group of veterans and spouses within“TheAmazon.majority of our volun teers today, about 35 or so, are from Turlock,” said Craig Norris, general manager of the Turlock facility, known within the com pany as MCE 1. “At Amazon,
BUSINESS JOURNAL keeping businesses connected™ VOLUME 7 ■ ISSUE 9 SEPTEMBER 2022 TABLE OF CONTENTS RANCH HAND 3 SWEET SNAX 4 INLAND HARDWARE 5 KIWI’S CUSTOM GUNS 5 DATAPATH ........................................ 6 U PICK .............................................. 6 OPINION ........................................... 7 99 WIDENING 9 ACCOLADES 11
we have what we refer to as Af finity Groups, which are internal networking groups. The Warriors help other vets as they come into the company, and it ties in well with this Locatedproject.”onwhat was once
The
Employee veterans group cleans up Castle Air Museum
SEE AMAZON, PAGE 10
community.Nearly50
JOE CORTEZ/209 BusinessJournal
Turlock Amazon employee Martin Arriola pulls weeds in the area surrounding the B-17 Flying Fortress on Wednesday at Castle Air Museum in Atwater.
Amazon distribu tion facility in Turlock is not yet open for busi ness, but that hasn’t stopped its team members from already making an impact in the
Many of the volunteers were part of the Amazon Warriors, a
Amazon employees from the Turlock and Fresno ful fillment centers volunteered their time Wednesday at the Castle Air Museum in Atwater.
BY JOE CORTEZ 209 Business Journal
Health care should be hassle-free. At Kaiser Permanente, it is. With connected teams and flexible ways to access care, it’s easy to get the support you need to stay healthy — when and where you need it.
THE CARE YOU NEED, THE WAY YOU WANT IT. kp.org/centralvalley
Health care should be hassle-free. At Kaiser Permanente, it is. With connected teams and flexible ways to access care, it’s easy to get the support you need to stay healthy — when and where you need it.
SEPTEMBER 2022209 BUSINESS JOURNAL 2
THE CARE YOU NEED, THE WAY YOU WANT IT.
other weekend events. Along the walls are five large televi sions, which are always showing the tops sports channels, and come this fall, will feature NFL Sunday Ticket. Additionally on many Fridays and Saturdays, their outdoor patio space plays host to live music from local bands and artists.
Hughson brothers introduce community to the Ranch Hand
“Ranch Hand is literally the little brother of Slick Fork. Without Slick Fork, Ranch Hand would not be here today,” Adam said. “It’s why we chose the name. On ranches, you need a helping hand, and this loca tion is exactly that.”
“We were really going for the American, blue-collar, country look in here,” Adam said. “Peo ple always ask about some of the antiques and it really builds that bonding experience we want people to have here.”
Ranch Hand by Slick Fork
As they have only been open for about a month, Bradley’s are the team is looking forward to experimenting with more sea sonal meals as well.
“The atmosphere we’ve built
BY CHRISTOPHER CORREA 209 Business Journal
Those experiences can also be had during sporting events and
To keep up with the latest menu specials and upcoming events, the Bradley’s encour aged the public to follow @ ranch_hand_by_slickfork on Instagram.
SEPTEMBER 2022209 BUSINESS JOURNAL 3
Since opening in July, Ranch Hand by Slick Fork in Hughson has been a popular spot for burgers, bar becue and more amongst community members.
Location: 6901 Hughson Ave., Hughson
Photo contributed
IN PROFILE
The history of the building goes back over six decades. It started out as an auto parts store before transitioning into a bar back in the 1970s.
Hours: Wednesdays to Saturdays from 11 a.m.to 9 p.m., Sundays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
is amazing and we’re really starting to see it grow,” Adam said. “Ranch Hand has been re ally great for us so far.”
209MULTIMEDIA.COM yourMakemark. Get a website Let us help you.
Though Ranch Hand is an ex tension of the Slick Fork brand, the menus are very different. As Slick Fork continues to serve their iconic barbecued meats, Ranch Hand is taking aim at dishes like burgers, sandwiches, pasta, salads, tacos and appetiz ers.“In this town, there hasn’t been a true burger place for some time, wo we decided to go for it along with the wings, fries and things like that,” Adam said.There are a number of menu items that will stay consistent throughout the year, but the Bradleys want to make it a point of emphasis to experiment with new“Weflavors.just come up with dif ferent ideas. We like to play around with the menu a bit,” Adam explained. “Keeping ev erything the same is not what we do here. Our vision is to keep things fresh all the time and keep people coming with new stuff. It keeps people excited about the place, because if you have the same beers and food all the time, it can get old and stag nant. We want to liven it up.”
want to make the dining at mosphere one that customers remember. Inside of the res taurant, there are antiques such as lunchboxes, country music vinyl, license plates, auto parts and other vintage relics hanging from the walls, many of which the Bradley family and their friends have found at yard sales and flea markets over the years.
In July of 2021, the brothers officially acquired the space at 6901 Hughson Ave. in Hughson, but their plans quickly changed.
Adam and Kevin Bradley have become well-known in Hughson and the surrounding areas for their success with the barbecue restaurant Slick Fork. The brothers founded the popu lar restaurant in 2018, and in 2021, brainstormed ways they could grow their business ven tures.“Slick Fork is a great location for us, but we were looking at other spaces to operate the cater ing side of things,” said Kevin.
“It gone through a bunch of different stages in its life and it got really ran down,” Adam said. “Soon enough, I just re alized that if we’re going to be putting in all of this work, we should just make it into another restaurant.”Exactlyone year after the date they received the keys to the space, the new location, named Ranch Hand, had their grand opening on July 1 of this year.
“The place needed a lot of work, especially the kitchen area since we wanted to cook out of here,” Adam explained.
