Letters (July 4, 2018)

• The Boonville Connection
• Charging For Green Waste?
• Whole Evasion
• Scalmanini Makes No Sense
• Dear Supes: I Quit
• Basic School Reform
• Call Me To Share
• Put Them Away

THE BOONVILLE CONNECTION

Dear Editor,

Andrew Vaughn won the 2018 Golden Spike Award on June 28. Other names known to Northern California baseball fans who have won the Golden Spike award include the San Francisco Giants Tim Lincecum (2006) and Buster Posey (2008). The Golden Spike award is the baseball equivalent of the Heisman Trophy in college football. It's given to the best amateur baseball player in the nation.

Andrew Vaughn played first base for UC Berkeley where they are fighting to keep their baseball program alive.

I certainly hope the Berkeley program finds the funding to make the Cal team thrive. I want to watch Andrew play baseball as well as the rest of the team. 

Dusty Baker's son Darren Baker is the second baseman on that theme. Dusty Baker said Andrew has really helped Darren more than anyone else. And the Cal team knows Andrew is a special player and a great teammate.

Toby Vaughn, Andrew's father, was a terrific golfer in Santa Rosa, one of the very best in Santa Rosa for many years. Andrew's mother is Diana and his sister is Madison.

Andrew’s grandfather is Ronnie Vaughn who was one of the best athletes in Anderson Valley high school sports history. Ronnie earned 16 letters playing four sports every year in high school. Ronnie's grandmother was Doris Tuttle Vaughn. Her father was Shine Tuttle and Shine was the architect of the fine gymnasium at Anderson Valley high school built in 1957 and 1958. My class of 58-59 was the first class to play at the "new school" now on Mountain View Road.

Ronnie Vaughn started his life at the Fosche Mill at the end of the first flat plane on Mountain View Road. Ronnie was my first best friend at the Fosche Mill and continued on to the Browne’s Mill. I took him all over the Valley with my red Schwinn bicycle purchased at Rossi's hardware.

Andrew Vaughn’s Cal statistics were impressive:

Batting average: .402. Slugging percentage: .817. Homeruns: 23. Runs batted in: 63. On-base percentage: .531.

Andrew went to Maria Carrillo high school in Santa Rosa. Spencer Torkelson was a Casa Grande student who played for Arizona State and hit 25 homers to top Andrew for the slugging crown. Both Andrew and Torkelson each won the title of freshman of the year, Andrew in 2017 and Torkelson in 2018.

There is supposed to be a televised ceremony on line showing Andrew receiving his Golden Spike award.

Granddad Ronnie Vaughn died a few weeks ago after getting bad knees from working as a pole climber for the power companies, after defeating a vicious cancer and then having his house burn down in the Santa Rosa fires. He moved to Cloverdale to stay with his son Toby and got up from a couch and had a massive heart attack. I'm so glad he lived long enough to see Andrew’s freshman season and knew that his family was okay before he died.

Ken Hurst

Philo

CHARGING FOR GREEN WASTE?

Letter to the Editor:

In consideration of the fire danger we have been warned about (see Willits Weekly front page, June 14), it seems counter-productive that Solid Waste of Willits is charging to accept green waste. I had to pay $10 today! As a Brooktrails resident, I am allowed to dump one yard (small truck load) of yard waste per month. I have many yards to dispose of, as my property is overrun with huckleberry bushes, tan oak branches, madrone leaves, and much more flammable foliage. Solid Waste of Willits and the Brooktrails Fire Department “reminded” me that I could burn piles during burn season. Even if I had a proper and safe place to burn, I am a senior citizen on a fixed income and am unable to perform such a task. It's all I can do to get everything cut, lopped, raked and loaded into my truck and then unloaded at SWOW. Considering the number of senior citizens who live in Brooktrails AND the fires of last year, this issue needs to be addressed with utmost urgency. 

Mary C. Pappadakis

Willits

WHOLE EVASION

Dear Editor:

Whole Foods controversy — I called a number I found online for Whole Foods and asked if they supplied from factory farms.  The response was that I needed to call an individual store because each store has different suppliers.  I then called the Sebastopol Whole Foods store and asked a simple question:  "Do you supply from factory farms?"  The employee's response was that he had no idea and didn't even know what a factory farm was.  

Frustrated, but not discouraged, I called the Whole Foods Regional Office in Fremont.  When I asked, "Do you supply from factory farms?" Jessica responded that they were not allowed to disclose the source of their meat and poultry.  

