Mountain House Matters! • mhmatters.netNovember 2018 1

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Local Coverage of Community News • Health & Wel l -being • Entertainment & Leisure • Sports and al l the MH Matters !

November/early Dec 2018 Volume 7 • Number 11

By Bryan Harrison

14 Amazing Relief Efforts

“Go West” The Cry at Transportation Forum

10 Deepavali/Diwali Celebrations

- see page 2

Issue #73

The Mountain House Community Services District held a “Transportation Forum” the morning of Sat-urday, November 17, 2018 at the CSD board room chambers. Put together by staff and moderated by Director Brian Lucid, the gathering provided an op-portunity for regional transportation decision-mak-ers to share their latest services, and for community voices to be heard.The board dais was filled a broad spectrum Who’s Who of county and regional representation, in-cluding: RTD General Manager and CEO, Donna DeMartino; San Joaquin County Supervisor Bob Elliott; MH CSD Director Brian Lucid; Manager of Regional Initiative at ACE (Altamont Corridor Express), Dan Leavitt; San Joaquin County Council of Governments (COG) Senior Regional Planner, Rob Cunningham; and Deputy Director of Public Works for San Joaquin County, Mike Selling.Not included in the invited panel was Valley Link Co-Chair, Veronica Vargas, who is also Mayor ProTem of Tracy. She did attend the event, how-ever, and will likely be included in future such meetings, MH Interim General Manager, Sarah Ragsdale stated.

Mountain House High School production of “CLUE” featured three performances, the evenings of November 9th & 10th, and a matineé Sunday November 11th

MH Interim General Manager, Sarah Ragsdale, wel-comed the crowd and thanked the guest presenters before turning the meeting over to Director Lucid. Mr. Lucid presented a basic outline of the intent of the meeting, and introduced the distinguished panel members.A major focus for this meeting was the newly es-tablished bus service in Mountain House. Regional Transit District is providing FREE bus service for MH riders through the end of this year.

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- see page 18

MHHS Production of Clue a Fun Tale

Just Some of What’s Inside

continued page 7

The “99 Hopper”, as its known, is running nine round trips daily between points in Mountain House and Tracy. A benefit to commuters is the service to the ACE Train station in South Tracy. RTD CEO Donna DeMartino, who has served RTD since 2001, laid out the new program. She acknowl-edged that they are listening when she explained the improved route schedule to the ACE station.

Mountain House Transportation Forum, held Saturday morning, November 17, 2018.

Stop Signs coming to Great Valley Parkway

By Bryan Harrison

Mountain House, CA – Since the opening of Great Valley Parkway here September 14, 2018, there has been cause for concern about traffic speed and safety expressed by residents and public officials alike. The new straight-away section running along the western edge of Hansen Village completes a nearly

three-mile throughway con-necting Grant Line Rd to Byron Rd. on the North side of town, inviting excessive travel by the many who do not abide by the posted 35

mph speed limit signs. With no inter-section controls installed at the outset of

continued page 7

These Stories and more at: www.MHMatters.net

22 Varsity Girls Tennis Goes 14-0

Mountain House Matters! • mhmatters.net November 2018 2

By Bryan Harrison

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MHHS Production of Clue a Fun TaleThe 1985 cult classic, Clue, was presented by the Mountain House High School Theater De-partment in a series of performances over the weekend of November 9-11, 2018 at the MHHS Theater. Evening performances were held at 7pm both Friday and Saturday nights, with a 1pm matinée performance Sunday. Director and Theater/Drama Teacher, Chris Hixon, welcomed the crowd as the lights went down. He expressed his delight at the audience turn-out for these shows, and acknowledged the work of his cast and crew. “This is the first show where we have been able to put the Stagecraft1 class to work,” he said. Mr. Hixon explained that this performance - the Sunday afternoon matinée - would include un-

derstudy performances by three of the cast members, each of whom had already performed in different roles in the first two performances. Seeing the elaborate and versatile set design as the curtain opened raised the bar of expectations for the performance that was about to unfold. A custom-built two-story set with a full staircase to the left going upstairs to three of the rooms in the mansion, along with a rotating center downstairs for quick change, allowed the two-act play an added dimension.The performances were engaging and believable as one character after another was inexplicably offed in ever-changing ways. The turn of events near the finale,

continued page 4

Mountain House Matters! • mhmatters.netNovember 2018 3

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Mountain House Matters! • mhmatters.net November 2018 4MHHS Production of Clue a Fun Talecontinued from page 2

heightened by the elaborately funny extended dying se-quence by Wadsworth, as he kicked the bucket (as played by Gabe Hixson), capped a lively performance by a well-rehearsed cast.Even for those familiar with the story, Clue will keep you guessing. There are three pos-sible endings in the original. The Sunday matinée was the option where nearly everybody kills somebody. Bravo!

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The Mountain House Dog Club board announced that the Dog Club would be making some big changes at their annual meeting on November 4, 2018.“The MH Dog Club was created to promote so-cialization of dogs, and to educate the Mountain House community on issues concerning dogs, to improve responsible dog ownership, and bring positive changes for dogs and their owners. The way to meet these goals was to actualize a com-munity dog park in Mountain House. The club was set up as a non-profit to be able to pursue this goal, i.e., raising money, getting grants, etc.,” explained President, Monica Collins. “The main goal of the original club has been met; we will be getting the dog park without having to raise funds. There really is no other reason to continue our status as a non-profit. The costs and amount of time it takes to keep the club a non-profit is not justified, so as the current board, we have decided to dissolve the club as it is currently setup.” Other current board members, Dave Updegraff, Becky & Chris Walker are all resigning their positions on the board after they legally dissolve the club with the state and with the IRS.What about the $25,000 won through the Bark for Your Park contest, sponsored by PetSafe back in 2013?

Changes Coming for the MH Dog Club “Unfortunately, those prize winnings had to be forfeited. We could not meet the requirements to be able to accept any of the money, mainly the deadline to break ground, and we could not show we had enough money to finish the project”, states Collins. “The good news is we are getting our dog park through the Central Park Project, Phase 2 & 3 that is being planned currently,” Ms. Collins said. “We have met with Dave Sargent (MH Developers, LLC) who is in charge of the project, and have been told at our last meeting recently that the planning will be completed by end of 2019.“Construction of the project, including the dog park, is now planned to begin in Janu-ary, 2020 with completion set for December of 2020. The Central Park Project is a go, so now the Dog Park costs will be included in the entire cost of that project,” she added, “with, ultimately, the CSD taking ownership and being responsible for the liability and maintenance of the dog park under the Parks and Rec depart-ment, just as all the parks are.” she said. “It really is the best thing that could’ve happened, legally and financially, despite the waiting,” Monica concluded.Interested residents can go to the CSD website to see the Central Park Improvement Project Designs, and for more information.

After becoming President and electing a new board in 2017, the club participated in various events, such as the July 4th parade to promote a re-launch of the club. They hosted our their first members meeting last November and had accomplished trainer Jack Fields speak to a good sized group of 25 attendees.They held their “Presents for Pets” campaign, a drive to collect pet food and supplies for shelter dogs last Holiday Season. It was a big success, collecting 5 full car loads to donate.The club’s “Scoop the Poop” event on Earth Day last April, was to raise public awareness about the importance of cleaning up after your dog.Dog Walks were scheduled in Spring and ear-ly Summer on the Creek Paths before the hot weather set in.All the while, working with Dave Sargeant with the MH Developers on plans for the dog park. Using numerous studies from UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, Anti-Cruelty, Humane Society, and the AKC, as well as contacting local communities with successful dog parks for advice, the board was able to convince Sargeant and some of the CSD Board members to increase the size of the park to avoid potential problems of too many dogs in too small a space. “Even though the club is no longer as it was,

we definitely plan to stay on top of the dog park plans and construction to make sure we will be getting a good, safe, healthy park for our four-legged residents. Our offer to attend planning meetings to share all the research we have done on dog parks has been enthusiastically accepted by Dave Sargent.” What happens now?MHDog Club Facebook page and website will be shut down as the club is dissolved.“We encourage you to continue sharing informa-tion, cute pictures, posting information on a lost dog or one that may need a home on the Mountain House Dog Lovers Facebook page to stay in touch with fellow dog lovers here in MH,” suggests Collins. “ We would also encourage anyone to create a new, simplified version of the MH Dog Club, just for a social connection, especially once the dog park is complete, to plan get togethers or fun events for the dogs and owners.”“Thanks to all members, past and present, for their support. Let’s keep trying to be good, responsible dog owners in Mountain House and make life good for all residents,” says Collins. Anyone interested in starting a new dog club can contact Monica Collins to pick up materials such as promotional giveaways, vinyl signs, etc. at president@mhdogclub.com

Mountain House Matters! • mhmatters.net November 2018 6

December 2018CSDMH Mountain House

Community Services DistrictNewsletter

Reproduced primarily from Dec ‘18 MHCSD Newsletter found in your monthly water bill

The Mission of the District is to Provide Responsive Service to our Growing Community that Exceeds Expectations at a Fair Value

Mountain House Community Services District230 S. Sterling Drive, Suite 100Mountain House, CA 95391209-831-23008am--5:00pm (Closed at noon for Lunch)www.mountainhousecsd.org

nonprofit paid advertising space

SCHEDULE OF MHCSD EVENTSBoard meetings and committee meetings are held in the Michael Forbes McGrew Board Room at the CSD office. For class and event locations please see below. If you would like additional information on the classes or events please contact Angel Lamb at alamb@sjgov.org. Please subscribe to the Google Calendar.

