PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID CLAYTON, CA PERMIT 190
IT’S YOUR PAPER www.claytonpioneer.com
December 3, 2004
925.672.0500
Huge local rescue effort saves 48 foals JILL BEDECARRÉ TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
AND
JULIE PIERCE
MAYOR’S CORNER
City asks for minor changes to ULL As Clayton’s representative on the Urban Limit Line (ULL) committee and a Contra Costa Transportation Authority member, I want to correct misinformation printed in other publications and to bring you up-todate regarding Clayton’s position in this discussion. The Clayton Council is requesting minor changes to the current 1990/2000 ULL (binding only on the County) but, first some background… Measure J, passed by Contra Costa voters last month, includes a requirement for the cities and the county to establish a mutually agreeable, mutually binding ULL before 2009. Measure J requires that the County and the cities cooperate to develop a new ULL and criteria for future modifications by Dec 31, 2004. The new line must then receive approval of four fifths of the board of Supervisors and three fourths of the cities representing three fourths of the incorporated population. A Master Environmental Impact Report will then be prepared and the proposal will be submitted to the voters by November 2006. Once ratified by the voters, the new mutually agreed upon ULL will then be considered as the countywide voter approved ULL. If a city disagrees with the new line, it may develop and submit to its voters an alternative ULL for
See Mayor, page 6
AFTER
Tamara Steiner/Clayton Pioneer
A GRUELING THREE DAY TRIP
from Canada, all these tired and cranky foals wanted was a drink and a nap
Hospice brings light to final days JILL BEDECARRÉ Clayton Pioneer
You matter to the last moment of your life, and we will do all we can, not only to help you die peacefully, but to live until you die. - Cicely Saunders, founder of the modern hospice movement The “Tree of Lights” in Clayton Station Shopping Center is a shining example of the many lives touched by Hospice and Palliative Care of Contra Costa. (HPCCC). Hospice kicked off the tree lighting in a special ceremony on November 17. The 5 p.m. event was brief and poignant. People gathCAREN FURRER ered to hear a
few speeches, a poem, music by the Mt. Diablo Elementary School Chorus and a solemn rendition of Amazing Grace by Rachael Thomas from Clayton Valley High School. Other than the excited buzz of elementary school children and their siblings, the crowd was somber and reflective. Frank Rinnella of Concord held a lit candle and stroked the memory book, which contains the name of his wife who died less than a year ago. Hospice was there when she died and Frank is forever grateful. “They were wonderful,” he said. Caren Furrer, president of the Hospice of Contra Costa Foundation spoke about her own son Kyle, who was diagnosed with brain cancer when he was 10 months old and died before he reached the age of two. Kyle was the third patient in the Comfort for Kids pro-
The City welcomed new police sergeant Shelly Crain at her swearing in on Nov. 29. She replaces Sergeant Rich Enea who is retiring at the end of December. The 45-year-old veteran officer comes to the table with four and a half years of small town police experience as a sworn officer on the Kensington police force. Kensington, a tiny town nestled between El Cerrito and Berkeley, has less than half the population that Clayton has, but Crain sees many parallels between the two communities. Traffic issues and property
Tamara Steiner/Clayton Pioneer
NEW CLAYTON SERGEANT SHELLY CRAIN receives badge from husband Paul, a police captain from Concord. crimes are typically the biggest law enforcement challenges in
these two towns and she is eager to address Clayton’s chronic
See Foals, page 14
Ron Van Buskirk 1944-2004 TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
Tamara Steiner/Clayton Pioneer
SINCE 1989, THE TREE OF LIGHT has symbolized the light that Hospice brings to the final days of the seriously ill gram, a pediatric palliative program offered by Hospice. “It was important for me, as a mom, to continue to take care of him,” Furrer said. “Comfort for Kids saved my life.” Furrer has been active in the
Hospice organization for the past 10 years. “ I see how much they enhance lives. They add life to the final days,” she says.
See Hospice, page 5
New sergeant brings small town experience to job TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
There was a lot of horsing around at Marilyn Groene’s Creekside Farms on Marsh Creek Road the day after Thanksgiving. Forty-eight foals were part of a planned “drop” orchestrated through the efforts of local volunteers and an organization called FoalQuest. Based in Alberta Canada, FoalQuest is a volunteer organization that finds homes for Pregnant Mare Urine (PMU) foals. Even though the adoption process and three-day journey from Canada is a stressful one for the foals, the alternative is often unthinkable. Thousands of foals wind up in feedlots and are eventually slaughtered. The PMU industry has been operating in Canada for more than 50 years. Pregnant mare urine is contracted to companies that extract estrogen from the urine to make the popular hormone replacement therapy drug called Premarin. Because
speeding and vandalism issues by taking a more proactive approach. “You have to go to them before they get to you,” she said. “We can’t be everywhere at once, but what we can do is look at (the statistics) ahead of time…and up the manpower during certain hours or in specific places.” Crain’s law enforcement career began with the Concord Police Department in 1986, where she served first as a dispatcher, then as a sworn officer. She relies on her experience in dispatch in calming the frayed nerves of citizens at the scene. “Many times individuals at the scene are upset because what they heard on the phone (from
the dispatcher) isn’t what they wanted to hear,” she explains. “Knowing what dispatch can and cannot do and what they have time to do gives you patience, (and) patience is a big thing in law enforcement.” While serving as an officer in Concord, Crain met her husband, Paul, who is a Captain on the Concord force. Following her swearing in by City Clerk Rhonda Basore, Captain Crain pinned the badge on his wife, giving her a quick kiss. “This is the only sergeant on the force that I will greet that way,” he laughed, addressing onlookers. The two have been married for 16 years and live in Easley Estates in Clayton.
Clayton lost a good friend last month. Ron Van Buskirk died of a heart attack Sunday morning, Nov. 21 on the golf course. Golf was one of his greatest loves—right behind his family, the VFW and the New York Yankees. Ronald Drew Van Buskirk was born Nov. 30, 1944 in New Jersey. After graduating from high school, he attended college, but, as his sister, Beth noted, “his mind was more on girls than studying.” So, VAN he dropped out RON BUSKIRK of college and joined the Army, volunteering for duty in Viet Nam. After attending the Language Institute where he learned to speak, read and write Russian, he shipped out to Viet Nam where he served in the protocol office, responsible for dignitaries in the war zone. During his tour in Viet Nam, Ron was awarded a Purple Heart and the Bronze Star for heroic action in combat. After returning from Viet Nam, he served the remainder of his service at the Pentagon in the office for presidential scheduling. Beth remembers Ron’s last night in Viet Nam. The night before he was due to ship out for home, Ron’s unit was severely shelled. “He spent his
See Van
Buskirk, page 5