A LOGGER was killed early Monday morning at the Navarro end of the Masonite Road. No details of the accident have been released, but we have learned he was employed by Shuster Logging, he 50 years old, was of Mexican descent, and lived in Fort Bragg. The man, an experienced faller, was hit by a “widow maker,” a falling limb.
IN THE EARLY EVENING Monday the scanner crackled to life with a report of a 17-year-old boy injured in an atv rollover at the Miner Ranch, six miles east of Boonville. The boy was not badly injured.
THE ARRAIGNMENT of Bronwyn Hanes on embezzlement charges has been put over until May 29th.
THE BOOSTER CLUB'S Skunk Train fundraiser can take a bus ride to the Fort Bragg departure point with Anderson Valley's legendary school bus driver, Shorty Adams, behind the wheel of his bus in the same seats generations of Anderson Valley children have been safely transported to and fro in. Meet at the high school parking lot at 9:45 the morning of Sunday, June 3rd for Shorty's bus to Fort Bragg. And return with Shorty from the Fort Bragg's Skunk Depot at 4:30 the same afternoon, arriving in Boonville at 5:30. Shorty is never late, and going on 60 years now not a single accident, not even a fender bender!
THAT STUNNING new mural at the high school is the work of the talented Cristina Almeida, a senior at the school, who aspires to become an architect. Our very own Stan Peskett, a talented artist in his own right, served as Ms. Almeida's advisor.
IT LOOKS LIKE the solar installation at the elementary school is going to overrun its budget by about $200k because of an underestimate of the air-conditioning load the panels will have to power. There was also an underestimate in the design for the panels to be installed on Mount Fuma, the large dirt mound formed from fuel-contaminated soil unearthed from the area of the school bus barns. The placement of the solar panels on Mount Fuma means the frame holding the panels has to be fortified at unanticipated cost. However, Project construction manager Don Alameida says Phase One of the high school remodel project might come in some $100k less than budgeted, which would at least partially absorb the solar-related overrun at the elementary school.
ALAMEIDA has also prepared a preliminary list of local subcontractors whose specialties will be in demand by the general contractor selected for all the school modernization work. Since the school district is using a novel contracting procedure known as “lease-leaseback” the District has some ability to direct the general contractor to hire specific local subcontractors before the final general contract is signed. According to Alameida the local skills run the gamut, from earthwork to carpentry to electrical work plumbing and so on. Alameida has compiled a roster of some 40 Mendocino County-based contractors but would like to recruit some from the Anderson Valley. To have your company's name added to the list contact him at: (707) 824-1219.
THE AV COMMUNITY SERVICES District board has authorized Fire Chief Colin Wilson to begin construction of a new firehouse on Holmes Ranch for an estimated $90,000. The only steel building bid they received was from Crane of Ukiah for about $27,000; the rest of the budget will be spent on the foundation, water, sewer, electrical, roadwork, and permits. Chief Wilson expects the project to begin next month and completed before the end of the year.
THE PLANNED UPGRADE to two lanes of the County bridge over the Navarro River at Hendy Woods will be discussed at the Community Services District’s meeting on June 20th. That meeting will begin at 5:30. Fifth District Supervisor Dan Hamburg will attend, as will the County's transportation director, Howard Dashiell, and one of the County's structural engineers. Local opinion is heavily opposed to an expansion of the bridge, and when local opinion in this community is unified in opposition, it simply ain't gonna happen. Dashiell better wear his flak jacket.
SPECIAL SCHOOL BOARD meeting this Thursday, (24 May) 6pm, at the elementary school to consider matters having to do with the ongoing construction at the school sites.
TWO LARGE WASTES of school money are the $6000 annual retainer the district pays its legal consortium plus $185 an hour the district pays if it goes over its allotment of 35-50 attorney hours, and the $7 or $8 grand a year membership in the California School Boards Association. Both are major scams, the one run by the lawyers the more egregious of the two because it somehow exists as a public-private partnership, guaranteeing that the Santa Rosa-based hacks and hackettes get all the school's legal business. How good are the hacks and hackettes at legal advice? We could get much sounder, and much less expensive legal opinion from an attorney paid on a per case basis. Of course it's “coordinated” out of the County Office of Education, Talmage. And the School Boards scam-a-rama doesn't give us anything that isn't available free on-line.
