By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Protect River Oaks
letter graphic

Editor, Ceres Courier,

Founded in 1979, River Oaks Golf Course has become a mainstay of family and community activities for the city of Ceres and its neighboring communities.

River Oaks has provided the citizens of Ceres and surrounding communities a fun, safe, and peaceful environment to come and experience every facet of the game of golf.

Since purchasing the golf course facility in 2016, the Thornberry and Hall families have been remodeling the golf course and enhancing the facility with landscaping and many upgrades to the course and property.

They have built a beautiful Event Center with breathtaking views of the Tuolumne River and golf course where businesses and families can hold their weddings, graduations, birthdays, memorials, and other events. River Oaks now also offers Foot Golf and Disk Golf.

In the near future they plan to build an outdoor Amphitheater for community performances and concerts. River Oaks is a tremendous, irreplaceable asset to the Central Valley. I’m certain many communities would love to have something of this magnitude available to them. People from all walks of life, adults, seniors, children, businesses, and families will be affected by this rezoning.

The recent buyer of the property behind River Oaks practice range wants to build a small strip mall there. They have knowingly purchased this property behind a well-established and active sports center. It therefore seems only reasonable that they should incur the cost of heightening the fence at the end of said practice range, and also accept any and all liability of errant golf balls. They are however instead, asking the Ceres City Council to rezone their parcel of land and force the owners of River Oaks to incur the cost of all protective measures and liabilities.

If these requests for rezoning and for River Oaks to incur the cost of all the necessary precautions and liabilities, there is a high probability that this wonderful community sports, recreation and events center will be forced to close their doors. We have lost too many golf courses and practice ranges lately. We can’t afford to lose another! And we certainly need more, not less beautiful outdoor facilities for our families.

I can only hope and pray that the city of Ceres will weigh and measure heavily the cost of losing such a wonderful community sports and events center if they grant these requests for rezoning and subsequent liability.

If you too don’t want to lose this community asset, please contact me signing our petition: 667-7272 or 765-2098.


Greg N. Silva,

PGA professional,

River Oaks Golf Course & Event Center


LETTERS POLICY: Letters to the editor will be considered for publication but must be signed and include an address and phone number. Letters should be 250 words or less and be void of libel. Send to The Ceres Courier, 138 S. Center Street, Turlock CA 95380 or emailed to jeffb@cerescourier.com.