YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa
Vol. 9, No. 41
Including Nearby Communities
www.thepress.net
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October 9, 2009
Expert assesses kidnap aftermath Smokin’
THIS WEEK
by Dave Roberts Staff Writer
Oakley child advocate Janice Gomes, who gained national and international news media attention after disclosing that childsafety fliers she had disGOMES tributed were printed by alleged child rapist/ kidnapper Phillip Garrido, recently reached out to another woman who gained renewed attention in connection with that case: Sharon Murch, mother of Michaela Garecht, who was kidnapped 21 years ago and has not been found. Gomes walked up to Murch two weeks ago at Garrido’s home, where Murch was getting ready to be interviewed by Larry King on CNN. At the time, detectives were combing through the Garrido property on Walnut Avenue between Oakley and Antioch, searching for human remains to determine whether missing girls such as Garecht or Ilene
Photo by Stacey Chance
Sharon Murch, mother of kidnap victim Michaela Garecht, said the discovery of Jaycee Dugard at the home of Phillip Garrido, above, rekindled hope that her daughter would also be found alive. Mishelof might be buried there. However, preliminary tests on bone fragments last week determined that the remains were from animals. Garecht was kidnapped in a grocery store parking lot in 1988 by a man whose police sketch resembles
a young Garrido and whose van resembles Garrido’s van. “It’s just been really traumatic for her, losing her daughter in the manner she did,” said Gomes. “She had dedicated her life to trying to find her daughter. Then, with Phillip
Garrido, it’s all been brought right back again to stir up everything. I don’t know if there’s a tie there or not. (But) it’s still brought up raw emotions for her all over again. That gave her kind of hope that there would be some kind of closure when they kept going to the Garrido house (to search).” Gomes said she asked Murch what her reaction was when she heard the news about Dugard. “She was asleep when her husband leaned over and woke her up,” Gomes said. “He said that Jaycee had been found and was alive, and she had been rescued with two daughters. Her first thought was, maybe Michaela is with them and if not, maybe she had been with them. She was full of hope and anxiety.” Gomes, who founded the child safety group National Community Empowerment Programs Inc., was asked what she’s learned from all of this. “So far I haven’t learned anything from this, other than they live among us,” she said. “They could be your family, the people living next door, your best friends, and you might not see any signs of it. I didn’t see the signs, and neither did
spokes
The medals are nice, but the true reward is soldarity with his fellow cops and firefighters.
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What’s new with the flu H1N1 flu vaccine has come to town, and health officials are urging the public to use it.
Page 4A
Wolverines keep winning
see Kidnap page 22A
Unemployment rising in East County by Dave Roberts Staff Writer The unemployment rate varies depending on where you live in East County – from the nearly nonrecessionary 6.5 percent in Byron to the Great Depression level of nearly 20 percent in Knightsen – but unemployment has steadily increased this year in all areas. Worst off by far are Knightsen at 19.9 percent unemployment and Bethel Island at 19 percent, according to the August figures from the California Employment Development Department. Both rural communities have worsened more than the rest of East County, increasing by about 3½ percentage points since January compared to an increase of about 2 percentage points in most other areas. Linda Weekes, chairwoman of the Knightsen Town Council, said she’s not aware of her community having a significantly high unemployment problem. She suspects it
might be due in part to the seasonal nature of farming. “Being agricultural and coming to the end of the year as far as produce, picking and working in the fields has now subsided,” she said. Knightsen resident John Gonzales agreed that out-of-work farm workers probably account for the high unemployment rate in his community. He also speculated that the statistics might be skewed because in a small population of 700 to 800, a small increase in unemployment can significantly bump up the numbers. In East County cities, Oakley is the winner with an unemployment rate just over 8 percent. That’s nearly 2 points better than Brentwood’s 10 percent and 4½ points better than Antioch’s nearly 13 percent rate. Oakley Chamber of Commerce President Steve Nosanchuk, whose photography business is located in Brentwood, doesn’t find much solace in Oakley’s standing, however. “I think everybody is hit hard
Deer Valley shook off a shaky start to run its unbeaten record to 4-0.
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INSIDE Arts.....................................7A Calendar ..........................27B Classifieds ........................17B Cop Logs ..........................17A Entertainment ................13B Food .................................12B Health & Beauty ............... 8B Milestones .......................10B Opinion ...........................16A Outdoors .........................18A Sports ................................. 1B Talk About Town ..............5A WebExtras! ....................... 1B equally,” he said. “I don’t think people in Oakley are more or less employable than Antioch or Brentwood. I don’t think people
in Knightsen or Bethel Island are less employable than Antioch or see Unemployment page 22A
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A