Due Oct. 23

Student and adult humanitarians to be recognized at 46th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Ceremony in January

Contra Costa County seeks nominations for Humanitarians of the Year to be recognized during the 46th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ceremony.

The deadline to submit candidates for consideration is Monday, Oct. 23.

The event will commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 16. In the spirit of Dr. King’s work, this year’s theme is “Beloved Community.”

The Board of Supervisors plans to recognize two individuals, (1) a community member and (2) a student leader, whose dedication to others embodies the spirit and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the January event.

Nominate a community member and/or student whose accomplishments and actions go above and beyond to positively impact Contra Costa County, its residents, and communities. Please nominate candidates who demonstrate leadership, commitment to the community, and personal integrity. 

To submit online nominations and learn more about the County’s celebration, visit the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Ceremony website.

“Strabismus” could affect as many as 30,000 people in Contra Costa and is correctable

“I look at the picture and go ‘wow’! I just feel good.” – patient Kyle Emard

“It’s an out-patient surgery. You go home the same day.” – Dr. Daniel Greninger

By Allen D. Payton

After living with being both cross-eyed and deaf for most of his life, 49-year-old Kyle Emard can now see straight thanks to the talent and skills of Kaiser Permanente ophthalmologist, Dr. Daniel Greninger whose office is in Antioch. He corrected Emard’s vision impairment known as strabismus.

“After I was born my eyes would look straight ahead. But when I was five, my eyes started to go inward,” Emard shared through a sign language interpreter. “My mom asked me if I wanted surgery. I said, ‘no, no’.”

And he never did have the corrective surgery, until last year.

“I never had any bullying,” Emard said. “I was playing football, wrestling and traveling all over the country. My grandfather had a travel agency. It didn’t bother me. People would ask me what was wrong with my eye. They thought I was blind in one eye. During conversations people would look past me, not sure which eye to look at. I’d think, ‘they’re not looking at me’. I’d say, ‘I’m looking at you’.”

“I graduated from high school. I got ready for college. Then I bought a house,” he continued. “My mom asked me, again if I wanted surgery, and I told her ‘no’.”

“Strabismus describes eye misalignment problems,” Greninger explained. “In Kyle’s case this is most likely attributed to accommodative esotropia. That’s a condition where a person’s eyes turn in excessively due to them trying to focus. Kyle is far sighted.”

“This is very common for eye misalignment problems,” the doctor added. “People have a hard time looking at those with strabismus.”

“Sometimes it would be a serious discussion and people would say, ‘look at me’, And I was,” Emard shared. “It was annoying.”

“For some people it’s more than annoying,” Greninger interjected. “For people with strabismus it’s a quality-of-life impact issue.”

“What is particularly unique for me from the doctor’s side of it is Kyle also has hearing impairment. He has to communicate visually,” he continued. “Sometimes people with strabismus and hearing impairment have double vision. Sometimes depth perception is affected.”

Emard began wearing his first pair of glasses when he was five years old. But his vision progressively worsened, through the years.

“Kyle mainly looked out of one eye,” the doctor shared. “But surgery was done on both eyes. More on the right eye than the left.”

“For people with hearing impairment it’s called Usher Syndrome in which people have both hearing and vision impairment,” Greninger continued. “People assumed Kyle had that. Usher syndrome is a completely different genetic condition in which patients often have very significant hearing and vision deficits and are often functionally blind.  In Kyle’s case, I think people knew he was deaf, and then saw his eye drifting and assumedthat he also couldn’t see due to Usher syndrome, which would be incorrect.”

“People assumed I was blind in one eye,” Emard shared.

Asked if it was difficult to read a book, watch TV or go to the movies, he said, “No.”

“His sight was fine. He could see 20/20 but he was only looking out of one eye,” the doctor replied. “If you have strabismus as a child, often the brain learns to ignore one eye to avoid seeing double.  In adults, acquired strabismus can often result in double vision. Kyle’s problem, accommodative esotropia, typically develops between 2-6 years of age, and is related to hyperopia, or far-sightedness.”

Emard said he continued to wear glasses, then mainly contacts in high school. He went snow skiing, snowboarding and dirt biking.

“I wouldn’t go up high places, just small hills,” he shared. “I played roller blade hockey, defensive end in football. That was all before.”

A graduate of Leigh High School in San Jose, Emard attended Gallaudet University in Washington, DC.

“It’s one of the best known colleges for the deaf. All the instruction is in ASL (American Sign Language),” Greninger added.

