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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 13, No. 45
Burglar suspects Fond farewell shot in the act W by Justin Lafferty Staff Writer Two East County homeowners recently took matters into their own hands, shooting men who attempted to burglarize their residences. On Saturday, the owner of a vacant house in Antioch shot and killed a man apparently trying to steal copper wire. And Tuesday morning in Brentwood, one man is in critical condition and another is at large following an attempted break-in of an off-duty police officer’s house. Antioch Police did not arrest the homeowner after the fatal shooting. Officers say the man has
cooperated with the investigation. Since the Antioch Police Department believes the shooting was done in self-defense, it does not plan to file charges. But Acting Captain Leonard Orman said the district attorney’s office would make the final decision once the investigation is complete. The man, who owns a few vacant properties in Antioch, was making a routine check on one of his homes on the 200 block of West 17th Street on Saturday at about 2:45 p.m. When the homeowner entered the building, he discovered a man apparently attempting to steal see Burlgaries page 17A
ith mixed emotions, the East Contra Costa Fire Protection on Monday accepted the retirement request from Paid on Call Assistant Chief Maggie Fajardo after 44 years of service. Fajardo began his service with the Oakley Fire Protection District in 1967 and has held the ranks of lieutenant, training officer and captain. He was promoted to the rank of assistance chief after the formation of ECCFPD in 2003. Said Fire Chief Hugh Henderson, “Maggie has performed an outstanding job of handling the role of support services for the district, making sure
Staff Writer Driving through the back roads of East County, passersby often see an array of farm animals, from cows and horses to chickens and goats. If you happened to be driving along Byron Highway last Thursday afternoon, chances are you passed a buffalo and didn’t even know it. It’s OK. She didn’t see you, either. It took months of planning, but orphaned buffalo Nakoma finally made it to her new home in Byron after being abandoned at a ranch in Bethel Island earlier this year. Members of the UC Davis Large Animal Clinic were called to sedate the 800-pound beast for transport, and when she awoke, she was greeted by the smiling face of her rescuer and new owner, Charles Ward. “We knew going into the res-
Photo by Richard Wisdom
Byron rancher Charlie Ward offers an apple to Nakoma, a buffalo he rescued from an abandoned property on Bethel Island. cue that there were risks,” Ward said. “But the poor thing was all alone out there. Luckily the story has a happy ending and now she’s doing great. As soon as she saw me Thursday night as she was coming out of it, she sat right up. She’s still getting acclimated to her new surroundings, but she seems to be hav-
ing fun walking around the ranch, investigating the property.” Ward has kept buffalo on his ranch for years, so when a family friend discovered an abandoned buffalo at a foreclosed ranch in Bethel Island, she called Ward and asked if he’d be interested in bringing the buffalo to his ranch. The
Army mobilized go to news/WebExtras!
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The Salvation Army has scheduled an ambitious array of holiday activities.
November 11, 2011
Venerating our veterans
We dedicate this day to those who dedicate themselves – every day – to protect our freedom. Page 1B Photo courtesy of ECCFPD
that our day-to-day needs were handled in a timely manner. Maggie has always been available to all of us in the middle of the night, to make sure there were cold drinks and replacement air bottles.”
Buffalo gets new home to roam by Samie Hartley
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buffalo was one of three, but since the original owners abandoned the bison without warning, two died of starvation before a neighbor found the remaining buffalo roaming the back of the property. Ward went out to meet the buffalo and began to visit her daily, eventually feeding her apples by hand, and the two formed a bond. “She was nothing but a bag of bones,” Ward said. “I couldn’t leave her out there to suffer, so I started the process of going through the proper channels to get permission to bring her to my ranch. I knew it was going to take some time but it was worth it. Now she’s safe.” Ward contacted the owners of the property and explained that he was willing to take the buffalo off the property, but when Ward got the OK and tried to load the buffalo into a trailer, the creature instinctively rushed out as soon as see Buffalo page 17A
More memorials go to news/press releases
A USDVA grant will allow a regional veterans cemetery to expand.
Fire tax explained The fire district will begin informing residents about a new tax it needs voters to approve in June. Page 3A
Patriots make waves
The goal-oriented Heritage water polo team checked off two big boxes on their 2011 to-do list. Page 21A Arts .....................................10A Business .............................16A Calendar ............................ 15B Classifieds ........................... 8B Cop Logs ............................ 14B East County Life ................ 1B Food ...................................... 4B Milestones ........................ 13B Opinion ..............................18A Outdoors ............................. 6A Sports .................................21A FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A
War memories
go to multimedia/videos A WWII Navy veteran recalls his harrowing tour of duty in the Pacific.