By Tom Fuhrmann Investigations Acting Lieutenant, Antioch Police Department

On Tuesday, November 17, 2015 at 9:30 PM, the Antioch Police Department was dispatched to Bryan Avenue near Beasley Avenue for a victim of a shooting. Upon arrival officers contacted a 22-year-old male, Antioch resident suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. The victim was transported to an area hospital where he is being treated and expected to recover from his injuries.

It was learned that the victim was standing next to a vehicle speaking with a friend, who was in the car when a vehicle drove by, stopped and an occupant confronted the victim. The suspect asked the victim if he was in a gang and when the victim denied being in the gang, the suspect began shooting at him. The suspect then fled the area. No other parties were injured as a result of the shooting.

An unrelated parked car and a home in the proximity were struck by stray rounds of gunfire.

No other information will be released at this time.

Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to call the Antioch Police Department Investigations Bureau at (925)779-6926. You may also text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using key word ANTIOCH.

Dear Editor:

In a season of terrorism, foreign and domestic, and of relentlessly bickering national politics, and other assorted bad news, attending an Eagle Scout Court of Honor November 7th, was just what the good doctor ordered. It was pure balm applied on the wounds of cynicism to applaud four young men dedicated to the pursuit of the Scouts’ charter virtues; trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.

At the event held at Antioch’s Church of the Rock Travis Bartlett, Aaron Butler, Nicholas Gutierrez and Kendall Rowley accomplished what only 4% of all Scouts do; attain the highest rank of Eagle.

The four joined the ranks of two million others over the 105 year history of Scouting who have become Eagle. That distinguished group includes a large number of past Presidents, titans of commerce, military leaders, artists, sports legends and community leaders of all stripes. It includes the likes of Neil Armstrong, Hank Aaron, Steven Spielberg and 39 of the 312 astronauts the country has boasted since 1957. As a note, consider that 207 of the 312 pilots and scientists in the astronaut program have been in Scouting at some level.

Our four local young men earned their rank with requisite sweat and perseverance. As required, they donated hundreds of hours to community service; exercised progressively higher leadership roles; completed a major Eagle Scout service project that involved raising funds and organizing volunteers; spent scores of overnights on camping trips learning the use of a compass and navigating by the stars, as well as acquiring other survival skills, including how to treat things like concussions, fever, stomach cramps, and wounds. Furthermore, they met with parent advisers and earned a minimum of 21 merit badges from a field of over 100 in topics as diverse as astronomy, cooking, photography, changing a flat tire. personal finance, fitness and oceanography.

The young men stand on the shoulders of 83 years of Troop 153 history here in Antioch. The Troop was chartered in 1932 and, to their credit, the Methodist Church has supported the troop all these years. The first Eagle rank was earned in 1962 and now numbers 59 from the thousand plus young men who have passed through the Troop.

One of these young men, I am proud to say, was my son Joshua who earned Eagle in 2007. His maturing into a young man of confidence convinced me that the Scouts are the best thing since sliced bread; the organization is like a character catch-all; it covers such a myriad of practical, moral and leadership skills.

As a practical bonus and godsend to any parent, the camping trips help constructively channel all that pent-up teenage energy while building lifelong friendships in the process. When my son went on to high school and the close to 3,000 Deer Valley student campus, I didn’t fear he’d get lonely in the maddening herd, or corralled into the wrong crowd. He had, after all, an affinity group of friends that had his back as he climbed mountains, repelled caves, built snow caves and shot the rapids in their company.

Thanks to the Church of the Rock for all these years of unfailing support and to Scout Master Dave Johnson and all other parent mentors who give tirelessly in mentoring our youth. Just when you feel forlon on human nature, along comes an inspired group like the Scouts who champion the best in human nature and have a proven, time-tested program to back up their good intentions.

Thank you Messrs, Bartlett, Butler, Gutierrez, and Rowley for making my day at the Court of Honor by sharing your stories. Your family, friends and acquaintances are fortunate to have you in their midst as you make the world a better place,

There is a Scout saying that typifies the exuberance of the organization. My wish is it stays with you all your days.

“It’s a good day for Scouting.”

Walter Ruehlig

Antioch

By Harry Stoll

Ancient Chinese civilizations invented gunpowder, the plow, the printing press, steel making, horse harnesses, porcelain, and much more. Put toilet paper on that list also. This essential item is among the 100 or so non-perishable items in most homes. Here is a troika of buying principles:

•Buy the products you like.

•Buy them on sale.

•Buy them in large quantities.

Of course you don’t want to do anything that wouldn’t be prudent, but you should buy your favorite products. How you decide that is strictly subjective, but you know what products you like, so buy them. Many shoppers decide the house brands are their favorites. Stores are able to buy huge amounts of products from established manufacturers because that lets the manufacturer sell them to the retailer at a lower cost.

