AV HEALTH CENTER BOARD MEETING, Tuesday, November 25, 2014. 5:30pm. In the Rose Room at the AV Museum/Little Red Schoolhouse. (The Rose room is in the building that parallels AV Way on the AV WAY side of the museum building.) Among the items on the agenda are election of new board members Heidi Knott and Emilo Torrales, status of the Executive Director Search, a report by the concerned citizens committee, a needs assessment, financial report, and committee assignments, and more.
WE WERE SORRY to see Roman Martinez go. A heavily decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, Roman often visited our office with his devoted wife Miriam. Even when he was in failing health, Roman, a fighter to the end, made the long climb up the stairs without complaint and always funny and fun when he arrived. We will miss him.
A FEY VOICE on our nut screener says, “Mrs. Ricard was not born and raised in Boonville.” Click. The call sounded like it came from an outdoor pay phone; the voice was furtive bordering on frightened. And prompted, I guess, from an item several weeks ago where I'd said an old timer had told me he thought Mrs. R was a Boonville girl. If she'll send along her birth certificate by the goddess maybe we can get to the bottom of this most urgent matter.
THE RICARDS, as our mantra of many years repeats, own the rambling eyesore-cum-firetrap that greets visitors at the south end of Boonville. The Ricards won't sell it, won't fix it up. Our CSD board and Fire Department refuse to demand that the County condemn the property. Our supervisor, as he is on all issues affecting the Anderson Valley, is invisible. The Ricards live in Little River. They own commercial property in Mendocino. Neither community tolerates eyesores of the tinderbox type.
THE VALLEY'S first Christmas lights appeared three weeks ago at the Boonville Apartments, greatly alleviating the gloom of winter's early nightfall and at least partially offsetting the Ricards' gift that just keeps on giving for four decades now.
DR. LOGAN McGHAN is getting rave reviews from locals visiting the Anderson Valley Health Center. Three women, two men have gone out of their way to mention how pleased they were with their first medical encounters with the young medico who has stayed with us despite being put through the most lunatic bureaucratic loop de loop seen in Mendocino County in some time. McGhan's popularity, all by itself, will make up much of the faith lost in the Center via the grotesque incompetence of its board of directors.
JUNIOR HIGH AGE “children” are like wolves. Or can be, as they've been with the 7th grade teacher who walked away from her impossible job last week at AV Junior High without giving notice. From what we can gather, the feral 11 and 12 year olds several times reduced the young woman to tears.
JON BONNE is the Chron's wine writer, and forgive me, Mr. Bonne, for omitting the purple acute accent mark over the 'e' in Bonne. I'll be jiggered if I can figure out how to do it on my computer, and we don't do color in this fine publication. So, with your permission, we'll do it phonetically.
MR. BOHNAAAYYYY'S Sunday piece was called “Giving thanks to Mendocino — The 2012 Pinot Noirs from Anderson Valley reveal its full potential.” (The booze or the Valley, isn't grammatically indicated but we assume he's talking booze.)
I GET HUGE KICKS out of Boh-naaaayyyy's luscious prose: “I'm asked with surprising frequency which wine region I'm fondest of.” (What's depressing about this lead sentence is that it's probably true, but predictable enough: Hang out with gastro-maniacs and the conversation is unlikely to stray beyond food and drink.) And on he goes with some truly hilarious riffs on, for instance, Balo in Philo: "$38 13.6: Single clone wines can be a boondoggle. They give up the complexity found in a diversity of vine material. But the Mullins family, with winemaker Jason Drew, pulls this one off, highlighting a little-known (unofficially ‘imported’ via Oregon) selection of Pinot Droit vines. It's an unusual creature, with stiff tannins and a pronounced sanguine quality that ties together bright pomegranate, watermelon skin, bass tones of toasted clove and dark fruit.”
RECOMMENDED READING, although I seem to be the last guy in the country to enjoy it, 'Tis by Frank McCourt, by far the best account of the American immigrant experience I've read. (McCourt's brother, Michael, is the day bartender at Joe's in San Francisco. He's quite a storyteller, too.)
TODD WALTON sends along his latest collection of songs called The Nature of Love, the whole show pure Todd and quite enjoyable. Perfect as a stocking stuffer.
ALTHOUGH we've received about three inches of rain so far this season, the Navarro remains closed at the mouth. The large rock that stands sentinel at the mouth's northwest helps gauge the amount of sand that has built up. Only the very top of that rock is presently visible.
IT'LL TAKE a real trash mover to blast open the Navarro, but the scant two or three inches we had last week were plenty to reunite Greenwood Creek (Elk) with the mighty Pacific. ('Trash mover' is Boontling for heavy rains.) There may be some real rain this weekend, according to the predictors.
THE FLETCHER REFERRED to is Cap'n Fletcher's granddaughter, Elsie, who described the breakwater: “They found that the mouth of the Navarro River wasn't deep enough at times to get the boats out into the ocean. So my grandfather built a breakwater. It was fastened on this big rock out to that pointed rock that sits in the mouth of the Navarro River. That's called Pinnacle Rock. Between that and the bluff up across the beach to a big rock there, he made this breakwater. It was over six feet square. It was built out of huge big timbers and filled with rocks and anchored at both places. After he built that, the river never closed up and it kept the mouth of the river deep.” The wharf Elsie refers to in her notes is probably the breakwater Fletcher built at the mouth of the Navarro:
NAVARRO RESIDENT MIKE KALANTARIAN has assembled some interesting local rain info showing that rainfall totals vary significantly in the area’s various microclimates. The Valley’s most recent storm produced significantly more rain in Navarro than in Comptche or Boonville (2.8 inches at the Rancho Navarro ridgetop, 2.1 in Comptche, 1.1 in Boonville). The milder rainstorm a few days earlier produced 1.2 inches at the Rancho Navarro ridgetop and just 0.5 in Boonville. And the lesser rain a few days before that produced 0.7 at the Rancho Navarro ridgetop, 0.45 in Comptche and just 0.2 in Boonville.
