Violent crime has taken a downturn this year according to statistics gathered from Antioch and Pittsburg police departments. At the same time, violent incidents among and by young people appear to be rising based on reports in the media and from school districts.

• Recently, two men shot a young man dead in Antioch in the Sycamore neighborhood. The men are still at large.
• A young man was shot while sitting in his car in Oakley. Police suspect it is gang-related.
• Two young men who are connected to a gang were arrested for shooting a man on an Antioch street.
• A member of an Aryan gang fatally stabbed a father in Bay Point.

“While the number of total violent crimes may have gone down, media reports indicate that gangs are involved in a greater percentage of the crimes committed in East County,” said Contra Costa Supervisor Federal Glover.

Criminal violence in East County has attracted the attention of one of the top law enforcement officials in the state. Larry Wallace, director of the Division of Law Enforcement in the Attorney General’s office, will be the keynote speaker at a local anti-violence and anti-gang forum, Peace in the Streets.

“Being smart on crime, that’s a part of collaborating and working with local entities and other forms of law enforcement, other groups within the community … not just a lock-­’em-­and-­throw-­away-­the-­key approach,” said Wallace, who has been in law enforcement for 28 years.

While East County gang-related incidents pale in comparison to other parts of the Bay Area, Glover and the East County Gang Task Force want to make sure that it doesn’t get any worse.

Glover and the task force are sponsoring the Peace In The Streets Forum this Oct. 29, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Pittsburg High School. Also featured during the forum will be panels composed of the county and city law enforcement agencies as well as members of the school districts and local community-based organizations who deal with at-risk youth. The forum is open to the public.

Especially urged to attend are parents who want to prevent their kids from joining gangs, educators who want to learn the latest trends in local gangs and youth workers of the nonprofit agencies that offer services to parents and youth.

The forum caps a week of community events against violence. These include:

• Prayer Walk sponsored by New Birth Church in Pittsburg on Oct. 22. Corporate Prayer starts at 6:30 a.m. and the march will begin around 7:30 a.m. The route will follow the DeAnza Trail to Crestview Ave., the site of a recent shooting. For more info, call 925- 439-8989.

• Stop The Violence March & Festival For Peace sponsored by Do The Word Ministries on Oct. 22 at 10:30 a.m. Assembly starts at 10:30 a.m. at East 18 and A streets in Antioch to Contra Loma Park where the Peace Festival will be located. For more info, call 925-978- 4839.

• Town Hall by New Birth Church in Pittsburg, Oct. 24, 7 p.m.- 9 p.m. There will be a panel on safe communities featuring panelists from law enforcement, education and Supervisor Glover. For more info, call 925-439-8989.

Based on information shared by the gang task force, gangs are no longer just an urban problem, says Ed Diokno, who coordinates the task force for Glover. They are actively recruiting vulnerable young people in the suburbs. They use areas like East County as places to hide when the law clamps down on their activities in places like Oakland, San Francisco or Richmond.

“Parents and educators need to know the signs that their children might be at risk of being lured by the violent gang lifestyle,” said Glover. “None of us can afford to be bystanders.” “The good thing to know is, we are not alone. There are resources and help available. There are
people already working to stop the violence.

“We can reclaim the streets if we act as a community,” says Glover. “Hopefully, this forum and the events leading up to it will give the community the knowledge and resources to fight the street violence and gangs.”

Pre-register for the Peace In The Streets Forum at www.cccounty.us/supervisorglover or call 925-427-8138. Registration will also be accepted at the door. All the marches and the forum are free and open to the public.

Come join Antioch Police Chief Allan Cantando on Saturday, October 22nd from 9:00-11:00 A.M. in a casual setting to discuss public safety issues, crime statistics, etc. You will also receive information about Disaster Emergency Preparedness, which will be presented by Lonnie Karste of Karste Consulting, Inc. Open communication about community issues is encouraged.

The location for this casual “Coffee with the Cops” workshop will be held in the Antioch Police Department Community Room located at 300 L Street. Members of the Antioch Crime Prevention Commission will be in attendance, and make themselves available to answer questions with a focus on enhancing Neighborhood Watch programs for Antioch residents.

