By Susan Shiu, Director, Contra Costa County Office of Communications and Media

Martinez, CA – The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution at its Board meeting on March 10, 2020 for a proclamation of a state of emergency in the county to deal with the potential spread of novel coronavirus or COVID-19.

The proclamation states that “this Board found that due to the introduction of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons and property did exist in the County of Contra Costa commencing on or about March 3, 2020, and therefore the Board proclaimed the existence of a local emergency throughout this county. These conditions, by reason of their magnitude, are or are likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of this County, and will require the combined forces of a mutual aid region or regions to combat.”

The proclamation states that “this Board requests the Governor of the State of California to proclaim the County of Contra Costa to be in a state of emergency.”

Board Chair, Supervisor Candace Andersen, said, “The new coronavirus or COVID-19 presents our community with a challenge. While I urge you to be prepared, it is certainly not a time to panic. Following our health officials’ guidelines will help prevent the spread of disease. The County and Contra Costa Health Services will continue to offer guidance and resources. Meanwhile, there is much each and everyone one of us can do to keep our families and communities well. It will take all of us working together.”

The Supervisors emphasized that “everyone plays an important role” as they unanimously voted for a county emergency proclamation that will allow our health department to mobilize county resources, accelerate emergency planning, streamline staffing, coordinate agencies across the county, allow for future reimbursement by the state and federal governments, and raise awareness about how everyone can prepare in the event that COVID-19 begins to spread in our community.

“The County and its health department will continue to work with multiple agencies and jurisdictions to keep residents informed during this local emergency,” said County Administrator David J. Twa. “We will continue to take appropriate steps to protect the safety and wellbeing of our employees and the public. We encourage everyone to stay prepared.”

Visit cchealth.org/coronavirus for County Health officials’ latest guidance for the community and resources. For the latest updates, follow Contra Costa Health Services (CCHS) on Twitter @CoCoHealth and on CCHS Facebook. Information is also available at www.contracosta.ca.gov.

More events and activities might be cancelled; No cancellations of Deer Valley High’s activities.

Following is a post on the Antioch High School Facebook page on Monday, March 9, 2020:

“A message from Principal Louie Rocha:

‘In light of the potential spread of the Coronavirus 19, Antioch High School is postponing this Friday’s Powder Puff flag football game. It will be rescheduled later this month.

Additionally, the Grad Night Disneyland field trip has been cancelled. It will not be re-scheduled due to health and safety concerns for our graduates attending the theme park with the general public. Antioch High learned today that if Grad Night were to be cancelled at a future date, there would be no refunds available to those who purchased tickets. Class of 2020 students will be notified on the process for receiving a refund for tickets purchased later this week.

Cancellations of school events and activities are difficult. However, when it comes to the best interests of our students and school community, we choose to err on the side of caution. I will continue to update you on any other school activities that may be rescheduled or cancelled.’”

No such announcement has been made by Deer Valley High School, according to the school’s office staff, Tuesday morning.

UPDATE: Superintendent Stephanie Anello said she would be meeting with the district’s high school principals at 1:00 pm today “as the CDPH (California Department of Public Health) just sent out new guidance for ‘social distancing’. I expect a more formalized and coordinated effort of cancellations moving forward,” she said. That update will be posted later on this website.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

Screenshot from CCC Sheriff helicopter STAR 3 video of sideshow at Vasco and Marsh Creek Roads, Sunday night, March 7, 2020. Photo courtesy of Antioch Police.

Enforcement results in numerous arrests, 60 citations issued and 55 vehicles towed

By Sgt. Rick Smith, Antioch Police Field Services – Patrol

Information was developed that a large scale “sideshow” event was planned to occur in Eastern Contra Costa County on March 7, 2020. These events have been frequently occurring in the Bay Area and if not addressed by law enforcement they become out of control. These events are extremely dangerous due to the reckless driving that often leads to violence or subjects being severely injured while disrupting the lives of non-involved motorists and residents.

The Antioch Police Department reached out to surrounding law enforcement agencies for assistance in addressing this planned “sideshow” due to the anticipated size of the event and the various locations in Eastern Contra Costa County identified as possible locations of occurrence. The request was answered with officers being sent from all east county agencies to include the Brentwood Police Department, Oakley Police Department, Pittsburg Police Department, California Highway Patrol and Deputies from the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office. Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office Air Operations also assisted by having Helicopter STAR 3 overhead in support.

