AV UNIFIED OFF TO A GOOD START, SUPERINTENDENT LARSON REPORTING
It was a fantastic first week! Attendance was good overall, and we had a handful of new students transfer into both schools, so we are excited about that. I just sent you a little blurb that is going to the community that is pretty general. We've been busy! Classes are going well at both sites and new administrators are very happy being here because of the great community.
Students showed up excited and ready to learn at both sites
We changed up the traffic pattern at the elementary school at the advice of our architect/DSA, and it has been the smoothest drop-off experience I have ever seen. The parents have been wonderful and cooperative. As an educator of 30+ years, I can tell you that is unusual.
Construction is continuing and the Jr/Sr High is looking better and better. I'm including a few photos. See below.
Several of our educators have signed up to attend a conference about Restorative Practices; this philosophy has been shown to positively impact student behavior more than the more typical, punitive practices. Staff are excited about this.
It looks like Mr. Toohey, Athletic Director, is not getting enough football players to make the season. 12 of 17 on the team were seniors last year and they have graduated. He is going to beef up the soccer team and hopes to add a cross-country team, while working toward getting the football team back on track next year. Volleyball and soccer are underway.
Thank you for always representing our district so well in the AVA. We appreciate you!
With respect,
Kristin Larson Balliet
Superintendent, AV Unified School District
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Dear Anderson Valley Community,
It has been an absolute pleasure meeting and working with students and parents this week! What a warm and friendly place! I know Alyson McKay, principal of AVES and Heath McNerney, principal of the Jr/Sr High have also been so grateful for the smiles, the excitement, and the kindness all around. Your kids are the absolute best.
At AVES, we are thankful to all of our parent drivers for their cooperation with the new traffic pattern at drop-off and pick-up. The dangerous U-turns in the front of the school have been eliminated, and the traffic flow is calm and orderly. It was a thing of beauty! It is lovely to see the happy faces of our students as they get out of their cars to head in to school. A special thanks to Mrs. McKay, Mr. Corey-Moran, Mr. Frazer, and Mrs. Damian for getting out there in their orange vests to help with drop-off. It’s working!
At Anderson Valley Jr/Sr High, our seventh graders were welcomed into our student body and have integrated seamlessly. Special thanks to the Jr High teachers for working through Expectations Stations, and helping our newest students learn to navigate the new campus. Our High School students have quickly gotten back into the swing of daily classes and are clearly enjoying being back with their friends. Excitement is in the air!
Construction is everywhere, and our students are doing a great job of navigating the campus while our dedicated construction crew completes the classrooms that are under construction. Special thanks to Mrs. Jenderseck, Mr. Bublitz, Mrs. Malfovon, Mrs. Johnson, and our musicians Ms. Calvache and Mr. Cook from Gabriela Franks’ Music Academy, for their flexibility in moving to portable classrooms until the construction is complete. You have made those classrooms homey and comfortable already! We look forward to the completion of our Science rooms (with amazing learning patios and fantastic large, sliding glass doors) and the classrooms in the main wing of the school toward the end of the semester.
Anderson Valley Unified School District is a bustling and exciting place to be! We are moving toward updating or replacing our gym, and are making excellent progress toward the beginning of construction on the new track. More detailed information to come! We already have the best kids and staff around; soon we’ll have the best facilities too!
I am thrilled to be working with the Anderson Valley community and welcome your thoughts and ideas. My door is open! Please reach out to me if you would like to talk one-on-one.
We are going to do great things this year together!
With respect,
Kristin Larson Balliet, Superintendent, Anderson Valley Unified School District
THE MENDOCINO COUNTY FAIR AND APPLE SHOW is celebrating its 100th Anniversary
Dates: Friday, September 13 through Sunday, September 15, 2024
Location: Fairgrounds, Boonville, Anderson Valley, Mendocino County, California
Hours: 9 am to Midnight Daily!
Admission: Adults - $10 Juniors 13 -18 - $8 Children 7 -12 - $6
6 and under – Free Admission tickets available online at mendocountyfair.com
Special Promotions: Friday -- For the 100th Anniversary Celebration, the 1st 100 people through the front gate will receive free admission – the 2nd 100 attendees will receive a free food voucher & the 3rd 100 attendees will receive a voucher for a free carnival ride. These special promotions will only be available at the front gate.
Friday - Seniors - 65 and over $6 - All Day! & Friday - Children 12 and under - Free!
