By Jesus Cano

Antioch’s 20 unanswered points paved the way them to keep the city of Antioch Mayor’s Cup for the fifth year in a row in their 23-14 victory.

“A lot of these guys played with me as sophomores, so they never lost against Deer Valley,” Antioch head coach John Lucido said. “Our focus was to get those seniors that trophy, and keep it at Antioch.”

Deer Valley struck early in the game on just three plays in their first drive, where Patrick Robinson ended the play by scoring on a five yard touchdown run.

After that, the Antioch offense answered back just three minutes later. In similar fashion, Dalaan Green rushed into the end zone from three yards out to tie the game. The Panther’s took a gamble right after by attempting the two point conversion after and were successful. Antioch lead 8-7 at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Deer Valley was in business inside the red zone, but fumbled just seven yards out, handing the ball over to Antioch in the process. Green ran 40 yards for the Panther’s and his quarterback Willem Karnthong simply rushed in for touchdown to extend their lead 14-7.

Karnthong also added another touchdown to his name, a much shorter two yard keeper. Karnthong ended the night with 72 passing yards and 42 rushing yards.

“We stuck with the game plan and came out with a W,” Karnthong said. “My line played great, they helped open it up for us.”

His teammate Green ended the night with 131 rushing yards. He also attributes his success to the offensive line.

A lot was on the line for Deer Valley, and they did not give up. In a blink of an eye, Jason Johnson took off to the house for a long 48 yard run into Antioch’s yellow end zone.

Omar Curiel added an insurance field goal from 25 yards out to advance Antioch to a 23-14 lead, which ended up being the final score.

This mark’s Deer Valley’s 18th straight league loss since 2014, which was head coach’s Robert Hubbard’s debut season.

“You can make a million excuse but at the end of the game they won the game,” Hubbard said. “We’ve been playing tough against every team but can’t pull off a victory.”

After the game Mayor Sean Wright presented the Mayor’s Cup trophy to the Antioch Panthers.

By John Crowder

The Red Sand Project, a participatory art program meant to raise awareness about human trafficking, came to Antioch on Thursday, October 19.

Spearheaded by Antioch City Council Member Monica Wilson, working in conjunction with City Manager Ron Bernal and Police Chief Tammany Brooks, the event brought Antioch residents together to learn more about the plight of those subject to both labor trafficking and sex trafficking.  The participatory part of the event had people placing red sand in sidewalk cracks in and around the Antioch Community Center and Antioch Water Park at Prewett Park, signifying the idea that, too often, those subjected to this form of human slavery are unnoticed, and ‘fall through the cracks.’

Following the art program, a free training, led by Alex Madsen of the Contra Costa Human Trafficking Coalition, was provided to residents in the Antioch Community Center.

Wilson introduced the training.  She noted that human trafficking was a problem that occurred throughout the State and County, and was also present in Antioch.  She was followed by Bernal and Brooks, both addressing their support for raising awareness of the issue.

Madsen explained to those present that human trafficking falls into two broad categories, labor trafficking and sex trafficking.  Interspersing her talk with short video clips highlighting the abuses suffered by those subjected to human trafficking, she discussed key indicator signs to look for to help identify someone caught up in trafficking.  Some things to watch for, she said, were an individual not free to come and go as he/she wishes, someone living and working in the same location and unfamiliar with their surroundings, with a large debt, not in control of their own money, and working long and/or unusual hours.

Madsen encouraged anyone who suspects someone is caught up in human trafficking to act, not by confrontation, but by reporting suspicious circumstances.  Reports can be made by calling 211, calling the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888, or going online to www.traffickingresourcecenter.org/report-trafficking.

By Lieutenant D. Bittner #3252, Antioch Police Investigations Division

On Monday, Oct. 30, 2017 at 8:03 PM, Antioch Police Department patrol officers responded to the call of shots fired near the 2200 block of Peppertree Way. When officers arrived, they located a subject on the ground suffering from a gunshot wound. The victim of the gunshot wound was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel.

Antioch Police Investigators were called to the scene and are in the early stages of the investigation. No further information will be released at this time. Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to call Detective Vanderpool with the Antioch Police Department at (925) 779-6988.

Anyone with information can also call the Antioch Police Department non-emergency line at (925) 778-2441 or text-a-tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using the key word ANTIOCH.

Historic vessel will dock at Antioch City Marina through Nov. 6

Few are familiar with the term “tall ship”, but the Washington-based nonprofit Grays Harbor Historical Seaport is on a mission to change that. Their historic sailing ships, the Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain, travel the west coast year-round introducing the public to maritime history.

“Some people imagine a modern ship, or a Navy cutter,” says Executive Director Brandi Bednarik. “’Pirate ship’ comes pretty close, but it leaves out the truth of why ships like these sailed-mostly for trade, exploration, and in military action. Our mission is to share this history with the American public.”

