January 14, 2011
Clayton Pioneer • www.claytonpioneer .com
Page 9
Community at the heart of CBCA goals TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
If you’re looking for a way to get involved in our community, Clayton has dozens of outlets for your creative energy and countless opportunities to meet people and share interests. Beginning with this issue, Pioneer readers can learn about the local possibilities for selfexpression, community service and just plain fun. Our first spotlight shines on the Clayton Business and Community Association (CBCA). The CBCA is a major player on the local scene. The community service organization’s motto is “For the Good of the Clayton Community.” The group raises money every year through three main events – the Art and Wine Festival in the spring, the Clayton Classic Golf Tournament in June and the Oktoberfest in the fall – and plows it back into the community through college scholarships, civic projects and donations to causes such as providing meals and clothing to those in need, sports uniforms and equipment to teams that are underfunded or not funded by the school district and care packages to our troops. In 2009, the CBCA contributed more than $60,000 toward the redesign of the city’s “Daffodil Hill” gateway entrance into downtown. Committee members are hard at work on the
designs for the landscaping. Almost anything in Clayton that takes money has seen CBCA donations. In addition, the group decorates downtown Clayton and The Grove for Christmas, sponsors and coordinates the annual Christmas tree lighting and “Dessert with Mrs. Claus.” CBCA also donated the gazebo in The Grove and is a co-sponsor of the popular summer Concerts in The Grove. The CBCA held its inaugural Rib Cook-Off and Membership Drive at the Clayton Club in August. This event came together quickly and publicity was light, but the smell of baby back ribs on the barbecues of the 16 contestants attracted a few hundred attendees. As a result, this event will probably be expanded and become an annual affair. The group is also involved in “Do the Right Thing,” a character emphasis program promoted in Clayton schools and by the city of Clayton through posters and banners. This civic organization has its roots in the business community. Originally founded as the Clayton Business and Professional Association, the club was created to give local businesses a stronger voice in city government. In 1995, the organization renamed itself the Clayton Business and Community Association and “expanded its focus into more of a service organization,” accord-
Photo credit: Pete Barra
CRAIG JOHNSON AND WIFE SANDY, work the ticket booth for a few hours at the 2010 Art and Wine Festival, just one of several CBCA events run by volunteers each year.
ing to Howard Geller, a longtime CBCA member, current City Council member and an organizer of the summer concert series. “The biggest misperceptions that people have when attending CBCA events are that one needs to own a business in order to join, or that CBCA is a part of city government,” says 2011 CBCA president Ed Hartley. In fact, anyone who lives in the 94517 zip code or on the Clayton-Concord border can be a member, as can anyone who owns a business in town or one that services Clayton residents. Dues are $48 per year, plus a one-time $60 initiation fee. General member dinner meetings are held on the last business Thursday of the month, most
often at Oakhurst Country Club. In addition to club news, the monthly meetings include updates about current activities from City Council and Planning Commission members and representatives from local clubs and organizations. “Our monthly member meeting is a great way to meet and talk to your neighbors, local business owners, members of city government, the police chief, a planning commissioner and to find out what is going on in town,” said Keith Haydon, CBCA first vice president in charge of programs. “All five City Council members, the city manager, the assistant to the city manager, several members of the police department, the
Planning Commission and other city employees are CBCA members and regularly attend our meeting.” According to Haydon, all of the labor and effort to put on club events is done through volunteers. “We do not hire out labor for anything. This means that in addition to the 180 current CBCA members, we rely on hundreds of others to volunteer their time at our events. Most of those volunteers, in turn, are part of the same groups who receive CBCA donations.” “As a community service group, we are only as good as the effort that our members and volunteers put in to raising money so we can donate it back out to worthy causes,” Hartley noted. “This is a town where individuals can really make a difference,” Geller concluded. “And the CBCA is the way to do it.” For more information on the CBCA, call 672-2272 or visit www.claytoncbca.org.
