Appliance Repair in Hughson, CA

Hughson resident Cesar Rubio landed his first job in April since losing his eyesight nearly a decade ago and can’t afford to be unemployed. Yet he worries that an at times unreliable bus system could cost him his job if he’s late to work again.

Using public transportation can be a challenge in Stanislaus County, where bus riders face extended wait times, long rides and limited service hours and access. Last July, Modesto Area Express (MAX) and Stanislaus Regional Transit (START) merged to become the Stanislaus Regional Transit Authority, whose staff and board members hope to improve service.

Efforts include reevaluating systems and processes, said Adam Barth, CEO of StanRTA.

Rubio, 45, lost most of his sight after contracting cryptococcal meningitis in 2013. Nearly two years later, once he got out of the hospital, the husband and father of two didn’t let his disability stop him from pursuing his education at Modesto Technical College.

But requesting door-to-door paratransit wasn’t an option then, making it more difficult for Rubio to better his life. His path from home to the North Ninth Street school crossed the service boundaries of two bus systems, he said. “There was a gap in the transportation system. It wouldn’t allow them to take me that close” to the college.

So he would take out his mobility cane and walk about a mile and a half each time he needed to take the bus to go to school and back home. “There were some areas where I definitely didn’t feel safe,” he said about walking with low vision.

About six months before the bus merger, door-to-door paratransit service became available. But the system was very unreliable, getting him to his destination in just 30 minutes some days, two hours other days.

StanRTA CEO Barth said he, too, takes the bus to work and recognizes adjustments are needed. He said StanRTA just finished reviewing the existing conditions and plans to do public outreach this spring to gather input on how things can be improved. Alternatives will be delivered to the board by July, and if approved, would take a few months to be implemented, he said.

“We want to make routes simple and easy to use,” Barth said. “If you make something simple and easy to use, more people will use the system.”

In Stanislaus County, the highest bus rider population comes from south and west Modesto, Barth said. Increasing the number of hours that buses are available isn’t hard to do, and has been done before, he said, but the demand and resources need to be there.

Bus service in northeast Modesto isn’t great, Barth said, but there’s never been a “real demand for it.”

Several members of the Downtown Streets Team, though, say that expanded bus times and routes are needed.

Like many members of DTS, an organization that helps homeless individuals with housing and employment, 55-year-old Elizabeth Hill said she’s missed out on many opportunities to work because the bus doesn’t run long enough. The Modesto resident said she used to work the graveyard cleaning shift at Vintage Faire Mall and faced dangerous conditions when she would ride her bike back home.

“I used to ride my bike with a can of mace in my hand,” she said, saying her route was like a battlefield, with people throwing things to scare her as she rode by.

Hill eventually found another job. She said she wants to take on an additional job at night but finds it difficult with the limited bus service hours now that she no longer has a bike.

“It’s kind of a pain,” she said about trying to overcome her situation, knowing she has to work twice as hard because she relies on public transportation.

Fellow DTS member Robbie Plaster, 41, of Modesto, said StanRTA should connect with local warehouse companies to determine how many employees they have, how many take the bus and what their operating hours are. For example, if a company employs 3,000 people and offers various shifts, it may have enough people interested in taking the bus.

“That’s one of those things that can support its own bus line,” Plaster said.

Barth said his team is brainstorming how to provide better service so workers can reach warehouses in Patterson. While StanRTA staff haven’t connected with warehouses, he said, they’ve spoken with the general manager of Vintage Faire Mall and plan to provide better service as they learn of other operators in town that could provide a good supply of riders.

Nearing his December 2021 graduation date, Rubio took on his next challenge: securing a job. Because he can’t drive, one of the first things his employer asked is if he was going to be able to make it to work on time. Rubio said he nervously replied that he was.

“It was very intimidating not knowing if I was going to be able to make it on time,” he said. But he knew how difficult it can be for someone with a disability to be employed, so he was determined to keep his word.

He started his job as a maintenance technician at Willow Pointe Apartments in Riverbank in April 2021. Since then, he said, the experience of transitioning into a new bus system has been rough, causing him to be late to work a handful of times.

“I understand the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), the door-to-door service, they’re not taxis,” he said, meaning the service isn’t meant to cater to solely one person. “I understood it was still a responsibility to make it work for me.”

