# 545 - 11th January, 2017

    Greetings one and all. Are you are sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin…
    We lead off with the Restaurant Report this week and I believe that in the very near future I shall have some big headlines to share - in fact very exciting news for the many people in the community who enjoy a night out dining with friends over a few beers and a cocktail. I can hardly contain myself - full details next week!… Meanwhile, as new adventures await for some, this coming weekend we bid a final farewell to restauranteurs who have served the Valley splendidly for sixteen years. This will be in the form of a gathering to be held at Lauren’s Restaurant on Sunday, January 15th from 3-6pm that will see the community express their gratitude to the Libby, Jose, and Family of Libby’s Restaurant fame. The community-at-large is invited and folks are encouraged to bring finger foods to share. Jose and Libby have retired - they will not be cooking!… I will have more on our other night-out dining venues next week, suffice it to say for now that Lauren’s Restaurant continues their regular lunch and dinner hours; The Drive-In too; Lizbby’s, the new Mexican restaurant in Boonville, with a menu based on Libby’s, is opening in a month or so; Aquarelle and The Bewildered Pig remain closed; the Boonville Hotel continues with their family-style, prix fixe menu on Thursday thru’ Sunday; and Stone and Embers is open Friday-Tuesday, noon to 6pm…
   
    Public Service Announcements (P.S.A.’s)… Calendars and pens at the ready… #542 - Given the current weather situation I thought I should provide the following useful numbers once again - for road conditions and closures call 1-800-gas-road (427-7623) and for power problems and outages call 1-800-PGE (743)-5000. I just thought you should know…#543 - A repeat of my message above - the community ‘Thank You’ to Libby and Jose is at Lauren’s Restaurant on Sunday, January 15th, 3-6pm… #544 - The Vets from the Mendocino Animal Hospital have one visit this month to the Anderson Valley Farm Supply on Highway 128, north of Philo, and that’s tomorrow Thursday, January 12. They will be here twice in February (2 and 23). To avoid a line perhaps turn up at around 3pm - you will definitely be seen. New customers and their pets are always welcome and previous visitors should be aware that they can call 462-8833 and the vets will bring your pet’s charts with them - making this an even better service than it already is!… #545 - The Boonville Farmers’ Market continues with it’s Winter location and hours at The Boonville General Store, on Saturdays from 11am-1pm. For more info, call Cindy at 895-2949… #546 - Need a burn permit? From 11am to 3pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays you can get one from the Firehouse in Boonville. Call 895-2020 for more information or stop by and you will be efficiently served with a smile - trust me on this… #547 - The A.V. Lending Library run by The Unity Club is open Tuesdays from 1.30-4.30pm and Saturdays 2-4pm at The Fairgrounds in Boonville… #548 - The County Dump is open from 9am-4pm Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. Dump Executive Director, Mike Mannix, rewards good customers with a star but will be very harsh with anyone thinking they can leave dead animals!… #549 - Gardeners, farmers and produce growers of all kinds, please remember the next Food Bank Day - Tuesday, January 17 (3rd Tuesday of every month) as a place to donate your extra produce.  It will be greatly appreciated.  They are open from 8-10 am on the 3rd Tuesday of every month; and are also open the Monday evening before, from 4-6. Please drop off on the Monday behind Boonville Methodist Church.  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… #550 - Another reminder that the annual Valley Crab Feeds are almost here… The first one is the annual benefit for the Senior Center and will be held on Saturday, January 21; tickets are $35 pre-sale, $40 on the door, and are sold at the Senior Center, A.V. Market, Rossi Hardware, and Lemons’ in Philo. Happy Hour is at 5.30pm, dinner served at 6.30pm… This will be followed two weeks later by the Original Crab Feed on Saturday, February 4, for which the tickets are $45, the same as last year, and that does include complimentary wine. Tickets available through Gloria Ross at 895-3071, John Schultz at 895-9552, or Lemons’ Market in Philo… Both Crab Feeds are very popular Valley-centric occasions - they WILL sell out; you have been warned…
    As a bonus P.S.A. here is the menu for the Community lunches over the next week in the Senior Center at the Veterans’ Building in Boonville. The Center asks for a $6 donation from seniors and charges $7 for Non-seniors… Tomorrow, Thursday, January 12, the lunch, served by Marti Titus and her crew at Noon, will be Lemon Garlic Cod and Wendy’s Oatmeal Bars for dessert… Then, next Tuesday, January 17, the lunch will feature Roasted chicken with Winter vegetables with Bread Pudding for dessert. All meals include vegetables, salad bar, and fruit, plus milk, coffee, tea, and lemonade. What a deal - it maybe the best value for money you’ll get all week!… Tai Chi is now available every Tuesday at 11am, while on Thursdays at 11am it is Kathy’s Easy-stretch Yoga class. Also on Thursdays, the Active Life Club runs from 10am to 2pm and features games, crafts, and music. The Senior Center/Community Bus goes to Ukiah on Monday's and also Santa Rosa on the first Wednesday of the month. These trips fill up fast so don't forget to sign up early at 489-1175… Hopefully you will be able to attend some of these events and certainly the lunches and dinners, and remember – ALL ages are welcome! Hope to see you there…

