Latest news with #Oakdale
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Oakdale PFAS project would divert water around former 3M dump
State officials are accepting comments on the environmental impacts of a project proposed by 3M Corp. to collect surface water upstream of a dump in Oakdale in order to reduce polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in stormwater discharge from the site. The Abresch Disposal Site is the largest of three former disposal locations that comprise the Oakdale Disposal Site, a state and federal Superfund site. 3M is working with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to remediate soil and groundwater at the site. The project is proposed to further reduce PFAS impacts to stormwater discharge from the site, according to an environmental review of the project. The proposed project would collect surface water upstream of the site and divert it to a three-acre flood-retention basin, where water would then be reintroduced into the natural flow of the watershed, according to the environmental assessment worksheet. A three-quarter-mile conveyance pipe would bypass the Abresch Disposal Site, thus bypassing PFAS detected within the site, according to the EAW. 'This would reduce the discharge of PFAS in surface water and improve downstream surface water quality in the Twin Cities east metropolitan area,' the EAW states. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is accepting comments until 4:30 p.m. June 26 on the EAW. A copy of the EAW is available on the project page of the DNR website; a print copy may be requested by calling 651-259-5522. The EAW is also available for public review at the Oakdale Library, the DNR Library and the Minneapolis Central Library. 'An absolute privilege': Darts President Ann Bailey offers advice, reflects on 10 years in Dakota County aging services Mahtomedi school board adds second referendum question to fall ballot Forest Lake detours begin as MnDOT undertakes $17M Highway 97 reconstruction project Forest Lake School Board hears input on possible contentious policy changes artOPENer Studio Tour hits 19 St. Croix Valley stops Comments on the EAW must be submitted no later than 4:30 p.m. June 26. Email comments should be sent to with '3M surface water diversion' in the subject line. Comments can be mailed to Becky Horton, EAW Project Manager, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 500 Lafayette Road, Box 25, St. Paul, MN 55155-4025. Anyone providing a mailing address or submitting comments via email will receive a copy of the subsequent decision document, which will include responses to comments, according to the DNR. Because all comments and related information are part of the public record for the environmental review, commenters' names and email or postal addresses will be published and publicly available as they appear in the materials commenters submit.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Oakdale High graduates encouraged to better the world, cherish relationships
Arya Paghdal, one of the graduates in Oakdale High School's class of 2025, told the crowd at Knott Arena that the relationships and bonds that this class has made have become part of the fabric of the graduates' lives. She was one of two student speakers at Oakdale's graduation ceremony Friday afternoon. Hundreds of threads, each representing one of the graduates, were woven together to create the class's high school experience. Photos: Oakdale High School Graduation There are other threads in each graduate's life as well, like their connections to faculty, family and other friends. Paghdal said the most powerful thread is 'the one that binds us to those we serve.' Paghdal's high school career was one immersed in community service and helping others. She has volunteered for 12-hour shifts on ambulances and has taught English to students in Ukraine. She will attend the University of Texas at Austin, where she will major in human biology and pursue becoming a cardiothoracic surgeon. 'Those we serve have never just been recipients of our efforts. They're actually our guides and our mirrors. Through serving others, we gain insight into who we truly are and the kind of society we wish to create,' Paghdal said. '... Class of 2025, we have what it takes to better society, feed the unseen, hear the unheard and to do the unthinkable.' There are 424 graduates in Oakdale's class of 2025, according to Frederick County Public Schools spokesperson Eric Louérs-Phillips. Throughout the graduation, multiple speakers told the class that they can do whatever they dream of and that they should treasure and cultivate bonds with others. As the graduates processed into the center of the arena donning black and white robes, colorful cords and medals, audience members held up phones to film the graduates they came to see and waved eagerly to get their attention. Several performances were sprinkled throughout the ceremony. Oakdale's choir sang 'For Good,' a song from the musical 'Wicked,' that's about how crossing paths with people can shape and change individuals as they embark on their separate journeys. And graduate Nicholas Alimo, who was the president of the Tri-M Music Honor Society at Oakdale, played the national anthem on saxophone. Bailey Roman, the other student speaker at the graduation, brought up a quote from poet Maya Angelou during her speech: 'People might forget what you said or did, but they'll never forget how you made them feel.' She asked her fellow graduates to carry that message with them as they move into their next chapter. 'While you sit here today and might forget what I have said here, I know you will never forget the feelings and emotions that are rushing through you right now,' Roman said. '... In the end, [it's] the kindness we've shared, the lives we've touched and the memories we've created together that truly make us an Oakdale Bear.' Martina Agaba said high school taught her that everything happens for a reason. She was involved in a plethora of extracurriculars, including the National Honor Society, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and different volleyball teams. She plans to either attend Mount St. Mary's University or go to Frederick Community College for two years and transfer later to a historically Black college or university. Where she goes depends on how much scholarship money she receives from the Mount. Regardless of where she attends, she plans to pursue a pre-med track so she can achieve her goal of becoming a surgeon. Whenever something didn't work out the way Agaba wanted or expected it to, so many other opportunities appear afterward. That's something she plans to keep in mind after graduation. She is very excited to graduate and start life after high school. 'I think it will be a great opportunity for me to learn more about myself, grow as a person and just keep creating memories in life,' she said. Larry Larbi, the class of 2025's senior class president, is also looking forward to graduating and becoming more independent. He'll be pursuing a biology degree on the pre-med track and a music performance degree at Xavier University in Louisiana. He wants to become a doctor of internal medicine. In addition to being the senior class president, Larbi was also in Oakdale's band and had played on the football team. Some of his favorite memories from high school were spending time with his friends and making music, something that he's enjoyed and has been a part of his life since childhood. 'I'm trying to branch out, be independent and learn who I am without some factors of my life that usually hold me back,' Larbi said.
