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January 18, 2019
In the ‘spirit’ of public art, Concord plans ordinance BEV BRITTON The Pioneer
The city of Concord is taking another stab at public art installations, after the controversial Spirit Poles put an end to the city’s program more than 20 years ago. At the Jan. 8 meeting, the City Council discussed a Public Art/Percent for Art Program that would require developers to pay a public art fee. Instead, the council voted unanimously to develop an ordinance that would require public art as a condition of approval for future projects – without any associated fees. “Public art deals with the soul of the city and with the aspirations of our children and our community and, in many ways, the definition of what it means to be a community,” said Councilman Edi Birsan. Responding to Councilwoman Laura Hoffmeister’s comments that potholes, traffic and affordable housing were higher priorities, Birsan acknowledged that public art would never rise to that level. “Yes, we are faced with some terrible financial challenges and liabilities,” he
See Art, page 4
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forming routines with the new Hardwood Classics senior dance team before 19,596 fans during eight Liz Wood began dancGolden Gate Warriors ing when she was threeyears-old in Concord. Near- games this season. The Warriors, who hope ly 67 years later she’s perJAY BEDECARRÉ The Pioneer
to bring another NBA title to Oakland this summer, are also looking ahead to their move across the Bay to San Francisco in the fall. “Our organization was looking for new programs
that we can bring to the Chase Center next season and adding a senior dance team is something we all wanted to do,” says Warriors Dance Teams Director Sabrina Ellison. Wood doesn’t remember where she saw the ad inviting women and men 55 years and older to an open audition last summer for this new dance team. She thought “what the heck”
See Queen, page 5
Photo courtesy NBA Photos/Warriors
Concord’s Liz Wood began dancing when she was three-years-old and now just months before her 70th birthday in April she’s a member of the Hardwood Classics, the new senior dance team of the world champion Golden State Warriors.
Vets fly free to national memorials JOHN T. MILLER The Pioneer
Contributed photo
Tom Meyer, left, and his father William get ready to board their Honor Flight from SFO to Washington, D.C.
What’s Inside
Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B7 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B6
Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Directory of Advertisers . . . .7 From the Desk of . . . . . . . . .6 Hearts and Hands . . . . . . . .3 Obituary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B1 Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Next issue, Feb. 15, Deadline, Feb. 4
A dream came true for World War II veteran William Meyer recently, with a free flight to Washington, D.C., to tour the national memorials – including the WWII Memorial honoring the 16 million who served alongside him. The tour came courtesy of Honor Flight, a national nonprofit offering this service to veterans of WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Accompanying Meyer on the trip was his son, Tom
Meyer, who owns and operates Galaxy Press and A2Z Printing in Concord. The elder Meyer, 92, purchased the company in 1977 and still helps out at the shop on Galaxy Way. “The vets out of World War II, and even those out of Korea and Vietnam, often need help physically,” says Tom, “so they arrange for a younger person to be with them at all times and assist in any way needed.” These guardians pay $1,000 each (tax-deductible) and usually take care of one
or two veterans. Tom enjoyed the experience so much he volunteered again last October, helping out a pair of Korean War vets. On Tom’s second trip, he met a Vietnam vet who wondered all these years what he and other vets had done wrong to deserve having protestors throw bottles at them when they returned. “This trip gave him the feeling for the first time in 50 years that he hadn’t done anything wrong.”
See Vets, page 5
Aliano, Obringer tackle rent issues on new panel BEV BRITTON The Pioneer
Because the City Council wants to “dive deep” into rent issues, Concord Mayor Carlyn Obringer appointed Councilman Dominic Aliano to join her on a new ad hoc rent committee at the Jan. 8 meeting. The committee will meet for up to six months to review state and local requirements regarding tenant/landlord responsibilities and existing housing needs within the city. The committee will then propose rental housing objectives and strategies for the full council to consider. At the Dec. 11 meeting, all five council members supported forming the committee. Councilman Edi Birsan, who has long advocated for some form of rent control, was pleased with his colleagues’ “evolution in this area.” Many speakers at the Jan. 8 meeting advocated for Aliano on the committee because he represents the Monument, with its high ratio of rental units. Aliano, who joined the council last month, sought to clarify the committee’s course. “We need to make sure that moving forward, we identify what we’re trying to get at here – the high cost of rents and landlords abusing their position when it comes to increasing rents outrageously,” he said at the Dec. 11 meeting. Several residents wanted the council to create a moratorium on rent increases of more than 3 percent as well as no cause evictions while the committee meets. Birsan asked the council to consider the item on a future agenda, but the members did not agree. Audience members vocalized protests as Obringer adjourned the Jan. 8 meeting. Concord resident Blaine Carter, who owns a four-plex on Carleton Drive, says he has attended all city meetings about rental housing and remains adamantly against any kind of rent control. “I was an econ major in college,” he noted. “When we
See Rent, page 4
Kirker Pass northbound slated for truck lane DANIEL BORSUK Correspondent
Work should get underway this summer on a $14 million, mile-long truck safety lane on Kirker Pass Road, one of Contra Costa County’s most traveled and most dangerous commute routes. Concord and Clayton residents who frequently drive up the steep county road know all too well about the dangerous speeds and horrific auto and truck accidents along the onemile northbound stretch from the Concord Pavilion to Hess Avenue, where the county will build the 12-foot wide truck safety lane along with an eightfoot wide paved shoulder.
“I think it is an exciting idea,” Kari Philipp of Concord said. “It will free up two lanes for autos and provide a dedicated lane for trucks.” The Contra Costa County Public Works Department plans to open contractor bids on Jan. 22, and the Board of Supervisors may approve the winning bid in February. The project will include a retaining wall and installation of drains, with completion expected by summer 2020. County engineers, county supervisors, and Clayton and Concord residents hope that the Tamara Steiner/The Pioneer project will reduce auto and truck accidents on the road used Construction of an $18.1 million truck safety lane on Kirker Pass Road is slated to get un-
See Lane, page 8
derway this summer. Officials think the new mile long 12 foot wide northbound lane from the Concord Pavilion to Hess Avenue will reduce the number of traffic accidents on the heavily traveled highway
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Clayton Council honors kids doing the right thing
Concord Council names Soroptimists Day
The Concord City Council proclaimed January 11, 2019 to be “Soroptimist International of Diablo Vista” Day in recognition of their continued efforts to raise awareness of the serious issue of human trafficking in the community. “Sadly, the FBI has named the Bay Area as one of the top
hubs in the country for the sexual exploitation of children,” organization president Gloria Utley said accepting the award. The Soroptimists mission is to improve the lives of women and girls and assure them of lives lived “independently and free of restraint.”
City of Concord honors youth energy workers
Tamara Steiner/The Pioneer
At the Dec. 4, Clayton City Council meeting, outgoing mayor Keith Haydon presented five Clayton students with certificates recognizing them for showing great respect toward their teachers and peers as part of the community-wide Do The Right Thing program. The initiative emphasizes six character traits that rotate every two months: Responsibility, Respect, Kindness, Selfdiscipline, Integrity and Courage. Students are selected for the honor by their teachers. Described as “superstars” and “real standouts,” the honorees for Respect are pictured with mayor Keith Haydon from left: Analysa Espinoza from Clayton Valley Charter High, Daniel Akl and Shelly Suaboksan, both 8th graders at Diablo View Middle School and Daelyn Chipper and Nathan Stojanovich, 2nd graders at Mt. Diablo Elementary.
Follow your heart to
January 18, 2019
Tamara Steiner/The Pioneer
Pictured from left: Soroptimists of Diablo Vista members Jay-Marie Garcia, past president Sue Manning, Concord mayor Carlyn Obringer, current president Gloria Utley, members Kim Trupiano and past president Jo Harlow.
Remembering seniors at the holidays
Tamara Steiner/The Pioneer
Concord mayor Carlyn Obringer presented Certificates of Recognition to Julia Ledbetter, Clifton Cooper and Wenzhi Xue for helping the city with their Climate Action Plan. The students, flanked by Rising Sun Youth Program Manager Shelby Sugierskim and the mayor, spent the summer doing consumer outreach work with Rising Sun Energy Center. Together they called on 84 local residents to help them implement energy conservation measures and lower their utility bills by using LED bulbs, “smart” power strips and low-flow water conservation devices. Their efforts resulted in the equivalent of taking 1.6 homes completely off the power grid for one year, Sugierski said.
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Contributed photo
As part of the annual, award-winning Be a Santa to a Senior (BASTAS) program at the Concord Senior Center, local Cub Scout, Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops wrapped gifts and delivered them to more than 200 needy seniors. Members of Cub packs 317 and 379, Scout troops 364, 444 and 1994 and Venturing Crew 317 assisted in the effort.
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Concord/Clayton Market Update CONCORD
PRICE
1806 Chinquapin Ct #B . . . . . . $405,000 5501 Iowa Dr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $650,000 4315 N Larwin Ave. . . . . . . . . . $715,000 2036 Sierra Rd #10 . . . . . . . . . $279,000 967 Maplegate Ct . . . . . . . . . $1,170,000
SF
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1399 Shell Lane – Clayton
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BED/BATH DATE
. .3/1.5 . . .1/8/19 . .3/2 . . . .1/4/18 . .4/2 . .12/31/18 . .2/1.5 .12/2818 . .6/4.5 .12/27/18
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Fantastic & Updated Ground Floor Unit nestled in the rear of the complex near community pool. 2 bedrooms, 1 bath approx. 744sf with a covered carport! Updated kitchen with slab granite counters & newer appliances! Updated bathroom. $299,900 Elegant Single Story “Bainbridge” Model in Peacock Creek at Oakhurst Country Club tucked away at the top of a quiet court. 4 bedrooms plus a den, 3 full baths, approximately 3030sf, 2 fireplaces & 3 car garage. Highlights of this beautiful home include: Gorgeous hand distressed walnut flooring, crown molding & thick baseboards,& plantation shutters.
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1480 Yosemite Circle . . . . . . . $803,990 26 Widmar Ct . . . . . . . . . . . . . $835,000 321 Saclan Terrace . . . . . . . . $645,000 43 Long Creek Circle . . . . . . . $460,000 1272 Easley Dr . . . . . . . . . . . $835,000
SF
. .2015 . .1974 . .1939 . .1050 . .2116
BED/BATH
DATE
. . .3/2 . . . . .1/4/19 . . .3/2 . . . . .1/3/19 . . .3/3 . . . . .1/3/19 . . .2/2 . . . . .1/3/19 . . .4/2.5 .12/20/18
Resolve to help others in the New Year January 18, 2019
The Pioneer • www.pioneerpublishers.com
ton and her senior match, Nora Kualapai, became welcome friends. She was surprised to see the immense need for volunteers like her in Clayton and other Contra Costa cities. “I never realized how many people are struggling to live independently as they age,” Bredbenner says. Volunteers receive ongoing education, support and FAITH BARNIDGE recognition of their efforts. next training session will HEARTS & HANDS The be Jan. 25 at the John Muir Health Medical Center in Donations and volunteers Walnut Creek. For a volunare crucial to keeping most teer application or for more nonprofits healthy, along information about Caring with the communities they Hands, contact volunteer serve. coordinator Stacy Appel at Organizations of all sizes 925-952-2999 or visit need donations and volunwww.johnmuirhealth.com/ca teer labor to help our neigh- ringhands. bors and neighborhoods. Hospice Thrift Shoppe: There are nearly 7,800 non- If you are cleaning out closprofit organizations in Con- ets, garages and storage units tra Costa County; see taxex- for the new year, Hospice pemptworld.com for a list. Thrift Shoppes welcome All need to continually raise donations of clothing, funds for ongoing expenses household goods and furniand recruit volunteers and ture. The shop at 5350 Clayboard members to execute ton Road in Concord is open the missions. There are many 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Satcauses to choose from and urday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. ways to contribute. Sunday and accepts donaJohn Muir Health’s tions during those hours. Caring Hands: This volun- Drop off donations, shop teer caregivers program is for affordable gifts and help dedicated to helping aging cancer patients at the same adults in Contra Costa time. County remain independent The thrift shop also picks as long as safely possible. up donated furniture for Caring Hands is a collabora- free. Call 925-674-9072. tive community outreach Hospice team members program between John Muir provide free end-of-life palHealth, social service agenliative care and compassion cies, congregations of varito support cancer patients ous faiths and the communi- and their families 24-hours a ty-at-large, creating opportu- day, grief counseling and so nities for mutually successful much more. Email volunone-on-one matches. teers@hospiceeastbay.org or Caring Hands volunteer call 925-887-5678 to offer Karen Bredbenner of Clayyour services or to request
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high school senior girls learn real-life skills they will need to write a resume, interview for a job and plan their career path. Soroptimist is dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls through programs leading to social and economic empowerment. The Soroptimist Diablo Vista chapter meets for fun and good works the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Wednesdays of each month at noon at the Concord Senior Center, 2727 Photo courtesy Bill Clough/Captivating Photos Parkside Circle. Visit Caring Hands volunteer Karen Bredbenner, left, spends a www.sidiablovista.org to regfew hours each week with care receiver Nora Kualapai. ister to attend a meeting or They celebrated their friendship at the annual Caring for more information. Hands Tea. The waiting list for program volunteers is long. History of the Gate: John van der Zee, author of “The Gate” and more than a services. Or visit www.hoslife skills to teens at the piceeastbay.org. annual Get Real Academy on dozen other nationally recognized books, will continue STAND! For Families Thursday, March 7, at the the Concord Historical SociFree of Violence: STAND Hilton Hotel in Concord. ety Speaker’s Series with is the Contra Costa agency The day-long seminar helps “The True Story of the working with social service agencies, law enforcement and the community to stop domestic violence and child abuse. Staff and volunteers provide a complete spectrum of prevention, intervention and treatment programs, including a 24-hour hotline, temporary and residential housing for survivors and their children, day care, counseling, education, advocacy and support. Volunteers are required to attend California Domestic Violence Peer Counselor Trainings. Call 925-603-0142 to schedule an interview and learn how to match your time and skills with the Photo courtesy Clayton Valley Woman’s Club needs of the agency. Or visit Volunteer and Emergency Services Team in Action (VESTIA) www.standffov.org. vice president Elizabeth Masten, left, and VESTIA financial Get Real Academy: reporter Jerry Falgien, right, received a donation from Soroptimist International of Clayton Valley Woman’s Club president Judy Disbrow to Diablo Vista’s professional provide support for foster children. volunteers will provide real-
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Hearts and Hands shares news, events and opportunities for all of us to learn more about our community, have some fun, and combine our resources and talents to help others. Send items to faithbarnidge@pioneerpublishers.com.
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Design and Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge.” The free presentation is 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 20, at the Concord Historical Society Event Center, 1928 Clayton Road. Accessible parking is behind this remarkable historic building, formerly the Masonic Temple. Time for tea: Susan Leech, owner of Orinda Village Antiques, will discuss “Taking Tea in the English Manner” at the Clayton Valley Woman’s Club meeting, starting with social time at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 12, at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 5555 Clayton Road, Clayton. Born in England, Leech has been a successful small business owner in Orinda for 36 years. Reserve a seat by calling Linda at 415-652-3503 or Sheila at 925-672-7947. CVWC is a local nonprofit organization of women serving our community since 1973. Members assemble and donate items for care packages mailed to local military service members serving overseas, organized through Blue Star Moms Contra Costa. The club also supports community organizations, including the Clayton Library, Clayton and Concord historical societies, Volunteer and Emergency Services Team in Action (VESTIA) and Monument Crisis Center. Visit www.claytonvalleywomansclub.org for details.
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Kirkwood — Beautiful patio home with fresh paint and scraped ceilings. 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, formal dining, living room with cathedral ceiling and family room with fireplace. Newer drainage system and dual pane windows. Several fruit trees, patio, deck and gate for easy access to the greenbelt.
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Rose Glen — Beautiful 4 bedroom 2 bath home close to shopping, restaurants and transportation. Large eat in kitchen with breakfast bar leading to a lovely family room with a charming fireplace. Light and bright living room and formal dining. Situated on approximately 1/5 acre on the Clayton border.
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Oak Glen — Charming townhome in desirable complex. Light and bright living room, eat-in kitchen with breakfast bar and indoor laundry room. 3 spacious bedrooms with beautiful laminate flooring, central heat and air, and a two car garage. Approx 1,468 sq. ft. complete with private patio for entertaining.
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*Statistics based on Clayton/Concord and Contra Costa County Closed sales by volume (1/2014-12/31/2014). Data by Maxebrdi
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January 18, 2019
Art, from page 1
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said. “But we also have the liability to future generations to make sure they want to stay here.” Lisa Vorderbrueggen of the Building Industry Association of the Bay Area spoke against any art fees for housing developers. “Public art, by its definition, is for the public as a whole,” she said. “As such, we would encourage the city to find a broader source of funds for a program that is intended for a broad segment of the public
rather than burdening a small segment to pay for it.” Assistant city planner Jessica Gonzalez offered some current examples of public art on private property in Concord, including “playful” bikes at the Willows Shopping Center and the musical water fountain at the Veranda. Developers have also included public art in a few pending plans. Gonzalez said it would cost $10,000-$15,000 to draft the ordinance. In the mean-
Concord Historical Society
Dan Fontes’ mural, part of the city’s previous Art in Public Places Program, has been at the corner of Salvio and Galindo since 1992
time, Hoffmeister suggested that the city continue to negotiate for art on a projectby-project basis. Meanwhile, the council voted 5-0 to pursue a utility box beautification project with the Concord Art Association. The city has $42,666 left over after the public art program was repealed in 1996, and the council wants to use some of that to paint utility boxes around Todos Santos Plaza. The council referred the plan to the Recreation, Cultural Affairs and Community Services Committee.