One deal—one price. But don’t be fooled into thinking the products are the same; corners could be cut. The only way to find out is to test fly them yourself. I’ve had very good luck with paper house brands from Raley’s and CVS. But it remains that you have to buy the products you like. If the cost is astronomical you might have to lower your standards.

The next thing to do is find what you like on sale. Paper products and personal care products seem to be on sale every week. (I use one of the many Gillette razors and never find their blades on sale. Not fair.) And the markdowns are often huge. Maybe they are just turning a smaller profit and the profit on the usual price is obscene. There is nothing you can do about that. Find what you like and buy it when it’s on sale.

Now, what you do is buy as many of these products on sale as they will let you buy. Sometimes there is a limit, but often it’s within what you can reasonably tote out to the trunk and find storage for in your house. You might have to creative to find space; maybe one of those under-the-bed covered trays would help.

Now a word about Sam’s Club and Costco: Other than the pallet loads you have to buy, I have two problems with them. I can never find out ahead of time what the prices will be, and their regular prices, while admittedly low, are often higher than the same product on sale at CVS, Rite-Aid, Walgreen’s, or whatever grocer you shop at.

Coupons drive me crazy. I do snip them out of the Sunday paper but because they only let you buy one or two items I’m not too excited about them. As to those couponing TV shows: if you believe them you’ll believe in Smackdown is a competitive sport.

Shopping for fresh food is another task. Grocery stores usually come out with them on Thursdays. If you have a dedicated cook in your house, E can make use of those ads, but that’s a heavy-duty undertaking and fresh food must be bought about three times weekly.

You are invited to worship with us on November 25, 7:00 p.m., St. John’s Lutheran Church, 1360 E. Tregallas Rd., Antioch. All nations, every generations giving thanks together.

A screen shot of the email sent to parents by Holy Rosary Catholic School Principal Tim Hooke, Saturday. provided by a parent who wished to remain anonymous

By Allen Payton

An email sent to parents of students at Holy Rosary Catholic School in Antioch from Principal Tim Hooke on Saturday, warned of a threat against the students in grafitti discovered in the boys bathroom, earlier that day. What was written and who was responsible was not shared by Hooke.

According to one parent, who wished to remain anonymous, stated via email “Someone found out the threat was to kill all the students at Holly [sic] Rosary School.”

The email received by parents read as follows:

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Dear Parents,

This morning, during the Parish CYO basketball games at the Holy Rosary Gym, threatening graffiti was discovered in the boy’s bathroom. The threat was taken seriously and the police were called. The Police Department was unable to identify any immediate and/or credible threat and is working with us to ensure the safety to our campus. They Police Department will provide extra attention to our campus this weekend, which will include a physical walk-through before the campus opens on Monday morning. The safety of all who enter our campus is of the utmost importance to us.

Thank you,

Tim Hooke

Principal

Calls to Hooke and the Antioch Police media line were not returned, as of publication time. However, according to a school staff member, the school was open, Monday morning.

8:00 P.M. UPDATE: Principal Hooke responded via phone call and email, Monday afternoon providing a statement from the Vicar General of the Oakland Diocese.

From the Office of the Vicar General

On Saturday Morning, graffiti was found in the boys restroom of the gymnasium at Holy Rosary School. The narrative stated a threat to the school campus. The Police Department was called and they investigated. The Principal, Mr. Tim Hooke was present and cooperated with the Police department. On Saturday, an email was sent out to the parent community informing them of the situation. Mr. Hooke met with the police department on Monday morning, to complete a thorough-walk through of the school buildings before school opened. All was found in order. The parents were updated via Constant Contact on Monday. Mr. Hooke collaborated with the Police and was in communication with the Department of Catholic Schools, Diocese of Oakland throughout the weekend. In keeping with the procedures and policies, the administration of Holy Rosary School throughout the weekend, took actions and communication to ensure the safety of all the students.

Very Reverend George Mockel

In addition, Hooke provided a copy of the email he sent to parents on Monday:

Monday, November 16, 2015

Dear Parents,

I want to update you on what has been done to ensure the safety of our students today. The Antioch Police Department had officers monitor the campus throughout the weekend. Monday morning at 5:30 am, I met with officers and did a thorough walk-through of the school buildings and school grounds. Everything appeared to be in order and so our normal Monday school day went on as planned as will the remainder of the week. I understand in light of the events in our country and the world that an incident like this can instill concern and fear. Let us join together to pray for peace, safety and ongoing respect for each other that our Faith calls us to.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work with the authorities in this matter. Please contact me if you have any questions.

Tim Hooke

Principal

In a phone message from Acting Sergeant Tom Fuhrmann of the Antioch Police Department, Monday at 4:00 p.m., he stated the graffiti was “of a bomb threat giving a date of Monday it would go off and there was also some other satanic type stuff written on the walls. A report was taken and the investigation is still ongoing. There’s no suspect at this time. The school was checked. There was nothing suspicious found.”