BrentwoodPress_12.26.08

YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER

Vol. 10, No. 52 Including Surrounding Communities www.brentwoodpress.com December 26, 2008

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THIS WEEK

The merging of mascots

A bagel shop provided the materials and the wall, and students supplied the creativity.

Page 5A

FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A

State to raid school coffers Local educators are bracing for tidings of no comfort or joy from Sacramento.

Page 10A

Martial munificence

In addition to raising opponents off the mat, jiu-jitsu mavens recently raised money to fight pancreatic cancer.

Page 1B

Caring expands as economy shrinksYou cant turn on your radio or TV

these days without getting a full dose of bad news: the economy is tanking, and stores and restaurants are virtually empty as people hunker down to endure the tough times.

The news, though, isnt all bad, at least not in far East County. A pair of community efforts, one old and one new, shone brightly last weekend, penetrating the gloom like the Christmas star two millennia ago.

Ive been fortunate enough to serve on the board of directors for the Brentwood Regional

Community Chest for fi ve years now. The BRCC, founded by Rose Pierce, has been distributing food and toys to local families in need at Christmastime for three decades. Although there has always been tremendous public participation in the program that sup-ports 500 families every year, we expected all the hunkering down would mean 2008 would be a lean year.

I was even more concerned about a new program, based on the BRCC model and

launched by Jim Frazier and the Friends of Oakley, who courageously set out to help 125 more local families for the fi rst time.

And sure enough, things started off pretty slow. Cash donations dropped signifi -cantly, and donation barrels placed in local

businesses fi lled slowly, now competing with barrels belonging to numerous other groups placed right alongside.

I neednt have worried so much. As last

ONDEADLINE

RICKLEMYRE

see Caring page 18A

Legendary high-tech wizard logs out

Dennis Buckley, who worked as a teacher and high-tech guru for the Liberty Union High School District long enough to see the children of the students he fi rst taught walking the halls of district high schools, was honored recently upon his retirement.

This is one of those bitter-sweet moments where we thank and congratulate but also say goodbye to a very valued em-ployee, said District Superin-tendent Dan Smith at the Dec. 10 board meeting. After 38-plus years of service to the Liberty Union High School District, Dennis has decided that its time to go on to the next phase in his life.

After earning a bachelors degree in physics and teaching credential from Chico State, Buckley was hired in 1970 to teach chemistry and physics at Liberty High. In 1984, he was

honored as teacher of the year both for the district and the county.

In addition to teaching for about 21 years, he served as the technical director for the performing arts center for 20 years and director of activities

at Liberty High School. Begin-ning in the early 1990s, Buckley became the technology expert for the district, launching its network system in 1992.

As a result, Dennis knows not only every piece of technol-ogy in the district but where every

technology line and hidden com-puter is, said Smith.

Buckley joked, And where the skeletons are buried.

Buckley was also instru-mental in designing the tech-nology systems at Freedom and Heritage high schools.

Those two schools are models of technology use, said Smith. And the network system we have in the district is one of the best-functioning networks around. And thats due to Den-nis great work and continual monitoring and guidance. There are many, many weekends where Dennis has given of his own time working in here and making sure the network is up and running.

We certainly owe him a great debt of gratitude and thanks for the many, many years of service to the students, the staff and the entire district. Dennis is the type of person you never really replace. His per-sonal skills and dedication to

Olivia Scarborough, 4, hands a can of vegetables to Lisa Mitchener as Olivias grand-mother, Magco Olson, works nearby. The three were among the hundreds of volun-teers who helped with the BRCC Christmas Basket program last weekend.

Photo by Richard Wisdom

by Dave RobertsStaff Writer

see Wizard page 18A

Dennis Buckley receives tokens of appreciation from Liberty Union High School District Board President Joanne Byer upon his retirement after 38 years.

Photo by Dave RobertsCalendar ..........................19BClassifieds ........................14BEducation ..........................8AEntertainment ................10BHealth & Beauty ...............8BMilestones .........................7BOpinion ...........................15ASports .................................1B

INSIDE

The fi rst things a visitor sees when pass-ing by the Mare Island Naval Shipyard are piles of rusting steel, empty and neglected warehouses and weed-choked parking lots. About an hour from the East County on the other side of the bay, the facility was estab-lished in 1854, and appears to be an aging repository of things long past usefulness.

But appearances can be deceiving. Ear-lier this month, a three-year effort culminated in the forging of something powerful and new an alliance between Antioch and the Armys 483rd Transportation Battalion.

The occasion was the citys offi cial adop-tion of the 483rd at a ceremony that also commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Army Reserve.

Antioch is a community that is very appreciative of the veterans, said Mayor Jim Davis at the ceremony that took place Dec. 14. This is a way to show them our respect.

The 483rd was formed as an all-Afri-can-American unit in 1942, supplying lum-ber and petroleum products to forces in the Aleutian Islands. In 1944, the 483rd delivered supplies across the Normandy beachhead in the weeks following the Allied invasion of Europe in World War II. The unit also han-dled supplies in Kuwait for Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004.

Lt. Col. Scott Gemeling, commander of

the 483rd, noted that the units water trans-port mission is a natural fi t for Antioch, the riverside city also known as the Gateway to the Delta. After an exchange of fl ags, Gemel-ing pinned a unit crest on Davis lapel and presented a plaque bearing the history of the 483rd.

The adoption effort was spearheaded by

Antioch resident and veteran Terry Andrea-son, who was rewarded for his efforts by Ge-meling as part of the ceremony. A member of the Patriot Sentinel Riders organization, An-dreason said the mission to show community support for the armed forces is an important one, and one he hopes will spread to other communities.

United States Army Reserve Ambassa-dor Dan Furtado agreed. The adoption pro-cess is not as onerous as it appears, he said. If one community gets involved, neighbors might be inspired to get on board as well. To-days Army involves multiple deployments, and we need to make sure we support the troops and their families at home.

The ceremony was followed by an ex-cursion aboard on the 483rds ships, out un-der the Golden Gate Bridge and back. The Antioch banner will now fl y on the 483rds ships, Davis said, and the city will support the 483rd when it is sent abroad and will feature the battalion in various community events.

DECEMBER 26, 2008 COMMUNITY BRENTWOODPRESS.COM | 3A

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Antioch forms new bond with Armyby Rick Lemyre

Staff Writer

Lt. Col. Scott Gemeling, left, and Antioch Mayor Jim Davis hold a city ag pre-sented to the 483rd Transportation Battalion as part of a Dec. 14 ceremony in which the city adopted the 483rd.

Photo by Rick Lemyre

Lt. Col. Scott Gemeling, right, command-er of the Armys 483rd Transportation Battalion, honors Antioch veteran Terry Andreason for his service, including be-ing the driving force behind Antiochs adoption of the 483rd.


DECEMBER 26, 2008 EDUCATION BRENTWOODPRESS.COM | 5A

Tenacious teamwork

Art students at Heritage High and Adams Middle schools joined forces this year to create a collaborative mural of art and inspiration. The project began in September and the fi nishing touches were completed this week. The owners of Willys Bagels and Blends on Country Club Drive in Brentwood provided a wall in their shop and the supplies for the joint venture. The fusion of the schools mascots (the yellowjacket wearing the Patriot cos-tume) is the focal point of the mural, highlighting the teamwork that made the project happen. At right, top, Heritage Principal Andy Parsons shows off the new mural. At right bottom, the con-tributors from Heritage and Adams pose in front of the artwork.

