YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa
Vol. 9, No. 21
Including Nearby Communities
www.thepress.net
Top cops honored
rs
Na t
pe
ion
May 22, 2009
THIS WEEK
In memory of the fallen
by Dave Roberts Staff Writer It was standing room only in the City Council chambers May 13 as the finest of Antioch’s finest were honored for saving lives and catching bad guys. The third annual awards ceremony sponsored by the police department honored the detective bureau, 10 Antioch police officers, seven Pittsburg police officers, a crime analyst and two residents, all of whom went above and beyond the call of duty and some of whom put their lives on the line doing so. Chief Jim Hyde handed out the awards. But before doing so, he noted that many people in law enforcement are not seeking honors or recognition, and just want to do their jobs to the best of their ability. “But we do have to recognize their work, otherwise it would go untold to our communities – the difficult things that they do and
Unfurl your flag, bring your binoculars and keep your eyes on the skies at the Memorial Day 2009 festivities.
Page 4A
Photo by Dave Roberts
Officers John Fortner, left, and Niles Graham received the Medal of Valor for risking their lives in a gunfight to apprehend three bank robbers. the challenges they face and the bravery, the commitment they make to this community to make it better, safer, stronger, and then to teach the next generation that the noble cause is to go on and do the right thing,” said Hyde.
Medal of Valor Officers Eric McManus, John Fortner and Niles Graham risked their lives to arrest three people who committed a violent take-over style see Cops page 12A
Wings of comfort A new Eagle Scout helped provide blankets and socks to the needy and homeless.
Page 14A
Signature performance
Photo by Dave Roberts
The graffiti-laden trains that have been stored along Highway 4 in Antioch for a half year finally moved out of the area last weekend – but they could be back.
Graffiti trains gone, might return by Dave Roberts Staff Writer East County officials, who have been trying to run out of town on a rail scores of graffitiladen train cars, breathed a sigh of relief this week when the cars finally left over the weekend. The bad news is that they could be back. “This was an effort I led in Washington, D.C. and with the
CCC Mayors Conference as well as the Delta Six (committee),” said Antioch Mayor Jim Davis via e-mail regarding the trains leaving the Union Pacific Mococo Line in Antioch, where they moved in a half-year ago and were quite visible to motorists on Highway 4. But Union Pacific spokeswoman Zoey Richmond said that while company officials are aware of elected officials’ con-
cerns about the trains, the cars were moved because they were needed to haul freight for a customer. “That’s the reason why we have to keep these cars stored in various areas throughout our system,” said Richmond. “At a moment’s notice we can have a customer call us up needing to ship something, and we need to be ready to serve that business.” Although there are no cur-
Sound off!
rent plans to again store rail cars in East County, Union Pacific could do so at any time, despite concerns that have been voiced by community officials, she said. “We have around 60,000 rail cars in storage because of the slow economy,” she said. “From time to time the communities do complain about them being unsightly, being a little irritating. see Graffiti page 21A
After signing lots of impressive scorecards, a Deer Valley golfer got to sign a Letter of Intent.
Page 2B
INSIDE Business .............................7A Calendar ..........................27B Classifieds ........................17B Cop Logs ..........................17A Entertainment ................12B Food .................................14B Health & Beauty ............... 8B Milestones .......................11B Opinion ...........................16A Sports ................................. 1B WebExtras! ....................... 1B
Let your voice be heard.
Share your activities, thoughts or beliefs.Start a blog at www.thepress.net. Read more on page 20A.
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A