With budget cuts hitting hard in our ever so humble economy, there are hard decisions out there that need to be made. The toughest decision facing Deer Valley High is not whether they should have a bigger gym or a larger pool – it is whether they should have two principals or one.

Scott Bergerhouse has been nice enough to step up and say, “I understand that this is a budget year and I have faith in the school board that they will know what they were doing.” Scott is confident that they will make their decision not only based on the budget, but what will benefit the bigger picture of Deer Valley’s future.

According to many supporting parents of the two-principal model, Deer Valley has made tremendous progress since 2007 when Scott Bergerhouse and Clarence Isadore came on board. With over 2,700 students making up the student body, two principals just made sense. Campus authority became more visible and children felt safer and more eager to attend school, stay in class and care about their education.

By returning to a one-principal high school Deer Valley will face a transition in which the majority of the parents will be displeased with the decision, but when it comes to money there really is no other alternative.

While it is very important to maintain a system that works, it is also important to keep lights on and maintain the building that is being occupied by so many students. The decision is not easy and many factors will be taken into account to reach a final conclusion. Whether Deer Valley has one principal or two, the children’s safety and education will not be compromised.

According to Wendi Aghily, the CSEA Union has agreed to union concessions in order to work with the budget. This decision may be just what Antioch needs in these hard economic times.

Tami Berrera

In his first official visit to the Bay Area, newly appointed Philippine Ambassador to the United States, Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. (center), was welcomed by (L-R) Cynthia Ruehlig, Contra Costa County Board of Education Trustee, and Walter Ruehlig, Antioch Unified School District Trustee at a reception at the Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco.

Ambassador Cuisia is soliciting support for “Save Our Industries Act” which will provide duty-free benefits for apparel products imported into the United States that have been manufactured in the Philippines using U.S. made fabrics.

Ambassador Cuisia asserted that The Save Act program would help both the U.S. textile industry and the Philippine apparel manufacturing industry by creating thousands of jobs and generating over a billion dollars in revenue for both countries. For more information, visit www.saveourindustriesact.org.

Dr. Robert Sheffield is now giving residents of East Contra Costa County another reason to smile by starting a local chapter of the Smile for a Lifetime foundation.

The mission of Smile for a Lifetime is to provide braces at no cost to disadvantaged children between the ages of ten and eighteen who reside in the above mentioned county. The children we strive to serve are those who would not otherwise have an opportunity for orthodontic care.

Dr. “Rob” Sheffield will award six orthodontic scholarships in 2011 and twelve scholarships annually beginning in 2012. The recipients will be selected by a local board consisting of diverse community leaders. This board will meet semi-annually to review applications and award scholarships.

Dr. Sheffield, whose office is at 3428 Hillcrest Avenue, Suite 100 in Antioch, is pleased to have the opportunity to serve our community by becoming a member of this generous foundation, and at the same time to realize his dream of serving local children who are in need of orthodontic assistance.

The Smile for a Lifetime application can be found at http://www.sheffieldortho.com/AboutUs/SmilesforaLifetime.aspx. For more information: e-mail S4Lfoundation@sheffieldortho.com or call 925.757.9100 or visit www.sheffieldortho.com.

Robert Sheffield, DDS is a respected provider of orthodontic treatment serving East Contra Costa County with offices in Antioch and Brentwood. The practice’s top priority is to provide the highest quality orthodontic care in a friendly, comfortable environment. It utilizes the latest technological advances in the industry, such as Damon System braces, Invisalign® and Insigna Custom Braces, along with the latest in computer technology (digital imaging and advanced computer graphics) to help offer faster treatment options that are more comfortable and more appealing than ever.

Smile for a Lifetime Foundation is a non-profit, charitable organization comprised of local chapters throughout the country that provide quality orthodontic treatment for patients who may not have the opportunity to achieve a beautiful, straight smile without financial assistance.

The Smile for a Lifetime Foundation helps equip orthodontists with the resources necessary to help develop a local Board of Directors that will specifically select individuals for orthodontic treatment. Smile for a Lifetime Foundation’s mission is to create self-confidence, inspire hope, and change the lives of children in our communities in a dramatic way. The gift of a smile can do all this for a deserving, underserved individual who, in turn, can use this gift to better themselves and their community.

April 14th was a memorable day at Deer Valley High where allegedly five teachers and two staff members have been assaulted on campus by students this year, four of the assaults occurring this semester.

