Antioch Press_04.09.10

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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER

Vol. 10, No. 15

Librarian closes book on career by Dave Roberts Staff Writer

A city is an organism. It has a circulatory system of roads; a food intake network of grocery stores and restaurants; a waste disposal system; law enforcement muscle; sinews that bind such as schools, churches and the community center; and a central nervous system at City Hall making sure everything runs smoothly. But when you’re looking for the heart and mind that converts a city into a community, it’s in the library, where residents of all ages, races and creeds come to absorb and pass on knowledge and culture. For 26 years, from 1979 to 2005, the woman in the heart of that heart was Antioch Head Librarian Patty Chan, who recently retired when her library community outreach position was eliminated due to county budget cuts. At a recent City Council meeting she broke the news to city officials and invited them and the rest of the community to her retirement party today, April 9 from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at the Antioch Library.

April 9, 2010

This Week Images in memoriam

Antioch’s Memorial Day observances will feature a display of photos – contributed by the community – that honor the fallen. Page 3A

Time for hope and prayer Photo by Dave Roberts

Patty Chan has retired after 35 years with the Contra Costa Library, 26 of them as head librarian in Antioch. “I will be retiring from the Contra Costa County Library after 35 years,” she said. “I was 24 when I started back in 1975. I just wanted to thank you for all of your support.

Thirty-five years is a big part of my life. But it’s just been more rewarding and more enjoyable, thanks to all of your help. Thank you for touching my heart and leaving little

footprints there.” It’s safe to say that Chan, a petite woman with a ready smile who see Librarian page 22A

City to grasp, polish its bootstraps by Dave Roberts Staff Writer

Photo by Diane Gibson-Gray

More than 800 Antioch residents, such as these at a neighborhood cleanup event in November, will be participating in a citywide cleanup on April 17.

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More than 800 Antioch residents are expected to turn out Saturday, April 17 to clean up their city, commemorating the 40th anniversary of Earth Day in an event that organizers have dubbed Keep Antioch Beautiful Day. “It’s turned into a huge event; it’s really taken off,” said Joy Motts, the event’s fundraising chairwoman. “It’s a really nice thing for the city of Antioch in light of the budget cuts. The city has been decimated with the budget cuts. This is an effort to pull us up by our own bootstraps and take up where they left off.” Dozens of city employees have been laid off in the past year. One of the hard-hit departments is code en-

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forcement, which is responsible for improving blighted properties. As a result, in a city that has been hard hit by the foreclosure crisis, many properties have become overwhelmed with weeds and trash. The citywide cleanup will deal with those areas as well as ongoing trash and litter problems along major thoroughfares, run-down neighborhoods and the shoreline. The volunteers will gather at nine elementary and middle schools around 8:30 a.m. and be formed into teams of 10 to 20 people that will follow a team leader to problem areas. The trash pickup will continue until 11 a.m. From 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., a free barbecue lunch will be provided for the volunteers in Contra Loma Park.

Top trainer

go to news/WebExtras! A Los Medanos athletic trainer was honored as one of best in the state.

see Polish page 22A

Rehab garden

go to news/press releases An ingenious outdoor environment will make rehab more fun – and realistic.

A courageous kid and his family are doing their part. All that’s left is for a providential donor to materialize. Page 4A

DV takes the plunge

Wolverine divers know how to pack a lot of twisting, tumbling and jackknifing into two short seconds. Page 1B

Plus: Calendar ............................ 27B Classifieds ......................... 18B Cop Logs ............................17A Entertainment ................. 12B Food .................................... 14B Health & Beauty .............. 10B Milestones ........................ 16B Opinion ..............................16A Sports ................................... 1B

Having a ball

go to multimedia/videos A recent bash honored the men and women who put their lives on the line.


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