editor@yourmonthlypaper.com
June 2012
Serving the Lafayette Community New Farmers Market Opening on June 10th at South BART Lot
Bob Frick (in red), and Len Holme (in yellow) get ready for their long distance ride.
Biking the Open Road By Fran Miller Their inspiration is the Lewis and Clark Trail. Their motivation is twofold: physical fitness and the desire to help others. On June 11th, Lafayette residents Len Holmes (age 70) and his friend Bob Frick (age 75) will take to the open road on bike, following Lewis and Clark’s 1806 expedition return route from Fort Clatsop, Oregon to St. Louis, Missouri. Their 3,000 mile ride through ten states – a benefit for Habitat for Humanity – is expected to take 69 days, far fewer than the original Corps of Discovery trek. Up the Columbia River, over the mountains in Idaho to Missoula, Montana, and then down the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers to St. Louis they will pedal. They plan to ride 60 miles per day, pending excessive rain, fatigue or other unforeseen encumbrances, with 11 stops along the way at Habitat for Humanity offices and build sites. Lewis and Clark historical sites will be their primary tourist targets, with a few rest days at Yellowstone National Park. An additional day is reserved to visit a friend who is working in the Bakken Oil Fields of North Dakota. The two cyclists bonded a few years ago after Frick read about Holmes’ last tour in 2007 – a 5,300 mile, 100 day solo ride from his Burton Valley home to Quebec, Canada. Frick, an active and gregarious community volunteer who serves on the Habitat for Humanity East Bay board, was preparing for his own cross-country ride, a benefit for Habitat, for which he ultimately raised over $90,000. He contacted Holmes for tips on how to ride a successful tour, and the two became fast friends. “Bob’s invitation to ride with him on this current trip generated an easy ‘yes,’” says Holmes, who was intrigued by the philanthropic nature of the trip – a second benefit for Habitat. (Frick, through his many contacts, has secured sponsorships from some of the Bay Area’s largest companies.) “I've always respected the work and education that Habitat for Humanity does for deserving people, and Bob's energy, enthusiastic attitude, and ability in setting a significant fund raising goal was inspiration enough for me. Throw in the support that Bob's delightful wife Barbara will provide in carrying gear and emergency supplies, and I had frosting on the cake.”
See Biking continued on page 20 Local Postal Customer
PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Permit 21 Lafayette, CA
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Fresh cherries anyone? It’s been 8 ½ months since there was a farmer’s market in Lafayette, but that’s about to change. A new Lafayette Farmers’ Market was approved by the City Council on May 14th and will have its opening day on Sunday, June 10th at the south BART parking lot. The Market will be held, year-round, every Sunday from 9am – 1pm. Sponsored by Sustainable Lafayette, the new market will be run by Urban Village who currently runs 10 other markets from the South Bay to Oakland. “We aim to bring Lafayette world class farmers offering the finest tree-ripened, vine-ripened, just-picked, sensuous produce for the town’s sophisticated and discriminating residents,” said Ron Pardini, the Executive Director at Urban Village. The new market will feature roughly 60 vendors, and besides fresh produce, it will also feature specialty foods, baked goods, artisan coffee, freshcut flowers, a pizza oven, freshly prepared crepes, and more. Live music and hand-crafted art will round out the shopping experience. Even with 600+ fans on Facebook, the prior market on Thursday evenings suffered from reasons that people couldn’t make it, including lack of parking, being too small to be compelling, being difficult to attend over the dinner hour, and being right next to a congested intersection. So, last October the City of Lafayette, Chamber of Commerce, and Sustainable Lafayette decided to seek more community input and explore options for creating a thriving market. Sharon Richard and Gina Dawson, of Sustainable Lafayette’s Local Food Group, stepped forward to pin down the plans and launch the new market. Sharon said, “What motivates us is to bring all the residents (currently) leaving town to attend a farmers market back to Lafayette, so they can shop local, and to create a great weekly community event that residents will love.”
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By Fran Miller
Most people know to call 411 for phone information. Nearly everyone knows to call 911 to register a life-threatening emergency. Not so commonly known is the purpose of a 211 call – to receive information about emergencies declared in one’s town and outlying area. Taking it one step further is the Contra Costa County Community Warning System, which allows Contra Costa residents Volume V I- Number 6 to register, and in turn, personally receive 3000F DANVILLE BLVD #117 emergency information for their area. ALAMO, CA 94507 The Contra Costa County Community Telephone (925) 405-6397 Warning System (CWS) allows residents to Fax (925) 406-0547 receive alerts on cell phones, via email or via editor@yourmonthlypaper.com Twitter. CWS is recognized as one of the naAlisa Corstorphine ~ Publisher tion’s most modern and effective all-hazard The opinions expressed herein belong to the writers, and do not necessarily reflect that public warning systems and is a partnership of of Lafayette Today. Lafayette Today is not the Office of the Sheriff, the Health Services responsible for the content of any of the ad-
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vertising herein, nor does publication imply