BOONVILLE’S FOURTH OF JULY was marked by exactly one (1) firecracker ignited near the County Road Yard at a little before 11pm Saturday night.
NORTHBOUND TRAFFIC through Boonville on Friday afternoon seemed at pre-covid volume, and the speed of many of the vehicles hurtling through here fairly screamed for the CHP.
INTERESTING note from Lynn Sawyer on that little island in the Navarro at its mouth: “Thank you for the old photos. Bobby Glover used to have a large collection of photos and negatives of the Valley. He also told me that 6 families used to live on the island upstream of the bridge on the Navarro River. Until now I couldn’t imagine how that was possible. He said that he found a lot of bottles in his collection in the dumps on the island.”
ANYBODY out there know what happened to Glover’s trove? He had lots of museum-quality local artifacts. Ditto for the late Jack June. I understand Jack’s collections are stored in Ukiah, but where only his widow, Janese knows, and not about to allow the likes of me, you or darn near anyone to have a look.
CHATTER on the Coast's cyber-forums claimed too many visitors were not masking up. One guy said as he jogged the Haul Road he passed many people without masks. Speaking from my random experience on that trail, I seldom have passed more than a couple of walkers, maybe a bike rider, and, compulsive that I am, I make it a point to trek four or five miles round-trip. Anyhow, walking or running unmasked on the very rim of the windy Pacific wouldn't seem to be a high risk enterprise, but I'm continually encouraged by my masked Anderson Valley neighbors. I see people pull up at Anderson Valley Market or the Redwood Drive-in, and I say to myself, "No way that guy is going to mask up." But he does.
THAT STRUCTURE FIRE reported Friday night around ten at 17670 Indian Creek Road was not as reported. According to AV Chief Andres Avila, when firefighters arrived they discovered that a small spot fire, perhaps caused by a carelessly tossed cigarette, had burned up into a pepperwood tree, making the flames visible to a neighbor who, because of the angle, though it might be a structure fire. The first engine on scene called off the rest of the response and put out the fire within a few minutes.
YORKVILLE MARKET CHANGES: After careful consideration of the current events regarding COVID I have decided to close the deli portion of the market. Amy and I have been having a difficult time keeping up with the multitude of tasks needed to keep the store running. The Deli takes up most of our day and we have been unable to develop other portions of the business, such as our take and bakes, online ordering system, and a catering menu. With the deli closed we are hoping to have more time to focus on these other aspects of the market. We will still be making some grab and go items for the deli case, and we are also working on getting a rotating schedule of food trucks to serve outside. More on this soon. If you would like to order some of our delicious sandwiches, you will still be able to call ahead and preorder them with 24 hour advanced notice. Also, this will give us more time to work on catering. Remember that we can help you make your picnic lunch, or family gathering special with a delicious assortment of homemade foods. We will be open Wednesday, July 8th to take grocery orders. Thank you all for your understanding as we continue to adapt to our changing world. (Lisa Walsh)
MADRONES LIVES! We are finally opening our doors this week! After a three month delay, we will be opening the new Sun & Cricket shop and our cannabis apothecary The Bohemian Chemist. All three tasting rooms will also be open on the property. We are still waiting for our final inspection on Wickson Restaurant (So frustrating!!!), but hope to be open in the next couple of weeks. Friday- Monday. 12:00- 6:00pm. We will extend our hours to 7pm when Wickson opens.
ANDERSON VALLEY VILLAGE NEWS from Anica Williams: We are a locally inspired and managed non-profit organization. Our mission is to help older adults remain active, connected, and independent in the place they call home while enhancing the quality of life in our community. See what's new in the valley. We currently have 58 members and 58 trained volunteers ready to lend a hand as Pandemic safety concerns allow! Wednesday August 12th @ 1:00 pm Note: date and time may change depending participant availability. Our next Book Conversation will cover the Book ‘Elderhood - Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life’ by Louise Aronson. If you are interested please contact Lauren for more details laurenk@pacific.net
THE VIDEOS of the Anderson Valley Variety Show are all up on youtube - both nights, first and second halves. If you scroll down on the page of each video, you'll see the list of acts which link directly to each act if you want to watch a particular one. Many thanks to Mark Weaver for all the work and magic of editing and videographer Chad Rea and trailer full of fantastic gear.
MICK BLOYD. A fine story by Bill Kimberlin on Mick in last week's ava. In his time (70’s into the early 1980s), Mick was certainly among the most colorful characters in the Anderson Valley in the days prior to the great blanding down, which coincided with the decline of the timber and ranching as the area's primary industries, and the seemingly overnight rise of wine, wine tourism, gastromania, and the indistinguishable shoals of transients associated with wine. A literary characterization of the great population swap might be that we went from Flannery O'Connor to John Updike, with a saving admixture of Fuentes and Marquez.
