SEP 11 Clayton Pioneer 2009.pdf

IT’S YOUR PAPER

www.claytonpioneer.com September 11, 2009 925.672.0500

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Around Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Book Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Church News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Club News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Community Calendar . . . . . . . . .15

Directory of Advertisers . . . . . . . . .5

Food for Thought . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

From the Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Garden Girl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Movie Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

On the Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Pets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Police Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Theatre Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Upcoming Events . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Weather Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13What’s Inside

JULIE PIERCE

MAYOR’S CORNER

Variety of solutionsfor our water woes

In a recent conversation withClayton resident Joe Campbell,president of the Contra CostaWater District (CCWD) board, Ilearned several water-relatedthings that should be shared.

It is no secret that we are ina drought and our water usagehas been limited by CCWDunder a 15 percent reducedusage program (45 percent foroutdoor city irrigation). What isnot widely known is that dis-trictwide, CCWD’s customershave reduced their usage by 19percent. This is a great start anda testament to our communityspirit.

It’s been a challenge forsome residents. Changing habitsis not easy. Since Clayton isamong the hottest areas in thedistrict and our yards are bigger,our consumption is still higherthan any other area and we needto stay vigilant. By cutting backon watering your yard and pay-ing attention to water use insideyour home, you can save a lot of

See Mayor, page 16

A piece of Clayton history disappearsas landmark home is destroyed by fire

Clayton waved a smokyfarewell to an old friend as oneof the town’s few vintage land-marks went up in flames themorning of Aug. 29 near Mt.

Diablo Creek.Preliminary investigation

indicates that the house fire was“human-caused,” said ContraCosta Fire District BattalionChief Steve Maiero. Caretakerson the property reported chas-ing several people off the prop-erty the previous night.

Neighbors said they knew thatteenagers had been trespassingon the property frequently inrecent months.

A passing jogger reportedsmelling smoke about 7 a.m.but didn’t see anything. Flameserupted about 8:30 and thehome was engulfed when fire-

fighters arrived at 8:47.The fire had first been

reported as a grassfire, saidCapt. Ben Smith of ContraCosta Fire Protection District’sStation 11 in Clayton. Smithcalled for structural units whenhe arrived on the scene. Furtherslowing efforts was the 1,400

feet between the fire and thenearest hydrant.

SECOND FIRE IN

THREE YEARS

The house sat on 13 acresowned by Richard Seeno. It was

The years have rolled on since Sept. 11, 2001,and with the exception of a single year, 2007,Clayton’s Fire Station No. 11 on Center Street hasmarked the event with a flag display commemorat-ing each of the firefighters lost on that dark day.

“The first year we had ceremonies,” said Capt.Ben Smith, “and just the flags were there. The sec-ond year, we had name tags. The third year, Ifound a tribute site with a bio of the guys whodied.”

The 2007 omission, due to changes within thestation, was met by disappointment from residentswho had come to expect the annual tribute. “Thecommunity let us know about it,” Smith reported.

Several hundred people stop by during theweek-long display. “One gentleman this morningwas a San Jose firefighter who was a buddy to oneof the firefighters on the flags,” Smith said.“People bring flowers and plants.” The stationcrew will plant the live plants.

“We light it up at night,” he said, “and we cansee the shadows of the people coming by.”

The station also erects signs that read: “Neverforget” and “Some gave all – all gave some.”

“When I looked the names up and read their

Fire station flags markannual memorial of 9-11

CCC does it again with biggestyet Boxcar Derby and Car Show

ANDRÉ GENSBURGER

Clayton Pioneer

TAMARA STEINER

Clayton Pioneer

Photo courtesy of the Clayton Historical Society

The Yolanda Estate, shown here just after completion in 1919, was so well hidden in the trees at the end of Lydia Lane that few people evenknew it was there. The house was completely destroyed by a suspected arson fire on Aug. 29. One of the two women in the photo is probably JulietteAlexander, daughter of shipping magnate Samuel Thomas Alexander, the property’s original owner.

Tamara Steiner/Clayton Pioneer

AS HE PLACES THE COMMEMORATIVE FLAGS, KenRobb of Station 11 takes a moment to reflecton the life of each of the firefighters lost inthe terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001.

See Landmark, page 18

See Memorial, page 4

Tamara Steiner/Clayton Pioneer.

DERBY VOLUNTEER, DANNY SULLIVAN, PUSHES MATEO SANCHEZ, 9, in the Clayton Pioneercar up the starting ramp for his race in the annual CCC Labor Day Boxcar Derby. This isthe third year for Mateo who always races against his twin brother, Andres.

At the other end of town, more than 300 cars were on display in one of the East Bay’slargest Classic Car Shows. See full story page 14.

Page 2 Clayton Pioneer • www.claytonpioneer.com September 11, 2009

Around Town

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CVHS Class of ‘69 reunites at Antioch dinner

More than 70 graduatesfrom the Clayton Valley HighSchool Class of ‘69 gathered onSat., Aug. 29, at the Lone TreeGolf Course Restaurant inAntioch to celebrate their 40thclass reunion.

To the sounds of the BeachBoys, Beatles, MoTown, folkand rock, this Woodstock gen-eration laughed and remem-bered old times, old teachersand old friends.

“It is a funny thing to lookat a 58-year old face and onlysee the teenager in them,”laughs alum Ellen Herdegen.

“Sometimes it took a minuteto look at the nametag withtheir senior picture on it, run a“search” in my memory bank,look at the person in front ofme and squeal in delight whenwe both would remember at thesame second that we were inWorld Geography 40 years ear-lier, passing notes and hopingnot to get caught.”

“And what fun to see whatour classmates have done withtheir lives,” continuesHerdegen. “Gary Pearson was aCV Thespian and now DanielZacapa, the famous Hollywoodactor (“The Mentalist”). MikeJones became a pro golfer.Jackie Jones now owns TheBlind Stitch EmbroideryCompany in Oakley. SandyStark now runs ski Trips all overthe world. Joe Swicegood did-n’t have a senior picture (no onecan remember why) and is ageneral contractor inHealdsburg. Gary Quigley andDanette Enea won the prize forthe longest married – 38 years.

The dinner was followed bya picnic and BBQ the next dayat the Antioch Community Parkwhere the mood was casual,quiet and reflective.

“What you learn at a reunionis that everybody has a story,”said Herdegen. The class plansanother reunion in five years.

‘69 CVHS GRADUATES and Varsity Cheerleaders Joe Swicegood,Ellen Herdegen and Fred Hoyer at the 40th class reunion

PFC Ethan McDaniel deployed to Afghanistan

PFC Ethan McDaniel, sonof former Clayton Club ownersKim and Darrell Young and Jimand Tina McDaniel of Riponwas deployed to Afghanistan onSept. 1.

McDaniel attended CVHSand Olympic High where heenrolled in the ROTC program.At 17, he asked his parents per-mission to join the Army andattended boot camp at Fort Sillbefore his senior year. Aftergraduation in 2008, he went toFort Benning Georgia where hecompleted his training in 2008and became a member of the82nd Airbourne stationed at Ft.Bragg, North Carolina where

he will return at the end of histour in Afghanistan. Early thissummer, McDaniel was pro-moted to E3, Private FirstClass.

“Ethan was 11 when 9/11happened,” recalls mom Kim.“He asked Darrell then if hecould sign him up to go into theArmy to fight against the ter-rorists. Ever since then, hewanted to be a soldier.”

McDaniel has one olderbrother, Jimmy, living in Oakley.

In 2007, The Youngs soldthe Clayton Club to its presentowner, Steve Barton, andmoved to Moyie Springs, Idaho.

PFC ETHAN MCDANIEL

DELANEY WEIDNER

Clayton sisters appear in ‘The WIZ’

DelaneyWeidner grows

it out forLocks of

LoveDelaney Weidner, 8, daugh-

ter of Kelly Marshall and MikeWeidner, donated more than 10inches of her hair to Locks ofLove this summer. Delaney is in4th grade at Mt. DiabloElementary.

“She’s been growing her hairout since birth,” says momKelly. “We’re very proud ofher.”

Locks of Love is a non-prof-it organization that makes wigsand hair pieces for children whohave lost their hair because ofillness. For more information,go to www.locksoflove.org.Three Clayton sisters,

Isabella, Wren and OliviaMontijo, will appear together inBrentwood Teen Theater’s lat-est production of “The WIZ”,opening Sept. 11 and runningthrough Sept. 25 at 1275Fairview Ave., in Brentwood.

Like “Wicked,” “The WIZ”is closer in plot to the originalbook than the Judy Garlandmovie, and, fortunately, thestage adaptation being present-ed in Brentwood is muchcheerier than the Diana Ross,Michael Jackson movie version.

In this urban re-telling of“The Wizard of Oz,” Claytonchoreographer ShellieMcDowell returns toBrentwood Teen Theater for

the third time, having previous-ly choreographed “Annie” and“High School Musical.”

“Shelley brings exuberanceto her dances that are bothexciting to watch and creative intheir story telling,” says artisticdirector Steve Kinsella.

The Kinsella Theater Group,parent company of The BrentwoodTeen Theater, instructs and chal-lenges performers to rise to theirfullest potential. The company pres-ents throughout the greater BayArea. “The WIZ” is the culmina-tion of a 13-week theater arts train-ing program. For performance timesand ticket information, call (925)516-9009 or go towww.BrentwoodTeenTheater.com

ISABELLA, WREN AND OLIVIAMONTIJO (in front)

September 11, 2009 Clayton Pioneer • www.claytonpioneer.com Page 3

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Jennifer Doss will representher hometown of Clayton as astate finalist in the NationalAmerican Miss pageant inAnaheim Thanksgiving week-end. Jennifer attends theUniversity of Arizona whereshe belongs to the Alpha Phisorority.

World renowned magicianand illusionist Rick Allen per-formed Aug. 22 at DiamondTerrace.

Allen performs in orphan-ages, hospitals, school and evenleper colonies and is the recipi-

ent of the Magician of the YearHumanitarian Award for hiswork in disaster relief effortsaround the world.

To the amazement of morethan 80 children and adults, hemade a Diamond Terrace staffmember float in mid air andalso made a live rabbit appear.The residents, families andfriends were allowed to petHocus Pocus, the star rabbit ofthe show.

One 9-year-old Clayton res-ident was thrilled to be Allen’sassistant while a six-foot longstraw was magically pulled outof a crumpled McDonald’sbag.

A magical event at Diamond Terrace

Clayton womanmakes it to

pageant’s statefinals

Around Town

Resident, Bill Case with magician, Rick Allen, at Allen’s magicshow on Aug. 22 at Diamond Terrace.

Pioneer travels to Yellowstone and Belize

JENNIFER DOSS

The Clayton Pioneer went with Piper, 8 andParker , 5, Christensen to see Old Faithful eruptin Yellowstone National Park. Two days in thepark was part of their vacation to Island Park,Idaho with their parents and grandparents. Piperand Parker think everyone should go see theamazing beauty of Yellowstone.

The Pioneer also cruised to Belize withDavid Hackett of R & M Pool and Patio lastmonth.

“I had the paper with me, so I just stoppedsome guy and asked him to take the picture.Not sure he under-stood English, buthe got the point.”

The 5-day cruisebegan in Ft.Lauderdale withstops along theMexican and CentralAmerican coast.

“White sands,turquoise water –ahhh, Belize is beau-tiful,” saysDavid.

City hopeful that new signage will sparkmore downtown shopping, dining

New signs directing visitorsto Clayton’s Town Center wereplaced at the city’s twoentrances last week. The signs,one at the Oak Street off rampand the other at the city’s newgateway at Clayton and MarshCreek Roads, are part of thecity’s ongoing downtown revi-talization plan. It is hoped thatthe signs will drive passing traf-fic downtown for dining andshopping.

“Instead of just flying bytown at 40 mph, people willnow know there’s a ‘there’ thereand hopefully come into townto grab a bite to eat or do someshopping,” said local real estate

broker and former mayor PeteLaurence. “The signs lookgreat.”

The gateway project, alsoknown as “Daffodil Hill” is ajoint effort between the ClaytonRedevelopment Agency and theCBCA and includes a new mon-ument sign at the top of the hill.The hardscape will be complet-ed by mid to late-September.

Irrigation for the hill willcome from the well at thelibrary across the street.

The landscape design is stilla work in progress and willinclude drought tolerant shrubsas well as come colorful orna-mental planting.

DAVID HACKETT

PIPER AND PARKER CHRISTENSEN


NEW GATEWAY SIGNAGE is part of the Redevelopment Agency’slong range plan for the revitalization of the Town Center.

The Town Center is boom-ing. Just ask Peter and KristiBarbosa, owners of Cup ‘O Joecoffee shop on Main Street.Since pairing up with popularConcord delicatessen ownerJohn Canessa, the two have seena steady stream of customers inthe normally quiet little shop.

The joining came about afterKristi stopped at Canessa’sDelicatessen on Clayton Roadand found the little store closedup, yet one more victim of aneconomy in paralysis. A few

conversations followed andeight days ago, the Canessas andthe Barbosas were in businesstogether on Main Street. Wordspread fast, and the customersbegan showing up.

“She got us back in the foodbusiness,” said John. “Our cus-tomers are finding us.”

Cup ‘O Jo/Canessa’s is openMonday through Saturday until8 p.m. and Sundays 11-4.

“Come for some stromboli,”says John. “My brother Vinnieinvented it.”


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Backpack Drive Girl Scout Troop 30285would like to thank the Cityof Clayton and everyonewho generously contributedto the July backpack drivethat benefited the Bay AreaCrisis Nursery. In the begin-ning of July, we distributed2,000 flyers to various neigh-borhoods in Clayton andplaced donation bins in theClayton Pioneer Office and

the Clayton CommunityLibrary. We collected a totalof 68 backpacks and anassortment of school sup-plies. We also received a giftcard donation from Target inWalnut Creek as well assome individual cash dona-tions, which enabled us topurchase more supplies. TheNursery was very gratefulfor our assistance in provid-

ing the much needed itemsfor the upcoming schoolyear. We are confident thatthe children who rely uponthe Bay Area Crisis Nurserywill receive a new backpackfilled with an abundance ofschool supplies for the newschool year. Once again,thank you to everyone whoaided us in our cause.

- Laura Minorsky

Letter to the Editor

Upcoming Events

Opa! to the 31st annual Greek Food and Wine Festival set forSept. 11, 12 and 13 at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church onKirker Pass Road in Concord. Come, be Greek for a day withfood, wine, live music and dancing. Enjoy the large kids’ area,Courtyard Café and authentic Greek food, wine and pastries bythe Yiayias.

Festival hours are Fri., 5-11 p.m., Sat. noon-11 p.m. and Sundaynoon -8 p.m. Admission is $5; (FREE with the Pioneer ad run-ning in the Sept. 11 Pioneer) children under 12 are free and sen-iors 55 and over are $3. Free parking. St. Demetrios GreekOrthodox Church (across from Sleep Train Pavilion), 1955 KirkerPass Rd., Concord.

For more information, call (925) 676-6967.

OKTOBERFESTSEPT. 26-27

The sixth annual Clayton Oktoberfest offers a weekend of enter-tainment for the entire family. The event will be held 11 a.m.-8 p.m.Sept. 26 and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sept. 27.

Enjoy the continuous live music in the Biergarten by the fabu-lous Internationals, the Bavarian Dance performances by the NatureFriends Schuhplatters on Saturday, street performers, and arts andcrafts show and a kids’ carnival. The carnival will also open at 6 p.m.Friday.

Of course, it wouldn’t be Oktoberfest without great Germanfood and drink, authentic Spaten beer and wine.

Pre-sale carnival ride tickets offer a discount, at 25 tickets for$15. Purchase tickets until 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26, at La Veranda,Skipolini’s, Ed’s Mudville Grill, Hair by Jim and IMC in downtownClayton as well as the Perfect Tan in the Safeway Shopping Center.

For more information, call the Clayton Business and CommunityAssociation at 672-2272 or visit claytonoktoberfest.com.

GREEK FESTIVALSEPT. 11-13

Concord deli closes, movesin with Cup O’ Joe

bios, it struck home,” Smithnoted. “These guys and gals werejust like us – parents, soccercoaches, doing what we do. It gotvery personal when I read that.”

Even more poignant is thatthe number of flags exceeds thenumber of personnel in fire sup-

pression. “We have 320 firefight-ers in fire suppression,” he said.“There are 343 flags. Had thatbeen us, it would have wiped outour whole department.”

