YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 16, No. 25
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Restoring butterfly habitat
Bringing their “A” team
by Dawnmarie Fehr
see Butterfly page 30
A New Twist On Pizza Photo by Dawnmarie Fehr
S
amantha Fehr, Avalon Everett, Amanda Dahl and Kayden Watts, of the Discovery Bay River Otters “A” relay team, smiled big as they prepared for their freestyle relay against the Ripon Sea Lions, last Saturday at Ripon High School. The River Otters made a strong showing against one of the top teams in the Mid Valley Swim League and brought home first places in many events. This weekend will see the team back in Turlock to battle it out against five other teams at the Turlock Invitational.
Fire district hosting town forums by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer
The East Contra Costa Fire Protection District’s funding shortage prohibits it from providing adequate service, but organization officials are forging ahead to find solutions. That’s what Fire Chief Brian Helmick told a crowd at Bethel Island’s Scout Hall during the first of four town hall meetings to discuss the state of the organization ahead of a strategic planning session in July. The agency, comprising three stations, is charged with serving over 249 square miles and 114,000 residents in Brentwood, Oakley, Discovery Bay, Byron, Bethel Island, Knightsen, Marsh Creek and Morgan Territory. That service demand leaves residents and property at risk, said
“ We have too few stations. We have
three resources that are constantly running throughout the system.
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Fire Chief Brian Helmick Helmick, noting that response times are below industry standards of four minutes for urban areas and eight minutes for suburban and rural locations. “Right now the jurisdiction, at 250 square miles, is just too much area to cover,” Helmick said. “We have too few stations. We have three resources that are constantly running throughout the system.” Ninety percent of the time in the month of May, it took engines 17 minutes to respond to calls in Discovery Bay, Byron and Bethel www.thepress.net/ marketplace BUSINESS DIRECTORY
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Honored For His Service
Fire Captain Dan Baio was recently recognized for his 30 years in the fire service. Page 5
Correspondent
One dozen monarch butterflies have become Discovery Bay’s newest visitors, thanks to Cathie Moog and the Discovery Bay Garden Club (DBGC). Last week, Moog, along with more than a dozen of her fellow garden club members, released butterflies she had raised in her home into the monarch waystation located in town. The waystation, put in last year by the garden club and Boy Scout Troop 514, sits in front of the community center on land donated by the Town of Discovery Bay. Community Services District (CSD) Board member Bob Leete came to watch
June 22, 2018
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Island, 13 minutes in Knightsen and Marsh Creek, 10 minutes in Brentwood and nine minutes in Oakley. Those long wait times loom large, considering that fires double in size every two minutes as long as combustible fuels are present; flashover (when a room is consumed by fire, killing anyone inside) occurs in seven to nine minutes; and the mortality rates for trauma patients and stroke victims increase rapidly if they don’t reach an operating table within an hour
of the incident, Helmick said. “Bottom line is this: Proper response times save lives and property,” Helmick said. The district, however, is trying to stem the tide. In January, the agency hired a legislative advocacy firm to improve communication with local and state officials and assist in identifying alternate revenue and growth options. The district is also creating a strategic plan to define future service levels, along with the cost and time to implement those changes. That plan, which will incorporate public input, should be completed by the time a new fivemember elected board is installed in December. A 2016 independent report see Fire page 30
Summer Hours www.thepress.net/news/webextras
County clerkrecorder’s office to stay open late on Thursday nights.
Chicago Pizza offers a specialty menu featuring authentic Indian spices and toppings. Page 10
BVAL’s Best Of The Best
The Bay Valley Athletic League has announced its lineup of spring superstars. Page 21 Calendar................................31 Classifieds.............................24 Cop Logs................................29 Entertainment.....................10 Food........................................11 Kid Scoop................................9 Milestones............................15 Opinion..................................20 Pets.........................................19 Sports.....................................21
Texting 911
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County Office of the Sheriff is now able to handle texts to 9-1-1.