Contact information: (209) 542-7033 or slickforkbbq@gmail.com
“We’re preparing to do more seasonal dishes,” Adam said. “We want to incorporate the vegetables of the given season and make dishes depending on the time of year. As the weather gets colder, we’re going to focus more on the warm, wholesome dinners.”Aside from the food and drinks, Kevin and Adam also
“Trust me when you eat the
“In just meeting her and her per sonality, I saw the drive in her,” Jordan said of Burrell, noting her passion as a fellow entrepreneur to support others in business.
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Renee Burrell of Nae’s Sweet Snax is open for business and ready to greet customers with her tasty confections at her newly opened East F Street location in Oakdale.
my booth,” she said. “I ended up selling out before it ended.”
SEE SNAX, PAGE 8
While the newly opened busi ness in Oakdale might be a current side gig for young and energetic Renee Burrell, her gift for goodies is “It’sundeniable.funfor me. It’s definitely hard work, but it’s fun for me,” Burrell said of Nae’s Sweet Snax. “I just like seeing people smile.”
BY TERESA HAMMOND 209 Business Journal
The small business owner shared that she first happened upon Oak dale two years ago during a lower than usual attendance Oakdale Chocolate Festival.
Lending in Your Community
TERESA HAMMOND/209 Business Journal
“Since there weren’t that many chocolate people there, a lot of people ended up coming back to
traditional cakes for their events and lean more toward individual confections.Burrelloffers a variety of indi vidually specialty wrapped brown ies, as well as cookies, various brittles, lemon bars and ice cream. All made, packaged, labeled and delivered by her personally.
Deep Roots ~ Strong Branches SEPTEMBER 2022209 BUSINESS JOURNAL 4 IN PROFILE
Yet it was the encouragement of her business manager and fel low entrepreneur Kendra Jordan which brought the baker to a brickand-mortar storefront.
“I felt very welcome and I got a lot of great feedback,” she con tinued. “That’s how I got to know aboutMakingOakdale.”aplay on her family nickname, Nae or Nae Nae was the start of Nae’s Sweet Snax. Burrell also related stories of sharing sweets with her father as a child, as well as spending time with him in the kitchen while others played. The newly opened business storefront is at 730 E. F St., Suite D, Oakdale.
It might just be the energy, en thusiasm or originality, but one thing is for sure; Nae’s Sweet Snax is a product of love and passion.
Initially launching her business in 2020, Burrell focused more on weddings and special events at first, noting that a large number of clients have gone away from
It turned out to be a fortuitous decision to take part in the festival.
“She really pushed me to think bigger,” Burrell said.
Childhood passion blossoms into ‘Sweet Snax’ business
It is a family affair at Kiwi’s Custom Guns in downtown Riverbank and they are thrilled to offer customers a new indoor shooting range experience in a state-of-the-art facility.
Kiwi’s Custom Guns in downtown Riverbank delivered with the opening of their indoor shooting range this summer.
SEE KIWI, PAGE 8
and a half years, and then Alpha Poul try & Livestock Equipment. “We’re a wholesaler, though some of our clients are small Ace Hardware and True Value stores. We service resellers and licensed contractors who are looking to go some where besides the big box stores.”
Hours: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday
Photo contributed Hemanta Agarwala, white shirt and his wife, Upma Agarwala, flanked by employ ees, cut the ribbon at Inland Hardware, Inc., located at 3350 Liberty Square Park way, Turlock.
Location: 3350 Liberty Square Parkway, Turlock
Then last weekend was pretty crazy. It was packed in here and everybody kind of has the same thoughts like you come in, it is very comfortable in here.”
and ammunition for purchase.
BY VIRGINIA STILL 209 Business Journal
Inland caters to area’s wholesale hardware needs
BY JOE CORTEZ 209 Business Journal
During the grand opening celebration, Inland Hardware had 17 different ven dors on site to display their products, and treated their guests to a taco truck lunch.
Petros-Blom, executive director of the Turlock Chamber of Commerce. “Be ing from the general contractor world, their tools are fantastic. Contractors, and
DeMattos explained that Stanislaus County approved KCG to provide concealed carry permits which was another goal they are seeing come to fruition. They have a classroom where they plan to hold classes on proper techniques, firearm safe ty, and anything related to fire arms and DeMattos added that they are really big on training. The classroom will also have a simulator system with a 12-foot screen that has live scenarios for guests to experience.
SEPTEMBER 2022209 BUSINESS JOURNAL 5
Store manager Daniel Greener, a Tur lock native, points out that this isn’t the type of hardware store where you go to purchase a level and a hammer for a home do-it-yourself project.
“This is not an Ace Hardware store,” said Greener, who worked at Inland Wholesale Hardware before moving on to Strand Ag Supplies in Ceres, for 10
Contact information: Manager Daniel Greener, 209-668-9000
With the soft opening they have been able to work out some kinks and they are still testing the traffic to determine times for the range use as they plan to have classes as well. Currently, their normal business hours are Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Inland Hardware, Inc. had its of ficial grand opening on Aug. 17 at its 29,000-square-feet facility within the Liberty Industrial Complex in southwest Turlock.Thenew business springs from the ashes of Inland Wholesale Hardware, which closed its doors in 2020 during the pandemic.Thebusiness, owned and operated by Hemanta Agarwala, will have seven full-time employees dedicated to the IHI facility. Argawala’s HPKA Inc. is the parent company for not only Inland Hardware, but also Alpha, Poultry & Livestock Equipment, Inc. and Irrigation Solutions, Inc., all based in Turlock.
Inland Hardware, Inc.
New indoor gun range now open at Kiwi’s
IN PROFILE
KCG Owner and Founder Lyn don Yates and KCG VP Pete DeMattos made a goal a reality when they had a soft opening of their new indoor gun range last month.There are five lanes that are bit wider than a typical range lane, making room for the per son firing, another individual or an instructor. The room is cool and has state of the art equip ment including the ventilation system.“Wewanted to make sure that the HVAC was top notch being in the valley as hot as it gets,” noted DeMattos. “It is a pretty tremendous amount of air that’s
specialty subs, your plumbers and electri cians, will find a lot of things there that they’d normally have to order outside the area. I was very impressed.”
