Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
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IT’S YOUR PAPER www.claytonpioneer.com
December 17, 2004
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Five-four-three-two-one...Clayton lights up GREGG MANNING
MAYOR’S CORNER
Manning sees good times for new year This is my first message to you since I became Mayor on Dec. 7. I think it is significant that we had the ceremony on that day. Dec. 7 was the first night of Hanukkah—the festival of lights. It is also the only day on which the light or beacon on Mt Diablo is lit. That light is to remind us of Pearl Harbor. I see that light as a reminder of not only Pearl Harbor but also Sept.11 and all the other days that have tried this nation. That light is on lest we forget the price for our freedom and our right to vote. We have just voted in an election and related to that, I want thank a number of people. The first is my wife Joan who, if she does not fully understand my desire to meet with the City Council on the first and third Tuesday of each month, supports me in this endeavor and allows me to do so. I want to thank the winners of the recent City Council election who are the same people who were on the City Council before the election. I want to thank all of the voters who not only voted for us but also turned out as Clayton always does—in large numbers. The County Clerk noted that 87.2 percent of registered voters cast their ballots this past November. I want to thank all those who ran. Their campaigns were fair and above board. I hope everyone noticed that our council candidates removed all of their signs the day after the election. And, I am sure Jim Diaz will be back since I don’t think he used 10 percent of the signs he bought. It has been quite a year on a number of levels. We continue to struggle with the state over our rightful share of public funds, but the people clearly understood the situation and voted for Prop. 1A in astonishing numbers. If the opening of the state legislature is any indication, I am not sure those elected on a state level have understood the
See Mayor, page 6
Tamara Steiner/Clayton Pioneer
More than a thousand people were on hand to count down the tree lighting JILL BEDECARRÉ Clayton Pioneer
Clayton’s tree lighting on December 4 had all the makings of a small town holiday event. The Mt. Diablo Elementary School chorus sang on the porch of the museum, beautifully lit up with decorated
Christmas trees in the windows. The young singers donned in Santa and reindeer hats sang some old favorites and a few toe-tapping tunes like “Santa Fever” and a jazzy version of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” Police Chief Pete Peterson was the celebrity emcee who welcomed the crowd as they gathered on Main
Street. And in his inimitable style, Peterson told the children attending that they must have been good because he hadn’t seen them in his jail this past year. As one of her last official duties as mayor, Julie Pierce thanked event chairs, Clayton
See Lights, page 22
Enea begins a new chapter TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
Rich Enea will retire at the end of this month after nearly 15 years with the Clayton Police Department and return to the town where he started his career. On December 31, the 54year-old sergeant will turn in his badge and wave goodbye as he heads north to Crescent City where he and his wife Elizabeth
SERGEANT RICH ENEA
own a home on the coast. Elizabeth has already relocated and is working as a Superior Court Clerk. Enea’s career began in 1974. After graduating from Cal State University Sacramento with a BA in criminal justice administration, Enea applied for positions in Crescent City, San Diego and Clayton. The Pittsburg native was hoping for a job close to home, but Crescent City called him first. He had been on the job only six months when the Clayton PD called with a job offer. Tempting as it was, Enea felt obligated to stay with Crescent City for at least a year. Plans to come to Clayton at the end of the year were abandoned, however, when he met Elizabeth, a Crescent City native, and they married. They stayed by the sea for another seven years before returning to the Bay Area as an officer with the Belmont Police. In 1990, Enea finally completed the loop, signing on with the Clayton Police Department.
Enea’s interest in law enforcement began early in life. At 16, he joined the Police Explorer Post while a student at Pittsburg High School. His passion for the Explorers did not end with high school. He went on to start Explorer Posts in Crescent City, Belmont and Clayton. A strong believer in early education and intervention, Enea has been involved with The Parent Education Program (PEP) at Mt. Diablo Elementary School for the past three years teaching kids about drugs, safety and choosing friends. “We try to teach kids how to make good decisions,” he said. He has been a strong supporter of the “Every 15 Minutes” program in the high schools. The program, which runs over two days, stages a fatal drunk driving crash and dramatizes the subsequent consequences. Enea attributes a decrease in teenage drunk driving
See Enea, page 8
Cookie contest was a sweet success The Clayton Pioneer’s first Christmas Cookie Competition was a smashing success. With sixteen entries and each baker bringing at least a dozen cookies, no one went away hungry—not the judges, not the spectators and certainly not the Pioneer staff. Held at Endeavor Hall on Nov. 30, the event drew some 60 participants and observers.
Glennen who, when dropping off her entry form at the Pioneer office, exclaimed, “Oh, this is so Mayberry. I just love it.” The Junior Bakers (under 12) brought plates of equally delectable goodies. First place, hands down, was Kaitlyn Trilevsky’s Candy Cane Cookies. A close second was Melissa Schoell with a classic Rugelach, and coming in
CHRISTMAS COOKIE CONTEST judges Tevy Sun, Lynda Wyner, Julie Pierce, Zoe Manoguerra and Shawn Robinson
After about an hour of tasting and deliberating and tasting again, our esteemed panel of judges named the winners. Our first place Master Baker (12 and over) was Suzanne Renner with her melt-in-your-mouth Peanut Butter Snowballs. Second in the Master category was Emily White with a plate of Death By White Chocolate cookies from the Martha Stewart Holiday Cooking collection. Our third place Master Baker was Ashley
third with her Chocolate Chip Snowmen was Laurel Hansen. Kudos to all the contestants and a great big thank you to our esteemed panel of judges: Food For Thought columnist, Linda Wyner; Clayton Community Church’s Pastor Shawn Robinson; Sweet Bakery owner Tevy Sun; DVMS sixth grader Zoe Manoguerra; and finally, Mayor Julie Pierce Please see page 9 for the winning recipes.