- Troubled Chief
- Special Treatment
- Have Nots
- Ambulance Eric
- Catch of the Day
- Police Reports
- Short Term
- Federal Bureau of Intrusion
- Food Calendar
- Marijuana Effects
- Bypass Update
- Loyalty/Delusion
- Eternal Play
- OMing Out
WILLIAM VANDERHEIDEN is chief of the three-officer tribal department in Round Valley. He lives in the Willits area and commutes to Covelo. He was hired by the tribe in 2010 (see story below from April 2010) and was subsequently promoted to chief. Vanderheiden was briefly a Round Valley resident deputy back in 2009-2010 but didn’t make it past his probationary period. Rumors said that although he was an effective and popular officer, the married Vanderheiden's extra-marital entanglements were viewed by Sheriff's Department as likely to compromise him in such a small community. Chief Vanderheiden was 5150’d at Howard Hospital in Willits Thursday night on family concerns that he might be “suicidal.”
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BACKGROUND REPORTS
April 1, 2010 — Former MCSO Covelo Deputy Now Working For Tribal Police
by Tiffany Revelle, The Ukiah Daily Journal April 1, 2010
Covelo -- Former Mendocino County Deputy Sheriff William Vanderheiden is now the Round Valley Tribal Police Department's only officer. Vanderheiden was hired about a month ago, according to RVTPD Chief Carlos Rabano, who said he's happy to have him after the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office let him go in mid-February after less than a year as a Covelo resident deputy. "He established some trust in the Indian community," Rabano said, "and he's a really calm, mild-mannered guy. He assesses the situation before he just comes in there, like some other deputies." Sheriff Tom Allman announced in mid-February Vanderheiden didn't pass his yearlong probation period after he and deputy Jack Patrick were hired as Covelo's two resident deputies in May. Allman put Vanderheiden on paid leave Jan. 5, then relieved him of his duties about a month later. Rumors circulated in the community that Vanderheiden's personal life brought about his dismissal, but Allman said he legally couldn't comment on that. Rabano's position is that what Vanderheiden does on his own time is his business. After Vanderheiden's dismissal, Rabano said it was the tribal community that urged his hire as a tribal police officer. "A few of the (tribal) council members approached me with the idea, and a vast amount of the community as well," Rabano said. At the time, Rabano said the tribal police office was talking with the MCSO about cross-deputization. He said he made sure before hiring Vanderheiden that the move wouldn't jeopardize the new collaboration. "He already has their training and a knowledge of their department," Rabano said. Another benefit for Rabano is Vanderheiden's knowledge of the community and police procedure. After a two-week training period, Rabano said Vanderheiden "pretty much knew what to do and I cut him loose on his own right away." The work consists mostly of responding to calls on tribal land, which covers about the upper third of Round Valley. Rabano said calls for service include the standard ration of domestic violence, people being drunk and disorderly, and juvenile problems, along with a fair amount of illegal marijuana grows in the wooded areas and on private property. Rabano said the department is plagued with a high turnover rate. He took over as chief after the tribal council suspended its police department last year for a couple of weeks, then fired former chief Lindon Duke and brought the department back with Rabano as its head. "At one point there were four of us," Rabano said. One man left to go back to his home tribe. Another didn't pass a background check. "We've been down to a force of two since February," Rabano said. It's still a force of two, with both chief and officer on duty during the day and responding to calls as needed around the clock, Rabano said. Rabano said he hopes to hire more officers soon, depending on whether he gets grant money from the U.S. Department of Justice's Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) office. The RVTPD has received the competitive grants since 2001, and Rabano said the trick is to ask for more officers than you expect to get. He plans to request funding for seven officers in the hope of hiring three or four. He currently has grant money for one officer, with his position covered by the tribal council's general fund.
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New Officer Joining The Round Valley Tribal Police
The Willits News December 18, 2013 Special for The Willits News
Round Valley Indian Tribe Vice-President Joe Dukepoo and Tribal Police Chief William Vanderheiden attended the graduation of Vincent Cordova from the Butte College Law Enforcement Academy on Dec. 12. Cordova was expected to be sworn in as the newest officer in the Round Valley Tribal Police on Dec. 17. Tribal leaders joined friends and family of Vincent Cordova to celebrate his graduation from the 132nd Butte College Law Enforcement Academy. "The academy director opened his remarks to the ceremony by sharing that it was an unprecedented event to have a Tribal government represented at their ceremonies, recognizing that Vincent is of Wailacki descent and an enrolled member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes. A brief history of Round Valley Indian Tribes was shared and the Tribal Flag was admirably standing tall on the graduation stage," says a RVIT spokesperson via social media. "We are very proud of Vincent as we welcome him as our newest Tribal Police Officer and hope that all of you will join us to keep him in prayer as he embarks on this career journey to improve the quality of lives for the Round Valley Reservation, Tribal Members and our guests," the spokesman continued.
