JUAN LERMA, 46, of Fort Bragg, has been identified as the man killed by a falling limb early Monday morning off the old Masonite Road near Navarro. An experienced faller with Shuster Logging, Lerma was struck by a “widowmaker,” as the sudden fall of unexpected tree limbs is known among loggers. Unheard by their victims over the din of a running chainsaw, plummeting branches are a constant hazard in work full of hazards. Lerma is believed to have died instantly. He is survived by his wife and two children.
AFTER 13 years as a counselor at Boonville High School, Jerry Cox has announced his retirement. “When you no longer can steal 2nd base, it's time to hang up your cleats,” he says. Senor Cox has an unusual backstory, as does his wife Kathy, both of whom are best known locally through their work for many years with the Boonville schools. Before he got into education, Jerry, an ordained priest, had risen to monsignor in the Church. He met Kathy, a liberal nun, and they married. We first met the Coxes in the Anderson Valley when they owned and operated the Floodgate Cafe, not far from their home at Rancho Navarro. The couple is bilingual which, in a school district of many monolingual immigrant families and children, the Coxes facility in two languages has been crucial to immigrant success. Kathy, who also served with the Peace Corps in Honduras, now teaches at Mendocino College and presides over a class of twenty adult students learning Spanish here in Boonville. Jerry plans on "doing some writing" and also says of his looming retirement, "One of my fantasies is the development of a Mendocino Countywide Latino organization concentrating on the expressed issues of the people."
BRONWEN HANES has pled not guilty to charges she embezzled some $27,000 from the Anderson Valley PTA. Ms. Hanes entered her plea Tuesday morning in Mendocino County Superior Court, Ukiah. Trial was set for Wednesday, June 20th.
LOCALS, especially the women who've devoted countless hours to PTA fundraising, are not pleased with Ms. Hanes' not guilty plea. I can't pretend to understand the legal thinking here by Ms. Hanes' attorney, Kit Elliot, but the evidence against Ms. Hanes is overwhelming, and if she insists on her innocence and goes all the way to a jury trial, the DA will definitely put her in the County Jail for more than a few months. I wish the lady would plead out, make a deal for restitution, take her felony conviction and move on.
HOW DID the Boonville girls do in Ferndale at their first-ever small school playoff game? Wellllllllllll… First off, Ferndale is not just a boy's sports power. The Ferndale girls tend to win every ball game, too, and their girl's softball team is top-ranked among small schools. Sooooooo... our girls lost a lot to nothing. Ferndale's 15-year-old sophomore pitched a perfect game — no runs, no hits, and not a single Boonville girl reached first base. Our team is young, though, and finally has a knowledgeable, energetic coach. In a couple of years we'll be able to hold our own with the Ferndales of the Northcoast.
DON'T MISS the goodbye party for our popular Community Action coordinator, Colleen Schenck, at Lauren's this Friday night, 5-6pm. Colleen has been called back to the County's Public Health mother ship from whence she was dispatched to Boonville, and where she organized multifaceted programs aimed at keeping young people out of trouble. Terry Ryder and Cesar Maldonado soldier on with Community Action.
LAST SATURDAY NIGHT'S quinceanera for Kaylie Mendoza was, from all accounts, quite splendid with two bands and more than enough food and drink for everyone who stopped in at the Apple Hall, and everyone, it seemed, did stop in.
AN ANONYMOUS CALLER demanded, "There's no white kids in that new high school mural; didn't you see that?" Nope, but I haven't seen the mural yet, but maybe the artist will dub in a couple if we're missing.
COMMUNITY STRENGTH OCEAN PROTECTION, urges John Lewallen, Philo's candidate for Congress: "A gathering of ocean lovers and protectors to celebrate 'Community Strength for Ocean Protection' is scheduled for Saturday, June 2, at 1 p.m., on Van Damme Beach in Mendocino County. For information, call John and Barbara (707) 895-2996."
SANJEEV LAXMANAN, a human rights activist from Sri Lanka, will be in the Valley next week for a presentation on the turmoil besetting his beleaguered country. Hosted by Captain Rainbow, an old Sri Lankan hand, Mr. Laxmanan's presentation is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday evening, June 6th, at a venue to be named. Interested persons must call Rainbow at 895-3807 to find out where they can hear Mr. Laxmanan.
DAVE SEVERN spent last weekend at Shasta Lake where he met Dave Martinez at a Winnemen-Wintu coming of age ceremony. Locals will remember Dave Martinez as a committed volunteer firefighter, emergency responder and all-round good guy. Dave is now active in tribal affairs in Shasta, his home area. The Winnemen's struggles to regain tribal status and fend off the water-borne oafs who've attempted to disrupt their ceremonies have lately received major media attention. Severn reported that during his visit he witnessed several insulting episodes himself that included a debauched woman baring her breasts at children and young men revving the huge motors on their preposterous watercraft as the Winnemans attempted to conduct their religious services.
Be First to Comment