KRISTEN MARIE ANDERSEN of Anderson Valley High School, has been awarded the prestigious Northern California Scholarship Foundation's full-ride college scholarship of $8,000 a year for four years, a total of $32,000. It's a highly competitive grant, but the local kid won out over lots of her scholarly peers throughout the northern part of the state.
THE FRESH, bilingual no trespassing signs erected by the Van Zandts on Indian Creek are sure to inspire fresh debate over the public's right to access public streams. In fact, the debate may soon move into court if two female attorneys, ordered out of the area recently, act on their anger at the way their ejection was handled.
I'VE GOT TO WONDER if wandering groups of daytime visitors present slob probs warranting industrial-size keep out signs. They may. Old timers will remember Dr. Marsh's swimming hole on Indian Creek that Marsh had to abandon when it became a gathering spot for carousing dope heads and drunks who not only scattered garbage everywhere, throwing their broken beer bottles into the water, the whole show so extremely family-unfriendly that Marsh literally pulled the plug, chopping a whole in the old dam that held the water back.
WE WERE ALL outside Sunday evening at 6:30 to try to see the near-total eclipse without blinding ourselves. And if we weren't outside we were inside or outside wondering why the heck it was getting dark early. Todd Capuzelo next door at the Buckhorn was fully prepared for the rare event with a piece of black photographic film opaque enough to allow the viewer to see the outline of the eclipse without imperiling the naked eye. A huge shadow came over the valley and most of us noticed that the temperature had dropped precipitously. Then people started to notice that the pinholes of light filtered through the dense spring leaves were projecting hundreds of dazzling little crescent sun images on buildings and sidewalks, a light show by Mother Nature.
SHERI HANSEN alerts us to the mother of all Boonville school reunions, the All Year School Reunion on Saturday, September 15, 2012 with a gathering from 2-8pm at the AV Senior Center. “Whatever year you graduated, you're welcome.” Sheri promises.
THE ANDERSON VALLEY Artists’ Guild welcomes the public to the 10th Annual AV Open Studio Tour this Memorial Day weekend, May 26-28, Saturday through Monday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. A map that guides visitors from studio to studio is available at: http://www.andersonvalley-artguild.org/ Included are five pottery studios on the tour. Wax and Bing Pottery, a two-person studio, has been part of the valley for more than 30 years. Jan Wax throws on the potter’s wheel and husband, sculptor Chris Bing, produces original sculptures in porcelain inspired by nature. The grandeur of the redwood trees on their land provides a major source of this inspiration, and the couple welcomes visitors to the green, park-like surroundings of their studio. Other Anderson Valley potters on the tour include Alexis Moyer, creator of both functional and sculptural ceramics; Doug Johnson, who specializes in crystalline and wood-fired pottery; Alan Porter, who makes one of a kind, hand-pinched ceramics with hand-brushed glazes; and Peggy Dart, whose multiple talents embrace sculpture, pottery, and printmaking.
DON'T FORGET the best free entertainment you'll find in these parts when the Anderson Valley Chorus raises their angelic voices at the Senior Center next Tuesday night, 7pm, May the 29th.
MELISSA MEADER will teach a benefit yoga class for Hendy Woods on Wednesday June 6th at 5:15 at the AV Grange. $15, bring a mat and blanket or use the props we have available. Come and get your energy flowing and support our park. This yoga class will be a fun and playful exploration of energy and flow suitable for all levels. 895-9541 avyoga@yahoo.com
STONEWALL RICARD has ignored two letters from the Community Services District Board requesting that he either sell or rehab his rambling firetrap of an eyesore at the south end of Boonville. Local Deputy Craig Walker also notified Ricard that the graffiti on the building had to be cleaned up to comply with the County's graffiti ordinance.