STATE PARKS RANGER DETAINED FOR DUI RECEIVED UNUSUAL TREATMENT
By Kym Kemp
The Lost Coast Outpost‘s Ryan Burns broke the story almost two weeks after the incident, on August 28. However, we’d been following the incident since soon after the officer was discovered by Hurst when this reporter received a report of “cops arresting cops” in Myers Flat. By the time we were able to get to the area, only a State Parks vehicle remained.
According to Hurst, the incident began close to Miranda on the Avenue of the Giants. Hurst said he was driving southbound when he noticed a State Parks pickup stopped on the opposite side of the road facing northbound. Seeing the ranger’s head at an odd angle and realizing the truck was running, Hurst thought the man might be ill. Hurst turned around and pulled in behind the vehicle just north of Miranda. He said he tried to wake Young.
“Sir,” Hurst said he called while standing away from the State vehicle. Then he said he got closer. “I yelled, ‘sir.’ I shook the tailgate,” he explained. Then he “slapped” the driver’s side fender. Eventually, he approached the open window and “grabbed his shoulder and shook it.” Hurst said he got “no response.”
Then, he said, “I looked inside and saw beer.” Young had a Keystone Light been between his legs and, Hurst said, an empty vodka bottle on the passenger-side floorboards. “It was a plain clear bottle of vodka,” Hurst explained.
Hurst was afraid Young would wake up and drive off in what he believed would be an unsafe state. “I wanted to take his keys and turn off the truck,” Hurst said. “[But] I was intimidated by the fact he was law enforcement.”
Hurst called 911 and reported the incident. Then, he said, he snapped the above photo because he was afraid that no one would believe him. He was afraid that Young, being a peace officer, might not be treated the same as anyone else if there wasn’t proof. After waiting awhile, Hurst dialed 911 again.
“As I was talking to someone [at dispatch], he woke up and drove off,” Hurst said. Young headed quickly northbound on the Avenue. Hurst said that he followed but soon lost sight of him. Just before Myers Flat, Hurst said he gave up trying to find the ranger and exited the Avenue, taking an onramp to Highway 101.
Meanwhile, Young was spotted and detained at the north end of Myers Flat by the California Highway Patrol (CHP). As reported in our earlier story, CHP Officer Patrick Bourassa said, “Young displayed objective symptoms of intoxication and was detained for a DUI investigation.”
About 5 p.m. on that same day, Jack Hurst said he was contacted by the CHP, whose officers took his statement and copies of the photos he had taken.
Over the next week or so, Hurst said Young’s boss at the California State Parks contacted him several times wanting the photos and asking Hurst to remove them from his phone. “He wasn’t threatening,” Hurst said. “He didn’t want the bad publicity for the State Parks. He was trying to protect his employee, the State Parks, him and the agency.”
Initially, Hurst said that he would remove them. However, he became concerned as Young did not appear in the Booking Logs. He began to believe that Young would not be charged. Originally, he had refused to release the image to the media, citing concern for Young’s family. By late August, however, he feared that the incident was being “swept under the rug.”
On August 28, almost two weeks after the initial incident, Hurst agreed to let the Lost Coast Outpost publish the photo he had taken of Young. He said he hoped that the attention would ensure that Young could not continue to endanger the safety of others.
Ryan Burns, who wrote the Outpost‘s original story, determined that Young had been “stripped of his peace officer status and placed on administrative leave” soon after the incident. But Young was not publicly booked until this Wednesday when records show the initial charges of resisting arrest were dropped.
Dan Noyes with ABC Channel 7 News revealed in a broadcast last night that, when detained, Young had a blood alcohol limit of 0.24 — three times the legal limit. Noyes said that this year the Garberville CHP arrested 234 individuals for DUI, only five of whom were cited and released instead of booked through the Humboldt County Jail. (See the broadcast with more information here.)
“I honestly feel like they were trying to sweep [Young’s behavior] under the rug,” Hurst said. “It is ridiculous taking two months.”
(Courtesy LostCoastOutpost.com)
PEOPLE ARE MORE VULNERABLE THAN EVER: “More Than Half Of All Americans Can’t Come Up With $400 In Emergency Cash… Unless They Borrow“, Personal Liberty
“According to a Federal Reserve report on American households’ “economic well-being” in 2013, fewer than half of all Americans said they’d be able to come up with four Benjamins on short notice to deal with an unexpected expense… Under a section titled “Savings,” the report notes that “[s]avings are depleted for many households after the recession,” and lists the following findings:
*Among those who had savings prior to 2008, 57 percent reported using up some or all of their savings in the Great Recession and its aftermath.
*39 percent of respondents reported having a rainy day fund adequate to cover three months of expenses.
*Only 48 percent of respondents said that they would completely cover a hypothetical emergency expense costing $400 without selling something or borrowing money.
BOONVILLE BASEBALL PLAYER ERIC & THE OLD ANDERSON VALLEY AMBULANCE
CATCH OF THE DAY, October 31, 2014
RYAN CAMPBELL, Redwood Valley. Grand theft, petty theft, probation revocation.
