WE LEARNED Monday morning the sad news that Ernie Blattner had died in Ukiah. He had been battling cancer. A full obituary will appear next week.
THE GOOD NEWS: Football practice for the high school team last Wednesday with approximately 20 hopefuls suited up for the 6pm workout under coach John Toohey.
MONTE BLOYD ROAD fire, a tiny one, occurred among “vegetation” at Black Kite Cellars in Philo. The "Monte Incident." At 7:21 am Sunday a "life safety hazard - power lines down." A first responder found a single power line down. At 7:37 am, CalFire and local volunteers had the fire contained. It burned approximately one-acre. A CalFire inmate hand crew was requested to "clear some brush."
106 IN THE SHADE in Boomsville at 2pm last Wednesday afternoon. Our thermometer is a Big Lots $2.99 job, probably created to make talking points for geezers like us. "It's 106 out here under the eaves." What? Speak up! "It's 106 out here in the shade!" No way. It's never that hot in Boonville. If it's 106 here it's 160 in Ukiah. The argument continued on a slow news afternoon that was to become positively frantic over the weekend with two major fires burning east of Highway 101.
A DOWNED POWER LINE ignited a grass fire at 18360 Rays Road, Philo on Tuesday (24 July) afternoon at about 1:20pm. The quickly extinguished blazed burned through five acres of brush when it was declared out less than an hour later, having imperiled the old apple drier not far from River’s Bend. The response included the Anderson Valley Fire Department, CalFire air, ground and inmate (Chamberlain Creek) crews.
THE ROADHOUSE, PHILO: “OK, Anderson Valley, it’s been long enough. We still have a few finishing touches to do but we want to start cooking. We are open tonight (Friday) and tomorrow night for dinner by reservation. We’re serving a limited menu for training and we’d love for you to join us. Craft Beers, local wines, and home cooking Farmer John style. Call the Roadhouse to make your reservation (707)895-RIBS .”
IF YOU CAME IN LATE, The Roadhouse is located in downtown Philo at the site of the former Libby’s Restaurant, freshly remodeled by Tommy Lemons and Sons.
DAVID JONES of Navarro suffered a terrible accident a month ago near Yorkville when his car unaccountably left the road, badly injuring the popular, long-time resident of Navarro. Dave was badly injured but is now at home recovering He’s looking for a replacement vehicle and home-delivered water. If you have one or the other or both, please call the patient at 895-9230.
RIBS 'N' REDS – August 18, Yorkville. Yorkville Highlands Growers and Vintners are looking for a couple hundred tasters to crown the world’s best rib wine at noon on Saturday August 18, 2018 at Meyer Family Cellars. Each winery will designate one wine as their best wine to be paired with ribs, and attendees can vote for their favorite during the afternoon. This family-friendly event includes ribs, salad, and potato lunch and access to dozens of wines made here in the Yorkville appellation. Kids and grownups alike can win prizes in the wacky Highlands games, like the crowd favorite barrel roll. Sign-up for the best part of your summer. Tickets and more information: yorkvillehighlands.org
I LIKE the wavy striping on the Boonville-Ukiah Road, and am absolutely chagrined to learn that it's temporary. Of course whimsy has no place in the CalTrans mission, and not much place anywhere else in our standardized, one size fits all world.
BOONVILLE AIRPORT DAY and Potluck Dinner, Saturday August 11, 2018. Festivities begin at Noon. Potluck Dinner at 5pm. Please bring your favorite Potluck dish. Corner of Estate Drive & Airport Road, at the Boonville Airport. JOIN US FOR A FUN DAY AT THE AIRPORT. For additional info contact Cindy or Kirk Wilder at (707) 895-2949.
LOOKING FOR A TRUMPETER. Do you play trumpet? Do you know anyone who does? The Swingin' Boonville Big Band is looking for a some talent to fill in the trumpet section. We need someone with some big band experience who can commit to at least two Wednesday night rehearsals a month. We rehearse in Mendocino and Boonville on alternating weeks. Our gigs are on Saturday nights except for the annual 4th of July gig. Contact Bob Ayres 937 0059
SIIS, A NEPALESE who manned the counter at Pic 'N Pay in Boonville for several years, now works at the 101 Market on South State Street, Ukiah.
THE OLD TIME 4TH of July festivities raked in a cool $8 grand this year. Donna Pierson Pugh, former Elementary School principal, routes that money to the school's healthy food program, ably presided over by Terri Rhodes.
HEALTH CENTER DIRECTOR CHLOE GUAZZONE told me the other day that the Anderson Valley Health Center "is fully staffed on the medical side," especially since adding the services of Nurse Practitioner Luiza Savin." Ms. G said the search for an MD "who could work a few days a week to let Mark Apfel reduce his clinical time and who could share in the duties of clinical supervision of our two nurse practitioners" continues. She said "space is our biggest challenge in bringing in additional providers. With four exam rooms (plus the urgent care room) we can only have two medical providers on any given day."
DAVE SEVERN reports on what's left of the Navarro: "The river has been all spring and early summer below average and below median mark. There are some nice swimming holes still but in between a lot of scuzzy algae. Walking in the water stirs up an unpleasant turbid murk."
As David Severn notes, the Navarro River at the Confluence isn’t running very strongly. At least it is running. The historical record says 2014 was much worse, but flow drop over the past three weeks has been dramatic. Pray for early rain.