YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa
Vol. 7, No. 35
Including Surrounding Communities
www.thepress.net
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August 28, 2009
New principal leads by example Brave kid
THIS WEEK
hangs tough
by Ruth Roberts Staff Writer During last month’s back-to-school night at Excelsior Middle School, Principal Charles Miller’s elbow got quite a workout. “I must have shook 400 hands that day,” laughed Miller. “But it was great; I wanted to be there to meet the families and students. This is a great community and a great school. I’m very happy to be here.” Miller, who took over from outgoing principal Ben Scinto, comes to Byron from the Antioch Unified School District, where he spent two years as assistant superintendent of educational services. For the former classroom teacher and elementary school principal, arriving at Excelsior is like coming home. “I love the daily interaction with the students, staff and teachers,” said Miller. “The students are bright and positive and the parents are involved. It’s a very close-knit community.” And thanks to a proactive superintendent Eric Prater (“a visionary,” said Miller) and an “exceptionally hardworking staff,” Excelsior was in good shape when Miller arrived, allowing him to focus his energies on touchstone topics such as instructional reform and student support.
A slew of fun events is slated to raise funds in support of a courageous boy awaiting a heart and kidney transplant.
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Photo by Ruth Roberts
Charles Miller is the new principal at Excelsior Middle School in Byron. “We’ve been working on a coherent academic program that includes the essential standards such as reading comprehension and math and science skills,” he said, adding that the academic benchmarks will be met through an action plan of “deliverables” – must-prove
plans developed by staff that will eventually bring all students up to a mastery level of the basic core standards. Miller believes that those academic foundations “all happen here see Principal page 18A
Better bypass the Bypass Check out the details of the Highway 4 Bypass’ impending closure.
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As rugged as rugby
Boaters claim 2-Gate is too much by Dave Roberts Staff Writer
In three months, two gates may be constructed in the Delta in a five-year experiment to determine whether they will help save the endangered Delta smelt while continuing to allow the pumping of water south to Central Valley farms and southern California residents. But some local boaters are concerned that the gates will restrict their access to the Delta, and believe the 2-Gate Fish Protection Demonstration Project is part of an ongoing water grab that is harming the Delta. One of those boaters is Jan McCleery, who has been boating on the Delta for 40 years and moved with her husband to Discovery Bay three years ago from Sunnyvale to be closer to the water. On most weekends they hop onto their 43-foot Bayliner yacht and sail off to idyllic Mildred Island, where they anchor and hang out. Normally they get there by
Photo courtesy of Jan McCleery
Jan McCleery’s family and friends enjoy anchoring out at Mildred Island and are concerned that a plan to put gates in the Delta could block their access. going under the Bacon Island Bridge, which has a lift mechanism allowing them to pass under it on Middle River. When that bridge lift is not in operation they must travel a route that is planned to be blocked part of the year by a
gate at Connection Slough on the north side of Bacon Island. McCleery is concerned that the gated channel won’t be deep enough to accommodate her boat even when the gate is open. And it’s unclear the exact hours when
the gate will be closed. “It will make it very difficult to tell if we can get back or when and how,” she said. “My other concern is I don’t think environmentally they are protecting the smelt. It’s to allow them to pump more water – it’s the first step toward the peripheral canal.” The gates project is a collaboration of the California Department of Water Resources, the federal Bureau of Reclamation and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. It has not yet been approved, however – the environmental studies are due to be released soon, which will allow opportunities for public comment before a final decision is made. But the current schedule is for construction to begin in September and for the gates to begin operation on Dec. 15. One gate would be on Connection Slough and the other on Old River north of Rock Slough between Bacon Island and Holland Tract, which is about five see Gates page 18A
Water polo attracts a tough, high-achieving player with the heart of a Lady Lion.
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INSIDE Arts.....................................6A Business ...........................15A Calendar ..........................23B Classifieds ........................16B Cop Logs ..........................14A Entertainment ................11B Food .................................12B Health & Beauty ............... 8B Milestones ......................... 7B Opinion ...........................13A Recreation .........................8A Sports ................................. 1B Talk About Town ..............5A WebExtras! ....................... 1B
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A