Smith welcomes the public tovisit the display and reflect uponthe memory it represents.

Memorial, from page 1

CERT class focuses on radio training

The Clayton CommunityEmergency Response Team(CERT) will host a Family RadioService communication trainingsession 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday,Sept. 19, at Endeavor Hall, 6008Center St. This four-hour trainingsession is open to all CERTmembers in Contra CostaCounty.

Family Radio Service is theuse of a walkie talkie that pro-vides for short distance commu-

nications between two or moreindividuals. Clayton uses ninechannels, with three dedicated foreach of our CERT zones.

The class will teach guidelinesin the use of language and how tobe brief yet concise. There will bea drill at the end of the session,with teams reporting into CentralCommand with their “discover-ies.”

To register, call 673-7355 andprovide your name and phone number.

RENTALS

South Lake Tahoe Vacation RentalGreat location, sleeps 6 to 8 com-fortably. Pictures and home detailscan be found at www.tahoehansenhouse.com.Still have questions, call DebbieHansen at (925) 766-8961

VOLUNTEERS WANTED

Meals on Wheels Drivers

1 – 1 1/2 per week. Drivers andrelief drivers needed for delivery ofMeals on Wheels in East County.People are on the waiting list due tolack of drivers. A small amount ofyour time can make a big differencein someone’s life. If you can help,please call Jim at 673-0300 or e-mail [email protected].

Pleasant Hill, CA– Make a

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Shoppe

Volunteer at one of the HospiceThrift Shoppes located in Alamo,Danville, Walnut Creek, Concordand Antioch.

Anna’s Attic Volunteers

Volunteers needed at the Hospice ofthe East Bay thrift store. Theaddress of the store is 5350 ClaytonRoad. Call store manager, Debbieat 674-9072 or Lamont Campbell at(925) 766-5066.

Hospice of the East Bay

Anna's Program is seeking dedicat-ed, caring volunteers to providehome companionship and practicalsupport for women with recurrentbreast cancer. Women served residein Central or East Contra Costa. Toapply for free training, call Hospiceof the East Bay at (925) 887-5678and ask for the VolunteerDepartment, or [email protected].

Clayton Historical Society

Museum

Greeter needed for two hours permonth from 2-4 p.m. Wednesdaysor Sundays. No experience orextensive knowledge of Claytonhistory is necessary. You'll meetinteresting people and learn a lotabout our historic town. Call themuseum at 672-0240 and leaveyour name.

Clayton Community Library

We are seeking to fill the followingvolunteer positions: (All positionsrequire a minimum age of 13 yearsand a 6 month commitment. Sometraining provided). Shelver - toshelve and sensitize library materi-als. Various days/times. Tutors - noprior experience necessary! Youdetermine the grade level and sub-jects you are comfortable with andthe days/times. Requires good com-munication skills, patience and adesire to help students in the com-munity. Contact: Arlene @ 673-9777 or email:[email protected]


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Mike's Auto Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .689-1739

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Children’s Services

Music Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .946-2990

Construction and Trades

Belfast Plumbing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .457-5423

Burkin Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212-3339

Michael Dwyer & Sons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .672-3980

Olde World Mill & Cabinets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .915-0822

Outback Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .673-1244

Prostone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .594-1660

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Smith & Bernal Roofing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .672-0138

Tipperary Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .216-2679

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Children's Dentistry of Walnut Creek . . . . . . . . . .938-2392

Jason Renner, D.D.S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .689-2800

Richard Rissel, D.M.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .689-2800

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Diablo Light Opera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .944-1565

Johnny’s International Deli & Cafe . . . . . . . . . . . .567-5065

La Veranda .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .524-0011

St. Demetrios Greek Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .676-6967

Willows Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .957-2500

Educational Services

Katherine Palau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510-207-7467

Financial and Insurance Services

Benton, Mureleen - Ameriprise Financial . . . . . .685-4523

CD Federal Credit Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .825-0900

Doug Van Wyck - State Farm Insurance . . . . . . .672-2300

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Home and Garden

Abbey Carpet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .686-9901

Blue Water Pools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .519-2013

Clear Splash Pool Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .216-6245

Floors to Go Danville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .820-8700

Just Floors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .681-4747

Keenan Heinz Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .288-0159

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Navlet’s Garden Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .681-0550

Nichols Landscape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .672-9955

Pans on Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .600-7267

Sparkle Pools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .260-5025

Utopic Gardens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .524-0055

Mailing and Shipping

The UPS Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .689-6245

Personal Products and Services

Perfect Tan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .672-8261

Roberta Claire Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .625-1123

The Makeup Girl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .408-8010

Pet Services

Aussie Pet Mobile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .800-738-6624

Monte Vista Veterinary Hospital . . . . . . . . . . . . . .672-1100

O’Brien Family Pet Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .899-7354

Rodies Feed and Country Store . . . . . . . . . . . . .672-4600

Real Estate and Mortgage Services

Flannery, Patty - Diablo Realty . . . . . . . . . . . . . .672-0541

French, Lynne - Windermere Real Estate . . . . . .672-8787

Kavanaugh, Mike - RE/MAX Accord . . . . . . . . . .383-6102

Laurence, Pete - RE/MAX Realty . . . . . . . . . . . .937-0150

Lopez, Stephanie - Coldwell Banker . . . . . . . . . .932-7329

Morucci, Kim - Intero Real Estate Services . . . . .280-8563

Rahimzadeh, Helen -Coldwell Banker . . . . . . . . .932-7375

Vujnovich, George - Better Homes Realty . . . . .672-4433

Recreation

Clayton Bicycles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .672-2522

Clayton Valley Bowl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .689-4631

Oakhurst Country Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .672-9737

Senior Services

Diamond Terrace Senior Retirement Living . . . . .524-5100

Services, Other

Appliance Repairs by Bruce, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . .672-2700

Comcast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-877-634-4434

Computers USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .672-9989

Recycling Center & Transfer Station . . . . . . . . . .473-0180

Shopping

Clayton Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .673-3325

Donna’s Quilting Loft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .672-0401

Pacific Coast Farmers Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .825-9090

The Royal Rooster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .672-2025

Travel

Cruise Adventures Unlimited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .935-7447

Directory of Advertisers

P.O. Box 12466200 Center Street, Suite H, Clayton, CA 94517

TAMARA AND ROBERT STEINER, PublishersTAMARA STEINER, EditorANDRÉ GENSBURGER, Reporter and Feature WriterPETE CRUZ, Graphic DesignBEV BRITTON, Copy Editor JAY BEDECARRE, Sports BETH NEUDELL, Advertising Sales CHRISTINA SCARLOTT, Administrative Assistant

We remember Jill Bedecarré - Her spirit is our muse

PIONEER INFOCONTACT US

Tel: (925) 672-0500Fax: (925) 672-6580

Tamara [email protected]

André [email protected]

Beth [email protected]

Send ads [email protected]

Send Sports News [email protected]

Send Club News [email protected]

Send Church News [email protected]

Send School News [email protected]

CLASSIFIEDSClassified rates per insertion:Non-profit: $12 for first 30

words, $.20 each additionalword

Individual/non-commercial:$18 for first 30 words, $.30each additional word

Commercial: $48 for first 30words, $.40 each additionalword

To place your classified ad over thephone, call the office at (925) 672-0500 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.Mon.-Fri. Or, you may fax your type-written ad and credit card informa-tion to (925) 672-6580. All classifiedsmust be paid for in advance by creditcard (Master Card or Visa)

We will not accept any ad that dis-criminates on the basis of race, color,sex, religion, nationality, family statusor disability. The Clayton Pioneerreserves the right to reject any adver-tising we believe is unsuitable.

LET US KNOWWeddings, engagements, anniver-

saries, births and deaths all weavetogether as part of the fabric of ourcommunity. Please let us know ofthese important events. We ask onlythat the announcement be for aClayton resident. You will find theappropriate form for your announce-ment on our Website. Attach yourphoto to the form. Make sure theimage size you are about to send is atleast 3 MB but not bigger than 6MB.The only format we accept is JPG. Youcan also mail or bring your print to theoffice and we can scan it for you.

Also on our Web site are formsfor submitting Community Calendaritems and press releases for yourorganization.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The Clayton Pioneer welcomesletters from our readers. As a generalrule, letters should be 300 words orless and submitted at least one weekprior to publication date. Letters con-cerning current issues will have priori-ty. We may edit letters for length andclarity. All letters will be published atthe editor’s discretion.

Please include your name, addressand daytime telephone number. Wewill not print letters from “anony-mous.”

E-mail your letter in a Worddocument to [email protected]. Letters MUST be sub-mitted via E-mail.

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Be Successful! Lynne French isexpanding and interviewing for afew agents. Call her today (925)672-8787.

Q.Is the current market abetter time to buy or sell a

house?- M.B., Clayton

A.I believe that there is alittle envelope of time

right about now where it is thebest time to buy and to sell.This doesn’t happen very oftenin the housing market. It isespecially good for the firsttime buyer and the move upbuyer.

For sellers there seems to bea pause in the decline in prices.There have been moratoriumson foreclosures all year. Theinventory is down. Prices arepretty stable for now. Buyersare anxious to complete trans-actions by November 30, 2009in order to take advantage ofsome of the government pro-grams which will expire at thattime. For example the (up to)$8,000 tax credit for first timebuyers or anyone who has notowned a home in the past 3years. Interest rates are histori-cally low though they havegone up a tick recently. Amove up buyer might have toaccept less on their presenthome than they hoped for butwill more than make it up on

the purchase of the moreexpensive home because theseare the homes that have lostmore value.

Q.Should I wait until themarket goes up before I sell

my home?- D.F., Concord

A.If a seller chooses towait until the market

goes up to sell it could be yearsbefore prices recover to a high-er level than they are today.This is due to the fact that themoratoriums have ended andforeclosed properties are com-ing back on the market thoughvery slowly so as not to floodthe market and drasticallyreduce prices. But there are 1.5million in the country at differ-ent stages of default and thisnumber could rise significantlyover the next year. The bankscan’t hold property indefinitely.Many homes are being sold atauction or sold in bulk toinvestors but many will contin-ue to be introduced to the mar-ket. The decline could continueat some level for the next yearand a half.

Q.As a buyer should I waituntil next year to buy?

- J.S., Concord

A.I don’t see the benefit inwaiting. There are many

unknowns. What will the inter-est rates be like. If prices godown will rates go up? Will thegovernment extend any of thecurrent programs or implementnew ones? Maybe; maybe not.Real Estate is like the stockmarket in many ways. You tryto buy low and sell high. Youdon’t have to buy at the verybottom or sell at the very top.One really doesn’t know whenwe are at the bottom untilprices have already begun to goup. Or at the top until priceshave already begun to go down.

Q.My husband and I areconsidering a short sale.

Our Realtor is going to negotiatewith the bank to accept a lowerpayoff than what we owe. Howmuch will we be taxed on the set-tled debt?

D.N., Clayton

A.Assuming this is yourprincipal residence you

may not be taxed at all on the

debt relief amount. TheMortgage Relief Act of 2007generally allows taxpayers toexclude income from the dis-charge of debt of their princi-pal residence. This applies todebt forgiven in 2007 through2012.

The lender forgiving thedebt will send you a form 1099-C Cancellation of Debt. Youwill file this as well as a form982 on your tax return.

There are other instanceswhere you might be able toexclude income due to debtrelief for other matters such asstudent loans and credit carddebt. You can read Publication4681 on the IRS’s website orconsult with your tax profes-sional.


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City gets federalstimulus money for street repair

A federal TARP grant for$554,000 has allowed the city torepair the sections of ClaytonRoad and Oakhurst Boulevardthat were not completed in lastyear’s $1.06 million repavingproject.

The total cost for theClayton Road/OakhurstBoulevard repairs will actuallycome at about $509,000, saysCity Manager Gary Napper,leaving $45,000 of TARPmoney to be returned to thecounty pool to be used for theVasco Road safety project.

The TARP grant was specif-ically earmarked for arterialstreet repair and could not beused on the city’s surface streets,which are scheduled for repairsbeginning this year, saysNapper.

However, a delay in receiv-ing the city’s share of the localgas tax from the state has putthe surface street project onhold. The surface street repairsare paid for with gas tax rev-enues.

“We aren’t picking up ashovel until the money is in thebank,” says Mayor Julie Pierce.“And, who knows when thatwill be?”


TARP GRANT WAS USED to complete arterial street repairs onClayton Road and Oakhurst Blvd.

TAMARA STEINER

Clayton Pioneer

Should I sell now or wait andhope the market goes up?

Lynne French is the broker/owner ofWindermere Lynne French & Associatesand a Clayton resident. For any realestate needs or questions, contact her at672-8787, [email protected] orstop in at 6200 Center St. in Clayton.

LYNNE FRENCH

REAL ESTATE

Museum membership isan important way tosupport the community

A trip to the charmingand historic museum indowntown Clayton can be asatisfying outing with visit-ing relatives and friends ofall ages.

Many people are sur-prised to learn that themuseum has only volunteerworkers – no one receives asalary. The maintenance ofthe museum is dependent onmembership donations, plusthe proceeds from the annu-al Garden Tour each spring.

Museum membership isan affordable way to supportlocal history. A senior couplecan join for $10, or $5 forone senior. Other member-ships are available in the $15or $25 categories. If youwould like to remember afriend’s birthday or anniver-

sary date, this could be apositive and useful gift thatalso serves our community.

In just one of the muse-um’s programs, all the localthird-grade students aregiven an educational tour inthe spring. Parents, studentsand teachers affirm that thisfield trip is worthwhile, help-ing create respect and appre-ciation for the heritage ofClayton.

In our community-mind-ed town, the museum onlyhas about 300 members.This is a small fraction ofour population.

I believe many generousClayton supporters are sim-ply unaware of the need.Please consider adding yoursupport.

For more information, contactSheila Driscoll at 672-7947 [email protected].

SHEILA DRISCOLL

Special to the Pioneer

September 11, 2009 Clayton Pioneer • www.claytonpioneer .com Page 7

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Teacher focuses on freshmen employmentgoals in effort to reduce dropout rate

Clayton’s Roger Haserot wasoutraged by the 50 percentdropout rate at his school, Mt.Diablo High in Concord. Lastyear, he decided to do somethingabout it by firing up then princi-pal Bev Hansen to support a newschool-wide program targetingfreshmen.

It was designed to allow heavysupport of freshman students bykeeping their focus on a future ofemployment and goals that theywant to reach. Haserot wasteacher leader.

Since the district earns its rev-enue by average daily attendance,the more students who attend themore education revenue comesin.

“If we save 10 students,”Haserot explained, “we save thedistrict $50,000 a year.”

CONSIDERING CAREER OPTIONS

Because of the attention hisprogram was generating, Haserotwas named Teacher of the Year atthe end of the last school year.Yet, he’s not comfortable with therecognition.

“I like to stay in the back-ground and do my job,” he said.“This was a complete surpriseand I feel there are people morequalified than I.”

Another layer to the programis Career Integrated Academics,with the aim of always includingcareer focus in the academicinstruction as well as coordinat-ing with teachers to ensure thatstudents receive the instructionthey need at the pace that worksfor the overall plan.

“I knew it would take abouttwo years to see it through as leadteacher,” Haserot said.

Now into his second year, he’suncertain what the future holds.“That depends on my wife,” hesaid, adding that he hopes to

leave teaching and transform to aconsultant.

And this is where the plangrows. Based on discussions withClayton Valley’s principal GarySwanson, Haserot would like tosee all the high schools in the dis-trict incorporate the plan.

“Many schools have problemsmaintaining freshman interest,”he noted.

LOOKING DOWN THE ROAD

One of the elements of theprogram is to develop a 10-yearplan. “Where will you be in 10years?” he asks his students, hav-ing them develop a sense of theirfuture.

“And how’s your 10-yearplan?” he will ask students. “Ifyou understand where you aregoing as a freshman, you canhave a 10-year plan.”

Teachers involved can ask tosee the students’ plans. “Gettingthe kids to relate how their highschool classes beyond their fresh-man year affects them becomesfrosting on the cake in their sen-ior year,” he explained.

Attributing a lot of theMDHS dropout rate to culturalexpectations, or lack of, Haserotnotes that while many studentsbelieve in the need for a job, mostexpect obtaining that job to beeasy enough to negate the impor-tance of their education.

