Stolen guns discovered in stolen car Friday morning, August 11, 2017. Photo courtesy of Pittsburg Police.

At 3:35 AM on Friday, August 11, 2017, Pittsburg Police officers were monitoring Highway 4 following a license plate reader alert for a stolen vehicle. Officers located the vehicle on Loveridge Road in Pittsburg and attempted a traffic stop; however, the suspect vehicle fled and a pursuit ensued.

Officers located the suspect vehicle on the Contra Loma Blvd. onramp in Antioch and the suspect fled on foot from pursuing officers. The suspect was subsequently apprehended by a Pittsburg Police K9. A search of the vehicle revealed multiple firearms, which had been stolen during a burglary in a nearby city.

Los Vaqueros Reservoir. Photo by Aerial Photographer Dick Jones. Courtesy of CCWater.com

By Daniel Borsuk

The first shovel may not plunge into the ground for the expansion of the Los Vaqueros Reservoir until 2022, but the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors have signed on to back state financing of the Contra Costa Water District’s reservoir project.

With District 2 Supervisor Candace Andersen and District 1 Supervisor John Gioia absent Tuesday, supervisors voted 3-0 as a consent item to send a letter of support for the reservoir to the California Water Commission to tap into 2014 voter approved $2.7 billion of state Proposition 1 funds so that the Contra Costa Water District can enlarge the reservoir’s capacity from 160,000-acre feet to 270,000-acre feet.

The Proposition 1 funding would pay 50 percent, or about $450 million of the estimated $900 million price tag with the CCWD and other participating water agencies and their customers picking up the construction price tag.

Although supervisors did not hear either opposition or support concerning their letter, the supervisors’ letter did acknowledge the reservoir project could present an environmental problem unless the CCWD takes action to address it.

Supervisors expect the CCWD to resolve an issue about a proposed alignment of the Transfer-Bethany Pipeline that could upset the environment to a portion of 13,000 acres to the East Contra Costa County Habitat Conservation Plan, a state funded part of the Natural Community Conservation Plan.  Contra Costa County and the cities of Brentwood, Clayton, Oakley and Pittsburg adopted the ECCC habitat conservation plan in 2007.

“Nothing has been decided on the pipeline’s alignment, “said CCWD Public Affairs Director Jennifer Allen. “We still have a lot of steps to go through including the pipeline alignment.”

“With this being a big rain year, I think this is a great thing to move forward on,” said Supervisor Diane Burgis of Brentwood, whose District 3 encompasses much of Los Vaqueros Reservoir.  “If we’re going to spend this kind of money, it’s better to build something that stores water during the rainy years.”

“This is an opportunity to invest against future droughts by adding to our water storage,” said board chair Federal Glover.

Supervisors Adopt New Cardroom License Ordinance

Supervisors also approved a cardroom ordinance that lays out a procedure to ensure that business operations are not interrupted following “an unforeseen event” including the death of the current licensee.

Under the new ordinance, the Sheriff’s Office is designated as the department responsible for licensing gambling establishments locally, is to be notified of the event within 10 days of the event occurrence and identify the appropriate party that should obtain a license. The successor party is required to obtain a license within 30 days of the event.

In Contra Costa County, the California Grand Casino at 5988 Pacheco Blvd. in Pacheco and the 19th Hole Casino and Lounge at 2746 W. Tregallas Road in Antioch are the only licensed cardrooms, according to the State Attorney General’s Office.

Automated License Plate Readers

In other business, supervisors gave the green light for the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff to 21 Lehr Automated License Plate Readers for $225,000 for use in unincorporated Alamo to help curb property crimes.

Installation of the Lehr ALPRs will begin at the end of August and should be completed in September, said Sheriff Lt. Jason Haynes of the Alamo Sheriff Office.  The ALPRs will be installed at seven intersections.

Sheriff David Livingston said while a review of crime statistics in the Alamo area does not show a significant increase in reported crime over the last several years, “there was an increase in property crime and residential burglaries specifically in the Contra Costa central 680 corridor.”

The county will not pick a dime on the acquisition of the ALRs because the funds are donated through three private sources.  One unnamed contributor donated $95,000.  Members of the Alamo Police Services Advisory Committee are providing $50,000 and P-6 Alamo-Las Trampas has contributed $80,500.