If your group has an activity open to the community in Mountain Houseplease send that information to Angel Lamb no later than the 10th of the month to be included in the newsletter.

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES & EVENTS

Mountain House Rotary MeetingDate: 2nd Friday of the Month Time: 9:00am – 10:00amLocation: Welcome Center. For more info please contact Sachin Pingle at mountainhouserotary@gmail.com

Jingle All the Way 5KDate: Saturday, December 1, 2018 Time: 8:00amLocation: Central Creek Park

Farmers’ MarketDate: Every Sunday Time: 9:00am - 1:00pmLocation: Wicklund Park

Holiday Tree Lighting - w/Santa & Mrs. Claus!Date: Friday, December 7, 2017 Time: 2:00pm - 7:00pmLocation: Central Park

Youth Action Committee MeetingDate: Tuesday, December 11, 2018 Time: 7:00 pmFor more information please contact Director Tingle at btingle@sjgov.org

MHCSD Board of Directors MeetingDate: Wednesday, December 12, 2018 Time: 7:00pm

Youth Action Committee Holiday PartyDate: Friday, December 21, 2018 Time: 6:00 pm – 9:00 pmFor more information please contact Director Tingle at btingle@sjgov.org

M H F A R M E R S ' M A R K E T S U N D A Y S 9 a m - 1 : 0 0 p m

Wicklund Park - Legacy @ HistoricManaged by All Bay Farmers' Market Association

S TO R M WAT E R C H A N N E L S A F E T YIn support of public safety the MHCSD will like to raise awareness and educate the public on creek and channel safety. We must take this opportunity to speak to our children and friends about the dangers of fast moving water and the almost certain fate that awaits anyone who goes into our rain swollen flood control conveyance channel that is located within Mountain House Creek.Our flood control conveyance channel is a major part of our community’s infrastructure and, like freeways or railroad tracks, should never be used for recreation. The flood control channel is designed to drain stormwater from our community and take it swiftly “out to sea”, to prevent flooding in our community.Rainy days impact the level of flow within the creek. During these events, flow increases causing a large volume of water to travel towards the delta all the while gathering debris, speed, volume and power. Agriculture west of Mountain House also uses the creek channel to discharge large volumes water which can happen at any given time. At key points along the way, large structures have been built into the system to slow down the water and control the power. These so called structures appear as the natural part of the creek; however they allow the water to flow back into wide earthen channels without destroying their natural habitat or causing erosion. A series of four roadway bridges engineered for large flows also exist. These bridges located in the creek are not intended for public access. During pe-riods of high flow, these structures become deadly. For example, on April 2010 a family lost a husband and son in the rain swollen Walnut Creek channel and, two young men drowned in the same channel in February 2011. These structures are an efficient tool in managing floodwaters, but can be deadly for humans.As inviting as it may appear, any area beyond the Creek Park trails and walkways are off limits to the public, especially around the flood control conveyance channel, storm water ponds, the sensitive riparian areas and the main creek channel. Any person, who enters onto District property beyond the public use area without written permission from the Mountain House Community Services District, may be charged with a misdemeanor and fined $75 under California Penal Code Section 602.8 for the first offense and up to $250 for repeated offenses. We must become aware of the dangers within our storm water conveyance system and take the necessary steps to educate ourselves and our children. Please talk to your children and friends about our flood control conveyance system and understand the important role it plays in our community.

M A S T E R R E S T R I C T I O N S R E M I N D E RThe Holidays are here. Please follow the Master Restrictions concerning Holiday Lighting. Article 4, Section 4.05, Paragraph I: The installation of any exterior light-ing whose source is visible from neighboring lots is prohibited, except for ordinary non-directional bulbs that: (i) do not exceed a total of 150 watts for the bulbs in a single fixture; and (ii) are white or yellow in color. This provision does not prohibit holiday lighting decorations temporarily installed for a holiday season which are promptly removed following the holidays. No holiday lighting may be left installed for periods exceeding forty-five (45) days. Nothing in this Subsection prohibits street lighting in interior streets, driveways and parking areas, provided they comply with the Design Guidelines.The 45-day time frame will begin after the new year on January 3, 2017. If you have any questions, please contact the MHCSD at 209-831-2300 and ask to speak to Cedric Hathorn.

M A S T E R R E S T R I C T I O N SSection 4.02B. Landscaping. Each Owner shall maintain the landscaping and Improvements on such Owner’s Lot in a neat and attractive manner, including any landscaped strip of land located between the sidewalk and the street located adjacent to such Lot (“Park Strip”), except for any portion of the landscaping maintained by the MHCSD or other governmental entity. All grass, mass plantings, and other plantings shall be mowed, pruned, trimmed, fertilized, and cut as necessary at reasonable regular intervals, all trees shall be properly maintained and irrigation systems shall be maintained in good operating order and properly used to irrigate the landscaping. All trees located in the Park Strip shall be trimmed by a profes-sional tree trimmer in such a manner as to cause the tree to grow in an “arch” over the adjacent sidewalk and street and in conformity with any Rule governing the trimming of trees located in the Park Strip. The MHCSD may undertake in its sole discretion from time to time to trim or otherwise maintain the trees or other landscaping located in the Park Strip and other areas controlled or maintained by the MHCSD. All unimproved Lots shall be kept mowed and in neat and clean condition. No garbage or debris shall be allowed to accumulate on Lots.Section 4.04H. Refuse. The accumulation, placement, or outdoor burning of garbage, clippings from trees, weeds, shrubs, or lawns, trash, litter, debris, ashes, or other refuse on any Lot is prohibited. This Subsection does not apply to the burning of natural materials in connection with fire control. No Owner shall cause or permit any condition on his Lot which creates a fire hazard. Each Owner of an Improved Lot shall provide or have available for such Owner’s use suitable receptacles for the collection of refuse. Such receptacles shall be enclosedand screened from public view and any common area and protected from disturbance. No refuse or refuse container shall be placed in streets or public view more than twenty-four (24) hours prior to the scheduled collection time for such refuse and all refuse containers shall be removed within the twenty-four (24) hour period following the collection of the refuse.I. Accumulations on Lots. All weeds, rubbish, debris, manure, composting or decaying vegetation material, and other unsightly objects or materials of any kind shall be removed from Lots whether such Lots contain Improvements or not, and shall not be allowed to accumulate or grow on any Lot. All dead vegetation, including trees, located on the front yard of Improved Lots shall be removed and replaced with comparable living vegetation and trees within thirty (30) days, sub-ject to the provisions of Subsection M of this Section, if applicable. Contractors constructing Improvements on one or more Lots may use containers or fenced areas to hold construction waste during such construction on one or more such Lots. These containers or fenced areas do not need to be concealed from view. This Subsection shall not be construed to prohibit refuse containers, woodpiles, storage areas, or machinery and equipment related to yard care and maintenance, provided such materials are screened from the view of adjacent streets and Lots.

The MHCSD will be collecting toys during regular office hours through December 7th. Please bring an unwrapped, new unopened toy to the MHCSD office.

T O Y D R I V E ! ! !

• Monday, December 24, 2018• Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Please note the Mountain House Community Services Offices will be closed the following dates:

O F F I C E C LO S U R E S

• Monday, December 31, 2018• Tuesday, January 1, 2019

R E C Y C L E G R E A S EDo you have left-over grease from your Holiday Turkey? Recycle it! Why recycle fryer and cooking oil? When you pour oil or grease down the drain, it can clog the pipes, cause damage to your home and cause problems at the sewage treatment plant. Instead of paying a plumber to fix your drains, recycle it. Did you know that used cooking oil may be refined to make lubricants, new products and bio-diesel fuel? Bio-diesel is used to power some vehicles that produce fewer harmful emissions than vehicles that run on regular gasoline. Plus, when you follow a car that uses bio-diesel, it may smell like French Fries.If you are interested in recycling your grease, these local facilities will be happy to take it off your hands: San Joaquin Household Hazardous Waste Facility, Lovelace Transfer Station or North County Recycling Center. There is no cost for San Joaquin County residents to recycle cooking oil at the Household Hazardous Waste Facility. For more information on the facility locations please go to http://www.sjgov.org/solidwaste

Mountain House Matters! • mhmatters.netNovember 2018 7

the new section being opened, many have pondered how many accidents would occur before something was done.The Community Services District installed speed feedback signs strategically in the new section between Grant Line and Mus-tang Way in October, while they continue to monitor traffic speeds and patterns. There is now a solution on the horizon. MH Deputy Public Works Director, Anush Ne-jad, laid out a plan in his report to the CSD Board at their November 14, 2018 meeting which includes the installation of four new stop signs along Great Valley Parkway in the coming weeks. With the Board’s unanimous approval, the “all-way” signs, along with approaching warning signs, street painting and more, will soon be installed at the following intersec-tions along Great Valley Parkway: Mustang Way; Main Street; S. Escuela Drive and De Anza Blvd.