CBS News
23-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
City of Oakdale explores if it can pull plug on PG&E for new electric provider
OAKDALE — Oakdale city leaders are exploring whether they can move all residents under one electric provider, potentially cutting ties with Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) in favor of the Modesto Irrigation District (MID). The city currently operates under a dual-provider system. About 7,000 households get electricity from PG&E, while around 1,000 are served by MID. But the difference in cost between the two is substantial. Interim City Manager Jerry Ramar said PG&E customers in Oakdale pay an average of $250 more per month than those on MID service. That adds up to more than $3,000 annually per household. Citywide, that gap could mean up to $21.5 million in potential annual savings, according to Ramar's estimates. Those numbers prompted the Oakdale City Council to unanimously direct staff to move forward with a feasibility study examining the legal and logistical path to citywide consolidation under MID. "I was asked to look into it because PG&E rates are exceptionally high right now, and they seem to continue going higher," Ramar said. "Whereas we have about 1,000 homes on MID, and their rate increases are much lower." Ramar said he contacted several experts who recommended a consulting firm to lead the study. The consultants returned a proposal faster than expected, and Ramar plans to bring it to the council on June 2 for funding approval. He estimated the study would cost between $50,000 and $75,000 and would likely be paid from the city's general fund. However, PG&E has made clear it has no intention of selling its infrastructure. Company representative Eric Alvarez told the council that eminent domain would be costly, pointing to the South San Joaquin Irrigation District's ongoing $28 million battle to acquire PG&E infrastructure since 2008. "I understand where they're coming from," Ramar said. "They invested money to provide a service for the community. But our community thinks that their price is too high, and they want us to look at alternatives." The feasibility study won't guarantee a switch to MID, but it will determine whether such a move is possible.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Fifth-inning homer powers Oakdale over East Union, into D-III semifinal
The Oakdale baseball team had its back against the wall and nothing was going for it offensively. The Mustangs trailed Valley Oak League rival East Union 5-3 in the fifth inning. The same team that Oakdale swept during league play had already forced a pitching change, drew seven walks and was on a run, scoring four unanswered runs over the third, fourth and fifth innings. Then, with one out and a runner on base, Landon Schutte happened. 'In the last at bat, (East Union pitcher Joe Alvarez) was going straight fastballs so I knew one was coming at some point and I just missed it the at bat before,' Schutte said. He wouldn't miss it again. The Georgia commit launched a fly ball deep to straightaway center field. By the time the ball touched the ground, it was over the fence in the deepest part of the field at Oakdale High, tying the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV quarterfinals between the No. 2 Mustangs (21-9) and No. 7 Lancers (15-15) at five runs apiece and giving the Mustangs all the momentum they needed. They then loaded the bases later in the inning and scored three more runs, securing the 8-5 win and punching their ticket to the Sac-Joaquin Section semifinals series that starts Monday. Once the ball left the bat, everyone knew it was gone. Especially Schutte. 'I've hit a few of those where you can just feel it off the bat, and I knew it,' he said. It was just the latest heroic act the Mustangs saw from one of America's top prospects. In their playoff opener, Schutte pitched a three-hit shutout against Los Banos and struck out 13 batters. After hitting his seventh home run Friday, Schutte is now tied for third in the section and he is top 10 in the SJS in RBI (36). On the mound, he has eight wins and boasts a 0.80 earned run average, 14th in the section. 'He's special,' Oakdale coach Joey Machado said. 