front page 09 25.qxp - Clayton Pioneer

Page 6 Clayton Pioneer • www.claytonpioneer.com September 25, 2009
Snake Bite, from page 1 FEMA stats show
crew’s care at their house and in
getting her husband to John Muir
Medical Center in Walnut Creek,
where he was given anti-venom
Inspired Real
Estate Service
Stephanie Lopez
serum. Weeks later, he is resting
at home while still experiencing
issues with blood coagulation.
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We look forward to Next Year’s Event!
ding anniversary in August and if
it hadn’t been for the work of the
emergency crew, I don’t know if
we’d be able to look forward to
our 60th,” says LaVon, a retired
nurse.
The Hoelmers moved from
Minnesota to Concord in 1963
and bought their Clayton home
10 years later. Lowell was a sheet
metal worker and still carries
medical coverage through his
union.
Herriman Court is a quiet cul
de sac of nine single-story, ranchstyle
homes off Mitchell Canyon
Road. The court has the last
homes on the west side of
Mitchell Canyon. Immediately
past the court is an agricultural
soil trial growth area and then the
entrance to the Cemex Clayton
Aggregate quarry.
The 1st of September was a
hot day with temperatures in the
90s. As they often do, the
Hoelmers were going to open
their garage door to help cool the
house about 9:30 p.m. They have
a screen door between the garage
and the interior of their house.
“Lowell flipped on the light and
took a step down into the garage.
He let out a yell and we saw a
large snake by the step,” says
LaVon. “It freaked me out.”
“He stepped back into the
house, saying he felt a little
woozy. At first, we didn’t realize
he had been bitten. I called 911
and then a neighbor,” she relates.
“The bite immediately affected
Lowell. Our neighbor elevated
his leg, waiting for the emergency
workers to arrive. By the time
they got there, Lowell was having
trouble breathing, his eyes were
rolled back, he couldn’t swallow
and his leg was swollen.”
Lowell was wearing moccasins
and had been bitten on his
left ankle. Fire Capt./paramedic
Noel Luiz, fire engineer Ken
Robb and firefighter/paramedic
Brian DaValle responded to the
911 call. They assessed that their
patient was “in shock, had an elevated
heart rate, low blood pres-
Áegis of Concord invites you to
“Pups & Pages”!
Join us for our “Meet The Author” program
sponsored by BookLockerBooks.com.
Sunday, September 27th
12:00 p.m - 2:00 p.m.
In attendance will be four notable authors available for book signings
and a question and answer period.
The authors:
Annette Langer, Len Harris and special Mystery Authors
BookLockerBooks.com will be donating $1 per book sold, to the
Animal Rescue Foundation(ARF). They will also be accepting canned food
donations for our furry friends and donating a book for our resident library.
Refreshments will be served.
Please RSVP to Kelly Ferro, Marketing Director at (925) 692-5838.
Áegis of Concord
4756 Clayton Road
Concord, CA 94521
(925) 692-5838
AegisofConcord.com
sure and was pale, cool and
diaphoretic.”
After Lowell was taken to
John Muir, it was two hours
before he was given the antivenom
serum. The incident happened
on a Tuesday evening and
he was released that Friday.
LaVon went around to all her
neighbors, telling them what happened.
Seven of the eight neighbors
told her they have killed rattlesnakes
on their property. One
found a rattler that had come into
their house through an open
door.
The snake in the Hoelmers’
garage was described as four to
five feet in length with a significant
girth. The emergency crew
chopped off its head. LaVon
Hoelmer was cautioned to be
careful when she cleaned up the
blood in the garage since it could
still have venom in it. The smell
of the dead snake in the hot
weather was so bad that Waste
Management agreed to make a
special pickup to remove the carcass.
The crew at Fire Station 11
says they respond to many calls
about rattlesnakes, but treating
humans with a snake bite is a rarity.
Last year, a young girl was bitten
as she played outside her
Dana Hills home.
Dan Barrett, deputy director
of Contra Costa Animal Services
in Martinez, said they are not
apprised of many snake bites on
humans. Snakes biting dog and
dogs biting people are much bigger
problems. “I think you’ll find
that vets’ reports of snake bites
on domestic animals are greater
than incidents with humans.
People would be surprised how
many serious bites on humans
there are with uncontrolled and
unsocialized dogs that require
emergency treatment.”
Barrett added that the spring
(March-April) and early fall
(September-October) are the
main months for rattlesnake
sightings. “We get calls every
month about rattlesnakes, but
typically there’s a significant
increase when the temperature
changes.”
He cites Clayton, Pittsburg
and Hercules as cities backing up
to open space with the most rattlesnakes.
“We hear from every
city within the county about
snakes.”
In the past week officials
from Mt. Diablo Soccer
Association reported that rattlesnakes
were spotted on a field
at Clayton Community Park next
to Diablo View Middle School
and in the restroom at
Boatwright Sports Complex adjacent
to Cal State East Bay
Concord campus off Pine
Hollow Rd.
Mayor, from page 1
Redevelopment Agency (as economic
development promotion
of our Town Center), the
Clayton Business and
Community Association and a
contribution from our refuse
and recycling collector, Allied
Waste Services.