“One of the students frommy first year said, ‘I haven’t thefoggiest idea what I want to beand I really don’t care.’ ” It sur-prises him that this attitude canbe so pervasive.

ACHIEVING BUY-IN

While data is limited on

whether the dropout rate hasdecreased, Haserot sees a changein the number of freshmanremaining at school.

“Every piece of what I teachhas a real-world application,” hesaid.

Each set of freshman onlyhave him for 90 days beforerotating through other teachers,but he communicates there aswell. “I teach basic skills,” he said.That includes everything fromletter writing to things that busi-nesses expect from applicants.

“About 70 percent of the stu-dents last year started listening,”Haserot reported.

When Haserot asked onefreshman how the 10-year planwas going, he shook his head andsaid: “It’s not going well.”

“Some freshman are not yetmature enough to handle it,”Haserot said.

Now starting the program forsophomores gives studentsanother chance to buy into theprogram.

Haserot gleaned most of theprogram from what has beendone elsewhere. “Schools inVictorville have a year-longcourse and it is required for grad-uation,” he said with a hopefultone.

Academic Innovations, spon-sors of the program, plan to buyHaserot a video camera so that hecan tape classes as a learning toolto see what works and what doesnot.

The next challenge is record-ing all the data from last year’sgrades and determining howmany students are lost. “Even ifwe see the GPA increase at theend of the sophomore year,”Haserot explained, “we cannotnecessarily attribute it to the pro-gram since a number of factorsare at play.”

For more information, visitwww.mdusd.k12.ca.us/mountdiablo-high or www.focusonfreshmen.com.

ANDRÉ GENSBURGER

Clayton Pioneer

André Gensburger/Clayton Pioneer

ROGER HASEROT HOPES AN EMPHASIS ON TEACHING BASIC SKILLS tofreshmen will reduce the 50 percent dropout rate.

WolframAlpha.com is theultimate homework helper

A recently launched Websitepromises to help countless stu-dents with their math home-work, while drawing the ire oftheir teachers.

WolframAlpha.com is a“computational knowledgeengine” that acts like a powerful

calculator. Using a collection ofvast databases, it can generateanswers to a surprising numberof problems that would be diffi-cult to find using traditionalsearch engines.

For example, if you were totype x2sin(x), a calculus expres-sion, into Google, you wouldget a long list of math help sites.However, typing this sameexpression into Wolfram Alphawill get you a detailed analysisand a graph of the problem.

Wolfram Alpha can also

tackle math topics such as alge-bra, geometry and probability ina manner of seconds.

But the site can do morethan just number crunch.Wolfram Alpha has the poten-tial to help students in nearlyany subject. Chemistry studentscan use Wolfram Alpha to bal-ance chemical equations, whichwere the bane of my existencein high school. It can also gener-ate musical scales, tell you thecurrent location of theInternational Space Station, give

you a chart of France’s grossdomestic product and say howmany double spaced pages a5,000 word essay will use.

Some teachers have reactednegatively to the site. BruceYoshiwara, a professor at LosAngeles Pierce College, told theWall Street Journal that WolframAlpha will “reinforce the millen-nial generation’s devaluation ofknowledge.” Indeed, less thanscrupulous students may try to

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ON THE NET

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Some thoughts on keepingkids safe enroute to school

Hard to believe it, but schoolis upon us once again. TheClayton Police Departmentwants to offer some basic safetyinformation in the interest ofkeeping students and parentssafe while on the way to andfrom school.

For students who walk toschool, make certain that theyare familiar with the route andpoint out safe places to go ifthey are being followed or needhelp.

Talk to students aboutstrangers approaching them andsome of the ploys that strangersmight use. Stress to them thatadult strangers shouldn’t needdirections or help finding apuppy, for example. Thestranger should be asking adultsfor that kind of information.

Teach students that it is OKto say “No.” Tell them to trusttheir instincts.

Remind your children neverto give the impression they arehome alone if strangers tele-phone or come to the door.They should never open thedoor for strangers. Teach themabout dialing 911 for all emer-gencies.

For parents who drive or

walk with their children to andfrom school, remember to lockyour doors. If you see someoneunfamiliar to you driving orwalking around your neighbor-hood, call 911 if this activityconcerns you. Provide a basicdescription of the person or carand get a license plate number ifpossible.

For parents or friends whodrive students to school, plan toarrive early to avoid traffic con-gestion.

All passengers should wear aseat belt and/or an age and sizeappropriate car seat (6 years ofage/60 pounds) or booster seat.

Follow traffic signs that maybe posted at schools or followdirections from school volun-teers and police personnel. Theyhave been placed in a positionto help relieve traffic congestionat the schools.

Children are not alwaysaware of their surroundings andassume drivers will stop forthem. Encourage your childrento wait until whoever is direct-ing traffic tells them that it issafe to cross the street.

It is against the law to useyour cell phone while driving acar in California. It is extremely

dangerous around schools whenthere is a lot of activity.

In addition to safety to andfrom school, the Clayton PoliceDepartment wants to ensure thesafety of students and parentswho visit The Grove Park andother downtown businessesafter school hours. There seemsto be an increase in the numberof reports from concerned par-ents about unsafe and disre-spectful behavior by youthfulpark users after school. We allwant a fun and safe place enjoyfor all park users to enjoy.

We hope this is a greatschool year for all students andparents. If you have questionsor want to offer suggestions,please contact us at 673-7350, 9a.m.-5 p.m. Monday throughFriday.

DAN LAWRENCE

FROM THE CHIEF

Dan Lawrence is Clayton’s PoliceChief. Please send your questions,comments or topics you’d like to see covered to [email protected]

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Aug 27, 9:09 a.m., ElCamino. Hit and run, propertydamage.

AARRRREESSTTSSAug. 14, 1:26 a.m., Clayton

Rd. and Kirker Pass Rd., aPittsburg man, 27, was stoppedfor a vehicle code violation andarrested for driving under theinfluence.

Aug. 18, 2:42 p.m., MurchinoDr. and Ayers Rd., a Concordman, 60, was stopped for a vehi-cle code violation and arrested fordriving under the influence.

Aug. 19, 1:49 a.m., HavilandPl., a Antioch man, 40, wasstopped for a vehicle code viola-tion and arrested for violating hisprobation by having a controlledsubstance and paraphernalia.

Aug. 20, 10:59 p.m., ClaytonRd., a Concord man, 32, wasarrested for public intoxication.

Aug 25, 12:56 a.m., ClaytonRd., a Concord man, 18, wascontacted for disorderly conductand arrested on an outstandingwarrant.

Aug 26, 12:46 a.m., DuncanDr. and Clayton Rd., a SanRamon man, 46, was stopped fora vehicle code violation and

arrested on an outstanding war-rant.

Aug 27, 1:14 a.m., ClaytonRd. and Atchinson St., a Concordwoman, 21, was stopped for avehicle code violation and arrest-ed for driving under the influence.

Aug. 28, 12:25 a.m. Pittsburgmale, 26, stopped for vehiclecode violation. Cited for drivingon a suspended license.

Aug., 29, 12:18 a.m. KirkerPass/Olive Dr. DUI Alcohol/Drugs;Willful Cruelty to Child: PossibleInjury/Death. A Concord female,29, was stopped for a vehiclecode violation. After failing a fieldsobriety test she was arrested andtransported to the MartinezDetention Facility for booking.(Note, this charge is automatic inDUI cases where there is a childin the car, according to ClaytonPD)

Aug. 31, 8:18, Clayton Rd.Burglary Commercial; Theft with aPrior Conviction; Conspiracy toCommit a Misdemeanor,Probation Violation. Afterresponding to a call of shopliftingin process at Blockbuster Video, aBay Point man, 51, and Antiochwoman, 39 were arrested andtaken to the Martinez DetentionFacility for booking

Sept. 1, 9:45 a.m., ClaytonRd. Warrant. Police responded to

a call regarding a suspicions per-son and arrested an Oaklandmale, 41, with an outstandingwarrant.

Sept. 2, 12:43 p.m. RollingWoods Dr./Pine Hollow. PossessMarijuana. After responding to acall regarding juveniles smokingmarijuana, police arrested aConcord male, 19, for being inpossession of marijuana, and twoConcord males, 14 and 15, fortruancy. All were cited andreleased.

Sept. 3, 9:55 a.m. Respondingto a report of disturbance, policearrested a Martinez woman, 27,on an outstanding warrant

BBUURRGGLLAARRIIEESS//TTHHEEFFTTSSAug. 14, 7:32 a.m., Mt. Wilson

Wy. Vehicle burglaryAug. 14, 3:51 p.m., Stranahan

Cr. Grand theftAug. 16, 9:20 a.m., Kenston Dr.

Vehicle theftAug. 16, 5:28 p.m., Chardonnay

Cir. Residential burglaryAug. 19, 7:40 a.m., Eagle Peak

Ave. Grand theftAug. 22, 1:50 p.m., Panadero Ct.

Petty theftAug. 24, 5:55 p.m. Clayton Rd.

Petty Theft. Sept. 9, 6:41 a.m. Obsidian Way,

Grand Theft.

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Dog parks provide a won-derful opportunity for thesocialization and exercise ofsuburban dogs. But, theseparks can be a source of dan-ger if proper prevention andprecautions are not taken.

The most danger centersaround dog interactions. I havetreated several dogs with bitewounds following a park alter-cation. For a safe visit, dogpark etiquette requires ownersto have good control of theirdogs. It is always hoped thatthose dogs interacting withyours have responsible ownerswho have assessed their dog’stemperament before their visit.

Dogs that visit parks andrun off leash should be well-trained, respond to voice com-mands and have no aggressivetendencies.

Another danger is exposureto parasitic, viral and bacterialdiseases. The risk of exposureis always increased when wehave a concentration of ani-mals in a small area.

Intestinal parasites suchas roundworms, hookworms

and whipworms shed micro-scopic eggs in feces. Even ifconscientious owners pick upafter their dogs, these eggs dis-perse into the soil and grass.Infested dogs can shed up to300,000 eggs per defecation.Oral ingestion occurs whenthe dogs lick their feet, eatfood or chew on toys contam-inated by feces or park dirt.

These intestinal parasitesare also zoonotic, which is adisease that can be transmittedfrom animal to human.Roundworms can cause flu-like symptoms, neurologicalsigns and blindness in humans.

Studies have shown that inNorthern California, 25.7 per-cent of dogs carry one ormore type of these three para-sites. The Centers for DiseaseControl reports that 14 per-cent of the human populationin the United States is infectedand this number is rising.

Other intestinal parasitesthat can be found in the soil orwater at dog parks include pro-tozoan organisms such as giar-dia and coccidia. Both caninvade the intestinal lining andcause diarrhea. There is somequestion as to the zoonosis ofthe dog giardia species. But itis generally believed that dogsdo not infect humans.

The most deadly viralcanine disease found in dogparks is parvovirus, especiallyin younger dogs. Another dis-

ease passed in feces, this viruscauses severe bloody diarrhea,vomiting and death due todehydration. Just lastNovember, the San FranciscoSociety for the Prevention ofCruelty to Animals saw a dra-matic rise in parvovirus indogs visiting Golden GatePark.

The virus that causesdistemper is passed throughbodily excretions as well as air-borne. This disease is rarelyseen but can be deadly.Symptoms include upper res-piratory signs of sneezing andnasal discharge as well as vom-iting, diarrhea, neurologicalsigns, seizures and death.

Other airborne diseasesinclude kennel cough andcanine influenza. Both canstart with sneezing andprogress to a dry honkingcough and possibly to life-threatening pneumonia.

The bacterium ofleptospirosis is found in urineof infected animals. This dis-ease severely infects the kid-neys and liver, often leading todeath without the appropriateantibiotic therapy. Exposure isthrough drinking contaminat-ed water or licking urine-soaked items. Leptospirosis isalso a zoonotic disease.

Exoparasites such as fleasand ticks not only cause aller-gy and skin irritation but alsoare vectors of zoonotic dis-

eases such as Lyme,Ehrlichiosis and RockyMountain spotted fever. Earmites and sarcoptic mangemites can spread by direct con-tact during play. Ear mites aredog/cat specific and live in theear-producing dry dark waxand cause severe irritation.Sarcoptic mites create intenseitchiness and are easily trans-mitted to family members.

VACCINATIONS IMPORTANT

Owners can protect theirdogs and family with regularveterinary visits and by consult-ing with their veterinarian onproper vaccination and year-round preventative medicinesthat control internal and exter-nal parasites. The CompanionAnimal Parasite Council recom-mends fecal parasite tests atleast annually and twice yearlyfor high-risk dogs.

Dogs that frequent parksshould be vaccinated forDA2PP, a five-in-one vaccinethat protects against distemper,two adenoviruses (one causingcanine infectious hepatitis, theother part of the kennel coughcomplex), parainfluenza (anoth-er kennel cough virus) and par-vovirus. Other vaccines includerabies, Leptospirosis andBordetella (a kennel cough bac-terium).

The Lyme disease vaccinecan be considered in high-riskareas. There is a new vaccine for

canine influenza virus, which isrecommended for dogs at highexposure risks that includes vis-iting dog parks, kennels,groomers and dog shows. Ask ifyour veterinarian has startedcarrying this vaccine.

Monthly heartworm preven-tion that includes control ofintestinal roundworms is rec-ommended as well as monthlyflea and tick prevention.Consult with your veterinarianfor the products that best fityour dog’s lifestyle.

I hope I have not discour-

aged you from dog park visits.These outings can play animportant part in your dog’swell-being. By taking appropri-ate precautions, you can havepeace of mind that your visitwill be safe from injury and dis-ease.

For more information, visitwww.petsandparasites.org andwww.cdc.gov.


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Suze is a very busy dog whois always on the go. She willthrive in a home with routineand consistency. Adoptersshould have the time to provideplenty of physical and mentalstimulation and be able to pro-vide ample outlets for her ener-gy.

The adoption fee for adultdogs is $225 and includes 60percent off one seven-week dogtraining session.

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that will bounce right into yourheart! She is a playful and verysocial girl.

The adoption fee for adultcats is $50.

Meet your forever friend atTony La Russa’s Animal RescueFoundation, 2890 MitchellDrive, Walnut Creek, duringadoption hours: 3 to 7 p.m.Thursday and Friday, Noon to4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.The primary caretaker must be

present to adopt. ARF alsoencourages kids 16 and youngerand canine family members (dogadoptions only) to be presentduring the adoption process.

Would you like to be part of theheroic team that saves the lives of res-cued dogs and cats? Can you shareyour talents to connect people and ani-mals? ARF volunteers are making adifference! For more information seeour website, www.arf.net, or call925.256.1ARF.

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Prevention is key for healthy dog park visits

Marybeth Rymer, DVM, can bereached at Monte Vista AnimalHospital, Concord. 672-1100.

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PAWS AND CLAWS

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09/13 Sun, 3pm .........Karen Boutilier Kendall, author of “Berkeley to Beijing: The Journey of a Young Activist.”

9/17 Thurs, 4pm ........Joel Harris, author of “Images of America: Concord,” will be discussing his new book with a PowerPoint presentation at Diamond Terrace Retirement Community in Clayton located at 6401 Center Street, Clayton CA.

09/17 Thurs, 6pm .....Mary Pols, author of “Accidentally on Purpose: The True Tale of a HappySingle Mother.” This event will take place at the Walnut Creek Library, Ygnacio Branch located at 2661 Oak Grove, Walnut Creek.

9/22 Tues, 4pm..........Gennifer Choldenko, young adult author of “Al Capone Shines my Shoes.”

9/24 Thurs, 7pm ........Annie Barrows, author of “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.” This event will take place at the Shadelands Art Center, 111 N. Wiget Lane, Walnut Creek. Event fee applies.

9/25 Fri, 4pm .............Alex Beard, children’s author of “The Jungle Grapevine.”

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Cross country Eagles set to recapture glory days

Michelle Howisey remem-bers what it was like whenClayton Valley High School’scross country teams wereknown throughout California.

The Eagle girls won the 1994state championship and wererunners-up in ’93, ’95 and ’96.They dominated North CoastSection, winning section titlessix successive years starting in1993. The Eagle boys were NCStitle winners in 1977 and 1986.

As Howisey rebuilds theprogram, she can call on herexperiences from those years tomotivate her current crop ofrunners. “We used to book ourhotel rooms for state meet dur-ing the summer. We just knewwe would be going there,”Howisey reminiscences.

