PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID CLAYTON, CA PERMIT 190
IT’S YOUR PAPER www.claytonpioneer.com
February 23, 2007
925.672.0500
Arts event showcases local talent BILL WALCUTT
MAYOR’S CORNER City needs your help, especially on July 4th We need v olunteers for the Community Ser vices Commission and the F ourth of July Parade. Clayton’s charm comes from the many comm unity-based events that occur during the year. Due to the small size of the city staff and v ery limited financial resources , volunteerism is a critical par t of our ability to ser ve the comm unity. If you have ever considered volunteering, this is an ex cellent way of giving back to the community. First, let me talk about the Community Ser vices Commission (CSC). The commission consists of five v oting members, one non-voting alternate member and one non-v oting student member . We currently ha ve openings for tw o voting members , one alter nate member and one student member. Before y ou ask, there is absolutely no truth to the rumor that w e suppor t the R obert Copeland theory: “To get something done, a committee should consist of no more than three people, two of whom are absent.” All kidding aside , this is a great commission with fantastic people and w e need to g et it back up to full capacity . The commission meets monthly and is responsible for forw arding recommendations to the City Council pertaining to the use of public facilities and org anizing community events. Their 2007 W ork Plan includes tw o ev ents, Clayton Cleans Up and the F ourth of
See Mayor, page A8
What’s Inside
Tamara Steiner/Clayton Pioneer
YOUNG MIYA
BEGAN PAINTING TO EASE THE SYMPTOMS
JILL BEDECARRÉ Clayton Pioneer
Young Miya w as stric ken with Parkinson’s disease 10 years ago and ev entually had to quit her job as a n urse. Without any formal training, she beg an to paint using oils on can vas and was sur prised at the result. “I thought, ‘This is pretty g ood,’ ” Miya recalls. From that da y on, she has never stopped pursuing her ar t form. Miya will be one of many local ar tists who will demonstrate their indi vidual ar t for ms
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associated with her Parkinson’s Disease. Now she spends several hours every day at her easel.
at the four th ann ual Creekside Arts Celebration Marc h 2-4 at the Clayton Community Library. The Clayton Community Library Foundation (CCLF) is sponsoring the event. Friday’s preview is from 5 to 8 p .m., Saturday’s “Meet the Authors and Ar tists” begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 6 p .m., and Sunday’s “Meet the A uthors and Musicians” is from 1 to 5 p.m. Miya paints primarily landscapes with vi vid use of color. She has also experimented with self-portraits and religious ar t. Her art is displayed on every wall of her Cla yton home and her
family room is her studio . “My favorite painting is of the Virgin Mary,” she says. Miya is g rateful for her ability to paint because it helps ease her depression from P arkinson’s disease. She devotes many hours each day to her paintings and is currently teaching an ar t class at St. Bonaventure’s Church. Clayton resident Leslie Mathie, a c hemist at the Lawrence Li vermore Laboratory, comes home eac h day to bags of mosaic tiles and endless projects that nourish her creative side. For the past 10 years , Mathie
has dev eloped her ar t, creating everything from handcrafted birdhouses to g arden ar t, wall hangings and beautiful v ases with intricate tile designs. “It’s v ery relaxing and provides an outlet for me apar t from the technicalities of my day job,” says Mathie , who will gi ve live demonstrations of her work at the w eekend ar ts celebration. A member of the newly-formed Creekside Ar tists Guild of Clayton, Mathie is ex cited about the upcoming celebration, which offers budding ar tists an opportunity to explore their ar t for ms with others. “A lot of people are
creative, and they don ’t kno w what’s available to them in their community,” says Mathie who devotes about 10 hours eac h week to her art. “The tec hnical aspect of mosaic ar t is most c hallenging,” she sa ys, from the hand cutting of tiles to the adhesi ves used in the process. Mathie is a member of the Society of American Mosaic Ar tists and has tra veled to Italy, where she took special classes in the art form. “This w eekend, I’d lik e
See Arts Event, page A9
Downtown park project g oes out for bid TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
Over a dozen g eneral contractors g athered at the do wntown park site last w eek for a pre-bid conference with the project manag er and city officials. The project manag er, John Croswhite of The Zahn Group , a San F rancisco Constr uction Management fir m and City Engineer Ric k Ang risani met with contractors who ha ve expressed an interest in bidding on the project to g o o ver the city’s requirements. So far , the city has sent the bid pac kage to 25 contractors . City Manag er Gar y Napper is
not sur prised at the n umber of firms interested in the project. “I’m pleased that the contractors recognize the unique design and layout …it’s not the typical g rass and trees park,” he said. With that many contractors interested in the park, Councilwoman J ulie Pierce expects the bids to be very competitive. “Who wouldn’t want to work in Cla yton?” she ask ed. Although the parcel is small, just over an acre , the project is a complicated one. The many different types of materials called for in the design, the cur ving pathways and the public restrooms can all present constr uction challenges. Plans include a g azebo fully wired to ser ve as a g randstand
and a park-wide sound system with speakers on each light pole, a water play structure and tables with g ame board tabletops . The Council will review the merits of all-weather turf for the whole park system at a special study session on Feb. 20 at 6 p.m. At the Mar . 20 meeting, the Council will a ward the contract and vote on the acquisition of a life size bronze sculpture b y artist Gary Lee Price. “This is a fantastic project, a real g em,” says Croswhite . “I’m taking it on as m y o wn project and I’ll make sure this park is the pride and joy of Clayton.” Construction is expected to begin the first of April with a park dedication on the Labor Day weekend.
Tamara Steiner/Clayton Pioneer
City Manager Gary Napper (foreground), and City Engineer Rick Angrisani (facing camera) wrap up a meeting with contractors interested in bidding on the park project.