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Valley People

DON'T FORGET the film festival this weekend at the Philo Grange. Three days of really, really, really good movies.

SERGEANT Manuel 'Manny' Mendoza Valencia will be formally welcomed back to his home town of Boonville where both his courage and his birthday will be celebrated on Saturday, February 19, 2011 from 1 to 5pm at the Fairgrounds in Boonville. For more information please call Marcela Mendoza at 391-6947. Sgt. Mendoza is a Boonville native who won his US citizenship but lost his legs while fighting in Iraq. Born in Los Reyes, Mexico, Mendoza came to the Anderson Valley with his mother and stepfather when he was four. He joined the Army in 2000 and spent one year in Korea before being assigned to the 50th Combat Engineer Company in Iraq. Sgt. Mendoza is one of two Anderson Valley men badly injured in Iraq, the second being Jesse Slotte. There are, at last count, ten men and women from the Anderson Valley who have served in the Middle East.

MARTIN TEVASEU, hometown Boonville, appeared with the New York Jets last Sunday in the Jets playoff game against the Steelers. If the Jets had won the game, Martin would have gone to the Super Bowl. The Jets didn't win but Valley sports fans were thrilled to see big 96 on the field at nose tackle. From all reports, Martin more than held his own. The younger brother of Logo Tevaseu who also went from Boonville to big time football, Martin Tevaseu played two seasons at Nevada-Las Vegas, appearing in 24 games and totaling 48 tackles and two sacks. He earned the Defensive MVP award for the Rebels as a senior and was chosen to play in the East-West Shrine Game. Prior to his successful years at UNLV, Martin played two seasons at Santa Rosa Junior College where, like his brother Logo before him, he distinguished himself as among the top athletes in California.

JOY ANDREWS announces that the new Community Services District Manager's office hours will be from 1-4pm on Wednesday and 11-2pm on Thursday with additional hours by appointment. The enterprising Ms. Andrews will also be working at Tom Towey's revived restaurant and bar when it's fully resuscitated. We hear mid-February for Tom's mid-Boonville eatery and drinkery.

IN NOVEMBER of 2011 three Community Services District director positions will be up for election: Valerie Hanelt, Diane Paget and Andrea LaCampagne. Ms. Paget and Ms. LaCampagne have both said they do not intend to run for re-election. Ms.Hanelt will again be a candidate.

SORRY TO HEAR that Lucille Estes of Airport Estates is temporarily confined to the Petaluma Post Acute Rehab. Lucille, justly famous for her spectacular gardens and encyclopedic knowledge of the plant world, fell and broke her leg a couple of weeks ago. Get well cards most welcome as are visits to 1115 B Street, Petaluma 94952.

TERRY RYDER WRITES: “Protect Our Sheriff’s Deputies — Two things are hot right now on the subject of saving our Sheriff’s Deputies. The Anderson Valley Community Action Coalition is organizing a committee to preserve our two deputies. The Anderson Valley Unity Club has joined forces with us. We are particularly concerned about keeping Deputy Craig Walker as he is third on the seniority list and surely will be hit if there is another round of cuts- and we have been assured that there will be another round. Creative strategies and vigilance are called for. The first meeting to form this task force is scheduled for Jan. 26th at 4pm in the Career Center/Family Resource Center at the High School. This will be a brief (30 min) meeting to see who is willing to join the task force and to hear an update by Bev Dutra (who is attending all the Supervisors meetings) on the meeting of the 25th when the current five positions that are being cut will be discussed. We invite anyone and everyone to attend who wants to work hard to keep our deputies on duty. The Unity club has invited Sheriff Allman to speak at their Feb. 3rd meeting in the dining room at the Fairgrounds. The public is invited to enjoy coffee and dessert while Allman speaks at 1pm. No reservation required. This is a great chance to learn more about exactly what is happening with the Sheriff’s Department.”

BETH SWEHLA reminds us all that she and her ag students at the high school have fresh eggs for sale, $3.50 a dozen. 895-2514.

LOTS and lots of designer stuff soon on sale at the former Taylor Roberts, Philo. Not sure what designer stuff is, but Taylor Roberts was once a thriving interior decorating outfit at its Philo headquarters on the Boonville side of the Indian Creek Bridge. The site is now devoted to wine sales out of three tasting rooms on its attractive premises.

WHILE WE'RE lingering at roadside booze boutiques, there was quite a hullabaloo at Esterlina a couple of weeks ago when a 400-pound guy collapsed after a couple of guzzles. Emergency services darn near had to call for a forklift to pack him out.