The third-year coach hashigh expectations for her boysand girls teams this season asthey enter their first meet thisSaturday at the two-mile Ed SiasInvitational in Martinez.

“We have a great group ofstudents on the teams. Theyworked hard this summer run-ning at least five days a weekstarting right after the Fourth ofJuly to build a strong base ofmileage,” Howisey says.

The team met each morningabout 7:30 a.m. and ran at Mt.Diablo, Lime Ridge or BlackDiamond. “Each runner did a

minimum of 20 miles a weekand some were over 30, 40 andeven 50,” the coach notes.

Howisey is usually right

there running with her charges.“It’s important for me to runwith the team. I can encourageand motivate them better when

they see me doing the samething they are. I can also checkout new trails as a ‘guinea pig’ tomake sure they’re appropriate.”

A FAMILY HISTORY ON

THE TRACK

Howisey was in fourth gradewhen she began running aboutthe same time as her older sisterKelly. The younger Howiseywas a competitive soccer playerwith the DVSC Heat club teamuntil seventh grade, when sheturned to running exclusively.

By then Kelly was starringfor the Eagles of 1993-’96. As asenior, Kelly finished second atNCS and 10th at state. “Thatwas my freshman year atClayton Valley. I won the leaguefrosh-soph meet but couldn’tmake the varsity team becausethey were so strong,” the coachsays. “We had a good crop ofrunners, wonderful coachingand all the runners pushedthemselves. We wanted to besuccessful.”

Michelle continued theschool and family tradition asthe Eagles won NCS in hersophomore and junior yearsbefore finishing fourth her sen-ior year. She was in the top 17individually at NCS for threeyears, including an eighth placefinish in 1997 – when she wasonly third on her own team.

STRONG RETURNERS

Cross country meet teamscores are determined by theplacing of the first five finishersfrom a school. Usually a teamfields seven runners, with thetop five places scoring in themeet.

For the Clayton Valley girls,who were second in the newDiablo Valley Athletic Leaguelast year, the team has four run-ners returning who finished inthe top 60 at NCS last fall.Juniors Jessica Alderete, MelissaDel Bene, Sarah Litwiller andBrigitte Leblow are all in theirthird season with Howisey.

“We have some strong lead-ership personalities among ourveterans,” the coach adds.

Meanwhile, sophomoreAlexandra Tate comes off anoutstanding track season as afreshman to push for a varsityberth.

On the boys side, the Eagleslost the outstanding NathanaelLitwiller (Sarah’s brother), whogot a scholarship to SacramentoState. Litwiller was second atNCS last fall, eighth at the statecross country meet and thenthird at the state high schooltrack meet in the 800 meters lastspring to cap a remarkable sea-son. He helped the CVHS boysto 12th place at NCS cross

JAY BEDECARRÉ

Clayton Pioneer

Mike Dunn/Clayton Pioneer

CLAYTON VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL CALLS NEWHALL PARK ITS HOME COURSE FOR CROSS COUNTRY. Working out before their firstmeet this Saturday are, from left, Sara Chavez, Julia Silverberg, Sam Preeg, Jessica Alderete, Megan Mayhew, SarahLitwiller and Melissa Del Bene.

See Cross Country, page 11

CVHS football team gearing up for key season

Trying for an encore to thegreat football season during thesilver anniversary year of theschool might seem daunting,but the Clayton Valley HighEagles have 27 seniors whowant to make memories oftheir own this fall.

They play their first homegame with a 7 p.m. kickoffFriday at Gonsalves Stadiumagainst Dublin High.

Herc Pardi is in his 14thyear at the helm of the CVHSvarsity football team. “It’s my35th year coaching highschool,” the Clayton residentnoted.

The Eagles opened theirnon-league season last Fridaywith a 22-7 victory over LibertyUnion in Brentwood. “Ourexcellent summer program hasprepared the team well for this

season,” the coach said.In 2008, the Eagles went

through an undefeated DiabloValley Athletic League seasonand were 12-0 when they metCardinal Newman in the NorthCoast Section Division IIchampionship game in SantaRosa last December. CardinalNewman, playing in their back-yard, won 17-7 to spoil a per-fect season for the Eagles.From that team, 24 seniorsgraduated.

Clayton’s Tyler Fjellbo, wholed the junior varsity to a leagueco-championship, has takenover quarterbacking duties foran offense that has nine newstarters. Anchoring both theoffense and defense is three-year starter Vince Buhagiar, a6-3, 240-pound linebacker andfullback who has attracted theattention of Pacific 10 teams.Buhagiar was all-league bothways last fall.

The team’s top tackler in

2008, Holden Nakamura, alsoreturns. Cornerback RodrigoMorales is the third three-yearvarsity player.

Top returning players alsoinclude defensive linemenAdam Lee and JonathanCarlson, wide receiver/line-backer Dominic Garaventa andoffensive lineman ZachBangert. Other letter winnersPardi is counting on are centerJake Looney, Tyler McCarville,Jeremy McKillip, Tino Abon,Thomas Child and Ethan Ray.Sophomore Mateo Gomez isalso competing for time atquarterback.

The team has five non-league games before begin-ning DVAL play Oct. 16 atMt. Diablo. Homecoming isOct. 23 against Concord andSenior Parent Night is oneweek later vs. Ygnacio Valley.NCS playoffs begin Nov. 20-21.

JAY BEDECARRÉ

Clayton Pioneer


CLAYTON SENIOR TYLER FJELLBO (right) is the heir apparent to all-league quarterback Joey Levine to lead Clayton Valley High’sfootball team this fall. His center is fellow Claytonian JakeLooney, a returning letterman.


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country, two places lower thanthe girls finished.

The Eagle boys last fall had asenior-laden team led byLitwiller, but underclassmenAdrian Capinpin, Stephen Halland Ted Hall got varsity experi-ence. They are joined by juniorsBen O’Connor and BrianCarbajal (a 200 and 400 meterrunner in track) and seniorLucas Leblow as contenders forthe coveted varsity spots.

RECONFIGURED SCHEDULE

The team will be competingat its home Newhall Park nextweekend, Sept. 19, for the NikeInvitational hosted byCarondelet and De La Salle highschools. The varsity teams go tothe Stanford Invitational Sept.26, where they will be reunitedwith Nathanael Litwiller run-ning for Sac State in the com-bined high school/college meet.

College Park is the dominantschool in DVAL cross country

and Howisey has her troopsaiming to unseat the Falcons.“Northgate and BereanChristian were also very goodlast year,” she says. “I’m anxiousto see how we stack up againstall the teams.”

This year, the DVAL hastaken a new approach by mov-ing away from dual meets (oneschool against another) to “cen-ter meets” where all the schoolswill run on the same course atthe same time but scoring willbe done against particularschools. For example, at one ofthe four center meets onWednesdays starting Sept. 23,Clayton Valley might be scoredagainst Northgate and Mt.Diablo. On another Wednesday,they’ll be scored against CollegePark and Concord.

“This format will give thekids more competition at everymeet. They will be competingagainst all the top runners in theleague every time,” she notes.

There are varsity, junior var-sity and frosh-soph teams, withevery runner on the squad tak-ing part in the meets. “We don’tcut anyone. If you make thepractices and participate, youare entered in the meets,” thecoach explains.

Howisey began coaching ather alma mater with the spring

2007 track team, when shehelped good friend and ex-CVHS runner Deb Osteen withdistance runners. This is herthird year as head varsity crosscountry coach. She had a fellowalumnus, Adam Coleman,assisting her the past two yearsbut he returned to grad schoolthis fall.


CLAYTON VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNUS MICHELLE HOWISEY

brings her experience and success as a runner for the Eaglesto her third season as head cross country coach at her almamater for the boys and girls teams.

Three Diablo FC girls teams capture soccer titles

Club soccer teams spendmost of August in tourna-ments to get ready for fallleague play, and the Diablo FCis no different. Three teamsfrom the local club claimedAugust tournament titles, withClayton girls on each teamhelping them secure first-placemedals.

Clayton Valley High’s AliRoberts had the thrill of scor-ing a dramatic tying goal andthen an equally stunning win-ning goal to help her DiabloFC 92 Blue girls to a champi-onship.

The under 17 Diablo FC 92Blue team won a pair of tour-naments last month, the 21stannual North vs. SouthSummer Classic in San LuisObispo and Soccer by the Bayin Burlingame. The under 13Diablo FC 96 girls were alsovictorious in San Luis Obispo,while the U11 Diablo FC 98team won much closer to homeat the Walnut CreekSummerfest.

FIGHTING BACK

AFTER DEFEAT

The two local teams win-

ning in San Luis Obispo sharedone common result – neitherteam won its first game. In atwo-day tournament, it’s diffi-cult to finish first if you don’twin your opening game.

The Diablo FC 96 team ofcoach Marquis White was in abracket where each U13 teamplayed the other four teams.“The girls played excellent allweekend. We controlled everygame with great ball move-ment and energy but could notfinish our many opportunitiesin the first three matches,”White said. “We finally got ourgoal-scoring boots on in thefinal game. We were very for-tunate, as with all tourna-ments, that certain teams lostor tied but overall we were def-initely the best team in thetournament and deserved thehardware.”

They began play with ascoreless tie against Bullard ofFresno. Then they defeatedBakersfield Elite 1-0 on a goalby Rachel Cooperman.Kathryn Chatman scored theonly goal in a 1-1 draw withhost San Luis Obispo Storm.

The team won its last gameover San Ramon Inferno 7-0with goals by Chatman, AleGonzalez, Kelsey Randall,

Colleen Hannigan (twice),Kendall Marsh and MarianaPerez.

Goalkeeper Jess Viera-Ramirez only allowed one goalin the tournament. The Diablo

FC 96 defense was bolsteredby Ashley Scannell, TarynNiederberger, RachelLanfranchi and Heather Reed,along with midfielders MaggieAires and Michelle Li. Sophia

JAY BEDECARRÉ

Clayton Pioneer

Cross Country, from page 10

Rumpf was an offensive con-tributor.

CLUTCH SCORING

For the older Diablo FC 92Blue, it was an even rockierroad to the U17 title. The teamlost to neighboring WalnutCreek United 1-0 in the openerbut bounced back with a 2-0win over Mt. HamiltonVelocity on goals by AllisonCarrozzi and Alexis Myers.

They began Sunday withanother 2-0 win, this time overCoastal Valley Impact, withMyers and Clayton’s StephaniePalomino putting in goals.

That set up a championshipgame against the Napa ValleyTitans, which had eliminatedDiablo FC in the semifinals ofthe Davis Legacy CollegeShowcase in July. The champi-onship game looked like it wasgoing to be a repeat of that 1-0 Napa victory until Robertsscored in the final minute ofregulation play, forcing twoovertime periods.

It appeared the overtimeswould end scoreless as coachJeremy Hull substituted playersfor an inevitable shootout. ButRoberts took a ball down thefield and scored the winninggoal in the final seconds ofOT.

In the Burlingame tourna-ment later in August, DiabloFC 92 Blue went through fouropponents without surrender-

ing a single goal to gain thechampionship, the team’s fifthtournament title in 13 months.Three of the four games,including the finale, ended in3-0 victories for Diablo FC.They also won a 1-0 nail-biterwith Oakdale Blue as Robertsscored the lone goal of thegame.

During the other victories,Myers, Roberts, Julia Havinis,Jenna Minahen, Sarah Paff andAri Sherman scored goals.Those 3-0 wins were overrivals Hayward Chaos, SACNorthstars and the StocktonJaguars.

CLOSE TO THE FINISH

The U11 Diablo FC 98 girlsenjoyed tremendous successduring their Under 10 season,including winning the NorCalPremier State Cup champi-onship. They opened the 2009tournament trophy case bycapturing the title at WalnutCreek Summerfest.

Coach Kent Tambazidis’girls had three close calls butclaimed the U11 title at theSummerfest.

They began play with a 4-3win over Bay Oaks BombersBlue and then an 8-0 shutout ofMission Valley United. OnSunday, they scored a pair ofone-goal wins 3-2 over theGryphons 98 White and then 2-1 over Bay Oaks Bombers Goldin the championship game.

Photo by Neville Guard, courtesy of Diablo FC

DIABLO FC 92 BLUE GIRLS WON A PAIR OF AUGUST TOURNAMENTS including the North vs. South in San Luis Obispo. The teamincludes: Front row: Sarah Paff, Jenna Minahen, Melissa Teifel and Alexis Myers; Middle row: Allison Carrozzi, Ali Roberts, AriSherman, Sierra Jackson and Gabby Laborde; Back row: Abbey Wilkins, Kendall Guard, Renee Roccanova, Katie Wright,Michelle Goehringer, Sarah Osborne, Stephanie Palomino, Janel Guzman and coach Jeremy Hull.

It’s a world of waste thathappens beneath your feet andone that everyone is reliantupon. Yet the sewerage and san-itary district services that we usein Clayton are rarely discusseduntil something goes wrong.

Working to prevent that sce-nario while upgrading existingfacilities, the Central ContraCosta Sanitary District inaugu-rated a new gravity interceptorpipeline on Aug. 26 with a cere-monial ribbon cutting completewith dignitaries.

The ceremony recognizedthe successful completion of a20-month, $21 million infra-structure project that will elimi-

nate the need for the pumpingstation and save residents andbusinesses more than $300,000a year.

“The Concord pump stationwas built and came into opera-tion in 1976, when Concorddecommissioned its own treat-ment plant and contracted withthe Central Contra CostaSanitary District to treat thewastewater from Concord andClayton,” explained MichaelScahill, communications servic-es manager for the sanitary dis-trict.

“The term ‘interceptor’ is, inessence, a large sewer pipe. Aswastewater flows toward thetreatment plant in Martinez

It may seem like a no-brain-er to some, yet the controversyover whether the swine fluamounts to more than the regu-lar seasonal flu has hit conta-gious proportions.

The unknown adverse reac-tions from the “special” ingredi-ents each vaccine uses to pre-serve and affect its result fuelsthe naysayers to believe more ina big pharmaceutical three cardMonte with little or no safetydata than a genuine get out offlu card.

The government, by con-trast, is warning that within thenext few months the swine fluwill return in force. While noone can say for sure what effectthat will have, the official stanceis to expect the worst. Thatmeans half the country will besickened and a large number –about two to three times theusual number – will die.

Worse, the fears of hospitalsbeing overrun and incapacitatedby the number of sick peoplebrings back images of the 1918Spanish flu victims lined up incots, warehouse style. That flukilled a half million Americans.

In its first go-round, theswine flu seemed to affect andkill at a far lower rate than theregular annually mutating gar-den variety flu, so who knowswhether the second coming willbe any different.

When it comes to vaccines,the answer is just not clear.There is safety in numbers.Consider the vast numbers of

people who are just fine after avaccine vs. the few who get ill.That suggests it can’t hurt tohave an extra dose of anti-viralfloating inside your system. But,it really becomes a personaldecision.

By their own admission, themakers of the seasonal flu vac-cine say it is a guessing game offour or five bits of variousstrains – like a gambler coveringa wide betting range and hopingto hit the jackpot with strongcoverage. The swine flu vaccineis produced in similar fashion.

Naysayers show that theodds of getting the right mix islow and, even then, it offersrelief and not protection.

As during the 1976 swine fluoutbreak, when drug makersraced to produce a vaccine infear of a global pandemic, theywould only do so with a govern-ment assurance of immunityfrom lawsuits if something wereto go wrong. What resultedfrom that effort was a range ofeffects: one death from swineflu, 25 deaths from the vaccineto hundreds of other peopleafflicted with Guillain-BarreSyndrome (GBS), a deadlynerve disease apparently linkedto the vaccine despite a lowinoculation rate of 30 percentof the public.

In mid-August this year, theUK Health Protection Agencyleaked a letter to the govern-ment announcing concerns thatone of the side effects of thenew vaccine is GBS. The syn-drome attacks the lining ofnerves, causing paralysis and aninability to breathe. The fear isparamount, given that childrenand young adults seem the pri-mary victims of the swine flu.

Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder of the non-profitNational Vaccine InformationCenter, believes that the riskbenefit analysis does not justifythe push for the fast-trackedvaccine.

“School-based programs are

not a good idea – these vaccineswill only have been tested on acouple of hundred healthy chil-dren,” she told CBS News. “Ithink the public health emer-gency declaration should comedown.”

