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Valley People (December 22, 2021)

JERRY PHILBRICK HAS DIED, passing away in his sleep at his Comptche ranch. A native son of Mendocino County, Jerry Philbrick was a logger and rancher, and among the most vivid personalities in this area. A man of fierce opinions forcefully expressed, “Philbrick,” as he was universally known, was also an unusually kind and generous man who, for many years, did much private good for a wide range of people, especially young people involved in athletics. 

Terry & Jerry Philbrick (2018)

CHRIS PHILBRICK: “This is the day I never wanted to arrive. My brother was one of those “larger than life” people who I’ve respected and admired since I was a child. I like the short description of him in today’s AVA. My golf kids will remember him as a guy who could fully and accurately describe a golf shot without ever once using a correct golf term…like describing Graham Beard’s drive “Wow! That ball must have gone 900 feet,” or, “that ball went out to the west and turned to the north.” Jerry’s Memorial Service will be in Ukiah in mid-January.

YORKVILLE MARKET HAS CLOSED. Lisa Walsh brings us the sad news: “I have officially closed the Market. It is a sad moment, but unfortunately necessary. Let’s hope for great new things in the future. It has really been a pleasure getting to know you over these years. I have appreciated the many kind words and interesting articles you have written about the Market. Hopefully our paths will cross again soon. Wishing you all the best.”

FROM THE AV HEALTH CENTER: General Announcements and Updates… COVID cases are on the rise again due to the season and holiday gatherings, we will continue to see this spike locally. Anderson Valley Health Center advises everyone 16 years and up to get their booster shot. Vaccines help prevent viral spread and keep people's symptoms mild if they do become infected. It is the best way to keep protected from delta and omicron variants along with masking, testing, and hand hygiene. Kids have also done very well with the vaccine, we have some pediatric vaccine slots available Wednesday and Thursday, call us to make an appointment. 895-3477

AVA CONTRIBUTOR and author Katy Tahja has dropped off copies of her invaluable, must-have Mendo histories at Hedgehog Books in Boonville. If someone on your holiday list likes local history you can support a local small business buying it there.

BOONVILLE HOOPS: The varsity boys dropped three games in the high powered Annual McMillan Winter Invitational at Cloverdale High School, the traveled to Point Arena for league game where our JV girls easily defeated their hostesses, 49-12. Our Junior Varsity Boys couldn't keep a lead and lost 29-17.  Both varsity teams handily won their competitions with the girls 37-21 win and the boys a 44-27 victory over PA. Our next game won't be until January 11 on our home court against Round Valley. Should be exciting. (Arthur Folz reporting)

SENIOR CENTER CRAB FEED

Get tickets today and support our wonderful AV Senior Center!

Drive-Thru Crab Feed

Sat., January 22, 2022

Pick Up Between 4:30-6:30 Pm

June Hall, Mendocino County Fairgrounds

This event is intended to be a safe and socially distant fundraiser. All local public safety practices and guidelines will be strictly followed. Ticket holders will arrive wearing masks and remain in their vehicle at all times. Vehicles will enter by the grandstands parking lot, upon arrival at the June Hall, please. present your tickets and a staff member will greet your car (masked and gloved) to retrieve them and safely serve your meal in a “to-go” fashion. Vehicles will exit by the fairgrounds office. Thank you!

Crab Meal $60 — Spaghetti $20

Includes crab or spaghetti with salad, bread & dessert. wine & beer (sealed in original container) available for purchase.

All Proceeds Benefit AV Senior Center

Tickets Available at AV Senior Center, Lemons Philo Market, AV Market & AVSC Board Members. Call 707-895-3609 For more info.

MARSHALL NEWMAN WRITES: Nice to see the Navarro flow near the mean, for a change. However, on another note, the USGS Current Condition page for the Navarro River will change at the beginning of 2022. It does not appear we will have access to the median and mean flows anymore.

THE ILLUMINATED stained glass windows of the Boonville Methodist Church, and the Christmas lights strewn around central Boonville, seem especially welcome in these double-dark days of wintery weather and national uncertainty. Thank you, Methodist Church, thank you Christmas lights people.

THIS NEW ADDITION to the Anderson Valley Health Center will eventually house a dentist and other medical services. Rick Cupples and Sons are the builders. (Cupples is a graduate of AVHS and was a member of the powerhouse basketball teams of the late 1960s.

RENTAL WANTED: Locally employed, mature writer seeking quiet, private parking place in Anderson Valley for 30-foot 2018 self-contained trailer to work on artistic projects. Please consider renting me a little slice of your “North 40.” I can pay a little cash, or am willing to negotiate trade for legitimate services. Call 707 272-3301. Please leave a message. 

