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Valley People

WE ARE ALL SADDENED at the loss of Walter 'Shine' Tuttle. The Tuttles, Walter and his wife Beth, for many years anchored this community, it could be said. Always gracious, always kind, the Tuttles devoted themselves to an array of local boards and charities, the entirety of their joint effort aimed at making the Anderson Valley a better place to live. I'd say they succeeded, but The Valley is a poorer place without them.

SPEAKING OF COMMUNITY betterment, Mike Foucault is certainly in line for a major 'atta boy' for his tree planting project on the high school's traditionally bleak acres. Mike's got a bunch in the ground with more going in the ground all the time, 140 or so by the time he's finished.

IN OTHER GOOD NEWS, the return of Mike Langley to his Anderson Valley Way home is happy for Mike and everyone who knows him. The guy looks and sounds good, too, after a painful hegira begun by a serious stroke that took him in and out of hospitals and hither, thither and yon before he was finally well enough to resume his life in Boonville, where he belongs and where we all missed him.

DEPUTY WALKER has filed his report on the alleged embezzlement of upwards of $20,000 from the local PTA. Walker's assessment of the case now rests with the District Attorney who will either dismiss the matter or pursue it. A third option might be an agreement to reimburse if it is clear that money is unaccounted for. The accused person is represented by the formidable Ukiah attorney Katherine ‘Kit’ Elliot.

A READER WRITES: “Your bit about Original Joe's certainly brought back fond memories. You and I may have been eating in the place at the same time. Back in the 60s I worked on Montgomery Street, and once or twice a week three or four of us would go together out to eat. Original Joe's was one of our favorite stopping spots. Kind of a rough area but 3 or 4 young guys in their late 20s and early 30s didn't worry about the local toughs. We also would to go to Harrington's down by the Hibernia Bank — lots of guys in there drinking lunch. Schroeder's down on Front Street where most the waiters were old Germans with sore feet. I liked Sam's in the alley for its shrimp louie — lots of shrimp, a couple slices of a hard-boiled egg, a couple of olives and lots of louie dressing. Now days when you ask for a shrimp louie the server asks you 'What kind of dressing do you want?' and when it comes it is two-thirds lettuce. Lotsa of drinking at lunch in those days. My top boss was a dumpy little florid face Irishman who had a six-martini lunch every day. The little son of a bitch was hell on wheels in the afternoon. I could go on and on but I will cut it off.”

WHEN AMERICAN WRITERS, the good ones, were not only widely known but somewhat esteemed, which would have been prior to 1975, Thomas Sanchez, author of the epic Rabbit Boss, a truly great American novel, was widely known and highly esteemed. The culture has since collapsed, but I mention Sanchez, who remains well-known and highly esteemed in England and France, because when he was in Boonville recently to work on a forthcoming novel he said that the breakfast panini he enjoyed at Mosswood Market was “the best panini I've ever had.” And this from a man who's downed paninis all over the world!

CLIVE SILVERMAN WRITES: “Boonville tennis is alive and well in Anderson Valley. For the second time in a row the Anderson Valley USTA league team has won all three matches, this time against the very tough Airport Club team. We are 2-0 for the season, having beaten Cloverdale two weeks prior. David Ballantine and Clive Silverman played a very tight match, splitting sets with the top Airport team. 7-5, 2-6, 6-2. J.R. Collins and Arnaud Weyrich dominated in their match with a 6-3, 6-2 score. And though Jeanne Collins and Peter Gordon got off to a slow start, they finished their split set match decisively with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 win record. There may have been some home advantage as team Boonville know where all the dips and cracks are on our courts. We are working hard in our fundraising efforts with the hope of being ready to put in new courts for the community shortly after the high school tennis season ends in May. Please make donations out to the Community Foundation and be sure to earmark your funds for the Michael & Maureen Bowman tennis court endowment. The Anderson Valley team will host Healdsburg in our next and third match-up in winter league play this coming Saturday at 10 am, weather permitting. Come out and cheer on your team.”

I HAD THE PLEASURE of meeting Mr. and Mrs. Silverman this week, and I must say their enthusiasm for rehabbing the tennis courts at the high school is infectious. As they point out, tennis, like swimming, is a form of pleasurable exercise you can enjoy all your days and, if the courts have lights, all your nights, too. The Silvermans mentioned that they're gathering donations of money and equipment, the latter, they hope, to be used by young people interested in learning the game. Donors are directed to these details for your tax deductible contribution:

For Credit Cards or PayPal.

Select “Donor Advised Fund” from dropdown menu

See: Bowman Family Fund - Grants recommended by Maureen Bowman.

Select “Donate to this fund now”

For Checks

Payable to: Community Foundation of Mendocino County

Reference Bowman Family Fund in the MEMO section

290 South State Street, Ukiah, CA 95482. 468-9882

Besides asking for your hard earned money and with or without the tennis courts restored, I encourage anyone looking for a new experience, a game, a challenge, a dynamic social interaction or just plain exercise, won’t you come play with us?

Contact:

Clive Silverman, clive@hughes.net . 895-2024

David Ballantine, dballantine@msn.com, 895-2583

THE COUNTY has cracked down on George Gowan's place on Gschwend Road, not that the County can do much in the way of abatement beyond placing fines, then liens, on the targeted property until it's so encumbered its owner is forced into a bankruptcy sale. (George is the late George Gowan's son.) The County says George has too much stuff on the place, including what the County describes as “non-permitted residences” and they want most of it cleared off. When Monte Hulbert occupied the property, making his home in an ingeniously carved redwood stump, there was only Monte, a committed steward of the land. George is more of a committed collector, you might say, and the County says no, George, it's gotta go.

SHAUNA ESPINOZA checks in with some good news: “The Junior High basketball season has come to an end with both boys teams having very successful seasons, both ending 14-1, with their only loss coming in overtime. The boys teams have worked hard and if you missed a game this year, you definitely missed out on some very good basketball. We cannot thank the parents and community enough for supporting these teams and cheering them on. They are truly star athletes and we should all be excited for the next couple of years. Now, our 8th grade boys have been invited to play in the 44th Annual Crescent City Jaycee's Tournament on March 2nd and 3rd. This is a huge opportunity for them and sure to be a fantastic experience. In order to help offset the costs of this trip, the boys are doing a freethrow-a-thon this coming Saturday, February 18th. They will attempt to shoot as many free throws as they can out of 100. Please find your nearest 8th grader and sponsor or if you want to help the team as a whole, contact Coach Luis.”

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