In the midst of the recession in 2010 American Express created Small Business Saturday^® on the Saturday after Thanksgiving to encourage people to Shop Small and bring more holiday shopping to small businesses.

In 2011, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution in support of Small Business Saturday, and officials in all 50 states participate. It even gets a shout-out from the president of the United States.

You might not realize it, but every time you pick up a cup of coffee from your favorite neighborhood cafe or buy a gift from a local family- owned store, you’re shopping small and making a difference. By shopping in Antioch your money stays in town and the sales tax dollars help pay for city services.

Small Business Saturday continues to be an annual holiday shopping tradition including in Antioch’s historic downtown Rivertown – just one part of the larger Shop Small Movement that supports small businesses every day and everywhere. Rivertown is located between A and L Streets and W. 10th Street north to the river. Directions: from Highway 4 take A Street, G Street or L Street north.

So, this Saturday, Nov. 26 shop local, Shop Small^®, shop Rivertown and enjoy lunch or dinner at one of the many restaurants in the Rivertown Dining District.

To learn more about American Express’ support for Small Business Saturday click here.

NOTE: This was first posted on November 24, 2011. We re-post and update it each year.

By Allen Payton, Publisher

It was 401 years ago, this year, that the first Thanksgiving feast was celebrated by the Pilgrims and their Indian friends in Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts.

Who were the Pilgrims?

Christian Protestants in England became known as Puritans because of their differences with the Church of England. Most remained within the Church of England but a small group of Puritans, known as Separatists, who chose to leave the church, were persecuted for their faith. Around 1607 or 1608 about three hundred Separatists left England and relocated to Holland.

Then in 1620, some of the Separatists chose to leave Holland for a place where they could be free to practice their faith. Along with adventurers, other colonists recruited by the venture’s financial backers and the ship’s crew, for a total of 102 people, the Separatists sailed to the New World on the ship the Mayflower.

It was William Bradford, their second governor, who gave the Separatists the label of Pilgrims, from the Bible verse in the book of Hebrews chapter 11, verse 13, which states, “they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” He stated, “They knew they were pilgrims, and looked not much on those things, but lifted up their eyes to the heavens, their dearest country.”

According to what became known as The Mayflower Compact, the voyage was “undertaken for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian faith and honor of our kind and country…to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia” Instead, the voyagers first spotted land on November 9, 1620, and then chose to set anchor in Provincetown Harbor, Massachusetts on November 11.

“The Mayflower Compact was signed that day on board the Mayflower, which was at anchor in Provincetown Harbor. The document was drawn up in response to ‘mutinous speeches’ that had come about because the Pilgrims had intended to settle in Northern Virginia, but the decision was made after arrival to instead settle in New England. Since there was no government in place, some felt they had no legal obligation to remain within the colony and supply their labor. The Mayflower Compact attempted to temporarily establish that government until a more official one could be drawn up in England that would give them the right to self-govern themselves in New England.” (1)

Read the complete Mayflower Compact by clicking here.

They then settled across Cape Cod Bay at Plymouth, Massachusetts and only 53 of the Pilgrims survived that first winter, thanks to the help of the local Indians. But the following summer was good for them.

The First Thanksgiving Celebration

“After their first harvest, the colonists of the Plymouth Plantation held a celebration of food and feasting in the fall of 1621. Indian chiefs Massassoit, Squanto and Samoset joined in the celebration with ninety of their men in the three-day event. (2)

According to William Bradford, in his journal entitled Of Plimoth Plantation: “They begane now to gather in ye small harvest they had, and to fitte up their houses and dwellings against winter, being all well recovered in health & strenght, and had all things in good plenty; fFor as some were thus imployed in affairs abroad, others were excersised in fishing, aboute codd, & bass, & other fish, of which yey tooke good store, of which every family had their portion. All ye somer ther was no want.  And now begane to come in store of foule, as winter approached, of which this place did abound when they came first (but afterward decreased by degrees).  And besids water foule, ther was great store of wild Turkies, of which they tooke many, besids venison, &c. Besids, they had about a peck a meale a weeke to a person, or now since harvest, Indean corn to yt proportion.  Which made many afterwards write so largly of their plenty hear to their freinds in England, which were not fained,  but true reports.”

According to Edward Winslow in his book Mourt’s Relation: “our harvest being gotten in, our governour sent foure men on fowling, that so we might after a speciall manner rejoyce together, after we had gathered the fruits of our labours ; they foure in one day killed as much fowle, as with a little helpe beside, served the Company almost a weeke, at which time amongst other Recreations, we exercised our Armes, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their greatest king Massasoyt, with some ninetie men, whom for three dayes we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five Deere, which they brought to the Plantation and bestowed on our Governour, and upon the Captaine and others.  And although it be not always so plentifull, as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so farre from want,  that we often wish you partakers of our plentie.”