Your credit card may be Club News transmitting personal info right into thieves’ laptops
FROM
THE
CHIEF
These days, thieves can steal private financial information from our credit cards through radio frequency identification (RFID) chips. Credit card issuers and the U.S. State Department have started installing RFID chips in credit cards and passports. These small electronic devices have the capacity to hold more private data about us and are faster to read than the magnetic strips on most credit cards. Retrieving the data from credit cards or passports with a RFID chip is accomplished through the use of an RFID reader. The reading device is simply held close enough to the credit card or passport. The primary reason companies are using this technology is speed. The chips facilitate faster purchase transactions or quicker check-in times at the airport, for example. Unfortunately, identity thieves are also able to utilize this new technology to quickly steal personal information from unsuspecting people. They use RFID readers that are readily available online. Anyone with a RFID reader can simply walk near people who have RFIDequipped credit cards in their possession and scan the credit cards or passports. The RFID chip transmits personal data to the RFID reader, which is then
If you have further questions about this new theft issue, call the Clayton Police Department at 6737350, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Dan Lawrence is Clayton’s Police Chief. Please send your questions, comments or topics you’d like to see covered to DanL@cpd.ci. concord.ca.us
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS Concord Council 6038 is hosting a crab feed at 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 5, in St. Bonaventure’s large hall. The menu includes, crab, pasta, salad, garlic bread and dessert. Steak and vegetable are available by special order. Hosted bar features beer, wine and soft drinks. Don’t forget your crab crackers. The church is at 5562 Clayton Road, Concord. Tickets are $38 and on sale at the church office or after weekend Mass. Or call Bob Malucelli at 6740920, George Conlow at 6859547, Pat Deplazes at 685-0573 or Claire Tryon at 673-8564.
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Church News CONCORD UNITED METHODIST CHURCH A Contra Costa Fire Department official will offer safety instruction to the Women’s Group at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 19. Non-members welcome. Free lunch served by Esther Circle. The church is at 1645 West St., Concord. For more information, call Helen Johnston at 682-1775. BAHA’IS OF CLAYTON All are invited to a talk and evening of fellowship on Friday, Feb. 4. The subject of the talk is “One Humanity – One Common Faith,” with speaker Dennis Pettyjohn. He holds a bachelor’s degree in theology and a master’s in church administration. He was a Baptist minister for about 10 years in California and Arizona. Pettyjohn’s commentary provides insights into the progressive unfolding of past religions and their prophecies, such as the return of Christ and the advent of the Lord of Hosts who have led the world to this promised “Day of God.” The program starts at 7:30 p.m. with a period of interfaith
devotions at the Toloui home in Clayton. For more information and directions, call 672-6686.
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stored for later use by a thief. Even if credit cards are kept in wallets or purses, the chip can still transmit when prompted by a RFID reader. Equipped with a high-powered RFID reader coupled with a laptop computer in a briefcase, a thief walks close enough to people in a crowded place, such as an airport or shopping mall. When the thief ’s RFID reader has collected personal financial data from an unsuspecting person, the person has become a victim of electronic pick-pocketing. As of this date, no one has been caught trying to steal someone’s credit card information electronically. But an electronic pick-pocket could be long gone before anyone realizes personal financial date has been stolen. Because this new technology is definitely a threat, you need to find out if your credit cards have RFID chips. Credit cards with RFID chips usually have a Wi-Fi symbol. If you are not sure, the credit card company should be able to advise you. If your credit cards are equipped with RFID chips, I recommend you carry them in a protective sleeve or shield available online. These protective devices are designed to block an RFID reader’s ability to scan a RFID-equipped credit card or passport.
AAUW AND SAVE MT. DIABLO On Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m., Save Mount Diablo will provide a presentation for the AAUW Clayton Branch and the public at Diamond Terrace, 6401 Center Street in Clayton. Speakers Julie Seelen and Emily Egan will talk about current issues, recent acquisitions and future plans and events as part of their ongoing efforts to keep the community informed about the organization and our shared “backyard”. AAUW is a national organization which advances equity of women and girls through advocacy, education and research.
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