dec 06 clayton pioneer 2013

San Quentin prison doesn’t seemlike the type of place to find your pas-sion, but don’t tell that to Collette Car-roll. Not only did the Clayton womanfall in love with her husband RolandPeck while the two were volunteersingers at the prison more than 14years ago, she found her lifelong goal:helping the men incarcerated theremake a smooth and healthy transitionback “out” when the time came.

Carroll and Peck started the Cali-fornia Reentry Institute, a programboth inside and out of the prison, thatassists ex-convicts with their transi-

tion back to society. And late lastmonth, another one of Carroll’sdreams was realized when she openedthe 2nd Chance Boutique, a new andgently-used clothing and accessorystore that supports CRI and the soon-to-open Roland’s Place, a home forrecent parolees enrolled in CRI.

“This is like a dream come true forme,” Carroll says from behind thecounter at the bustling boutique,located at the corner of Clayton andDekinger Roads, near Safeway.

The only blemish on the accom-plishment is that Peck wasn’t there tosee her success; he passed away twoyears ago.

Every teenager wants a car. But forSammy King, 18, and her two youngersiblings, a car is more than just a rideto visit friends, see a movie or go on aroad trip.

The King family’s story reads likesomething out of Dickens. Three chil-dren, ages 11-18, whose father died afew years ago, just recently lost theirmother to cancer. In a final, ignomin-ious blow, the family car was thenrepossessed.

Through the tragedies, eldest sisterSammy strove to keep her and her sib-lings lives stable, in the area where theyattended school and have friends.

“There was no question we had to

stay here, whatever it takes,” she said.Everyone, from extended family to

friends to complete strangers off thestreet stepped forward. A friendopened her home as a place forSammy to live and helps her with ridesto school at DVC, while extended fam-ily offered homes to her younger sib-lings. A trust fund was started to helpcover the children’s expenses. And theClayton Valley Charter High Schoolfootball team – on which Sammy’s 16-year old brother Jacob plays – reachedout as well, with the whole team show-ing up for their mother’s funeral serv-ice and offering both moral and finan-cial support.

“Our community has been crazy

CVCHS football and communityrally around teens struck by tragedy

As my turn as your mayor rotatesto a close, I want to thank you all foryour responses to my columns. It’salways fun to hear from you. One ofmy colleagues will be writing in thisspace for the next issue.

We are so fortunate in Clayton tohave a fantastic city staff who keep ourtown operating “in the black” and onsound financial footing despite theeconomy and the state’s best attemptsto derail us. Our City Manager, GaryNapper, leads a great team, mentoringand coaching each to their best per-formance. They do their utmost tounderestimate revenues and overesti-mate expenses, then pinch every pennyas far as it can go. We truly appreciatetheir dedication!

This month, we are looking atsome transitions within our small staff.Our long-time Finance Manager,

JULIE PIERCE

MAYOR’S CORNER

Behind the Badge . . . . . . . . .6

Book Review . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

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

Club News . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Community Calendar . . . . .16

Concord City Beat . . . . . . . .8

Design and Décor . . . . . . . .19

Directory of Advertisers . . . . .5

Fashion over 50 . . . . . . . . .18

Garden Girl . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Holiday Shopping Guide . . .10

Letter to the Editor . . . . . . . .6

Mind Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Pets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Performing Arts . . . . . . . . . .17

Pine Hollow Reporter . . . . . .9

Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Sports Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Sports Shorts . . . . . . . . . . .13

Tech Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Teen Speak . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Voyage of the Eagle . . . . . . .9

Weather Words . . . . . . . . . . .7

What’s Inside

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www.claytonpioneer.com December 6, 2013 925.672.0500

TAMARA STEINER

Clayton Pioneer

DENISEN HARTLOVE

Clayton Pioneer

PEGGY SPEAR

Clayton Pioneer

‘Heart for Christmas’ displaykicks off a season of goodwill

Clayton woman works togive parolees a 2nd Chance

At 5 p.m. on Dec. 6, the Holmesfamily’s two story Colonial on PineLane will light up the night sky with adazzling display of thousands ofChristmas lights programmed to“dance” to music as Jeffrey Holmespulls the switch on what was originallymeant to be a simple gift to his mom.

The 22-year-old Holmes is nostranger to drama and lights. When hewas just 16, his first musical light dis-play won the 2007 Clayton Pioneer’sHome Decorating Contest. Two yearslater, the whole downtown lit up atChristmas time with Holmes’ dazzlinglight and music show at the ClaytonCommunity Church – all drama, allcolorful and all entertaining.

But, in March when Holmes start-ed planning this latest display, he want-ed something more. A family friend,Katie Grace Groebner, suffers frompulmonary hypertension and is await-ing a heart-lung transplant. KatieGrace was the inspiration Holmesneeded for “A Heart for Christmas.”

The show became an outreach— anopportunity to focus attention on and

Jules Bianchi Photography

CCLLAAYYTTOONN ‘‘LLIIGGHHTTMMEEIISSTTEERR’’ JJEEFFFFRREEYY HHOOLLMMEESS WWAASS LLOOOOKKIINNGG FFOORR AA BBIIGGGGEERR RREEAASSOONN than simple entertainment to construct a daz-zling musical light display at his family home in Clayton. He didn’t need to look further than Katie-Grace Groebner, 11,who is waiting for a heart-lung transplant. The holiday display is free, but Holmes is asking for donations to two chari-ties that support organ transplants and provide support for children with terminal illness.

Change coming to City Hall

Last Chance toEnter theClayton Pioneer10th AnnualChristmasCookieContest Entry Form Page 4

Tamara Steiner/Clayton Pioneer

COLLETTE CARROLL CELEBRATES THE REALIZATION OF A DREAM with the opening of 2ndChance Boutique, a small shop in Concord that will fund transitional housingfor parolees recently released from prison. Alton “Coach” McSween (left) andJames McCartney were instrumental in completing the boutique.

See King, Bennet families,page 14

See 2nd Chance page 8

See Holiday Events page 2

DESPITE HARDSHIP, the Bennett familyhangs together and enjoys thegood times. From left, Stephanie12, Gabe, 17, mom Dawn, Nicole,14 and Nate, 10 (front).

Contra Costa District AttorneyMark Peterson announced last weekthat he will not be filing criminalcharges in the Morgan Fire.

The Sept. 9 fire started when thegrandson of the owner of the mer-cury mines on Morgan TerritoryRoad was target shooting on whatwas designated as a rifle range on thefamily’s private property. “There isno evidence the fire was intentional-ly started,” said Peterson in a state-

ment issued Nov. 27.He further determined that there

was “no evidence that the use of theinvolved rifle or ammunition in thatarea was in violation of state law.

According to Peterson’s report, asteel projectile fired from the rifle hit arock and sparked a fire in dry grass.That fire was quickly extinguished, butsparked a bigger “spot fire” 1000 feetaway in a pine grove. It was this spotfire that raged out of control.

The fire burned 3,111 acres onMt. Diablo and North Peak andburned for five days at an estimatedcost of $5.3 million.

“We are fully aware of thetremendous harm to property andthe environment caused by the fire,”states Peterson. “However, in thefinal analysis, the key legal question

No criminal charges in Morgan Fire

See Morgan Fire page 9

Clayton Pioneer • www.claytonpioneer.com December 6, 2013

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raise funds for children suffer-ing from terminal illness. So,Holmes paired up with the Chil-dren’s Organ Transplant Associ-ation and the Ronald McDonaldHouse Care Mobile. After using10 percent to help offset theelectricity bill, donations will besplit equally between the twoorganizations.

“A Heart for Christmas”musical light show has morethan 30,000 lights that “dance”to music, but the displaydoesn’t stop at just lights. Setover the entire one-acre familyproperty, the display includeslaser shows, snowmen andsnow machines. On Dec. 15,the CVCHS chorus will give aholiday concert.

“This has been a true col-laboration of love,” saysHolmes, who had help fromhis sister Jules Bianchi, a pho-tographer and volunteers from14 families.

The display is free foreveryone, but Holmes recom-mends groups of 20 or moremake a reservation onlinewhere they can request hotcocoa or a photo with Santa(nominal donation).

The display opens Dec. 6 atthe Holmes’ home, 1185 PineLane (east of town off MarshCreek Rd.) and will run everynight from 5 until 9 p.m.Mon.-Thurs., and 5-11 p.m.Fri., Sat. and Sun. throughDec. 31. Rain cancels. Forreservations or more informa-tion, call (925) 276-0708 or goto AHeartForChristmas.com.

Mr. ChristmasFor the 33rd year, “Mr.

Christmas” will celebrate theholiday season with the tradi-tional light display at 5208Olive Dr. in Concord. Thelights go on at dusk and thedisplay is free, although Mr.Christmas gratefully acceptsdonations to help with thePG&E bill. To learn about Mr.Christmas, see the movie atmrchristmasmovie.com

Tree Lighting

Clayton: Starting at 4 p.m.,sleigh bells jingle and the funbegins with the downtown car-riage rides sponsored by theDynamic Realtor Group, theMoresi Family and P2C Foun-dation. At 6 p.m., the MDESchool chorus will begin theCBCA Tree Lighting Festivitieswith Christmas music at theGazebo where Santa will arriveto lead the “parade” downMain Street for the annual treelighting. More info on page 11.

Concord: The clip-clopsound of horse-drawn car-riages will also ring throughdowntown Concord when thefestivities begin at 4 p.m. atTodos Santos Plaza. At 5, themusic starts, followed by theMayor’s Sing Along and thelighting of the official tree.

Clayton PioneerCookie Contest

Dust off the rolling pin, digthrough Great-aunt Emma’srecipe file and bake up a stormfor the 10th annual ClaytonPioneer Christmas CookieContest. Judging party starts at6:30 at the Clayton Library.While the judges are doingtheir work, the musical VanLiew family will lead the carol-ing. There will be tables forface-painting and crafts. It’srumored Santa will make anappearance. After the judging,everyone can sample all theentries and pick their own win-ners. Entries must be in byDec. 10. Turn to page 4 for theentry form.

Dessert withMrs. Claus

On Dec. 14, from 11 a.m.until 2 p.m. sugar will again bethe main course at the annualCBCA Dessert with Mrs.Claus. Visit with Mrs. Claus

and get a photo with Santa(bring your own camera) atEndeavor Hall on Center St. in

Clayton. The event is free,however donations areaccepted. See ad on page 10.

Christmas HomeTour set to dazzle

This holiday season, Claytonresidents have the opportunity toview beautiful pottery from Italy,a collection of Santas and rein-deer, a houseful of Christmastrees, a collection of Annalissedolls, a gingerbread village andnumerous antiques and collecta-bles, all without leaving theirhometown.

These can all be viewed in sixarea homes as the Clayton Histor-ical Society hosts its fourth Annu-al Christmas Home Tour on Dec.15, 2013 from noon to 7 p.m.Tickets are $30 a person, benefit-ting the Clayton Museum.

The self guided tour begins atthe Clayton Museum at 6101Main Street, Clayton.

Each home on the tour fea-tures a different theme or decorat-ing scheme. The Cerruti family isall about Italy, with pottery andshowpieces from Italy, Mackenzieand Tiffany and a Christmas Treein every room.

The Fitzgerald home featurescollections of Santas and reindeer,as well as an entire Santa’s work-shop and a nutcracker collection.

The Huffords have traveledthe world and lived in Englandand Indonesia. Their home fea-

tures collections from all overthe world, including swans,Christmas cookie jars, tea pots,Santas and even Clayton Busi-ness & Community AssociationChristmas Trees. Refreshmentswill also be served.

The Kommer home lightsup the skies with its array oftwinkling lights, while the Fainahome features multiple Christ-mas trees and an over-the-topChristmas Disney collection.

Finally, the Gonsalves homewill feature a collection ofAnnalisse dolls, as well as a din-ing room “Winter Wonderland.”The kitchen and living areas aredecorated in gingerbread style.

Purchase tickets at claytonhisto-ry.org or at the Clayton Museum onMain St. on the day of the event.

Holiday Events, from page 1

Mr. Christmas Light Display

The holiday season’s largestshopping extravaganza is thefourth annual Super HolidayBoutique indoors at CentreConcord this Sunday, Dec. 8,from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. with freeadmission and parking. A groupof young local musicians, Con-tra Costa Suzuki Strings, will beperforming and also raisingfunds for their mission to Hon-duras next summer.

The free holiday event atCentre Concord will allow shop-pers to get those special one-of-a-kind holiday gifts and stockingstuffers for family, friends andcolleagues from a variety of artsand crafts vendors, home-basedbusinesses and commercialexhibitors.

Toys, clothing, jewelry, purs-es, cosmetics, candles, soaps,candy, fashion accessories,home goods, bath and bodyproducts, books, kitchenwareand cooking products, bakedgoods and so much more will beavailable. There will also be hol-iday decorations galore alongwith self-help and home

improvement exhibitors.A raffle will benefit the Con-

tra Costa Suzuki Strings as theyprepare for their Music on a Mis-sion trip to Children’s RescueMission in Teupasenti, Hondurasnext June and July. Besides per-forming and teaching music tothe children at the mission thegroup plans on leaving violinsfor the students to play in thefuture. The group will perform at1 and 3 p.m. during the SuperHoliday Boutique.

Becky Van Liew of Clayton isthe mother of two ensemblemembers, Peter (12) and Lynnsae(18). She explains that the ContraCosta Suzuki Strings are a groupof violin students under the tute-lage of Clayton’s Laurie Carlson,who uses the Suzuki method ofmusical training. “Students firstlearn music by ear followed bylearning to read music, as we dowith language. The goal being toenjoy the music and then do thetechnical part.”

Carlson has traveled to Teu-pasenti the past two summersand took her violin, which the

children and families thereenjoyed. Van Liew adds, “As ourgroup heard about this severalof the families said ‘wouldn’t itbe great for our children to go.’It seemed everyone loved theidea, so that is what we areworking towards. We hope thechildren can share their love ofJesus and music with the fami-lies at the mission and surround-ing villages.”

Contra Costa Suzuki Stringswill be working with Children’sRescue Mission directed byMiguel Giron, a Honduranimmigrant from Teupasenti whomanages CRM from its Nor-walk, Connecticut headquarters.He returned to Honduras after1998 Hurricane Mitch in hopesof finding his missing parentsand was so moved by the tragiccircumstances that he dedicatedhis life’s work to the people ofTeupasenti.

Santa will be on hand to hearholiday wishes starting at 12noon and he’ll pose for freephoto opportunities for kids ofall ages. JoJo the Clown will also

bring smiles to the attendees.There will be free holiday arts

and crafts activities allowing kidsto make keepsake presents fortheir family and friends.

