YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa
Vol. 7, No. 11
Including Surrounding Communities
www.discoverybaypress.com
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March 13, 2009
THIS WEEK
Coming of age in far East County Patriotism by Rick Lemyre Staff Writer
This is the first of a threepart series on the efforts of two far East County towns, Knightsen and Byron, to retain their heritage and remain rural and small in the face of regional growth and changing local politics. This week: Setting the stage; Part two: The changes play out; Part three: Looking ahead. The downtown block of Knightsen Avenue is dark and quiet, except for the soft glow from the sign at Sonja’s Country Inn and the rhythmic clank of someone setting up metal chairs at the Garden Club next door. It’s a Thursday night in February, and the rest of the half-dozen buildings lining one side of the tiny town’s main drag – railroad tracks, the reason for the town’s founding, run along the other side – are locked up tight, the curb beside them void of parked cars. Home to fewer than 1,000 souls (not counting the livestock), Knightsen has been a proud rural hamlet for more than 100 years, boasting a post office, a fire station founded by volunteers and a
Photo by Stacey Chance/DiscoveryBaStudios.com
Bucolic downtown Knightsen has remained relatively unchanged for more than a century. Residents are wary that recent changes made by the county could threaten their rural lifestyle. 500-student school district whose test scores are more than a match for the bigger districts surrounding it. Folks swarm to town for the Annual Knightsen Family Fun Days, and help fill the stands at the County Fair in support of the 4-H Club as it shows off animals and carries home ribbons. In 2005, a community services
district was formed to get a handle on the occasional floods that vexed the town, which is situated just a half-mile from the San Joaquin River Delta. The Knightsen Town Advisory Council (KTAC) was established in 1994 to represent the town to the county supervisor and make recommendations on matters of development. (The prevail-
ing attitude, for the most part, has been “No thanks.”) As the area’s representative to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors (BOS) is historically elected from the bigger cities of Antioch and Pittsburg to the west, Knightsen residents have trouble getting the county’s attention for things like repairing the fractured sidewalk in front of Sonja’s. Frustrated as they were from time to time, though, they had grown accustomed to the years of benign neglect, and were happy that growth in East County had let them be. But the bucolic atmosphere in the Town of Knightsen was tinged with tension that Thursday night. The street became swept by the glare of headlights and the thump of car doors as people arrived and began filling the metal chairs waiting for them. In December, the boundaries of the area represented by KTAC had been shrunk dramatically, and townsfolk were turning out by the dozens to ask why and find out what it means to their future. A few miles down that same railroad line to the south sits an-
personified
What began as a private barbecue snowballed into a community gala in support of our troops.
Page 3A
The griming of the gown Years after the big event, brides are finding a new use for that divine dress.
Page 9A
Star power harnessed
see Coming of age page 21A
DBPOA roundly rejects rate hike by Ruth Roberts Staff Writer
A whopping 85 percent of the membership of the Discovery Bay Property Owners Association (DBPOA) voted down a proposed dues increase Monday night, putting an end to months of contentious debate and public protests over the organization’s first suggested rate hike in 25 years. “Well, the members have spoken,” said DBPOA President Dominic Carano, who took over last month following the resignation of president Mark Lee. “I’m a little disappointed because I think how the vote was set up and read gave an unclear message, but I wasn’t there for the inception of it. Also, given the economic times, if anyone can say no to something financial they will.” The DBPOA Board first proposed the increase last year – to $120 annually from the current $25 – citing a growing concern over Press file photo the organization’s ability to continue to manage the 1,640-member Tony Steller waves to a passerby during a protest in January against a proposed dues increase for the Discovery Bay Property Owners see DBPOA page 4A Association. Voters rejected the increase by nearly nine to one.
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A bunch of lucky girls got a golden opportunity to train with an Olympic champion.
Page 3B
INSIDE Business .............................9A Calendar ..........................23B Classifieds ........................17B Cop Logs ..........................17A Entertainment ................14B Food .................................12B Health & Beauty ............... 7B Milestones .......................10B Opinion ...........................16A Sports ................................. 1B WebExtras! ....................... 1B
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A