NewsfrontSERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF DANVILLE BLACKHAWK DIABLO ALAMO<strong>Danville</strong> teen shotand killed on porchof his homePolice investigation focusing on boy’s known associates<strong>Danville</strong> pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III safely crash landed this US Airways plane in the Hudson River last week and made sureall 155 passengers were safe.Town readies for hero’s return<strong>Danville</strong> pilot is national hero after amazing landingby Geoff Gillette<strong>Danville</strong> residents are invitedto turn out this weekendto celebrate the return ofChesley “Sully” Sullenberger III,dubbed “The Hero of the Hudson”following his miraculous landingof US Airways flight 1549.Mayor Newell Arnerich said theSullenberger family will be returningto <strong>Danville</strong> and the town is preparinga celebration in their honor. It willtake place at 1 p.m., Saturday, Jan.24, on the Town Green, 400 FrontSt., in front of the library.“Capt. Sully did somethingextraordinary and unprecedentedon Jan. 15,” said Arnerich. “I canthink of at least 155 reasons whyour town should join together tocelebrate our neighbor and friend,and his family.”“We’re expecting several thousandpeople to be there,” Arnerich added.Town officials are working outthe logistics of making room forthe expected 200 members of themedia to cover the event and thousandsof people. Heads of severaltown departments, including police,fire, streets and maintenance will bescrambling to prepare for the influxof such large numbers. Initial plansmay lead to several streets beingclosed during the event.Sullenberger, 57, of <strong>Danville</strong>,was the pilot of Flight 1549,bound from LaGuardia Airport toCharlotte, N.C., on Jan. 15. Theplane lost its engines after strikingseveral geese. Displaying remarkablereflexes and presence of mind,Sullenberger guided the de-poweredairplane to a safe landing inthe Hudson River.Cockpit recordings showed thatSullenberger radioed in about a “doublestrike” on the airplane, meaningChesley “Sully”Sullenberger IIIand his familywere invited toattend the ObamaInauguration bythe first family. Thefamily is expectedto return to <strong>Danville</strong>this weekend for atown celebration.Stay tunedThe Town of <strong>Danville</strong> is planninga big celebration at 1 p.m.Saturday at the Town Greenon Front Street, in front of thelibrary, for Capt. Chesley “Sully”Sullenberger III. For the detailsas they become available, go towww.<strong>Danville</strong>Weekly.com.that both engines were affected bythe collision with the birds and theplane lost engine power.New York City emergency crewsleapt into action and brought rescueboats to the downed craft. Whilesome passengers fell into the icywaters, most huddled safely onthe wings of the plane until helparrived. Within minutes, everyonehad been safely evacuated from theplane and were being treated byemergency personnel.Injuries were few and none waslife threatening. All 155 passengersand crew of the Airbus survivedthe crash, a fact New York Gov.David Paterson referred to as “TheMiracle on the Hudson.”Sullenberger was lauded by passengersand emergency officialsalike as a hero, calm and coolduring the terrifying event andshowing a strong sense of duty inremaining aboard the aircraft untilhe was certain everyone was off. Continued on page 8COURTESY NEW YORK DAILY NEWSby Geoff Gillette<strong>Danville</strong> police are lookingfor suspects in a Tuesdayevening shooting that lefta 17-year-old <strong>Danville</strong>boy dead. Speakingto reporters at a pressconference, PoliceChief Chris Wenzelsaid they were calledto the 1000 block of ElCapitan Drive at 9:15p.m. on a report of agunshot.At the scene, a youngman identified as RylanFuchs was found bleedingfrom a gunshot wound to thethroat. Fuchs was transported toJohn Muir Medical Center, wherehe died of his injury at 5:20 a.m.Wednesday.Wenzel said Fuchs’ motherreported hearing an altercation ofsome sort outside the home prior tothe single gunshot. He did not sayhow many people were on the porchat the time or whether she knewNone of this came as a surprise toSullenberger’s friends and neighbors.Jane Garcia, a friend of the family,described Sullenberger as “Extremelyintelligent. Very conscientious. Hiswhole family is like that.”Garcia’s husband John expressedgratitude for the work Sullenbergerdid in landing the plane and saidthat it gave him an entirely newperspective on the job of an airlinepilot. “I fly all the time and I neverreally had a good appreciation forwhat pilots do,” he said, “but nowI’m going to have a whole lot morerespect for the job pilots do.”Neighbor Frank Salzmann saidhe believed that if anyone couldland a plane that way it would beSullenberger. “That’s Sully. He’sjust the kind of person you’d thinkcould pull something like that off.”He added, “When you think of whatthe captain of an airplane should belike, you’d think of Sully.”Officials from the US AirlinesPilot Association, the union representingUS Airways Pilots, requestedthat the Sullenberger family notspeak to the media until an investigationwas completed, but that didnot stop friends and neighbors fromstepping up to sing their praises.Friends from as far away asMonterey came to help keep the familyinsulated from the dozens of reporterscamped out in the area. Some, like JimWalberg, took a moment to offer theirthoughts on Sullenberger.“He was the right guy at theright place at the right moment,”Walberg stated. “He’s just an amazing,humble man.”Walberg reiterated what somany others had already said:Sullenberger is a man of extraorbyHarry StollThe San Ramon Valleyschool board heard a consultantemphasize that revenuesfrom a proposed parcel taxwould remain under local control,at the Sept. 13 meeting. Healso strongly stated that the boardshould recommend a moderateamount for a parcel tax, whichwould replace the current one thatexpires June 30.“From $128 to $144,” wouldbe the parcel tax comfort zonesaid Jared Boigon of EMCResearch, the firm whose barchartreport analyzed the resultsof 603 December telephone surveyswith voters. He said to gohigher would be risky.“$128 is ridiculously low,”said Realtor Chris Hopkins, whoadvocates a tax of at least $350.That would yield approximately$15.4 million to make a significantdent in a projected deficit of $23million. Hopkins said if the taxis set from $128 to $144, voterswould still see steep cuts. He saidtalk of a recession is overblownand that his business is doing well.Rylan Fuchswho the people involved were.Police have ruled out randomviolence as a cause for the shootingand are focusing on other studentswho were known to associatewith Fuchs.“We’ve talked tofriends, family andneighbors. It’s based onthe information we’vecollected at this point,”Wenzel explained.No motive has beengiven for the shooting.Fuchs was a seniorat San Ramon ValleyHigh School, set tograduate in June.School District spokesman TerryKoehne addressed reporters andoffered the district’s sympathy toFuchs’ family.He said the students and facultyat SRVHS were shocked by thenews.“They’re very emotional.They’re trying to grapple with Continued on page 8Sacramento can’ttouch schoolparcel tax moneyTrustees mull over how much to ask from votersThe expiring tax is $90.Gary Ware, a business brokerspecializing in optometry businesses,supports a parcel tax eventhough, he reported, “Businessis down dramatically.” He is aboard member of the San RamonEducation Foundation, and histwo daughters-in-law are teachersin the district.A tax of $144 is the recommendationof a parcel tax task forceheaded by Nancy Vandell thatincludes school board membersPaul Gardner and Rachel Hurd,Superintendent Steven Enoch,assistant superintendents, andrepresentatives from the PTA andfrom unions.“There’s a certain segment ofvoters who are opposed to publiceducation and will always voteNo,” said Trustee Greg Marvel,who estimated them to be around20 percent.And, he said, about half thevoters will always vote Yes. Theundecided voters should be the targetof any effort, he said. He saidhe will try to persuade the board to Continued on page 8 Page 5