DANIEL CLARK-WAGNER, Fort Bragg. DUI causing injury, driving without a license.
NOEMI DELGADO-HERNANDEZ, Santa Rosa/Ukiah. Pot cultivation, processing.
EVELYN DENNIS, Willits. Pot possession for sale.
MATTHEW GARDINER, Clearlake Oaks/Ukiah. Court order violation.
JIMMIE HARRISON, Redwood Valley. Unspecified misdemeanor.
JEREMIAH MCCOSKER, Ukiah. Violation of County parole.
ROBERT MINNIHAN, Potter Valley. DUI, reckless driving.
SARA REESKE, Willits. Pot cultivation, processing, possession for sale.
LARRY RIVER, Willits. Pot cultivation, processing, possession for sale.
JENNAY ROGERS, Oakdale/Ukiah. Possession of hashish/pot for sale, transport, furnish.
ANDREW SAWYER, Oakland/Willits. DUI, resisting arrest.
DAMIAN SEBOUHIAN, Willits. Pot cultivation, processing, possession for sale.
JAMES WELLS, Fort Bragg. Possession of meth. (Frequent flyer.)
COPS ON PATROL IN UKIAH
ON SATURDAY October 24th at about 5:05 AM Ukiah Police responded to a business in the 200 block of North State Street for a subject pounding and throwing garbage cans at the windows. Arriving officers spoke with the reporting party and learned the suspect had headed north, and officers located broken windows to businesses in the 300 block of North State Street, and later in the 200 block of South School Street. Numerous burglar alarms were also activated at these locations. An officer located the suspect in the 300 block of South State Street, who began running upon seeing the police vehicle. The Officer told the suspect to stop several times, and he eventually did so and was detained in the 100 block of Seminary Avenue and identified as 26 year old Angel Miller. The caller subsequently positively identified Miller as the suspect, and he was arrested for felony vandalism, 2 counts of misdemeanor vandalism, and resisting arrest.
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ON SATURDAY October 24th at about 12:25 PM Ukiah Police responded to the area of WalMart, at 1155 Airport Park Boulevard, for a shoplifter fleeing the store. The suspect was apparently holding a Chihuahua dog, and officers located him on Hastings Avenue. The suspect was identified as 27 year old Spencer Ray Harvey, and he was observed by store employees consuming an energy drink in the store then exiting without paying. Harvey had a fixed blade knife concealed on his person, and was arrested for shoplifting and illegal weapons possession.
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ON SUNDAY October 25th at about 1:45 AM Ukiah Police responded to the 1300 block of Yokayo Drive for subjects who had been partying in the area, and were seen going through the caller’s vehicle. The subjects had left walking south and three subjects were located near South Dora Street and Beacon Lane. One of the subjects had an open bottle of alcohol, and they were identified as 20 year old Destiny Lynn Arnold and 20 year old Shelby Renea Davis, of Ukiah, and 20 year old Bryce Kenzo Woods, of Hopland. The three subjects had been drinking and were subsequently arrested for public intoxication.
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ON SUNDAY October 25th at about 11:45 PM Ukiah Police responded to the Forrest Club, at 239 North State Street, for a fight. Arriving officers contacted the victim who was injured and bleeding from the head, and who was subsequently treated at the Ukiah Valley Medical Center. The victim claimed to have been beating the suspect at pool, when the suspect struck the victim in the head with a beer mug. The suspect had left the area, and officers learned the suspect had left a credit card at the bar bearing the name of Steven Amato. Officers spoke with witnesses and were able to positively identify 54 year old Steven Peter Amato, of Hopland, as the suspect, and that he was believed to be at The Pub at 585 North State Street. Arriving officers learned Amato had just left in a vehicle, which was located and stopped in the 600 block of North Orchard Avenue. Amato initially denied being at the Forrest Club, and then admitted to being in an altercation with the victim. Amato was arrested for assault with a dangerous weapon, battery with serious injury, violating probation, and for a warrant for violating probation.
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ON WEDNESDAY October 29th at about 9:20 PM a Ukiah Police Sergeant observed a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed east on Brush Street. The Sergeant caught up to the vehicle as it turned into the apartment complex at 610 North Orchard Avenue and attempted to stop the vehicle. The vehicle sped through the parking lot, and headed west on Clara Avenue with the Sergeant in pursuit. The vehicle continued south on Mason Street at over 60 miles per hour, ran the stop sign at Perkins Street nearly colliding with another vehicle, then fled south on Leslie Street exceeding 70 miles per hour. The pursuit continued to Gobbi Street then south on Waugh Lane before heading west on Talmage Road with the vehicle continuing at high speeds, and failing to stop for stop signs. The vehicle turned north onto Cunningham Street, west on Thomas Street, then crossed State Street and onto Observatory Avenue at a high rate of speed and without stopping for stop signs. The vehicle drove into the Surgery Center parking lot, at 271 Observatory Avenue, and the driver and two occupants fled on foot. The driver jumped a fence and was able to elude officers. One of the passengers, a 15 year old male juvenile was captured after a foot pursuit to the 1100 block of Observatory Avenue. A variety of weapons were located in the vehicle including a meat cleaver and a baseball bat, and it is believed the occupants of the vehicle may have been seeking members of an opposing street gang. The 15 year old juvenile was arrested for possessing illegal weapons, resisting arrest, and violating probation. The owner of the vehicle arrived and reported the owner’s 16 year old son and 15 year old male juvenile companion had taken the vehicle without permission earlier that evening. The owner reported the vehicle stolen, and it was returned after the weapons were removed. The following day, October 30th, Mendocino County Deputy Probation Officers arrested the other 15 year old male juvenile suspect who was then questioned by Ukiah Police Detectives. The 15 year old male juvenile was charged with possessing illegal weapons, resisting arrest, stolen vehicle, and violating probation. The 16 year old juvenile suspect believed to have driven the vehicle during the pursuit is still outstanding.
