ANDERSON VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL, CLASS OF 2021
- Alarcon, Alec
- Delgado, Heidi
- Douglass-Thomas, Sam
- Espinoza, Candy
- Espinoza, Kaitlin
- Ferreyra, Norymar
- Flores, Ximena
- Gonzalez, Cristobal
- Kehl, Lucas
- Kephart, Gabriella
- Malfavon, Yareli
- Mata, Brianda
- Matvieieva, Valeria
- McEwen, Shekina
- Mendoza, Derek
- Ocampo, Erik
- Padilla Murillo, Juan
- Parra, David
- Pereda Zavala, Mariermily
- Perez Hernandez, Clara
- Perez-Marin, Irlen
- Peters, Shasta
- Ruiz Martinez, Cecilia
- Sanchez, Bianca
- Talavera, Pedro
- Theiss, Kylie
- Tovar, Alexandre
IT CAN NEVER be said that Anderson Valley does not support its young people. At last week’s high school awards ceremony many thousands of dollars in scholarships were gratefully received by the scholarly portion of Anderson Valley High School's class of 2021. Before a shivering, smallish crowd of parents and friends assembled on the west side of the gym on an unseasonably chilly June evening, I counted 16 graduates who will continue their studies at the college level. Twenty locals, representing twenty local organizations and families, presented awards of scholarship money.
HER MANY FRIENDS in the Anderson Valley will be relieved to learn that Carolyn Eigenman has survived a terrible medical ordeal, which the long-time Boonville resident best describes herself:
“On May 4th after a lovely visit with my family just that weekend, I experienced sharp pain and shortness of breath. At Kaiser Santa Rosa, I was admitted to the ICU where I was told that I was the perfect candidate for a heart valve replacement through a new procedure that would have me feeling “remarkable” in just a couple of days. So they shipped me off to Kaiser SF and things fell apart from there. Now finally after twenty days (not the two I was expecting) I was finally released. Since then I have been recuperating at my daughter’s home with all kinds of love and attention from my family. I was incredibly ill and unable to walk, read or function in any normal way and was often not expected to pull through. The experience was really the worst in my life and I will never go to the hospital again ever. It was so traumatic. I am very surprised to be here still. Since I have been out of the hospital I have been improving every day.”
THE ANDERSON VALLEY COMMUNITY LIBRARY re-opened at the Home Arts Building at the Fairgrounds last Saturday, June 12. Hours are 1-4pm Tuesdays, 12:30-2:30pm Saturdays.
AV FIREFIGHTERS RAFFLING OFF THREE TOP-NOTCH PICNIC TABLES: The Anderson Valley Volunteer Firefighters Association (AVVFFA) announced Tuesday that three eight-foot picnic tables will be raffled off on the Fourth of July. Tickets available at the Fire Station when Secretary Patty Liddy is there, or find a local first responder who can provide you with your ticket. Only 400 tickets will be sold for $20 each. This is your opportunity to win a beautiful picnic table and provide funds for our volunteer first responders.
A READER NOTES: “For some reason, Anderson Valley has towns that move. Kendall City, the precursor to Boonville, seems originally to have been slightly north of the current downtown - essentially at the turn onto Mountain View Road.” Next time I see Sheriff Kendall I'll ask him to channel his ancestors. The Sheriff's family founded our little town, but then moved on to the South Coast and from there branched out to Covelo. When the Kendalls moved from Boonville the place was re-christened Boonville after a man about whom little is known. The Andersons of Anderson Valley were a pioneer family who simply named the whole area after themselves. (No, this Anderson is not related, although he has been known to suggest as much when trying to wheedle a bank loan. As an impertinent reader once demanded, “Anderson? Anderson Valley? How many snakes in that Anderson nest anyhow?” A bunch, for sure.
THAT NOISY HELICOPTER flying low and slow over backyard Boonville last Thursday morning shortly before noon, seems to have been PG&E's eye in the sky scoping out the welfare of their lines. Lacking confirmation of who the chopper belonged to — some people said PG&E, some said the police looking for dope plants. PG&E is more likely. Police surveillance is required to keep, what? 500 feet in the air? Besides which pot plants don't have to be ferreted out, they're everywhere. The police generally confine themselves to the big grows, not backyard gardens, assuming the backyard is suburban size.
WOOF-WOOF. That big sign on 128 at the junction of Hopland Road threatening non-maskers with 100 dollar fines is a nice little joke, almost as funny as the signs threatening thousand dollar fines for littering. (The pointless mask morning has since been removed.)
