YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa
Vol. 11, No. 3
Including Surrounding Communities
www.brentwoodpress.com
Senior services front and Center by Rick Lemyre Staff Writer Bingo scoreboard, check. Extra wheelchair access, check. Comfortable chairs, nutritional programs and Frank Sinatra background music, check, check and check. But in addition to the amenities one might expect to find in a senior center, the brandnew edifice that officially opened last Friday in Brentwood includes some 21st-century extras that make it cutting edge – not just for seniors, but the entire community. There’s a 52-inch plasma TV, Wii video system, Internet connectivity and a sound system that accepts iPod hookups. There’s also an all-stainless-steel commercial kitchen with subzero freezer and eight-burner stove, an expandable hardwood dance floor and cable TV. “It’s endless what we can do,” said Poldina Scherf of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, who spearheaded the 19-contractor, 12-month effort to build the new center. “It’s all ready to go.” The 8,400-square-foot center, completed under its $5.5 million budget, also includes a billiard/games room and classrooms in addition to the main hall. The center is located at Balfour Road and Griffith Lane, next to Veterans Park and the Brentwood Family Aquatic Center, about half as far from the Summerset retirement communities as was the downtown
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January 16, 2009
THIS WEEK
Partying with the pols
Revelers in D.C. are sure to feel a vibe radiating from East County on Inauguration Day.
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Prepping for K-runch time Photo by Richard Wisdom
Brentwood Senior Citizen Club President Bente Peterson, left, gets a hand from Mayor Bob Taylor at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the city’s new 8,400-squarefoot Senior Center on Griffith Lane. Community Center that had previously been home to the city’s senior programming. “This was the ideal spot for this senior center,” Brentwood Senior Citizen Club President Bente Peterson said during the ribboncutting ceremonies. “It is without a doubt the
most beautiful building in Brentwood.” During the tour that followed the ribbon cutting, Gene Brown, a member of the Senior Citizens Club, first said that his favorite part of see Center page 21A
An upcoming Kindergarten Readiness Fair will help parents get their kids ready for that momentous first day of class.
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Crosstown collision
City balances budget, trims programs by Rick Lemyre Staff Writer The Brentwood City Council slashed $2.6 million from this year’s city budget Tuesday, in part by ceasing funding for a number of Park and Rec activities and an after-school program run by the Police Activities League. Most of the savings were made possible by a freeze on all hiring except police officers, tighter restrictions on travel and purchases of supplies, and changes in the amount set aside for equipment and maintenance. Director of Finance and Information Systems Pam Ehler assured the council that the savings in the latter category reflected a change from an “aggressive” level of set-asides to one more reflective of actual costs, and that maintenance and other internal service funds remain 100-percent funded. A host of Park and Rec programs ranging from adult
Photo by Richard Wisdom
Matthew Erwin, 13, left, and Francisco Aciniega, 12, enjoy a game of cards at PAL’s After the Bell program at Edna Hill Middle School on Monday. While PAL will continue to offer youth services, the after-school program will end Feb. 1 due to lack of funding. basketball and pre-school floor hockey to the Spring to Life Fun Run and Skate Park hours during winter months will no longer be offered unless sponsors from other agencies or the private sec-
tor can be found. Although the programs paid their own direct expenses through participant fees, they did not cover the staffing costs, and will be trimmed as the result of a trio of unfilled staff
positions. Park and Rec Director Craig Bronzan said the affected programs drew a total participation last year of between 15,000 and 20,000, or less than 2 percent of the 900,000 registrants served by the department in 2008. One of the unfilled Park and Rec positions also coordinated PAL’s After the Bell after-school program, which will no longer receive city funding and will be discontinued effective Feb. 1. The program, run on all three Brentwood middle school campuses from 3 to 5 p.m., served an estimated 90 children per day (150 participants in all) at a cost of about $216,000 per year. “The decision is unfortunate, but when there’s no money, there’s no money,” said PAL President Jeff Altman. He emphasized that PAL itself is not going away; it will merely change its focus to a growing list of activities it can pay for through its see Budget page 21A
Liberty and Heritage took the court and their fans took the opportunity to rev up the rivalry rhetoric.
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INSIDE Arts...................................14A Calendar ..........................19B Classifieds ........................15B Coplog .............................17A Education ..........................7A Entertainment ................18B Health & Beauty ............... 8B Milestones ......................... 7B Opinion ...........................16A Sports ................................. 1B
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A