Pittsburg High School - Pirate Yearbook (Pittsburg, CA)

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Six million people comprised the au- dience on Manhattan Island as many others watched the gala event on television. In addition to the celebra- tion, The Lady was given a 66 million dollar facelift with a remaining 186 million dollars in private gifts for her future. Returning to natural disasters, on August 21st, a cloud of poisonous gas rose from a lake in Camaroon, Africa, killing more than 1,700 peo- ple. Then, in the United States, mother nature contradicted herself by giving us tropical storms from the Pacific Ocean in September and Oc- tober. The storms destroyed more crops and property, causing several hundred million dollars in damages. On October 10th, a devastating earthquake in El Salvador killed more than one thousand people. At the top of the political news, the Iran Arms Deal caused great con- troversy in the nation. In November, the public learned of the dealing, and the fact that the money from the arms sales was put into Swiss banks for the Nicaraguan Contras. Several chief officials claimed ignorance of the dealings, and at the time of this publication, nothing had gone through Congress. Details were sketchy as new information is re- vealed daily. As a result of the controversy, a k Dx A 'ix Vlwfvf I ' I K 0 3,-.1'vsiil .MY V, I .ff M 5... , 1 I , S . R . W' -Xifvvil ' ww. ,MW .,,, ' .ww-'Y ... Y ' svn-si-'may : ,. is f s ,awe , sk wa ,M i '-Q. X wg s' 3 .I Wi. ,, -'f - '. vu wf , s .iq X . '0. egg' A X S fail? . .Y ,Q 'N tin ii A4 ' '53 I . , 1 new word was created to suit the de- ceit. The word is Disinformation defined as the act of taking a lie or deception and packaging it in a posi- tive manner so as to convince others of its validity. This word will be added to many of our dictionaries and other newly published verbal references. The new tax reform tied up many loopholes such as the deduc- tions of sales taxes and many charity 5' -,,...- donations. In the process, however, the tax burden was taken off of six million poverty stricken Americans and directed more towards large cor- porations. Anti-drug battles from all sides were out with great strength and sup- port. The cocaine related deaths of Len Bias, a newly drafted Boston Celtic, and Don Rogers, a promising Cleveland Brown rookie, brought the public's attention to the huge problem of narcotics in our country. Lf' 4'rP' Afsffbwf ae- - 4 'Evil -S 4 f--J .-. 4 . Q - I -I T .. K I: in jf- 1 V V-.,. 0 2: -,1 --- 151121 za - . s ,, 1 ..:f'h.T .2N lE?, i . qi? xv.. I .- 'Lf ' - Q kurt' 1 ' f I

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1986 IN RETROSPECT 1986 had been a year of ups and downs, heroes and villians, econom- ic stability and shak y international affairs. We learned about courage against great odds, and downfall in the face of defeat. 1986 had an aroma of death hovering, but also an air of prosperity in a helpful, hopeful soci- ety. otionol On january 28th, what would have been the first space shuttle flight to carry a civilian into space, ended in tragedy. just 73 seconds af- ter lift-off, school teacher, Christa McAuliffe and six fellow crew mem- bers died in the worst space accident in history. The devastating explosion of the Challenger brought doubts about space exploration into many people's minds. It was feared that many children would not pursue any ambitions for fear of failing in a huge way, just as the Challenger's flight did. Despite the tragedy, many chil- dren eventually came to realize that around the world. The beginning of the year brought with it the most se- vere drought in almost one hundred years to the farmers of the south east- ern portion of the United States. Up to three million dollars in damage re- sulted. In mid-February, a severe Pacific coast storm caused flooding and avalanches, taking seventeen lives and causing 33,000 people to flee from their homes. Early in the year, good news for some Phillipinos arose. President Ferdinand Marcos came to the end of his twenty year reign over the country, after an election resulting in Corizon Aquino's Presidency. It was discovered that Marcos added to the country's economic depletion by ac- tually taking the people's money for his own economic gain. Another top story for '86 was the conflict between the United States and the country of Libya, led by Moammar Gadhafi in the Middle 1 ' X challenges are part of everday life, they involve risks, but are usually worth taking. Many natural disasters brought death and injury to many people 1- Eastern portion of the world. On April 15th, 150 of our attack planes dropped sixty tons of bombs over Libya. President Reagan justified our attack by calling it an attack on terrorism. Through the rest of the year, the U.S. did not fall victim to anymore terrorist acts perpetrated by the Libyans. Terrorism was on the rise in'86 as hijackings, kidnappings, and bombings filled the news almost ev- ery week. Libya, prior to our attack on them, was responsible for such an attack as the bombing of the West Berlin disco, where an American man was killed. The Palestinians claimed responsibility for blowing up another nightclub and a separate jetliner in a London airport. On April 26th, many people's worst nightmare came true when the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, in the Ukraine territory of Russia, caught fire and exploded. A huge cloud of radiation hovered the globe with more toxic radiation than that re- leased by an atomic bomb. The So- viets tried to keep the disaster a se- cret but detection by Scandinavian countries disclosed the story. On a much lighter side, Our own Lady Liberty aged 100 years this year. A dazzling celebration, involv- ing millions of dollars of fireworks, lit New York Harbor on Iuly fourth as the nation viewed with delight. All photos courtesy of The Daily Ledger.

