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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 17, No. 9
Two fire board members resign
Keep Optimal Health, Smile
Bring on the snow
Professionals give advice on staying healthy in this week’s Medical & Dental edition. Page 1B
by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer
East Contra Costa Fire Protection District board members Steve Barr and Randy Pope have stepped down from their positions, but for different reasons. Barr, Brentwood’s vice mayor, resigned from his post to serve on the city’s recently established city council fire and medical services ad hoc committee, which seeks to address the shortage of fire and medical emergency services. Meanwhile, Pope will step away due to schedule conflicts between his job and the board’s monthly Monday meetings. Pope has served on the board since 2014, while see Fire Board page 30A
Cutting The Ribbon
Photo by Tony Kukulich
S
unshine is delicious, rain is refreshing and wind braces us up, but snow is exhilarating. For the first time in quite a while, snow frosted the tips of Mt. Diablo.
Future of LUHSD cheer stirs debate by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer A pending decision by the Liberty Union High School District (LUHSD) Board regarding the future of district cheer teams has local cheerleaders rooting for things to stay the same. LUHSD Superintendent Eric Volta is suggesting the district no longer offer traditional competitive cheer and implement stunt competitive cheer instead. The district’s other program – sideline cheer – would remain. The recommendation stems from 2015 state legislation that mandates all state high school competitive-cheer activities be governed by the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), the state’s high school sports governing body, beginning in the 2017 to 2018 school year.
“Sideline cheerleaders are not going away, and the district is not getting rid of competitive cheer,” Volta said. “It’s just (a matter of) which competition cheer we can keep (stunt or traditional).” Traditional competitive cheer includes all aspects of cheerleading – crowd cheers, dance, jumps, tumbling and stunts. Stunt, or sports cheer as it is called, emphasizes head-to-head competition with each team performing the same material with the same music. No date has been scheduled for the board’s decision. “Water polo and diving both swim in the same pool, but are not the same sport. It is the same with (traditional) competition and stunt,” said Sarah Nunnink, Heritage High School varsity cheerteam captain. “They perform on the same mat, but are very differ-
ent. Therefore, we would like to have sideline, stunt and traditional competition. I believe competition cheer gives girls endless opportunities. College scouts visit cheerleading competitions to recruit for their teams.” But Volta disagrees. He believes offering just one competition team creates a clearer path for the district. Currently, there are plans for a CIF sports-cheer season to be offered on the spring sports calendar. All teams and competitions will be governed by high school sports governing board rules. If traditional cheer were offered, the teams would be required to follow the governing board rules, but the stunt-cheer competitions would not – creating a murky situation regarding players’ eligibility, contest forfeits and other aspects. Offering spring sports (stunt)
see Cheer page 30A ✔Plan your weekend. ✔Join a class. ✔Register for sports.
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March 3, 2017
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cheer would allow cheerleaders to compete for their school in the spring and also participate in traditional cheer-club teams with other organizations during the rest of the year, much like athletes in other sports, Volta said. In addition, since the district would be absorbing the costs of the new stunt-cheer teams, offering stunt cheer during a three-month season would allow all district teams’ schedules to be equal. Currently, the schedules are dictated by the teams’ abilities to fund different tournaments through fundraising. There is also a concern that adding two official cheer teams (stunt cheer and traditional cheer) at each school could strain district employees, who will be charged with ensuring that they are followsee Cheer page 30A
Campos Family Vineyards celebrates official name change with the community. Page 5A
Liberty Takes NCS Title
Liberty girls’ soccer team scores North Coast Section title over Carondelet. Page 21A Business................................ 8A Calendar.............................31A Classifieds..........................26A Cop Logs.............................29A Entertainment..................11A Food.....................................10A Health & Beauty...............16A Milestones.........................18A Pets......................................15A Sports..................................21A
CALPIRG Campaign
Water Awareness
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Lead contamination causes CALPIRG to launch campaign for lead-free schools.
Groundwater Association offers free tools for Groundwater Awareness Week.