Each attendee will receive afree raffle ticket. The donation ofeach can of food to the FoodBank of Contra Costa & Solanowill earn the donor another raffleticket. The first 300 familiesthrough the door will receive aholiday goody bag.

Super Holiday Boutique is free tothe public with free parking around thevenue at 5298 Clayton Rd. behind In-Shape Sport and Clayton ValleyBowl. Visit www.ConcordHolidayEx-po.com for more information.

December 6, 2013 Clayton Pioneer • www.claytonpioneer.com

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Photo courtesy Contra Costa Suzuki Strings

THE CONTRA COSTAS SUZUKI STRINGS will be performing at 1 and 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8, atCentre Concord as part of the 4th annual Super Holiday Boutique. Admission to the event,which runs from 11 a.m.- 4 p.m. is free. The group of young musicians will be selling raffletickets to help fund their mission next summer to Teupasenti, Honduras to bring music to thechildren of that area.

Super Holiday Boutique featuresshopping, strings, Santa on Sunday

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JJuuddggiinngg PPaarrttyy wwiillll bbee hheellddoonn DDeecc.. 1122,, 66::3300 pp..mm.. in the

Clayton Library Community Room. Bethere for live music and caroling led by

Clayton’s Van Liew family with games and craftsfor the kids and photos with Santa. Recipes andphotos of winners will appear in the Dec. 20 issue.

Clayton Pioneer’s

2013 CHRISTMAS COOKIE CONTEST

ENTRY FORM

Please fill out a separate form for each entry.

Name (Please print)

Address (Must reside in the Pioneer Distribution area

94517, 94518 or 94521)

Phone Number

Email address

Name of

Recipe

� Master Baker (16+)

� Junior Baker (Ages 6-15)

Your age____

Parent's Signature (for Junior Bakers)

Contestant agrees to being photographed at thecompetition. Recipes used from published books mustidentify source.

Signature

Mail your entry to: the Clayton Pioneer, PO Box 1246,

Clayton, CA 94517; or drop off at our office at 6200 H

Center Street, Clayton. If the office is closed, slip it

through the mail slot.

Deadline to enter is 5 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 10

Deadline for entry is

Dec. 10

Merry Pelletier, is retiring theend of the month. Merry’sreplacement has been selectedand upon completion of finalbackground checks, he shouldbe on the job by Monday,December 9.

Likewise, we are losing ourwonderful City Clerk andHuman Resources Manager LaciJackson Kolc, who is moving onto bigger responsibilities inAmerican Canyon. As we searchfor a permanent City Clerk,Janet Brown, a former 11-yearadministrative assistant for theCity of Oakley, will aid the tran-sition. We welcome bothaboard.

A couple of holidayreminders: The CBCA-spon-sored downtown tree-lightingwill be Saturday, Sept. 7 at 6 p.m.Festivities and carriage ridesbegin at 4:30 p.m., with elemen-tary school caroling and Santa’sarrival at 6 p.m. and the tree-lighting at 6:30 p.m. The CBCAwill offer their traditional donutholes and cider after the treelighting at the Clayton Commu-

nity Church offices.The deadline to enter this

year’s Clayton Pioneer HolidayCookie Contest is Tuesday, Dec10 and the party and contesttakes place Thursday, Dec 12 at6:30 p.m. at Hoyer Hall in theClayton Library. If you haven’tentered before, maybe this isyour year. There are great activi-ties for the kids and Santa willvisit to help award the prizes,too.

Sunday, Dec.15 is the annualClayton Historical Society Holi-day Homes Tour from noon to7 p.m. Tickets for this event canbe purchased on the CHS web-site at claytonhistory.org or atthe museum on Main Street onthe day of the event. This tour isa major fundraiser for our Clay-ton Museum. I hope to see youthere.

Happy Hanukkah and MerryChristmas!

As always, you can reach me [email protected]. Let meknow what you think.

Mayor, from page 1

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GARDENFlower Gardening by Nicole

Hackett. Perennial, ornamental, rose

and container care. Keep your garden

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[email protected].

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[email protected] or 672-4600.

Come join Mazzei Realty!

Currently interviewing and hiring

new and experienced real estate

agents. Call 693-0757 for details.

Real Estate Agents Be Successful!

Lynne French is expanding and inter-

viewing for a few agents. Call her

today 672-8787.

VOLUNTEERS

NEEDEDHelp Fight Hunger

Visit thelemonlady.blogspot.com.

Clayton Historical Society Museum

Call the museum at 672-0240.

Clayton Community Library

Contact Arlene at 673-9777 or

[email protected].

Meals on Wheels

Contact Sharon Fitzgerald at 932-

8607 or [email protected]

P.O. Box 1246

6200 Center Street, Suite H, Clayton, CA 94517

TAMARA AND ROBERT STEINER, PublishersTAMARA STEINER, EditorPETE CRUZ, Graphic DesignPEGGY SPEAR, Copy Editor JAY BEDECARRÉ, Sports PAMELA WIESENDANGER, Administration

STAFF WRITERS: Denisen Hartlove, Pam Wiesendanger, Peggy SpearWe remember Jill Bedecarré - Her spirit is our muse

Holiday Guide

Angel Q Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .890-1311

Bella Mia Spa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .680-7792

Clayton Business and Community Association . .672-2272

Clayton Furniture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .686-2299

Concord United Methodist Church . . . . . . . . . . . .685-5260

Earthquake Arabians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .360-7454

Lehmer’s Concord Buick GMC . . . . . . . . . . . . . .344-4205

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

Super Holiday Boutique . . . www.concordholidayexpo.com

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

TLC Pet Grooming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .672-2547

Walker, Becky – Nails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .640-8995

Business Services

Rising Moon Marketing & Public Relations . . . . .672-8717

Construction and Trades

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

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

Burkin Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .672-1519

Diablo View Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .822-5144

Gary’s Home Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .787-2500

Iron Horse Concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .566-8666

Steffan Smith Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .914-0497

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

Dining and Entertainment

Clayton Club Saloon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .673-0440

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

Financial, Insurance and Legal Services

DuRee, Daniel – The Law Office of . . . . . . . . . . .210-1400

Littorno, Richard – The Law Office of . . . . . . . . .432-4211

Sorensen, David – Wells Fargo . . . . . . . . . . . . . .296-3086

Travis Credit Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .888-698-0000

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

Funerals

Ouimet Funeral Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .682-4242

Groceries

Doorstep Farmers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .349-4568

Home and Garden

Diablo Lawnscape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .381-3757

Interiors Panache . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .672-7920

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

The Floor Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .969-9890

The Maids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .798-6243

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

Waraner Bros. Tree Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .831-2323

Waraner Tree Experts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .250-0334

Medical

Clayton Valley Medical Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .672-6744

Optometry

Foresight Optometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .672-4100

Pet Services

Cat Hospital of Clayton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .672-2287

Monte Vista Veterinary Hospital . . . . . . . . . . . . . .276-5744

Pittsburg Pet Resort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .432-7387

Rodie's Feed and Pet Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .672-4600

Real Estate and Mortgage Services

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

Geddes-Sinclaire, Christine – Alain Pinel . . . . . .286-7593

Howard, Don – Better Homes Realty . . . . . . . . . .408-3184

Howard, Emily – Better Homes Realty . . . . . . . .408-1871

Klock, Leigh – Coldwell Banker . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212-5593

Landgraf, Linda – Prudential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .876-0311

Laurence, Pete – RE/MAX Realty . . . . . . . . . . . .890-6004

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

Mazzei, Matt – Mazzei Realty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .693-0757

Stojanovich, Jennifer – Better Homes Realty . . .567-6170

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

Recreation and Fitness

All Out Sports League, The Blaze Volleyball . . . . . . . . . . . .

www.blazetravelball.com

East Bay Regional Park District . . . . . . . . . .888-327-2757

Levity Fitness Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .672-2995

Retail

HobbyTown USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .685-3802

Senior Services

Chateau on Broadway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .686-1700

Courtyards at Pine Creek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .798-3900

Diamond Terrace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .524-5100

Montecito – Oakmont Senior Living . . . . . . . . . . .852-6702

Services, Other

1-800-Junkster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .800-586-5783

ComputersUSA! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .672-9989

Net Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .672-6029

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

Travel

Celebrity Cruises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .888-456-7887

Travel to Go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .672-9840

Directory of Advertisers

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words, 20 cents each additional word To place your classified ad over thephone, call the office at (925) 672-0500 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Mon.-Fri. All classifieds must be paid for inadvance by credit card (Master Cardor Visa) We will not accept any ad thatdiscriminates on the basis of race,color, sex, religion, nationality, familystatus or disability. The Clayton Pio-neer reserves the right to reject anyadvertising we believe is unsuitable.

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Also on the website are forms forcalendar items, events & press releases.

LETTERS TO THE EDITORThe Clayton Pioneer welcomes

letters from our readers. As a generalrule, letters should be 250 words orless and submitted at least one weekprior to publication date. Letters con-cerning current issues will have prior-ity. We may edit letters for length andclarity. All letters will be published atthe editor’s discretion. Please includename, address and daytime telephonenumber. We will not print anonymousletters. E-mail your letter [email protected]. Lettersmust be submitted via E-mail.

CIRCULATIONTotal circulation of the Clayton

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SUBSCRIPTIONSTo subscribe, call the office at

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KindnessDo the Right Thing


Buyers and Sellers – the time is right

Pete Laurence,Broker, Realtor, GRI

Cell: (925) 890-6004

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It comes and it goes. Okto-berfest co-chair Mary AnnLawrence reported this year’s‘fest was the most successfulever. After the final bills arepaid, Clayton Business andCommunity Association(CBCA) coffers will be replen-ished and the CBCA will beable to continue helping fundprojects in the Clayton commu-nity. The November 21 CBCAmeeting was held at theOakhurst Country Club.

Among the many placesreceiving funds is Mt. DiabloElementary School for 5thGrade Outdoor Science Camp.Funds also went to the GoldStar Moms for their WreathesAcross America project.

Requests scheduled for aJanuary vote include thosefrom the Clayton CERT Pro-gram, the St. BonaventureFood Pantry and the ClaytonChapter of the AAUW. CERTwill use the grant for purchase,placement, training and mainte-nance of two Automatic Exter-nal Defibrillators for Claytonpublic access. The St. Bonaven-

ture Food Pantry providesmeals for needy families in theClayton Valley area throughoutthe year. The Clayton Chapterof the AAUW requested fund-ing assistance to help sponsorthree young women to attendtheir annual Tech Trek Camp.

CBCA is confident that theAngels will come and theGrinches will go, this holidayseason in Clayton and through-out the coming year.

Local volunteers are welcome tojoin CBCA or just volunteer for anevent by calling 925-672-2272 orclicking on www.claytoncbca.org.

In the City of Clayton we havean ordinance requiring homesafety alarms to be registered withthe police department. We do thisto be sure we have emergencycontacts in the event of an emer-gency at your home. It gives us aplace to start in the event there isa problem at your home and weare unable to contact you.

Additionally, the ordinancehas restrictions on the number offalse alarms we will respond to.There is a one-time fee for regis-tering your alarm of $28 for a res-idence and $56 for a commercialalarm. There is no fee to updateyour existing information.

The records for these permitsare being updated by a volunteerhere at the Clayton Police Depart-ment. We’ve found that many ofour residents who had alarms no

longer live at the home. Some folkshave had alarms installed and notregistered them with the policedepartment. Some residents havepurchased a home with an existingalarm but have not updated theinformation for emergency con-tacts. Finally, some residents havechanged the emergency contactperson, but have not let the policedepartment know.

In the event of an emergency,not having the alarm informationand emergency contact informa-tion readily at hand can cost emer-gency responders valuable time.

As we update the informa-tion, we ask you to contact ourVIP’s Volunteer, Kitty Parker,by e-mail and provide the neces-sary information. Her e-mail [email protected].

Please help us by providing:• Your Name• Address• Phone Number• Cell Number• Emergency Contacts (people

who can turn your alarm offand have access to your home)

• The alarm company name• Alarm company phone number• Any additional information you

think we needThank you for helping us

keep Clayton a safe place to live,work and play.

Club News


Chris Thorsen is Clayton’s chiefof police. For questions and com-ments, call him at (925) 673-7350.

Our students and teachers will soonbe reaping the benefits of a new infu-sion of state funding dedicated topreparing students for rewarding careersin the 21st century economy.

Last January, the original 2013-14State budget proposal submitted by theGovernor to the legislature, containedno money for schools to implementCommon Core standards. As Chair ofthe Assembly Budget Subcommittee onEducation Finance, I worked to changethis and made securing state funds toprovide teacher professional develop-ment and technology improvements mynumber one priority.

In the Assembly’s budget I added$1.5 billion for schools to use towardCommon Core implementation. This

led to months of negotiations with theGovernor and intense lobbying from theeducation community to secure thesefunds. It was gratifying to see the Gov-ernor respond by including $1 billion inthe May budget for this purpose, and$1.25 billion in the final budget. Thefunding went out to districts in twoinstallments this fall.

As a result, schools in Contra CostaCounty will receive over $34.4 milliontowards Common Core development,calculated at $200 per student, accordingto the state Department of Education.Here are some specific funding alloca-tions for our local schools:• Alcalanes Union High . . . .$1,074,949• Clayton Valley Charter . . . . .$373,389• John Swett Unified . . . . . . . .$321,540

• Lafayette Elementary . . . . . .$690,307• Martinez Unified . . . . . . . . . .$821,334• Mount Diablo Unified . . . .$6,392,241• Eagle Peak Montessori . . . . . .$38,585• Pittsburg Unified . . . . . . . .$2,122,166• San Ramon Valley Unified . .$6,181,008• Walnut Creek Elementary . .$712,011

This one-time allotment of targeteddollars will help our schools transition toCommon Core academic standards andthe new computer based assessments thatwill be field tested next spring. Best of all,these funds are flexible, allowing local dis-tricts to plan and focus on their priorities.

To receive the funds school districtmust develop and adopt a spending planat a public school board meeting andthen vote to approve the plan at a subse-

quent board meeting. For accountabilitypurposes, a report of expenditures mustbe submitted to the State Department ofEducation on or before July 1, 2015.

After severe budget cuts to educa-tion, totaling 20 percent over the last 5years, it will still take us years to bringour schools back to previous fundinglevels. As a first step, this financial com-mitment to successfully implementCommon Core, along with the LocalControl Funding Formula, will help ourschools achieve improving student out-comes. You have my commitment tocontinue to advocate and work hard inSacramento to bring additional fundshome for our Contra Costa students.

Susan A. BonillaAssemblywoman, 14th District

Opinion Letter to the Editor

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The Clayton Valley/ConcordSunrise Rotary Club distributed113 children’s dictionaries to thirdgraders at local elementaryschools.