Three Day Pass for Seniors - 65 & over - $20 (Purchase Pre-Fair)
Carnival: Daily! Pay-One-Price for Unlimited Rides - Valid all day – $35 Pre-Sale (before Fair opens) - $45 if purchased during Fair -- Pre-Sale available at the Fair Office, Lemon’s Market in Philo, A.V. Elementary School & online at mendocountyfair.com
Special Events: Horse Show – 4-H & FFA – Friday – 8 am – Rodeo Arena
Varsity Soccer – Friday, 3 PM – Arena APPLE BOWL Varsity Football – Friday, 5 pm – Arena
Dance - Friday 8 pm to 10 pm in the Rodeo Arena featuring
Scott Forbes Band Free with Fair Admission!
C.C.P.R.A. Rodeos Saturday night - 8 pm Sunday afternoon - 2 pm
Dance - Saturday 9:30 pm to Midnight in the Rodeo Arena featuring Dean Titus & The Coyote Cowboys Free with Fair Admission!
Sheep Dog Trials Finals - Sunday - 10 am - Rodeo Arena
Classic Car Show - Sunday - 10 am - Rodeo Parking Lot
Parade - Sunday at Noon - Highway 128 to Rodeo Arena
Dance - Sunday 6 pm to 9:00 pm in the Rodeo Arena featuring
Norteno SG & Clave-MC Free with Fair Admission!
Entertainment: All Free with Fair Admission - Continuous Family Entertainment, including –
Godfrey the Magician – Multiple Shows Daily – Lawn Stage
Robin Lara - Strolling Act Bri Crabtree’s Silly Circus Show
Music by Jimmy Becker Cutest Show on Earth
Pony Land Petting Zoo, 10 am to 6 pm Freaky Fruit Contest - Sunday
Apple Tasting: Daily! Sample some of Anderson Valley’s Finest Varieties!
Wine Tasting: Daily! Sample some of Mendocino County’s award winning vintages!
Special Attractions: 26th Annual California Wool & Fiber Festival
97th Annual California National Wool Show
Livestock Shows Parade of Champions – Saturday Floral and Garden Displays
Feature Booths Apple Displays Arts and Crafts Classic Car Show
Pony Rides Shearing & Skirting Demo – Saturday Spinning Contest – Sunday
Parking: $5 Please: No Pets Website: www.mendocountyfair.com
Directions: Take Highway 101 to Highway 128 West to Boonville
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 458 - Boonville, CA 95415
For Further Information Call: 707.895.3011 Email: mcofair@anne-retallick
GRIEF RECOVERY SUPPORT GROUP TO BEGIN IN SEPTEMBER
An eight-week grief support group offered by Hospice of Ukiah will be starting on September 5, continuing every Thursday until October 24.
The free group is provided as an aid to anyone who has lost a friend, relative or loved one- in the immediate past or at an earlier time.
Kay Lieberknecht is the Grief and Bereavement Counselor for Hospice of Ukiah. She will be facilitating the course.
The course, says Lieberknecht, draws on information from a variety of sources. It is non-denominational and is designed to address the many issues faced by individuals facing what can be an overwhelming array of emotional and physical responses to the death of a beloved person.
“Grief can be very complicated, and the course is based very much around the needs of the particular people who attend,” says Lieberknecht. “There is definitely a bonding that takes place between participants, so we ask people to commit to coming to every session. This isn’t a drop-in group. If you are not able to make at least 7 of the 8 sessions, it would be better to save your commitment for another time.”
Lieberknecht stresses, “It doesn’t matter if you fee like you are coping well with your grieving or not. The course will benefit everyone. The participants become an amazing, supportive group for each other. Everyone cries. I cry,” she smiles.
Lieberknecht was a registered nurse when she was originally exposed to the work of death and dying.
“I was a visiting RN and was honored to accompany people and their families through their transition time into death- a deeply important time in their lives. I went through training to be a hospice nurse when my daughter was killed in a car accident. That experience left me with a desire to reach out even more. I discovered that the aftermath following death is very important.”
The group will make agreements about confidentiality, being good listeners and being supportive to others. There will be light “homework” assignments that will involve keeping a grief journal.
Pre-registration is required. For more information, please contact Kay Lieberknecht at (707) 391-1917 or phone the Hospice of Ukiah office at (707 462-4038.
THE LITTLE STATION THAT SURVIVED
by Dina Polkinghorne, KZYX Interim General Manager
Nothing brings home the point that we need to move like the July 25 Grange Fire, which came within a few hundred feet of the Philo Studio and station headquarters and damaged essential equipment.
For an hour or two, we were sure the building was gone. Operations Director Rich Culbertson and I had big lumps in our throats when we checked in, thinking the worst had happened. But miraculously, the station building was left unscathed. The woods and brush opposite the driveway at our location on Highway 128 burned, but the fire did not jump across the narrow road to us, as it had a mere 200 feet to the south of us. By chance, no staff were on-site that day because they were working remotely due to a Covid exposure.