SHADES OF J. EDGAR HOOVER
Dear Editor:
There seems to be no end to the efforts of the Obama Administration to enhance the ability of federal agencies to spy on us. The FBI is now trying to get new powers to vastly expand their powers under Rule 41 of criminal procedure. This rule allows the FBI to conduct searches with court approved warrants which have to be very specific. But now the FBI has proposed an amendment whereby a judge can issue a warrant to allow the FBI to hack into any computer wherever it is located. These expanded powers would apply to any criminal case investigation, not just terrorist cases. It allows the FBI to hack into any computer in the US or around the world.
As usual with this administration and its police state mentality they are trying to significantly expand the surveillance powers of the FBI without input from the public or Congress. One only has to look at the sordid history of the FBI to understand how these new powers can be and quite likely will be abused.
In Peace, Jim Updegraff, Sacramento
NOVEMBER LOCAL FOOD CALENDAR
Sat Nov 1 - Chestnut Gathering/Local Food Potluck - Zeni Ranch (see info below)
Thu Nov 6 - AV Foodshed Steering Committee - AV Grange - 5:00 pm (see info below)
Thu Nov 6 - Mendo County Bee Club Meeting - Ukiah Garden Club - 6:30 pm (see info below)
Fri Nov 7 - AV Bee Club - potluck/meeting - 6 pm - 895-2949 for more info
Sat Nov 8 - Boonville Winter Market - Boonville General Store - 10-12:30 (see info below)
Sun Nov 9 - AV Grange Pancake Breakfast - Philo Grange - 8:30-11:00 am (see info below)
Mon Nov 10 - Mendocino County Fair Board Meeting - FG Conference Room - 7 pm
Sat Nov 15 - Boonville Winter Market - Boonville General Store - 10-12:30
Sun Nov 16 - AV Foodshed 3rd Sunday Potluck - AV Grange (details soon)
Tue Nov 18 - AV Food Bank - Boonville Methodist Church (see info below)
Tue Nov 18 - AV Grange #669 Meeting - Philo Grange - 7 pm potluck
Tue Nov 18 - Mendocino Farmers Guild - (see info below)
Sat Nov 22 - Boonville Winter Market - Boonville General Store - 10-12:30
Sat Nov 29 - Boonville Winter Market - Boonville General Store - 10-12:30
Sun Dec 14 - Holiday Dinner at the Grange
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Eating Locally This Month in Anderson Valley
A foodshed is like a watershed. A watershed is where we get our water. A foodshed is where we get our food. The Anderson Valley foodshed is where those of us in AV can get our most local food. Here are some suggestions for maximizing your local food experience.
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Please send your 2014 C'mon Home To Eat experiences as well as suggestions for continuing to eat locally all year long to avfoodshed@gmail.com.
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Thanks to all who supported the Boonville Farmers’ Market through its 2013-2014 season.
There are still apples & pears and some varieties of figs are plentiful now. The persimmons and are coming on and there are chestnuts and walnuts. If you have an abundance of fruit or nuts that you would like to pass on, please reply. We have gleaners who would be happy to take them off your hands. Or bring them down to the Winter Market (see below) and sell or trade them.
The Apple Press is still available. It has moved back to AV Community Farm for the winter. You can call Tim at 831-332-5131 to arrange to use it.
The Boonville Winter Market begins Saturday November 8 in front of the Boonville General Store, 10-12:30. Come on down with your locally grown or made food or crafts, to sell or trade. No registration required. For more info, call Cindy at 895-2949.
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Here are some of our other local food sources. Please let us know if there are any others that are missing.
AV Community Farm, on Lambert Lane (Lambert Ranch Road) in Boonville, sells at the Boonville Farmers’ Market & Winter Market and has CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture memberships) available
Blue Meadow Farm has a stand at the corner of Hwy 128 and Holmes Ranch Road.
Brock Farms sells at the Boonville Farmers’ Market and has a stand at the corner of Hwy128 and Peachland Rd - follow the signs.
Chestnut Ridge sells chestnuts in season at the Boonville Farmers’ Market.
