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July 12, 2013
Revelers brave blazing heat for 40th anniversary of Clayton’s July 4 parade JULIE PIERCE
MAYOR’S CORNER Family Fair proves to be a hot attraction What a scorcher of a Fourth of July we had! Clayton’s Fourth is always the best, but this time it was one of the hottest, too. But no matter the heat, we can always count on our Clayton folks to make it a great day. Speaking of great local folks, I want to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate Clayton’s own Emma Hall, 15, on the outstanding job she did organizing and running our Clayton Family Fair and Picnic on Saturday, June 29. You’ll see some of the pictures of the fun events posted here in the Pioneer (page 3). For the hardy people who volunteered to help and those who came to participate on one
See Mayor, page 3
Clayton and Concord wrestle with new budgets PEGGY SPEAR Clayton Pioneer
Creating – and sticking with – a municipal budget is tough in the best of times, but add in uncertain pension costs, an stillrocky economy and troublesome implementation of new financial software, and you get a perfect storm of monetary woes for the cities of Concord and Clayton. As the fiscal year 2013-14 dawned on July 1, both Contra Costa's largest city and its much
See Budgets, page 6
CONGRATULATIONS TO TIFFANY WELKER WHOSE PHOTO OF THE VIET NAM ERA HUEY HELICOPTER FLYOVER was the winning photo in the Clayton Pioneer July 4 Photo Contest. With Clayton’s streetlamp and flag in the foreground and the helicopter above, the photo best captured this year’s theme of “Community and Country.” Tiffany wins $100. For the other winners, see page 4.
Even blistering temperatures couldn’t keep Claytonians away from the annual Fourth of July Celebration. Tradition holds strong and for the 40th year, Main Street, awash with red, white and blue, was lined with crowds cheering on and waving as the parade made its short, but important, way from one end of town to the other. The first “official” Clayton July 4 celebration was in 1896 when “A Cordial Invitation” was extended to all for a “17764th of July Grand Celebration.” In 1973, a group of residents resurrected the tradition with a July 4 celebration in the eucalyptus grove at the east end of Main Street – what is now The Grove park. Those celebrations were all day family events that included old-fashioned games and food supplied by local eateries. Senator John Nejedly was Grand Marshall in the 1973 event and the parade kicked off with a bicycle
See 4th of July, page 4
Clayton woman at full speed to complete 25 half-marathons PEGGY SPEAR Clayton Pioneer
Twenty-five is a significant number for Robin Cutter these days. She recently celebrated her 25th wedding anniversary, and it is one-half her age – and her husband’s. And her daughter will turn 25 this year. It’s also the number of halfmarathons the Clayton woman plans to complete in just one year. Cutter is well on her way to her goal, the finish line being the Pomona Half Marathon on Dec. 15 – the event she kicked off her personal journey with last Dec. 9. And she’s doing all to bring awareness and support for her pet causes, the American Stroke Association and American Heart
Association. “I just want to give back,” Cutter says. She is no stranger to elite running, having trained for and ran her first half-marathon back in 2008 – just after her father died after a heart attack. She is currently a coach for the Start! program for the AHA, a charity-based race training plan whose motto is “We get you from the couch to the finish line.” Heart disease and strokes are prevalent in Cutter’s family, she says. She saw her father experience two heart attacks and her mother and grandparents suffer strokes. A neighbor’s stroke at age 46 woke her up to her own threat, so she took matters into her own hands – or more appropriately, legs. “I want to bring awareness to
the fact that women suffer strokes as often or more often than men, and even at younger ages,” she says. “We believe it’s because many of us shrug off the symptoms, and are especially vulnerable to stress,” she says. In just five short years she has completed 50 half-marathons, and has 15 more to go this year to reach her goal. As a freelance bookkeeper, Cutter didn’t have much time to run races in the early part of 2013, during the busy tax season. But from the first week in May she has upped her pace, and has run six 13-milers in the past seven weeks. Although most of the races are held in northern California, Cutter says she is using her mission to do a little traveling. Besides several races in southern California, she
Crash victim still critical but improving A 51-year-old Brentrio, 21, jumped the wood motorcyclist median into oncoming remains in the hospital in traffic and hit critical condition and a 21Tomaszewski head-on. year-old Clayton woman She continued on after faces criminal DUI the collision, finally hitcharges after a head-on ting a pole in the center collision on Clayton Road divide in front of the on June 27. Clayton City Hall. MARK Mark Tomaszewski She failed the field was headed home after TOMASZEWSKI sobriety test at the work about 5:40. He was scene and was arrested traveling in the southbound lane for DUI. Witnesses at the scene when a northbound Toyota say they heard her tell officers Corolla driven by Jessica Mercu- she was texting when she lost
control. According to Clayton Police Chief Chris Thorsen, criminal charges are pending final toxicology reports. Tomaszewski sustained life threatening injuries and remains in critical condition at John Muir Medical Center. According to his brother, Tomaszewski is “improving some every day.” He is responsive to voice commands and recognizes family during the brief times he is awake.
What’s Inside Around Town . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Book Review . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Club News . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Community Calendar . . . . .12 Directory of Advertisers . . . . .5
Tomaszewski is an operating room technician at the Sequoia Surgical Center in Walnut Creek. “Mark is going to need ongoing care and support for a long time,” said Sequoia administrator, Tina Hadaway. His co-workers have donated their unused time off to him and a website has been set up to raise funds to help offset mounting medical bills. For information, go to http://www.youcaring.com/medicalfundraiser/teammarkt/70184.
Fashion Over 50 . . . . . . . . .14 Garden Girl . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Hiker’s Haven . . . . . . . . . . .15 Mind Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Pets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Pocket Parenting . . . . . . . . . .8
ROBIN CUTTER
RUNS TO SUPPORT
will travel to Chicago and Idaho for events there, and will compete in three consecutive halfmarathons in three days around Lake Tahoe in September, as part of the Lake Tahoe Marathon. “The main thing we want to stress is that it doesn’t matter how fast you go,” she says, “but just that you get up and go. We are not concerned about times as much as just finishing the race.” She herself says that she will often stop to help other runners during races who may be having difficulties, mainly because she
Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Speaking of Sports . . . . . . .11 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Sports Shorts . . . . . . . . . . .10 Teen Reads . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Weather Words . . . . . . . . . . .4
heart and stroke charities. remembers how hard it was when she was starting out. “I love the community of the races, especially when we’re all working for a cause,” Cutter says. “That’s the part of racing that I’m addicted to.” While she says she is “not a Facebook person,” Cutter has set up a Facebook page for friends and family to follow her journey. It can be found at http://www.facebook.com/page s/START-Training-AmericanHeart-Association-DonationPage-for-Robin-Cutter.
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