A large “sideshow” event occurred with participants performing dangerous and reckless driving maneuvers in the intersection of Marsh Creek Road and Vasco Road. This is a heavily travelled area of roadway and participants used their vehicles to stop traffic in all directions while performing dangerous driving maneuvers. CCSO STAR 3 was overhead and was able to help responding units stop and arrest numerous participants.

Several of these participants did manage to escape arrest by driving at and around arriving officers on roadway shoulders and into oncoming lanes of traffic. Again, putting numerous citizens and officers in harm’s way. These participants went to other nearby areas and continued to take over intersections by performing dangerous and reckless driving maneuvers.

Thanks to CCSO STAR 3 overhead, several officers were able to break-up this second “Sideshow” event that was occurring along Vineyards Parkway in the City of Brentwood. Several participants were again stopped and arrested with their vehicles being towed.

Cars on Vineyard Parkway in Brentwood.

CCSO STAR 3 helped identify a third “sideshow” location on Balfour Road at American Avenue in the City of Brentwood. Arriving Officers located and arrested several more drivers with their vehicles again being towed.

Cars at Balfour Road and American Avenue in Brentwood.

This continued with a fourth “sideshow” taking place in the City of Antioch at the intersection of A Street and East 18th Street. Officers arrived as the participants were dispersing. Officers were able to identify the involved drivers and vehicles. More vehicles were stopped at various locations with the drivers being arrested and their vehicles being towed.

During these events, a motorcycle was involved and fled from officers when an enforcement stop was attempted. With the assistance of CCSO STAR 3, officers were able to follow the motorcycle safely and later located the rider. The rider was taken into custody with his motorcycle being subsequently towed and stored.

The remaining group of drivers then made their way into the City of Concord. The Concord Police Department was aware of what was occurring in the eastern end of the county. They were able to disperse the remaining participants from their city. After this last incident, it appears the participants stopped for the night and no other incidents were reported.

Nearly 60 citations were issued. 50 of the citations were for infield arrests for reckless driving offenses directly related to “sideshow” activity. This resulted in 55 vehicles being towed and stored. There were three other arrests as a result of this enforcement for charges of driving under the influence, felony evading, and a warrant arrest for robbery.

This type of reckless driving has become a regular occurrence in the Bay Area. It is an extreme danger to those involved and even more of a danger for the un-involved citizens who unfortunately become victims of the illegal activity. Due to the officers pro-actively addressing this issue, several of the involved drivers will now be without their vehicles for an extended period and will also be facing possible fines from the Courts. Officers in Contra Costa County will continue to address these incidents with zero tolerance.

As a reminder to those who choose to show off their driving skills, public roadways are not the proper venues for this type of behavior. There are sanctioned events and locations throughout the state that allow this type of driving. Often rewarding drivers for their skills while providing a safe environment to all.

This preliminary information is made available by the Community Policing Division. Anyone with information is asked to call the Antioch Police Department non-emergency line at (925) 778-2441. You may also text-a-tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using the key word ANTIOCH.

Board of Supervisors to consider calling for state of emergency in the county at Tuesday meeting

Contra Costa Health Services (CCHS) confirmed five new cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in residents of the county.

Four are being treated at hospitals in Contra Costa. They had no travel history outside the U.S. or known contact with a confirmed case. The fifth patient, who had close contact with another person who previously tested positive for COVID-19, is isolating at home under the guidance of CCHS.

Coronavirus. CDC image.

As of Sunday morning, Contra Costa has nine confirmed cases of novel coronavirus. One patient who tested positive last week remains in a local hospital, while three other previously identified patients who tested positive are also isolating at home. CCHS will not release further details about the patients to protect their medical privacy, including the names of the hospitals where they are being treated.

“The coronavirus is here in our community. As we ramp up our testing, we expect to identify more cases. But there is still a lot we can do to slow down the spread and protect our most vulnerable,” said Dr. Ori Tzvieli, acting Contra Costa Health Officer.

Last week, CCHS released recommendations for people who are at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19. Practicing good public health hygiene remains the best way of avoiding any respiratory disease, including novel coronavirus:

• People who are sick should stay home from work or school until they are well
• Older adults and people with chronic conditions should avoid large gatherings, as they are at higher risk of becoming infected
• Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
• Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer when soap and water is not available
• People who are sick should cover their coughs and sneezes using a tissue or their elbow
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth with your unwashed hands
• Masks are for sick people. There is no evidence that wearing masks in public prevents healthy people from getting sick with novel coronavirus

Calls have been placed to Anna Roth, Director and Dr. Chris Farnitano, Health Officer for Contra Costa Health Services and Dr. Samir Shah, Chief Medical Officer for the Contra Costa Regional Medical Center seeking additional information. Dr. Shah was specifically asked in a voicemail when Contra Costa County will become more transparent and share the names of the hospitals where the patients are located as that doesn’t violate HIPAA law, according to other medical professionals.

