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August 7, 2009
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IT’S YOUR PAPER
Ipsen takes silver in Rome JULIE PIERCE
MAYOR’S CORNER Residents, city need to trim water usage Whew! It’s been hot and dry. That makes for a very high fire danger and severe drought restrictions from the Contra Costa Water District (CCWD). I’m sure you are all working hard to meet the 15 percent reduction target issued by CCWD. However, the district says usage was down only 7 percent district-wide for May, so we have to keep reducing. The penalties for overuse include a quadrupling of the bill and even shut-off of exterior water. So, brown lawns will be the badges of honor that demonstrate our sincere efforts to conserve as we get through the even hotter months to come. CCWD restrictions on the city are even tougher than for homeowners. We have the same 15 percent target for indoor city facilities as residential customers do, but our outdoor target is 45 percent. Ouch! So you will see most of our lawns go brown too. The City Council adopted a Water Drought Management Plan at the May 5 meeting. Our
See Mayor, page 15
Tamara Steiner/Clayton Pioneer
PROUD
GRANDPARENTS,
(from left) Irene and Joe Cleary and Skip and Linda Ipsen pre-
pare for Kristian’s return from Rome on Aug. 6 where the 16-year-old and his diving partner, Troy Dumais, took the silver medal in 3-meter synchronized diving at the World Cup. Photo at right: Troy Dumais and Kristian Ipsen.
Paired with three-time U.S. Olympian Troy Dumais, Clayton’s Kristian Ipsen took the silver medal in 3-meter synchronized diving at the FINA World Championships in Rome last month. Olympic champions Qin Kai and Wang Feng of China defended their world championship with 467.94 points,
compared to 445.59 points for Ipsen and Dumais. It was the first world championship for Ipsen, a 16-yearold student at De La Salle High School. He began training in March with 29-year-old Dumais, a 26-time national champion. “I was pretty confident during prelims,” Ipsen told Sports
Illustrated. “In finals, I was more nervous because I’ve never had a meet this big. But Troy calmed me down.” Ipsen was still traveling in Italy and unavailable for comment for the Pioneer. His whole family was at the competition, including his
See Ipsen, page 16 Photo courtesy of the Ipsen family
Claytonians show civic pride through trail volunteer efforts ANDRÉ GENSBURGER Clayton Pioneer
Clayton’s trail system has landed the city on any number
of “great places to live” lists. As far back as 1988, Clayton received Walking magazine’s award as one of the five most walkable small cities in
America. And twice in the last three years, Money magazine listed Clayton in its top 100 places to live, touting the 27mile trail system among the
André Gensburger/Clayton Pioneer
MONIKA MAYTUM, LEFT, WITH SCOUTS NICK SWIATKO, Ted Hall and Anthony Maytum clear debris on the Donner Trail as part of their service to Clayton’s Adopt-A-Trail program.
What’s Inside Around Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Church News . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Clayton Sports . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Club News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Community Calendar . . . . . . .15
city’s other charms. So it was no surprise that when the Trails and Landscape Maintenance Committee (TLC) put the city trails up for “adoption,” there were no shortage of volunteers. The Adopt-A-Trail program has garnered both financial support and volunteers. Families and individuals, scout troops, local businesses and civic organizations have stepped up to the plate to adopt segments of Clayton’s trails. For Boy Scout Troops 484 and 262, their Adopt-A-Trail service goes beyond doing a good deed; it develops a life skill that they hope will help them in their adult life. “We keep the trail free from litter and natural debris,” said Ted Hall, the 15-year-old scout in charge for Troop 484 and senior patrol leader. “I run these trails for cross country at Clayton Valley,” he added. “Some trails have logs, poles, leaves and sticks.”
Crossword Solution . . . . . . . .16 Deal With It . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Directory of Advertisers . . . . . .5 Food for Thought . . . . . . . . . .18 From the Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
The troops adopted the Donner Trail that extends from Regency Drive to downtown Clayton. As for trash, he noted: “This trail is not so bad.” According to Hall, the Clayton trails are heavily used. “I don’t think I’ve ever gone for a run without seeing someone else,” he reported. A FAMILY AFFAIR Under the Adopt-A-Trail program set in place earlier this year, each trail can have two adopters – one financial and one for clean-up, explains TLC member David Disend. The trails are divided into 11 segments, each needing both financial and clean-up support. The Pauline family of Clayton filled both roles by being the first to sign up for the program. They sponsor the most heavily used trail, the Cardinet Trail, which runs from
See Adopt-A-Trail, page 6
Garden Girl . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Movie Review . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Paws and Claws . . . . . . . . . .14 Police Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
State grabs local taxes to balance budget; city hit hard TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
After months of agonizing over how to cover a $26 billion shortfall in the state’s budget, the governor finally signed a budget package last week that dips heavily into local tax revenue to close the gap and left local governments scratching their heads trying to figure out exactly how much local tax revenue would be lost to state “borrowing.” The amount is sure to be over $150,000 loss to the gener-
See Budget, page 4
Tech Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Teen Speak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Upcoming Events . . . . . . . . . . .4 Weather Words . . . . . . . . . . . .7