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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 10, No. 6
East County nurse returns from Haiti by Ruth Roberts Staff Writer
Over the past few weeks, the world has seen countless images of the ongoing devastation and destruction in Haiti. But nothing, said Knightsen resident Aileen Hayes, can compare to the real thing. “I would say the photos are pretty good, but they can’t capture things like the dignity and stillness of the Haitian people, the hopeful sounds of singing coming from the valleys at night, or sadly, the smell of decomposing bodies,” said Hayes, an emergency room nurse for Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch. “Those are experiences you can get only by being there.” The Knightsen resident was one of 38 East Bay residents deployed to Haiti by the Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) last month to assist in
Photo courtesy of Aileen Hayes
Damage from Haiti’s 7.0 earthquake is evident in neighborhoods throughout the country. treating victims of the 7.0 earth- where for reasons of security they stayed for five days. Built quake. Hayes and her team arrived to stringent U.S. standards, the in Port-au-Prince on Jan. 13 and embassy sustained no damage were taken to the U.S. Embassy, from the quake, and the group
was able to utilize its showers and restrooms. They slept on the lawn inside the walled compound. Because the DMAT is a federal organization, it is governed and protected under the same laws as the military. As such, the team was not allowed to leave and set up a triage camp until obtaining security clearance from the 82nd Airborne Division, which was in charge of their safety. “They were taking no chances with us civilians,” said Hayes of the safety measures implemented for her group. “We were kept under very close watch at all times.” On day six, Hayes and her group were assigned to Petionville, an upscale area of Port-auPrince. There they were housed at the local country club, slept on the tennis courts and shared
Staff Writer
The Hillcrest eBART station location preferred by Antioch officials because it would accommodate transit-oriented development (TOD) is dead due to lack of funding for its $50 million additional cost, BART Board Director Joe Keller told the Antioch City Council last week. “Metropolitan Transportation Commission officials said pretty definitively they are not in a position to fund the median east station,” Keller told the council. “I know that’s not the news you wanted to hear. But I thought it was important for you to hear that.” The good news is that there is enough funding for an eBART station in the Highway 4 median about 1,200 feet east of the
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Hillcrest Avenue interchange. It would still accommodate nearby development of townhouses and businesses, but not as much as city officials’ preferred location in the highway median 700 feet farther east. That station would allow for 54 percent more residential units, 130 percent more retail space and 32 percent more office space, according to a recent study. Although nearly 400 additional daily eBART trips would be generated at that station site, they “may not be worth the additional costs, which amount to approximately $130,000 for each additional daily trip,” the study concludes. The extra $50 million cost is due to the need to construct under the highway a twice-as-long,
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This Week Savings by the fistful
How to squeeze hundreds of dollars in savings into your pocket? Look for our coupon booklet inside this issue.
Rotary in a giving vein
The Antioch Rotary rolled up its sleeves and engineered far more than a pint-size effort. Page 6A
Vengeance is fine
The Panthers were in no mood to allow the Falcons to upset them twice in a row. Page 2B
Plus:
Image courtesy of EBBC.org
see eBART page 18A
February 5, 2010
see Haiti page 18A
Preferred eBART station site derailed by Dave Roberts
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ion
An artist’s rendering of an eBART train.
Wheeler healers go to news/WebExtras!
Haitians were hurting, so the Wheelchair Foundation hit the tarmac running.
Grand task
go to news/press releases The Contra Costa County Civil Grand Jury is looking for members.
Calendar ............................ 23B Classifieds ......................... 16B Cop logs .............................14A Food & Entertainment .. 11B Health & Beauty ................ 8B Milestones ........................ 10B Opinion ..............................13A Sports ................................... 1B
Consign in
go to multimedia/videos Local consignment shops make it easier than ever to get the real deal.