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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 9, No. 36 Including Nearby Communities www.thepress.net
September 4, 2009
Natio
nalAwardWinning Newspapers
THIS WEEK
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A
A whoosh on the water
A local water ski racer wouldnt let a little thing like a broken
leg stand in the way of a world championship.
Page 1B
Calendar ..........................23BClassifieds
........................15BCop Logs
..........................18AEntertainment ................10BFood
.................................12BHealth & Beauty
...............6BMilestones .........................9BOpinion
...........................17ASports
.................................1BTalk About Town
..............5AWebExtras! .......................1B
INSIDE
Lowdown on spiffing up See where the next Neighbor-hood Cleanup
event will be enhancing Antiochs environs.
Page 3A
Photo by Gary Augustino/In-Flight Camera
Phillip Garrido is facing 29
felony counts for alleg-
edly kidnap-ping Jaycee Dugard 18 years ago
and holding her in a back-yard complex
at his East County prop-
erty, above.
The annual Marsh Creek Cleanup Day will take place Saturday,
Sept. 19, from 9 a.m. to noon at seven locations along Marsh Creek
and its tributaries, where volunteers will clean trash and debris
from nearly 15 miles of creek. Friends of Marsh Creek Watershed
(FOMCW) conducts this event in partner-ship with the cities of
Oakley and Brentwood, the East Bay Regional Park District and the
California Coastal Commis-sion.
Cleanup organizers look to build on the success of last years
event, when more than 600 vol-unteers turned out to remove
approximately 8,500 pounds of debris from the creek the largest
cleanup ever. More than 1,000 pounds of trash was re-cycled. This
is an event that
promotes community service while helping create an inter-est in
the local watershed, said Diane Burgis, coordinator of Friends of
Marsh Creek Water-shed. Folks see what gets into the creek from the
storm drains, and cleaning up the creek helps motivate people to
keep the creek from getting dirty again. This is an event that you
see whole families doing together its a real feel-good event!
Marsh Creek Cleanup is a part of the California Coastal
Commissions California Coast-al Cleanup Day that also boast-ed its
biggest cleanup last year, when more than 63,000 volun-teers
cleaned up just under a million pounds of debris from creeks,
rivers and lakes through-
Rolling up the sleeves, cleaning up the creek
see Creek page 22A
Garrido gave tip to thwart kidnappers
Prior to being arrested on charges that he kidnapped Jaycee
Dugard, held her captive in a seedy backyard compound in East
Con-tra Costa and fathered two children by raping her, Phillip
Garrido of-fered a local child-safety advocate some advice on how
to keep chil-dren safe from kidnappers.
Janice Gomes is an Oakley resident whose National Com-
munity Empowerment Program has been teaching local kids about
avoiding stranger danger for more than two decades. For the last 15
years, she has been a print-ing customer of Garrido, whose delivery
of one particular job about fi ve years ago is now a chill-ing
memory.
He did some fl yers for us, a fact list on how to keep kids safe
from kidnappers, Gomes said this morning. He said, You know, youre
missing something
here. One thing parents do wrong is they let their kids walk to
the bus stop alone. They shouldnt.
Garrido allegedly snatched Dugard from a South Lake Tahoe street
in 1991 while she was wait-ing for the school bus.
Getting ideas from people she encounters isnt unusual, Gomes
said, adding that Garridos sug-gestion for the tip sheet was a good
idea. I didnt know he was talking from fi rst-hand experi-ence.
Gomes said she had visited Garridos house on business sev-eral
times over the years, but she never saw anyone other than Garrido:
Nothing was ever out of place inside the home. The fur-niture was
old fashioned, she said, consistent with the fact that it was
actually Garridos mothers house. Still, said Gomes, some things
were notably absent: I did noticed that there were no family
pictures, no
by Rick LemyreStaff Writer
see Advice page 22A
Press file photo
A volunteer adds trash to a growing stack of debris collected
during last years Marsh Creek Cleanup. This years event is
scheduled for Sept. 19.
Homefront bolstered The upcoming Freedom Walk will provide an
opportunity to reflect on the meaning of 9/11.
Page 8A
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SEPTEMBER 4, 2009 COMMUNITY THEPRESS.NET | 3A
Jennifer Jost keeps the wine owing as Paul Wren enjoys the
eve-ning ambience at Hannah Nicole Vineyards brand-new winery in
Brentwood last Saturday. The members-only event which featured
tours, live music, good food and, of course, good wine marked a new
beginning for East Contra Costa: the areas rst winery to open since
Prohibition brought winemaking to a halt in 1920. Han-nah Nicoles
next event: the fourth annual Grape Stomp and of cial Grand Opening
Saturday, Sept. 12.
Pouring it onThe next installment of the Antioch Police
Departments Neighborhood Cleanup Pro-gram takes place Saturday,
Sept. 12 from 9 to 11 a.m. Volunteers should meet at Eagleridge
Park, located at 4200 Eagleridge Drive, where theyll receive
instructions and equipment. The targeted area is within walking
distance. Bar-ring inclement weather, future Neighborhood Cleanup
events will be scheduled for the fi rst Saturday of the month and
will target business and commercial areas as well as
residential.
The Neighborhood Cleanup Program is a collaborative effort of
United Citizens for Bet-ter Neighborhoods, community volunteers,
the
Antioch Police Department Crime Prevention Commission,
Neighborhood Watch Program, the City of Antioch Community
Development Department, Neighborhood Improvement Ser-vices, and the
Public Works Department.
In the words of an Antioch Police De-partment press release,
Collectively, We, everyone who works and lives in the City of
Antioch, can make a difference and improve the quality of life. Its
our community and its our chance to make a difference
Neighbor-hoods free of trash and refuse are inviting, and a clean
community instills a sense of commu-nity pride.
Next cleanup set
Sopranos Nova and Susanna Jimnez and their piano, cello and
violin accompaniment form an award-winning vocal ensemble that
combines classical and contemporary styles. In their return to
Antioch, Bella Sorella will debut musical arrangements by acclaimed
composer, arranger and Bella Sorellas new music director Ed
Goldfarb.
East County music lovers can experience the magic of Bella
Sorella at the El Campanil Theatre on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $25; $22 for seniors (62 and over); and $10 youth
(under 18).
Bella Sorellas ethereal music, magnetic stage presence and
remarkable personal story has earned them acclaim and recognition
through-out the United States and abroad. Performing music that
spans more than 300 years and seven
languages, Bella Sorella has dazzled audiences in live
performances and on television and radio.
Trained at the renowned New England Con-servatory of Music in
Boston, the duo breaks the soprano mold. Bella Sorella is young,
beautiful, charming and has voices to match. Their person-al story
is as compelling as their voices are beau-tiful. They have been
best friends since their fi rst days at college, and they married
brothers, hence the name Bella Sorella, or Beautiful Sister.
Bella Sorella was named the 2007 Vocal Group of the Year at the
17th annual Los Ange-les Music Awards in Hollywood and the 2007
In-dependent Vocal Group of the Year by the Hol-lywood F.A.M.E.
Awards at the world famous Whisky a Go Go.
For tickets and information, call 925-757-9500 or visit
www.elcampaniltheatre.com.
Bella Sorella returns
Photo by Ger Erickson
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4A | THEPRESS.NET COMMUNITY SEPTEMBER 4, 2009
Except for a few charred trees and a noticeably reduced
inventory, theres little evidence of the four-alarm blaze that cost
Chris Rockenbaugh more than 80 percent of his auto dismantling
business. But thats all to the good for the owner of Brentwoods
Con-tinental Pull-N-Save, who just 30 days after surviving arguably
one of the largest fi res in recent memory, has offi cially
re-opened for business.
Our inventory is still at a minimum, but repairs are being made
to the fences and gravel is being put down, and were working
through it, said Rockenbaugh. But Ill tell you: I dont wish this on
anyone. To be com-pletely wiped out business-wise is tough. But
well survive.
The fi re is believed to have started around 6 p.m. on Sunday,
July 19 in some tall weeds west of Continental in the 6300 block of
Brentwood Boulevard, and then jumped to Rockenbaughs 5-acre yard fi
lled with disas-sembled autos. Gas tanks in the hollowed-out cars,
55-gallon drums and nearby tires might have contributed to a series
of explosions that sent thick black smoke into the night sky. By
the time the blaze was out, two mobile homes were destroyed and 50
residents evacuated.
Ive never had a fi re like this, said Rockenbaugh. The wind was
blowing and it was just devastating. The yard was totally full at
the time. It (the fi re) destroyed nearly
everything.Rockenbaugh maintains that theres no
question that the fi re started behind his prop-erty, and that
any fi nes meted out will not in-clude his business.
We were not fi ned for anything and we wont be, said
Rockenbaugh. There is no dispute about where it (the fi re)
started, and everyone at the city (Brentwood) has been very
supportive.
