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IT’S YOUR PAPER www.claytonpioneer.com
January 16, 2004
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City council approves final Clayton Central Park design BY TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
The Clayton City Council, in a 5-0 vote last week, approved the final design plans for the Clayton Central Park. The park will be constructed on the 1.15-acre lot between Main and Center Streets and Marsh Creek Road. The property, once home to more than a dozen huge, old eucalyptus trees, is still known by many as “The Grove.” The design was submitted to the city council by the Park Design Steering Committee and is the result of more than a year of meetings and community design workshops. The park will be built around a large,
Center Streets. The central grassy area is for “movies in the park,” community art shows, Frisbee games, football and catch, and informal evening concerts. The active elements, the gazebo, playground, water play structure, picnic areas and arbor will be built around the perimeter of the park. In keeping with the western theme of the town, the children’s play area includes a stationary train and “western town” play structure. Hardy Coast redwoods, London Plane Columbia, evergreen elm and crape myrtle will shade the park and the Chinese pistache will light up the grounds with its luminous orange
Photos courtesy of Merril Morris Partners
Top photo, landscape architects rendering of final park design; At left, the gazebo
grassy area in the center with several sidewalks through the park to encourage movement between Main and
leaves in the fall. Preliminary estimates are putting the cost for construction at $1,265 million, of which the city already has
PioneerTerritory BY TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
This Christmas, I tried something new. I tried to do all of my Christmas shopping without ever going to the mall, to Broadway, to Target or WalMart or Costco, even once. Didn’t make it. I had to go to Walnut Creek one time. BUT, I am proud to say, that 98 percent of my Christmas money was spent without ever leaving the 94517/94521 zip codes. Which proves my point. Almost EVERYTHING you need can be found in Pioneer Territory! You don’t have to make that knee-jerk trip to CompUSA for a computer cable, you can buy it right in the Clayton Station. And the same holds true for cameras, clothes, car parts, Christmas ornaments or party supplies. Slow down, take a look around the next time you drive through Clayton or up
the Clayton Road corridor. Someone here sells what you want to buy. Beginning this issue, the Clayton Pioneer will be gently reminding you, our wonderful readers, that, while it may be “your paper,” it’s the advertisers that pay for it. And advertisers only advertise if people buy their stuff. They run coupons so customers will clip and use
$580,000, including the $25,000 pledged by the CBCA for the gazebo. The remaining $685,000 is expected to come from an Urban Park Act grant for which the council directed City Manager Gary Napper to immediately apply. The Urban Park Act of 2001 has $130 million in funds available to
them. Seeing these coupons in their cash register is one sure way to know that people are reading their ads. So, right here on the front page (you don’t have to look far) is our Pioneer “coupon” ad listing all the advertisers that are currently running a coupon or a special offer. Find the ad, clip the coupon, go to the store and buy something! Read ALL the ads. Think of what you can get in Pioneer Territory, and go buy it. Be sure to tell the store that you SAW THEIR AD IN THE PIONEER. In the NEXT issue, we will begin our PIONEER BUCKS promotion. We will be “hiding” the top half of the Clayton clock (see our logo) in three different ads. The first person to call, email or come by with the hidden clock and code from each ad will win $10. We’ll print the names of the PIONEER BUCKS winners and give the advertiser a little extra plug. This is one of those “everybody plays, everybody wins” games.
Spend your money in PIONEER TERRITORY Look inside for the coupons or special offers by our advertisers:
Acme Auto Repair, AJ Landscaping, BLIMPIE Subs and Salads, Clayton Fitness and Tanning,Clayton Hair Works, Concord Feed/Arena Feed, Hennis Marina, Nu Image Painting, Regina’s All Breed Pet Grooming, Shop and Go Convenience Store, The Looking Glass, Village Market Take advantage of these great deals and support the Pioneer advertisers
cities and counties for the construction of new parks. In his report to the city council Napper notes that, because of the state take-aways and uncertainty around the distribution of local tax monies, it may not seem like the best time to be applying for a grant. In fact, he explains many cities have pulled out of the process just for
this reason, leaving Clayton in a highly competitive position. “We’ve already amassed 46% of the costs, and we own the land. I am very excited about this grant,” Napper said. Assuming the city receives the grant money, construction could begin as early as this fall.
One foal at a time
SEVEN YEAR OLD HALEY
Morucci Family / Clayton Pioneer MORUCCI and Biscuit
BY JILL BEDECARRE Clayton Pioneer
Bisquit is a lucky 8-monthold foal who is responding well to his new home and family at the Morucci Ranch on Morgan Territory Road. He was among some 491 foals who were adopted this past year through Foalquest, a volunteer organization based in Alberta, Canada that finds homes for PMU (Pregnant Mare Urine) foals. Yet, the lives of more than 19,000 foals take an unfortuate,
often ugly turn, ending up in feedlots and eventually slaughtered. The figure is staggering and all too real for Clayton resident and Foalquest volunteer, Jane Buyny. She has spent the last two years matching foals with families and "doing what she can" to help the Canadian rescue operation. "Every little bit helps," Buyny says. "Every foal that finds a home is one less standing at a feedlot." Jane has adopted two foals, Nellie, a Canadien and Buffy, a quarter
hourse. The PMU industry has been operating in Canada for more than 50 years. Pregnant mare urine is contracted to Ayerst Organics, a company that extracts estrogen from the urine and manufactures the popular hormone replacement therapy drug known as Premarin. Some 450 ranches in the western provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan Manitoba and in the state of North Dakota are currently engaged in the PMU process. Thirty percent of all PMU foals at these ranches end up as feed. Organizations, like Foalquest and volunteers like Jane Buyny are desperately trying to reduce that statistic and give viable PMU foals a chance at life. "The foals up for adoption are bred well", explains Buyny. Many are quarter horses, however Foal quest has access to Appaloosas, TB crosses, Canadiens, Saddlebreed crosses and draft crosses. Full drafts are usually Belgian or Percheron. The matchmaking process through Foalquest is a tedious one. It takes money, muscle and manpower, explains Buyny. With the help of some friends
See Horses
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