WE RECEIVED the sad news Sunday morning that Miguel Ridolfi has died. Only 46, a resident of Philo, Miguel is remembered as a dedicated EMT and a volunteer with the Anderson Valley Ambulance.
JANESE JUNE of Boonville is convalescing in Ukiah after an emergency surgery last weekend, and is expected to be back in her Ornbaun Road home soon.
DISTANCE LEARNING began Tuesday of this week in the Anderson Valley, with teachers instructing both from their homes and their classrooms. Those teachers working from home are also minding their own children. The rest of the K-12 faculty will work from their classrooms. Superintendent Wayrich said Sunday that “Teachers, administrators, and support staff have all worked feverishly to prepare for opening, and I'm both proud and impressed with what they've done.”
HAPPENED to encounter Elementary School principal, Sid Frazer, early Monday morning at Mosswood. He was guardedly optimistic that this unprecedented educational experiment would work out. “We’ll see this week, he said.” The principal also mentioned that he expects to become a grandfather “any time now.”
BUT, as the SF Chron reported Monday, the video call service Zoom reported partial outages Monday morning, causing problems on the first day of classes for many schools.
LIGHTNING FIRE a week ago Tuesday night on the Miner-Anderson ranch six miles east of Boonville. The tenacious blaze was eventually extinguished by a CalFire crew from CalFire's Boonville station. As we go to press this week, there have been four mini-fires in the valley, all of them ignited by lightning but quickly extinguished by the Anderson Valley Volunteers.
SMOKE from the huge fires burning to our south was so thick in Boonville on Monday afternoon that the east hills were invisible. A caller said it was nearly as thick out on the Coast at Albion.
THE BOONVILLE ATM UPDATE:
The new Redwood Credit Union ATM should be up and running soon, possibly this week. As the pictures show, it’s actually starting to look like an ATM and not just some torn up and replaced concrete in the Live Oak parking lot. For a project that took years to get off the ground, the actual installation has gone fairly quickly, which as anyone knows, is a small miracle in these parts. I spend very little time in the office right now, due to the whole Covid-19 situation, but I hope it has been fairly low impact on my tenants; in the long run the commercial tenants at least will benefit.
Real estate continues to be hot. Prices are not rising super fast but properties are not sitting on the market as long, at least in the mid-to-lower ranges. I joke that my whole year’s worth of work is happening in two months.
The weather has also been hot and while the temperature on the gauge isn’t too bad, this cloud/smoke cover seems to be like a blanket holding the heat in. We had sprinkles at home this morning but thankfully no thunder or lightening. California needs a break. I live in fear of another fire season that lasts into December. How will all of us feel after months of smoke, should that happen?
I have been riding my bike a few times a week, mostly early in the morning. I have gotten out to the coast a couple of times to enjoy the trails out there. This smoke may put a damper on that for this week, though hopefully the wind changes and blows it away. I hope you stay cool, get a chance to go to the coast and do something fun.
Anne Fashauer
THE GOSPEL IN BOONVILLE. Beginning August 23, 2020, 10:30 AM. Parking lot in front of the Methodist Church building. Pastor Dave Kooyers from Valley Bible Fellowship will present: “What is The Gospel?” Free Admission/Everyone Welcome. No offering will be taken. All Covid-19 precautions will be taken; Less than 50 people More than 6 feet between families. Face coverings required. No touching (Cooties are everywhere). No Holy kissing. Outdoor singing is OK (or make melody in your heart). Please come and join us for worship every Sunday until further notice. Ephesians 5:19, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord. For additional information please feel free to call Pastor Dave Kooyers (707) 895-2325,
PRIMO BOONVILLE HAY FOR SALE! The Boonville Airport has approximately 500 bales of grass hay for sale! Help support the Boonville Airport. Asking $7.10 per bale but quantity discounts are available. Please contact the Airport Manager, Kirk Wilder, at (707) 895-2949.
PG&E LISTS the Philo Substation as a possible “temporary microgrid that can utilize backup generation sources to keep portions of communities energized.” Apparently, the power company has trailer-mounted generators that they can deploy to areas that are targeted for trunk line shut-downs, and the Philo substation might get one depending on the particulars of the shut-off event.
PG&E ALSO PLANS to provide detailed info two days in advance of any shut-off “including restoration times and links to customer resources,” and follow-up reports daily until power is restored. For further info they now have an email address for the public to inquire to: wildfiresafety@pge.org. Or call 1-866-743-6589.
SOME BOONVILLE residents were alarmed at the appearance of a gargantuan smoke cloud appearing in the skies south of us last week until the alarmed learned that it was the accumulated smoke from the big fires burning not far west of Healdsburg. By Monday of this week smoke from the fires south of us was thick in the Anderson Valley and, in some areas, a light rain was falling.
AV RESTAURANTS AND DELIS provide online menus, order and pay by phone or online, curbside pick-up, delivery options, etc. The purpose is to help members of our community who need prepared meals for any reason. In addition, for members of the Anderson Valley Village, we have a team of volunteers who are willing to be contacted for short notice requests for local meal pick-up and delivery. To arrange help from these volunteers, AVV members should call The Village Coordinator at 707 684-9829.
DRIVE IN MOVIES AT AV GRANGE: Saturday, Aug. 29th. The lot opens for parking at 7:30 or thereabouts: The Muppet Movie.’ Not just for kids, and by all accounts it's the best of the Muppet films. So come prepared with your masks and help us all stay safe. Bring a donation and a thank you to the Grange for finding a way to share safely. We've tested the big screen, the sound system and snacks. Everything is working wonderfully. We are registered with the county and are following all Covid protocols. We plan to show movies every other Saturday evening starting at dark until the rain chases us away. Contact person: Cap Rainbow 895-3807
STACY ROSE of Boonville has filed papers to run for a seat on the Anderson Valley Community Services District Board of Directors. The November election will thus be the three incumbents, Valerie Hanelt of Yorkville, Paul Soderman of Boonville, Francois Christen of Philo, and Mr. Rose competing for three at-large seats.
ANDERSON VALLEY FIRE has sent two wildland engines with crews out of the Valley to help fight the many fires in the area. One of the engines is staffed with two volunteer firefighters from the Coast. Chief Avila said that he thinks the department can still handle fires in the Valley “should they spark,” but resources will be thin until those out-of-valley units return. He and an extensive roster of volunteer fire-watchers are particularly conscious of the possibility of “sleeper” fires which might still be smoldering from the lightning storm last weekend which, among other things, started four small fires in the valley but which were extinguished quickly.
AV CHIEF ANDRES AVILA ADDS: Engine 7471 has Angela DeWitt, Abraham Sanchez, and Issac Sanchez. Engine 7484 has Ben Glaus, Aisea Taukave (an AV EMT and a Comptche FD volunteer), and (Judge Elect) Patrick Pekin from Mendocino Fire Department.
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