WITH FORECASTS predicting hot, dry and windy weather as we go to press this week, PG&E advised Friday there is an increased possibility it may shut off power in parts of the North Bay to reduce wildfire risk. PG&E raised the risk of a shutdown to “elevated” for three regions in Northern California — which includes Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake and Napa counties. Although the risk map excludes Anderson Valley, that doesn’t mean don’t have large areas of tinder.
A PG&E LINEMAN told us there are three trunk lines feeding the electrical juice into Mendocino County. He said it’s unlikely that the Anderson Valley would get cut off, but fire in our hills or hills not far beyond our hills…..
FIFTH DISTRICT SUPERVISOR Ted Williams posted this reassurance Monday morning: “There is a Red Flag Warning in effect for Mendocino, Northern Lake, and Southern Trinity Counties beginning tonight at 9 pm until Wednesday at 11 am. I have spoken to my contacts with PG&E and they have confirmed Mendocino is not in the scope of a PSPS at this time."
A THEFT at the Fair: “With a very upset & sad heart I am sharing what happened to our Family this year at the Fair. Our Family has traditionally worked together & made a Scarecrow for the fair. The Wagner family has been participating for 25 years. Our family has grown over the years & now we have 3 generations participating together and every one of us look forward in gathering together to decide design & then the creation of our Scarecrow.
This year we took Best of Show & we were so excited & happy to support the fair! We went to pick it up yesterday as we always do the Monday after fair and found that his head (that was screwed onto the frame) had been dismantled and stolen. Its head was a very old skull & a very good Justin straw hat, which both were worth $$ and important to us, yet we never imagined this would happen, but thought we had taken precautions with screws to prevent anything from happening. But this thief came with tools and knew what they wanted and when to do it! The Wagner Family is done, we will no longer be a part of the Fair. It’s a Sad, Sad day when your family’s project isn't safe at the Fair. This has been reported to the Fair manager, but it probably won’t be found. If anyone sees these items in someone's home or yard or the hat on someone's head please let me know asap. This is SO WRONG!! And we are so angry!” — Brittany Wagner
MEANWHILE, on Ray’s Road, Philo, some seriously bad feeling involves an eviction, wild accusations of Bulgarian dope ops, an alleged indoor grow that’s really the re-model of the Philo Pottery Inn, threats, and who knows what all.
THE NEARBY Anderson Valley Inn, nearby the old Prather place, is for sale, after years of meticulous restoration by the Janculas, and here’s hoping the Janculas won’t leave us when the property, seemingly under-priced at $900k, is sold. Which it soon will be because it’s a heckuva deal.
JIM YOUNG CALLS IT QUITS. “After 17 years of coaching in the MUSD, I have decided to call it quits. I give thanks for all the support I have had from the administration and my family. Lots of parents, lots of players--- thank you all. Sincerely, Jim Young." Jim lives in Rancho Navarro and worked for years at the AV Health Center. He’s an excellent coach, defined here as a coach who gets the most out of teams of limited abilities.
LOCAL FALL SPORTS include volleyball and soccer, boys and girls with the girls falling last week to a strong Calistoga team. A report from Boonville High’s Art Folz said Areli Reynoso was outstanding, scoring our side’s only goal.
THE GOOD NEWS: The poplars are turning! It's beginning to look and feel like Fall around here, and soon these annual golden harbingers of winter's gray gloom will be in their fully burnished glory, as Mendocino County rounds the calendar's corner in a final burst of natural color.
THE FILM PRODUCT of two AVHS grads, Robert and Zack Anderson, Windows on the World, is going to play twice during the Alexander Film Festival at the Raven in Healdsburg, then by itself in Healdsburg at 5:00PM on Saturday, Oct 19. And on Oct 20 in Cloverdale at The Clover Theater at 12:00PM (noon). Robert Anderson notes, " I believe Zack and I saw Robert Mitchum in The Yakuza there when I was 7 years old. We also will play at the Mill Valley Film Festival this Oct 7 at 2:30PM."
MY FRIEND and neighbor Ricardo Suarez, the genial owner-operator of the thriving Redwood Drive-In, home of the world famous Boonville Donut, offers a grill-roasted chicken that beats any chicken dinner this gourmand has ever downed. More than enough for a family of four at $35 bucks, Ricardo's Sunday Special lasted me most of the work week.
A STALWART SQUAD, smallish type, of climate change fighters walked out of Boonville schools Friday afternoon to join students around the world in a "climate strike to save the planet." The students were accompanied by a few adults as they marched from Boonville High School to Boont Berry Farm brandishing heartfelt hand-made signs. Our favorite, "Think or Swim.”
