Valley People (Oct 8, 2014)

SUE SELLERS, a long-time resident of the Anderson Valley, has died, carried off at age 78, we understand, by a heart attack.

HARD TO BELIEVE, but for the sixth time (!) in the space of a very few years, Monica Fuchs and Beverly Bennett have lost their fence and beautiful gate to a careening vehicle. Most of these losses have been the work of drunks careening through Philo. Loss number six? A sober female doing the careening, and daylight careening at that. The careener admitted to have been texting while driving approx 55 in a 30 mph zone when she plunged off 128 and on through the fence.

NOT THAT MANY of you are interested, but that rain last week was good for this year's marijuana crop, just enough moisture to hasten the bud, not enough to bring on mold. What will be interesting is pot prices, what with every other resident of the County now being in the business.

POT BUSINESS OLD TIMERS will remember when there were only two full-time cops chasing marijuana, Stewart and Silva, neither of them big fans of the counterculture. Those two achieved a kind of mythic ubiquity. A pot planter in Laytonville would claim Stewart and Silva had torn up his farm on Monday. Tuesday, a Gualala grower would say they'd nailed him. And so it went for several years. Stewart left Mendocino County and went off to fight the dopers in Oklahoma where he was shot dead by one. The Oklahoma drug people turned out to be a tougher breed than Mendocino County hippies, but Stewart, even more than Silva whose fate is not known, is still talked about deep in the hills of Mendocino County.

GRANGE HONCHO Greg Krouse checks in: “Another Grange local organic Pancake breakfast. Aw, but it is October, and the gluten Free folks are getting a treat because their pancakes will have pumpkins and spice and everything nice. Sunday 8-30–11am at the AV Grange in Philo. Remember 15 minutes of entertainment; singing, instrumental or poetry gets a free breakfast. State Grange Convention happening this week in San Luis Obispo. Granges are growing statewide with local food movement and a lot of new blood. There are some great resolutions which if supported go to our State Lobbyist.”

AT 8:40pm MONDAY night (the 29th) Anderson Valley Fire Department, AV Ambulance, and CalFire responded to a traffic collision with injuries on Highway 253 roughly 8 miles from Boonville. The two vehicles, one driven by Kayla Hammond, the other by Juan Vasquez, had collided but were able to avoid a totally head-on impact. Highway 253 was completely closed for about 20 minutes to land CALSTAR 4 on the highway because of the lack of landing zones in the area. One patient was transported to Santa Rosa Memorial by CALSTAR 4 for her injuries and the second patient was transported to Ukiah Valley Medical Center by Anderson Valley Ambulance. Who was responsible for the accident remains under investigation.

THE AV FOODSHED is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. In the fall of 2004, with the vision of promoting local food and supporting local farmers in producing that food, a group of folks gathered to begin what became the AV Foodshed Group. In October, 2005 the first C’mon Home to Eat challenge was initiated. Locals were encouraged to sign a local food pledge that they would eat, as much as possible, food that was grown or produced within 100 miles of home. C’mon Home to Eat in October has been an annual event since that time, with local food events and suggestions for how to meet the local food challenge. The calendar for this month is attached. There was an article last week in the AVA and there will be another this week. You should be able to access these articles at http://www.mendocinolocalfood.org within a day or two. We’ve had a communication glitch with the documents.

THE BOONVILLE Winter Market begins Saturday November 1 in front of the Boonville General Store.

ONE MORE TIME: The Anderson Valley Grange is having its regular second Sunday Local Organic Pancake and Egg Breakfast on October 12, 8:30-11 at the Grange in Philo at 9800 Hwy 128. Breakfast ranges from $5-10 for kids through hungry folks sizes, with Mendocino Grain Project wheat and local bacon and eggs. Gluten free available.

BETWEEN YOU ME and the msg, this gluten nonsense is wayyyyy outtahand. You mean to say after ten thousand years of human history with all us humans downing gluten all that time, suddenly gluten is bad for the bod?

ATTENTION! Gardeners, Farmers and Produce Growers of all kinds, please remember Food Bank days (3rd Tuesday of every month) as a place to donate your extra produce. It will be greatly appreciated. Please drop off on the Monday before, behind Boonville Methodist Church. Thanks. If you need someone to glean your produce to take to the Food Bank, contact Valerie Kim at valerie.h.kim@gmail.com. Denisse Mattei is the Food Bank director. You can reach her at 895-3763.

THERE ARE NOW two Farmers Guilds in Mendocino County. The Mendocino Farmers Guild meets on 3rd Tuesdays at the Little Lake Grange in Willits. The Mendocino Coast Farmers Guild meets on 2nd Tuesdays at the Fort Bragg Grange. For more information on what the Farm Guild is all about, go to http://www.farmersguild.org

PETIT TETON FARM, if you've never visited, is a very interesting place and well worth a visit, especially with your young ones, assuming they are non-feral. Teton Farm at 18601 Hwy 128 is open most of the time during the week and Saturday after 2pm and most Sunday afternoons. "Stop by or email farmer@petitteton.com or call 684.4146 to find out if we're open and what's available or just drop in. We look forward to seeing you."

FRIDAY NIGHT’S HOMECOMING should be a doozy as the undefeated Anderson Valley High School Panthers take on the Mendocino Cardinals under the lights at the Boonville Fairgrounds, kick-off at 7pm. AV whacked the Cardinals good, 40-0, last time the two teams met, but Panther coach, Dan Kuny, says Mendocino is coming to town primed for revenge. All this and the crowning of Homecoming king and queen!