THREE CHAMPIONSHIPS and it isn't even basketball season. Another soccer championship for coach Steve Sparks. Another football championship for coach Dan Kuny. And a league championship for rookie volleyball coach, Kendra McEwen, with Kendra's girls in the regional playoffs this very night (Wednesday) in the Boonville gym. And we hear in a roundabout way that coach Luis Espinoza has 33 prospects out for the basketball team, a team that returns four starters from last season.
ANDERSON VALLEY'S powerhouse volleyball team is number two seed in the Division 6 playoffs. Our girls take on St. Bernard Catholic (Eureka) tonight in the Boonville gym. Number one seed is San Francisco Waldorf (not the hotel, the educational strategy).
THAT HUGE MEXICAN wedding at the Apple Hall Saturday night didn't wrap up until 4am, a closing time that had gringo neighbors angry but perhaps also wishing they'd been invited, given the decibel level of the merriment.
NAPA-TUDE? A new restaurant seems to be slowly materializing at Floodgate. Lots of carpentry, painting, human bustle but so far no grand or even surreptitious opening. By the way, I wonder how many people know that a member of the Avery family, the original owners of Floodgate, lived on at Rancho Navarro? That would be Anna, who built a home there in the late eighties, but eventually moved on to Cloverdale mid nineties. And you mos def are an old timer if you remember the senior Averys, the taciturn Mister Avery, the charming Mrs. Avery. She was a native of France who Mr. Avery met at the end of World War Two when he fought in Europe with American forces.
A NEW PASTOR for Anderson Valley's Methodist Church? Yes, but who he is, and he is definitely a he, is not yet known by name because we haven't found anybody who can tell us about him.
BRIANA BURNS checks in from Wisconsin: "I am thrilled to get my 11/4/15 AVA today and learn that the CSD still has three copies of the AV phone book! What indispensable news! I got on the phone immediately and Andres Avila answered the CSD phone inadvertently, on a Saturday, and put aside one of the three copies with my name on it. I'll send money as soon as I find out what it will cost Patty Liddy to mail it to me. I am so delighted because I still depend on my 1995-96 copy of the Anderson Valley Directory, which I brought with me when I came to Boonville for the two weeks in this past September! I asked around about getting a newer version, and was told they had republished it, but no one knew where one was available! I tried the AV Market; they were sold out. I went to the high school. They knew nothing about it. I think I called the Adult Ed school (or meant to). Anyhow, I never found one! So I'm delighted to have my problem solved by the good old Anderson Valley Advertiser. Just wanted to let you know how much you are appreciated! Plus I liked your little blurb on page 4 about the joys of being an editor. I assumed it was you talking, until I got to the end and found it was Homer Mannix! You must be having fun reading through your archives! I appreciate it all!"
A LOUCHE CHARACTER calling himself Jamai Gayle was badly injured when, westbound, he piled into a large redwood tree off Highway 128 near Navarro Saturday afternoon about 5pm. Gayle's dog was killed on impact. A resident of Albion, Gayle was airlifted to Santa Rosa where he was arrested in the hospital for driving under the influence. The mysterious disappearance of Gayle's girl friend — last seen at the Rollerville Cafe near Point Arena — is under investigation by the Sheriff's Department.
AS HIS HIGH SCHOOL Senior Project, Boonville's Jared Johnston, a terrific football player himself and a very nice kid, put on a football camp last Saturday and Sunday at the Boonville high school for kids from the third grade through the sixth grade. All went to participant t-shirts and the sports program at Middletown High School, many of whose student-athletes suffered the terrible consequences of the catastrophic Valley Fire.