Louis Kidwell, chief building offi cial for the City of
Brentwood, said Rockenbaugh has met all of the citys requirements
for re-
opening, including past requests for cleanup and disposal of
items on the property.
Hes (Rockenbaugh) complied with everything we asked of him and
so hes ready to go, said Kidwell. Wed been asking him to make some
changes on his property for eight or nine months and hed begun to
make some prior to the fi re, but now hes been able to make them
all and things out there look great.
Trying to put the incident behind him, Rockenbaugh has been busy
restocking his auto yard and preparing for a grand re-open-
ing celebration in a few weeks.People have been coming in asking
me
when we are opening and I tell them right now, said Rockenbaugh.
In another three or four weeks well be fully graveled and fully
stocked and then well have an offi cial re-opening. But were open
now; people are welcome to come and see that were still here. Were
survivors.
Continental Pull-N-Save is located at 6240 Brentwood Blvd. and
open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more
infor-mation, call 925-240-5906.
by Ruth RobertsStaff Writer
Continental rises from the ashes
Left, despite a spectacular re that destroyed its inventory,
Brentwoods Continental Pull-N-Save has re-opened, albeit with a
smaller inven-tory for now. Above, the storage yard at Brentwoods
Continental Pull-N-Save looked nothing like this after a July 19 re
destroyed hun-dreds of partly dismantled cars. Continental is
already back in busi-ness, however, and will soon be adding
inventory.
Photos by Ruth Roberts
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Thousands of East County homeowners are needlessly losing their
homes to foreclosure. If the value of your home is now less than
your loan, if your adjustable monthly mortgage payment has
increased or if you are behind on payments, Brule & Rooney can
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TALK ABOUT TOWN Have an item?
[email protected] opening of the bids for
Brentwoods new civic center might have been good news to city of
cials, seeing as how the bids came in far below as much as 36
percent below what was expected. But thats not the only reason for
scal feelin good. Last month, Standard and Poors issued Brentwood
an AA Rating for its economic health. The second-from-the-highest
rating, rare for a city Brentwoods size, means the inter-est rates
of the bonds the city will issue to build the civic center will be
low, saving the city millions of dol-lars over their lifetimes.
If youve ever been pulled over by your friendly neighborhood
peace of cer for an apparently trivial in-fraction such as a broken
tail light, keep in mind: the of cers attention to minutiae can
lead to fascinating discoveries. On OHara Avenue at Central
Boulevard in Brentwood re-cently, an of cer thought a certain
vehicles registration tabs looked a little funny. So the of cer
stopped the driver and discovered that well, take a wild guess:A.
The registration tabs were false.B. The driver was DUI.C. The
driver was under the in u-ence of a central nervous system
stimulant.D. The driver was in possession of a concealed
rearm.E. All of the above.You guessed it.Minor infraction the gift
that keeps on giving.
Antioch Animal Shelters Volun-teers 4 Volunteers Pet Event
fundraiser last weekend turned out to be a great success, as more
than 30 animals found homes with loving families. The event, aimed
at raising awareness for the shelter and its programs, also raised
nearly $800.
In case you havent heard, District 10 congressional candidates
John Garamendi (D) and David Harmer (R) will most likely face each
other in the run-off election Nov. 3. The open congressional seat
became available in June when Represen-tative Ellen Tauscher (D)
was con- rmed as U.S. State Department Un-dersecretary for Arms
Control and International Security. Thus ends one of the most
crowded elections 14 candidates in recent memory. Those of us at
the Press are even more excited about the fact that, at least for
now, the barrage of press releases from the wannabe senators
will now slack off.
While most stores are beginning to assemble their Halloween
displays, the decorations at Bailey Rentals & Hardware in
Brentwood are a bit behind the times. While the patriotic
decorations (the ones left over from the Fourth of July) on
dis-play in the side yard along Central Boulevard are tting as next
week marks the eighth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept.
11 the rabbit in the race car is out of place. The lone Easter
decoration has been there since March and shows no sign of speeding
off, taking the longest pit stop in the history of bunny mo-tor
sport competition.
In case you were wondering: the Brentwood Parks and Recreation
offices havent left town, theyve just left the building. The
build-ing next to City Hall, to be precise. Theyve moved on over to
the Tech Center, 101 Sand Creek Road, next to the Los Medanos
College Brent-wood Center. The old offices will be torn down to
make room for the new civic center, but theyre still eager to
serve, and theyre at the same phone number, too: 925-516-5444.
Compiled by Press Staff
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SEPTEMBER 4, 2009 RECREATION THEPRESS.NET | 7A
Let us save you
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Home, Auto & LifeWe can save you $$$and peace of mind.
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LOSE, THEN RENT YOUR OWN HOME BACKWhen I meet with distressed
homeown-
ers who are facing imminent foreclosure, sometimes they ask if
the bank will agree to rent back to them after the foreclosure.
They reason that they are already there, they like the home, the
kids are in school in the neigh-borhood, and theyd be willing to
pay market rent. I have been politely pointing out to them that
banks are not in the business of being property managers, and in
many cases, it is a violation of their federal banking charter for
them to hold properties as rentals.
Well, guess there is egg on my face now, because some banks are
doing exactly that! This is not exactly widespread, but I have
heard of lenders who are offering to rent to the ex-homeowner at
market rent. This is most common if the loan is held by Fannie Mae
or Freddie Mac, two of the largest hold-ers of mortgage loans in
the United States.
Seems like some lenders have figured out that if they were to
actually dump all their bank-owned properties on the market at
once, it would basically crater our real estate values
for a few years. So they are issuing foreclosure moratoriums
like crazy, and then extending them. But that is putting serious
negative pressure on their bottom lines since they are receiving no
income at all during this period. Converting it to a rental will at
least get them some income coming in the door.
Most of the leases that I have seen from lenders are on a
month-to-month basis, and they do reserve the right to offer the
property for sale. So if the lender does decide to sell the
property at some point in the future, they can. The prior homeowner
at least gets some breathing room without having to face
fore-closure AND moving out at the same time. And the neighborhood
benefits from not hav-ing another vacant property with a dead lawn.
Youll have to check with your own lender for their policies in this
regard.
If you have questions on this or any other real estate topic,
call me at (925) 240-MOVE (6683). To search the MLS for free and
view virtual tours of homes for sale, go to:
www.SharpHomesOnline.com. Sharp Realty
Press file photo
The Diablo Shores Pro Am Tournament drew thousands of spectators
and par-ticipants to last years event in Brentwood. This seasons
competition kicks off Sept. 11 and runs through the Sept. 13.
For the past eight years, Greg Badal has been quietly organizing
one of the na-tions largest pro water skiing events right here in
Brentwood, and this years forum is shaping up to be more of the
same.
We had about 5,000 people come out last year and were expecting
even more this time, said Badal, who directs the proj-ect with his
wife, Debbie. Every year its gotten bigger and better.
The Diablo Shores Pro Am Tourna-ment, sponsored by Dublin Toyota
and Dub-lin VW, will splash into Brentwoods Diablo Shores Lake the
weekend of Sept. 11-13, fea-turing top-notch competition from some
of the worlds best water skiers including world record holder
Karina Knowlen and more than $70,000 in cash and prizes. Pro-ceeds
raised from the event benefi t the Brent-wood Police Activities
(PAL) program.
The tournament is free to the public, and offers a unique
opportunity for rec-
reational skiers to mix and mingle with professionals in a
low-key, relaxed setting; something most venues dont offer.
What is unique about this is that its a pro am event with
families and profes-sionals in the same venue, said Badal. We
attract beginners all the way to the profes-sionals. Its a nice
weekend.
New this year to the tournament will be a legends division,
showcasing such world-class skiers as Andy Mapple, Carl Roberge,
Bob and Kris La Point and Lucky Lowe. New to the event is a live
Web cast throughout the weekend.
For Badal, the event is all about good will, sporting
competition and champi-onship exhibitions. Were just trying to
promote the sport and do it in a very fam-ily-friendly, no-alcohol
venue, said Badal. We invite everyone to come on out, bring your
lounge chair and a blanket and enjoy the weekend. Its a lot of
fun.
For more information, visit www.diabloshores.com or call
925-997-9914.
Elite skiers come to Diablo Shores
by Ruth RobertsStaff Writer
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8A | THEPRESS.NET COMMUNITY SEPTEMBER 4, 2009
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Homefront gets helpMembers of the organization Operation
Homefront, along with the families of military servicemen, are
holding the fourth annual September 11 Freedom Walk next Friday at
the Somersville Towne Center Mall. The walk is a tradition aimed at
refl ecting on and remembering the lives lost on Sept. 11,
2001.
In charge of the event is Josie Monaghan, a military mom who
devotes her time and energy to motivating and encouraging the
community to support military servicemen and the families they
leave behind. Those interesting in taking part of the event may
register at the main entrance parking lot at 5:30 p.m. Opening
ceremonies begin at 6 p.m.