The staff report adjoining Mr. Nejad’s pr-essentation stated: “Since the GVP (Great Valley Parkway) opening, staff has received a number of calls from concerned residents regarding speeding along this roadway. Most recently,” it continues, “there have been two accidents at the intersection of GVP and Mustang Way. One of the accidents was a right-angle accident related to a left turn movement, which was primarily related to right-of-way issues, but speeds could have been a factor in this accident.”Additionally, permanent speed feedback signs are also to be added. The estimated overall cost required a budget adjustment in the amount of $43,700 in the Road CIP (Capital Improvement Project) Fund, Engineering Department, O&M (Oper-ations & Maintenance) Road Project account.To augment the new traffic signs, the Board also approved from Nejad’s proposal report an additional $40,000 to negotiate a traffic

At launch, the 99 Hopper service was rolled-out in a fashion where riders from Mountain House had to travel to five stops along the way to the station. Early feedback from the community was that a direct route was needed, as commute times are already so long that traveling south and east just to go west is an iffy proposition at best. To add the extra time of five stops just to get there was not a solution residents here were likely to endure.The new route, as Ms. DeMartino stated, includes just one stop along the way - that being at the Walmart Parking lot - then on to the station. The RTD’s effort to make this a more viable op-tion was acknowledged only to a small degree by those in the audience. Most community members present were quick to jump on the fact that they need is a solution that moves them westward from here. Specifically, numerous attendees expressed a desire to have a shuttle service from Mountain House directly to the Vasco Rd ACE station in Livermore.Those who use the ACE train system said that is the preferred way to go, even if they have to drive the Altamont go get there themselves. Several explained that backtracking to the Tracy ACE station adds another two hours to their already horrific daily commute.A series of shuttles in the westerly direction was the popular solution the crowd indicated, in no uncertain terms, that should be implemented.One challenge San Joaquin County faces, DeMartino explained, is that everything west of

continued from page 1

Mountain House is Alameda Country jurisdic-tion. That said, she did indicate they will look into options to make something along those lines viable, hopefully in the near future.County Supervisor, Bob Elliott, spoke briefly about the efforts to find solutions. He, unfortu-nately, had to leave early. His primary assistant, Scott Tyrell, stayed throughout and even spoke from the podium near the end of the event.Dan Leavitt, of ACE, shared a good bit of background on the efforts his agency has made to strengthen their service over the Altamont. Ultimately, he explained, ACE is constrained by the fact that they contract to use the Union Pacific Railway tracks for their travel. As UP uses the same tracks with regularity for freight transport, there are distinctly defined limits as to how much they will allow the commuter line access.ACE actually had attempted last year to increase their service of round trips over the Altamont and down to the South Bay from the current four trips daily to as many as ten. UP, unfortunately, has their own pressing needs for freight to allow that much commuter use. A new state law passed in late 2017, in part due to efforts by California Assembly Member Susan Talamantes Eggman, created the new Tri-Valley San Joaquin Valley joint powers authority that has become known as “Valley Link”. Utilizing many of the environmental findings done by ACE when they sought to increase their services, V-Link is on a fast-track to com-plete their feasibility study by next Summer.

“Go West” The Cry at Transportation Forum

control contract with the California Highway Patrol. This amount will provide for specific times and locations the CHP will be on traffic patrol, including writing citations, along GVP as well as other prime locations and times of concern in town.Currently, the Board maintains a contract with the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s De-partment of a reported $30,000. Nejad stated, in clarifying for President Moreno, that they will continue with that contract through its term, and plan to end it at the end of the fiscal year, in favor of this new one with CHP.The problem, he explained, is that the man-date of the Sheriff’s Department is not traffic enforcement, but community safety and, therefore, issuing citations for speeding is not a first priority for them. The CHP contract, conversely, will be expressly for that purpose.Two of the intersections, Mustang Way and Main Street, will eventually have traffic sig-nals. This step promises to make a difference.

DeAnza Blvd.

Main St.

S. Esquela Dr.

Mustang Way

Map showing new stop sign locations along Great Valley Parkway

Stop Signs coming to Great Valley Parkwaycontinued from page 1

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Mountain House Matters! • mhmatters.net November 2018 8

Her report summary was as follows:1) Total schools enrollment is now well over 53002) Our football varsity team ended their season 10-2 in the Western Athletic Conference, earning the title of co-champs. They lost in the playoffs to the perennial powerhouse, Ripon Indians. What an amazing season our football athletes had!3) Our tennis team, led by Director (Andy) Su, won the Western Athletic Championship. Thank you to Dr. Su for his leadership and guidance of our students.4) We recenty held the District spelling bee. We have 8 students moving on to the county bee. I will keep you updated as to their progress.5) Last month I mentioned our students at the elementary level who achieved a perfect score on the CAASPP, the state academic testing. We have now honored all students and the totals are quite impressive. In English Language Arts we had 77 students with a perfect score, 67 in math. And to top all of that I off, we had 25 students District wide achieve a perfect score on both English Language Arts and Math. With the sup-port of our families, our school staff are doing amazing work with our students.6) As you know, if you have attended any of the performances at the Mountain House High School Theater, we have built a state of the art facility. The Board

has always had a goal of supporting professional productions at this venue. The United States Air Force Band will be performing at the Mountain House High School Theater on Sunday, De-cember 3 at 3:00. Admission is free with a donation of a new pair of shoes to help benefit underprivileged youth.7) Please join the Mustang community in congratulating Sree Subramanian, a sophomore at MHHS who earned the HIGHEST possible American College Testing (ACT) composite score of 36! On average, only around one-tenth of 1 percent of students who take the ACT earn a top score. In the U.S. high school graduating class of 2017, only 2,760 out of more than 2 million graduates who took the ACT earned a composite score of 36.ACT scores are accepted by all major four-year colleges and universities across the U.S.8) We are very proud of Jacqueline Prawira on winning the Marconi/Sam-ueli Award for Innovation that came with a cash prize of $10,000. She started this journey last year in 8th grade at Altamont School, when her science project Bio.fiber.plastic: The effect of Lignocellulosic Fiber in Enhancing the Formation and Tensile Strength of Rice Bioplastic, moved her to the state and national finals. She was one of 4 grand prize winners nationwide. The experi-ence culminated into an event filled trip to Washington DC that included a trip

Lampel LUSD Update at Nov CSD Board MeetingChairman Scott Haggerty is on the record as saying they hope to break ground upon approval of the Feasibility Study and completed Environmental Impact Report.Mountain House commuters at the meeting expressed frustration with the initial Valley Link plan to call a station that will technically be located in West Tracy the “W. Tra-cy/Mountain House” station. The determined location is located just at the south end of Mountain House Parkway, over the I-580 crossing.Valley Link is reportedly also plan-ning to move forward with a station just near the end of W. Grant Line Rd., on the south side of I-580. There are admitted challenges to that plan, as well. Namely, Grant Line Rd. from I-580 to the begin-ning of Mountain House at Great Valley Parkway would need to be significantly improved for that option to be successful. Rob Cunningham, of the San Joaquin COG, put much of his focus on the Measure K funding mechanism available for coun-ty-wide transportation projects. He explained that there are many relevant needs and their job is to find ways to accommodate those needs as best they can. COG is also involved, he said, in the widening of I-205.Mike Selling, of SJ County Public Works, spoke about autonomous vehicles as a potential longterm solution to increasing efficiency with the number of cars on the road

at a given time. In discussing further longterm ideas, he said, “maybe we look at restricting trucks during these commute morning and afternoon times,” a comment that drew some strong applause.Tensions grew among the crowd as the meeting wore on. “All we’re hearing are solutions that help Tra-cy,” stated more than one resident. “What we need are solutions going West,” they contended.Options for bus or shuttle service directly from Mountain House, with the possibility of several stops in town, were bandied about. Ms. DeMartino asked residents for assistance in putting together suggested stops. Mr. Lucid stated at one point that the Town Cen-ter plans include a transit center which, will help to facilitate those needs.Alameda County’s position of resistance to growth was put for-ward as part of the reason viable solutions have not been developed. Their Policy 177, put in place back when Mountain House was initially being planned, specifically restricts growth in East Alameda. Funding for such growth was another concern, as stated by Mr. Selling. The meeting ran about an hour or so long, with everyone concerned acknowledging there is more work to be done.

to the White House and a meeting with Ivanka Trump. At last week’s board meeting she presented Altamont School with a check for $1,000. Jacqueline is now a freshman at Mountain House High School.9) Our Education and Extra Curricu-lar committee will meet on Tuesday, November 27 6:30-7:30 in the District Office Board Room. We will have sam-ple materials from the History Social Science publishers that will be piloted by teachers for the community to look through and give input.10) On January 18 and 19 Wicklund will be performing Beauty band the Beast Jr. I will send you information on tickets as soon as I receive something.11) “Race to Nowhere” is a documen-tary film that is a call to action for fam-ilies, educators, and policy makers to challenge current assumptions on how to best prepare the youth of America to become healthy, bright contributing and leading citizens. This event being held November 15 at 7:00 at Questa. I have not seen it myself and plan to attend. The movie will be followed by a discussion on the topics addressed in the film. This event is open to all Mountain House residents.

