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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 10, No. 46
New school site dismissed by Samie Hartley Staff Writer A school might one day be built at the corner of Sellers Avenue and Delta Road, but it won’t be the comprehensive high school that the Liberty Union High School District Board first envisioned five years ago. The LUHSD Board of Trustees voted Oct. 27 to look elsewhere for a place to build its fourth school, and return 38 acres to John and Jerilee Geddes. The site has been at the center of a legal dispute between the board and the Geddeses since April. The family originally agreed to a $3 million price for the 38-acre parcel, but after switching legal representation prior to signing over the land, was informed that the land was worth an estimated $13 million. The Geddeses upped the asking price and filed suit against the district. Narrow country roads and
lack of other infrastructure at the site has also been a problem. The school was expected to host about 2,200 students and open in 2012, but the economic slowdown has chilled growth and the need for a new school is not as imminent. “When we first proposed the site, we got a big reaction from the county and the cities of Brentwood and Oakley because they were concerned about public safety and traffic issues,” said LUHSD Superintendednt Jerry Glenn. “As the board reviewed the EIR for finalization in August, it became very clear that Site 4 isn’t the best place for a comprehensive high school like we had originally hoped. Since the site doesn’t seem like a viable option, there was no point in continuing with the (Geddes) lawsuit.” Frank Spinelli, who lives near the Delta-Sellers intersection, was
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November 12, 2010
This Week Perfection of presence
Lunch Bell
A principal has challenged his students to achieve the unthinkable. Page 10A
Back in business Photo by Richard Wisdom
reedom Players Austin Perry (21) and Nico Davila (88) get a healthy helping of tri-tip Monday from members of the Oakley and Brentwood Kiwanis clubs, part of the activities surrounding the annual Bell Game gridiron tilt between the Falcons and their lunchmates for the day, the Liberty Lions. The two squads clash pads at the Bell Game this weekend.
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Our local fire protection district recently reopened a rural station. Page 4A
Not uptight over uprights
see School page 22A
Auditor cites flaws in fund accounting by Ruth Roberts Staff Writer
A report by the Contra Costa County auditor-controller stating that the policies, procedures and accounting of the Keller-Canyon Mitigation Fund (KCMF) are inadequate is drawing fire from county supervisors who say the report is incomplete. “As a result of this examination we determined that there are sufficient deficiencies in following the policies, procedures, accounting and allocation of the process to warrant a closer look,” said County Auditor-Controller Steve Ybarra of the 49-page report released Nov. 5. The five-month examination of the fund’s transactions was
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The release of the report has drawn sharp criticism from both Piepho and Glover, who contend the report is less than complete. prompted by complaints by four Discovery Bay residents – Mark Doran, Carol Jackson, Don Flint and William Richardson – who alleged that the KCMF is being used as a personal political slush fund for District V Supervisor Federal Glover, whose office oversees the fund, and District III Supervisor and Discovery Bay resident Mary Piepho. Doran, Jackson, Flint and Richardson all refused to comment for this story. “I met with them (Doran, Jackson, Flint and Richardson) and requested that they submit in
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writing their specific allegations and that we would take a look at them and see if it was something we would look into further,” said Ybarra. “I said to myself that hopefully at the end (of the examination) we would find that most of the accusations are unfounded. Unfortunately, I found it to be just opposite.” The KCMF, which has disbursed $14.3 million over the past decade, was established to help those communities most affected by the location of the Keller Canyon Landfill off of Bailey Road in
Glacial glutes
go to news/WebExtras! A display of daring derrieres takes place on the waters of Bethel Island.
Pittsburg. In recent years, recipients of the fund have expanded to include special community services districts as Discovery Bay and Knightsen. Throughout the years, KCMF has been used to offset the cost of a variety of community programs and services, including the East County Boys & Girls Club, the Delta Science Center and the First Baptist Church. Ybarra’s report said too much money had been paid out. “There has been a deficit in the fund balance for the last four years …” the report states. “Expenditures occurred each year without specific KCMF allocation Board approval.” The report idensee Auditor page 22A
Super sanitary
go to news/press releases A local sanitation district won a national award for its excellence in procurement.
The rosters of Freedom and Antioch are graced by athletes who find the pressure of their positions a real kick. Page 4B
Plus: Business .............................20A Calendar ............................ 19B Classifieds ......................... 14B Cop Logs ............................17A Entertainment ................. 10B Health & Beauty ................ 8B Milestones .......................... 9B Opinion ..............................16A Outdoors ...........................19A Sports ................................... 1B
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A
Corps lore
go to multimedia/videos Locals gave the 235th birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps a hearty hooah!