulled down seven rebounds in the win while Reynaga dished out five assists.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 | |
| Obituaries
| | James Schmitt | James Lewis 'Jim' Schmitt, 86, died Tuesday, Jan. 3 at Oak Valley District Hospital after a brief illness caused by complications from a tractor injury he suffered in May of 2009.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 | | | Carolyn Searway | Carolyn Jean Searway, 52, of Riverbank, died Thursday, Jan. 5 after a 13-month battle against duodenal cancer.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 | |
|
|
|
|
