By Paul Burgarino, Community Education and Engagement Specialist, Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder-Elections Department

Results from the November 6th General Election have been updated on the Contra Costa Elections website, as of Friday, Nov. 9th at 5:00 p.m. You can view the Update 1 here. The Contra Costa Elections Division has processed over 1.7 million ballot cards to this point.

Please note that the updated results are still unofficial.

The Elections Division estimates that there are about 82,000 Vote-By-Mail envelopes remaining to be counted, as well as 25,000 Provisionals and 1,000 Conditional Voter Registrations.

Our next scheduled update is at 5:00 pm on Friday, November 16th.

The Elections Department has 28 days to certify the election results. So, close races may not be decided until the beginning of December.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

By Sergeant Matthew Harger #3305, Antioch Police Field Services Bureau

On Friday, Nov. 9, 2018 at about 7:30 pm, Antioch Police units were dispatched to the 2500 block of D Street regarding a shooting. When Officer’s arrived on scene a 20-year-old male victim was found on the sidewalk suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Evidence at the location suggested numerous gunshots were fired into an occupied residence by someone in a passing vehicle. The victim was struck by the gunfire while he was inside of the home. The victim was transported to a local hospital suffering from multiple non-life-threatening gunshot wounds which were a result of this shooting. There is not any suspect information at this time.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Antioch Police Department non-emergency line at (925) 778-2441 or 925-779-6884. You may also text-a-tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using the key word ANTIOCH.

The Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra will present “The Trumpet Shall Sound” on Saturday, November 10 at 2:00 pm in the extraordinary El Campanil Theatre in Antioch’s historic, downtown Rivertown.

Joe Brown, 2nd trumpet in the SF Ballet Orchestra, will perform Alan Hovhaness’ lush, dream-like Prayer of Saint Gregory and Johann Hummel’s shimmering and virtuosic Concerto for Trumpet in Eb.

Also on the program are California-based composer Nick Benavides’s mesmerizing Magnetismus, and the heart-rending Adagio from Leos Janacek’s Idyll. The program will close with Haydn’s Symphony No. 82, nicknamed “The Bear” because the last movement has a section reminiscent of bagpipe music used to accompany dancing bears for several centuries in Europe.

The orchestra’s magnetic new conductor, Chad Goodman, was featured on the cover of the October issue of Diablo Magazine. Throughout the program he will engage the audience by sharing fascinating background information on the composers and their work.

Tickets – Adults $20, Seniors (62 & over) $15, Youth (17 & under) $7. Call El Campanil Theatre, 602 W. 2nd Street at 925-757-9500 or visit www.elcampaniltheatre.com.

For more information: www.ContraCostaChamberOrchestra.org

By Pete Gumas, Pest Control Adviser #71055, Antioch

Fall Fertilization

Lawn fertilization in the Fall is key to recovering from summer heat stress and preparing turf for the winter. Two good  fertilizer applications in September and late October encourages root growth and food storage for winter. Lawns grow most actively between 60 and 80 degrees F and need the most amount of fertilizer. In a future article, I’ll review later how to measure out fertilizer ,apply it accurately, and figure out lawn square footage.

Mowing

Keep mower blades sharpened. Dull blades can cause frayed tips and cause a whitish look on top of turf blades. Grass blades heal slower. The lawn doesn’t look like it’s freshly cut and green.

Mow heights in Fall can lower down some with cooler weather. You can lower them through the winter and early spring. Suggested mow heights for Tall Fescue is 2 to 2.5”; while Kentucky Bluegrass-Ryegrass can be mowed at 2”.

Regular mowing, fertilizing, and watering keeps lawns actively growing. Turf can grow out of disease or other issues it may face. Limit mowing to 1/3 of the blade per mowing to avoid stress. Plus, using a recycling mower and mowing no more than 1/3 of the blade can help recut clippings in the mower chamber. For example, a lawn at 3”, can be cut at 2”, or a 4” tall lawn can be mowed at 2 and ¾”.

Irrigation

Fall is a great time to “skip a day” as our days get shorter and nights cooler. For instance, watering deep every two days in July-August should be watering every 4th day in late October. That’s 50% less in just two months. Here’s an example of “skipping a day”:

July-August: Water lawns every 2 days deep

September: Water every 3rd day deep

October: Water every 4th day deep

November: Water every 5th day deep or off from rain

December: Off! It’s raining now.

Run times will vary with the type of lawn sprinkler you have.

Re-seeding and Renovation

Fall’s a great time to reseed because the weather is cooler and ideal for seed germination. Summer heat is too hot in Antioch and East County to seed. Choose to overseed from late September to early November.