Rubio said he’s grateful his employer has been understanding about the times he’s been late, but he can’t afford to be late again because he fears that understanding will wear thin and he’ll lose his job. That’s why he now takes the bus around 5 a.m., an hour earlier than usual, to ensure he’s on time.

Rubio said he’s still not confident in the punctuality of the bus system and will continue to take precautions. He hopes StanRTA also will be accessible to Spanish speakers by hiring customer service representatives residents can call with questions. Although Rubio speaks English, he’s most comfortable speaking Spanish.

Barth said he plans to talk with the vendor so that recorded announcements on the bus about upcoming stops can be made in both English and Spanish to provide a more inclusive experience.

Since the unfolding of StanRTA, board members have responded to Rubio’s request to place an additional bus stop near his job in Riverbank so he can go get work supplies at Home Depot to do repairs on the 44 apartment units he maintains, allowing him to no longer depend on the property manager to take him. “That makes my performance at work stand out,” he said.

Rubio said board members’ response to his concern makes him feel they’re willing to help and the community just needs to reach out and ask. “It is getting better. I can’t deny that,” he said.

Barth said he’s an advocate for additional buses and increased frequency because he believes it will encourage more people to take public transportation. “Frequency is freedom,” he said.

This story was originally published March 10, 2022 6:00 AM.

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Members of a Chatham-Kent non-profit that provides free prom dresses to students in need are expecting to have their biggest year so far.

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FreeHelpCK is operating the giveaway Thursdays and Fridays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. inside the Downtown Chatham Centre until the end of April.

Geri Hughson, founder of the organization, said they provided 43 dresses last year and had already given away 29 during the first four days they were open.

“It’s for parents that are maybe struggling and can’t get prom dresses, so they can come and pick out a prom dress, pick out shoes, and then we have jewelry in the back so they get the whole outfit,” Hughson said.

The event has shifted a few times over the last four years. It was originally held in a smaller space at Praise Fellowship Church in 2019. They held a drive-thru prom the following year due to prom cancellations during the first year of the pandemic.

The dresses, shoes and jewelry are all donated from the community. Hughson said most of the dresses are brand new from different local shops.

“We do have some that are used, but if they are used and they need cleaning, we pay for them to get cleaned,” she said. “If there is mending, we take care of the mending too, so it’s a new dress for them.”

Savannah Lyons-Robinson, a Grade 12 student from Chatham-Kent Secondary School, recently visited the location at the mall to try on dresses. She heard about this initiative from her mother and was interested because prom dresses run for a high price.

“I think they had a very nice selection,” she said. “I walked in here, I wasn’t expecting much to begin with because you don’t really see people giving out free things very often.”

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Lyons-Robinson said she hopes other students will take advantage of this opportunity because it has helped her out.

“In my situation, I’m going for a car and I have to save a lot of my money to get the car,” she said. “When it comes to prom dress shopping, having an opportunity to get a prom dress that’s really pretty for … free is just amazing.”

Along with the giveaway, FreeHelpCK will be inviting students out to Retro Suites Hotel April 30 to get their hair and nails done and to have their photos taken for free. The event is expected to run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Hughson said to pay attention to the FreeHelpCK Facebook and Instagram accounts for more information as appointments are required for that day.

With his team trailing by 13 points at halftime Friday night, Escalon High football coach Andrew Beam had a challenge for his players — prove me wrong.

After an awful first half, Beam was afraid his young Cougars were too immature and not ready for primetime in their Trans-Valley League opener at Hughson.

Escalon did indeed prove their coach wrong, and he was pretty happy about it. The Cougars rallied for 21 unanswered points in the second half to beat Hughson 21-13 in a battle of TVL contenders.

“I wanted them to prove me wrong when I said we’re a young and immature team, that we didn’t know how to handle adversity, that we didn’t know how to win,” Beam said. “(It was) a reminder that those state champions are all gone.

“And they’ve got to find their own way and their own path.”

The Cougars’ road to victory Friday night was an unusual one for the traditional TVL powerhouse.

Escalon was uncharacteristically out-hustled, out-muscled and out-played by Hughson in the first two quarters. The Cougars also were penalized six times for 60 yards.

But after halftime, it was all Escalon (4-1).