Cowell Historical Society
The city installed the Spirit Poles on Concord Avenue in 1989, then removed the unpopular display in 1999 because the poles were deemed unstable.
Rent,
from page 1
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talked about government price controls and how ineffective price controls are, rent control was always the case study that was used. Rent control is a failed economic policy.” He blames outside activists for creating a furor over a housing crisis and high rent hikes, which he calls “the natural ebb and flow” of supply and demand. “Concord has lower rents than any city around us. Why are they coming here?” he said of the activists. “Because they were invited. They see an opportunity, and they sense vulnerability in the City Council.” Raise the Roof and Monument Impact are among the groups supporting rent control and “just cause” eviction policies in Concord. The organizations failed to return calls seeking comment for this article. Councilman Tim McGallian said the committee will provide the opportunity “to have in-depth conversations with all side and really dive deep on a number of issues.” He said there is “no doubt” something needs to be done to protect tenants. “The goal is to try to find the perfect solution,” McGallian said. “There are so many different rent stabilization policies – we’re trying to figure out what is appropriate for Concord.” Sreenivas Ramireddy, who co-owns more than 40 rental units in Concord, believes the
Tamara Steiner/The Pioneer
Landlord John DeSousa replaces gutters on one of his six four-plexes on Carleton Drive in Concord, as Blaine Carter steadies the ladder. Carter, who owns one four-plex on the street, calls DeSousa the “driving force” for improvements on Carleton.
demand for housing is diminishing. “The crisis is somewhat over,” he told the Pioneer last week. “When we had a vacancy in Concord, we used to get a lot of applicants. I’ve had a vacancy for almost two weeks, and so far not anybody has even called.” Both Carter and Ramireddy urge the city to focus on approving more housing and maintaining the Residential Rent Review Program, which they say is working. “We need to take a little more time and encourage the tenant advocates to go to that program if there are any outrageous increase in rents,” Ramireddy said. Ramireddy supports the committee gathering current market data as well as economic forecasts. “They should also create a process to verify allegations of unfair evictions and outrageous rent increases. They should explore reason-
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able and equitable policies to protect renters and property owners – both.” Birsan said he wants any city policy to protect “the little guy” landlords. “They are the ones who know the neighborhoods. They’re there for their tenants and trying to do good service,” he said at the Dec. 11 meeting. At that meeting, Obringer expressed frustration about identifying what she called “the 1 percent” of “bad apple” landlords. However, she is confident the city is on the right track. “The folks who can help us with a solution are sitting in this room,” she said. “It’s going to take all sides sitting down at the table – council members, tenants rights advocates as well as those who represent the apartment owners – to really hammer out a solution that works best for Concord.”
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Concord delays approval of ‘picket fence’ parcel sale TAMARA STEINER The Pioneer
The Concord City Council delayed a decision at its Jan. 8 meeting on an agreement to sell the three-acre parcel at Galindo St. between Clayton Rd. and Concord Blvd. to AvalonBay Communities. The 310-unit, mixed use project met with pushback from local labor unions because the Disposition and Development Agreement did not commit to hiring local labor at prevailing wage for the construction. Several speakers representing multiple unions urged the council to reject the agree-
ment unless it included a commitment to using only local labor. AvalonBay Senior Vice President Nathan Hong said the company would consider bids from and make an effort to hire union labor. But, that wasn’t enough to satisfy Councilmember Edi Birsan, who pushed Hong to admit that, when evaluating bids, the company would take the cheaper route, “all things being equal.” Birsan then moved to delay the matter until the Jan. 22 meeting. Mayor Carlyn Obringer asked Hong to come back with their stronger com-
a non-issue, explaining that the half-life of DDT was very low, as little as two years, and the likelihood of contamination was extremely low. The property is not a typically-owned city parcel. The lot, recognizable to many by the troublesome white picket fence surrounding it, was once part of the Concord Redevelopment Agency. It was transferred to the city when the RDAs were dissolved by the state. The sale price of $4 million will need to be spread among multiple agencies that participated in the RDA. Concord would net about 10 percent of that, or $400k and about $400k a year in property taxes once the project is built. Should the Council approve the sale of the proper-
ty to AvalonBa at its Tuesday meeting, Hong expects the first “shovel in the dirt” to be in about 17-31 months. The
project includes 310 marketrate rental units built over 6,500 square feet of commercial and retail space.
Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11) will host a town hall meeting at Clayton Valley Charter High School, 1101 Alberta Way in Concord on Wed., Jan. 23 at 6:30 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. This will be Congressman DeSaulnier’s 75th town hall and mobile district office hour since coming to Congress four years ago. Congressman DeSaulnier will provide a legislative update
on what is happening in Washington, including an overview of the government shutdown and Democrats’ priorities this Congress, take questions from constituents, and discuss the services his office can provide. This event is open to the public.
Former civic Chamber of Comleader Jeff Kasper merce board of pled guilty to felony directors and the possession of child now disbanded pornography and Mt. Diablo Health online impersonCare District. He ation on Dec. 11 in emceed the July 4 Superior Court. parade and was an Kasper was a alternate City JEFF KASPER familiar face around Council member. Concord before his Kasper was March 2015 arrest. He was arrested after a police investipresident of the Concord gation showed he was down-
loading and sharing child porn. Police found images and videos of boys who were 9-10 years old. “This man is a predator to the core,” said Concord police officer Krista Sansen, who worked on the case from the beginning. The evidence was overwhelming, according to deputy district attorney Paul Graves, who was on the case
until October. Kasper’s final moment before Judge Patricia Scanlon came after more than a dozen procedural delays. He was sentenced to 240 days in jail. He is expected to apply to the sheriff ’s office for electronic home detention. If denied, then he will have to serve the time in custody.
second quarter when the Hardwood Classics senior dancers came out and got the loudest cheer of the and signed up. Ellison and day the field of dancers was night [for their performthe Warriors staff were cut in half to about 150. ance]. They were shaking, stunned when 299 prospecBased on the results of tive members showed up that grueling six-hour day the twisting and turning.” The Hardwood Classics Aug. 25. Warriors whittled down to 30 rehearse three times with Wood almost wasn’t there. finalists, including Wood. Ellison before each game “The night before, I called They were invited to a Boot performance and show up [lifelong friend] D’Ann Har- Camp that included an interfive hours before tipoff to vey and told her I’m not view and dancing where the rehearse their 75-second rougoing to do it.” Harvey hap- final 22 (19 women and three tine at Oracle. She calls pens to have a little dance men) were selected. experience, operating DA “We have some incredible Wood a “bright light” on the squad, which gets together Dance Center in downtown dancers, especially among on their own for many more Concord since 1978. the 55-59 year-olds,” Wood practices. “Shy, pigeon toed” Wood says. One of the original Wood attended Queen of and Harvey were three-years- Warriors Girls dancers is on All Saints School and graduold when they took their first the Hardwood Classics as are ated from Mt. Diablo High dance lesson together in Con- two former Laker Girls, two in 1967. While she was cord. Ironically, the sessions Raiderettes and two from the majoring in PE and dance at were held a couple doors WNBA LA Sparks. Diablo Valley College and down from the current DA Ellison says the Warriors Cal State Hayward, Wood Dance Center. When Wood decision to showcase the and Harvey were backup got cold feet Harvey and her high level of performance singers and dancers in a rock daughter Shawna Zimmertalent in the Bay Area has man, who not only works proven out. “I couldn’t have band, The Shadows. “We played at every military base with her mom but also picked a better group. It’s along the Oregon-California danced for the Warriors, been a blessing. Everyone coast during the Vietnam Raiders and 49ers, got on the has a positive attitude and War era as well as at Disneyphone to make sure their the team has a closeness.” land and in Las Vegas and friend took the plunge. The Hardwood Classics Reno.” Each of the women With that encouragement danced last week at a game and some tips from Zimmer- against the Knicks. The next married a band member, although neither marriage man (“smile, smile, smile”), day, the Warriors radio station’s morning team on 95.7 lasted. To apply as a veteran, guardian Wood went to audition, the Wood worked nearly 40 or volunteer, visit www.honorflight- largest Ellison has ever super- The Game said, “The crowd years with Chevron marketvised. Part way through the was kind of quiet until the bayarea.org.
ing and is now semi-retired while assisting a couple law firms. A former dance teacher invited her and other former students to audition for “George M” in 1971. She’s lost count of the number of shows she’s been involved in since then around the Diablo Valley, including the Willows Theatre, Parkside Playhouse and Concord Senior Center in Concord. She’s been a part of Contra Costa Musical Theatre for 47 years and last Saturday was a presenter at the 40th Shellie Awards representing the Arts and Cultural Commission of Contra Costa County. Wood has won four Shellie Awards as a choreographer. Wood and fellow Concord resident Karen Brewer will next perform with the Classics when the Miami Heat come to town Feb. 10. Wood endured six major surgeries in the three years before 2018 (both hips, knee, shoulder) after suffering the loss of her husband, John Watkins, in 2014. On the Oracle hardwood she puts aside any aches and pains while dancing up a storm with the Classics.
Vets, from page 1 THREE DAYS OF NONSTOP ACTIVITY
The whirlwind tour lasts about three days and goes to many sites, including the WWII, Korean, Vietnam and Lincoln memorials, the Changing of the Guard at Arlington, the American History Museum, the Naval Shipyards, the Iwo Jima Marine Memorial and the Caisson Barn. “The Lincoln Memorial was a real emotional thing,” William recalls. “Seeing him sitting there, you just have to love him. Such a great man to see him honored that way. My son had never seen it before and to be there with Tom was special.” They also enjoyed the Caisson Barn, where Old Guard soldiers and horses train and prepare for their duty of carrying a comrade for that last ride to Arlington National Cemetery. The trip allowed for father-son bonding. “Being with Tom around the clock was special,” says William. “He pushed me all around town. We really got to be intimately acquainted.” Participants can’t talk about some of the most emotional experiences, since they are surprise features. “The attention, appreciation and recognition for what these veterans did for their country and our freedom we take for granted was on total display,” Tom notes. While they couldn’t give away more details, both father and son were impressed with the police escort their bus received. For William, the trip brought a flashback of when Gen. Dwight Eisenhower flew into his airbase. His tour of duty came during the occupation of Germany, where he was stationed at an airbase a short distance from Frankfurt 1946-’47. “I had an office job as a corporal interpreting Morse
mitment to hiring local labor. Councilmember Laura Hoffmeister is not confident that AvalonBay can make that promise. “It just doesn’t pencil out for them,” she told The Pioneer in a phone interview after the meeting. The unions were not the only pushback against the project. In a letter from their attorneys, Concord Residents for Responsible Development, suggest that because the property was once agricultural, there is a possibility of DDT contamination and the soil must be tested. “This is a CEQA [California Environmental Quality Control Act] issue,” attorney Thomas Enslow told the Council. The city’s consultant dismissed DDT contamination as
Code and a lot of liberty on the base,” William says. “I had a Jeep and ultimately worked with special service ladies who put on the USO shows.”
HISTORY OF HONOR FLIGHT The inaugural Honor Flight tour took place in May 2005. Six small planes flew out of Springfield, Ohio, taking 12 WWII veterans on a visit to Washington, D.C. Later that year, an everexpanding waiting list of veterans led to a transition to commercial airline carriers. There are now 132 hubs across the nation, with the goal of accommodating as many veterans as possible. Honor Flight Bay Area started in 2014 to serve those in the San Francisco Bay Area. Carl J. Stewart, a retired Navy captain with 30 years of service, runs the Bay Area operation. His last tour of duty was in Iraq in 2007. Stewart flew as a guardian in 2013. After finding there was no hub in the Bay Area, he set one up. “We’ll never be able to repay the recognition due our veterans who have protected the freedoms we enjoy today,” he says. “This is an effort to recognize them for their service and sacrifices.” Honor Flight Bay Area has flown 19 flights and transported 480 veterans, many of them from the Concord and Clayton area. The group flies regular commercial flights at a discounted rate on Alaska Airlines. Facebook has been a large donor this past year and also made two videos for YouTube about the program. “This is such a great trip,” Tom says. “So many vets could benefit from this fabulous experience.”
Congressman to host Town Hall Meeting Jan. 23
RSVP by visiting https://desaulnier.house.gov/townhall-rsvp or call 925-933-2660.
Kasper pleads guilty in child porn case
Queen, from page 1
Page 6
The Pioneer • www.pioneerpublishers.com
January 18, 2019
From t h e D e s k o f . . .
Concord continues to address housing issues
CARLYN OBRINGER
CONCORD MAYOR
Housing affordability has become a hot topic in the Bay Area, elsewhere in California and across the country. For this reason, I wanted to share more about the multi-faceted housing initiatives and programs that the city of Concord has in place. Our city has a long history of supporting affordable housing through the construc-
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to the residents of Clayton and Concord for your continued support of local veterans, especially for your Memorial Day, 4th of July and Veterans Day donations to VFW and the American Legion’s local posts and your June 30 and July 31 support of the Korean War Veterans. All donations are used for veteran relief, comfort for needy, hospitalized or deceased veterans’ and their families, veterans’ hospitals, rehabilitation programs and local area youth education. With gratitude, Your Local Veterans
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tion of multi-family complexes, programs that address habitability issues, homeowner rehabilitation assistance to preserve Concord’s aging housing stock and programs that assist low-income residents with purchasing a home. In late 2017, the City Council approved a pilot program to partner with the nonprofit Covia to launch Home Match Contra Costa. This program targets Concord homeowners who are age 55+ who would like to share their homes for companionship, extra income and sometimes even help around the house. Home Match provides mediat-
ed matching service for shared housing, including outreach, applicant screening with background checks, reference checks, in-person interviews, home visits, written living together agreements, and ongoing mediation and counseling to create long-term successful shared living arrangements. Home seekers must be over the age of 18. They must live, work or go to school in Contra Costa County and have an annual income less than $61,380 for a single person. In spring 2018, while I was serving as chair of the coun-
With a population of 11,431 and land area of 4.3 square miles, Clayton is the smallest of the 19 Contra Costa cities. Despite our relative size, many of us feel lucky to call Clayton our home. The reasons why Clayton is a hidden gem at “the end of the road” are plenty, and they originate from years of decisions, leadership and work by many who have preceded me and most of the current City Council. As Clayton’s new mayor, I have the privilege of authoring this column for 2019, and I hope to use it to communicate on recent council matters. First, I express my sincerest thanks to outgoing Councilmen Dave Shuey and Keith Haydon for the countless hours and many years of service they provided to the city. Congratulations to new Councilmen Carl “CW” Wolfe and Jeff Wan, as well as to our most experienced council member Julie Pierce, who will serve as vice mayor for 2019.
for work as a land use attorney. Similar to about 10 percent of Clayton’s population, I am also foreign-born. Although my native country of Finland is far New Clayton Mayor away, I grew up in a quite simiTuija Catalano will host lar city – with a local newspaoffice hours throughout the per in a small, safe community year, including: where most people knew of 9-11 a.m. Saturday, each other. Jan. 19, in front of Cup O’ Jo coffee shop, 6054 Main Despite the mayoral title St., Clayton for 2019, I am no different or 3-5 p.m. Friday Jan. any more special than anyone 25, on the 3rd floor at else, and it is all 11,431 of us Clayton City Hall who can continue to make Clayton awesome. For 2019, I challenge all of us to work Last but not least, the council together for our community. also includes Jim Diaz, a long- Although we may not always time resident and active comagree on the same path, I am munity member. confident that all council memI appreciate being elected bers, city staff and residents to the council in 2016. want what is best for Clayton. Although still a “newbie” to I further challenge all of the council, I served on the us to recognize and acknowlPlanning Commission for 6.5 edge the good in our comyears. I am a mom to 6th and munity and to do something 10th graders, both attending positive for Clayton without Mt. Diablo Unified schools. expecting or receiving a Like many Clayton residirect return, such as volundents, I am a daily BART rider teering at our schools, comand commute to San Francisco munity events or one of
cil’s Housing and Economic Development Committee, we released a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for $14 million in one-time affordable housing funds that the city has available. The City Council had indicated priorities for spending the funds with a focus on creating new affordable housing through the acquisition and rehabilitation of existing rental units, particularly along Clayton Road, and developing new rental housing. The council also gave feedback as to the various populations to be targeted for support with this funding, includ-
ing seniors, veterans, teachers, school district employees and other local employees, the disabled and low-income families. In June 2018, the council allocated $5.5 million to Resources for Community Development, a non-profit that creates and preserves affordable housing, for construction of a 44-unit development on Galindo Street. I want to emphasize that while every city has some affordable housing funds available, Concord is one of the only cities in Contra Costa
New mayor looks forward to communication and collaboration Meet Mayor Catalano
See Obringer, page 7
TUIJA CATALANO
CLAYTON MAYOR
many Clayton organizations. Finally, instead of relying on hearsay summaries, I encourage all of you to observe City Council meetings first-hand on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month, in person at 7 p.m. at Hoyer Hall or via live web streaming or recordings from our city website. I hope to connect with many of you and will hold some office hours throughout the year, including two this month. Come chat or just stop by to say hi.
