Manteca High’s retired faculty ranks lost two members last week with the passing of English teacher Irving Shaw and art teacher Ron Pecchenino.

Pecchenino also left his mark in downtown Manteca. One of the first mural projects commissioned by the Manteca Mural Society is his creation dubbed “San Francisco” in the 200 block of East Yosemite Avenue appropriately facing westbound traffic.

Pecchenino taught art for 27 years at the University of Pacific. He started in 1969 after teaching at Lincoln Elementary School, Manteca High, and East Union High.

Shaw left an impression on two generations of students at Manteca High where he taught English.

After retiring he penned a column for several years for the Manteca Bulletin. He was well known for going out of his way to do random acts of kindness for people he knew.



Not impressed with city’s

enforcement of water

restrictions for drought

Night owls aren’t too impressed with the City of Manteca’s efforts to make sure commercial and business park areas do their part to conserve water.

Reader Alicia Zabala noted that she drives around and night and “sees so much water wasted (that) it’s ridiculous. Someone should check sprinklers to see what’s happening. Water goes everywhere except on plants.”

Tuesday around 2 a.m. on East Yosemite Avenue between Highway 99 and Spreckels Avenue was a case in point.

There were at least six sprinklers spraying the sidewalks plus one near Jack-in-the-Box that was missing allowing a large stream of water to shoot up and splash onto the sidewalk and into the gutter. The worst offender was the City of Manteca.

The landscaping they maintain at the Highway 99 interchange had two sprinklers that were drenching cars in two lanes of traffic instead of shrubs and ground cover.

Unlike Ripon that fast tracked the hiring of water conservation coordinators and/or part-time staff to give businesses and residents a warning about wasting water before moving to the citation phase, Manteca is finally getting personnel in position.

In the late evenings and early morning hours are when most businesses parks and commercial areas irrigate landscaping. It is also when readers report people who are hell-bent on keeping their grass a vibrant green despite drought watering restrictions will have water running for more than 15 minutes into gutters and down storm drains.