Operation Homefront is asking for tax-deductible donations to go
toward helping our servicemen. Visit www.antiochmilitary.com or
e-mail Josie Monaghan at [email protected].
Keglers roll for the recordOn Saturday, Sept. 5, Brentwoods
Harvest Park Bowl will join more than 3,200 bowling centers
across the nation in celebrating National Bowling Week. Harvest
Park invites the community to be part of history and take part in
an effort to set a new world record for the most games bowled in a
single day. The event features raffl es, games, music and fun. All
participants will receive a commemorative certifi cate.
We are proud to celebrate a great year for bowling and to thank
all of the
people who have supported our center, said Harvest Park Bowl
Manager Sherry MacKenzie. We invite bowlers of all levels and ages
to stop by and join in the festivities.
Harvest Park Bowl is offering a special price of $1 per game and
$1 for shoe rentals 1 to 7 p.m. on Sept. 5. Snack bar specials will
also be available.
For more information about National Bowling Week and bowling in
general, visit www.bowl.com or www.gobowling.com.
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Headaches, Neck Pain or Jaw Pain (TMJ)
Bothering You?Neck pain and headaches
can be very disabling and can signifi cantly alter a persons
normal pattern of living. Simple things like reading the newspaper,
cooking, driving a car, and/or looking down when feeding a baby,
can become almost intoler-able. Canceling plans for the day or
saying no to vacations can be very disheartening and oft en occurs
because of severe neck pain and/or headache making these activities
simply, no fun. Th e cause of the headaches associated with neck
pain and dysfunction is usually due to the compression caused by
the tight neck muscles squeezing the upper three nerve roots in the
neck region, resulting in radiating pain into the head. Frequently,
light and noise sensitivity, as well as nausea, can accompany a
severe headache, which only adds to the activity limitations
associated with neck pain. In fact, there are many experts who feel
most headaches, even migraines, stem from the neck or are at least
are very closely related. Since neck pain aff ects approximately
two thirds of the population at some point during their lifetime,
it becomes clear that headaches, in the absence of neck pain, are
quite uncommon.
Another interesting and lesser-known relationship is the jaw
(frequently referred to as the TMJ) and its association with neck
function, especially the upper cervical vertebrae, as well as
headaches. Th e muscles that move the jaw/TMJ are largely
innervated by the 5th cranial nerve, also called the trigeminal
nerve. Several studies have found that when stimulating structures
innervated by the trigeminal nerve, neck and/or jaw pain was
created. Similarly, patients with jaw prob-lems (TMD) oft en report
neck pain. Th e neck is always moving when we chew, yawn, talk, and
clench our teeth. In fact, all of these every day activities result
in jaw, head, neck motion extending from the base of the skull and
fi rst cervical vertebra (C1) and continues down through the entire
cervical spine. Th is was investigated in a study where the
relationship between neck symp-
toms, jaw function and pressure pain sensitivity in a trigeminal
nerve innervated region was observed aft er a spinal manipula-tion
was applied to the upper neck vertebrae. Here, 37 female patients
with neck pain were randomly as-signed to 1 of 2 groups (1,
receiving upper neck manipulation; and 2, the non-manipulation
group) and, before and aft er treatment, exams of mouth opening and
pressure pain levels were measured. Th e group receiving the upper
neck manipulation showed a signifi cant increase in active mouth
open-ing motion as well as improved pressure pain tolerance
compared to the non-manipulation group. Th is study is very
important as many people suff er from neck pain, headaches and TMD.
In order to properly treat these patients, one must focus on
multiple regions, not just the neck area. It has been demonstrated
when we bite down, there is a corresponding tighten-ing of two
important muscles in the neck and upper back region. Similarly,
studies show relaxation of muscles in the neck, upper back and TMJ
aft er spinal manipulation to the neck is applied. Injuries to the
TMJ are common but oft en not pursued by patients as oft en theyll
say, my jaw clicks and snaps but I dont think about it much.
If you, a friend, or a loved one are struggling with neck pain,
headaches, or TMJ/jaw pain, we will properly assess your condition
and administer the appropriate care that is required. We also
coordinate services with other health care providers when
necessary. Th is recommendation may repre-sent one of most signifi
cant acts of kindness you can give to those that you truly care
about.
You may be a candidate for chiropractic care for neck pain, jaw
pain, or headaches! For a free no-obligation consultation and
highly specifi c evaluation call
516-5813Jardin Family Chiropractic
7351A Brentwood BlvdBrentwood
Advertisement
In response to a Brentwood teachers idea to let the public know
what supplies are needed in the classroom, the Press has launched a
new Teachers Wish List sec-tion of its Web site, thepress.net.
We have approximately $100 for the classroom (for supplies) for
the entire year, said Katie Bartling, a fi fth-grade teacher at
Krey Elementary. Thats not very much, and as you can imagine, its
all consumable and disposable stuff, so once its gone, its
gone.
Now, those who would like to help ease the school-supplies
crunch have an easy way to do it. By clicking on the News menu on
the home page, readers can ac-cess the Teachers Wish List link.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and youll see all local school
districts listed. Click on your district to see a list of the
teachers whove submitted requests.
Parents, community members and
local businesses are invited to purchase items of their choosing
from the list of districts and school sites. Donated items should
be dropped off at the chosen school site, clearly marked with the
teach-ers name and grade.
In order to get their list included or updated, East County
teachers should e-mail their list to the Press at
[email protected].
Teachers wish lists now online
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10A | THEPRESS.NET EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 4, 2009
LMC students digging anthropology
Most classes at Los Medanos Colleges Brentwood Center take place
indoors, but if youre taking general anthropology with Liana
Padilla-Wilson, youd better be wearing good shoes.
While most students are taking notes and listening to lectures,
Padilla-Wilsons students are canvassing Marsh Creek, which fl ows
behind the facility, conducting an archeological dig. Theyre
searching for evidence to help identify the type of people who live
and have lived in the area. No item is too small. Everything has
signifi cance.
The students are fi nding all kinds of things, from toys to
shells, Padilla-Wilson said. There is no such thing as trash
dur-ing these digs. Everything plays a part in telling the story of
what life is like in this area. Even the food wrapper from
McDon-alds helps give us clues about the people in the area.
Wrappers illustrate the diet of the inhabitants, while toys help
defi ne what play means to this group of people.
So although it might not take a genius to understand why there
are empty soda bottles and snack wrappers near a college campus, 50
years from now these items would be signifi cant indicators of life
at the site.
Thats what Padilla-Wilson is trying to show her students. Rather
than keep-ing her students cooped up, shes letting
them explore the fi eld of anthropology with hands-on
experience. The students learned the principles of an archeological
dig during the fi rst week of class, and then Padilla-Wilson took
her class to the creek to see what they could fi nd.
Using paintbrushes and garden spades, the students dig around,
hoping to uncover objects that might shed light on the culture that
lives in the area. Theyre
essentially studying themselves, but that doesnt detract from
the fun.
The students have had such an enthu-siastic response to this
program, Padilla-Wilson said. They get really excited about coming
out here and digging around in the dirt hoping to fi nd some type
of treasure. They get really competitive about it, too. They
compete to see who can fi nd the most unique thing. We fi nd a lot
of rocks and
plants, dead bugs, but theyre also fi nding tennis balls and
pieces of cloth. Its up to them to fi gure out what all these
things say about the people who live here.
Students bag and tag each item they decide to keep as part of
their investiga-tion. Padilla-Wilsons class will go out to collect
artifacts several times during the semester, and ultimately write
term papers about their investigations and announce their fi
ndings.
The community is also getting in-volved in the ongoing exercise.
Padilla-Wilson said people who walk the Marsh Creek Trail stop to
observe her class at work and sometimes even pitch in. Last week,
Padilla-Wilson said a passerby was out bird watching and took a few
minutes to help students identify species of birds based on its
feathers.
Its so exciting when people stop by and ask questions,
Padilla-Wilson said. The students really like interacting with the
people who pass by in the mornings. They like sharing what theyre
fi nding.
Padilla-Wilson is conducting a simi-lar exercise at the
Pittsburg campus, where students conduct their fi eld work near the
lake behind the main campus.
Sophomore Arryn Crow of Antioch dug up leaves and feathers. She
also found a Lego, a jump rope and a mouth guard. Finding the mouth
guard was really gross,
Los Medanos College professor Liana Padilla-Wilson offers
guidance as student Kyle Kekic, left, searches for artifacts during
an archaeological dig along Marsh Creek, which is located behind
LMCs Brentwood campus. The dig is part of Padilla-Wilsons general
anthropology course.
Photo by Richard Wisdom
by Samie HartleyStaff Writer
see LMC page 11A
-
SEPTEMBER 4, 2009 EDUCATION THEPRESS.NET | 11A
22 888882008
GOL
D MEDALAWARD
but it says a lot about the area, Crow said. There are a lot of
athletes here, so maybe someone was jogging around the lake and
this fell out of their bag. Who knows?
