Check out our Holiday Gift Section Page B6
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID CLAYTON, CA PERMIT 190
Volunteers needed for emergency training
IT’S YOUR PAPER www.claytonpioneer.com
October 6, 2006
925.672.0500
Bavarian dancers kick off Oktoberfest BEV BRITTON Clayton Pioneer
The male members of the Schuhplattlers dance troupe do the majority of the work: slapping their toes, then knees, then back to their toes – from behind this time. During their Saturda y performance at Cla yton’s Oktoberfest, one man feigns fainting and has to be mockingly carted off. Later, the women in the group bring cold beers to the breathless men, who thank them with a polite round of kisses and spanks. Clayton resident Denise Stephens has been dancing with the Bavarian g roup since 1987. Her 9-year-old daughter J enelle just joined this year. “We car ry on the Ger man traditions. Pretty m uch all the members g rew up in the club ,” she sa ys of Naturfreunde (Nature F riends). Her g reatgrandparents, Bruno and Lottie Miller, were among the founders of the Oakland club. A full house cro wded the beer tent to w atch the dancers and listen to the festive tunes of
TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
If a major disaster hits the Bay Area, the “first responders” — those who pro vide the first fire and medical services — will likely not be able to meet the demand for these ser vices for the first sev eral da ys. That will leave Cla yton to fend for itself for possibly as long as a w eek. This is a harsh reality that the city needs to plan for , says Clayton P olice Chief Dan Lawrence. Factors such as the n umber of victims, communication failures and road bloc kages will prevent people from accessing the 911 emerg ency ser vices. People will have to rely on each other to meet their immediate life-saving and life-sustaining needs. “We all kno w that w e’ll be the last to g et help because w e don’t ha ve a major freew ay,” says Cla yton Council Member Pete Laurence. To meet this c hallenge, the city is for ming a Comm unity Emergency R esponse T eam (CERT) and is looking for residents willing to underg o 20 hours of training to pre pare them to co ver these first few days following a disaster. Volunteers will receive training in suc h areas as all-hazard disaster pre paredness, terrorism, fire suppression, disaster medicine and triag e, disaster psychology and light search and rescue. The most lik ely disaster to strike the Ba y Area w ould be the inevitable “big one ,” an earthquake that could cripple major transportation routes and leave cities without critical communication. “Having citizens who are better pre pared to tak e care of themselves and others during times of local crises will allo w paid first responders to focus their effor ts on the most critical, life-threatening situations ,”
See Volunteer, page A7
What’s Inside SECTION A
Around Town . . . . . . . . . . .A2 Letter to the Editor . . . . . . .A4 Upcoming Events . . . . . . . .A4 Classified Ads and Director y of Advertisers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A5 Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A6 Mayor’s Corner . . . . . . . . . . .A6 Club News . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A8 Sharing History . . . . . . . . .A10 Garden Girl . . . . . . . . . . . .A10 School News . . . . . . . . . . . .A11 Theater Review . . . . . . . . . .A12 At the Movies . . . . . . . . . . .A12 Food for Thought . . . . . . .A13
Tamara Steiner/Clayton Pioneer
CLAYTON
RESIDENT
DENISE STEPHENS, left, dances with the Schuhplattlers at CBCA’s Oktoberfest on Saturday.
Council candidates address Clayton issues Editor’s Note: This November , four candidates will vie for tw o, fouryear seats on the City Council: Jim Diaz, Joe Medrano, Dave Shuey and Hank Stratford. In the last issue , we introduced these candidates and g ave each the opportunity to submit a brief biography. The Clayton Pioneer then ask ed each of the four candidates to submit five questions that they w ould like to ask their opponents. Diaz, Shuey and Stratford submitted questions. We then compiled the questions , eliminating overlap. We ended up with eight questions that we believe address the issues facing our small town today and into the future. In this issue , y ou will r ead their answers to the first four questions . In the next issue , the candidates will address the final four questions . (See box, page A8 for details.)
JIM DIAZ
JOE MEDRANO
DAVE SHUEY
HANK STRATFORD
1 . What ar e your qualifications for serving on the council? W hat sets you apart from the other candidates? DIAZ: I ha ve ser ved on the city’s Planning Commission for two years and w as the commission’s re presentative to
TRANSPAC, the regional planning group. I ser ved in a senior California state ex ecutive position, appointed b y Go v. Pete Wilson, leading and managing a large consumer agency. I understand the “f low” of things in
the governmental process. MEDRANO: I believ e m y experience in running a successful business as w ell as w orking with CEOs and CFOs of multinational companies to review and analyze risks while stri ving
to provide a ser vice or perfor m a function within a budg et will assist me in my capacity as a City Council member. I believe what sets me apar t
Interim city clerk takes on job per manently TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
SECTION B
Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B1 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B2 On the Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B4 Community Calendar . . . . . .B5 Holiday Gift Section (New) .B6 Dining Around . . . . . . . . . . .B8 Crossword Puzzle . . . . . . . . .B8 Pet Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B7 Weather Words . . . . . . . . . . .B7 Financial Sense . . . . . . . . . . .B7 Church News . . . . . . . . . . .B11
See Oktoberfest, page A9
Tamara Steiner/Clayton Pioneer
RECENT ST. MARY’S GRAD, LACI JACKSON, 22, was the interview panel’s unanimous choice for Clayton’s city clerk position.
City Manag er Gar y Napper has selected a recent Saint Mary’s College g raduate for the position of city clerk. Laci Jackson, 22, was serving an inter nship with the to wn of Moraga this summer when she was recruited by Napper to temporarily fill the city clerk position. The Cla yton job opened up when Cla yton City Clerk Rhonda Basore left to become the town clerk in Moraga. After deciding she lik ed Clayton and w anted to sta y, Jackson applied for the per manent position. There w ere nine applicants for the position, with four mak-
ing it past the initial screening . They w ere inter viewed b y a panel of city officials and a city clerk from a neighboring city. With a presence and maturity belying her age, Jackson “was the unanimous , number one choice arising out of the process,” said Napper. “I w as highly impressed b y Laci’s pre paration for the interview and her w orking kno wledge about the v ast ar ray of tasks and responsibilities required of today’s city clerk, ” Napper said. “She is cur rent on issues facing cities in the 21st century, familiar with g overning body processes and has been a delight to w ork with during her interim stint as city clerk.”
See Clerk, page A7
See Council, page A8
Sports Editor Needed
The Pioneer is looking for a new Sports Editor. This is a paid position requiring approximately 10-15 hours per issue (twice a month.) The successful candidate will be thoroughly plug ged in to the Cla yton area spor ts scene, preferably be a Clayton resident and will ha ve g ood writing skills. A computer and a high comfor t lev el with email and Word are necessary. Send a co ver letter with y our qualifications and a writing sample (a couple of paragraphs is fine) to tamara@claytonpioneer.com. Put Sports Editor in the subject line . Call 672-0500 for more information.