Dow’s 13^th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration takes place on Thursday, January 17^th and it promises to be a time of reflection and inspiration for invited community members, public officials and employees.

Working for nearly 30 years as one of the most recognizable newscasters on CBS 5 Eyewitness News in San Francisco, retired news anchor Barbara Rodgers will deliver the keynote speech.

The Mike Rose Quartet will also be entertaining the audience with several musical selections.

For the fifth year, Dow hosted an essay contest for local high school students. This year students were asked to think about an event that shaped their life and how being silent had (or could have had) an impact. The winning essay will be read by its author, Bernardo Zepeda, a senior at Black Diamond High School. In addition, a community award and an employee award will be given to two indeviduals who most exemplify the ideas of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The recipient of the Community Award is Frances Wilson, Executive Director of the East Bay Junior National Society of Black Engineers. 

The recipient of the Dow Employee Award is Ivan Elizondo, a Mechanical Engineer who has demonstrated a true commitment to diversity in the workplace.

LOGISTICS:

Date: Thursday, January 17, 2013

Time: 8:00am – 9:30am

Place: The Dow Chemical Company, 901 Loveridge Rd., Pittsburg, CA

Please plan to arrive no later than 7:45am to clear security and take a shuttle to the Dow Cafeteria.

About Dow’s Pittsburg Operations

The Dow Chemical Company purchased the Pittsburg facility in 1939 from the Great Western Electrochemical Company. It is one of more than 150 manufacturing sites located in 37 countries around the world and supports two of Dow’s eight global businesses – Dow AgroSciences and Performance Chemicals. The Pittsburg facility produces a variety of products used in personal care products as well as a variety of crop protection products and intermediates. www.dowpittsburg.com

The City of Antioch and the Antioch Unified School District, along with community partners and sponsors, will present the 5th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration in the Deer Valley High Theater (4700 Lone Tree Way), on January 21st, from 1-3 PM.  The deadline for DR. MLK Jr student scholarship applications is 4 PM, Tuesday, January 15th, at the Antioch Unified School District office (510 G. Street). Applications are available at http://art4antioch.org/MLKScholarship.asp.

This celebration began in 2009 with then Antioch City Council Member Reggie Moore’s desire to celebrate Dr. King’s historical contributions, along with creating a scholarship program for high school and middle school students.  Antioch’s Mayor Wade Harper and AUSD School Board President Joy Motts, will continue the celebration with the support of business and community leaders. The celebration will include a keynote speaker Sylvester Henderson, gospel recording artist Alfreda Lyons-Campbell, Comedian Lenard Jackson and student performances.

The event is sponsored by the City of Antioch, Antioch Unified School District, CCC Supervisor Federal Glover, Arts & Cultural Foundation of the City of Antioch. For more information, visit http://art4antioch.org/MLK-Program.asp, contact Diane Gibson-Gray, (925) 325-9897 or email Diane@Art4Antioch.org.

Nominations for the Antioch Chamber of Commerce’s Business, Citizen, Youth and Nonprofit of the Year awards are underway. Nomination forms are on the chamber’s website, www.antiochchamber.com or by calling the chamber at 757-1800 and are due January 25, 2013.

The Business of the Year Award honors a company’s contributions in developing the social and economic well-being of Antioch. The Citizen of the Year Awards honors an individual for his/her contributions in developing the social and economic well-being of Antioch.

There are two categories: Lifetime Achievement Award (this category looks at the entire body of work over many years) and Most Impact for the Year (This category looks only at accomplishments in the year of 2012, although the nominee may have worked in the community in other years).

The Youth of the Year Award honors a youth for his/her contributions to the community of Antioch. A new category has been added this year, the Non-Profit of the Year Award, honors a local non-profit’s dedication, time and service contributions in developing the social and economic well-being of Antioch.

The awards will be presented at the Annual Inaugural Gala on Friday, March 8, 2013, which will be held at Lone Tree Golf Course Event Center. For more information, please visit www.antiochchamber.com or call (925) 757-1800.

By Allen Payton, Publisher

Brentwood resident Lisa Finnie, was awarded two tickets in the lottery from Congressman Jerry McNerney, to President Obama’s inauguration, this month.

The event will be held on Monday, January 21st at 11:30 am. in Washington, D.C.

Finnie is raising funds to help pay for her trip by selling her homemade 7-up cakes. To buy one of her cakes, she can be contacted at lisafinnie9@yahoo.com or (925) 584-9643.

McNerney represents most of Antioch in the U.S. House of Representatives.

 

The Antioch Police Department is excited to announce the 41^st installment of the Neighborhood Cleanup Program. This is a collaborative community effort which involves active participation from United Citizens for Better Neighborhoods (UCBN), community volunteers, and the Antioch Police Department Crime Prevention Commission; Neighborhood Watch Program, Target Volunteers, Volunteers in Police Service, community volunteers and the Public Works Department.

Collectively, “We”, everyone who works and/or lives in the City of Antioch, can make a difference and improve the quality of life. It’s our community and it’s our chance to make a difference.