“We have a presentation to the Board of Supervisors, tomorrow,” said Will Harper, Acting Communications Director for Contra Costa Public Health when reached for comment. “We’ve been asked to give an update with the latest guidance for the community. The board will consider declaring an emergency in the county.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) website, “the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a federal law that required the creation of national standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued the HIPAA Privacy Rule to implement the requirements of HIPAA.”

Furthermore, “A major goal of the Privacy Rule is to ensure that individuals’ health information is properly protected while allowing the flow of health information needed to provide and promote high quality health care and to protect the public’s health and well-being. The Privacy Rule strikes a balance that permits important uses of information while protecting the privacy of people who seek care and healing.”

However, according to the CDC, “the Privacy Rule permits use and disclosure of protected health information, without an individual’s authorization or permission, for 12 national priority purposes.” One of those is labeled, “Serious Threat to Health or Safety. Covered entities may disclose protected health information that they believe is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to a person or the public, when such disclosure is made to someone they believe can prevent or lessen the threat (including the target of the threat).”

The question is whether or not the HIPAA privacy rule prevents the release of the names of which hospitals patients are being treated so the public can decide whether or not to go to that hospital for treatment.

“We have not announced any hospitals to protect the patient privacy and the operations of the hospital,” said Scott Pauley, Public Information Officer for the CDC. “There’s a very thin line there. That’s policy level and the decisions made are by the hospitals and county health officials.”

Visit cchealth.org/coronavirus for local information about COVID-19.

Allen Payton contributed to this report. Please check back later for updates.

Election Results as of Friday, March 6, 2020 at 4:33 p.m. Source: CoCoVote.us.

By Allen Payton

As of the update posted Friday, March 6, 2020 at 4:33 p.m., the results of the election for Contra Costa County Supervisor in the District 5 race between incumbent Federal Glover and two challengers is still too close to call. District 5 includes portions of Antioch north of Hwy 4 and west of Hwy 160.

Glover, seeking his sixth term on the board, is just 0.3% away from winning the race outright. If not, in the November General Election he will face either County Assessor Gus Kramer, who has 25.82% of the vote and leading Martinez Planning Commissioner Sean Trambley with 24.48% of the vote, by just 516 votes.

However, there are approximately 40,000 ballots remaining to be counted in the county. According to the Contra Costa County Elections website:

Below are the estimated number of ballots that remain to be counted as of March 6

7,500  Vote by Mail

29,200  Provisional

800  Conditional Voter Registration

2,500  Other

40,000  Total Estimate

Before the latest update was provided, Trambley commented on Thursday, “We will see what happens. Although this wasn’t the outcome I expected, I’m proud of the campaign I ran.”

“Hard to say how many of those (the remaining ballots) are in District 5,” he added.

Antioch native Payton Burke, left, received her United States Army commission from Salus University president Dr. Michael Mittelman on Feb. 29, 2020, during a ceremony on the university campus in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. Photos by Mike Morsch/Salus University.

Payton Burke will complete her fourth-year rotation in audiology at Walter Reed Military Hospital in Bethesda, MD.

Elkins Park, PA – When Antioch, California native, 2011 Deer Valley High and 2016 Penn State grad, Payton Burke decided to go into the United States Army, it wasn’t a big surprise to her mother, Joanie Burke. Payton’s grandfather, Leonard Horn, was in the Army and stationed at Redstone Arsenal Army base in Huntsville, AL In fact, Payton’s mother was born at that Army base in Alabama.

The family generational pull toward the Army took another step in providing service to the country recently when Burke, ’21AUD received her commission to the Army from Salus University president Michael Mittelman, OD ‘80, MPH, MBA, FAAO, FACHE, at a ceremony attended by family, friends, faculty, administrators and an Army recruiter Feb. 29, 2020, on the University’s Elkins Park, PA campus.