Alamo will join Danville, Orinda, Lafayette, Clayton and Pittsburg that have Lehr ALPRs installed on city street intersections, Lt. Haynes said.

Lt. Haynes said the license plate readers have proven to work effectively in solving especially property crimes.  He said the Sheriff’s Department has made 25 arrests in connection with Danville stolen vehicle heists over a 12-month period.

Fred Rouse
4/22/60 – 7/23/17

Fred, loving husband of Tina Rouse, was born on April 22, 1960 in San Antonio, TX and passed away peacefully in Antioch on Sunday evening, July 23, 2017 at 57 years of age.

Fred and Tina met in San Jose at Santa Teresa High School and later married in Cupid’s Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 21, 1986. Fred loved Tina with all his heart and would do anything for her. They shared their life together as well as pet names for each other and their favorite songs – Eric Clapton’s Wonderful Tonight, Chicago’s You’re the Inspiration and You Are My Sunshine. He was a caring, loving, and giving protector. Fred had a wonderful sense of humor, loved his family and friends deeply and appreciated them greatly.

Fred’s biggest passion was music and he played with many bands over the years. He began playing music at eight years old and was proficient in over a dozen instruments. He loved everything about music including all types of audio components and vinyl records collecting close to 1,000 over the years. The Beatles were one of his favorite groups.

Fred also had a heart for philanthropy and helped out in many ways in the Antioch community including volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, educating elementary students about banking and money, and teaching foster children guitar through his program Guitars Not Guns. He also ran for City Council in Antioch in 2016 and served for ten years on the Board of Administrative Appeals.

Fred was predeceased by his parents, Roy M. Rouse of New York and Jean Rouse of Boston and his brother, Roy Rouse II. He leaves behind his beloved wife Tina of 31 years; Colleen (sister) and Dave (brother-in-law) Cushion, niece Kristy and three great nieces/nephews, niece Cindy Cushion Causer (Nathan) and three great nephews; two nieces Annie and Amanda; his Uncle Marty and Aunt Shelly of New York, four cousins and their families; two cousins, Donya and Patrick Murphy and their families; many beloved family members on Tina’s side of the family and many wonderful friends.

Services were held for Fred on Friday, August 4 at St. Julie’s Catholic Church in San Jose and a graveside service at Oak View Memorial Park in Antioch on Saturday, Aug. 5, followed by a reception at Higgins Chapel also in Antioch.

Serenity & Sobriety store owners Nancy Mattingly and Jim Albert, center with scissors, prepare to cut the ribbon to officially open their new store on Friday, July 28, 2017.

By Allen Payton

Antioch business owners, community and Chamber of Commerce leaders, as well as friends and family joined Nancy Mattingly and Jim Albert, owners of the new Serenity & Sobriety store, located at 208 G Street in Antioch’s historic, downtown Rivertown, for a ribbon cutting to officially open their store on Friday, July 28.

Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock spoke on behalf of the city council.

“I want to welcome Serenity & Sobriety to downtown,” she said. “It’s a very eclectic store. It adds to the beauty of downtown.”

Jim and Nancy inside their store.

A representative of Assemblyman Jim Frazier presented the owners with a special certificate of recognition.

Richard Pagano, CEO of the Chamber spoke, next.

“On behalf of the Antioch Chamber of Commerce, thank you for your investment in downtown Antioch,” he said. “We’re very excited for you.”

Nancy responded by saying, “I just want to thank you for taking the time out of your lives to welcome Jim and I to downtown. Please spread the word.”

“We have ‘normie’ stuff, not just for recovery,” she explained. “I hope to make a difference in people’s lives. I used drugs and alcohol for 44 years. One of the reasons we chose this place is we have the Alano Club here.”

In addition to the AA and NA recovery items, the store offers Woodstock windchimes, handmade soy candles, handmade jewelry, herbal teas and mediation CD’s.

Jim shared a bit of his background, as a reason for why he opened the store.

“I’m into recovery like her,” he stated. “I’ve been sober for 42 years.”

He thanked all those who attended. Then everyone gathered as Nancy and Jim cut the ribbon to cheers from those in attendance.