There are a lot of kids who walk around the lake with their
parents, so that explains the toys were fi nding. And the feathers
are from all the ducks and geese that live at the lake. It all
comes together like a puzzle.
Like her students, Padilla-Wilson be-gan her college education
at LMC. She took anthropology as part of the general education
curriculum and fell in love with it. She spent years in the fi eld,
but returned to LMC fi ve years ago as a part-time in-structor.
Now a full-time faculty member, Pa-dilla-Wilson is trying to
inspire her stu-dents, introducing the archeological dig component
to the class this semester to help students get a better
understanding of what anthropology is all about.
Crow plans to transfer St. Marys Col-lege to complete her degree
in anthropol-ogy just like Padilla-Wilson. Another one of
Padilla-Wilsons students, Noah Hirsch, a sophomore from Antioch,
said he took one of her anthropology classes last spring and
enjoyed the class so much that changed his major to pursue the
social science.
I was pre-med, but then I took the class, and I really liked
this side of science, Hirsch said. Anthropology isnt about fi nding
out what things are made of. Its more abstract. Like when you fi nd
some-thing during a dig, you dont want to just
know what it is, but you want to know how it got there and why
people used it. You want to know who used it. Its like solving a
mystery.
Padilla-Wilson said based on the re-action of her students these
fi rst weeks of class, shell bring the archeological dig ex-ercise
back next semester. She also hopes the increase in student
enrollment in her classes results in more class offerings for the
anthropology department, as the col-lege currently only offers
three types of an-thropology courses.
LMC from page 10A
Photo by Richard Wisdom
Anthropology Professor Liana Padilla-Wilson, right, and LMC
student Kyle Kekic examine an item of interest during a recent dig
near the schools Brentwood campus.
-
12A | THEPRESS.NET COMMUNITY SEPTEMBER 4, 2009
Its a Matter of LawBy Barbara A. Frantz
DONT DIE BEFORE YOU READ THIS.Once my clients have
accumulated
wealth, they usually want to protect what they have worked so
hard for. Every marketer also knows that they have accumulated that
wealth, and they are bombarded by phone calls, free dinners,
seminars, and letters with promises that this is the solution. My
clients often ask me if they really need a living trust and will it
protect their assets? They want to know if the do it yourself kits
for $799 really do protect them, or if they need to spring for the
$2500 to $3000 average for a living trust written by an attorney.
And then some are told that their living trusts will cost $25,000
plus, and that makes no sense to them whatsoever.
So what is a living trust and what is its purpose? Originally,
living trusts were created to avoid probate. So what is probate?
Probate is the legal procedure before a court to finally and once
and for all settle an estate. So what is an estate? It is the stuff
that someone has accumu-lated during their life time. It includes
bank accounts, real estate, investments, personal items, debts,
promises, anything that is associated with a person at the time of
their death.
First I tell them that a living trust cannot by itself protect
their assets from attack. While it is a deterrent, it is not a
substitute for good insurance and pos-sibly a corporation or LLC.
If the claim is large enough, a good litigation attorney
will be highly motivated to force payment from the trust.
Second, I tell them that the most common error people make is to
form the trust, but not fund it completely. That is, if you dont
put your home title in the name of the trust, that asset is still
hanging out there in the wind. I also recently had a case in which
everything was in the trust except for one bank account. The estate
had to probate that one account.
So whats so bad about probate? First of all, as in the case
above, an attor-ney gets a minimum of 2% (its a sliding scale based
on the value probated) of the estate being probated whether they
have a lot or as little as completing a few forms. It adds up
quickly. The process can take several years to complete and in the
meantime, the assets in the probate are frozen.
In the next articlewhat do you really need to be protected, an
estate plan, a living trust package, or just a will?
Advertisement
The information above is not a substitute for seeking legal
advice. Barbara Frantz, local resident for 16 years, has 32 years
of legal expe-rience, offering proven solutions for business owners
to increase revenues and achieve their long range goals. For a free
special report on Sources of Business Plans, please call the office
at 925-516-1617 or email Barbara at [email protected]. Law
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Sheriffs annex opens
Residents, local offi cials and county law enforcement gathered
last week to celebrate the grand opening of the Discovery Bay
Sheriffs annex.
Sheriff Warren Rupf welcomed the public to the new offi ces,
located next to Aladinos Pizza on Discovery Bay Boulevard, and
thanked residents for their ongoing support and commitment to
community safety.
The evidence is that this town, at least on this issue, has come
together in all ways, said Rupf. Thank you to each and every member
of the community for their hard work. This facility represents all
that is good with Discovery Bay.
Rupf also welcomed Supervisor Mary Piepho, and thanked her and
the entire Board of Supervisors for their role in getting the offi
ce opened.
Its an honor to be here to help dedicate this facility, she
said, offering praise for the
Sheriff and the dedicated partners in the community that helped
bring it about.
Rupf also thanked the Hofmann Company for its donation of the
offi ce space, as well as Resident Saves volunteers Gary and Edie
Rubin and Elizabeth Munoz. Rupf commended community members Terri
Everheart, Greg and Nancy Knoksen and Diane Stevens for their
donations of offi ce furniture, appliances and a child safety
identifi cation system, respectively. The child safety system was
christened during the event and dozens of IDs were created.
The printer and CD discs for the safety system were provided by
Sasville Properties a donation owner Chris Sasville was only too
happy to supply. Were happy to help, he said. We welcome them
(deputies) here with open arms. We have a great community and were
glad to see them here.
The grand opening was also an opportunity to offi cially
introduce the towns
by Ruth RobertsStaff Writer
see Sheriff page 13A
Supervisor Mary Piepho, left, and Sheriff Warren Rupf of cially
welcomed the public to the new Discovery Bay Sheriffs annex during
last weeks grand opening celebration.
Photo by Ruth Roberts
-
SEPTEMBER 4, 2009 COMMUNITY THEPRESS.NET | 13A
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Ken Turnage, his family, friends and chamber ambassadors
cel-ebrate after cutting the ribbon at the newly remodeled K2GC
building at 309 E. 18th St. in Antioch.
Sweet swish of scissors
Photo courtesy of Martha Goralka
two new resident deputies, Byran Michaud and Mark Spaulding, as
well as Crime Prevention Specialist Tony Fontenot, The only guy
without a gun, but that doesnt make him not important, quipped
Rupf.
According to Lt. Mike Burton, the man in charge of the Sheriffs
Offi ce presence in the area called Delta Station, which includes
Discovery Bay, I think this was a nice turnout and Im thrilled that
Discovery Bay has a place they can be proud of.
The grand opening was co-sponsored by the Sheriffs Offi ce,
Supervisor Piepho, the Discovery Bay Chamber of Commerce and the
Discovery Bay Community Services District (CSD).
On behalf of the business community, I would like to thank you
(Sheriffs deputies) for all the efforts they do to take out the bad
guys and make it our community better, said Chamber President Chris
Steele.
CSD President Ray Tetreault agreed. Its a great celebration and
a good turnout, he said. This is certainly a positive event.
The resident deputies, crime prevention specialist and
additional patrol car were paid for with P6 zone funds more than
$500,000 per year earmarked for enhanced police services and
collected from residents living the specialized P6 tax areas.
This is a wonderful thing, said Piepho during the event. Im glad
to see the town fi nally getting the services they deserve.
Food and beverages were provided by the Sheriffs Posse, Aladinos
Pizza, the Boardwalk Grill, Discovery Bay Steak House and
Safeway.
Sheriff from page 12A
-
Trevors Weekly Mortgage MattersBy Trevor Frey
School is in Session
Advertisement
Did you know that fear and greed are the two most compelling and
determining emotions of the human species? And, for the most part,
when logic doesnt compel, fear is the motivating factor? To quote
Warren Buff et, considered by many the best investor of the 20th
Century, Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when
others are fear-ful. With that said, many people are fearful of the
future, which makes now the perfect time for fi rst time buyers to
do their homework and research home ownership in our local real
estate market.
Brentwoods population has more than doubled in the last eight
years (2000-2008) in-creasing 117%, per the California Department
of Finances report of Population Estimates prepared by Daniel
Sheya. Th e next city in Contra Costa County to come close to such
a growth spurt, in Mr. Sheyas report has been San Ramon with an
increase of 32% respec-tively a stunning 85% diff erence. Th at
being said as of August 8, 2009 eager buyers had been waiting in
line, camping out eight days to solidify a purchase of a certain
developments latest phase in San Ramon.
No one is exactly sure where the bottom is real estate wise, but
with people camping out eight days, logically we have to assume
were pretty close. Again, using very sound logic, even if home
prices continued to drop fi ve or so percent, thats very close to
your standard real estate commission (with commissions be-
ing six percent) and shouldnt be a determin-ing factor in the
least for anyone jumping into the market.