The British Journal Lancetreported in the August issuethat a leading cause of deathfrom the 1918 and other pan-demic flu viruses came “frominfluenza-related secondary bac-terial pneumonia caused bycommon upper respiratory tractbacteria.”

The recommendations focusmore on “developing new drugsand vaccines for efficient con-trol and treatment of the sec-ondary bacterial pneumonia,” asopposed to a vaccine for thevirus itself.

In contrast to all this, a 2009

report in the journal Pediatricresearch showed that infantsand children appear more sus-ceptible to viral rather than bac-terial infections when deficientin Vitamin D. The same studyreported that 87 percent ofnewborns and their mothershad levels that were too low,urging supplementation.

The president has urged allAmericans to get the H1N1swine flu vaccine when it comesout in the next few weeks andan aggressive campaign aimed atinoculations at public schoolsseems on the verge of starting.Whether to get the vaccine mustremain a personal choice youalone can make.

For more information, visitwww.nvic.org or www.cdc.gov.

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ANDRÉ GENSBURGER

Clayton Pioneer


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Former ClaytonPioneer publisherindicted for tax fraud

Harry Warren Green, ownerof Bay Area Publications, wasindicted by a federal grand jurylast week with four counts offiling false tax returns for years2000-2003.

According to the August 25charges, Green is alleged tohave omitted substantial grossreceipts and barter income frompublishing the Pioneer, theBrentwood Bee and other pub-lications and failed to reportcapital gain income in 2003.The indictment further statesthat Green was aware that hewas under-reporting his income

when the returns were filed.Green is scheduled to make

his first appearance in federalcourt in Oakland on Sept. 21. Ifconvicted, he could face up tothree years in prison and a fineof $250,000 for each count.

Current publishers, Tamaraand Bob Steiner, purchased thePioneer from Harry and CindyGreen in May of 2003. TheGreens have had no connectionto the Pioneer since the pur-chase.

Cindy Green confirmed thatshe and her husband divorcedafter they sold the Pioneer in2003. Beyond that she had nocomment. Cindy Green was notnamed in the indictment.

TAMARA STEINER

Clayton Pioneer

The debate over the safety of the H1N1vaccine leaves many unanswered questions

ANDRÉ GENSBURGER

Clayton Pioneer

AT THE RIBBON-CUTTING FOR THE NEW A-LINE INTERCEPTOR IN CONCORD.From Left: Central Contra Costa Sanitary District (CCCSD) Director ofEngineering Ann Farrell; Concord Councilmember Bill Shin; CCCSDBoard member Michael McGill; Mayor Laura Hoffmeister; CCCSDBoard member Barbara Hockett; Public Works Director Qamar Khan;Councilmember Mark Peterson; County Supervisor Susan Bonilla.See Sewerage, page 14


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Volunteer uses nursing background toadvocate for county’s senior citizens

As part of her work asClayton’s representative to thecounty’s Advisory Council onAging, Lori Turner makes therounds to all senior living facili-ties and senior centers through-out the year.

“As a member of the adviso-ry council, I have become awareof many programs available toseniors, including senior legaladvice and a dedicated court forcivil and criminal cases involv-ing seniors,” said Turner, a 21-year Clayton resident.

She was appointed by theBoard of Supervisors to studyand report on all things connect-ed with the area’s senior citizens.Her volunteer term started inJanuary and lasts two years.

Despite the economy,Turner sees volunteerism goingstrong. “We’re out there doing,”she said, expressing her surpriseat how everyone keeps a posi-tive attitude. “There is no doom

and gloom.”Turner is involved with a

stroke awareness program thatmonitors state and nationalhealth care proposals, advocatesfor the implementation of elec-tronic medical records andworks to save the county’sombudsman program.

One of the ombudsmanprogram’s components is moni-toring complaints about nursing

homes. “Their budget had beenslashed by about 50 percent,”Turner said, pointing out thatpressure brought by volunteersand the council resulted in anear restoration of funding forthe ombudsman program.

“One of the projects thatthe Health Work Group of theadvisory council worked on wasa video on stroke awareness. Ithas been shown on the local TV

channel,” added Turner, whohopes that Diamond Terracewill share it with the residents.

Turner and her husband,David Holmes, met 30 years agowhile both were nurses at JohnMuir Medical Center in WalnutCreek. Turner still works at theConcord, Walnut Creek andBrentwood campuses as a nurs-ing director.

Holmes pointed out thatTurner was instrumental inchanging the criteria of nursingschool certifications to a meritsystem. “I’m very proud ofher,” he said. “She’s a greatadvocate for everyone in healthcare.”

“We’re always looking forvolunteers,” Turner noted,“especially people with expert-ise in areas that would benefitseniors, such as medical or legal.

Additional information may beobtained atwww.ehsd.org/adult000.html or bycalling 335-8700. Turner may bereached at [email protected].

ANDRÉ GENSBURGER

Clayton Pioneer


LORI TURNER AND HUSBAND DAVID HOLMES encourage those with skillsuseful to seniors to volunteer for the Council on Aging.

Truth be told, ‘Walking People’ an engaging read

Reading Mary Beth Keane’s“The Walking People” hookssomething so deeply inside you,touching a place so true, youknow magic has happened.

As a reader, I love the unre-liable narrator – one who spinsa yarn that is plausible, yet a lit-tle bit sideways. Nothing is as itseems. Keane manages to weaveher story with a voice that is atonce true and a little bit false.The reader is always just tryingto catch up with a version of the

story that is solid. But nothing isreally like that, and neither is“The Walking People.”

The novel is partly aboutMichael Ward, one of Ireland’s“walking people” – a tribe ofwanderers, gypsies, “others.” Hecomes from generations ofwanderers and has slept everynight of his life outdoors ingood weather and bad. In hissecret heart, Michael wants tofeel what it is like to settle in aquiet place, beside a small fire,contained within a small life.Michael lives between worldswithout ever intending to, andwhen he encounters the Cahillsof Ballyroan, his traveling daysdwindle to an end.

The story is partly aboutGreta Cahill, a waifish countrygirl, the youngest in a robustfamily led by Big Tom and hiswife, Lily, who subsidize thefamily farm with income fromsalmon poached from the localriver. Greta is called “TheGoose” by her family, for theway she walks, the way she holds

her hands and her head, for herseemingly simple ways.

Greta is sweet and goodnatured, but she is not as simpleas everyone thinks. As theyoungest in a family often are,she is underestimated by every-one around her.

The story would not be whatit is without fearless, cruelJohanna, Greta’s only sister andthe catalyst of the monumentalevents in Greta’s life – includingher exodus from Ireland andarrival in New York. Johanna isbrave enough to do the thingsthat can break a family apart.

It would be easy to paint heras a villain, but Keane nevertakes that easy road. The authormanages the nuance of willful,unreliable Johanna through theeyes of a patient love.

Everyone lies. Tom and Lilylie about the fish – where itcomes from and how it got dis-tributed to every house in town.Johanna lies about sneaking outat night and about the devotionshe will give to Michael if he

will run away with her. Gretalies about who stole the jar ofmilk and loaf of bread thatwent missing, while lying to her-self about the little things shetakes.

The Travelers are legendaryliars and thieves, but whenMichael’s big lie finally appearsin this generous narrative, itcomes from a place so tender itcan break your heart in a millionpieces.

“The Walking People” is asweet and guileless read; it is astunning first novel from anauthor who knows how unreli-able the truth really is.

CYNTHIA GREGORY

FOR THE BOOKS

Cynthia Gregory has won numer-ous awards for her short fiction. Herwork has appeared in GlimmerTrain Press, the Red Rock Review,Writer’s Digest, The Sun, The Ear,Santa Barbara Review, Black RiverReview, Briarcliff Review, ChicagoTribune, Bon Appetit, and the HerbQuarterly. You can write her at [email protected].

Book Review

Some hot summer days inClayton seem more uncomfort-able than others, and meteorolo-gists will explain that it’s becausethe relative humidity is a bit high-er than normal.

Having spent the last severaldays in New York City, wheretemperatures have hoveredbetween 90 and 100 degrees, Ican testify that we NorthernCalifornians have no idea whathigh humidity really is.

Days with high relativehumidity in New York, or any-where else along the EasternSeaboard, are stifling. Anyonewho flies to this part of thecountry during summer knowsthe feeling. Step outside of theair-conditioned comfort of theairport and it’s like hitting a wall.Perspiration percolates throughevery pore of your being in aninstant.

What is relative humidity?And why does the summer airfeel so much different in theeastern part of the United States

compared to California?Technically speaking, relativehumidity is the ratio of the pres-sure of water vapor in a volumeof air at a particular temperaturecompared to the pressure ofwater vapor in that same volumeof air at that same temperature ifthe air were completely saturat-ed.

Don’t worry about trying tounderstand that last statement.The key point is that at a giventemperature, relative humiditydepends on the actual vaporpressure – which is a function ofhow much moisture is in the air.Larger amounts of moistureresult in higher actual vapor pres-sure.

A look at the different airflow patterns and geographies ofthe East and West Coast willexplain why they get the muggyweather and we don’t.

Both coasts are subject to atypical summer heat wave, withthe maximum afternoon temper-ature at 95 degrees in both New

York and Clayton. Now let’s lookat the characteristics of the airthat produces that 95 reading.

The typical NorthernCalifornia heat wave resultswhen high pressure developsover the Four Corners portion ofthe Southwest. That high pres-sure, with its clockwise flow pat-tern, pushes air from the desertour way, and desert air is typical-ly dry since it lacks a surfacemoisture source.

East Coast heat waves typi-cally occur when a high pressuresystem, known as the BermudaHigh, forms over the westernAtlantic. Clockwise air flow inthat circulation draws moist airfrom the warm Atlantic Oceanor Gulf of Mexico over the east-ern United States.

Since we assume the samemaximum temperature, thedenominator in the relativehumidity equation, the saturationvapor pressure of an air parcel, isthe same at both locations. Thenumerator in the relative humid-

ity equation is larger in the EastCoast since the Bermuda Hightransports more water vaporthan the Four Corners hightransports to California.

Therefore, the actual watervapor pressure (the numerator inthe relative humidity equation) ishigher in the east. Consequently,the relative humidity is higheralong the East Coast, and humandiscomfort becomes greater.

Today, I’ll take a walk inCentral Park and enjoy the after-noon. It’s now 92 degrees, andthe weather maps show a highpressure system over Bermuda.I’m sure to work up a goodsweat.

Hot days in California no matchfor miserable East Coast humidity

WOODY WHITLATCH

WEATHER WORDS

Woody Whitlatch is a meteorolo-gist with PG&E. Email your ques-tions or comments to [email protected]


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40 years later, ‘Hair’ still touches a nerve

Judging by the sellout crowdat the Willows TheatreCompany’s preview performance,there are more reasons to see“Hair” than there are seats in thetheater.

The love, drugs and fear-the-draft rock musical, originally pro-duced by the New YorkShakespeare Festival in 1967,unleashes a torrent of hit songs,hot strokes, hippies in bell-bot-toms and grass—the kind youinhale, not mow.

Forty years after its premiere,“Hair” is enjoying a rebirth onBroadway and across the country.Audiences cover the gamut: somelost a son or daughter to theVietnam War or drugs; others arethe daughters and sons whostruck a path for peace and liber-ation. Music lovers come to hearcomposer Galt MacDermot’s“Aquarius” and “Easy to beHard.”

The majority are curiousabout all that sex, weed and freelove. And how did it get wrappedin a time warp with the bombs,fear and depravity of Vietnam?

In true counterculture form,“Hair” doesn’t absolutely answer

those questions. Instead, thescript by Gerome Ragni andJames Rado delivers critical com-mentary more than easy resolu-tion. The Tribe, a group of self-medicated hippies high on love,lust and hashish, skips and singstheir way from hope to desolationto proclamation.

It’s a kaleidoscope of angstand worship, leaving audiences todecide for themselves if the ’60sgeneration reflected young peo-ple using any excuse for a party ora last public gasp of idealism andbelief that love heals all.

The Willows’ cast attacks thework with enthusiasm. RicardoRust, as Claude, creates an uncan-ny gender bender – not relying onthe stereotypical young man withgay leanings, but rather playingthe part as if there’s a girl floatingjust beneath the surface of hismaleness. Claude is brassy, sweetand, eventually, brave. It’s a com-plex and convincing profile.

Michael Charles Reed givesBerger, the ring leader of thetribe, a terrific dose of neuroticegotism. He’s hateful and charis-matic – an incongruity capturedwith minimal lines and countlessepisodes of self-touch. We’re notsure if we like Berger, but it’sclear he likes himself and Reed

uses this theatrical push-pull tofull advantage.

Among the rest of the cast,there are equally distinguishedperformances. Erica Richardson(Dionne) makes our ability tohear a cause for celebration withher power-packed voice in“White Boys.” Rana Weber(Crissy) sings alone, late in thesecond act, offering the evening’smost honest, poignant moment.And choreographer RamiMargron’s movement comes tolife in Delina Patrice Brooks(Hubert), a versatile performerwho’s got the moves – even whenshe’s immersed in a mass ofwrithing tribal bodies.

Director Richard Elliott ismost effective in bed. In The Bed,that is. In this second act musicalnumber, he creates more magicwith one queen-sized bed sheetthan with all the towering, rollingplatforms used throughout theproduction.

If Elliott’s first act trudgesslightly under pace, his second actskips, flips and soars on its free-lance trajectory. It’s loony, it’sloopy – and it works.

As the cast reprises“Aquarius,” it’s shocking to realizethat “Hair” is no longer shocking.Proof that exposure works like

psychological frostbite to kill sen-sationalism.

See “Hair” to remember atime when we weren’t numb. Seeit in hopes of a second “dawningof the age of Aquarius.”

“Hair” runs through Sept. 27 atthe Willows Theatre, 1975 DiamondBlvd., Concord. For tickets, call 798-1300 or visit www.willowstheatre.com.

LOU FANCHER

Clayton Pioneer

(from as far south as San Ramonand Lamorinda), sewer lines growincreasingly larger to accommo-date the increasing volume ofwastewater,” Scahill added.“Gravity interceptor just meansthat all of the wastewater in itflows toward the plant by gravityalone.”

Clayton and Concord main-tain their own collection system ofsewer lines. The pump station wasat a low point in the Concord col-lection system, allowing for gravi-ty flow to it from the cities.

Prior to the installation, it wasnecessary to “push” the waste-water uphill to that final intercep-tor. Since the pumping station ranon electricity, the savings from thenew system are immediate.

“The pump station and the48-inch main coming out of ithave been in continuous opera-tion for over 30 years,” Scahillsaid. “The main has never beenout of service for maintenance orinspection.”

The project involved morethan 4,000 feet of tunneling, thenthe installation of sewer pipeswith diameters as large as 96 inch-es at depths as much as 30 feet.This included two 48-inch pipesunder Walnut Creek.

“In dry weather,” Scahillnoted, “flow to the plant can besent down one line while the otheris being inspected. In wet weather,an increased flow can be easilyaccommodated by the two 48-inch lines – thus preventing asewer spill.”

The larger gravity flow inter-ceptor allows for future growth inConcord. The sanitary district col-lects and cleans an average of 45million gallons of wastewatereach day in Central Contra CostaCounty.

For more information, visitwww.centralsan.org.

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Theatre Review

Kids and cars rule the day at CCCannual Boxcar Derby and Car Show

Kids will be kids, they say. Andsometimes adults will be kids aswell, especially when it comes toclassic cars and racing. The 6thannual Clayton CommunityChurch Labor Day Boxcar Derbyand Classic Car Show was a hugesuccess with a large turnout ofboth cars and racers.

Dylan Lofgren, Nick Lilly andAndrew Hamilton, three ten-yearold Clayton boys stood patientlyby the neatly parked line of box-cars awaiting their turn to race.For two of the three this was theirfirst year participating and allthree were attracted by the obvi-ous fun. For Hamilton it was histhird time. Some 250 kids enteredthe Derby race, impressingRobinson who called it “phenom-enal.”

Each race begins with twoexcited kids climbing into whatthey hope will be the winning car.Crews push the cars up the ramp,locking them into place. “Driver’sready? Eyes forward, GO” barksannouncer Dave Shuey, and thecars roll down the ramp on toMain Street, gaining speed as they

go. The drivers struggle to steer,some more successful than oth-ers. There were a few crashes butno injuries any more serious thana bruised ego or two.