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The Reagan Administration sent helicopters into Bolivia to crackdown on cocaine. lust Say No became a popular slogan for those resisting drugs, but the battle had only just begun. The year's end, December 31st, struck a bad note as a San Iuan, Luis Martinez on the campaign against drugs: I feel it's about time something is being done. Students need to be educated about the drug problem through government programs. Puerto Rico hotel burst into flames. Arson was the cause of the Du Pont Plaza disaster, which claimed 96 lives. This, the worst hotel disaster in history, was suspected to be result of a severe labor dispute. OCGI Pittsburg and its surrounding cities were the focus of several ma- jor news stories in 1986. The contro- versy over the proposed dump site was the top story in Pittsburg. Con- cerned and angry citizens attended meetings in Martinez, Antioch, and- Pittsburg. The proposed sites, one near Bailey Road and the other off of Kirker Pass, found much opposi- 212 Mini Mag tion. On December 11, it was an- nounced that the Bailey Road site plans had been abandoned because of all the community opposition. In September of 1 985, Elizabeth Martinez, a local disc jockey was shot while travelling on Highway 4 near West Pittsburg. She was paral- yzed from the incident, and Pitts- burg resident Donald Carrol was arrested for the crime on February 27, 1986. Carroll fired from his car at the victim and her boyfriend, and later claimed it was mistaken iden- tity. On April 30, Pacific Southwest Airlines CPSAD was given permission by the Federal Aviation Administra- tion to take off from Concord's Bu- chanan field. To some, it meant con- venience, but others felt it a threat. Many local residents were distur- bed by the increased air traffic. They feared major crashes would occur. -The noise from the jets also disturbed many. Lido Square and El Pueblo, two low income housing projects, were known by many as drug dealing communities. Many residents in the apartment complexes felt threat- ened by the crime in the areas. For those reasons, the city of Pittsburg set up guards to patrol both com- plexes. The project made the com- munities safer. The guards, howev- er, cost the city 542,000 a month for the four guardsjust in El Pueblo. De- spite the costs, residents still felt it was phenomenal that drug dealing had decreased so drastically, due to the surveillance. Michael Carlson on the cruising ban: I feel the police stops hold up traffic more than the harmless cruisers. Many students had spent their weekend cruising Antioch's G Street until it was prohibited in the summer of '86. Antioch police set up check points at which to ticket the cruisers. So with cruising gone from the scene, what were the teens to do on the weekends? Pittsburg has always lacked places to hang out. This was why the plans for Los Medanos Lanes were a relief to many. The 32 lane, automatic score, bowling alley was designed and its location set at East Leland near the hospital. It was due to open in the summer of '87. A name change was proposed in '86 for our fair city. Many resi- dents felt that this would stop Pitts- burg's overall bad reputation. The new title, Diamond Landing, lost out as not enough signatures were collected for it to be placed on the ballot. Downtown Railroad Avenue had always been a bumpy experi- ence for drivers, but plans to give the road a face lift were made in 1986. A 9 million dollar project was created to divert traffic past the four railroad tracks. The money went towards building an overpass and an underpass. ln September, a great white shark was caught in Bodega Bay by two Antioch fishermen. Local resi- dents flocked to the fisehrmen's market to view the 2,000 pound, 9 foot shark. The meat was later sold. Many exciting news events fil- led our community in 1986, and as you look back on this, remember all of the special things that make our city so unique. CJVTWDU5 Not only was the 1986-1987 school year filled with an air of pride and vivacious students, but also a wide variety of new faculty, and three new sports added to the D.V.A.L., each which brought in bright outlooks to our future success at Pittsburg High.