VIRGINIA STILL/209 Business Journal
They will have a few rental guns for guests and the gear, like eye and ear protection, targets,
flowing through this little space. We are small you know, we had to make the best out of the five lanes that we could get. We wanted it to be very comfort able.”The range is rifle rated and the lanes are 25 yards allowing guests to shoot handguns or rifles with calibers ranging from a 22 to 50 BMG. The fully automated Action Target system al lows guests to see their target on the screen with it at 25 yards to see where they shot. Guests do not have to bring the target back each time to see where their shot went with this feature.
Turlock vice mayor Pam Franco was on hand for the official ribbon cutting.
He said, “The whole thing about this is we wanted it to be a one stop shop. They could
“We got a lot of our regular customers come in and they gave it a shot and we got a lot of good feedback,” said DeMat tos. “The next weekend word had spread a little bit and that weekend was little bit busier.
“What a great thing for Turlock,” said Franco, who toured the facility with Gina
Datapath is a managed service and security provider based in Modesto. The company’s area of service includes internet technology and cybersecurity with a specific focus on K-12 school systems and financial security among medium to large businesses.
The Chinchiolo family grows four varieties of or ganic apples — Galas, Early Fujis , Granny Smith, and PinkEarlyLady.Fujis tend to be the most popular thanks to be ing crunchy and sweet. But as any connoisseur of apples knows there are dozens of popular apple varieties with their own unique taste going from sweet to tart as well as what they are ideal for creat ing in the kitchen.
Family members and their
But if you drop by Lucy You Orchard in rural Ripon any Saturday or Sunday this month between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. you can find out what a fresh early season Fuji apple really tastes like.
And at the same time, you can create a bushel full of memories.That’sbecause the farmer is your Moreneighbor.precisely they are the Chinchiolo family.
Datapath fills technology needs from start to finish
They’re a fourth genera tion Ripon family whose roots in farming in San Joa quin County go back 100 years.There’s father Steve and siblings Andrea, Alex and Adam.They grow apples. Strike that. They grow organic ap ples.That requires them to pay attention to everything they do a daily basis instead of looking for quick fixes as they nature, prune, water and feed their apple trees.
Chinchiolo family — Steve, Alex, and Andrea — invite you to their orchard at 21611 Car rolton Avenue on Saturdays and Sundays this month and in October to pick apples.
SEPTEMBER 2022209 BUSINESS JOURNAL 6 IN PROFILE
“Every time there was something that needed to be put into place, Datapath knew exactly what to do because they had researched it be fore the recommendation to the District, which not only saved us time, but it saved the District a lot of money,” Hendricks said.
in 2005. Both grew up in Modesto, which was just one reason why they opted to base the company in their hometown.“Wesaw how caring and rela tionship-based it was in the Valley, as opposed to the Bay Area and de cided to elevate the tech game in the Valley,” Bates said.
The orchard is at 21611 Carrolton Avenue just north of River Road. There’s no admission to the orchard. It’s free. So are the tractor rides.
Bite into an early season Fuji apple from your go-to supermarket.Itmightbe crisp, but it is far from fresh.
out this month and October when family members will be among those greeting, helping, and answering your questions when you venture out to visit Lucky You or ganic apple orchard.
BY SABRA STAFFORD 209 Business Journal
SEE U-PICK, PAGE 8 SEE TECH, PAGE 8
That’s because it is likely from the remnants of last year’s crop put on ice for a number of months.
When Sylvan Union School Dis trict experienced a major security breach, it was Datapath that they called for help.
And because they sell di rectly to people at a slew of Bay Area farmers’ markets in addition to stores, they are passionate and picky about what they do.
Create memories by the bushel full while picking your own apples while meeting the farmer & learning about the farm
“It was Day 2 and Datapath in stantly came on board and put ev ery emergency process into place to at least halt what was going on while we could get things fixed and repaired and brought up to speed to prevent it to continue,” said Debra Hendricks, who served as the Dis trict’s superintendent at the time.
“For us it’s about relationship,” said Datapath co-founder James Bates, who started the company with his life-long friend David Darmstandler. “It’s about under standing the different needs of each company; mapping out what it is they need, scoping out their internal resources and creating a plan of ac tion. We really know our stuff and can save you from a lot of pitfalls.”
U-PICK ORGANIC APPLES IN RIPON
Or it could have come to your store’s produce depart ment by a slow boat from South America.
Photo contributed
Hendricks recalled the constant communication and planning they had with Datapath.
Once the immediate threat was resolved, Datapath was there for the security audit and creating a plan to make sure the District’s data would remain secure from future threats. That multi-pronged response is what makes Datapath more than just a technology partner.
Bates and Darmstandler took an entire year to develop their business plan and then launched in Modesto
After all, when you take a bite out of their apples it is personal.Andit doesn’t get much more personal than on Satur days and Sundays through
BY DENNIS WYATT 209 Business Journal
Photo contributed Chinchiolo family — Steve, Alex, and Andrea — invite you to their orchard at 21611 Carrolton Avenue on Saturdays and Sundays this month and in October to pick apples.
Datapath focuses on three main solution-centered services – man aged services, network security, and consulting.Managed services are an all-inone IT infrastructure support for organizations that need to supple ment existing technical staff or completely outsource IT manage ment. The services include strategic planning, which incorporates bud get, project and growth planning; infrastructure management, which includes cloud servers, file storage, active directory, Microsoft applica tions and off-site replication; cloud management including servers and storage, networks and backups; and the help desk, which can offer sup port with application, device and end user support. It also includes
What do you think? Am I just being a baby about this? It’s easy to tell someone to ‘man up’ when you don’t have to face the consequences.”