The “Coffee with the Cops” concept is a pilot program implemented by the Antioch Police Department in an effort to improve communication between the Police Department and the citizens they serve. These meetings will consist of a “one-on-one” type format with a member of the police command staff and members of the community. The format of these meetings has been designed to be informative.

The Antioch Police Department is dedicated to promoting the quality of life in Antioch in partnership with our community, by proactively reducing crime with integrity and commitment to excellence.

After publishing five novels over a span of 15 years, local author Alfred J. Garrotto thought he had run out of stories. Not so. On July 26, 2010, he woke up with a new plot and set of characters playing in his head.

“It was all there, beginning, middle and end,” the author said. It took a year for him to write and edit the book, meticulously grinding through nine full revisions. “The book grew in detail and depth, but basically the original story found its way onto the printed page.” On September 1, The Saint of Florenville: A Love Story was released in both print and ebook formats.

Set in modern-day Belgium, this tragic yet uplifting story begins when two good friends, an American priest and a Belgian nun, are sightseeing in picturesque Bruges. They are about to part, when a local man who has befriended them drugs and kidnaps them. What follows is a tale of loss and suffering, faith and the struggle to survive. Thrown together under the worst possible conditions, Fr. Tom Jensen and Sr. Marie-Therese form a bond that transcends the demands of their religious vows. In the end, only one of the pair survives, but this is a plot full of unexpected twists and turns, dark secrets and surprises.

The author has resided in Contra Costa County for 40 years and has lived in the Antioch-Pittsburg area since 2005. In addition to writing fiction, he reviews books for a national periodical and edits manuscripts for other authors. He served two terms as president of the Mt. Diablo Branch of the historic California Writers Club. The statewide organization was founded in 1909 by the great Jack London and a group of his writing buddies.

Additional information about Alfred J. Garrotto and The Saint of Florenville: A Love Story can be found at http://saintofflorenville.wordpress.com.

You are invited to a great event. There are several awesome improvements going on in the City of Antioch. The Antioch Chamber of Commerce has invited our city leaders to come and express some of the positive direction that is happening in Antioch, at a very special event appropriately titled – A Celebration of Antioch.

At this event our city leaders will come together to share the good news about Antioch with you. The speakers at the Celebration of Antioch include:
Antioch Mayor James Davis, Antioch Chief of Police Alan Cantando, Superintendent of Antioch Unified School District Dr. Donald Gill and Antioch City Manager Jim Jakel.

Join us for networking, food, conversation and information as our city leaders share the exciting positive things that are happening in Antioch.

Where: Humphrey’s On The Delta, 1 Marina Plaza
When: Monday October 24, 2011 from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM PDT

RSVP for this event is required in order to attend! Your ticket for this event includes A buffet lunch. Space is limited and filling up fast so please RSVP today to reserve your spot. Antioch Chamber of Commerce, 101 H Street Unit #4, Antioch Ca, 94509. 925-757-1800. www.antiochchamber.com

The Delta Science Center is looking for local photographers who would like to have their Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta pictures published in the Delta Science Center annual Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Educational Resource Calendar. This calendar features information on the Delta ecology that will be used as educational information for fifth graders throughout Contra Costa County and other communities across the Delta region.

Each year the Delta Science Center creates a calendar that is donated to local schools with information that will help students understand the importance of the Delta’s ecology to the state of California. In 2012 the calendar will be donated to the school with an accompanying DVD with classroom assignments and science experiments that will help teachers in lesson plans when learning about the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

The Delta Science Center is looking for photos that reflect the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecology including pictures that reflect waterfowl, native fish, native plants and invasive plants. Other photo ideas include Delta farmland, Delta Bridges and alternative energy on the Delta.

The Delta Science Center reserves the right to refuse any photo sent to the committee.

Photos submitted will be chosen for use in either the annual calendar or within the DVD. Deadline for photo submissions, is Oct. 21, 2011. Contact the Delta Science Center through email at info@deltasciencecenter.org.

Seen September 29th at the downtown Antioch Library grand opening of the Gateway renovations, which includes Laptop Lane, are Gateway Committee members Becky Nielson, Chief Librarian; Walter Ruehlig, Antioch School Board; Gary Agopian, City Council; and Lonnie Karste, Prewett Community Center Project Manager.
(Photo courtesy of Greg Enholm)