However, one factor that should receive a huge chunk of a
potential buyers report cardespecially with the Brentwood Union,
Liberty Union, Antioch and Oakley Unifi ed offi cially back in full
swing...are the local schools. Whether you are a fi rst time buyer
or an investor, local school performance is very important, for in
the long run either your childrens education and/or your re-sale
value, are going to be directly aff ected by a districts
performance. To put it in perspective, last year Brentwoods new
(2005) high school, Heritage High School, earned an Academic
Performance Index (API) growth of 33 com-pared to the states target
for the school of 5. Combine that with Heritages score of 7 on the
API Statewide Rank of one-hundred similar schools across the state
versus the average score of 3 (ranked by parent education,
pov-erty, student mobility, and student ethnicity), and you have an
A+ for schools.
Put that A+ for schools with an already historically impressive
interest rate market and amazingly low prices per square foot and
you have to ask yourself, how many more statistics before logic
overcomes my fear!
If you have any real estate lending related questions or
concerns please dont hesitate to write me at
[email protected], or call directly at 925-726-1444.
-
SEPTEMBER 4. 2009 COMMUNITY THEPRESS.NET | 15A
RUTH N. BUZZARDAttorney & Counselor at Law
FAMILY LAWDivorce Separation Custody
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729 First Street #D Brentwood 516-7459
Transplant recipient grateful for support
Although doctors hoped to release 14-year-old Ally Jenkins from
the hospital this week, the Oakley teen remains in intensive care
following her double lung transplant two weeks ago. Despite her
fragile condi-tion, Ally was able to post an entry this week on a
blog her mother Vickee has been maintaining through the ordeal.
On Aug. 30, Ally wrote: Hi everyone, this is Ally. I want to
thank everyone for praying for me and thinking about me. I want to
come home NOW. I really hate it here, and I miss all my friends. I
get really sad, and I hate that this happened to me. Im trying to
stay positive and work really hard to come home, but I get so tired
and frustrated. I wish someone would just come kidnap me and get me
the heck outta here.
I dont know why this happened to me, and right now its hard for
me to be thankful, but I know this happened for a reason, and I
know I will try to help others someday.
Ally went on to write that her friends have been keeping her
informed about all the fundraisers and events that commu-nity
members and local business have held to help pay her medical bills,
and she ex-pressed her gratitude to everyone who has helped out.
While she knows dozens have posted get-well messages on the guest
book at CaringBridge.org, she hasnt been able to
prepare herself to read them just yet.One day I will read
everything in here,
but for now, it kinda hurts to read all this, Ally wrote. I
really hope you all will keep praying for me because things just
seem so hard right now, and it feels like its gonna be forever to
get home. I love everyone and thank you!
Ally also expressed the desire to get back to school, where
shell be a freshman
at Freedom High School. She received her fi rst homework packet
this week to help her begin to catch up on what shes missed since
being admitted to UCSF in July.
Vickee said on Tuesday that it would probably be another two
weeks before Ally is discharged from the hospital, and that the
family would remain in San Francisco to up to six weeks while Ally
continues out-patient treatment.
Since her transplant, Ally has been able to get up and walk
around to regain her strength, but shes had trouble keeping food
down. Vickee wrote that Allys deter-mination to get out of the
hospital seems to be fueling her in place of actual
nourish-ment.
She told me today she will continue to fi ght even though her
body tells her to give up, Vickee wrote Tuesday night. Through all
her complaining, she realizes theres al-ways going to be someone
who has it worse than she does. And she told me again today that
she will keep looking for the good that will come out of this.
And in her darkest moments, when shes crying, worrying,
suffering, and tell-ing us no, I just cant do this anymore, she
composes herself and raises the I love you sign with her fi
ngers.
Ally was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension in July. The
disease, which impacts blood fl ow from the heart to the lungs, has
no cure. The only recourse was to transplant a donors lungs, which
she re-
ceived on Aug. 18.Ally learned about the 12-year-old do-
nor this week and has expressed interest in meeting the family
of the girl whose passing gave her a second chance at life.
She wants to meet the little girls fam-ily, Vickee wrote. I hope
so much they are receptive to the idea. I pray for that fam-ily
every day, and I hope you all do as well. Not a day goes by that
Jeff (Allys father) and I dont recognize that could have been us
donating to another family. Jeff and I are becoming advocates for
more people to be-come donors, and I hope all of you do too. Our
daughters life was saved by the gener-osity in someones grief.
While Ally has the support of family and friends, as well as the
community at large, she recently had the opportunity to meet Carrie
Shellhammer of Woodland, Calif., who received a double lung
trans-plant at UCSF six years ago. Shellhammer has met with Ally
several times, and Vickee said these meetings have meant so much to
her daughters progress. Shellhammer has been able to provide Ally
with insight based on her personal experiences that have given Ally
hope.
I can tell Ally things will get better, and she looks at me like
I dont understand, Vickee wrote. And shes right. I dont know what
shes going through. But Carrie does. Im so appreciative of her for
being here.
To follow Allys progress, visit
www.caringbridge.org/visit/allyjenkins.
Ally Jenkins receives a visit from Carrie Shellhammer, who, like
Ally, also re-ceived a double lung transplant at UCSF.
Photo courtesy of the Jenkins family
by Samie HartleyStaff Writer
-
16A | THEPRESS.NET EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 4, 2009
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Congratulations to Timber Point Elementary Schools Students of
the Month for August. Exemplifying good citizenship from Village A,
front row from left, are Jenna Massoth, Elias Card, Hailey Butler,
Danica Lo-pez, Brooke Walser and Kiran McWilliams; back row:
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Upstanding citizens
Photo courtesy of Timber Point Elementary
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SEPTEMBER 4, 2009 THEPRESS.NET | 17A
OPINIONEDITORIALS, LETTERS & COMMENTARY National
AwardWinning NewspapersHave you got something to say? Visit
www.thepress.net and let your thoughts be known.
The time to speak up is fleetingThose who doubt that changes to
the Delta are
coming need only look as far as Sacramento, where there are
currently fi ve pieces of legislation known as the Delta Bill
Package on the Senate fl oor. This bundle is believed by many to be
the fi rst step toward securing Gov. Schwarzeneggers hoped-for
legacy of a peripheral canal,
which would forever change the fragile Delta ecosystem.
But just because the plan has already built up a head of steam
doesnt mean the game is
over. If Delta residents dont make more noise very soon,
however, it will be.
Schwarzenegger is on the record as saying he supports a canal as
a way to restore the Deltas strained resources, and has enacted
plans to construct the $3 million to $3 billion (depending upon
which agency you ask) project under the Endangered Species Act.
Northern Californians have come late to the governors party, but
southern Californians have been there all along and are organized,
focused and driven. For months now, supporters have been steadily
campaigning for the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, a proposal that
according to the Department of Water Resources Web site, is to
provide for the conservation of at-risk-species in the Delta and
improve its reliability as the hub of the states water supply
system.
In a matter of weeks, construction on the 2-Gate
Fish Protection Project which is part of the Bay Delta
Conservation Plan will begin along Connection Slough and Old River
near Discovery Bay. The PR blast is that the automatic gate project
is a rerouting trick to protect the spawning Delta smelt from
committing suicide as they swim into the water pumps on Old and
Middle rivers in Byron.
According to the entities involved the State Department of Water
Resources, the Federal Bureau of Reclamation and the Southern
California Metropolitan Water District this automatic gate system
will save the smelt. Proponents also claim the gates will help
preserve the struggling Delta ecosystem and sustain the 1,000 miles
of waterways for generations to come.
Boaters in East County are naturally concerned that the
emergence of the fi sh gates will tax their ability to motor in and
around the Delta, but there are many who contend the real issue is
not about restricted recreation, but rather restricted water fl ow,
and if Northern Californians dont start speaking up and soon they
will have little recourse.
The good news, however, is that there has been some movement in
East County to stop or at least plug a hole in the looming canal,
including the recent Million Boat Float protest to Sacramento.
Organizations such as the Contra Costa Water Agency are also
fostering awareness by speaking before small groups and
organizations.
And, if you believe the pollsters, opponents are making some
progress. A recently released survey
conducted by EMC Research on behalf of Restore the Delta, states
that more than half of the 800 registered California voters
contacted by telephone were opposed to a canal after being given
some additional information, including some basic facts about the
canal and the Delta, the report read.
But the truth is that the governor doesnt need the publics
blessing to build the canal; only the votes of his handpicked blue
ribbon committee. Conversely, it is also true that there is little
likelihood that one of the components of the canal the 2-gate
project can be stopped.
Still, there are ways to make a difference. Environmental public
hearings will be held, and those are powerful places for people to
stand up and lend their voices to the process. Public outcry might
not stop the ERIs from going through, but they can be shaped into a
better compromise, or at the very least, a less-horrible outcome.
There are also multiple lawsuits already underway on behalf of
farmers and local water districts and its probable that additional
suits will follow.
Delta dwellers might not be able to change what is already in
motion, but that shouldnt stop them from being counted and
soon.
