PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID CLAYTON, CA PERMIT 190
IT’S YOUR PAPER www.claytonpioneer.com
April 7, 2006
925.672.0500
Main break severely damages Clayton Rd. DAVE SHUEY
MAYOR’S CORNER Varied programs help local youth It is with great trepidation that I begin this column by telling you that I have no idea what to talk about. Imagine, a politician without anything to say. Ok, I got over it. I’ve found my muse and will forge ahead. Follow at your own risk. I had the great pleasure to read a story to a group of young readers and their parents as part of the Clayton Library’s recent celebration. Also reading stories to the kids were Linda Hutcherson (Mt. Diablo Elementary principal), Tamara Steiner (Pioneer publisher), Police Chief Dan Lawrence and Laura Hoffmeister (our assistant to the city manager and a Concord City Council member). Despite the fact that the chief cheated by handing out shiny sticker police badges to enthrall the children (What am I going to give them, a tax bill?), we all read wonderful stories that I hope will start those kids on a lifetime of reading and learning. (Oh stop Shoe, you’re making me cry with all this sappy stuff.) But the sap does not stop. Before the reading, I had the opportunity to watch several tutor volunteers working with middle school and high school kids on their coursework. These are your neighbors giving their time to help your kids, for no recognition or glory. Well, I am giving it to them here. Great job on a great service to the community. If you want to help tutor our kids or if your kids need some help, pick up a flier at the library. (Crying yet?) Turning to other events, the Mt. Diablo PFC fund-raising auction on March 25 was a huge success, raising more money
See Mayor, page A4
What’s inside SECTION A Around Town . . . . . . . . . .A2 Classifieds and Directory of Advertisers . . . . . . . . . .A5 Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . .A6 At The Movies . . . . . . . . . .A9 Tax Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A9 Sharing History . . . . . . . .A11 So, Anyway . . . . . . . . . . . .A11 Upcoming Events . . . . . .A12 Garden Girl . . . . . . . . . . .A13
SECTION B Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B2 Pet Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B6 Community Calendar . . . . .B7 Church News . . . . . . . . . . .B8 Letters to the Editor . . . . .B9 Tea for You . . . . . . . . . . . .B10 EcoFocus . . . . . . . . . . . . .B10 Dining Around . . . . . . . . .B11 Food for Thought . . . . . .B12
Tamara Steiner/Clayton Pioneer
CCWD crews dig for the broken water main at the corner of Clayton Road and Peacock Creek Drive which damaged 1000 feet of Clayton Road. TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
The road damage on Clayton Road caused by a ruptured Contra Costa Water District (CCWD) main pipe last week will take until at least mid-summer to repair, says City Manager Gary Napper. The 12-inch pipe, which
runs down Peacock Creek Drive and makes a right turn at Clayton Road, broke at the right elbow about 3:30 a.m. March 30. It snarled traffic and created delays of up to three hours during the morning commute. Marsh Creek Road is an alternative route for thousands of East County commuters seeking to avoid the backups on
Highway 4. The morning of the main break, traffic came to a standstill and was backed up for miles out Marsh Creek Road. Julie Dunn, who works in Lynne French’s office in Clayton, commutes from Brentwood. “The traffic stopped dead at the Marsh Creek Trailer Park,” she said. “I kept thinking it was an acci-
dent.” The trailer park is about eight miles east of the city limits. In an effort to get around the traffic jam, cars spilled over into residential neighborhoods, clogging virtually every through street in town. “Many East County commuters have, for the first time, been introduced to some of the
other marvelous parts of Clayton,” Napper said with a smile, “like the nice neighborhoods and our quaint downtown, areas they’ve missed when they were whizzing through town.” Crews were on-site by 4:30 a.m., when they closed the street
See Break, page A4
City proposes tiered parcel tax for downtown park TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
"Build it and they will come" is the battle cry of the Clayton City Council as it prepares to take the downtown park issue to the voters one more time next November. They want the voters to decide on the park separately from the general landscaping issues and are proposing to create
a special Community Facilities District for the park alone. The City Council believes that a park will attract more pedestrian and vehicle traffic to the downtown area, which will then attract more businesses, creating a synergy that translates to increased sales tax revenue. Since businesses will see a direct bottom line benefit from the park, the City is proposing a tiered parcel tax, with businesses
to pay one-third of the cost of park operation and the residents to pay the other two-thirds. This translates to an annual assessment of about $16.39. Businesses will pay an average of $239 per quarter acre parcel with downtown businesses paying a higher tax than those further out. Operating costs for the park were included in Measure M, on last November's ballot. Measure
M proposed a $365 annual assessment to cover all landscape maintenance including the park operation. The measure needed a twothirds majority to pass. It got 45 percent. Feedback from voters indicated that, while the majority wanted a park, the $365 annual assessment was too high. Many felt that businesses should shoulder a greater share of the tax burden for the park.
Uzoma Nwakuche, Clayton businessman who is developing the parcel at Oak and Center Streets says "I'm absolutely in favor of businesses paying a larger share. The park is critical to drawing traffic downtown. It's key to the town's revitalization." The park tax will be assessed through a special district set up for the maintenance and operation of
See Park, page A4
For dialysis patient, there’s no place like home BEV BRITTON Clayton Pioneer
Every time Clayton resident Jake Casey returned from dialysis at a local facility, he was wiped out. “It knocks the snot out of you,” he says. But after two years on an experimental home dialysis regimen, Casey is a new man. Or more to the point, the man he used to be. “Overall, I feel almost as well as before my kidneys failed,” Casey says enthusiastically from the comfort of his Regency Woods living room. “I’m doing so well that if I were offered a transplant today, I don’t think I’d take it.” The 64-year-old man’s descent into kidney failure began at the age of 32, when he discovered he had polycystic
kidney disease. As the genetic disease progresses, cysts grow and multiply on the kidneys. “Over a period of years, you have more cysts than you do kidney surface,” Casey says. Ultimately, the diseased kidneys shut down in end-stage renal disease. Dialysis and transplants are the only forms of treatment available. Until Casey’s father was hospitalized at the age of 52, the family didn’t realize anything was wrong. “All we knew was that my grandfather had died of kidney failure when he was 41. We didn’t know why,” says Casey. In addition to his father, his sister Peggy also inherited the disease. She died at the age of 47, due to complications of high blood pressure – a common
See Dialysis, page A10
Tamara Steiner/Clayton Pioneer
This portable dialysis machine has allowed Jake Casey to dialyze on his own schedule.