Longtime Educator Joe Galindo Appointed Interim Principal at Denair High School

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Joe Galindo

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

A former superintendent with decades of education experience will lead Denair High School for the rest of this school year.

Joe Galindo began as interim principal Thursday at the campus. He retired in 2008 after 13 years as superintendent of the Riverbank schools system.

Galindo replaces Alecia Myers, the first-year principal who is out on a leave of absence.

“Joe is an experienced and talented educator, and we’re delighted to have him join our staff,” said Superintendent Aaron Rosander, who introduced Galindo at Thursday night’s Denair Unified School District board meeting.

Galindo, 68, has frequently worked in interim roles as a principal or administrator during his retirement. His longest stint was a year and a half as principal at Bellevue Elementary School in Atwater. The shortest, he expects, may be the six weeks or so he spends in Denair.

“The main goal is to bring the school year to a close in a strong fashion and to make sure all the functioning areas are running and the school programs are in order,” he said.

Galindo’s career in education has taken him from Merced to Riverside, Modesto and then Riverbank. In 1997, two years after becoming superintendent in Riverbank, he led the effort to unify the district by combining the Riverbank Elementary School District with a portion of the Oakdale Joint Union High School District to form the Riverbank Unified School District.

Cheyenne Rutherford, Edwin Flores Recognized as Denair High’s Top Student-Athletes

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Edwin Flores and Cheyenne Rutherford

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Two of Denair High School’s top students were honored this week by the Southern League for their academic and athletic accomplishments.

Cheyenne Rutherford and Edwin Flores have excelled in the classroom and as four-year members of the Coyotes’ sports teams and have been actively involved with various school clubs. Both are seniors who intend to enroll at California State University, Stanislaus this fall.

Rutherford has a grade-point average of 4.27, one of the highest in her class. She participated in volleyball four years and was on the track and basketball teams for three years. She also has been a Denair cheerleader for four years in addition to helping to coach the youth football cheerleading squad.

“Cheyenne is one of the busiest students I have known the past four years,” said Darrin Allen, the high school’s athletic director. “She has impressed me since her freshman year balancing all of her classes, athletics, FFA, cheer and coaching cheer while still maintaining over a 4.0 GPA.

“If an injury during volleyball would not have slowed her down this year, she would have been able to play basketball and participate in track.  That would have made her a three-sport athlete for all four years.  Cheyenne has a great future ahead of her and will be a success.”

Flores has earned a 3.55 GPA while participating in soccer, football, wrestling and track. He was the honored as the Most Valuable Player of the Coyotes’ soccer team last fall. He also has worked closely with Allen as the school’s athletic commissioner for the past three years.

“Edwin has been a pleasure to coach, teach and have as an athletic commissioner,” Allen said. “He has worked very hard the past four years to get where he is today.  He has taken his role as athletic commissioner very seriously and has been an asset to the athletic department.  He will be missed by many on campus next year.  I look forward to seeing what Edwin will accomplish in the coming years.”

The Southern League recognized one boy and one girl from each of its eight member schools at a luncheon at Hilmar Cheese Company. on April 13. Rutherford and Flores were chosen by Denair teachers and coaches based on their academic and athletic achievements as well as community involvement.

Denair Cares This Saturday

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Denair Cares

Submitted by Denair Cares

Community of Denair! Please join us Saturday April, 16, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm. There will be three Denair Cares projects to work on.

Project 1 – Cleaning up side of street on Sante Fe, starting at Zeering Road (meeting at 9:00 am, at the train station) continuing to Monte Vista. Please bring gloves or shovel or weed wacker!

Project 2 – at the Community Center at 9:00 am, to plant a few trees. Bring your gloves and shovels. They’ll also be planting a replacement tree at the Senior Center and Denair Friends Church, to replace the ones lost from the tornado.

Project 3 – Self Help!  There will be a dumpster in the parking lot (grass area), right before the Connecting Points Church, where they hold the car show. If you would like to use this for some spring cleaning, it will be there on Saturday, April 16. Please do not put any hazardous items, such as paint, light bulbs, cleaners, or pesticides in the dumpster. Also, please do not over fill the dumpster.

T-shirts will be available for sale for $10.00, to serve as funding to keep this Pay it Forward momentum, going for next year! Please contact Mel DeSousa if you want your shirt in advance and she will make arrangements to get it to you.

Come out to show your support with a few small acts of kindness for our community!

Sharp-Shooting Isaac Starks Named Southern League MVP

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Issac Starks

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

High-scoring Denair High guard Isaac Starks was the runaway choice for Southern League boys basketball Most Valuable Player.

Starks, a senior and three-year varsity starter, led the league in scoring at 24 points a game. That was the ninth-highest total for any player in the Sac-Joaquin Section, which encompasses 197 schools between Sacramento and Merced.

“He had a tremendous knack to shoot the ball,” praised Coyotes coach R.J. Henderson. “Everything came together for him this year. His shot looked different. His confidence was higher. … He became a man this year. He wasn’t timid. No matter who we were playing, he was the best guy on the court and he proved it every game.”

Starks thrived despite constant attention by opposing defenses, who tried a little bit of everything to slow the 5-foot-11, 160-pound sharp shooter. Starks scored 20 points or more in 21 of Denair’s 26 games and was held below 10 points just once for a team that finished 10-16.

Starks is being recruited by four community colleges – Merced, Columbia, Cabrillo (Aptos) and College of the Desert (Palm Desert). He expects to make a decision before graduation in May.

“He’s got the ability to create a little space for himself,” said Henderson. “That’s a gift that will translate well at the next level. It’s just a matter of him getting stronger. He definitely can play four years of basketball in college.”

While he contemplates his next school, Starks will have multiple opportunities to showcase his skills.

On March 24, he joined seniors from 10 schools in the 2nd annual Central Valley Senior Showcase at Pitman High School in Turlock. With Henderson as his coach one final game, Starks scored 15 points as his National team defeated the American squad 100-85.

Saturday, he will play in the Madness in the Mother Lode game at Columbia College. And later this spring, he will be on one of the teams in the Six County All-Star Game in Modesto.