The First Official Thanksgiving Day

In 1623, the first official day of Thanksgiving was proclaimed by Plymouth Colony Governor William Bradford

Bradford’s Thanksgiving Proclamation:

Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, beans, squashes, and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as he has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience. Now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the day time, on Thursday, November 29th, of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty-three and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings.

–William Bradford

Ye Governor of Ye Colony

Through the years, subsequent Thanksgiving Day proclamations were made and dates for celebrating it were set by Congress and various U.S. presidents.

1777 Proclamation by the Continental Congress

On November 1, 1777, by order of Congress, the first National Thanksgiving Proclamation was approved, and signed by Henry Laurens, President of the Continental Congress. The third Thursday of December, 1777 was officially set aside: “…for solemn thanksgiving and praise. That with one heart and one voice the good people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts, and consecrate themselves to the service of their Divine Benefactor;… and their humble and earnest supplication that it may please God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully to forgive and blot hem (their manifold sins) out of remembrance… That it may please Him… to take schools and seminaries of education, so necessary for cultivating the principles of true liberty, virtue and piety under His nurturing hand, and to prosper the means of religion for the promotion and enlargement of that kingdom which consisteth of ‘righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost’…”

First Thanksgiving Proclamation by the American Government

In 1789, it was President George Washington who issued the first Thanksgiving Proclamation by the American government: WHEREAS, It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; WHEREAS, Both the houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted’ for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us. And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have show kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best. –George Washington – October 3, 1789

Lincoln Makes Last Thursday in November Official Day of Thanksgiving

Then in in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln established the last Thursday in November as the day of national thanksgiving with his Thanksgiving Proclamation:

Washington, D.C. October 3, 1863

By the President of the United States of America. A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.

And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

Since 1863, every President has issued an annual proclamation calling for the people of the nation to celebrate a national day of thanksgiving.

1941 Vote by Congress and President Roosevelt

But it wasn’t until October 6, 1941 that our federal government made it an official, national holiday, when Congress approved it.

“In 1939…the last Thursday in November fell on the last day of the month. Concerned that the shortened Christmas shopping season might dampen the economic recovery, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a Presidential Proclamation moving Thanksgiving to the second to last Thursday of November. As a result of the proclamation, 32 states issued similar proclamations while 16 states refused to accept the change and proclaimed Thanksgiving to be the last Thursday in November. For two years two days were celebrated as Thanksgiving – the President and part of the nation celebrated it on the second to last Thursday in November, while the rest of the country celebrated it the following week.

To end the confusion, Congress decided to set a fixed-date for the holiday. On October 6, 1941, the House passed a joint resolution declaring the last Thursday in November to be the legal Thanksgiving Day. The Senate, however, amended the resolution establishing the holiday as the fourth Thursday, which would take into account those years when November has five Thursdays. The House agreed to the amendment, and President Roosevelt signed the resolution on December 26, 1941, thus establishing the fourth Thursday in November as the Federal Thanksgiving Day holiday.” (3)

President John F. Kennedy’s Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1961

OCTOBER 27, 1961

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES A PROCLAMATION :

“It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord.”

More than three centuries ago, the Pilgrims, after a year of hardship and peril, humbly and reverently set aside a special day upon which to give thanks to God for their preservation and for the good harvest from the virgin soil upon which they had labored. Grave and unknown dangers remained. Yet by their faith and by their toil they had survived the rigors of the harsh New England winter. Hence they paused in their labors to give thanks for the blessings that had been bestowed upon them by Divine Providence.

This year, as the harvest draws near its close and the year approaches its end, awesome perils again remain to be faced. Yet we have, as in the past, ample reason to be thankful for the abundance of our blessings. We are grateful for the blessings of faith and health and strength and for the imperishable spiritual gifts of love and hope. We give thanks, too, for our freedom as a nation; for the strength of our arms and the faith of our friends; for the beliefs and confidence we share; for our determination to stand firmly for what we believe to be right and to resist mightily what we believe to be base; and for the heritage of liberty bequeathed by our ancestors which we are privileged to preserve for our children and our children’s children.

It is right that we should be grateful for the plenty amidst which we live; the productivity of our farms, the output of our factories, the skill of our artisans, and the ingenuity of our investors. But in the midst of our thanksgiving, let us not be unmindful of the plight of those in many parts of the world to whom hunger is no stranger and the plight of those millions more who live without the blessings of liberty and freedom.

