JOANIE CLARK, recently of Navarro, has died. Joanie had moved to Shingle Springs a couple of years ago to be with family as her health declined. On Sunday her daughter, Stephanie Clark wrote: “There is no easy way to say this, but mom passed around midnight. We are very sad, but she is in a better place. I told mom it was okay to let go and we would be okay. One of her wishes was to not be alone when she passed, and I was by her side at the time. Thank you everyone for your nice thoughts and comments. It is very much appreciated. Mom wanted to have a party to celebrate her life, but due to Covid it will be delayed. At this time we ask you to celebrate mom with your family and friends until we can do so together.”
VIOLET CARPELLO-RENICK is in Howard Memorial Hospital, Santa Rosa after a fall at her home in Ukiah. She fractured a vertebra in her back and will be going into surgery sometime later this week. She is expected to stay in Santa Rosa for a few days after surgery then she will return to Ukiah for further treatment. Get-well messages are most welcome at 300 Pinoleville Road, Ukiah 95482. (Ed note: Ms. Carpello-Renick was born and raised in the Anderson Valley to the last Pomo-speaking family in this area. A delightful lady of the irrepressibly merry (and rare) type, everyone who knows her fully expects Violet to be up and laughing in a week.)
FOR RENT: Unit A in the AV Elder Home Duplex for seniors 62+. Senior-friendly amenities, 2 BR, 1 bath, all kitchen appliances, fenced back yard. On Hwy 128 in SoBo. Available soon. $900/month + deposits. Utilities not included. Inquiries: info@avelderhome.com or 707 895-3820.
RAINFALL TOTALS
No miracle April showers this year, the whole month managing only one drizzly morning (a week ago Sunday). Monthly figures for the 2020-21 wet season (Oct-Oct) thus far:
Boonville (16.5" total)
- 0.1" Oct
- 1.9" Nov
- 3.5" Dec
- 4.8" Jan
- 2.5" Feb
- 3.4" Mar
- 0.3" Apr
Yorkville (21.3" total)
- 0.0" Oct
- 2.2" Nov
- 5.4" Dec
- 5.9" Jan
- 3.3" Feb
- 4.4" Mar
- 0.2" Apr
(Mike Kalantarian)
THE NUMBER OF MONTHLY COVID CASES for Mendocino County continues to dwindle.
Covid Cases/Deaths per Month:
- 229 / 9 (Jul)
- 392 / 8 (Aug)
- 260 / 2 (Sep)
- 210 / 2 (Oct)
- 420 / 2 (Nov)
- 964 / 4 (Dec)
- 876 / 11 (Jan)
- 382 / 5 (Feb)
- 131 / 3 (Mar)
- 82 / 2 (Apr)
(Mike Kalantarian)
ANNE FASHAUER of Signal Ridge reported last week that her hand surgery was successful and she’s recovering well and thanks everyone who wrote and offered their concern and advice.
FROM AV AMBULANCE’S CLAY EUBANK: “Department wide we currently have 20 EMT’s, seven of whom have been trained to provide vaccinations. Of the 20 EMT’s 15 take regular shifts, four jump on occasionally, and one operates as fire only. We are down to one non-EMT driver. This gives us a total of 17 active crew members taking regular shifts. Of those active two are from Comptche and two are from Albion.
Of the 15 EMTs taking regular shifts 13 are comfortable taking lead on patient care during the shifts. I’m hoping with time that will shift.
We have one new recruit who is currently taking the EMT class and will begin as a driver on Thursday the 29. He hopes to start picking up week-end shifts, bringing our active roster to 18.
In addition two of our “COVID reserves” have expressed an interest in returning to take regular shifts. One is a non-EMT driver and the other is an EMT.
We also have two High School seniors who have shown an interest in taking shifts as well. Both will be 18 by the end of the school year and one is currently enrolled in the EMT class.
Since we have 28 shifts per week, this means that most of those committing to take shifts do more than one shift per week. Many are taking two while others are taking between three and five shifts per week.”
EUBANK CONTINUES: JPA (Joint Powers Agreement)
A JPA is being proposed by Ukiah City for EMS services in the County. This is another variation on the EOA (Exclusive Operating Area) of the past with some significant differences. The JPA will be a voluntary program for those agencies that are interested in participating versus being mandated by the County.
