The Antioch Police Department is excited to announce the 59th installment of the Neighborhood Cleanup Program. This is a collaborative community effort which involves active participation from The Antioch Police Department Crime Prevention Commission; Neighborhood Watch Program; Volunteers in Police Service; community volunteers and the Public Works Department.

The next Neighborhood Cleanup event will occur on Saturday, March 7, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in the Canada Valley/Laurel Road neighborhoods. Volunteers should report to Kushner Way off Canada Valley Road for parking.

Volunteers will receive instructions and the equipment necessary to accomplish the goal. The targeted area is within walking distance. Excluding inclement weather, future Neighborhood Cleanup events are scheduled for the first Saturday of every month and the locations will be announced in advance.

George F. Stamm

June 18, 1936 – Feb. 21, 2015

Lifelong Resident of Antioch

The demise of George F. Stamm came after a massive heart attack on February 21, 2015.

George was schooled in Antioch, CA. He attended Diablo Valley College and San Francisco State University. George Stamm was employed by Stamm Theatres, Inc., started by his grandfather, for over sixty years.

Since the time George was born he spent every summer at Lake Tahoe. He also enjoyed traveling to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico because in his innate love of the ocean and the fish therein.

George is survived by his loving wife, Barbara; devoted two children, George Anders and Anne-Marie Stamm both of Antioch. He leaves one grandchild, Cash Christopher Stamm of Antioch. George is also survived by his sister, Mary Ann Stamm Balocco, two nieces, Gina Harris of Brentwood, Jane Balocco of Antioch and one nephew, Jeffrey Balocco of Antioch. He also leaves three great nephews, Dean and Cal Harris of Brentwood and Gino Balocco of Antioch.

George’s quick wit and keen sense of humor will be forever remembered!

Inurnment will be private. A Celebration of Life event will be held at the Stamms’ home on Saturday, March 7.

Memorial donations may be sent to the Antioch Historical Society: 1500 West Fourth Street, Antioch, CA 94509.

By John Crowder

At the February 25, 2015, meeting of the Antioch Unified School District (AUSD) Board of Education, a resolution was adopted for the closure of Dozier-Libbey Medical High School (DLMHS) Dependent Charter School, bringing to an end the protracted battle that took place last year between DLMHS teachers and AUSD administrative staff over whether or not to convert the school to a charter school. In addition to this action, representatives of the Black Diamond Middle School (BDMS) Parent Teacher Student Organization (PTSO) outlined their plans for the remainder of the school year, and board member Walter Ruehlig announced the first in a series of meetings he has planned to speak with members of the community about their questions and concerns regarding the school district.

Dozier-Libbey dependent charter petition surrendered

The action taken to close the DLMHS Dependent Charter School, which has long been expected, passed on a 5-0 vote. With this action, the board has taken one of the final steps it had committed to under a Memorandum of Understanding reached with DLMHS teachers that essentially maintains the governance of the school under district control.

“The board took action to surrender the dependent charter petition pursuant to a settlement agreement reached between the conversion charter petitioners and the District which allows Dozier-Libbey to continue in its current form,” stated district Superintendent Dr. Donald Gill. “The District is pleased to have reached a resolution of this matter with the petitioners and remains committed to the continued success of Dozier-Libbey.”

Black Diamond Middle PTSO announces events

Frances Spijker, President of the BDMS PTSO, along with Vice President Frank DeLuna, addressed the board and members of the public attending the meeting, announcing their plans for various events for and in support of the school for the remainder of the school year. The first event on the calendar is a science fair, which will be open to the public on Friday, March 6, from 5-8 p.m., and again on Saturday, March 7, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. This event will take place in the school’s gymnasium. Other upcoming events include:

• BDMS golf tournament/banquet fund raiser scheduled for Sunday, March 22, at the

  Lone Tree Golf and Event Center

• BDMS ‘Fun Day,’ which takes place on Friday, April 17, during the school day on the

  campus field

• BDMS High Achievers Gala, tentatively scheduled for Monday, May 11

• BDMS Talent Show, ‘The Road To Hollywood,’ tentatively scheduled for Thursday, May 28.

