JANET GOLDEN-WHITEAKER: Dad told mom he would be right behind her, he kept his word. He passed away barely over a week after mom. Winfred Golden lived in the valley from the late 40's until 1973. He worked in sawmills, logged, built roads and ponds in the valley. He used to do the BBQ at Buckaroo Days and him and mom would make the sauce. He was 95, preceded in death by his wife of 76 years, Emogene, son Gary, his brothers Charlie, Clark, Cecil and Curtis, his sister Bea Coffman, his parents, John and Nancy Golden. Survived by his 2 daughters, 4 granddaughters, 4 great grandchildren, 3 great-great grandchildren and 1 on the way.
HEDGEHOG BOOKS WILL BE CLOSED from April 14 until some time in early June. We will open again, with some changes, in time for our 5th Anniversary! Come on by in the next couple of weeks to stock up on books, and we hope to see you again in June. (Dawn Ballantine)
WILLETTE PETERMAN FOR THE ORTIZ FAMILY: Kim has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and has a long journey ahead of her to beating this. Having your love, support, prayers and meals for her and the family would be greatly appreciated during this journey. You can also venmo her at: @Kimberlee-Ortiz-27 Thank you
AV FIRE CHIEF’S REPORT (Excerpts from the Minutes of last Wednesday’s Community Services District meeting.)
Water Tender: Our new water tender has finally been delivered by Kenworth to Fouts Brothers Manufacturing for final buildup. This order was originally paced in November of 2021 with the anticipation of being put into service for fire season of 2022. Nationwide manufacturing and logistical issues have been the primary reason for the delay. Now that the vehicle has been delivered, we have a 90-day buildup timeframe and we can expect to pick up the vehicle in early to mid-May. This will put the new water tender in service for the upcoming fire season.
Winter Storms: We have endured several storms over the last two months from both rain and snow. The worse storm impact so far this season was from the February 23 winter storm putting several inches of snow in the upper elevations and throughout Yorkville. Numerous trees created road closures (Hwy 128, Hwy 253, Fish Rock, Mountain View, Peachland, Yorkville Ranch, and many private roads). Our new 4x4 ambulance proved to be an invaluable asset.
MY GRANDCHILDREN attend Brookside Elementary School in cutting edge San Anselmo. Their school is hiring a new principal. Two 4th graders are on the interview committee. “Uh, you like jelly beans?”
A BOONVILLE PERSON: “This town really needs something to do, some venues with good old fashioned bonfires, maybe some competitions like a miniature golf course or live music events.”
BOONVILLE USED to have annual bonfires at the high school enjoyed by the whole community, there's disc golf and live music weekends at the Brewery. There's also silent contemplation of the rural splendor all around us, more for the ancients than for the hormonal young. Kids used to try to jump over the high school fire, and at the last one a lad named Joe Recchia, who previously had dabbled almost fatally in fire eating, tried to leap the flames, coming down in the middle of the pyre from where he was rescued by peers with only minor burns. And that was it for bonfires. Other than the school grounds, I can't think offhand of another potential site for an annual community fire. They were fun and quite convivial back in the day, back before insurance agents took over to define fun out of existence.
NEXT BOONVILLE QUIZ: APRIL 6
Yes, a time to rest your brains as the next General Knowledge and Trivia Quiz is not until the 1st Thursday in April - that’s the 6th. Hope to see you at Lauren’s at The Buckhorn in the meantime, the only place in the Valley to get a ‘proper’ drink and a wide variety of beers from afar. You know it makes sense. Cheers, Steve Sparks, The Quizmaster.
A READER WRITES: “Hi! I've noticed over the years that the Mexican families in Boonville have put on some of the best dance parties I've ever been to. Wondering when they might happen again so I could stop by for a dance and maybe some good food/beer. Whilst some of these parties were for family events like Baptisms etc. and there was no charge for entry I'd always pay a donation in gratitude. I'm sure the families don't want a bunch of strange Gringos about but hey if they come bearing gifts/$ it shouldn't be too bad to watch them fail at dancing; right?!”
BUD BREAK, GRAPEVINES, which means no break for us for at least the next month as the frost fans crank on around midnight until an hour or so past dawn, disturbing the sleep of (pick a number) thousand residents or so of the Anderson Valley.
JIM ARMSTRONG writes: “About 50 years ago, Beacon [Bobby] fired a shot over our heads and threatened to shoot my dog for chasing livestock on “his” beach. There was no livestock present and the beach was not posted.
