'); } -->
Debbie Calcote sees people at their most vulnerable. As a Red Cross volunteer, she gets called out when people have lost their home to a fire. Calcote and the other Red Cross volunteers are among the thousands of Stanislaus County residents who volunteer. While nonprofits and other agencies that help people gladly accept cash and donations, volunteers also are needed.
Friday begins the worldwide Islamic celebration of Eid al-Adha (pronounced "eed ul ud-ha"), or the Festival of Sacrifice.
Modesto's Catherine McKee might be confined to a wheelchair, the result of a fall back when she was just a kid of 92. She might have poor vision in one eye and almost none in the other. And she might struggle to hear. But at 104, her mind is clear and keen.
One terrible decision turned a 15-year-old boy with no criminal record into a three-striker. Deon Loggins was among a group that robbed some young drug dealers at gunpoint in a Modesto park, then stole marijuana and money, among other things, a prosecutor said. Now, he's one of an increasing number of adolescents landing in the adult justice system in California.
Mohamad Samir "Sam" Alsabagh, a retired 20-year Navy veteran, doesn't understand why a fellow Muslim, Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, allegedly opened fire with two handguns at Fort Hood, Texas, last week. "The media said he was an extremist Muslim. I don't know," said Alsabagh, a member of the Modesto Islamic Center's board who works as a benefits counselor for veterans.
Their faces tell just one piece of the story. They were young and old, a range of races. They came from all corners of the county, though the majority were concentrated inside Modesto's city limit. They are the homicide victims of Stanislaus County.
A pregnant woman who vanished. A husband convicted of killing her and their child. A story that gripped the nation.
Times are tough. For anyone stretching dollars to pay basic expenses, we have good information for you in our "Dollars and Sense" section.