Graduations, the demolition of a longtime downtown landmark building, the Stanislaus County Fair and more were among the main stories unfolding during the months of May through August in and around the Riverbank area.
This week, we present the second installment of the annual Year in Review, looking back at 2023.
MAY
The sun was out and so were the volunteers for the Love Riverbank event as several people gathered at the Community Center gazebo, going out from there to beautify the community once again. The new Love Riverbank committee led by Randy Richardson has plans to do a second volunteer cleanup event later this year and return in 2024 to Love Riverbank. There was coffee and water for volunteers as they lined up to check-in for their projects on Saturday morning, April 29. There were eight projects that people signed up for including Stanislaus River cleanup, parks, an alleyway, library, senior facility, and planting of eight trees as well as honoring heroes. As the Love Riverbank activities wound down during the morning, participants in a community Health Fair and then the Founders Day Carnival started up and continued through the afternoon.
With the school year ending soon, Riverbank High School (RHS) Culinary students served their final Senior Brunch this past Friday, May 5 at the Riverbank Community Center. Central Valley Community Resources has been hosting the Senior Brunch for the local senior citizens in the community for about 10 years and collaborated with the school’s culinary class in 2019.
The National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS) recently honored Riverbank High School (RHS) Band Director Joey Aguilar with the Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction. The special NSHSS program honors educators around the world. Aguilar was nominated by RHS senior Matthew Knerr. Unbeknownst to Aguilar he received the notice when he picked up his mail and opened the large envelope that had two letters and a certificate detailing the honor. “I was pretty surprised to be honest,” said Aguilar. “I was even more surprised when Matthew told me that he nominated several RHS teachers but it seems like I was the only one selected.”
The Downtown Market has returned to the streets of Riverbank, with a bit of a new name and a slightly different array of vendors offering their wares. The first event in the 2023 schedule kicked off on Tuesday evening, May 9 on Santa Fe Street between Third and Fourth streets. The evening markets are scheduled for 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. each week, Tuesdays, through June.
After more than 38 years in education, Riverbank Unified School District (RUSD) Superintendent Christine Facella is retiring at the end of this school year. She has been with RUSD for 18 years and will be turning the page, ready to start a new chapter. “It is time to move on and do something else,” stated Facella. “I still want to help people. I have always been the kind of person that wants to help others. I will miss the people and the families the most. Riverbank is a great place.”
Four ceremonies over two days will close out the school year for students in the Riverbank Unified School District. And reaching the pinnacle of achievement, Riverbank High School seniors Jordan Velasco and Alyssa Perez have been named as the Class of 2023 Valedictorian and Salutatorian, respectively. They will be on stage with their fellow Bruins on Thursday night for graduation. Prior to that, however, there are two ceremonies scheduled for Wednesday, May 24. Riverbank Language Academy will host its eighth grade promotion starting at 6 p.m.; Cardozo Middle School’s eighth grade promotion will follow at 7 p.m., at Anglo Novi Football Stadium on the RHS campus. On Thursday, May 25, it will be the Adelante High School graduation at 5:30 p.m. in the Ray Fauria Gym on the high school campus and then, at 7:30 p.m. at Angelo Novi Stadium, the Riverbank High School Class of 2023 will enjoy their graduation.
Though Memorial Day is often referred to as the official ‘start of summer,’ there was a good-sized crowd that took time out from family barbecues or trips to the river to attend Riverbank’s Memorial Day Commemoration on Monday, May 29. The event is traditionally held at the Veteran’s Wall in front of the Riverbank Community Center, and features speakers, musicians and other ceremonial components to help ‘Remember and Honor’ those who gave their lives in service to this country.
JUNE
In the past, the question was: will it stay or will it go? The end of last week saw the answer to that query, to the dismay of many long time Riverbank residents. It is gone. Work started on Thursday evening, June 1 and continued on Friday, June 2 on the Del Rio Theater complex, at the corner of Atchison/Highway 108 and Third Street, demolishing the two structures. The complex has been standing sentinel over the intersection, with the Del Rio Theatre marquee looking out over downtown traffic since the 1940s. The theater opened on April 30, 1947 with Wallace Beery in “The Mighty McGurk.”
Free summer meals are on the menu for kids and teens, 18 years old and younger, to help get them through the school break without losing out on nutrition. California Avenue School will serve the meals Monday through Friday through June 30. Breakfast runs from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.; lunch will be offered from 11:10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. At Riverbank Language Academy, the program also runs through June 30, Monday through Friday, with breakfast from 7:45 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.; lunch is served from 11 a.m. to noon. Riverbank High School’s meals program will run Monday through Friday with an end date of July 13. Breakfast is from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.; lunch from noon to 12:30 p.m.
