Essays Win Scholarships for Two El Cerrito High Seniors

Based on an essay competition, two El Cerrito High students received scholarships from the Chamber of Commerce Wednesday. West County schools superintendent Bruce Harter also spoke at the chamber luncheon.

El Cerrito Mayor Bill Jones did the honors Wednesday at the Mira Vista Golf and Country Club, handing over checks to the two El Cerrito High School seniors whose essays won the annual Chamber of Commerce scholarship competition. The winners of the $500 scholarships – made possible by the chamber's annual "Taste of El Cerrito" fundraiser – were Brian Seegers of Kensington and Adriana Valdez of El Cerrito. On the same luncheon program, the superintendent of the West Contra Costa Unified School District, Bruce Harter, delivered an update on local public schools, reporting that enrollment has increased and naming benefits of Measure K, a parcel tax measure for the schools on the June 5 ballot. Valdez plans to attend UC Berkeley and major in …

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Who's Who

El Cerrito's Resident Magician – "Magical Nathaniel"

When the El Cerrito High School senior class decided to drop the annual talent show, 17-year-old Nathaniel Segal took out his magic wand and, with much work and determination, kept the tradition alive.

Name: Nathaniel Segal, 17, aka "Magical Nathaniel" Occupation: Volunteer magician at Playland-Not-at-the-Beach, senior at El Cerrito High School How long have you been practicing magic? About 15 years, since I was 3 years old. How long have you been working with Playland-Not-at-the-Beach? About five or so years—around 2007 I started volunteering there. That was about the time I started getting into magic and putting together shows. That’s really when my show took off.  We (my family) started volunteering there. My sister and dad helped, building the models and the sets and painting stuff. Every day I would get a few volunteers and practice my card tricks. Each week I could practice my magic tricks and I would improve. Then I started doing …

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Small Fire Empties El Cerrito High

A fire among auto parts next to the autoshop during lunch time at El Cerrito High School today, Thursday, caused a brief evacuation of the school. No injuries occurred and damage was minor, Principal David Luongo said.

Note: this article was updated May 10 at 6:45 p.m. Students were evacuated from El Cerrito High School for about 20 minutes today, Thursday, after a fire broke out next to the school auto shop, said Principal David Luongo. No one was injured, and there was no major damage, he said. The fire occurred "just outside the autoshop" at 12:20 p.m., he said. El Cerrito fire department Battalion Chief Dave Gibson said the fire burned among auto parts stored beneath an auto frame that was sitting outdoors next to an exterior wall of the autoshop. It was extinguished by an automatic sprinkler from an overhang above the spot where the frame and parts were being kept, he said. Gilbson said the cause of the fire "is under investigation at this time."

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El Cerrito High Grad Dies at Cal Dorm

El Cerrito High School graduate Henry Treadway died Tuesday night in an apparent jump from his sixth-floor dorm room at UC Berkeley, where he was a sophomore. A vigil is planned Friday night at Sproul Plaza.

Note: More information was added to this article on May 11 at 7 p.m. A UC Berkeley sophomore who graduated from El Cerrito High in 2010, Henry Treadway, died Tuesday night when he apparently jumped from his sixth-floor dorm room, authorities said. The death of the 20-year-old student sent shock waves through the high school and the Cal campus. A Facebook page established in his memory has drawn a large outpouring of grief and remembrances.  His apparent jump from the Haste Street dorm occurred about 9:45 p.m., said UC police Lt. Eric Tejada. UC police initially withheld his identification, pending notification of family. He was identified later today, Wednesday, by the Alameda County coroner's office. "Our investigation has ruled it as a …

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Guilty Verdict in Murder of El Cerrito High Student Gene Grisby

A jury Thursday afternoon found Tyris Franklin, 17, of Richmond, guilty of first-degree murder in the Jan. 10, 2011 shooting of El Cerrito High student Gene Grisby. Another suspect, El Cerrito High grad Jean-Pierre Fordjour, awaits trial.

