ENERGY EFFICIENT LIGHTING
Skylights on the Port Costa School, installed when the school was built in 1911, underwent much-needed repairs and restoration work last month. Jeff von Ranson (left) of Crockett and Bill List of Port Costa did the interior work, rebuilding the ceiling trusses.
SKYLIGHT WORK
NEARS COMPLETIONAs of the end of March, restoration work on the Port Costa School skylights is 90 percent complete. Installed in 1911, the three skylights illuminate the main hallway upstairs, the two stairwells, and through a glass floor, the downstairs hallway. Exposed to decades of weathering by sun, wind and rain, the skylights were long overdue for maintenance and repair.
75% of the work was financed by a Crockett Community Foundation grant of $19,344. A $2,308 bequest from the Clare and Gordon Johnson Charitable Trust, and $4,140 in volunteer hours complete the $25,792 cost of the project. The work also includes restoration of all the windows in the auditorium.
The work involved building four plywood trusses to span the hallway and support the skylight. This interior work was done by Jeff von Ranson of Crockett and Bill List of Port Costa. On the roof, each piece of glass was removed and the metal framing cleaned. Broken panes were replaced, the new and cleaned glass reset on a bead of silicon and reglazed with polyurethane. Arrow Glass of Albany was the contractor for the roof work. Completing installation of new windows in the auditorium will finish the job. Maintenance work in the building is ongoing and volunteers are always welcome. Call (510) 787-2254.
Jim Macdonald(left) and Dennis Williams of Arrow Glass in Albany put the last pane in place. |
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CPR TRAINING – A CHANCE TO SAVE A LIFE Emergencies happen -- at home, at the office, on vacation -- always when least expected. These are times when minutes and seconds count, when taking immediate action can save a life. A class in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) will be held at the Port Costa School on Saturday, May 17, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The American Red Cross will conduct the course. The class is sponsored by the Port Costa Conservation Society and the volunteer firefighters of Port Costa Engine 77 of the Crockett-Carquinez Fire District. Fee for the 4-hour class is $25. Normally $40, the reduced rate is made possible by a non-profit discount and private donations. Individual certificates of completion will be issued at the end of the class. If you would like to learn the basic life-saving skills of CPR, sign up now. Class size is limited to 24. Reservations must be made in advance. Residents of Crockett, Tormey and Port Costa are encouraged to participate. For a registration form, or for questions, please call (510) 787-2254. |
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Talk'n Trash with Tim By Tim Crane SPRING IS HERE and fire season is just around the corner. Now is a good time to start clearing out the soon-to-be potential fire fuel. To help with the effort, the Port Costa Conservation Society is sponsoring a Green Cleanup for Port Costa residents on May 10, and the county Dept. of Public Works will provide a chipper from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For early drop-off, the Port Costa School ball field will be open for a week prior to the cleanup, starting Saturday, May 3, from 3 p.m. to dusk. Remember, green waste only (tree limbs, yard clippings, leaves & weeds, etc.), no lumber, plastic, or other trash. Please do not compact it, to make it easier to feed into the chipper. Volunteers needed for 2-hour shifts. Mulch from the chipper is available free for garden use. REMINDER for the blue recycling carts… please be aware of what you can recycle. You can put the following materials in the blue cart: #1 PETE bottles, #2 HDPE bottles, aluminum cans, aluminum scrap, glass bottles, cardboard, newspaper, plastic soft drink bottles, junk mail and white paper. IF YOU ARE RECYCLING and composting most of your trash, then possibly your weekly garbage will fit in a 20-gallon "mini-can", thus saving you $3.00 on your garbage bill per month. WEST COUNTY EARTH DAY FESTIVAL is going to be held at the Integrated Resource Recovery Facility in Richmond. The date: Saturday, April 26, 2003, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free. Located at 101 Pittsburg Avenue (just off the Richmond Parkway). Call (510) 412-4512 or go to for additional info. The Contra Costa Integrated Waste Management Authority produces the event. There will be muic, food, fun, composting and gardening workshops, mural painting, recycling plant tours, recycled arts and crafts. Also, you can register to win two free round trip tickets on Amtrack! THANKS for reading Trash with Tim ... |
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For its 2003 fund-raiser, the Port Costa Conservation Society is planning a combination Car Show and Crafts Fair. Local owners of automotive oldies are urged to showcase their gleaming vehicles; local artisans are invited to bring their work for show and sale. The event will be held on Sunday, August 31. The automobiles will be parked for viewing on the playground. Visitor parking will be on the baseball field. Crafts tables and booths will be set up in the Art Center downstairs, in the auditorium upstairs and at some outside locations. Fee for the Car Show is $20 for a 12-foot-wide spot. As show spaces are limited, all cars will be entered in the Open Category. Charge for Crafts Fair space will be $20, with a 10-percent donation of profits to the PCCS. The event will also feature a raffle drawing with an array of fabulous prizes, delicious barbecued hamburgers and ice cold beverages. Admission is free. To get an entry form, for either the Car Show or the Crafts Fair, call (510) 787-6705 or write to PCCS, P.O. Box 36, Port Costa, CA 94569. |
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SHOW KICKS OFF NEW ART CENTER Known for years as "the janitor’s room," a former storage space for surplus equipment at the Port Costa School is undergoing transformation as the new Port Costa Art Center. The room is being leased as a working studio and community art center by April Zachary of Port Costa, and her sister, Suzanne Freedlun of Vacaville. The newly spruced-up room was formally christened last month with a public-invited art show on December 8th. The 1911 Port Costa School was officially closed in 1968. The Port Costa Conservation Society bought the building in 1989 and has since upgraded it with reinforced ceiling joists, a new roof, new floor slabs, a steel-reinforced back wall and new ADA restrooms. Additional improvements to the skylights and auditorium are scheduled early this year. "Suzanne and I were looking for a place to do our work," said April. "I had my own studio at home, and I wanted to become more involved in the community, and to create a place for artists to work. We saw that it could work here, and it’s taken on a life of its own." April and her husband, Mark English, are firefighters for the City of San Jose. Mark is also a member of the Port Costa Volunteer Fire Department. Suzanne is a certified instructor in stained glass and quilting, and until recently the proprietor of a gift shop in Isleton, The Gilded Iris. "Eventually," said April, "we want to have a ‘community table’ for people who like to work on art but don’t have enough room at home. We would like to have small workshops – drawing, quilting, stained glass and watercolor. I see it growing. Everybody will bring their own talent. Everybody is welcome." "Also," said Suzanne, "we will have workshops for kids. Kids are naturals." The December 8th Art Show brought in $7,400 from the sale of paintings, sculpture, ceramics and other individual pieces. The Art Center donated $919 of that amount to the Port Costa Conservation Society. Separately, the PCCS took in $252 from the sale of photos, prints and postcards. Of the more than 500 pieces submitted for exhibit and sale at the Art Show, a majority were from Crockett, Martinez, Pinole and Port Costa. Other work came from Santa Cruz, Walnut Creek and Vallejo. Information regarding the Art Center can be obtained by calling (510) 787-6705 or (707) 448-7171. |
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AUGUST
FUND-RAISER WILL MIX CARS, CRAFTS