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IT’S YOUR PAPER www.claytonpioneer.com
March 9, 2007
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These kids stay home for school Homeschool families learn and play together TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
BILL WALCUTT
MAYOR’S CORNER Turf has some benefits, but not good fit for park I have received several emails regarding the prospect of installing synthetic grass in the downtown park. There are people on both sides of this issue. However, many people are saying: “What were you thinking?” and “How could you even consider installing fake grass in our downtown park?” Let me try to explain. All right, all right, you are probably conjuring up visions of a one-acre peewee putting green. I understand where you are coming from, because my initial reaction was about the same. I thought of a bright green Astro-Turf doormat in front of the new gazebo with the word “Welcome” on it. Whenever I have an issue that may be controversial, I use my wife Pam as a sounding board. She is always very generous with her opinion, especially if she thinks I am about to do something stupid. After giving this some thought, I decided to ask Pam her opinion of synthetic grass in the downtown park. When she stopped staring at me, she said: “Are you serious?” Being very astute, I was able to translate that into: “This is not a good idea.”
See Mayor, page A7
What’s Inside See our big, new Home Improvement Resource Guide in Section B
Around Town . . . . . . . . . . .A2 Letters to the Editor . . . . . .A4 Readers Forum . . . . . . . . . . .A4 Classified Ads . . . . . . . . . . . .A5 Directory of Advertisers . . .A5 Financial Sense . . . . . . . . . . .A6 Upcoming Events . . . . . . . .A6 From the Chief . . . . . . . . . . .A7 So, Anyway . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A8 Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A9 Garden Girl . . . . . . . . . . . .A10 For the Books . . . . . . . . . . .A11 Paws and Claws . . . . . . . . .A13 School News . . . . . . . . . . . .A14 Church News . . . . . . . . . . .A14 Food For Thought . . . . . . .A15 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A16 Community Calendar . . . . .B18 At the Movies . . . . . . . . . . .A19 Club News . . . . . . . . . . . . .A20 Hiker’s Haven . . . . . . . . . . .A21
Tamara Steiner/Clayton Pioneer
Homeschooling takes first priority for the Van Liew family. From left, Lynnsae, Becky with Joshua, Peter, Justin and Curtis spend mornings at the kitchen table classroom before heading out to tennis and music lessons.
City antes up for EBRSC radio plan Two-county radio system another step in Clayton’s disaster readiness plan TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
What if a major earthquake, say an 8-pointer, hit the Bay Area today? What if a plane crashed tomorrow on Clayton Road, starting fires, causing major injuries and requiring evacuations? Would we be ready? Could the city handle the emergency medical, rescue and evacuation requirements of the immediate aftermath?
These are not far-fetched scenarios, says Clayton Police Chief Dan Lawrence, “and we are getting ready.” To be ready, the city needs reliable and fast communication equipment and plenty of people trained to respond. REGIONAL COMMUNICATION The fastest and most reliable way to communicate is by radio. Cell phones won’t do it, Lawrence says. “We may need to get information to 15 different people at once; we can’t be saying the same thing 15 times. With radios, if everyone is on the same frequency, we only have to say something once.” Right now, agencies in Contra Costa and Alameda counties operate on several different fre-
quencies. When there is a major event, like the recent pipeline explosion in Walnut Creek, response times can be impacted by slow communication. The two counties have launched a project designed to get all agencies in both counties on the same radio frequency — the East Bay Regional Communications System (EBRSC) — and has asked the City Council for a letter of Clayton’s intent to participate. At its March 6 meeting, the City Council voted to sign on to the project and put up a “good faith” deposit of $3,500. Costs are estimated between $40 million and $60 million for the project infrastructure, with at least $13 million funded by federal Homeland Security grants.
Clayton’s share of the total will depend on the number of participating agencies, financing costs and how much of the project is ultimately funded by grants. Worst case, if no further grant money is forthcoming, the city’s share of the project could run between $108,000 and $162,000, financed over 10 to 15 years, says City Manager Gary Napper. Additionally, there will be the cost of the radios and an annual service fee estimated between $13,000 and $25,000. CLAYTON COMMAND CENTER A local disaster presents its own set of communication See Emergency, page A12
It might be round or square, maple or cherry. It’s usually near or in the kitchen and commonly used for eating meals. Most people would call this a kitchen table. On some kitchen tables, however, napkins and forks give way to books and charts, worksheets, calculators, maps and sometimes a laptop. And what’s dished up here has more to do with polynomials and Russian history than with spaghetti and meatballs. For some Clayton families, the kitchen table is their classroom. The dog snoozes in the corner and the kids call their teacher “Mom.” These families have, for a variety of reasons, opted out of the public school system, choosing instead to guide and coach their own children through the three Rs and beyond. Why do some parents, most with no formal training or experience as a teacher, go down this road less traveled? The reasons are as varied as the people who choose. SEARCHING FOR SELF-ESTEEM Elizabeth Williams was frustrated with the lack of attention her son Matthew, 8, was getting from an overburdened teacher. “Matthew was having a tough time in school with the big classes,” says his mother. “He was convinced he couldn’t draw or read or do anything.” So, she took him out of public school midway through last year. “By the end of the year, it was like night and day. The difference in his self-esteem was dramatic.” This year Matthew’s 10-yearold sister, Victoria, and 5-yearold brother, Andrew, joined him at the kitchen table. Others choose homeschooling for religious reasons. For Becky and Kris Van Liew, members of the Word of God Church, homeschooling their five children has always been See Homeschool, page A3
Historical Society tour takes a walk into Clayton’s past MARY SPRYER Special to the Pioneer
While researching Clayton’s population for the sesquicentennial exhibit at the Clayton Museum, the curators realized that 60 percent of Clayton’s residents has moved here since the 1980s. Although our citizens have seen incredible changes in the town since then, many still don’t know about Clayton’s rich history. In honor of Clayton’s sesquicentennial, the 150th anniversary of when Joel Clayton platted the town, museum volunteers will be conducting monthly downtown walking
tours. Residents will see where the stagecoach stopped, where the jail stood and why the site of the new city park is often referred to as “The Grove.” The tours will begin in front of the museum, at 6101 Main St., at 10 a.m. the fourth Saturday of the month. They will run from March through September, rain or shine. Clayton Historical Society members, Tery McCade and Dick Ellis will alternate leading the tours. The walk extends for about three-fourths of a mile and ends at about 11:30 a.m., at which time tour-goers can visit
the museum. Participants should wear comfortable shoes. The Clayton Historical Society has had a Self-Guided Walking Tour for many years. People have been able to take a tour of the downtown at their own pace, using a printed handout distributed by the society. However, the only regular guided walking tours offered were to the local third-grade classes during their field trips to the museum. The first guided walking tour is Saturday, March 24. For more information, call the museum at 672-0240.
Photo courtesy of Clayton Historical Society
Tery McCade talks to a tour group as they stand in front of what was once a baseball field on Main Street.