Emerald Earth offers pastured poultry eggs, $6/dozen, in the fridge in the hallway of the Ferrer building, behind Farmhouse Mercantile.
Filigreen Farm, on Anderson Valley Way, has a new farm stand.
Gowan’s Oak Tree, on Hwy 128 north of Philo, is a farm stand. (the oldest still in existence?)
Lone Oak Farm sells at the Boonville Farmers’ Market.
McEwen Family Farm sells at the Boonville Farmers’ Market.
Petit Teton Farm, on Hwy 128 between Boonville and Yorkville, has a variety of produce and eggs available at it’s farm stand. (See info below.)
Philo Apple Farm, on Greenwood Road by the bridge, has a farm stand.
Philo Hill Farm is on Hwy 128 in Philo, at the new Lula Cellars Home Vineyard, and sells at the Boonville Farmers’ Market.
WildeAcre Farm sells at the Boonville Winter Market.
Yorkville Olive Ranch sells olive oil at the Boonville Farmers’ Market and Winter Market.
The AV Senior/Community Center has a vegetable garden that is providing some of the produce for the delicious meals there. All community members are encouraged to take advantage of this local food opportunity. For meal schedule and more information go to avseniorcenter.blogspot.com or call Gina at 895-3609.
Eateries in Anderson Valley that support our farmers by using locally grown produce are Aquarelle Cafe, Boont Berry Farm, Boonville General Store, Boonville Hotel, Coq au Vin, Lauren’s Café, Mosswood Market, Paysanne and Stone & Embers. (Lauren’s identifies local ingredients in many of the offerings on it’s menu.)
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For more information about local food sources, please go to http://www.mendocinolocalfood.org
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Tomorrow is the 33rd annual Chestnut Gathering and local food potluck at the Zeni Ranch from 10-4. Bring your own plates/implements and any cuttings/extra plants you would like to share.
Check www.mendocinolocalfood.org for more information.
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The AV Foodshed Steering Committee meets the first Thursday of each month at the Grange at 5:00 pm. All are welcome to join in with ideas, either by coming to a meeting, emailing this address or calling either Jim at 496-8725 or Cindy at 895-2949. We have a variety of on-going projects to become involved with.
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Mendocino County Bee Club Monthly Meeting - Ukiah Garden Club - 1203 W. Clay St., Ukiah, CA 95482 - 6:30 - 8:30 pm.
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The Anderson Valley Grange is having its regular second Sunday Local Organic Pancake and Egg Breakfast on November 9, 8:30-11 at the Grange in Philo at 9800 Hwy 128. Breakfast ranges from $5-10 for kids through hungry folks sizes, with Mendocino Grain Project wheat and local bacon and eggs. Gluten free available.
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From the AV Food Bank
Gardeners, Farmers and Produce Growers of all kinds, please remember Food Bank days (3rd Tuesday of every month) as a place to donate your extra produce. It will be greatly appreciated. Please drop off on the Monday before, behind Boonville Methodist Church. Thanks
If you need someone to glean your produce to take to the Food Bank, contact Valerie Kim at valerie.h.kim@gmail.com.
Denisse Mattei is the Food Bank director. You can reach her at 895-3763.
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Petit Teton Farm, on Hwy 128, four miles south of Boonville, grows the fruits and vegetables that go into a large array of farm-made fare canned on the farm: soups, relishes, jams, fresh krauts, pickles, etc. Also available in season are a variety of produce and eggs. (See info below.)
Petit Teton Farm, 18601 Hwy 128, will be open from 8am-5:30pm most days this winter. Since we will vend at the Ft. Bragg Farmers' Market on Wednesdays and the Ukiah FM on most Saturdays, the farm will be open on Wednesday's until noon and on weekends from 2pm-5:30pm. (If you are in San Francisco come visit our booth at the Clement Street Farmers' Market on Sundays from 9am-2pm, Clement & 4th Ave.) Stop by the farm or email farmer@petitteton.com or call 684.4146 to find out if we're open and what's available or just drop in when the OPEN sign is out. We look forward to seeing you either on the farm or at a market.
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The Mendocino County Farmer's Guild holds a monthly potluck at the Little Lake Grange in Willits the third Tuesday of every month from 6pm-9pm. The mission of the guild is to strengthen to Mendocino County farming community by supporting and empowering farmers to create a strong, healthy, and sustainable local food system. The November meeting will be on Tuesday November 18th. Farmers, gardeners, chefs, food enthusiasts, all are welcome! For more information please email mendofarmers@gmail.com
Optional additional events and opportunities:
The Ninth Annual Harvest Dinner
The Dinner will be on Saturday, November 8th, 6PM, at the Little Lake Grange. It is being put on by the Willits Environmental Center (WEC) and proceeds will go to support the environmental advocacy of the Center.
The dinner will feature ALL ORGANIC and LOCAL FOODS cooked by the loving hands of our local community volunteers. The Menu includes savory meatloaf made from local 100% range feed beef, organic chicken, polenta with a luscious italian sauce, local organic vegetables, salads and a 100% organic deep dish apple crisp, all loving prepared by local professional and home kitchen chefs volunteering their time and expertise. In short, it will be the best meal in Willits!