Photos courtesy of Adams Middle School

6A | BRENTWOODPRESS.COM COMMUNITY DECEMBER 26, 2008

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Generosity exceeded need at least brie y at the years Adopt-A-Fam-ily event held by the Delta Community Services, Inc. Originally slated to provide holiday food and toys for 34 families, the donations from all four of the Summerset communities (which also provided volunteers) poured in, forcing the programs expansion. They overwhelmed us, said Linda Stadlbauer of the Brentwood Parks and Recreation Depart-ment, which hosted the event at the citys Community Center. We had so many things, we had to call extra families to come and get them. Or-ganized by Felicitas Ochoa D.C.S.I., the program primarily bene ted local farm workers. It was a fantastic turnout, said Stadlbauer. There was great generosity from the Summerset group, and many grateful families who were helped by both gifts and groceries. Above are a few of the stalwart volunteers who stayed extra hours to distribute the Summerset communities largess.

Generosity in deedPhoto courtesy of Brentwood Parks and Recreation

Council members soughtSupervisor Mary Nejedly Piepho is

seeking applicants for the Knightsen Town Advisory Council (KTAC) and the By-ron Municipal Advisory Council (Byron MAC).

The function of the councils is to ad-vise the county Board of Supervisors on land issues and planning matters affect-ing the communities. The councils repre-sents their community before the Board of Supervisors, the East County Regional Planning Commission, and the Zoning Administrator on issues such as land use, planning and zoning. The councils also represent their constituents before the Lo-cal Agency Formation Commission on

proposed boundary changes affecting their community.

KTAC meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. in the Knightsen Garden Club building; the Byron MAC meets monthly at 7 p.m. at the Byron Li-brary.

Applicants must be residents of Byron to serve on the Byron MAC, and must live in Knightsen to serve on KTAC. Interested persons should visit the countys Web site, www.co.contra-costa.ca.us/maddybook/, for application procedures, or call 925-335-1900 for an application. Applications must be returned by 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 2, 2009.

Delta familys story chronicledJames M. Hotchkiss, Jr. has published

a great history of the Hotchkiss family en-titled A Pair of Kings and a Joker. The book should be of interest to all who live on the land called Hotchkiss Tract, which is also known as Reclamation District 799. The area includes those living on Dutch Slough Road and Sandmound Boulevard, and surrounding areas.

James M. Hotchkiss, Jr. is the grand-son of W.J. Hotchkiss, the man the tract was named for. The 224-page A Pair of Kings and a Joker contains many pictures of Hotchkiss family members and tells an intimate tale of the growth of the family and its heritage.

As Hotchkiss, Jr. writes, Laugh out

loud at the incredible neurotic behavior of W.J.s nincompoop son, Marius. Then re-joice as all the familys greatness recurs in Marius son, Miller.

The book tells of the triumphs of W.J. Hotchkiss in his business empire of farm-ing, canning and lumber. The books read-ers will become believers that the Golden Gate Bridge might never have been built without the efforts of W.J. Hotchkiss, the founder and leader of the Bridging the Golden Gate Association.

To order the book, go to the Web site www.lulu.com and click on the title of the book. In the near future, the book will also be available at Amazon.com. Contributed by historian Robert Gromm


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Last week the financial news was all abuzz over news that the Treasury Department was going to take steps to try to lower mortgage rates to 4.5%. Its one more tool they would imple-ment to fix our real estate market. If more people can qualify to buy homes, or refinance to lower their payment, or keep their adjustable-rate loan pay-ments from skyrocketing, thats all good.

I dont have space to describe how they were going to do this, but what I can tell you is that they really dont have control over mortgage rates. They can do some things that in theory would cause rates to drop, but there is no guarantee of 4.5% mortgages in our future. But whats interesting is that just the news reports about this plan seem to have had the effect of dropping mortgage rates across the board just based on expectations. Ive had some clients who have been quoted 4.8% for

a 30 year fixed-rate mortgage recently!But whats interesting is that last

week Treasury Secretary Paulson was asked on a news show about this plan for 4.5% mortgages, and his answer was dissembling, at best. He said that plan wasnt really firmed up yet, and had been leaked to the press prema-turely. He wants to get the blessing of the new Obama administration once they are in power before they move forward on such a costly plan.

The bottom line is that rates are fantastic now. They could go lower, or they could go higher. But there is no guarantee we are going to see 4.5% anytime soon.

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Pioneer Elementary Schools Student Council exempli ed the spirit of the holiday season when it decided to donate $150 dollars to the local Brentwood Community Chest charity organization. Every year the Brentwood Community Chest organization serves to assist the communitys families in need. After hearing about the need from their teacher, Student Council members Sarah, Jessop and Clarissa Grubbs im-mediately decided to make the donation. They recognized that with the economy in a sorry state, many people in the community might not be able to give as much as in the past, and that the Student Council could step in and help families enjoy the holiday season. The teachers and staff of Pioneer Elementary take pride in their students act of kindness and generosity the very essence of the schools purpose. Pioneer Elemen-tary wishes everyone a Happy New Year!

Pioneer ponies up

8A | BRENTWOODPRESS.COM EDUCATION DECEMBER 26, 2008

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UntilChristmas!

Megan Bentley, 6, snagged a little one-on-one time with the Jolly Old Elf himself during Laurel Elementary Schools Pizza with Santa party. No telling for sure what the rst-grader asked for, but judging from her smile, it seems to have gone pretty well.

An early visit

Photo courtesy of Laurel Elementary School

DECEMBER 26, 2008 BRENTWOODPRESS.COM | 9A

10A | BRENTWOODPRESS.COM EDUCATION DECEMBER 26, 2008

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School funds to take a hit

East County educators got a Grinchy surprise last week with the news of a pro-posed plan to slash $10 billion from local schools bare-bones coffers in order to rescue the state of Californias budget.

The cuts, currently unidentifi ed, are part of an overall package brought by state and assembly Republicans as a way to plug a leaking $40 billion dollar state defi cit the same budget passed by the legislature two months ago, and 85 days past its original deadline.

What this means for schools through-out the state is not completely clear, but here in East County, school administrators are preparing for the worst. If the proposed plan is passed in Sacramento, the Oakley district could lose as much as $6 million of its rough-ly $24 million annual operating budget.

Merry Christmas, said Oakley Union Elementary School District (OUESD) Su-perintendent Rick Rogers.

In expectation of the losses, Rogers said the district has been preparing its staff for the inevitable by reducing spending, forgoing unnecessary expenditures and freezing salary increases. The district has already begun to save money through this years leasing of Al-mond Grove Elementary the newest school in the district to Trinity Christian School. The agreement will save OUESD approxi-mately $300,000 per year.

I think everyone (school staff) is on board, and they understand that there is not a whole lot we can do until we know what the cuts will be, said Rogers. And its not a mat-ter of if, but when. What I do know is that its a given that there wont be a department or school program that will remain untouched by this, and thats tragic.

Liberty Union High School District (LUHSD) Superintendent Dan Smith agreed. Since state construction dollars for

school improvements have been recently slashed, the focus has turned to the inevitable cuts to the LUHSDs annual $58 million op-erating budget.

Certainly nothing is defi nite at this point, but since we heard (about the pro-posed cuts), there has been a non-essential hiring freeze, said Smith. In order to keep our classrooms going, were asking all staff to look at what theyre doing and see where they can cut costs. Things like turning off the computers at night, limiting the amount of copies they make and turning out lights make a difference. It all adds up.

But what doesnt add up Smith says, is the states inability to balance the budget. It is frustrating, said Smith. These are hard times and this is uncharted territory. But we (the LUHSD Board) are holding a study session on Jan. 14, and were hoping that by then well have something solid to go on.

Melanie Jones, principal at Diablo Vista Elementary School in Antioch, says she has been working with her staff to cut back where possible, but admits the times are challenging.

The pressure here in California (re-garding fi nances) is tough, and especially so for the schools, said Jones. Here (at Diablo Vista) were already doing without a vice principal, and just in terms of coverage administratively and physically its been diffi cult. Well just have to wait and see what the cuts are and go from there.

Educational budget woes are nothing new in California, a state that since the pas-sage of Proposition 13 in the 1970s has seen a steady decline in funding for schools. Ac-cording to recent studies released by the Cali-fornia Department of Education, California continues to lag behind the rest of the coun-try in per pupil spending, teacher-to-student ratios and academic performance.