AVHS VARSITY BOYS put another league win under their belts last Tuesday when they rolled over the Round Valley Mustangs at home. It wasn't much of a contest from the get go as the Panthers preyed on the unsuspecting Mustangs outscoring the visitors 24-5 and 49-15 in the first two quarters. Round Valley's offense was picked apart by the swiping steals of Hunter Sagaiga, Omar Benavides, Sergio Gutierrez and Hector Cruz. Then Jason Sanchez and Carlos Mendoza plowed right through their defense. It was a certified blow out by the end of the third quarter with the score 64-22 and nearly all of the bench enjoying ample playing time as well. Final score: 73-32 for the Panthers! Hunter Sagaiga and Garrett Mezzanatto led the team in points with 20 and 17. Jason Sanchez had 9, Chava Gutierrez 7 (including a beautiful 3-pointer), Irving Jimenez 6, and Elio Gonzalez 5. A good game was played by all and several other Panthers chipped in on the scoring for the evening as well.

ANDERSON VALLEY at Potter Valley, Friday, January 21: Despite terrible officiating and kind of a rowdy, rude home crowd, the Panthers prevailed over the Potter Valley Bearcats away last Friday. It was difficult to believe that the refs weren't playing favorites with foul scale noticeably off balance with AV owning 12 to Potter Valley's 2 fouls in the first half. Mike Blackburn tossed in 12 points and AV's "Twin Towers," Hunter Sagaiga and Garrett Mezzanatto, were definitely contributing to the scoreboard as well but it was a little worrisome as they each had 3 fouls before the end of the first half. But the good guys wouldn't let that keep them down. Coach Slotte strategically shuffled his players in and out of the game, outscoring Potter, 20-7 in the first and a score of 51-19 at the half. By the end of the third, the game was being played with a running clock and the Bearcat fans were silenced. The always fiery Carlos Mendoza lobbed in a basket in at the buzzer just to sweeten the deal as the Panthers won 84-40. Mike Blackburn (5 steals) and Garrett Mezzanatto (8 rebounds) had 16 points apiece. Hunter Sagaiga had 12 points He also grabbed 9 rebounds and had 4 assists. Carlos Mendoza played his best offensive game of the season with 8 points, Sergio Gutierrez had 7 points, 3 steals and 4 assists. Jason Sanchez (4 rebounds, 3 assists) and Chava Gutierrez (3 steals) each had 6 points and Irving Jimenez finished with 4 points. The Varsity Boys team is 4-0 in league so far.

ALSO IN THE otherwise serene Potter Valley, there was quite an on-court brawl the other night when the game between PV and Laytonville got rough and the refs got....well, timid, losing control of events. As players from both sides threw punches, the mother of a Laytonville player came down out of the stands and threw a few of her own. If we can get her photo the Laytonville mom will definitely get our Man Beater of the Week award.

THE VARSITY GIRLS played very tough, particularly on defense, against a tall and more experienced Potter Valley squad. The AV defense forced a shot-clock turnover on Potter Valley not once but twice. Final score was 47-20. Mirla Gaxiola led the team with 8 points, followed by Gimmena Manriquez with 6, Kristen Andersen with 4 and Itzel Perez with 2.

THE PANTHERS play at home this Friday against the Laytonville Warriors. Laytonville is supposed to be very competitive this year, especially the Boys Varsity, so this is a game that you can't miss!

NEXT TUESDAY night in Point Arena, Anderson Valley's league-leading Panthers take on the second place Fog Eaters in an absolutely crucial contest for the small schools championship in an absolutely deafening PA gym before an absolutely packed house. Point Arena turns out big time for its high school sports teams, especially its basketball teams. Boonville coach Ed Slotte wants all of us there to at least try to offset Point Arena's dependably raucous hometown crowd. Tonight, which is Wednesday night, the Boonville boys travel to take on a weak, apparently weak bordering on pathetic, Mendocino quintet.

SPEAKING OF HOOPS, I wasn't the only one who had trouble believing the evidence of his own eyes two Tuesday nights ago in the Boonville gym when the phenomenal Hunter Sagaiga, bearing down on a suicidally bold Covelo kid between Hunter and the basket, when Hunter, rather than plow though the Covelo kid, leaped high in the air, scissored his legs outward, and was up and over the Covelo kid without touching him for the lay-up. It was one of those amazing moves where you say to yourself, "Did I just see what I think I just saw?" It happened to fast those of us who saw it were still thinking, "O God, this is going to be an awful collision and this little Covelo kid is going to be seriously injured" when the two points were down and Hunter was already sprinting back down court.

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