A SAFE AND

WHOLESOME ACTIVITY

“We wanted an inexpensiveLabor Day option where familiescan have fun and kids get to learnhealthy sportsmanship,” saidShawn Robinson, pastor of theClayton Community Church andorganizer of the popular annualevent downtown. “Events like thederby bring our communitytogether so we can get to knoweach other as neighbors, cheer foreach other as friends and supportour downtown. The best part is itis free to our kids.” Sponsorspicked up the tab for the event.

BEATING THE RECORD

The Classic Car Show is animportant part of the day’s festiv-ities. This year a record 302 carswere on display including a 1930Ford Model A, 1937 HimlZeppelin Roadliner, and a 1964Austin Healy 3000 Mark III com-plete with a small porcelain doglifting its leg against the frontwheel in true Normal Rockwellstyle.

Clayton Police displayed their71 Plymouth Satellite whicheveryone thought should still beused for regular patrols.

“You can’t beat the ruralcharm,” LeVenture said. “It is anold world charm event. And ittakes 100 volunteers to make thiswork.”

A WIDE RANGE OF VISITORS

The event draws more than1500 visitors to the downtown,coming from Fresno, RanchoCordova, El Dorado Hills,Petaluma and all parts in between.

This year’s car show was thelargest yet, LeVenture said of the

record number of cars parkedwherever they could find a space“This is just one of the outreachevents that the church puts on toestablish itself as part of the com-munity,” LeVenture said. “We area part of the downtown commu-nity.”

“The Derby is a great stay athome opportunity to have funwithout spending any money! It’sa win-win given our economy,”Robinson said. “We really can saythat the Classic Car show hasgrown to be the biggest and bestin the East Bay. You can’t beatthat.”


OVER 300 CLASSIC CARS were on display at Labor Dayevent, making this one of the East Bay’s largest classiccar shows.

ANDRÉ GENSBURGER

Clayton Pioneer


EVENTS & ENTERTAINMENT

In Clayton

Sept. 19Last Concert in the GroveHarvey and the Wall Bangers offer “greatest hits.” Bring lawnchairs andblankets. Free. 6-8 p.m., downtown Clayton.

Sept. 26-27Clayton OktoberfestLive music, Bavarian dances, street performers, arts and crafts show andkids’ carnival. 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sept. 26 and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sept. 27.Carnival also open Friday at 6 p.m. For more info, call 672-2272 orclaytonoktoberfest.com.

Through OctoberClayton Farmers Market8 a.m.-noon Saturdays, Diablo Street in downtown Clayton.www.pcfma.com or 800-949-3276.

Close by

Sept. 11-13“Spelling Bee”Final performances of this hilarious musical at the Willows Cabaret inMartinez. For ticket info, call (925) 798-1300 or go to www.willowsthe-atre.org.

Sept. 11-27“On the Town”Leonard Bernstein’s classic includes “New York, New York,” “LonelyTown” and “I Can Cook, Too.” Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 CivicDr., Walnut Creek. 943-7469, www.lesherartscenter.org orwww.dloc.org.

Through Sept. 27“Hair”Willows Theatre revival of the 1967 rock musical at the Willows MainStage in the Willows Shopping Center, 1975 Diamond Blvd. For ticketinfo, call (925) 798-1300 or go to www.willowstheatre.org.See review page 14.

Sept. 12Contra Costa Master Gardeners Garden WalkSix gardens in Walnut Creek, Martinez and Pleasant Hill showcase waysto landscape without lawns. Master gardeners will answer questions andprovide demonstrations. $15; no children under 12. Fee includesadmission to the drought-tolerante plant sale. To buy tickets before Aug.31, mail a check made out to CCMG Association to CCMG GardenWalk, 221 Virginia Circle, Martinez, CA 94553. Or contact Gail [email protected] or 945-7738.

Sept. 12California Symphony Pops10th annual free concert. 6:30 p.m., Todos Santos Plaza, downtownConcord. 671-3464 or www.californiasymphony.org.

Through Sept. 13“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”The Tony Award-winning musical comedy celebrates the mania of com-petition. Willows Cabaret at the Campbell Theatre, 636 Ward St.,Martinez. 798-1300 or www.willowstheatre.org.

Sept. 14, 21Diablo Women’s Chorale AuditionsInformal audition for sopranos Sept.14 and for altos on Sept. 21, bothat 7 p.m., Trinity Lutheran Church, 2317 Buena Vista Ave., WalnutCreek. Holiday concert is Dec. 13. www.angelfire.com/ca/dwchorale/or 256-8961.

Sept. 26, 30Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra Concert features renowned jazz violinist Jeremy Cohen and KGO radiopersonality Scott Lettieri narrating “Peter and the Wolf.” 7:30 p.m. Sept.26, Los Medanos College Recital Hall, 2700 E. Leland Road, Pittsburg,7:30 p.m. Sept. 30, Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Dr., WalnutCreek. $5-$18. 943-SHOW or www.LesherArtsCenter.org.

Through Sept. 27“Hair”Return to the “Age of Aquarius” with the classic ’60s musical. WillowsTheatre, 1975 Diamond Blvd., Concord. 798-1300 or www.willowsthe-atre.com.

Oct. 11-13California SymphonySeason opens with visual motion artist Michael Moschen in his first livesymphonic performance. Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Dr.,Walnut Creek. 280-2490, www.lesherartscenter.org.

FUNDRAISERSSept. 13, 27Breakfast with the Veterans of Foreign Wars8-11 a.m. the second and fourth Sundays. $4 adults, $2 children under12. Veterans Memorial Hall, 2290 Willow Pass Road, Concord.

Sept. 18-19Bay Area Crisis Nursery Yard SaleToys, clothing, household items, linens, electronics, sports equipment,books and more. 8 a.m.-2 p.m., 1510 Mendocino Dr., Concord.685.6633 or www.bacn.info.

Sept. 19Dana Hills Community Garage SaleSponsored with the Children’s Organ Transplant Association, the sale

benefits Jessie Bucher. She has Sandhoff disease, a rare neurodegenera-tive disease. She recently underwent a clinical trial stem cell transplantat Duke University in North Carolina. 8 a.m.-2 p.m., 200 MountaireParkway, Clayton. Contact Julie at 672-6360 [email protected].

Sept. 26Civic Arts AuctionSponsored by the Friends of Civic Arts Education Foundation and hostedby KCBS newscaster Jeff Bell. 6:30 p.m., Shadelands Art CenterAuditorium, 111 N. Wiget Lane, Walnut Creek. 939-2787 orwww.friendsartsed.org. Bid atwww.cmarket.com/auction/AuctionHome.action?auctionId=89966553until midnight Sept. 21.

Oct. 3Clayton Valley Garden Club Plant SaleFunds raised are put back into the community for special projects. One-gallon plants are $4. Buy five, get one free. 8 a.m.-1 p.m., EndeavorHall, 6008 Center St., Clayton. Contact Neal at 672-2624 orwww.claytonvalleygardenclub.org.

CLASSESSept. 16CERT OverviewThe Clayton Community Emergency Response Team will conduct a one-hour overview about the objectives and benefits of taking the CERTclass. 7 p.m., Clayton Library, 6125 Clayton Road. The fall session ofCERT begins 6:30 p.m. Sept. 30. 673-7355.

Sept. 19Family Radio Service TrainingThe Clayton Community Emergency Response Team will host a commu-nication training session open to all CERT members in Contra CostaCounty. 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Endeavor Hall, 6008 Center St. 673-7355.

Sept. 25Caring Hands Volunteer TrainingCaring Hands volunteers provide friendly visiting and companionship,transportation to medical appointments and other needed services, andrunning errands such as grocery shopping. 8:45 a.m.-3:30 p.m. RSVPby Sept. 18 at 952-2999 or www.johnmuirhealth.com/caring_hands.

Sept. 26, 29; Oct. 3English Tutor TrainingVolunteers can learn how to help non-English speaking adults to read,write and speak English well enough to function in our society. 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Sept. 26, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Sept. 29 and 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m.Oct. 3, Diablo Valley Literacy Council, 4000 Clayton Road, Concord.$15. Contact Shirley at 685-3881.

AT THE LIBRARYThe Clayton Community Library is at 6125 Clayton Road. Most pro-grams are free. 673-0659 or www.claytonlibrary.org.

Sept. 15-Dec. , Patty CakesStory time for babies to 3-year-olds. Child attends with caregiver. Drop-in 11 a.m. Tuesdays.

Through Dec. 3, Picture Book TimeStory time for 3- to 5-year-olds. Child may attend without caregiver.Drop-in 11 a.m. Thursdays.

Sept. 23, “Getting into the College of Your Choice”Ian & Sandra Griffin provide an overview of the college applicationprocess. 7 p.m.

Oct. 5, Book Club Forum Presented by Ron Shoop, a well-known inspiring speaker. He will recom-mend new titles for book lovers and book clubs. A free raffle of bookswill conclude the program. Sponsored by Project Second Chance,Clayton Community Library Foundation & Clayton Books. 7-8:30 p.m.

AT THE YMCAFor more information, contact Jennifer at 692-2364 or [email protected]. To register, visit www.medrymca.org or call 889-1600.

YYoouutthh BBaasskkeettbbaallll:: For beginning and intermediate players ages 3-11.Varied basket height, ball size and game rules fit with each age group inpromoting sportsmanship and teamwork. Nov. 7-Dec. 19.

YYoouutthh FFllaagg FFoooottbbaallll:: For ages 7-14. Focus on teamwork and sports-manship while participants learn fundamental football skills. Player posi-tions are rotated every game. No special equipment required. Nov. 7-Dec. 19.

YYoouutthh OOuuttddoooorr SSoocccceerr:: For ages 3-11. Children will learn the funda-mentals of dribbling, passing, shooting and defense while developingsportsmanship and teamwork and having fun. Children will need shinguards and tennis shoes. Sept. 26-Oct. 31.

JJuunniioorr VVoolllleeyybbaallll:: For beginning to intermediate level players ages 11-14. The goal is to teach fundamentals of the sport while promoting thevalue of participation, fair play and team work. Sept. 26-Oct. 31.

YYoouutthh TT--BBaallll aanndd CCooaacchh PPiittcchh BBaasseebbaallll:: A six-week T-Ball class with par-ent participation. The program is designed for younger ages to helpplayers with basic baseball skills. Sept. 26-Oct. 31.

NATURESept. 13, 26Lime Ridge Peak HikeMeet at 9 a.m. at the Lime Ridge access parking lot across from theBoundary Oaks club house, 3800 Valley Vista Road, Walnut Creek.Learn about the plan to allow Nextel to use the peak of Lime Ridge forexpanded communications facilities. www.savemountdiablo.org.

Sept. 20End of Summer HikeAbout six miles, with moderate ups and downs. Meet at 8 a.m. at MP73, Morgan Territory Regional Preserve main parking lot. Register at 1-888-EBPARKS option 2, 3 course #22543. www.ebparks.org

Oct. 4Mt. Diablo ChallengeA 10.8-mile timed bike ride, climbing Southgate Road to the summit.Prizes in several categories, plus food and beverages at the summit.$55. Proceeds benefit Save Mount Diablo’s land conservation efforts.Register at www.savemountdiablo.org or www.active.com.

CITY MEETINGSSept. 15Clayton City Council7 p.m., Hoyer Hall, Clayton Library, 6125 Clayton Road. 673-7304 orwww.ci.clayton.ca.us.

Sept. 22Clayton Planning Commission7 p.m., Hoyer Hall, Clayton Library, 6125 Clayton Road. 673-7304 orwww.ci.clayton.ca.us.

CLUBSClayton American Association of University WomenNew members lunch 11:30 a.m. Sept. 19, La Veranda, 6201 CenterSt., Clayton. Membership open to women with AA or higher degree.Contact Audrey at 798-6406 or Lola at 680-8345. RSVP to the lunchby Sept. 15 with Luz at 672-1982 or [email protected].

Clayton Business and Community AssociationMeets 6:30 p.m. the last Thursday of the month, except holidays,Oakhurst Country Club, 1001 Peacock Creek Dr., Clayton. Call Sue at672-2272.

Clayton Valley Garden ClubMeets 7 p.m. the second Wednesday of the month. Contact Dorothy at672-2526 or visit www.claytonvalleygardenclub.org.

Clayton Valley Woman’s ClubMeets 9:30 a.m. for coffee, 10 a.m. meeings, second and fourthTuesdays of the month, Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 1090 Alberta Way,Concord. Call Joyce at 672-3850.

Clutch Busters Square Dance ClubMeets 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Mt. Diablo Women’s Club, 1700 FarmBureau Road, Concord. Contact Dorothy at 754-8117.

Concord Stompers Square Dance ClubMeets 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Mt. Diablo Women’s Club, 1700 FarmBureau Road, Concord. Beginners’ class starts Sept. 16. First night freeand $20 for the next eight weeks. Square dance attire not required. Nopartner needed. Call Jennie at 672-9676 orwww.angelfire.com/id/stompers.

Contra Costa Blue Star MomsMeets 6 p.m. the fourth Monday of the month at a location to beannounced. Members have sons and daughters in uniform. ContactBecky at 286-1728 or ccbluestarmoms.org.

Contra Costa Chess ClubMeets 7-9:30 p.m. Thursdays, Starbuck’s, 1536 Kirker Pass Road,Clayton. Players of all ages and skill levels welcome. Contact Mike at639-1987 or www.uschess.org.

Contra Costa Mineral and Gem SocietyMeets 7:30 p.m. second Monday of the month, Centre Concord, 5298Clayton Road. 779-0698 or http://ccmgs.org.

Creekside Artists GuildMeets 7-8:30 p.m. the second Wednesday of the month, ClaytonLibrary Story Room, 6125 Clayton Road, Clayton. All artforms and bothemerging and experienced are welcome. Contact Arlene at 673-9777or [email protected]. Or www.creeksideartists.org.

Diablo Valley Democratic ClubMeets 7 p.m. the third Wednesday of the month, Ygnacio Valley Library,2661 Oak Grove Road, Walnut Creek. Sept. 16 meeting: “Saving theDelta, a Forum on Water.” 946-0469 or www.dvdems.org.

Diablo Valley Macintosh Users GroupMeets 6:30-9 p.m. the third Tuesday of the month. Bancroft ElementarySchool, 2700 Parish Dr., Walnut Creek. 689-1155 or www.dvmug.org.

Rotary Club of Clayton Valley/Concord SunriseMeets 7 a.m. Thursdays, Oakhurst Country Club, 1001 Peacock CreekDr., Clayton. Includes breakfast and a speaker. Contact Chuck at 689-7640 or www.claytonvalleyrotary.org.

Scrabble ClubMeets 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. second and fourth Saturdays of the month,Carl’s Jr. Restaurant, 1530 Kirker Pass Road, Clayton. All ages and skilllevels welcome. $3 fee. Call Mike at 639-1987 or www.scrabble-assoc.com.

Sons In Retirement (SIR)Meets 11:15 a.m. first Thursday of the month, Oakhurst Country Club,1001 Peacock Creek Dr., Clayton. 429-3777.

Widows/WidowersMeets for dinner, brunch, theater, etc. This is not a dating service nor isit a greiving class - just a way to meet other people. Contact Lori at998-8844 or [email protected].

Ygnacio Valley Republican Women FederatedMeets 10:15 a.m. Sept. 16 at Oakhurst Country Club, 1001 PeacockCreek Dr., Clayton. Guest will be Bill Mayer, editor and publisher ofPipeLineNews.org. Lunch is $22. RSVP at 672-5061 [email protected].

Clayton Community CalendarPLEASE SUBMIT YOUR CLAYTON COMMUNITY CALENDAR EVENTS BY 5 P.M. SEPT. 15 FOR THE SEPT. 25 ISSUE. ITEMS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY EMAIL TO [email protected]

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CLAYTON AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN

Women who have earned an AA or higher degree are invited tojoin the Clayton branch for the fall luncheon meeting Sept. 19 at LaVeranda restaurant in downtown Clayton. Guest speakers will be JoHarberson and the three winners of the Tech Trek scholarships.

Reservations must be made by Sept. 16. For more information, call 798-6406.