Its taken 30 years to get there, but it fi nally did, said Rogers of the states low rankings. I just feel bad for the kids the whole thing is just obscene.

by Ruth RobertsStaff Writer


Campus welcomes Watch DOGS

are another 50 or so that are contacting us, asking how to get involved. Our goal was to have someone here every day of the week for the rest of the school year, and Im sure well fulfi ll our commitment.

With such successful numbers and continued involvement, what is the mes-sage the Watch DOGS bring to both stu-dents and dads? Well, I think what its telling us is that dads want to be involved

in their childrens lives and that they want to take an active role, said Chuey. Its saying to the kids that we care and that its our turn. This is something we should have been doing all along, but now we have the opportunity. Its great for every-one.

For more information on the Watch DOGS program, call Diablo Vista at 925-706-5288.

Rick Hilton is top dog at Diablo Vista Elementary School and hes not just bragging. Hilton, along with dozens of others dads on the Antioch campus, are members of the Watch DOGS (Dads of Great Students) program; a nationwide organization that has upgraded the roles of dads in the classroom and unleashed it on a grateful parent community.

What we basically are is another set of eyes on campus, said Hilton, parent coordinator of the program. But whats different about this is that we dont just volunteer in our childs classroom. We go wherever we are needed directing traffi c; on the playground; even doing the heavy lifting.

A kind of honey-do list for the school set.

Moms have been in classrooms for years, of course, but for a lot of dads, it can be intimidating to come to school, because we dont really know what to do, said Dave Chuey, another DOGS dad. So whats great about DOGS is every-things written out and dads know where they are going and what they are going to do. Its structured, and thats something we, as dads, need.

Scholastic expertise, insists Hilton, is not a criterion, but enthusiasm defi -nitely is. If you can shoot hoops here, then youre Michael Jordan, no matter how good you are, he said. Its all about being involved with the kids, and just by showing up, youre showing you care.

Watch DOGS was founded in 1998 by a parent reacting to the school shoot-ing in Jonesboro, Ark. The original con-cept behind the program was to prevent school violence by providing additional on-site support. But since then, the orga-nization has evolved into much more, and Diablo Vista Principal Melanie Jones is thrilled.

There are, of course, no negatives to this (program), said Jones. The teachers have been telling me how great its been to have the help in the classrooms and throughout the campus. Its been a real blessing.

And the benefi t to the students as well, is obvious.

Matthew Hilton, Ricks son, said that having his dad on campus has been an all around great experience. Its been cool having my dad here, said Matthew, 10. I like it because I get to spend more time with him and he gets to be more involved in my class.

Diablo Vista is the fi rst school in the East Bay to participate in the DOGS program, said Hilton. But the reaction has been so overwhelming, he is hopeful the group will spread to other schools in the Antioch Unifi ed School District and eventually throughout East County.

When we fi rst put this together, we were hoping for a half dozen dads coming maybe once a week to help out, said Hil-ton. At our fi rst meeting, we had 30 ini-tial volunteers show up, and Id say there

by Ruth RobertsStaff Writer

Rick Hilton, above, shares a moment with his son Matthew during his day at Diablo Vista Elementary. Hilton is the parent coordinator for the Watch DOGS program, a volunteer group that promotes dads participation on campus.

Photo by Ruth Roberts

12A | BRENTWOODPRESS.COM DECEMBER 26, 2008

When Doctors Get Back Pain & Sciatica, This Is What They Do

Finally, A Breakthrough In The Treatment Of Back & Neck Pain And Sciatica Caused By Bulging, Herniated Or Squashed DiscsWe believe the greatest back pain break-

through of our century that this doctor has seen is NOT surgery, but a little-known, state-of-the-art technology thats safe, pain-less and has recently become available in Brentwood.

Brentwood When a local doctor came to consult with me about low back pain and sciatica down his leg, he told me hes seen too many patients whove had surgery and he wanted to avoid it at all cost. He had seen 3 or 4 patients that I had treated and the amazing results they had received and he was asking me if I could help him.

You see, after I treat a patient, I always send a medical report of ndings to their doctors, keeping them informed of the patients prog-ress. I also encourage the patient to report back to their physician for a visit and to show-off their newfound health to their doctor.

This doctor had several patients come back to him from our of ce after treatment to do just that and he came to me with his own condition.

Ive successfully treated Dentists, Nurses, Chiropractors, Therapists, just to name a few. Ive treated even more of their staff. I havent treated a spine surgeon yetpride is a funny thing, but Id be honored at the opportunity.

Doctor or not, every person entering our of ce undergoes a thorough history, exten-sive examination, and review of spinal lms. We then determine the cause of their pain, whether they are a good candidate for non-surgical spinal decompression and then I consider the severity of the case and decide on acceptance of their case.

Do You Have A Disc Problem?If you experience any of the following in your

back or neck, chances are your pain is due to a disc bulge, herniation or degeneration: A vice squeezing your back Sitting causes back or leg pain Stabbing pain at the belt line or in your neck Cant turning over in bed without hurting Numbness in your toes or ngers Fire down your legs Searing pain radiates into your arm Prickling in your thigh

Finally, Some Good NewsIf youve been suffering with back pain or arm/

leg pain caused by a disc bulge, disc herniation or squashed or compressed discs.

I can now GUARANTEE your satisfaction with my non-surgical computerized treatment for bad discs and bad backs!

Its all because of 14 recent medical studies on spinal decompression.

Until recently, the only advice for many of you suffering in pain was to try what youve been told: Try exercising Try physical therapy Try pain medications Try muscle relaxers Try pain shots Try dangerous back surgery Just live with it

If youre like most, none of these have worked for you or you are afraid of what could happen if

you do try some of these. Exercising makes you hurt more, pain medications and muscle relaxers cover up the problem and give you side effects. Pain shots can cause more pain, dont work or dont last very long nor FIX the problem, back surgery didnt work or made you worse. Or maybe you were one of the lucky ones that back surgery actually helped, but now the problem is back with a vengeance.

Warning: Decompression is NOT like old fashioned traction or hanging upside down which can send you into severe spasms and

squeeze the discs even harder!Whatever your situation, you owe it to yourself

to check into a Breakthrough Computerized Non-Surgical Treatment for back pain and sciatic or leg pain caused by a bulging, herniated or squashed disc or discs.

It has helped hundreds of people who were suffering just like you. This new treatment ma-chine Im calling my squashed disc machine.

Dr. James Martin D.C.

How Do Discs Go Bad?Over time the discs in your back tend to get

squashed or compressed, especially if youve played certain sports when younger or have a job that requires lots of sitting or standing in one place for long periods of time. Car accidents, lifting things, very physical jobs just to name a few.

Its kinda like a cookie with cream lling, and the cream lling will start to ooze out from between the sides of the cookie if pressure is applied on top of the cookie (like gravity on our spines).

Eventually this happens to a lot of us. Statistics are something like over 80% of Americans will suf-fer with back pain sometime in their life.

Back to my new computerized squashed disc machine. Youre probably wondering how this new machine works.

How Does This Machine Work? Havent you ever had the thoughtGosh, if

somebody could just pull me apart...I would feel a whole lot better. Yeah, I know you have. And it kinda makes a bit of sense.

Well someone else, actually a medical manufac-turer, back pain specialists, neurosurgeons and en-gineers have come up with just that. A machine that gently pulls you apart, stretches the disc to a certain point that causes a drop in pressure inside the disc (like a little vacuum in the middle the cream lling) causing the cream lling to suck back in!

In my clinic, Ive successfully treated hundreds of patients with spinal decompression so theres no reason your back problem should be any different.

In fact, Im so con dent we can help you, Im

willing to back it upbut not with empty promises.