1. Rake up dead grass and loosen up soil. Mow the rest of the lawn short
2. Add in some compost to bare spots, mix into top 1 to 2” of soil with your rake
3. Level off soil with the flat or top part of your rake. Level off to soil height
4. Match up seed at a nursery or supplier. Usually it’s a Tall fescue or Blue/rye mix
5. Scatter seed out to cover most of bare soil
6. Topdress seed with ¼” organic compost to cover all seed
7. Begin irrigation and keep seed moist for 3 weeks. Water short 5-7 minute cycles 3 times per day. Begin watering at 8am, 12 noon, and 3pm to keep seed moist. If the seed dries out, the seed will die. That’s why watering new seed is very critical to success. Keep that seed wet!
8. Then, after seeds “pops up”, you can slowly reduce water times to 1 or 2 times per day as weather cools down in fall.
9. Your first mowing will be at about one month. Mow higher, 2.5 to 3” at first. This puts less stress on new seedlings. You can lower the mow height later in late November into December.

Dear Editor:

For those who may not know me, let me introduce myself. I’m Jareem Gunter, an Antioch parent and the leader of the East Bay Tech Academy middle school. (We call it Tech Antioch for short.) Antioch is my home. My mother worked at Live Oak High School in the Antioch Unified School District for over 20 years until she retired last year. I was part of the opening class at Deer Valley High School, my alma mater. Now, a father with two young children, I was excited for my family to buy a home and set up roots back in Antioch.

Efforts to open Tech Antioch have raised questions about the connection between our school and Clayton Valley Charter High School. Since these concerns were first raised in the spring, numerous steps were taken to ensure Tech Antioch is completely separate from Clayton Valley. Our board was formed and includes experienced leaders in the charter school sector and a local Antioch resident, Fernando Navarro. I was named the school leader. And, we entered into a legal agreement with Clayton Valley creating a clear separation while also establishing a plan to reimburse Clayton Valley for the original investment it made into the school.

To be clear: I have no ties to Clayton Valley. Our board has no ties to Clayton Valley, my ties are to Antioch and Antioch public schools.  All my life I have attend public school, and care deeply about public school education.

We as a community, need to be honest. We need to look at the outcomes of Antioch schools and ask ourselves: Is this good enough? Last year, nearly 69 percent of students didn’t meet state English standards and 81 percent failed to meet math standards. While 80 percent of our students graduate high school, only 35 percent of those students are prepared for college. That means about two out of every three graduates leave with a diploma but not the skills they need for success if they want to pursue a career that requires a college degree. What we’re doing is not working for most children.

We are leaving too many children behind. All our children deserve and can be successful if we provide them the right opportunities. As a charter school, we can bring new ideas to our community. Our world is continually changing. We need to invest in new methods and ideas within our educational offerings.

Tech Antioch can provide an opportunity for innovation in our community and help our public schools become better. In other communities–such as Denver, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Houston and San Diego–forward-thinking leaders have focused on what children need and incorporated charter schools into their solution.

We need to spend time focused on what children in our community need. They need the right opportunities, and that can include giving them another public school option through Tech Antioch.

As a community, our current approach is not working for too many children. Our traditional school options are allowing too many children to graduate without being prepared for life. We need to try something new. My vision for Tech Antioch is to be another option for those children. Parents need to have access to another public school choice for their children. Providing our families with more opportunities for their children will only improve our district.

I want to work with the district to give children a choice. And, I want to work with other school leaders. Let’s work together to redefine how we support our children. Together, we can raise the expectations for our children and ensure they are positioned to achieve whatever dreams they have.

We can only work together if we stop political posturing and start having actual conversations. I ask that you honestly consider what our children need and welcome a partnership with our school.

Jareem Gunter, Founder/Director, East Bay Tech Academy

DVHS Drum Major Marcanthony Ponce and AHS Drum Major Mariah Capote with their first place trophies. Photo by AUSD.

By Allen Payton

The Deer Valley High School and Antioch High School Marching Bands both took home first place trophies in their divisions for the parade competition at the 41st Annual Lodi Grape Bowl Classic Band Review on Saturday, Nov. 3. Hosted by Lodi and Tokay high schools, the review included Marching Band Parade Competition, Jazz Band Competition and Field Show Competitions for middle and high schools.

The event was held at Lawrence Elementary School, followed by a field show at the Lodi Grape Bowl, according to the Lodi Sentinel.

Susan Te contributed to this report.