Anyone wanting more information on any of these events, or to learn more about the BDMS PTSO, can contact Frances Spijker at (925) 642-2796, or by email at francesjs1030@aol.com. Their website, with additional information, is www.bdms-pts.org,

Ruehlig Announces Coffee Chats

At the conclusion of the meeting, board member Walter Ruehlig announced the first in a series of informal coffee chats he is scheduling in order to receive input from the public regarding AUSD schools, and to provide parents with an informal opportunity to speak with a board member. The first of the meetings is scheduled for Thursday, March 5, at 7:00 p.m. at the Bluerock Starbucks, 4045 Lone Tree Way, Suite G. Ruehlig also plans to have a guest speaker at each coffee chat. He will be joined by Contra Costa Community College District Trustee Greg Enholm at the March 5 meeting, who will be speaking about dual high school/college credit.

The next regularly scheduled meetings of the Antioch School Board take place on March 11 and 25. Meetings are held at the district office, located at 510 G Street, and typically begin at 7:00 p.m.

By Tom Fuhrmann, Antioch Police Investigations Bureau Sergeant

The Antioch Police are currently investigating a homicide that occurred on Hudson Court on Monday, March 2, 2015 at 11:18 p.m.

The victim in this homicide has been identified as Christopher Monico (21 years old) of San Francisco. The victim and the three subjects arrested after attempting to evade police were all known to each other. Arrested were:

Tony Belfield, 33 yrs old out of Antioch

-Murder

-Possession of a Firearm in Commission of a Felony

-Felon in Possession of Ammunition

-Parole Warrant (No Bail)

Bail: $1,100,000

Kimberly Saunders, 36 yrs old out of Antioch

-Murder

-Accessory to Murder

Bail: $1,500,000

Richard Ludlow, 18 yrs old out of Daly City

-Murder

-Accessory to Murder

-Felony Evading

Bail: $1,550,000

After being interviewed by Detectives at the Antioch Police Department, Belfield, Saunders and Ludlow were all booked into the Contra Costa County Main Detention Facility in Martinez on the above listed charges.

No further information will be released at this time.

Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to call Det. Colley with the Antioch Police Department at (925) 779-6922. You may also text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using key word ANTIOCH.

By Allen Payton

Watching with anticipation at the Antioch home of Ashley Morgan’s parents, Keith and Patti, they, plus a group of family friends, as well as her brother Stephen and his wife Becky, cheered when she came on first, on Tuesday night’s showing of The Voice musical competition television show.

Before the show began, Patti distributed poppers and small toot horns for everyone to use when and if at least one of the four judges turned their chair around, signaling Ashley’s advancement to the next round.

With raised hands, and squeals of excitement, Keith and Patti, expressed their excitement, even though it was the second time they watched. They both traveled to Southern California and were in attendance during Ashley’s performance before the judges.

Following her performance of “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” made famous by the late Whitney Houston, both country music star Blake Shelton and singer, songwriter Pharrell Williams turned their chairs around, indicating they wanted her on their teams.

Ashley received positive comments from the judges.

“You were hitting some notes, let me tell you,” said pop star Christina Aguilera. “That was no joke, Ashley.”

“When she goes back to the theme park she’ll be the headliner,” Shelton stated.

“There’s nobody like you in this competition,” he said, hoping to coax her onto his team. “This is your chance to become Ashley the artist in front of millions of people, by the way. I have not been this excited about an artist on this stage in a long time. I love you.”

“You cannot buy that type of training,” Williams said. “What kind of music do you want to make?” Ashley responded “I’m still figuring out who I am as an artist. But, I do want to make music that has an impact and makes a difference in the world.”

Then she chose Williams as her coach for the competition.

“She’s an all American. She can win,” Shelton added, as Ashley left the stage, even though he couldn’t convince her to choose him for her coach.

Her dad and mom were at the taping of tonight’s episode, and appeared on TV a few times, showing them watching her from their viewing room.

“It was incredible. I am ecstatic, happy, pleased, proud but not surprised,” her father, Keith said, after watching, tonight. “It was just as thrilling as the first time, even though I knew what was going to happen.”

Her mom was more focused on the future.

“I’m excited for her, for the adventure and the journey she’s been given right, now,” Patti said. “We’ll see where it takes her in the next round, which is the Battle Rounds.”

Ashley’s voice teacher Nuhad Levasseur, who taught her for 12 years.

“I think she was absolutely incredible, tonight,” she said. “I felt so proud to have been her voice teacher all those years. We still talk and are still really close.”