I GUARANTEE your satisfaction. Yes, a real old-fashioned satisfaction guaran-

teebut theres one small catchfor your bene t. You see, theres a very small percentage of folks we cant help. Heres what a couple applicants said af-ter I told them both I couldnt help them:

I was treated very nicely. The doctors have lis-tened to me and they didnt rush me out of the offi ce, despite the fact I wasnt a candidate. The exam I had was super, the best Ive had anywhere. The doctor explained things to me that no one else ever has.

Non-CandidateBrentwood, Ca

I thought Id write a note to you and all of those potential patients who have serious doubts (as I had) about your decompression treatments. Actually, I thought your procedure was more of a psychologi-cal placebo designed for everyone, instead of a non-surgical process that could repair injured vertebral discs. Imagine my surprise when you advised me that my condition was too severe for your proce-dure to correct. To me, that refusal added worlds of credibility to your program. It showed me that you are only there to help patients; not just to take their money. I assure you that I will recommend you to anyone I know or meet that suffers from spine and/or disc pain. I can do this knowing full well that they will be treated right.

Non-CandidateAntioch, Ca

And thats why Im offering a limited time ----------------->

Most Serious Back Pain Sufferers Are Very Skeptical Of This New Procedure, As Skeptical As I Was When I Purchased My First Decompression Machine, So If You Are SkepticalSee What Some Of Our Patients Who WERE Good Candidates Have Had To Say About Our Program:

I had excruciating back pain and pain down both legs to my feet. I had been suffering for 2 years. I tried everything. I now look forward to every day and Im even back on the golf course. If youre think-ing about spinal decompression, dont wait, Do it Now!!

Doug Brook-RetiredI had excruciating back pain and was worried

I would need surgery. I tried acupuncture, acupres-sure, chiropractic, and pain medications. Dr. Mar-tin has given me my life back. I couldnt walk and was in excruciating pain. I now have no pain and I have my mobility back.

Bonnie Salmon Owner Scooters CafI had lower back pain and leg numbness so bad

I could not sleep properly. Its wonderful to be able to sleep all night without pain and to stand straight and walk without both legs going numb.

Marcia Penick RetiredI had severe back pain and losing ability to

function. My problem started 13 years ago and it got severe In the last 2 months or so. After the fi rst treatment, the numbness in my left leg and foot went away.

Burna McClelland- RancherI had unrelenting back pain, gloom and disap-

pointment as I had several doctors were unable to help me. Spinal Decompression is really amazing! I have gone through a transformation of pain, gloom and disappointment to a new value, new hope and a

new lease on life.Herb Olsen Retired

I had serious back pain. I was taking several pain medications when I started the program. Af-ter the 5th treatment, I woke up feeling thirty fi ve again! It was amazing. I am now off all pain drugs and am totally pain free.

John Marek Pet Care I had severe leg pain and numbness in both

feet and could not walk without a cane and the leg pain would not change no matter how I layed down to sleep. Ive had this problem for 40 years. Dr. Martin has made a believer out of me. My wife and my dog Bongo says thank you! I can now walk him again.

Angelo MirabellaRetiredI heard about spinal decompression on the ra-

dio. I had back pain for 3 or 4 years and tried differ-ent back therapies and back surgery. Spinal decom-pression has helped me even after back surgery and I sleep better at night. If someone has back problems, they should try spinal decompression.

Rick Wright Farmer I had really bad neck pain and couldnt move

my head hardly at all. It hurs so badly that I couldnt eat without throwing up. I started feeling better very quickly after starting treatment on the decompres-sion machine and soon I felt no pain at all!

Carly Brown Student

I had pain for over twenty years and it kept getting worse. I was so sore I could hardly move. Dr. Martin and his staff have helped me. After only three treatments I was feeling better and now I feel great! If you are thinking about spinal decompres-sion, go for it.

Clifton W. Stratham -Retired

CALL TODAY!925-516-5855

2200 Sand Creek Road, Suite B

Brentwood, California 94513

The FREE 19-Point Squashed-DiscQualifying Assessment

Thats right, no charge and we wont try to sell you anything. But you will fi nd out if you are a candidate for this revolutionary new therapy. You wont be left wondering if its something that could have eliminated your pain.

During your assessment, well check out your: ligaments, muscles, hips, pain index, refl exes, discs, tendons, spine, pelvis, x-rays, MRIs, fl exibility, motion, balance & nerves

Expires 1/02/09

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OPINIONEDITORIALS, LETTERS & COMMENTARY Nat

ional Aw

ardWinning Newspapers Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Santa Claus

For the sake of the children, take actionI write this is honor of Raijon Dan-

iels, Jazzmin Davis and her twin brother (who is said to be the living version of Jazzmin), and Kyle R. Moreover, I write this for the sake of the children whose stories have not yet been told, for the sake

of children in the system, and for the sake of chil-dren who, at this very moment, are

being abused and even tortured behind closed curtains we pass every day.

Understanding how anyone could torture a child is incomprehensible, but the fact that a total of four adults have now been charged with torturing Kyle R. is a horror that is truly unbelievable. How do four similarly sick-minded individuals manage to fi nd each other to carry out such evil against a child? No one wants to believe that perversion and cruelty surround us. Kyles story, unfortunately, sheds a stark light on the truth that evil does, in fact, exist. And it lives near you.

Evil can be found anywhere power reigns. I believe the dictum Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Likewise, history has proven

that all it takes for evil to exist is for good people to do nothing. So, here I am, doing what I can, doing something, anything, to try to counter the atroci-ties against children atrocities that are becoming all-too familiar.

One cannot help but conclude that social workers failed all of these kids. The system failed them miserably and tragical-ly. And with budgetary problems causing social service layoffs, the system wont get any better. For this reason, it is more im-portant than ever that those-who-can do all they can. We need to do better and we need to do more. And when I say we, I mean (fi rst and foremost) social workers, teachers, school administrators, medi-cal professionals, police offi cers, church workers, neighbors, philanthropists and legislators. I mean all of us.

The fact that these kids were all in the system is only one similarity. The other common thread that runs through the tattered lives of these tortured kids is this: they all disappeared from public school. It seems to me that the school system and child welfare workers (just as their job titles indicate) represent the front line of child welfare. So how is it

that children in the system are allowed to disappear from school without their welfare being red-fl agged and called into serious question?

Allowing children to disappear from school enables their abusers to infl ict evils of the worst kind acted out in absolute isolation. As such, truancy (or lack of school registration) of a child in the system should sound a fi erce alarm. From what I can tell, though, there is neither mandate nor ready means by which a school reports such absences to authori-ties.

Heres a thought: let us not continue to allow the life of a child to depend on the diligence and ability (or lack thereof) of one social worker. In this hi-tech age, we should have a means by which the various entities charged with ensuring the welfare of our children enter critical information into a database that would then red-fl ag cases of concern.

What I am suggesting is a national database that tracks critical data con-cerning those most vulnerable among us: children. Creating such would require expertise and money. (Any Silicon Valley philanthropists reading this?) Obtaining

the necessary level of cooperation, among the various entities that comprise the system we currently bemoan, would most certainly require a legal mandate. (Any elected offi cials reading this?)

Making such a database reality wont be easy, but its important. When human (and fi nancial) resources are scarce, work-ing harder is good, but working smarter is crucial.

For the sake of our children, please, anyone and everyone charged with re-sponsibility for children, anyone knowl-edgeable of the system, who understands the complexities in the way outsiders can-not, and anyone who has the knowledge and the power to make a difference, I implore you: be diligent and passionate, and do your part to remedy this broken system!

Do this so that the deaths of Jazzmin and Raijon and the nightmares that Jazzmins twin brother and Kyle R. have endured will not be in vain. Do this so that we dont have to read of more heart-wrenching, unnecessary horrors such as these ever again.

Denise Niber-MontoyaDiscovery Bay

LETTERS TO THE EDITORHelp protect your property value

Editor:This letter is intended for the resi-

dents of Discovery Bay Property Owners Association (DBPOA).