JOAN BURROUGHS WRITES: Photos of the late Jack June also include behind him Boonville's first gas station and, in the photo of June as a teenager, the Anderson Valley school bus.

FREE DAY FOR MENDOCINO COUNTY RESIDENTS: New Year’s Day at Hendy Woods State Park

MO MANDEL, born and bred in Boonville will be headlining his comedy show in a venue close to you.  On Thursday December 30, 2021 — the night BEFORE New Year’s Eve Day — he will be  be performing at Sally Tomatoes, 1100 Valley House Dr.,  Rohnert Park CA 94928, from 7-9 pm. Dinner is available that night too at the venue, Tickets are available through eventbrite.com.

AS SCHOOLS BEGIN TO COVID-CLOSE in other areas of the country, we asked AV Schools superintendent Louise Simson if she anticipated the same here. Superintendent Simson replied:

We have no plans to do that here unless REQUIRED to do so, but kids need to be at school. We are at the forefront of implementing weekly pooled testing to surveillance test our students. We have been doing this since the beginning of September to catch and stop infections early. I am including a recent trade publication we were featured in for School administrators, as well as the video commercial about our district that is being shown across the state. Not only does this keep us safe, it will also provide the path forward when infection rates are down to think about using this data to lower restrictions such as masking or create a bridge on the vaccination wars. I am so proud of this program and would LOVE to talk with you about it if you have questions. There is absolutely no cost to our district, and we have kept our infection rates very low compared to the rest of the districts in the county. 

We have four additional cases this week, which is part of the post-Thanksgiving pop. The most important thing for everyone to understand is you cannot eradicate Covid. We can manage and mitigate. My school system last year was open ALL year, for all kids, EVERY full day. We didn't have testing and vaccinations, but we did it through vigilance, and most important partnership in ensuring kids stay home when they are sick. This testing program is an incredible tool. 

SHOP LOCAL in the bountiful Anderson Valley and help support your community: Disco Ranch, Farmhouse Mercantile, Hedgehog Books, Mosswood, Sun & Cricket at The Madrones, The Bohemian Chemist at The Madrones, The General Store; Inn and Restaurant gift certificates (Lauren’s, Paysanne, The Bewildered Pig, The Boonville Hotel, The Madrones, Wickson); Wineries often have little gifts as well as wines; a gift subscription to Word of Mouth magazine. So many great choices. Happiest of holidays to all!

LOCAL REALTOR Anne Fashauer writes: No article from me this week; too busy with holiday activites. But we join the AVA staff in wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. It will probably be a wet one, but we need that water.

TOMMY WAYNE'S COLUMN last week talked about how stuff goes missing from his house, all our houses probably. Somehow, some way, three jackets of mine have recently disappeared, mystifying me and the Missus no end, although she does arbitrarily toss clothing she has decided needs to go. “I threw it out,” she'll say. “I didn't want you to go out in public wearing that anymore.” But she hadn't thrown away the missing jackets, of which only one would be the kind of useful garment some needy someone might steal. It was a gift so winter warm I used it as a blanket on ultra-chill nights. I loved that coat! The other two I'd bought for a few bucks at Goodwill where I've shopped for years for everything but underwear and socks. Anyhoo, I wanted to tell Tommy about another homestead adventure, one that I experienced last August. Deeply asleep in the coma-like slumber of the elderly, I suddenly smelled cigarette smoke apparently coming from someone standing outside my open window — Ben Franklin recommended fresh air during sleep, and who am I to argue with a Founding Father — so I rolled over, picked up my gat, chambered a round, assumed a certified Marine Corps standing shooting stance, and shouted after a retreating form, “No smoking on this property!”

THE MENDOCINO BOOK COMPANY called yesterday to ask if we had any copies of ‘Mendocino Noir’, the ava's steady seller of local true crime stories. Nope, plumb out, but there are a few copies available via Amazon, unfortunately for those of you who prefer to buy books from independent book stores. ‘Behind The Green Curtain’ and ‘The Mendocino Papers’ are still easily obtained via independent book stores. (Ed note: The author is unhappy with this hastily composed tome I called Mendocino Papers and plans to re-write it. Forewarned is forearmed, he says.)

THE BLURB for Mendocino Noir: “The lessons in these true crime stories from Mendocino County are numerous: Don't step away from your Fort Bragg property or your neighbors may log your trees. Be careful of short people with bad parking skills. Those capable of animal cruelty are dangerous to humans as well. Murder, corruption, and arson, amusing misbehavior and dire offenses, this collection of tales relates the more disturbing, bizarre, and appalling crimes in Mendocino's recent history. The biggest lesson? When bad people and civic irresponsibility coincide, as they often do here, vast Mendocino County becomes a dangerously unpredictable place.”

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