Oakley Press_01.08.10

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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa

Vol. 10, No. 2

Including Surrounding Communities

www.thepress.net

Railroad paints out swastikas by Dave Roberts Staff Writer

Two train cars across from the Hillcrest Park-and-Ride lot containing hate-filled graffiti have been painted over after an Antioch resident and officials complained to Union Pacific Railroad. For months, thousands of East County residents who catch the bus at the lot have been forced to look at nearly two dozen Nazi swastikas along with words such as “HAIL HITLER,” WHITE POWER” and “NIG” that were spray-painted on the railroad cars across the street. The graffiti might still be there if not for Jaime Cader, an Antioch resident who served on the Contra Costa Human Relations Commission before it was dissolved in 2008. Cader occasionally takes the bus at the Hillcrest stop, saw the graffiti and intended to bring it to the attention of officials at a City Council meeting. He didn’t get around to it, however, until he saw a newspaper article last week about swastikas scrawled on a Sacramento syna-

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January 8, 2010

THIS WEEK

Roving razor delivers

In an age when above-andbeyond service is hard to find, one Oakley barber has begun making house calls.

Page 4A Photo by Dave Roberts

Swastikas and hateful graffiti on train cars across from the Hillcrest Park-and-Ride lot were painted over Tuesday following complaints by an Antioch resident and city officials. gogue. That prompted him to send an e-mail to several city officials on Saturday containing a photo he took a month ago of the swastika-laden train cars in Antioch. “These same train cars have been in the same lo-

cation in Antioch for months, and I doubt that anyone has complained about them to the Antioch City Council,” said Cader in his e-mail. In a phone interview Monday, Cader said, “I feel that something like that should not be visible. In

my opinion, things like that promote hatred and hateful actions to individuals. Those things should be stopped right away. They should be painted over.” see Swastikas page 18A

Bands work toward getting a Rim shot

Where to draw the line

New boundaries mean some Oakley middle-schoolers will no longer be running the gauntlet over a busy highway.

Page 12A

Valiant volunteer

Tower of Power to boost fundraiser concert by Samie Hartley Staff Writer

As the winter chill of the new year nips at our noses, the thought of being whisked away to Hawaii sounds heavenly, but that will soon be a reality for students in the Heritage and Liberty high school jazz bands. Members of both bands will be attending the 2010 Pacific Basin Music Festival in Waikiki in March. The festival is an exclusive international assembly of bands, choirs and orchestras, consisting of members of all ages. Only 12 bands are accepted into the week-long program, so for two Brentwood bands to be invited is a grand accomplishment for both bands, which auditioned two years in advance in order to earn a spot. “We are very excited to have both Heritage and Liberty high school involved in this year’s festival,” said Festival Manager Keith Bishop. “The Pacific Basin Music Festival is an international event, bringing together the most talented junior high, high school, community and college level bands and choirs from countries of the Pacific Basin and beyond. … This is a unique opportunity for international exchange through social functions and music.” The teens representing Brentwood will be

A parent and Freedom High stalwart was honored for her commitment and enthusiasm.

Page 10A

INSIDE Photo by Richard Wisdom

Tower of Power member Mic Gillette rehearses with the Liberty Jazz Band in preparation for the band’s fundraiser concert this weekend. The event will raise money for the band’s trip to Hawaii in March. joined by bands from Australia, Japan, Singapore, the Kingdom of Tonga, as well as other schools from the United States. But before the students can say aloha, they each need to raise approximately $1,500 to pay for admission to the program, airfare to Hawaii, meals and personal expenses. In the past year, Heritage and Liberty students have been diligently working on fundraisers to offset the cost of the trip. Heritage students took over the Breakfast with Santa program, which was canceled by the City of

Brentwood as part of budget cuts. Rather than see the holiday program cease, various Heritage student organizations got together to host the event and keep the Brentwood tradition alive while raising funds for various causes, including the Pacific Basin trip. The Heritage band also partnered with the Streets of Brentwood as the beneficiary of the shopping complex’s quarterly sale, where portions of sales at all the stores during a designated weekend are see Bands page 18A

Business .............................4A Calendar ..........................19B Classifieds ........................13B Cop Logs ..........................15A Entertainment .................. 8B Food ................................... 9B Health & Beauty ............... 6B Milestones ......................... 5B Opinion ...........................14A Sports ................................. 1B WebExtras! ....................... 1B

FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A


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