For the first time in three summers, the Stanislaus County Fair was mostly back to normal this year. Though COVID-related concerns haven’t completely evaporated, the rides were crowded, the entertainment was fun and the barns were full of animals to be shown, judged and sold.

Denair High School’s 21 FFA members who entered animals or projects walked away with many of the top honors from this year’s fair, including the Clean Barn Award out of all the schools represented from throughout the county. That means Denair will get its choice of barn locations when the 2023 county fair is held next summer.

Among Denair’s top competitors this year was Thomas Guzman, who finished first in Dairy Goat Showmanship and received many other ribbons for his six dairy goats. Guzman also teamed with Shalyn Gomes to finish second in the 10-foot by 20-foot garden competition. In addition, Gomes was first in Intermediate Dairy Goat Showmanship.

Other students winning blue ribbons for first place included Aolani Rodriguez in Market Class Hogs and Best of Breed for her Duroc hog, Braden Backus for Reserve Champion Asiatic Chickens and Novice Showmanship, Dakota Richards for Champion Duck, Destiny Lema in Dairy Goat Class, Makenzie Miguel for Reserve Champion Blackface Heavyweight Goat and Diego Dutra in Ag Mechanics, 

Conner Prock earned a number of awards, including for Champion Slick Steer. He was second in Pair Females as well as third and fourth in Summer Yearling Registered Females.

Cassidy Abruzzini was second in Middleweight Market Goat as was Lema in Market Class Hog and Colton Webster in Ag Mechanics. 

Those finishing third were Makena Padgett in Market Middleweight Lamb and Intermediate Sheep Showmanship, Brenna Cole in Sheep Market Class, Aaliyah Rodriguez and Dakota Rutherford in Market Class Hog, and Zachary Christianson, Jacob Trevino and Webster in Ag Mechanics.

“It was a really successful year for Denair FFA,” said Denair High ag teacher and FFA adviser Holli Jacobsen. “Our kids did outstanding this year and are very motivated for the next fair season.”

By Jeffrey Lewis and Dr. Christina Garcia

With rising inflation, skyrocketing gasoline prices, and families financially crippled by mounting food costs, some people must forgo or delay filling or refilling life-saving medications because they can no longer afford them, even where they have insurance. While no one in financial distress should have to choose between food, medicine or being able to drive to work, that is today’s reality.

Nothing is being done to insulate working families against rising insurance costs, which include ever-increasing prescription drug co-payments. While Washington could address these challenges, nothing has happened. As the suffering grows, the political rhetoric intensifies.

It is time to de-escalate the rhetoric with a real solution. Legacy Health Endowment and the EMC Health Foundation, in collaboration with TIN Rx, a local pharmacy in Turlock, have created PharmAffordable, a $2 charitable generic drug program covering more than 690 generic medications.

PharmAffordable targets financially needy individuals and families with employer-provided insurance as well as the uninsured. People enrolled in Medi-Cal, Medicare and Tricare (Veterans benefits) are not eligible due to special rules imposed by those programs, unfortunately.

PharmAffordable is a pilot charitable program limited to only residents of the following communities and ZIP codes: 

To be eligible, people must also certify that they are in financial distress such that they cannot afford either the regular price of the medications or their insurance copay or deductible for the same medications.  Simply take your prescription to the TIN Rx pharmacy or ask them to have your existing prescriptions transferred to TIN Rx.

The savings could amount to hundreds of dollars a year in many cases. For instance, take a family in which the wife regularly takes medication for a thyroid issue and her husband takes medication for high blood pressure. Their co-pays currently range from $10 to $65 per month. Under PharmAffordable, their co-pays would both be $2 a month – saving them about $700 annually.

With more than 690 commonly prescribed generic medications available under PharmAffordable, there are many opportunities for families in financial distress to save money that can be used for food, gas, rent, or clothing, or saved for a college education.

Families are struggling. They are being forced to make difficult choices, and some involve potentially life-threatening healthcare decisions. We are collaborating on a solution through innovation, negotiation, and stewardship. PharmAffordable is not a panacea, but it is an essential first step in disrupting the status quo and putting families first.

Jeffrey Lewis is President and CEO of EMC Health Foundation and Legacy Health Endowment, and Dr. Christina Garcia is the founder and CEO of TIN Rx. The views expressed are those of the authors.