The National Weather Service has categorized Sunday afternoon’s tornado as an EF-1 storm, with winds from 86 to 110 miles per hour. Twenty one structures were damaged, fences knocked over and many trees were uprooted or damaged. No serious injuries were reported. The tornado followed Zeering Road, moving east across Santa Fe Avenue. A photo gallery of the damage is provided below.
Tornado Touches Down in Denair
Submitted by Denair Unified School District
A tornado touched down in Denair on Sunday, November 15, 2015, about 2:00 pm, damaging some buildings and cutting power to the town. No injuries have been reported. Electrical power was restored sometime after 4:00 pm, and emergency services are controlling traffic through affected areas.
Aaron Rosander, Superintendent of Denair Unified School District, reported that all DUSD schools will be open Monday morning, ready to receive students, as usual. Minor damage was reported to some outdoor furniture at Denair Middle School.
Carolyn Brown Retires from DUSD Board After 28 Years of Service
Submitted by Denair Unified School District
There isn’t much that Carolyn Brown hasn’t experienced in 28 years on the Denair Unified School District school board.
Academic achievement, the passage of two bonds to build beautiful new facilities and the restoration of community pride. Controversies over the American flag, near bankruptcy and two attempts to redraw the district’s boundaries. Six superintendents, two interim superintendents and at least 22 other board members.
Through it all, the one constant has been Brown, who began her tenure on Denair board as the mother of two elementary-age daughters in 1987 and leaves as the grandmother of five. Thursday night was her final meeting after deciding not to seek an eighth four-year term.
Her colleagues presented her with a clock, marveled at her institutional memory and praised her as a calming voice of reason even during the most turbulent times.
“It’s your caring, first of all,” said Superintendent Aaron Rosander, addressing Brown. “You truly care. You’re poised, even under intense conditions. You are a very sensible person and weigh things out. I really admire that. … Thanks for putting an indelible mark on many, many kids through the years.”
Trustee Robert Hodges – who is 29 years old – joked that Brown, 69, has served nearly as long as he’s been alive. He also appreciated her quiet wisdom.
“It’s been great for me, as the youngest board member, to always have a shoulder to lean on. ‘How does this work? What happened in the past?’” said Hodges. “I can’t count how many times she’s tried to tell me something and I didn’t agree. Two days later, I’d have to text her and say, ‘You were right.’ ” Continue reading “Carolyn Brown Retires from DUSD Board After 28 Years of Service” »
Denair Middle School Students Honor Veterans
Submitted by Denair Unified School District
Trick or treating was over on Halloween Night when Derek Starkey sat down with his great-grandfather, Don Bothun, to talk about what it was like to be part of an Army tank company in the early 1950s.
It was more than a spur-of-the-moment conversation. Like his 72 classmates at Denair Middle School, Derek had an assignment: Interview a U.S. military veteran and file a report with English teacher Colleen Vickery.
“He wanted to know if it was a big adventure,” said Bothun, who spent two years in Germany during the Korean War.
“I found out it was a lot different then than it is now,” said Derek.
The calendar shows Veterans Day as Nov. 11 – the 11th day of the 11th month, formally acknowledging the time that World War I ended. But the middle school students chose to honor local veterans Monday, knowing classes won’t be held on the federal holiday.
Bothun was one of about a dozen in attendance during a patriotic half-hour ceremony at the Coyote Center. A color guard and drum team from Stanislaus Military Academy performed. The national anthem was played. Students read poems paying tribute to servicemen and women. Songs representing each of the branches of the military were shared.
Photos and quotes from more than 40 local veterans interviewed by the students were taped to the wall. The veterans represented served from World War II to the present day.
One picture was of Bothun sitting in the shade beneath his tank. Another showed young Marine John Richardson holding his rifle across his chest. He, too, was present Monday, the guest of his daughter, eighth-grader Tati Abebe.
Richardson served in Iraq at the end of Desert Storm in the early 1990s and later in Somalia in northeastern Africa. He said it’s important for young people to understand values like bravery, honor and sacrifice as well as the United States’ role in the world. Continue reading “Denair Middle School Students Honor Veterans” »
DUSD November Board Meeting Posted
Submitted by Denair Unified School District
Denair Unified School District has posted the agenda for the November regular board meeting, scheduled for November 12, 2015. The public meeting starts at 7:00 pm. The meeting will be held in the new DUSD Leadership/Board Room.