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Valley People (April 19, 2023)

FRANK HARTZELL: Owning chickens is the best defense against ticks. Guinea fowl are even better at devouring the little monsters. The poultry have to be allowed to roam, but if they are they will eventually wipe out the ticks. Took a few years on our once tick infested property but they did it.

RENEE LEE: A well-spent afternoon at the Little Red Schoolhouse listening to the great Bill Holcomb talk about his life in Anderson Valley. A good turn-out too! This was a part of a series sponsored by the AV Historical Society called “Valley Chats.” I was flooded with fond memories of attending the old schoolhouse eons ago. It seemed so much bigger as a 5-year-old back then. I remember what an honor it was to be selected to ring the bell at the end of the school day, the small stage where we would conduct our “show and tell” segment of our day and sing songs, and the little side porch door that is now sealed shut where we would receive our graham crackers and milk while exiting for recess. I could almost hear the playground chatter as I walked where the sandbox and old painted culverts used to be. So sweet. Mark your calendars. I believe the next speaker will be Fal Allen on May 21st talking about the history of the brewery. Should be interesting! 

I SECOND Renee. Bill Holcomb’s a wonderful raconteur who not only provided a number of humorous anecdotes about his life in the Anderson Valley, but answered questions many of us have about local history, such as the history of local roads. The standing room crowd gave the speaker a rousing standing ovation for his terrific presentation, which I hope will get him an encore.

BETH SWEHLA: Do you know a current AVHS Agriculture student who would make a good leader? Encourage them to apply to be an 2023-24 AV FFA Officer.

HEDGEHOG BOOKS IS CLOSED until mid-late June. We hope to see you then! (Dawn Ballantine)

The AV GRANGE VARIETY SHOW is gathering momentum. The show as usual is expected to be a tour duh force showcasing Anderson Valley and way beyond. Of course all this hype is meaningless unless you come through as you always have in the past....magnificently. But we may be a bit out of practice it being almost 3 years since we've been able to get together. Spots are filling on the roster though and excitement is building. Now's the time to get inspired, get up, get out, get together and come up with your very own turn onstage. Showtime is Friday May 12th and Saturday May 13th We await your call, Abeja 707/621-3822 or Cap Rainbow 707/472-9189

PHILO APPLE FARM is currently hiring for our Farm Stand/Garden position. We are looking for long term part to full time help (this varies with the season) and can provide accommodations in a fully set up cabin for the right person. This position involves staffing our Farm stand, assisting with the annual garden, supporting our overnight guests, helping with special events, working the apple harvest, and potential involvement with our livestock. If you or someone you know is interested please have them email karen@philoapplefarm.com to set up an interview. www.philoapplefarm.com

BOONVILLE QUIZ THIS THURSDAY

The Boonville General Knowledge and Trivia Quiz returns at 7pm on Thursday, 20th April, the 3rd Thursday of the month. Hope to see everyone there! Cheers, Steve Sparks, The Quizmaster.

AT LEAST one set of frost fans snapped on twice early two mornings last week, the first aural assaults on the residents of Boonville this grape season. The rest of April will bring “scattered showers,” which usually means lots of frost mornings when the fans will go off midnight until an hour or so after daybreak. But take heart, Anderson Valley while you console yourselves for your lost hours of restorative slumber with Philo wine mogul Ted Bennett’s memorable explanation — “My grapes are more important than your sleep.”

DONALD BETTENCOURT: “I would like to share some thoughts about my time in Fort Bragg, coming back after retirement. I graduated from FBHS in 1952. I worked for Paladini Fish CO two summers before graduation & a summer choking logs at camp 20 during the summer of '52. Thanks to the fishing industry then & the Union Lumber CO., we all had jobs. I think there were three fish processing plants at the harbor then. Remember Reno & Rose Cavalini? They were the best! You could go down to the mouth of some of the local rivers & creeks to watch the Salmon coming in to spawn. Around 1950 we drove up to Usal for Steelhead, they were running, we were using eggs. The next year we went back & the river was full of mud due to the logging, no fish when their spawning gravel was silted. The old growth Redwoods were mostly gone between 1850-1950, the first 100 years. There was no sustainable cutting, The Union Lumber Company answer was to raise Redwood seedlings from their large nursery for planting, a failure. The Redwood trees are amazing, you cut down a big one & there may be six more growing around the stump, second growth, but it doesn’t take another 1700 years before they are cut again. In the 70’s the environmental activists started showing up, they were the enemy! Guess what, they were right. So, what’s left? No Salmon this year, no Abalone, (Red Sea Urchin), not much fish, (It takes years for Ling Cod to grow), Albacore & Dungeness Crab. Crab fishing is restricted now as well. That’s why I write this after the post about the 21’ slab of Redwood that is in front of the Museum. Jerome Ford & CR Johnson made available good jobs in those days, but after cutting everything in sight, they moved back to San Francisco. No jobs now except for the service industry & tourism. Just saying.”