Whole Foods charges a premium for their products, claiming superior quality, etc., yet refuse to reveal where their meat and poultry come from.  As consumers, we have the right to know.    

Here is the # of the Regional Office of Whole Foods:  844-936-8255.  I think we should call and pester them until they provide an answer.  Boycotting, in the meantime, isn't a bad idea either.  

Margaret Paul

Mendocino

SCALMANINI MAKES NO SENSE

To the Editor:

In response to Ukiah City Council Member Steve Scalmanini’s appeal, which was featured in an article by the Ukiah Daily Journal on June 14, Scalmanini is quoted as saying “he is not entirely opposed to the project nor its location, and in fact one of the reasons for the appeal was that the site could support a three-story building instead of two.”

As Mr. Scalmanini should know, regulations, zoning and requirements are established to protect the welfare of the public and to minimize the impact upon surrounding properties.

The requirements set forth by the City of Ukiah (zoning) and other requirements imposed by both the State and Federal Governments (Title 24 of the Building Code, Low Impact Development and American with Disability Act — ADA) all have to be taken into account and designed into the project.

Ironically, if we were to propose a 3-story structure, this would only further strengthen other issues noted in the appeal such as privacy and shade on abutting properties. Building a 3-story structure would actually not allow, in this case, more dwelling units on site or more people to dwell at the project and would only provide limited additional parking stalls.

You see Mr. Scalmanini, the key to any development project is balance. We asked ourselves early in the process: how does a proposed multi-family housing project best fit into the built environment? In this case, it’s a 2-story structure, similar to the 2-story structures that are in the vicinity of the project.

If Mr. Scalmanini felt the 49 issues he raises were of such importance (which they are not), why did he not attend the Planning Commission hearing and voice them? Why appeal, at the very last possible minute, a 5-0 vote that took place at the conclusion of a 2-hour planning commission hearing? Why waste staff’s time and City’s resources responding to such nonsense? The answer is obvious, Mr. Scalmanini is an obstructionist with an agenda of stopping housing in the same manner he tried to derail Costco.

Congratulations Mr. Scalmanini, during the last week that our project was delayed by your senseless appeal, we were unable to obtain our bank loan in time and interest rates increased by 1/4 percent resulting in an increase of rents for each unit of approximately $12.58 per month or $151 a year.

Why the citizens of Ukiah do not recall you is a mystery to me.

Douglas Guillon

President Guillon Inc. Companies

Chico

DEAR SUPES: I QUIT

To the Editor:

Dear Mendocino County Board of Supervisors, June 26, 2018:

I regret to inform you of my formal resignation from the Mendocino County Museum Advisory Board. I took the volunteer position out of a desire to support my County museum. I began my journey with optimism and a willingness to listen, learn, and support. I served for eighteen months. Over the past year the museum has been in a state of chaos due to the loss of a director and severe lack of communication from the Board of Supervisors to the Advisory Board.

On Aug. 16, 2011 the Board of Supervisors passed Resolution #11-119. The first paragraph states “An Advisory Committee shall be named by the Board of Supervisors to review operational policies and to recommend necessary innovations to the Board of Supervisors in Connection with the Historical Museum.” 

The Advisory Board has not been able to perform its founding duties because the CEO and Director have failed to provide any financial reports. Furthermore, there’s been no opportunity for the Advisory Board to give advice on operational policies. Operational decisions have been made without seeking any advice from the advisory Board. The Board of Supervisors have not valued the system they put in place.

An amendment was approved by the BOS on Feb. 17, 1976 to add voting rights of the CEO. This amendment has been reinforced throughout the document. However, the CEO in my eighteen months never attended a single meeting and failed in her duties to provide the Board with information to perform its basic function.

The last paragraph on the first page of this resolution states, “Each Supervisor shall appoint, in a timely matter, an advisor from either inside or outside his or her district.” The advisory Board has had vacant seats for a year. We informed the Director of this issue. No new appointments have been made. It’s hard to fill volunteer positions to these types of boards or committees if one does not feel the role they are filling merits any value. This will continue to be a problem for the BOS if there’s not a change.

In a factsheet dated March 10, 2017 and provided to Advisory Board members it states our purpose: “The purpose of the Museum Advisory Board is to provide direction and support for the creation and preservation of the Mendocino County Museum. The Board Advises the Museum Director and the Board of Trustees (Mendocino County Board of Supervisors).”