SPEAKING of structural atrocities, the new sign at Edmeades Winery — overlarge, jarringly corporate, unattractive, obviously neo-fascist inspired, laughably pretentious — is not only out of all proportion to the proportionate old structures awaiting visitors at the top of the hill, what the heck happened to the old sign, the one with the painting of Mendocino embossed on it? It was a local landmark and belongs in our museum just as Kendall-Jackson's new Edmeades designation, “Champ de Reves” (for god's sake!), but this Champ de Cauchemarder rightly belongs in a collection of Mussolini memorabilia.
THE HENDY WOODS COMMUNITY is seeking a part-time Volunteer Coordinator to help facilitate the 1000 volunteer hours we will be donating as part of the agreement to keep Hendy Woods open. The Volunteer Coordinator will be responsible for organizing and scheduling volunteers, and for documentation on how we fulfill our obligation. For a more complete job description and contact information, see www.HendyWoods.org
THE AVA-SPONSORED women’s softball team won its league opener last Wednesday, beating Sears Auto Body 5-3. Leading the charge offensively, and responsible for seven of the team’s 11 hits, were Aimee Yates (3-3, r), Ana Carrillo (2-3), and Yadira Sanchez (2-3, 2 2b, r). Jenna Walker pitched well, keeping the opposition off-balance and never letting them get comfortable in the batter’s box. Team Roster: Aimee Yates, Yadira Sanchez, Jenna Walker, Ana Carrillo, Emily Orozco, Amanda Hiatt, Nicole Wyant, Rebekah Toohey, Ruby Pena, Alicia Mendoza, Rochelle Gutierrez, Autumn Johns, and Madeline Gasaway.
THE AVHS GIRLS SOFTBALL team has made the CIF playoffs for the first time since 1973 (that’s what I’ve been told). Our precedent-setting ladies go to Ferndale this Wednesday for their first round matchup. First year coaches Amber Mesa (head coach) and Sara Ivey have done a fantastic job in a very short amount of time, as have all of the players.
SLOW NEWS FLASH from Elk — the town above it all, as our correspondent the precious little village on the edge of the Pacific. “Elk now has a red light. The bridge over Greenwood Creek, over which Highway One runs north and south, was falling apart. The state wanted to build a new bridge right next to it on its east side. It would have taken about a year to complete, and north and south traffic would have flowed normally until the switch over and eventual demolition of the existing bridge. It was a sensible plan until the Elk downtown association of nice people, got wind of it led by old nicely normal Norman deVall and Charlie — nice as ice — Acker. The objection: the new bridge was planned to be constructed over the existing Elk water well down in Greenwood Creek; thus the well would have to be moved a few yards further east. They tossed in a few enviro-reasons too, but the well was the real issue. The complaints went in; the project was delayed, but finally after a year and a half delay the new bridge will be constructed and nice people of Elk will have won another triumph in the onward march of Western Civilization. The old bridge will be sliced down the middle and removed and a new half bridge will be constructed in its place while one-way traffic ensures. Then the process will be reversed. One-way traffic will use the new half bridge while the older and remaining half of the old bridge is torn down and reconstructed. Of course, the entire project will now take two years to complete at twice the money and the flow of traffic north and south on highway one will also be subject to one-way traffic for the next two years. Nice.”
A CALLER ASKED, “What do you think of Pinot Weekend?” I said I think of it like the advice in the Victorian-era's guide for brides: “I lie back and think of Anderson Valley as it was until it's over.” Boonville was teeming with florid-faced boozers, augmented by the usual shoals of mildly disoriented seniors slurping ice cream cones as they shuffled around in Bermuda shorts, their spindly exposed limbs the gleaming white ivory of fresh corpse.
The man killed in the logging accident was Juan Lerma a good man known by many. He was 45 years old and he leaves behind a wife a daughter and two sons. We will miss you Juan!