Rex Osborn — a retired Manteca Police community service officer who at one time helped organize and oversee more than 120 Neighborhood Watch Groups — is working as the city manager of Plymouth.

The Amador County city had a population of 1,005 in the 2010 census but its population swells to more than double that size on weekends. He started as city manager about two months ago.

Osborn who also served as the City of Manteca’s public information officer and is a former president of the Manteca Chamber of Commerce was in Manteca on Thursday to watch his son Ian Osborn as he was honored as the Manteca Police Department’s officer of the year during the Manteca Rotary Law Day event at the Manteca Transit Center.

Osborn resides in Stanislaus County with his wife Linda Abeldt who was also a Manteca chamber president and owned and operated Manteca Travel for years. She was also the first executive director of the Manteca Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Cantu still disappointed

with city staff decision

regarding homeless

Mayor Ben Cantu and Councilman Gary Singh were on hand Wednesday to testify at the Assembly Committee on Housing and Communities while they were considering Assemblyman Heath Flora’s bill that would allow the sale of the Qualex building at 555 Industrial Drive for $1 to Inner City Action to be used as a homeless resource center.

While the committee advanced the bill unanimously, the mayor is still expressing his disappointment with action that reversed an initial concern decision to allow Inner City Action to operate a homeless resource center using a big tent at the Qualex site until such time the status of the property could be resolved.

“The community has identified the homeless matter a high priority issue,” Cantu said. “While the Council tried to apply some common sense in the interim as the official permitting process is pursued, the bureaucracy stymied progress again.  . .  A good number of homeless took advantage of the temporary tent that was up only a few days. These numbers clearly highlight an unaddressed need in our community.”

Inner City asked to continue to operate while the conditional use permit application was being processed but were told no, that the tent needed to come down Inner City Action removed the tent on Friday, April 19. They were given the Conditional Use Application and filled it out and turned it in on Friday, April 26.

Even though we were only open a week they had 172 check ins (43 unduplicated) 48 showers, 146 breakfast meals, 158 lunch meals, 151 dinner meals, and 9 haircuts.  

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com