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Pet Rescue Brings Ranch Visits
By Michael Patterson

Here at DV we have the Pet Rescue Club. Some of you might be asking “what is the pet rescue club” “I’ve never heard of it” “How come my stuff mysteriously went missing last night”. Now I have no idea what the last one correlates to, but Pet Rescue is a club where members can create blankets, toys, or really anything useful to animals in general, to give animal shelters, so they give those to their animals.They also do canned food drives for pet food to go towards these animal shelters. This year they’ve had opportunities to do community service at ranches. Which is mainly basic cleanup since it's the easiest thing to do, plus it creates a cleaner space for these animals to go around and just be animals.But if they want people to help with other things then they’ll be there for that as well. This club overall is a great experience for members, not just for it being for a good cause, but also for the fact that it's great to create new friends who also share this love for animals. Plus, you get to do crafts and projects with those super nice people, and it's just a great place to talk and have fun. If you’re still not interested, that's fine. You could still help by sending some donations, since this club doesn’t really get enough to really do more stuff. Even just some donations of items would go a long way for these animals. But if you are interested in crafts that help animals, then join pet rescue to have a good time, as well as giving these animals a better living.

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Who rules the football field? Girls!
By Jonathan Abisai Martinez
Original Story Published At CCSpin

On an early Saturday morning late last year, a group of girls met at Freedom High School’s football field in Oakley to showcase their athletic skills.The football tryout attracted more than 100 girls, aged 10-17, who showed 15 coaches they have what it takes to join the East County Elite girls flag football team.That’s right –– flag football.“At first, I didn’t really want to take this more serious … but as soon as I started playing, I felt like a spark,” team captain Khloe Cabral said. “And I felt like super, like, I love this spark.”Angelina Peña said she attended the tryouts to support her flag football coach at Deer Valley High School in Antioch.“So yeah, he wanted me to play, and I’ve gotten some college offers,” said the 12th grader. “I got a college offer already from him, so I just want to continue with him.”Cabral and Peña are two of more than 64 young women who made one of the two high school or the middle school teams and will play through June when the 2026 season ends.East County Elite director and head coach Jose Sanchez said the tryout and showcase event was designed to bring together athletes from across East Contra Costa County and “highlight the explosive growth of girls flag football — one of the fastest-emerging sports in the nation.”And Sanchez is not exaggerating. According to the sportswear company Under Armour, around 500,000 girls between the ages of 6 and 17 played flag football in the U.S., and the sport is played by 20 million people in more than 200 countries.Flag football participation is expected to pass regular football participation soon, according to the International Federation of American Football (IFAF). And NFL Flag reports high school girls’ participation rose 105% from 2022-23 to 2023-24. There were even promotions during Super Bowl LX showing women playing the sport that was once only popular with boys and young men.The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) reportedly has 65 women’s teams that play flag football either as a club or varsity sport, and that number is expected to increase this year.Sanchez said the club is “built around the concept of the whole athlete — developing young women through coaching, academic support and community engagement.”
During tryouts, former NFL athletes, coaches and sports mentors took part in the drills, skill work, and a game that all participants took part in. And along with the three club teams, Elite has a “development roster” of 30 7th and 8th graders who play on the practice squad, preparing them for future, official play.
The East County Elite goes beyond the field. Sanchez said he hopes what the young women learn on the gridiron, and what the fans experience, carries out to the community. This means the team pulling together for things like academic support, study hall sessions, and bonding with one another. He said his goals also include working with nonprofits throughout Northern California and hosting monthly events “where we’re going to be able to actually dive in and help our community.”Julio Magana –– Elite’s middle school coach and academic success director –– and guest coach Mary Lee –– who plays offense for the Golden State Storm professional women’s flag football team –– stress the sense of community that the football program promotes. Like Sanchez, both said working with the young ladies goes beyond the field.“I think people should join this program because it’s the name of the program –– East County Elite,” Magana said. “But Elite is more than just being a great athlete. It’s about being a good student. It’s about being a good leader.”“We’re really interested in empowering young athletes and especially wanting to be able to reach their fullest potential,” Lee said. “And not only is this all about football and physical activity and winning, it’s also about developing young leaders into the future. So this program is about setting them up for success and what to do outside the program.”“Our goal is to convert this to a complete community-driven program that gives girls that wouldn’t have the ability to play travel sports, play travel sports,” Sanchez said. “We’re creating a culture where competition meets character and every player learns to lead.”Learn more about this year’s Elite team, its players, game schedule, and more at instagram.com/eastcountyelite.