For more information on the canal and 2-gates project, go to
www.restorethedelta.com. or www.calsport.org, where you can also
click on a link to post comments to local legislators.
EDITORIAL
LETTERS TO THE EDITORInside look at teachers life
Editor:I was in line at the grocery store today
and I couldnt help overhear a conversation between the two women
behind me in line. They were apparently very unhappy with one of
their childrens teachers, and were saying some pretty unkind things
about her.
Im a teacher, and I listened, but I didnt say a word. Id like to
say a few now, though. What is a teacher anyway? Most people think
we are those lucky people who get all that time off, and work that
really short day, and get to have tons of fun working with children
all day long. They
are partly correct, but Id like to share a few teacher facts
with you.
First, we do consider ourselves lucky that we get to work with
your kids for a liv-ing. Its what we do, and its what we love or we
wouldnt show up every day with a smile on our face and a hug for
your child. But we are more than that. We patch them up when they
get that skinned knee or those blisters on the bars.
We spend huge parts of our day fi xing the wounds that hurt far
more, the ones in-fl icted with words. We hug them when they cry
because something happened at home that they just dont know how to
process. We dont, either, but we care so much that when they hurt,
we hurt too. When they are hungry, because they had no breakfast,
we make sure we have food in our room for them to eat.
We skip our breaks and work with kids in our room who are
struggling academi-cally or emotionally. We skip our lunch breaks
to eat with our students who need that time with us for a hundred
different reasons. We do instructional intervention after school to
try to boost those children who need our help academically. We do
it because we care.
Our paid day ends at 3:30 p.m., but if just once, you drive by
your childs school at 5 p.m. youll see that most of us are still
here, working hard, without pay. We come in on weekends to catch up
on correct-ing the mountains of papers that must be
scored and entered into the computer grade book. We run copies
for the next week, plan, and organize.
Its time away from our own families, but we have to do it in
order to be ready for the next week. Our families are not happy
about it, but eventually, they give up arguing and realize it just
comes with the job. We do it because we care. We stay late to
conference with you, because you cant, for whatever reason, take
time off to come in on our time. We come back voluntarily for
evening activities and performances. We are the ones you see at the
soccer fi elds, baseball games and dance classes with the huge bag
of papers that we are correcting madly while trying to be there for
our own kids too.
We take work with us on vacations and spend thousands of dollars
a year out of our own pockets to buy the things we need to make
your childs experience the best that we possibly can. And, for all
of this, we do not get compensated fi nancially. Remember, our paid
workday ended at 3:30. There is no such thing as overtime in
teaching! We dont think twice about any of it, though, because we
do it because we care.
As for all that time off, I dont think most people know that we
are paid for the 180 days your child is in school plus four teacher
workdays per year. Our nine-month check is then chopped into 12
smaller ones so that we have income when school is not
in session. So you see, we are not paid for the time we do not
work. That is probably the biggest misconception out there!
I guess all Im asking is that the next time you are about to do
some teacher bashing in a public place where anyone can hear you,
please try to remember that we work very hard for your children. We
do the best that we possibly can, often without pay, but we do it
because we care.
Marie WirthBethel Island
With sincere gratitudeEditor:
The entire Gursky family would like to express our gratitude to
the community for the outpouring of support and comfort we have
received to help us through our loss. Roy loved and respected his
commu-nity, and it is so clear that the community returned this by
the response our family has received. With sincere gratitude, Lynn
Nathan and Adele, Stephen and Sarah Barry and Kathy Michael and
Belinda and all the little Gurskys!
Lynn GurskyBrentwood
Seeing health care through different lenses
Editor:I am a transplanted Canadian who
has had plenty of personal experience with
The Press Newspapers are adjudicated in the the cities of
Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley, and the Delta Judicial District
of Contra Costa County.
No part of this publication may be reproduced for commerce or
trade without written permission from the publisher.
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Manager Greg Robinson
Executive Editor Rick LemyreProduction Manager & Webmaster
Lonnie de Lambert
Business Manager Heather ReidAdvertising Manager Ed Feldman
Main Office / Brentwood248 Oak St. Brentwood, CA 94513
Phone 925-634-1441 Fax 925-634-1975Web site:
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Editorial 925-634-1441, ext. 111Circulation 925-250-1405
Editorial e-mail [email protected]
see Letters page 19A
-
18A | THEPRESS.NET SEPTEMBER 4, 2009
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A sampling of recent law enforcement activity reported by East
County police departments.BRENTWOODAug. 24, 7:59 a.m. An unidentifi
ed person stole a vehicle from the driveway of a resi-dence on Lynn
Drive.Aug. 24, 1 p.m. A driver stated that while stopped at the
intersection of Balfour Road and the Highway 4 Bypass, a driver
from a pickup truck stopped beside him, got out and kicked the
right rear tail light lens of his vehicle, breaking it. The victim
believed the act was due to him not allowing the other driver to
merge into the lane.Aug. 24, 6:33 p.m. A resident of St. Andrews
Drive requested documentation regarding his estranged wife removing
property from their house.Aug. 24, 9:24 p.m. A subject contacted on
the report of a disturbance on Orchard Drive was found to be
intoxicated. He was arrested and taken to the Martinez Deten-tion
Facility.Aug. 25, 1:46 a.m. On Shady Willow Lane, a subject was
reported to be in violation of a restraining order.Aug. 25, 2:30
a.m. An unidentifi ed person left obscene messages on the voicemail
of a resident of Anjou Parkway.Aug. 25, 3:15 a.m. A subject
prowling around a residence on Pippo Avenue, in an attempt to
contact the resident, threw a rock through the front window. He was
tracked down at his residence, arrested and taken to the Martinez
Detention Facility.Aug. 25, 8:24 a.m. On Woodfi eld Lane at Nancy
Street, an unidentifi ed person point-ed a handgun at another
person and de-manded certain items. The victim managed to fl ee the
scene.Aug. 25, 8:41 a.m. On Lone Tree Way at Empire Avenue, a
subject stopped for a mechanical violation was found to be
unli-censed. The vehicle was stored.Aug. 25, 12:07 p.m. An
unidentifi ed sub-ject attempted to gain personal information from
a resident of Prato Street. When the victim asked to speak with a
supervisor, the subject threatened to shoot at her house.Aug. 25,
12:31 p.m. A resident of Sycamore Court received annoying phone
calls from an unknown person in Jamaica.
Aug. 25, 1:12 p.m. On Lone Tree Way at Smith Road, a subject
stopped for vehicle code violations was found to be driving on a
suspended license. He was cited and his vehicle was towed.Aug. 25,
5:34 p.m. Two subjects entered a business on Lone Tree Way and
placed a bot-tle of alcohol into a large purse. A customer
confronted the subjects and they walked out of the store with the
purse. When they saw the customer writing down the license plate
number of their vehicle, they handed him the purse, which contained
the stolen alcohol along with one of the subjects ID. They fl ed in
the vehicle.Aug. 25, 8:26 p.m. On Brentwood Boule-vard at Second
Street, a subject contacted during a traffi c stop attempted to run
from the police offi cer. He was arrested and re-leased to his
parents on a juvenile affi davit.Aug. 25, 10:28 p.m. An unidentifi
ed person broke into a residence on Thornhill Lane and stole a
laptop computer and jewelry.
To view the Brentwood Police Depart-ments public logs on the
citys Web site, visit
www.ci.brentwood.ca.us/department/pd/reports/index.cfm.ANTIOCHAug.
25, 2:55 p.m. Offi cers of the Antioch Police Department responded
to the report of a stabbing at Live Oak High School on F Street.
Faculty at the school stated that the victim was a student and that
the inci-dent had occurred after school hours. The victim, a
16-year-old male, was taken im-mediately by paramedics to John Muir
Hospital in Walnut Creek and is expected to live. The victim and
suspect are members of rival gangs. The suspect was identifi ed as
17-year-old Claudio Vasquez of Antioch. On Aug. 26, investigators
served a search warrant at Vasquezs home, but he was not located. A
warrant was issued for his arrest. On Aug. 27, Vasquez turned
himself in to the Antioch Police Department.Aug. 25, 10:20 p.m.
