See Holiday Events Calendar on page 2
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December 3, 2010
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Thanksgiving Day fire destroys local business and historic Clayton building TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
HANK STRATFORD
MAYOR’S CORNER Mayor Stratford’s final countdown If my calculations are right, this is the last column I get to write as mayor. At the Dec. 7 City Council meeting, we will select a new mayor and vice mayor. If tradition holds, and I don’t know why it wouldn’t, Vice Mayor Shuey will be our mayor for the next year. Shoe has been mayor before and,
See Mayor, page 14
Rigorous Ironman races become second nature
Photo courtesy of Bob Hoyer
THE LITTLE RED HOUSE ON MAIN STREET THAT WAS DESTROYED BY A THANKSGIVING DAY FIRE was the original Clayton City Office in 1964. Real estate broker, Nan Wallace owned the building and loaned it to the city. According to the caption on an old photo, there was “room for a typewriter table, a desk and a place to hang your hat.”
Clayton lost a piece of history and a local businessman his livelihood on Thanksgiving Day when fire destroyed the tiny red building at 6000 Main Street that housed The Best Little Hairhouse in Clayton/Hair by Jim. According to Contra Costa Fire Station 11 Captain Terry Newberry the fire started on a bench next to the building and was intentionally set. The flames quickly spread up the side of the building, causing major damage to the inside and front. “There was nothing electrical or mechanical around the area,” said Newberry. “Benches don’t start on fire by themselves.” This was the second suspicious fire downtown in the past month. According to Station 11 engineer Dennis Jerge, on Oct. 30 around 2 a.m., a fire caused major damage to the 100-yearold Belle Sullivan house on Oak Street. Sullivan was the town
See Fire, page 8
DANA GUZZETTI Clayton Pioneer
Roughly 400 of 2,500 competitors failed to finish in the tough 2010 Ford Ironman race in Tempe, Ariz., but Clayton resident Jennifer Jay overcame icy rain and hail to be welcomed at the finish line by Chrissie Wellington, who smashed the women’s Ironman world record. “The swim was hard in the
See Ironman, page 13
Local family has close connection to Congressional Medal of Honor recipient JAY BEDECARRÉ Clayton Pioneer
Chuck and MaraLee Stoffers of Concord suffered a tremendous loss three years ago when their grandson, Sgt. Joshua Brennan, was killed in action by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Since then, the Stoffers and their extended family have been on quite a journey as they learned about the circumstances of the death. It all culminated in November when the couple traveled to Washington, D.C., for the ceremony that made Sgt. Sal Giunta the first living Medal of
Honor recipient since the Vietnam War. In 2007, Giunta and Brennan were members of the Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade serving near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in the dangerous Korengal Valley, nicknamed by soldiers the Valley of Death.
ATTACK AT NIGHTFALL On Oct. 25, Brennan and Giunta were providing cover for two other platoons. At nightfall, the members of their 1st Platoon began returning to their camp. They were at an elevation
See Medal, page 8
Lawrence Hall workshop mixes science with fundamental fun for DVMS students
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID CLAYTON, CA PERMIT 190
CLAYTON’S JENNIFER JAY BIKES across the Golden Gate as part of her rigorous training for the Ironman Tempe, Arizona competition on Nov. 21. She trains more than 20 hours a week in preparation for these grueling events.
ROBBIE PARKER AND PAMELA WIESENDANGER Clayton Pioneer
Diablo View Middle School eighth graders participated in interactive demonstrations and more than a dozen hands-on experiments at the Wizard’s Workshop on campus Nov. 15. The workshop, funded by the Parent Faculty Club and run by UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science, intended to spark an interest in science. Sixth and seventh graders will attend workshops later in the school year. The assembly focused on the eighth-grade curriculum of
physics and chemistry, beginning with a discussion of physics. Students learned that static electricity results when two materials are rubbed together and one steals electrons from the other. They delighted in watching a fellow student put both hands on the Van de Graaff generator (an electric induction machine used in nuclear research and cancer therapy) until his hair stood on end and he could illuminate a light bulb with his touch. John-Michael Seltzer, program representative at the
See Science, page 14
What’s Inside Around Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Book Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Club News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Clayton Valley motivates students to ‘Do the Right Thing’ SARAH ROSEN AND TAYLOR TOVREA Clayton Pioneer
Today’s teens get a bad rap. Given the robberies, vandalism and arson committed by local teenagers, it is no mystery why adolescents are developing a negative reputation. With the recent tarnishing of the image of Clayton Valley High School and, with it, the student body, has come a disheartening loss of school pride. For proof of such a loss, one need not look farther than the trash-strewn campus where students guiltlessly disrespect their school, their teachers, their peers and themselves on a daily basis.
See Oath, page 6
DAISY AGERS, LEFT, AND BRIANNE NEWELL try the periscope experiment with the help of volunteer Alison Bacigalupo. The Wizard’s Workshop included experiments with optics as well as physics and electricity.
Community Calendar . . . . . . . .10 Cookie Contest Entry Form . .17 Directory of Advertisers . . . . . . .5 Food for Thought . . . . . . . . . . .14 From the Cheif . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Garden Girl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Holidays Around Town . . . . . . .2
Holiday Shopping . . . . . . . . . .16 Pets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Real Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Teen Speak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Cookie Contest Entry forms due Dec. 6.
Entry form in the Holiday Guide, page 17