SNOW on the hills Monday morning, but no ice in the singing hearts of the Anderson Valley, where every day’s a holiday, every meal’s a banquet!
VARIETY SHOW 2018! It's that time of year again, where we ask you to get your act together for the 27th annual Anderson Valley Variety Show! This year the show will be on Friday and Saturday, March 9th and 10th. The doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show starts promptly at 7 o'clock. We'll be sure to have tickets available at the door, and they will also be sold the week before the show at Lemon's Market in Philo and the AV Market in Boonville. There are some hot acts that will only be onstage on Friday night, so be sure to get tickets to both shows! The most important thing for everyone to know right now is that we are still recruiting amazing and unique local acts for the show. We have a great lineup so far, but there is still some time available. If you (or your pet, or your kid) have ever wanted to strut your stuff onstage before the world's most forgiving and enthusiastic audience, now is your time to shine! Call Captain Rainbow at 895-3807 or Angela at 895-3362 to discuss rehearsal and logistics. See you all there! (Robyn McCallister)
NOT TO BE MISSED, the strikingly wonderful water colors by Yoriko Kishimoto now on display at the Scharfenberger Winery tasting room, Philo. As serendipity would have it, Ms. Kishimoto and her husband also live part-time in John Scharfenberger's former home off Anderson Valley Way near the Elementary School.
TED WILLIAMS
The 5th District Supervisorial Candidate will be at Lauren’s Restaurant in Boonville on Friday, February 23, from 3-5pm.
His Experience: Fire Chief of Albion-Little River; Business owner and Software Developer; Author of 2 County Measures that improve fire services; Father and husband.
Some Priorities: Establish county-wide Internet; Increase Affordable Housing; Encourage Livable Wage Jobs; Strengthen Fire & Emergency Services; Protect Our Environment.
WE LEARNED from the Sac Bee last week that an elderly woman in Anderson [Sacramento Valley] had had enough of her neighbor’s noisy children, so she fired a gun toward them. Betty Sanders, 84, was arrested after reportedly shooting in the direction of children, according to the incident report from the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office…
THE LOCAL ANGLE: Mrs. Sanders and family lived for years in Philo, not far from Clearwater Ranch. I remember her as a pleasant, even-tempered woman, her husband less so. Even-tempered, that is.
AN OLD TIMER NOTES: “If this is the same Betty Sanders, she was related to old-timer Leo “Pa” Sanders, who homesteaded a quarter section at the upper end of Peachland Road. He tried to establish a community up there, selling smaller plots for $10, mostly to teachers, in hopes of attracting families. The Sanders place was later owned for long durations by Valley historian Maurice Tindall (Down to Earth) and then Helen Libeu. It has passed hands quickly in the last few years. My partner and I have owned a bit of the old Sanders homestead since the 80’s and Betty helped us with an easement problem years ago. She was very pleasant. You have to wonder how awful those motorbikes must have been to provoke an 84-year old woman to shoot off a gun like that.”
THE COUNTY’S CARE-A-VAN will be in Boonville on Wednesday, March 7 at the AV Grange (9800 Hwy 128). Sponsored by AV Animal Rescue. Spay and neuter surgeries by appointment (Call in advance: 707/888-7698) Vaccinations are $10-$13 each and do not need an appointment. Stop by the Care-A-Van for vaccines, heartworm testing, feline combo testing and microchipping from 10am-2pm.
A DATE WITH DESTINY. The location of the KZYX candidate forum March 5th at 7pm is Mendocino College - Ukiah Campus, in the Center for the Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA), ROOM 5430 (Band Room). See you then, Ed Keller - Election coordinator, KZYX.
FARMING IN THE ANDERSON VALLEY.
Petit Teton Monthly Farm Report - January 2018
This farming business certainly makes one hyper aware of nature...how the weather differs each year; how the animals act differently each year; what plants grow or don't each year and how...all forcing one to attempt to make sense of these observations and connect them to some larger force. This winter has been unusual. The chickens, the same number as always, have continued to lay eggs right through the end of the year and we are presently boxing 4 dozen a day - in the dead of winter. For most of our years on the farm the chickens pretty much quit laying over the winter and slowly ramped up as spring approached. The frogs in a pond outside our bedroom window usually start singing once it starts raining. They started this year in January even though so far we had the most rain for this season (Oct-March) in Oct/Nov. They started singing although with less volume indicating far fewer of them, during our two weeks of faux spring at the beginning of February, but have quit now that there's frost every night and no rain. The bugs - flies and fruit flies - disappeared briefly in December, reappeared in the warm weeks and have since disappeared again. In the past years we would have had a few month's respite. Last week our two female breeder yaks, one pregnant, broke through their 12 acre fencing in search of more grass. While the male watched closely, we worked hard to encourage them back to the fold and have started feeding them. During the drought years, we started feeding them in late spring, and in normal rain years not until late summer. We've harvested greens all winter, the spring flowers are all out, and one plum tree is blooming while many other of our fruit trees are close. Most winters the greens slow or die back due to frost, and the flowers come out in February and March, not January. We just had a few nights of frost, but the days have been in the 60's and none of the flowers or plants have been severely affected yet. Being on a farm compels us to be hyper aware of nature and we love watching it. The natural world is "real", fascinating, challenging, creative and very beautiful. Our connection to it is direct and unfiltered by others or technology. Our reactions and observations are unique and personal, but we are aware that what is happening in the "real" world is being severely challenged at this moment in time by the rest of the world.