The parking area behind the Police Services building on Third Street, as well as behind the Teen Center and Community Center buildings on Santa Fe, are seeing work going on with the construction of solar panel installations in their parking lots. The work areas remain fenced off while work is being done, with the locations of the two awning sections clearly obvious these days.
Riverbank residents and friends got a preview of what was to come over the past weekend in Modesto, when the 24th Annual Graffiti Festival kicked off with a car show here in the parking lot between Cool Hand Luke’s and the Galaxy Theatres. The stop in Riverbank was Thursday evening, June 8 just prior to the official weekend celebration in Modesto.
Though the weather isn’t quite yet summerlike, the Riverbank Community Pool has opened for recreational swimming. The facility is located at the corner of Seventh and Stanislaus streets, and is open from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.
Nineteen local Folklorico dancers recently competed in Pomona, California with one of the groups bringing back a top award. Organizer/instructor Norma Torres-Manriquez said they competed with four different pieces, in three different categories … “And guess what?” Manriquez asked rhetorically, “We brought home one First Place win.” This was the first trip to any type of competitive event in years for the local Folklorico troupe. “I had not taken any of our teams to competitions since 2006,” she said, “so it was very exciting to be able to experience the competition world after so long.”
A cultural festival returned to Downtown Riverbank over the weekend, June 24 and 25; this time it was expanded to a two-day event, offering many cultural features from the districts across Mexico. It featured live music, Aztec Dancers, Ballet Folklorico and a number of cultural games for kids. There were informational booths as well as those presented by artisans, food, and other vendors. In addition, traditional cooks directly from the state of Michoacan were on hand preparing food, in the Riverbank Community Center. Inside, as well as in the park outside, the wide variety of vendor booths were available to those attending. The dancing troupe also thrilled the crowd as they performed both inside and outside the center.
JULY
The Stanislaus Regional Transit Authority (StanRTA), City of Turlock (Turlock Transit) and Transit Joint Powers Authority for Merced County (The Bus) have announced that all rides on all fixed-route, commuter, and ADA Paratransit buses will be free for passengers during July as part of a joint free-ride promotion. This includes local fixed-route services as well as ACE, BART, and Stockton Commuter bus services, The Micro Bus in Merced County, ADA Paratransit, and Medivan. It does exclude Turlock Transit’s On-Demand Service. All public transit buses in Stanislaus and Merced counties are accessible to individuals with disabilities as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
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.
Fireworks, both single items as well as kits suitable for families and other groups of many sizes, were sold throughout the Riverbank area, leading up to the Fourth of July holiday. Booths could sell the State Fire Marshal-approved Safe and Sane variety. Scattered across parking lots large and small in town, booths were operated by sports team parents, church and veterans groups, as well as other civic organizations.
Area drivers who travel down Oakdale Road onto Claribel have noticed in recent weeks heavy earth moving and grading equipment at work on the site of what used to be Dutch Hollow Farms. Equipment and manpower are there, doing preparation work to begin on infrastructure improvements for the coming Crossroads West Shopping Center at that location. When plans began to be firming up, Dutch Hollow moved out to Milnes Road, east of Modesto. And developers have confirmed that they are planning to start the center with work on a new Costco location. The rumors that have been swirling around are apparently being realized, with a formal groundbreaking ceremony set for next Tuesday, July 11, at 9 a.m. It will be the third warehouse location in Stanislaus County, with one in Modesto and another in Turlock. The next nearest are in Manteca and Tracy, then Stockton, and Lodi, all in San Joaquin County.
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.
A rare occurrence in the summertime, the parking lot at the Riverbank High School Sports Complex was jam packed with cars this past weekend, as the RHS Alumni Basketball Tournament was hosted on campus. Games were played in both the Bruin Gym and the Ray Fauria Memorial Gymnasium. Alumni from many high school years gathered in 10 teams to play in the two-day contest, with the winning team coming out on top for the second time in two years.
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 this week. 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.
A fun way to get in the pool for a targeted workout, Aqua Fit exercise classes have begun at the Riverbank Community Pool. On a recent day, 27 students, a couple of instructors and a lifeguard were kicking off the summer season of the workouts. The program uses water resistance to aid in the workout, and nerf ‘pool noodle’ devices to add variety. Started on July 6, the classes are offered on Thursday nights, from 7:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.