SEE CLIFF, PAGE 11 CLIFF ENNICO
SECTION NAME SEPTEMBER 2022209 BUSINESS JOURNAL 7 Vol. 7 No. 9 ■ September 2022 Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about success.Consistentconsistency.hardworkleadstoGreatnesswillcome.
We were scheduled to close last week, but I found I just couldn’t go through with it. Nothing seemed wrong with this business, and everyone — including my spouse — told me it was a good thing to Butdo.
To advertise in 209 Business Journal, call Manteca ■ 209.249.3500 Oakdale ■ 209.847.3021 Turlock ■ 209.634.9141 Newman ■ 209.862.2222 209 Business Journal is published monthly 122 S. Third Ave • Oakdale, CA 95361 Information: sstafford@209magazine.com 209businessjournal.com The Oakdale Leader USPS No 178-680 Is published weekly by 209 Multimedia, 122 S. Third Ave. Oakdale, Ca 95361 ©Copyright 2022. 209 Business Journal All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part of any text, photograph or illustration without written permission from the publisher of 209 Business Journal is strictly prohibited. The opinions expressed in 209 Business Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of 209 Business Journal management or owner. 209 Business Journal assumes no responsibility and makes no recommendation for claims made by advertisers and shall not be liable for any damages incurred.
Sharon Hoffman
“I was laid off from a cor porate job a couple of years ago.Itried finding another job, but there was nothing out there for someone over the age of 50.
Castro Beth CharlesMelodyCoreyKarenFlanaganOlsenRogersWannWebber
I know what this reader went through. About 30 years ago, I left a large Wall Street law firm and struck out on my own in a solo practice in the wilds of Connecti cut. For almost a decade, I was accustomed to wearing thousand-dollar suits, riding a train to work each day, hav ing investment bankers return my phone calls, and seeing deals I was working on fea
Frankie
CREATORS SYNDICATE
Rich
I just froze at the last minute. After years of work ing in corporations, I just couldn’t see myself as a shop
tured prominently in the Wall Street Journal every day.
—Dwayne Johnson
I think this reader needs a
keeper. The risks involved just scared the hell out of me. Needless to say, there are a few people mad at me right now. I will forfeit my deposit (10% of the purchase price) and will probably have to pay the broker’s fee. I’m also not sure what the next step of my life will be right now.
A few months ago, I learned about a local retail business that was for sale. With the help of a business broker, I made an offer, and the seller accepted it. We hired lawyers and prepared documentation, and I got a license from the state for one of the product lines the store was carrying.
I was burned out of work ing for a large firm, but I was terrified — absolutely terri fied — of going off on my own. Would the clients be there? How would I get the word out? How long would it take before I could pay over headMoreexpenses?importantly, how would my spouse, parents and other family members look at me? How would they adjust to the fact that Cliff was now a small-town attor ney working out of the house in his bathrobe, no longer a “master of the universe”?
As it happened, almost all of my fears were unfounded, and I have enjoyed being on my own these past 25 years more than I ever did working on Wall Street.
Harold L. George
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
PUBLISHER DIRECTOR
DIGITAL Tovar Matheson
SALES & MARKETING
Chris
Hank Vander Veen EDITOR Sabra Stafford NEWSROOM Christopher Correa Joe TeresaKristinaCortezHackerHammondVinceRembulatVirginiaStillDennisWyatt CREATIVE
At the end of the day, any entrepreneurial venture in volves a certain amount of risk. No matter how much re search and due diligence you do, no matter how much “tire kicking” you do. no matter how many experts you con sult (including me), you never have 100% perfect informa tion before you have to make a go/no go decision. If I had to pick the biggest difference between working for yourself and working for an employer, this is it.
I don’t think this reader is being a “baby,” although I would have counseled him to give in to his fears before put ting a significant amount of money at risk, as he appears to have done.
Dealing with fear when starting a business
SEPTEMBER 2022209 BUSINESS JOURNAL 8
SNAX
A young child who was en thusiastically enjoying a lol lipop, literally tossed it aside in favor of enjoying a freshly picked apple.
U-PICK
TECH
Yes, they are that sweet.
As she juggles working fulltime at her primary job, baking and creating all the goodies in her commercial kitchen, as well as still fulfilling event orders, the storefront is currently open three days a week: Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Hours and details are updated regularly on her social media pages.
The system has different options including games and specialty targets for members or more advanced indi viduals.They are working on their member ships and want to make sure to pro vide enough value to their members. The lane use is in hour increments
www.richmathesonvo.com VOICE OVER Phone NarrationTrees (Audiobook/Presentation/eLearning) Radio FunnySoundCommercialsDesign&MixingVoicemailGreetings cuz why not? Professional sound. No studio fees or residuals.
FROM PAGE 6
And the experience is that cool of a thing for kids.
“A lot of the feedback I’ve gotten is Oakdale doesn’t have anything like this,” Burrell said. “That’s typically the first thing people say when they come in.”
Withinrecovery.network security, Datapath offers a multilayer suite of managed security services that covers everything from prevention to detection to response and ending with education. They also offer enhanc es security options like two-factor authentication, dark web monitoring, vulnerability assessment, and infrastructure management.
“We are a small business,” re marked DeMattos. “It’s a family run operation. So that’s all we have is our reputation. It has been such a great experience. I mean, from the day we moved in here we’ve always operated down here with respect to the city and respect to our surrounding busi nesses.”
You are welcome to take photos and even bring your own picnic lunch.
First meeting Burrell as a cli ent of one of her own business es, the Oakdale business woman said she feels it’s important to support people who support her. From there forward, Jordan recruited Burrell for a number of events and a friendship was formed.“Isaw that not only does she have a good product, but she has a good personality, she works hard and she was serious about what she did,” Jordan stated. “Not only is the food good, but the presentation is well done.”
