Discovery Bay Press_02.05.10

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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER

Vol. 8, No. 6

Schools brace for another tough year by Ruth Roberts Staff Writer School superintendents throughout East County are tightening their fiscal belts as they brace for another year of sinking finances and impending cuts. “The state of California is in a crisis, and as a result, so are we,” said Byron Union School District Superintendent Eric Prater. “We are down to the bone marrow of our programs for kids … we’ll continue to provide an excellent education for our children, but it’s going to painful; there have been a lot of sleepless nights.” Last year, Prater cut $750,000 from his district’s an-

nual budget and this year he expects those numbers to rise to $850,000 for the 2010-11 school year. Prater has managed to save approximately $200,000 in this year’s budget thanks to the collective agreement of his teachers and staff to agree to take five furlough days per year – Prater included. And he has taken a proactive approach to the crisis by scheduling a series of budget road shows to enlighten the community and his staff regarding what the future might hold in terms of layoffs and additional budget cuts. Prater said that for now, there will be no mid-year layoffs, see Schools page 18A

How to squeeze hundreds of dollars in savings into your pocket? Look for our coupon booklet inside this issue.

Feelin’ the Plan B blues Photo by Ruth Roberts

Liberty Union High School District expects to slash an estimated $3.8 million from its budget this year along with potentially 22 staff positions.

by Samie Hartley Staff Writer

Online Now!

Photo by Richard Wisdom

Citizen of the Year Rick Lemyre and Jim Wangeman, co-owner with his wife Ann of Business of the Year Harvest Park Bowling Center, congratulate each other at the Brentwood Chamber of Commerce awards dinner last weekend. colleagues took turns offering testimonials to Lemyre’s worthiness of the honor. “If you want to know what it takes to be citizen of the year, you’ve gone way, way beyond

www.thepress.net Your Hometown Web Site

February 5, 2010

This Week Savings by the fistful

Citizen, Business of the Year honored When you’re Citizen of the Year, you can do pretty much whatever you want, including interrupting your own celebration to take a phone call. That’s what 2010 Brentwood Citizen of the Year Rick Lemyre did during the Chamber of Commerce awards dinner last Saturday. About halfway through an hourlong tribute, Lemyre interrupted the festivities to announce he’d received a phone call from his son Chris, a Navy corpsman currently stationed on the USS Nimitz, which is returning to the States from Afghanistan. The crowd of more than 150 guests cheered as father and son enjoyed a quick chat, but then it was back to the parade of praise, as family, friends, coworkers and

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that,” said friend and tribute host Mike Davies, whose video slideshow of Lemyre’s life proved the entertainment highlight of the evening. Lemyre, managing edi-

Wheeler healers go to news/WebExtras!

Haitians were hurting, so the Wheelchair Foundation hit the tarmac running.

tor of the Brentwood Press, is known throughout Brentwood and East County for his exemplary community service. His resumé includes involvement in the Brentwood Regional Community Chest, Brentwood Kiwanis, Brentwood Diversity Committee, East Contra Costa Historical Society, Relay For Life, and Antioch Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day celebrations – a narrow cross-section of his many contributions. Despite the long list of Lemyre’s community involvement, his wife Cyndy said she had to convince him that he was truly deserving of the Citizen of the Year honor. “Rick and I, we’ve been talking about it a lot,” Cyndy said. “Rick kept asking, ‘Why am I getting this?’ and I’ve come see Citizen page 18A

Grand task

A funding shortfall has derailed plans to build an eBART station in an optimal location. Page 6A

Tenacious D falls short

The Lions held the Falcons to a mere 48 points, but scored only 34 of their own. Page 1B

Plus: Calendar ............................ 23B Classifieds ......................... 16B Cop logs .............................14A Food & Entertainment .. 11B Health & Beauty ................ 8B Milestones ........................ 10B Opinion ..............................13A Sports ................................... 1B

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The Contra Costa County Civil Grand Jury is looking for members.

Local consignment shops make it easier than ever to get the real deal.


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