There will be wine and beer for sale, music, entertainment and an opportunity to celebrate our growing local and organic food system here in Mendocino County and the region. At the same time you will be supporting the Willits Environmental Center's twenty year history of working to protect Mendocino County's clean air, water, wild areas and GMO-free farmland. Tickets are $30 for adults, $15 for children 12 and under. Children 5 and under come free. Tickets are available at Goods' Stamp Shop on Main Street in Willits, from WEC Board members, or at the door. You can also call the WEC at 459-4110 to reserve tickets in advance and pick them up at the door. (We'd love to get an accurate count as possible before the event.) For more information call Rosamond Crowder at 459-4579, or the WEC at 459-4110. See you there!
Thursday October 30th at 7 pm the Little Lake Grange will be showing the film Ground Operations, its about teaching veterans about sustainable ag. It looks rad, watch the trailer and then come watch the movie. There's always popcorn!!
http://www.groundoperations.net/
watch the trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZskF1VwvZSU
The Entrepreneurial Farm Business Intensive
The sun, soil and glory called you to the farmer’s vocation; a well-organized desk might just keep you there. Join the Farmers Guild along with an all-star line-up of agricultural advocates, educators and experts for a weekend-long business intensive to prepare new and aspiring entrepreneurs who aim to make an honest living growing our food.
http://www.farmersguild.org/entrepreneurial-intensive-dec-2014.html
Dec. 13&14
Guild Raising February 14, 2015.
The Mendocino Guild will have a booth there so share any fun booth ideas you might have!
http://www.farmersguild.org/guild-raising-2015.html
Grange Farm School Student Applications
Do you or some super cool person that you know want to be a student of the wonderfully talented Ruthie King at the Grange Farm School?!?!
Application to the program is available on our website, there is a link to the app at the bottom of this page:
http://www.grangefarmschool.org/Training-program
applications are due by January 1, 2015
Ecology Action Winternship
Would you like a slow winter of reading and reflection? Would you like to learn more about garden planning and how to grow more food in a small space? Would you like to know a way to really close the sustainability loop? Are you at all interested in knowing what the heck Biointensive Ag is all about? We have a very flexible and unique internship opportunity this winter. Please email Jes Pearce at jesp114@gmail.com or Click this link to learn more:
http://growbiointensive.org/Opportunities.html
NYTIMES: THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON DRUGS
New studies show that the effects of marijuana on young people may be greater than we thought.
CALTRANS WILLITS BYPASS NEWS
http://willitsbypass.wordpress.com/
LOYALTY is but a step away from delusion.
— Jack Lothian
TRICK OR TREAT
by Joseph Campbell
I can’t tell you what a feeling I have of the privilege of participating in this perfectly beautiful event, in this magical atmosphere of these lovely windows, and the music that we’ve heard, and the amusing entry of the little people — the little goblins; the recently born.
It was not at all inappropriate or even a radical change of mood and meditation that your minister should have mentioned the passing of one of the members of the congregation, a person who evidently meant a great deal to you and has returned to the source land from which we all derive.
Hallowe’en, the eve of the holy days (that’s what the word means), is a festival of the ancient Celtic world particularly. It is matched six months away by the festival of May Day and by the eve of Walpurgis Night which precedes it. The time of this festival is the time of the passing of the organic world in which we live into the realm of darkness, of falling leaves. The other opposite day is of the breaking forth of the fresh leaves of spring.
With this, mankind — or at least the people in those early pastoral days — joined their meditation with the actualities of the natural world, participating in the world by way of meditation and relevant action.
Now, who are these little goblins that appear? As I said, it is not inappropriate to think of death at this time. In fact, the day after Hallowe’en is All Saints’ Day followed by All Souls’ Day. In Europe on these days people go to the graves of their beloved ones who have passed away. For centuries, they brought not only prayers and recollections but also little gifts. There is a secret psychological aspect to this. So often when a dear person dies, we have a sense of guilt and regret for the lovely things we have not done, and for the little negative acts that we wish we had not rendered.
This can be associated with the idea of the dead as tricking those and hurting those who have hurt them. There is a fear of the dead that is an old, old feeling. It is based on this regret, actually, with respect to the attitude we have had toward them. In Germany and Vienna and the Catholic Europe generally, people go to the graves. But in the Celtic world — the world with which Hallowe’en is associated — it is the dead who come to visit the homes. Hallowe’en is the night of the re-entry of the dead into their domiciles, visiting again the people with whom they had dwelled. The idea of giving a gift, a treat, or suffering a trick — a shocking, surprising, nasty little trick — is associated with the guilt feeling.