THE BIG RAINS that soaked California this winter have yielded wildflower super blooms so large and vivid that they're showing up in images captured by satellites orbiting the Earth, and here in the Anderson Valley we have some beauts, including the calendula explosion here at Boonville's geriatric weekly.

THIS DISTURBING message was facebooked last week: ”Hi AV community, there is an elderly woman who is up at Faulkner Park. She is trying to get to Stanford for medical treatment and was hitchhiking at base of mountain view. She's camping at the park tonight. We gave her food and blankets but if anyone can help her, it'd be greatly appreciated.”

APRIL IS THE CRUELEST MONTH, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain. Winter kept us warm, covering Earth in forgetful snow, feeding A little life with dried tubers. — TS Eliot

A HOLMES RANCHER tried to gift local gardeners by posting this invitation: “More succulents available at the wine barrel at the bottom of Holmes Ranch in Philo. The ones that have leaves, you can put in dirt, just don't water for a few weeks. The stem pieces will need to sit out so they can callous and get some roots going (no water). And thank you to those that came by and left my pot alone If anyone is interested in what I call Stone Rose let me know and I can break a bunch down and put up there as well in a day or so.”

BUT THEN, “I thought I was doing a good thing by sharing my bounty of succulents with all FOR FREE ... all I asked was that what was in the pot be left alone. Well, apparently there is a Jack Wagon that doesn't respect anything because 4 of my Forever Susans are gone. To you, I hope you forever step on Legos and know that I have spent 4 years getting those established and multiplying. For the rest, there are more Hens and Chicks around the pot and a box in front of the pot. May the Karma Goddess be forever in my favor.”

KAREN OTTOBONI, Mendo radio personality, posted: “Did you know the county has let these buildings deteriorate to the point they're going to start disposing of them. The first on the list to go is Boonville.” (The Boonville Vet's Building)

I FORWARDED OTT'S alarming heads-up to Supervisor Williams, who replied: “Decades of empire building... Revenue doesn't support 75 buildings, not if roads and public safety are to be maintained.”

THIS FROM a guy who signed off on, to name two recent fiscal disasters, a pointless $400,000 legal hassle with the Sheriff and upwards of a cool million on the hurry-up evacuation of unprepared poor people from the trailer park at Creekside Cabins, Willits.

FIRST OFF, the sensible thing to do would be to sign the Boonville structure over to the Senior Center with the super-capable Renee Lee in total control of its repairs. Renee would mos def get it done. Second, the Supervisor is simply posturing on roads and cops whose budgets are adequate to carry out their functions, besides which these aren't the alternatives. (Bulldozing our Vet's Building would surely ignite Boonville's first-ever riot.)

MARK SCARAMELLA, USAF RET, NOTES:

Measure AJ was passed by a wide majority of Mendocino voters back in 2016. It was an “Advisory Measure” which accompanied Measure AI to help sell the County’s Pot permit/tax program which imposed the Cannabis Business Tax. Voters were told that if Mendocino County adopted the accompanying Cannabis Business Tax Measure the County “should use a majority of that revenue for funding enforcement of marijuana regulations, enhanced mental health services, repair of county roads, and increase fire and emergency medical services.” Guess how much of those pot tax revenues (calculated by the County to be over $20 million in the last six years) were allocated to mental health services, county roads or fire and emergency services. (Hint: $0.) The one time Supervisor Haschak suggested honoring the will of the voters, Williams quickly shot it down by suggesting that the County pretend that business as usual amounted to compliance, His colleagues, including Haschak, quickly agreed. Now Williams wants to ask the voters to pass another road tax? Maybe the Board should honor that advisory vote first.

AS A FORMER BUDWEISER DRINKER forced into retirement by age, I never once, in all those happy years of imbibing, did I even consider drinking Bud Light, preferring to go with the genuine beer-flavored water called Bud regular. Bud Light finally has a mascot consistent with the drink.

THE CEO of Bud Light's parent company Anheuser-Busch addressed the mass boycotts over the company's marketing Bud Light with a trans person. “My time serving this country taught me the importance of accountability and the values upon which America was founded: freedom, hard work and respect for one another. As CEO of Anheuser-Busch, I am focused on building and protecting our remarkable history and heritage.”

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