THE CLAYTON BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY

ASSOCIATION/BLUE STAR MOMS

The CBCA is collecting for the Blue Star Moms’ holiday mailing.Our troops would enjoy receiving Frisbees, card games, small wordgame books, tennis balls, yoyos, baby wipes, 80 percent cotton blackor white crew socks, knitted caps, drink singles, gums/mints, hardcandy, trail mix, oatmeal/cocoa packets, tuna/chicken salad kits ortrail mix. Or donate $11.95 for postage.

For more information, call Sue at 672-2272.

CLAYTON VALLEY GARDEN CLUB

Club members Ted Meriam and Linda Cruz were invited to tourthe Diamond Terrace vegetable garden with resident gardeners.Meriam and Cruzhad cleared a bedlast spring so thatDiamond Terraceresidents could plantvegetables.

R e s i d e n tGenevieve Hart isproud of her straw-berries and toma-toes, while AdelKing loves her cher-ry tomatoes.Another resident isstruggling with thecabbage, which thegophers find tootempting to ignore.

BAHA’IS OF CLAYTON

All are invited to a talk and evening of fellowship on Friday, Sept.25. The subject of the talk is “An Introduction to the Baha’i Faithand the Promise of World Peace,” with speaker Dennis Pettyjohn.

Pettyjohn holds a bachelor’s in theology and a master’s in churchadministration. He was a Baptist minister for about 10 years inCalifornia and Arizona.

The program starts at 7:30 p.m. with a period of interfaith devo-tions at the Toloui residence in Clayton.

For more information and directions, call 672-6686.

CLAYTON COMMUNITY CHURCH

A new five-week message series began Sept. 6, culminating witha community-wide service day on Oct. 11. Services are 9 and 10:45a.m. Sundays at Diablo View Middle School, 300 Diablo View Lane,Clayton. For more information, call 673-9060.

Five17 for high schoolers meets 7-9 p.m. Thursdays at the down-town office, 6055 Main St., Clayton. Meet new friends as we start thenew school year talking about sex – along with Clayton’s largest icecream sundae.

Grapple for third through fifth graders meets 3-4:30 p.m.Fridays, starting Oct. 2, at the downtown offices. This is a great wayfor your child to meet friends, play games and learn about God.

ETERNAL LIFE LUTHERAN CHURCH

All are invited to the annual fall family picnic on Sunday, Sept. 20.The worship service will begin at the regular time of 11:15 a.m., fol-lowed by the picnic at the Farm Bureau building, 5554 Clayton

Road, Suite 1B, Concord.Eternal Life Lutheran Church is a member congregation of the WELS, a

conservative, Bible-believing and Christ-confessing nationwide Lutheran churchbody. For details, visit www.EternalLifeLutheranChurch.org.

ST. BONAVENTURE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Peter Nixon, an award-winning journalist who writes for U.S.Catholic magazine, will lead a discussion called “Catholics in thePublic Square: A Short Course.”

Catholics are called to act in the world on behalf of “the com-mon good.” But how do we, as individuals and as faith communities,discern what the common good is in a particular situation?

Beginning 7-9 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22, the group will meetmonthly to learn about the church’s approach to moral discernmentand decision making, with a particular focus on how this is appliedto issues of public concern. The topic for the first session is “ASpirituality of Politics.”

The church is at 5562 Clayton Road, Concord. For details, visitwww.stbonaventure.net/parish-ministries/community/social-justice-ministry orcontact Christa at [email protected] or 672-5800.

CASA DE GOZO

A Spanish-speaking worship community under the leadership ofthe Rev. Emilio Rodriguez has begun meeting at Clayton ValleyPresbyterian Church, 1578 Kirker Pass Road, Clayton.

Since starting six months ago, this congregation has grown from20 worshippers meeting in a vacant house to more than 75 peopleattending weekly. They will meet 4:30-6:30 p.m. each week as agroup but will continue small group meetings in members’ homesduring the week and a youth group on Friday evenings at the church.

For more information, email [email protected].

water, keep your plants healthy,reduce your water bill and enjoy ashower … as long as it’s a shortershower!

We urge all residents to let usknow if you see a broken sprin-kler head or leaks on city proper-ty. That’s our water and yourmoney literally going down thedrain. Let us know through thecity’s Website,www.ci.clayton.ca.us, using the“contact us” tab or by calling CityHall at 673-7300.

Think about replacing lessefficient appliances with newhighly efficient washing machinesand toilets using CCWD’s finan-cial incentives program to helpyou save water, money and ener-gy for years to come. CCWDoffers free low-flow showerheadsand faucet aerators, and they willsend professional conservationauditors to your home to showyou personally how and where

you can save. Check www.ccwa-ter.com to sign up for a free con-servation audits.

This year’s drought is also aharsh reminder that our stateLegislature needs to fixCalifornia’s antiquated waterdelivery systems to help restoreecosystems in the Delta andensure future reliability of watersupplies for our short- and long-term needs. Here in Clayton, it’seasy to feel far removed from theheadlines and power plays inSacramento. But our water qualityand quantity are heavily impactedby what happens in the stateCapitol.

So if you’re ever going to getinvolved, now is the time to urgeour local representatives to workwith the governor and other legis-lators to find some commonground on water.

All potable water in Claytoncomes from the Delta, so every-thing about it counts – includingthe Delta economy, the fish, ourwater quality and our aging levees.

Unfortunately, our cash-strapped state doesn’t have thecapability to fix our levees rightnow. So we’re stuck with an intri-cate levee system that is morethan 100 years old and vulnerableto everything from earthquakes toa major storm, or something as

simple as too many gopher holes.Clearly, this safety issue has to beaddressed and soon.

Looking ahead, some stateleaders have resurrected the ideaof building a peripheral canal thatwould allow water from the Sierrato be shipped around the Delta tothe massive pumps that move itsouth toward Los Angeles.

This ambitious project has thepotential to alter the dynamics ofthe Delta by reducing the flow offresh water into the Delta, whichcould mean saltier drinking waterfor us.

At this point, no one is surehow big or expensive the newcanal should be – or whether itshould even be built – but someof the proposals are fantasticallylarge. CCWD believes if a newwater conveyance facility is neces-sary, it ought to be reasonablysized and possibly an under-ground pipeline rather than anabove-ground canal the size ofthe Panama Canal. This could dothe job without sacrificing theenvironmental and water needs ofeveryone who depends on theDelta.

Meanwhile, CCWD is pursu-ing several “immediate action”projects to address pressing prob-lems in the Delta. One projectunderway improves water qualityfor all the district’s customers bybuilding a new intake farther intothe Delta. This new pumpingplant will be operating next year.

Some $20 million in federalstimulus money is also going tobe spent this year and next on amodern fish screen for the dis-trict’s Rock Slough Intake nearOakley. This project will protectthreatened fish and the ecology ofthe Delta, give the local construc-tion industry a needed boost andprovide a model of how a mod-ern fish screen can work whilestill allowing pumps to operate.

CCWD is also working onexpansion plans for the LosVaqueros Reservoir and is talkingto potential partners about shar-ing the costs and the water quali-ty benefits of an expanded reser-voir. The project is nearing theend of the environmental reviewperiod, and some big decisions onhow the project proceeds couldbe made in the near future by theCCWD Board of Directors andother agencies.

The drought has madeeveryone more aware of thevalue of water both locally andthroughout the state. Each timeI see a brown lawn, I realize thatpeople are getting the message.We’ve got to save water, nowand in the future.

In the meantime, we’ll contin-ue to work closely with CCWD toensure that Clayton’s water needsare met.

As always, you can contact me byemail at [email protected] me know what you think.

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Church News

Club News

Photo by Linda Cruz

Visiting the gardens at Diamond Terrace,from left, are Genevieve Hart, TedMeriam, Allison DeAngelis, ArlissHarmon, Ginny Below, Margaret Mellanaand Adel King, with Dorothy Woodruff inthe front.

By summer’s end, garden bedsand borders can look tired anddry. Flowering perennials andornamentals have been pushed tothe limit by our blazing hot sun,constant drying winds and thisyear’s limited watering.

At this time, you can really seewhat has held up in our ClaytonValley landscapes and what hasfailed to thrive. Luckily for us, ourgrowing season will stretchalmost through October – allow-ing enough time for our perenni-als and ornamentals to repairthemselves and get on track forthe upcoming wet winter.

It is time to take back yourbeds and borders. Lightly feedyour perennials and ornamentals,give attention to citrus plants,repair any damage to your lawn,and install late-blooming perenni-als or staple plants such as treesand shrubs.

TIME FOR A FEEDING

Feeding your plants is animportant step to making themlook better. You can really noticewhen someone has taken the timeto fertilize. All spring-bloomingshrubs and trees should be fertil-ized at this time. Fringe flowers,hebes, escallonia and hawthornneed a feeding now. Choose amulti-purpose granular fertilizerthat contains trace amounts ofiron and sulfur.

Azaleas, rhododendron andcamellias also need a dose of fer-tilizer at this time. They need tobe fed with a granular fertilizercontaining no nitrogen, or no firstnumber, such as 0-10-10. Citruswill also use the same fertilizer atthis time.

Give azaleas, rhododen-dron, camellias and citrus adose of iron. The iron willnot encourage growth; itwill simply aid in green-ing up the plants.

Perennials and bed-ding plants need a differ-ent approach. Rather thanusing granular fertilizer,spread some rich soil condi-tioner around the plants – col-oring in the dry ground if you willand working into the groundusing a hand claw. Water thor-oughly to introduce nutrients nat-urally.

PUT LAWN ON TO-DO LIST

Approach your lawn the sameway. Tired and dry lawns need atouch of TLC. Steps can be takento reclaim the green that youloved. If you haven’t aerated yourlawn this year, that needs to bedone before anything. The holesleft in the lawn allow the water

and fertilizer to get deeper intothe soil, closer to the roots, whereit does the best job.

Old lawns should also be de-thatched. This process removesthe inches of dead grass frombeneath the healthy.

It’s a good idea to spread 1-2inches of rich soil conditioner ontop of the existing lawn. Just likeyour bed and borders, thisprocess will introduce nutrientsnaturally.

There are soil-penetratingproducts available to help thewater you apply get to the root ofthe lawn. Some are combined

with low levels of fertilizer, andthey do a great job breaking downsoils’ natural seal – allowing thewater used to penetrate the dirt. Itis successful and should be usedmonthly, from now through

November.A couple of weeks after you

use the penetrate, follow up byhitting your lawns with an ironand sulfur vitamin feeding. Theseproducts are found granular; fol-low the package directions toavoid any burn. This will green upyour lawn while not promotingany extra growth.

FALL INTO

PLANTING

With fall right around the cor-ner, now is the time to installplants, shrubs and trees. Theweather service is predicting a wetwinter, with free water to estab-lish your landscape. If you havewanted to make any majorchanges to your landscape, or

even slight tweaks, now is thetime. Get your plan, makeyour choices and get digging.

Some of the most suc-cessful trees in our ClaytonValley climate are crapemyrtle, raywood ash,Chinese pistache, chitalpa,

redbud and flowering plum.You can almost be guaranteed

that any of these trees will thrivein your landscape.

Shrubs can also get a jump-start on spring if planted duringthe fall. This is the time to plantnative shrubs. Manzanita, flannelbush, toyon and arbutus havewaited all summer long for theirchance at installation. Considerinstalling perennials for extendedcolor, such as lion’s tail, aster,coreopsis and salvia.

Now is also the time to getdeals on spring and summerblooming perennials. Theseplants are approaching dormancybut are safely planted and will be

fabulous in the spring.Gobble upthese selections, benefit from thewinter rains and you will enjoyyour spring a little more.


Don’t let the heat beat down your garden

Nicole is the Garden Girl atR&M Pool, Patio, Gifts andGarden Contact her with questions,comments or suggestions at [email protected]

NICOLE HACKETT

GARDEN GIRL

Movie Review

‘Inglourious’ is dark andviolent – as it should be

There’s no doubt that“Inglourious Basterds” is a bril-liant film, however, the graphicgoriness of many scenes willprove a barrier for some.

I’m not a huge QuentinTarantino fan. I have enjoyedsome of his films but find oth-ers too self-indulgent. ButTarantino’s latest, about a secretoperation to assassinate theGerman high command inNazi-occupied France, shootsfor the sky and hits the moon.

With true Tarantino quirki-ness, the mood of this film yo-yos wildly. At times it is taut his-torical fiction, then it drops into

laugh-out-loud comedy or edge-of-your-seat suspense withoutnotice. There’s even a touch ofromantic comedy as the awk-ward but handsome Germansoldier tries to woo the mysteri-ous French girl who can’t standhim.

At first, the variations of thefilm seemed jarring and it washard to know if you were sup-posed to laugh or take it serious-ly. But about halfway through, I

realized that Tarantino was play-ing the emotions like a sympho-ny. The tightly woven plot willcarry you helplessly up one endof the emotional spectrum andspin you around to another withlittle effort on the director’spart.

The complexities of a secretmission that brings togethermany characters on both sidesof the war is handled with star-tling dexterity and has so manytwists and reversals you won’tknow what hit you. Unique andoriginal, it’s like a Woody Allenfilm on steroids. From the larg-er than life epic of World War II

down to the smaller side charac-ters who are passed along theway, each part leaves a poignantimpression. Even a simpleguessing game at a partybecomes insanely dangerous.

With surprisingly few bigname stars – Brad Pitt being theexception – the film is populat-ed by many non-Americanactors who draw you right intothe story with a refreshinglynon-Hollywood feel. Most of

the dialogue is in subtitledGerman and French and onlyoccasionally drifts into English.It almost seems as if Tarantinowere trying to sneak a foreignlanguage film into Americantheaters, where subtitles mighthave put off wider audiences.But the language barrier is actu-ally crucial to the plot and itcould not have been done in allEnglish.

The one drawback of thisamazing film is that it’s bloodyas hell. Is the violence gratu-itous? Well, it is a film aboutWorld War II and toning downthe bloodshed might minimizethe impact of this huge histori-cal event. You could also arguethat the extreme violence is nec-essary to show why each charac-ter is driven to the extremeactions at the climax.

But implied gore might havebeen just as effective. If you’veseen pretty much any ofTarantino’s films, you alreadyknow that subtlety is not hisstyle and fans of special effectsbloodfests will be ecstatic.However, if you are squeamishand plan to close your eyesthrough the bloody parts, I’dadvise you to count 10 secondslonger than you think youshould before you open youreyes. If you can stomach thegory parts, this film should notbe missed.

PLUGS OF SOIL ARE REMOVED

DURING AERATION to provideeasier access to the roots ofthe lawn for water, nutrientsand oxygen

Clayton ValleyGarden Club Plant SaleWWHHEENN: Oct. 3,

8 a.m. to 1 p.m.WWHHEERREE:: Endeavor Hall

Parking Lot6008 Center Street

One gallon plants are $4Buy 5 Get the 6th one freeWinter vegetables in 4: potsHerb GardensColor BowlsFor more info, call Neal at672-2624 or go towww.ClaytonValleyGardenClub.org

DON PEDRO CRUZ

AT THE MOVIES

Don Pedro Cruz is a local free-lance writer and graphic designer.Send your comments [email protected]

��

GERMAN ACTRESS BRIDGET VON HAMMERSMARK (DIANE KRUGER)charms Nazi soldiers while secretly plotting with the Alliedforces to end World War II in Quentin Tarantino’s “InglouriousBasterds.”

pass off the site’s data as theirown and not learn the coursematerial.

Yoshiwara and other teach-ers’ concerns about WolframAlpha are legitimate, becausethe Website not only providescorrect answers, but in somecases will list the computationalsteps as well.

While some students mayuse the site to take the easy wayout, more people will likely useit to double check their answerson tough problems. The sitecan thus help stumped studentsfigure out where they are goingwrong.

Although Wolfram Alphahas vast potential, it can’tanswer every homework ques-tion. For example, the Websitedoesn’t understand word prob-lems – the favorite weapon ofmath teachers at all levels.Students should also be wary ofrelying on the site alone. Justlike a calculator, typing onewrong number can lead to awildly inaccurate answer.

The site is still expanding itscapabilities, which means itmight not have the ability tocompute certain problems.Sometimes you may end upwith the message, “WolframAlpha isn’t sure what to do withyour input.”

Besides homework help,Wolfram Alpha offers morepractical applications. Forexample, it can do mortgagecalculations, find the weather inClayton on the day JFK wasshot, figure out a body massindex and even tell you howmany calories are in your lunch.

The last example is definite-ly worth trying. Typing in “BigMac + Coke” will get you anutritional label that lists calo-ries, carbs and other informa-tion.