'That was a big knock and you just felt the mojo go our way again.' A five-run Mustangs fifth inning was the difference between a semifinals appearance and a second-round exit. Fresno State-bound Jordan Haver started the game but gave up seven walks and four runs across his three-inning appearance. Both teams traded runs and by the end of the fourth inning, East Union held its two-run lead. Schutte drove in the Mustangs' opening run on a single and capped his three-RBI day with the home run. After Schutte's home run, Haver was hit by a pitch, Ayden Ardis walked and Niki Jones reached on an error to load the bases. Gavin Wyatt drove in a run in the ensuing at bat, and a Peyton Wallace single drove in the two final insurance runs. 'They knew us, we knew them. This shows how good our league is,' Machado said of playing East Union for a fourth time this season. 'To have this many teams playing and the fact that we're moving on is awesome. I'm just super-proud of my boys for handling adversity.' The Mustangs will play in their second straight section semifinal. The series kicks off Monday when the higher seed Mustangs host No. 3 Roseville. The series shifts to Roseville on Wednesday for Game 2 and Oakdale will host the if-necessary Game 3 Friday. Three pitchers took the mound for Oakdale on Friday and each brought something different. Payton Wallace pitched three innings and Ardis closed out the game. With three games in one week, having a pitching staff with multiple players who can give quality innings is key to advancing. That's where Machado feels the VOL sets its teams up for postseason success. Not only is it one of the most competitive leagues in the section, playing three-game sets during the league season means teams are used to it by the time they hit the section semifinals. 'Just like everyone does, we set out goals at the start of the year and our goal was to play as long as we possibly can,' Machado said. 'But just because we want it doesn't mean it's going to happen. It's about how we can stay together as a unit and play our brand of baseball.' Friday, May 9 Division I No. 2 Rocklin 4, No. 10 Turlock 2: The upset-minded Bulldogs fell behind 3-0 after three innings, but answered with two runs in the top of the fourth inning. Rocklin answered with an insurance run in the bottom half of the inning. Seven Bulldogs recorded a hit each and Jadon Boyer and Cameron Henard drove in Turlock's two runs. The back-to-back CCAL champs, Turlock finishes the season 20-7-1. Division III No. 5 Central Catholic 3, No. 13 Fairfield 1: Central Catholic escaped an upset Friday, collecting 10 hits over seven innings at home. Kayden McHenry, Broden Thomas and Jacob Kiesel drove in one run apiece and Thomas, McHenry and Caine Walker finished with two hits apiece. The Raiders scored once in three of the first four innings and the only run they gave up was a third-inning solo home run. Marcus Davenport pitched all seven innings, striking out six batters. For the third year in the row, the Raiders will face Oakmont in the postseason, traveling to the Roseville campus Monday for Game 1 of the best-of-three series. Thursday, May 8 Division V No. 2 Hughson 9, No. 7 Venture Academy 0: Hughson pitchers threw their second straight shutout of the postseason in Thursday's quarterfinal. Max Mankins went the full game and allowed just two hits and struck out 10 batters. Offensively, Andrew Fisher hit a home run and had two RBI. Bryce McDaniel went 4-for-4 and Dominic Aguiar drove in two runs. The Huskies host Wheatland on Monday at 4 p.m. in Game 1 of the three-game section semifinal series. No. 3 Wheatland 6, No. 6 Hilmar 2: Hilmar's season ended on the road Thursday despite outhitting Wheatland 7-2. The big blow came in the bottom of the first inning after two of the first three Wheatland batters reached base via a hit by pitch and a walk. The Pirates hit a three-run home run then scored twice in the fourth inning without recording a hit. Division VI No. 3 Colfax 17, No. 6 Ripon Christian 7: Ripon Christian opened up a 5-1 advantage after the top of the third inning, but gave up 12 straight runs in Thursday's run rule loss to the No. 3 Falcons. The Knights got two runs back in the top of the sixth, but Colfax scored four additional insurance runs in the bottom of the inning to end the game. Division VII No. 1 Turlock Christian 4, No. 8 Big Valley Christian 3: The Lions and Eagles went into the fifth inning tied at 2-2 but after a scoreless top half for the Lions, Turlock Christian scored two runs in the bottom of the inning. Big Valley added a late run in the top of the seventh. Turlock Christian hosts Game 1 of the three-game semifinal series against No. 5 Rio Vista on Monday at 4 p.m.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oakdale explores switch from PG&E to MID. How much might residents save on power?
