Happy YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 16, No. 21
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Liberty honors top students by Aly Brown
May 25, 2018
Read All About Pets
Staff Writer
With only a few weeks remaining in the school year, Liberty High School prepares to send off yet another graduating class and honor those with the highest academic achievements. The spot for valedictorian was tied between Madison MacPherson and Skyler Ligon, who both earned a cumulative GPA of 4.39, and Jordan McIntosh was named the salutatorian with a 4.34. “These students have proven to be the top academic students, who go above and beyond both in and out of the classroom,” said Liberty Principal Heather Harper. “We couldn’t be prouder of our students.” Madison ran varsity crosscountry and track and field throughout her high school career, serving as captain for three years. During her senior year, she became a member of track coun-
This week’s special section features all the things we love about our furry friends. Page 1B
MacPHERSON
LIGON
McINTOSH
“I am very appreciative of my coaches for putting me in these leadership positions,” she said. An active student and community member, Madison was involved in Champions Martial Arts Academy, Rubik’s Cube Club, Math Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, National Honor Society and California Scholarship Federation and also
served as a youth group leader at Brentwood Neighborhood Church (BNC). She noted teachers like Mrs. Stillwell, Ms. Marin, Mrs. Olsen and Ms. Rodriguez to be influential in her life, but one of her favorite classes was taken during sophomore year. Mrs. Weinert’s AP statistics class became a turning point as it made Madison realize she wanted to study math and became a statistician. She
also expressed gratitude for all of her coaches, especially Eric Morford, and the church family she found at BNC. “It is an indescribable honor to be named valedictorian – one that I never really planned for. First and foremost, I must credit my parents for always reminding me that grades aren’t everything and getting an education is much
cil.
see Students page 30A
Fire district redesigns logo by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer
East Contra Costa Fire Protection District personnel and vehicles will soon sport a new look. The fire board recently approved plans to change the district’s logo to reinforce the organization’s identity and allow firefighters to represent an image they created. The old design was crafted in 2002 when the Bethel Island, East Diablo and Oakley fire districts were formed. The makeover is slated to cost between $6,270 and $10,270. “Changing our logo provides us the opportunity to immediately share with everyone within our jurisdiction who we are and, in some ways, who we are not,” said Fire Chief Brian Helmick. “We are East Contra Costa Fire Protection District – we are an independent special district. We are not Contra Costa County Fire.”
Photo courtesy of ECCFPD
The East Contra Costa Fire Protection District plans to roll out their new logo, above, on June 1. The new design, voted on by district personnel, will appear on all engines, vehicles, uniform patches, business cards, letterhead
and ID cards. The final cost of the switch will be determined once key details of the apparatus decals are delivered to the district’s vendor. Regardless of the final price tag, the swap will allow the district to rebrand itself without paying at least $200,000 to change the organization’s name, Helmick said. The fire board decided against the name change last year – in large part due to the cost – but talk of altering the name and logo resonated with the firefighters, Battalion Chief Ross Macumber said. “As the years have gone by, our membership have expressed the desire to update the logo to make it a little cleaner, a little nicer,” he said. “When the name change got brought to the forefront, that spurred the discussion a little bit at the line. They brought it to the admin, and the admin did agree that
See ad on pg.11A FOREJOUR pays tribute to the music of 80’s mega bands FOREigner & JOURney
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see Logo page 30A
Legacy Honors www.thepress.net/news/webextras
East Bay Regional Park District has been named the 2018 Legacy Award Winner.
Ally Receives Third Miracle
Former Freedom cheerleader Ally Jenkins receives third lung transplant. Page 6A
Moving On To Next Round
Heritage baseball team defeats Liberty in first round of North Coast Section playoffs. Page 21A Calendar.............................31A Classifieds..........................25A Cop Logs............................. 29B Entertainment..................10A Food.....................................11A Kid Scoop............................. 9A Opinion...............................20A Pets........................................ 8B Sports..................................21A
Video Storytime www.thepress.net/news/press_releases
The Contra Costa County Library launches Video Storytime for kids and families.