“My gosh, it’s amazing. I’m emotional, excited and proud,” said Joanie Burke, who had flown in from Antioch, with Payton’s brother, Ethan Burke, the day before the ceremony honoring her daughter. “She called a few years back and said this was what she was thinking of doing and asked how I would feel about it. I was a little nervous at the beginning and I told her, this is your life. You’ve made the right decisions all along your journey so far and I was confident she would make the right decision now.”

Payton asked Dr. Mittelman, a retired Rear Admiral in the United States Navy, to administer the oath. Although it’s somewhat unusual for a Navy officer to commission an Army recruit, Dr. Mittelman was honored to oblige a Salus student.

“Payton has been a wonderful student leader. Everything that she’s touched has been successful. She’s mature, she’s intelligent and she really understands what serving in leadership is all about. That’s why I’m thrilled to be able to do this. The Army is really getting a winner here,” said Dr. Mittelman, who also provided a brief history lesson before the ceremony of the oath, its meaning and the subtle differences on what the oath means to each branch of the military.

James Caldwell, OD ‘89, FAAO, EdM, dean of Student Affairs and assistant professor at Salus, has worked with Burke in a number of capacities as a student leader and is not surprised that she’s going to serve the country.

“When she hit campus as an enrolled student here, she raised her hand, she was curious about opportunities for leadership, and she rose into those positions. She represents her profession of audiology in an outstanding way. But most importantly, she really embraces our ‘One Salus’ mindset. Everything she did as a student leader, not only took care of her fellow audiology students, but she was really interested in creating a broad Salus community,” said Dr. Caldwell, who attended the ceremony. “It’s not at all surprising now that she’s going to serve our country. In my mind, it just fits into who she is as an individual, as a person and soon, as a healthcare provider. We’re so proud of her.”

Those words are echoed by Radhika Aravamudhan, PhD, dean of the University’s Osborne College of Audiology (OCA), who also attended the ceremony to see one of her own students advance her career path.

“This is our second audiology student to go through this ceremony, so this is pretty exciting,” said Dr. Aravamudhan. “The discipline and core values (in the military) are something that they learn a lot about. “I’m confident that Payton will enjoy everything, learn a lot and go on from there.”

For her part, Burke said she’s ready for the next step. She’ll have a four-week officer’s training commitment in Oklahoma this summer after which she’ll complete her fourth-year rotation at Walter Reed Military Hospital in Bethesda, Md. After that, she’s committed for three years as a military audiologist wherever the Army decides to send her.

“I feel like I’m ready. This ceremony meant so much to me and warmed my heart. I was just so happy to see everybody that came here today to share this with me,” she said.

About Salus University

Salus University, founded as the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in 1919, today is a diversified, globally recognized professional academic center of learning that offers a wide range of degree programs in the professions of Optometry, Audiology, Physician Assistant, Public Health, Blindness and Low Vision Studies, Biomedicine, Occupational Therapy and Speech-Language Pathology. Salus operates four clinical facilities in Philadelphia and Montgomery counties that provide highly specialized vision, hearing and balance, and speech-language pathology services. The University has more than 1,200 students, and more than 14,000 alumni worldwide. For more information, please visit www.salus.edu. Salus is currently celebrating a century of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, its founding school. For more information about the legacy, please visit www.salus.edu/centennial.

Antioch Police Officers inspect the Camaro that crashed into parked cars and whose driver fled on foot in Antioch, Friday night, March 6, 2020. Photo by APD.

Stolen car out of Pittsburg, dog detains donut driver in Antioch

Antioch Police K9 Officer Tzak after helping apprehend one of the suspects, Friday night, March 6, 2020. Photo by APD.

By Antioch Police Department

Score two for the good hounds.

Last night (Friday, March 6, 2020) our good friends over at Pittsburg PD called ahead on the horn to tell us they were chasing a stolen vehicle into Antioch on West 10th Street. Our officers, whose sole duty is to protect our city, said “Heck yeah, we won’t tolerate that here!” As we were scrambling a team of our finest night watch officers to help-out, the suspect must’ve sensed we were coming, and decided to test out his cardio skills against Pittsburg PD before we could get there. He soon found out not only does Pittsburg employ a bunch of track star officers, but they also had their loyal canine companion along with them (AKA “Man’s Best Friend”).

While all this was going on over on H Street, one of our officers was patrolling the businesses near Contra Loma and Buchanan when he saw an old school Camaro driving around in circles with the rear plate folded up so nobody could see it. The officer flipped on the red and blues to figure out what was going on, but the driver didn’t wanna chat, and instead drove the wrong way down L Street in an attempt to get away. Our coppers are way too smart for that kinda nonsense, and instead of engaging in a dangerous chase on the wrong side of the road, used the Motorola to alert other officers of what was going on.