A BIG FAN of both ladies wonders, “How many meals have Lauren Keating and Libby Favela supplied the populace with over the years? A lot!”
ERIC BARKER, PHILO POSTMASTER, is looking for a place to rent, preferably in the Philo area. References. Editorially, I can say this sober and serious young man is the ideal tenant.
NEWS none of us want to hear. Bob Maki is retiring. The long-time proprietor of Starr Automotive is hanging up his jumper cables. When we think of emergency services we tend to think of police, fire, ambulance, but Mr. Maki, over the years, has been nearly as crucial, and dependably there for all of us. Whoever replaces him at Starr has some plus-size shoes to fill.
REMEMBER THAT PROPOSAL a few months ago to ask the County to use a little of the PG&E settlement money to upgrade the Senior Center/Vets Hall on the south end of town? A proposal was indeed submitted, but when the Supes reviewed the projects being considered for funding, the Boonville Senior Center was not there and Supervisor Williams said he was surprised that it wasn’t.
The proposed project would have involved converting the Senior Center, which is a County owned building, into a community resource center during an emergency or “public safety power shutoff” (PSPS). A backup generator with associated electrical hook-up and installation, a concrete pad, some trenching, some electrical hardware with some volunteer labor where possible was proposed at a cost of less than $20k. Everybody locally liked the idea.
Then, because it’s a county-owned building, it went to the County, where… Yes, you got it, things got complicated.
Locals were told recently that the project didn’t make the list because:
Such upgrades would mean that Americans with Disability Act requirements would apply to the rest of the building.
Volunteer labor is prohibited by the government code for work on government owned buildings.
Insurance and legal issues would have to be reviewed, a slow process.
Other (mostly unspecified) renovations and improvements of the old building, possibly including roof repair/replacement, would be required; they couldn’t do just the generator, and those other renovations and improvements would have to comply with modern building codes.
And last but not least, the County is considering a larger emergency related project of some kind at the Boonville Fairgrounds next door which might overlap with the Community Resource Center upgrade proposal.
Locals have not given up, but if the project ever happens it will certainly be after the power outages this year.
(Mark Scaramella)
A PHILO GUY joked, “Hey! With the AVA being the only paper-paper left in The Valley, what are we going to do for fire starter?” I assured him we have enough fire starter stored on our welcoming premises to supply everyone from Yorkville to Navarro until the end of time, which may be any day now given all the givens.
THE ANDERSON VALLEY GRANGE is bringing back the DRIVE-IN Movies! Friday, June 18th at dark— this very Friday night. Our first offering is Oh Brother Where Art Thou. Fabulous old timey music, Coen Bros. whackiness, and George Clooney too. Things are opening up, we can be more together, hooray. Bring a mask and a chair, (or use ours), Sit outside or in your car. We'll have snacks available. Big fun. Next film will be the Fri. after 4th of July and hopefully every 2 weeks thereafter. Stay tuned for more info. Join the Grange for special perks. The Grange is back in action and we need you. If you want to get involved Call Laura Baynham 684-9340.
STEVE DERWINSKI WRITES: The AV Poetry book is available at the Mosswood Market—$15. (Highly recommended as a bonafide Mendo-AV artifact, a one-of-a-kinder.)
EVERY MORNING, I HUFF AND PUFF over the WPA-constructed Con Creek bridge just north of the Elementary School. Con Creek runs east-west, flowing down out of Upper Peachland and on into Anderson Creek. Why it's called Con Creek I don't know, but I do know that conservatives of the Depression years regarded Roosevelt's New Deal as a con, hence, perhaps, Anderson Valley's Con Creek. It's a vigorous little year-round stream. It was a lot more vigorous year round prior to the vineyards in and around Peachland, but has always faithfully flowed through the dry months. But Con Creek is alarmingly low this June, as low as it usually is in late Fall. It's my guide to the severity of the drought in Anderson Valley. If Con Creek goes dry in the next two months, the drought may be even more severe than we anticipate.
BUT THERE was a little rain Friday afternoon, and again on Saturday night. And early Monday morning. But Monday’s falling damp was somewhere between heavy mist and a medium fog, but we’ll call it rain simply because any downward moisture is welcome. Mike Kalantarian said he got an eighth of an inch at Rancho Navarro over the two, brief interludes of precipitation, both of them, perhaps, teases from the sky gods reminding us what rain looked and felt like.
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