Planned for the relocation of the Antioch Paintball Park so that land can be used for horse boarding and training facility

By Allen Payton

According to Scot Pearson, president of the Antioch Little League, they are going to lose one of their three fields on the county fairgounds property that they’ve been using since 1956. An announcement was sent out via email asking for supporters of the league to attend tonight’s meeting of the fair board, officially known as the 23rd District Agricultural Association Board of Directors. (See bottom of article.)

Pearson wrote letters to Assemblyman Jim Frazier and even to U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein asking for their assistance in keeping the third field in play.

In a letter to the fair board dated November 23, 2019, he wrote:

Members of the Board,

I am sending out this letter to make you all aware of the correspondence over this last week with County Fair Board Director Joe Brengle. On Friday, November 15, 2019, I received a phone call from Mr. Brengle requesting a meeting in his office to go over some changes that may apply to our 2020 field lease contract. The current contract expires on December 31, 2019. I agreed to meet with him in his office on Monday, November 18, 2019, at 2:00 pm.

I arrived at 1:55pm on Monday for the meeting as scheduled. Joe told me that there could be changes in the future lease agreement. He asked me about the area of our layout that Women’s Auxiliary Field and Scorebooth reside. He says he notices it isn’t used as much as the other 2 fields and if it was vital to our upcoming season. I was honest with him and said that we use it primarily for girls softball, but as of this moment, it doesn’t look like we will be fielding too many, if any at all, softball teams in 2020. He then informs me that the Fair Board is considering an offer from a catering truck company who wishes to set their catering truck fleet and kitchen on the property. The property they wish to use and renovate will displace Jeff’s paint ball gun facility and leave no place for his business. Would we be willing to “share” the area where WA field is located with the paint ball gun club? He then said that our rent was going to go up, but if we agree to share the area with Jeff, he thinks he can keep our rent price the same by only using the other 2 fields. I told him it may be doable, but that decision would have to be made by our Board of Directors after reviewing the written proposal from the Fair Board. He said, and I quote; “Not to worry. Nothing is set in stone yet. The Fair Board meets in two weeks and then he will know more.” I said that’s fine and to update me after their meeting.

So, you can understand how surprised I was to get a call yesterday afternoon ( Nov. 22 ) from Jeff, asking me if we could meet with him ASAP and walk the area to point out services such as water and electricity because the paintball gun club is moving there. I told him I had just met with Joe and nothing finalized. Jeff told me that he just left a meeting with Mr. Brengle 10

minutes before he called me, and that Joe told him he had no choice other than to move his business onto our Women’s Auxiliary Field site, which has been there in use since 1972. Jeff said he had no choice. I told Jeff we had not agreed to anything yet as far as conceding or sharing the WA area. I agreed to meet with Jeff at 11:00am on Monday, November 25, on Women’s Auxiliary field to further discuss this matter.

It seems to me that the County Fair Board is set on pushing out established community based youth organizations to try and make more money. This property was provided years back to serve as a gathering spot for groups and events put on by local organizations. It wasn’t set up as a source of income for Contra Costa County or anyone else. Antioch Little League (1957), Antioch

Speedway, 4H club and the Skating Rink are just a few of the organizations/businesses that have provided a safe place for fun and education for our young community members for decades. Where does it end?

I would ask my sitting board members or any concerned citizens to please attend Monday’s 11:00am meeting at Women’s Auxiliary field at the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds, or “Event Park” as it has been renamed. Please feel free to contact me directly at (925) 437-3551 with any questions or relative information regarding this letter.

Sincerely,

Scot Pearson

Contra Costa Event Park CEO Brengle Responds

Asked why this was happening, Joe Brengle, CEO of the Contra Costa Event Park (fairgrounds) said, “They are a tenant of ours. They are on a year to year lease. We are taking away one of their three fields which they have not been utilizing for redeveloping the property. We are moving the paintball park there and redeveloping that area into a horse boarding and training facility.”

Asked if the league was getting compensated, he said, “The Women’s Auxiliary didn’t donate that land. They donated money to improve it. That was 50 years ago.”

“The decision was already made by the board,” Brengle continued. “Antioch Little League has refused to sign the agreement for their yearly lease which would have started March 1st, until they have had the opportunity to speak to the board.”