MY SOLE BEACON experience also occurred fifty years ago, and I'm here to say the guy's alright with me. A couple of us starry-eyed do-gooders took a half-dozen delinquents on a hike from up around the Rossi Ranch on Signal Ridge, Philo, due west to the Pacific. With the delinquents demanding we call for rescue helicopters about a hundred yards from our starting point, we plodded on all afternoon when suddenly this large, armed man roared up on an ATV, shouting dire threats and the news, to us, that we were trespassing. Even the delinquents seemed cowed. We apologized. The large man turned out to be the famous Bobby Beacon who, when he wound down, invited us to follow him to his house down the hill where he laid on a most generous array of soft drinks and showed us the way to Highway One.
AV FARM SUPPLY IS HIRING! Office Assistant Position Available. Full or Part Time. Contact them for more info: store@andersonvalleyfarmsupply.com
MENDO’S LATTER DAY BLACK BART
Editor:
I’ve been unable to read the AVA since getting back to San Quentin. I’m allowed a local paper and being a long-time fan and headliner, I was hoping to be put back on the subscription list. I have no money, but what I can give is some headlines on occasion. I really do love the AVA.
Signed,
Trevor ‘The Peachland Gunfighter’ Jackson
BE 9877 2w 32
San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin, CA 94974
PS. Could you include a copy of your coverage of my Peachland incident? I’ll try to scrape up some money for a subscription.
GUN BATTLE ON PEACHLAND (AVA, June 15, 2016)
Last Wednesday, a little after midnight, shots were heard in deep Peachland. Soon after, a Peachland couple returning to their home was startled by the sudden appearance of “two unidentified white males” who explained that they'd been robbed during a marijuana transaction. Other persons glimpsed furtively moving about Peachland that night were described as “cartel Mexicans.”
THE PAIR of white men said they'd valiantly fought back against their assailants by shooting out the bandit's tires and then chasing him or them on foot. The two men reporting what turned out to be an inexplicable and almost certainly fanciful version of events then disappeared into the night.
TO SUMMARIZE first reports: Upper Peachland is the site of large-scale grows conducted by people with no other association to the Anderson Valley, although one or more otherwise vacant properties are owned by locals who may be in the pot business on a shares basis.
A GUN FIGHT broke out in or around one of these sites late last Wednesday night. The shooting involved an unknown number of persons, some of whom made their way on to uninvolved properties lower down the hill. They included the two unidentified white men subsequently reported to police.
AS MATTERS developed, a rather infamous blue Jeep was found on Peachland Road approximately seven miles east of Highway 128. It had been shot to death, with all four tires flattened and a final shot administered to its engine block.
THE NEXT DAY, Anderson Valley’s resident deputy Craig Walker, as diligent as he is tireless, examined the dead Jeep. In it he found a receipt from the drive-thru window of the Ukiah Burger King time-stamped 4pm. And since the Jeep had already been linked to a named individual spotted on upper Peachland, Walker soon knew who he was looking for to explain the gunplay earlier in the week.
THE JEEP is well-known to local law enforcement, and known to be driven by a man even more well-known to law enforcement than his distinctive vehicle, which is owned by his love interest, Miss Alexandra Long.
DEPUTY WALKER was soon on the trail of Miss Long's boyfriend, Trevor Jackson, who fit the description of one of two men who were driving around the Peachland neighborhood a mere three days after the mysterious gun battle. Jackson’s Jeep being deceased, Jackson was now driving a white Ford pick-up pulling an empty U-Haul trailer.
SATURDAY AFTERNOON, a local, still jittery after all the late night gun play, had alerted Deputy Walker that a strange white pick-up was cruising Upper Peachland. Deputy Walker waited at the foot of Peachland Road for the pick-up to emerge from the hills. The deputy followed it to the Redwood Drive-In, noting that the white pick-up did not have a front license plate. Deputy Walker pulled the truck over and, with the formidable deputy Massey still twenty minutes out from Boonville where he'd function as back-up, Walker slapped the cuffs on Jackson and his companion, a man with a lengthy criminal history named Lewis Dishman, and began questioning the pair.
JACKSON AND DISHMAN said they had indeed been in Deep Peachland last Wednesday to install an irrigation system on an unnamed grow. They said their Jeep had gotten a flat tire, forcing them to walk from out of the hills some seven miles. They denied any knowledge of gunfire or any confrontation with anyone. They told Deputy Walker they'd returned with a trailer simply to retrieve Jackson’s dead Jeep. They said they were sorry to learn their Jeep was dead.
DEPUTY WALKER couldn't help but see that Jackson and Dishman were tweeked to pulse-rate max, a visible fact they both readily conceded. Jackson had $3934.39 in cash in one of his pockets. He said the money was payment for his irrigation work in the Peachland. Were Jackson and Dishman the two men who appeared on the uninvolved Peachland property soon after Wednesday night's gunfire? Odds are…
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