Benjamin Cabal, a Deer Valley High School student who has been taking ROP Advanced Digital Photography, recently returned from Yosemite National Park and took these photos. He said that it’s an “incredible time of the year to go with the colors changing the leaves.”

This year’s theme is “United We Stand.” This is the third parade to honor Veterans Day, which will begin with pre-parade activities at 9:30 a.m.

The community will get to see up close a Vietnam Huey Helicopter as it lands near Second and E Streets. The helicopter will be available for viewing until it takes off at the start of the parade at 11 a.m. For more information on the Huey and the people who keep the helicopter flying visit www.hueyvets.com.

The parade route will travel along the water front on Second Street and end at Prospects High School with a short closing ceremony. The parade will feature four high school marching bands, the American Legion and VFW and as well as many boy scouts, military representatives and community members. For more information call Susan at 925-754-3714.

By Amy Claire

Nine restaurants enjoyed a stream of 270 visitors during the 2011 Pride of the Delta Restaurant Tour in downtown Antioch. Over the course of four hours on a Sunday afternoon, participants traveled throughout Old Town, enjoying samples at each stop on the tour.

The event, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Antioch, began ten years ago and has since become a tradition. One of the club’s larger annual activities, it brings smiles to participating diners and restaurant owners alike.

“The businesses get people that would never know they’re there,” said Martha Parsons, a member of the Kiwanis organization. Meanwhile, the people are “all having fun eating their way through the city.”

Six of the nine restaurants were tour veterans. Rick’s on Second, one of the new volunteer eateries, treated tour-takers to soft cookies, tuna and turkey avocado sandwiches, and zesty pasta salad. Big Kahuna Sandwich Shop offered roast beef sandwiches with cream of potato soup, chicken sausage gumbo, moist bread pudding and chocolate lava brownies. The third first-time participant, El Porton Azul, appealed to more adventurous diners by offering hot bowls of menudo.

Humphrey’s on the Delta dished up smoked salmon penne alfredo. Carpaccio Ristorante also served pasta — spaghetti, pesto penne, and fusilli marinara — in addition to salads and sandwiches. Some diners at Carpaccio also took advantage of the $5 margaritas.

Celia’s Mexican Restaurant provided tacos, burritos, and two varieties of enchilada, while options at Little Manuel’s included beef Chile Colorado, tortilla soup and a creamy flan. Starbucks provided samples of various dessert breads, lattes and Frappuccinos, and, of course, two blends of hot, steaming coffee. Many participants opted to end their tour at Skipolini’s Pizza with filling slices of barbecue chicken or pasta primavera pizza and drinks of soda or sangria.

The Kiwanis Club uses the restaurant tour as a fundraising event to help sponsor their various charitable activities. The club regularly donates to Relay for Life, the Antioch senior center, and scholarship funds at both Antioch High School and Deer Valley High School. Kay Power, the Kiwanis Club adviser to AHS, shared that the club has also started a recent campaign to eliminate neo-natal tetanus in third-world countries.

Recognizing each other by their yellow tickets, tour participants shared smiles and laughter, chatting about the various foods and joking about how full they felt as the event drew to a close. “This was really fun!” announced a first-time participant at her second-to-last restaurant. “I think it’s wonderful!” The sentiment was echoed by others leaving with happy smiles and full stomachs.

The Pride of the Delta Restaurant Tour occurs every fall in downtown Antioch. The spring Restaurant Tour takes place in April in Southeast Antioch. Tickets are $15 each, and participants who visit every restaurant on the tour may enter a drawing to win prizes.

Eagle Scout Jared Paget collects hundreds of children’s books for Sutter Delta Medical Center’s Emergency Department and Pediatric Unit—to distribute to more than 10-thousand children the hospital treats annually.

As part of his quest to seek his official Eagle Ranking, Jared held several local book drives, and reached out to many local business owners to donate money, so he could purchase books. He estimated the project took him approximate 110 volunteer hours. In all, Jared collected more than 800 books that range from picture books to intermediate reading books.

“I thought about my childhood, and when I was a little kid I had quite a few medical issues that required me to visit the hospital a lot,” says Jared. “I remembered being in my room or the waiting room, and having nothing to do but think about how sink I was. So I thought of how entertaining a book can be, and how it takes a long time to read some of them, and just thought that might be a great way to entertain a hospitalized child.”

Phyllis McClanahan, Sutter Delta’s emergency department nurse manger, couldn’t agree more with Jared. “Our ER can get very busy, and our staff is focused on treating patients of all ages,” says Phyllis. “Having a library of children books can help a child pass the time and serve as a distraction.”

Unlike adults, children can become uncertain about their surroundings in a hospital. Popular and fun reads like Good Night Mr. Moon, Ramona’s World, The Cat and Hat can help turn frowns into smiles during difficult times.