    Moving quickly on to a few of the topics and Valley events under discussion this week at The Three-Dot Lounge – yes it’s “Moans, Groans, Good Thoughts, and Rampant (yet surprisingly reliable) Rumors” from my favorite gathering place in the Valley, a somewhat secret location that sees people get together and share their thoughts about life in Anderson Valley and often far beyond, and where we subscribe to the Winston Churchill philosophy that “A lie will get halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put on its pants”… So, with that in mind, I shall quickly put my pants on and continue…
… Regulars at the 3-Dot are still shaking their heads over the recent visit to the Valley by wine writer Melissa Vogt. In Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate she writes of her stop at Gowan’s Oak Tree and then her dining experience at The Bewildered Pig. Nowhere else in the Valley is mentioned specifically. Of her Pig visit, she remarked, “The food is incredible—a beacon of light in an otherwise rather drab offering of cuisine in the infinitesimal towns of Boonville, Philo and Navarro”…  Drab offerings? How ignorant of her… We all know that food/restaurant reviewing is a sinecure that can produce mediocrity in its writing and irritating subjectivity as its conclusions, but to make such a remark goes to show that a large degree of mindless comment is also a part of the ‘game’…
… So Dr Logan McGann, a man revered upon his arrival as the Valley’s wonderful new doctor, and welcomed into the community as few others have been, has now departed. He was popular, and by all accounts he was competent. So what really happened? I think we should be told…
… On a more positive note regarding our local Health Center, my own recent experience in dealing with Dr Mark Apfel and administrator Faris Gheith was a very pleasant, efficient, and friendly one… Hopefully this does not mean that they are about to depart too!?!? Joking…
… More kudos to pass out… With propane prizes going through the roof at this time of year, it is good to know that some companies will work with their regular customers to reach a fair rate. Suburban Propane is one of these and I encourage you to investigate further by calling 707-263-5428…

    I’m outta here - I’ve got see a man about a sheep…Besides, that’s enough for now, so until we talk again – Be careful out there; if you break a leg don’t come running to me; stay out of the ditches; be wary of strangers with more dogs than teeth; show love to your pets, they will be faithful and true to you to the last beat of their hearts; ‘Keep the Faith’; try to not let life get in the way of living; may your god go with you, and may your dog go with you too… Oh, and of course, one final request, “Let us prey”… Sometimes poking, often stroking, but almost always humbly yours, Turkey Vulture - saddened but ultimately comforted in the knowledge that the old hare has safely moved to his new burrow in the sky…
p.s. You can contact me with words of support/abuse either through the Letters Page or by e-mail at
p.p.s. Keep on wagging that tail, Fred… Hi, Silver Swan – behaving yourself? Hopefully not!…Keep on cycling, Round-eyed Robin…