There is another aspect that belongs to the old thinking about this, related to the return of the dead. There is a notion of reincarnation; namely, that our children are really returning ancestors. In a sense, they truly are. That is to say, the ancestral genes, the ancestral strain of inheritance, appears again in these little children. Many people in traditional cultures look at the child to see who it is who has returned. So these little creatures coming in here are indeed our children; but they are also representatives of that general energy of life which pours through us and of which we are momentarily manifestations and creatures.
The whole game of wearing masks: We know that what’s behind the mask is an innocent little creature. I thought it was darling as they came down those aisles. They got smaller and smaller; and the costumes became more and more incongruous and outrageous. In their incongruity and outrageous character, they were more and more effective. You had a sort of belief; you had an emotional impact from this crazy little face even though you knew that behind it was this darling little innocent. These two attitudes are proper with respect to all mythological beliefs.
I had another experience just before seeing the children. It was in the vestry where the choir was putting on its garments. I saw these gentlemen of Grand Rapids — businessmen, medical men perhaps, distinguished citizens and so forth — transforming themselves into angels. And I thought, “Well, I’m willing to believe it, you know.” At the same time, I knew that they were these gentlemen whom I had just recently met. Then, as I sat here on this “throne,” this beautiful choir struck my ears and senses. It was a lifting moment. And you know indeed they are angels. Angels are mythological characters whose function is to sing the praise of God: benign choirs of angels singing the nine aspects of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; Father in relation to the Son and Holy Ghost; Son in relation to the Father and Holy Ghost; Holy Ghost in relation to the Father and Son. What happened? What happened was that putting on the costume, identifying with the role that it represented, actually brought out of these gentlemen (and the ladies who were in another attiring room, of course, and whose voices came to me as a surprise) the angelic quality that is within them; namely, the quality of contemplation and meditation on the marvelous mystery symbolized in our image of the Trinity. The costume actually talks to and evokes something deeply inside which is more permanent, which is archetypal, which is more eternal within us than the secular character that we represent in the world.
We live these two lives. I am staying now in the Grand Plaza Hotel. The glass-enclosed elevator that I take shows another building being erected, with a great derrick and all. Yesterday, as I went up and down in the elevator, I could see men working there. I could see their daily lives and all the city in daily life, doing the jobs of the secular moment. But today, the derricks were perfectly still, and no one was there. The people were in one way or another enjoying or experiencing the festival day. Sunday, the festival day, (or Hallowe’en, a very special festival day) gives us a chance to exercise our imagination — to bring out, as has been done so beautifully here, some of the structuring forms that underlie our spiritual life and which we may forget in our daily work.
Now, do these little masks have a reality of any kind? That is to say, is the reality of the forms that excite our imagination and actually invoke and evoke creative lively energies that give a joy and bounce to life — do these have a reality? Or are they simply figments that pass away with no sense?
I would hold that their reality is in a way truer and deeper to the source of our life and joy and existence than the realities of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. The realities with which we are engaged in our daily lives are secondary realities. They have to do with taking care of things as they are today in the world of time and space. But those eternal energies and principles that brought us into being in the world, that have created these little children who came in to entertain us and give us the joy of delight in their presence among us, these forms that they represent, are symbolic of the energies of life that are truly eternal within us.
That is really the sense of the festival. That is the sense of the Saturnalia, of Mardi Gras and of these moments of entertainment. They reintroduce us to deeper thoughts. For people who are simply bound to the daily life of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and so forth these may simply seem to be romantic notions; but people who remain there without participating in the romantic notions tend to dry up in their lives. They lose the joy of humor. They become serious. The play of Sunday, the play of being angels in the choir, is not just a peripheral secondary marginal realm of activity. It really is something that touches our own most profound depths.
The other day I received a phone call following one of my lectures where I had spoken of the imagery of religion as mythological, not to be interpreted historically. He said to me that he has to interpret it historically; and yet on the other hand, he somewhat doubts it.
“Well,” I said, “the thing to do is to live with it and act with it as if it were historically true.” The man is bound to the historical plane of thinking.
But there is another kind of truth that is not historical but eternal. These things speak to that. One lives with myth, one lives with these children in their masks, as if there were a truth there. When you live that way, with the as if, gradually it builds into you and there comes what in some of the Buddhist traditions is called “the awakening of faith.” You know that it is true. You know that it is your own inner truth. The worship that holds you for a few hours a week becomes, then, the clue to that deep truth inside.
To move from the more serious to the more playful again — the make-believe, the play, the humor, the delight is the mythological perspective on life. In the Hindu tradition, the world is said to be “God’s play,” “God’s dance.” When one plays life that way, one in a way awakes creative vital energies in oneself that otherwise are not available. Watch a youngster going down the street. He may be galloping as though he were a horse. If he were just walking, he might be a little bored. The galloping brings up life energy.
I had a curious experience some years ago driving up to a curb, and there was a youngster about as big as the smaller ones who came in a few minutes ago standing there in a rigid sort of catatonic posture. As I opened the door to get out of my car, he said in a very very strong voice, “You can’t park here!” I looked around for signs, but there were no warnings.
I said, “Well, why?”
He said, “Because I’m a hydrant.”