Since the state plans to steal
all of the city’s available redevelopment
funds this year and
next, we are grateful for your
generous donations toward next
year’s concert series. Your donations,
totaling more than $7,000
so far, are held in a dedicated
fund that can only be used for
the concerts next year and cannot
be stolen by the state!
It’s not too late to send a taxdeductible
donation to next
year’s series. Just send a check to
“City of Clayton” and write
“Concert Series” on the memo
line. I’ll send you a personal
thank you to document your
donation.
Councilman Howard Geller
volunteered again this year as
our concert promoter, selecting
and booking the bands and
serving as overall organizer. Jim
Diaz, Dan DeSousa, Jim
Lawrence, Mike Williams and
Mike Fossan managed logistics.
Americans are not
prepared for disaster
HERB YONGE
SAFETY ZONE
Last month, FEMA released
a report from the 2009 Citizen
Corps National Survey that provides
important information
related to preparedness and
community safety.
The survey indicated that 30
percent of Americans are not
prepared for a disaster because
they believe that emergency
responders will help them. Sixty
percent expect to rely on emergency
responders in the first 72
hours following a disaster, while
49 percent believe neighbors
will help them.
When we have a major disaster
in the Bay Area that affects
Clayton, we could be cut off
from the first responders for a
week or more. Can the personnel
at the fire station handle all
of our needs at the time of disaster?
Probably not. Will the
EMTs be able to enter Clayton
via Clayton Road or Oakhurst?
Maybe not.
Only 41 percent of the survey
participants had practiced a
workplace evacuation drill and
14 percent had participated in a
home evacuation drill. Of those
in school and or with children in
school, 23 percent had participated
in a school evacuation
drill. In Clayton our children are
trained in emergency evacuation,
but how about at home?
Do you have an evacuation
plan? Have you practiced your
plan with your family? Where is
your meeting place during or
after a disaster?
As to having the necessary
emergency supplies; i.e. water,
food, flashlight, batteries, etc.,
56 percent have an appropriate
cache. Thirty-five percent have
supplies in their cars and 46 percent
have supplies in their work-
Don Stone and his sound crew
made sure we could all hear the
great music.
City staff members Laci
Jackson and Laura Hoffmeister
took care of the administrative
details. As your mayor, I was
head cheerleader and enthusiastic
donation collector – also
doubling as restocking staff for
the restrooms. The great volunteers
from Diablo Valley Ranch
pitched in every concert with
set-up and clean-up.
I’d specially like to thank all
of you who came and enjoyed
the concerts. What a great town
we have!
Last week, we passed out
surveys to those at the concert
asking what we can do to
improve the series for next year.
In case you missed the final concert
or didn’t get a chance to fill
out the survey, it’s posted on our
Website at www.ci.clayton.ca.us.
We’d love to have your feedback
on many aspects of the series.
Some of our questions on
the survey are:
� Did you attend any of the 10
concerts this year? How
many?
� Are Saturday evenings the
best time?
place. It was encouraging to
read that 72 percent of the survey
participants have their
financial records in a safe place.
Forty-four percent have
household emergency plans in
place, but only 23 percent have
given time within the last 12
months to support emergency
responder organizations. Just 13
percent have attended
Community Emergency
Response Team (CERT) training.
In Clayton, we have only 141
people trained. Of our Clayton
population over the age of 16, I
am sure we are less than 13 percent.
Our goal is to have all
Clayton residents prepared for a
disaster.
Too few people have the necessary
training to know what to
do in a disaster. Here are some
things to consider:
� Do you have your emergency
supplies?
� Do you have evacuation plans
and knowledge of community
emergency procedures?
� Do you have drills to practice
your emergency preparedness
skills?
You should be commended if
you are prepared for a disaster
where we are cut off for 7-10
days, have your evacuation plans
in place and feel confident in
handling your family’s immediate
first aid needs. If not, I strongly
recommend you enroll in a
CERT training session.
Our six-week program begins
6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30, at
Endeavor Hall. These classes
address emergency preparedness,
including recommended household
supplies, fire suppression,
light search and rescue and disaster
psychology.
To enroll in the CERT class,
call 673-7355 and leave a message.
Or visit
www.claytoncert.org.
For more on the FEMA
report, go to www.citizenscorps.gov/ready/2009findings.shtm.
Herb Yonge is a volunteer with
the Clayton Police Department and a
member of the city of Clayton
Citizen Corps Council, CERT
team. Contact him at 673-7355 or
at hlyonge@att.net.
� Would another day or time
be better?
� Do you like the variety of
music? Would you like a different
blend?
� What was your favorite/least
favorite concert? Why?
� How was the volume?
� Would you attend a special
concert on the 4th of July?
Best time?
� Did you patronize any of
our restaurants/downtown
businesses for food or beverages?
Why/why not?
� Would you like to have food
or beverage sales booths in
The Grove during concerts?
� Should we restrict how early
people can “reserve” space
with blankets and chairs?
� Did you donate to the
Concert Fund collections
this year?
� Would you be willing to volunteer
to help the Concert
Crew next year?
� Do you have any suggestions
for next year?
Please help us plan for next
year’s concerts by responding to
the survey by Oct. 10. Your
feedback will help us improve
the series for next year.
As always, you can contact me at
Julie_Pierce@comcast.net. Let me
know what you think.