STEVE SPARKS writes this week: "School Board update. In the latest developments, and with the final decisions taking place at the meeting tomorrow evening (Thursday, November 19) at the School Cafeteria beginning at 7pm, regulars at the Three-Dot report that two current members are staying on. Richard ‘Dick’ Browning and Erica Lemons. Two recently added members to the Board, not elected and whose appointments the vast majority of the general public is completely unaware of, are apparently parents of current school kids, obviously a good thing assuming the parents are up to taking on the position. The fifth member is to be decided. Rumor has it that one of the applicants for that final position is Robert Pinoli Jr, an AV graduate (Class of 1996), a fine man, an intelligent man, and the owner-operator of the Skunk Train in Fort Bragg. However, Robert Jr is the son of current High School Athletic Director and “virtual” Assistant Principal, Robert Pinoli Sr. Perhaps the “rules” state that he cannot vote on issues regarding his father, but Jr’s mere presence on the Board would be influential in any voting and many discussions would inevitably include events that effectively involve Robert Sr. Surely this cannot be a good thing."
THE BOONVILLE FAIR BOARD has decided to revamp the Fairground's landmark Apple Fair cowboy logo to somehow include bunches of grapes atop the cartoon bronco, the idea being that our apple orchards are now rare as wine grapes ascend and ascend and ascend.
MENDOCINO COUNTY'S premier beauty site! The golden fall poplars at the Indian Creek Bridge, Highway 128, Philo.
"HARD to tell from this who the bigger doosh is likely to be," overheard at Mosswood Cafe in response to a Press Democrat story headlined, "Tesla driver suspected of striking Hwy. 1 cyclist in road-rage incident."
LOREN REX OF STATE PARKS: "I just wanted to give you an update on the status of Hendy Woods while the parks water distribution system is being replaced. As of the last construction meeting there will be ongoing drilling work taking place within the roadways which precludes vehicle access. For this reason the park is currently closed to vehicular access by the public while this work is occurring Monday - Friday. The public is still allowed to walk in and cycle in the park and will be directed around construction sites by the contractor. The contractor plans to have all roads open by the end of the day Friday and barring any emergencies and the park will be open for vehicular day use on the weekends. The local fire departments have been notified of the park's water system going offline during construction. As with any large construction project plans are subject to change, but this is the most up to date information available. Once we have vehicular access restored seven days a week I will let you know. Any questions or clarifications please let me know. (707) 937-3118 Loren.Rex@parks.ca.gov”
AND we can all continue to walk in to enjoy a few hours strolling among the ancient redwoods while the work is underway, and in fact are invited to by a welcoming signpost at Hendy's entrance.
GRANGERS and other thrill seekers interested in Greg Krouse's deconstruction of recent political events with national Grange can find it at the ava website, www.theava.com
AS SOME locals are aware, the ava collective has bought the empty lot next door to the Redwood Drive-In. We are "developing" it, and making note of every staggering step in the unreasonably cumbersome process as we go. Coupla quick examples: Just this week the county's Department of Planning and Building rep failed to appear in Boonville for a two-minute check-off. Planning and Building had the nerve to blame us for the no-show while tacitly acknowledging we'd made the appointment electronically, as the Department asks people to do. The contractor had driven from Lake County only to stand around for four hours waiting for Planning and Building to appear. Which they finally did, but wouldn't have if we hadn't called to ask where they were.
EXAMPLE DOS: The deal was no sooner done than we received a property tax bill for $2,247.04 addressed, natch, to a street address that was off a digit. The previous owners had not paid the tax. We feared we were paying their bill because the bill we received frequently mentioned "lien" in its garbled text.
I CALLED the tax collector's office. I imagined a languid hand reluctantly reaching for the phone. I didn't have to imagine the hauteur, bordering on insolent, in the voice of the woman explaining that the bill had to be paid prior to the new year. "You dare to ask me a question?" That was the attitude. I won't bore you with the details, but if I weren't an anarchist already, I'd become one.
SINCE I'm represented by Dan Hamburg I'm clearly being taxed without representation, but it is what it is, as the young people say. And what it is is a process designed to milk the sap who buys land in this benighted, cockamamie county out of every conceivable penny to support, well, I'd have to take my apoplexy pills to even begin discussing that.
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