The Rotary has distributeddictionaries for several years aspart of their literacy programs.Funds are raised, in part, from theannual Fourth of July PancakeBreakfast sponsored by the Clubeach year at Endeavor Hall.

The Rotary Club meets forbreakfast each Thursday, 7 a.m.,Oakhurst Country Club, 1001 Pea-cock Creek Drive, Clayton. CallMembership Chairman Jim Swansonat 673-9040 for information.

The holidays are upon usand with that come all theexcitement and wonder of theseason…and all the stress andstrain of the season. Peopleoften feel overwhelmed by theholidays because of all the pres-sure they put on themselves toeither make up for past awfulholidays, to live up to some soci-etal or familial expectations tohave the holidays “just right,” orto make some “perfect” memo-ries that their children willremember forever.

Inevitably, the holidays fallshort of those high expecta-tions and we wind up feelingworse than ever. This year,make an early New Year’s reso-lution to not let the stress ofthe holiday season make youfeel like the Grinch. How canyou do this?

First of all, you cannot letthe ghosts of Christmas pastinfluence your present. You’llnever be able to rewrite historyand erase the pain of hurtfulmemories, no matter how muchgarland you put up or howmuch you max out your creditcards. Find a way to recognizethat your past has helped makeyou who you are today. One wayto change your thinking aboutthe past is to reframe it as ahelpful reminder of what you

can be grateful for in the pres-ent, as in “I’m so glad that I’mpast that now!”

Now, about those peskyexpectations of how our holi-days “should” be. AfterHalloween, we are constantlybombarded with blaring mediamessages that we too can havethe holidays of our dreams, if webuy X, Y, and Z. Not to mention,there are all of our relatives andextended family that expect us todo certain holiday traditions justbecause we’ve done them everyyear, even if they put us out andare a huge stressor for us.

This year, I say let go of oth-ers’ expectations of you if theyare overwhelming and unrea-sonable. You don’t want to slaveover another turkey dinner forChristmas? How about servinglasagna as the main courseinstead? Don’t want to exchangepresents with every one of your30 relatives and go broke? Howabout everyone picks a nameout of a hat to give a gift, or theadults only get gifts for the chil-dren? Remember that you havesome say in how you want theholidays to be, which should beenjoyable for you as well.

Lastly, I hear a lot from par-ents about how their childrenneed to have Norman Rockwell-esque holidays and handmade or

homemade everything. While Iam all for creating lovely tradi-tions and making the season aspecial time to remember, I alsoknow what your children willwant the most during the holi-days, and that is your presence.They will not want you slavingaway in the kitchen or over aglue gun in order to give themthe perfect Christmas.

For example, if you findyourself the only one in thekitchen making gingerbreadmen from scratch while the restof your family watches TV, thenyou may want to rethink why theheck you’re making those cook-ies in the first place.

ROTARIAN JEFF RONDINI (right) gives a demonstration to eachclass on how to use a dictionary, followed by a short test,which the students all pass with flying colors. Rotarians BillSelb, Clayton Worsdell, Bob Huck and MaryAnn Moser joinedJeff for the event.

State funding available for Common Core implementation

No cause for alarm, butupdate your information

CHRIS THORSEN

BEHIND THE BADGE

STEPHANIE HO

MIND MATTERS

Stephanie T. Ho is a licensed psy-chologist. She has a private practiceoffice in Walnut Creek and works atUC Berkeley. She can be reached [email protected].

Get yourself a holiday gift byslimming down expectations

CBCA events improve the communityGARY CARR

Special to the Pioneer

Clayton Valley/Concord Sunrise Rotary

Pick up the poop bags, pleaseLike many, I walk our lovely

trails and sidewalks everyday and Ialways pick up my dog’s waste anddrop it off at the nearest trash can,or take it home to dispose of there.(Lately), I see more people whoseem to make an attempt to pick upafter their dogs, only to just droptheir plastic doggie bags alongsidethe walkways and paths, or even tossthe baggies up under the shrubs,making a very unsightly mess of ourbeautiful walkways and trail systems.

So please, if you are not going tocarry your doggie poop bags, Iwould much prefer that you didn’tpick up after your dog at all. If thefeces were left alone, the color willblend in with the dirt and eventuallybreak down. But those plastic bagsjust stick out as an eyesore formonths or years to come.

Linda Pinder

Super Typhoon Haiyan struckthe Philippines last month leavinga path of death and destruction.We are all familiar with hurri-canes, so a natural question is:What is the difference between a

typhoon and a hurricane?Typhoons and hurricanes are

both tropical cyclones with sus-tained winds that reach or exceed74 miles per hour Tropicalcyclones are known as “warmcore” storms since they get theirenergy from heat that is trans-ferred into the atmosphere fromwarm ocean water.

The only difference betweentyphoons and hurricanes is theirlocation. Strong cyclones that

develop in the Atlantic and East-ern Pacific Oceans are called hur-ricanes. In the Western Pacificthese cyclones are calledtyphoons. In other areas of theworld, such as the Indian Oceanand southern hemisphere,cyclones that reach the 74 m.p.h.wind threshold are called severetropical cyclones.

The categorization of tropicalcyclones with winds below 74m.p.h. is the same throughout the

world. The weakest cyclones,called tropical depressions, areorganized warm core storms withmaximum sustained windsbetween 23 and 38 mph.

Cyclones with sustained windsbetween 39 and 74 m.p.h. areknown as tropical storms. At thisstage of development thecyclones are given a name. Anestimated 55 percent of the


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Q. I am in a contract tosell my house as a short sale.I can see now that it won’tclose before the end of theyear. I know the “MortgageForgiveness Debt Relief Act”is going to expire at the endof this year. I am thinking ofcanceling the sale and lettingthe bank foreclose. If I didthat would I be taxed on theforgiven amount anyway?

A. With the information youhave given me you probablyhave nothing to worry aboutwith the short sale. Very recent-ly some new information hascome to light. The Internal Rev-enue Service clarified in a letterthat California’s troubled home-owners who sell their homes ina short sale are not subject tofederal income tax liability on“phantom income” they neverreceived. California is what iscalled a non-recourse state sowe do not create so-called “can-cellation of debt” income to theunderwater seller for federalincome tax purposes. This

includes first and junior trustdeeds. Many other states arevery different in the way theydeal with mortgage shortfallsand foreclosures.

The California Franchise TaxBoard has been awaiting this IRSletter to obtain similar guidanceregarding state income tax formortgage debt relief as well.

This clarification is a big dealfor thousands of homeowners,and I am happy to report it.

Q. Can you tell us aboutsome interesting real estatetransactions occurringrecently?

A. I like to look at what therich & famous are up to withtheir real estate deals.

1. Facebook CEO MarkZuckerberg paid more than $30million, for the four residentialproperties located next doorand behind his own home. Hedid this when he found out adeveloper was going to buy theland and build a huge estate andmarket it as being next door toMark Zuckerberg. He is keepingthe homes and renting them outto the previous owners.

2. Cuba Gooding Jr., Oscarwinner for “Jerry Maguire,” isselling his home in Pacific Pal-isades for $11,995 million. It is acontemporary English-stylehouse on a gated acre. What isfun about the property is that itis part playground and partparkland. There is a sunkentrampoline in the lawn, a swim-ming pool and a sports court set

up to double as a lighted rollerhockey rink or a basketballcourt.

3. Multiplatinum recordingstar Josh Grobin is listing hisvilla in Southern California onPoint Dume for $5.475 million.He previously listed it in 2010for 6.1 million and later offeredit as a $13,500-a-month luxuryrental in 2012. Josh paid $4.125million for the property in 2005.It was built in 1976 and is amulti-level home. It is 3,294square feet with a Tuscan styleinterior. Outside it has a saltwa-ter pool with a waterfall andpoolside kitchen. It has onebedroom guest cottage, a ten-nis court and, of course, arecording studio. The estate sitson 1.8 acres.

Good news for troubled sellers

Geography determines the differencebetween a typhoon and a hurricane

Send your question and look for youranswer in a future column. [email protected]. French is thebroker/owner of Windermere LynneFrench & Associates. Contact her at672-878 7or stop in at 6200 CenterSt., Clayton.

LYNNE FRENCH

REAL ANSWERS

But Peck’s loss only fueledCarroll’s passion into helpingthe men of San Quentin.

UNLIKELY INTEREST

“Believe me, this is the lastthing I ever thought I would dowith my life,” says the petiteblonde with a lingering Aus-tralian accent. “I never had any-thing to do with jails or any-thing when I was growing up.”She came from a “good family”in Sydney, where her father wasconstruction director of theSydney Opera House. Carrollherself has a background inbusiness administration, andhas a business as an administra-tive assistant to clients in theBay Area.

But she says that from theminute she walked into thedoors at San Quentin, she felt asense of hope. “I knew thatthere were a lot of good menhere, even if they themselvesdidn’t know it yet.”

Working with other prisonprograms, CRI helps men pre-pare themselves for the rigorsof life on the outside. The min-imum two-year program focus-es on not only practical matterslike finding work, but self-workas well.

“Probably 90 percent of thework we do before the men getout is on themselves,” she says.“The main thing we teach ispersonal accountability.”

That’s something that AltonMcSween learned the hard way,when he was turned down foradmittance into CRI because hewas not adhering to the rules ofSan Quentin.

His transgression wasn’tthat egregious — he was run-

ning a football pool. But Car-roll stood firm, a trait she isknown for along with her gen-erous spirit.

“I had been reprimandedonce for running the pool by theinstitution, but that didn’t stopme,” McSween says. “But it wasCollette who made me realize Ineeded to stop if I wanted tobetter myself. And that’s whatshe’s all about, helping peoplefind their better selves.”

SMOOTH TRANSITION OUT

McSween was serving athree-strikes sentence of 25-years-to-life when he met Car-roll and Peck. The crime thatbrought down that sentencewas petty theft, following tworesidential burglary convictionsyears before. Under Proposi-tion 36, McSween was able toappeal his sentencing. A judgeresentenced him to sevenyears, and as McSween hadalready served 12 years, he wasreleased in April of this yearwithout parole.

Carroll was there to pickhim up from BART. The firstpeople he met were at OptionsRecovery, people he knew frominside San Quentin from theARC (Addiction RecoveryCounseling) program there

“I was truly blessed,” hesays. These days, McSween isstudying to become a certifiedsubstance abuse counselor, andhas been offered the housemanager position at Roland’sPlace.”I was truly blessed,” hesays. These days, McSween isstudying to become a substanceabuse counselor, and has beenoffered the house managerposition at Roland’s Place.

“I wouldn’t be doing thiswithout CRI,” he says. “No onehas more integrity thanCollette.”

Carroll says that the threemain things that parolees needwhen they are released is aplace to stay, employment and acommunity. To that end, her“guys,” as she calls them, arealready on their way. She alsogives them a bag of otheressentials, including new bed-ding and a cell phone.

McSween, an ex-NFL foot-ball player, is known as“Coach,” and he’s been instru-mental in helping Carroll getthe 2nd Chance Boutique upand running.

He has been aided by JamesMcCartney, another recentparolee with woodworking skillsand a “great work ethic,” saysCarroll. Both men will move intoRoland’s Place when it opens, aslikely will the seven “graduates”of CRI’s first class, after the cer-emony in December.

“I could not have done thiswithout Collette,” says McCart-ney, called “Mac” by this friendsand now-ad-hoc family. “I hadnever even seen a cell phone,and before I went to prison Ibarely knew anyone who owneda microwave. Things have cer-tainly changed.”

THE BOUTIQUE

His work is evident aroundthe boutique, in the gleaminghardwood floors he helpedinstall, shelving and even anintricately carved chess set forsale — something he madewhile still in prison. The mer-chandise reflects the care Car-roll gives her “guys,” as it is allhand-picked. Products rangefrom a $5 clothes rack to $400shoes and clothing items. Purs-

es, jewelry, scarves and evenartwork are also available forpurchase, all of it high-end at abargain price.

“The merchandise is eitherdonated, or bought with moneywe have received in donations,”says LaVenture, who doesmuch of the “shopping” forthe inventory online.

The boutique started as apartnership between CRI andthe Concord-Clayton SunriseRotary, which is helping togather donations, provideexposure and assist in findingjobs for men from the CRI pro-gram. Carroll hopes it is thefirst of several local businessventures, and she plans to opena custom cabinet shop and alandscaping business, all staffedby CRI graduates.

“Mureleen Benton, who wasthen-president of the Rotary,was looking for a project tosupport” Carroll says. “Thenone day Mureleen came to meand said, ‘Why not yours?’”

There is an easy camaraderiebetween Carroll, LaVenture,“Coach” and “Mac” as theywork around the boutique, andit is apparent they are morethan just colleagues — they area family.

“That’s really what we areabout, creating a sense of com-munity, of family, and helpingthese men find their passion,”Carroll says. “After all, every-one deserves a second chance.”

The 2nd Chance Boutique,4305 Clayton Road, Suite E inConcord (near Safeway), is open M-F, 10-7; Sat. 10-6; Sun 12-6. Todonate men’s and women’s clothing oraccessories, call the store at 925-691-5024. For more information aboutCRI, go tocaliforniareentryinstitute.org.

In December, the ConcordCity Council will vote on the“Complete Streets” GeneralAmendment Plan.

The goal of the plan is tohelp improve the city’s streets bydesigning a transportation sys-tem which meets the needs ofall users, including pedestrians,public transit riders, bicyclists, aswell as motorists.

Not only in California, butall across America, there is amovement to build “CompleteStreets” that allow people to getaround safely, even when they

aren’t inside a car. In 2011, theCalifornia “Complete StreetsAct” passed, and requires thatour cities and counties makesubstantive revisions to the cir-culation element of our generalplans to include modificationsto plan for “Complete Streets”policies.

This requires an update toConcord’s 2030 General Plan’sTransportation and CirculationElement. The proposed updateincludes a revision of goals,principles and policies to moreexplicitly address the concept of

“Complete Streets” as requiredby the state Legislature.

Conventional street designcan sometimes promotes trafficcongestion, pollution and colli-sions, and discourages physicalactivity. “Complete Streets,” onthe other hand, are designedand built so that people of allages and abilities can travel eas-ily and safely, while also gettingthe regular physical activity thatis so critical to preventingobesity.

Successful long-term imple-mentation of this policy is

intended to result in:• More options for people to

go from one place to another.• Less traffic congestion and

greenhouse gas emissions.• More walkable communities

(with healthier, more activepeople).

• Fewer barriers for olderadults, children and peoplewith disabilities.

“Complete Streets” arestreets for everyone, includingour most vulnerable roadwayusers. They are designed, main-

tained and operated to enablesafe access for all users. Eco-nomically, “Complete Streets”may help revitalize our commu-nity, and they might give familiesthe option to lower transporta-tion costs by using transit, walk-ing or bicycling rather than driv-ing to reach their destinations.

