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Vol. 20, No. 9
YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Residents weigh in on tunnel plan by Tony Kukulich
February 28, 2020
Celebrating 90 Years
Staff Writer
A rally before the start of the Department of Water Resources’(DWR) public scoping meeting for the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP) set the tone for the event — residents of East County were in no mood to consider another tunnel project in the Delta. Held Thursday, Feb. 20, the Brentwood Community Center’s upstairs conference room was filled beyond capacity, and many attendees stood along the walls and spilled out into the hallway. “First of all, (DWR) had better have larger meeting rooms if they come to the South Delta, because we have so many people that are so concerned about this project,” said Jan McCleery, former Save the California Delta Alliance (STCDA) president. “We overfilled the room, and there was standing room only.” Following DWR’s brief overview of the project, more than three dozen tunnel opponents, including Contra Costa County District 3 Supervisor Diane Burgis and City of Oakley Mayor Kevin Romick, waited to have see Tunnel page 22
Contra Costa’s last Future Farmers of America chapter marks milestone and looks ahead. Page 4
The Science Of Paper Towels Photo by Tony Kukulich
Gil Arthur of Discovery Bay joined a rally organized by Save the California Delta Alliance to oppose the Delta Conveyance Project in advance of a public scoping meeting held by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) in Brentwood, Thursday, Feb. 20. Public comments were unanimously opposed to DWR’s proposed plan to build a tunnel through the Delta to enhance the State Water Project water-delivery capabilities.
Summer Lake opening postponed by Aly Brown
Due to further construction delays, Summer Lake Elementary School is now set to open with the beginning of the 2020-21 school year.
Staff Writer
At the mercy of various construction challenges and weather, the Oakley Union Elementary School District (OUESD) recently announced Summer Lake Elementary School will not open until July, with the start of the 2020-21 school year. “The school is beautiful,” said OUESD Superintendent Greg Hetrick. “The buildings are absolutely amazing and are done, but we had some final concrete things to get put in, the landscaping, cleaning things up — that part’s not done, so we can’t move kids in. It’s not ready.” Originally slated to open for the 2019-20 school year, the construction has seen several delays, with officials in constant anticipation that each holiday break would mark the launch of a student and staff move from their host site at Iron House Elementary School into the new facility at 4320 E. Summer Lake
Press file photo
Drive. However, after recognizing that a move so late in the school year could have a negative educational impact on children and staff — and without a firm construction completion deadline — Hetrick announced the decision to postpone the opening at the district’s Feb. 19 board meeting. He then broke the news to students the next day, beginning with the fifthgraders.
SAVE NOW
“Our No. 1 priority was to ensure that — first and foremost — the school is going to be safe for students, and, secondly, that they have access to all the things they need to be successful students in the Oakley school district,” Hetrick explained. “It’s frustrating. We kept shooting for the next break, the next break,
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see Summer Lake page 22
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Brentwood student wins science fair by proving which paper towel brand is strongest. Page 9
Tough Soccer Season Finish
Liberty girls’ soccer team falls to Berkeley in final shootout to end the season. Page 14 Calendar................................23 Classifieds.............................19 Cop Logs................................11 Education................................4 Entertainment.......................9 Food..........................................8 Milestones............................13 Pets of the week...................6 Sports.....................................14
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