Clayton names interim police chief

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Joseph Kreins as interim chief of police, replacing Chris Wenzel effective Nov. 13. Kreins will remain until a permanent chief is on board.

Kreins comes to Clayton with an extensive and impressive background in police services. He was the chief of police of Vallejo from 2012 to ’14 and Novato 2004-’12. He also served as interim chief in Winters and Benicia 2015-’17.

Kreins began his police career as an officer in Concord in 1980, rising through the ranks to serve as a lieutenant from 1998 to 2001. He was then appointed as chief in Sausalito, serving 2001-’03.

Clayton PD helps out in fire

The Clayton Police Department provided three officers to assist with mutual aid services during the recent severe wildfires in Napa, Sonoma and Santa Rosa. These officers provided traffic control and helped prevent looting of fire-damaged businesses and residences.

The Clayton police officers were well-received and offered much-appreciated relief for local police service providers. Our sincere thanks go to Officers Rich Enea, Ashley Wright and Allen White.

Meanwhile, our recently installed public safety camera system assisted the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office in solving a murder in the Byron area. Working with sheriff’s detectives, Wenzel reviewed recorded videos and searched for the suspect vehicle going through Clayton because it was observed heading toward our city a short time after the crime. After an extensive review of our new digital video recording (DVR) system, the suspect vehicle was identified entering Clayton and its license plate confirmed, which led to the subsequent arrest of the suspect(s).

The Police Department and the chief received a special thank you from the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Detective Bureau for their part in solving the crime. Well done!

Downtown Christmas tree in peril

Our landmark holiday tree, located downtown near the corner of Main and Oak streets, is suffering from a bad case of spider mites that weakened it. Over the summer, city maintenance supervisor Mark Janney had a pest control specialist come out to try to save it.

The tree was injected with a serum in an attempt to eliminate the spider mite infestation. The tree was also fertilized in hopes of assisting its recovery.

In September, arborists from Waraner Brothers Tree and Traverso Tree Service were brought in to examine the tree. Both came to the same conclusion: The tree will not recover, even though it showed slight improvement by the appearance of some new growth.

The professionals said that in all their years, they had never seen a fir tree this far deteriorated ever recover fully and that our tree will ultimately die.

With this information, Janney tried to locate a large white fir to replace our tree but none were available. Further research revealed that such trees are not transplanted until later in the winter. In addition, white firs all seem to come from growers in Oregon, and not many are requested for planting in California.

As a result of these findings, the city will leave the existing tree for now and look to replace it with a suitably sized fir or spruce tree this winter or early spring.

The decorated tree in the gazebo will be used for this year’s CBCA annual downtown Christmas tree lighting on Saturday, Dec. 2. The event will be held in the Grove Park.

Dog-friendly reminder

Clayton is a dog-friendly community. The Grove Park and many Clayton businesses have water dishes available for our canine pets. We do encourage pet owners to pick up after their pets when walking them throughout our community, with special emphasis on our wonderful walking trails.

Please be responsible pet owners and take special care and pride of our walking trails when your pets accompany you to enjoy and use these delightful city assets.

We have recently received some news of dog owners leaving doggie bags along the trail for someone else to dispose of properly. As my mother once said, “Pick up after yourself, because I am not the maid.”

Send comments to the mayor at jdiaz@ci.clayton.ca.us.