APOCALYPSE PREP: You can sign up to receive PG&E Power shutoff (PSPS) ZIP Code Alerts for an area where the resident does not have a PG&E account. Call (877) 900-0743 to enroll. One phone number can be enrolled per call, but residents may choose to receive alerts for one or more ZIP Codes within PG&E’s service territory
A BOONVILLE RESIDENT on the lack of affordable housing: "Here in Anderson Valley (as elsewhere) we need more affordable housing. I might be in a position to accommodate two or three "tiny homes" on my small in-town property, but current zoning does not allow for such. Most of my neighbors have three generations occupying their dwellings and seem to really like RVs. Can we fix this for the people who want to be legitimate about their impact?”
IF I’D KNOWN my old place on Anderson Valley Way was going to go Air B&B I’d have held on to it. And it’s now owned by people who don’t live here! Used to be home to as many as a dozen locals.
ON THE SUBJECT of school architecture, David Jackness stopped by with a photograph of his high school alma mater, Bayside High School, Queens, New York, from where not only Mr. J but Dr. Mark Apfel graduated.
What are the odds of two grads of one school on the other side of the country land in Boonville? And at least two more Bayside grads on the Mendocino Coast? Beautiful old structure probably designed by the same man, C.B.J. Snyder, who designed most of the city’s schools in the 1920’s and 30’s in a style called “Collegiate Gothic,” erected in the days school architects, and the general public, demanded schools in which “learning is best done in a favorable environment.” Anti-learning environments of the Ukiah High School type became common in the 1950’s.
RECOMMENDED VIEWING, the interview with Elk publican Bobby Beacon who, as one of the few remaining, truly vivid Mendo old timers, has ranched, logged, fire-fought, restaurant-ed, and now presides over his Beacon Light bar, described by the New York Times as among the best dive bars in the United States. The talented Mr. Beacon is also a very good pianist, especially considering he's self-taught. The Beacon Light is open Fridays and Saturdays from 5pm, and not only offers the gamut of spirits and a spirited clientele to go with them, but the best sundown ocean view with liquid accompaniment anywhere north of Frisco. (The interview with the inimitable Mr. B can be seen elsewhere on our website.)
ANOTHER NAVARRO QUAKE last Thursday afternoon (September 19, 3:52 pm), 2.8 magnitude, 2.3 kilometers deep, in the almost exact same spot as the 3.2 quake a couple weeks ago — Flynn Creek Road and 128, roughly.
ACCORDING TO MENDOCINOSPORTSPLUS, as always Johnny on the Spot, climate change protests saw fairly large turnouts in both Fort Bragg and Mendocino, with Mendocino's the larger, and perhaps the largest since a thousand of us waited on the bluffs one foggy weekend afternoon for a visit from Jesse Jackson who never showed, allegedly because the fog prevented his landing.
FRDAY’S CLIMATE DEMOS also included a good-sized turnout in Gualala, another one in the County seat of Ukiah, and even the few aforementioned few noble souls who took to the streets in Boonville to protest our new human status as frogs in a global pan of ever-warmer water. Is it all too late? Are we cooked as a species? The preponderance of scientific opinion says we've set in motion all the precursors.
AV FIRE CHIEF Andres Avila posted on Thursday morning: “We are selling our 2500 gallon water tender. It currently has a leak in the hydraulic line for the pump but otherwise is operable. This would be a great ranch or agricultural truck with its sprayers and high volume pump. It could also be used as a water storage tank. Put in your bid by Friday September 27th or buy it prior to Friday if the bid is over $5000 (highest bid above $5000 at 5pm of the day until gone).
ms notes: Water Tender 7497 was sold within a matter of hours to a local woman for $7,000.
PETIT FARMING. Petit Teton Monthly Farm Report - August 2019 We've been so busy weighing, cleaning, chopping, peeling, sorting, cooking, grinding, prepping, slicing, dicing, de-pitting, de-stemming, de-seeding, and shelling the produce coming in: tomatoes, tomatillos, ten varieties of pears, at least ten varieties of apples, prickly pears, golden torch cactus fruit, goldenberries, eggplants, sweet peppers, hot peppers, shallots, nectarines, peaches, hazelnuts, walnuts, three varieties of figs, cucumbers, basil, fennel, coriander, dill, thyme, squash, rhubarb, string beans, and cabbage, then producing the over 200 labels for products made during the month which requires setting up, printing, cutting, matching to product then gluing, that I don't have time to write. And we're "retired"!
Happy fall to all.
Nikki Auschnitt & Steve Kreig
PS. Below is a photo of our most serious worker and granddaughter, Kellie.
TRAFFIC SPEED through Boonville is outta hand. CSD oughta begin agitating with CalTrans for slowing devices. Someone’s going to get killed on the neo-speedway between the Fairgrounds and 128’s intersection with Mountain View. We could also use more of a CHP presence over here, which we had back in the day when traffic moved much slower with our own resident patrolman, Burl Evans.
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