Clerk of the Board of Trustees for the Lammersville Unified School District, Ms. Sharon Lampel, continued with her now regularly agendized monthly report, bringing school district news highlights to the Mountain House Community Services District Board at the October 10, 2018 CSD Board Meeting.

continued from page 7

“Go West”

Mountain House Matters! • mhmatters.netNovember 2018 9

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At the LUSD Governing Board meeting November 7, 2018, Jacqueline Prawira presented a check for $1,000 to Mr. Yeager, the principal of Altamont Elementary School. As a student at Altamont, Jacqueline placed third in a national science contest sponsored by Broadcom MASTERS competition in Washington DC. Jacqueline was awarded $10,000 and her school, Altamont, was awarded $1000. Jacqueline continues to make LUSD proud.

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MHTC Celebrates Deepavali in Grand Fashion

• In Northern India, they celebrate the story of King Rama’s return to Ayodhya after he defeated Ravana by lighting rows of clay lamps.• Southern India celebrates it as the day that Lord Krishna defeated the demon Narakasura.• In Western India, the festival marks the day that Lord Vishnu, the Preserver (one of the main gods of the Hindu trinity) sent the demon King Bali to rule the nether world.In all interpretations, one common thread rings true—the festival marks the victory of good over evil.

DeepShubham Karoti Kalyanam Aarogyam dhana sampada: Shatru buddhi vinaashaaya Deepa jyotir namostuteavali

Deepavali - festival of lights. It symbolizes good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance. Various Deepavali stories have been interpreted based upon region:

By Shaliny Maddipatla, on behalf of MHTC

Deepavali/Diwali was celebrated joyously by Mountain House Telugu Community on November 17, 2018. Se-bastian Questa Elementary school MPR was decorated beautifully and welcomed all the attendees in a grand fervor. The ritual started with the lighting of the lamp by the MHTC EC team followed by Indian cultural dances, songs, skits both by children and adults, who have mesmerized the audience with their talent. Attendees also enjoyed the scrumptious food. The entire celebration was driven purely by volunteers who take time off their daily routine to give back to the

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By Bryan Harrison

Residents Doing All They Can To Help VictimsJohn Reed spearheads a spontaneous effort to provide for families in need following the Camp Fire in Butte County

In the wake of the devastation of the Camp Fire in Butte County, as everyone looked on in hor-ror, those with friends and family in and around Paradise, CA worried directly for the welfare of their loved ones.It was out of this concern that longtime Moun-tain House resident, John Reed, decided to take action. John has four separate sets of families he considers close friends who are fire victims from Paradise.John set about to gather donations to help his friends. As a local real estate agent, he was able to enlist the assistance of his company’s moving van and, upon putting word out of his quest, friends, neighbors and community members he didn’t even know began coming forth with items to help.Ultimately, he needed the space that truck pro-vided, as he gathered far more than expected - enough to share with the larger community now in makeshift quarters in the Chico area. John’s response to his generous act of kindness? “So many people (got) involved to make this happen,” he stated. “I just made a post and drove a truck.” For the many his effort helped, he did much more than just that. John Reed in Chico with friend, Doug Tollis, who has been a search and rescue and Recovery person for more than 40 years

Mountain House Matters! • mhmatters.netNovember 2018 13

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Official MH Holiday Tree Lighting and Arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus to townFriday, December 7, 2018 • Central Park • 2pm-7pmJoin the Mountain House CSD and South-winds Church for the annual Arrival of Santa & Mrs. Claus & the Official MH Holiday Tree Lighting Friday, December 7, 2018, from 2-7pm. Enjoy the sounds of Carolers, a performance from The Nutcracker and the Southwinds Choir. There will be Arts & Crafts, Prizes, Cocoa, Tamale & Bake Sale a Candy Cane Hunt, a little early Holiday Shopping and of course Pictures with Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus. There will also be some fun activities for the little ones to enjoy.

This year we are combining Santa’s Arrival with the official MH Tree Lighting together as one. Lots of Love this winter in Mountain House community!2-3pm Preschool Photos with Santa & Mrs. Claus3-7pm All Kids Photos with Santa & Mrs. Claus3-5pm Entertainment, Candy Cane Hunt, Arts & Crafts6:30pm Tree LightingFollowed by Live Christmas MusicBake Sale & Tamales Available

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Mountain House Matters! • mhmatters.net November 2018 14

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Mountain House, CA – After witnessing the sheer magnitude of the impact of the Northern California fires, members of the Mountain House community knew something had to be done to help. Young adults part of the Sikhs of Moun-tain House asked their parents ‘what are we going to do this time’? Relying on the experience the team gained helping the Santa Rosa fire vic-tims last year, the team activated their base and, in cooperation with larger Mountain House and Tracy community, teamed up with the Mountain House Fire Department, Mountain House High School, Gurdwara Dashmesh Darbar, Tra-cy, Gurdwara Livermore and Gurdwara Gur Nanak Prakash Tracy, to collect the needed supplies and cash for the victims.Working with Salvation Army on the ground in Butte County the team got the latest list of needed supplies and commu-nicated the list to their respective groups via social media. In less than 3 days they collected over $9,200 in cash and had many in-kind donations. The donations consisted of over 800 new blankets, pillows, clothes, canned food, ready-to-eat food, shoes and socks. On Monday, November 19th, nearly 60 volunteers traveled with a 53-foot semi truck with over 35,000 lbs full of the hearty donations. The team left around 8AM from the Mountain House High School parking lot with a send-off from Mountain House Fire Department. The volunteer team consisted of residents of all age groups - from 5th grade elemen-

tary school students to our senior citizens. As the bus started getting closer to Chico, the team started to see the devastation on the ground, with fire charred farms on both sides of Hwy. 99. Further into Chico we witnessed the camp city that popped up around Walmart in the empty farm. At the Salvation Army distribution center in Chico, the team manually off-loaded the trailer, and served hot lunch to around 500 fire victims and volunteers for the next 5 hours. Meeting the victims, experiencing the devastation first hand, helping the victims with their needed supplies in the distribu-tion center, loading supplies in their car or just serving a hot lunch, team could not escape the humbling and heart touching experience. Victims’ sense of loss overpowered many of the volunteers as they heard victims’ stories of loss and suffering. It was a moment of pride for the communities of Mountain House and Tracy when victims came by to thank the volunteers for coming up to Chico and helping them recover. The effort was a humble attempt by the Sikhs of Mountain House to serve as a platform to help, and it was only made successful by the wholehearted donations of cash and supplies by each and every person who felt the pain and had empathy towards humankind.

By Pebble Tanwar, Sikhs of Mountain House

Sikhs For Humanity Pull Resources to Provide Amazing Relief Effort for Fire Victims

Nearly 60 volunteers trav-eled with a 53-foot semi truck with over 35,000 lbs full of the hearty donations.

Send-off from Mountain House Fire Department for the Sikhs For Humanity as they headed for Chico

Nearly 60 volunteers traveled with a 53-foot semi truck full of donat-ed supplies. The team manually off-loaded the trailer, and served hot lunch to around 500 fire victims and volunteers for the next 5 hours.

Mountain House Matters! • mhmatters.netNovember 2018 15

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Fun & Festive Diwali in the ParkA group of about six local families came together with the notion of creating a Diwali Festival at Central Park. Largely the same core group that pulled-off the incredible Sikhs for Humanity donation drive, led by Pebble Tan-war, they produced the Mountain House Diwali Festival of Lights Saturday, November 10, 2018.The six hour event, running from 11am-5pm, featured music, stage dance performances, lots of food and other vendors, as well as kids’ games and activities, all free to the community.Billed as an MH Cultural Events production, the team worked so well putting it all together that they are now discussing a more official entity for future endeavors.On this day, despite somewhat smokey conditions in the air, the celebration was on!