When the fire started, Rich immediately went to Fort Bragg to broadcast from the satellite studio there, with Public Affairs Director Victor Palomino phoning in information and updates in English and Spanish.
Later, when the power was lost in Philo and the generator did not kick in, we again assumed the worst: a burned-up generator. There seemed no other reason for the new and regularly tested generator not to kick in when the power went out. Besides leaving the station without power or backup, the defunct generator raised fears that it and the station had burned.
Without power, KZYX was totally off-air for about an hour, and our friends at KMUD kindly allowed us to make emergency announcements over their airwaves. Meanwhile, I was making a flurry of calls to try and get a status update on the studio itself. I finally located a neighbor in Philo who was able to check and confirm that it had survived.
Hours later, once the evacuation order was lifted and Highway 128 reopened, Rich drove to the station to get things sorted. He determined that when the power came back on, the surge had fried some essential studio equipment and caused the internet to work only intermittently (resulting in intermittent streaming). Rich is still diagnosing why the generator failed.
We announced at about 7:30 pm that the building was still standing, but KZYX could not broadcast live from any of its studios without power at the main Philo station. We got the word out over social media, a press release, and our website that the station would only broadcast recorded shows through the weekend while staff worked on solutions.
After replacing destroyed equipment and getting back on our feet, our staff is now back in the main Philo studio, and KZYX is back on the air, live. The staff and board are so grateful for all the love, encouragement, and support weâ’ve received from the community.
Our community depends on KZYX for vital information during emergencies. This close fire and its impacts undermined the station's mission and reason for being—live broadcasting—and dramatized the fragility of its present location. KZYX has grown steadily over its 35 years, thanks to the vision and support of its listener/members, programmers, board, and staff. Operating at our current level and growing sustainably require stable equipment and power and a safe location.
We've known for years that KZYX needs to get out of the woods and away from the trees that increasingly block its signal. The new Ukiah headquarters is gradually becoming a reality. The Grange Fire increases our sense of urgency to accomplish the move to Ukiah as soon as possible.
Moving Forward at the New Ukiah Studio
While it may not be apparent to passers-by, there has been a lot of progress in transforming the mid-century-modern buildings at 390 West Clay Street in Ukiah into KZYXâ’s new home and main studio. Our team has completed initial design work, permitting, extensive demolition and waste removal, early work on the grounds and trees, ADA-mandated retrofitting, electrical and plumbing upgrades, and painting of the office wing on the east side of the property.
Soon, builders will replace the roof, repair the front wall, and install exterior windows—all part of readying the “shell” of the west wing. Then work can begin on the interior, the future home of three KZYX broadcast studios, including one for our own “tiny desk” shows. More funds are needed before developing the complex communication infrastructure that will finally enable the station to broadcast and stream from the new main studio.
THE GRANGE FIRE & KZYX
Disaster Fund donors support Anderson Valley. An Update on our Grange Fire Response.
“It was scary to think the station was almost destroyed, and beyond frustrating to Rich and the rest of the staff to not be able to broadcast at a time when it mattered most to our listeners. It warmed our hearts though to see how many people cared about the station's well-being and the community service we provide.” — Dina Polkinghorne, Interim Executive Director KZYX.
On July 25, a wave of concern swept through our community as emergency notifications illuminated our screens, alerting us to the fierce blaze raging in Anderson Valley. In those tense moments, our thoughts turned to our friends and partners residing near the evacuation zones, grappling with the compounded challenges of power outages, unreliable internet, and disrupted communications. As firefighters bravely fought against the flames, we held on to hope for a swift and safe resolution. In the days that followed, we rallied our networks to understand the extent of the damage and identify the most pressing needs.
In solidarity and support, we promptly disbursed a $5,000 grant from the Disaster Fund for Mendocino County to United Disaster Relief of Northern California, enabling them to assist individuals facing immediate losses due to the fire.
Meanwhile, KZYX's main studio was located perilously close to the evacuation zone and narrowly escaped destruction, only to contend with significant equipment damage from a power surge.
Local public radio has proven an indispensable tool for disaster preparedness, and to support our collective safety, the Community Foundation granted $15,800 from the Disaster Fund for Mendocino County to restore and upgrade its equipment. These funds help ensure its operations remain steadfast for the next emergency.
We are immensely grateful to the firefighters, first responders, and volunteers who stepped up to protect our community and to the generous donors of the Disaster Fund for Mendocino County. Together, we stand resilient and prepared.
Support the Disaster Fund.
www.communityfound.org
Community Foundation of Mendocino County
204 South Oak Street | Ukiah, CA 95482
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