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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 20, No. 9
Summer Lake opening delayed
February 28, 2020
Celebrating 90 Years
by Aly Brown Staff Writer
At the mercy of various construction challenges and weather, the Oakley Union Elementary School District (OUESD) recently announced Summer Lake Elementary School will not open until July, with the start of the 2020-21 school year. “The school is beautiful,” said OUESD Superintendent Greg Hetrick. “The buildings are absolutely amazing and are done, but we had some final concrete things to get put in, the landscaping, cleaning things up — that part’s not done, so we can’t move kids in. It’s not ready.” Originally slated to open for the 2019-20 school year, the construction has seen several delays, with officials in constant anticipation that each holiday break would mark the launch of a student and staff move from their host site at Iron House Elementary School into the new facility at 4320 E. Summer
Contra Costa’s last Future Farmers of America chapter marks milestone and looks ahead. Page 4
The Science Of Paper Towels Press file photo
Due to construction setbacks, Summer Lake Elementary School is now set to open with the beginning of the 2020-21 school year.
see Delayed page 22
Residents weigh in on tunnel plan by Tony Kukulich Staff Writer
Photo by Tony Kukulich
Gil Arthur of Discovery Bay joined a rally organized by Save the California Delta Alliance to oppose the Delta Conveyance Project in advance of a public scoping meeting held by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) in Brentwood, Thursday, Feb. 20.
SAVE NOW
A rally before the start of the Department of Water Resources’(DWR) public scoping meeting for the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP) set the tone for the event — residents of East County were in no mood to consider another tunnel project in the Delta. Held Thursday, Feb. 20, the Brentwood Community Center’s upstairs conference room was filled beyond capacity, and many attendees stood along the walls and spilled out into the hallway. “First of all, (DWR) had better have larger meeting rooms if they come to the South Delta, because we have so many people that are so concerned about this project,” said Jan McCleery, former Save the California Delta Alliance (STCDA) president. “We overfilled the room, and there was standing room only.” Following DWR’s brief over-
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view of the project, more than three dozen tunnel opponents, including Contra Costa County District 3 Supervisor Diane Burgis and City of Oakley Mayor Kevin Romick, waited to have their concerns and questions entered in the public record. Among the most frequently heard concern was that the DCP increases reliance on the Delta as a source of water for Southern California. This position contradicts the Delta Reform Act that requires the state to reduce its reliance on the Delta. A number of speakers noted with frustration that DWR is not examining desalination as an alternative to a tunnel despite significant improvements in technology in recent years. “We are losing a lot of our snowpack because of climate change, and we’re seeing fires,” Burgis said. “We have to invest in projects that actually create water, see Tunnel page 22
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Brentwood student wins science fair by proving which paper towel brand is strongest. Page 9
Tough Soccer Season Finish
Liberty girls’ soccer team falls to Berkeley in final shootout to end the season. Page 14 Calendar................................23 Classifieds.............................19 Cop Logs................................11 Education................................4 Entertainment.......................9 Food..........................................8 Milestones............................13 Pets of the week...................6 Sports.....................................14
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