I joined the DBPOA board this year along with four other new members. We are fully aware that there are major con-cerns about decisions past boards made and that there are those who question whether the DBPOA is a valid associa-tion. The goal of the new board has been to try to move forward and begin to work with the association members in a professional and respectful way.

The current board reached out to a group of vocal, concerned homeown-ers who have made some inappropriate accusations, and asked to meet with them to discuss our plans as a new board and listen to their concerns. The intent was to try to begin a process of working together to foster open communications to benefi t the association members. This group fl atly refused to meet with us!

The request for an increase in home-owner dues is largely because of expenses due to lawsuits, requests for documen-tation, court costs, insurance and man hours, etc., over the years, all required by law for the board to address. This has left us with a defi cit in trying to manage the association at the bare minimum.

Also, with the increase in foreclo-sures, our income of available funds has dropped over 25 percent. The DBPOA dues of $25 per year have not increased for a number of years because of the bylaws. Therefore, we are requesting a bylaw change to give more fl exibility in todays environment.

The intent of having a property owners association is to maintain a level of standards that protect the value of the homes within the association. Plain and simple, without a functioning as-sociation, there would be no recourse if a neighbor decides to paint his home purple or landscape with garish items. The items covered by the CC&Rs are not

subject to county or state enforcement. With severely limited funds, the process to address these concerns would be seri-ously impacted.

We live in a beautiful and unique community and I am sure most residents, especially in todays environment, want to protect their home value.

Finally, our books are open to all homeowners in the association. I sincerely hope that before you vote, you take the time to fi nd out the facts and get involved to make this association work to the benefi t of all concerned.

Jack ParkerDiscovery Bay

Dynamic duo leads schoolEditor:

In this time of giving thanks, we think it is important to give thanks for the school-site leadership at Excelsior Middle School and all of the recent posi-tive changes fostering student success this year.

The teachers have not signifi cantly changed in the last fi ve years, but there has been a huge paradigm shift with the leadership of Ben Scinto and Karla Allen this year. There is an impressive collaborative team focus across depart-ments and grade levels and recognition of the students and staff as they work together to be their best.

Mr. Scinto and Ms. Allen strive to make Excelsior a School-to-Watch program. Under their leadership, teach-ers, students and parents have adopted a school-wide emphasis on individual student strengths, teacher accountability and student responsibility. Failure is not an option is embraced by adminis-trators, teachers, students and parents.

Examples of this philosophy include the Effective Relief Program, Renais-sance Program and TEAM Advisory class new to Excelsior under the leader-ship of Mr. Scinto and Ms. Allen. These programs have promoted an aura of excitement among the students as they challenge themselves to excel academi-cally and be recognized publicly among their peers for their efforts.

The TEAM class encourages stu-dents to explore values and study skills, develop long- and short-term goals and identify their own strengths and weak-nesses. Students work with a consistent staff mentor throughout their career at Excelsior, which allows every student the opportunity to connect with a teacher who is committed to meeting the devel-opmental needs of early adolescents.

Attendance at the student-led conferences (part of the TEAM model) soared to an astounding 95 percent, with students and parents reporting that

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they enjoyed sharing a selected piece of work from each class. Students reported they felt their parents listened when they talked. Furthermore, Mr. Scinto and Ms. Allen have implemented the use of data-based outcome measures to track academic performance throughout the year, allowing teachers to provide im-mediate, individualized remediation or enrichment.

When faced with the everyday challenges, Mr. Scinto and Ms. Allen constructively solve problematic issues by focusing on the academic, social and developmental needs of students, their parents and the staff. Mr. Scinto and Ms. Allen have an open-door policy for stu-dents, parents and the staff and a can-do attitude, helping whenever and wherever possible.

Students acknowledge the positive changes on campus as well. One student states, I really like Monday Huddle because I get to know the teachers and I like the student recognition.

Another states, Huddle is fabtas-tic. Teachers are telling us life lessons through stories and I think they are get-ting across because we can relate.

Finally, another states, Mr. Scinto is a very nice and caring person and he understands me.

Parents agree as well. One parent stated, As a parent of an eighth-grade student, this year has been awesome! The ER program has been great and it has helped her (my daughter) with

homework and to bring those grades up that shes having problems with in class.

We are proud and excited to be a part of Team Scinto and Allen! Their creative, compassionate and committed leadership, as well as their intellectual guidance will surely be the keys to the successful academic future of Excelsior Middle School and its path to a Califor-nia Schools-to-Watch recipient.

Brian Beggs, Brenda Burnight, Michele Carr, Sherri Cline, Matt Col-

bert, Kevin Coren, Janelle Craig, Kecia Fiori, Ben Foley, Candice Hansen, Erica Hornnes, Becky Hund, Kim Karr, Tony Martins, Stacie Maslen, Cindy Musser, Lara Robinson, Whitney Skinner, Dani-

elle Storey, Kathy Tickner, Jeanne Turner, Heather Wenzler, Lois Wetter-Tilbury

and Francisco ZelayaExcelsior Middle School faculty

Take a hard lookEditor:

To whom it may be behind the [email protected] letter that I re-ceived in the mail. I am a homeowner in Discovery Bay (second home). When we bought our house, I was quite surprised at how low the association dues were. My realtor agreed and even admitted that the service from the association(s) suffers because of this.

I have owned other second homes, most with associations and I have never before seen a cap like the DBPOA has on raising fees. All of the other associa-

tions I have been involved with charge more, but more importantly, provide better service in return.

I have read the materials on this issue and strongly disagree with your position. There is no way a proper asso-ciation can be run on the existing budget. The DBPOA doesnt even have enough money to keep a status quo, let alone to help make our community better.

Your comments on the payment of consultants and part-time employees seems to be taken quite out of context. Clearly contract consultants are going to be more expensive on an hourly basis. But if the DBPOA had better funding, it could hire the proper full time staff required and we would not be forced to pay high contract consultant wages.

Take a hard look at this situation: the cap on fees is decades old and the cost of living has risen dramatically since then. So if youre an actual homeowner in Discovery Bay, and you are hoping to make this community a better place to live, youll support the change in the charter an allow the association to charge market association fees. Then we can work together to make sure the association does its job, properly, within budget and that it sets up a solid, long-term plan to make our community one of the best places to live in and visit. With a Yes vote, well all have a better community to live in.

Michael F. MoranDBPOA member

Response to the restEditor:

This is in response to The Rest of the Story in your recent newspaper ad to vote yes on bylaw changes.

Managing the association on $41,000 yearly dues is indeed a chal-lenge for a board that overpays a part-time contract secretary, inspector and consultant (over $56,000) to administer outdated CC&Rs over 20 years old. You instead concentrate on updating the standards (your interpretations of the CC&Rs), so is it any wonder rules consistently change? Therefore, there is no shortage of violations or fi nes.

So why arent the CC&Rs updated? You say you cant agree on how to up-date them, and it would require a mem-bership vote a sizeable added expense. So the sizeable added expense is instead for a vote to increase dues, and the CC&Rs will remain the same, outdated and inconsistent with county ordinances. Its also a vote to allow future infl ation-ary increases at your discretion; no membership vote. Whos been getting the free ride?

No Superior Court decision against you? The Hall vs. DBPOA is probably the most signifi cant Superior Court case. The DBPOA was removed from the chains of title for an entire tract. Why are Small Claims Court losses even being brought up by you? Agreed, they

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Letters from page 15A

see Letters page 17A

18A | BRENTWOODPRESS.COM COMMUNITY DECEMBER 26, 2008

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weekends event drew near, checks, toys and food began arriving in quantity, and more volunteers than ever turned out to collect, sort and pack the toys to be given away. There were even enough donations to allow three truckloads of toys and sev-eral more of food to be shipped over to Oakley to bolster the nascent effort there.

