September 18, 2020
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New MDUSD superintendent starts school year with 29,000 students distance learning JAY BEDECARRÉ The Pioneer
Kathleen Ingram
Twins Ellie and Eli Ingram are in their “classroom” at home in Clayton where they work on their fifth-grade assignments from Mt. Diablo Elementary School. The Ingram children are two of 29,000 MDUSD students engaged in distance learning this fall due to the continued closure of school campuses.
Dr. Adam Clark has concluded the first two months on his new job as Mt. Diablo Unified School District superintendent and it has certainly been an eventful time. For the first time ever MDUSD and nearly every other district in the state began this term with remote learning. Locally, the 29,000 students from Pre-K to high school resumed the educational journey they suddenly began last March when the coronavirus pandemic first shutdown on campus learning. The difference—and it’s a big one—is that when school began last month teachers were in charge of classes with different students than what happened last spring. Then, students and teachers had been together for seven months and the challenge was to complete the 2019-20 school year with
See Students, page 9
Popular former teacher John Bedecarré Not Mars. Clayton compiles 850-page family history treasure KARA NAVOLIO Correspondent
John Bedecarré never imagined that his interest in his family history would become a journey that would take more than 40 years, leading to an 850-page book. Along the way, he uncovered many stories of the lives that came before him –all while bringing his family closer together. Bedecarré, a San Francisco native, came to Concord in 1955 and opened Park & Shop Cleaners in the newly built Park & Shop Center. Following service in the U.S. Army during World War II, he had returned to UC Berkeley and met Cathy Reid while they both worked on the student newspaper, the Daily Californian. They married in 1948 and began a family two years later.
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TURNING TO TEACHING While in his early 40s, Bedecarré attended a three-day Catholic Cursillo retreat and had
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Corrinne Bedecarré helped her 98-year-old dad John with research for a lengthy family history.
an epiphany: He decided to become a teacher. After convincing his wife that he could do this while keeping the cleaners running and helping raise their six children, he enrolled in the credential program at Cal State
Hayward (now East Bay). He became a well-loved, award-winning teacher and formed long-lasting friendships with students, some of whom he is still in touch with through Facebook and Christmas cards.
He taught kindergarten through high school at some point during his 20 years with the Mt. Diablo Unified School District. He later went on to teach with his wife in the credential program at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga for 10 years. While teaching social studies at Oak Grove Intermediate School in Concord, he met substitute teacher Max Coppage, who was president of the local genealogical society. Coppage, also a WWII veteran, talked about genealogy and Bedecarré, who knew very little about his own family history, became intrigued. He began his own genealogy journey when he was in his 50s. He and Cathy, who became a fourth-grade teacher after John began teaching full-time, combined family vacations
See Bedecarré, page 3
Spencer Sinclair
Californians woke to a weird, dark red and orange world Sept. 9 as heavy smoke and ash from dozens of major wildfires burning in California and Oregon formed an ominous layer over the entire state blocking the sun. It was so dark outside that vehicles needed headlights and streetlights were still on even as midday approached. The photo was taken on Southbrook Dr. in Clayton at 8:30 a.m. By press time, more than two dozen fires had consumed over 3 million acres in California. The death toll had reached 33 with dozens still missing.
Safety, security top pre-Election Day checklist DAVID SCHOLZ Correspondent
For all the dire predictions being voiced ahead of the November general election, it appears it’s all systems go for Contra Costa County election officials as they work to cover all their bases for the big day. Since March, the county has purchased 25 additional secure drop boxes for voteby-mail ballots, bringing the total to 37. Ten of the coun-
ty’s 17 designated Regional Early Voting sites will serve voters in outdoor event tents, and strict adherence to the county’s ordinance requiring masks indoors and in public are elements of the action plan developed to alleviate concerns over the safety of the election process and threats to public health as the coronavirus seems to show no signs of abating. “We are encouraging all voters to cast the ballot that
is mailed to them and to return it via the mail or to a secure drop box,” said Sophie Lehman, Elections Service manager. In the Concord and Clayton areas, the 24/7 drop boxes will be positioned at:
• Clayton Library, 6125 Clayton Road. • Concord City Hall, 1950 Parkside Dr. • Monument Crisis Center, 1990 Market St., Concord.
• First Lutheran Church, 4000 Concord Blvd., Concord.
If voters have reservations about their ballots, they can also sign up for free notifications about the status of their ballot – when it’s mailed, received and counted – at california.ballottrax.net/voter/. Ballots will go out in the mail on Oct. 5. If voters want to vote the old-fashioned way – in person – but can’t wait until Nov. 3, they can cast their
ballots at one of the Regional Early Voting sites. They will be open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31; and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2. The ones in Concord are at the Clarion Hotel, 1050 Burnett Ave.; outdoors at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, 1955 Kirker Pass Road; and outdoors at El Rancho Restaurant, 1450 Monument Blvd.
See Voting, page 5
Postal Customer ECRWSS PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID CLAYTON, CA 94517 PERMIT 190