Contact me at tcatalano@ci.clayton.ca.us. For more updates, follow me at www.facebook.com/CouncilmemberTuijaCatalano.
The many faces of mentoring
valuable for students who are at-risk for falling off track at school. Mentoring helps students know that there is someone who cares about them, assures them they are not alone in dealing with dayto-day challenges and makes NELLIE MEYER them feel like they matter. MDUSD Our high schools are very SUPERINTENDENT active in a student leadership and mentorship program As our schools increasingly known as Link Crew. Through this program, juniors and senfocus on social-emotional iors serve as leaders and menlearning, we see more and more clearly the many benefits tors for incoming freshmen, of mentorship – not only with helping welcome and orient adult mentors supporting stu- freshmen to their new campus, promote a sense of welldents, but peer-to-peer menness and better communicatorship as well. tion with their peers and help These relationships are
freshmen build relationships that will contribute to their success. It’s an excellent way for new students to know that people at school care about them and their success. We are in the second year of a partnership with Classroom Champions, an organization that brings elite champion athletes to schools to serve as mentors to entire classrooms. By utilizing the principles of sport, students experience the ideals of effort, fair play and teamwork and connect them to their own lives. Through our Teacher Induction Program, we pair experienced teachers with new
teachers to offer mentorship, coaching and moral support. These relationships have been critical to building the success, skill, confidence, and professional and personal reward for new teachers. We are working to build a Mentor Bureau to tap for additional mentorship opportunities. When we have the framework finished, I’ll let you know and hope you’ll consider volunteering the gift of your time as a mentor.
As we ring in 2019, I wanted to introduce our two newest officers. Officer Kevin McCracken and Officer Alex Jung joined us in December 2018. The Bay Area natives are both recent graduates of the Contra Costa County Law Enforcement Training Center Academy. McCracken is a reservist in the U.S. Marines, while Jung has a bachelor’s of science degree from Cal State East Bay. The new officers replace Officer Starick, who went to East Bay Regional Parks Police, and Officer Borman, who now works at the Pittsburg Police Department. Another new happening at
ing as a patrol vehicle for regular patrol use and as a utility vehicle that can tow the department’s command trailer and Community Response Team trailer. The truck is fully equipped with emergency equipment, is four-wheel drive and can comfortably seat four passengers and a driver. This multi-functional vehicle allows us to get the most use of a single asset. Clayton enjoys a low crime rate due to many factors. There have been murmurs about the productivity of the city’s license plate reader/camera system. I want to assure everyone that our camera system has been very successful in
assisting us in fighting crime and keeping Clayton safe. Some of the camera’s successes include assisting the Sheriff ’s Office in identifying a homicide suspect’s vehicle, the identification and arrest of a wanted felon in a stolen vehicle and, most recently, the identification of a reckless driver. These are just a few notable instances of the many successes of the camera system. Other than a few thefts and driving under the influence arrests, the city experienced a quiet and safe holiday season. We look forward to a wonderful 2019.
Dr. Nellie Meyer is Superintendent of Schools for MDUSD. Email questions or comments to meyern@mdusd.org
Two new officers join Clayton force
ELISE WARREN
POLICE CHIEF
the police department is an addition to our fleet. Some of you may have seen our new F150 patrol vehicle. This is Ford’s first pursuit-rated pickup truck for law enforcement. It has multiple functions, serv-
Email comments and questions to Elise elise.warren@claytonpd.com.
January 18, 2019
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L e tter to the Edito r
Let’s do something about the potholes
going west and on Treat near Cowell going west toward Oak Grove. We need a Potholes Patrol in constant motion on the streets of Concord to knock these out. Potholes are always high on the list of resident concerns. Why are they not being filled?
OBITUARY
Barnard Clayton Johnson July 23, 1929 – Dec. 5, 2018
Barnard “Bud” Clayton Johnson died at his home in Clayton on Dec. 5. Bud was born in Richmond to Edna Bowden Johnson and Barney Johnson. He attended Richmond High School, the California College of the Arts and earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture from UC Berkeley. He was a lieutenant in the Army and served with the Corps of Engineers in Alaska toward the end of the Korean conflict. He is predeceased by his wife of 30 years, Patricia Anlu Johnson, and is survived by his loving wife, Terry MohrJohnson; his children, Marna Taylor, Susan (Bill) Hood, David (Meghan) Johnson and Linda Kelly Johnson; stepson David Mohr; grandchildren, Echo (Dan) Agee, Pierre, Emily, Molly and Blake; and great grandchildren Catie and Nolan Agee. He is also survived by his brother Donald Johnson, nephews and nieces. Bud will be missed by his family and friends all over the world and by his beloved golden doodle, Lucie. His smile radiated through all of us in a very individual and personal way, making each of us feel so special. Bud was a distinguished and well-respected Bay Area architect and artist. He designed his family home in Orinda, Countrywood in Walnut Creek, Clayton Station in
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Clayton Club Saloon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .673-0440 education
Clayton and Carmel Crossroads in Carmel, as well as several churches in Oakland and many office buildings, Safeway stores and Longs Drug Stores. He could often be found sketching and painting, keenly tuned in to the environment around him. Passionate about history, art, tennis, travel, a good joke, a dry martini, strumming guitar and singing old classics, Bud had a heart of gold and a beautiful appreciation for life. His forte was sketching site plans in front of his clients, a talent that has faded away in the world of architecture. A service was held at the Sacramento Valley Veterans Cemetery on Dec. 19. The family wishes to thank Hospice of the East Bay for their loving care. In lieu of flowers, any donation to a charity of your choice in Bud’s name would be appreciated.
Obringer, from page 6
County that is actively applying its funds to preserve and create affordable housing. When it comes to existing affordable housing, Concord actively monitors affordable housing complexes receiving city funds to ensure affordability and habitability stanGeorge Fulmore, Concord dards are maintained. A list and an interactive map of Concord’s 22 affordable housing complexes are included on our Housing Assistance webpage. We also expanded the Independently owned and operated Multi-Family Inspection ProLooking for a better Mailbox? gram (MFRIP) in early 2017 to ensure that older multi• Secure 24-hour access family housing stock is prop• Real street address for deliveries erly maintained. We increased the frequency of inspections 3 MONTHS FREE mailbox services from every three years to with a twelve-month agreement. every two years, moved bed bug enforcement from the Notary, Packaging, Fax and Copy Services too! Police Department Code Store Hours Enforcement to the MFRIP Vineyard Shopping Center and hired a bilingual inspecM-F 8-6:30 5100 Clayton Rd., Concord tor to ensure better commuSat 9-4:30 925-689-6245 nication with Spanish-speaktheupsstorelocal.com/0190 ing tenants. In May 2017, the City Council established a Residential Rent Review Program that enables tenants who experience rent increases exceeding 10 percent in a 12month period to seek nonbinding conciliation and mediation services through ECHO, a housing counselor No Experience Necessary. We will train. retained by the city. If the Retention/Performance Bonus available—$2,500 bonus for no conciliation and mediation experience, $5,000 bonus with sufficient experience. Excellent services do not result in a benefits including health, dental, vision, 401K. Company rent resolution, tenants have vehicle with gas card provided. Open Interviews the option of seeking nonInclude phone number binding arbitration through a Monday — Friday when responding. three-member fact-finding 9 am to 3 pm. Bring current DMV report to Rent Review Panel, appointed 1920 Mark Ct, #190 interview. Call 916.215.9309 by the City Council. Concord for more information. The council recently received an update on its progress from its inception in June 2017 to October 2018. During that period, ECHO received 53 requests for service, resulting in 25 cases, two of which are pending. Of the 23 closed cases, 17 were completed at the conciliation level, two were completed through mediation and four
For months, I have been reporting about the potholes in front of O’Reilly Auto Parts at 1500 Monument, going west toward downtown. I think I have reported them 4-5 times. There are also now numerous potholes on Ygnacio between Alberta and Ayres
Page 7
went to arbitration. Of the closed cases, four (17 percent) resulted in the tenant relocating, while 20 (83 percent) resulted in the tenant staying in their residence. Looking toward our city’s future, the Concord Reuse Plan for the former Naval Weapons Station includes 12,000 housing units, of which 25 percent are planned to be affordable. The city is negotiating with the federal government to obtain the adjacent 58-acre former U.S. Coast Guard Housing site for a future residential development that would include a minimum of 25 percent of affordable housing units. I am often asked about the former Coast Guard housing on Olivera Road that is sitting vacant. That housing contains asbestos and lead paint and was not built to seismic or statewide building standards, so it cannot be repurposed for affordable or homeless housing as many have suggested. Despite all these programs, the City Council continues to hear from residents who are facing affordability challenges. As a result, at the Jan. 8 meeting, I appointed Councilman Dominic Aliano to serve with me on an ad hoc committee to consider local requirements regarding tenant/landlord responsibilities and existing housing needs within the city, and to develop proposed rental housing objectives and strategies. The goal of the committee is to bring together representatives from the landlord and tenant perspectives, studying a variety of options, to see what we can collaboratively do to address housing affordability within our apartment complexes. I am hopeful that by all parties working together in good faith, we can find a fair and balanced solution to this challenge.
Send questions and comments to Carlyn.Obringer@cityofconcord.org
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Page 8
SCHOOLS
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Come Join Our Loving, Faith-Filled School Community
Making our community better through public service
St. Agnes School Open House Sunday, Jan. 27, 10 a.m. - Noon
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As we recognize the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. with a national holiday, we need to set aside time to honor his life and legacy. On this day, we should recall King’s struggle to empower individuals, strengthen communities and remind us that there’s more that connects people than divides them. At Clayton Valley Charter High School, King’s ardent spirit of service and social responsibility is evident in the Public Service Academy (PSA). The curriculum requires each PSA student to perform 15 hours of community service during the first semester. Nearly 140 students have contributed more than 2,000 hours toward making our community better. This accomplishment alone deserves recognition. However, the true merit of the PSA curriculum is how that service shapes our students to be better citizens for our community and beyond. Senior Georgia Moraes has been involved in the program
their PECS group projects at Back to School night in May. Another senior PSA student, Jackson Hubbard, will lead a team of students as they research childhood diseases. Jackson has worked with the Contra Costa County Search and Rescue Team as a cadet and has already logged 60 hours of volunteer time. He also gives time to senior care homes and Oktoberfest when he isn’t at lacrosse or marching band practices. “It’s incredible to focus on service and projects that matter to you,” Jackson said. “I think all the traits that PSA Photo courtesy CVCHS embodies will help us become PSA teacher Maureen Allen with Academy students. problem solvers throughout life.” all four years. She volunteers beyond her years,” PSA PSA lead teacher Maureen at local food banks and has teacher Sayed Anwar said. Allan said Jackson already proven to be a passionate “She is so poised and incredmakes a difference in the lives leader. She is on the swim and ibly grounded. She really of others. “Jackson is that soccer teams. She coaches does want to create a better person who is always there to youth sports and aspires to be world.” help,” she said. “That’s just a teacher one day. Group projects highlight who he is. He’s a hard worker, Among all her experiences, the second half of each he’s very creative but his heart she says community service school year. This year, PSA makes him an amazing human has defined her high school students presented 140 sociebeing.” career. “We really do want to tal challenges, including ocean As we celebrate MLK Day make the world a better pollution, animal adoption and on Jan. 21, I hope we can take place,” Georgia said. “It’s nice human trafficking. a lesson from our PSA stubeing able to share the same They will now work in dents and teachers. Let’s make values about our community teams to determine the PECS it a day on, not a day off. with each other and solve – Problems, Effects, Causes There’s more we can do problems together.” and Solutions – for each chaltogether for a national day of Her teachers say she is a lenge. Each team must find service and dialogue. model student with an innate ways of educating the public Send comments to editor@pioability to lead. “Georgia is a and then motivating further quiet force, and she’s mature action. They will then present neerpublishers.com
“Senioritis” has plagued the halls of high schools everywhere since the beginning of public education. Students who have already been in high school for three years are sick of participating in school events or sports. Those who have already applied to college feel that their classes are no longer important. Overall, high school seniors are ready to move on to the next chapter of their lives and are willing to fast-forward through their last year of school, without much participation or enthusiasm. However, as a high school senior, I’ve come to realize that senior year is important and has an impact on students’ lives, whatever their
future plans may be. In five short months, seniors across the nation will be high school graduates. Many of them will be 18 years old, legally adults, and planning to move out soon. Some will be attending college and trade school, or going into the workforce. No matter what, one thing remains the same among these graduates: They yearn to be independent and in control of their own lives and future. With independence on the horizon, many young adults learn or revisit skills they will need to use while living alone. This is the time when young adults prepare to take care of themselves. Soon, they will no longer have their guardians around to help them with
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Making the most of final months of high school
The Concord Historical Society expresses our deep appreciation to our recent Dinner Auction sponsors. Your continuing support helps to keep Concord’s history alive!
The Conco Companies Concord Iron Works Jim’s Auto Body Lennar Five Point Concord Feed Richard A. Cuneo Dianda Enterprises II LP: George Baldocchi Gaunt Machine & Iron Works, Inc. Merle and Bonnie Hall George and Barb Hegarty Father Richard Mangini
January 18, 2019
Brad and Jenny Morimune Mr. and Mrs. Jim Trolan Mr. and Mrs. Peter Vasconi Lloyd and Shelba Crenna Karen Cox Frank and Barbara Strehlitz Jim and Mary Eisenwein Karen Mangini
household chores like laundry or dishes. In addition, students who will be attending college need a multitude of skills and information that will prove crucial in their future. Classes such as U.S. government and economics expose students to the workings of American society and business. Another major learning opportunity is the Senior Project, where students can choose a topic or question of their interest to research and work on throughout the school year. This project has similar components and transferable skills that other projects in college and the workforce will require. I believe it is crucial to take advantage of these next few months. Second semester
Lane, from page 1
by 20,000 motorists daily. By the year 2040, daily traffic on Kirker Pass Road is expected to double to 40,000 vehicles a day. About 8.5 percent of the daily traffic consists of trucks and when one mixes trucks and cars on a road with an 11 percent grade, it frequently results in auto-truck accidents. “The steep grades make it difficult for trucks to match the speed of other vehicles on the road, which causes congestion and creates a safety hazard,” said Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, whose District 4 covers the northbound lane of Kirker Pass Road. “The Kirker Pass Road Safety Lane Project will create a dedicated lane, which will reduce potential collisions between slower moving trucks and higher speed vehicles. This is an impor-
tant investment in the traveling public and to ensuring a safe commute for our residents,” the supervisor told the Pioneer. Clayton City Councilwoman Julie Pierce said the project is the result of more than 20 years of Central and East County planning. “It has taken a long tome to get the funding and engineering in place, but we are so happy to see it finally coming to fruition,” she said. “I have friends who were gravely injured in an accident on this road and have been pushing for this safety improvement for a very long time.” Some Concord and Clayton residents, including Philipp, have cited concerns about the lack of street lighting on Kirker Pass. While most county road projects don’t require street lighting, senior civil engineer Nancy Wein
SYDNEY SKOW
TEENSPEAK
will come and go quickly, and soon things won’t be the same. I hope students will use their time at home to learn about the world around them. We need to be prepared to be thrown into a world entirely different than the one we’re in now. As we teeter on the verge of adulthood, we should remember all of the lessons we’ve learned growing up and prepare to use them each and every day.
Sydney is a senior at CVCHS. Send comments to editor@pioneerpublishers.com
said Public Works recently received a $1.28 million state Highway Safety Improvement Program grant to install street lights at the north and south Hess Avenue intersections of Kirker Pass Road. The grant will also include the installation of reflectors along the median on Kirker Pass Road, she said. Clayton resident Christine Broome also supports additional lighting. “It’s hard to see the lanes without proper lighting,” she said. Broome, who transports high school students daily from Clayton to East County, says Kirker Pass can be a “scary” traveling experience. Scott Curry of Concord said he is “all for” the plan. “There is a need for more infrastructure projects around here, especially when there is discussion about building additional housing and parks at the Concord Naval Weapons Station.”
January 18, 2019
The Pioneer • www.pioneerpublishers.com
B U SINESS
Concord restaurants celebrate comfort food Sponsored Content
Join the Chamber on the path to success
MARILYN FOWLER
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
The Concord Chamber wants to help local businesses thrive in 2019. To help business owners be successful, the chamber offers opportunities to network with business professionals and meet new contacts. People can form business relationships that will take their businesses to the next level. Research shows that faceto-face meetings are 34 times more effective than emails, and that a physical handshake promotes cooperation and influences negotiation outcomes for the better. Social media is great, but meeting other local business professionals can be most effective. Several years ago, the Concord Chamber started a Business Referral Group to help members develop new leads. This structured group meets twice a month for a fivemonth term. It is an industry exclusive group that provides the opportunity to meet other members and promote a local business in a non-competitive environment. This group has flourished and usually has a waiting list for the next session.
