YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa
Vol. 9, No. 1
Including Surrounding Communities
www.oakleypress.com
Big park planned for Big Break by Dave Roberts Staff Writer
Oakley residents boast that they have the Delta in their backyard – unfortunately, much of the scenic waterfront has been fenced off from public access. That began to change a couple of years ago when the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) opened up a park site off of Big Break Road. So far, the park’s amenities are rather basic: a parking lot, restroom, trail and pier. All of that is about to change, too. A year from now the currently threadbare site is planned to feature a children’s playground where kids can pretend to be junior archeologists, a large relief map of the Delta, kayaking tours, picnic tables with barbecues and an amphitheater where a park interpreter will discuss nature against the backdrop of the Delta. With the aid of nearly $2 million in state government grants, the park district plans to seek approval from Oakley’s city government next month for the Delta Discovery Experience. The district hopes to start construction in June and open the new facilities to the public in early 2010, according to Diane Althoff, EBRPD chief of design and construction. “The Delta Discovery Experience is really an outdoor education and interpretive-type facility,” she said. “The outdoor amphitheater is inset into the Delta edge there, so that you can look right out across the water as you have your interpretive program.”
February 27, 2009
THIS WEEK
Fraud takes the stage
A local impresario has been charged with propping up his failing company by fleecing patrons.
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Photo by Dave Roberts
Currently, there’s little more than a pier, parking lot and restroom at the East Bay Regional Park District site off of Big Break Road in Oakley. It remains to be determined whether the district will also provide concerts at the scenic, 150-seat site, similar to the concerts the park district provides at Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve in the summer. Although there will be kayak launching, the kayak will not be available for rental for general public use; only for tours led by the park’s interpretive staff. The children’s playground will be fun but also educational. “You will be digging through the sand and discovering a fossil or
element that’s fixed underneath the sand that you can cover and uncover,” said Althoff. Visitors will need to walk the quarter-mile trail from the parking lot to get to the picnic facilities near the water or to launch their own kayak, because parking near the water will be available only for those with disabilities. The Delta map will be a main feature in the plaza area on a stand a little lower than waist-high, showing in relief the source of the
by Ruth Roberts Staff Writer
Photo by Kevin Bartram
Traffic moves along the newest section of the Highway 4 Bypass south of Balfour Road this week. The Bypass will be renamed the John Marsh Heritage Highway in honor of Contra Costa County’s first settler. contribution to the area, and will run directly by his fabled Stone House and surrounding property
in Brentwood. The Marsh house is part of a designated 4,000-acre state historic park – the largest
Erring on side of safety Local officials met the recent salmonella threat with overwhelming force.
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Falcons fall to Patriots
see Big Break page18A
Bypass to be named for local pioneer He’s had creeks and parks named after him and trusts established in his memory. Now the man who cut a deep, historic swath across California will add another distinction to his resumé. The John Marsh Heritage Highway – the new name of the Highway 4 Bypass – will boast two 76-foot signs along the 12½ -mile stretch beginning south of Antioch and ending north of the intersection of Vasco and Marsh Creek roads. The naming of the commemorative highway is the result of years of lobbying by the John Marsh Historic Trust, local mayors and county supervisors. The highway will commemorate Marsh’s unique presence and
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of its kind in California. The park site is currently pending the completion of its general plan, and will eventually be open to the public. “I’m just thrilled,” said Kathy Leighton, a director of the John Marsh Historic Trust. “This is a great thing, and what is really nice about the recognition for John Marsh on the highway is that thousands of people every day will see them (the signs), and that is certainly something we at the foundation are excited about.” Paid for by the John Marsh Historic Trust at a cost of $3,500, including installation, the signs will be posted by the California Bypass Authority in conjunction with Caltrans. According to see Bypass page 18A
Up by a single point in the last minute, Heritage drained a tre that put the game away.
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