“It’s a muscle issue. There are six muscles that are attached to the eye that move it in different directions. Up and down, left and right, and torsion that twists the eye,” he explained. “In strabismus, sometimes it’s a disease of the eye muscles. More commonly it’s the brain not telling the eye to do something. Our brains are usually hardwired to know how much to turn to focus.”

The Surgery

Asked when he decided to have the surgery Emard responded, “After my mom passed away three years ago. My family had money. Everything I was doing was done for the deaf organization. I felt it was the right time.”

The surgery took place last September.

“I met Kyle in 2022 after I had received a referral from one of my colleagues, a consult request. We set up a video chat with an interpreter,” Greninger shared. “We do video consults, first. For this condition it’s important for me to know the history of the condition.”

“We had that first video visit. We used some remote tools which allowed Kyle to take photos and videos at home,” the doctor continued. “We were able to use the components of technology that we didn’t have five years ago. I then had him come in for a complete eye exam to make sure his eyes were healthy.”

Asked if the technology is better, Grenginer said, “It’s safer, now. It’s about an hour-and-a-half surgery.”

“I can’t go into the brain and turn a screw a quarter inch to change how the brain controls the eye,” he explained. “So, we put in an eyelid speculum, we make a small incision over the eye and we find where the eye muscle is. It’s red and very small. We put in a small suture, like a stitch where the muscles connect to the white of the eye. Then I detach the muscle with surgical scissors and move it to a new position. If we move it back that creates some slack and decreases the force on the eye for turning.”

“I wear special surgical loops to help me see. But it’s all done with hands no lasers,” the doctor stated. “The amount we move the muscles is determined by the measurements we take in the office. Deciding which muscles to move and in which pattern based on the person’s problem are the intellectual work of my specialty.”

“I don’t want to over-compensate or under do it,” he continued. “It’s done in millimeter precision. We’re measuring the half-millimeter. Each millimeter moves the eye three degrees.”

“I knew I was nervous out of fear of losing my eye,” Emard shared.

“Each time I saw you I was more comfortable,” he said to the doctor.

“I don’t remember the surgery. When I woke up, I thought, ‘I’m ready’. But I looked and was shocked,” Emard exclaimed.

“It’s general anesthesia surgery so you’re asleep the whole time,” Greninger said. “We were able to get a sign language interpreter to be there in Walnut Creek the whole day, which I think is very important to give people the same level of care. I was really happy the leadership and nursing staff were able to provide that.”

“We had to move three muscles on Kyle’s eyes. One muscle on his left eye and two muscles on his right eye,” the doctor explained. “First, we relaxed the muscle on the left eye. Then on the right eye we tightened the outside muscle and relaxed the inside muscle.”

“I remember the right eye was much more red than the left,” Emard explained. “After surgery I did have double vision for a little while but then it went away. I had full vision. I could see all the way around. It was strange.”

“After the surgery I felt the same,” he added.

He used eye drops for a few a days, “but the redness lasted a few weeks,” Emard shared.

Asked how long the recovery time is Greninger said, “About six to eight weeks. I usually tell patients in two months’ time people won’t be able to tell they had the surgery. Kyle came back to see me about six months later to see if everything was fine, about March of this year.”

“Sometimes I forgot. ‘Did I have surgery?” Emard stated. “I posted and let everyone know on Facebook and showed the before and after photos and got almost a thousand likes. After my surgery I cried a lot because my mom wasn’t around to see it. But she’s happy, now.”

Emard lives in Livermore, works in Fremont as a middle school counselor and has one child, a 15-year-old son.

Asked what his son thought Emard said, “He said ‘wow!’ He was shocked. He just kept looking around my eye, opening my eye. He was used to looking at me inward.”

“On the day of my surgery my son was at school, and he was all worried. He said my dad’s fine and the teacher said, ‘good’. The week after he had a football game and my friend drove me. I sat alone by the goal post. I told people I didn’t want to talk yet I’m still healing. But I had to be there.”

Asked if it has impacted his job Emard said, “It’s about the same” then spoke of the difference between the school pictures from last year compared to this year.

Asked if he feels different about himself, he said, “Oh, yes. I look at the picture and go ‘wow’! I just feel good.”

“After surgery my friends were gathering and said they missed my lazy eye,” Emard said with a laugh. “I’m happy every day.”

Asked if people who have the surgery get counseling after, Dr. Greninger said, “The psycho-social impact of strabismus has been well studied.  Characters in movies with strabismus often are portrayed with other disabilities, and people may wrongly assume that all people with eye misalignment have other intellectual handicaps.  Studies have shown that childhood strabismus can negatively impact a teacher’s perception of a student’s motivation or focus.  In addition, strabismus in adulthood can sometimes be a barrier to success in the workplace or finding a romantic partner.”