LOCAL LANDSCAPER/MUSICIAN and all-round cool guy, Greg Krouse, has been elected “Master” of the Anderson Valley Grange, replacing David Norfleet who slides into the “Overseer” position. Master and Overseer will being mastering and overseeing each other in January. “This new era of our operation is exciting; we are growing in events and members as well. Stay tuned,” declared Krouse.
SO WE STAYED TUNE and Krouse delivered: “Greenhorns and the AV Grange are bringing you an opportunity to share in Talkin’ Grange Futures on December 11 at 7pm. The Anderson Valley Grange is shape shifting, engaging, and growing. As it serves the community, it needs input. This event is a little history, a bit live music and a bit discussion on what your Community center could be plus light refreshments. Greenhorns are young farmers, who are focused on bridging the gap of retiring farmers with new farmers and see that the Grange (AKA Patrons Of Husbandry), a very old fraternal organization from back just after the civil war, has lots to offer. The Grange started to help isolated farmers find community and heal the deep wounds of a terrible civil war. In many rural areas it was the meeting hall and served many functions. The granges grew quickly fighting the unfair railroads, key to isolated towns and farming and initiated the populist movement, where small folks gathered and change the laws by intensive lobbying. Put Thursday Dec 11 evening on your calendar as the Greenhorns will be bringing a well prepared visual and audio walk down the Grange’s broad and deep path. The Grange is also sponsoring the Swingin’ Big Band Dec 6 to support Adult Education Music. It’s a fun benefit with great tunes, music to step out to and if you have the moves to compete with others in a short Dance contest with awards. Cost: $10, starts at 7:30, goes to 10:30. A fun night to support Adult Big Band music. Snacks and a no host bar.
ROLLOVER ON Highway 128 — SCANNER CRACKLES: Anderson Valley Fire Dept, the AV ambulance and the CHP responded to a vehicle rollover at milemarker 25.25. An off duty fireman on scene reported “both parties out of vehicle.” Apparently no injuries, which was fortuitous because the air ambulance “was not available,” presumably due to low cloud cover.
THE BOONVILLE WINTER MARKET is going strong at the Boonville General Store, Saturdays 10-12:30, rain or shine.
CALFIRE HAS CLOSED FIRE SEASON. Local residents can get burn permits here at the Anderson Valley Fire Department Boonville firehouse. (895-2020.)
AIRPORT MANAGER KIRK WILDER told the Community Services Board last Wednesday that although the million dollar upgrade of Boonville International's runway paving is complete and looks good, its “crown” didn’t pass inspection. FAA specs require that there be a precise curvature to the runway to prevent pavement-damaging puddles. The fancy machine they use to measure the curvature showed some barely detectable low spots that are invisible to the naked eye. The Willits-based paving contractor will be required to even out the spots — at his own expense — which will delay runway re-opening by a few weeks. There’s no specific schedule as yet. After that’s done they still have to come in and repaint the various runway markings before the project is declared finished and payable.
BRONWEN HANES was back in court last Tuesday, the DA alleging she has violated her probation. Ms. Hanes was convicted last February of embezzling some $27,000 from the Anderson Valley PTA. Ms. Hanes' lawyer, Katherine Elliot of Ukiah, complained to Judge Richard Henderson that Ms. Hanes had indeed been paying the money back, and produced a sheaf of receipts for more than $7400 in restitution payments to the Valley's Parent Teacher Association
“THOSE RECEIPTS ARE FALSE, Judge,” declared Assistant DA Paul Sequiera. “Once again Ms. Hanes has thought she can outsmart everybody.”
MS. HANES was previously sentenced to a year in jail by an indignant Judge Ann Moorman who accused Hanes of not taking responsibility for her crime.
AT THE TIME of sentencing Judge Moorman said she was being uncharacteristically harsh because “You, Ms. Hanes have been given all the advantages.” (Ms. Hanes comes from the secure sectors of the middleclass.) Judge Moorman gave Ms. Hanes 90 days in the County Jail with the rest of the jail time to be served on weekends so she could take advantage of a job opportunity to repay the PTA.
BUT SEQUIERA contended that there was no job and that Hanes was not otherwise abiding by the conditions of her probation.
THE HEARING last week was presided over by Judge Henderson. Judgment was postponed until December when Judge Moorman, the sentencing judge, will hear the matter. (—Bruce McEwen)
NOT MANY EMERGENCY CALLS lately. On Friday, a little after 3pm, someone reported a possible propane leak near Lemons Market in Philo. No leak. At 3am Saturday morning, an unconscious male was said to be conked out in front of the Calfire stalag, South Boonville. He'd apparently regained his footing because by the time our Anderson Valley rescue team arrived he was gone. On Sunday night a little before 9pm there was a report of an 83-year old woman who appeared to have suffered a stroke. She was flown to Ukiah Valley Med Center by Calstar Air Ambulance.
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