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January 14, 2011
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New museum exhibit speaks frankly about Clayton’s history TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
DAVE SHUEY
MAYOR’S CORNER Starting the year with wit and care. Happy New Year! By the time you read this, the 8th annual “Clayton Counts Down” celebration will have come and gone like Father Time. If past history is any indication, it will have been another great success sponsored by the city and All Out Sports League. Generous donors were Allied Waste, Jim Webb, Mike’s Auto Body, Travis Credit Union, Comcast, the Clayton Club, Turner, Huguet & Adams, Clayton Patch, Diablo View Cleaning, Doug van Wyck State Farm Insurance and the Clayton Pioneer. The event was put together by an amazing, but small, group of dedicated city employees and
Tamara Steiner/Clayton Pioneer
COUSINS JANET EASTON (LEFT) AND CHARMETTA MANN descended from Elizabeth and Frederick Frank who settled in Clayton 135 years ago. The Frank family history is the subject of the newest exhibit, Frankly Speaking, which opens at the Clayton Museum on Sunday, January 16.
If you don’t know her already, you’ve surely seen her around town. She’s tall and lean—her face tanned to a soft buckskin and creased by decades of sunshine and Marlboros. Her wiry arms are muscled by a lifetime of ranch work. She’s 70 and she can still stack four cords of firewood by herself. Her laugh is huge and infectious and she’s never met a stranger. Her roots reach as deep into Clayton soil as the stately oak that stands in the front yard of her 135-year-old ranch on Pine Hollow Court. She’s Charmetta Mann and her family digest reads like the local Thomas Brothers Guide. Russelmann, Bigelow, Bloching, Mitchell, Morgan, Trette, Myrick, Denkinger, Dana, Easton, Gehringer, Herriman
See Frank Exhibit, page 8
See Mayor, page 11
No Clayton schools on school closure list
Clayton players share De La Salle football glory JAY BEDECARRÉ Clayton Pioneer
DENISEN HARTLOVE Clayton Pioneer
Much to the relief of parents of the nearly 1,300 children who attend Mt. Diablo Elementary and Diablo View Middle schools, both sites seem to have dodged the bullet of school closures – at least temporarily. Due to ongoing budget reductions, the Mt. Diablo Unified School District formed a School Closures Committee last September to come up with recommendations as to which schools to close in an effort to save $15 million over the next 10 years. On Dec. 13, the committee
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID CLAYTON, CA PERMIT 190
See Closure, page 7
Photo by Jay Bedecarré
FIVE PLAYERS FROM CLAYTON WERE PART OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP De La Salle football team. They included, from left, T.J. Brassil, Blake Simons, Luke Simeona and Trevor Christiansen. Not pictured, Zac Byers.
De La Salle High School won its second straight CIF Open Division Bowl Game last month at Home Depot Center in Carson and five Clayton boys are now able to call themselves state champions as members of the Spartan football team. De La Salle is the only school to take part all five years of the CIF Bowl Games and scored their most impressive championship game victory with a 48-8 tri-
umph over Servite of Anaheim. Leading the way for the local contingent was Special Teams Captain Luke Simeona, who was a “beast and demon as the wedge buster on the kickoff team,” according to DLS Assistant Coach Terry Eidson of Concord in his 30th season assisting legendary Spartan head coach Bob Ladouceur. Simeona was in his third year on varsity but maximized his opportunity this past fall after injury-plagued sophomore and junior seasons. The 6-0, 212-pounder was the
starting left tackle and was named to the All-East Bay Athletic League and All-East Bay teams. Seniors Zac Byers, a wide receiver, and lineman Blake Simons both had injuries that limited their playing time this year. Simons played early in the schedule before a neck injury knocked him out for most of the season. Byers broke his collarbone during the summer, recovered to return to action but then
See Spartans, page 13
Last minute efforts save Clayton Counts Down TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
The city’s New Year’s Eve celebration very nearly didn’t happen this year. The alcohol-free family event depends solely on volunteers and donations to cover the $6,800 cost. As late as the first week in December, both fell far short of the minimum needed. But, in true Clayton fashion, the community stepped up. Last minute volunteers and donations pulled the event back from the cliff and more than 500 kids and parents celebrated the close of 2010 at the Clayton Counts Down at the Clayton Community Gym. In keeping with this year’s
theme of Carnival 2010, the decorated mask contest was the biggest draw. Scores of kids lined up at long tables piled high with crafts, yarns and glue. Evelyn Lewis, 5, who has spent her “whole life in Clayton,” held up a marvel of feathers, glitter and rhinestones. “It’s pretty and beautiful,” she said, admiring her handiwork. Downstairs, there was shuffleboard, pinball, bean-bag toss and other carnival games. Madison York, 6, won the Gone Fishing pinball game twice in a row the first time she played. “The best part is winning,” she said. Upstairs, “Toy Story 3” ran
See Counts Down, page 2
What’s Inside Around Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Car Tuned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Church News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Tamara Steiner/Clayton Pioneer
KIDS WAIT IN SUSPENSE FOR THE JUDGE’S DECISION in the Mask Decorating Contest at Clayton Counts Down on New Year’s Eve. Winners in three divisions won movie tickets.
Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Club News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Community Calendar . . . . . . . . . . .15 Directory of Advertisers . . . . . . . . . .5 DVMS Reporter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
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