Join the Antioch Chamber of Commerce for a ribbon cutting celebrating the Somersville Towne Center’s opening of their Farmers’ Market!

Sunday, May 13, 2012, 11 AM 

Somersville Towne Center is located at 2556 Somersville Road, Antioch

For more information call (925) 754-5230 or visit www.somersvilletownecenter.com.

There are currently two (2) vacancies on the Antioch Police Crime Prevention Commission.

The Commission consists of five members, plus a Crime Commissioner Coordinator. Commissioners are involved in Neighborhood Watch groups and programs.

• A commissioner must be a resident of Antioch and must not be a full-time police officer.

• Meetings are held the third Monday of the month at 7:00 P.M barring holidays at which time the meeting will be held the following Wednesday.

The filing deadline is 5 P.M., Thursday, May 17, 2012 For more information visit
www.ci.antioch.ca.us/CityGov/BoardsCommissions.htm or City Clerk’s Office at 779-7009.

Antioch will hold its annual Memorial Day observance at the Oak View Memorial Park, 2500 E. 18th Street, on Monday, May 28 at 11:00 a.m.

This year is also the bicentennial of the War of 1812. It was during that war that the battle of Fort McHenry inspired the song that would become our National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner.  For more information on the bicentennial, visit www.visit1812.com.

Details on Antioch’s Memorial Day observance to follow.

Speaker: Tim Forrester

Associate Superintendent Business and Operations, Antioch Unified School District

Join us for our Coffee with the Chamber networking and educational event featuring AUSD Associate Superintendent of Business and Operations – Tim Forerster.

Tim will be discussing Measure J, a $59.5 million dollar school bond which will allow the district to rebuild Antioch High School as well as cover the success of Measure C improvements and financing.

Details

Date: Tuesday May 8, 2012

Time: 8:30am – 10am

Location: Antioch Chamber Offices

101 H Street, Suite 4, Antioch

Brought to you by the Antioch Chamber of Commerce

So that’s why we see all those purple ribbons around town! Promotion for annual Relay for Life.

On April 29^th through May 6^th 2012, the towns of Antioch/Pittsburg/Brentwood will be awash in purple, thanks to efforts by volunteers from the American Cancer Society’s annual “Relay For Life,” a community campout against cancer. Throughout California, towns, schools, and businesses will “paint our town purple” to celebrate cancer survivorship and bring attention to the yearly events, which will be held on Saturday, June 23^rd at 10:00 am to Sunday, June 24^th at 10:00 am at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg, CA and Saturday, June 16^th at 9:00 am to Sunday, June 17^th at 9:00 am at Liberty High School in Brentwood, CA.

“We’re using the power of purple to bring good news to cancer survivors and mobilize the community,” said Michele of Antioch. “Paint Own Town Purple Day is a time to celebrate the lives of cancer survivors, and to have some fun with the color purple to bring attention to the American Cancer Society’s many programs and services in our community.”

The American Cancer Society invites everyone to join the fun, simply by logging onto the Web site www.paintourtownpurple.org to find ideas on how to “Paint Our Town Purple” at a school, town, college or workplace. The Web site encourages participants to spread hope in their community. Whether you are a home-owner, a restaurateur, or a retail business operator/owner, there are plenty of ideas for painting our towns purple from April 29^th through May 6^th 2012.

• Decorate your home or store windows with a purple display.

• Hold a Main Street contest for the Best Purple Window Display.

• Display a purple yard sign in your front yard.

• Decorate your front entrance, your fence, or your door with purple balloons.

• Paint your porch light purple or insert a purple bulb.

• Tie purple ribbons around trees in your neighborhood.

• Wear purple clothing.

• Turn your town landmarks purple.

• Decorate the exterior of your City Hall purple.

For information about how to form a team or become involved in Relay For Life is available by contacting Event Antioch/Pittsburg Chair Judy Dawson: judy_dawson@att.net, 925-787-9021 or Event Antioch/Pittsburg Co-Chair Michele Littlefield: mmm5864@comcast.net, 925-813-5274 or Event Brentwood Chair Lynn Gursky: rflbrentwood@gmail.com, 925-634-4913 or Event Brentwood Co-Chair Ron Yarolimek: ronyar@gmail.com 925-550-1182 or visit www.relayforlife.org 1-800-227-2345.

The Antioch Police Department is excited to announce the 34^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 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 34^th Neighborhood Cleanup event will occur on Saturday May 5^th, 2012, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Volunteers should report to the parking lot in front of Kimball Elementary located at 1310 August Way. 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!

Don’t delay – enter now!

Want to enter something in this year’s Contra Costa County Fair? The deadline has been extended, so there’s still time! The deadline for submitting paper entry forms is Friday, May 4, and the Fair Office will accept entries until 5 pm on that day. The on-line entry system will be available until midnight on Sunday, May 6.

There are no post entry fees, so simply visit the Fair Office in Antioch or log-on to the Fair’s website at www.ContraCostaFair.com to complete the entry process.

Join the thousands of Contra Costa County residents who enter exhibits in the Fair each year. There are hundreds of categories and specialty contests for adults and children. It’s fun and it’s easy to enter, so don’t delay – enter now!

Complete descriptions of all categories are available in the Fair’s Competition Handbook, which is available on the Fair’s website at www.ContraCostaFair.com.

The Fairgrounds is also accepting coloring contest forms and cook-out paper entries from now until May 18 at 5 pm.

This year’s Contra Costa County Fair is May 31 – June 3. For information, visit www.ContraCostaFair.com or call the Fair Office at (925) 757-4400.

Front (L-R) Death March survivors David U. Tejada, age 89, George E. Cawley, age 93 and Ramon B. Regalado, age 95 with back (L-R) Walter Ruehlig, Trustee, Antioch Unified School District, and Cynthia Ruehlig, Trustee, Contra Costa County Board of Education.

IN HONOR OF HEROES

The three month battle on the Bataan peninsula in the Philippines was the last bastion of resistance in the Pacific during WWII against the Imperial Japanese Army.

Cloaked in darkness, General Douglas MacArthur, his family and several USAFFE officers escaped in four PT boats from Corrigidor, Bataan for Australia where the General promised to the Filipinos, “I Shall Return”.

On April 9, 1942, 76,000 Filipino and American soldiers surrendered and were forced to walk 80 miles to a prison camp in Capas, Tarlac. An estimated 10,000 prisoners of war died from lack of food and water and from torture in the hands of their captors in what is now known as the “Bataan Death March”.

The Filipino-American Association of Pittsburg celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Fall of Bataan honoring the heroes who fought so bravely for our freedom.