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Brentwood Press - OakleyPress_08.15.08 - Index

AUGUST 15, 2008 COMMUNITY THEPRESS.NET | 13A
Site from page 1A
for our children on this site,” Spinelli told
the council. “There is nothing right or
safe about it. I demand that you … look
aggressively into this matter and stop it.”
Council members pointed out that
they do not have the power to stop the
high school because it’s outside of the
city’s jurisdiction. But they said they will
continue to raise concerns, and they encourage
others to do likewise.
“We can’t vote as if we are on the
school board. But we can growl, we can
bark, we can make our voices heard,” said
Mayor Bruce Connelley. “There’s a consensus
that we are not agreeable to having
that school there. We are very adamantly
against this location.”
In a phone interview Wednesday,
LUHSD Superintendent Dan Smith defended
the school location, saying that
mitigation measures will be put in place
to address the various concerns.
“Any questions or concerns raised
by any member of the public or City
Council members or whomever will be
taken very seriously,” said Smith. “We are
doing everything possible to meet all of
our requirements for a quality school. We
want to have a quality project and one
that is safe.”
Smith said the Sellers and Delta site
was chosen after working for 2½ years
with Oakley offi cials to fi nd a suitable location.
Seven or eight sites were reviewed
but none met the requirements of providing
at least 60 acres that would serve
Oakley students in a safe location, that
did not require taking property that the
owners did not want to sell and did not
have soil or power line problems.
“Obviously, it’s not a location that
everybody jumped up and down about
and felt great about,” said Smith. “It’s
hard to fi nd 60 acres of land that the city
did not want to use for development or
other purposes. It was quite a challenge.”
The district has purchased and is
starting to prepare the land, and has begun
the environmental review process.
Offi cials are working with other agencies
to provide water, sewage and other
utilities for the site. Roads in front of the
school will be widened to accommodate
the additional traffi c.
The site has received approval from
the California Department of Education,
an agency which Smith said is “very
strict” in approving locations for school
sites.
“We take all input very seriously and
want this to be a project that’s quality and
safe and meets the needs of students in
the community,” he said. “We are doing
our best to respond to every question and
concern brought to our attention.”
The initial study for the high school
site can be downloaded from the home
page of the LUHSD Web site, www.
libertyuhsd.k12.ca.us. Comments may
be e-mailed to Smith or LUHSD board
members, or made at a public hearing
scheduled for later this month or in early
September.
To comment on this story, visit www.
thepress.net.
Marines from page 12A
from an accredited school. Once enlisted, tuition
assistance of $750 per term is available
to offset college costs, and many Marines have
earned degrees online while stationed overseas.
More than one told the group that they
had chosen to enter the service rather than attend
college, only to fi nd that constant encouragement
to get an education – and the chance
to advance in rank by doing so – had changed
their minds about school. Also, changes to the
GI Bill coming in 2009 will provide $80,000 in
post-service educational benefi ts that will be
assignable to a spouse or child.
“We don’t expect them to be with us for
20 years,” Salinas said of the education and
ethics training provided. “We want them to
return to civilian life and be good citizens.”
The educators marched through the
week as best they could (said one, mimicking
the tone of his drill instructor, “Forward,
mosey!”), taking in combat aircraft, amphibious
assault craft and rifl e ranges. They were
given a chance to fi re M-16 rifl es and 9mm
pistols on a computerized shooting range,
and to gear up and run the grueling bayonet
assault course.
Divided into squads, they attempted to
solve fi eld problems such as ammo supply
and wounded evacuation missions, learning
through it all that what is seen in movies and
news video is far more diffi cult than it appears.
They visited the barracks, learned about the
famed Marine Bands, and twice ate lunch with
recruits at various stages of the transformation.
For many, the highlights were the same
as for the recruits: a pair of ceremonies that
marked signifi cant milestones. One involved
the pageantry of boot camp graduation, but
the other, even more moving, came earlier,
when the recruits received the eagle, globe and
anchor emblem for their uniform.
That ceremony came at the end of the
intense exercise known as “the crucible,” a 54hour
marathon of fully equipped hikes totaling
60 miles, weapon fi ring, maneuvering and
problem-solving, all accomplished on four
hours of sleep and three 2,500-calorie meals.
The recruits, now in their 11 th week, marched
directly from the fi eld to the ceremony, and,
exhausted, fi lthy and famished, they received
the congratulations of their drill instructors
and were addressed for the fi rst time as “Marines.”
To a person, the educators came away
highly impressed at what they’d seen.
“I have a much stronger feelings of respect
for what the military does for us,” said
Black. “I’m impressed by the dedication and
the true passion they showed about what they
do here.”
As for the recruits, they were proud of
what they were doing.
“I’ve done things I never thought I’d
do, like climb 60-foot towers,” said 19-yearold
Andrew Meyers, who passed up a soccer
scholarship to Washington State University
to enlist. He said he joined not despite the
probability that he will soon face combat, but
partly because of it. “I want to make a difference,
and the Marines give you a real sense of
pride that you are. This was defi nitely the right
thing to do.”
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thepress.net.