Sophomore quarterback Donovan Rosevink threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to tight end EJ Lewis, and senior running back JP Lial ran for two short touchdowns to spark the comeback.

Meanwhile, Escalon’s defense — which had been bowled over in the first half — came up big in the second. On Hughson’s four second-half possessions, the Cougars forced a punt and stopped the Huskies on three fourth-down attempts.

“I’m really proud of our second-half performance,” Beam said. “We had to slow things down. We were so amped up and so excited (in the first half), we self-destructed.”

The loss was the first of the season for the Huskies (4-1), who were the much better team in the first two quarters.

Senior back Will Nutcher, running behind a physical offensive line, hammered Escalon for 84 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries in the first half. He had just 19 yards on seven carries in the second.

Nutcher’s 11-yard TD run opened the scoring before Hughson quarterback Seth Harcrow connected with Larkin Meyer for an 18-yard TD pass and the 13-0 lead.

But Beam’s rather loud message at halftime got through to the Cougars and the Huskies were unable to respond.

“We have to learn how to win,” Hughson coach Shaun King said. “To beat Escalon it’s going take more than 13 points.”

King is confident his team will respond to the defeat and knows that in the TVL — the state’s toughest small-school league — nothing is given. Especially after one game.

“We do plan on seeing Escalon again ... in the playoffs,” King said. “That’s what happens. When you go to the section championship it’s two TVL teams. We still have goals and we’re planning on seeing them again.”

Hughson visits Livingston (0-1) next Friday. Escalon has a week off before facing Hilmar (1-0) at home Oct. 1.

This story was originally published September 17, 2021 11:09 PM.

With constantly changing teaching and learning conditions during the pandemic, teachers and other public-school employees face enormous challenges. Support for educators’ behavioral and physical health is essential to ensure that teachers and staff support effective student learning.

Two rural California school districts, Denair and Hughson, are tackling the challenge.

Since mid-2020, when COVID started, public school administrators and staff at Denair Unified School District (Terry Metzger, superintendent) and Hughson Unified School District (Brenda Smith, superintendent) received philanthropic funding from EMC Health Foundation and Legacy Health Endowment to support mental health wellness. These resources allowed both districts to access a multi-faceted team of coaching and behavioral health professionals to aid their efforts in navigating the ever-changing landscape of educating children during the pandemic.

From school superintendents to front-line staff, assistance was offered and accepted. The theory: If the school’s human infrastructure was healthy, students would benefit academically, socially, and emotionally. We wanted staff to know that it was OK not to be OK, but it was not OK to stay that way.

Then, when most educators were adapting on the fly to ever-changing expectations both at work and home, they could benefit from a district’s culture that removed the stigma regarding struggling with your mental health and offered the needed support.

Denair Unified decided to extend its program beyond faculty and staff to include grades 6-12 through a mandatory mental health seminar taught by a child psychiatrist and supported by the district’s mental health team of counselors and clinicians. Students learned the basics of mental health, questions to ask, tools to use, and available resources.

The program started in September 2021 and was completed in December. And to ensure the student voice would be heard, Metzger launched her own student mental health council to receive continuous input from students and empower them to partner with the district to find practical solutions and support for students’ needs.

By November 2021, Superintendents Metzger and Smith saw that their entire teams — administrators to line staff — were nearing burnout. COVID, the delta and omicron variants, contact tracing, testing, masking, quarantining, and isolation protocols constantly changed, leaving the team exhausted.

We began talking about solutions to combat exhaustion, anxiety, and fear. After the holidays, the superintendents reengaged with staff and found the challenges had grown again. We have partnered with psychiatrists and mental health professionals to combat this by giving all staff remote access to mental health practitioners.

Their health insurance will cover costs, and where copays or deductibles may be financial roadblocks, or the health insurance coverage is limited, foundation dollars will be used. The goal is to eliminate all possible financial barriers and promote a healthy staff infrastructure.

Public education is the bedrock of our country’s success. It prepares our children to become informed and productive citizens, engaging effectively in our democracy and economy. And while the pandemic continues to threaten the capacity of that system, we must continue to create solutions to address the pandemic-induced stress placed on rural public schools.

Teachers, administrators, and other staff are education’s first responders. If they are not healthy, both mentally and physically, public education will collapse. Nothing could be more tragic. Nothing could be more wrong.

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