Ron Leone, a Concord city coun-cilman and former mayor, welcomescomments and questions. Call him at925-680-1776 or send email [email protected].

Concord to vote on Complete Streets Amendment

RON LEONE

CONCORDCITY BEAT


Sometimes a chanceencounter at the local bookstoreopens savory and unexpectedwindows into worldsundreamed of. Lucky for us,Anna North’s debut novel,“America Pacifica” (ReaganArthur Books; May, 2011) is justthat tasty chance. A fresh newvoice in the wilderness of titles,North earned her chops at theIowa Writers Workshop, and herwriting shows it. Sharp, clear,sometimes stunning narrativeseduces the reader, even while itsends a shiver up the spine.

We know we are in for anadventure when the book’sopening lines are delivered withthis piercingly classic hook:“The trouble started when thewoman with the shaking handscame to the apartment. Her facewas small but fleshy, with a littlepuffy mouth. . . she said she wasa friend of Darcy’s mother, butDarcy’s mother didn’t havefriends.”

Just a few decades in thefuture, 18 year-old Darcy, wholives on a sweltering, dystopianisland presumably far enough inthe Pacific Ocean to escape anice age that has consumedNorth America. America Pacifi-ca is a microcosm of the U.S.,and run by a corrupt refugee

who bestows favors on hiscrooked followers and virtuallyenslaves the rest of the popula-tion. Darcy is a disillusioned girlwith a dead-end job and anapartment shared with her dot-ing but mysterious mother.Darcy’s crap job at an assistedliving facility reserved exclusive-ly for America Pacifica’s wealthyelite, earns her enough to keepfrom starving. Barely. Humiliat-ed daily by the subservient, sub-sistence work, Darcy’s onebright spot is her relationshipwith her mother. Between thetwo of them, they have enough,they are enough.

But one day, a strangewoman appears in their tene-ment apartment and whisperssecrets in Sarah’s ears, dark tales

that Sarah explains away whenDarcy asks what the womansaid, what she wanted. Soonafter, Darcy returns home fromwork, warms up a miserablepiece of steak that she stolefrom the retirementhome, excited toprovide the treatfor her mother.The chunk ofbeef is a wel-come respitefrom the pow-dered jellyfishand “cheese-food” they reg-ularly consumeto stave offr e l e n t l e s shunger intheir slumneighborhood of Little LosAngeles, located not far fromChicagoland and across theisland Manhattanville. But Sarahnever returns, and thus beginsDarcy’s odyssey to find hermother and discover the darktruth behind her vanishing.

Darcy soon encounters aone-armed boy named AnselMartinez, an idealistic andcharismatic street dweller whohas a plan to overthrow Tyson,

the island’s self-appointed ruler.Darcy doesn’t take entirelybelieve Ansel’s big plans, but heis the only one who takes herseriously and offers to help herfind her mother . . . and doesn’ttry to take advantage of her in

exchange.Darcy is plucky

and brave. Notbecause she has awild streak, butbecause she hasnothing left to lose.Even when she getsclose to the truth –which is far more ter-rible than she couldhave imagined, a littlepart of her heartremains pure, and wecan’t help but love herfor it.

America Pacifica is part cau-tionary tale, part allegory, and awholly engaging read.

Share the holiday spirit andtake part in the Be A Santa To ASenior (BASTAS) service pro-gram. This program positivelyimpacts the community by pro-viding holiday cheer and gifts tosenior citizens who are leastlikely to receive a present thisholiday season, and who areoften lonely and financiallyneedy. The program is spon-sored by the local Home InsteadSenior Care office, the ConcordCommission on Aging and theConcord Senior Center.

To participate in the pro-gram, look for the BASTAS dis-plays and trees after Nov. 25 atthe locations listed below. Selecta gift tag from the tree. The tagincludes the first name of a localsenior and his or her gift wish.Return the unwrapped gift alongwith the gift tag by Dec. 20. Par-ticipating Concord locationsinclude: City of Concord CivicCenter, 1950 Parkside Drive;Concord Police Department,1350 Galindo Street (3rd floor);Min’s Kitchen, 3505 Clayton

Rd.; ?Bank of America, 2020Willow Pass Rd.; and The OldSpaghetti Factory, 1955 Mt. Dia-blo.

Residents can also drop off amonetary donation at the Con-cord Senior Center that will beused to purchase gifts, or muchneeded items such as twin-sizeblankets, gift cards, socks,gloves, non-perishable food bas-kets, scarves, flashlights and bat-teries.

Businesses are invited tosponsor the gift wrapping partyon Dec. 21 from 10 a.m. tonoon by providing healthyrefreshments for volunteers atthe Senior Center who arepreparing the gifts for delivery.

To contribute, take part by pro-viding a monetary donation or learnmore about the program, contactSenior Center Director Avis Connol-ly at 925-671-3419 or by email [email protected] or drop bythe Concord Senior Center located at2727 Parkside Circle in John Bald-win Park.

Play Santa for localsenior citizens in need

6096 Main Street, Clayton, 673-0440

Dec. 6, 7 . . . . . . . . . . . Blues Healers

Dec. 13, 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Relyks

www.claytonclubsaloon.com

Entertainment from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Now

Karaoke also

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2 for the price of 1Beer only. Good anytime withoriginal coupon. Exp. 12/19/13

Karaoke Mon. & Wed. nights Open Mic Thur. nights, 8-11 pm

Second Chance, from page 1

CYNTHIA GREGORY

FOR THE BOOKS

Cynthia Gregory writes bookreviews, award-winning short storiesand a blog. Visit her blog at PersephonesStepSisters.Wordpress.comor send email to her at [email protected]

Plucky heroine enlivens ‘America Pacifica’Book Review

The holiday season hasarrived; stores are stocking upon decorations, radio stationsare preparing to play classic hol-iday tunes, and students acrossthe country are anxiously await-ing the upcoming school break.Along with the holiday spiritcomes a thirst for volunteering.Nevertheless, this attitude doesnot carry over to the rest of theyear despite the ever growingneed for willing volunteers.

Generally, volunteering ispushed aside in everyday life. Infact, only about 26.5 percent ofall Americans volunteered atsome point from September2011 through September 2012,according to the U.S. Bureau ofLabor Statistics. Although thisnumber has steadily increasedover the past 30 years, it has notbeen able to contain and reducethe national poverty rate.Rather, the poverty rate has con-tinued to increase as well. In

order to contain this growth inpoverty, U.S. residents need tobecome active members of theircommunity.

Yet how can one find thetime to volunteer? There isalways something to do, and vol-unteering precious time is gen-erally not a priority. Peoplewould rather get paid for doinga job than donating their effortsto help someone they havenever met. However, if schoolsand employers required a certainamount of volunteer hours peryear from their students andemployees, thousands of morehands would be working todiminish the poverty in the U.S.America requires volunteeringto be more than a leisure activi-ty during the holidays; activelyreaching out to the poverty-stricken is at the heart of thiscentral idea.

Imagine a world where themajority of the populationwould willingly give withoutexpecting anything in return.Imagine seeing the gleam in theeyes of someone you helpedbecause of the effort and timeyou donated. Imagine being ableto change someone’s life. Theseare all the things that volunteer-ing entails, and who would notwant this? Too many people suf-fer in life, but having more vol-unteers in American can changethat because not only does itbenefit those in need, but it fillsthe volunteer with satisfactionlike no other. Volunteers are theonly people who can fullyappreciate this aspect of life.

America needs more peopleto volunteer. With 26.5 percentof the population volunteering,there are many more Ameri-cans who should be available tooffer their services. It is as easyas searching for volunteeropportunities on Google; thereare plenty of organizationswaiting for people to sign upand make a difference.

As a school leader I have hadthe privilege of working withhundreds of teachers and staffmembers over the past severaldecades, along with thousands ofparents and students. I workedclosely with people who have suf-fered immeasurable loss andheartache and yet haveapproached suffering with suchincredible perspective, positiveattitude and gratitude whileenduring their pain. And I haveworked closely with folks whohave not suffered much at all, yetwho have allowed small setbacksto destroy their outlook on lifeand their attitude.

It is clear to me that one’s owninternal thermometer, one’s ownattitude and mental framework,determines how they will copewith life’s events, both large andsmall. You know those peoplewho are optimistic and enthusias-tic no matter what. Each of ushas friends who are typicallyupbeat most of the time, ready totake on the day, handling the neg-atives and curve balls thrown theirway and have the keen ability tosee the good in any situation. Andthere are the pessimists who arefearful, downtrodden most of thetime and see what is wrong withany good thing that comes theirway. These folks are “prophets ofdoom” about most things thathappen.

So are we born optimists orpessimists? Is this an innate traitthat we are genetically predis-posed to? I am certain that thereis a genetic component to ourpersonalities. But I have also seenthose who have had a “change inattitude” who learned to seethings differently – those whoused to “see the glass half empty”and due to some new perspectiveor life event have learned to “seethe glass half full.”

How we choose to view life,people, work, family, friends andour daily reality is truly in our con-trol. We can see evil intent,impure motives and join the gos-sip of destruction, or we canchoose to build others up, see thegood, give the benefit of doubt,not expend negative energy and

become a positive influence in thelives of others we encounter.

These positive people are truly“lights shining in a dark world.”They are encouragers and up-lifters. They are sparks that canignite a fire of energy and createattitudes of gratitude. I knowmany such people and I lovebeing around them. Don’t you?You will notice that the optimistic(“glass half full”) people are typi-cally sought out by others andnever lack friends.

Our classrooms have manythat fit this description, likeChristina Ballard, Brian Corbett,Guillermo Jara and Patty Yuen.Our office staff exemplifies posi-tivity with people like NancyKahl, Kirsten Owen and JackieValdez. Our Parent-Faculty Clubis filled with such encouragers, forinstance Deanne Carlson, KarenCarmen, Megan Kommer andApril Winship. (I could havenamed so many more!)

This holiday season is such agreat opportunity to share yourlove, appreciation and gratitude toothers in your life. Tell yourson/daughter what you appreci-ate about them and how thankfulyou are for them (and be specificabout their character, actions,etc.). And let Thanksgiving be apart of every day throughout theyear. An attitude of gratitude iscontagious.

This year, Pine Hollow MiddleSchool has put on a canned fooddrive to support the Mt. DiabloUnified School District FoodPantry and the Food Bank ofContra Costa & Solano Counties.

Every year, multiple schoolsand organizations hold cannedfood drives, but what made PineHollow’s recent one special isthat we donated more food thanwe did last year, almost 6,000ounces of food in a week and ahalf. That’s an astonishingamount for a school of our size.

I talked with two leadershipstudents who helped with thedrive. They said that they feltlike an “amazing person” toknow that they could help get afamily another meal.

Some of the teachers felt thatthe students really participated indonating food, especially forThanksgiving. As a leadershipstudent myself, I have workedthe food drive for two years.Each year I feel something dif-ferent. This year I felt like a bet-ter person knowing that I was

able to give back to the commu-nity. It always makes me feelgood to know that I can helpgive back to the less fortunate sothat they can enjoy the holidays.

We are all very thankful forthe things that we have, and thepeople that we have around whocare about us. Giving somethingback to our community makes itbetter for everyone.

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DAVID LINZEY

VOYAGE OF THE EAGLE

Weather, from page 7named tropical storms will inten-sify enough to be called typhoonsor hurricanes.

Typhoons and hurricanes aresubdivided into strength cate-gories based on maximum sus-tained wind speeds. There are twotyphoon categories and five hurri-cane categories.

Typhoons have maximumwind speeds between 74 and 150m.p.h. Super typhoon is the namegiven to the storms featuring sus-tained winds above 150 m.p.h.

Hurricanes are divided intofive severity categories. Category1 hurricanes have sustained windsbetween 74 and 94 m.p.h. Catego-ry 5 hurricanes, the strongest,contain sustained winds above157 m.p.h.

Tropical storm naming con-ventions vary by region. In 1953the U.S. Weather Service begannaming hurricanes using an annu-al rotating list of women’s namesin alphabetical order. This prac-tice lasted until 1979 when men’snames were added to the list.

Since 2000 typhoon nameshave been assigned from a list

submitted by nations affected bythese storms. A typhoon may benamed after a person, animal,flower or mythical creature.Haiyan, a name submitted byChina, refers to a sea bird knownas the petrel.

Interestingly, the PhilippinesMeteorological Agency has itsown typhoon naming conventionfor strong cyclones that affect thatcountry. Although TyphoonHaiyan is the name of Novem-ber’s storm known throughoutthe world, it is referred to asTyphoon Yolanda in the Philip-pines.

Whether they are calledtyphoons or hurricanes, strongtropical cyclones are devastatingstorm events. Typhoon Haiyan,with sustained winds measured at195 m.p.h., and peak gusts asstrong as 235 m.p.h., will rank asone of the strongest tropicalcyclones ever recorded.

Volunteering needs to be anall-year activity for Americans

Pine Hollowaces food drive

Success in life comes fromhaving a positive attitude

LILIANA HERNANDEZ

TEEN SPEAK

Liliana Hernandez is a Senior atClayton Valley Charter High School.She loves to read and plans to pursueher interest in writing in the future.Send email to her at [email protected]

CARLIE BEESON

PINE HOLLOWREPORTER

Carlie Beeson is an 8th grader atPine Hollow Middle School. Sheenjoys reading, playing soccer, andsinging. Questions or comments?Email her [email protected]

Walnut Creek Office:3100 Oak Road, #100Walnut Creek CA 94597Phone: (925) [email protected]

Pittsburg Office:2211 Railroad Ave.Pittsburg CA 94565Phone: (925) 432-4211www.LittornoLaw.com

Woody Whitlatch is a retiredPG&E meteorologist. Email yourquestions or comments to [email protected]

The leadership class taughtby Mrs. Ruff at Diablo ViewMiddle School collected 4,030food items in only 9 days.

The drive benefits the FoodBank of Contra Costa andSolano. The leadership studentschose a food drive as a way ofincorporating their character trait“Kindness” during the month of

November. They also felt that bybuilding character within theirschool, it would help spread thelove to the community.

The top donating classes cel-ebrated their success with JambaJuice and the entire school gotan extended lunch period withmusic and a raffle for prizes foreach grade level.

MATT HYLAND, DAVID MCNULTY, SYLVIE RUSH, Julia Urteaga,Bryson Spitzer and Sydney Skow show they exceeded their4,000-item goal by collecting 4,030 donated food items.