So, I went down the block a ways. I didn’t want to break into his meditation. And it was a meditation. I don’t know what got him started on that. And I thought, “Yes, this is a make-believe.” Then I thought of the clergy in its vestments, and I thought, “I wonder how seriously they’re taking this thing?” (I’ll let that one go…)
Here we are in this sanctuary with these forms around us. They are not just windows. They are making a mythological statement. They are speaking to something in us that suggests a role to play.
This whole business of playing roles… Carl Jung in his writings speaks of the roles that we play in life, the roles that society puts upon us. Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief, doctor, lawyer, Indian chief, and all that. People sometimes identify with the role and think that that is what they are. Jung calls these roles “personae.” Persona is the mask worn by an actor.
These roles include the whole moral structure of society — how you are to behave; what kind of clothing you are to wear. Moral and customary habits are included in these roles. Jung says that we lose our vitality in playing the role if we identify with it. We should play the role and realize that we are transcendent of it, and playing into it.
This is one of the reasons why young people enjoy theatrical activities. My wife is a dancer, and I’ve had plenty of opportunity to see what happens to young people when they participate in theatrical works. They’re playing roles; but they’re playing roles actually that are somewhat inside themselves, and you can see the whole person develop through this. You can see them come alive in a new way. I’ve watched them from early to late years in the creation of their artistic life. This is a great privilege artists have, to play their roles.
I think that in the secular life of people in business or industry there are two kinds also. There are those who play the role. I know many of them, and they have a wonderful vitality of personality. There are those on the other hand who are it, who identify with it and lose themselves in it. If you play a life role as though it were a mythological game, there is vitality and wonder in it. One thinks then that perhaps the whole universe, as the Hindus say, is God’s play. He doesn’t take it too seriously. He comes in, as Saint Paul says in the epistle to the Philippians, and he doesn’t think that godhood is something to be held to. That was a role. The Christ did not think godhood something to be held to but came down, took the role of man even to the death on the cross which of course then relieved him of that role and returned him to the other. There is this sense of play.
There is a beautiful passage in one of the apocryphal texts, I think it is the Acts of John, where at the Last Supper Jesus said, “Let us dance.” There’s a recitation of a kind of litany of miraculous and universal marvels, recited phrase by phrase with amen, and the round dance of Jesus and the apostles, the crucifixion itself being part of the dance of that play.
That is the theme that it seemed to me well to bring forward at this lovely and memorable and enchanting occasion for which I feel so grateful — the theme of the mask, and the play, and death, and birth and childhood. It’s all part of a wonderful life game that one can play, not in the way of having it thrust upon one, but in the way of joyful participation and enactment so that even death is enacted. There’s a wonderful aristocratic tradition in Japan of language which is a way of speech of the aristocratic caste. It’s called play language. You meet a person whose father has just died and you say, “I hear your father has played dying.” That’s a beautiful theme, and all of us can bring new energy and will into our lives by thinking of it in that playful way. I think Hallowe’en is perhaps one of the best meditations for this… the playing of being children, the playing of being the returned ancestors, and the playing of dying.
That is my meditation for this beautiful day. I can’t leave without thanking you all for participating in my experience of this congregation and its playful invention of one of the most convincing rituals I think I’ve witnessed in a modern community. My thanks to you all.
OMING ON THE OUTBREATH
Happy Halloween
Here's my current situation: I am being refunded held-money today because I am opting out of the BFHP housing program...plus, I will receive both my social security regular amount and also the increased benefits amount on Nov. 1 and 3...and, I may sleep at the Berkeley MASC men's shelter until Monday morning, when I must exit. Beyond this, I am OMing on the outbreath. That's it! Nothing else to report, except that I have networked fully, especially with the Washington D.C. radical activist milieu...if nobody takes advantage of my offer to participate, then I am moving outdoors to a spot above Berkeley's CAL football stadium, which has been prepared for me by a friend who is a decades long "hill-camper". The fact is that I have nothing left to do on planet earth besides Oming on the outbreath and waiting to dematerialize. Feel free to share this information with all, as I wait for postmodern America to respond, Craig Louis Stehr Nota Bene: HAPPY HALLOWEEN...TAKE THE APPLES...IT'S HEALTHIER! Craig Louis Stehr Email: CraigStehr@inbox.com Snail mail: P.O. Box 11406, c/o NOSCW, Berkeley, CA 94712-2406 Blog: http://craiglstehr.blogspot.com
The photo taken at the scene is much more flattering than the mug shot of the Parks guy … Before breaking out the beer in the late 70s, we generally waited until the shift ended.
Jim Updegraff, you seem to have forgotten that the Bushites, and their democrapic and rethuglican predecessors, got this mess started. In fact, it got going pretty much in full swing during the 60s (sans the technology), as rat finks, like Reagan, informed to to J. Edgar’s boys about those awful commies that we were taught to hate and fear. Much as I dislike Obama, I dislike even more those who confine their criticism of the way things are with references solely to his inherited policies. Wake up.
See they got a couple of the old grows…