Lucy You orchards provides you a basket and a few quick tips before you head out to roam the orchard to pick your fruit.All fruit picked is charged $2.99 a Pre-pickedpound.fruit is also avail able for sale.
FROM PAGE 6
The class schedule will be available soon as it is important to the family at KCG to give people the proper educa tion and training.
that their kids embrace the ad venture whole-heartedly that they put away their devices.
FROM PAGE 4
food you know it’s cooked and prepared with love because you get addicted.” she chuckled.
The brownies currently of fered include: strawberry, orange creme, butter toffee crunch, chocolate chunk and a cookie brownie. Ice cream flavors include: buttery apple pie ice cream, strawberry swirl cheesecake ice cream and cara mel crust ice cream.
Lastly, the company offers consulting and project services. Datapath can facilitate and execute ev erything from disaster recovery audits to complete network refreshes to server migration and storage planning.“Weknow how to execute it from start to finish,” Bates said. “We start with what is the outcome you want and what are your business requirements, then we start making a plan.”
It is a strategic location given the popularity of their ciders thought the Bay Area with re tailers and restaurants from Santa Cruz to the Napa Valley.
The orchard also draws cou ples on dates as well as foodies who are eager to select apples for the kitchen creations essen tially from their own backyard.
get all that training, come in here and shoot it and then come in and prac tice and then if something breaks or if they need something repaired, we can do that too. So, we want to be like the all-service facility and we’re not the biggest you know, we don’t have this great inventory like a lot of the big box stores but we want to promote families, we want to promote safety, safe handling of firearms; that for us is really key.”
If you head out to the or chard keep in mind to wear sturdy shoes and use sun block, perhaps sun hats, and bug spray for the occasional mosquito. BringFamilieswater.also like to bring a blanket and relax after picking. They ask that you keep your pets at Mosthome.important of all be pre pared to have fun — and to be surprised.Andrea can share countless stories of encounters with fam ilies where parents are excited
Chinchiolo family also press es their own online of ciders. They are part of a testing room at Riggers Loft in Rich mond at Rosie the Riveter na tional historical park.
Another selling point is the freshness of the product.
You can find far West Coder offerings locally at Bev Mo in Modesto and Terrazza Market in TerrazzaRipon. Market happens to be on River Road in Ripon at the corner of South Murphy and River roads.
The power of picking apples with family and friends in an orchard instead of reaching into a bowl for an apple was thoroughly reflect in a sight Andrea saw last year.
Both Burrell and Jordan shared the goal is to grow the business to a point where they can not only maintain a more centralized storefront, but also employee local students to allow more flexibility in the schedule.
and include one target as well as eye and ear protection if needed for $25 and $10 for an additional person in the same lane. People are allowed to bring in their own targets, glasses, ear protection, and ammunition. Ev ery round will be inspected as armor piercing bullets are not allowed. There is a liability waiver that needs to be filled out prior to using the range that is good for 12 months.
KIWI
For additional information on products, hours or to place pre-
“Making people smile,” she said of what she loves most about the business. “I’ve got to be honest, that probably sounds corny but just the happiness. Honestly that’s what it is. Peo ple’s response. When they’re happy with what they’ve con sumed, that makes me happy.”
FROM PAGE 5
This is the third year the or chard has bene open for u-pick guests.Many of their guests in the first two years were customers of their farmers market loca tions in places like the Ferry Plaza and Fort Mason plus Clement Street in San Fran cisco, San Rafael, Alemany, Modesto, Walnut Creek and Livermore.Giventhey already had built relationships with the farmer, they wanted to get to know the farm as Betweenwell.their apple orchard and a cherry orchard that is now closed for u-pick guests,
One added note. This is a u-pick experience and not an Apple Hill excursion with del is, bake shops, and such. That said, San Joaquín County and not El Dorado County is the biggest apple growing county in California when it comes to production.Moreinformation about Lucky You Orchard can be found by going to luckyouor chards.com
For more information about Datapath, visit my datapath.com or call 1-800-838-1488.
“I do everything from scratch,” she explained.
services to assist with phone systems, archiving and disaster
Burrell shared her excitement to bring her products to Oak dale on a more regular basis, acknowledging there isn’t any thing like what she offers cur rently in the area.
their long-term customers shared how they loved taking in the farm-rich countryside and getting out of the Bay Area for a wholesome family trip.
orchard team are more than happy to explain the differenc es as well as answer any and all questions you have about how apples are grown and how an orchard.]They’re even offer you free recipes.How it works is simple.
The family’s Far West Cide Company (farwestcider.com) is near their cidery on the Rich mond waterfront.
The web-based tool is intended for anyone interested in learning more about state and local investments in groundwa ter sustainability and the return on those investments. This information may be considered useful to groundwater sus
anticipated to reach or exceed existing capacity on or before 2030. Additionally, Caltrans has viewed the nine mile stretch as a bottleneck for drivers as it is the only stretch of freeway between Turlock and Livingston that is currently two lanes wide.
Image contributed
The California Department of Water Resources has launched a new mapping tool that will allow people to get infor mation on groundwater sustainability projects.Theweb-based tool developed by the DWR will allow the public to explore thousands of groundwater projects across California to get a better under standing of one of the state’s most criti cal water supply resources. The virtual mapping tool is part of the State’s ongo ing commitment to develop new, innova tive solutions to provide information and resources to address the effects of Cali fornia’s changing climate and ongoing severe drought.
Caltrans District 10 Director Dennis T. Agar spoke about the benefits the project can poten tially bring to commuters once it is completed in early 2024.
More information on the SR99 southbound project can be found by going to TurlocktolatestDistrictTwittertoundertrict-10ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/diswww.dot.andselecting“Merced”theCurrentProjectstab.Driversarealsoencouragedfollow@CaltransDist10onand“Like”Caltrans,10onFacebookforthetrafficupdatesasitrelatestheconstructionbetweenandLivingston.
