IF YOU SEE any of these guys around town, you might want to thank them for their work on the Big Fires: Kevin Lee, Ryan Jones, Derek Wyant, Bob Walker, and Tyler Neal.
A NEW AVA RECORD: In a paragraph on the Bastille Day celebration at Roederer Winery, a French-owned enterprise, we managed to get three of the four facts wrong, one of which was the most important of all that the “vividly talented singer” who absolutely stole the show was Joani Rose, not Dorothea May. Dorothea was on the bass that Saturday, and is also a fine musician.
FAIR ENTRY FORMS Due August 10, Terry Ryder reminds us:
Now is the time to fill out your entry forms for the 2018 Mendocino County Fair. Every person who enters makes our fair just that little bit better. Our personal hand delivered entries are what make our little fair a very special place to visit. If you always enter you know how to do it. This year you can easily enter online if that is easiest way to go to at mendocountyfair.com. Those who prefer traditional paper entry forms can find them at the fair office in downtown Boonville call Gina or Jim at 707 895-3011 if you have questions. The Fair office is open 9-4 closed 12-1 for lunch. Deadline for submission is this Friday August 10. There are some additions to what you can enter so look through the website or the paper entry book at the Fair office carefully. The Fair Boosters meet all year to come up with refreshing new ideas that they share with the Fair Board and Staff. Do you love flowers? - enter a garden or arrangement. Are you a handy baker or food preserver? - enter pies, cookies, breads, jarred jams, fruits and veggies. Got prized livestock- make arrangements to show them off. Fine artist? Hobbyist? Home crafter? Photographer? There are categories for all of these things. You can be an inspiration to others who may just decide to take up a craft after seeing your handiwork. What the world needs now is more inspiration, more sharing, and enthusiasm. Temper all the bad news that surrounds us by plunging into doing and making something you passionately enjoy. You really can’t beat that for chasing the blues away and it’s contagious. Make this the year that you do it and really be a part of the fair. There really is nothing to compare to the suspense you’ll feel approaching your display after the judges do their work just waiting to see if you got a coveted ribbon. And when you see a blue ribbon it really may make your day! Don’t delay.
KATY TAHJA, the bold traveler from Comptche, and I say bold because any grandmother who enjoys annual trips to Burning Man is certainly that, tells us where she’s been lately: “Back from a whirlwind 4 day, thousand-mile train chasing vacation through the smoky skies of California with a very excited 4-year-old grandson and his Mama...rode trains at Railtown Park in Jamestown, Yosemite Mountain & Sugar Pine Railroad in Fish Camp and Sonoma's Traintown. With Yosemite N.P. closed due to fires nearby tourist crowds of summertime had vanished. Smoky skies. Came back through Sonoma County literally watching live flames on the east side of Russian River near Hopland and miles of burnt woodlands. Happy to be home and happy the fires are on the east side of the county though my heart aches for folks who have lost everything—both in our county and north in Shasta County.”
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.
AV UNIFIED is advertising for a new superintendent. Former local superintendent, Michelle Hutchins, has won election to County Superintendent of Schools, having survived a year of unrelenting vilification by a small-ish minority of current staff and oddly vengeful former teachers. The current staff involved in the unhinged pursuit of Mrs. Hutchins are unlikely to know, and even more unlikely to care, that they could have been fired for violating all ten administrative regulations governing work-time political activities that make “using district time to urge the passage or defeat of any ballot measure or candidate” verboten. It got ugly, and a lot of the ugliness occurred on the public’s educational dime.
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. Ms. G added, "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."
CHAYA MANDELBAUM will be the keynote speaker at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, Wednesday, August 8th 2018 @ 6 pm. A labor attorney born and raised in Boonville, Chaya is the son of Dan Mandelbaum and Benna Kolinsky, also of Boonville. (Commonwealth presentations are often available via KQED Radio, San Francisco.)
PLEASED TO SEE the "Open" neon lit in the window of the Poleeko Roadhouse, formerly the site of Libby's Restaurant, and the Anderson Valley’s latest addition to The Valley’s unparalleled, never a bad meal anywhere, restaurants.
AND RIGHT NEXT DOOR at Lemons Market, a banner announcing "Wild Salmon Fresh." We count our blessings in the Anderson Valley, and they are many. The multi-skilled Tommy Lemons Sr. and sons have remodeled the old Libby’s into the Poleeko Roadhouse, an achievement they managed in between ocean excursions out of Noyo on their fishing boat to bring back to Philo ocean-fresh fish, and how many markets anywhere can honestly claim their fish is that fresh.
DO YOU PLAY TRUMPET? Do you know anyone who does? The Swingin' Boonville Big Band is looking for 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 707 937 0059.
BOONVILLE ROCKS! An AV Family’s Search & Find Activity.
For those who may not be on Facebook, we wanted to be sure to include you as well as you may have noticed a collection of hand painted stones hiding around the AV Community Park in Boonville over the last few weeks.
Boonville Rocks! is a new activity introduced for all families in the community to share in the fun.
Search and find painted rocks throughout the park and then choose a new hiding place for them or even add more painted rocks of your own. You may also take a close-up picture of the rock in its new spot and post it on the Facebook group page “Boonville Rocks!” to give a hint to the next seekers. If you need help being added to the group, please feel free to email me.
For now, all the rocks are hidden at our local AV Community Park in Boonville near the airport and AV Health Center. (Elizabeth M. Jensen)
I ENJOYED a too-brief chat with Richard Hargreaves the other day. Old timers will remember Mr. H from Georgia-Pacific where he was a union rep. Hargreaves now lives in Redding, ground zero for NorCal's worst fire ever where’s he’s safely at a remove from the front but a son and a daughter have both had close shaves. He's pretty much immobile from a range of geriatric maladies but his spirit is undimmed. The "old union bum," as Hargreaves describes himself, mentioned he went to high school in the Bay Area with Jim Updegraff, another ava old timer. Shall the circle be unbroken!
AHILMAR! Anderson Valley's distance-running prodigy outraced her peers Sunday morning at the Noyo Headlands grand trail opening, garnering yet another first place on the Northcoast's running summer circuit. Sid Frazer, 58, of Boonville, finished 6th overall in the race over the ocean bluffs, well ahead of 5th District Supervisor hopeful, Ted Williams.
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