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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 13, No. 13
Controversy swirls around pastor by Ruth Roberts and Rick Lemyre Staff Writers
A local pastor with a history of lawsuits, tax liens and bankruptcy is under fire from parishioners for questionable financial dealings, and has been operating illegally since his church’s nonprofit corporation was suspended in 2009 for failure to pay taxes. On Monday, members of Pastor Jerry Hanoum’s Mountain View Christian Center (MVCC) staff removed supplies and materials as Oakley Union Elementary School District (OUESD) workers changed the locks on seven rooms at Almond Grove School, which is currently being leased by MVCC and Trinity Christian School. Superintendent Rick Rogers said the church had violated a promise made in January to vacate the rooms as part of a deal to reduce the monthly rent from $19,250 to $12,000. Church officials ignored an e-mail from Rogers in early March, and a 48-hour notice to vacate the rooms that was e-mailed Friday, Rogers said. About 75 students were relocated to other rooms as the result of the
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The sprawling Hanoum Estate in Oakley – leased by Jerry Hanoum pastor of the Mountain View Christian Center – has gone into foreclosure. room closures. “Unfortunately, this is just another example of Mountain View violating the terms of their lease agreement,” said Rogers. MVCC and Trinity have occupied Almond Grove School since 2008. Their lease expires in June. Rogers said there had been no request
by MVCC to extend the original lease agreement. “With only three months left on the lease, our best course of action is to simply let the lease runs its natural course so the students at Mountain View are not harmed.” MVCC has frequently fallen behind in rent payments, reaching
a maximum of $156,000 in arrears last year. After making several promises to pay, Hanoum sent a letter to Rogers on Oct. 5 apologizing for another delay, but assuring him the money was in hand. “Since our last meeting our funds have been deposited and are in our bank,” Hanoum wrote. “They are going through USA and international bank regulation checks, which is required by the security exchange commission (sic) along with other federal regulations.” He closed, “Please be patient as we are subject to these regulation checks, but our funds have been deposited.” But the following day, Hanoum sent a letter to the congregation saying the church was still in “a crisis situation” and in “dire need” of contributions to pay the rent. Many construction workers had been laid off, his letter said, and “This has affected us to the place that the city school board (sic) is threatening to take our facility. We need to raise $400,000 to catch up this year and take care of next year’s facility cost.” This week, Hanoum declined see Pastor page 10A
Arrests made in robbery spree by Ruth Roberts Staff Writer Contra Costa County Sheriff ’s detectives made two more arrests this week in connection with a series of strong-arm robberies in Discovery Bay, bringing the total number of suspects in custody to four. “We currently have the individuals, but we definitely think there are more involved,” said Lt. Mike Burton of Delta Station. “We have dialed this thing down and gotten to the specifics. These types of crimes are not common
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in Discovery Bay and we take it very, very seriously.” Three Discovery Bay residents and one Antioch resident – three males and one female – remain in custody in juvenile hall in Martinez in connection with three robberies on March 21 and 22 in Discovery Bay. Since the suspects are juveniles, their names have not been released. The first robbery took place March 21 at about 9 p.m. when a group of juveniles robbed a 19year-old pizza delivery driver on the 1400 block of Cullen Drive.
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The suspects stole cash, an iPod, several pizzas and a soda. On March 22 at about 5:30 p.m., a group attacked a 14year-old boy walking on Lakeshore Circle and stole his headphones. At about 6:45 p.m., a group of juveniles attacked two boys (ages 14 and 13) walking on Lakeshore Circle. The suspects stole an iPod and fled. “I’m extremely proud of patrol and investigations on the job they have done together,” said Burton. “Only through their dedication is this thing approaching a resolution.
Wood wizard
go to news/WebExtras! A woodworking instructor was honored for his service to the county’s youth.
“The minute this thing happened we took immediate steps to apprehend the responsibles, and we’ve been very successful. I hope this sends a message to criminals in East County that we are not going to stand idly by and allow this kind of activity to occur. We are going to do everything we can to make sure everyone is brought to justice and that the community is safe.” Those with information regarding the cases should call the Office of the Sheriff at 925-6462441 or Lt. Burton at 925-4278510.
Green clean
go to news/press releases Environmental awareness puts the emphasis on “clean” in spring cleaning.
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April 1, 2011
Remote oversight
Off-campus coaches are going high-tech to keep their athletes focused on academics. Page 1B
Postcard puzzlement Mailed in 1914, this blast from the past poses a trio of intriguing questions. Page 4A
Quick on the uptake
A Heritage High athlete with a talent for versatility has opted for a life of digging, setting and spiking. Page 21A Business ............................... 4B Calendar ............................ 19B Classifieds ......................... 13B Cop Logs ............................19A East County Life ................ 1B Entertainment ................... 9B Food .................................... 10B Health & Beauty ................ 8B Milestones ........................12A Opinion ..............................18A Outdoors ............................. 5A Sports .................................21A
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A
Odyssey oddities go to multimedia/videos Students put their academic and creative mettle to the ultimate test.