With some we are able to share our material abundance through our Food-for-Peace Program and through our support of the United Nations Freedom-from-Hunger Campaign. To all we can offer the sustenance of hope that we shall not fail in our unceasing efforts to make this a peaceful and prosperous world for all mankind.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOHN F. KENNEDY, President of the United States of America, in consonance with the joint resolution of Congress approved December 26, 1941, which designates the fourth Thursday in November of each year as Thanksgiving Day, do hereby proclaim Thursday, the twenty-third day of November of this year, as a day of national thanksgiving. I urge all citizens to make this Thanksgiving not merely a holiday from their labors, but rather a day of contemplation. I ask the head of each family to recount to his children the story of the first New England thanksgiving, thus to impress upon future generations the heritage of this nation born in toil, in danger, in purpose, and in the conviction that right and justice and freedom can through man’s efforts persevere and come to fruition with the blessing of God. Let us observe this day with reverence and with prayer that will rekindle in us the will and show us the way not only to preserve our blessings, but also to extend them to the four corners of the earth. Let us by our example, as well as by our material aid, assist all peoples of all nations who are striving to achieve a better life in freedom.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed. DONE at the City of Washington this twenty-seventh day of October in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and sixty-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and eighty-sixth.

JOHN F. KENNEDY

Click here to read Kennedy’s final Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1963, just weeks before his assassination.

Read more Thanksgiving Proclamations by Presidents Carter, Reagan and George H.W. Bush here  and this year’s proclamation by President Obama here.

So we continue the celebration, today, with our family and friends, of giving thanks to God for his provisions to us personally and to our great nation, even in spite of our current economic challenges.

God bless you, God bless America and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

References:

(1) www.MayflowerHistory.com

(2) www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/firsts/thanksgiving/

(3) www.archives.gov/legislative/features/thanksgiving/

www.pilgrimhall.org/1stthnks

Learn more from the book Plymouth in the words of her Founders by Dr. Paul Jehle at http://www.amazon.com/Plymouth-Words-Founders-Paul-Jehle/dp/0972417346

Including ghost gun during warrant search in violence reduction investigation

By Antioch Police Department

On Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022, APD officers and Special Operations Unit detectives executed a search warrant at a residence in Brentwood related to an ongoing drug trafficking and illegal firearm possession investigation. During the search, detectives located four semi-auto pistols (one of which was a P80 ghost gun), one rifle, numerous 30 round magazines, a THC lab, several pounds of marijuana, Xanax and numerous other prescription pills, and over $10,000 (which was asset seized).

Three individuals were arrested in connection with this incident and the case will be presented to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office for charges.

Do you have information on drug trafficking or other crimes occurring in our city? You can text an anonymous tip to 274637 (CRIMES) with the keyword ANTIOCH. Thanks for helping us keep OUR community safe!

Would you like to join a team of dedicated officers who strategically work to identify sources of crime and take action? We are hiring entry-level, academy graduate, and lateral police officers, with a salary ranging from from $107,928 to $131,196 and a $30,000 signing bonus. We offer comprehensive benefit packages, a CalPERS pension, enhanced 12-hour work schedule which includes an on-duty fitness program, shift and education pay incentives, tuition reimbursement, and numerous exciting assignment opportunities. Visit www.JoinAntiochPD.com for more information.

19 challenged ballots remain to be counted; if remains a tie the candidates would decide the tie breaker

By Allen D. Payton

As of Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022, at 3:12:59 PM, the Contra Costa Elections Division website shows incumbent Antioch District 1 Councilwoman Tamisha Torres-Walker and challenger Joy Motts are tied with 1,462 votes each. While the website shows there are still 1,900 ballots remaining to be counted in the county, according to Assistant Registrar of Voters Helen Nolan, “now, there are 19 challenged votes in the Antioch City Council District 1 race.”

“They’re either unsigned or the signatures don’t match,” she explained. “Every single person who has a challenged ballot has received a letter in order to cure that signature, either to provide a signature or provide their signature that matches what we have on file.”

“The important thing to remember is what we have on file is most likely what is on their driver’s license,” Nolan added.

“What the campaigns can do, and I believe are doing, are get copies of the challenged voters list and contact those voters,” she stated. The list is available but “it either has to be for education purposes or for elections purposes.”