By Bay City News A jury in Martinez Thursday afternoon found a Richmond teen guilty of murdering a 16-year-old boy. Tyris Franklin, 17, was convicted of first-degree murder for using a 22-caliber semi-automatic firearm to shoot and kill 16-year-old Gene Grisby in front of his family's Richmond home the afternoon of Jan. 10, 2011. Friends and family members of both the victim and the defendant wept after the verdict was handed down in a Martinez courtroom this afternoon. Franklin, dressed in a gray, button-up shirt and dark tie, did not appear to react to the verdict. He faces 50 years to life in prison for the murder and is set to be sentenced May 25. The defendant, who was 16 at the time of the murder, allegedly shot Grisby as an act of …

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Michael O'Connor

7:16 am on Friday, May 4, 2012

THREE lives wasted. One more trial to follow.   more ›

Rep. Miller Assails Money Politics at El Cerrito High Talk

U.S. Congressman George Miller told El Cerrito High students Monday that campaign money is corrupting politics, praised the Occupy movement and stressed the importance of having an education and job skills.

U.S. Representative George Miller covered a wide terrain in a Monday morning talk with students at El Cerrito High School, where he forsook the podium on the theater stage to walk among students in the seats responding to questions. Wearing a dark blazer without a tie, the white-haired Democratic Congressman lamented the gap between the working-class and the super-rich, criticized campaign-finance practices that allow special interests to contribute huge sums without proper disclosure, and praised President Barack Obama's successes with healthcare reform and renewable energy. He also lauded the Occupy movement for bringing unjust economic disparity to the forefront of public discussion and deplored the reduction in government support of …

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El Cerrito High Student Gets AFS Scholarship to Japan

El Cerrito High School student Yvonne Banerjee has been awarded a scholarship to study for a semester and live with a host family and in Japan as an AFS exchange student this fall.

An El Cerrito High School student, Yvonne Banerjee, will receive a $12,150 scholarship to be an AFS exchange student living with a host family in Japan for a semester beginning this fall. The news was announced by AFS-USA: Concord, CA, 23 April 2012 – Yvonne Banerjee, an El Cerrito High School student from Concord, CA has been awarded a Yoshi Hattori Memorial scholarship in the amount of $12,150 from AFS Intercultural Programs/USA. Banerjee will study in a Japanese high school for the fall semester of 2012, and live with a host family. Banerjee is on the El Cerrito High girls’ tennis team and a member of Interact Club, a youth volunteering organization, and IDesign club, an arts group. She also participates in her church’s Youth Group. …

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Kathy A.

11:47 pm on Friday, April 27, 2012

Charles! I had no idea you also lived in Japan. But I agree, it is an extremely safe country -- that's true even in cities. And a wonderful and rewarding experience.   more ›

El Cerrito High PTSA Needs Help

The PTSA at El Cerrito High (the parents, teachers and students association) is seeking volunteers to serve as officers and committee chairs to keep the organization functioning effectively.

The PTSA at El Cerrito High School issued the following appeal Thursday on the school email list: Gaucho Parents and Gaucho Parents-To-Be:    The ECHS PTSA needs for you to get involved to help your school community. Find out how at the business portion of our April 16th PTSA meeting (this coming Monday) 7-9 at the school library, immediately following the 7:15-8:30 presentation about WASC. We need some great volunteers to run for PTSA President, Vice President, Membership Chair, and Financial Secretary (The current Secretary and Treasurer wish to remain in their positions next year, but would still need to be re-elected).  Parents of students who will be freshman next year as well as parents of students currently at ECHS are invited (and …

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Guest Columns

Local Poet, Artist Seek Funding for Deeply Personal Work

Following the death of Alex Chappell, an El Cerrito High School alum, his mother and a friend are seeking support to publish their creative work of words and images intended to provide comfort and understanding about loss and healing for others.

By David Brehmer Richmond, CA, April 9, 2012 – In the face of senseless tragedy, one’s greatest hope is that one’s story will impact another’s life, to spread understanding and awareness. To that end, artist Jeannine Chappell and I have launched a worldwide fundraising campaign to raise at least $6,500 via Kickstarter.com to print, publish and promote This Has Happened: Words and Images After the Crash, a vivid, intense, and detailed account of our emotional and physical journeys in the aftermath of the traffic collision that took Jeannine’s son Alex’s life and left me in the hospital. On April 14, 2011, my good friend and band mate Alex Chappell and I were headed home from band practice on Interstate 880 in Oakland, when a drunk driver …

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