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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 15, No. 14
Child ID program streamlines safety
Hail to the new chief
Correspondent
see ID page 26A
Season For U-pick Nears Photo by Tony Kukulich
A
ddelyn, in her mother’s arms, and Kristen and Brian Helmick are all smiles following Brian’s swearing-in ceremony as interim fire chief for the East Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, on April 3.
Board approves deal for fourth station by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer
The City of Brentwood will likely enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District (ECCFPD) to pay for a portion of the district’s fourth station over the next three years. In a 7-2 vote, the district board opted this week to team up with the City of Brentwood to keep the district’s fourth station open, after officials from the district and the city expressed reservations about the City of Oakley and Contra Costa County’s willingness to band together to keep the fourth station open, as has been done since July 2016. “I specifically asked them (the county and the City of Oakley) if they’d bring the idea back to their
Education Leader Dies
Former Superintendent of Schools, Joseph A. Ovick, passes away unexpectedly. Page 10A
by Dawnmarie Fehr In answer to a parent’s greatest fear – losing a child – Discovery Bay resident Anita Sarkissian has created an outreach program to streamline the search process between parents and police in the event of a missing child. Sarkissian and her company, New York Life Insurance, create CDs with vital information required by authorities should a child go missing. This information includes the basics like a recent photo and physical description, as well as fingerprints, nicknames, birthmarks, allergies and any known illnesses or medications. The CDs are then given to parents, who can hand them over to the proper authorities in an emer-
April 7, 2017
“ The option of a fourth station brings us an option of an additional resource, which is going to go away without additional funding.
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Joel Bryant, fire board president, Brentwood city councilmember boards and champion the idea, but there was no affirmative response,” said ECCFPD Board Director Joe Young about recent meetings with officials from the county, fire district and cities of Brentwood and Oakley, in which they discussed the future of the fourth station. Since mid-2016, the district’s fourth station in Knightsen has been funded with a combined $2.2 million from the district, the cities of Brentwood and Oakley and the county. However, it will close
in June if additional funds aren’t procured. Under the proposed plan, which was moved forward by the board this week, the Knightsen station will close at the end of June and a second Brentwood station will open, in return for Brentwood’s pledge of $3 million over three years. The district will pay for the remaining $4.3 million needed to keep the station open during that period. “The option of a fourth sta-
tion brings us an option of an additional resource, which is going to go away without additional funding,” said Joel Bryant, fire board president and a Brentwood city councilmember. The deal appeared to materialize after Brentwood officials met twice with officials from Oakley, the county and the district and came away concerned the county and the City of Oakley were not in full support of a multijurisdictional funding approach. During the ad hoc meetings, a plan was proposed by Brentwood officials that called for the district to pay $4.2 million over three years, with Brentwood contributing $1.5 million, Oakley $946,000 and the county $600,000, to keep the Knightsen station open. The consee Board page 26A
Cherry farms have only a few weeks before opening their locations to the public. Page 6A
Track Teams Take Top Spots
Liberty, Freedom track-and-field teams win big at Delta Mustang Invitational. Page 4B Calendar............................. 11B Classifieds............................ 6B Cop Logs............................. 10B Entertainment.................... 9A Food....................................... 8A Health & Beauty...............11A Meet The Beat..................... 7A Opinion...............................18A Pets......................................21A Sports.................................... 1B
Smoking Ban
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Bill prohibiting smoking on state beaches and in state parks passes first committee.
CONNECTING PARKS TO PEOPLE www.ebparks.org/features/rin
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