“Even the term lazy eye – we don’t use that term,” he continued. “Some people despite having strabismus they use the term lazy eye. It has a certain connotation to it. We think if it as a negative There’s a misunderstanding of people with strabismus.”

30,000 County Residents Have Correctable Vision Impairment

With offices at Kaiser Permanente Antioch Medical Center on Deer Valley Road, Dr. Greninger grew up in San Ramon, graduated from Cal High and earned his undergrad at Dartmouth College. He did his residency at UCSF Medical Center in Ophthalmology followed by a Fellowship in Pediatric Ophthalmology and Adult Strabismus at Oregon Health Science University in Portland.

“I started at the Antioch Medical Center in 2013. It’s been about 10 years of offering the surgery in Contra Costa County,” the doctor shared. “About half of my practice is adult strabismus and about half are children. We do about 100 to 150 surgeries like this each year.”

“We estimate we have about 15,000 with eye misalignment problems in our service area,” Greninger stated. “Sometimes people can have a medical problem like a stroke, thyroid eye disease, a neurological condition or facial trauma from an accident or assault. They can cause eye alignment problems. Probably half my adult patients had it as children and it either came back or it was never dealt with.”

He also estimates there are as many as 30,000 people in Contra Costa County suffering from strabismus which is correctable.

“Many people have this and don’t know something can be done or has been on the back burner for a long time,” Greninger stated. “Sharing stories like Kyle’s is good to let people know something can be done. I have patients come to me and say, ‘I wish I had come to you earlier’.”

“I try to put myself in the patient’s shoes to see how they’re thinking. It’s a leap of faith for a patient. It takes a lot of bravery to trust a doctor with your eyesight,” he said.

“It’s an out-patient surgery. You go home the same day. Most of the eye surgeries are done in Walnut Creek,” Greninger added.

ANTIOCH – On Friday August 11, 2023 Governor Newsom appointed Richard Hobin of Antioch to the 23rd District Agricultural Association, Contra Costa County Fair Board of Directors.

Hobin has been the owner and an attorney at Hobin & Hobin LLP since 1977. He served at the rank of O-3 in the U.S. Navy in 1974. Hobin is a member of the Lone Tree Golf Course Board of Directors, the Contra Costa County Bar Association, the California State Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, and the Rotary Club of the Delta.

He earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco.

Fair CEO Joe Brengle stated that he is excited to have Hobin as a Board Member.

The next Contra Costa County Fair Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for September 13, 2023. For noard meeting agendas visit the Fair’s website at www.contracostafair.com.

Mark your calendars for the 2024 Contra Costa County Fair May 16 – 19, with the theme “To FAIR and Beyond”.

Former business owner, long-time Rotarian, co-founder of Antioch Sports Legends and the Leo Fontana Lifetime Achievement Foundation

By Allen D. Payton

It was announced by several Antioch organizations on Monday, August 14, 2023, that long-time resident, two-time Citizen of the Year and former Councilman Leo Fontana passed away on Sunday. He turned 100 years old earlier this year.

The Antioch Rotary Club of which he was a long-time member posted a message on their Facebook page which reads, “It’s with great sadness to let you know that long time Antioch Rotarian Leo Fontana has passed away. Our condolences to Leo’s family. He will be greatly missed.” They also shared several photos of members with Fontana and mentioned his Leo Fontana Lifetime Achievement Foundation benefiting youth in Antioch. An annual trivia night fundraiser is held and the winning team is awarded The Leo Trophy.

A brief message posted on the Facebook page for the Antioch Historical Museum, where the Antioch Sports Legends wing is located, reads simply, “We grieve the passing of Leo Fontana” and later “A legend in so many ways.”

On the Facebook page of the Antioch Sports Legends, which Fontana co-founded, the following was posted about him:

“It is with a heavy heart that the Antioch Sports Legends Program, shares the passing of Antioch Sports Legends Hall of Fame Community Sports Leader inductee and Co-Founder Leo Fontana.

Our condolences go out to his daughter Andrea, Family and Friends.

Leo Fontana’s bio from his 2008 Antioch Sports Legends Hall of Fame induction.