I still had the dream, though. Every year, on the Thursday night before the massive food sorting and packing effort begins, I sleep not with sugar plums danc-ing in my head, but a vision of the multi-purpose room at Brentwood Elementary (the use of which, along with pallet jacks, kitchen facilities and plenty of man-power, help make the program possible) stacked with several tons of food, and nobody there to sort it but me.

Again, I neednt have worried so much. Come Friday, more than 300 volunteers of every age turned out to lend a hand. There were so many people that it became a challenge just moving about the room putting soup in the soup stack and succotash in the vegetable stack. People then stuck around, waiting patiently for their turn get an empty box, fi ll it with food and return for another. The huge task was completed an hour faster than in previous years.

Volunteers were turning out in Oakley, too. Earlier in the week, the Friends managed to gather some two dozen helpers to wrap every one of the toys that would be distributed to 365 children. Uniform stacks of numbered boxes, neatly covering most of fl oor in the council chambers at City Hall, held more than a ton of food and stood ready and waiting for distribution.

Theres always a certain amount of chaos expected when giveaway day ar-

rives. Most of it usually involves traffi c, as hundreds of cars converge to pick up baskets. They turn into the wrong drive-ways and park in the wrong places, and I expected the same again this year.

I neednt have worried so much. The Brentwood Police Department and its

Explorers this year did a masterful job of directing things, adding to the use of warehouse space for temporary storage and the use of two cardboard debris bins to the invaluable support provided by the city.

Traffi c wasnt a big deal around

Oakleys City Hall, either, primarily because of the strong backs of some of the volunteers. About a half dozen hardy individuals with hand trucks and wagons carted every box to peoples cars, loaded them up and went back for more.

In the end, more than 650 families got some much-needed support in far East County. In addition, the Toys for Tots program got several bags of extra toys, a dozen food baskets and turkeys were delivered to Shepherds Gate wom-ens center, and several hundred pounds of food were trucked over to the Harvest Time church.

In Oakley, the Friends succeeded in inaugurating what will surely be as beloved a community event as has been happening in Brentwood for many years. Theyre to be congratulated for their courage and determination to do it in a year thats been hard on everyone, which makes it all the more important.

And in Brentwood, Im proud to say we all agree: 2008 was perhaps our smoothest year to date. Its a fi ne swan song for outgoing president Bill Hill, and the semi-retirement of Mike Currier, a mainstay of the program since its incep-tion. Their shoes will be hard to fi ll, but with the help of several new key players (some of whom know theyll be key, some of whom dont yet), well be fi ne.

Thanks to everyone who donated, collected, sorted, packed, delivered, checked lists, cooked breakfast, broke down boxes, swept fl oors or otherwise supported the two efforts. To see hun-dreds of people help the programs grow and get better, even as the economy shrinks and gets worse, is heartwarming in the extreme. Im confi dent that the pro-gram will be as robust as ever next year, and that I wont need to worry so much.

Caring from page 1A

the district are exceptional. Dennis, we thank you so much for everything youve done for the district.

After receiving a standing ovation from the board members and audience at the meeting, Buckley said, Liberty has been like my family for 38 years. Its been fun. Ive seen a lot of changes. I remember when the board room was maybe a third this size, Liberty was about

1,000 kids, Roy Ghiggeri ran the adult ed program out of a trailer that was parked on the lawn behind the counseling offi ce, and the band and the choir and the drama people did their thing in the cafeteria.

So things have changed. Weve got-ten bigger. Big is not always the best. Theres some things about the small Lib-erty that well never recapture the sense of family that you can have only in a small school. I miss those days. But you cant do

anything about growth. You just have to do the best you can. I think this district has. Thank you for letting me be a part of it.

As Board President Joanne Byer pre-sented Buckley with gifts of a liberty bell and an engraved silver mouse, she recalled how Buckley helped get the bell system running again after a fi re at Liberty High. Buckley noted that the folks at La Palo-ma werent too happy that he had to take

their system and install it at Liberty.In reference to all of the times Buck-

ley has been called upon to fi x one tech-nological problem or another, Freedom Principal Eric Volta jokingly asked Buck-ley, Are you keeping the same cell num-ber? After Buckley said yes, Volta said, Thats all I need to know.

David Andrews was hired earlier in the meeting to serve as the districts new network administrator.

Wizard from page 1A

Brentwood resident Christie Council will give this bike to her son Raymond, 10, for Christmas thanks to the donation from Precision Cabinets & Trim. The busi-ness donated 11 bikes to the Brentwood Regional Community Chest this year.


NOW ONLINE! BRENTWOODPRESS.COM December 26, 2008

H O M E S | D I N I N G | H E A LT H | R E C R E AT I O N | C L A S S I F I E D S

THIS WEEKCarving a quick niche

Open only two weeks, a new fine-dining steakhouse is inspiring diners to join an enthusiastic queue at the door.

Page 10B

Sixty and flourishing A woman reaches a menacing milestone and realizes shes still that child chasing fireflies only wiser.

Page 8B

Home-court advantage

Dallas Ranch hosted the event, but its hospitality stopped short of bestowing the trophy on another team.

Page 2B

Freedom rebounds from forfeits

A paperwork snafu has led to Freedom High Schools boys bas-ketball team forfeiting its fi rst eight games this season, including last weeks championship victory in the Stonebarger Tournament.

After Monday nights exciting come-from-behind victory over En-cinal High, Freedom Coach Drew Torres said his team still considers itself to be 7-3, based on the out-come of its fi rst 10 games. Offi cially, though, the Falcons are 2-8, due to the ineligibility of one of their star players in the fi rst eight games, Nick Blount, who won the Stonebarger MVP trophy.

The 6-foot-2-inch junior guard and forward transferred to Freedom this year, but the schools athletic de-partment failed to fi le the necessary paperwork with the league for the transfer. That paperwork has now been fi led and Blount has been rein-stated, although he missed Monday nights home game due to a knee in-

jury in practice.For the fi rst half of the game,

it looked like the Falcons could have used Blounts deadly shoot-ing accuracy, especially from three-point range, because it was pretty much all Jets in the fi rst two quarters.

Playing a jet-like, run-and-gun street game, Encinal was able to score off of numerous fast breaks for easy layups. Mean-while, Freedom committed turn-overs as it worked the ball around the perimeter looking for an open man. The result was a 31-23 lead at the half for Encinal, which was looking like it was engineering a potential blowout.

But the game quickly turned around in the third quarter af-ter Torres put some of his bet-ter players in the game, whom he had sat out in the fi rst half for disciplinary reasons. The differ-ence was most noticeable on de-fense, as the Falcons shut down

Crosley Gracie Jiu-Jitsu raised money for the Pancreatic Cancer Foundation as part of the recent grand opening celebration of its new facility at 3291 Walnut Blvd., Suite 140 in Brentwood. The event featured classes for children and adults, raf ed prizes, the promotion of students, a barbecue and a jiu-jitsu seminar for more than 60 students. The owner of the 6,000-square-foot facility looks forward to continue offering Brentwood and surrounding towns a place where entire families can learn martial arts, get in shape and have a lot of fun in the process. New members who sign up in December will receive a discount. For more information, call 925-634-6958 or visit www.crosleygracie.com.

Going martial against cancer

Photo by Crosley Gracie


Freedom Highs Andrew Garner scores two of his 19 points against Encinal High on Monday night. The team looks in ne shape for upcoming league play, despite an initial set-back due to an ineligible player.

see Freedom page 5BPhoto by Dave Roberts

Classified section Looking to buy or sell some-thing? Looking for a job? Look no further than our Home Ser-vices, Directory of Professional Services and Classifieds section.

Page 13B

Calendar East County is a busy place, and theres no place like our Community Calendar to bring you up to speed on events you wont want to miss.