Offi cers on foot in the area of Rossi Avenue heard the revving
noise of an engine and found a male sub-ject sitting on a
motorcycle in a yard of a house, revving the engine repeatedly. As
the offi cers approached, the subject 20-year-old Antioch resident
Robert Kelly tried to drive away, riding unsteadily on the
side-
walk. Offi cers called to Kelly to stop so they could address
the municipal code (loud en-gine noise) and vehicle code (driving
on a sidewalk) violations, but Kelly tried to drive past them. As
Kelly passed slowly by, one offi cer grabbed Kellys shirt to stop
him and he fell off the motorcycle, but was not in-jured. Further
investigation indicated that the motorcycle had been reported
stolen out of Pittsburg. Kelly was also found to pos-sess a small
amount of methamphetamine. He was booked at County Jail on auto
theft and drug charges.Aug. 29, 11:46 p.m. Offi cers responded to
the report of three subjects armed with handguns and a man armed
with a shot-gun at 500 W. Fifth St. The subjects fl ed the scene in
a white sedan, which offi cers lo-cated and followed to the foot of
G Street, where it turned into a dead-end parking lot. When offi
cers activated their emergency lights and ordered the occupants out
of the car, the driver drove the car directly at one of the offi
cers. The offi cer jumped out of the way and fi red on the car. The
car struck the offi cers patrol car, exited the parking lot and
crashed into a barrier on G Street. The three occupants fl ed the
scene on foot. After an extensive search, a suspect believed to be
a passenger was found running from the area and was arrested. The
driver ap-parently was injured but at the time it was not known if
it was from gunshots or the accident. Police searched the area for
ap-proximately two hours with K-9s and the Contra Costa County
helicopter. Offi cers eventually located a subject, believed to be
the driver, hiding in blackberry bushes near the railroad tracks
near I Street. The subject had sustained at least one gunshot
wound. He was taken to a hospital, where he is list-ed in stable
condition. The third subject was not located.
For information on law enforcement in Antioch, visit
www.ci.antioch.ca.us/citygov/police.OAKLEYAug. 24 A subject was
found in posses-sion of drug paraphernalia on East Cypress Road at
Main Street.Aug. 24 Two arrest warrants were issued on Live Oak
Avenue at Placer Drive and on the 2000 block of Rubens Way.
Aug. 24 A report of driving under the in-fl uence was made on
East Cypress Road at Main Street.Aug. 24 A building on the 300
block of Lakespring Place was vandalized.Aug. 25 Vehicles were
stolen on the 100 block of Calla Court, the 1700 block of Teresa
Lane, and on Brownstone Road at Main Street.Aug. 25 A vehicle
accident caused prop-erty damage on the 1000 block of Neroly
Road.Aug. 25 A vehicle was burglarized on the 600 block of Heathrow
Drive.Aug. 26 Subjects were charged with driv-ing under the infl
uence on Empire Avenue at Meeks Lane, on Main Street at Vintage
Parkway, and on Frank Hengel Way at Ibis Drive.Aug. 26 An animal
was found poisoned on the 400 block of Clearwood Drive.Aug. 26 A
subject was charged with pos-session of a weapon on school grounds
on the 1100 block of OHara Avenue.Aug. 27 A resident of the 200
block of Merlot Lane was hospitalized.Aug. 27 An incident of
driving under the infl uence was reported on Main Street at Oakley
Road.Aug. 27 On the 500 block of Fourth Street, a subject was the
victim of battery. Aug. 28 A vehicle accident resulted in mi-nor
injuries on the 100 block of Douglas Road.Aug. 28 A boat was
burglarized on the 2100 block of El Lago Drive.Aug. 29 A subject
was found in possession of marijuana for sale on the 2000 block of
Main Street.Aug. 29 A subject was found in possession of dangerous
drugs on the 1500 block of Port Way.Aug. 29 Subjects were charged
with being under the infl uence of drugs on Alder Drive at West
Cypress Road and on the 400 block of Bristol Court.Aug. 29 Grand
theft took place on the 1800 block of Concannon Road.Aug. 30 An
armed subject opened fi re in an occupied dwelling on the 1600
block of Pecan Lane.Aug. 30 A burglary was reported on the 3700
block of Frank Hengel Way.
COP LOGSFROM EMERGENCY SERVICES DISPATCH LOGS A resident of
Sycamore Court received annoying phone calls from an unknown person
in Jamaica.Aug. 25, 12:31 p.m., Brentwood
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the Canadian health care system. When the program was proposed
there were cries of socialism, fears that all the doctors would
leave the country, etc. Now, all the Canadi-ans I know are pleased
with the single-pay program.
My husband and I had all four parents grow old, become sick and
die at ripe old ages in Canada. They were treated with excellent
care right to the end. My mother-in-law had two knee replace-ments,
an individually made leg brace, and three pacemaker surgeries in
her 70s and 80s. These folks fi nally passed away with their nest
eggs intact, no spending down required.
My cousin, in her 70s the last fi ve years of her life, had
heart surgery, double hip replacement, cancer surgery and three
series of chemo. My brother-in-law was diagnosed with prostate
cancer in 2000 and has been in treatment ever since. He is now
82.
Prescription medicines are much cheaper even when imported from
the U.S. Somethings wrong with this picture. I have seen no
evidence of lets kill Grannie. Im sure its true that some Canadians
have sought medical care in the U.S. for various reasons. At the
same time, Americans are increasingly traveling to India for heart
sur-gery and other serious operations because of the much lower
costs for work done by equally well-trained physicians.
My daughter has lived in Germany since 1972. She and her husband
and one son are medical doctors there. They are
happy with the system even though they are not as wealthy as
some of their Ameri-can counterparts.
As for the claim that America has the best care in the world, I
suggest check-ing the Internet for Health Rankings by Country. The
U.S. is 43rd, according to the World Health organization. Its easy
to understand why the insurance companies are worried. The U.S. is
really their last remaining kingdom.
Louise JensenBrentwood
New park will be better than everEditor:
The Brentwood Art, Wine and Jazz festival was another huge
success! Con-gratulations to everyone who put so much hard work
into this effort.
During the event, I talked to some people who thought City Park
would be going away when the Civic Center is built. As mayor I was
pleased to tell people about the plans for the redesigned and
renovated park. Yes, it will be closed for a while during
construction, but will come back as a bigger and better park than
before.
Some of the new features include: A history walk that is full of
new artwork and tells the public the Brentwood Story A beautiful
new fountain and plaza with lots of new seating and new mature
palms A redesigned childrens play area Arcade spaces that will
provide shade and event space
Letters from page 17A
see Letters page 20A
-
20A | THEPRESS.NET SEPTEMBER 4, 2009
A public plaza south of the Community Center Built-in lighting
and sound for concerts and movies A new, built in performance area
New landscaping and pathways New restrooms open to the public New
barbecue area with sinks An entry arbor which will be the
perma-nent home for Bill Webers The Farmer statue
For more site plans and design concepts, visit the citys Web
site, www.ci.brentwood.ca.us, and click on the Civic Center
icon.
Robert TaylorMayor, City of Brentwood
Insiders take on wildfiresEditor:
I used to fi ght fi res for the National Park Service in
California. Please under-stand that some wildfi res are natural
occur-rences that happen as part of the natural cycle. Other fi res
are often started by local people in the area that benefi t
whenever a fi re breaks out bus drivers, caterers, hotel operators,
etc. Yes, this really does happen.
When offi cials tell you to vacate your homes, please be aware
that homes that have a higher dollar value than others will be the
priority for fi refi ghters. A word of advice from someone that has
fought these fi res: if it were me I would never leave my home
until I was dragged kicking and screaming by police.
Why? Because, unless I were a wealthy
homeowner, no one would care about my home. I would stay and
protect my home instead of my home being ignored by fi re-fi ghters
who have been directed to protect the second homes of millionaires
who can afford to rebuild.
This is not the fault of the fi refi ghters, who are very brave
and will do whatever it takes; it is a result of the priorities set
in Sacramento by the power brokers.
Bill WeberDiscovery Bay
Criminalize pay spikingEditor:
Pay spiking has become a very serious problem for todays
taxpayers. If spiking is not prohibited soon, the fi nancial
outfall will be catastrophic. In fact, it may be too late
already.
While a special independent district al-lows or may even assist
in the act of spiking, the result is burdened by citizens not even
in that district. This means my tax dollars in East County may pay
for a spiked pension in a special district in West County. This is
a scam and a pyramid scheme that costs mil-lions of dollars not
planned for by our non-suspecting government leaders who plan
budgeting. The people at the end or bottom of this pyramid will
either receive a lower pension than expected or a new tax will be
assessed to all citizens of the county/state to cover the
unforeseen cost.
While I do not know if a new tax can be forced on all of us when
the pension money runs low due to this scheme, I do know people
will fi nancially suffer severely.
I expect it to be either less public services or much lower than
expected pensions when this train derails.
Like all pyramid schemes, a few reap huge benefi ts while the
many suffer. What really adds to the disgust of spiking is when
department heads or commissions encour-age and conspire. These acts
help ruin the public pension system. Unlike the private sector,
where you can only draw whats in the pension pot, the public sector
guaran-tees the pension payments.
The government has made scams by pyramid along with other types
of fraud illegal. It also has made conspiracy and gift-ing public
funds illegal. It is time our state legislatures create a real
no-nonsense law that prohibits pay spiking. The law should include
criminal penalties, fi nes, jail time and restitutions for this
act. In addition, penalties and fi nes should extend to those who
assist or conspire to spike pensions.
John A. GonzalesKnightsen
Make council listen to citizensEditor:
We (the residents of Knox Lane and surrounding area) are writing
this letter in regard to the proposed Cedarwood estates
subdivision.