Page 9
Melissa Rea/Concord Chamber
Coach Bob Huffman and chamber CEO Marilyn Fowler work with the chamber’s inaugural Young Professionals Leadership Program participants.
The chamber offers several other networking events each month, such as Business After Hours Mixers, Women’s Networking Group Luncheons and Young Professional Group Mixers. Networking events are good for business, with statistics showing that 95 percent of business people say that meeting face-to-face builds stronger, more meaningful business relationships. Social interactions allow business owners the ability to bond with clients in a way not possible with online interactions. In addition, face-to-face conversations tend to be perceived as more credible than online conversations. The chamber also provides educational opportunities for our business members. We just launched the Young Professionals Leadership Program, the first of its kind in our area. The program gives young professionals a forum to gain leadership skills as they take their careers forward.
For those launching a new business, the chamber presents a SCORE volunteer counselor twice a month to help entrepreneurs start small businesses and achieve new levels of success in existing businesses. The Small Business Development Center, hosted by the Workforce Development Board, delivers individualized advice and training in collaboration with community partners to business owners, the selfemployed and emerging entrepreneurs seeking assistance in starting, growing or managing their operations. These are free services. Call the Concord Chamber at 925-685-1181, and we will help you navigate ways to be more successful in your business.
Marilyn Fowler is the president/CEO of the Concord Chamber of Commerce. For more information on chamber programs, call 925-685-1181 or email mfowler@concordchamber.com.
Interior designer knows a lot bout Panache
For some, it’s mac and cheese or chicken pot pie. For others, it’s miso soup or pierogies. Comfort food is all about simplicity and that down-home taste – wherever home may be. Many Concord restaurants are excited to participate in the 2nd annual Comfort Food Week, which was created by Visit California as part of California Restaurant Month. Local restaurants will each create a special dish with the theme of comfort food. Some restaurants will offer specials deals, including free dessert with a meal, 10 percent off the special menu item and buy one, get one free coupons. Comfort Food Week, which will be Jan. 18-27, highlights the variety of restaurants Concord has to offer. More than 30 restaurants are participating this year, and you’ll find things like doughnuts, cookie dough, tap takeovers and burgers. Participating restaurants include: Canasta Kitchen, Lido Bar and Grill, Dunkin Donuts, Bambino’s Italian
Restaurant, Out the Dough, Concord Tap House, Eureka, Momo N Curry, Epidemic Ales, Coffee Shop, Hop Grenade, Residual Sugar, Plate and Vine, Mona’s Burgers, Nica Lounge, La Fritanguera,
Parma Deli, EMC Seafood, Super Duper Burgers, PopBar, Lima, Puesto, Next Level Burger, iSlice, Los Rancheros, Lucille’s Barbeque, Fresh Box Poke, Brasas Do Brazil, T4 and Poke Salad.
6160 Center Street, Suite F, Clayton Office: 925.672.7920 email: carol@interiorspanache.com www.interiorspanache.com We aCCePT aLL MaJor CrediT and debiT CardS
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PAMELA WIESENDANGER The Pioneer
Carol Barrick recalls looking at model homes with her mother when she was 11 years old and saying she was going to be an interior designer when she grew up. Barrick now owns Interiors Panache in Clayton, where she is just that. “She kind of performs magic,” says Patty Garaventa. After a referral from a friend, Garaventa hired Barrick to redecorate her home and office. Garaventa noted that Barrick incorporated pieces meaningful to her by using placement, color and coordination to bring everything together. She’s become a dear friend in the process, Garaventa says. Barrick was originally from Nebraska and grew up in Arizona, studying communications at Arizona State. She also took some interior design courses and worked for a small window covering business. “I can do this for myself,” Barrick thought. “I always had the ability to do design. If an opportunity presented itself, I said, ‘Sure, yeah, I can do that,’ ” Barrick says. Barrick moved to California in 1989. She worked for a floor contractor and decorated model homes. She founded Interiors Panache, a luxury design firm, in 1991. She earned her general contractor’s license in 1999 to offer complete management of
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Contributed photo
Carol Barrick’s home was featured on the Clayton Historical Society’s annual Christmas Home Tour in December. Barrick even decorated the backyard. “She has an impeccable sense of style,” says Marcia Thome of the historical society. “She knows her space and how to get the most out of it.”
projects. Business rapidly grew in the early 2000s, and she built her office building on Clayton Road in 2004. Interiors Panache had a staff of 20 and a warehouse in Fairfield filled with items to furnish the 100 model homes a year they were turning out. Barrick sold her building in 2009 after evaluating the effects of the recession. Interiors Panache relocated to Pacheco and eventually to downtown Clayton. Barrick has lived in Clayton for 20 years with her husband, Robert “Beck” Barrick, of 24 years. He is retired after 38 years of coaching and teaching at local schools. The couple loves to travel. She also enjoys gardening and taking care of their 10-year-old Pomeranian, Blaze.
With her abundance of fluffy fur, Blaze greets clients at the office – blending in with the luxurious ambiance furnished with sleek glass tables, plump seating, decadent pillows and soothing, mute-toned walls. Barrick meets with clients to offer design consultations on residential or commercial spaces and still furnishes model homes. She says her passion is helping people make their spaces more beautiful. “She is so easy to work with,” says client Lori Rahbari. “She has a knack for making things look spectacular.” Interiors Panache is at 6160 Center St., F, Clayton. For more information, visit the website interiorspanache.com.
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Page 10
It takes planning for seniors to age in place The Pioneer • www.pioneerpublishers.com
moving to another town. I remember you talking about aging in place. It sounds like an interesting concept. Can you tell me more? A: There are two parts to the concept of aging in place. One is bringing services to the LYNNE FRENCH community that seniors previREAL ANSWERS ously had to go to an assisted living to receive. This is a Q: My folks’ age is begin- work in progress. Many of us ning to show. They are are encouraging service becoming more forgetful and providers to offer more servmoving slower. We have visit- ices to seniors. ed assisted living communiMany retired people are ties, including in Clayton. moving to Clayton because of They aren’t interested in its beauty and sense of comchanging their lifestyle or munity or to Concord because
Learning to ask the right questions “Would you support a halfcent increase in sales tax, or rather hang puppies and kittens from the downtown Christmas tree?” One of my big issues is how to phrase the question in a neutral manner so that the response leads to a reasonable discussion. For almost nine years, the Pulse Of Concord has asked questions of the community. I have gotten between 170 and 486 responses, and that has given me a lot of practice on verbiage. Thanks to an open season policy on accepting critics, I have made a lot of progress. Asking the right question is not only about phrasing but also the level of detail. Asking if people support or oppose rent control is not going to get you a lot of useful information, since rent control means a lot of different things to people. It is a politically and emotionally charged topic.
In the current survey, I narrowed the details to asking if people agree or disagree on specific actions, such as: 1. One raise of rent in a 12month period. 2. Always offer a one-year lease at tenants’ option 3. Establish a cap on yearly increases. 4. Apply rent restrictions to all rental properties, or only those of a certain size. These details help me formulate an approach to an issue. But more importantly, it helps break down the emotional issues to very specific actions that people can understand. There is still plenty of room to take the temperature of the general emotions, such as asking: Do you believe that the market will solve the current housing situation in Concord? Please feel free to send your specific question or sim-
of its affordability. But the first thing I want to focus on is the home’s safety. According to a recent survey, 85 percent of seniors have done nothing to prepare their homes for growing older or aging in place. In a survey of ER doctors, 100 percent said it’s very important for adult children to take one day each year to perform a safety check of their aging parents’ home. Yet this is only occurring 44 percent of the time, the survey said. If the folks don’t live in a single-story home, perhaps they should downsize to one or get a lift installed. Stairs are the 4th
chased her first house, she viewed the vacant house before she made an offer. When she did her final walkthrough, a beautiful set of bookshelves and a washer and dryer that had always been in the home during previous visits weren’t there. Her Realtor told her to go ahead and close because these items are considered personal property. I think she was misled. What do you think? A: Her Realtor could be correct. But if the bookshelves were screwed into the wall, they could be fixtures – something that should be assumed to come with the house. Check the MLS to see if the seller said the shelves were excluded from the sale. Did her Realtor know that she wanted these items? If so, he or she should have asked for them in the offer. Tell her to ask her Realtor to check out the situation to see if it can be remedied.
There are many real estate disputes about what qualifies as a fixture. Generally, a fixture is attached. Some call it the screw driver rule: If it takes a screw driver to remove the item, it is part of the home. This includes light fixtures, shelves and even curtain rods. But if it is hung on a nail or is a piece of movable furniture, it’s likely not included in the sale. Fixtures aren’t only inside the house. Landscaping and any type of plant with roots firmly ensconced in the ground are considered fixtures. Sometimes items that are all but impossible to move, like extremely heavy pots, statues and water features like a fountain or a hot tub, could be considered fixtures. It is always good to check with the seller.
they meant rain would change to snow at higher elevations. While that may have been an accurate interpretation of the radio report, in reality, there WOODY WHITLATCH are many types of liquid and WEATHER WORDS frozen precipitation that one may encounter on a winter trip During one of the cold to the mountains. Drizzle and storms that crossed Northern rain make up the bulk of liquid California earlier this month, a precipitation. The frozen types radio announcement suggested include freezing rain, snow, sleet that travelers heading into the and hail. Sierra could expect all types of Drizzle is liquid precipitaprecipitation. Initially, I assumed tion that reaches the surface in
the form of drops that are less than 0.5 millimeters (mm) in diameter. Raindrop diameters exceed the one-half mm threshold. For reference, a half mm droplet is a little smaller than the thickness of a credit card. Rainfall intensities are determined by the accumulation over a given time. For example, moderate rain rates range from 1/10th to 3/10th inch per hour. Light rain falls
place that injuries are most likely to happen. Bathrooms are No. 1, followed by bedrooms and kitchens. Since bathrooms are the top risk area, here are some suggestions to make them safer: • Install grab bars near shower/tub units and the toilet. • Add a rubber mat or nonstick decals to the bottom of the tub. • If a bathtub is too high or it’s a claw foot or antique tub, add a transfer bench. • Buy raised toilet seats for stools that are too low. • Make sure medications are stored in cabinets that are easy to reach. • Set the water thermostat to 120 degrees so water in the shower and sink stay below dangerous levels. • Make sure the hot and cold water faucets are clearly labeled. Painting parts of them either red or blue will help distinguish them. Q: When my sister pur-
EDI BIRSAN PULSE OF
CONCORD
ply a topic to me at EdiBirsan@gmail.com. I try to use some folks’ ideas every survey. These and a few more questions are currently available at www.pulseofconcord.com. Readers are encouraged to answer these questions regardless if they live in Concord or not, since I like to compare local views with non-resident views. I look forward to summarizing the results in the next issue of the Pioneer. Send comments to EdiBirsan@gmail.com or 510-812-8180.
January 18, 2019
Send your question and look for your answer in a future column. Email Lynne@LynneFrench.com. French is the broker/owner of Windermere Lynne French & Associates. Contact her at 672-8787 or stop in at 6200 Center St., Clayton.
A rundown of winter mountain weather
See Weather, page 12
January 18, 2019
The Pioneer • www.pioneerpublishers.com
Page 11
Conference outlines new standard of care for chronic lymphocytic leukemia Sponsored Content
BY ROBERT ROBLES
The highlight of the American Society of Hematology’s annual meeting was an important development concerning treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, the most common leukemia in North America and Western Europe. A clinical trial completed in the United States compared aggressive chemotherapy with Ibrutinib (Imbruvica), an oral targeted therapy. Imbruvica proved superior to aggressive chemotherapy in a younger, healthier population. This trial, combined with results of previous clinical trials, establishes Ibrutinib as the new standard of care for chronic lymphocytic leukemia in all settings. A trial from Germany investigated whether a shorter course of chemotherapy would produce outcomes equal to a longer course of the same chemotherapy. Younger patients, ages 1860, with “good risk� diffuse large B-cell non Hodgkin’s
Lymphoma (the most common subtype of non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma) received 4 or 6 treatments of R-CHOP, a standard chemotherapy recipe used worldwide. Survival for both groups was excellent and equal. Not surprisingly, the group that received less chemotherapy had fewer side effects. This trial will need longer follow-up before a major change in treatment should be undertaken. The meeting was held in December in San Diego, with an international crowd of 28,000 hematologists and oncologists in attendance. A series of presentations looked at elderly patients with non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The conclusion from these presentations was to not dismiss the idea of chemotherapy for elderly patients with aggressive non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Chemotherapy did improve survival of elderly patients with aggressive non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. However, doctors need to consider the support these patients have as well as their overall health before making a recommendation on chemotherapy. The event also featured a timely panel discussion regarding the recent report of a Chinese scientist who allegedly performed gene editing on embryos using CRISPR (a technique which allows for very specific
Health Seminar
What: “The Many Faces of Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma� Who: Dr. Robert Robles and Dr. Aditi Choudhry will discuss exciting new research, treatments and therapies When: 6:30-8:30 p.m. Jan. 23 Where: Library Community Room, 3491 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Lafayette RSVP: 925-677-5041, ext. 272 changes to genes). These manipulated embryos were implanted and apparently healthy babies were born. The panel included Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health. The conclusion of the discussion was a denunciation of the irresponsibility of this scientist, as the consequences of this procedure will not be known for years.
Dr. Robert Robles is board certified in hematology and medical oncology. He practices with Diablo Valley Oncology & Hematology Medical Group in Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, Brentwood and San Ramon. Robles specializes in treating hematologic cancers, lymphomas, and blood and clotting disorders.
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Recalling downtown’s Doug, a friend to all Page 12
The Pioneer • www.pioneerpublishers.com
on a sofa that had seen better days. Doug would call out and invite you to sit and chat or join him in a game of horseshoes. His house was a 100-yearold relic that he had called home for 60 of those years. It was tucked into a grove of huge eucalyptus trees that he was always proud to point out DEBBIE EISTETTER were planted the year he was THE WAY born, 1878. He moved to Clayton when he was only a WE WERE few months old and rarely left If you had been walking in the area throughout his long life. downtown Clayton in 1960, Doug’s most common you most likely would have occupation was that of a encountered a friendly man laborer, doing general farm named Frank Leslie Mitchell – work or odd jobs wherever he known to the locals as Doug. was needed. His favorite occuHe would have been sitting pation was when he carried outside his old clapboard the mail on horseback in 1892 house, reading a newspaper
Doug Mitchell and his worn furniture were a familiar site in downtown Clayton in years past.
over the hills east of Clayton to Antioch and the coal mines on the Nortonville Trail. His
poem, “Ghost Town Mail Carrier,” described him heading down the hill past the Nortonville School and how the children playing in the yard would “wave and holler.” Other free-verse poems focused on the old Clayton schoolhouse, his mother’s rocking chair and a fishing trip with his father. His World War I draft card lists his occupation as a selfemployed miner. After decades of general labor, he was recorded in the 1940 census as a dog trainer being assisted by his nephew, Ovie, a “dog trainer helper” listed as an “unpaid family worker.” The dogs were primarily trained to hunt birds, but Doug’s business card also read, “Spoiled dogs a special-
Golden anniversary of Concord’s Summer Festival and ‘the house that jazz built’ concert. Residents brought their own blankets, chairs, food and drink. Brubeck, Herb Ellis, Ella Fitzgerald, the Ray Brown Trio and Pearl Bailey were among those who graced the stage and fill the town with jazz. The festival became so popular that Jefferson decided Concord was ready for something bigger. Being the wheeler dealer that he was, he gathered Ken Hoffman, an up and coming developer, and Dean Lesher, publisher of the Conin what was then Concord tra Costa Times, and opened a Community Park, which has been renamed Dave Brubeck discussion about a pavilion. Park. He thought the commu- Along with Stewart and Toffli, nity would appreciate a festival the three men planned an open-air pavilion. Hoffman of high-class music. donated the rezoned land, and He approached city manLesher donated big bucks. ager Bud Stewart and John The city began planning the Toffli, director of Leisure structure and its opening day. Services, with his idea. They Meanwhile, Jefferson was agreed and started planning the Concord Summer Festival. also starting Concord Jazz Records. And I must menIn the summer of 1969, we had our first open-air park tion that he and his friend
Conrad Wilke were organizing the Diablo Scholarship program for high school seniors with outstanding leadership qualities. So “the house that jazz built” was under construction, and the Concord Pavilion was ready for its 1975 opening. The city was in charge and formed a committee of prominent citizens who supported the pavilion and its entertainers. You’ll be hearing a lot about a 50-year celebration led by Elaine Schroth, director of Visit Concord, the city of Concord, the Chamber of Commerce and the Historical Society. Be on the lookout for events at different venues throughout the year.