Mountain House Matters! • mhmatters.net November 2018 16

Breakdown by Major Incident Types for Annual Date Range Zone(s): All Zones | Start Date: 10/01/2018 | End Date: 10/31/2018

During the Month of October 2018, the Mountain House Fire Department crews and personnel handled 44 calls for service.

October 2018 Response Times

Dispatch to Arrival Time 3:42Average Call Response Time 3:55Shortest Response Time 3:25Longest Response Time 4:42Average Turnout Time 0:45Average Time on Scene 22:28

Submitted by Oong Lim • November 2, 2018

Type of Call Call Total % of Total callsFires 2 5.13%Overheat – no fire 0 00.00%EMS Calls 30 76.92%Hazardous Condition 1 2.56%Service Calls 1 2.56%Good Intent Calls 2 5.13%False Alarm & False Calls 3 7.69%Special Incident Type 0 00.00%Not Reviewed 5 N/ATOTAL: 44 100.00%

www.FRCFIRE.com www.MTNHOUSEFIRE.org

Major Incident Type # Incidents % of TotalFires 2 5.13%Rescue & Emergency Medical Service 30 76.92%Hazardous Condition (No Fire) 1 2.56%Service Call 1 2.56%Good Intent Call 2 5.13%False Alarm & False Call 3 7.69%TOTAL 39 100.00%

Zones: Calls responded to within the zones:College Park 0Central Park 0Cordes Village 5Hansen 2Bethany 12Wicklund 11Questa 5MH North- Undeveloped 0Other CSD areas 3Altamont Village 4ALCO- M/A 0ECCFPD- M/A 0TRY Fire Areas- 2Other Areas M/A- SJCO 0Other Areas M/AOutside of SJCO 0Unprotected Island area 0FRC Response Areas 0Other Areas – not M/A 0

Call Stats - by zone

• 10-3-2018: On-Duty crews attended the Lammersville School District’s Safety Meet-ing. MHFD looks forward to attending more meetings.• 10-10-2018: On-Duty crews welcomed guests to Station 16-1 for a station tour and tour of the apparatuses that the MHFD uses for emergency calls.• 10-19-2018: On-Duty crews attended the MHHS Homecoming Parade. On-Duty staff appreciated the invitation and look forward to more similar events.• 10-26-2018: On-Duty crews attended the Trunk or Treat event at Altamont Elementary School. For more information, email jfullmer@frcfire.com

Events:The Month of October 2018, our French Camp McKinley Fire District and our Mountain House Fire Department personnel were thrilled about the number of opportunities they had with the members of the communities of Mountain House Community Services District.

• 10-27-2018: On-Duty crews and Off-Du-ty personnel hosted an Annual PancakeBreakfast.

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Race To Nowhere Questions Educational SystemQuestions and concerns surrounding the amount of pressure and stress put on our children, at increasingly early age development, were brought to light and addressed in the award winning doc-umentary film Race To Nowhere. The film’s tag-line is: “transforming education from the ground up”.

The Questa School Foundation (QSF), along with their counterpart from Wicklund (WSF), presented a free screening of the film on a Thursday evening, November 15, 2018, at the Questa School multi-purpose room.Creation of the film came about by a mother in Lafayette, California, Vicki Abales, who’s daughter experienced having a classmate and friend - a 13 year old girl - suddenly and without warning, committed suicide. The reason she did, as the film reveals, was that she had always maintained perfect, or near perfect, scores in the vast amount of testing she performed at school, until the one time she failed. The immense amount of pressure she had put on herself to perform drove her to end her life.

Abales, who is founder of Reel Link Films, and the film’s Director, began a quest to learn more about the educational system and, as she began to learn more, she began to question what can possibly be done to end the nation’s obsession with testing as the measure of learning.Ms. Courneya told MH Matters that she initially learned about the film while listening to NPR on the radio in the car. “I (eventually) asked the rest of our board if they were okay with QSF purchasing the license to show the film,” she explained. “Wicklund (School Foundation) was interested in joining forces with QSF to show the documentary, and work together in the future to bring this and other educational documentary films to our community,” she added.Mandy moderated a forum discussion immediately following the screening. Though the audience was slight, the opinions were strong. Along with parents, teachers, and a few kids, Lammersville Unified School District Board Trustee, Sharon Lampel, attended the viewing. Her immediate take on it was that parents are most often the ones pushing for more testing. She did also touch on state and national standards, and the funding that is heavily based on testing.Teachers present, as well as parents, chimed in on the inordinate amount of homework most of

QSF Vice President, Mandy Courneya moderated the discussion

By Bryan Harrison

continued page 21

Mountain House Matters! • mhmatters.netNovember 2018 17

By Rajvee Patel

Poetry, I personally think, is the best way to express yourself through the power of words. Poems can be so free and tailored to your person-ality. Writing one is truly a relaxing experience. A poem doesn’t have to rhyme or fill up many pages, it could be a mix of words on a piece of paper. A poem could be something that others can’t understand, but only you do. It’s a personal form of art. When I was writing this poem, it was a way for me to spill out all the thoughts I had swarming around my mind. As a writer, getting writer’s block is a common pattern and painting out a poem can help alleviate that situation. As I started to write my poem, I thought of how every single person starts off as a symbol of innocence, a child. All their world consists of is eating, sleeping, and playing. A paradise and a bright garden within ourselves. As we get older, especially in the generation to-day, not only does that innocence start to fade, but our worlds start to develop. The days then consist

“The garden within Where bright flowers and green grass grow in innocenceOnly to be swept over by lashing winds and loud thunderstormsRuined, lay the garden within”

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Toys for Tots Collection - Bring unwrapped toy for a child in need to Bunco or December meetingMonday, December 10th Monthly Meeting and Holiday Cookie Exchange, 10:30am -12:00pm at the MH Firehouse Comm. RoomFriday, January 11, 2019 "Beat the Post Holiday Blues BUNCO Party, 7:00pm - 9:00 pm, MH Firehouse Comm. RoomMonday, January 14, 2019Monthly Meeting, 10:30am at the MH Fire-house Comm. Room Monday, January 28, 2019BUNCO, 10:30am -12:00pm at the MH Firehouse Comm. Room

MH Seniors Activities Picking Up Steam

KIWANIS CLUB OF MOUNTAIN HOUSE is meeting on Sunday, December 2, 2018 at the meet-ing room behind the Firehouse.Please Join Us!Tony and Dianne209-830-8806 Home

My HomeThe Blooming City of Mountain House

Oh, the places I’ll go, the places I’ll stay,There’s no place like home at the end of the day,

Home is where feelings of love and joy hover,Home is a special place like no other,

A young, diverse, community,A place full of serenity,

Mountains, farmlands, and a creek,Surrounded by nature, we are indeed,

Animals call this tranquil nabe their home,Yonder, near and far they freely roam,

Giant, magnificent, spinning windmills,And an endless number of vast green hills,

This haven is known to be a windy city,Still, it has good weather and sights very pretty,

Take a walk, and you’ll surely see,Blue jays and sparrows flying free,

A neighbor gardening will wave hello,With warmth and friendliness, you will glow,

People are hosting big garage sales,With their dogs sitting by and wagging their tails,

Check out all the parks, where you’ll have loads of fun,Playsets, fountains, and tons of space to run,

Walking trails embellished with majestic palms and shrubbery,All kinds of ferns, trees and blooming flowers unique,

Kite festivals, garden parties, and public picnics often occur,Such merry delight and exuberance--residents concur,

Friendly neighbors everywhere,Smells of barbeques fill the air,

As the sun sets, all can see,The beautiful pink moment of our humble city,

Oh, so very content I feel,This wonderful place has nothing to conceal,

Without a doubt, you certainly see,My home, Mountain House, is the place to be!

--Zahra Fadoo

The Power of Poetry

of less sleeping and more working. Less sleep, more work. Less sleep, more work. Less sleep, more work. It becomes a vicious, frustrating, and tiring cycle. Not only do we get lost in ourselves and in this cycle sometimes, but we get swept away by social trends. We get lost in trying to be like the others around us; what others are wearing; what they look like; their attitude; the unreal, self-image we try to create out of ourselves, washing away our personalities. Just like a loud thunderstorm, leaving the gardens within ourselves ruined. This is why it’s important to take a step back and feel the situation around you. Write out those thoughts - whether it be a poem, just a few sentences, or a word. It can give you better perspective and a more positive outlook on life. Words can have so much power.