A wave of blue uniforms flooded the area and found the Camaro crashed against some parked cars on West 5th Street a block away from our headquarters. The driver decided he wasn’t gonna wait around, and obviously knew what was coming, so he opted to hop, skip, and jump over fences into our neighbors’ backyards.

Swing watch officers, who were about to head home, poured out of the police station and joined our night watch on a containment perimeter. Officer Shipilov and his loyal canine sidekick Tzak arrived at the scene and began sniffing around. While doing so, the suspect thought it would be a good idea to go onto the roof of one of our fine resident’s houses, which in turn announced his location, and helped us locate him. He decided he wasn’t gonna go down easy, and Tzak (pictured below sticking his tongue out at the cameraman shortly afterwards) helped bring an end to his night of recklessness. Both bad guys were united at the County Jail, where they got to tell everyone not to mess around in Antioch or Pittsburg!

Our officers receive ongoing training and have strict policies when it comes to chasing vehicles. Our first priority is your safety, and we always weigh the risks versus rewards of chasing, against whether we can catch ‘em another way. We are thankful no innocent people were hurt in these incidents and the bad guys went to jail. We also appreciate the assistance of our awesome residents, both on H Street and West 5th/6th, while we looked for both suspects.

If you see Tzak on the streets, can you give him a “Good boooooy?”

Screenshot from CBS13 TV news report of Garry Reynolds.

By Scott Alonso, Public Information Officer, Contra Costa County District Attorney

Martinez, Calif. – A Contra Costa County jury found defendant Garry Reynolds (39-years-old) guilty of four felonies – all counts of animal cruelty. Reynolds is the owner of a dog training company, NorCal K9. The jury found Reynolds was criminally negligent in the care of four animals under his company’s care. Additionally, the jury found Reynolds not guilty on three counts of animal cruelty. (See related CBS13 TV news report) (See videos of dog training on Garry Reynolds’ YouTube channel)

In 2018, at a house in Antioch rented by the defendant, Reynolds and his former co-defendant Devon Ashby were responsible for the care of various dogs. Unfortunately, these dogs were neglected and not cared for in a proper way. Ashby pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of animal cruelty and testified during the trial for the People.

Reynolds faces up to 10 years in state prison due to his prior strike offenses. Judge Patricia Scanlon will sentence Reynolds later this spring. Deputy District Attorney Arsh Singh prosecuted the case on behalf of the People. DDA Singh is assigned to the Felony Trial Team.

“Animal cruelty cases are heartbreaking as these animals are innocent and deserve excellent care. Garry Reynolds took advantage of his customers and his ownership style contributed to the maltreatment of these dogs and the horrible death of Gunner,” DDA Singh stated. “The defendant claims to be a premier dog trainer yet showed no remorse and did not accept responsibility for the dogs under his care. I want to thank the jury for the important verdict in this case and the message sent to any dog trainer in our community that our Office will not tolerate the mistreatment of animals.”

The City of Antioch started an investigation into the house where the dogs were located at 5200 Lone Tree Way. The investigation started as a code enforcement matter but progressed to a criminal investigation led by the Antioch Police Department due to a dog’s death. In June 2018, Antioch police officers showed up at the house and found unsuitable and dangerous living conditions that jeopardized the health of the dogs staying at the property. In total nine dogs were removed from the property.

The conditions at 5200 Lone Tree Way were unsuitable for any animal. Antioch officials testified at the trial and reviewed with the jury that rotten raw chicken meat was found in various dogs’ kennels, urine and feces were not picked up or disposed of in a sanitary manner, and the house’s ventilation system was not properly used. When officers arrived on June 25 to the property, the weather in Antioch was extremely warm and the ventilation system in the house was not being used. Dogs under the care of Reynolds were placed in small rooms or the kitchen in stacked kennels all close together. Further, there was an immense amount of trash and debris inside and outside the house.

The following dogs were associated with the jury’s guilty verdict:

• Gunner, Doberman (Count 5)
• Favor, Cane Corso (Count 6)
• Zeus, German Shepherd (Count 7)
• Rambo (Bo), Labro-Poodle (Count 8)

Case information: People v. Garry Reynolds, Docket Number 05-191200-5

Publisher’s Note: A photo posted with this report, earlier was not of Garry Reynolds. Apologies for the mistake.