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www.claytonpioneer.com
August 11, 2017
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TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
JiM DiAZ
MAYOR’S CORNER
Finishing touches on police camera system
Police Chief Chris Wenzel reports that the city entryways police camera system is now largely in place and being tested. The department is working to add the communications link to patrol vehicle and office computers and to Concord’s Police Department Dispatch to assure information is being received. When that is complete, we move to training police personnel on its use and setting protocols for officer responses to the data. During its initial setup, the system already acknowledged three stolen vehicles coming
See Mayor, page 6
Tamara Steiner
Construction on Morgan Territory Road got underway on last month to repair the road heavily damaged by a large landslide during the epic rains in February. The road will be closed to vehicles and pedestrians until mid-October.
Flying Colors Comics throws spotlight on independent artists at August convention KARA NAVOLIO Correspondent
Owen Ferrari
Clayton resident Ben Ferrari works on his comic creations in his spare time with an eye to developing a business.
There’s much more to comic books than superheroes. At Flying Colors Comics in Concord, the superheroes of the Marvel and DC universes make up only a small part of sales. “Comic books cover almost every category you would find in a bookstore, like biography, history, romance, sci-fi, horror and mystery,” says Joe Field, who founded the store in 1988. “My goal is to make comics accessible to everyone,” he adds. “When I first started the business, the clientele was
mostly males 18-30 years old. Now we have all ages. We have more women customers and parents buying for their kids. We have a kids’ section with titles the whole family can enjoy.” On Aug. 26, Flying Colors Comics will host its 3rd annual Mini Indie-Con It’s a chance for Field to support independent local artists who are creating and publishing their own books and to expose the local audience to new voices. Clayton resident Ben Ferrari, owner of Pilot Studios, has been an independent publisher since 2009. He looks forward to showing his company’s high-quality work at the Mini
Inde-Con. Pilot Studios produces comic books, graphic novels, coloring books and puzzles. Ferrari publishes some titles for other artists, but others are his own creations – like “Son Chasers,” the fictionalized story of Hitler’s son who is trying to make up for the sins of his father, and “The Carriers,” about weaponized carrier pigeons. Ferrari, who works as an electrician by day, has been drawing since he was a child. He learned how to make comic books in the 1990s while working at Image Comics, the No. 3
See Comics, page 4
Clayton man honored for heroic rescue CARINA ROMANO Pioneer Staff Intern
Clayton resident Michael Fossan didn’t hesitate when he saw three people in need, and now the Boy Scouts of America presented him with the Honor Medal for his heroic river rescue. The Honor Medal is one of four national awards the Scouts present to those who have shown great skill, heroism and courage in protecting others. Whether it be kayaking, backpacking or camping, the
Fossan family can often be found outdoors. On Memorial Day 2016, Fossan was paddleboarding on the Russian River in Sonoma while his wife Kris and three children captained two kayaks. The family had only gotten a few miles down the river when they saw a man drowning. “Michael, go!” yelled Fossan’s wife, pointing to a spot 100 feet away – just off the shore. Fossan then saw three people in the water, two men and a small girl. The girl and one man were clinging to a pool raft, slowly being pulled away by the current. The other man was thrashing helplessly in the river, his mouth filling with water when he tried to call out. The man on the raft was staring in petrified horror. Michael Fossan (left), was honored by the Boy Scouts last spring for quick thinking and The little girl was screaming. bravery in saving the lives of three people who were drowning in the Russian River last
year. He is pictured here with wife Kris (center), sons Tristan (far right) daughter Zoe (left
See Fossan, page 4 front) and son Aiden on a July 7 backpacking trip in the Sierras.
Major reconstruction of a portion of Morgan Territory Rd., severely damaged by a landslide in last winter’s epic storms, got underway last month and is expected to take until mid-October to complete. During the work, the road will be closed to all traffic, including pedestrians and bicycles. To repair the damage, the county’s contractor will install retaining walls, one on the upslope and another on the downhill side, each about 10 feet high and 250 feet long. The wall on the upslope will be constructed of concrete lagging painted dark brown to blend with the woods. Cost of the project is $2.9 million and the county expects to recover a substantial part of this from the state’s emergency fund. When the road closed suddenly Feb. 22, some 900 residents who live south of
See Landslide, page 7
A mother’s anguish over daughter’s cancer saga JILL COLLARO Special to the Pioneer
Everything in my family changed the day my daughter Lacey came into the kitchen and said, “Mom, there is a lump here in my collar bone on one side and not the other. It doesn’t hurt, but I don’t think it is supposed to be there.” The doctor said it was probably a clogged and infected gland and prescribed antibiotics. After two weeks, the lump grew from the size of a couple of almonds to a walnut. After tests and a biopsy, we got the call: “Your daughter has cancer.” These four words take your breath away. Lacey, now a cancer survivor, will be the opening speaker at the Clayton Relay for Life. The event runs 10 a.m. Aug. 12 to 10 a.m. Aug. 13 in the Grove park downtown. After graduating from Clayton Valley High School, Lacey attended Fullerton and the Art Institute in San Francisco and was living at home when she was diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin’s lymphoma. My husband quickly went into research mode, and I went into prayer mode. Our family and friends went into support mode.
See Relay, page 4
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Around Town . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Community Calendar . . . . .11 Directory of Advertisers . . . .7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
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