Mountain House Matters! • mhmatters.net November 2018 18

Mountain House Matters! is brought to you courtesy of your Mountain House neighbors at Association News Network, Inc., a small and locally-owned publishing firm. The community newspaper, MH Matters, is mailed monthly to every address in the 95391 zip code. As of the Janu-ary 2018 issue, Mountain House Matters has crossed the epic benchmark of reaching 5,000 rooftops. The paper is now delivered by mail to 5,388 mailboxes, reaching some 20,000 people. In addition, 200-300 copies of each issue continue to be distributed to nearby drop-off locations.The views and comments expressed within the articles herein are intended to bring current neighborhood village and community information to your door. Publisher assumes no responsibility for any opinions and/or statements offered by contributing authors to the publication, claims or statements made by advertisers, or for any errors or omissions in the paper. Please check with individual groups for further information as events schedules do sometimes change. Acceptance of advertising material does not constitute endorsement of the products or services offered. A.N.N., Inc. reserves the right to reject any advertising copy or placement.

©2012-2018, all rights reserved • Association News Network, Inc. • www.MHMatters.netMailing address: 2455 Naglee Rd. #263 . Tracy, CA 95304

Advertising placements and/or article consideration should be directed to: Bryan Harrison, Publisher/Editor: bryan@mhmatters.net • 209-597-8157

MH Autism Awareness: search Mountain House Autism Awareness on Facebook

MH Auto Club: www.facebook.com/groups/mhautoclub

MH BNI Power Partners: search BNI Mountain House on Facebook

MH Beaver Group: www.facebook.com/groups/MHBeavers/

MH Cancer Support Group: search "Mountain House Cancer Support Group" on Facebook

Mountain House Cricket Club and Youth Club: mhcricketclub@googlegroups.com

MH Cub Scout Pack 511: www.mhpack511.com

MH Dog Club: www.MHdogclub.com

MH Filipino-American Society: www.facebook.com/groups/MHFILAMS/

MH Flag Football, Inc.: www.mhflagfootball.com (including: MH Tennis, Youth Cheer, Golf Club, & Kite Run)

MH Game Club: Search Mountain House Game Club on Facebook

MH Gardeners Facebook Group: Search Mountain House Gardeners on FB

MH Kindness Club: contact Hari Kattana: hkattana@yahoo.com

MH La Leche League: www.lllnorcal.org/groups/LivermoreCA.html

MH LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual & Transgender) Group: www.facebook.com/groups/mhlgbt/

MH Little League: www.mountainhouselittleleague.org

MH Matters Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/MountainHouseMatters

MH Mothers Club: www.MHmothersclub.com

MH Musicians' Network: search: "Mountain House Musicians Network" on Facebook

MH Running Club: www.MHrunners.com

MH Seniors’ Club: search: “Mountain House Seniors” on Facebook

MH Soccer/West Coast Soccer Club: http://westcoastsoccerclub.com

MH Sports, Inc.: www.mh-sports.org - "Jr. Mustangs" Football, Cheer, Basketball, Track 'n Field

MH Virtual Garage Sale:www.facebook.com/groups/MHvirtualgaragesale/

MH Walking Club: www.facebook.com/groups/MHWalkingClub

MH Wine Club: www.MountainHouseWineClub.com

MH Womens’ Forum: contact Harman: 209-237-9173

Macaroni Kid - Mountain House: www.MountainHouse.MacaroniKid.com

Neighborhood Watch: search MH Neighborhood Watch on Facebook

Rotary Club of Mountain House: www.MHRotary.org

Tracy Talks Community page for Tracy & MH: www.facebook.com/OfficialTracyTalks

MH Community Services District: www.mountainhousecsd.org - 209-831-2300230 S. Sterling Drive, Suite 100MH Sheriff Services: Emergency - 911 • Non-Emergency - (209) 468-4400MH Fire Services: Emergency - 911 • Non-Emergency - (209) 407-2990MH Master Restrictions Enforcement - (209) 831-5606, or chathorn@sjgov.org or report online: www.mountainhousecsd.org/resident-services/report-a-concernMH Library: www.ssjcpl.org/locations/county/mhouse.html - 250 Main Street

To have your local group added to this list, please email your information to info@mhmatters.net, or call 209-597-8157

Mountain House Matters: www.MHMatters.net - 209-597-8157Mailing Address: 2455 Naglee Rd #263, Tracy, CA 95304MH Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/MountainHouseSan Joaquin County Animal Services: (209) 953-6070MH Welcome Center: 955 Prosperity Street @ Mustang Way - (209) 221-6317 MH Online Forum: www.MHvillages.comMH Wiki: http://wiki.mhvillages.com/

COMMUNITY GROUPS & CLUBS

LOCAL GOVERNMENT & CIVIC RESOURCES

Thank you to all our advertisers for making the production of Mountain House Matters possible,

and to all our readers for keeping it viable!

To List your local group, please email your information tobryan@mhmatters.net, or call 209-597-8157

Deadline for the next issue is December 5th

New to Mountain House? Maybe been here awhile and are ready to get more involved in the community? Here are some contacts, resources and groups that will hopefully help you plug in and turn on!

From your neighbors at263 W Adoncia Dr., Mountain House, CA 95391

w w w.MHmatters.net

A Huge THANKS to all our Advertising Sponsors!

December issue Deadline “print-ready” Deadline: Dec 5, 2018

Publisher/Editor In ChiefBryan Harrison

bryan@mhmatters.net 209-597-8157

Customer ServiceLynna Harrison

lynna@associationnewsnetwork.com 925-785-7021

Complete ad rates, including frequency discounts, size options, and online options may be found on our site. Article and/or Event Info for publication consideration may be submitted from our online Contents Submission Form, as well.Go to:

Mountain House Matters community newspaper is mailed monthly to every address in the 95391 zip code. We call it "Sat-uration Mailing", now delivered to 5,388 mailboxes (as of Sept 2018 issue), reaching some 18,000 people. In addition, 200-300 copies of each issue are distributed to nearby drop-off locations.Thank you to our readers for responding to and utilizing the services offered within. Our sponsors, like our amazing community, make Mountain House Matters possible.

Mountain House Matters! • mhmatters.netNovember 2018 19

PET CARE SERVICESJACKIE’S PET CARE - Jackie Dekker (209) 627-8928Dogs, Cats, Horses, Birds & Rodents • Mountain House resident Jackiespetcaremh@gmail.com

PLUMBING SERVICESSIMPSON PLUMBING - Brandon Simpson (209) 648-7407Residential & Commercial - CCL# 941669 www.SimpsonPlumbingServices.com

REAL ESTATE AGENTS & BROKERSBIG BLOCK REALTY - Angad Bhullar (209) 336-6331MH resident • CalBRE #01944649 bhullar@gmail.comCOLDWELL BANKER - Harshad Bhimani (408) 616-04885980 Stoneridge Dr Ste 122, Pleasanton, CA 94588 • CalBRE #01960659 harshad.bhimani@gmail.comINTERO REAL ESTATE SERVICES - Shelley Puentes (510) 427-5399MH resident • CalBRE #01395691 • www.shelleypuentes.com spuentes@interorealestate.comKLEMM REAL ESTATE - The Polgar Group (925) 344-9153MH resident • CalBRE #01875675 gevon@gevonpolgar.comMOUNTAIN HOUSE REAL ESTATE - Drew Jacobsen (209) 855-1308MH resident • CalBRE #01416016 drew@mhrealestate.comBERKSHIRE HATHAWAY - Harman Ratia (209) 237-9173MH resident • CalBRE #01908137 harmanratia@gmail.com

SUNROOMS & PATIO COVERSABOVE THE REST PATIO COVERS & SUNROOMS (209) 834-1771Check us out on Yelp and Facebook! www.AboveTheRestPatio.com

TREE / LANDSCAPE SERVICESGROVER TREE SERVICE/GROVER LANDSCAPE SERVICES (209) 585-4401Leaders in Landscape and Tree services since 1970 www.GroverLandscapeServices.com

MARKETING/ADVERTISING SERVICESPHOTOGRAPHY / MULTIMEDIA SERVICESDM DESIGN PRODUCTIONS - Danielle Miranda (209) 207-3182Photography, Multimedia Design & Photo Booths-MH resident www.dmdesignproductions.com • dmirandadesigns@gmail.com

PUBLICATIONSMOUNTAIN HOUSE MATTERS! - Bryan Harrison (209) 597-8157Mailing: 2455 Naglee Rd. #263, Tracy, CA 95304 - Mountain House resident bryan@mhmatters.net

DINING & ENTERTAINMENT GUIDEMAZAA KABOB HOUSE - Haroon Hamid (209) 830-44022794 Naglee Rd. (Home Depot ctr) • Authentic Afghanistan Cuisine • Open Daily MOUNTAIN HOUSE BAR & GRILL - Josie Alvarez (925) 634-944116784 Grant Line Rd. • Lunch & Dinner • Wine & Beer - family friendlySANSAR INDIAN CUISINE (209) 833-1100830 W. Grant Line Rd. • Open 7 days/wk 11am-3pm & 4:30pm-10pm