Posted comments on a local online forum written by parents/teachers/teacher relatives, etc. state that on April 14 fights broke out in different areas of the high school campus after lunch, one involving multiple kids assaulting one boy. When a teacher jumped in to stop the assault, the teacher was hit and kicked by students, as was another teacher who also responded to the incident. Ultimately Co-Principal Clarence Isadore successfully intervened.

Concerned about the assaults and the fact that they could occur again in the near future, I emailed the district office for information. I subsequently received a reply from Tony Shah, Director, Student Support Services acknowledging, “On April 14th, we did have an incident in which an isolated fight escalated to a large number of students becoming involved. Due to federal privacy rights laws, I am unable to provide you with specific information about either the incident on the disciplinary consequences. I can assure you each student involved in the incident was appropriately assigned consequences in accordance to our current discipline policy and education code.”

I wonder if AUSD reported the assaults to the Antioch Police Department?

Mr. Shah also informed me that parents receive a copy of the district’s discipline policy, and teachers and staff have received “I Understand” training conducted by the Tools For Schools educational consulting firm. The “I Understand” website states that its training program will reduce tardies, absences, detentions, suspensions, too many referrals to the principal’s office and address parent involvement and school safety.

Wonder how well it’s working overall. It doesn’t appear to have been effective in regard to school safety. Perhaps the district should seek a refund. Educational consulting programs are controversial because they’re expensive, and taxpayers wonder why they’re necessary since there are sufficient administrators downtown to properly oversee and run the district.

Antioch’s teachers have been complaining about lack of safety since 2009 when former Superintendent Dr. Deborah Sims changed discipline policy. Teachers alleged that the new lax discipline policy, which led to a signification reduction in appropriate suspensions and expulsions, was meant to improve the district’s public image, and that by keeping such students on campus the district was able to maximize state funding, which is tied to average daily attendance figures.

Having received a copy of the Student and Parent/Guardian Handbook from Mr. Shah I checked the section in regard to the district’s suspension and expulsion process. Basically it states that, except where suspension for a first offense is warranted in accordance with law, suspension shall be imposed only when other means of correction fail to bring about proper conduct.

Expulsion is an action taken by the Board for severe or prolonged breaches of discipline by a student. Except for single acts of a grave nature, expulsion shall be used only when there is a history of misconduct, or other forms of discipline, including suspension, have failed to bring about proper conduct, or when the student’s presence causes a continuing danger to self or others.

My verdict is in – the students involved in the April 14th incident or any other incident in which a teacher or staff member has been aggressively defied or assaulted should be expelled immediately and a report taken in this regard by the Antioch Police Department.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) are reaching out to minority and low-income communities for assistance in the development of Plan Bay Area, a 25-year transportation investment and land-use strategy for the nine-county region from 2015 through 2040.

The agencies are working with 14 community-based organizations to help ensure that people living in communities of concern have opportunities to make their voices heard about how the region should grow. The community-based outreach is happening concurrently with Plan Bay Area public workshops being held this spring in each of the nine Bay Area counties.

MTC and ABAG used a competitive process to select the community-based organizations to make the outreach possible. Partnerships with community-based organizations also helped spur development of the Bay Area’s two most recent regional transportation plans.. By contracting with more community-based organizations, and scheduling more events, MTC has stepped up its outreach effort for the Plan Bay Area process, which is scheduled to conclude in the spring of 2013. Plan Bay Area will be the region’s first transportation and land-use plan to incorporate the Sustainable Communities Strategy mandated by state Senate Bill 375, which was signed into law in 2008.

“We’re looking to get direct input from people about what they think will work best in their communities,” said MTC Chair and San Mateo County Supervisor Adrienne Tissier. “A critical part of this effort is hearing from people who live in underserved communities. That’s the only way to build a long-term transportation and land-use plan that meets the needs of the entire region.”

“The community-based meetings are designed to accommodate the needs of people who may not have the income, transportation options or time off from work to attend one of the county workshops,” explained MTC Public Information Officer Pam Grove. “In some communities there may also be language barriers that make participation in the county workshops more difficult. We make it easier by going to where low-income residents live and by providing translation services.”

Grove cited MTC staff’s participation in last week’s Roseland Cinco de Mayo Festival in Sonoma County as an example. “We had a great time. Not only did the volunteers from KBBF Radio Bilingual collect about 400 surveys printed in Spanish asking festival-goers about their regional growth priorities, but the food was fantastic, and they even baked a cake for us!”

