Last Ch Ente ance to r Clay ton P the ion 10th Annu eer al
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December 6, 2013
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‘Heart for Christmas’ display kicks off a season of goodwill TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
JULIE PIERCE
MAYOR’S CORNER
Change coming to City Hall As my turn as your mayor rotates to a close, I want to thank you all for your responses to my columns. It’s always fun to hear from you. One of my colleagues will be writing in this space for the next issue. We are so fortunate in Clayton to have a fantastic city staff who keep our town operating “in the black” and on sound financial footing despite the economy and the state’s best attempts to derail us. Our City Manager, Gary Napper, leads a great team, mentoring and coaching each to their best performance. They do their utmost to underestimate revenues and overestimate expenses, then pinch every penny as far as it can go. We truly appreciate their dedication! This month, we are looking at some transitions within our small staff. Our long-time Finance Manager,
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Jules Bianchi Photography
CLAYTON ‘LIGHTMEISTER’ JEFFREY HOLMES WAS LOOKING FOR A BIGGER REASON than simple entertainment to construct a dazzling musical light display at his family home in Clayton. He didn’t need to look further than Katie-Grace Groebner, 11, who is waiting for a heart-lung transplant. The holiday display is free, but Holmes is asking for donations to two charities that support organ transplants and provide support for children with terminal illness.
At 5 p.m. on Dec. 6, the Holmes family’s two story Colonial on Pine Lane will light up the night sky with a dazzling display of thousands of Christmas lights programmed to “dance” to music as Jeffrey Holmes pulls the switch on what was originally meant to be a simple gift to his mom. The 22-year-old Holmes is no stranger to drama and lights. When he was just 16, his first musical light display won the 2007 Clayton Pioneer’s Home Decorating Contest. Two years later, the whole downtown lit up at Christmas time with Holmes’ dazzling light and music show at the Clayton Community Church – all drama, all colorful and all entertaining. But, in March when Holmes started planning this latest display, he wanted something more. A family friend, Katie Grace Groebner, suffers from pulmonary hypertension and is awaiting a heart-lung transplant. Katie Grace was the inspiration Holmes needed for “A Heart for Christmas.” The show became an outreach— an opportunity to focus attention on and
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Events page 2
No criminal charges in Morgan Fire Clayton woman works to Contra Costa District Attorney Mark Peterson announced last week that he will not be filing criminal charges in the Morgan Fire. The Sept. 9 fire started when the grandson of the owner of the mercury mines on Morgan Territory Road was target shooting on what was designated as a rifle range on the family’s private property. “There is no evidence the fire was intentionally started,” said Peterson in a state-
ment issued Nov. 27. He further determined that there was “no evidence that the use of the involved rifle or ammunition in that area was in violation of state law. According to Peterson’s report, a steel projectile fired from the rifle hit a rock and sparked a fire in dry grass. That fire was quickly extinguished, but sparked a bigger “spot fire” 1000 feet away in a pine grove. It was this spot fire that raged out of control.
The fire burned 3,111 acres on Mt. Diablo and North Peak and burned for five days at an estimated cost of $5.3 million. “We are fully aware of the tremendous harm to property and the environment caused by the fire,” states Peterson. “However, in the final analysis, the key legal question
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Fire page 9
CVCHS football and community rally around teens struck by tragedy DENISEN HARTLOVE Clayton Pioneer
Every teenager wants a car. But for Sammy King, 18, and her two younger siblings, a car is more than just a ride to visit friends, see a movie or go on a road trip. The King family’s story reads like something out of Dickens. Three children, ages 11-18, whose father died a few years ago, just recently lost their mother to cancer. In a final, ignominious blow, the family car was then repossessed. Through the tragedies, eldest sister Sammy strove to keep her and her siblings lives stable, in the area where they attended school and have friends. “There was no question we had to
DESPITE HARDSHIP, the Bennett family hangs together and enjoys the good times. From left, Stephanie 12, Gabe, 17, mom Dawn, Nicole, 14 and Nate, 10 (front).
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stay here, whatever it takes,” she said. Everyone, from extended family to friends to complete strangers off the street stepped forward. A friend opened her home as a place for Sammy to live and helps her with rides to school at DVC, while extended family offered homes to her younger siblings. A trust fund was started to help cover the children’s expenses. And the Clayton Valley Charter High School football team – on which Sammy’s 16year old brother Jacob plays – reached out as well, with the whole team showing up for their mother’s funeral service and offering both moral and financial support. “Our community has been crazy
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Bennet families,
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give parolees a 2nd Chance
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Tamara Steiner/Clayton Pioneer
COLLETTE CARROLL CELEBRATES THE REALIZATION OF A DREAM with the opening of 2nd Chance Boutique, a small shop in Concord that will fund transitional housing for parolees recently released from prison. Alton “Coach” McSween (left) and James McCartney were instrumental in completing the boutique.
PEGGY SPEAR Clayton Pioneer
San Quentin prison doesn’t seem like the type of place to find your passion, but don’t tell that to Collette Carroll. Not only did the Clayton woman fall in love with her husband Roland Peck while the two were volunteer singers at the prison more than 14 years ago, she found her lifelong goal: helping the men incarcerated there make a smooth and healthy transition back “out” when the time came. Carroll and Peck started the California Reentry Institute, a program both inside and out of the prison, that assists ex-convicts with their transi-
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tion back to society. And late last month, another one of Carroll’s dreams was realized when she opened the 2nd Chance Boutique, a new and gently-used clothing and accessory store that supports CRI and the soonto-open Roland’s Place, a home for recent parolees enrolled in CRI. “This is like a dream come true for me,” Carroll says from behind the counter at the bustling boutique, located at the corner of Clayton and Dekinger Roads, near Safeway. The only blemish on the accomplishment is that Peck wasn’t there to see her success; he passed away two years ago.
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Chance page 8
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