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Letters (June 7, 2017)

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ELDERHOME THANKS

Letter to the Editor

The Anderson Valley Elder Home Board would like to thank everyone who made the Lions Club/Elder Home barbecue an enjoyable event.

A big thank you goes to the Anderson Valley Lions Club, which helps our own and other AV  non-profits with their fundraising by contributing all the manpower, skills, and talent to arrange the site and purchases, and cook and serve the meal.

Every year, many community members and businesses donate items for the silent auction: restaurants, merchants, artists, and other talented community members donate lovely items, gift certificates, classes, and interesting experiences.

Thank you to all who came out to make this a success.  We are truly blessed to live in such an active and supportive community,

Sincerely,

Cynthia McMath

Anderson Valley Elder Home Board

Boonville

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MORE FOR MANAGERS, LESS MANAGING

To the Editor:

Is it me or is it just a coincidence? Just after the city started collecting their Measure Y Sales Tax Revenue (to be used for roads and only roads ... wink wink... at least that is what the argument in the voter information booklet said), the City Manager has decided that there must be enough ‘other money’ available to create a Deputy City Manager position for our small city.

I keep sounding like a broken record on this folks, but the homeless population seems to be growing and law enforcement can only just keep them moving around. They aren’t going to go away. The city and the county need to be spending money on this issue instead of consultants, boutique hotels, renovations to a decrepit building, or giving staff promotions.

D.E. Johnson

Ukiah

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IF THERE'D BEEN…

To the Editor:

On July 16, 1998 Marvin Noble, a 45-year-old mental health client lost his life. It is not important to reveal the details and the many views, but it is important to wonder if something different would have happened if a Community Support Team had existed.

There would have been documentation available to the client’s counselor, there would have been someone on call, there would have been communication between the police and the CST team member, and there would have been a person called to the scene that Marvin knew.

Obviously no one can know what the final outcome would have been, but I’m betting that Marvin would not have been shot.

This is Mental Health Month and when I think about our past, and our present, I am worried. For me, these thoughts will not go away. Until and unless there is a drastic change in our way of thinking, we will continue to make the same mistakes.

Albert Einstein is broadly credited with exclaiming “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.”

Our mental health system qualifies, especially here in Mendocino County.

William J. Russell, Ukiah

Mark Scaramella Notes: Au contraire: it is important to reveal the details of the Marvin Noble case: https://www.theava.com/archives/2285

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BUYER BEWARE

Editor,

I recently read through the article on Sonoma Clean Power.

Can you remember the other giveaways the Board of Supervisors or their predecessors accomplish?

Let me review.

The Board gave away 88% of our water in the 50s – gave it to Sonoma County.

Gave away the state hospital to a private entity. The hospital would have been a perfect place for the junior college.

Gave away the most valuable agricultural land in the world to the state for the Ukiah bypass. I can still hear Alex Thomas pleading with the Board of Supervisors to demand that the bypass be routed to the west in the hills.

Gave away agricultural land for the Willits bypass. I drove it last week to see pature grass four feet high and not a sign of any livestock. I haven't seen that much pasture since I was in South Africa.

Now, unless you opt out your bill will say Sonoma Clean Power. Just try to opt out. Set aside two hours to talk to some third-party offshore who speaks no English. Oh yes, have your name, address, account number, meter number, and password ready. And a strong drink close by.

Why not just join Sonoma County? Include Mendo in their Fifth District. Move the County line to Piercy. No more Mendocino County. Supervisor James Gore would welcome more constituents. He's a super super. All of Mendo’s elected officials would leave. (Without retirement). I would keep Tom Allman. Steve Freitas is retiring so Tom would be a natural fit for the enlarged Sonoma County. One of the great sheriffs of my 81 years. Besides, he is a good guy. The rest of the employees would work for Sonoma County.