“Dry conditions continue to test our communities statewide, especially those that rely heavily on groundwater for multiple needs,” said DWR Sustainable Groundwater Management Deputy Di rector Paul Gosselin. “This new mapping tool will allow users to view and access information on thousands of groundwa ter projects being implemented within their local communities and throughout the state. We are encouraged and inspired that groundwater managers and commu nities are advancing solutions and plan ning projects within their basins to help achieve groundwater sustainability.”
BY CHRISTOPHER CORREA 209 Business Journal
SEPTEMBER 2022209 BUSINESS JOURNAL 9 NEWS
To view the map, visit 22f4b06a3f410068d43a641/.ence.arcgis.com/experience/00197adachttps://experi
BY SABRA STAFFORD 209 Business Journal
will include information about project benefits and effectiveness in relation to the Sustainable Groundwater Manage ment Act. Users can also access more than 20 project case studies and get guid ance on how to measure and track ben efits of projects following construction.
The map provided by Caltrans shows the nine-mile stretch of high way that will be widened to include a third lane
The southbound widening will be completed within a simi lar timeframe, beginning last week with an expected finish in January 2024. Funds for the southbound project construc tion were designated in the 2018 State Transportation Improve ment
Caltrans District 10 has of ficially began the process of widening State Route 99 (SR99) going southbound between Turlock and Livingston, add ing a third lane for a nine-mile stretch. The southbound ex pansion is the second phase of a greater project that saw a similar highway widening going northbound from Livingston to Turlock, which took place from November 2019 to April 2021.
“This project will benefit commuters, local traffic, and of course, Merced County’s im portant farming communities,” Agar said. “Upon completion, trucks carrying Central Valley goods such as almonds, grapes, dairy and tomatoes will move more efficiently throughout the state.”According to Caltrans, con struction crews are scheduled to conduct most of their work dur ing weekdays, performing tem porary lane, ramp and shoulder
for current and future drought condi tions. Last month, DWR, in coordina tion with the State Water Resources Control Board, launched a new Dry Well Susceptibility Tool that identifies areas in groundwater basins across the state that may be prone to domestic well outages. This mapping tool has been developed as a resource for local monitoring and early warning to help increase general aware ness of where domestic water wells may be susceptible to going dry to help com munities proactively plan for potential wellTooutages.helpTribes and underrepresented communities who are experiencing dif ficulties implementing SGMA in their region, DWR is also offering support through the Underrepresented Commu nity Technical Assistance program. The program offers free needs assessments and preliminary engineering reports to help communities identify needs and de velop potential groundwater projects for future funding.
TheProgram.Caltrans said the project is necessary to address freeway capacity restrictions, which is
Caltrans begins southbound expansion of Highway 99
closures. It is stressed that no two consecutive ramps will be closed simultaneously. Caltrans added that there are no current plans for full highway closures onWithSR-99.construction underway and an increased presence of workers on the highway, drivers can expect reduced speed lim its throughout the work zone. Those commuting are encour aged to plan ahead and at times use alternate routes.
The California Groundwater Projects Tool is an interactive mapping tool that allows users to explore a database of nearly 3,000 projects initiated in Cali fornia over the last decade to protect groundwater resources. The mapping tool features projects that were funded by DWR and external sources such as federal or local funding. The database
tainability agencies, water agencies, or ganizations, legislators, Tribes, and the generalGroundwaterpublic. is a critical component of California’s water supply, accounting for 40 percent in a normal year and up to 60 percent during dry conditions. Nearly 85 percent of all Californians rely on groundwater for at least some portion of their water supply. The state is currently seeing the adverse impacts of decades of over pumping groundwater basins including dry drinking water wells and land subsidence. This is exacerbated with climate change and the current prolonged extreme drought conditions. Grant funding for sustainable groundwa ter management projects has been critical to helping local water agencies address these impacts. The new tool will track the progress of these projects and inform state and local agencies on the types of projects that are making the most posi tiveDWRimpacts.has prioritized developing new web-based tools and resources for well owners, groundwater users and local drought managers to help them prepare
Area’s groundwater sustainability projects among nearly 3,000 tracked on new mapping tool
At one point Atherton had lined up a title company to lease a twostory building that he envisioned would also house AKF development on the site.
Trelliseswarehouse.wereadded as was a large pole that displayed a large lighted America flag for years.
The project fell through when the Great Recession hit.
Heron said he was more than happy to accommodate the mayor’s sugges tion. He is looking at either artistical ly reducing old photos of the plant or possibly doing a mural.
Heron explained he was ap proached by Mayor Ben Cantu who asked if the developer would con sider putting in place some type of tribute to Spreckels Sugar given the role it played in Manteca’s early economicSpreckelsdevelopment.in1917 located a plant on what was the outskirts of Man teca after a farming boom triggered by South San Joaquin Irrigation Dis trict delivering irrigation water in the area quadrupled the size of Mante ca’s commercial area over a two-year period.Spreckels shuttered the plant in 1997. It eventually was developed into a 360-acre multi-use project by Mike Atherton, Bing Kirk and Bill Filios. The project includes 166 homes, the Target-Home DepotFood-4-Less commercial area, as well as the business park anchored by the Ford Motor parts distribution center.
With approximately 25 acres of grounds and more than 80 planes on site, there’s always plenty of clean-up work to be done by the non profitThat’sorganization.wherevolunteers like the Warriors come into play.
The group finished their day with a peek inside Air Force One — this particular version carried presidents Jimmy Cart er and Bill Clinton, every vice president from Water Mondale to Dick Cheney, and every first lady from Rosalynn Carter to Laura Bush — and a visit to the restoration hangar to meet the veterans who do the work pre serving the aircraft.