Annual Food Drive atDiablo View Middle

David Linzey is executive directorof CVCHS. Contact [email protected]

is whether it was reasonably fore-seeable that discharging a firearmin this area under these circum-stances would cause a fire.Given the sheer number oftimes firearms have been dis-charged in this area and in simi-lar areas throughout the state

without causing a fire, it is thedetermination of this office thatno criminal liability can beattached to the cause and originof this fire. Therefore, under thelaw, this office will not be filingany criminal charges regardingthe fire.”

Morgan Fire, from page 1

Clayton Valley Medical Groupis moving — Jan. 1, 2014

The new address is

5439 Clayton Rd,Suite B, Clayton.

Have you heard?

Only 500 feet away fromtheir current address

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Happy Holidays! Givethe gift of pampering dur-ing this busy season – toyou, a friend or a lovedone. Becky at PermanentSolution is ready with tonsof holiday colors andsparkle Gelish to makeyour fingers and toes fes-tive. She is availableTuesday through Saturdayfor manicures, pedicuresand gift certificates.

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Super HolidayBoutique

The holiday season’slargest shopping extrava-ganza is the Fourth AnnualSuper Holiday Boutiqueindoors at Centre Concordon Sunday, Dec. 8. Get

special, one-of-a-kind holi-day gifts and stockingstuffers for family, friendsand colleagues from 100vendors. Free holiday artsand crafts activities thatchildren can make and giveas presents. Free entertain-ment, Santa photo opportu-nity and holiday gift bag.Benefiting the Food Bank ofContra Costa and Solanoand Contra Costa SuzukiStrings music mission toHonduras. CCoonnccoorrddHHoolliiddaayyEExxppoo..ccoomm

Clayton FurnitureThere’s no place like

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One of the oldestfurniture businesses inContra Costa, the store isfamily owned and operatedsince 1988. ClaytonFurniture’s success is built onservice, integrity and value.

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Visit with Mrs. Claus andSanta at the historic

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Children 12 & under: FREE,

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Donations appreciated

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Coach Tim Murphy’s sec-ond season as Clayton ValleyCharter High School footballcoach was much the same asthe first: His Eagles lost theiropening game to a highly-ranked opponent and then gottheir high-powered wing-gunoffense in gear and didn’t loseagain until dropping a heart-breaker to end the season inthe playoffs.

The difference this yearwas that CV’s second losscame during November in thesemi-finals of North CoastSection rather than in the StateRegional Bowl Game inDecember. Quarterback DrewAnderson and his Miramonteteammates upset the Eagles44-38 on Black Friday at Gon-salves Stadium ending the localschool’s bid for a repeat of itsfirst-ever NCS football title in2012.

No. 2 seeded Clayton Valleyended the year 11-2 whileMiramonte (11-2) will face topseeded and undefeated CasaGrande of Petaluma (13-0)this Saturday in the sectionfinals. Miramonte petitionedNCS to move up from Divi-sion III to Division II this yearand it paid off as they reached

the championship game at theexpense of the defendingchamps.

The semi-final was theexpected offensive showcasepitting the running wing-gun

of the Eagles against Mira-monte’s passing attack. Clay-ton Valley was averaging 47

points and the visitors 40entering the semi-final.

Clayton Valley scored 22points in the second quarterand 16 in the fourth but wasshut out in the first and thirdstanzas. The only other gamethis year when the Eagles hadtwo scoreless quarters was intheir other loss to De La Salleway back in August. The hometeam took a 22-13 lead late inthe second quarter as juniorrunning back Miles Harrisonscore three touchdowns in theperiod on runs of 8, 23 and 25years while accumulating 132yards from scrimmage beforethe intermission.

Miramonte wasn’t to bedeterred as they scored atouchdown, recovered anonside kick and scored anotherTD before halftime. After eachof those TDs the Matadorsalso notched two-point con-versions and led 29-22.

The Eagles’ first drive ofthe second half was stoppedwhen Harrison could only gainthree yards on a fourth and sixeffort, turning the ball over ondowns and leading to a thirdAnderson TD pass capping a76-yard Miramonte drive totake a 36-22 lead.

Clayton Valley came upwith some trickery in thefourth quarter as quarterbackGabe Taylor was on the receiv-

ing end of a 22-yard TD passfrom Harrison on a fourth and14 play that pulled the Eagleswithin 36-30 after a two-pointPAT run by Harrison.

Miramonte came right backto reestablish a two-touch-down lead on Ray Clark’s sec-ond short TD. The score was42-30 with 5:08 left with thevisitors seemingly headed totheir first NCS championshipgame since 2006. Xavier Craw-ford returned the ensuing kick-off 93 yards for a score andHarrison got another two-point PAT, leaving the Eaglesjust six points behind withnearly five minutes to play.

Miramonte recovered theEagles’ onside kick and wasable to hold onto the ball untilthe final whistle aided by arisky gamble. Coach JackSchram realized how tough theCV Charter offense was tostop so he had his team go forfirst down when they facedfourth and seven near mid-field. Anderson completed a15-yard pass and they wereable to hold off the Eagles,who exhausted all their time-outs but couldn’t get the ballaway from the Mats.

Harrison capped his firstvarsity season with a careerhigh 33 carries and gained 237yards putting him just over the2000-yard mark.

NORTHGATE ALSO

MATS VICTIM

In the Division II quarterfi-nals Miramonte picked offanother Diablo Valley AthleticLeague team with a 66-28 winover Northgate (9-3) despitethe heroics of Bronco runningback Eric Haynes who finishedhis career in style with 372yards rushing on 40 carries andscoring five touchdowns.Quarterback Anderson pacedthe victor with six TD passesand 358 yards through the airincluding three scoring tossesto his younger brother RyanAnderson.

Clayton Valley defeated theother Walnut Creek entry inthe NCS football playoffs theprevious evening with a 59-13win over Las Lomas. Harrisonhad a career best 305 yardsrushing including four TDruns.

Haynes completed his sea-son with 2060 yards and 36touchdowns. He amassed 634yards in his two NCS gamesfor coach Justin Lowell’s team.Northgate has won nine ormore games three of the pastfour years.

Cal State East Bay’s newhead men’s basketball coachGus Argenal has announcedthat four standout student-ath-letes have committed to the Pio-neers in 2014-15 including DeLa Salle High School seniorPatrick Marr and three juniorcollege transfers.

A 6-7 Clayton product, Marris in his third season as a varsityplayer at De La Salle where hisfuture head coach Argenal alsoplayed for Frank Allocco. Marrwas an honorable mention All-East Bay Athletic League as ajunior.

“Patrick has the heart of achampion and has played for anational power in De La Salleand coach Allocco,” said Arge-nal. “He plays with an amazing

motor and will bring tremen-dous skill and competitivenessto our frontcourt. He has the

ability to change the game withhis rebounding, and he’s goingto be a huge part of our success

moving forward.”Marr helped lead the Spar-

tans to an overall record of 54-8over the last two years, winningback-to-back EBAL champi-onships. Marr’s sophomore year,De La Salle claimed the NorthCoast Section crown, and inboth seasons the Spartansreached the semi-finals of theNorthern California State tour-nament.

“In a program known forplayers who have a great workethic, Patrick’s commitment andeffort rank in the upper eche-lon,” said De La Salle coachAllocco. “A team-first guy, Patwill enhance the quality of thePioneers’ program with his atti-tude, effort, and desire toimprove.”

Marr is one of seven localhigh school senior to sign anational letter of intent duringthe early college signing period.

Sports

JAY BEDECARRÉ

Clayton Pioneer

JAY BEDECARRÉ

Clayton Pioneer


Eagles stopped short of NCS repeat by Miramonte

De La Salle senior Patrick Marr signs with formerSpartan Gus Argenal’s Cal State basketball team

Jason Rogers photo

QUARTERBACK GABE TAYLOR (12) COMPLETED TWO-THIRDS OF HIS PASSES including 16 touchdown connections versus only two intercep-tions this year for the Clayton Valley Charter High football team. Taylor, a senior transfer from College Park, was the field gener-al for the high-powered CVCHS offense and made his only pass reception of the season for a touchdown from runningbackMiles Harrison as the Eagles tried to rally against Miramonte in their NCS semi-final loss last Friday.

Photo courtesy De La Salle High School

DE LA SALLE SENIOR PATRICK MARR is starting his third year onSpartan varsity basketball and he will be moving to Cal StateEast Bay next year for coach Gus Argenal, a former DLSplayer who took over coaching the Pioneers in June. Marrsigned his national letter of intent last month.

NICK MAZZA MOST IMPROVED

SAC STATE FOOTBALL PLAYERRedshirt sophomore Nick Mazza, a 2011 graduate of Clayton

Valley High, was named most improved player at the SacramentoState football awards dinner. Mazza had 35 tackles this season afterrecording nine in 2012, when he primarily played on special teams.This fall he started all 12 games at defensive tackle for the Hornets,who were 5-7 overall. Clayton resident Mazza set a career high sixtackles against Northern Colorado.

CVCHS BASEBALL HOSTS SECOND

HOT STOVE DINNER JAN. 10Clayton Valley Charter High School baseball coach Casey Coak-

ley is hosting the second annual Hot Stove Dinner on Friday, Jan. 10.The evening’s festivities will whet the appetite of baseball fans, Clay-ton Valley alumni and current CVCHS families in the cold wintermonths before spring training starts again. There will be lots ofbaseball talk with guest speakers and Clayton Valley coaches past andpresent and former Eagle players who went on to college and pro-fessional careers. Door prizes, raffles and dinner all benefit CVCHSBaseball and its scholarship fund. The event is from 6-9:30 p.m. atShadelands Civic Arts Center, 111 N. Wiget Ln. at Ygnacio ValleyRd. in Walnut Creek. For more information and to buy tickets at $40each email coach Coakley at [email protected].

OAKHURST ORCAS HEAD SWIM COACH

JASMINE MILLAN RETURNS IN 2014Oakhurst Orcas are pleased to announce that head coach Jasmine

Millan will return for a third season in 2014. Millan has been coach-ing for over 15 years ranging in ability from novice level to college.She is also head coach of the Carondelet High School North CoastSection championship team. Her coaching philosophy is to teach allswimmers love for the sport of swimming through principles ofpositive self-imagery, dedication, cooperation, hard work, friend-ships and fun. Oakhurst Orcas registration dates are Mar. 12 andApr. 11 from 6:30-8 p.m. at Oakhurst Country Club. Early registra-tion discounts are available before March 12. Information is avail-able at oakhurstorcas.com.

YOUTH BASEBALL CLINIC

JAN. 2-3 AT CVCHSClayton Valley Charter High School head coach Casey Coakley

will conduct a Preseason Youth Baseball Clinic on Jan. 2-3 at the

school. This is an opportunity to youth baseball players to get readyfor upcoming tryouts and the 2014 season. It’s also a chance forfuture CVCHS Eagles to work with the school’s coaching staff andteam. Boys and girls five – 14 can participate. The sessions are 9a.m.-noon. Cost is $60. Email coach Coakley [email protected] for a registration form.

DIABLO FC SOCCER TRYOUTS FOR 2014 TEAMS COMING UPTryouts for girls and boys Diablo FC competitive teams in the

under 9 through U14 age groups will be held in February. Playersborn between Aug. 1, 2000 and July 31, 2006 can try out for teamsin Concord. U9-U11 tryouts are Feb. 1-9 while the U12-U14 agegroups will hold sessions Feb. 22-Mar. 2. There is no cost to try outand players can register in advance online at diablofc.org.

CVAA FALCONS POKER TOURNAMENT

FUNDRAISER SATURDAYProceeds from this Saturday’s poker tournament will benefit the

Clayton Valley Falcons cheerleading teams travel to national teamcompetition in Las Vegas. The tournament will be at ClaytonLibrary. Doors open at 6 p.m. with a silent auction, raffle, dinner,beer and wine before the tournament starts at 7:30. For more infor-mation call Kelli Brigance at (925) 260-8304 or visitcvaafalcons.com.

FALL YOUTH, ADULT PROGRAMS

COMING TO CLAYTON GYMA variety of programs at Clayton Community Gym are taking

signups now through All Out Sports League. Winter youth basket-ball league Dec. 28-Feb. 15 is now taking signups for players 4-16.Youth hip hop and jazz classes are every Monday for 5-16 year-olds.Zumba classes are Wednesday and Friday at 6 p.m. Blaze AAU bas-ketball (Dec. 21) and Blaze travel baseball tryouts for 11u-12u (Jan.4) are coming up. Registration for 2014 spring basketball academyand t-ball is open. For complete information on all the programs,visit alloutsportsleague.com.

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES SOCCER ACADEMY

RETURNS IN JANUARYSan Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer and Diablo FC are

holding the 13th annual Winter Soccer Academy on Mondays andThursdays Jan. 16-Feb. 27 under the lights at Willow Pass Park inConcord. Girls and boys 5-10 years of age and all skill levels are eli-gible for the Academy, which brings professional coaching experi-ence headed by St. Mary’s College men’s head coach Adam Cooperand Brazilian World Cup and Olympic player Tafa. For more infor-mation visit the Earthquakes Youth Alliance Partner’s website atdiablofc.org.

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TWO UNDER 14 GIRLS TEAMS FROM MDSA PROVED THERE IS VERY LITTLE TO SEPARATE THE SQUADS in two season-ending tournaments.Peru, coached by Anthony Campos, defeated Team USA in the finals of the MDSA World Cup in overtime 2-1 after the teamsdrew in regulation time. Emma Ramirez scored the game winning goal in the second overtime. The championship result wasreversed at the AYSO Area 2C Cup with MDSA Infinity (USA) defeating their sister MDSA team (Peru/Incas) 3-1 in the champi-onship match. Infinity jumped out with three first-half goals by Sarah Concepcion, Skylar Hellstrom and Claire Farley at the AreaCup to give the title to the team coached by Ruben Izon and Jose Soltero Jr. The teams (Peru/Incas in dark jerseys andUSA/Infinity in light) got together after the World Cup for a joint photo.

U14 PORTUGAL BOYS go back-to-back by winning the MDSAWorld Cup and then the AYSO Area 2C Cup. The team con-cludes its fall rec season next weekend in Foster City for theSection tournament. The MDSA World Cup final betweencoach Joern Weigelt’s Portugal and Croatia was a tight affair.Croatia tied the score in the dying seconds followed by twoscoreless overtimes. Paul Patterson scored the decisive penaltyin the sixth round of the shootout for the crown. Portugal thenwon four straight games including 2-0 over Concord AYSO 2in the Area Cup finale. Portugal includes (front, l to r), CliftonCooper, Liam Mason, Torin Neal, Max Schmidtbauer, ColinCox, Jacob Coppa, Adam Birder; (back) coach Joern Weigelt,Quinn Wilkinson, Ian Grimmond, John Cook, Niklas Weigelt,Caleb Wessel, Paul Patterson and assistant coach Mitch Cox.