When falling raindrops encounter a freezing layer of air near the earth’s surface, they freeze and become sleet at less than that rate, and crystals that form into flakes, heavy rain falls at over 3/10th typically white in color, and fall just prior to hitting the ground. Sleet is easily differeninch per hour. Drizzle drops from cloud to ground. are generally very numerous Extremely light snow is referred tiated from snow since the frozen drops tend to bounce per unit area and can reduce to as snow flurries that fall off the ground. visibility much more than light intermittently and result in no Hail is made up of falling rain does, even though the measurable accumulation. droplet size is smaller. Forecasts of heavy snow are ice balls that are that least a half mm in diameter. It forms in Freezing drizzle and freezing quantified by the amount of raindrops are identical in size to snow expected for an area dur- storm clouds when ice crystals encounter super-cooled water their liquid counterparts as they ing a defined period of time. molecules that freeze or stick to fall from the clouds. The differ- Heavy snow is forecast if at falling crystals. ence is that these droplets least six inches of snow is In clouds with strong freeze immediately upon conexpected in 12 hours, or more tact with the earth’s surface and than eight inches is forecast for updrafts, the ice crystals grow as they traverse up and down in become potentially dangerous 24 hours. the cloud – finally falling to the sheets of black ice. Sleet is frozen raindrops Snow is an aggregate of ice that strike the earth’s surface. ground when the forces of
gravity overwhelm the updraft force. In the strongest thunderstorm supercells, hailstones diameters can grow to baseball sized and larger projectiles and cause extensive damage. Rain and snow are the most common forms of precipitation encountered on a winter drive to the mountains. However, it is possible to experience any type of falling moisture from light drizzle to damaging hailstones, depending on atmospheric conditions.
CAROL LONGSHORE
YESTERYEAR
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Concord Summer Festival. Back in the ’60s, Carl Jefferson owned a car dealership in town. It was once said that “anybody in business in Concord drove a Mercury or Lincoln,” the cars Jefferson sold. He was a prominent and active man in town, but music was his passion – especially jazz. Jefferson had the brilliant idea to have a summer festival
Weather, from page 10
Carol Longshore has been a Concord resident since 1950. She is a community leader and past president of the Concord Historical Society. Send comments and suggestions for future topics to editor@concordpioneer.com.
Woody Whitlatch is a meteorologist retired from PG&E. Email your questions or comments to clayton_909@yahoo.com
January 18, 2019
ty.” He loved to show how his spaniels could “smoke” pipes and balance cans on their heads. Doug Mitchell was a beloved resident of Clayton. He never married and when he died in 1972 at the age of 94, the community, his friends and family contributed money to buy his grave marker that read “Loved by All That Knew Him.” His house and the large eucalyptus trees are
gone – now the site of The Grove community park, a place to meet and chat with your neighbors. Doug would have liked that.
Debbie Eistetter is membership chair of the Clayton Historical Society. Visit claytonhistory.org or come to the museum on Main Street, open 2-4 p.m. Wednesdays and Sundays. Admission is free. Call 925-6720240.
Annual Camellia Tea
The 42nd annual Clayton Historical Society Silver Tea honoring pioneering families will be 1-4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 10, at the museum on Main Street. Tea, coffee and cookies will be served. Children may join when accompanied by an adult. The event is free, but donations are welcome.
For more information, visit claytonhistory.org or call 925-672-0240.
Monument Crisis Center benefits local families Vince and Kim had been living and working in Concord for more than 20 years when their family of four came upon hard times. Vince lost his job as a sales manager, which instantly cut the household’s income in half. Kim picked up every extra shift she could, but they still struggled to make ends meet. At the same time, their 8-year-old twins, John and Rachel, were falling behind in school. The twins weren’t able to receive the individual attention they needed, and private tutoring was expensive. The family struggled to afford food, rent, transportation and basic necessities. Just when they felt they were running out of options, a neighbor referred them to Monument Crisis Center. During their first visit, they picked up a seven-day supply of nutritious groceries and pantry staples, allowing them to budget for other essentials. They also received information about the center’s programs, resources and safetynet services, taking immediate interest in resume workshops and After School Cafe. Vince was able to polish his resume and practice interview skills. John and Rachel
began spending Wednesday and Thursday afternoons at Monument Crisis Center in After School Cafe for K-5th graders. With the help of his high school mentor, John began to enjoy reading and writing and shared his work with his family each day when he went home. Rachel was eager to practice her math and took to one-on-one tutoring with enthusiasm. John and Rachel quickly bonded with students and tutors from all over Contra Costa County and developed more classroom confidence. With the twins succeeding in school, the reliability of monthly food pickups and critical support from Monument Crisis Center, the family became more stable and is optimistic about the new year. The crisis center will be holding its largest annual fundraiser, Heartfelt Gala, on Feb. 9 at Round Hill Country Club in Alamo. If you would like to help sponsor the event or purchase tickets, visit https://tinyurl.com/MCCHeartfelt2019. For more information about Monument Crisis Center or to make a donation, visit www.monumentcrisiscenter.org.
SPORTS & LIFESTYLE
The Pioneer
January 18, 2019
Pets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B5 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . .B6 The Arts . . . . . . . . . . .B7
The Pioneer, Section B
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Carondelet moves into National Top 10 rankings JAY BEDECARRÉ The Pioneer
Photo courtesy Carondelet basketball
Two of the state’s top senior basketball players squared off recently in Concord when Carondelet hosted the third-ranked team in America, Pinewood of Los Altos Hills. Pinewood center 5-11 Hannah Jump (left) will be playing for Stanford next season while her Cougar counterpart, 6-3 Ali Bamberger of Concord will be on the Washington Huskies. Carondelet defeated Pinewood 67-59 to avenge a 26-point loss to the Panthers last year.
Carondelet basketball has been riding high for a number of years with 13 North Coast Section championships, including the past two in Division I. However, few recent moments can match what happened earlier this month on the Cougars home court when the Cougars defeated the state’s topranked team Pinewood of Los Altos Hills 67-59. Pinewood was ranked No. 3 in America and Carondelet 14th. Now the Concord school has moved into the National top 10 and state No. 6 with its 15-2 record entering this week. Their next two huge challenges will be at St. Mary’s College this Saturday against Etiwanda (No. 2 in California and No. 3 in USA) in the Martin Luther King Jr. Showcase and then in San Jose next Monday when they face Archbishop Mitty, top 10 in California and No. 16 in the USA, and their superstar Haley Jones. Erica Miller hit six 3s and finished with 20 points in the win over Pinewood. Center Ali Bamberger (heading to the University of Washington) finished with 16 points and frustrated the Panthers in the paint, including Stanfordbound post Hannah Jump. Other players able to work the paint for the Cougars were Alex Brown and Tatyana Modawar, who finished with 12 points and hit some crucial shots along with Annie Bonderer in the second half to extend the Cougar lead. The Pinewood victory was espe-
cially meaningful because the teams were to meet in the CIF Northern California open championships last season, but Carondelet forfeited the game due to an incident at on off-campus event following their North Coast Section championship game victory. Pinewood was extremely displeased about the lastminute cancellation, but the Panthers went on to upset Mitty in a triple overtime classic NorCal championship game. Diablo and East Bay athletic league basketball is geared up with twice weekly games through Feb. 78. NCS basketball playoffs begin Feb. 12-13 and conclude Feb. 2223. The NorCal playoffs run Feb. 26 – Mar. 5 before the State championship games Mar. 8-9 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. Clayton Valley Charter, Ygnacio Valley and Northgate girls have all posted winning season records to date with Mt. Diablo girls and boys both 9-9. CVCHS, Northgate and Ygnacio on the boys side also are on the plus side for the season. De La Salle is 4-0 in the early going of EBAL play and 14-2 overall, ranked third in the Bay Area.
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SOCCER UPDATES The Spartan won their 13th Section soccer championship last season and they are off to 4-0-1 record in the EBAL with the draw against co-leader San Ramon Valley. DLS is 14-2 overall. League games conclude Feb. 7, two days after potential title decider with the Spartans visiting San Ramon Valley in Danville.
See Winter, page B4
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January 18, 2019
De La Salle star Henry To’oto’o has bittersweet end to Spartan career with state loss, post-season honors JAY BEDECARRÉ The Pioneer
HENRY TO’OTO’O DE LA SALLE
It was just over a year ago when Henry To’oto’o began working out in the De La Salle weight room and watching film to prepare for his final football season as a Spartan. He had all the motivation he’d need thinking about the lopsided defeats his team had suffered in the past two State Open Division Bowl Games against Southern California powerhouses who would be ranked No. 1 in America at the end of those seasons. The linebacker and runningback knew he was going to
have a talented, veteran group of players around him last fall and was focused on avenging those disappointing ends to his two varsity seasons. And then the season began with De La Salle’s stunning 140 shutout of State IA champion Folsom in a showdown of the undisputed best two teams in Northern California. From there the Spartans won 11 more games without a loss. That included three victories over teams who would win 2018 state championships. All was lined up for a storybook finish with DLS meeting Mater Dei last month in a rematch of the 2017 Bowl
Terrapins 14 under swimmers sparkle at Winter Jr. Olympics The Terrapins had a squad of 14 swimmers compete at the 2018 Winter Junior Olympic Championships last month in Moraga and the swimmers overcame frigid temperatures and rain to smash personal bests and take Top 10 finishes. Mason Wendler of Concord had a great debut in his first Junior Olympics after recently joining the year-round USA Swimming team from his Walnut Country summer recreation squad. He made finals in six of seven events, swimming freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and individual medley. Another local resident, Lily Struempf, had an impressive meet. She smashed four Terrapin team records, had six of seven lifetime best times and made the championship final
in all seven events with three championship swims. Other top performers for the Terrapins were Davidka Skov (7 out of 7 championship finals), Aden Li (6 of 7 best times, 5 championship finals), Kaya Andresen, Vlada Chekurova, Kyle Stilinovich (6 finals), Diana Chan (4 best times and 5 top 10 performances), AJ Fong and Sofie Curran. The Terrapins also posted some excellent times at the California/Nevada Section Swimming Championships in December at the Crafton Hills College Aquatic complex in Yucaipa. Adrian Dulay won the men’s high-point award with four top eight swims, including first-place finishes in the 100 and 200 breast races.
Also leading the TERA effort was Clayton Valley Charter senior Niklas Weigelt, who won the 50, 100 and 200 free races and was second in the 500 free. His classmate Anthony Vizental was second in the 200 breast. Other top performers at Section were Maile Andresen, Delanie Gearing, Sasha Liu, Sophia Miller, Robert Mitchell and Andrew Rodriguez. Struempf set a new team record for 11-12 girls in the 100 butterfly. The local team was fourth overall behind three top Southern California clubs La Mirada, North Coast Aquatics and Irvine Nova. The Terrapins 2019 schedule begins next month in Arizona.
Game. However, not all books having happy endings and this tale did not. In a light workout the night before his final game To’oto’o broke a bone in his foot. Coach Justin Alumbaugh and his staff didn’t expect their senior captain and the heartbeat of their team to even suit up the next evening. But there was captain To’oto’o at the coin toss and on the field with his proud defense against Mater Dei, the No. 1 team in America with four high school all-Americans in the lineup. Alumbaugh said it was remarkable To’oto’o even played. “That guy showed a lot of guts tonight. He could have packed it in and saved himself for college. Instead, he was a leader. Imagine the role model he set for younger players.” The senior insisted on playing. “These are my brothers for life. I love everybody on this team way too much to let them down like that.” To’oto’o wasn’t able to carry the ball on offense and was noticeably different from the player Saint Francis coach Greg Calcagno called, “Probably the best guy I have ever coached against. He’s unbelievable. He flies everywhere. Anything we tried to do, he was right there.” While DLS was making its last stand trying to stop Mater Dei for one final drive to win the game in the fourth quarter,
Photo courtesy CVCHS football
Senior Jason Cannedy anchored the offensive line that helped Clayton Valley Charter to rush for 318 yards per game. The 305-pounder was named to the Prep2Prep first team all-North Coast Section.
To’oto’o wasn’t out there. He pleaded with the coaching staff to let him play but he could barely walk, let alone run, and his pleas fell on deaf ears from his coaches. They more concerned about his long-term health than the risk of returning to the field. The Spartans lost their third straight State championship game 35-21. For his play last fall he’s been showered with post-season honors including allAmerica, State defensive player
of the year, all-state, player of the year for North Coast Section, Bay Area Metro and East Bay Athletic Leaue and other honors almost too numerous to name. He’ll have one final chance to share with his teammates on Feb. 6 when he’ll sign his National Letter of Intent in the gymnasium of his Concord school. Rumors list Alabama,
See To’oto’o, page B4
Pascoe siblings making waves in same East Coast collegiate basketball league JAY BEDECARRÉ The Pioneer
From 2011 to last winter the name Pascoe was synonymous with basketball excellence at Clayton Valley High as a Pascoe was an all-league selection for seven successive seasons. This winter, Garrett Pascoe is a freshman guard at Boston University and his older sister Hailey is playing her final season five hours away in Pennsylvania at fellow Patriot League school Lehigh. The Pascoe siblings both hold the career scoring record at CVCHS. Both were fouryear all-league players and three-time captains for their Eagle teams. Now they are playing Division I hoops about 3000 miles from their childhood Concord home. Hailey is a 2015 graduate of Clayton Valley and is due to
Justin Lafleur photo courtesy Lehigh Sports Information
Hailey Pascoe (33) is enjoying her senior year on the Lehigh Mountain Hawks as a starting guard. The Clayton Valley Charter grad missed all of last season due to an ACL injury but has recovered to start every game this year. She posted her career high of 22 points last Saturday against Boston University, which happens to the school where her brother Garrett is a freshman guard.
get her degree in psychology from Lehigh this spring. She’s been on the Patriot League academic honor roll for three years and was on the ECAC President’s honor roll last year. She missed her entire junior season due to an ACL injury suffered during pre-season practice. As a freshman Pascoe was named to the league’s all-rookie team. She has recovered from the injury and started every game this season and is the second leading scorer for the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh lost its first conference game last Saturday to her brother’s school but Pascoe led the team with a career high 22 points against the Terriers. Her previous high was set two years ago at Holy Cross when she posted 16 points against Rich Gagnon/BU Athletics the Crusaders. Freshman point guard Gar“Hailey had a really strong rett Pascoe is settling into game and played how you’d college life at Boston Univerexpect a senior to play. Case sity, both on the court and in Gym is a hard place to play, the classroom. He made especially with Boston Univerhonor roll in his first semessity undefeated at home so far ter and is playing almost this season. She did everything half of each Terrier game.
you’d expect her to do, stepping up and setting an example of how to play on both ends of the floor in a game like this,” said head coach Sue Troyan. Lehigh is 11-4 on the season and 3-1 in the league, one game behind unbeaten Boston U. Garrett Pascoe is averaging over 18 minutes a game and has started 11 of 17 games for the Terriers. The 6-3 guard is getting the most playing time among a quartet of freshmen who are all earning significant time on the court. Head coach Joe Jones, says, “Garrett is a great character kid who’s already become one of our hardest workers both on and off the court. He has a high basketball IQ and has continued to make great strides his freshman season as a point guard.” Kris and David Pascoe moved to Iowa from Concord last summer. They were in Boston last week watching their son play while checking in on their daughter’s game on Kris’ phone.
January 18, 2019
The Pioneer • www.pioneerpublishers.com
The hardworking student athlete is also an involved member of the Public Service Academy, California Scholarship Federation and National Honor Society. She also maintains an impressive 4.33 GPA and was awarded the ROTC Student of Excellence Award for the Developmental Psychology of Children last year. Moraes hopes to attend a four-year university in California and study education to prepare for a teaching career. “I hope to combine my passions of helping others and working with children into a career as a teacher. I hope to become a source of inspiration for my future students by instilling dedication and resilience in them so they can achieve their goals.” CVCHS student journalist Sydney Skow wrote this Spotlight.
Athlete Spotlight
Georgia Moraes Grade: Senior School: CVCHS Sport: Soccer, Swimming
From the first time she stepped onto the field or dove into the pool, Moraes has been passionate and excited about her sports. At CVCHS that’s been soccer and swimming. “It is such a great experience to play soccer or swim with my peers from school. We come from different competitive teams outside of school, but we all get to represent the Ugly Eagles together.” She’s enjoying her senior year of soccer on the CVCHS varsity. As a junior, she was MVP and captain of the JV team. She
was Defensive MVP as a freshman and won the Coach’s Award as a sophomore. Moraes began playing soccer when she was eight-years-old and plays for MDSA Elite when not in high school season. She took up swimming even earlier when she joined the Oakhurst Orcas at age five. She’s looking forward to her third varsity season for the Ugly Eagles swim team after soccer ends and then will be coaching at Oakhurst for a fifth summer season.
The Pioneer congratulates Georgia Moraes and thanks Athlete Spotlight sponsors Dr. Laura Lacey & Dr. Christopher Ruzicka who have been serving the Concord & Clayton area for 25 years at Family Vision Care Optometry. www.laceyandruzicka.com Do you know a young athlete who should be recognized? Perhaps he or she has shown exceptional sportsmanship, remarkable improvement or great heart for the sport. Send your nomination for the Pioneer Athlete Spotlight today to sports@pioneerpublishers.com.
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Please let us know about your sports news, special events, fund raisers, tryouts, signups and accomplishments. Youth leagues, clubs, schools and adult programs are all welcome to send us a rundown on what you’re doing. Include all the necessary details (too much information is better than too little!) and your contact information. The Pioneer comes out the third Friday of the month and the deadline for submission for next issue is Feb. 4. It’s as simple as sending an email to sports@pioneerpublishers.com.