Asked when the decision was made, he responded, “Back in November I met with the Antioch Little League president (Pearson) to let him know what would be happening. I’ve met with him three more times.”

The decision was made at the fair board’s meeting in December 2019. But neither Scot Pearson nor anyone else from the Antioch Little League attended the meeting.

“We’re not taking it away until the end of May at the end of their season,” Brengle explained. “They have some playoff games. The other two fields can accommodate those games.” New Fairgrounds-Antioch Little League lease 2020

When reached for comment, Pearson said, “I did (meet with Joe Brengle). I wrote a letter to (Assemblyman Jim) Frazier the very next day. Then I met with Jeff Warrenburg (owner of the paintball park) about sharing the property with Antioch Paintball, which is what Joe Brengle said we could do.”

Asked why he nor anyone from Antioch Little League were at the board meeting in December when it was decided, he said, “I wasn’t invited and I thought we were going to be able to work things out. Jeff said he didn’t know anything about it.”

“Then, when I got the contract the language changed,” Pearson stated. “The third ballfield will be available…through May 31 at which time it will be redeveloped.”

“When we went in and met with Joe, he already had plans drawn up. This isn’t the board but him pushing this,” he continued.

Asked if they still have time to work things out, since they will still be able to play the season using the third field, Pearson responded, “We usually play games through the end of June. So, that’s not correct.”

“But, the paintball park is not going to be redeveloped into a horse boarding and training facility,” he added. “Instead, it’s going to be used for catering truck parking.”

Asked who told him that, he said, “Joe told me.”

Two of the fields which they keep in their agreement were recently improved by the Antioch Rotary Club. Asked about that, Pearson said they weren’t going to have them improve the field that they might lose.

He mentioned having baseball standouts from Antioch who have agreed to speak at tonight’s meeting.

“We have Butch Rounsaville and Aaron Miles (both former Major League Baseball players) who have agreed to speak, as well as Kenny Turnage,” Pearson shared. “I’m sure the board is going to be surprised. I heard from someone who contacted me that knows people on the board and that is what they told me.”

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The Fair Board meeting is at 7:00 p.m. at the Contra Costa Event Park, 1201 W. 10th Street in Antioch. View the meeting agenda, here. Since the item is not on the agenda, those who want to speak on the matter will have to do so during Public Comments.

 

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.

By Antioch Police Department

Sunday morning, March 1, 2020, Antioch Police dispatch received a complaint regarding a vehicle driving recklessly in the area of McFarlan Ranch Drive and Leitrim Way. When officers arrived in the area, they located a similar vehicle, parked, with four subjects associated with it. Further investigation of the incident led to the vehicle being searched and three loaded firearms being found inside. All four subjects with the vehicle were juveniles, were all arrested, and were all sent to Juvenile Hall.

While we are very happy to have three more guns off the street, we are also very appreciative of the call itself. What began as a call that was not necessarily an “emergency,” it is another example of the active members of our community making us aware of issues that affected them that we may not have otherwise been aware of. Please never think your call is not worthy, or that you’re “bothering” us. Every call is important to the person affected, and some turn into successful cases that make us all safer!

By Sergeant Matthew Harger #3305, Antioch Police Field Services Bureau

On Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020 at approximately 6:45 pm, Antioch Police Department Officers were dispatched to Lone Tree Way just east of Deer Valley Road regarding a pedestrian that had been struck by a vehicle. Upon arriving on scene Antioch Police Officers located the 11-year-old male in the roadway suffering from major injuries and he was eventually pronounced deceased at the scene by Contra Costa Consolidated Fire Department personnel.

Another victim was transported to the hospital with minor injuries according to post on Twitter by the Con Fire Public Information Officer.

Antioch Police Traffic Investigators responded to the scene to conduct the investigation. The involved driver remained at the scene and is cooperating with the investigation. Drugs or alcohol do not appear to be involved at this time.

The preliminary investigation appears to indicate the victim was crossing Lone Tree Way outside of a marked crosswalk when he was struck by a passing vehicle.

