Since the seating of the current city council in November of 2010, the City of Oakdale tribunal has purged or presided over the departure of nearly all of its department heads. Of the two that remain; the public works director has been given notice he will no longer be employed after July and the finance director may be in jeopardy of being gone by this July also.

Oakdale is a one-school town where most everyone on the varsity team grew up playing ball together, or facing each other during youth baseball. Could be a tight group to crack, but being a excellent pitcher certainly helped transfer student Logan Handzlik.

A group of Oakdale High School students took a different kind of test on Thursday — one that required them to let their tastebuds do the grading.

It will cost the city of Oakdale more than $140,000 this year to part ways with three department heads. The money is for their accumulated sick, vacation, holiday and management leave.

If there ever was a general sense of confusion and frustration over what to do and how to do it, the situation facing Oakdale Rural Fire Protection District regarding area known as Division 1 North would qualify.

Oakdale High senior Ryan Jones collected six birdies at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Championships en route to a 2-under-par 70. By going low among many at The Reserve at Spanos Park on Monday, he will join the top three teams and three other individual qualifiers at the NorCals next week at Chico.

Long-running Modesto restaurant My Chef has moved downtown. After 20 years of being at Oakdale Road and Wylie Drive, owner Lincoln Capitao has branched out.

The City Council can choose from a retired police lieutenant, a consultant who is the mother of a former councilman or the owner of a dry cleaning business to fill an open council seat. The council will meet Tuesday to interview the three and possibly pick one.

The jury has returned with a verdict in the Macon County casino civil trial that centered on allegations that Macon County Sheriff David Warren and Victoryland Casino attempted to monopolize charity bingo in the county.

UPDATE, 4:26 p.m. : A 71-year-old bicyclist suffered major injuries after he was struck by a box truck on Highway 108 west of Oakdale this afternoon, authorities said. The man was riding his bike east on the highway near Richardson Road when he was hit from behind by the truck,