Brentwood Press - Index

Brentwood Press - DiscoveryBayPress_08.15.08 - Index

YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 6, No. 33 Including Surrounding Communities www.discoverybaypress.com August 15, 2008
Witnessing the making of Marines
by Rick Lemyre
Staff Writer
They scramble off the buses wearing typical
teenager haircuts, Nike T-shirts and looks
of bewilderment, trepidation and uncertainty.
Driven by sharp commands from a cadre of
men in crisp uniforms and impatient countenances,
they attempt to comply with orders to
both “Hurry up!” and “Stop running!” and
form up on precisely aligned yellow footprints
stenciled on the sidewalk. In a few moments,
they will be ushered through a nearby door
– which they will soon learn is properly called
a “hatch” – never to be seen again.
That’s because these young men are arriving
at Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD)
San Diego, and over the next 12 weeks they
will be stripped of their hair, their civilian
clothing and their uncertainty as they are
transformed from what they were when they
arrived into United States Marines.
Jerry Black, an administrator with the
Liberty Union High School District, and David
Koch, a teacher at Antioch High School,
were among 72 educators– and one journalist
– from the San Francisco Bay Area, and San
Diego and Las Vegas areas recently given the
opportunity to observe that transformation
process up close during a weeklong Educators
Workshop hosted by the Corps. The
workshop was held at MCRD, the Corps’
Air Station Miramar and Camp Pendleton in
Southern California.
The purpose of the workshop, said Brig.
Gen. Angela Salinas, commander of MCRD
San Diego and the Corps’ Western Recruiting
Region, was to “show community leaders our
commitment to excellence” and to give them
fi rsthand knowledge and experience they
could bring back to their students.
More than 22,000 recruits began the
process last year and 93 percent of them com-
Photo by Rick Lemyre
Visiting educators receive orders to fi nd a bunk: “Today, people, today!” during
an Educators Workshop at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego. More
than 70 teachers and administrators got a fi rsthand taste of life at boot camp
during their weeklong stay.
pleted it. The success rate is due to numerous
pre-screenings that ensure only the best
would-be Marines ever get a chance to stand
in the yellow footprints. The days are long
gone when the Marines accepted recruits who
see Marines page 9A
Candidates tune up for election
by Ruth Roberts
Staff Writer
Familiar faces and some new
ones will make their way onto the
November ballot in two of far
East County’s largest elections:
the Discovery Bay Community
Services District (CSD) and the
Byron Union School District
(BUSD).
The BUSD election has two
seats available, and as of press
time, only two individuals had
pulled papers for the race. The
deadline for fi ling was Wednesday
at 5 p.m. If a third candidate has
not fi led by the deadline, the race
will go uncontested. In Discovery
Bay, the CSD has two board seats
available for four-year terms. Two
new names and one former CSD
director will be competing with
DORAN FINETTI SIMON TETREAULT
incumbent Bob Doran for those
seats.
Ray Tetreault, former CSD
president and current Rec 800
community director, is running
for the CSD board on a slate with
newcomer Mark Simon. Tetreault,
who was not re-elected to
the CSD two years ago, says the
direction the town, and specifi cally
the CSD board, has taken over
the past few years spurred him to
make another run for a term on
the board.
“I have some concerns in
regards to the atmosphere at the
meetings; I feel it has been a little
strained, but I feel that I can help
with that,” he said. “Mark (Simon)
and I are running together
because we share many of the
same views, and we think we need
two people to swing the board. I
work well with everyone and I
feel I have a lot to contribute. I’m
not against growth, but I think we
need smart growth – growth that
fi ts in with the unique community
we live in.”
For Simon, his fi rst-time bid
for a CSD seat stems from an in-
see Election page 21A
National Award Winning Newspapers
THIS WEEK
Crimson
contribution
A Discovery Bay Church held a
Red Cross blood drive, and the
community let the charity flow.
Page 6A
Paper chase
gets audited
Responding to citizens’ requests
for information takes
time and money, and the CSD
has decided to calculate the
tab for the taxpayers.
Page 4A
Acting like
Hot Shots
An East County softball team
lived up to its name by taking
on tough competition and
bringing home a title.
Page 1B
INSIDE
Art .................................. 9A
Calendar ........................23B
Classifieds ......................15B
Community .................... 3A
Education .....................10A
Entertainment ..............14B
Food .............................. 12B
Health & Beauty............11B
Milestones .......................9B
Opinion ........................16A
Public Notices ................18B
Sports ...............................1B