“Picking up a book and reading a fun story to a child that is hospitalized can be a real mood-changer,” says Pediatric Nurse Carol Vinzant. “Since they’re missing school because they in the hospital, giving children a book to read is an opportunity to keep children learning when they can’t attend school.”

While Jared turned in his completed his project that earned him his Eagle Ranking, he knows that his project will also have a lasting impacting on many children. Visit our social media press release to view pictures and learn more about Jared’s project.

Larry Wallace, one of California’s top law enforcement officials will be delivering the keynote speech at the Peace In The Streets Forum on Oct. 29 at Pittsburg High School.

Wallace, a resident of eastern Contra Costa County, was appointed in June by Attorney General Kamala Harris as the first African-American to be named director of the Division of Law Enforcement.

Wallace, a 25-year veteran of law enforcement, worked with Harris as the former San Francisco district attorney’s deputy chief of the bureau of investigations. He started his career with the Berkeley Police Department and spent a decade with the San Francisco Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement.

Wallace, who grew up in Oakland, has day-to-day oversight of the department’s $238 million budget, 437 special agents, 281 criminalists, and 693 non-sworn personnel.

“We have to be creative and innovative and think outside of the box,” said Wallace, “it’s very important to collaborate with other entities to make sure that you’re getting the work done.”

Supervisor Federal Glover and the East County Gang Task Force sponsor the Peace In The Streets Forum. The goal of the forum is to make the community more aware of the resources and strategies available to counter the perception of rising violence and criminality in East County.

Police suspect gunmen were targeting a guest when they shot up a 3-year-old’s birthday party recently in Pittsburg wounding four victims.

“Shootings and stabbings are occurring much too often,” said Glover. “The situation has gotten out of hand. It is to the point where a 3-year-old child can’t have a birthday party in peace. It is time to act! It is time to be part of the solution. It is time we stop the violence.”

The Peace in the Streets Forum starts at 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Oct. 29 at Pittsburg High School. For more information, call 925-427-8138

150 people participated in the annual Our Lady of Fatima Prayer Crusade held at Williamson Park in Antioch on October 14th. The vigil coincided with some 3,000 prayer events held that day in parks and plazas throughout America. The event was organized by Mike and Evelyn Isidro.
(Photo by Doris Radovan).

By Ray Faulkenberry

When I was a kid I can’t say that I was a big fan of museums. They seemed boring as I looked at paintings, or sculptures – things I wasn’t very interested in at the time.

A few months back my wife, Linda, displayed one of her paintings at the Antioch Historical Museum located at 1500 W. Fourth Street in downtown. I remember turning into the building and saying, “I’ve been around Antioch since 1977 and I don’t know that I’ve ever seen this.” Granted, the location is where Fourth Street bends around and heads downtown (depending on which way you’re coming), and I guess I just paid attention to the turn and didn’t bother to catch the historical building with the beautiful lawn on the corner.

When we went in to pick up her painting, I went inside and quickly was taken aback by the layout of the place. It had rooms that were labeled things like “Library,” “Bride’s Room,” “Theatre,” “Family Room,” “Child’s Room,” “Saloon,” “City Hall” and “Delta Room.” We only had a few minutes as they were closing, so I quickly sped through the rooms, fascinated by the history.

Linda was talking with someone about her painting, and so I wandered downstairs and got your typical guy’s dream: A Sports Hall of Fame. I only had about five minutes and so I could only briefly peruse the exhibits. But as they ushered us out, I was literally blown away by what I had found right here in Antioch.

Fast forward and when asked to write an article about the Antioch Historical Museum by the paper, I jumped on it. I called and left a message about what I wanted to do, and shortly thereafter got a return call from a gentleman named Bob Martin. Bob, an enthusiastic soul, took me on a lengthy tour of the facility. On this go-round, however, I not only got to take the time to look closely at what amazing facts and artifacts were in the museum, I also got a first-hand tour by someone who not only loved the museum, but loved Antioch as well!

There were so many things to do and see here that I knew I could spend all day in the museum and still not see it all. What was also appealing was this wasn’t just any other museum – it was OUR museum, Antioch’s! This is the history of the town that we live in and let me tell you, we have a rich, wild history.

Where else can you get to look at AND PLAY WITH an authentic telephone operator’s switchboard! This was the kind of switchboard where they take one plug and hooked it into another and each person’s number was only three digits! The “City Hall” room has records, ledgers, and documents about industry and business over the last hundred years or so. You can pull these huge old books down and actually look at the facts and figures contained within!

They have a small theatre in which some of the seats, carpet, and memorabilia from our very own Campanil Theatre create this intimate little setting. It seats thirty people and you can see and touch the actual OLD projector that showed the film.

I had only planned to be there for a half an hour or so but after two hours I was still thrilled with the history of Antioch and how I could get up close and personal with these incredible artifacts.