Of the 1,900 ballots remaining in the county, 217 are listed as Provisional, which are described as “CVR (Conditional Voter Registration) Ballots In Review” and 1,683 listed as Other, meaning “Challenged VBM (Vote By Mail) Ballots” in which there was “No Signature” or the “Signature Does Not Match” what the Elections Division has on file. The challenged ballots in the Antioch race are among both types of remaining ballots.

According to the California Secretary of State’s website, “A ‘CVR voter’ is a person who, on Election Day or the fourteen (14) days immediately preceding Election Day, does both of the following:

1. Delivers an executed affidavit of registration to the county elections official in order to register to vote in California for the first time, or re-register to vote in the same or a different county in California. The executed affidavit of registration can be submitted either in person at any permanent office of the county elections official, at any vote center or polling place, or at any satellite office designated by the county elections official or online through the Internet Web site of the Secretary of State.
2. Requests a CVR ballot at any permanent office of the county elections official, at any vote center or polling place, or at any satellite office designated by the county elections official.”

Voters with challenged ballots have until Wednesday, Nov. 30 to cure their ballot with the county Elections Division office.

Tie-Breaker Decided by Candidates

Asked what happens if there’s a tie vote Nolan said the election would be decided by “whatever tie breaker the candidates agree to. It could be a flip of a coin, roll of the dice or rock, paper, scissors.”

 

 

By Candice Martin, DCRR Racing Media

The marathon season at Antioch Speedway comes to a close this Saturday night, Nov. 26. Over 40 events have been held at the Contra Costa Event Center (fairgrounds) track this year. Originally, this was to be a two-race weekend, but it’s been condensed down to one.

The IMCA sanctioned Modifieds, Sport Modifieds and Stock Cars will be on hand along with the Wingless Spec Sprints, Pacific Coast General Engineering Hobby Stocks and Super Stocks. It’ll be the final opportunity to see racing here until next year.

The championship season for the IMCA Modifieds came down to a tie. In fact, IMCA did an official audit when they originally had Kellen Chadwick of Oakley leading by one point over Martinez’s Nick DeCarlo. It was determined that the tie the track had calculated between the two drivers was in fact the correct.

DeCarlo will win the championship based on the fact that he beat Chadwick, four wins to three wins. Bobby Motts, Jr. will end up third in the final run down ahead of this year’s top rookie, Brentwood’s Trevor Clymens and Terry DeCarlo, Jr. of Martinez.

The IMCA Sport Modified battle went down to the wire. Andrew Pearce of Oakley seemed good until mechanical issues at the third to last race while leading sent him to the pits. Brentwood’s Fred Ryland had four wins this season and beat Pearce by eight points for the championship. Pearce did end up winning three races this season for a strong second place outing, followed by IMCA State champion Jacob Mallet, Jr. of Oakley, Pacheco’s Kenny Shrader and Chuck Golden of Pittsburg.

Travis Dutra of Concord ended up winning the IMCA Stock Car championship by 20 markers ahead of Jason Robles of Rio Vista. This is the second-consecutive championship for Dutra, who finally got his first win in the season finale. He only missed the Top 5 one time in 12 starts. Jason Jennings of Pittsburg wrapped up third in the standings and top rookie honors, followed by Dave Hill of San Francisco and Antioch’s Dave Gonderman.

Misty Welborn kicked off the Pacific Coast General Engineering Hobby Stock season with three wins in the first four races. The Castro Valley resident cruised to the championship, while Oakley’s Michaela Taylor beat Jared Baugh of Pittsburgh by just four points in the race for second. Top rookie Taylor DeCarlo of Martinez ended up fourth ahead of the much improved Jewell Crandall of Antioch.

Shannon Newton of Elk Grove wasn’t planning on racing for points this year, but the four-time winner ended up winning his second Wingless Spec Sprint championship by 17 points ahead of Oakley’s James East. Steve Maionchi of Sonora ended up third ahead of MacKenzie Newton of Elk Grove and Tulare’s Zack Neeley.

In Super Stock competition, Jim Freethy of Danville picked up his third championship. He picked up four wins along the way, and his title was never in doubt. Brentwood’s Joey Ridgeway bested Jimmy Robbins of Concord by just eight points to end up second in the standings. 2020 champion Mike Walko of Knightsen and two-time title winner Mike Gustafson of Concord ended up fourth and fifth, respectively.

At this point, it’s about the bragging rights and the purse money when these six divisions come to compete this Saturday night at Antioch Speedway. The gates will open at 4:00 with the first race starting at 6:00.

Adult tickets are $20, Senior/Military $15, Kids (5-12) $15 and kids four and under free.

For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.

