Also First Saturday – Community Clean Up Day on February 5th

By Donna Wilson

Take Back Antioch (TBA) is holding its first “Quality of Community” meeting on Friday, February 4th at 7pm in the Antioch Police Department’s Community room located at 300 “L” Street.

We invite you to join us in this forum style community feedback meeting. Members of our leadership team will lead the meeting and discuss many of the topics that have already been addressed on our Facebook page.

Please join us in coming up with lasting solutions that will lead to positive change in our city!

To learn more about Take Back Antioch, you can visit the fan page on FB. As of this morning, there are 1,597 supporters. For those who are not FB fans you can also check out the main website at the www.TakeBackAntioch.com or just click on the ad on the left side of this page.

Take Back Antioch was created to promote SOLUTIONS to the growing problems of our community, and it cannot exist unless we support each other for the common goal(s). Please help be a part of the solution and help get involved.

Don’t forget that there is also a community clean up – AKA First Saturday Clean Up – scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 5th from 9-11 am at Meadow Creek Park on Vista Grande (behind Carmen Dragon Elementary School).

We have bags, gloves and supplies so just bring your friends, neighbors, family!

The Deer Valley High School Football program is holding a Crab Feed and Auction on February 12 at 6 pm at the Veterans Hall in downtown Antioch. The Deer Valley High School Football program is looking to raise money to offset budget cuts to the program.

Tickets are just $40 and include all you can eat crab, pasta, salad and bread.  Along with dinner, there will a live and silent auction, and various raffle items as well!  A good mix of sports memorabilia, celebrity collectibles and gracious donations from many of our local businesses!  Something for everyone!  There will also be some authentic Deer Valley Football items for purchase!.

Tickets are available by contacting Coach Rich Woods at Deer Valley High School (925) 756-6705

The Eagles tribute band Hotel California performs at Antioch's El Campanil Theatre on Friday night, January 21.

By Allen Payton, Publisher

A nice crowd enjoyed the songs of the grammy-award winning rock band, the Eagles, as the tribute band “Hotel California” performed at Antioch’s historic El Campanil Theatre, in downtown Rivertown, last Friday night, January 21, 2011.

The band played the Eagles’ chart-topping songs including Desperado, Take It Easy, Tequila Sunrise, Already Gone, One of These Nights, Lyin’ Eyes, Life In The Fast Lane and Take It To The Limit, among others during the two-and-a-half hour show.

The band members hit all the high notes and played all the familiar guitar rifts, and drum beats, pleasing the original band’s fans in attendance. They finished their final set with the song for which they’re named, “Hotel California,” before returning to the stage with a three-song encore.

The El Campanil Theatre hosts concerts, comedy shows, classic movies, symphony, ballet, live theater as well as presentations by local groups, throughout the year. To learn more or purchase tickets for upcoming events, visit www.elcampaniltheatre.com or call (925) 757-9500 or simply click on their ad at the top of our home page.

Hotel California playing the song "Hotel California"

By Allen Payton, Publisher

The new, grass-roots organization, known as “Take Back Antioch” formed under the leadership of Antioch resident Brittney Gougeon is now seeking formal, non-profit status and needs your help.

They’re raising $850 to pay the registration costs.  According to a post on Facebook, today, they raised 13% of that in just one evening, for a total of $119.

To learn more about the group visit their website at www.TakeBackAntioch.com. If you’d like to contribute to the effort, simply click on the “Chip In” button in the “Non-Profit Status (501c3)” box on the lower right side of the page.

In addition, supporters can purchase “Take Back Antioch” shirts in either black or red, by clicking on the “Store” button at the top of the page.

For more information, contact Gougeon at info@takebackantioch.com.

Antioch Rotary President Darien Croce, James Shen, Gloria Martin, Chinese Consul General Gao, Antioch Mayor Jim Davis, Mrs. Gao, Allen Payton and Zhou Ming gather at the San Francisco Consulate for a reception celebrating the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Rabbit, on Wednesday, January 19, 2011.

Sister City Relationship Efforts Continue

By Allen Payton, Publisher

Antioch Mayor Jim Davis and members of the Antioch Rotary Club were invited by Chinese Consul General Gao Zhansheng to join him at a reception in San Francisco, celebrating the Chinese New Year, last Wednesday evening, January 19, 2011. It was the same night Chinese President Hu Jintao was the guest of honor at a state dinner with President Obama in Washington, D.C.

Davis and Rotary President Darien Croce, Past President Allen Payton and members Gloria Martin, James Shen and Zhou Ming enjoyed seeing General Gao and meeting his wife. They were then treated to a Chinese buffet dinner, following speeches by Gao and other dignitaries, including Davis, State Senator Leland Yee and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.

This was the second time the group met with Gao. He was a guest speaker, last year, at a lunch meeting of the Antioch Rotary Club, arranged by Shen and Zhou. During the lunch, Davis and Gao discussed establishing a Sister City relationship.

Thanks to the efforts of Shen and Ming, a city near Shanghai, China has expressed interest in becoming a Sister City with Antioch. The Antioch City Council is expected to discuss sending a letter of interest during one of their meetings in February.

Chinese Consul General Gao gives his welcome speech.

Antioch Mayor Jim Davis adds his thoughts to the evening's event.

General Gao and Mayor Davis at Chinese New Year celebration reception in San Francisco.

Juan Chen-Olsen, Tom Lamothe, Kris Landry, Devi Lanphere, Allen Payton and Christine O'Brien gather for Devi's farewell party at Carpaccio Ristorante on Friday night, January 21.

By Allen Payton, Publisher

Many of Antioch’s business and community leaders gathered at Carpaccio Ristorante, Friday night, January 21, to say farewell to former Antioch Chamber of Commerce President & CEO, Devi Lanphere, at what she labeled an “Irish wake.”

Lanphere, who served in the position for seven years, was very involved in the community, including membership in the Antioch Rotary Club, serving as Chair of the Antioch Economic Development Commission and overseeing the Antioch Community Foundation, among other things.

Her position was eliminated in December, when the Chamber Board made the decision to cut back on expenses. Lanphere is relocating to Mountain View, California.

Devi Lanphere speaks with Jack and Donna Roddy at her farewell party.

The Antioch Police Department is excited to announce the 21^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 and the Public Works Department.

Collectively, “We,” everyone who works and lives in 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 21^st Neighborhood Cleanup event will occur on Saturday, February 5, 2011 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.  Volunteers should report to Meadow Creek Park located at 4707 Vista Grande Drive. Curb side parking should be plentiful. 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 are scheduled for the first Saturday of every month and the locations will be announced in advance.

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

Best of San Francisco Stand Up Comedy Competition

Friday, January 21, 2011

8:00 p.m.

El Campanil Theatre

In Historic Downtown Rivertown, Antioch

HEADLINING THIS NIGHT IS …

AUGGIE SMITH

WINNER OF THE 2010 SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL
STANDUP COMEDY COMPETITION
and
WINNER OF THE 2010 SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL
STANDUP COMEDY COMPETITION

To enter, simply submit a letter to the editor or subscribe to our website (if you haven’t already) by Wednesday, January 19, 2011. Then email your name and phone number(s) to info@antiochherald.com, and we’ll contact you if you’re the winner and get you the tickets. We’ll also announce the winner on our website.

Have fun! If you don’t win, you can still go to the show by clicking on the El Campanil Theatre ad on our Home Page and purchase tickets on their website.

Allen Payton, Publisher