Page 19B

2B | BRENTWOODPRESS.COM SPORTS DECEMBER 26, 2008

Dallas Ranch takes tourneyDallas Ranch Middle School defeated Black Diamond

Middle School 29-27 in the championship game of the second annual Antioch Unifi ed School District Intramural Boys Basketball Tournament on Dec. 13 at Dallas Ranch Middle School. Antioch and Park middle schools also took the court in the tournament.

The hard-fought championship game went down to the fi nish and displayed both teams outstanding sportsmanship and teamwork. Dallas Ranch point guard Kendall Smith drained the go-ahead shot with 35 seconds left in the game, concluding a successful tournament featuring enthusiastic fan support and talented student athletes.

Dallas Ranch Middle School won the second annual Antioch Uni ed School District Intramural Boys Basketball Tournament.

Photo courtesy of Peter Crutchfield

Angling for memories

Highly visible and some would even say gaudy, they zoom around in high-performance boats. Usually just two guys focused on a singular pursuit of largemouth bass. They compete in the Angler of the Year point standings and all strive to be the best. Their kids are left home with a video game or a television day while these fathers seek the next tournament trophy.

I have been and I am one of these fi shermen driven to prove my skill through competition. However, I envy the dad or granddad on the bank or with a family boat, who realizes that fi shing with a child is more rewarding. They fi nd pleasure in fi shing, talking and admiring nature. Catching is a bonus. At the end of the day, they caught happy, lifelong memories of time spent bonding and learn-ing.

Forty years later, those children will treasure the worn and faded photographs with fond memories while reliving the day. Fishing bonds dads and kids and family. I wonder if we tournament guys really get it.

Mother Nature replenished the Delta with another abundant spawn. Peer into the water and youll see hordes of 2- to 5-inch nervous fry hugging the shoreline. Its a time of abundance, and the opportunistic bass gorge on the fi n-gerlings with abandon.

You have a lot of competition for the attention of a bass, who are roaming and chasing the fry. They set up in ambush, hiding on a point with current. Fingerlings

by Don DavisCorrespondent

see Angling page 3B

DECEMBER 26, 2008 SPORTS BRENTWOODPRESS.COM | 3B

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Local Legends inducted into Class of 08The Antioch Sports Legends recently

inducted its Class of 2008, 14 individu-als and one team whose achievements on and off the fi eld have become a source of pride to their community. They include Gary Shields, All-Around Athlete; Sue Cottier, Basketball; Max Neal and Greg Glod, Baseball; Edmund Babe Atkin-son, Coach; Leo Fontana, Community Leadership; William Bill Beasley, Jess Cone, John Olenchalk and Ron Sbranti, Football; Wayne Sleppy, Golf; Rachelle Manning, Softball; Dennis Boyd, Swim-ming; Eddie Savage, Track; and Antioch High Schools 1966-67 football team and head coach Bill Snelson, Team. The An-tioch Sports Legend Hall of Fame, located at 1500 W. Fourth St., is sponsored by the Antioch Historical Society. The museum is open Wednesdays and Saturdays from 1 to 4 p.m. For more about Sports Legends, visit www.antiochsportslegends.com. Be-low, courtesy of Antioch Sports Legends, the Press presents the second in a series of profi les of these outstanding athletes:

Sue CottierNo Antioch High alumna had ever

received an athletic scholarship until Sue Cottier came along. The 6-foot-1-inch basketball player was part of the 1976 league championship team (coached by Mario Tonin) that brought the four-year, 26-game winning streak of Clayton Val-ley High to a screeching halt.

Sue played varsity center all three

years of high school, from 1974 to 76. She was MVP in 1975 and Co-MVP as a senior in 1976. She averaged 14 points and 14 rebounds per game, and posted a high game of 27 points. Sue fi rst attended DVC, earning All-League and Most Valu-able Player in 1977 and 78, averaging 19 points per game and recording a high game of 35 points.

The University of San Francisco of-fered her a scholarship, and at USF Sue pushed her team to second place in the Nor-Cal League. The 1979-80 Lady Dons won the AIAW (Association for Inter-collegiate Athletics for Women) Western Small College Regionals in USFs fi nal year of eligibility, guaranteeing a berth in the AIAW National tournament.

Sues skills placed the Lady Dons fi rst in the Nor-Cal League in 1979-80, 12th best in the nation and the No. 1 seed in the AIAWs Region 8, Division 1 group, beating Stanford and UCLA along the way.

Basketball continued to play a prima-ry role in Sues life. After earning a B.A. at USF, a teaching credential at St. Marys and a special graduate credential in adap-tive P.E. at Sonoma State, she came back to Antioch as a coach and teacher. During her 12-year AHS tenure, the women Pan-thers were BVAL Co-champions in 1988-89, and placed second at North Coast in 1989, 90 and 91. Top players Vanessa Selden and Stacey Johnson learned their basketball fundamentals from Sue. Her

attention is now turned to teaching P.E. to disabled K-12 students in the Antioch school district.

Leo FontanaIf the title Father of Modern An-

tioch existed, Leo could easily claim it. His behind-the-scenes involvement goes back six decades.

He had a hand in bringing County East Mall, East County Bank, Delta Me-morial Hospital and the Antioch Senior Citizens Center into existence. Hes served on the boards of several local charities and organizations. Antiochs voters elect-ed him to the Antioch City Council, on which he served from 1982 to 86. He was also an Antioch planning commissioner, parks and recreation commissioner and charter president of the Antioch Mer-chants Association.

The Chamber of Commerce hon-ored him twice as Antioch Citizen of the Year. Leo might easily be called the Cal Ripken, Jr. of service club members. He has 59 years and counting of perfect attendance; 29 years with the Lions Club, and 30 years with the Rotary Club of An-tioch.

Sports and recreation programs in the city all seem to trace their origins back to Leo. He participated in the creation of the Antioch Hornets football team, Lob Ball league, Antioch Softball League and

see Legends page 6B

COTTIER FONTANA

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Lions win Stonebarger

It turns out that the Liberty High boys basketball team won the schools Stone-barger Tournament after all, after Free-dom High was forced to forfeit the game due to an ineligible player.

We ended up taking second place; however, the guy that was nominated as tourney MPV was a transfer kid that never was cleared, said Liberty Coach Jon Heinz. We are the 2008 Stonebarger champs.

Freedom will be returning the cham-pionship trophy to Liberty. No decision has been made on whether another player will be awarded the MVP trophy.

In addition to that good news for his

team, Heinz is proud of the fact that the Lions won their fi rst-ever homecoming basketball game, 59-42, over Sonoma Val-ley High on Saturday. The standouts in that game were Libertys Ryan Lett with 12 points, Shane Pilgrim with 11 and An-thony Augliera with 10.

We had a really close game in the fi rst half and really played great defense in the third quarter we held them to fi ve points and really took over the game, said Heinz. In the second half, we outscored them 34 to 16. We are 6-3 (as of Monday), and thats the best start the Liberty basketball program has had in quite some time. So we are trying to turn things a little bit.

League action begins at 7 p.m. on Jan. 2 with a home game against Antioch High.


Encinals inside game, limiting the Jets to a mere fi ve points in the third quarter.

But the Falcons were also on fi re of-fensively, scoring 22 points in the quarter, nearly as many as they scored in the entire fi rst half, giving them a nine-point lead at the end of the quarter.

The teams played evenly in a fourth quarter marred by overzealous referees handing down several technicals to both teams, arousing the wrath of many in the crowd. Freedom won by 11 points, 65-54.

The high scorer for Freedom was 5-foot-6-inch guard Daniel Pereira, who scored nine of his 20 points from the line with a one-handed free-throw shot, which one would think would make the shot doubly diffi cult. The other standout was Andrew Garner, who scored 19 and hauled down nine rebounds.

It was pretty ugly, said Coach Tor-res. They came out with way more energy than us. We talked about that at halftime. I felt like in the third quarter we did have more energy. So far this year, third quar-

ters have been our best quarters.Regarding the game forfeitures, Tor-

res said, In our locker room we are 7-3 because we won those games it was just a paper error.