YAFA HUMMUS - Afeef Hussein (209) 832-92322439 Naglee Rd, Tracy, CA • Simply Meditteranean @yafahummus

HEALTH /BEAUTY/ PERSONAL CAREDENTAL CAREELITE DENTAL CARE - Raman Singh, DDS (209) 213-78083246 W. Grant Line Rd., Tracy, CA 95304 - next to Golden 1 near Costco www.TheEliteDental.comGRANT LINE DENTAL CARE - David Gill, DDS (209) 833-02002242 W. Grant Line Rd., Suite #102 • Tracy www.DamanGillDDS.comMOUNTAIN HOUSE DENTAL - Isabela L. Putzlacher, DDS (209) 839-8755561 Wicklund Crossing, MH, CA 95391 www.MountainHouseDental.com

DENTAL - ORTHODONTICSTROSIEN ORTHODONTICS - Andrew Trosien, DDS, MS, Inc. (209) 833-12402850 N. Tracy Blvd., Suite 300, Tracy, CA 95376 www.TrosienOrthodontics.com

EDUCATIONAL INSTRUCTION KAM LEARNING CENTER - Donshea Williams (844) 841-5865Personal Tutoring • Summer Workshops www.KamLearningCenter.com

PERSONAL TRAINER / FITNESS BOOTCAMP EXPRESS MOBILE FITNESS - Denise Fahey (510) 468-4249Individual Personal Fitness Training & Group Bootcamps • MH resident expressmobilefitness@aol.com

VISION / EYE -CAREVISION FX - Dr. Jeff Ricks & Dr. Paul Atwal (925) 626-7070Minutes away in Discovery Bay - 2465 Discovery Bay Blvd. www.VisionFX.us

HOUSE & HOME SERVICESGARAGE DOOR SERVICESMOLINA GARAGE DOOR SERVICES - Daniel Molina (209) 227-8786Tune-Ups/Safety Checks • Complete Installs

FLOOR COVERING & PAINTINGSPENCER FLOORING & PAINT - Kipp Skelton (209) 835-5537See our showroom at 475 W. Grant Line Rd., Tracy, CA 95377 www.SpencerFlooringAndPaint.com

HANDYMAN SERVICESRIVERWORKS CONSTRUCTION - Lee Rivers (209) 639-9876Your local home improvement specialist - Lic# 752119

MORTGAGE BROKERSBAY EQUITY - Seth Conley aka “Mortgage Seth” (209) 845-SETHMountain House resident (NMLSID#1595108) seth@mortgageseth.com • www.MortgageSeth.comMOVEMENT MORTGAGE - Marylou Edwards (925) 285-5333 Mountain House resident marylou@marylouedwards.com

NOTARY PUBLIC SERVICESKRUGMAN NOTARY - Sandra M. Krugman cell (360) 292-3735Mobile Notary-Document Signing Services - Mountain House resident sandi2015@comcast.net

- Services DirectoryFind What You Need in and around town right here!

For information on being included in this directory and/or other advertising opportunities, call Bryan Harrison, at: 209-597-8157

A Little Note of Thanks to All Our Advertisers, as well as all our Readers. This hometown paper would not happen if not for you all!

Outside The 95391???

Place Your Subscription Today!Call: 209-597-8157

www.MHMatters.net

Just $24/yearreceive 12 monthly issues mailed first class to you

You May Now Subscribe to receiveMountain House Matters

in your mailbox where ever you are

Mountain House Matters! • mhmatters.net November 2018 20

209 648-7407RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL

www.SimpsonPlumbingServices.com CCL# 941669

Support Empower & Encourage WomenLook for more information on our next meeting

in January 2019!Come talk and laugh

Kids are welcomed

Mountain House Women’s Forum

Supp or t Emp ower and Encourage Women

(non profit org) H a p p yH o l i d a y s !

Further information contact Harman: 209-237-9173

New Mountain House RTD Bus Service FREE Thru Year End

Coming this Sunday, December 2, 2018, to the Mountain House High School Theater: The United States Air Force Concert Band - with their Holiday Concert.Concert begins at 3pm. Admission is FREE with the donation of a pair of shoes to help benefit under-prvileged youth. “Having the US Air Force Concert Band will be our first professional music concert in our brand new theater!” stated MHHS Principal, Ben Fobert. This event is being produced in partnership with the DB project. https://www.dbproject4u.com/about

US Air Force Concert Band to perform Holiday Concert at MHHS Theater December 2nd

Happy Holidays

Mountain House Matters! • mhmatters.netNovember 2018 21

Rotary sponsored Thanksgiving Basket Brigade surpasses committed meal donationsThe Rotary Club of Mountain House held their third annual Thanksgiving Basket Brigade Saturday, November 17, 2018, in conjunction with the MH High School Interact Club, at the Altamont School multi-purpose room.The organization, led by 2018-2019 MH Rotary Pres-ident, Saint Vinodh, had received requests through selected local charities for 41 thanksgiving meal baskets this year. “We wound up being able to do slightly more, deliv-ering ready-to-prep Thanksgiving Day meals for 46 families in the area who would otherwise have gone without,” Ms. Vinodh stated.Given current conditions in Northern California, with regard to the Butte County fire, in particular, the group agreed that this was a big success.The meal ingredients are gathered each year through donations from the community, facilitated by Rotary & Interact. The gathering day event runs like an assembly line with community volunteers working with club members to compile all the ingredients.Online sign-up forms make the gathering of the parts necessary to make a traditional Thanks-giving dinner relatively simple. There is an-other online option for financial donations, which help the club fill-out all the ingredients. “The problem we ran into this year was that we didn’t have all the turkeys we needed,” Saint explained. “We

Race To Nowhere Questions Educational Systemcontinued from page 16

their children are faced with on a daily basis, echoing the film’s sug-gestion that hours of homework neither helps with sustained learning nor better testing. The film stated, in fact, that there is almost no correlation to homework and improved results.A biology teacher in the film stated that he cut homework in half for his students, and AP scores actually went up.The consensus in the room was that there is so much homework there’s little or no time for kids to be kids.Ms. Lampel pointed out that the film included almost no statistical data on the issues it was raising. She also made note that the film is about 10 years old, so not entirely relevant.And, in fact, the film did focus the vast major-ity of its runtime on presenting the problems brought about by a system that pushes kids to memorize just long enough to get through the test successfully, with only a brief portion dedicated to solutions.

A second documentary, Beyond Measure, has since been produced, from a book of the same name. This second ef-fort reportedly answers many of the questions raised in Race To No-

where.“We’d like to show this film again in the Spring, and we (along with WSF) are thinking about purchasing the license to the follow up film, Beyond Measure,” Mandy stated. “Additionally, we’d like to put together some community book clubs to read and discuss the book Beyond Measure,” she said. “Through these conversations and discussions, we hope to bring awareness to the community and school district about important topics related to education, our schools, and our children.”For more information, go to: www.RaceToNowhere.comMandy Courneya may be reached at: vicepresident@mhqsf.org

Though the audience was slight, the opinions on the subject matter were strong. Along with parents, teach-ers, and a few kids, Lammersville Unified School District Board Trustee, Sharon Lampel, attended the viewing.

had members and community folks down at Winco working magic to get the additional turkeys in a time-ly fashion.”In the end, all the orders were met, plus five extra baskets, which were donated to Chest Of Hope, a crisis shelter in Tracy, to distribute to their clientele.Volunteers then set about delivering all those meals to the designated families, in Tracy and as far as Lathrop.The Rotary Club of Mountain House utilizes technol-ogy for a good deal of its endeavors. Designated a “Passport Club” buy Rotary Int’l, the group is able to thrive outside of the traditional Rotary model. “We typically only have one, sometimes two, physical meetings each month,” founding President, Harshad Bhimani, explained. “We maintain an online com-munication thread and focus our efforts on serving our community in the best ways we can.For more information on the club, go to: www.MHRotary.org.

2018-’19 MH Rotary President, Saint Vinodh, welcomed Basket Brigade volunteers

Mountain House Matters! • mhmatters.net November 2018 22

MHHS Varsity Girls Tennis Undefeated at 14-0 on the Season before Semi-finals Loss

MHHS Varsity Football Falls to Ripon in Playoffs

The Mountain House High School Lady Mustangs Varsity Tennis team finished their first season as an all-girls team on Tuesday, November 6. While they were disappointed with their loss in the sectional semifinals against Kimball High, most would still consider this a very successful season. Not only did the Lady Mustangs win the league championship in their first year as a part of Western Athletic Conference (WAC), they were the first team in MHHS history to com-plete the regular season undefeated (14-0). Also, during this inaugural season, the Lady Mustangs defeated de-fending league champion Los Banos

High, who had not lost a league match since 2010 (105 matches in a row). Five of the girls: Elyse Low; Kath-arine Smith; Saanvi Chilakapati; Noor Manjal; and Sana Patel, won all league awards (top 12 players in the league). Freshman sensation Sana Patel fin-ished the season with a perfect 16-0 record. “I am proud of our girls and we are happy with our success but we want to do even better next year,” said head coach Andy Su, who won the WAC Coach of the Year Award in his first year as head coach at the high school level.Congratulations on a great season!