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League placement of CV Charter football decided soon by North Coast Section JAY BEDECARRÉ The Pioneer
Clayton Valley Charter High School football has been the source of much discussion during the North Coast Section quadrennial alignment period in 2014 and again this year. The Ugly Eagles haven’t lost a league football game since 2011 and NCS received realignment proposals each time that would move CVCHS out of its existing league. Beyond the quadrennial alignment process underway, 11 schools in the Diablo Athletic League are requesting that Clayton Valley Charter football (an “overly competitive school in football”) be moved to another league while the rest of the Concord school’s athletic program remains in the DAL. Every DAL school except an absent Berean Christian (CVCHS abstained from voting) instructed league commissioner Pat Lickiss to send a letter to NCS commissioner Gil Lemmon requesting that the Section “approach neighboring leagues
in the Valley Conference to seek cross league scheduling for Clayton Valley football effective for the 2019-20 school year.” The Nov. 6 letter stated that Clayton Valley Charter has the only Division I football program among the 13 DAL varsity teams. The schools say this new placement “would give Clayton Valley Charter an opportunity to compete against schools with better athletic equity.” The East Contra Costabased, six-school Bay Valley Athletic League or the East Bay Athletic League, which includes De La Salle and nine schools from the Tri-Valley area, are the potential landing spots. The letter went on to explain that many DAL schools do not have three levels of football— varsity, JV and frosh—and thus there have been cancellations of frosh and JV games, many times in the week of the game. The letter states, “This is not fair to players in the Clayton Valley program, as it does not give the athletes an opportunity to compete.” New CVCHS Executive
Sports Shorts
Director Jim Scheible submitted an appeal of the alternate placement for the Ugly Eagles football team. That appeal will be heard next Wednesday. Lemmon says the situation—at least for the 2019 fall season—should be resolved within a month.
APPEAL PENDING Lemmon explains that if CVCHS’s appeal is denied “the DAL has already contacted the BVAL seeking placement. If the BVAL denies the request, then the DAL can seek placement in the EBAL. If the EBAL also denies the request then the DAL can ask the NCS Alignment Committee to place CVCHS, in football only, in another league, either the BVAL or EBAL.” The commissioner, who is retiring after this school year, says, “I cannot say if it [alternate football league placement] will be for 2019 since I do not know how the Alignment Committee will feel about the late adjustment. However, NCS will go through the process. I believe the committee could act at their Feb. 12 meeting.”
The NCS Alignment Committee will also hear appeals on 2020-2024 Valley Conference alignment on Wednesday. He adds, “I have not received any school appeals yet, but I am appealing Valley Conference A, which moved Acalanes and Campolindo to the EBAL. On Feb. 12 the committee will vote to send 2020-2024 alignments for all NCS conferences to the Board of Managers for their Mar. 29 meeting.” NCS has two Valley Conference alignment proposals still under consideration. One has CVCHS moving all sports to the BVAL and the other has them remaining in the 13-school DAL. CVCHS coach Tim Murphy is moving ahead with non-league scheduling for this fall. The Eagles will travel to North Las Vegas to play Canyon Springs for the third year in a row. They will also meet State IA champion Liberty in Union City as the finale of the Honor Bowl. Liberty beat CVCHS in the semifinals of the NCS Open Division football playoffs last November.
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CONCORD HIGH ATHLETIC BOOSTERS HOST ANNUAL CRAB AND TRI-TIP FEED & AUCTION FEB. 2
Concord High School Athletic Boosters will host their annual Crab and Tri-Tip Feed and Auction on Sat., Feb. 2, from 6-11 p.m. at Centre Concord. It includes a crab and tri-tip dinner, DJ LOCAL AYSO SOCCER PROGRAMS and dancing, and silent and live auctions. Proceeds support all OPEN FOR SPRING LEAGUE REGISTRATION Concord AYSO and Mt. Diablo Soccer Association are tak- Concord High student athletes and athletic programs. Tickets ing registration for their spring programs online. Games run are $50 per person. Deadline to purchase tickets is this Sunday. from March through May for boys and girls in 6U through 19U. Email chscrabfeed@gmail.com for more details. Visit concordayso.org or mdsoccer.org for details and online regCLAYTON VALLEY ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME istration form.
MT. DIABLO HIGH HALL OF FAME CRAB FEED THIS SATURDAY
The annual Mt. Diablo High School Hall of Fame crab feed is this Saturday at Zio Fraedo’s in Pleasant Hill. The evening, which benefits the school’s Sports Hall of Fame, includes music, dancing, 50/50 raffle and lots of raffle prizes. For more information call Lou Adamo at 212-9332 or email louadamo@gmail.com.
CONTINENTAL LITTLE LEAGUE NOW PART OF FUTURE A’S PROGRAM
Continental Little League baseball and softball for boys and girls ages 4-14 has online registration for the 2019 season that runs from February to June. Fees range depending on age of the players. For the first time, the league is part of the Future A’s program that provides teams with special events and branded uniforms and hats. Players must live within league boundaries. Online registration and complete information are at continentalbaseball.com.
DIABLO FC OFFERS 2005-2012 COMPETITIVE TEAM SOCCER EVALUATIONS
Players interested in joining Diablo FC competitive soccer teams in 2019 should email director of coaching Zach Sullivan at docdiablofc@gmail.com with any questions about the club or to arrange a player evaluation for players in birth years 20052012. Visit diablofc.org to get more information on the area’s premier youth soccer club.
LOOKING FOR PLAYERS FROM NEW INDUCTEES
The 2019 class for the Clayton Valley High School Hall of Fame includes three North Coast Section championship Eagles teams. Event organizers are reaching out to locate members of those teams. The honorees will be inducted Friday, May 3, at Shadelands Art Center in Walnut Creek. The teams are coach Bill Smith’s 1978 wrestling team, the 1999 boys swim team of coach Matt Chamberlain and coach Gary Gardner’s 1979 girls volleyball team. Players on those teams should email committee member Herc Pardi with their contact info to herc_pardi@hotmail.com. Visit the new Hall of Fame website for more info at cvhshof.com.
DIABLO FC BENEFIT CRAB FEED FEB. 1 AT CENTRE CONCORD
The 16th annual Diablo FC benefit crab feed, raffle and dance is set for Friday, Feb. 1, at Centre Concord. Tickets will be on sale shortly for the event that benefits programs for the local competitive youth soccer club affiliated with the San Jose Earthquakes. Visit diablofc.org for more details and to get information on event sponsoring and purchasing crab feed tickets.
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REGISTRATIONS TAKEN ONLINE
Concord American Little League is accepting online registration for its spring baseball and softball seasons. The league’s website has complete information for t-ball through senior baseball and softball (4-14 years old) and Challenger (4-18 years) programs. Everyone registering this year gets an early bird $20 discount on their fees. Register online anytime at callbaseball.org.
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Winter, from page B1
The DAL is using a new, single 13-team schedule for boys and girls soccer through Feb 8. NCS playoff games are on Feb. 13-23. The second NorCal soccer playoffs are Feb. 26-Mar. 2. Clayton Valley Charter boys are 9-1-1 on the season and the defending DAL champs are 3-1-1 in a tightly packed top of the league with five teams having one or no losses early in the season. Ygnacio Valley is right in the mix with a 2-1-2 mark (96 in all games). The Warriors biggest victory this year may have come off the pitch when their appeal to be moved back to NCS DIII was approved. They won the 2016 Section title in that division but had been moved up the past two years to DII. In girls soccer Carondelet has a 6-0-5 record including 3-0-2 in EBAL. The Cougars have lost three straight NCS championship games.
CVCHS is 9-4 overall but only 2-3 in league play. All three losses have been to the league’s three unbeaten teams. Northgate is a halfgame behind Miramonte in the DAL with a 5-0 mark. MAT TOURNAMENTS ON TAP
DAL double dual wrestling meets conclude Jan. 30 with the league championship meet at Campolindo Feb. 9. The NCS dual team championships featuring heavilyfavored DLS are Feb. 2 at Dublin High with the NCS Championships in Union City at James Logan High on Feb. 15-16 and CIF State Feb. 2223 at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield. Northgate placed second out of 29 teams at their Bill Martell Invitational while DLS senior Kyle Parco is currently ranked No. 3 in California at 133 pounds.
To’oto’o, from page B2
Tennessee and Washington as his top choices to continue his football career in the fall. It’s anticipated he’ll be sharing the NLI spotlight with senior teammates Isaiah Foskey, Amir Wallace, Jhasi Wilson, Clayton Ingram and Taveis Marshall, all part of the historically great Spartan defense last fall.
Post season honors ALL METRO TEAM
1st team- Gunnar Rask,
Shamar Garrett, Foskey, To’oto’o (Player of the Year), Wilson and Wallace (De La Salle). 2nd team – Grant Daley, Michael Puckett (DLS); Jason Cannedy, Cade Carter (CVCHS).
ALL-NCS
1st team- To’oto’o (Player
of the Year), Foskey, Garrett, Rask, Wallace (DLS); Cannedy (CVCHS). 2nd teamGervais, Carter, Parker Allen (CVCHS); Puckett (DLS). 3rd team- Daley, Tagaloa, Wilson (DLS). Honorable
mention
–
Jayden Jackson, Jack Seelye (Berean Christian); Jacob Sartonio, Fashola, Dusty Mitchell (CVCHS); Austin Williams, Brian Cruz (Concord); Marshall, Dorian Hale (DLS); David Clark (Mt. Diablo); Eric Prough (Northgate); Christofer Valiente (Ygnacio Valley).
ALL-BAY AREA Honorable mention1st team- To’oto’o (Player Logan Sumter, Makhi Gervais, Leke Fashola (CVCHS); Beaux of the Year), Garrett, Rask, Foskey, Wilson, Wallace (DLS). Fashola (DLS).
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January 18, 2019 in the North Coast Section playoffs. Fuller’s on-field exploits are only outshone by his work in the classroom. In the first semester this year he posted a 4.17 GPA. Jimenez credits Fuller’s parents for being very supportive of their son. “They are at every game in high school and club.” He began his soccer career in Concord AYSO, has played for Diablo FC and this year joined Heritage SC 2001 team. Fuller ran cross country as a freshman and junior and track as a sophomore “to stay in shape for soccer.” Jimenez is also helping Fuller look ahead to potential academic and soccer opportunities in college after his 2020 graduation.
Athlete Spotlight
Anthony Fuller Grade: Junior School: Concord High Sports: Cross Country, Soccer
The junior has played as a striker, midfielder and defender during his time on the Minuteman varsity soccer team. Coach Alonso Jimenez says Fuller is a natural defender but he’s so valuable leading the Concord attack that he’s settled in as a striker. “Anthony has scored or assisted in 10 of our past 11 games. He doesn’t look like a forward but he
has a burst of speed his opponents can’t judge. He’s not afraid to shoot or miss. His aggressive nature of play and ability to use both feet account for his success.” Fuller was on the CHS junior varsity as a freshman and this year as a junior he’s blossomed into a key component of the team as they seek a fifth successive berth (and ninth in 10 years)
The Pioneer congratulates Anthony and thanks Athlete Spotlight sponsors Dr. Laura Lacey & Dr. Christopher Ruzicka who have been serving the Clayton and Concord area for 25 years at Family Vision Care Optometry. www.laceyandruzicka.com Do you know a young athlete who should be recognized? Perhaps he or she has shown exceptional sportsmanship, remarkable improvement or great heart for the sport. Send your nomination for the Pioneer Athlete Spotlight today to sports@pioneerpublishers.com.
Former Eagle Joe Protheroe named to 7 All-America teams for Cal Poly JAY BEDECARRÉ The Pioneer
Senior fullback Joe Protheroe, a 2013 Clayton Valley Charter High School grad, culminated his outstanding career at Cal Poly SLO by being named to seven all-America teams after finishing fourth in balloting for the Walter Payton Award, presented to the offensive player of the year in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. Protheroe became the most decorated Mustang football player with seven All-America honors (out of eight teams) for the 2018 season. He was tabbed as an all-American by Athlon Sports, Associated Press, STATS Inc., Walter Camp Foundation, HERO Sports, Phil Steele and the FCS Athletics Directors Association. The Concord athlete was a two-time all-America as a junior and STATS Inc. named him third-team all-America in 2015 after a glittery sophomore season. He graduated from CVCHS in 2013 and had a grey shirt year before joining the Cal Poly team for the 2014 season. He was injured in the second game of 2017 and was given a medical redshirt by the NCAA, allowing him to play his senior season last fall. Protheroe smashed Cal Poly’s single-season and career rushing marks last fall, amassing 1,810 yards to break James Noble’s record of 1,578 yards and raise his career total to 4,271
yards, eclipsing Craig Young’s mark of 4,205 yards set from 1996-99. Protheroe surpassed the 200yard mark in rushing three consecutive times late in the season, four for the year and five times in his Mustang career. They are among 23 career 100-yard performances, including the final nine games last fall. All of those accomplishments are school records. Unsurprisingly, Protheroe was named the team’s most valuable player. His 861 career carries are another record, finishing No. 5 in the Big Sky record book for a single season and No. 8 in career rushing in the conference. The three-time first-team All-Big Sky performer finished No. 1 in the Big Sky and Football Championship Subdivision with his 1,810 yards and is No. 2 among active rushers in the FCS with his 4,271 career yards. Protheroe played three years of varsity football at Clayton Valley. His first two seasons were under head coach Herc Pardi. His former coach says, “Joe was a tremendous football player. He could have played any position he was that talented. Joe was a real team guy.” In his sophomore and junior years, he scored 23 touchdowns and rushed for over 1400 yards as the Eagles made it to the North Coast Section playoffs both years. His senior year was when Clayton Valley converted to a charter school and Tim Murphy was named head coach for the 54th season of Ugly Eagles foot-
Photo courtesy Cal Poly SLO Athletics
Senior fullback Joe Protheroe of Concord (5) was named to seven all-America teams and finished fourth in the balloting for the 2018 Walter Payton Award, presented to the offensive player of the year in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. The record-breaking fullback from Cal Poly SLO is a 2013 graduate of Clayton Valley Charter High School where he led the Eagles to their firstever North Coast Section football championship.
ball. Protheroe flourished in the new run-oriented wing-gun offense and rushed for 3014 yards while scoring 35 TDs and even had 51 tackles on defense. The 2012 Eagles won the school’s first-ever North Coast Section football championship and then played in the inaugural Northern California Regional Division II Bowl game where they lost a heartbreaker to Oakdale 27-24 as Protheroe suffered an injury in the third quarter.
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CVCHS coach Murphy recently said, “Joe is a great father and husband. He defines everything we try to teach our players at CVCHS. Bottom line, he is the total package.” “No one can match Joe’s passion and love for the game. He truly loves the game of football,” 10th-year Mustang head coach Tim Walsh said of the CVCHS graduate. “He plays with that love and passion every game and he is as tough as they come — big, strong and faster than people think. Five years went by fast, but he definitely has left his footprints on Cal Poly football,” said Walsh. “Joe is one of the best players I’ve coached in 40 plus years! He is as humble as it gets, and the future is still in his hands. I hope we get to see him play on Sundays next year. He is a threetime All-American, three-time first-team All-Big Sky, rushed for over 1,800 yards, is married, has three kids and will graduate in four years plus two quarters. I don’t know how he does it.” Mustang fullbacks/tight ends coach Kenny McMillan said Protheroe “is a really special running back and one of the hardest-working guys on and off the field. He would stay up late at night to watch film because he wanted to be the best he can be. Joe is a silent leader, but when he talked, people listened. He is a selfless guy and would hold himself accountable for the team.” Cal Poly SLO Athletics contributed to this report.