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ICE Walkout: The Student Perspective and Heart
By Emma Mayta Canales, Benjamin Lee, Jonathan Abisai Martínez

Students interviewed in attendance at the ICE protest will be kept anonymous for safety concerns.

Before the fifth period started, Deer Valley High School, Antioch High School, Dozier Libbey Medical High School, and Antioch Middle School students gathered in front of their schools to start the protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE.On February 6th, over 750 students participated, with students carrying handmade signs in a coordinated protest against ICE and in support of immigrants.Originally starting with only Antioch High School, the protest expanded to include students from Deer Valley and Dozier Libbey, thanks to the main organizers.Stephanie Ye, a sophomore and the main organizer for Deer Valley, saw the post from Antioch and discussed joining the protest effort with Montserrat Flores, a sophomore and the main organizer for Dozier Libbey.A student-run protest, it unfolded smoothly with school administration and police present to monitor safety and allow for a safe march towards Walmart or Taco Bell.“We needed to speak up about what's happening to our community. Families are being torn apart, people are dying, and it's coming locally,” said Ye.A sentiment shared by all in attendance. Everyone came with a different connection to the protest, whether it was to exercise their First Amendment rights or from being personally impacted by ICE.It was clear from the cries of “NO MORE ICE”, “VIVA LA RAZA”, and “We are American, we are free”, with supportive honks from cars that demonstrated a united front.Despite the heat, the occasional car that would flip off the students, and the long walk, the experience moved several students to tears from seeing the walkout, and only made the cheers grow louder in protest.Lily Zhao, a sophomore at Deer Valley High School, who helped with the walkout, was surprised at the turnout of students who joined the protest and called it phenomenal.“I actually was moved to tears when I saw people coming from Dozier, and Dozier is two miles away,” said Zhao. “They marched all the way here because we're all unified by this, hatred for ICE, hatred for our fascist government. That's literally becoming a plutocracy at this point. And it just shows you how united we are.”Several students wore masks to hide their faces, citing protection for themselves and their families as the reason.“I have personally been affected by the actions of ICE,” said a student at the protest. “My family is scared. My friends' families are scared. People that I know, and I don't know, are scared, and I would rather not let them be scared for just existing and living here.”Fabian Sotomayor, a senior at Dozier Libbey, said, “I would like to say today that I am not been a victim yet of ICE. Neither has my family been. However, I am not willing to stand by while I watch other Latinos be scared just to leave their homes in a country that I was born in.”“This is not the way that it should be. My people should be free. My people should be able to live. My people should be happy. We should not be afraid just because we came here in search of a better life.”Many students showed up for the protest, but the ones who didn’t missed the protest due to concerns over grades and classwork, complications with getting an excused absence, or parental concerns.The protest inspired many to speak out, like Miguel Flores Cruz, a 10th grader at Deer Valley High School, who went there and wants to share his views.“Because I want to talk for people who can’t speak, you know, like all those immigrants that can’t go out there freely, who are scared, who are suppressed by ICE,” Cruz said. “That’s why I went out there, because I am a citizen, and I’m a son of immigrants, and since I am a son of immigrants, I could speak for them. So I went there.”Cruz went on to say, “I recommend going, if you feel like it, it’s not mandatory, but if you have sympathy for the people that have died out of ICE, I recommend going.”

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