Moore lawsuit against Water
District:
District costs top $12,000
By Jay
O'Brien
Attorneys for The Rio Linda/Elverta Community Water
District
and for Gene and Charlea Moore have stipulated that the hearing on the
Moore's
claim shall take place on June 6, 2003, at 10:00 AM in Department 25 of
the
Superior Court, Sacramento County. The Moore's brief to the court will
be
filed by May 2, the Water District's brief by May 22, and any reply
brief
by May 30.
The Moores are suing the Water District to overturn a wage
increase
for District employees. The salary increases the Moore's would have
stopped
are for five employees. "In the three months since the salary increase
took
effect, it has cost the District only about $5580, or $1860 per
month...defending
this frivolous lawsuit will cost the District far more than that", said
Stacey
Sheston, the District's legal counsel, in a March 7 court filing.
The Water District's costs related to the Moores legal
action
are $12,201 through April 15, according to Water District General
Manager
Dave Andres. This does not include the expected expenses for the May 22
brief
and for the court appearance on June 6.
Charlea Moore recently won a seat on the Rio Linda/Elverta
Recreation and Park District Board of Directors.
Links:
Published
in Rio Linda Elverta News April 24, 2003 - Scroll for other articles
-PEOPLE IN
THE-NEWS-
"Making
A Difference"
By Norma-Lee
27 and counting - that's the number of children Mark and Kathy
McMurry of Elverta have fostered over the 26 years of their marriage.
She was Kathy Smith who was born and raised in Pleasant Grove. She
attended Pleasant Grove Elementary School and East Nicolaus High. He is
Mark McMurry who grew up in Yuba and Sutter counties and also attended
East Nicolaus High. The
couple actually met at an intramural softball game when Kathy's
principal bet her a candy bar that she wouldn't pick some one and sing
to him: Kathy picked Mark who she thought at the time was "nerdy"
looking and sang her version of "You're Just Too Good to be True"
making it "I'm Just Too Good to be True". She won her candy bar and set
the stage for her future.
They met again in high school and became best friends but didn't start
dating until their senior year. After graduating, they both chose to
attend the Midwestern School of Evangelism in Ottumwa, Iowa. During
that first year of college, on December 26, 1976, the couple married.
Kathy finished her first year but dropped out when she became pregnant
with their first child. Sadly, she lost that baby after six months and
was recuperating at home when one night, about 1:00 a.m., she saw three
young girls playing in the street outside her house. Concerned for
their safety, she brought them in, gave them cookies, and talked to
them about their situation. It was obvious the girls' parents were
negligent and before long, Mark and Kathy had taken them in as foster
children. That was the beginning. The couple continued to foster
children while Mark finished school eventually earning his BA of Sacred
Literature and an AS in Digital Electronics and Radio Communication.
After his graduation, Mark and
Kathy moved to Denver, CO, where Mark worked as a youth director. Two
years later, they moved back to California and Mark became the Youth
Director at the Church of Christ in San Luis Obispo. After one year as
youth director, he became the minister, a position which he held for
eight years.
During this time, their family was growing. Josh, whom they began to
foster at six months of age, became their first adopted child.
Meanwhile, their daughter, Sarah, was born in 1979, followed by Serena
in 1982, and Justin in 1987. One more fostered child, Jason, was
adopted in 1999 at age seven.
Mark and Kathy returned to Pleasant Grove in 1988 where Mark pursued
his other career in electronics. He went to work as an engineer for
Energylog and later, he and two partners spun off a company called
Transglobal Environmental Geochemistry which took samples and performed
analysis on soil, vapor, and water. The ministry was Mark's first love
though, and he returned to it in 1998 when he became the minister of
his boyhood church, The Florin Church of Christ. He still consults with
TEG.
Through the Church, Mark and Kathy host bible study classes and using
music, they minister to youth. They direct a band called "24/7" that at
any given time,may include up to nine members. It is typically made up
of violin, guitars, keyboard, drums, and sometimes, cello and standup
bass. They encourage kids to direct their energy in positive channels.
"24/7" plays on Sunday nights at the Florin Church, Saturday's at youth
events, and at various special events throughout the year.
Mark and Kathy also manage a retreat at Jenkins Lake in Pollock Pines
called Park Creek Bible Camp. This property, owned by the Church of
Christ, is home to approximately 150 junior high to high school age
kids the second week of every July. There are also several retreats and
special events held there all year round.
Today, the couple resides in Elverta. Their oldest son, Josh, lives at
home and works at Arco Arena. Daughter, Sarah who married Derek
Ziegler, lives in Ottumwa, IA and is studying to become a teacher.
Serena works for Napa Auto Parts and will be married to Tim Hyde on
August 9th this year. Justin is a student at East Nicolaus High and
plans to become a mechanical engineer. Jason attends Pleasant Grove
Elementary and spends his time just being a kid. One other child who
has become a virtual part of the McMurry's extended family is Ben. He
started coming to their church when he was 13. He is now 20 and is away
at Bible College.
In a time when our headlines are filled with the sad stories of kids
gone wrong, it is comforting and gratifying to know that people like
Mark and Kathy McMurry are making a difference in 27 kids and counting.