However, being the jock that I am, I was excited to once again go downstairs and look at the Sports Legend Hall of Fame. This hall of fame can stand up to anybody’s in the state. It is an incredible tribute to the athletes that have come through Antioch in its rich history. There is a section for Deer Valley as well as Antioch High School. There are awards, pictures and memorabilia of people who have gone on to play professional sports. Gino Marchetti, an NFL Hall of Famer, went to Antioch High School along with many other great athletes from various sports!

I loved the replica barber shop that sits in one corner of the Hall of Fame. It is totally authentic and the type of barber shop that most adult men (granted, over 50!) grew up in. This is often where the men went to not only get their hair cut, but to also hang out and talk sports with their friends. Television monitors with incredible images bring a modern touch to the Hall of Fame and is truly deserving of being among the best in the state.

I could go on and on about what is in the museum MEMORABILIA-WISE. However, what is of equal value are the truly incredibly living souls that donate their time to act as docents to the museum. Not only was Bob an amazing host, in addition he introduced me to Liz Rimbault whose nephew I went to school with and played ball with at, dare I say, a rival high school called Clayton Valley. (Please don’t boo – I found my way to the correct side of the hill!)

Anyway, Liz is another soul who is full of information, facts and, what I liked best, stories! Liz introduced me to Laura Jacques, another sweet soul who, when it comes to setting up displays, is the Michelangelo of memorabilia arrangement. These souls not only are wonderfully intelligent and entertaining people – they care.

They cared enough to write a grant, so that when the school district ran out of money to transport the kids by bus to come to the museum, they could still provide transportation so that all the kids in third grade in Antioch can come and witness this amazing museum. That’s the kind of people associated with the museum.

It is at this point that I have a few points here I want to make.

• In a time when we are racing around in our lives, on computers, going to work, raising families, and staying very busy, now is the time to also reflect on where we as a community have come from. Community is so very important and if we don’t as individuals practice it, we will continue to fragment ourselves away into our own little world and the sense of community will become extinct.

• Go to the museum in the town that you live in. It is open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

• Make sure you have one of the amazing souls who are full of stories, insights, and tidbits of information take you on a tour as they can tell you so much more than the fascinating things you may see and find on your own.

• Did I mention that it is FREE? Their brochure says that the price of admission is merely your curiosity.

The last thing that I want to say is that I find that as I get older I want to stop and recognize where my life has gone and what stages I have gone through. All of us, no matter what era we live in, go through similar stages. We experience school, our friends, toys, life, marriage, family, career, and the technology of our time. Technology changes but the stages we all go through don’t.

Come and check out what our Antioch kin experienced in their era and celebrate being a part of this community – our community. I’m still not a big fan of typical museums. However, this is not a typical museum run by typical people.

Ray Faulkenberry, Ph.D. is a business analyst, consultant, author, coach, and entrepreneur. Log onto his website through 2011 and receive his books on success, leadership, and transformation for free. He can be reached at www.rayfaulkenberry.com or rayfaulkenberry@comcast.net.

An inspiring twist on a school fundraiser actually gives back to the community too!

What if you could have your beautiful Christmas Tree and make a local needy family’s holiday more bright too? Well, the Parent Network at Antioch Charter Academy II (ACAII) has morphed their Annual Christmas Tree and Wreath Fundraiser into just that idea for a service project.

ACAII is asking Christmas Tree purchasers to pre-order a tree not only for their own homes, but also to donate a Christmas Tree to a needy local family whose holiday budget may not be able to include one this year.

Needy local families are identified through Contra Costa Human Services. Donated trees are personally delivered, (lights, tinsel & decorations included), to these families by ACAII Christmas Tree Volunteers the weekend of December 3rd & 4th – directly from ACAII’s Christmas Tree lot located at 3325 Hacienda Way in Antioch. Christmas Tree pricing starts at just $25 for a 3-4ft Noble Fir and there are 4 types of trees and many sizes to choose from.

“I’ve done a lot of research on Christmas Tree pricing recently,” announced Tamara Mays-ACAII Fundraising Chair, “and our pre-sale prices are definitely less than the local for-profit lots!”

The fundraiser/service project is taking Christmas Tree pre-orders from October 17th-November 17th, with ACAII’s Christmas Tree Volunteers planning to work booths at a local holiday boutique on November 12th, and several area flea markets on the weekends. ACAII Christmas Tree Volunteers are available to give presentations at local churches, businesses and service organizations regarding this project.

Contact Tamara Mays for information, 925.727.7348.

ACAII is a progressive, tuition-free public K-8 charter school designed specifically to produce lifelong learners by nurturing and guiding them in a natural learning environment. We are operated by The Learner-Centered School, Inc., a non-profit, public benefit corporation, so Christmas Tree donations are tax-exempt.