Photos courtesy MDSA

TEAM RUSSIA DEFEATED JAPAN 3-0 IN THE FINALS OF THE MDSAWORLD CUP U12 GIRLS DIVISION. Russia “came together as ateam” in the World Cup, according to coaches Karen andRobb Halleybone. A week after the World Cup Japan/BlackWidows reversed that result with a 5-1 win in the champi-onship game of the AYSO Area 2C Cup for coach Mark Kelly.MDSA sister team Korea/Aftershock coached by Jeff Steeleywas third at Area Cup and also in the World Cup.Russia/Hyper Monkeys team included, front row from left,Jessica Myers, Lili Ryan, Gabbie Aguallo, Camille Jones; backrow, Reagan Bowerbank, Mady Hayworth, Morgan Pacini,Leilani Fabriquer, Emily McCormick, Laura Garcia-Miller,Elena Tung and Ava Halleybone.

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there for us since my mom(died) and everything,” Sammysaid. “Even though both of myparents have passed, we’vegained like 50 new parents.Every single parent I know hasbeen there for us.”

“I think communities thatare strong are the ones that takecare of the ones in hard times,”said CVCHS football coach TimMurphy “It wasn’t even a blink,the next day, people were askinghow they could help.”

Asked what was the onething they could really use in thisholiday season, Sammy was hes-itant.

“Once I get a car, I’ll bemobile,” she said finally. “I’ve

been walking to work a lot. I cango visit my sister when I have aday off. I’m taking classes fivedays a week. Having a car isgoing to change everything.”

NOT ALONE

The community is lending itssupport to another local familyas well.

While helping his team wingame after game, no one wouldguess that star CVCHS quarter-back Gabe Taylor and his familyare just hanging on, living in ashelter and counting on friendsto help them survive.

“They’ve held it togetherthrough really tough times,” saidMurphy of both Jacob andGabe. I think you figure outwho you are when the most dev-astating things happen to you.”

Gabe’s mom and his threesiblings have had strugglesthroughout their lives. MomDawn Bennett labored to keepthe family afloat with a series ofjobs, with no support from thechildren’s father. Despite herefforts, however, the family losttheir home in 2011 and wasforced to move in with friends,and then to a shelter. There, thefamily of five lives crowded intoa 350-square foot unit whileDawn fills out paperwork toqualify for disability and foodassistance programs.

Dawn told only a few peopleof their plight. Instead, she con-tinued marching forward, work-ing as a medical assistant untilagain life dealt her a blow, andan old back injury flared upagain, forcing her to stop work.

Learning of the situation oftheir star quarterback, and ofhis mom who could be foundcheerfully helping at team din-ners every week, the CVCHSfootball crew stepped forwardagain.

“They’ve been helping out alot,” said Gabe. “They all putgift cards down, they bought mesome slippers, Coach Murphbought me cleats. They give mymom gas cards and stuff, moneyto go shopping. The footballteam, they just think of every-one as a family.”

LOOKING AHEAD

Both Gabe and Sammy Kinghave been inspired by the helpthey’ve gained from the com-munity to help others them-selves.

As Gabe listed the reasonswhy he wants to be a firefightersomeday, his sense of humorglimmered through.

“One, because I want tohelp others,” he counted. “Twoit’s a steady job, and there’s a lotof benefits that come with it.And three, the dog. There’s

going to be a firefighter dogthere, I’m going to name himSpot.”

Asked what she plans to doonce she graduates college,Sammy said she hopes tobecome a chemotherapy special-ist like the ones who helped hermother at the hospital.

“When my mom was doingher chemotherapy, she lookedforward to seeing her nurse,”she said.

“Even though you’re goingthrough a bad situation, there’ssomething positive in your day,”Sammy said. “I want to be thatperson.”

Kim Lackey of Clayton, who establishedherself as a top flight tennis player over theyears, won a gold medal at the USA Pickle-ball Association’s National V tournament inwomen’s singles (50+) division last month.

The Nationals is the premiere sanctionedannual tournament hosted by the USA Pick-leball Association. Pickleball is widely recog-nized as America’s fastest growing sport.The game is played on a doubles bad-minton-sized court with the net lowered to34 inches at the center, with a polymer ballslightly smaller than a whiffle ball and pad-dles made of composite material.

With over 600 registered players, USAPANationals V in Arizona was the largest pick-leball tournament in the history of the sportwith players from 39 states plus Canada andthe Netherlands. Players competed for prizemoney and the event was played on 28

courts during a week of fast-paced play inboth open and age divisions.

Lackey was part of the original inductionclass of 2008 to the Clayton Valley HighSchool Athletic Hall of Fame for her tennisexploits. She has excelled on the UnitedStates Tennis Association senior circuit,including winning national titles at severalage groups.

She lost only one DVAL league match infour years for Clayton Valley and came backto coach girls and boys tennis at her almamater and also for over a decade at DiabloValley College.

According to David Jordan, tournamentco-chair and president of the USAPA,“Nationals is the USAPA’s signature eventeach year. The USAPA has proudly achieveda 23 percent increase in membership andunprecedented growth this year, thanks inpart to our 700 dedicated Ambassadors andthe explosion of new places to play pickle-ball across the country.”

King, Bennet families, from page 1


Sports

JAY BEDECARRÉ

Clayton Pioneer

Clayton resident Kim Lackey wins goldat USA Pickleball National Tournament

Photo courtesy USAPA

KIM LACKEY OF CLAYTON won a gold medalat the USA Pickleball Association’sNational V tournament in the women’ssingles (50+) division last month inArizona. The long-time tennis player ispart of America’s fastest growing sport.

The Major League Baseballoffseason has just begun andteams are already scrambling tomake signings of elite freeagents to improve their rosters.Already there has been a block-buster trade between the TexasRangers and the Detroit Tigers,the Tigers sending first basemanPrince Fielder to the Rangers inexchange for second basemanIan Kinsler.

For the two Bay Area base-ball teams, the Giants have beenthe big spenders so far, dolingout big contracts to re-signsome of their veterans, and alsosigning free agent pitcher TimHudson.

The Hudson signing was agreat move by Giant’s generalmanager Brian Sabean. Hudson,who is currently 38, signed atwo-year, $23 million contractwith the Giants on Nov. 18. Oneof the key weaknesses for theGiant last year was their poorand inconsistent starting pitch-ing. Hudson now solidifies thefourth starter’s role, and he willdo a great job doing so.

Last year Hudson posted a3.98 ERA and a 1.18 WHIPbefore his season was derailedby getting cleated in his anklewhile attempting to cover firstbase. This will be Hudson’s sec-ond run in the Bay Area in hiscareer, his first being with theOakland Athletics.

The A’s drafted Hudson inthe sixth round of the 1997draft, and he proved to be avaluable pitcher. In his rookieseason, Hudson had an 11-2

record and was honored asRookie of the Year for his greatseason. In the next season, hissecond year, Hudson was a win-ner of 20 games and was therunner up to the AL Cy Youngaward. Hudson Pitched in Oak-land until 2004, and then heplayed for the Atlanta Bravesfrom 2005 to 2013. He will nowbe joining the starting rotationwith Madison Bumgarner, MattCain, and Tim Lincecum.

The signing of Lincecumwas somewhat a shock. Lince-cum, in many aspects, is nomore than an average pitcher atthis stage of his career. Despitethis, the Giants were willing toshell out a 2-year, $35 milliondeal to him. The fact that Hud-son, a man in his late 30s, hasbeen pitching better than Lince-cum over the past few years andhe only received $9 million ayear, shows the respect the

Giants organization has forLincecum. One can’t help butthink this contract was some-what of a “thank you” deal, andone that was based heavily onthe marketing side.

The Giants have done adecent job so far in free agentsigning this year. Besides signingHudson and re-signing Lince-cum, they re-signed outfielderHunter Pence, relief pitcherJavier Lopez and fifth starterRyan Vogelsong. The Hudsonsigning will be very beneficialfor the Giants next season, butthe move to sign Lincecum forthe amount that he receivedleaves one scratching their head.

Tyler Lehman is a sophomore atDiablo Valley College and a 2012CVHS graduate. He plans to majorin journalism and wants to be a sportswriter. Email your comments or ques-tions to [email protected].

San Francisco Giants make bigpitch in offseason signings

TYLER LEHMAN

SPORTS TALK

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A memorial fund hasbeen set up for the Kingfamily at Wells FargoBank. Deposits can bemade at any Wells Fargousing account number3640420802. Checksshould be made out toThe King Family Fund.

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Your web experience willbe heightened by a little devicegaining big attention, the web-cam. Nothing says hello quiteas well as a picture with yoursmiling face. The message youare trying to get across to theother person is made morepowerful by the use of a webcam.

Just imagine the personsending you a message isshowing off their Thanksgiv-ing turkey and now you wantto show them yours (it’s 18pounds and looks to becooked way better than theirs).

So, you want to show offthat marvelous bird but youdon’t have a good web cam, orthe one you have is old, withlow resolution, slow connec-tions, fuzzy pictures, skippingframes, has glitches or doesn’teven work on your new com-

puter. Metaphorically it’s aturkey. What to do?

Easy answer; buy a newweb cam. Well, I looked onAmazon, and they have dozensof web cam offers – so whichone? Here’s my take on thissubject.

Any one you buy is proba-bly better than the one youalready have if you purchasedit two years ago or more. Youneed to plan for the future;you need a web cam with atleast 720p (pixels) to 1020presolution, auto focus options,USB connectors and compati-ble with Windows 7 ANDWindows 8. I found out thehard way a Windows XP camdoesn’t deliver the goods in aWindows 8 environmentbecause the software and hard-ware are antiques. I had to tossmy old Phillips cam. Yeah, thecam works in native mode, butit’s not so good.

To solve my low resolutionissue I purchased a MicrosoftHD-5000. That name soundspowerful doesn’t it?

The camera performs welland the pictures look topnotch at 720p, but (and youknew the “but” was coming)the software isn’t Windows 8compatible so the cam onlyworks in its basic mode. Themissing software detractsgreatly from the experience,but the software that is includ-ed is fine.

So, which one? I would recommend the

Microsoft Life Cam. Overall itworks great, is easy to setupand use, and the quality of thevideo is better than the othersI tested. Really nothing elsecomes close. So, happy shop-ping and remember the webcam for Christmas, I am surethe gift will be appreciated.

Merry Christmas from thegeeks at ComputersUSA andthank you for your support, itfeels like we’re family.

Webcams help bringfriends into focus

WILL CLANEY

TECH TALK

William Claney is an independenttech writer and former owner ofComputers USA in the ClaytonStation. Email questions or commentsto [email protected].

Out with the old webcam... ...in with the new.

[Editor’s Note: Regrettably, thiswill be Dr. Rymer’s last column forthe Pioneer. We (and our pets) aregrateful for 10 years of informativeand relevant articles.]

Recently, the FDA reachedout to veterinarians to assist intheir ongoing investigation ofmysterious pet illnesses associ-ated with jerky pet treat prod-ucts. The first reportsoccurred in 2007. As of Sept.24, 2013, 3600 dogs and 10cats worldwide have become ill

from ingesting jerky treatscontaining chicken, duck,sweet potato or dried fruit.There have been more than580 product related deaths.

The majority of these treatshave been made in China. Sofar the causal agent(s) have notbeen identified. In January of2013, the finding of antibioticresidues banned in foods led toa recall of Waggin’ Train andCanyon Creek Ranch treatsmade by Nestlé Purina PetCareCo., and Milo’s Kitchen by DelMonte. But to date the FDA isunsure that these residues arethe cause.

Sixty percent of complaintsthe FDA has received involvegastrointestinal illness with orwithout liver enzymes eleva-tion. Kidney or urinary illnessaccount for 30 percent, with

the last 10 percent including avariety of signs such asseizures, tremors, hives andskin irritations.

Decreased appetite, lethar-gy, vomiting, diarrhea,increased drinking andincreased urination are earlysigns of toxicity.

Within the urinary cases theFDA has had 135 reports ofFanconi Syndrome. In this dis-ease the proximal tubules inthe kidney are damaged, allow-ing essential metabolic nutri-ents such as glucose, bicarbon-ates and amino acids to leakinto the urine. This syndromehas previously been seen as ahereditary disease in Basenjisand Norwegian Elkhounds.But now it is the hallmark ofJerky Treat toxicity. There isno cure, but a special diet will

help control the progressiveelectrolyte imbalances andmetabolic acidosis that willeventually cause death.

If you suspect your petingested any of the abovementioned treats, see your vet-erinarian for an exam/consul-tation along with a blood andurine panel to screen for liverand kidney disease. Keep theremaining treats in their origi-nal bag and take to yourappointment. It is very impor-tant for the FDA to obtain lotnumbers from these bags.

In their “Dear Veterinari-an” letter issued on Oct. 22,the FDA requested that veteri-narians send in treats foranalysis to FDA’s VeterinaryLaboratory Investigation andResponse Network (Vet-LIRN). If screening lab tests

indicate disease, FDA mayrequest a urine Fanconi profilebe submitted to the Vet-LIRN.

The FDA also asks that vet-erinarians provide informationto the FDA Safety ReportingPortal regarding jerky pet treatillnesses. So any informationyou can supply to your veteri-narian regarding how longyour pet was eating the treats,whether you gave in pieces orwhole, and other foods ortreats you may have feed willbe helpful

Lastly, FDA requested thatveterinarians distribute thisfact sheet to our clients. Pleasevisit this website for moredetailed information:fda.gov/downloads/NewsEv-e n t s / N e w s r o o m / F a c t -Sheets/UCM371715.pdf.

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IN CLAYTONDDeecc.. 66 -- 3311AA HHeeaarrtt ffoorr CChhrriissttmmaassWalk through a winter wonderland of lasers, snow machines andover 15,500 lights on one acre of property. 5 – 9 p.m. Weekends5 – 11 p.m. 1185 Pine Lane, [email protected].

DDeecc.. 77AAnnnnuuaall CCaarroolliinngg aanndd TTrreeee LLiigghhttiinnggDowntown festivities. Carriage rides 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. Caroling,followed by Santa, tree lighting and refreshments starting at 6p.m. Grove Park to Main and Oak Streets, Clayton. Free. ClaytonBusiness and Community Association 672-2272.

DDeecc.. 1122CCllaayyttoonn PPiioonneeeerr CCooookkiiee CCoonntteessttBake a batch of your best Christmas cookies. Live music andSanta at the judging party. 6:30 – 8 p.m. Clayton Library, 6125Clayton Road. Free. Register by Dec. 10. Clayton Pioneer 672-0500.