Oakdale leaders, alarmed by recent spikes in PG&E power bills, are looking to switch to the Modesto Irrigation District. The City Council voted 5-0 on Monday, May 5, to recruit a consulting firm to explore the idea in detail. It came over a protest from PG&E, which said rate relief is coming and the system is not for sale in any case. Interim City Manager Jerry Ramar said homes could save $257 a month on average based on the current rate structures. He cautioned that the transition costs could cancel out the benefits. Supporters told of residents paying several hundred dollars a month for air-conditioning during heat waves. 'I do live next to people who have to run their fans all summer, and they are actually hot, very hot,' Councilmember Kayleigh Gilbert said. About 7,000 of Oakdale's homes, the vast majority, have PG&E hookups. Some of the newer subdivisions are in MID because of a circa-2000 effort to bring competition to the California grid. The switch would need approval from the MID board, the Stanislaus Local Agency Formation Commission and the California Public Utilities Commission. The process could mean several years of legal wrangling. As a public agency, MID can charge less for electricity than PG&E because it does not have to earn profits for investors. It also does not serve mountainous areas, where PG&E has incurred huge costs for wildfires sparked by its wires. Oakdale would have three main obligations before joining MID, said an email from Melissa Williams, the utility's public affairs manager. One is paying for an analysis of how this would affect the overall system. The city also would have to cover the cost of extending MID service and reimburse PG&E for its infrastructure. Those assets includes poles and wires along city streets and Oakdale's share of PG&E power plants and transmission lines around the West. Monday's vote was for Ramar to contact firms that could do a feasibility study, which he said might run $50,000 to $75,000 and take a year. The council would have to approve the contract at a future meeting. MID was founded in 1887 to provide Tuolumne River water to farms, as was the neighboring Turlock Irrigation District. Both began in the 1920s to generate cheap hydropower for sale to local homes and businesses. Population growth prompted them to add other sources, first fossil fuels and later wind and solar. MID's original service area takes in much of the zone bounded by the Tuolumne, Stanislaus and San Joaquin rivers. Oakdale lies within the Oakdale Irrigation District, which generates Stanislaus hydropower for sale to distant users rather than city residents. MID gained its Oakdale customers as part of a grid reform that also gave it access to part of the Ripon area and to all of Mountain House. The latter was an entirely new town northwest of Tracy. MID and TID now have close to a quarter-million electricity customers between them. PG&E also evolved over the past century-plus and today serves about 16 million users of power, gas or both. Electricity bills have one charge to cover fixed costs, such as salaries, and rates that vary with monthly consumption. Users are penalized for high use. Ramar said his estimate was based on average MID consumption of 850 kilowatt-hours per home in a month. The district charges 18 cents for each of the first 500 kilowatt-hours and 21 cents for the other 350. PG&E's rates are 63 cents per kilowatt-hour during peak demand 40 cents at other times, the city manager said. The speaker from PG&E was Eric Alvarez, government affairs representative for Stanislaus and four other counties. He is a Modesto City Council member but recuses himself from matters involving that city. Alvarez acknowledged that high summer bills 'cause a hardship for many of our Central Valley customers.' But he said no rate hike is planned this year and 2026 will bring a drop of about 5 cents per kilowatt-hour. Alvarez also mentioned a $15 billion federal loan guarantee that will help PG&E's upgrade its sources and transmission capacity. PG&E has paid major settlements following wildfires and also is burying the lines in many vulnerable areas. During winter, it contends with snow and wind in the mountains. The council said Oakdale residents need help sooner than PG&E offered. Member Jared Pitassi said this could especially aid renters hoping to become owners. He added that his own house is on MID power, never topping $160 per month. 'I think it's fair for us to stand up for the residents,' Pitassi said. '... It really ticks me off how much they have to pay.' Alvarez warned Oakdale against trying to acquire the system through eminent domain, which happens when governments cannot get owners to sell. And he noted the ongoing attempt by the South San Joaquin Irrigation District to take over PG&E customers within its boundaries. SSJID generates hydropower on the Stanislaus River in a partnership with OID. It has proposed since 2008 to use it as a cheaper source than PG&E in Manteca, Ripon, Escalon and other towns. Alvarez said this has cost SSJID about $28 million in legal and other costs so far. He concluded with these words for the Oakdale council: 'We are committed to providing safe, clean, reliable and affordable energy to our customers in Oakdale, and while we understand the focus on affordability, exploring a public takeover that isn't viable and would create additional risk and costs will not benefit residents and customers.'
