Presidents’ Day Essay Contest Winners see page A6
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID CLAYTON, CA PERMIT 190
IT’S YOUR PAPER www.claytonpioneer.com
FEBRUARY 24, 2006
925.672.0500
New book offers visual history of Clayton BEV BRITTON Clayton Pioneer
DAVE SHUEY
MAYOR’S CORNER From big meetings to small town sports Clayton is set to host the Contra Costa County Mayor’s Conference on March 2. Officials from the 19 cities in the county get together each month to discuss items of mutual interest. Attended by mayors, council members, city managers, supervisors and state representatives, these meetings are essential to governance in today’s interrelated world. I won’t lie to you, there is a fair amount of hot air generated at these meetings, but a lot of good also occurs. It is at these and other county/state meetings that members of the Clayton City Council are able to network and put forth our positions, thoughts and wishes. Clayton actually carries more clout than its size would warrant, thanks to the tireless efforts of past and current council members. There is actually a “Clayton Model” of development that sets forth how developing cities can lessen the impact of their development on neighboring cities. We hope that this model is carried out to help us and other cities deal with traffic and other issues related to major development occurring in East County. So on March 2, be kind to all the politicians and city officials who are coming to this conference. Because I just don’t know if I can trust all of you, I have instructed the chief of police to suspend all hunting permits on that day so don’t even try. Enough politics, lets talk baseball and youth sports. We have more than 200 kids participating in YMCA basketball, and CYO has even more.
See Mayor, page A8
What’s inside SECTION A Around Town . . . . . . . . . .A2 Club News . . . . . . . . . . . . .A3 Upcoming Events . . . . . . .A4 Classifieds and Directory of Advertisers . . . . . . . . . .A5 Essay Contest Winners . . .A6 Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . .A7 Letters to the Editor . . . . .A8 Weather Words . . . . . . . . . .A9 Tech Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A9 CVHS Reporter and School News . . . . . . . . . . .A10 Food for Thought . . . . . .A11 Club News . . . . . . . . . . . .A11 Garden Girl . . . . . . . . . . .A12 At the Movies . . . . . . . . . .A13
Many Clayton residents move here for the small town atmosphere. But the population explosion of the last four decades has left few traces of the Old West Clayton. A new picture book from the Clayton Historical Society provides a look back at the town’s rustic past. “Images of America – Clayton,” by Arcadia Publishing, spans the years 1857 to 1957. It covers the town of Clayton, the Clayton Valley, Morgan Territory and Marsh Creek. The 128-page book aims to put the reader in the shoes of an early inhabitant through photographs with brief captions. “We are fortunate that many members of old-time Clayton families loaned us pictures for the book,” says Historical Society president Janet Easton. “A bonus was looking through other people’s photograph albums and seeing pictures of my ancestors that I had never seen before.” Easton’s relative, Capt. Russelmann, moved to the area in the 1870s with his family. They lived on a ranch here while he was out at sea. Tony Galvin, Mary Viera Delamater and Carmen Frank are among the other locals who contributed photos. Delamater’s grandparents moved here from Portugal and settled in the Marsh Creek area. Her mother Lucy, who lived to the age of 99 ½, grew up on the family ranch. One of the photos Delamater offered to Easton shows the butchering of a pig, which was to be divided among the extended family. “All the relatives lived around here, too,” says Delamater. George Frank’s family also has lived in Clayton since the 1800s. Carmen Frank has lived on the family property since she and George married in 1937.