FROM PAGE 1
Flying Fortress, “I thought we were just here to get a tour. But I’m glad to help.”
to create some type of tribute to Spreckels Sugar.
“Actually,” Payne confessed as he was hosing down a B-17
JOE CORTEZ/209 BusinessJournal
The MCE 1 fulfillment cen ter, located at 3200 Fulkerth Rd. in Turlock, will open later in 2022.
That’semployer.theplan of the developer who is removing the Spreckels His torical Plaza at Historical Plaza Way and Spreckels Avenue to build, a 7,560-square-foot retail building.
After the work was complet ed, Pruzzo gave the volunteers a guided tour, which started with the B-24 Liberator, a plane that served in all theaters dur ing World War II.
“It’s amazing to work for a company that enables us to get involved in the local commu nity and give back to local or ganizations,” said Norris. “Be ing from Atwater myself, and having gone to the museum my entire life, it really meant a lot to me to have the opportunity to volunteer with my team and have Amazon donate $25,000 to Castle Air Museum.”
Manteca retail project includes tribute to torn down Spreckels Sugar plant
“It was truly a global bomber for us during World War II,” saidThePruzzo.B-24 needs about $50,000 to $60,000 worth of work to maintain its 1940s ap pearance. Amazon donated about half that amount with a check for $25,000.
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AMAZON
Theowner.retail building will cover most of the footprint of the plaza as well as create additional parking in addi tion n to stalls that are already part of the parcel that was sold.
“It once flew over the state of Nebraska in 6 minutes,” said Pruzzo. “It was built in 1962 and it remains the fastest plane ever built ... that we know of.”
TOP: Employees of Amazon fulfillment center MCE 1 pose next to a B-52 Stratofortress as Amazon spokes person Nicole Banke snaps RIGHT:photos.Amazon employee Josh Payne, a former Captain in the U.S. Army, hoses down a B-17 Flying Fortress.
The bricks salvaged from the old Spreckels Sugar warehouse will be part of the base of a tribute to the sugar beet processing plant that for years was Manteca’s biggest private sector
The AKF partners created the pri vately maintained historical plaza as a gift to the people of Manteca after they were inundated with requests
The office was designed to look like the main factory building with its large Athertonwindows.saved a number of items from the factory that he hoped to in corporate into the building including the large brass plaque commemorat ing the sugar plant’s founding
They hired an architect that came up with the idea of using four over sized storm drain popes set on their ends to replicate the image of the four 15-stoiry sugar silos that once dominated the Manteca skyline.
Homeless also started taking over the plaza vandalizing lights, sprin klers, and using the grounds to def ecate and urinate as well as to camp illegally.Thatled it to being fenced off in 2016.Itwas eventually sold to the cur rent
Some of the bricks made their way to patio projects around Manteca while the rest were sold to an Oak land savage company.
“It was an honor to meet the veterans who restored these planes … for future genera tions,” said Norris.
The project cost the developers $200,000 at the time.
“We usually get individuals volunteering to help,” said Joe Pruzzo, executive director of the museum. “And from time to time, some small group or association will volunteer their services, but this is one of the largest groups we’ve had out here.”The Amazon group spent the morning pulling weeds, prun ing bushes, raking flower beds and spraying down the aircraft. Josh Payne, who attained the rank of captain after 11 years in the U.S. Army, was on hand to help in any way he could.
The bricks used for the base of the curved landscaping planter/bench area in front of the silos were sal vaged from the old Spreckels Sugar brick
Castle Air Force Base, the mu seum is dedicated to preserving the legacy of the base, which was shuttered in 1995, and the history of military aviation.
Brian Heron shared his plans with the Manteca planning Commission on Thursday when they approved the project directly behind the Chev ronThestation.proposed building is big enough for two suites. Heron in dicated one of them is already preleased.The target to complete the build ing is June 2023.
Bricks from the factory were also part of the remodeled burned out shell of the old El Rey Theatre when it opened in 1999 as Kelley Brothers Brewing Co. that has since been re modeled as the Veranda Event Cen ter in downtown Manteca.
Other highlights for the War riors included seeing the B-58 Hustler — “a very touchy plane with a very high accident rate,” according to Pruzzo — and the RB-36 Peacemaker, a be hemoth that weighs more than
350,000 pounds, has a wing span nearly 80 yards wide and propellers that measure 19 feet in “Itdiameter.took11 railroad cars to transport it to Castle,” said Pru zzo, “and two and half years to reassemble
BY DENNIS WYATT 209 Business Journal
However,it.”the star of the show was the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, a plane so fast that it outrun a surface-to-air missile.
ACCOLADES
Melinda Marshall was recently pro moted to the position of Vice President and Chief Operations Officer of Golden Valley Health Centers. Marshall began her career at the Center in 1987, as a front asevenandcenteradministrator,pervisor,frontcountasHavingreceptionist.officeservedapatientacbiller,officesusitemanager,forthepastyears,asDirectorofOperations, she is wellpositioned to fill this executive role and looks forward to the challenge ahead. Her personal mission has always been to help the underserved population in our community and advocate for community health centers, promoting access to qual ity health care with no barriers.
CLIFF
at both Bloss Memo rial Healthcare District/Castle Family Health Centers and Kaiser Permanente.
“We are thrilled to have Alisa join Community Hospice and feel she is a perfect complement to our Leadership team and Community Hospice family,” said John E. Renner, Interim President/ CEO. “Her invaluable background and experiences will support our staff and most importantly, help us better serve our patients and their families.”