If it existed, Leo could easily claim the title of ‘Father of Modern Antioch.’ His behind-the-scenes involvement goes back six decades. He had a hand in bringing County East Mall, East County Bank, Delta Memorial Hospital and the Antioch Senior Citizens Center into existence. He’s served on the boards of several local charities and organizations. Antioch’s voters elected him to the Antioch City Council, on which he served from 1982-1986. He was also an Antioch Planning Commissioner, Parks and Recreation Commissioner and Charter President of the Antioch Merchants Association. The Chamber of Commerce honored him twice as Antioch Citizen of the Year. Leo might easily be called the ‘Cal Ripken, Jr.’ of service club members. He has a perfect attendance record of 29 years with the Lions Club and since 1978 with the Rotary Club of Antioch. Sports and recreation programs in the city all seem to trace their origins back to Leo. He participated in the creation of the Antioch Hornets football team, Lob Ball League, Antioch Softball League and Antioch Babe Ruth Baseball, for which he served as its first president. An athlete himself, Leo played catcher for the Antioch Merchants team and left halfback for the Antioch Alumni Football team in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He was chairman of a committee that created a new corporation to run the Antioch Municipal Golf Course, and helped found the Antioch Bocce Ball League. His love of sports and his community led to his involvement in assisting in the creation of the Antioch Sports Legends Program and display in 2007, for which he was honored, with the other four founders, as Antioch Citizens of the Year.

Leo was 100 years old.

Funeral services for Leo to be announced!”

Fontana was also honored with a Key to the City by the Antioch City Council, during Mayor Wade Harper’s term. The Leo Fontana Fountain at City Hall was first dedicated in 1987, then redesigned, rebuilt and rededicated last year.

Publisher’s Note: Leo was my sponsor when I first joined the Antioch Rotary Club in 1994 and was a mentor and advisor to me while I served on the city council. Leo was my long-time friend, and we had the chance to meet one final time, last year as I brought him copies of the latest issues of the paper. We spoke about what was happening in, and he shared his concerns about, the city for which he cared, so much. Leo left an indelible mark on Antioch. He truly lived the Rotary International official mottoes of Service Above Self and One Profits Most Who Serves Best. Leo will be missed.

By Antioch Police Department

After 30 years of service, Sergeant Steve Aiello has retired. Sergeant Aiello began his career in June of 1992 serving the citizens of Antioch as a Reserve Police Officer. In June of 1999, Steve Aiello graduated the police academy and was promoted to the rank of police officer where he proudly served for the next 24 years.

During his career, Sergeant Aiello worked as a member of the Special Response Unit, Auto Theft Investigator, Narcotics/Vice Detective, Gang Unit, Community Engagement Team and a member of the Rifle team. As a detective, he was awarded the Medal of Valor in 2012 for his participation of a robbery/homicide investigation.

In 2017, he was promoted to the Rank of Corporal where he supervised numerous patrol teams, the Crisis Negotiations Team and helped purchase and design the department’s first Mobile Command Vehicle.

Sergeant Aiello served 17 years as part of the Antioch Police Officer’s Association (APOA) holding every position to include POA President for the last 4 of those years. His biggest accomplishment while serving the POA was the purchase, design and overseeing the yearlong construction of our new POA building for current and future members to enjoy.

In 2022, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant where he has served proudly and honorably until retiring.

Enjoy your well-deserved retirement, Sergeant Aiello. Thank you for your service and you will be missed.

By Antioch Police Department

After 25 years of distinguished law enforcement service, Captain Trevor Schnitzius retired on August 4, 2023.

Trevor grew up and attended school in the City of Vallejo where he threw shot put and discus for his high school track team. After high school, he attended Diablo Valley College, where he earned an Associate’s degree before transferring to CSU Sacramento. There, he completed his Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice.

Trevor was hired by the City of Antioch in 1998, shortly after graduating from Sacramento State, as a police trainee and attended the Police Academy at Los Medanos College. While many of Trevor’s family members chose to serve as firefighters, he found police work to be more interesting and exciting and chose Antioch.

During his service with APD, he has worked patrol, as a Detective, as a Field Training Officer, as a member of our Honor Guard, a defensive tactics instructor and as a member of our social media team. Trevor has served as our VIPS Coordinator as well as being heavily involved with our Cadet program for over 18 years (his oldest son also served as a Police Cadet and is now a Community Service Officer). Trevor is also involved in his community and has also coached water polo and wrestling.

We wish Trevor plenty of time with his family in retirement and we will deeply miss someone who has been such a big part of this department for so long.

By Marisa Greenberg, Marketing & Communications Coordinator, 4CD

MARTINEZ, California – The Contra Costa Community College District (4CD) has selected Dr. Tony Wold as the next Associate Vice Chancellor, Chief Financial Officer (AVC CFO). Following a nationwide search that began in May 2023, the 4CD Governing Board will vote on ratification of his contract at their August 9, 2023, meeting.

