PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID CLAYTON, CA PERMIT 190
IT’S YOUR PAPER www.claytonpioneer.com
July 8, 2006
925.672.0500
Small town Fourth delivers a big bang JILL BEDECARRÉ Clayton Pioneer
If you w ere among the thousands who lined Main Street in downtown Clayton last Tuesday, you w ere tr uly in “Clayton Country.” The warm and fuzzy feel of Clayton’s traditional homegrown July 4th celebration w as everywhere…residents g reeting each other, friends walking arm in ar m, smiles on c hildren’s faces and canine critters out for a morning stroll. The phrase “Cla yton Country” was coined sev eral years ag o b y resident P eggy Bidondo as she experienced Clayton’s o wn brand of the Independence Day celebration. Former Cla ytonian and parade emcee , Dan Ashley , Channel 7 News Anc hor, used the phrase last year when he witnessed the sea of kids that traditionally kick-off the parade festivities. This year’ s ev ent stood b y tradition with the Star Spangled Banner, sung b y Cla yton
DAVE SHUEY
MAYOR’S CORNER We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men ar e created equal, that they ar e endowed by their Cr eator with cer tain unalienab le Rights, that among these ar e Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Ok, how many of you read the abo ve and thought once again what a brilliant and evocative writer I am? And how many of you realized those w ords were from the Declaration of Independence? F or those that missed it, please sign up for the nearest summer sc hool. Interestingly, most w omen tell me that all men ma y be equal See Mayor, page A8
THIS PHOTO OF DOUG HARTFELT’S MODEL T TRUCK, which won first place in the pioneer’s july 4 photo contest, was taken by Memory Woodard. See Page B1 for the rest of the winning entries.
See July 4, page A3
Fire makes short work of weeding in downtown “Grove” TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
Tamara Steiner/Clayton Pioneer
What’s Inside SECTION A Around Town . . . . . . . . . . .A2 Directory of Advertisers . . .A5 Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A6 Food for Thought . . . . . . . .A7 Tech Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A9 Weather Words . . . . . . . . . .A11 Club News . . . . . . . . . . . . .A12 Sharing History . . . . . . . . .A13 Garden Girl . . . . . . . . . . . .A14
SECTION B
July 4 Photo Contest Winners . . . . . . . . . .B1 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B2 Travel (New) . . . . . . . . . . . . .B5 Tea For You . . . . . . . . . . . . .B6 On the Net (New) . . . . . . . .B6 Tax Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B7 Church News . . . . . . . . . . . .B7 School News . . . . . . . . . . . . .B7 Paws and Claws . . . . . . . . . .B8 Dining Around . . . . . . . . . . .B9 Crossword Puzzle . . . . . . . . .B9 Community Calendar . . . . .B10 At the Movies . . . . . . . . . . .B11 Hiker’s Haven . . . . . . . . . . .B12
CLAYTON MAINTENANCE WORKER SANDRO ARIAS heads off flames as firefighters arrive at the small grassfire in the “Grove.” The fire was started accidentally by another city worker mowing weeds.
Downtown Cla yton w as hit by fire for the second time in a month last w eek when f lames took about half of the corner at Main and Marsh Creek Road. On June 3, the loading dock and receiving area of the Clayton Post Office w ent up in f lames. That fire, believed to be arson, is still officially under investigation. The one acre , known as the “Grove” for the stand of eucalyptus trees that once co vered the lot, is earmarked for a downtown park. The fire star ted around 2:15 p.m. and was set off by a spark from the tractor being used to mo w the g rassy lot in preparation for the J uly 4 celebration. “We were mowing the weeds down to minimize the fire danger on the F ourth of July,” said Assistant to the City Manag er Laura Hoffmeister with a more than a touch of irony.
Clayton police c hief Dan Laurence and Officer Tim Marchute w ere do wntown on another unrelated call when the fire star ted. “The maintenance worker first tried to put it out, but it became too much for him. He ran to us for help and w e called it in, ” said Laurence . “It was an accident,” he said, “could have happened to anyone.” Clayton resident Yvette Berry was dri ving b y about 2:20 p .m. when she sa w smok e coming from under the trees along the east side of the lot. “This was a man trying to stomp it out,” said Berry “so I pulled o ver and called Cla yton P olice who connected me with dispatc h and they said they were on their way.” Concord fire units responded because, according to firefighters on the scene, the personnel from Station 11 at the cor ner of Clayton Road and Center Street were in training. The fire burned for about 15 minutes.
Teens count on Hollywood to get mor e kids reading BEV BRITTON Clayton Pioneer
Through the T een Advisor y Group, some y oung Cla yton residents are aiming to make the library more teen-friendly. The g roup’s g oal for teen movie nights should be fulfilled this fall. The idea is to g et students ex cited about reading b y showing films based on novels. TAG members ha ve suggested titles suc h as “Pride and Prejudice,” “The Princess Bride” and “T he Count of Monte Cristo ,” along with the always popular “Har ry P otter” and “Lord of the Rings” series. “Personally, I think it should be just watching the movies and not a discussion g roup,” says
TAG member Kirsten Spr yer. “Otherwise, they’ll g et tur ned off – it’ s kind of like sc hool then.” Spryer, a new g raduate of Clayton V alley High Sc hool, also pitches in with shelving and sensitizing books at the librar y. “I volunteer here because I lik e doing this sor t of thing,” she says. “It’s kind of relaxing to just get the books put away.” Library staff member Marietta Leffner sa ys students who volunteer at the library may have a ste p up on their studies . “I think it’ s a g ood pre paration for college,” she says. “This way, they already have the knowledge to do basic research.” TAG members point to the library’s expanded teen section
as another way to draw in youth. “The librar y has a lot of regulars,” notes Sarah Sc hmidt, an upcoming junior at Cla yton Valley. “But a lot of people just come in when they ha ve to . Instead of sitting home and watching TV, they should come here and find something to do.” To that end, the librar y’s Summer R eading Prog ram has added a teen categ ory along with the traditional program for younger readers. The teen program, for those in sixth through 12th g rades, runs through A ug. 21. Participants reading at least 20 hours recei ve a prize pac kage. See Teens page A15
photo by Terry McCade
These teens find time on a busy Saturday to help out at the library. From left, Sarah Schmidt, Phyllis Smith, Emily Italiano, Ambrey Holloway, Kirsten Spryer and Sarah Agronow