Anyone with information about this collision is asked to contact Traffic Officer Johnsen at (925) 779-6900 ext. 84265 or ejohnsen@ci.antioch.ca.us.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Antioch Police Department non-emergency line at (925) 778-2441 or You may also text-a-tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using the key word ANTIOCH.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

Discovered during investigation of but unrelated to lock down incident

By Lieutenant D. Bittner #3252, Antioch Police Watch Commander Community Policing Bureau

On Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020 at approximately 10:18 am, Antioch High School staff members made the Antioch Police Department aware of information provided by a student concerning three individuals on campus possibly armed with weapons. The school was placed on lockdown by school staff and the Antioch Police Department assisted the school in attempting to locate the individuals. (See related article).

The information provided by the student could not be substantiated and the lockdown was later lifted once the school was determined to be safe. An unloaded pistol magazine was located on a student during an unrelated incident that occurred while officers were on campus. The student was detained and placed under arrest for possessing a firearm magazine on school grounds.

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.

By Allen Payton

The following was posted on the Antioch High School Facebook page late Thursday morning, Feb. 27:

“Good morning,

This is Antioch High School with an important safety announcement. A short time ago, a student reported that he saw a possible weapon on campus. As a precaution the school has been placed on lockdown and police are on campus. We will update you when the lockdown is lifted.

Thank you!”

Then, at about 12:40 p.m. the following was posted:

“THE LATEST NEWS!

This is Antioch High School with an update on this morning’s incident. The lockdown at Antioch High School has been lifted and all students are safe. Earlier this morning, a student reported that he saw a weapon on campus. The school immediately initiated lockdown procedures and notified police. APD did a thorough search of the campus and no weapons were located. However, a student was found to have an empty magazine clip that he reported he had shown to other students.

Thank you for patience as we work to make our school as safe as possible for all students.

Thank you!”

In response, Antioch School Board Trustee said “I am asking (Superintendent) Stephanie (Anello) to fill the School Resource Officer vacancy and meet with the CDE (California Department of Education) Director of School Emergency Planning and Safety. This is unbelievable these incidents keep occurring.”

Investigation continues

By Lieutenant John Fortner, Antioch Police Investigations Bureau

On Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, at approximately 9:30 AM, Antioch police officers were called to the Antioch High School campus regarding a physical altercation between two juveniles. During the fight, one of the juveniles brandished a firearm. As the fight continued, the firearm was discharged and fell to the ground. One of the juveniles picked up the firearm and fled on-foot away from the campus. The other involved juvenile also fled off campus. As officers converged on the area, the juvenile who fled with the firearm was located and safely detained. The firearm used in the incident was not located. It was determined that no one was injured as a result of the firearm discharge. (See related article).

During the investigation, all the involved parties were identified. The juvenile that fled with the firearm was booked into the juvenile hall in Martinez. Today, Monday, Feb. 24, 2020, the other involved juvenile (who originally brandished the firearm) was safely taken into custody in the City of Brentwood and will be booked in the juvenile hall.

Currently, the investigation is still ongoing. The Antioch Police Department would like to thank the AUSD staff that contributed to a quick response and assisted with the investigation of this incident.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Antioch Police Department non-emergency line at (925) 778-2441, or Detective Torres at (925) 779-6925. You may also text-a-tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using the key word ANTIOCH.

Antioch High Principal Louie Rocha sent out a message to parents, that morning:

“Good Morning. This is Louie Rocha, Principal of Antioch High School with an important safety announcement. Earlier this morning, two students were involved in an altercation. During the altercation, a student dropped then retrieved what appeared to be a weapon. Both students fled the campus and APD is currently investigating. All students have returned to class and school has resumed its normal schedule. Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns.”

Head for round three of playoffs next Wednesday night

By Allen Payton

The BVAL’s top boys’ basketball team from Deer Valley High, beat their first two opponents during the playoffs, this week. The games are a part of the “CIF North Coast Section 2020 Boys’ Basketball Championships – Division 1” tournament.

The Wolverines outscored the Amador Valley Dons 54-45 in Pleasanton during their first playoff game on Tuesday night, Feb. 18. (See game photos, here.)

Deer Valley then faced Heritage High in Brentwood, during the second playoff game, last night, Friday, Feb. 21 and beat the Patriots by a score of 60-42. That avenged their final game loss against Heritage – their only one during regular season – by just two points from a last second shot.

The 19-9 Wolverines will host the 23-5 Granada Matadors for the third-round playoff game on Wednesday night, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. If Deer Valley wins that game, they will go on to play in the championship game against either De La Salle or Monte Vista. Date and time TBA.