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valleysentinel.com
November 2010
VOL 15, NO 11
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
SPOTLIGHT
Election Snafu—How Did It Happen? By Dana Guzzetti
Pre-election confusion over the vote for Director of the Central Sanitary District is what Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder Stephen Weir will focus on now that final election counts are complete. “We goofed,” Weir said. I know from experience that we will identify it, fix it, and move on.” Weir has been running elections for 21 years in Contra Costa and was clearly dismayed by a turn of events that resulted in the need to send out new vote-by-mail ballots only one week before the Nov. 2, 2010 election. Sanitary District boundaries and precinct boundaries do not coincide. “Over the years, local issues have been added to the federal and state elections. We have 294 distinct ballot types. Central San has islands of areas that are excluded and four annexations just occurred,” Weir explained. On Oct. 12, a voter alerted the Elections Office that he was in the Dublin-San Ramon Services District but that contest was not on
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This photo was taken at the annual Halloween parade at the Boo Festival Soccer Tournament in Sacramento. The Crunch team dressed up as a chocolate CRUNCH bar with their coaches: Coaches: Brittnay Cameron, Danielle Spann. Girls: Kendal Madsen, Holland Ericson, Kinsey Brillheart, Katie Peruzzaro, Krista Ambrose, Mia Lang, Peyton Delaney, Reagan Campbell, Stephanie Ellis, Malia Groth, Megan Abrabanel, Paige Gerhart. This is the MUSTANG CRUNCH - D1 U9 Girls Soccer Team. The Mustang Crunch team took 3rd in their division. The Mustang Legends, D1 U9 Girls took 2nd in their division. Photo by Kathy Brillheart
First People of the East Bay By Beverly R. Ortiz Note: We first ran this story in 2003 and wanted to run it again to encourage readers and their families not to miss the Indian Life Exhibit at the Museum of the San Ramon Valley, Located at the corner of Railroad and Prospect Avenues in downtown Danville through November 13. Winter hours are Tuesday to Friday 1 to 4, Saturday 10 to 1. For more information call the museum at (925) 837-3750.
At the dawn of time, Oj·ompil·e (now called Mount Diablo) was the sacred birthplace of the world. Supernatural beings, the First People, the people before Indian people, lived here. The First People are often designated with the names of animals whose attributes are reflected in their personalities – Condor, Prairie Falcon, Eagle
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and Coyote. The First People made Indians, providing them with a bountiful, beautiful world; a world which only two centuries ago was much different from the world today. A world in which condors still flew, a reminder of a sacred time. In the late 1700s, it’s estimated that between 280,000 and 340,000 people lived in what is now California. They spoke about 100 distinct languages. Three such languages were spoken in the East Bay: Bay Miwok, Ohlone/Costanoan and Northern Valley Yokuts. The people were organized into small, independent nations of one to five villages including a capital. Six such nations spoke the Bay Miwok language
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– the Chupcan of presentday Concord, the Julpun of Oakley-Brentwood, the Ompin of Pittsburg, the Saclan of Lafayette, the Tatcan of Danville and the Volvon of upper Marsh Creek. Villages had anywhere from 40 to 160 people. They lived in houses constructed of willow frames, thatched with tule or native bunchgrasses. M a ny i t e m s, s u c h a s tools, beads and baskets were an integral part of daily life, and these required precision, patience and technical ability to make. Specialists and professionals often served economic and ritual roles. Hunting and gathering activities required in-depth knowledge of natural cycles. Plant resources were cultivated for optimum harvest with
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horticultural techniques, such as pruning and burning. At various times, neighboring groups gathered for Big Times, events which featured ceremonial feasting and dancing of several days’ duration. Social bonds were renewed and strengthened, news was shared and goods were traded. Some trade items went through several groups before arriving locally. Obsidian for arrow points came from Napa, while bows appear to have been imported from the Sierra. Disputes were mediated by community leaders, spiritual leaders and family members. See page 10