Earlier this week, Grove and MTC Planner Brenda Dix drove to San Jose for a lunchtime presentation at a community meeting of the Vietnamese Voluntary Foundation, or VIVO. More than 150 people turned out to learn more about Plan Bay Area’s goal of sustaining the region’s economic vitality, environmental quality and social equity while accommodating some 2 million additional residents by 2040. A Vietnamese translator, on hand to make sure everyone could understand the presentation, facilitated dialogue by translating back and forth when audience members had questions for the staff members.

Other community-based organizations with which MTC and ABAG are working include Causa Justa/Just Cause, South Hayward Parish and Youth Radio in Alameda County; Monument Community Partnership and Opportunity West in Contra Costa County; the Grassroots Leadership Network of Marin; Asian Inc. and People Organized to Win Employment Rights (POWER) in San Francisco; Housing Leadership Council and Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center in San Mateo County; the San Jose Downtown Association in Santa Clara County; and Dixon Family Services in Solano County.

MTC is the transportation planning and financing agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. Founded in 1961, ABAG is the official regional planning agency for the 101 cities and towns and nine counties of the Bay Area. ABAG is recognized as the first council of governments in California.

A variety of workshops will be held throughout the county seeking community input on how to redraw the county district boundaries to reflect the county’s eastward population shift.

At approximately 11:45 a.m. on May 11 Antioch Police served a probation search at the residence of Randall Wilson, 21, in the 2300 block of Mandarin Way.

The search was conducted by members of the Antioch Police Department SWAT team and Contra Costa Sheriffs Department personnel.

Mandarin Way is in the Sycamore Drive corridor, which has recently been plagued with shootings and other violent crimes.

Information was developed that the residence was related to several of these incidents.

During the service of the probation search, Wilson, Adam Carpenter, 21, and Leroy Graham, 28, all of Antioch, were found in or near the open garage.

Carpenter brandished a handgun at SWAT officers but was quickly subdued without any officer being injured, according to police.

He was also found to be in possession of rock cocaine for sale.

Marijuana and indicia supporting sales of marijuana were also located. The subjects were booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on the following crimes:

Carpenter: Possession of cocaine for sale, possession of marijuana for sale, possession of controlled substance while armed with firearm, Prohibited possession of concealable firearm, probation violation.

Graham: Possession of cocaine for sale, possession of marijuana for sale.

Wilson: Possession of cocaine for sale, possession of marijuana for sale, probation violation.

El Campanil Children’s Theatre and Vagabond Players Present “The King and I”
May 13, 14 7:30 pm
May 15 2:00 pm
May 21 7:30 pm
May 22 2:00 pm

The Vagabond Players and El Campanil Children’s Theatre again collaborate—this time with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical, THE KING & I, a long running Broadway success t hat is acted out by a cast of almost 50, most of which are children, with beautiful color, costumes, choreography, and music.

THE KING & I started as a diary by Anna Leonowen, an English schoolteacher of the 1860s who spent time in Siam looking after the numerous children of that country’s monarch King Mongkut. That diary was later turned into a best-selling novel ANNA AND THE KING OF SIAM by Margaret Landon which became the basis of the musical containing some of the most beautiful music ever written for the stage – “Getting to Know You”, “I Whistle a Happy Tune”, “Shall We Dance?” – and was awarded the Tony Award for Best Musical, and subsequently was made into a box office hit movie.

The King & I takes place in the 1860s in the Kingdom of Siam (known today as Thailand), where in an attempt to modernize the country and gain a better understanding of western culture, the King of Siam, hires a widowed English governess to teach his children. When Anna makes preparations to return to England, Anna finds she cannot leave a country, a people, and most of all, the pupils she has come to love.

Adults: $ 18 Seniors (62 and Over): $ 15
Child (17 and Under): $ 10

El Campanil Theatre
602 W Second Street
Antioch, Ca 94509

(925) 757-9500
http://www.elcampaniltheatre.com
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If you’ve ever thought you’d like to support El Campanil Theatre as an usher, now is the time to make that happen.

Volunteers are an important aspect of the El Campanil Theatre. Special events, rentals and in-house productions are all a part of the volunteer experience. There are many opportunities to help the Theatre with a variety of events and times! All persons age 15 and older are welcome to participate in our volunteer program.

Volunteers are required to fill out the Volunteer Application and will be contacted to participate in one training session. Training sessions will be held throughout the year and attendance at one is required before participation can begin.