 

Nonpartisan program supports and celebrates excellence in U.S. election administration

By Dawn Kruger, Civic Outreach/Engagement Specialist, Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder-Elections Department

The Contra Costa County Elections Division has been selected by the nonpartisan U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence as a Center for Election Excellence.  This is recognition that Contra Costa County Elections is committed to leadership in election administration and focused on developing even more resilient, trustworthy, and voter-centric election administration practices.

As a Center for Election Excellence, the Contra Costa County Elections Division will have an opportunity to work together with a bipartisan group of election officials to support each other and improve their skills. The diverse inaugural 2023 cohort of Centers for Election Excellence include:

• Contra Costa County, CA
• Shasta County, CA
• Greenwich, CT
• Kane County, IL
• Macoupin County, IL
• Ottawa County, MI
• Clark County, NV
• Brunswick County, NC
• Forsyth County, NC
• Madison, WI

According to a recent study from MIT, public spending on election services ranks near the bottom, about the same as what local governments spend on parking facilities. This means professional development opportunities for election department staff can be extremely limited. The Alliance will provide Contra Costa Elections staff opportunities to collaborate with and share best practices with their colleagues from around the country, creating a national community of learning and support.

“I am thrilled we have chosen the Contra Costa County Elections Division as a Center for Election Excellence,” said Tiana Epps-Johnson, executive director of the Center for Tech and Civic Life. “Contra Costa Elections is a leader in safe, secure, and inclusive elections that put voters first. This program will take their election administration work to the next level.”

“While I have always known that staff at the Contra Costa County Elections Division are expert at what they do, incredibly innovative, and provide an exceptionally high level of service to the Contra Costa Community, I am excited and proud that this department and our staff are being recognized nationally for the hard work we do.” said Debi Cooper, Clerk-Recorder-Registrar of Contra Costa County.

The U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence launched in 2022 and is a five-year, $80 million nonpartisan program that brings together election officials, designers, technologists, and other experts to envision, support, and celebrate excellence in U.S. election administration. Launch partners include:

• Center for Tech and Civic Life:  connects Americans with the information to become and remain civically engaged and ensure that elections are inclusive and secure.
• Center for Civic Design: works with elections offices and advocates across the country, using research, design, accessibility, and plain language to remove barriers and invite participation in democracy.
• The Elections Group: partners with state and local election officials to implement new programs or improve processes for voters and stakeholders by providing guidance, resources, and management support.
• U.S. Digital Response: is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization provides election officials with simple, effective digital tools and rapid response.
• Institute for Responsive Government & Center for Secure and Modern Elections: aligns bipartisan, pro-voter campaigns, making elections more efficient and secure.
• Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (the d.school) at Stanford University: referred to as the d.school, the institute brings students and faculty from radically different backgrounds together to develop innovative, human-centered solutions to real world challenges.
• Prototyping Systems Lab: utilizes elements of design thinking, participatory design, and critical making to create change within complex systems.

Join the Celebrate Antioch Foundation and Antioch Chamber of Commerce as they wrap up Antioch’s Sesquicentennial Celebration and honor those in service of our community on Thursday, December 8th from 5-10 pm.

With live music, great food, live auctions and great fun this event is being held at Lone Tree Golf Course & Event Center, 4800 Golf Course Road in Antioch.

All funds raised will benefit the foundation and Chamber of Commerce. Cocktails served at 5 pm and dinner at 7 pm. Tickets are $60 each or $100 for two.

Don’t miss this fun, holiday event and your chance to support these great organizations!

For tickets visit https://form.jotform.com/222987984670172

By Trine Gallegos, Communications/Community Outreach, Antioch High School

The Antioch High Boys Cross Country team is still happily reeling from its victory at the Nov. 9 BVAL meet. Held at Contra Loma Reservoir, the seven-member group went into the race as the only undefeated team and ran away with its first championship in 34 years for a boys’ team.

Coach Willie Berger was nervous as he waited for the announcement. The news of the win bought out an array of cheers and tears from the entire team, family and assistant coach Brenda Gutierrez.

“They’ve worked so hard and are so deserving,” Berger said.

The boys beat out the favored Heritage High by just one point.

A Nov. 9 post on the Antioch Unified School District Facebook page congratulated the team.

“It’s been 34 years in the making. Hearing the news over the mic was followed by joyful cheers, spirited yelling and happy tears by many.  The boys went to the big meet as the only undefeated team.

Berger knows the feeling of being a student athlete. A Class of 2004 grad, he was a cross country team member.

Congrats to these mighty Panthers and the entire team for a great season.”

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.