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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 10, No. 51
City braces for additional cuts by Justin Lafferty Staff Writer
A handful of Antioch employees could receive layoff notices next week, and more could join them in the near future. After authorizing City Manager Jim Jakel to make $500,000 in cuts to this fiscal year’s personnel budget at the Nov. 30 City Council meeting, council members voted unanimously Tuesday night to direct Jakel to make another $737,000 in staffing cuts to help keep the city afloat. Antioch operates on a general fund budget of roughly $36 million. The cuts were necessary, according to Councilmember Brian Kalinowski, because unions have not agreed to continue concessions in place this calendar year. Starting Jan. 1, Antioch is contractually obligated to reinstate the concessions, such as deferred cost of living increases and salary cuts. “If the concessions are not continued,” said Finance Director Dawn Merchant, “the city could potentially run out of money if we don’t find other ways to cut costs or generate revenue.” Jakel said he would determine the first
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December 17, 2010
This Week Holiday happenings
In the cold of December, East County becomes a hotbed of holiday activity. Check out the highlights. Page 4A
Photo by Justin Lafferty
Antioch police officer Eric McManus, worried about cuts in the department, speaks at Tuesday’s city council meeting. Several police officers attended the meeting to try to stave off police layoffs. round of cuts soon, prompting layoff notices to be issued early next week. Somewhere between five and eight employees will be laid off, and the cuts spread among the city’s departments.
Council members emphasized their reluctance to lay people off, but said painful decisions must be made in order to see Cuts page 22A
Budget blessed The Antioch school district breathed a sigh of relief when its budget report was certified by the county. Page 8A
No-win, nolose scenario
Blasting past the century mark by Justin Lafferty Staff Writer
Sharp as ever, Antioch resident Flora Lavy celebrated her 100th birthday recently at the Quail Lodge Retirement Community, surrounded by staff, friends and four generations of family from all around the country. A tough Southern girl at heart, Lavy dined on black-eyed peas and cornbread as the Santa Clara Valley Fiddlers played some tunes. Staff at the retirement community joked about her amazing sense of humor and called her a wonder to be around. She was driven around in a Ford Model A before the party.
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Staff joked about how when Lavy first moved to Quail Lodge, she threatened to make use of her knife if they didn’t take good care of her. Lavy’s youngest son, Carl Wolfe, said he quickly confiscated the weapon. “To be here for her 100th birthday is just an exciting experience,” Wolfe said. “This 100 is not even a culmination, it’s like ‘Where are we going now? How many more?’ She’s still healthy.” Lavy, who technically won’t turn 100 till Dec. 26, was born in Toccoa, Ga., moved to Bethel Island in 1942, to Brentwood in 1976 and then to Quail Lodge in Antioch. She enjoys traveling, and before moving to Quail Lodge, took a cruise to Europe, visiting Greece, Italy, England,
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Deer Valley played San Ramon to a scoreless tie in the Tri-Valley Champions Challenge. Page 3B.
Plus:
Photo by Justin Lafferty
Lavy sits with great-granddaughter Christina Sutton. dent of the Brentwood Women’s Portugal, Spain and France. An experienced seamstress, Club in 1946, Reno/Tahoe Bus Lavy said she made clothes for Trip planner from 1981 to 2001, her four boys until they became see Century page 22A teenagers. She served as presi-
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A local business is going above and beyond to help kids enjoy a playful holiday.
Take a seat
go to news/press releases The county’s Retirement Board is looking for a citizen who isn’t the retiring type.
Calendar ............................ 19B Classifieds ......................... 12B Cop Logs ............................17A Entertainment ................... 4A Food .................................... 10B Health & Beauty ................ 8B Milestones .......................... 9B Opinion ..............................16A Sports ................................... 1B
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A
In the running
go to multimedia/videos Contra Loma’s trails got a healthy workout in the 34th annual Fun Run.