See new Home Improvement Guide Section B
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID CLAYTON, CA PERMIT 190
IT’S YOUR PAPER www.claytonpioneer.com
March 23, 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 g rass in the downtown park. There are people on both sides of this issue. However, many people are sa ying: “What were you thinking?” and “How could y ou even consider installing fak e grass in our downtown park?” Let me tr y to explain. All right, all right, you are probably conjuring up visions of a one-acre peew ee putting green. I understand where y ou are coming from, because m y initial reaction w as about the same. I thought of a bright green Astro-T urf doormat in front of the new g azebo with the word “Welcome” on it. Whenever I ha ve an issue that may be contro versial, I use my wife P am as a sounding board. She is always very generous with her opinion, especially if she thinks I am about to do something stupid. After gi ving this some thought, I decided to ask Pam her opinion of synthetic g rass in the do wntown 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
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’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
What if a major ear thquake, say an 8-pointer, hit the Bay Area today? W hat if a plane crashed tomorrow on Cla yton R oad, starting fires , causing major injuries and requiring ev acuations? Would w e be ready? Could the city handle the emerg ency medical, rescue and ev acuation requirements of the immediate aftermath?
These are not far-fetched scenarios, says Clayton Police Chief Dan Lawrence, “and we are g etting ready.” To be ready , the city needs reliable and fast comm unication equipment and plenty of people trained to respond. REGIONAL COMMUNICATION The fastest and most reliable way to comm unicate is b y radio. Cell phones w on’t do it, Lawrence says. “We may need to get infor mation to 15 different people at once; we can’t be sa ying 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 sev eral different fre-
quencies. When there is a major event, like the recent pipeline explosion in W alnut Creek, response times can be impacted by slow communication. The tw o counties ha ve launched a project designed to get all ag encies in both counties on the same radio frequency — the East Ba y R egional Communications System (EBRSC) — and has ask ed the City Council for a letter of Clayton’s intent to participate. At its Marc h 6 meeting, the City Council voted to sign on to the project and put up a “g ood faith” deposit of $3,500. Costs are estimated betw een $40 million and $60 million for the project infrastructure, with at least $13 million funded b y federal Homeland Security g rants.
Clayton’s share of the total will depend on the number of participating ag encies, financing costs and how much of the project is ultimately funded by grants. Worst case , if no fur ther grant money is for thcoming, the city’s share of the project could run betw een $108,000 and $162,000, financed over 10 to 15 years, says City Manag er Gar y Napper. Additionally, there will be the cost of the radios and an ann ual service fee estimated betw een $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 w ould call this a kitc hen table. On some kitc hen tables , however, napkins and forks give way to books and c harts, worksheets, calculators, maps and sometimes a laptop. And what’s dished up here has more to do with polynomials and R ussian history than with spaghetti and meatballs. For some Cla yton families , the kitc hen table is their classroom. The dog snoozes in the corner and the kids call their teacher “Mom. ” These families have, for a v ariety of reasons, opted out of the public sc hool system, choosing instead to guide and coac h their o wn 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 tra veled? T he reasons are as v aried 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 o verburdened teac her. “Matthew w as ha ving a tough time in school with the big classes,” says his mother . “He w as convinced he couldn ’t dra w or read or do anything.” So, she took him out of public sc hool midw ay through last year. “By the end of the year, it was like night and da y. The difference in his self-esteem w as dramatic.” This year Matthew’s 10-yearold sister , Victoria, and 5-year old brother, Andrew, joined him at the kitchen table. Others choose homeschooling for religious reasons . For Becky and Kris Van Liew, members of the W ord of God Church, homeschooling their five c hildren has alw ays been See Homeschool, page A3
Historical Society tour takes a walk into Clayton’s past MARY SPRYER Special to the Pioneer
While researc hing Cla yton’s population for the sesquicentennial exhibit at the Cla yton Museum, the curators realized that 60 percent of Clayton’s residents has moved here since the 1980s. Although our citizens have seen incredible c hanges in the to wn since then, many still don’t know about Clayton’s rich history. In honor of Clayton’s sesquicentennial, the 150th anniversary of when J oel Clayton platted the town, museum volunteers will be conducting monthly downtown walking
tours. Residents will see where the stag ecoach 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 m useum, at 6101 Main St., at 10 a.m. the four th Saturday of the month. They will r un from Marc h through September, rain or shine . Clayton Historical Society members, Tery McCade and Dick Ellis will alter nate 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 m useum. Participants should wear comfortable shoes. The Cla yton Historical Society has had a Self-Guided Walking T our for many years . People have been able to tak e a tour of the do wntown at their own pace, using a printed handout distributed b y the society . However, the only regular guided w alking tours offered w ere to the local third-g rade classes during their field trips to the museum. The first guided w alking tour is Saturda y, March 24. For more infor mation, 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.