The Mountain House Mustangs Varsity football team ended what has been their best season ever, as they were was de-feated 49-20 iby the Ripon Indians pow-erhouse.Ripon jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter before the Mustangs worked their way to get back into it.This game, part of the "2018 CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Football Playoff Brackets - Division V" tournament,

photo by April Cantu

also marked the first time in Mus-tangs’ history that they made the playoffs.Congratulations to Coach Jason Mc-Closkey, his staff, and the whole team on a truly amazing season.

Basketball: Saturday, November 24, 2018 Boys Varsity Basketball beat San Juan High School 90-62We started out the game hot with a 30 point 1st quarter to San Juan’s 12. Both seniors Keenami Mag-gard and Nick Baluyot lead the way with 9 first quarter points a piece. 2nd quarter we went cold as a team only scoring 13. 3rd and 4th we were able to Create turnovers and get a lot of transition buckets scoring at least 20 points in both quarters. We had 5 highlight dunks from Keenami Maggard and he finished the game with 26 points nick baluyot finished 15points Adam McNeil had 12 points

Monday, November 19, 2018 Girls Varsity Basketball beat Millennium 51-32The Mountain House High Girls Varsity Basketball season officially got underway with their Founda-tion Game on Monday November 19, 2018, with a 51-32 victory over the Millennium High Falcons.Mustangs senior point guard Andrea Garcia set the pace with 18 pts, 4 assists and 4 rebounds in 20 minutes on the court. Other Notables: Junior forward Kayleen Ramos- 6 pts, 5 rebs; Sophomore guard Maya Gorman - 6 pts, 5 rebs; Senior Taylor Tameta-Arenas - 2 pts, 7 rebs.; Junior Ariana De La Cruz - 2 pts, 8 rebs.This year’s squad will give fans a fresh look at the junior and sophomore class who will carry the Mustangs the next few years. Natalia Raygoza-Moore, Katelyn Larson, Kayleen Ramos, and Ariana De la Cruz lead a junior class that will carry the torch the next two years.Sophomores Maya Gorman, Reilyn Ursal and Denise Tungol will be looked to contribute at the guard and forward positions, as well as set the seed in establishing the program’s next generation.The anchor of this team will be this year’s senior class, led by 3x Trans Valley All-League guard Andrea Garcia. Already the school’s all-time leader in scoring and assists, Andrea looks to make an impact in the school’s new league, The Western Athletic Conference (WAC), and provide leadership for the team as they navigate through the new league.Lindsay Webb, last year’s JV Head Coach, is now the Varsity Assistant Coach. Reno Ursal returns for his 5th year at the helm of the Girls Varsity program. Coach Reno Ursal

MH High Mustangs Sports Round-Up

Soccer: Tuesday, November 27, 2018 Girls Junior Varsity Soccer beat Edison 3-1Off to a wonderful start... Lady Mustangs put forth great effort, and had a victory to-night against Edison high. We will continue to support our athletes throughout the season and we are proud of you all! Samantha Siu scoring two goals, and Tejaswi Lakshmip-athy scoring the last goal! It is a pleasure to coach you all. Coach Jenny& Coach Paul

Mountain House Matters! • mhmatters.netNovember 2018 23

Vander Vort Takes 2018 MH Golf Club CrownThe Mountain House Golf Club wrapped up their 2018 season November 4, 2018 with a final Major tournament at Poppy Ridge Golf Club, in Livermore. The winner on the day, Matt Vander Vort, also took Player Of The Year honors.Closest to the pin at Poppy Ridge (Merlot #8) was Peter Holtz.

November Winner: Matt Vander Vort

Closest to the Pin at Poppy Ridge: Peter Holtz

Last call to get in on the 2018 Mountain House Jingle All The Way 5k, being held Saturday, December 1, 2018.Organized by the Service Organization Of Mountain House (SOMoHo), the 5k will be held again this year along Central Parkway & Main St. in Mountain House. Race time is 7:30, so plan to arrive early. Note that streets are closed off in the area around the times of the race.“Join us for a flat, fast Christmas themed race,” urged organizer, Corey Strock. Water/post race snacks are provided.Registration is just $35.00 per personRace Starts December 1, 2018 - 7:30amcontact: corey@mhrunners.comRegister at: http://bit.ly/JRUN2018

Last Call for Jingle Run December 1st

Showing off his Player of the Year trophy: Matt Vander Vort

2018 MHGC Points Totals (FINAL)2018 Name TOTAL 1 Matt Vander Vort 1390 2 Dano Burton 985 3 Rich Browning 950Congratulations to everyone on another fine season. For more league info or questions: Please contact Andy Su at andy@mhflagfootball.com

Mountain House Matters! • mhmatters.net November 2018 24 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

All dates and events subject to change. Check with your respective groups to verify

To submit your community-oriented event for consideration on the Mountain House Matters

monthly calendar, please email event info, date, time, and location to: bryan@mhmatters.net

Mountain House Community Events Calendar Mountain House Matters

MH Matters CalendarOnline

www.MHMatters.net

LUSD Governing Board MeetingLUSD Bldg: 111 S. De Anza Blvd. 7:00pm

MH Farmers’ Market9am - 1:30pm - Wicklund Park

Mountain House Bar & Grill Karaoke Night! - see pg 8Taco Thursday - 5-8pm - All ages Weekly

Business Networking Int’l (BNI) MH Firehouse - 9am-10:30am DEC 2018

Business Networking Int’l (BNI) MH Firehouse - 9am-10:30am

MH Farmers’ Market9am - 1:30pm - Wicklund Park

MH Farmers’ Market9am - 1:30pm - Wicklund Park

NOV 2018

Mountain House Bar & Grill Taco Thursday - 5-8pm - All ages Weekly

MH LibraryHomework Helpers- 5pm

Youth Action Committee MeetingCSD Bldg: 230 S. Sterling Dr. 7pm

Mountain House Bar & Grill Taco Thursday - 5-8pm - All ages Weekly

Kiwanis Club of Mountain House7pm - MH Firehouse

Business Networking Int’l (BNI) MH Firehouse - 9am-10:30am

MH LibraryLego Building Fun!- 4:30pmHomework Helpers- 5pm

MH LibraryEasy Readers Book Club - 2pmEasy Chapter Book Readers Book Club - 3:15pm

Happy Winter Solstice

MH LibraryPaws 4 Reading to Dogs - 3pm-4:30pmMountain House Chess Club - 3:30pm

MHCSD Board MeetingCSD Bldg: 230 S. Sterling Dr. 7pm

Assemblyperson Susan Eggman’s Office Hours -10-11am CSD Board Room

MH Farmers’ Market9am - 1:30pm - Wicklund Park

MH LibraryHomework Helpers - 5pmFamily Storytime - 6pm

MH LibraryAll About Baby Storytime - 10:30amPreschool Storytime - 11:15am

MH LibraryHomework Helpers - 5pmFamily Storytime - 6pm

MH LibraryHomework Helpers - 5pmFamily Storytime - 6pm MH Library

Mountain House Chess Club - 3:30pm

MH LibraryHomework Helpers - 5pmFamily Storytime - 6pm

MH LibraryMountain House Chess Club - 3:30pm

Happy Thanksgiving!

MH LibraryEasy Readers Book Club - 2pmEasy Chapter Book Readers Book Club - 3:15pm

MH LibrarySTEM Fun Friday - 3pm

MH LibraryThanksgiving Holiday - CLOSED

MH LibraryThanksgiving Holiday - CLOSED

Black Friday

Hanukkah beginsHappy Hanukkah!

Hanukkah endsHappy Hanukkah!

MH Seniors GroupMonthly Meeting & Holiday Cookie Exchange10:30am -12:00pm - MH Firehouse

MH LibraryAll About Baby Storytime - 10:30amPreschool Storytime - 11:15am

MH LibraryHomework Helpers- 5pm

Youth Action Committee Holiday Party/Membership MixerCSD Bldg: 230 S. Sterling Dr. 6-9pm

MH Library - Easy Readers Book Club - 2pmEasy Chapter Book Readers Book Club - 3:15pm

MH LibraryAll About Baby Storytime - 10:30amPreschool Storytime - 11:15am

MH LibraryFamily Storytime - 6pm

MH LibraryEasy Readers Book Club - 2pmEasy Chapter Book Readers Book Club - 3:15pm

MH LibraryAll About Baby Storytime - 10:30amPreschool Storytime - 11:15am

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