While Wolfram Alpha isadvanced for the day, it still hasa long way to go. I look forwardto the day the site can analyzeShakespearean sonnets.

Mark Freeman is a student atSt. Mary’s College in Moraga, study-ing economics and English. He enjoyscreative writing and is a reporter forthe school paper. Questions/com-ments can be sent to [email protected].

Homework,from page 7

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situated between Mt. DiabloCreek and Oakhurst Boulevard,across the Italianate-style bridgeat the end of Lydia Lane. It waswell-hidden in the trees.

“Few people even knew itwas there,” said LauraHoffmeister, assistant toClayton’s city manager.

The house had been vacantsince 2006, when an electricalfire caused the ceiling in themain ballroom to collapse.Smith fought both the 2006 fireand the latest one, which guttedthe house. A long-time Claytonresident, Smith was saddened bythe loss of the home.

“This fire broke my heart,”he admitted. “I really loved thathouse.”

Originally, the property ranfrom El Camino to Lydia Lanebetween Clayton Road andConcord Boulevard. It was sub-divided in 1977 into what is nowthe Silvercreek subdivision.

A RANCH NAMED YOLANDA

The property was purchasedin the early 1900s by shippingmagnate Samuel ThomasAlexander, who also maintainedhomes in the Piedmont/Berkeley area and in Hawaii.Alexander, who foundedAlexander & Baldwin Ltd.,made his fortune growing andshipping pineapple and sugar inHawaii.

When Alexander died in1904, title passed to his daugh-ter, Juliette. About 1920, Juliettecontracted with her cousin andnoted Oakland architect CharlesWilliam Dickey to design thegraceful, Italianate-influencedranch house. According to his-

torical records, Juliette namedthe ranch Yolanda “just becauseshe liked the name.” In 1930,the house was valued at $18,500.

William and Mary Bloching,descendents of the Clayton pio-neering family, were caretakerson the property from 1934 until1954. In a letter to the ClaytonHistorical Society in 2000, theB l o c h i n g s ’granddaughter,N o r m aB l o c h i n gD e m p s e y ,relays hermother’s recol-lections ofJuliette:

“Juliette didnot live fulltime atYolanda. Shewould comefrom theA l e x a n d e r s ’family home inthe BerkeleyHills in a lim-ousine drivenby her chauf-feur, accompa-nied by hermaid and Chinese cook. Shewould stay for 2 or 3 days in thebig house. She wore her whitehair up in a bun on top of herhead and she always wore longdresses with ruffled sleeves.”

Norma recalls childhoodvisits to her grandparents on theranch. “I remember the gardens,the orchards, lawns and rose-bushes planted by my grandfa-ther and the red sidewalks andthe stepping stones. Most espe-cially, I remember the beautifultrees and standing with my

father at the water tower as hechecked its workings and listen-ing to the sounds of the wateras it flowed into the tower,” shesaid. “It truly was a place ofbeauty and tranquility.”

Longtime Clayton residentand former City CouncilmanChuck Evans told of the ele-gance and grace of the interiorof the rambling old house. “Itwasn’t so much the size of thehome that impressed me,”

Evans remembered. “It was allthe custom woodwork. Themain rooms were all paneled infinished, polished wood, whichwas very unusual.”

When Juliette died in 1948,title to Yolanda Estates passedto her niece, Martha AlexanderHurd, who was married to SanFrancisco lawyer J. Hurd. Theproperty became known as theHurd Ranch. In 1970, the Hurdfamily sold the property toSeeno. Various family members,tenants and caretakers occupied

the home until the 2006 fire.

DEVELOPMENT LIKELY

The city has an open appli-cation filed by representatives ofSeeno in 2000 for 28 single-fam-ily homes on the property. OnAug. 4, the developersapproached the city with thepossibility of a 77-unit highdensity, cluster-home develop-ment on the site instead, butthey have not formally revised

the application.While resi-

dential develop-ment is almost acertainty, thecaretaker’s resi-dence, watertower, stables,corral and bridgewill still be thesubject of aC u l t u r a lR e s o u r c eE v a l u a t i o nrequired by theC a l i f o r n i aEnvironmentalQuality Act(CEQA).

A l t h o u g hnever officiallydesignated anational or state

historical site, the property isconsidered a cultural resourcebecause of its age and use overtime, explained Clayton com-munity development directorDavid Woltering.

“A Cultural ResourceEvaluation may result in thepreservation of those struc-tures,” he noted.

Special thanks to Mary Spryer ofthe Clayton Museum for backgroundinformation used in this story

Landmark, from page 1

Photo by David Woltering, City of Clayton

THIS WATER TOWER IS AMONG SEVERAL BUILDINGS remaining on theHurd Ranch that will come under scrutiny as cultural resourcesif owners move forward with residential development.

Friendship grows through the years ascountry neighbors rely on each other

In some ways living out inMorgan Territory is isolated, butfour women have forged aniron-clad friendship over 30years based on kids, animals anda “drop-everything-to-help” atti-tude.

“We’re not close to police,fire or ambulance service,”Karen Farlow said. “But any oneof us can call the others in themiddle of the night and theycome – services can’t come asfast as your neighbors.”

“If somebody needs somehelp, we feel comfortable callingon each other,” added CarmenWilliams.

Once, Carmen called JoanBergum in the middle of thenight to care for her 90-year-oldmother while Carmen attendedher husband Don in the hospi-tal. “That’s what a friend is,” shesaid.

Since the couples werealways invited to dinner,“Mother knew them very well.”

According to Carmen, Joanis the leader. “There isn’t any-thing that she doesn’t do ordoesn’t try to do. Joan alwayscalls and gets me going onsomething, like taking over theClayton Woman’ Club FashionShow and Festival of Tables,”Carmen reported. “Joan is a realpeople person – she likes to beinvolved. And I like to just fol-low her.”

Joan explains the women’sability to maintain a long-lastingfriendship. “Politically, we’re allon the same page; we all kind ofthink the same way, want similarresults. And nobody is spend-

crazy. All our kids are grown upand the same ages.”

Sandy Brooks, though, “is alot younger,” Joan noted. Theother women agree that Sandy’senergy should be bottled for agreat cause – she is non-stop.

Neighbors Carmen andSandy swim together severaldays each week at 4 a.m. “Sandyhas the business (Brooks HorseFarm), and I’m up then anyway,”said Carmen.

When Carmen’s 1-year-oldgranddaughter needed swim-ming lessons, Joan’s niece Janicewas giving lessons and requiredthe “parent” to get in the poolwith the child. “I was embar-rassed,” Carmen said. “I had had

swimming lessons but neverreally followed through. Janiceworked with me for three years.”

Joan and Karen swim togeth-er at 6 a.m. They also share agili-ty training with their dogs a cou-ple days a week.

The couples also walktogether. “The men won’t get upat 4 a.m.,” Carmen explained.

The couples travel together;all four cruised from NewOrleans around Mexico andnorth again. Joan and Stan (cele-brating their 50th anniversarynext year) and Carmen and Don(celebrating 50 years this year)have traveled to Washington,D.C., the Midwest and theSouthwest.

Joan knew Sandy out of highschool when Sandy marriedDale, a friends’ son, and movedout to Morgan Territory.“Everybody had horses andbelonged to the Mt. Diablo TrailRide Association,” Joan recalled.

Carmen she says couldn’thave a nicer neighbor thanSandy. “I don’t really ride horses,but I will do anything she asks orneeds with them.”

“All the kids rode horses. Wetrailered horses together whenwe didn’t know what we weredoing,” said Karen. “Our friend-ship spans years of learning thethings we shouldn’t have doneand figuring out the things weshould have done.”

Joan met her “very, very bestfriend” Carmen in 1972 whenthe Williams family moved outto Morgan Territory. “I was nota ‘country’ person,” saidCarmen. “I about died out herethe first five years. Joan especial-ly has helped me through.”

Time has changed the self-proclaimed city girl. “Just thismorning, I found Carmen sittingon a little stool holding a tinypig,” Karen said with a laugh.“Sandy rescued it. Carmen isteaching it to walk on a leash.That’s the kind of thing we getinto.”

Karen estimates the group,all 4-H leaders at one time, hascooked more than 2,000 ham-burgers at Clayton parades anddowntown events over the years.

“Some people drive throughMorgan Territory and wonderabout the people who live here,”Karen said. “We are Clayton –we’ve always participated.Sometimes it isn’t easy (beingisolated), but what a blessing thedeep friendships and relation-ships are out here.”

Do you have a friendship storyyou’d like to share? Let us know.Email [email protected].

Photo courtesy Don Williams

KAREN FARLOW, JOAN BERGUM, Carmen Williams and SandyBrooks (kneeling) share long history, common values and anda love for break-of-dawn swimming.

NICCI SHIPSTEAD

Clayton Pioneer

This Pioneer series onfriendship takes a look athow we choose them and why.

The Canadian bison Websiteoffers a recipe for kabobs fea-turing ground bison:

BUFFALO SURPRISE KABOBS

1/3 c. honey3 T. Dijon mustard2 T. finely chopped onion2 T. apple juice or ciderDash cayenne pepperCombine sauce ingredients

and bring to a boil. Reduce to asimmer for five minutes, or untilthickened. Keep warm.

1 egg¼ c. dry breadcrumbs1 tsp. Italian seasoning1 T. minced parsley1 lb. ground bison meatMix together ingredients and

divide into 12 portions.

2 oz. Jack or Swiss cheese,cut into 12 cubes

12 small mushrooms,stemmed

Place cheese in mushroomcaps. Encase mushroom withbison meat mixture to form aball.

1 medium green pepper, cutinto 1-inch pieces

1 medium yellow pepper, cutinto 1-inch pieces

1 medium onion, cut intowedges

Skewer meatballs with pieces

of pepper and onions. Grillover medium heat on a barbe-cue or grill pan for 3 minutesper side. Reduce heat and grillanother 8-10 minutes or untilmeatballs are nicely brownedand vegetables are crisp-tender.Serve with sauce.

SLOW-COOKED BISON AU VIN

2 lbs. bison chuck steak2 T. canola or rice bran oil1 c. beef stock or bouillon1 c. red wine1 envelope Lipton’s onion

soup mix½ lb. mushrooms, cut in half1 onion, coarsely chopped1 tsp, dried thyme2 tsp. tapiocaCut meat into 2-inch cubes.

Brown in oil on all sides and addto slow cooker. Deglaze skilletor pan with beef stock and redwine. Stir in onion soup mix.

Transfer the braising liquidto the slow cooker and add tapi-oca, mushrooms, onions andthyme. Cook on low seven-eighthours or until meat is quite ten-der. The tapioca should makefor a nicely thickened and richsauce.


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Slow-cooked bisona meaty treat

While touring the Canadianprairies and Rockies, I’mencountering lots of menus fea-turing the “other” red meat –bison. Tasty, low-fat and nutri-tious, bison should get on yourculinary radar.

Bison, which has the creativescientific name of bison bison,conjures up Kevin Costner in“Dances with Wolves,” OldWest icon Buffalo Bill andYellowstone National Park.

In truth, bison establishedthemselves as the largest landanimals in North America duringthe Ice Age about 10,000 yearsago and once ranged the vastgrasslands running from Canadainto Mexico. They numbered inthe millions (more than 60 mil-lion by some accounts) beforethe advent of Europeans.Hunted to the brink of extinc-tion in the 19th century for theirhides, meat and to clear competi-tion for ranch cattle, a few moun-tain and plains bison survived tobecome emblems of a differenttime.

In the 1980s, a few ranchersbegan raising bison for selectlocal markets. The new livestock

industry established itself in the1990s, and now more than500,000 bison are raised annual-ly for meat production.

Bison are distinctly differentfrom true buffalo, which arefound in Africa (Cape buffalo)and South Asia (water buffalo).Weighing 900-2,500 pounds,bison were referred to as“boeuf ” by 18th centuryFrench traders. “Boeuf ” isFrench for ox or bullock,although here in America weuse the term to refer to beef, asin Julia Child’s BoeufBourguignon.

Nutritionally, bison is farsuperior to production beef,which offers meat from antibi-otic- and hormone-laden cattleraised on grain. It has 2.42grams of fat vs. 8 for beef, 143calories per 3 oz. portion vs.201 for beef and 22 grams ofprotein vs. 16 for beef. In addi-tion, it offers complete aminoacids, B vitamins and goodquantities of Omega 3 andOmega 6 fatty acids.

Due to its low fat content,bison meat cooks quickly so it’simportant to use lower temper-atures and serve it medium rare(145 F) or rare (135 F). A meatthermometer is really importanthere. Slow-cooking is also suit-able for larger pieces of meat.

I think you’ll find the flavorof bison similar to beef butsomewhat sweeter and richereven though it’s lower in fat.

Here in Canada, bison meatcosts a bit more than compara-ble cuts of beef. That seems tohold true for what I’ve seen inNorthern California’s WholeFoods markets.

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Teen extends community outreach to cancer foundation

When Haley Morucci’shomework is done and the fami-ly’s two horses are fed, instead ofrepeating the rallying cry ofteens everywhere – “Mom, I’mbooooored!” – Haley can likelybe found hard at work makingthe world a better place.

Whether she’s leading herschool yearbook class on a“clean the creek” day, helpingtame a young horse rescued fromthe slaughterhouse, donating herown hair to the Locks of Loveorganization or raising funds forthe Lazarex Cancer Foundation,Morucci is setting an inspiringexample.

“Sometimes you think youcan’t help because a problem isso big. But then you see theseyoung girls trying to make a dif-ference and you realize that themore people that help, the moreyou can make a difference,” saysfamily friend Yvette Ibsen.

Kim Morucci says her daugh-ter comes across as being shy.“She’s not shy – she’s just quiet,”she notes. “When she findssomething she’s passionateabout, she just goes with it.”

Not too long ago, Haley’syearbook class at Diablo ViewMiddle School was urged by theirteacher to become more active inthe community. After hearingabout a bicycle accident causedwhen a rider hit an exposed pipealong a local trail, Haley suggest-ed a “clean the creek” campaign.

Leading a dozen or so of herclassmates, Haley could be foundroving the creek from Safeway to

the Clayton library helping pre-vent similar accidents in thefuture.

Haley’s latest cause hits a littlecloser to home for the Moruccifamily. Dan Henry, a 44-year-oldundergoing intensive chemother-apy for his third bout with can-cer, is at the heart of Haley’s lat-est project.

When the Morucci familylearned of Henry’s diagnosis oflung cancer, they sprang intoaction –gathering informationabout the latest treatments andtechnologies. One of thoseresources was the LazarexCancer Foundation. The grouphelps late-stage cancer patientswho may have exhausted othertreatment options connect withand pay for treatments that arestill in clinical trial stages andmay not be covered by healthinsurance.

Haley remembers overhear-ing her parents talk about “UncleDan.”

“They had been talking for afew days about the options,” shesaid. “So I went online andchecked out (the Lazarex)Website. I thought it was reallycool, and I wanted to do some-thing that would help them.”

Like many other teens, Haleyhas a collection of colorful rub-ber bracelets like those popular-ized by Lance Armstrong’sLiveStrong campaign. “I lookedonline for a Website that wouldmake those. I found the Websiteand I designed the rubberbracelet,” she described.

The bright orange braceletsbear the message “Hope, Dignityand Life – Lazarex Cancer

Foundation.” With friend LaurenIbsen, Haley began selling thebracelets for $2. Her campaigncontinues to grow and she hasraised more than $800.

“This is absolutely the mostimportant donation we have everreceived as it represents not onlylove and kindness, but the real-ization from someone so smallthat life matters and she canmake a difference in the world,”Lazarex founder and presidentDana Dornsife wrote in an

email.Haley is frank about her

expectations. “I don’t really havea goal,” she said. “I just want tokeep trying to get the word out.”

Obtain your bracelet by emailingthe Morucci family [email protected], or at WalnutCreek Vacuum and Electric MotorService in Walnut Creek, Fit-2-the-Core Training Systems in Concordand Maximum Definition in WalnutCreek.

DENISEN HARTLOVE

Clayton Pioneer

Denisen Hartlove/Clayton Pioneer

CLAYTON TEEN, HALEY MORUCCI, shown here with her horseBiscuit, found a creative way to raise money for family friendsuffering from cancer.

Documents

SEP 11 Clayton Pioneer 2009.pdf