Photo courtesy of Clayton Historical Society
The bar inside the Rhine Hotel on Main Street where the Clayton Club now stands was a popular gathering spot around 1900 when this photo was taken. “My husband’s family members were pioneers in this area,” she notes. Easton worked on the book for eight months with Dick Ellis, past Historical Society president and a former Clayton Valley High School teacher, and Mary Spryer, curator of the Clayton Museum. The book, which will be released in March, is part of Arcadia’s “Images of America” series. Antioch and Bay Point have published similar books, and a Concord book is in the works. Clayton’s book follows
town of Clayton had a 50-50 chance of being named Rhinesville. Early surveyors called the Clayton area Deadfall, perhaps in reference to the large number of fallen trees in the area. The book illustrates the changes that have taken place since the early days. “There is a cool aerial picture that was taken in the ’50s that shows Clayton Road with mostly orchards on both sides on the street,” says Easton. Other photos trace the
See Book, page A8
Recovery going well for assault victim TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
CVHS senior, Danny Faina, is home recovering from multiple skull fractures sustained when he was attacked following the CVHS/De La Salle basketball game on February 3.
Faina, 18, was on the Alberta Way side of the Albertson’s parking lot when he crossed paths with Concord High junior Rafael Brasil, 17, and another 17 year old from De La Salle High School. According to Faina, he recalls calling his girlfriend on his cell phone as he passed his
SECTION B Hiker’s Haven . . . . . . . . . . .B1 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B2 Crossword Puzzle Solution.B4 Community Calendar . . . . .B6 Paws and Claws . . . . . . . . .B7 Church News . . . . . . . . . . .B8 Dining Around . . . . . . . . . .B9 Tax Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B9 Tea for You . . . . . . . . . . . .B10
Arcadia’s format, with sections on areas such as the downtown and agriculture. “When we were doing the book, we got copies of books that other people had done to see how they lined up their chapters,” says Easton. “One thing we included that others didn’t is ‘Characters and Oddities.’ We have a picture of the Stranahan family all standing on the roof of their house.” Joel Clayton mapped out the town in 1857. He won the naming rights after winning a coin toss with Charles Rhine, a Nortonville entrepreneur. The
Tamara Steiner/Clayton Pioneer
Danny Faina, left, at home with his parents Sue and Keith Faina.
two attackers in the parking lot. The three made eye contact but did not exchange any words. According to witnesses, after they passed, Brasil turned and struck Faina from behind with a skateboard, fracturing his skull above the left eye socket in three places and bruising his jaw. Faina was knocked unconscious and fell to the pavement immediately. One of the witnesses used Faina’s cell phone to call 9-1-1. Faina’s mother, Sue Faina, is puzzled and angry at the attack. “Danny is not a violent person,” she said. “He wouldn’t hurt a flea.” She attributes the violence to over-exhuberant fans. There had reportedly been a post game scuffle in the school parking lot a few minutes before and Faina was wearing his CVHS tshirt – a fact that his mother thinks might have triggered the attack. Brasil has been charged as an adult with two counts of assault and one count of battery and is
being held at the Juvenile Detention Center in Martinez on $100,000 bail. If convicted, he could serve up to seven years in state prison. The Faina family has been hard hit with medical bills in recent times. Keith Faina suffered a heart attack two years ago while he was between jobs and uninsured. They are still paying on those bills. The medical insurance they carried on Danny was a bare bones policy, said Sue Faina, paying only 60 percent of covered expenses. “I can’t even imagine how much these bills will be. If they are anywhere near what my husband’s were, I don’t know how we’ll do it,” she said. Family friend, Carolyn Hartnell, opened an account this week at Washington Mutual where friends and community members can make contributions to help defray the family’s medical bills. For more information, call Carolyn Hartnell, 672-4146.
The book’s cover photo is of the outside of the Rhine Hotel.
CDF wins grant for thermal imaging camera TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
The CDF Sunshine fire station on Marsh Creek Road has added a new thermal imaging camera to their arsenal of fire fighting weapons, thanks to a grant from Fireman’s Fund Insurance. The camera can see in the dark and through smoke and will pinpoint any heat source, enabling firefighters to locate and rescue victims trapped in a smoke filled room or, in the case of a car crash, a victim thrown into the bushes. In an area like the more remote parts
See CDF, page A4