YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa
Vol. 11, No. 15
Including Surrounding Communities
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The start of a Distinguished Heritage by Rick Lemyre Staff Writer Heritage High School in Brentwood has been named a California Distinguished School, making the Liberty Union High School District (LUHSD) one of only three districts in the county to have all its high schools receive the award. In announcing the award last week, Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell praised the school for closing the achievement gaps between sub-groups of student populations, saying in a press release that “the Distinguished Schools program always identified schools that are leaders in academic achievement. It now also recognizes schools that are leaders in helping all students succeed, and highlights the best practices that are effective in closing the gap.” Heritage Principal Andy Parsons acknowledged the hard work and dedication of his faculty and staff. “Our entire school pulled together as a team to show the visitation committee our outstanding educational program,” he said. “We are very proud of being selected, and remain devoted to maintaining the highest standard of quality education to our students.” Superintendent Dan Smith called the achievement, which comes only four years after Heritage opened, “very exceptional,” and noted that it resulted from work that began before construction was finished. “Even before the school opened, the Heritage staff, led by Principal Andy Parsons, made detailed plans to implement the Educational Plan adopted by the Board of Education,” Smith said. “The Educational Plan for Heritage called see Heritage page 21A
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April 10, 2009
THIS WEEK
Distinctive alums inspire
Two Liberty district grads honored for their achievements told their motivational stories to a crop of future achievers.
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Following in big footsteps Photo by Stacey Chance/DiscoveryBayStudios.com
Andy Parsons’ Heritage High School has been named a California Distinguished School in only its fourth year of existence.
A prominent Brentwood citizen was honored with an award named after a legendary social activist and community servant.
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Reservoir expansion Liberty pools its resources plan invites comment by Dave Roberts Staff Writer
Photo by Ger Erickson
A plan that could triple the size of Los Vaqueros Reservoir, above, is being considered to bolster the state’s fresh water system.
A plan to nearly triple the size of the Los Vaqueros Reservoir would result in a shutdown of recreation there – including fishing, boating, hiking and picnicking – for three years during expansion construction. That’s one of the impacts identified in a recently released draft environmental impact report (EIR) for the proposed $550 million expansion of the 100,000-acre-foot reservoir south of Brentwood. Public comments on the EIR are being accepted through Tuesday, April 21. Two options are being considered: a near tripling of capacity to 275,000 acre feet of water, and a 60-
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percent expansion to 160,000 acre feet. The larger expansion is designed to increase the water supply for Contra Costa Water District customers as well as other Bay Area water providers to help meet water demand during droughts and emergencies. The expanded reservoir could be in operation in 2013. While this is good news for water users in a state that has experienced three consecutive relatively dry years, the expansion will put one of East County’s main recreational sites out of action for either two years (with the smaller expansion) or three years (for the larger expansion), with an additional two-year curtailment of water recreation. see Reservoir page 21a
The Panthers fielded a skeleton crew,and the Lions picked their bones clean.
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FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A