The shops in Antioch’s historic, downtown Rivertown, will be holding the third of three Saturday events during the holiday season, with their Customer Appreciation Day, tomorrow, Saturday, December 12th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and everyone is invited.

Oak Ridge Winery from Lodi will be doing a wine tasting from 2-4 p.m. at 209 G Street.

The Antioch Singing Angels will begin caroling from 213 G St from 2-4 p.m. and are looking for volunteers to join.  Hot cocoa and cookies included.

Santa will be available at 213 G Street from 3-5 p.m. for free photos by Bev Knight that will be available online.

Be sure to vote for your favorite window decorations in the Holiday Store Window Décor Contest and be entered to win prizes from downtown shops.

So, shop for unique Christmas gifts, eat at downtown restaurants and enjoy the holiday spirit in Rivertown.

By Allen Payton

Derek “Tha Barber” Hernandez is not just another barber who enjoys cutting hair. He’s an artist and his talent won his fame and money, earlier this year on Cedric The Entertainers’ “Cedric’s Barber Battle” TV show.

Plying his trade at Ajja’s Barber Shop in Antioch’s historic downtown Rivertown, Hernandez is known for his portraits and design work.

“I’m only 22 but I’ve been cutting hair since I was 12,” he said.

He flew to Los Angeles where the competition occurred inside an actual barber shop.

Derek competed against a barber from Long Island, New York and another from El Paso, Texas. They were judged by three barbers to the stars.

The three contestants had to use soccer balls as the inspiration for the “buzzcut challenge” and had one hour to create their designs.

They had fun joking around and talking smack to each other as they cut their way through the show.

While Derek’s competitors buzzed the hexagonal shapes into the head of the men in their chairs, he went a different direction, buzzing in the design of a soccer player kicking a ball into pieces, instead.

He survived the first round, as one of his competitors got cut.

The second round was literally a head-to-head battle.This time they had to incorporate super heroes into their design. Derek was given Batman, while his opponent was given The Flash. More smack talk ensued, but it was Derek who came out on top.

Cedric referred to Derek as “DTB” and said “Your color work brought the Caped Crusader to life.”

The show aired on May 1st, and Hernandez won a championship belt, a package of hair supplies, a feature editorial on Barbershopconnect.com and $15,000. The editorial appeared on the website June 29th and can be viewed here. http://www.barbershopconnect.com/detail/054760/barber-of-the-week-derek-tha-barber/

Derek is married and lives in Antioch.

The show aired on May 1, 2015 and can be viewed on The CW website (www.cwtv.com) by clicking here.

Ajja’s is located at 508 W. Second Street in Antioch. To make an appointment to get a haircut that’s a work of art call Derek Tha Barber Hernandez at (925) 550-5602.

By Allen Payton

Opened in Antioch’s historic downtown Rivertown in June, 2015 by Debbie Blaisure and Toni Lincks, Oddly Unique is just as the name says.

It’s a collection of antiques, collectibles and vintage items that will meet anyone’s tastes.

They offer furniture, jewelry, glasswear, toys, home decor, clothing, LP’s (that’s vinyl records for you CD generation types), and dolls by Frank Bruno.

Oddly Unique also offers something for the guys in their mancave including fishing, golf and camping items.

Debbie and Toni, who both have full-time jobs, started out at an antique co-op in downtown Brentwood. Then after five years, had outgrown the space and decided to open their own store.

“This is our passion,” Debbie said. “We feel that we can do a lot for the community, our loyal customers and friends.”

The store had a variety of shoppers on a recent Saturday afternoon. One was Mary Frederickson, a long-time resident of Antioch.

“I’m so excited for this,” she said. “The activity is back downtown.”

The store, located at 209 G Street, is open Monday through Friday from 2 to 9 pm and weekends Noon to 6.

By H. Maria

Harry Bouchard is a well-read, well-spoken, educated man. He loves the outdoors. He is not very tall, maybe 5’7” with a mop of curly golden hair, blue eyes. The “tell” of his love of the outdoors, is his tanned face. Early mornings and late afternoons are when he is most often outside. He has to take care with the sun. Medicine he must take makes his love of the sun problematic. Harry is a poet; the day we met he made his farewell by reciting his “poem of the day”. He flashed a boyish smile after his recitation and said, “the poem is free to you, but only this one poem, should you want to hear more, I do charge.”

He cares for his brothers in the way the New Testament instructs us to do. His occupation is to research valuable resources for his community. He welcomes new arrivals by supplying them with whatever information and materials are needed to make their move as smooth as possible. Harry is an orderly man of laws and codes. He makes sure new arrivals understand what will be expected of them as citizens. His other community service is to gather garbage from his town and place it where it can be easily be pick up. He told me he has made an arrangement with the neighboring community for daily collection. He loves where he lives. He shares that sunrises and sunsets there fill him with joy. He loves his life.

He told me a little of his history and proudly claims direct-descent from French pirate, Hippolyte Bouchard. ADHD and an easy tendency to depression require he take medicine. He brought out two prescription bottles, from his pocket, and held them out. I’m familiar with these medicines as being the gold standard for his problems. He lowered his head to look at the medicines and wryly commented they don’t really work for him. Despite having education and training in a useful field he says he has great difficulty working for others. He is very happy he was able to create the job he has, and is proud he does it well. He calls what he does, Human Resources for his community. He was once married. That union failed because of his then untreated mental issues. A son was born of the marriage. As he spoke of the boy, his blue eyes gave away the fierce love he has for his child. Despite having to move often, he has been careful never to move too far away. He wants the boy to grow up knowing he has a father who loves him. An elderly mother lives close by in a partly assisted living arrangement. He visits her from time to time and enjoys her hospitality. He never stays more than a day as he feels that would be wrong. Her rent is subsidized because of age and infirmity.

