Peninsula Plastics Recycling, Inc of Turlock received a $1 million competitive grant from the State of California’s CalRecycle’s Recycled Fiber, Plastic and Grant Program. The grant will enable Peninsula Plastics Recycling, which is a 180,000 square-foot facility located on 23 acres at 530 S. Tegner Rd., to recover 45 percent of its current recycling process by-product and recycle it into landscaping material. 

Turlock Junior High School eighth-grader Frances Haydock finished in third place at the Stanislaus County Office of Education Spelling Bee and will serve as an alternate to compete in the State Championship in San Rafael on May 2, 2015 if the first or second place winners Liah Kim of Prescott Junior High and Sam Victorio of Oakdale Junior High, respectively, are unable to compete. Frances beat out 33 other top spellers from 20 junior high schools throughout Stanislaus County at the Spelling Bee, held Tuesday at the Martin G. Petersen Event Center in Modesto. 

Turlock High School custodian Dennis Baer is retiring after working for the Turlock Unified School District for 37 years. Baer began his career as a substitute custodian for one year, but he was then hired full-time and worked at Brown Elementary for two years, Wakefield and Crowell for two years, Turlock Junior High School for 15 years and then Turlock High School for the last 17 years. 

It’s not very often that two players from the same high school team earn scholarships to the same college — in fact it’s a first for the Turlock High School Girl’s Golf program. On Tuesday, THS golfers Sarah Garcia and Bergen Benedict signed letters of intent to play for California State University, San Marcos — each of them were offered athletic scholarships.

An imposing crowd of between 250 to 300 Turlock teachers sent a powerful message to Turlock Unified School District Administration and the Board of Trustees Tuesday night — they are done playing games and they demand the respect they deserve as educators of youth and molders of young minds. As TUSD Admin and Trustees exited their closed session chambers at the TUSD Professional Development Center they were met with a sea of teachers — dressed mostly in black clothing and the music of “Respect” by Aretha Franklin and the chanting of “Respect” from teachers.

More than 800 people gathered Tuesday at the Assyrian American Civic Hall in Turlock for the Salvation Army Kettle Kick-Off Luncheon. A total of $46,169 was raised in five short minutes during the frantic Kettle Klash, which pits local organizations against each other to see who can gather the most money from the people seated throughout the hall.

As an annual fundraiser, the Bell Real Estate Cycling Team is continued their effort to purchase 50 new bicycles for less fortunate children in Turlock. Bell Real Estate Cycling Team concluded its “Eat Cupcakes Kids Get Bikes” drive last week and is now asking for help from the Turlock community for its Bikes for Kids GoFundMe drive to complete the team’s goal of raising $10,000 and purchasing 50 or more new bicycles for less fortunate children in Turlock via the Turlock Salvation Army.

Tensions between the Turlock Teachers Association and Turlock Unified School District Administration, namely Superintendent Sonny Da Marto, have just gone to a new level. On Tuesday, the TTA, which represents more than 700 teachers in TUSD, will hold a “call to action” rally at the Board of Trustee meeting at 6 p.m. in response to labor negotiations that appear to be breaking down quickly, possibly threatening a teacher strike.

The U.S. Postal Service has immediate job openings for career and temporary positions, as well as holiday seasonal work, at many locations nationwide. Current available positions in many locations include Automotive Technician, Mail Processing Clerk (Holiday Season), Mail Handler Assistant, City Carrier Assistant, Custodian, Postal Support Employee (PSE) Custodial, Tractor Trailer Operator, PSE Tractor Trailer Operator, Facilities Management, and Business-to-Business Sales, according to a news release.

The No. 10 seeded Turlock High Bulldogs (6-5) were knocked out of the Sac-Joaquin Section Playoffs last night after a hard-fought 21-19 loss to the No. 7 seeded Tracy High Bulldogs (8-3) at Wayne Schneider Stadium in Tracy. Turlock’s fate was doomed with five turnovers on three fumbles and two interceptions, but they scratched and clawed to keep the game close.