The City of Antioch Neighborhood Cleanup program is not just for residential neighborhoods. It is a program that will change venues on a monthly basis and it will include business and commercial areas as well. Neighborhoods that are free of trash and refuse are inviting, and a clean community instills a sense of community pride.

The 41st Neighborhood Cleanup event will occur on Saturday, January 5th; from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Volunteers should report to Harbour Park located in the 3100 block of Ashburton Drive. There should be plenty of curbside parking adjacent to the park. Volunteers will receive instructions and the equipment necessary to accomplish the goal. The targeted area is within walking distance. Excluding inclement weather, future Neighborhood Cleanup events will be scheduled for the first Saturday of every month and the locations will be announced in advance.

If you have a suggestion for a future cleanup area, please inform the assigned Volunteer in Police Services (VIPS) or you can call (925) 779- 6878. If there is no answer please feel free to leave a message regarding your suggested cleanup area.

Remember, cleaning up your neighborhood can make life better for your family, your neighbors and your community!

Frazier donates final $2,000 to achieve $25,000 goal

By Allen Payton, Publisher

Antioch received Christmas gifts from PG&E and Assemblyman Jim Fraizer, today through donations to help rebuild City Park playground equipment, following the fire damage by arson, back in September. As of today, all the funds have been raised to pay the $25,000 deductible.

At a brief ceremony at the park, this morning, attended by community leaders, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) Company’s East Bay Senior Government Relations Representative Tom Guarino presented a check to Take Back Antioch Founder Brittney Gougeon and local officials, for $12,500. Then before the ceremony was over, PG&E Government Affairs representative Tom Guarino committed another $2,000 and Assemblyman Jim Frazier, committed the final $2,000 to reach the $25,000 goal.

Immediately upon hearing about the fire damage, Take Back Antioch took the lead in raising the needed funds, through a Facebook message, a fundraiser at Uno Chicago Grill and other efforts.

“This is huge for the community. There really have been so many families affected by this, and when PG&E contacted me about the donation, I was sincerely speechless,” Gougeon said. “I could not be more thankful for PG&E’s outpouring of support through a matching donation for our fundraiser to rebuild City Park.”

That’s the deductible amount the city has to pay before the insurance pool will meet the other $125,000 for the total $150,000 estimated replacement price.

Part of the play structure was burned on September 17. Two Antioch teens have been arrested for arson in the case.

“This senseless act of arson and vandalism does not help the community,” Frazier said.

In addition to Frazier and Gougeon, in attendance were Mayor Pro Tem Mary Rocha, Council members Gary Agopian, Monica Wilson and Tony Tiscareno, as well as Antioch Chamber CEO Dr. Sean Wright.

“A lot of leaders have stepped up when we needed them,” said Rocha. “This park has a lot of history with the stone walls built during WWII. The neighborhood…in the past couldn’t even come to the park.”

Six years after being constructed by a team of volunteers from PG&E and the Antioch community, a local playground was destroyed by arsonists. Today, PG&E announced that it will contribute a $12,500 matching grant to local community organization Take Back Antioch (TBA) to supplement its fundraising efforts to rebuild the park.

“This area of the park was built by the community,” Agopian stated. “Now, in spite of the arson and the violence done to this park, we’re going to do it, again.”

“We have excellent citizens in Antioch,” said Tiscareno. “This park is where I grew up at. Now to have my grandkids to come play here and to see the playground burned down is just heart breaking.”

“This shows great pride in our community,” Wilson shared. “Thanks to Brittany who didn’t wait to be asked to help. We are proud of living here.”

“It was more than just burning down of a playground. It was burning down of something the community built,” Wright said.

Along with many other community volunteers, Wright and his children helped paint the playground.

“This isn’t the only thing that PGE does for our community,” he added. Then listed a few other things PG&E has done for Antioch.

Guarino said “Because our Gateway Generating Station is in Antioch we’re going to throw in another $2,000.” That brought PG&E’s total contribution to $14,500.

“How much is left?” Agopian asked.

The answer was $2,000 and Assemblyman Frazier committed to make up the difference.
So now all the funds needed have been raised to cover the $25,000 deductible.

The total cost is $150,000 according to Community Development Director Ron Bernal. Now that the deductible has been raised the insurance company will provide the $125,000 balance, bids will be let, the contractor hired and the work can begin.

“Organizations like Taking Back Antioch are inspiring examples how neighbors can come together to make a real difference in their communities,” said Ezra Garrett, vice president, community relations, PG&E. “PG&E is proud to partner with Brittney Gougeon and Taking Back Antioch to help rebuild City Park and once again make it a safe place for families to gather and play.”

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation’s cleanest energy to 15 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/ and www.pgecurrents.com.

Antioch Mayor Wade Harper, community and faith leaders, residents of The Commons at Dallas Ranch and the Antioch community will join together for a prayer vigil in memory of those who lost their lives at Sandy Hook School in Connecticut, last Friday.

The vigil will be held on Wednesday, December 19, 2012 at 5:30 p.m., at The Commons at Dallas Ranch, 4751 Dallas Ranch Road, Antioch.

To obtain additional information regarding the vigil, please contact Dina Osakue at (925) 754-7772 or dosakue@commonsatdallasranch.com.