January 18, 2019
The Pioneer • www.pioneerpublishers.com
Page B5
She shed décor a matter of personality The man cave is a sanctuary, retreat and refuge just for the men to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday chaos Picture elaborate wine cellars with hand-carved furnishings and humidors that store an endless supply of cigars. Other options are a sportsthemed basement game room with big screen televisions and oversized leather chairs or a well-equipped garage that houses a classic car or two and a slew of tools from past generations. The man cave can be as elaborate and decorative or personal and quiet as its owner deems. Whatever its
Old dog, new tricks? Sure ELENA BICKER
ARF NOTES
The old adage that pets are settled in their ways by a certain age is not true. At the Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF), we say you can teach an old dog – or cat new tricks. Much like people, dogs and cats thrive with plenty of mental and physical stimulation through their lives. As older pets settle into a sedentary routine, both mentally and physically, learning a new trick or refreshing basic training actually improves brain health. Provide your dog or cat with mental enrichment like food puzzles, interactive play sessions and self-play toys. All of these can help maintain and even improve cognitive function, so get creative and
book I’ve read in a long time. It is such an American tale, the story of East Coast vs. West Coast and the explosive SUNNY SOLOMON development of the West in BOOKIN’ WITH the 1800s. Lyman Ward is an ill and SUNNY wheelchair-bound retired hismake this time fun for you and Because it is a new year tory professor (age 58). your pet. doesn’t mean a book has to be Divorced by his wife, Lyman Teaching new skills with new. struggles to find his way positive reinforcement or If Wallace Stegner’s “Angle through the turns his life has clicker training is a great activ- of Repose” hadn’t been the taken. Determined to write a ity that you can do with dogs Clayton Community Library biography of his famous and, yes, even cats. At first, Book Club pick for January artist/author grandmother, he clicker training may seem an 2019, I never would have cho- moves into his grandparent’s odd activity for cat guardians. sen it for review; sometimes long-empty home in Grass After all, cats are relatively self- we readers just get lucky. Valley, Calif. The year is 1970. sufficient and usually require Instead of telling of plot, Ward has lived through the little training. But clicker train- action and characters, I’m turbulent years of the late ing is a good way to communi- going to imagine I’m still 1960s at UC Berkeley. Now cate to them when they are working in a bookstore (you divorced and living in his doing something right – thus, know which one) and you, the grandparent’s empty home making a repeat performance reader, just walked in and that he has had modified for of the good behavior more asked for a good book. I will his disabilities, he manages likely. grab the latest edition of with caretaking help from Dog training classes are “Angle of Repose” (a classic longtime neighbors. He gathanother way to provide enrich- and always in print) and tell ers personal letters and proment and exercise. The mental you unabashedly it is the best fessional documents relating stimulation of leaving the house, visiting with new people and dogs and learning a new skill can greatly build a pet’s confidence. Pets and people are very similar when it comes to brain power and cognitive function. As some would say: Use it, or lose it. So go ahead and teach provider is no longer licensed.” your dog or cat a new trick While updates are supposed today. to fix problems or introduce cool new features, they are Elena Bicker is the Executive Director known to cause application of Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation. She can be reached at (925) 256issues and data loss or brick a 1ARF (1273) computer – turning a functioning computer into a pile of junk similar to a brick. Sometimes I wonder if the company releasing an “update” tested it for WILL CLANEY bugs or complications on its TECH TALK own computers first. But fear not, there is help. I It’s important to know how suggest altering your Windows to control the software patches, 10 Update options. Go to Setupgrades, updates and other tings, then to Windows Update, new features shoved at you by choose Advanced options and Microsoft and other third-party make settings changes. The goal vendors. is to achieve a delay of about If a software upgrade fails 30 days before installing the or has hidden flaws, it can patch, upgrade, etc. adversely affect your computer. By delaying the installation, If you have experienced a bad
One-year-old Cactus is a sensitive but curious fellow. This country boy is looking for a loving home with patient adopters and a quieter, low-key household. If Cactus could talk he would want everyone to know that toys are pretty fun, quiet walks rock, and hot dogs are outta this world! Cactus is braver when he has a dog buddy and might be a great second dog. The adoption fee for puppies under 6 months is $300, for adult dogs is $250, and includes a discount on the first six-week session of a manners class. Three-year-old Chloe is a lovely Tuxedo cat with a lot of love to share. She takes time to adjust to new environments and can use some encouragement but when she is comfortable she is playful and fun. Chloe would
JENNIFER LEISCHER
DESIGN & DÉCOR
shed, creating a wide open space where you can move your painting easel from inside to out, depending on the light source you need. If your she shed needs to be a functional home office space, design the space to reflect what you do.
See Design, page B7
to his grandmother’s long life. Lyman is most interested in his grandmother’s marriage. Susan Burling Ward, born and raised on the East Coast, unexpectedly marries a young, enthusiastic mining engineer, following him west. It is a rocky marriage and she for many years supports her husband’s failed engineering projects as she continues, by mail, her career as an illustrator of novels penned by the finest American and European authors. The wife of a mining engineer is not an easy one and Lyman’s grandmother, on occasion, with her children in tow, moves back to the East Coast – back into the world of art and fine literature. But she always returns to her husband, to the promise of the West. Lyman discovers things about his grandmother that confirm suspicions he has held and surprise him about
hidden parts of her persona. “Angle of Repose” is a novel about a man writing a novel. It is as much about Lyman Ward’s life as about his grandmother’s. “Angle of Repose” is a gender inclusive novel if you love stories of the Wild West, the refined East, family sagas or layered love stories. I suspect the stories Lyman’s grandmother illustrated are matched by the words of Stegner’s novel. It has caused me to reopen family albums with their sepia-colored past, to pause and imagine more deeply the life my grandparents led. “Angle of Repose” is a geological place of rest, a fine place to begin a new year. Sunny Solomon is a freelance writer and head of the Clayton Book Club. Visit her website at bookinwithsunny.com for her latest recommendations or just to ‘talk books.’
you have the opportunity to research the patch and allow other people to test it first. If problems are reported, wait a little longer and let the software company fix the problem before you install it. This is one simple way to gain control of your patch management. If you must have the patch now, then you can override the Windows Updates options. If you prefer to have your patches professionally managed and tested before updating your computer or simply don’t want to be bothered with installing them yourself, contact a Managed Service Provider (MSP) for assistance. This service is about $3 a month.
SolarWinds has a patch manager for patching and reporting for both Microsoft and third-party applications across all of your computers and servers. The software patch management tool from SolarWinds simplifies many steps during the patching process, including research, scheduling, deployment and reporting. ComputersUSA is a SolarWinds rep/partner.
How to master pesky patches
Cactus & Chloe are ARF stars
CACTUS
chair, laptop in your lap, creating your masterpiece. Maybe a workroom to garden or sew is more your focus. Think of a structure where you can’t seem to determine where the inside greenery ends and the outside begins, other than a cozy furniture grouping and a crystal chandelier that reflects all of the colors found in your wellnurtured plants and perfectly organized balls of yarn and fabric. A she shed and an artist’s retreat seem to go hand in hand. Picture a wall-sized deck protruding out from the shed. Mini NanaWall doors open to either side of your
‘Angle of Repose’ a family saga with staying power
This she shed design lets the sun shine in.
P ETS
theme, whatever its purpose, the man cave is like having your own personal Disneyland – without the lines. And there just happens to be an equally fantastic, Disneyland-like space for women. Welcome to the she shed. The term sounds so “on the side of the house where the tools are kept,” but the she shed is anything but. Think about a personalized space for your activities. Perhaps a quiet place for writing and daydreaming, where the windows are floor to ceiling – allowing natural sunlight to wash the interior with a warm glow while you sit in your comfortable, shabby chic
CHLOE
benefit from a calm home where she can be the only cat for you, where she can really flourish and show you her true colors, beyond black and white! The adoption fee for kittens under 6 months $125 and for adult cats is $75. Meet your forever friend at Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation, 2890 Mitchell Drive, Walnut Creek, during adoption hours: Wed. and Thurs. noon-6 p.m.; Fri., noon-7 p.m. and Sat./Sun. noon to 6 p.m. Would you like to be part of the heroic team that saves the lives of rescued dogs and cats? Can you share your talents to connect people and animals? ARF volunteers are making a difference. For more information see our website, www.arflife.org, or call (925) 256-1ARF.
patch, you know it can be disruptive and sometimes devastating to your computer and data. If you feel you’re a captive, or perhaps a casualty, of the upgrade cycle, I’ll provide a few tips to help you out. According to Wikipedia, a patch “is a set of changes to a computer program or its supporting data designed to update, fix or improve it. This includes fixing security vulnerabilities and other bugs, with such patches usually being called bug fixes, and improving the usability or performance. Although meant to fix problems, poorly designed patches can sometimes introduce new problems. In some special cases, updates may knowingly break the functionality or disable a device, for instance, by removing components for which the update
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Page B6
CALENDAR The Pioneer • www.pioneerpublishers.com
PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR COMMUNITY CALENDAR EVENTS BY 5 P.M.FEB. 4 FOR THE FEB. 15
IN CONCORD
Tuesdays Farmers’ Market
Jan. 23 Leukemia Seminar
ISSUE. ITEMS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY EMAIL TO
Year round. 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Todos Santos Plaza, downtown Concord. pcfma.org.
Sponsored by Diablo Valley Oncology. 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Lafayette Library Community Room, 3491 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Lafayette. Free. Response required: sjung@dvohmg.com or (925) 677-5041.
Part of California Restaurant Month. See website for participating restaurants. visitconcordca.com.
Be a Bedford Gallery docent. 1 – 3:30 p.m. Lesher. Register with Carmen Kelly at (925) 295-1416 or kelly@bedfordgallery.org.
Jan. 18 – 27 Comfort Food Week Jan. 20 Speaker Series
Guest John van der Zee, author. 2 p.m. Concord Museum and Event Center, 1928 Clayton Road. Free. concordhistorical.org.
Jan. 27 Super Valentine’s Boutique
Valentine’s gifts, clothing, activities, raffle. 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Hilton Concord, Golden Gate Ballroom, 1970 Diamond Blvd. Free admission. supervalentinesboutique.com.
Feb. 14 Advance Health Care Directives
Legal clinic to prepare and notarize advance health care directives for seniors 60 and older in Contra Costa County. 9:15 11:30 a.m. Concord Senior Center, 2727 Parkside Circle. Free. Call for appointment (925) 671-3320.
IN CLAYTON
Jan. 19 Dance Performance
Presented by Ace Dance Academy. 4 p.m. Diamond Terrace, 6401 Center St. Free and open to the public. Reserve space by Jan. 18. (925) 524-5100.
Feb. 10 Camellia Tea
Clayton Historical Society’s annual Camellia Tea and open house. 1 – 4 p.m. Clayton Museum, 6101 Main St. Free. claytonhistory.org. (925) 672-0240.
ON AND AROUND THE MOUNTAIN
Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve programs are available for registration through ebparks.org. Parking fees may apply. For additional information, contact Black Diamond Visitor Center at (510) 544-2750 or bdvisit@ebparks.org.
Saturdays thru February Nature Discoveries
Different topic every time. 10 – 11 a.m. Meet at end of Somersville Road.
Saturdays thru February Snake Friends
Meet the snakes of Sidney Flat Visitor Center. 1:30 – 2 p.m. Meet at Sidney Flat Visitor Center.
Sundays thru February Historic Somersville
Displays of miners’ tools or short walks to former mining town site. 1 – 2 p.m. Meet at end of Somersville Road.
Jan. 19 Fungus Far and Wide
Go on a wild mushroom search. 10 – 11:30 a.m. Meet at end of Somersville Road.
Jan. 26 Youth Job Fair
Learn about specific park district jobs available. 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Big Break Visitor Center, 69 Big Break Road, Oakley.
Jan. 27 Hazel-Atlas History Hike
Discover the ancient and modern history of these sandy hills. 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Meet at end of Somersville Road.
February - April Vasco Caves Tours
Vasco Caves Regional Preserve is accessible only through guided tours. February tours open for enrollment now; March and April open for enrollment Jan. 29. $35-$40. Reservations required.
Mount Diablo Interpretive Association programs listed are free with the exception of park entrance fee. Go to mdia.org and click on Event Calendar for more information.
Jan. 27 Sycamore Canyon Hike
Hike to Sycamore Canyon and Knobcone Point. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Meet at Curry Point.
Save Mount Diablo’s Discover Diablo is a free public hike series. Go to discover-diablo.eventbrite.com for more information.
Jan. 20 New Year’s Resolution Hike
Start the year with an exciting climb to Eagle Peak. 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Meet at Mitchell Canyon Interpretive Ctr. Reservations req.
Jan. 26 Mary Bowerman Birthday Hike
Celebrate SMD co-founder Mary Bowerman’s birthday. 10 – 11:30 a.m. Meet at Lower Summit Parking Lot. Reservations req.
Feb. 2 Falls Loop Geology Trek
Nature trek to explore Mount Diablo’s winter wonders. 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Meet at Regency Gate Trailhead. Reservations req.
EVENTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Thru Jan. 20 “Improvisors in Space”
Presented by Synergy Theater. Lesher. $20.
Jan. 18 “Red Herring”
Presented by Onstage Repertory Theatre. 8 p.m. Martinez Campbell Theater. $18-$20.
Jan. 19 – 20 “A Tango with Mozart”
Presented by California Symphony. Lesher. $42-$72.
January 18, 2019
Jan. 23, 30; Feb. 6, 13 Docent Training
calendar@pioneerpublishers.com
CHURCHES
Feb. 16 Concert
The Alpha Rhythm Kings swing band performs. 7:30 p.m. Clayton Valley Presbyterian Church, 1578 Kirker Pass Road, Clayton. $15. cvpresby.org. (925) 672-4848.
Feb. 23 Annual Daddy-Daughter Dance
Jan. 25 – Feb. 23 “Communicating Doors”
Open to the public: girls and dads, uncles, granddads and friends of all ages. Professional portrait, dessert and dancing. Secret Garden theme. Sponsored by Clayton Community Church. 6:30 – 9 p.m. Oakhurst Country Club, 1001 Peacock Creek Drive, Clayton. $25 per couple; $5 each additional guest. Register at claytoncc.com/daddydaughter. For more information, contact Jamie Davis at jamie.davis@claytoncc.com or (615) 495-4349.
Jan. 27 Concert
2nd and 4th Sundays Pancake Breakfast
Jan. 24 – Feb. 2 “Peter Pan”
Presented by DLUX Puppets. Lesher. $20. A hilarious mash up of “Psycho” and “Doctor Who.” Lesher. $34$56. Nicolas Bearde sings the music of Nat King Cole. 3 p.m. El Campanil. $15-$29.
Feb. 1 Pink Floyd Concert Experience
Presented by West Coast Performing Arts. 8 p.m. Lesher. $45.
Feb. 1 – 2 “Balanchine and Beyond”
Presented by Diablo Ballet. Del Valle Theatre. $15-$47.
Feb. 1 – 3 “Little Shop of Horrors”
Presented by The Bentley School featuring Youth Performers. Lesher. $5.
Feb. 2 “Sinatra Sings the Big Bands”
Presented by West Coast Performing Arts. 8 p.m. Lesher. $45.
Feb. 2 “Spotlight on Comedy!”
Fun-filled evening of stand-up comedy. 8 p.m. California Theatre. $15.
Feb. 3 “Love for Piano Recital”
Presented by Mina with Love for Piano. 11 a.m. Lesher. $30.
Feb. 7 Recital
Vocal performance by Zachary Gordin. Presented by Festival Opera. 7:15 p.m. Lesher. $40.
Feb. 8 “Improv for Good”
Presented by Funny Bone Productions. 7:45 p.m. Lesher. $15.
Feb. 9 “Calefax”
Presented by Chamber Music San Francisco. 2:30 p.m. Lesher.
Feb. 9 Concert
Performed by Decades. 8 p.m. El Campanil. $15-$29.
Feb. 9 Music Fest
Performed by Music City Legends. 8 p.m. California Theatre. $30.
Feb. 9 – 10 “A Little Night Music”
Presented by Lamplighters. Lesher. $50-$55.
Feb. 14 – Mar. 2 “Fuddy Meers”
Funhouse plot. B8 Theatre. $15-$22.
Feb. 15 - 24 “Noises Off”
A fond look at the follies of theatre folk. California Theatre. $20$25.
Feb. 16 – 17 “Let’s Dance”
Presented by Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra. 2 p.m. Feb. 16: El Campanil Theatre; $7-$20. Feb. 17: Lesher; $30.
Feb. 17 “A Celebration of Joni Mitchell”
Featuring Kimberly Ford. 3 p.m. El Campanil. $15-$29.
FUNDRAISERS
Veterans of Foreign Wars serve breakfast to the public: Eggs, pancakes, sausage, beverage. 8 – 11 a.m. VFW Post 1525, 2290 Willow Pass Road, Concord. $5, $3 children under 12. vfwpost1525.org.
Ongoing Vehicle Donation
Donate a running vehicle for victims of the 2018 Camp Fire. Sponsored by Clayton Valley Concord Sunrise Rotary and Rotary Club of Paradise. cars4paradise.org.
Jan. 19 Concert
Local choirs sing to raise funds to help St. Thomas More Catholic Church and Paradise Methodist Church which were heavily damaged in the Camp Fire. 2 p.m. St. Bonaventure, 5562 Clayton Road, Concord. stbonaventure.net.
Jan. 26 Stars to the Rescue XXVIII
Proceeds benefit Animal Rescue Foundation dogs and cats. 7 p.m. Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Dr., Walnut Creek. $50-$275. lesherartscenter.org. (925) 943-7469.
AT THE LIBRARY
The Concord Library is at 2900 Salvio St. Programs are free unless otherwise noted. See full schedule of events at ccclib.org or (925) 646-5455. Jan. 20, Feb. 10: Concord Mystery Book Club, 1 p.m. Jan. 28: Family Game Night, 7 p.m. Jan. 31: Twelve Financial Resolutions for 2019, 5 p.m. Jan. 31, Feb. 11: Adventures in Coding, Registration required. Feb. 1, 2, 8, 9: AARP Tax Services, Call (925) 405-5135 for appointment Feb. 3: Concord Knitting and Crochet Group, 1:15 p.m. Feb. 4: Chinese New Year Celebration, 4 p.m. Feb. 6: Valentine’s Day Crafternoon, 3:30 p.m. Feb. 12: Concord Art Association Meeting/Demo, 1:30 p.m. Feb. 13: Wednesday Matinee, 3 p.m.
The Clayton Library is at 6125 Clayton Road. Programs are free unless otherwise noted. See full schedule of events at claytonlibrary.org or call (925) 673-0659. Jan. 28, Feb. 11: Clayton Knits, 1:30 p.m. Jan. 31, Feb. 14: Kindergarten Countdown, 2 p.m. Feb. 4: Weights and Measures STEM Program, 4 p.m. Feb. 6: College Info Night, 6:30 p.m. Feb. 11: Clayton Library Book Club, 7 p.m.