“We are excited to welcome Dr. Tony Wold to 4CD. He brings an impressive amount of experience in finance, public education, labor negotiations, and bond programs. He embodies a student-first approach, complementing our focus on student equity and success,” shared Executive Vice Chancellor of Administrative Services Dr. Micaela Ochoa.

For the past year, Dr. Wold served as Chief Business Officer in Residence for School Innovations & Achievement, where he focused on rebuilding systems to bring students back into schools while addressing the learning loss and changes in attendance behaviors resulting from the pandemic. He recently served as Associate Superintendent, Business Services, for West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD), where he oversaw the daily operations and management of accounting, budget, purchasing, payroll, employee benefits, labor relations, school operations, athletics, safety, warehouse, transportation, nutrition services, and risk management. He also helped lead the passage of WCCUSD’s $575 million Measure R Bond in March 2020, and overcoming a $49.9 million structural deficit to restore the WCCUSD budget certification.

“I am excited to join the 4CD team and support their vision of a college-going culture for its diverse student population,” said Wold. “Community colleges are essential in providing an affordable and quality higher education given the changing job market locally and across the world, and I look forward to helping 4CD successfully achieve that mission.”

Dr. Wold received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California (USC), his School Business Management Certification and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership at USC. He also earned Chief Business Official certifications from the Council of Great City Schools, and Lead Negotiators certification from the School Employers Association of California (SEAC).

The Contra Costa Community College District (4CD) is one of the largest multi-college community college districts in California. The 4CD serves 1.2 million residents, and its boundaries encompass all but 48 of the 734-square-mile land area of Contra Costa County. 4CD is home to Contra Costa College in San Pablo, Diablo Valley College with campuses in Pleasant Hill and San Ramon, and Los Medanos College with campuses in Pittsburg and Brentwood. The District headquarters is located in downtown Martinez. Each college is individually accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. For more information visit www.4cd.edu.

By Antioch Unified School District

Please join us in welcoming Mr. Tim Cooper to his new position as Director of Student Support Services.

Mr. Cooper or “Coop,” as many students and staff affectionately call him, has been with the Antioch Unified School District since 2001 having served as Vice Principal of Deer Valley High School, Vice Principal at Bidwell High School, Principal of Black Diamond Middle School and, most recently, Principal of Live Oak High School.

Growing up, Mr. Cooper lived in San Francisco and San Bruno prior to moving to Carson, California where he said he learned a lot of street wisdom growing up in a city then plagued by gangs and crime. At the age of 15, his family moved to Concord, California wherein Cooper says he was in culture shock having come from a very diverse city to a school where only 10 of the nearly 2,000 students were African American. There, he says, he experienced racism for the first time.

“I knew racism existed, I’d read about it and watched television programs about it, but until it’s in your face, it’s a whole different story.” To adjust to his new environment, Cooper says he focused less on sports and more on academics. “I’d always been a good student, but my drive to become even better took some of my attention from sports.”

Nonetheless, Mr. Cooper played football, basketball, and track while attending high school but was sidelined from getting a college football scholarship when an injury took him off the field most of his senior year. Thus, Mr. Cooper attended Diablo Valley College for two years after high school where he reengaged with sports while simultaneously focusing on his academics. As a result, two years later he was offered a football scholarship by both San Diego State and St. Mary’s College.

“I decided on St. Mary’s, even though their team was 2-8, because I knew friends there and I wanted to focus on my degree. I was aware of the deal, I’d play football for them, and they’d pay for my college education.”

Cooper said his father had a big impact on him. “He was born in North Carolina in 1941. He would tell us stories about growing up like how he had to stop attending school in the fall to work the tobacco fields and how he had to attend an all-African American segregated school separated by a chain link fence from a white school. He said the basketball courts and facilities were well-maintained at the all-white school while his school was dilapidated and missing many of the things the other school had.”

Cooper said his father always stressed the importance of leading by example. As he grew up, he watched his father lead by example as he served in the Navy then worked at Southern Pacific Railroad where he retired as Head of West Coast Communication.

Mr. Cooper said he is most looking forward to working with agencies to ensure the District has increased and sustainable mental health support for students. “I think sometimes we underestimate what some of our students are coping with, but they come to school because it is a safe, consistent space. It’s our job to meet them where they are and provide the support they need to be successful.”

Mr. Cooper lives in Antioch with his wife of 29 years. Their children, now 27 and 25 attended AUSD schools.