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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 13, No. 39
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September 30, 2011
lowdown Hero leaves mark on neighborhood The on spiffing up by Rick Lemyre Staff Writer
Residents of a Brentwood neighborhood held a barbecue last weekend to thank a multi-tasking neighbor with an alert son who snuffed out a fire that threatened a pair of houses. Rico Tolentino said that on the morning of Sept. 11, he and his 9-year-old son, Sebastian, had been watching TV coverage of the 9/11 observances, replete with video images of columns of black smoke rising from the World Trade Center. Later, as the family piled into the car for a shopping trip, Sebastian spotted more smoke, this time from a neighbor’s side yard on Diamond Springs Lane. “Hey Dad, look at that!” Rico recalled his son saying as he pointed to the growing smoke cloud a couple of houses away. As his wife, Toni, raced for a phone to report the fire, Rico dashed to the scene to find a trash can and fence between two
Photo by Rick Lemyre
Residents of Diamond Springs Lane held a barbecue last weekend to thank Rico Tolentino for dousing a fire in the neighborhood on Sept. 11. The blaze had been spotted by his son, Sebastian, who is holding the plaque with his father. houses ablaze. Grabbing a nearby garden hose, the San Ramon mail carrier began streaming water on the burning fence, which collapsed
against one of the houses. He hosed down the stucco wall as well as the fence, then saw that flames were also licking a gas meter and a door on
the other house. He alternately shot them with water as well, along with the fence and stucco wall. Kicking in the smoldering fence gate, Rico discovered a pit bull in the backyard barking at him from the other side of the fire. “I didn’t want him to come near the fire,” said Rico, “so I kept squirting him with the water, too.” Wearing only flip-flop sandals, Rico soon discovered that a 5-gallon can of paint had melted, spilling its contents onto the sidewalk and oozing over his feet. While he was alternately wetting down the fence, the wall, the door, the gas meter, the dog and his increasingly warm toes, the fire department arrived. “They said, ‘You did most of the work for us!’” said Rico. Unfortunately for him, they also noticed Rico was coughing a lot, and insisted he make a trip to the hospital to be checked for smoke inhalation. see Hero page 22A
Our Fall Home & Garden Edition is bursting with bright ideas on how to enhance your environs. Page 1B
Spotlight on holiday trees Nonprofits will profit from an inaugural festival that showcases the magic of the Christmas tree. Page 5A
Leaders of the pack
Savings lead to Bypass progress by Justin Lafferty Staff Writer The effort to clear congestion on the Highway 4 Bypass got a boost recently, thanks to some savings on another highway project. The Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) received $25 million from the state earlier this year to convert the Sand Creek Road intersection to an entrance/ exit-ramp interchange, a $33 million project. The officials were banking on savings on a segment of the Highway 4 widening project to cover the remaining cost, a notion that looks promising. According to CCTA Engi-
neering Manager Hisham Noeimi, contractor CC Myers of Rancho Cordova put in a bid of $42,380,000 to work on the Contra Loma Boulevard interchange in Antioch – roughly $8.5 million less than expected. If Caltrans OKs the bid, the savings from that project will go toward improving the meeting of Sand Creek Road and the Bypass. “It’s nice to have positives in East County for transportation solutions,” said Brian Kalinowski, chairman of regional transportation board TRANSPLAN. “I think in about three or four years, when all these projects are done, people are going to really appreciate the hard work. It’s hard work that peo-
A trio of local cross country runners proved they were in it for the long haul. Page 17A
Photo by Justin Lafferty
A construction worker digs along Somersville Road as part of the Highway 4 widening project. Savings from the project will likely help pay for improvements on the Bypass intersection at Sand Creek Road in Brentwood. ple have done for a decade to make these things come to fruition.” Noeimi noted that essentially, CCTA can start planning two projects – the Sand Creek Road interchange and the widening of
Crucial clinic
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Local Rotary clubs are sponsoring a free medical clinic for the uninsured.
the Bypass from Laurel Road to the interchange. He estimated that it would take Caltrans a couple months to formally award the bid. see Bypass page 22A
Move over
go to news/press releases Cops are targeting drivers who endanger highway workers.
Calendar ............................ 23B Classifieds ......................... 19B Cop Logs ............................15A Entertainment ................. 15B Food .................................... 16B Home & Garden ................. 1B Milestones ........................ 22B Opinion ..............................14A Sports .................................17A
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A
Teacherific
go to multimedia/videos Students treated the county’s Teacher of the Year to a highspirited parade.