DDeecc.. 1144DDeesssseerrtt wwiitthh MMrrss.. CCllaauussPrizes, party favors. Bring camera. Children must be accompa-nied by an adult. 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Endeavor Hall, 6008 CenterSt., Clayton. Donations appreciated. Clayton Business andCommunity Association 672-2272.

DDeecc.. 1155CChhrriissttmmaass HHoommee TToouurrSelf-guided tour of six homes in Clayton beautifully decorated forthe holidays. 12 – 7 p.m. Rain or shine. Starts at ClaytonMuseum, 6101 Main St. $30. Proceeds benefit the ClaytonHistorical Society. claytonhistory.org. Call 672-7680 or [email protected].

FFiirrsstt TThhuurrssddaayyssOOaakkhhuurrsstt BBuussiinneessss NNeettwwoorrkkMeets first Thursday of the month for social hour. Hosted horsd’oeuvres, cash bar. 6 – 7:30 p.m. Oakhurst Country Club, 1001Peacock Creek Drive, Clayton. oakhurstcc.com.

IN CONCORDTTuueessddaayyss FFaarrmmeerrss’’ MMaarrkkeettTuesdays year round, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Todos Santos Plaza,downtown Concord. cityofconcord.org.

TThhaannkkssggiivviinngg tthhrruu CChhrriissttmmaassMMrr.. CChhrriissttmmaassSee 50,000 lights celebrating 35 years of creative holiday lightdecorations at Mr. Xmas’ house. 5208 Olive Dr., Concord.

DDeecc.. 66HHoolliiddaayy CCoonncceerrttVintage performs holiday favorites and new music. 7:30 p.m. St.Bonaventure Church, 5562 Clayton Road, Concord. Free. vin-tagetrio.com.

DDeecc.. 77TTrreeee LLiigghhttiinngg,, CCoonnccoorrddSanta, entertainment, Mayor’s sing along and tree lighting. 4 –7:30 p.m. Todos Santos Plaza, Willow Pass Road between Mt.Diablo and Grant Streets, Concord. concordfirst.org. 671-3464.

DDeecc.. 99HHoossppiiccee TTrreeee ooff LLiigghhttss Annual ceremony. 5:30 p.m. John Muir Medical Center parkinglot, East Street and Almond Avenue, Concord. Donations accept-ed. Hospice of the East Bay. 887-5678.

ON THE MOUNTAINMount Diablo Interpretive Association programs listed are freewith the exception of park entrance fee. Go to mdia.org and clickon Events Calendar for more information.

DDeecc.. 2211WWiinntteerr SSoollssttiiccee SSaauunntteerrCelebrate the shortest day of the year by hiking up one ofMount Diablo’s shortest satellite spurs, Twin Peaks. 9:30 a.m. –2 p.m. Meet at Mitchell Canyon Visitor Center. Reservationsrequired.

Save Mount Diablo programs listed are free unless otherwisenoted. Go to savemountdiablo.org and click on Activities/GuidedHikes for more information. 947-3535.

DDeecc.. 1144FFiirree VViieewwssSee the effects of the Morgan Fire on a hike from Clayton to thesummit of Mount Diablo. Extremely difficult hike; experiencedhikers only. 9 a. m. – 3 p.m. Meet at end of Mountaire Parkway,Clayton.

DDeecc.. 2211PPoosstt FFiirree HHiikkeeJoin professional botanist and SMD Board Member HeathBartosh on a tour to better understand the post-fire impacts tothe chaparral plant community. Moderately difficult hike. 9 a.m.– 2 p.m. Meet at SMD’s Wright Canyon property, 4390 MorganTerritory Road, Clayton. Registration required: 947-3535 [email protected].

EVENTS & ENTERTAINMENTDDeecc.. 66 --88 AArrttiissttss’’ MMaarrkkeett Sponsored by Civic Arts Education and Clay Arts Guild. Artistsexhibit a wide variety of artwork for sale at two locations.Shadelands, 111 N. Wiget Lane; Civic Park, 1313 Civic Drive,Walnut Creek. arts-ed.org or clayartsguild.com. 943-5846.

DDeecc.. 66 -- 88,, 1133 -- 1155““AAllaaddddiinn JJrr..””The story of the teenage Cleopatra who is magically transportedinto the 21st century. California Theatre, 351 Railroad Ave.,Pittsburg. $10-$20. pittsburgcommunitytheatre.org. 439-7529.

DDeecc.. 66 –– 1155NNoorrtthh PPoollee RReevvuueeChristmas family show presented by CCT, Inc. Lesher Center forthe Arts, 1601 Civic Dr., Walnut Creek. $14.50.lesherartscenter.org. 943-7469.

DDeecc.. 66 -- 2288““AA CChhrriissttmmaass CCaarrooll””True to the spirit of Charles Dickens’ timeless story of redemptionwith a playful sensibility to his rich language. AmericanConservatory Theater, 415 Geary St., San Francisco. act-sf.org.(415) 749-2228.

DDeecc.. 77CCaasshh TTrriibbuuttee SShhoowwFeaturing James Garner delivering the Man in Black’s music withconviction, accuracy, sincerity and honesty. 8 p.m. El CampanilTheatre, 602 W. Second St., Antioch. $25-$27. elcampanilthe-atre.com.

DDeecc.. 77HHoolliiddaayy CCoonncceerrttDiablo Women’s Chorale performs Home for the Holidays. 3p.m. Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church, 55 Eckley Lane,Walnut Creek. $10-$15. diablowomenschorale.org.

DDeecc.. 88AAnn EEaasstt CCoouunnttyy CChhrriissttmmaassThe Summerset Singers, an East County Senior Chorus, performsChristmas music favorites and an original composition by NancyBachmann. 3 p.m. El Campanil Theatre, 602 W. Second St.,Antioch. $5-$15. elcampaniltheatre.com.

DDeecc.. 99HHoolliiddaayy CCoonncceerrttSing along to holiday favorites performed by the Walnut CreekChorus. Reception follows. 7:30 p.m. Trinity Lutheran Church,2317 Buena Vista Ave., Walnut Creek. $10-$12. 935-3360.

DDeecc.. 1122,, 1155““CChhrriissttmmaass BBeelllleess””Southern fried comedy revolving around the antics of the Futrellesisters performed by Onstage Theatre Repertory. MartinezCampbell Theater, 636 Ward St., Martinez. $10-$18. [email protected]. 518-3277.

DDeecc.. 1122 –– 2222““AA CChhrriissttmmaass CCaarrooll””Brimming with music and dance, love and laughter and scaryghosts. Performed by Center REP. Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601Civic Dr., Walnut Creek. $41-$49. centerrep.org. 943-7469.

DDeecc.. 1144HHoolliiddaayy CCoonncceerrttOakland East Bay Gay Men’s Chorus sings holiday classics aswell as African, spiritual and gospel-style music. 7:30 p.m.Clayton Valley Presbyterian Church, 1578 Kirker Pass Road,Clayton. $5-$25. oebgmc.org.

DDeecc.. 1144IIlllluussiioonn FFuussiioonnAlex Ramon Magic. 3 and 7 p.m. Lesher Center for the Arts,1601 Civic Dr., Walnut Creek. $37. lesherartscenter.org. 943-7469.

DDeecc.. 1199 –– 2200““AA CChhrriissttmmaass CCaarrooll””Abridged reading of the story, including puppets. Cue ProductionsLive, 1835 Colfax St., Concord. $20-$25. b8company.com.

DDeecc.. 1199 –– 2222““TThhee BBiiggggeesstt GGiifftt””Join the fun and laughter as Tucker the Elf and the toys set out tosave Christmas. Performed by Fantasy Forum Actors Ensemble.Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Dr., Walnut Creek. $14.lesherartscenter.org. 943-7469.

DDeecc.. 2200GGuuiittaarr SSeerriieessMarc Teicholz plays classical guitar. 7:15 p.m. Lesher Center forthe Arts, 1601 Civic Dr., Walnut Creek. $25. lesherartscenter.org.943-7469.

DDeecc.. 2211 -- 2222““TThhee NNuuttccrraacckkeerr””Performed by The Ballet Company of East County. 12 and 4 p.m.El Campanil Theatre, 602 W. Second St., Antioch. $16-$20.elcampaniltheatre.com.

DDeecc.. 2233HHoommee ffoorr tthhee HHoolliiddaayyssHoliday-themed program for families with the CaliforniaSymphony and special guests Pacific Boychoir. 7:30 p.m. LesherCenter for the Arts, 1601 Civic Dr., Walnut Creek. $15-$65.lesherartscenter.org. 943-7469.

CHURCHES AND RELIGIONDDeecc.. 66 –– 77““TThhee SSttaarr ooff BBeetthhlleehheemm””Was this a holy happening or just happenstance? Family movienight. Refreshments served. Friday at 7 p.m. Saturday at 6 p.m.Crossroads Covenant Church, 5353 Concord Blvd., Concord.Free. 798-5905.

DDeecc.. 1133AAddvveenntt CCoonncceerrttThe St. Bonaventure Resurrection Choir tells the Christmas storythrough song, heavenly images and the written word. 6 – 8:30p.m. St. Bonaventure, Main Sanctuary, 5562 Clayton Road,Concord. Free concert. Holiday boutique in foyer benefitingchurch’s food pantry. stbonaventure.net.

FUNDRAISERSTThhrruu DDeecceemmbbeerrFFoooodd DDrriivveeDrop off canned food on weekdays between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.KinderCare, 6095 Main St., Clayton. 672-9370.

DDeecc.. 77HHoolliiddaayy CCrraafftt FFaaiirrFundraiser sponsored by Ayers Elementary School Parent TeacherAssociation. Multiple vendors, hand made items, raffles and food.9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Ayers, 5120 Myrtle Drive, Concord. For moreinformation, contact [email protected].

DDeecc.. 88SSuuppeerr HHoolliiddaayy BBoouuttiiqquueeSpecial, one-of-a-kind gifts. Free arts and crafts, entertainmentand Santa photo opportunity. Benefiting Food Bank of ContraCosta and Solano and Contra Costa Suzuki Strings. 11 a.m. – 4p.m. Centre Concord, 5298 Clayton Road, Concord. Free admis-sion. concordholidayexpo.com.

DDeecc.. 1144FFoooodd DDrriivveeMovie, lion dance and Kung Fu demonstration. 5 p.m. Tat WongKung Fu Academy, 5100 Clayton Road, A10, Concord. $5 or 5canned goods donation requested for Food Bank of Contra Costaand Solano. Academy: 288-0900.

DDeecc.. 1144RRoocckkSSkkoooollTribute band performs rock music benefiting Mount Diablo MusicEducation Foundation. 9 p.m. Blu42 Lounge, 1251 Arroyo Way,Walnut Creek. $15. mdmef.org.

DDeecc.. 1144TTooyy DDrriivveeCVCHS Men’s Lacrosse team is collecting new, unwrapped toysfor children ages 11 and under for the Bay Area Crisis Nursery.10 a.m. – 2 p.m. The gazebo at Grove Park, downtown Clayton.For more information, contact Ben or Tracey Morse at 207-0382.

DDeecc.. 1155TThhee WWoorrlldd ooff WWeebbbbeerrA cabaret tribute to the songs of Andrew Lloyd Webber benefitingthe Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano. 2:30 p.m. LesherCenter for the Arts, 1601 Civic Dr., Walnut Creek. $25-$30.lesherartscenter.org. 943-7469.

AT THE LIBRARYThe Clayton Library is at 6125 Clayton Road. Programs are freeunless otherwise noted. claytonlibrary.org or 673-0659.

WWeeddnneessddaayyssBBooookk BBuuddddiieessA volunteer will read stories for children 3 and older. 1 - 2 p.m.Call in advance.

DDeecc.. 1111HHoolliiddaayy DDaannccee AArroouunndd tthhee WWoorrllddJoin Nicola Clay for dances and games from around the worldcelebrating the season. Fun for the whole family. 6 p.m.

The Concord Library is at 2900 Salvio St. ccclib.org or 646-5455.

DDeecc.. 66 -- 88BBooookk SSaalleeHardcovers $1. Paperbacks $.50. Children’s books $.25-$.50.Fri. 1 – 8 p.m. Sat. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Sun. 1 – 4 p.m. $3/bag.

DDeecc.. 77CCoommppuutteerrss aanndd TTeecchhnnoollooggyyIf you need help with your mouse, come to our house. Drop-inassistance to learn how to use computers, smart phones andtablets. 12 - 2 p.m. Additional dates and times offered. Checklibrary calendar.

DDeecc.. 77,, 1144CCoovveerreedd CCaalliiffoorrnniiaaJoin representatives from Covered California’s CommunityOutreach Network to find the answers about the new health-care program. Enrollment counselors on site to sign you up. 10a.m. – 3 p.m.

DDeecc.. 1144HHoolliiddaayy DDaannccee AArroouunndd tthhee WWoorrllddJoin us for festive dances from around the world. 3 p.m.

DDeecc.. 1166MMoovviiee NNiigghhttShowing PG-rated film with Christmas theme. Kids 5 – 11. 7p.m. Registration required.

SCHOOLSTThhrruu JJaann.. 2299OOppeenn EEnnrroollllmmeennttEnrollment for Clayton Valley Charter High School is openthrough Jan. 29 at 4 p.m. Eighth grade Parent Information Nightis Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. Academy Information meeting is Jan. 16 at 7p.m. claytonvalley.org. 682-7474.

DDeecc.. 77BBrreeaakkffaasstt wwiitthh SSaannttaaHot breakfast, picture with Santa, crafts for kids. Donate newstuffed animals for firefighters and EMTs to hand out to childrenduring crisis; chance to win wreath. 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. CauchiHall, St. Agnes School, 3886 Chestnut Ave., Concord. $12 ages5 and up. 689-3990.

GOVERNMENT11sstt aanndd 33rrdd TTuueessddaayyssCCllaayyttoonn CCiittyy CCoouunncciill7 p.m. Hoyer Hall, Clayton Library, 6125 Clayton Road. 673-7304 or ci.clayton.ca.us.

22nndd aanndd 44tthh TTuueessddaayyssCCllaayyttoonn PPllaannnniinngg CCoommmmiissssiioonn7 p.m., Hoyer Hall, Clayton Library, 6125 Clayton Road. 673-7304 or ci.clayton.ca.us.

11sstt,, 22nndd aanndd 44tthh TTuueessddaayyss,, eexxcceepptt DDeecc.. 2244CCoonnccoorrdd CCiittyy CCoouunncciill6:30 p.m., Council Chamber, Concord Civic Center, 1950Parkside Dr. cityofconcord.org.

Meeting dates and times for local clubs and organizations are listed at claytonpioneer.com.