Name withheld

Ukiah

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BEST FIVER YOU'LL SPEND

Dear Editor:

The friends of the Fort Bragg Library are beginning a fund-raising campaign to expand the Fort Bragg Library on Laurel Street in Fort Bragg. We have purchased the adjacent lot north of the library at 421 Whipple Street and will begin clearing the lot and adjusting plot lines to make this a single property. This is estimated to allow a 5000 square-foot addition with ten off street parking spaces with ten foot setbacks on three sides.

Currently the library offers a multitude of events and activities for all ages with ever increasing attendance. The April Celtic harp program had an audience overflow reaching out to the sidewalk. The current facility is a remodeled mortuary and lacks space to accommodate comfortably all the library provides from quiet reading and study areas to heavily demanded computer access.

We have a fundraising goal of $2 million and we are reaching out to inform as many community members of this goal as possible. We also encourage public input about what their concept of an ideal library might be. This is a major project for a valued public institution and we encourage participation and donations. More information is on the library's website: FortBraggLibrary.org. Annual membership dues for the Friends of the Fort Bragg Library is $5. Donations to the Friends are tax deductible as we are a nonprofit 501(c)3 Corporation.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Wolfman, FFBL Board member

Fort Bragg

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HIDDEN MISDEEDS

Dear Editor,

Due to travel and other distractions I let my long-standing subscription to the AVA lapse for four months since February. But while cleaning up I came across an old issue, re-read it, and realized how much my life has been diminished by the AVA's absence.

I especially miss Bruce McEwen's courtroom reviews and also ongoing coverage of your county’s rural intoxicant industries and the seemingly related problems of mental health treatment.

Humboldt County is similarly afflicted, but we must rely on your esteemed publication for courageous honest coverage of the hidden misdeeds in Northwest California's forests.

Here's my $92 for another two years of entertaining truth.

Sincerely,

Jon Forsythe

Arcata

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ART SCAMS

Editor,

News from d’Hephalumpeville, Bellingham, Washington

Also, a possible art scam to jerk the leashes on art pretenders and worse.

Your artwork — my china coaster brought me a Saipan (sic) treat last century: two paintings by a Japanese gentleman camped in front of Atom Bomb Pit #1 and Atom Bomb Pit #2, framed, in oil, autographed by a recipient. Grisly, said the bear. If you get up an art festival for this stuff I will come visit you and bring these treasures along. Snapshots will follow after the arria is searched concisely.

Ignacio Hephalumpe

Bellingham, Washington

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WAYYYYYYYY UNCOOL

To the Editor:

Greetings and salutations. I am writing to mention a issue near and dear to my heart. Here at the Mendocino County Jail, my uncle Greg Caudra sits in a wheelchair. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) he should be accommodated since this is a county facility but instead whenever he is transported to court he’s forced to get out of his wheelchair, sit on the dirty floor of the transport van and then upon arrival, at the courthouse be allowed to resume sitting in his wheelchair. This is a clear and conscious violation of the ADA laws. My uncle’s left leg is severely injured all throughout from hip to ankle and makes it impossible to walk or even bear any weight due to a car crash. Is it right to subject a man to sit in dirt on van floor? Not to mention a van completely devoid of safety mechanisms to begin with such as seat belts but then my uncle has the secondary risk of cracking his head against one of the metal bench seats. What’s wrong with this picture you know? I must say this is so uncool and such mistreatment must be brought to light.

Simon Thornton, Ukiah

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COMMUNITY POSTER PROJECT

Editor-

Many of the Valley's youngest artists have completed their posters for the Community Poster Project, and they will soon be on view at Lauren's. The adult deadline is June 23rd, and they will be displayed as they are submitted. There is plenty of time to produce your own illustration of a phrase which shows your fond concern for all of our neighbors. Poster blanks are available at the Mosswood and at Lauren's. At our best, we do "Build Bridges, not Walls.  Construimos puentes, no paredes."

Cheers,

Steve Wood

Boonville

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