He graciously gave me a tour of his home. On the grounds were stacks of neatly contained waste he had collected from his community. In a culvert at the back of his lot was another waste pile that preexisted his move to the area. He puts a little of that pile out every day, as well. He’s careful not to put out too much for collection at one time. The service is free and he doesn’t want to overwhelm. Our visit came to an end as I had a scheduled commitment. After the recitation of his poem he wave me away with a big smile and a “be careful out there”. Harry Bouchard is a good man, he is a valuable man.

Since I met Harry in August, he has moved. Antioch cleaned out the homeless encampment a couple of months ago. I drove by the day after the clean up. I recognized his belongings neatly stacked in a row at the back of the lot. Harry lived in a ravine on our riverfront in a big tent. He collected tents, pots, and bedding to give to homeless that moved into his area. He gave out a list of contacts for sources in Antioch giving out food, clothing and direction to local homeless shelters. He also gave out information on how to apply for financial and medical aid. When we first spoke he stood downwind from me. The strong scent was overwhelming but interesting in that it was not the typical smell of a long unwashed human. It recalled the scent of a bobcat my husband and I once found while hiking in Southern California’s coastal mountains. He read my reaction, apologized and stood upwind from me.

“I shower at my mother’s from time to time”, he said. She is on financial assist so I can’t take advantage of her shower very often”. I don’t know where Harry is. I only ever saw him that one day. Harry is a truthful man. I could tell he believed everything he told me. What he understood to be a garbage collection agreement with Antioch was actually the work of citizens, including myself who took away the garbage he placed every day by a tree above his encampment. When I think of him, my immediate thought is that he could be helped to re-enter society. We in society would celebrate that as a job well done. Would he?

By John Crowder

Over the last few months, Antioch residents supporting a proposal to convert the old Beede lumber yard property bordered by Second, Third and E Streets, a roughly two-acre parcel that has been vacant for years, into a permanent outdoor event center, have been speaking out at city council meetings, asking for a hearing on their proposal. The January 13 meeting of the Antioch City Council was no exception, as Joy Motts, one of the leaders in the effort, once again pleaded their case to council members.

In her statement, Motts lamented the lack of response from city staff to their repeated requests for a discussion of the idea. She began by outlining the now two-year history of requests for consideration put forward by her and other community members.

“Over two years ago Sean Wright, Kerry Motts, myself and a few Rivertown developers came together to discuss plans for an event center for downtown Antioch on the vacant Beede lumber site property at the corner of 2^nd and E Street,” she said. She went on to say that her group had been asked to postpone moving forward by the former city manager, Jim Jakel, in order that the “full attention of the council” could be given to the passage of Measure C during the November, 2013 election, and that they had agreed to do so.

Motts related that in early 2014, her group had been excited to meet with the new city manager, Steve Duran, but were disheartened to learn that, “Mr. Duran has had no interest in our proposal, or in listening to the community as to their wishes for downtown and went forward with a plan for multi-unit properties on the site we believe is the natural, and most economical, place to create a downtown community event center…just like every community around us has or is in the process of creating.”

She went on to say that the plan Duran had conceived was only slowed through, “numerous citizens’ requests.”

Motts said that, the past seven months had seen, “dozens of speakers at council meetings, over 1,000 signatures…asking for this topic to be [placed on the city council agenda] for discussion, and yet here we are, January 2015, and we have received absolutely no response from you or your staff.” Motts concluded by listing several of the groups in support of the event center proposal, including Rivertown residents, the Rivertown Preservation Society, and the Celebrate Antioch Foundation.

Following the meeting, Motts stated, “The community and Rivertown residents deserve a chance to discuss with the City the economic vitality and permanent legacy an event center would bring to Rivertown in contrast to the multi-unit development that is currently proposed.”

When Duran was asked about the delay in bringing the idea before the city council, he provided the following comments via email to Herald staff:

“The City Council approved a Request for Qualifications and Proposals (RFQ/P) process that is looking for residential development on that site based on extensive studies over the years and on my recommendation. Staff is currently carrying out that process, and has advised all along that it would take months before we would come back to the City Council with recommendations, as noted in my Monthly Report (See the City web site). Staff is in discussions with a number of qualified developers and will be for several more weeks.

The Beede site is zoned for residential development and has been since at least as far back as the last General Plan update in 2003. General Plans, of course, go through an extensive public process, including Environmental Impact Reports, and are approved by the Planning Commission and City Council. In addition, there have been a number of studies done by the City over the years, the most recent and promising of which is the 2006 ‘Arcadis’ plan, called ‘Antioch Rivertown Waterfront Development.’ Like all the preceding plans, the Beede site was designated to be predominantly residential.

The ideas that Ms. Motts has brought forth have been listened to and heard over the years and I have certainly done the same. Staff has reviewed the proposal her group presented and, when we have finished considering all the ideas and proposals we are exploring, staff will be making a complete report with our recommendations to the City Council.

It’s the staff’s job to analyze and make recommendations to the Council, aided as necessary with additional professional expertise. It would not be fair for any contender for the development of that site, or any City-owned site, to end run the process the City Council directed or to have the City Council consider one idea in isolation with no input from myself, our staff or our consultants that have extensive experience in real estate, redevelopment and downtown revitalization. All ideas and/or proposals, and the developers, need to be scrutinized by staff and consultants so that the Council can make a well informed decision.”

Duran also provided the following links for reference:

General Plan:

http://ci.antioch.ca.us/CityGov/CommDev/PlanningDivision/docs/Antioch_Adopted_General_Plan.pdf

Arcadis study:

http://ci.antioch.ca.us/CityGov/Finance/EconDev/Rivertown-Waterfront-Development.htm