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August 6, 2004
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DOBRATZ GOES FOR THE GOLD Clayton woman swims in Athens JILL BEDECARRÉ Clayton Pioneer
Just one year ago, 21-year-old Erin Dobratz was vying for a spot on the 2004 Olympic U.S. synchronized swimming team. She took a one-year sabbatical from Stanford University to train in hopes of being one of the final three picks for the team. She was optimistic at the time but not certain that she was going to make it. This week, the Clayton athlete boarded a plane with eight teammates. She is headed for Athens with her sights set on Olympic gold. "It doesn't seem real yet. When I get to Athens and the Olympic Village, it will sink in," she says. It's easy to see why Dobratz's Olympic status hasn't set in yet. For the past three years her training has been rigorous. From collegiate competition at Stanford to world tours with the National synchronized swimming team and daily 8- to 10-hour practices, Dobratz spends most of her waking hours in the water. She has trained with many of the same girls that are now her Olympic teammates. And she's been coached by Chris Carver, head coach for the U.S. Olympic team, for several years. She's in the water at 7 a.m., breaks for lunch at 12 noon and she's back in the water until early evening. Nothing much in her routine has changed, except for the fact that now Dobratz's name appears on the 2004 U.S. Olympic roster for synchronized swimming. She remembers the final cut for the Olympic team last December. Her voice gets a little shaky as she recalls the competition that day. A total of 11 girls competed; the six that had already been picked and five girls, including Dobratz and her best friend, Katie Norris who were trying to capture one of the last three spots. The competition required each girl to swim five threeminute solo and group programs. At the end of the competition, Dobratz recalls that all 11 were lined up alongside the pool at the Santa Clara International Swim Center and names were announced; first the six that were on the team and then the three new
Photo courtesy Don Roper
Erin Dobratz heads to Athens for the Olympics. Inset, Dobratz with her parents, Judy and Carl. members. "I can't remember in what order my name was announced. There were tears of happiness and sadness. It was hard to be happy because my closest friend didn't make it." She remembers being led off to a telephone interview and waving to her parents in the stands as she left the
pool. "I didn't get a chance to talk to Katie; it was decided that other members of the team would be with her," she recalls. The next day it was back to practice and Dobratz's daily swim routine." It wasn't easy to talk to her (Katie) about it. There weren't any hard feelings. She's back at school now and
we're still friends." Dobratz eyes light up when she talks about her team's programs for the Olympic competition. "We have a very innovative free program. Three of the four minutes are spent under water. It's the best (routine) I've ever seen. We think we can win." In the past two
JULIE PIERCE
MAYOR’S CORNER The legislative leadership in Sacramento has finally agreed on a state budget. While it is not everything the cities had asked for, it does grant us some protection from future raids on city coffers. During the final hours of wrangling, representatives of local governments lobbied hard to ensure that we retained as much of our original "deal" with the Governor as possible. The League of California Cities and many of our local elected officials
years. In the current budget agreement, the legislature is required to repay the VLF "loan" in 2006-07. While the legislature cannot take local property taxes from cities more often than twice in ten years, they can still reallocate those funds within each county. For example, if the state can't pay for all of the services they contract with counties to deliver, the legislature, with a two thirds vote, could take money from cities’ redevelopment funds to pay the counties for those services. This is a loophole we need to close. The new deal also provides significant other guarantees, including restoring the one-quarter cent sales tax suspended by the so-called Triple Flip and constitutional protection of the Bradley Burns sales tax, and a prohibition against future ERAF shifts. It also reforms the unfunded state mandate reimbursement process, providing for suspension
See Mayor, page 6
See Dobratz, page 10
Weed control keeps hillside fire in check
State strikes budget deal have worked tirelessly to secure these agreements. They deserve a great deal of thanks for their efforts. In the cities' agreement with the Governor, we agreed to give up additional funds for each of the next two years in exchange for a guarantee that the state could never again take our local revenue. In the budget deal struck by the leadership, the state still takes those funds for two years and can take local funds in the future, but only if they meet certain requirements: a) the Governor must proclaim a "significant state fiscal hardship," b) A two thirds vote of the legislature with a separate bill requiring repayment within three years, c) limited to no more than two times in 10 years, d) they must have repaid in full the vehicle license fee (VLF) money they took last year, and e) future "loans" would be capped at 8 percent of local share of property taxes - equal to the $1.3 billion that the cities are giving up each of the next two
years, the USA team has placed third in major competitions with Russia in the lead and Japan in second. "We are going for the gold," she said confidently. They will swim to music from the movie DrumLine in the three-minute technical program on August 26. The next day, they will perform to "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" in the free program. Two of her team members will also compete in the duet category. For Dobratz, an Olympic medal would be "icing on the cake." "Everything I've learned up until now is more important than just the week of competition at the Olympics." She's been a synchronized swimmer since she was nine years old when she joined the Walnut Creek Aquanauts. When she was a student at Clayton Valley High School, she trained with the Junior National team and also made time to compete on the Dana Hills Swim Team. She was one of DHST's top competitors and holds a meet record at the Concord Cup City Championships. Dobratz was also a high point winner at the prestigious county meet. Her journey in the sport of synchronized swimming has been an exciting one. It's taken her to Rome, Peru, Dominican Republic, Spain, Russia, Italy and Switzerland. Her team won gold in the Pan American Games and took third in the World Championships last year. They were third also at the World Cup in 2002. In 1998, her team captured first place in the American Cup and in 1997, Dobratz earned a
Jill Bedecarré/Clayton Pioneer
Capt. Art Jacobson, CCCFD, Station 11.
JILL BEDECARRÉ Clayton Pioneer
A recent late afternoon fire behind Mt. Dell in Clayton scorched about one-half acre with no injuries reported. The fire, deemed suspicious, by Captain Art Jacobson of CCCFD Station 11 on Center Street, broke out around 2:30 p.m. and was contained rather quickly with the help of about
10 residents. He reports that there was no "natural" cause for the hillside fire such as overhead wiring. Juveniles were observed at the scene but fled quickly when firefighters arrived. "We were lucky this time," says Jacobson. Weed abatement by the Homeowners Association left little fuel for the fire despite hot temperatures and gusty winds. A natural firebreak of lawn and ice plant also helped to squelch the flames. The 911 call came in from someone in the Diablo Downs neighborhood, which is beneath the hillside by Mt. Dell. Firefighters performed a progressive hose lay and attacked the fire from below.
They were assisted by Engine 322 from Crystal Ranch, which positioned itself at the top of the hill near Mt. Dell. Jacobson stressed the need for residents to take a look at their own property and make sure any dead brush and overgrown weeds are cutback and removed. One resident on Mt. Dell was concerned that firefighters did not respond very quickly to the 911 call on July 21 Jacobson reported that there was only a six-minute window from the time the call came into dispatch to when firefighters arrived on scene. "When someone is watching flames creep dangerously close to their home, six minutes can seem like an hour," says Jacobson.