What:              Veteran’s Day Concert

Where:             El Campanil Theatre, 602 W Second Street, Antioch, Ca

Date:               Sunday, November 11, 2012

Time:               3:00 pm (NOTE TIME CHANGE)

Tickets:            Adults: $15  Seniors (62 & Over): $12  Child (Under 18): $10

Ticket Office:  (925) 757-9500

Online:            www.elcampaniltheatre.com

A musical celebration of America and its veterans is coming to the El Campanil Theater in Antioch this Veterans Day, November. 11, 2012. This patriotic tribute to our country and those who have protected it will feature two popular local groups, the Summerset Singers chorus and the Summerset Big Band, together in concert. The show will include such inspiring and rousing favorites as “America the Beautiful,” “Armed Forces Medley,” and “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” The program will also feature some of the most beloved standards from the World War Two era.

The SUMMERSET SINGERS are currently in their thirteenth season of entertaining residents of Brentwood community and Contra Costa County. Over-the years the chorus has grown to over seventy members, and has achieved the stature of one of the best choral groups in the area. Directed by Ernie Macintyre, the Singers are best known for their annual summer show, which this year will include an additional performance at the new Brentwood Community Center.  The Singers also perform numerous Christmas concerts throughout the county.

The SUMMERSET BIG BAND was formed in May of 2006 as a “rehearsal band” within the Summerset retirement community.  At that time there were nine members. The band has now grown to a core complement of fourteen, plus “alumni” and alternates, all talented musicians from the Brentwood-Antioch area of Eastern Contra Costa County.  The band is comprised of five saxophones, four trombones, four trumpets, piano, bass, and drums.

The Summerset Big Band has played to the delight of thousands people who enjoy

The Antioch Police Department is excited to announce the 40^th 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 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 40^th Neighborhood Cleanup event will occur on Saturday, November 3rd, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Volunteers should report to the Mountaire Park located at 2600 Sunset Lane. 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 (VIP) 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!

The Dow Community Advisory Panel (CAP) found more projects worthy of funding than they have in the last six years.  Typically, the CAP has distributed $15,000 to four or five local organizations.  Though the number of applications this year was fewer, they found a larger number of projects about which they were passionate.  This resulted in six projects being chosen and nearly $25,000 in grants being given.

The Dow CAP is pleased to announce the six organizations that will be receiving this year’s grants.  The grants vary from $3,000 to $5,000 each for a total of $24,740.  The recipients are:

·Antioch High School Environmental Studies Academy (Antioch) – Garden restoration Project:  replace greenhouse heater, build a chicken coop, create compost areas, construct a pond and more.

·Delta Science Center (Oakley) – Delta In-Classroom Education Program: purchase microscopes to bring into the fifth-grade science classrooms

·Independence High School (Brentwood) – Biology = Learning Outside: purchase of lab materials that will allow students to explore local ecology, specifically through entomology

·Los Medanos College Foundation (Pittsburg) – Nature Preserve Improvement Project: erecting two greenhouses, providing fresh water to promote growth of California native fruits and plants, and creating learning tools for visitors

·Orchard Park School (Oakley) – Inquiry-Based Science:  materials and supplies to equip a science lab

·Lone Tree Elementary (Antioch) – Purchase of six new computers

The successful applicants designed projects that combined all of Dow’s criteria – education, science and the environment –, would reach a large number of residents and would have staying power; projects that, though the funding would be used in one year, would continue to have an impact for many years. CAP members were pleased with the variety of applications they reviewed and expressed their hope that the ideas won’t die just because they don’t get funded.

Members of the CAP Grants Committee ranked applications based on sustainability, overall impact, benefits to the community, emphasis, and the strength of their partnerships.

“We were surprised that so few non-profits and schools applied this year,” stated Darien Croce, a member of the Dow CAP who participated in the grants review process. “However, we were really pleased with the quality of applications.  And nearly all fit Dow’s criteria to a ‘t’ so that made it doubly hard to choose.  In fact, we appealed to Dow to allow us to increase the amount of grants just so we could fund some really worthy projects – and we’re grateful they complied.  These six projects will have a far-reaching impact in our community.”

About Dow

Dow is a diversified chemical company that combines the power of science and technology with the “Human Element” to constantly improve what is essential to human progress. The Company delivers a broad range of products and services to customers in approximately 160 countries, connecting chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help provide everything from fresh water, food and pharmaceuticals to paints, packaging and personal care products. In 2008, Dow had annual sales of $57.5 billion and employed approximately 46,000 people worldwide. The Company has 150 manufacturing sites in 35 countries and produces approximately 3,300 products. On April 1, 2009, Dow acquired Rohm and Haas Company, a global specialty materials company with sales of $10 billion in 2008, 98 manufacturing sites in 30 countries and approximately 15,000 employees worldwide. References to “Dow” or the “Company” mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.

