YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa
Vol. 11, No. 19
Including Surrounding Communities
www.thepress.net
Flu restraints lifted, schools open by Ruth Roberts Staff Writer Schools throughout the county reopened this week – earlier than expected – following the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announcement Tuesday that a suspected strain of the swine flu, or H1N1 virus, was less virulent than originally feared. “What I can tell you is that we are no longer closing schools and that we are following the guidelines of the CDC,” said Kate Fowlie, spokesperson for the Contra Costa County Health Services Department. “However, we are still recommending that anyone who is sick stay home.” At press time, a total of 11 cases of the H1N1 virus were confirmed in Contra Costa County. In East County, two schools – Brentwood and Lone Tree elementaries – closed their doors on Monday, May 4, following one probable case at each of the schools. Later in the week one case was confirmed at Edna Hill Elementary, but the school has, and will remain, open.
Photo by Samie Hartley
Brentwood Elementary School fourth-grade teacher Sue Lackey welcomes her students on Wednesday. Before greeting each of her students with a handshake, she assured her students that the classroom had been disinfected. The CDC relaxed its guidelines this week, stating that schools should remain open as long as the number of absences doesn’t affect the schools’ general operation.
Event draws 23 venues by Dave Roberts Staff Writer
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May 8, 2009
THIS WEEK
Services extended
A church is raising funds to build an extension that will provide programs for the entire community.
Superintendents from local districts, including Byron Union, Brentwood Union and Libsee Flu page 21A
Local artists to open their studios to Tour
There is much to love about the suburbs versus the city: larger, more affordable homes; safe, family-oriented communities; parks and youth sports; nearby U-Pick orchards and the Delta. But one drawback is that there is not a lot of live music, theater, ballet, opera or art galleries. But there are artistic things happening in East County. Next weekend it will be possible to spend two full days visiting local art studios, meeting the artists, watching them in action, viewing their works and perhaps purchasing a few objets d’art. The annual Artists’ Open Studio Tour has grown this year to 23 venues from Pittsburg to Discovery Bay, drawing the participation of 36 artists specializing in acrylics, watercolor, digital photography, children’s art, clay, oil, aqueous
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Photo courtesy of Jack Gaughan
A sculpture by Crystal Lockwood, one of 36 artists participating in next week’s Artists’ Open Studio Tour. mixed media, jewelry, hats, pastel, colored pencil, painted glass, bronze sculpture, ceramics, metal,
stone, stained glass, pottery, Chinese brush painting, wood, fiber arts, graphite, charcoal, hand-knit fiber, silks and cashmere. “I just want people to know that there’s a lot of talented people here,” said Samantha Brown, a Discovery Bay artist participating in her first tour. “It’s not just suburban families and housewives and retired people (in East County). There’s a lot of amazing, community-focused artists.” Brown, who combines painting and graphic design with wordbased imagery for children, is new to the local art scene. A little more than a month ago she went out for Chinese food at a Discovery Bay restaurant, where an art show and sale sponsored by the Discover Art League was taking place. Before she knew it, this stay-at-home mom not only had joined up but was setting up a Web site for the group and helping design the brochure and publicize the artists’ tour. “It’s been a lot of fun,” she said. “My husband calls me the hardest-working unemployed person. I just love the artists – they are so talented. I hope I can be up to
par (as an artist) – they are just so amazing. I am a little disappointed that I can’t go to all of the other artists’ studios.” Brown’s work will be on display in her living room and include a variety of digital prints and paintings, much of it featuring letters, numbers and words to appeal to children – “I call it learning art,” she said. She’ll also offer projects for kids on her front lawn, providing tables and materials for youngsters to create their own masterpieces. The studio tour takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 16 and Sunday, May 17. The 14-hour window makes it possible for true art lovers to visit all 23 studios as long as they don’t spend more than 36½ minutes at each location and are able to teleport between venues. By the end of the tour, the tourist will likely have gained a much greater appreciation for the wide variety of art and artists in East County. “There’s a perception about Discovery Bay and Brentwood and this whole area that people are see Art page 21A
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Kids set loose on the Goose The city’s newest park has got children – and their parents – singing the praises of the agricultural apparatus.
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Last-ditch single stings
In an extra-inning dust-up on the diamond, Freedom’s clutch hitting edged out Heritage.
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INSIDE Calendar ..........................23B Classifieds ........................17B Contest ............................10B Cop Logs ..........................17A Entertainment ................14B Food .................................12B Health & Beauty ............... 7B Milestones .......................11B Opinion ...........................16A Outdoors ...........................6A Sports ................................. 1B WebExtras! ....................... 1B
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A