Stop by and visit the new store, today. They’re open Sunday 11-4, Tuesday through Saturday 10-5 and their closed on Monday. Follow them on their Facebook page and for more information call (925) 978-9149 or email serenityandsobriety@gmail.com. See their ad in the August issue of the Herald or on the left side of this website.

To be honored at October dinner

From the Antioch Sports Legends Facebook page:

We are very proud to announce the Class of 2017 Inductees into the Antioch Sports Legends Hall of Fame. The Induction Gala will be held on Saturday, October 7th, culminating Legends Weekend. A limited amount of tickets will be available to the public later this month. Stay tuned here on our Fan Page for updates. We encourage all of you to “Like” our Fan Page and invite your friends to “Like” the page as well.

Congratulations to the Hall of Fame Inductees of the Class of 2017…..

Willis Ball, Track & Field Coach Brian Boccio, Football Horace “Zedo” Cattolico, Community Service Recipient Tasha Cupp, Softball Daniel Denham, Baseball Shannon Felix, Wrestling Kris Gravelle, All-Around Female Athlete Chris Hurd, Football Angela Lindsay, Water Polo Herb Miles, Wrestling Sheree Ogden, Track & Field Tom Rhoads, Track & Field Chuck Stapleton, Football Ryan Walker, All-Around Male Athlete Brian White, Cross-Country and Track & Field, and the 1994-95 AHS Boys Volleyball team

We again congratulated this stellar class of athletes and look forward to Legends Weekend, kicking off with the ASL Alumni Golf Tournament on October 6th at Lone Tree Golf and Event Center. The tournament is open to all golfers.

The Antioch Sports Legends Hall of Fame is located in the Antioch Historical Society Museum at 1500 West 4th Street in Antioch and is open Wednesdays and Saturdays from 1:00-4:00 p.m. For more information call (925) 757-1326 or visit www.antiochsportslegends.com. Volunteer and sponsorship opportunities available.

600 Cities Could Participate in the Largest, Organized Back-to-School Effort in U.S. History

(Antioch, CA) – “Education has become a matter of national security.  Because we cannot control our schools, we cannot control our economy.  And because we cannot control our economy, we cannot control and protect our quality of life in America,” says Phillip Jackson, Executive Director of The Black Star Project, U.S.A.  The Black Star Project is organizing the Million Father March 2017 on the first day of school in nearly 600 cities across America.  The Million Father March has become a special day that fathers and men use to make a commitment to their children, their families, their communities and their country with their dynamic presence at a school.  This is the real Father’s Day.

The March in Antioch will take place on August 16th in front of Marsh Elementary School at 2304 G Street Antioch, CA 94509.

Research shows that children whose fathers take an active role in their educational lives earn better grades, score higher on tests, enjoy school more and are more likely to graduate from high school and attend college.  Additionally, children have fewer behavior problems when fathers listen to and talk with them regularly and are active in their lives.  A good father is part of a good parent team and is critical to creating a strong family structure.  Strong family structures produce children who are more academically proficient, socially developed, and self-assured.  Such children become adults who are valuable assets to their communities.  “Better parents produce better communities, better schools, and better students with higher academic achievements,” says Jackson.

Participants in the event include fathers, grandfathers, foster fathers, stepfathers, uncles, cousins, big brothers, significant male caregivers, mentors and family friends.   Although this event is created by Black men, people of any gender and ethnic identification are also encouraged to take their children to school on the first school day.  Businesses are asked to give fathers and men two hours off that morning, with pay, to take their children to school.  Participating men will also be encouraged to volunteer at schools throughout the year.

The 2017 Million Father March is sponsored in part by G.R.I.O.T in association with P.O.W.E.R.  For more information about The March in Antioch, please email power_1906@yahoo.com or call Dr. Lawrence A. Rasheed (925) 726-6162.

The deadline for purchasing a ticket to the 40th reunion off the Antioch High Class of 1977 has been extended to September 1. So, for the classmates who were always late to class and have waited to purchase their tickets, don’t worry. There’s still time and you won’t be sent to detention.

The reunion will be held at the Antioch Community Center.  All information can be found at https://www.ahs77reunion.com/.  Classmates are also welcome to join the reunion Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/AHS77reunion40/.