The JPA would manage all transport billing and coordinate to receive additional IGT funding as a Public Transport agency.
The timing of this is unclear, however Coastal Valleys EMS has requested some of the PG&E settlement funds to engage a consultant to study the proposal.
THE BOONVILLE FARMERS’ MARKET IS BACK!
Join us every Friday afternoon from
4-6pm starting May 7th in our new location at the Andersen Valley Brewery, 17700 Boonville Rd, Boonville, CA 95415.
Enjoy drinks from the taproom while you support your local food producers. Come get your veggie starts and locally grown produce, meats, eggs, mushrooms and more. EBT accepted
THE UNITY CLUB GARDEN SECTION is having a Plant Sale at Disco Ranch in Boonville to raise funds for our college scholarships. The sale will take place the first two Saturdays in May, 11:00 am - 1:00 pm. May 1st and May 8th we will be in the Disco parking lot with a variety ofnative, veggie, herb and flowering plants for sale.
THANK YOU, AV. “The staff of the AV Health Center would like to thank the community from the bottom of our hearts for all the appreciation that has been showered upon us lately. We have gotten flowers, meals, donations, thank you cards and more and just want to say that we feel very fortunate to care for our awesome community. You are the best!!”
BOB ABELES WRITES: “The worst case of road damage I’ve seen lately is the destruction wrought by Cal Trans contractors hauling rock over highway 253. The scars remain visible on many of the turns where overweight loads deformed the newly paved surfaces, plus a huge gouge in the road surface near mile marker 11 where one of their trucks tipped over on a tight turn.
Just sayin’.”
FROM KIRK VODOPALS of the Deepend: “Nobody regulates water trucks, not even in the timber industry. There is apparently one legal water truck operator on the Mendo coast who gets their water from the surplus flushing of the Fort Bragg municipal system. The rest get from wherever they can: their own wells mostly, I presume, but who knows. It’s all business that the gubmint shouldn’t stick their nose into, cuz it keeps the cash flowing in this county. No one would want to infringe on that.”
A PRIVATE “CONTROLLED” BURN escaped its boundaries a few miles up Nash Mill Road last Friday afternoon around 2pm, but only grew to an acre or so, because of the steep terrain and a quick response by a half-dozen AV and Calfire ground units. AV Fire Chief Andres Avila said the fire burned mostly dry light forest and he considered it a portent of things to come. Avila said the local and Calfire crews responses were also very effective, contributing to the containment of the fire to a relatively small area. Avila said water for firefighting in Anderson Valley this year is going to be a challenge because winery ponds are low, creeks and rivers are running at a trickle, and sources of remaining water are farther away and more widespread. Avila is considering a recommendation to the Community Services District Board to add another water tender to the AV response fleet.
VINEYARD LABOR is being bussed into the Anderson Valley, arriving early in the morning in vans from over the hill, headed for Philo and points northwest. I remember a story from the Ukiah Daily Journal optimistically called, “Gallo may lead way with UFW contract. Mendocino County not worried about domino effect.” And Mendo wasn’t worried, and still isn’t worried about farmworker unions, even after the UFW showed up at Roederer after a wildcat strike when Roederer tried to chisel field workers out of a few cents per hour back in the late 1990s. A dramatic vote conducted in a Roederer vineyard right here in Boonville saw the Roederer workers vote to be represented by the UFW. Mendo’s wine industry immediately hired the infamous strike-breaking law firm Littler-Mendelsohn in San Francisco and went about weeding out and black listing all the workers who’d voted union. The UFW lasted a year, and that was that for industry unions in Mendocino County.
SPEAKING of the romance of the grape, if you can hear it over the industry’s frost fans, a reader suggests a class action suit for the very real pain and suffering of lost sleep and decreased property values, but mentions it would take at least fifty plaintiffs. Last time, which was the first time the fans had been legally challenged, only two local persons would sign on to Mark Scaramella’s complaint which, in any case, our wine-soaked superior court first said lacked “standing,” and wouldn’t even schedule a settlement conference.
ONE more sign that drought is upon us: A County water hauler tells us that there’s not a ten thousand gallon tank to be had anywhere in the County. All on back order, and there are lots of back orders.
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