A good-sized crowd of families packed Third Street in downtown Riverbank last Wednesday for this year’s edition of the Bicycle Rodeo and Health and Safety Fair. Luckily, it was staged on July 12, just before the heat spell that took hold later in the week and lasted through the weekend. And Third Street has plenty of shade trees on it, helping keep things a bit cooler. The event was held in the half block between Santa Fe and the alley between City Hall North and the Riverbank Police Services facility, right in front of Plaza del Rio Park. Some booths were on the park, as well as the bicycles to be given away, and some booths were on the sidewalk in front of City Hall.
On a warm, partly cloudy day, potential Bruin football players broke out their helmets and cleats, reporting to the practice field on the Riverbank High School campus on Monday, July 24. Temperatures had receded slightly from the triple digits of the preceding weekend, making it slightly easier for players, and their coaches, to begin getting in shape in their afternoon practices. They were just issued helmets on that first day, with those players who had not completed their paperwork, with physicals, turned away until that essential component was completed.
While he may be starting his first school year at the helm of the Riverbank Unified School District, Dr. Constantino Aguilar has been working at his desk in the district office since this spring. He was brought on board for the final couple months of the 2022-23 school year, starting April 1, able to work with outgoing longtime District Superintendent Christine Facella prior to her retirement. Aguilar, thrilled to be in Riverbank, was equally thrilled that the school board allowed him the early start date, which he said provided ample time to settle in. He had the opportunity to meet students on campuses last school year, along with teachers and the administrative team. All that, he said, should help make for a smooth transition and a good start to the 2023-24 school year. The first day of classes for RUSD students is Friday, Aug. 4. Staff kickoff will be Aug. 2.
AUGUST
For nearly 75 years, the Del Rio Theatre stood as the iconic landmark of downtown Riverbank. This week, it is no longer. A two-month project to demolish the buildings has all but wrapped up, with just some dirt, a little concrete and a few broken utility pipes remaining behind, partially surrounded by a construction fence that should be gone soon. The owner of the property said he is planning a mixed-use construction for the site, with storefronts on the ground floor and three stories of housing above them.
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.
Local first responders, city officials and community residents celebrated National Night Out in Riverbank on Tuesday, Aug. 1, with an evening gathering at Silva Park in Crossroads. Held between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., Riverbank Police Services, which serves the town under a contract with the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office, organized the event, which brought a number of deputies to the park, showing off the equipment and skills of many of the units that report to the SO and are available as needed here. Those on hand included the Bomb Disposal Unit, a K-9 Unit featuring Kano, patrol officers, police cars, trucks, motorcycles and more. A pair of deputies represented the mounted unit, with lots of attention given by youngsters to their horses. The SWAT team brought its armored vehicle, which also got a lot of views from the many families in attendance.
A special workshop meeting is scheduled for Wednesday evening, Aug. 16 at Riverbank City Hall, 6707 Third St., downtown, for the community, focusing on current plans to continue work on the North County Corridor. The meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and is open to the public. The information discussed will center on the Oakdale, Claribel, Roselle, Crawford and Terminal roads areas and how they will be impacted as work continues.
Riverbank High School Principal Greg Diaz welcomed parents and family members to the Fauria Gym on campus at the beginning of the Back-to-School Night event, hosted on Thursday, Aug. 17. It was an evening designed to provide an overview of what can be expected for the coming year. To begin the night’s program, Diaz introduced all 37 of the teachers and counselors that were there in the gym, standing by. Then the staff members all headed out to their classrooms to await the arrival of the parents, who were able to follow an abbreviated version of their student’s daily schedule.
State and local governmental representatives gathered at Riverbank City Hall on Friday, Aug. 18 to recognize and award a local student with a statewide scholarship. Fourth District State Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil joined Mayor Richard D. O’Brien to present Rebecca Vera with certificates noting her accomplishment. Vera is enrolled at University of California San Diego, to be studying business economics/marketing. She’s scheduled to begin classes in a few weeks. Alvarado-Gil said Vera was one of 31 applicants to receive the scholarship, worth $5,000, from the California Latino Legislative Caucus Foundation.
Work continues on the City Parking Lot being built on Third Street, between Santa Fe and Atchison/Highway 108. Grading is continuing, as well as forming for the concrete work for sidewalks, driveway and other amenities to be included in the project. The work is located directly across Third Street from the site of the former Del Rio Theatre complex. At the current pace of construction, it’s possible the lot may be finished in time to be used for the upcoming Cheese and Wine Festival, scheduled for Oct. 14 and 15, in downtown.
In next week’s issue, Jan. 17, The News will highlight top stories from the final four months of the year, September through December.
