A REPLACEMENT bridge over the Navarro at the Philo end of the Philo-Greenwood Road is in the planning stages, and thanks to Rose Zimmer for drawing the project to our flagging attentions. According to Caltrans specs, “The proposed project is replacement of an existing two-lane, 350-foot long by 19 feet wide bridge made of reinforced concrete. Caltrans calls it a “box-girder bridge.” The old span is made mostly of timber, and has been in place for a heckuva long time. The approaches to the bridge at both ends will be widened. The project is only in the proposal stage, so it will be a while before work begins.
GLEN JENKINS, formerly of Anderson Valley, presently on an 18-month leave at San Quentin Point, Marin County, asks for words of good cheer from old friends. Write to Glen at Glen Jenkins Jr. #AK 6244, SQSP, San Quentin, Ca 94974.
A YEAR AGO, Emergency Dispatch directed deputy Walker to persuade an Indian Creek man to “discontinue harassing MCSO dispatch.” The Indian Creek man had been calling dispatch as many as 20 times a day to complain about a wide-ranging conspiracy against him by neighbors, law enforcement and unnamed others so vast “that it goes from Santa Rosa or even San Francisco all the way to the Del Norte County line.” Last week, this man distributed incoherent fliers in Boonville and Philo containing imprecise accusations that named Walker and several unidentified Indian Creek residents as being the primary conspirators against him. I know this guy. I remember him when he was an A student at Anderson Valley High School and, I might add, already a committed stoner, and I add that because every kid I can think of who regularly smoked marijuana at an early age became a kind of psychological cripple as an adult, if not worse. Propagandists for weed, including our supervisor, always seem to ignore the wholly negative effects the drug has on the many teenagers who get into it early and heavy. I knew this guy's parents, as many of you did. I know that the guy was, for a time, a teacher but, as his mental health deteriorated, he lost his job and hasn't worked in years. Maybe he lives on disability money, I don't know. What I do know is that he's being evicted because his neighbors have had enough of him and because he hasn't been paying his rent. The guy is leaving threatening messages on the property of one neighbor. What worries me and everyone else in regular contact with him is that terrible speculation: How volatile, how dangerous is he? But here he is, another crazy guy getting crazier by the day with zero options available to even begin to try to return him to normal functioning. I don't envy Deputy Walker his responsibilities.
A HOME AND HOME alumni series of basketball games commences this Friday night in the Mendocino High School gym. Next year, Boonville will meet the great Cardinals of yesteryear in the Boonville gym. All proceeds will benefit the football programs at both schools and will become an annual event. Anderson Valley will be represented by: Justin Johnston, Justin Rhoades, John Toohey, Mike Blackburn, Mike Wellington, Omar Ferreyra, Joe Martin, Emilio Torrales, Derek Soto, and John Paula.
JIMMY SHORT WRITES: “Today, I received an email from Darrol 'Hank' Cox, a member of the Anderson Valley Facebook page, who went to school in Boonville, as did his older sister Laurie and his older brother Donald. Although Don was not in the graduating class of 1974, he was in our class for many, many years when the Cox family lived on Nash Mill Road. Unfortunately, Hank advised me today that Don passed away over the weekend. Don lived in Kansas City, MO, and had a stroke a couple of years ago. He still managed to work and helped veterans with legal problems, working out of the Veterans Hospital in Kansas City. Hank told me he had a number of arrangements to make in a short amount of time, but did want all of us to know. On my personal Facebook page, under “School Days", I have a number of pictures of Don. Hank and I had been working on Don to visit The Valley in September for the all-classes reunion over Fair Weekend. Their sister Laurie lives in Texas, and is married with 2 grandchildren, and their mother lives in Mount Vernon, in Washington state. I am sure our hearts and prayers go out to the Cox family during this difficult time. Also, in communicating with Waive, Debbie and Fred Clark about the reunion, Waive advised me that their brother David, who also went to school with many of us over the years, was killed in an accident in Fresno, in 1997. And we also lost graduating classmate John Ferguson several years ago as well. If anyone would like to reach out to the Cox family, Hank's email address is: koda@peoplepc.com, and the mailing address is Darrol H. Cox, 2600 East Division 16, Anacortes, Washington 98274.”
IT WAS GOOD to hear from one of the Valley's great volunteer firefighters of yesterday, Dave Martinez, who writes: “This is David Martinez writing at you, ex of LaVonne Creaser, father of Irene Soto, grandfather of Ricardo and Trina Soto. I now live in Mid Shasta County where I moved to be near my ancestral home, I am a member of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, (Middle Water People) McCloud River Wintu. After a career change and a new way of life I retired from being a substance abuse counselor last August and moved to my sister and I’s little piece of land and heaven. I moved home primarily to become more active with my tribe. I returned to tribal life in 2000, I was invited to return to ceremony after I got sober. I participated in the War Dance on Shasta Dam Sept. 2004, and all of our traditional ceremonies throughout the year. As a dancer, warrior and getting older, (by no means an elder) I now have the free time to write letters, articles, press releases and communications to various local, state and federal officials....”
A RESIDENT of South Boonville had always thought windmills were a silent technology, but when that new one not far from his house on Hutsell Lane banged into operation the other morning, he said it was “like little hand grenades going off.” Probably because it's a frost protection device, not a pump, and frost protection windmills can be noisy.
ENJOYED the first hour or so of Saturday night's Variety show at the Grange hoping to catch my good friend Miss Willow Thomas reading her poem, but the combination of sauna-like heat in the close confines of the hall and a minor emergency sent me home early. Fortunately, Bruce Longstreet has contributed a full account of this most enjoyable annual event in today's paper, and here's to the incomparable maestro, Captain Rainbow, for producing another grand show.
KEVIN KISLING knocked in the winning run in last week's Panther victory over Hanna Boy's Center on Hanna's Sonoma diamond. Kisling's base hit won the game for Boonville, 7-6. Coach Anderson reported that Alberto Lopez made two great run-saving throws and Jose Gaxiola contributed a couple of base hits to the victory.
THAT SIDEWALK WORK at the old Schoenahl property in Boonville was required of current property owner, Mike Shapiro. Mike owns four parcels to the east of the spiffy new skein of concrete, and here's hoping he puts some houses on them. For a couple of weeks now we've had calls from people seeking rentals, of which there seem to none.
TO THE ANONYMOUS newspaper donor who dropped off years of back issues, mucho gratitude-o, as we say in Boonville. We're working to complete full sets, and your deeply appreciated contribution of ava's from 1984 through 2004 from your archive has filled in crucial blanks. Thank you.
LOCALS haven't seen this many steelhead spawning on the North Fork of the Navarro for many years, and the big rain that commenced about 1am Tuesday can only help more fish get upstream.
IMPRESSIVE RADIO work last week by The Valley's Kathy Bailey and Cyd Bernstein speaking out for Hendy Woods on public radio's California Report.
“A REPLACEMENT bridge over the Navarro at the Philo end of the Philo-Greenwood Road is in the planning stages” – – – Long overdue, I’m sure, but a lot of memories will go by the board with that one.
It would be interesting to know just how long the present bridge has been in operation, and what is the life expectancy of the proposed concrete replacement. The current bridge is a true work of engineering art. As a mere visitor hoping to return, I would urge that the bridge be reconstructed in it’s former image, if the money were even close to comparable. The Navarro bridge is an historic treasure that impressed me to no end, the first time I saw it. That bridge could be rebuilt in its current form as an act of historical preservation.