“She always had amazing work ethic in her singing and was always very focused on wanting to make it in the industry,” Levasseur shared. “She’s definitely on her way. She has the talent to be a big star one day.”

Ashley’s older brother Stephen said “She knocked it out of the park. She killed it! Great song choice. It fit her voice very well.”

“I’m very proud of her,” he added.

Her oldest brother David wasn’t at the party, but watched from home with his family and had a teasing, tongue-in-cheek comment on Facebook, just like big brothers do.

“All of Facebook is talking about this Ashley chick,” he wrote. “She’s pretty good, I guess! Proud to know her.”

The next round of the competition on The Voice will be shown next Monday and Tuesday nights on NBC at 8:00 p.m.

To watch her performance on Tuesday night’s show, it’s available on YouTube, by clicking here.

Ashley is a 2006 graduate of Antioch High School and a 2010 graduate of Azusa Pacific University in Music Business. She now lives in Costa Mesa, California.

To learn more about Ashley, read an earlier Herald article here or visit The Voice’s website at www.nbc.com/the-voice/artists/season-8/ashley-morgan.

UPDATE as of  12:42 p.m.

By Allen Payton

Two Republicans have pulled papers to become official write-in candidates in the special 7th State Senate District election, including Fernando Navarro of Antioch, who has yet to complete the process, and Adam Castle of Walnut Creek, who has decided not to file.

Earlier today, Navarro said “I’m fired up and motivated. But, I decided that we’ll let it play out on it’s own.”

However after learning that Castle is not going to run, Navarro sent a text message at 12:22 p.m., stating, “Don’t write me off just yet…it’s not 5 pm.”

When reached for comment, Castle said “It’s just not the right year for me. I won’t be going forward with it.”

“Originally I saw a void for Republican representation and wanted to run, even as a symbolic gesture as a write-in candidate,” he shared. “I’m a fairly young guy. I’m 23 and it just didn’t seem like the right time.”

If Navarro or another Republican completes the filing to become a write-in candidate, it could split the Republican vote with Steve Glazer, a self-described fiscal conservative, and Michaela Hertle the only Republican to file in the race, who backed out and endorsed Glazer, but whose name will still appear on the ballot.

The filing deadline for a write-in candidate is today, Tuesday, March 3 at 5:00 p.m. If other candidates want to still run, they need between 40 and 60 valid signatures of registered voters in the district on their nomination papers, and must file all the required paperwork, in order to qualify to have write-in votes for them count in the election. Write-in candidates are not required to pay any fees.

By Allen Payton

The unions and Democrat interests are mounting an all-out assault to keep Democrat Steve Glazer from winning.

Glazer has staked out conservative positions that oppose tax increases, as well as against BART union strikes, and the California high-speed train project which would create union jobs.

So, the unions have been funding mailers attacking him through a newly created Working Families Opposing Glazer for Senate 2015. They’ve also set up a website opposing him, www.knowglazer.com.

Glazer has posted copies of the attack mailers on his website at and can be viewed here.

A mailer from the Asian American Small Business Political Action Committee was sent to Republican voters encouraging them to vote for Michaela Hertle, the only Republican to file in the race. But, she backed out 10 days after she filed and endorsed Glazer.

To combat that, automated phone calls are being received by Republican voters with Hertle’s voice telling them to not believe the mailers, that she’s not running and to vote for Glazer.

The Primary Election is on Tuesday, March 17. If no candidate receives a majority of votes, the top two candidates will face each other in a run off in the General Election on May 19.

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Jerry McNerney (D, CA-09) issued the following statement, yesterday, on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned speech to Congress on Tuesday, March 3:

“I won’t be attending Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress on Tuesday. I will continue to be a strong supporter of Israel’s national security, but I believe it was wrong for the Prime Minister and Speaker Boehner to arrange this event without informing the White House and Democratic leaders in both the House and Senate. His speech comes amidst diplomatic treaty negotiations intended to curtail Iran’s capability to develop nuclear weapons, and could disrupt any progress that has been made to this point. These negotiations and accompanying sanctions are the primary effort holding back Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear bomb.  We should let the negotiations proceed in good faith while closely monitoring Iran’s actions and only loosen sanctions slowly if we see proof of Iran’s intentions to back away from nuclear weapons capabilities.”

McNerney represents most of Antioch in the U.S. House of Representatives.