I ALWAYS got along with Mick and his brother, Skip, but tended not to linger in the old Boonville Lodge when they were in drinking and fighting mode, the accounts of which were, in their way, epic. A city friend arrived at my house late one night in a state of mild shock. "Hey, I was just stopped in Boonville because these two big guys were butting heads in the middle of 128! What's the deal?" Local boys just letting off a little steam, I explained.
EVERYONE who lived in the Valley in the 1970s have their Bloyd stories, but all of us were shocked, and in many cases saddened, when Mick was convicted of a double murder in Yolo County and packed off to San Quentin's Death Row. Newspaper accounts of the event of were scant, and incomplete when they could be found. I've always thought (1) that the murders — Mick's girlfriend and her elderly father shot execution style, were out of character for the Mick I knew, and (2) his public defender put up no defense at all, judging from the accounts I've seen.
I CORRESPONDED with the prison Mick. He was a smart guy who wrote a good letter, often lamenting that he'd gotten into the booze way too young and wished he'd never even heard of drugs, much less consumed them. My most poignant possessions are two small paintings Mick did in prison, one of the Little Red School House, the other of an Octopus Mountain vista, both testaments to how much he missed this place, a nostalgia most of us share when we aren’t here.
THOSE DARN KIDS, what'll they think of next? Since everything is for sale on the internet, it's no surprise that fireworks are showing up everywhere young people congregate, as we saw through the weekend as fairly heavy illuminated explosives were fired vertically as designed, but even more thrillingly, increasing technicolor fusillades were being horizontally discharged through city and suburban streets.
CREEPING DECREPITUDE has certain advantages, like reading books you enjoyed at twenty again when you're eighty, enjoying them as if they're brand new. The disadvantages, to name one of at least fifty, include pulling up behind a line of parked cars and sitting there in what you thought was the right turn lane until a kind young Ukiah woman tapped on your window, "Sir, excuse me, but these cars are parked. You have to go around them."
MENDO VOLUNTEERS on the Fuente Fire:
"On Friday, July 3rd, the Mendocino Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched to a residential structure fire on Comptche Ukiah Road. The fire was managed through a collaborative front of local volunteer professionals and CalFire personnel in an effort to mitigate life safety hazards, property destruction, and environmental impacts. Additionally, specific efforts were made to preserve items of historical importance to the community of Mendocino.
The incident was first dispatched by CalFire’s Howard Forest Command Center at 1813 (6:13 pm) for a reported van on fire next to a house at 42701 Comptche Ukiah Road.
Mendocino Fire’s first unit on scene was Captain Patrick Clark who relayed to incoming units that there was a fully involved metal structure fire with one burn victim who had been extricated from the building. At that time, Captain Clark requested an additional two water tenders, ALS ground ambulance, and an air ambulance.
Shortly after Captain Clark’s assessment of the fire, Chief David Latoof arrived on scene and assumed the role of Incident Commander placing Captain Clark in charge of operations.
After assigning an EMT to patient care, Captain Clark’s immediate objective was to fight the fire aggressively to try and slow spread within the structure. The methods used for this involved creating horizontal ventilation utilizing circular saws and multiple points of attack with fire hose.
Working in concert with ground personnel, Chief Latoof coordinated buckets drops from a CalFire helicopter onto strategically targeted sections of the structure.
When it became apparent that firefighting efforts were not going to be effective at slowing the fire’s spread within the structure, Captain Clark made the tactical decision to shift the firefighting efforts to a more defensive approach by protecting exposures and preventing the fire from spreading to the surrounding vegetation.
The one victim at the scene was treated at the scene for burn injuries and was transported via air ambulance to specialized care. Due to the delayed response from ground ALS from extended calls and transfers, flight nurses were transported from the landing zone to the scene to provide care to the burn victim. The victim and flight nurses were then transported to the landing zone by Mendocino Fire’s rescue unit.
Providing mutual aid for this incident were 5 CalFire engines, CalFire helicopter, Elk Fire, Albion Little River Fire, Fort Bragg Fire, and Comptche fire.
Mendocino fire officers on scene expressed gratitude to the care and excellence of the CalFire personnel as well as the quick response of neighboring departments to this incident. Over 60,000 gallons of water were used to combat this fire with over 50 personnel at the scene.
Mendocino Fire would like to remind everyone that we are in fire season and to take efforts to create defensible space. This includes not stacking items against buildings, removing vegetation, and creating space for fire engines. Additionally, Mendocino Fire is actively recruiting for new members. If interested please visit our website. www.mendocinofire.com."
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