GOVERNMENT
1st, 2nd and 4th Tuesdays Concord City Council
6:30 p.m., Council Chamber, Concord Civic Center, 1950 Parkside Dr. cityofconcord.org.
1st and 3rd Wednesdays Concord Planning Commission
7 p.m. Council Chamber, Concord Civic Center, 1950 Parkside Dr. cityofconcord.org.
1st and 3rd Tuesdays Clayton City Council
7 p.m. Hoyer Hall, Clayton Library, 6125 Clayton Road. (925) 673-7304 or ci.clayton.ca.us.
2nd and 4th Tuesdays Clayton Planning Commission
7 p.m., Hoyer Hall, Clayton Library, 6125 Clayton Road. (925) 673-7304 or ci.clayton.ca.us.
Theatre Contact Key
B8 Theatre Company, 2292 Concord Blvd., Concord. b8theatre.org. (925) 890-8877. California Theatre, 351 Railroad ave., Pittsburg. pittsburgcaliforniatheatre.com. (925) 427-1611. Del Valle Theatre, 1963 Tice Valley Blvd., Walnut Creek. lesherartscenter.org. (925) 943-7469. El Campanil Theatre, 602 W. Second St., antioch. elcampaniltheatre.com. (925) 757-9500. Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Dr., Walnut Creek. lesherartscenter.org. (925) 943-7469. Martinez Campbell Theater, 636 Ward St., Martinez. campbelltheater.com. (925) 350-9770.
ORCHID Show & Sale
Feb. 9, Sat.
10am-4:30pm
First Lutheran Church 4000 Concord Blvd., Concord for info
www.DVOS.ORG
Meeting dates and times for local clubs and organizations are listed at concordpioneer.com. Click on ‘Links’
sy ay Eag d n u S nin Listuesic 4-7pm Live m
6096 Main Street, Clayton, 673-0440
Jan. Jan. Feb. Feb.
Entertainment from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
18-19 ...........................................The Firebirds 25-26 .................................Double Down Band 1-2 ...................................................E-Regulars 8-9 ..................................................Barrelhouse
Karaoke Mon. & Wed. nights Open Mic Thur. nights, 8-11 pm
www.claytonclubsaloon.com
2 for the price of 1
Beer only. Good anytime with original coupon. Exp. 2/14/19
January 18, 2019
T H E ARTS
The Pioneer • www.pioneerpublishers.com
Page B7
Catch B8’s last show in current Concord space
943-SHOW or visit www.lesherartscenter.org. Pittsburg Community Theatre’s “Noises Off ” is a delightful backstage farce, brimming with slapstick and complete with slamming KATHRYN G. MCCARTY doors, falling trousers and sarON THE MARQUEE dines. Playwright Michael Frayn pokes fun at the follies of theater folk, whose suscepI am saddened to report tibility to out-of-control egos, that due to upcoming develmemory loss and passionate opment, Concord’s B8 Theaffairs turn every performance atre Company has received an into a high-risk adventure. eviction notice. The show runs Feb. 15-24 at The company’s final prothe California Theatre, 351 duction in its current downRailroad Ave, Pittsburg. Call town venue will be David 925-427-1611 or visit pittsLindsay-Abaire’s “Fuddy burgcaliforniatheatre.com. Meers,” playing through Three love stories, a murMarch 2 at 2292 Concord der mystery and a nuclear Vicki Victoria Blvd. Directed by Max espionage plot converge in Daniel Morgan, Kevin Burns and Julie Rosch appear in “Noises Off” by Pittsburg CommuMinton, the comedy features “Red Herring,” a noir comenity Theater. artistic director JanLee Mardy about marriage and other shall as a woman suffering explosive devices. Randy a story and a community to Danville. Tickets at roleplaynew year with the second profrom a rare form of psyAnger directs the Onstage write a school report. It runs ersensemble.com. gram of its landmark 25th chogenic amnesia. She Feb. 28-March 23 at 3535 The race is on to change season with “Balanchine and Repertory Theatre production, encounters a host of hysteriwhich features six actors the future in “Communicat- Beyond.” It features three cal characters as she attempts School St., Lafayette. Tickets (including Jerry Motta and at 925-283-1557 or towning Doors,” a twisty timeballets, including the classic to recall everything she has Stephanie Rivas) playing 18 travel thriller directed by Cen- masterpiece “Apollo” by forgotten. Visit B8theatre.org halltheatre.com. Role Players Ensemble ter Repertory Company artis- George Balanchine staged by for tickets. Theatre in Danville opens its tic director Michael Butler. Sandra Jennings, former balleThe company is in search 2019 season with “Honky,” a Sharon Rietkerk stars as a rina with the New York City of another theater venue for rare and hilarious examination London dominatrix who travBallet. Other ballets in the the completion of its season. of America’s language of els back in time to save herself program are “From Another O’Neill National Directing racism and greed. Political from a sinister murderer by Time” by Diablo Ballet alumFellow M. Graham Smith correctness is thrown out the preventing the deaths of two na and choreographer Tina Personally, I would create directs the California premiere window as five people muddle of his ex-wives in this Alan Kay Bohnstedt and the classifunctional storage for my of Melissa James Gibson’s through a difficult conversaAyckbourn comedy. The show cal “Paquita” staged by Diablo many, many samples, but also “Brooklyn Bridge” at Town tion. Katja Rivera directs the runs through Feb. 23 at WalBallet’s regisseur, Joanna the things that inspire me to Hall Theatre. The charming Greg Kalleres’ comedy, which nut Creek’s Lesher Center for Berman, former principal create. I envision an old story features Emma Curtin as asks: Can a new experimental the Arts, 1601 Civic Dr. Call dancer with the San Francisco school drafting table, vintage a 10-year-old latchkey kid drug cure racism? “Honky” 925-943-SHOW or visit Ballet. The show is Feb. 1-2 at maps of European cities, searching her quirky brownwww.lesherartscenter.org. the Lesher Center, 1601 Civic leather-bound books with stone neighborhood for a pen, runs Feb. 1-17 at the Village Theatre, 233 Front St., Diablo Ballet opens the Dr., Walnut Creek. Call 925worn edges and tattered pages and antique glass pendants hung in groups that sparkle and shine. When planning your she shed, the exterior is just as important as the interior. Depending on the layout of your property, designing a she shed in the same style as your house, as well as using the same color palette, will make the structures feel connected and fluid. The other option is to have the structures contrast. If your house has traditional
characters in this spy thriller comedy. “Red Herring” runs Jan. 18-Feb. 2 at the Martinez Campbell Theatre, 636 Ward St. Call 925- 350-9770 or visit campbelltheater.com. Poison Apple Productions presents “Mulan JR,” the story of a legendary woman in Northern China who stole her father’s armor, ran away from home, impersonated a soldier, deceived her commanding officer and fellow soldiers, dishonored the Chinese Army, destroyed the emperor’s palace and saved all of China. The youth performance will play Jan. 25-26 at Walnut Creek’s Del Valle Theatre, 1963 Tice Valley Blvd. Call 925-943-SHOW or visit leshercenter.org.
Kathryn G. McCarty is wellknown around the Bay Area as an educator, playwright and journalist. Send comments to KGMcCarty@gmail.com.
Design, from page B5
Stu Selland
Emma Curtin stars in “Brooklyn Bridge” at Town Hall Theatre in Lafayette.
Jennifer Leischer is the owner of J. Designs Interior Design based in Clayton. Contact her with questions, comments and suggestions at jenna@j-designs.com.
Aris Bernales
Jackie McConnell and Michael Wells dance in “From Another Time” by Diablo Ballet in Walnut Creek.
‘Aquaman’ doesn’t make the splash it should have
When Momoa first appeared as Arthur Curry in “Justice League,” fans were psyJEFF MELLINGER ched about this new-look Aquaman. The “Super Friends” carSCREEN SHOTS toon of the ’70s and ’80s had I grew up a closeted Aqua- cratered his image. DC’s man fan; it was not cool to like Rebirth comics from a few years ago finally started to treat him. his character more seriously. Allowed favorite members With all the comic book movies of the Justice League were out there, fans were ready to see Superman, Batman, Wonder how he would be handled Woman, even Robin – not Aquaman. But I even dressed as onscreen. Momoa’s appearances in him in my early swim coaching “Game of Thrones” and days for a big meet: orange “Conan the Barbarian” (2011) shirt, green tights, yellow belt and blonde hair. Only a handful already gave him the credibility needed to take on a revamped of people recognized my cosAquaman. He looks the part. tume. But in “Aquaman,” as in other If I put on an Aquaman roles, he doesn’t have the dracostume in 2019, it would still likely not get recognized since it matic range to bring a whole lot to the character. Momoa basically consists of the rags “huffs” and “puffs” his way Jason Momoa wears through through the role, creating effecmost of James Wan’s “Aquaman.” However, it is now con- tive fight scenes, but the script does not give him much else to sidered more than OK (cool, even) to be a fan of the super- do. Screenwriters David Leslie hero who can talk to fish.
accents, a modern looking she shed could be a really interesting design statement. Think through these details when planning your she shed so the exterior is just as stunning and personalized as the interior. If a she shed is in your future, maybe even this spring, there are several online sources that will help you plan and configure your dream space. With the help of online inspiration sources like Pinterest and Houzz, the design and functional possibilities truly are endless.
Johnson-Mcgoldrick (writer of several of the poorest “Walking Dead” episodes) and Will Beall churn out a handful of hit-ormiss one-liners for Momoa. They also completely waste two Oscar-winners: Willem Dafoe as a grizzled mentor to Aquaman and Nicole Kidman as Curry’s Atlantean mother. As Aquaman’s half-brother King Orm, Patrick Wilson spouts off “Me king, you not” rhetoric as if a third-grader had written the dialogue. One of the other big questions about “Aquaman” was how horror-master Wan would handle a superhero film. Wan splashes the film with unbridled CGI: a necessary evil considering how much of the movie takes place underwater. It makes no sense for critics to denigrate the film because of its use of CGI; Wan had no other option. The effects are fine, if not spectacular. Atlantis and the other kingdoms under the sea look as realistic as possible.
“Aquaman” felt a lot like an Indiana Jones movie set (mostly) underwater. Curry and Atlantean princess Mera (Amber Heard) go on a quest for the lost trident of King Atlan. Finding the trident would justify Curry’s place as rightful heir to the Atlantis throne and put to rest his vilification as a half-breed (half-human, halfAtlantean) pretender. I’d advise sitting back and enjoying the entertaining ocean (and desert) adventure, while not thinking too hard about the nuts and bolts as the way to view this film. A- for being a more successful Aquaman movie than it had any right to be. B- when compared to other superhero movies.
Jeff Mellinger is a screen writer and film buff. He holds a BA in Film Studies and an MFA in film production. He lives in Concord. Email comments to editor@pioneerpublishers.com.
Providing Dignified Professional Services
John & Sharon Ouimet • Don & Bea Ouimet Jim Esenwein, Managing Partner
4125 Clayton Road, Concord, CA 94521 925.682.4242 • fax 925.682.4281
Page B8
The Pioneer • www.pioneerpublishers.com
January 18, 2019
Winter chore list – prune, feed and trim
trees less than 10 years old. In January, lemons, oranges and lime trees are trying to mature their fruit. We can help them along by applying a fertilizer that concentrates on the fruit, not growth. Look for a prodNICOLE HACKETT uct such as a 2-10-10 fertilizer GARDEN GIRL in a water-soluble form, or 010-10 granular. Apply this As you make new year’s type of bud and bloom fertilresolutions to get in shape, izer monthly through March, keep in mind that your landscape or garden deserve to get then begin feeding with your citrus food. If citrus is lookin shape too. ing more yellow than usual, This year, plan to walk apply a dose of water-soluble your landscape monthly and iron now and again in Februaddress issues before they ary. Always follow the package become problems. directions. There’s always work that Lawn care is often left for needs to be done. Citrus has spring, but let’s start this year ripening fruit and leaves that off right and tend to lawns are beginning to yellow, lawns now. Lawns are production are thinning and turning plants that need lots of nutribrown, azaleas and camellias ents to keep them looking need a little help and we all their best. Spread a thin layer know it’s almost time to prune of a rich soil conditioner on roses. top of the entire lawn now, Citrus generally has a hard while it’s raining, to add nutritime in our area, especially
Deep pruning roses in February will lead to better summer yields.
ents naturally. Use a soil conditioner rich in chicken manure, earthworm castings and bat guano. Wait until March to over-seed the lawn. Camellias and azaleas are evergreen shrubs that flower winter through late spring. I lump these two families of shrubs together since they
need to be treated the same ways. Camellias flower first, mainly during late winter, and azaleas start to flower in March. To help these evergreens along now, feed with the same bud and bloom formula that you would give citrus. Use water-soluble 2-10-10 or gran-
butter of the operation. The family worked the fields, set out their fresh fruits and nuts at the stand and added their mother’s home baked fruit pies to the mix. The business is still familyrun. Alex Ramos is co-owner of the farm, along with the Ramos’ siblings. Their spouses, children, nieces, nephews and cousins all participate in selling at farmers markets as well as in production on the farm. The family now attends more than 40 markets per week. The farmers markets offer financial security, since the family can sell fruit at a fair retail price that reflects the
high quality of their produce. “You can talk to customers, see what they’re looking for,” Alex Ramos notes. “It’s not like a warehouse, where you don’t even know where your food goes.” Today, they are well-known at farmers markets throughout the Bay Area. With cherries and apricots in the spring, peaches, nectarines, watermelon and tomatoes in the summer, grapes and persimmons in the fall and citrus in winter, they have all the seasons covered for your fruit needs throughout the year. Stop by and pick up some farm-fresh citrus from J&J this month.
ular 0-10-10. Follow up with a dose of iron in February to encourage super green leaves. Once the camellias and azaleas have finished blooming, prune to shape and begin a fertilizing regime using a product designed for acid-loving plants. Prune roses between Super Bowl Sunday and Valentine’s Day. Regardless of how many flowers your bushes still have, prune them back. It should take less than five minutes to prune an annually pruned rose. As you approach a rose to prune, look to the bottom of the plant. Start there, and don’t worry about all the buds, blooms or leaves still left on the bush. The object of pruning is to remove most of the past year’s growth, all the crossing canes and lateral branches. Remove all gray canes. You may have to use a saw to get through thick
wood. Don’t worry how thick the canes are, you won’t hurt the rose at all. A well-pruned hybrid tea, grandiflora or floribunda rose should have 3-5 straight, clean canes without any leaves. Once you’ve pruned, it’s time to fertilize. Here is a famous recipe. GROUND GROWN ROSE FERTILIZER ½ c. 16-16-16 fertilizer ½ c. bone meal ½ c. granular iron ½ c. alfalfa meal 2 T. Epsom salt Work into soil along drip line and top-dress with an inch layer of chicken manure and water in.
Nicole is the Garden Girl at R&M Pool, Patio, Gifts and Garden. You can contact her with questions or comments by email at Gardengirl@claytonpioneer.com
Tangerines can brighten a winter day
DEBRA MORRIS
FARMERS MARKET
Bring a little sunshine into winter’s heavy meals with fresh California citrus. Oranges, tangerines, lemons, grapefruit and more are now at the farmers market, brought directly to you from the farmers who grew them. J&J Ramos Farms from Hughson is one of the farms bringing this fantastic fruit to
the Concord Farmers Market every Tuesday. Their tables are filled with pink grapefruit, navel and Valencia oranges, pomelos, and all the Murcott and Satsuma tangerines you can eat. The Ramos family settled in Hughson in the Central Valley in 1997 and began farming with just 20 acres of cling peaches. A year later, they expanded to a variety of orchard crops. As the years progressed, they increased their acreage and planted a variety of other fruit and nut trees. They now have 350 acres. As they expanded, they opened a roadside fruit stand that became the bread-and-
ed
CITRUS ONION SALAD 1 orange, peeled, segment-
1 grapefruit, peeled, segmented ½ red onion, peeled, sliced into half rings 1 avocado, seeded, peeled, chopped (optional) ¼ c. extra virgin olive oil Salt and pepper to taste Divide citrus and onion onto two plates. Add avocado, if desired. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Recipe: PCFMA staff
The Concord Farmers Market is in Vibrant tangerines are Todos Santos Plaza Tuesdays & among the winter offerings Thursdays. See ad page 5 for hours. from Ramos Farms.
6160 Center St. Suite #C, Clayton
925-693-0757 (main) Clayton residents since 1959
COMING SOON
• 2040 Sierra Road #5, Concord 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, approx. 1099 sq.ft.
Call for info Listing agent:
Rula Masannat
We wish you y h t l a e a happy, h and prosperous New Year Call us at Mazzei today CST #2033054-40
mazzeirealty.net
For information contact
Matt Mazzei, Jr.,
Paula & Rod Johnstone
Rula Masannat
BRE# 01881269
DRE# 00797857
DRE# 01923757
Broker/Owner 925-766-6745 matt@mazzeirealty.net
Broker Associate
Paula 925-381-8810 Rod 925-286-5765
heypaula10@gmail.com
Sales Agent 415-310-2905 rulawithmazzei@yahoo.com
925.672.9840 Clayton, CA travel-2-go.com
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