Blount could have played Monday night but Torres decided to err on the side of caution, ensuring his star would be ready for league action beginning with Pittsburg on Jan. 2. Despite the initial set-back, the Falcons look primed to make a strong run for the league playoffs.

As far as NCS goes, we have to have a winning record against Division 1 teams, said Torres. Preseason is what it is. Our main focus is league.

Freedom Athletic Director Steve Am-aro said he would be returning the Stone-barger trophy to Liberty High School, which is now the winner of the schools tournament, having lost to Freedom in the championship game. No decision has been made yet on whether the MVP trophy will be awarded to another player. Amaro add-ed that precautions have been put in place to prevent future paperwork snafus.

Freedom from page 1B


Antioch Babe Ruth Baseball, for which he served as its fi rst president.

An athlete himself, Leo played catcher for the Antioch Merchants team and left halfback for the Antioch Alumni Football team in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He was chairman of a committee that created a new corporation to run the Antioch Municipal Golf Course, and helped establish the Antioch Bocce Ball League.

His love of sports and his community led to his involvement in assisting in the creation of the Antioch Sports Legends Program and display in 2007, for which he was co-honored, with the other four founders, as Antioch Citizen of the Year.

Greg GlodGreg has served with the U.S. Secret

Service since 1985, protecting the president and supervising terrorist investigations following the 2001 World Trade Center attack. Gregs drive and accomplishment was evident as a young athlete in Antioch, where he played in Little League with the Beswick Bears, as an All-Star with the Riverview Lodge Babe Ruth team in 1968 and as a Panther pitcher from 1969-71.

As a senior, the 6-foot-4-inch right-hander was baseballs MVP and averaged 13 points per game on the basketball court. Greg threw a shutout during the 1970 Northern California championships as his Panther team defeated the Fremont High team of future Hall of Famer Den-nis Eckersley. Under Coach Bill Snelson, Gregs power pitching enabled him to post

a career 11-2 two-year record.Gregs accomplishments led to his in-

clusion on the All-League Second Team. He received the Contra Costa Times Su-per Sport Award in 1971 for his DVAL record-setting 28 scoreless innings. As a senior, he threw 48 innings, allowing 35 hits, struck out 57 batters and recorded a DVAL 1.16 ERA. His post-prep career led to DVC, where he went 3-1 for the Vi-kings in 1972.

Several big colleges offered Greg scholarships, but major league organiza-tions wanted him, too. The Philadelphia Phillies selected Greg in the second round as the 25th overall pick of the draft. Greg played on three Phillies farm teams: Clearwater, Fla., Auburn, N.Y., and Spar-tanburg, S.C.

A serious arm injury ended his pro career in 1976, after which he went back

to college and graduated from Sacra-mento State University in 1977. Follow-ing graduation, Greg returned to Antioch to serve as a police offi cer and help found the popular Pig Bowl charity football games in 1979. When not in uniform, he returned to the diamond, earning a silver medal in softball in the 1979 State Police Olympics.

Rachelle ManningRachelle emerged as possibly the pre-

mier scholar-athlete of the 1980s at An-tioch High. Academics and class president duties shared equal time with softball, but the 1989 Contra Costa Times Player of the Year managed to squeeze in some re-markable athletic accomplishments.

Her prep softball career began as a Park Junior High ninth-grader. She was Student Body President and was named Athlete of the Year. At AHS, Rachelle

batted .423 as a sophomore and was named All-League at second base as a ju-nior (stealing 22 bases), while serving as class president both years.

Rachelle was an All-League pitcher, and as a senior, was named MVP in vol-leyball and softball, where she posted a 13-1 pitching record in her 1989 senior year. Also in 1989, she was named Tri-bune Player of the Year in softball, fi nish-ing with a 13-1 pitching record.

Rachelle continued in softball at Sac-ramento State University as a four-year starter, attending on a full scholarship. Years of student leadership experience made her an obvious candidate for team captain as a freshman. By her junior year as a Hornet, Rachelle had compiled a 4.0 GPA and had started in every game. She captained her team to a ranking of 16th nationwide in the NCAA Division 1 softball poll, and made the NCAA region-als. In four years, Rachelle never missed a game 215 in all and took the mound as a starter in 203 contests.

Her softball eligibility ended in 1994, and Rachelle shifted to basketball, where she played point guard while fi nishing her degree in sports marketing and business. The scholar-athlete continued to prove herself as a graduate student, achieving a perfect 4.0 at the University of Tennes-see, where she earned a masters degree in sports management in 1995. Rachelles academic and athletic expertise is put to good use at Wilson Sporting Goods, where she currently works as national ac-counts manager.

Legends from page 4B

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Laura Inez DewberryLaura Inez Dewberry died Nov. 13 at

John Muir Hospital in Concord. Laura was born in Santa Clara on Nov. 11, 1989. In Lauras younger years she loved her dance and gymnastic classes, camping with her family at Lake Trinity and being with her friends.

She attended Guadalupe Elementary and Dartmouth Middle schools in San Jose. In 1999, Laura was diagnosed with Ewings sarcoma and started treatment at Childrens Hospital at Stanford. In 2002, after her fi rst relapse, Laura was granted her Make-A-Wish, which was to meet President George W. Bush at the White House.

The Dewberry family moved to Brent-wood in 2002, where Laura attended Edna Hill Middle School, Liberty High School and Heritage High School. Lauras plan for her life was to graduate from high school, go to college, become a teacher, then get

married and have children. Laura was able to keep up with her studies until her senior year, when her illness made it impossible to continue.

Despite the setback, she was allowed to walk with the class of 2008 at Heritage in June. Through her diffi cult treatments, Laura was determined to live her life to

the fullest and have fun doing it. Some of her accomplishments included cheerlead-ing and then becoming a junior coach with BOYFL, leading a Bible study in the youth group and working in the Childrens Ministries at Golden Hills Church, and getting her drivers license. She enjoyed driving around town in her car, getting pedicures, getting dressed up and going to school dances and just being with family and friends.

During Lauras 10-year battle with cancer, which included fi ve relapses, her focus remained on her life and her future, not her illness. Laura was positive, beauti-ful inside and out and was always hopeful. Even when life was hard, her strength, courage and determination inspired all who knew her. This year Laura wrote, Im a Christian, and Ive learned that no matter how hard you try to plan out your life the way you want it to go, its not always going

to turn out that way because God has His own plan for you. It may not seem like the best plan to you right now, but you just have to trust Him. It will all turn out good in the end. She also wrote that she would not be able to get through the hard times without God in her life.

Laura is survived by her mother, Diane Dewberry; sister, Grace Dewberry; broth-ers, Steve and Brian Stockwell; sister-in-law, Ligia Stockwell; niece, Katherine Stockwell; nephew, Steven Stockwell; grandmother, Inez Santucci; and uncles, aunts and cousins, including Joe, Catherine, Jess, June, Niccolo and Christopher Santucci, Gina, Rocco, Joey, Reese and Joseph Lombardo, Debra, Nathan and Ben Taylor, Brandi Robertson and DAnn Duncan, and Na-than and Jessica Stockwell.

The family would like to thank every-one for their love, support and prayers on Laura and the familys behalf.

OBITUARY

DEWBERRY

Celebrating 65 years togetherCharlie Ray Jones and Ruby Watson Jones were married in

Minden, Nev. on Aug. 21, 1943. They both grew up in Okla-homa Ruby in Sasakwa and Ray in Wapanucka and moved to California, where they met. Charlie served in the U.S. Navy in WWII aboard the USS Saratoga the fi rst few years of their mar-riage. They raised their three children, Ken (Bebe) Jones, Ron (Phyllis) Jones and Elaine (Joe) Morgan in Brentwood. They have six grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and on

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