Discovery Builders is proposing to build 34 tract-style homes on
a parcel of 14.95 acres in the middle of a long-estab-lished
neighborhood of 1-acre ranchette homes. The property was formally
three 5-acre parcels, one of which was an almond orchard. Back in
March of 2007, Discov-
ery Builders/Seeno Co. came in and bla-tantly tore out 162 trees
without a permit. Six of these trees were protected heritage trees.
They claimed this was a miscommu-nication between company and
workers. (Havent we heard that one before?!)
Now they are proposing 34 fl ag lot-style homes in an area of
already existing ranch-style homes all on one acre. Density for
this area is 1.1 to 2.3 homes per acre. They could easily erect one
home per acre but choose to put just under the maximum allowed.
The residents of the area strongly op-pose this maximum density
fl ag lot plan and have addressed several City Council meetings
with our concerns to no avail. The current plan is in violation of
many of the citys own residential guidelines.
We will again address the council at the next meeting, and
hopefully this time we will be heard. We are tired of the coun-cil
listening only to developers and not the citizens of Oakley.
Please come and show your sup-port for your fellow neighbors at
the next council meeting. The next development they plan could be
right in your front yard! Help keep the small town feel of Oakley
alive. We dont want to be another Antioch or Brentwood!
Robert and Julie FierrosMike and Leslie McKinnon
Mike and Kim PedroA.J. and Kathy Mosley
Mike and Pat TaysRon and Andrea Paris
Letters from page 19A
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A Sheriffs deputy locks a gate surrounding the East County home
of Phillip Garrido, the alleged kidnapper of Jaycee Dugard, who
once offered a local child-safety advocate advice on keeping kids
safe from people like him.
Photo by Kevin Bartram
out California. The Coastal Commission has been working to
steadily expand the effort; data gathered from cleanups in the past
few years reveal the need to con-tinue this expansion. Of the
debris found on Californias beaches, 60 to 80 percent originates
from inland or urban areas and washes out to the ocean.
California Coastal Cleanup Day is
among the largest of many efforts that the state undertakes to
safeguard our coast and ocean, said Eben Schwartz, Statewide
Director of the Cleanup. The key to the success of the Coastal
Clean-up Day, though, is the dedication of the volunteers who give
their time and effort to this cause. Cleanup volunteers not only
help remove debris from our states beaches and waterways; they take
away a powerful message of the need to prevent pollution
year-round.
Marsh Creek Cleanup is funded in part through grants awarded by
the Cali-fornia Department of Conservation and the Contra Costa
County Stewardship Grant administered by the Watershed Project. An
REI grant has provided the funding for many of the expenses related
to the Creek Cleanup Day effort.
Without REIs generous support we wouldnt have been able to take
on this very important project, said Bur-gis.
Crystal Geyser Alpine Spring Wa-ter, a major sponsor and partner
of the California Coastal Commission, donat-ed water for the Marsh
Creek Cleanup as well as all other cleanup efforts par-ticipating
with the California Coastal
Cleanup Program.CG Roxane LLC, producers of
Crystal Geyser Alpine Spring Water, is proud to be a sponsor of
California Coastal Cleanup Day, said Ronan Pap-illaud, president
and CEO of CG Rox-ane LLC, which has made environmen-tal
stewardship a priority in its company business model. Working
together with partners such as the California Coastal Cleanup
Program will help to continue to beautify and preserve the state of
Cal-ifornia. FOMCW has also recognized the Brentwood Press and the
Monthly Grapevine for their generous sponsor-ship of the event.
Due to economic constraints, the Cleanup event in Brentwood has
been scaled down this year, eliminating the traditional lunch and
celebration. There will be four cleanup sites in Brentwood:
Creekside Park on Crescent Way off of Balfour Road Central
Boulevard across from the Dainty Center Bristow Middle School The
end of Rosebrook Terrace next to Ron Nunn School
Brentwood residents are encouraged to download the volunteer
waivers on
www.fomcw.org, which includes maps to show which sites are
closest to where residents live or go to school.
Creek Cleanup Day in Oakley hopes to expand by offering
activities following the cleanup. There will be three Cleanup sites
in Oakley: Creekside Park on Creekside Way off of Laurel Avenue The
Cypress Avenue Bridge The Delta Road Bridge
Oakley residents are also encour-aged to download volunteer
waivers from the city of Oakley Web site, www.ci.oakley.ca.us, or
at www.fomcw.org. Volunteers are encouraged to show up at the
Creekside Park site.
Groups are asked to pre-register by downloading waivers and
calling Diane at 925-325-2908. Waivers will be collect-ed,
volunteers will be assigned sites and provided supplies. Groups are
asked to pre-register before Sept. 10, if possible.
Volunteers are needed to help orga-nize the event ahead of time
and to help with set-up, break-down and registration of volunteers
on the day of the event. Please contact Friends of Marsh Creek
Watershed at 925-325-2908 or visit www.fomcw.org.
Creek from page 1A
TV. Everything looked like a set.Gomes also witnessed strange
behav-
ior similar to what others have reported since the case broke
last week. Sometimes in the middle of a conversation, she said,
Garrido would burst into song. Once, a couple of years ago, he also
boasted of having recovered from his past excesses of prostitution,
pornography and masturba-tion, Gomes said. He never mentioned
kidnapping.
Garrido also bragged to Gomes that his story would one day be
told, and that it would amaze people. He said, The FBI is going to
learn theres more to schizophre-nia than they think.
In a related development, Allison Jacobs, the UC Berkeley Police
offi -cer who, along with fellow offi cer Lisa Campbell cracked the
Dugard kidnap-ping case, will be honored by her home-town of
Brentwood for her role in blow-ing open the bizarre East County
case
that has gripped the world.Brentwood Mayor Bob Taylor said
Tuesday that city offi cials and police were helping protect
Campbells privacy as the crush of global media descending on the
area hunts for stories.
The city will be doing something very special for her, Taylor
said, adding that the public is encouraged to turn out for the
event at 7 p.m. next Tuesday, Sept. 8, before the regular City
Council meeting. Shes very excited that her city would do
some-thing. Lets pack the place.
Jacobs has been quoted in news reports as sensing something
about the girls that wasnt right about the two young children who
accompanied Garrido to the Berkeley campus to make arrangements for
an event he wanted to hold. Garrido introduced the 11- and
15-year-old girls as his daughters.
A call to Garridos parole offi cer led to the revelation that
Garrido had no daugh-ters of record, resulting in his arrest. He
faces 29 felony charges in connection to Dugards kidnapping.
Advice from page 1A
22A | THEPRESS.NET COMMUNITY SEPTEMBER 4, 2009
LEGAL NOTICESNOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
Notice is hereby given that the Planning Commission of the City
of Brentwood will, at 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the
nor-mal course of business permits on September 15, 2009, hold a
public hearing to consider the following application:An application
for an amendment to a conditional use permit to revise the master
sign program for Empire Crossings, located south of Lone Tree Way,
west of Empire Avenue and surround-ing the ARCO gas station (APNs:
019-040-058 and 019-040-059).
Applicant: JSJ Electrical Display Co.
Said hearing will be held at the City Council Chambers, 734
Third Street, Brentwood, California.Further information may be
obtained from Assistant Planner Tim Nielsen [(925) 516-5151 or
[email protected]] in the Community Development
Department of the City of Brentwood, 118 Oak Street, Brentwood,
California 94513.Before any court challenge of Planning Commission
decisions, you are required to appeal the decision to the City
Council no later than the time period provided under the Citys
Municipal Code. In addition you may be limited to raising only
those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing
described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to
the Brent-wood Planning Commission at, or prior to, the public
hearing.Brentwood Press No. 02-1273Publish Date: September 4,
2009
On Aug. 4, Becky Lance of Oakley took her daughter Jennifer, 13,
to the Jonas Brothers Concert in Sacramento. Jennifer, an
eighth-grade student at Delta Vista Middle School, has been waiting
a whole year to see the Jonas Brothers in concert. Her concise
review: The best concert ever! I was so close to the stage! In all
her excitement, Jen-nifer even remembered to take along her
Hometown Weekly Newspa-per. Sounds like it was a lot of fun!
Seen at the big gig
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The 18U and 16U Diehard Baseball Club teams kicked off the fall
season in style, taking the fi eld at the Twin Creeks Sports
Complex in Sunnyvale recently and playing some inspired
baseball.
In their second tournament together, the 18U Diehard team pulled
off an unexpected victory in the Twin Creeks Wood Bat
Cham-pionship. Led by manager and former Major League ballplayer
Tony Walker, Diehard went 3-2 over the weekend and won the
champion-ship game 7-4, reversing a 3-2 decision from Saturdays
pool play game. The winning pitcher was Tim Authaus; Chili Gutridge
earned the save.
Outstanding pitching and timely hitting was the recipe for the
18U squad all weekend long, and another highlight was a combined
no-hitter thrown by Jordan