–Nikki Auschnitt & Steve Kreig, Yorkville
THE HURRY-UP special meeting of the Anderson Valley school trustees was scheduled to begin at 4 a week ago Tuesday. It started at 4:20 before a restive SRO crowd in the stark high school cafeteria. The large gathering of about 70 people consisted almost exclusively of school district employees, from teachers to school bus drivers, supplemented by high school principal Jim Snyder and Elementary School principal Traci Anderson. Superintendent Michelle Hutchins did not attend, which is just as well because much of the crowd's unhappiness seemed directed at her with the school board running a close second. The problem is an apparent budget shortfall of exactly....well, no one knows because no one knows how much money will be flowing back to Anderson Valley from the state, an annual state of suspense going back years. But it seems like there’s a shortfall of around $500k for which the Superintendent is getting much of the blame. The operating assumption is that a budget shortfall of whatever amount could necessitate staff cuts, hence the large turnout of staffers. That shortfall is blamed on Ms. Hutchins and the school board for last school year's expensive contract buyout of the Elementary School principal and other spending decisions unpopular with most staff. The budget itself is roughly $7 million a year, all but about fifteen percent of which goes to staff pay and benefits. Five alternative budget reduction plans devised by a staff budget committee, which included embattled Superintendent Hutchins, were presented which, to this outsider, seemed clear and fairly drawn, but none of the five will leave certain staff sectors unaffected. Nothing was resolved at the meeting because the numbers are in flux, and likely to remain in flux for a while.
NOTE: The Anderson Valley Elementary School is called the Anderson Valley Elementary School in the deadening, Gradgrind-ish spirit of Rock. Tree. Sun. Moon. Over the long years of educational effort in the Anderson Valley it has been suggested that the school be named after a memorable teacher rather than merely the starkly utilitarian 'Elementary School.' I nominate Blanche Brown Elementary after our justly famed teacher and self-taught botanist, founder of the annual Wildflower Show. Or, perhaps, Julie Franklin Elementary, after another much beloved local teacher of years past. There are also deserving teachers of more recent vintage who might be plausibly honored for their years of service to the children of Anderson Valley.
CALLED the County Office of Education late Wednesday afternoon to get Anderson Valley's annual school budget figure. The friendly lady who answered the phone had to put me on hold for a minute, and who should boom out of my ear piece but Janis Joplin belting out her desire for a Mercedes Benz! Ordinarily, as we all know, on-hold tunes are the musical equivalent of Motel Six paintings — suicide-inducing. "That was the most excitement I've ever had on-hold," I said to the nice lady when she came back on. "Yes," she agreed, explaining, "We lost someone recently and she always said she wanted us to play that song to remember her."
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, a reader writes: “Wow, I almost had a rumble with a couple of hyper, skinny, young white punks (18-25 year olds? on meth?) at the gas station in North Cloverdale. All the spots were full and we were waiting when the kids backed into a parking spot in front of the store that faced a gas spot. When the truck occupying the spot left, I drove toward it and the kids exhibited anger with gestures. One got out of the car and stormed toward me as I pulled into the slot shouting that this was their spot. Too late, we were there first and had watched them pull in, but they weren't interested in facts. An emulation of our leader? Instead, their belligerence increased. For the first time in my life, I was described, out loud, as nothing but an old cunt. These kids must be taking lessons from our dear prez. Looking around at the other cars at the pump, it was easy to see no one wanted to get involved, except the brown skinned dude at the slot on the other side of mine. He got out of his car and threatened the punks who suddenly thought it best to quickly drive off. Someone brought that brown guy up to protect the innocent and old. Thank goodness the white punks didn't have guns and thank goodness for brown brothers who know how to go high when the white jerks go low! I never imagined Cloverdale as a hotbed of animosity towards old people and brown/white angst.”
ANDERSON VALLEY UNIFIED Schools today announced its policy for providing free and reduced-price meals for children served under the National School Lunch Program and/or School Breakfast Program. Each school and/or the central office has a copy of the policy which may be reviewed by any interested party. Under the Provision II option all school-aged children attending AVUSD are automatically eligible for free meals regardless of the income of the household in which they reside. (AVUSD Press Release)
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