Community Hospice announces new President/ Chief Executive Officer
At a recent CHS board meeting, Doug Davis was voted the new Board Presi dent of Children’s Home of Stockton. Davis is a Principal Architect with WMB Architects and recently celebrated his 25th year with the firm. Davis has also served as the President and Trustee on the Children’s Home of Stockton Foun dation Board, which manages the assets of Children’s Home to support its critical work. “It is an honor to serve as President of the Board as Children’s Home marks its 140th anniversary,” said Davis. “I am
Alisa Bettis
Bettis holds a Bachelor’s degree from California State University Sacramento, in Health Sciences with a concentration in Healthcare Administration and Com munity Health Education and a Mas ter’s of Business Administration from California State University Stanislaus. She is also a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality, Healthcare Accredi tation, Healthcare Compliance and Lean Healthcare Trained.
ly took on a project I wasn’t sure I could do, burning my bridges behind me so that the only way out was forward. When you commit yourself 100% to some thing, you usually do see solu tions to problems that seemed insurmountable when you were contemplating them from a safe distance. But without total im mersion in the project, you can’t seeFindthem.amountain worth climb ing and then start putting one hand over the other until you are too far up to turn back safely. Trust me, the handholds will be there when you need them.
Children’s Home of Stockton has elect ed new board officers for fiscal year 20222023 as well as a new board member.
SEPTEMBER 2022209 BUSINESS JOURNAL 11 SECTION NAME
gave the Wall Street investment banks at an affordable price and being part of their success, was what got me over my fear of fail ure. Being a shopkeeper clearly wasn’t enough for this reader.
consistently amazed by the resiliency and resourcefulness of our staff in navigating everchanging regulations and developing new programs to meet the needs of atrisk youth in our community.”
little help from someone in his age group — perhaps a SCORE counselor (www.score.org) or career coach. The likelihood of someone in his situation finding a corporate job is close to zero,
“We welcome Alisa to the Community Hospice family,” shared Susan Donker, Community Hospice Board of Directors Chair. “Her background in clinical op erations, quality and planning and com pliance, along with her compassionate character, will play a pivotal role as we extend our excellent care to more fami lies in Bettisneed.”hasbeen employed the past six years as the Associate Director for the Stanislaus County Health Services Agen cy. In her current role, she managed a $60 million annual budget, 500 employees, 55,000 patient visits a year, clinical opera tions for fam ily leadershiptisthepositionics.urgentbilitation,physicalmultispecialty,medicine,rehaandcareclin-Priortoherwithcounty,Betworkedinroles
Logistics and Operations who has served as the Interim President/CEO.
And if you don’t see them right away, the prospect of a 1,000-foot drop will sure as hell motivate you to find them
Community Hospice, Inc., the Cen tral Valley’s oldest and largest nonprofit hospice and community-based palliative care provider, is pleased to announce the appointment of Alisa Bettis as the orga nization’s President and Chief Executive Officer effective Sept. 6.
Gary Spaugh, President of GLS Healthcare Consulting LLC, was voted the new Board Secretary. Spaugh has an extensive background with more than 40 years of experience in hospital and healthcare administration, strategy, busi ness development, health plans, joint ventures, and affiliations.
Jennifer Marchini, CPA with BPM LLP, was voted the new Board Vice Pres ident. Marchini is a CPA with more than 10 years of experience in finance and ac counting.CathyGhan, SVP Commercial Real Estate Group with Oak Valley Com munity Bank, was voted the new Board Treasurer. Ghan has more than 20 years of experience in the banking industry and has worked for Bank of the West and Union Safe Deposit Bank prior to joining Oak Valley Community Bank.
Melinda Marshall
New COO and VP for Golden Valley
A useful trick — if you can psyche yourself into it — is to turn fear from an obstacle into a strength. There have been times in my career when I intentional
This reader needs to find something to do he is so passion ate about that he won’t even feel the fear. In my case, my desire to work with entrepreneurs and small business owners, giving them the same level of service I
Bettis replaces C. DeSha McLeod, Community Hospice’s President/CEO, who resigned after eight years in October of 2021, and John E. Renner, Director of
Jake Clizbe, Operations Supervisor at Blue Shield of California, is the newest member to join CHS’ Board of Direc tors. Clizbe has more than 15 years of experience in the healthcare insurance and hospitality industries. He previously served on CHS’ Major Gifts Campaign Committee to help fundraise for the or ganization.Allthenew board officers and mem bers bring a wide range of knowledge and expertise from different industries and backgrounds. Children’s Home of Stockton continues to adapt and grow under their guidance.
FROM PAGE 7
“I am very excited to join Community
Hospice and its excellent team. For more than 40 years, Community Hospice has grown from an inspired idea by two reg istered nurses to a respected and leading provider of vital service for those with se rious and life-limiting illness in the Cen tral Valley area,” said Bettis. “I am very much looking forward to the opportunity to work with the dedicated Community Hospice and Foundation Boards, volun teers and incredibly talented healthcare professionals and staff.”
Children’s Home of Stock ton elects new board officers and board member
PROMOTIONS, APPOINTMENTS, HONORS, ETC.
and it doesn’t sound like he’s willing or able to retire. Simply put, he has to find some way to earn a living.
COMMUNITYSOILWILDLIFEAIRWATER+SEDIMENTSENGAGEMENT
SEPTEMBER 2022209 BUSINESS JOURNAL 12
We have a vision of a modern, clean, bustling Port we can all be proud of.
For more information: Call portofstockton.com/port-of-tomorrow855-881-8816
Chair Anthony Barkett, Vice-Chair Michael Patrick Duffy Commissioners R. Jay Allen, David B. Atwater, Gary Christopherson, Stephen Griffen, William Trezza Port Director Kirk DeJesus
When it comes to sustainability at the Port, we practice what we preach. In 2018, we became the fastest Port to ever receive Green Marine certification for environmental stewardship. We recently purchased a zero-emission forkli fleet to accompany our zeroemission railcar mover. We also conducted an emissions inventory to help guide us to reduce future air emissions even further. Port tenants are required to use “clean” trucks, and we’re working on incentives for our ground transportation partners to follow suit. e more we do now, the more we will all benefit in the years to come.
WELCOME TO THE PORT OF TOMORROW.