From October 31st to November 6th, the Lady Washington will dock in Antioch City Marina (5 Marina Plaza, foot of L Street, Antioch). Dockside visitors can expect to tour the vessel and talk with the crew, while sailing passengers will experience the crew in action and the ship under wind power. The vessel’s public program schedule is as follows:

October 31 (Tuesday)

ARRIVAL in Antioch

November 1 (Wednesday)

Tours: 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. ($5 donation)

November 2 (Thursday)

Tours: 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. ($5 donation)

November 3 (Friday)

Tours: 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. ($5 donation)

November 4 (Saturday)

Tours: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. ($5 donation)

Adventure Sail: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. ($42-$49)

November 5 (Sunday)

Tours: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. ($5 donation)

Adventure Sail: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. ($42-$49)

November 6 (Monday)

Passage: Antioch to Monterey

Est. Trip Time: 26 hours

Aside from the rare opportunity to see a historic sailing vessel in action, a point of interest is often the crew themselves. The Lady Washington typically has a crew of 10-14, from paid officers to volunteer deckhands to participants in our two-week maritime training program. Some sail for the fun of it, others to learn the job skills of the maritime industry. The nonprofit recently announced a new job skills training program, Sea School, which will launch in 2018.

Launched in 1989 as part of Washington State’s centennial, the wooden-hulled Lady Washington has appeared in several motion pictures and TV shows, including Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, and Once Upon A Time.

If you’re ready to run away to sea, a full schedule of events, tickets, and volunteering information can be found on the organization’s website, www.historicalseaport.org. For the seasickness-prone but curious, free walk-aboard tours never leave the dock.

The vessel will be docked at Antioch City Marina, 5 Marina Plaza at the foot of L Street in Antioch.

Please call (800) 200-5239 for directions. For tickets visit: http://www.historicalseaport.org/public-tours-sails/sailing-schedule/antioch-california/

Hosted by Antioch Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock

Dear Editor:

As a lifelong resident of Antioch and product of AUSD I find the past few days befuddling. It seems most people see that there is and are problems within our school district. Each person has their own solution which probably hits closest to home for them. Truth be told, there are many issues within our School District that needs to be addressed. So the crux of the matter comes down to this….which do we address first and where can we get the best bang for our buck.

Yes, spending up to $75K sounds like a lot of money especially if it is in one of our own personal bank accounts. When compared to a budget of $266 million, it is approximately 0.028% of the budget. Then, take into account that around 50% of the school districts have public relations persons allocated in their budgets that run on average of $180,000 per annum once all taxes and benefits are accounted for. In my simple math that I try to live by it appears they are getting the same function for $0.41 on the dollar. As a resident and person with children in the school district this is exactly the kind of forward thinking I want to see from the people in charge of the money.

As far as my understanding with this and I could be wrong – it happens – the purpose and target audience is not the general public but the actual parents and students. This is to let them know what positive items as well as events are coming to their school, adjacent schools in the district and what is to come as events and timelines. There are roughly 17,000 students which in turn makes roughly 34,000 parents (once again simple math) for an aggregate of 51,000 people. This brings the amount being spent to roughly $1.47 per student and parent. For me as an involved parent I see this as a good investment to be informed what is going on with my child’s school as well as other schools in the district, because the bad items are all over social media and easy to find.

Then I step back and think, what if I was one of the parents that has to commute 1.5 hours to work each day or has to work two jobs to make ends meet, then the $1.47 per person seems to be almost nothing to be informed as to what is going on in the school district. With that said by doing the same math the district has around $15,647 to spend per student per year in totality. This $1.47 would represent 0.009% of that money. In my opinion for AUSD to spend this per year is money well spent.

As I stated in the beginning yes, there are many issues to be addressed and there are many ways to address them. This is just one. I see this as an investment in pride in the school and its students while informing the parents. It is like anything. If all you are told is negative comments, then you have a negative opinion or mindset. When the positive is added to the negative at least a true perspective is able to be held. This is not a cure or fix. It is a beginning to curing the plethora of issues that face every school district.

Kenny Turnage

Antioch

Editor:

AUSD is one of the worst performing school districts in the county if not the state. But rather than devote $75,000 to improving performance, it’s wasting it on a doomed-to-fail, lipstick-on-a-pig propaganda effort to pull the wool over parents’ and taxpayers’ eyes about how great things are going.

It’s particularly ironic that one of those chosen to put a happy face on the district, Mike Burkholder, has a history of divisiveness, hostility and negativity toward critics, journalists and politicians in his online postings.

For example, here’s what he posted on a Facebook site called “Boycott the Contra Costa Times” about an East Bay Times reporter (https://www.facebook.com/pg/Boycott-the-Contra-Costa-Times-121667354561835/community/?ref=page_internal): “You can now add Rowena Coetsee to the list of reporters not to speak with. ECCFPD Should Boycott Rowena Coetsee Immediately I am not one to call on boycotts very often, but I have had enough of Rowena Coetsee’s bad reporting in Oakley and now it’s carried over to the ECCFPD today as she broke the cardinal sin of jou… BURKFOROAKLEY.WORDPRESS.COM”

Burkholder also has numerous postings vilifying East Bay Times columnist Dan Borenstein because Borenstein has been critical of excessive pension benefits for firefighters. Burkholder also participated in a boycott of an Antioch Herald AUSD candidates forum.

By hiring Burkholder as a press representative for the school district, AUSD has declared war on the East Bay Times, the Antioch Herald and the press in general — and by extension the public that they are seeking to objectively inform about their government.

Dave Roberts

Oakley

Roberts periodically reports for the Herald.