BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
Vol. 16, No. 42
YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Middle school water tainted
Tarantula Run, fun
Correspondent
Elevated levels of lead have been found in certain pipes at Excelsior Middle School (EMS), and officials have shut off the drinking fountains until further notice. The discovery was made this week when routine tests of the EMS water supply found elevated levels of lead in the school’s water in one of the older buildings, known as the 200 wing. While not alarmingly high, the lead levels were elevated enough that the school shut off the drinking fountains in that building. The school has provided bottled drinking water for students in that section.
Photo by Tony Kukulich
see Water page 34
The rising cost of officer overtime Staff Writer
With populations in cities throughout East County on the rise, crime rates are often placed in the spotlight along with the cost to put officer boots on the streets. Brentwood, Oakley and Antioch each saw their share of overtime pay to police departments in 2017. According to Transparent California, a public pay and pension database, 49 officers in Brentwood (population of about 61,000) brought home a total of $468,000 in overtime. Twenty-four officers in Oakley (population: 41,000) accrued a little over $269,000. Overtime in Antioch (population: 111,000) was about $1.6 million for the listed 78 officers. “Overtime is an expected
“ Overtime is an expected cost for a variety
of different reasons … and the dollar amount is generally based on total number of staff and salaries.
”
Lt. Walter O’Grodnick, Brentwood Police Department cost for a variety of different reasons … and the dollar amount is generally based on total number of staff and salaries,” said Brentwood Police Department Lt. Walter O’Grodnick. “We rely heavily on our supervisors and administrators to manage the overtime budget, and our staff participates in periodic budget review meetings to help us stay on point. The current overtime budget cap (for the Brentwood Police Department) is $618,000.” O’Grodnick further stated
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his force is authorized 66 sworn positions and currently has one vacancy. Over in the Oakley Police Department, Chief Chris Thorsen said his force also monitors overtime closely. “Each week our patrol captain and administrative sergeant review each hour of overtime spent and the reason for the overtime and whether we had an alternative to spending the hours,” Thorsen explained. “If there was a ‘better way,’ adjust-
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Family Looks For Answers
T
he 2018 Tarantula Run drew hundreds of runners to the Los Vaqueros Reservoir in Brentwood, Saturday, Oct. 13. The popular event featured 5k, 10k and half-marathon runs along with a half-marathon hike and a kids’ fun run. Abigail Cannon of Brentwood, seen left, placed first in the 35 to 39 female category with a time of 52:26 in the 10k. To view more photos of the event, visit www.thepress.net/ multimedia/slideshows
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ments are made in the following week. Overtime expenditures can be a moving target and are based upon many factors.” Thorsen said the Oakley Police Department is fully staffed with 34 total sworn personnel with the most recent officer sworn in last month and scheduled to complete training. “When we have short-term vacancies, we do things like use a traffic officer to fill a beat position or use our problem oriented policing officer to backfill,” said Thorsen. “This works well in the short term, but we are keenly aware that filling a beat with a specialty officer (i.e. having a traffic officer fill a beat) means we run short in our traffic unit. Thus the duties typically handled by see Overtime page 34
Election 2018
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Voting is underway for the November 2018 General Midterm Elections.
The murder of Emily Courchesne remains unsolved – police are asking for public’s help. Page 5
Halloween Hauntings
It’s the season of tricks and treats. Check out all the spooky happenings in East County. Page 7
Serving Up Victory
Liberty girls’ volleyball team has clinched BVAL title and is looking toward playoffs. Page 23 Calendar................................35 Classifieds.............................29 Cop Logs................................33 Election Updates ...............18 Entertainment.....................13 Food........................................12 Milestones............................15 Opinion..................................22 Pets.........................................28 Sports.....................................23
Holiday Joy
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Operation Christmas Child at Golden Hills Church is gearing up for the season.