The Board of Supervisors has decided to consolidate the museum into a new Cultural agency. The Director position was reduced to four hours a week and new management job positions have been created and reduced. The Advisory Board was told it would have an opportunity to place the items on their agenda and give advice to the BOS. This has not proved truthful. Furthermore, the Director and CEO has failed to provide us with requested documents that affect daily operational procedures. The museum lacks current clear policies and procedures. This will continue to plague the success of the museum without a Director to fulfill these responsibilities. I respectfully ask the BOS to value the history of the County by properly ensuring the County Museum’s long term viability.

Saprina Rodriguez

Willits

BASIC SCHOOL REFORM

Editor,

We need more technical training at the high school level for kids who aren’t academically gifted but have superior skills in practical fields, such as carpentry, plumbing, landscaping, etc.

It is a terrible waste of taxpayer money, and certainly of young talent, to force kids to study academic subjects for which they have no interest or ability.

My education in England was based upon three levels of high school. All taught the basics — “the three R’s” — but at different levels, with the first level continuing academic subjects, the second level devoted to such subjects as engineering, architecture, design, etc., and the third level was for the slower learners.

Typically, level one students went on to a university, level two went to technical colleges, and level three went into service jobs. But any one of these students had the option of moving to a different level if they were capable of doing the coursework.

Using this method would save millions of academic dollars and help prevent student angst when forced into subjects in which they have no interest or ability.

Kay Oppenheimer

Santa Rosa

CALL ME TO SHARE

Letter to the Editor,

With the final results for the primary election in, I would like to express my gratitude to the people of the 3rd District for their vote to send me on to the general election in November. As a teacher and first time candidate, I feel honored that so many have voted for me for County Supervisor.

There were 8 candidates in the race representing a wide variety of experiences, viewpoints, and skill sets. Many people have noted that there has never been such a large field of candidates for this position. I found that each candidate has a deep love for our community and wants to do what is best to move this county forward. Some of the candidates were  long time acquaintances while others became new colleagues. I would like to thank each and every one of them for their ideas for making this a better place to live and their efforts to run for office.

One of the best parts of this campaign so far has been meeting new people from around the district. The 3rd District has an incredible amount of talented, knowledgeable, dedicated, and hard-working people. We care about where we live.

Between now and November, I will continue to meet more people from our district, talk about our ideas to bring positive change to Mendocino County, and work hard to earn your vote. We certainly have our challenges with an economy in transition, disaster preparedness, and a County structure that needs greater transparency, responsiveness, and openness to the needs of our citizens. 

I hope that in the next few months we can share our visions about how to build stronger communities together. We have the potential to create a County which could be a model for all other counties. We can protect our citizens, create a thriving environment, ensure that our air, water, and land are kept clean, and provide a County government in which we can all be proud. Please feel free to call me at 707-513-6166 if you would like to share your ideas.

Sincerely,

John Haschak 

Willits

PUT THEM AWAY

Editor,

I was sitting out in my yard on Sunday about noon with an eagle eye out for smoke because Comptche is nearly a bomb ready to explode if we get a fire in this area with the wind blowing the way it is and as dry as it is and people all off away fighting fires. It's pretty sad. It's also sad to see how many fires are burning in California. There are over 25 of them. I think that's probably a lot of people getting even with Jerry Brown for the ridiculous, cynical, stupid, asinine laws he has made and the way he has treated this state, spending our tax dollars on stupid liberal BS things instead of fixing the infrastructure. Stupid gun laws and so on. It doesn't make any sense to me. I don't know why he would want to do that but I'm pretty sure that's why a lot of people are setting fires.

Maxine Waters. She is a California liberal representative. That is one bad person. I don't know what these liberal people think they are doing. Now they have another liberal, a big donor for the Liberal party, a multibillionaire who is saying that the best thing that could happen to this country is to have a nuclear war after President Trump's term is over. What kind of a dingbat would say something like that? Somebody who has had  so much money shoved  up his keister that he does not know what he is saying.

Nancy Pelosi is no better than an Maxine Waters. Chuck Schumer is no better than both of them put together. And there's a guy named Jeff Johnson, he's a congressman I think, and he is an out-of-control liberal and he should be put behind bars.

Have a good day, God bless Donald Trump.

Jerry Philbrick

Comptche