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

About the Dow CAP

The Dow Community Advisory Panel (CAP) is comprised of 14 members of the East Contra Costa community who serve to advise Dow on issues affecting both the community and Dow’s operations in the community.

Yahtze

HA.R.P. – the Homeless Animals Rescue Program – continues to need financial help and can use more foster families and volunteers. I have a dog that really needs a home. I have attached a pcture of Yahtze. He is a Basenji mix, but larger, at 50 pounds. Yahtze is affectionate, energetic and responds well to instruction given by a strong pack leader (needs an owner who is commanding in his attitude). Basenji’s have a soft yodel bark but they are very protective. Yahtze would make a good dog for someone who wants an only dog who is very loyal.

Update: Max, Manny, and Maddie, featured in the August issue of the Antioch Herald, were adopted into wonderful homes. They get along with all the family members and other dogs. Manny and Maddie went to different homes, but they play and get along with the dogs in each of their families and have adjusted very well to their new circumstances.

For more information visit www.harp-rescue.org.

By James Ott

A local church made an unsuccessful, last minute attempt to overturn the city’s initial decision to deny them the ability to close off a street for their annual community carnival this Halloween.

At Tuesday’s council meeting, Grace Bible Fellowship of Antioch asked the council members to overturn the city engineer’s decision to deny the church a permit to close a section of Sunset Drive for their “Holy Eve Community Carnival.”

In the end, the city decided that there were too many issues with staging the large event at the suggested location and not enough time to resolve them so the street closure was denied.

The vote was split down the middle with council members Wade Harper and Mary Rocha for and Gary Agopian and Mayor Jim Davis against while Councilman Brian Kalinowski was absent.

Council said that the sheer size of the event and the late pursuit of permission to close the street brought on issues of public safety and potential backlash from neighboring businesses.

Last year the church said they had about 20,000 people when it was staged at the Antioch mall. In previous years people have apparently come from as far as Fairfield, Fremont, Vacaville and Pinole to attend the carnival.

The event was so big last year that the local Starbucks allegedly took in “10’s of thousands of dollars” in sales, something a church representative at the meeting was told was a better sales day than Black Friday.

According to the church’s website, the fair has been held since 2003 and it is such a success because it provides a safe, fun atmosphere for families “on a night that is typically synonymous with heinous pranks and random acts of violence particularly against those who are socially vulnerable.”

The church said they are holding the event at their own church and not a larger venue such as the mall or the Antioch Fairgrounds as in previous years because they have received far less funding from local businesses than they have in years past. As a result they had to scale back this year’s carnival by advertising less and so are expecting less people to attend.

The church said they have written permission from each business within the street closure area. Those businesses apparently gave permission to use their parking spaces for any overflow parking the event might generate.

One of the many issues that surfaced during the council meeting however, was that even businesses outside the planned closure section would likely still be affected by the large amount of vehicles and pedestrians that would potentially block customers.

That’s a problem, Councilman Agopian said, because the issues was an emergency agenda item and so those potentially affected businesses have not had time to come to a city council meeting and give their opinion to city council.

“The reason we have items agendized is so that the other interested parties can come and speak. We have a duty and an obligation to everybody in this city and everybody on this street to do the right thing, otherwise it’s just not good process.” said Councilmember Gary Agopian.

Public safety was also a big concern, especially from the Antioch police who said they did not support the closure of the street.

“The closure of that area is not conducive to public safety,” said Antioch Police Captain McConnell. The captain said that because of Highway 4 construction there is increased traffic on Sunset including heavy trucks. And although the church said they have about 30 people for security and traffic re-direction – some of whom are off duty police officers from neighboring cities – McConnell said that having untrained civilians working traffic would expose the city to “a tremendous amount of liability.”

“We really want to support this because it’s a great event,” said Mayor Jim Davis. But in the end the council just barely missed approving the street closure permit. The vote was split 2 to 2 and so no action could be taken to approve it.

The council however, voted unanimously to allow the event to take place at the new boat launch in downtown pending approval of an administrative use permit. They also agreed to waive any fees for that facility’s use up to $500.

According to the event announcement on the church’s website, the Holy Eve Community Carnival will be held in the church’s parking lot on Sunset Drive.

The Antioch Police Department is excited to announce the 40^th 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 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 40^th Neighborhood Cleanup event will occur on Saturday, November 3rd, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Volunteers should report to the Mountaire Park located at 2600 Sunset Lane. 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 (VIP) 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!

Join Cornerstone Christian Center for their annual Hallelujah Night ,Wednesday, October 31 from 5:30-7:30. Carnival games, jumpers, trunk or treat and lots of candy. Cornerstone Christian Center is located at 1745 E. 18^th Street in Antioch. For more information visit www.cornerstonechristian.net.