Community CalendarPLEASE SUBMIT YOUR CLAYTON COMMUNITY CALENDAR EVENTS BY 5 P.M. DEC. 11 FOR THE DEC. 20 ISSUE. ITEMS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY EMAIL TO [email protected]


Civic Arts Education’s DanceAcademy and Diablo Ballet com-bine to celebrate the magic of theseason with a festive Winter BalletGala. Rich in holiday culture fromaround the world, the WinterBallet Gala features an array ofmusic and dance, both classicaland contemporary, whichembraces celebrations of all peo-ple and many countries.

The second half of the pro-gram will include “The Magic ofthe Nutcracker” featuring DiabloBallet’s professional dancersJennifer Dille (Sugar Plum Fairy)and Edward Stegge (NutcrackerPrince), as well as Bay Area per-former Lewis Smith (MotherGinger).

An accomplished dancer,Stegge has performed with major

ballet companies across theUnited States in such classics as“Sleeping Beauty,” “TheNutcracker,” and “The LittlePrince.”

Dille performed with EugeneBallet/Ballet Idaho, AmericanRepertory Ballet and PeninsulaBallet Theatre before joiningInland Pacific Ballet in 2002 as asoloist. She made her debut withDiablo Ballet in March 2012 per-forming in “Dancing Miles” and“Fluctuating Hemlines.”

An Alamo resident, Smith hasbeen performing in local theaterfor many years. “The first year Idid Mother Ginger was around2000 at the Village Theatre inDanville and my skirt could bare-ly fit through the door,” recallsSmith. “One of the audiencemembers approached our direc-tor after the show to tell her howglad she was that they were able tobring Mother Ginger back onstage after a hiatus of a few years,but that she had to confess thatshe had never seen such an uglywoman in her life. I guess I shouldtake that as a compliment.”

The professional dancers willperform with Dance Academystudents from Levels II, III,including Clayton’s Emily Payne,and the Intermediate andAdvanced Professional Trainingprogram. “It’s wonderful experi-ence for these young dancers toperform with such talented pro-fessional dancers, especially sincemany of them hope to have aprofessional career themselves,”

says program director RebeccaBerke.

The Winter Ballet Gala will beheld Dec. 13 and 14 at Del Valle

Theatre, 1963 Tice Valley Road inWalnut Creek. For more informationand tickets, visit leshercenter.org or call925-943-SHOW.

Make your plans now for The East Bay’s Favorite Holiday Show

Christmas Revels

Scottish Rite Theater, 1547 Lakeside Drive, OaklandFridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.,

www.californiarevels.org or (510) 452-8800

Features a cast of 65,

period songs & dances,

comedy, gorgeous

costumes, & stories

from many traditions to

celebrate the Season.

Dec. 13-15, &Dec. 20-22

The 28thAnnual


Ballet Gala features classic dance, Nutcracker traditions

MAKENZIE WERNHOLM

Jim Hudak, a pianist-compos-er from Clayton, has won theprestigious Zone Music Reporteraward for “Best Holiday CD ofthe Year” for 2012. His latest CD,“Embracing Winter,” was com-pleted near the end of last yearand received substantial airplayaround the world from broadcast-ers who vote on the award.

“The tangible recognition foryour work is always nice,” saysHudak. “We all appreciate thatstamp of public approval whenwe get it, and receiving this awardwas an honor.”

Hudak and his wife, Linda,flew to New Orleans in May toattend the awards presentations.

“Embracing Winter” wasrecorded entirely in Hudak’shome studio, with engineeringand production assistance fromJon Lesher, a Martinez resident.The CD also includes perform-ances from several other localmusicians. The album containsnumerous traditional holidaysongs, both well-known andobscure, along with four originalcompositions. All of the songsare piano based instrumentals

except the final track, “RememberThe Child,” which showcasesHudak on lead vocals and fellowClayton resident , Mary MacPropersi, on harmony vocals.

“Bridging Textures,” Hudak’sprevious CD, continues to receivesteady airplay on satellite radiostations worldwide. It was co-pro-duced by Will Ackerman, founderof Windham Hill Records, and isregarded as a classic recording.

A Clayton resident since 1997,Hudak is an accomplished per-former, composer, and recordingartist who continues to performsteadily in the Bay Area andaround the United States. He hasreleased six CD’s on his inde-pendently owned BrainstormRecords label and many of hisoriginal compositions are pub-lished with his Savvy MusicPublishing Company (SESAC).He was a music rights executivefor ASCAP and SESAC for 16years before returning to his artis-tic roots in 1996. He has lived andperformed in Portland, Seattle,Los Angeles, Nashville andPittsburgh, PA, though he plansto stay in the Bay Area going for-ward. While piano is his maininstrument, he is also plays guitar.

Zone Music Reporter is a musicmagazine that reviews and tracks air-play for many “non-mainstream” genresof recorded music.

Clayton’s Jim Hudak winsnational award for holiday CD

JIM HUDAK

The newly formed ClaytonTheatre Company, flush with thesuccess of their inaugural show,“Robber Bridegroom,” will beauditioning performers for their2014 season.

Hopefuls should come readyto audition with 32 bars of a

Broadway song (please providemusic), a prepared monologueand a resume and headshot.

Auditions are set for Jan. 5from noon to 5 and Jan. 6 and 7from 7-10 p.m. at Diablo ViewMiddle School, 300 Diablo ViewLane in Clayton. Park in the

back of the school and followthe signs to the auditions.

To download audition form go toClaytonTheatreCompany.com. Call(925) 222-9106for appointment timeor [email protected].

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*Minimums and restrictions apply.

Cannot be combined with any other offer

and on any previously booked events.

Events must occur between November 1,

2013 and December 31, 2013.

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Nearly 100 percent of all arti-chokes grown commercially inthe United States are grown inCalifornia. Three-quarters ofCalifornia’s total acreage lies with-in Monterey County where arti-chokes are grown year-round.The California climate allows theartichokes to plump up andround out before reaching maturi-ty and harvest. The spring andwinter artichokes will be moreconical in shape that their latespring cousins and many will havea more purplish tinge to theirouter petals. They’re available atyour local farmers’ market and

add color and texture to your hol-iday meals.

Look for fat, firm-lookingbuds with dense, tightly packedleaves of uniform dusty green.Lots of black spots, tired color oropen leaves indicate an older arti-choke that will have a woodytaste. When selecting an arti-choke, pull back the central leavesand look at the heart. If there isno black inside, the artichoke isgood. Artichokes are quite perish-able. Use them as soon as possi-ble. Refrigerate for no more thana week.

Artichokes are deliciousserved either hot or cold. But,most people like them warm. Toeat, pull off outer petals one at a

time. Dip the base of the petalinto a sauce – mayonnaise andmelted butter are traditionalfavorites. Then pull the leafthrough your teeth to remove thepulpy section. Discard theremaining petal.

Continue until you reach theheart of the matter where you willspoon out the fuzzy center at thebase and discard. The heart, orbottom, of the artichoke is entire-ly edible and the best part – defi-nitely worth all the work to getthere.

TO STEAM

Place prepared artichoke on arack above an inch or two of boil-ing water. Cover and steam 25 to

45 minutes, or until petal near thecenter pulls out easily.

ON THE GRILL

Spread the artichoke leavesapart gently. Sprinkle with salt andpour oil and vinegar over them.

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As we age everythingchanges; our outlook, our bod-ies, even our complexions. Withage our skin tone tends to fade,as well as the color of our hairand eyebrows. Therefore, make-up takes on an even moreimportant role in our overallappearance. It can either makeor break the way we look.

Too much makeup can addyears to your face. Makeupshould enhance your features,not overpower them. Too littlemakeup or using neutrals likebeige or taupe can leave youlooking washed out, while darkshades or neon brights can make

you look to harsh. As we getolder, some of the best colorchoices are soft, fresh hues likeberry, rose, pink and apricot tohelp define your features andadd vibrancy.

To find your middle ground,you have to experiment. Start bylooking in the mirror with a bareface. What don’t you like? If youdon’t like your eyes, try wearinga bright lipstick to distract atten-tion away from them. Or youcan practice lining your eyes tomake them look more defined,but stay away from black liner. Itcan actually make your eyes looksmaller. Remember light colorslift so use a bone eye shadow allover your lid and under yourbrows.

If you don’t like the shape ofyour lips, cover them with foun-dation and use a lip pencil tocorrect the lip-line. If lipstick

feathering is a problem, use aclear lip liner to keep color inplace. If your lips are too thin,and fillers are not for you, cheata bit by lining the outer structur-

al ridge of your lips rather thanthe color portion.

For spare eyebrows, fill themin with Votre Vu brow definer(votrevu.com) to make themlook full without the heavy, flatlook of a pencil. And alwaysbrush brows up. Use clear mas-cara to keep them in place.

To enhance your cheekbones,don’t use a powder or bronzer tocontour. Instead apply a slightlydeeper shade of foundation inthe hollows of your cheeks andblend, blend, blend. It gives asoftness that doesn’t exist withcontour powder.

No matter whether you’re 16or 70, a stained lip and flushedcheek look beautiful.

Live long and pester!


See artichokes, page 20

Even the best looking lookbetter with the right makeup

JUDITH MARSHALL

FASHION OVER 50

Judith Marshall is the author of“Husbands May Come and Go butFriends are Forever.” Send commentsto [email protected].

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Peel some fun out of holiday meals with artichokes

For some of us, the garage is aneat and orderly space where westore seasonal items in perfectlyplaced bins, keep the pet food inair tight canisters with decorativescoops hanging nearby, and parkone or two cars where the cementfloor is covered by interlockingPVC tiles to keep the floor asclean from oil and debris. For therest of us, well, the garage is moreof an out-of-sight, out-of-mindstorage space that we’re afraid toenter for fear we may not comeout.

If you fall under the secondcategory, don’t fret. Half of thebattle here is truthfully acknowl-edging the fact that your garage isunorganized. The second half ofthe battle is knowing what stepsto take in order to create a garagethat is actually useful.

So, get your gloves on, startsorting through your treasures,and let’s think strategically aboutyour garage.

CABINETRY AND STORAGE

Cabinetry is very importantwhen designing a garage.Whether your cabinetry consistsof closed cabinet doors or openshelving, work with the space youhave. Every vertical inch of wallspace is precious square footage.Just like your kitchen cabinetry,think about how you’d like to livein your garage. Do you need abank of multiple sized drawersfor everything from nuts andbolts to hand tools and electricalcords? How about an armoirefor larger garden tools? Or maybe

just a wall of open shelves thathouses a specific sized bin, fiverows up and 10 columns wide.

Whether you work with a cab-inet builder or contractor to cre-ate a personalized layout, or pur-chase modular cabinetry fromDIY home stores, think outsideof the box to create a cabinet lay-out that works for your storageand project needs.

MULTIPURPOSE PLAY SPACE

The garage doesn’t have to bea dark and dreary place to storethe lawn mower and boxes of taxreceipts from the last decade orso. Consider turning your garageinto a space that is useful andpractical for your life.

Do you need an outdoorspace for the kids to play when itrains? What if you were to paintthe garage walls a cheerful coloror two, create a storage wall forbats and balls and jump ropes,and even paint a race track on thecement floor for the kids to par-ticipate in the Indy 500.

What about creating a wine“cellar?” Designate a corner inthe garage that is perhaps a sec-ondary party prep space. Installone or two wine coolers (one forwhite, one for red) and next to thecoolers an ice machine. The uppercabinets could house all of your

wine accessories from ice bucketsto decanters.

You can also turn a corner, orall, of your garage into a home

gym. Create a workout spacewith all the necessary gym equip-ment you desire. Yoga mats,weights or cardio machines, thegarage has the perfect squarefootage to create the gym ofyour dreams. Include lightingthat can be dimmed, appropriatepaint colors to create an inspiringworkout space, and floor cover-ings either underneath the work-out equipment or a space for youto stretch.

With planning, your garage canbe more than just a black hole

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Please drop by and donate a new, unwrapped toy for the Toys for Tots drive.

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‘Tis the season for cyclamen.This color spot fulfills our needfor flowers in a garden or con-tainer from fall through mid-spring. Cyclamen are extremelyhardy, and simple to grow.

Unfortunately, this perennialis used and abused. They’repopped into our entryway con-tainers, and used as decoration inthe home. Then they’re tossedinto the compost or green wasteat the first signs of spring. This isno way to treat this tuberousperennial.

Cyclamen flowers haveupswept petals in various colorsand a nose that always pointsdown. Flower heads are held onsturdy, fleshy stems. They havefive petals that model a cupshape. A flower rosette forms atthe base of this plant’s tuber, anduncurls itself towards the sky.The leaves of cyclamen are inter-esting with their varied markingsof cream on green. Most cycla-men will reach 10- to 12-inchestall and about 1-foot wide.

Cyclamen are grouped inseries. Latinia and Maxora areboth reliable families of cycla-men. The Maxora series of cycla-men is very familiar looking andits hardiness to frost makes it agreat Clayton Valley installation.Maxora has a large flower headon very compact, thick stems.Maxora Bright Red is the perfect

red to accent your holidays fromChristmas through Valentine’sDay. Latina Deep Magenta is adark rich wine color. Laser Whiteis a crisp, winter white color. Itmakes a wonderful complimentwith the reds and wines of thegarden bed or container.

Proper planting instructionsshould be followed withinstalling cyclamen. First rulewith planting cyclamen is take asmuch of the growing mediumoff of your new plant as you can.Notice I said growing mediumand not soil. Plants that are typi-cally used and abused are grownin a light, peat-like mix thatallows roots to grow very fast.This medium, however, isn’tgood for the long term. It can besoggy and slimy if over-watered,and is very hard to re-wet ifallowed to dry out. You will haveto remove the growing medium,

and replant using soil. If you areinstalling into a container, use aprofessional blend of pottingsoil. If planting into the ground,use a planting mix.

Fertilize your cyclamen dur-ing the winter months with awater soluble formula. Use 3-20-20, or 2-10-10 for best results.

Cyclamen are shade-lovingperennials. They deserve tothrive in your Clayton Valleylandscape.

Don’t use and abuse them.Don’t discard them. Transplantfrom your containers, or bordersto the shade when they finishblooming. Cyclamen die back assummer warms and the soil dries,and they re-emerge in the fall tothrill you all over again.


artichokes, from page 18

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Place the artichokes, stem sidedown, on a rack and grill themover coals. The heat should begentle so that the artichokes cookthrough without burning. Turnartichokes on side, turning fre-quently, for 30 minutes. Beforeserving the artichokes, remove thecharred outer leaves.

IN THE POT

Stand prepared artichoke indeep saucepan or pot with threeinches of boiling water. Addlemon juice, oil or seasonings, ifdesired. Cover and boil gently for25 to 40 minutes, or until petalnear the center pulls out easily.

Thrilling cyclamen is holiday treat

dec 06 clayton pioneer 2013

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