McPherson Proposes To Dust Off Town Plans

News Release from the office of Supervisor Bruce McPherson:

A generation ago, Felton residents gathered to talk about their favorite places and experiences in town and contributed their ideas and visions for the future of Felton.  That community participation process, coordinated with an analysis of pedestrian and traffic patterns, was developed into a town plan with a wish list of projects and goals.

A few years later, similar processes were repeated in the neighboring communities of Boulder Creek and Ben Lomond.

Many of the ideas proposed in the town plans have come to fruition; many have not.  Fifth District Supervisor Bruce McPherson is asking residents to dust off their town plans, or read them for the first time, and meet to talk about what projects should be next.

McPherson has proposed three town meetings:  the first in Boulder Creek in February, the second in Ben Lomond in March, and the third in Felton in April.  The Boulder Creek meeting will be on Tuesday, February 26, 2013, at 7:00 p.m. at Boulder Creek Elementary School in the Multipurpose Room.

Supervisor McPherson, County Economic Development Director Barbara Mason, and County Planning Department Director Kathy Previsich will facilitate the discussions. 

Participants will be able to meet in small groups to put forward ideas about next possible projects.

Felton's Town Plan, adopted in 1987, was the first plan adopted in the San Lorenzo Valley.  Many of the projects included in the Felton plan have been completed, including a new park (Covered Bridge Park) and a farmer's market.  But angled parking, wider sidewalks, and pedestrian connections have not been achieved.

The Ben Lomond Town Plan, adopted in 1990, envisioned a river walk, traffic improvements, and streetscape projects, many of which have been completed.  However, pedestrian links to the town center have not been completed.

Boulder Creek's Town Plan, adopted in 1992, emphasized the desire to retain the unique character of the town while allowing expanded commercial services in the town core, providing more activities, and improving recreational facilities.  Boulder Creek's plan also called for angled parking in part of the downtown area along Central Avenue.             

For those without computer access, a limited number of copies of each of the town plans have been provided by Supervisor McPherson.  Copies of the Boulder Creek Town Plan are available at the Boulder Creek Library and Boulder Creek Hardware.  Copies of the Felton Town Plan are available at Liberty Bank.  Copies of the Ben Lomond Town Plan are available at Coffee Nine.  The town plans are also available online by visiting Supervisor McPherson's webpage:  http://www.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/Government/BoardofSupervisors/District5.aspx.

Ben Lomond's F.Scott Krueger: Art in Central America

Ben Lomond's Frank Scott Krueger is spending a year volunteering and producing art in Central America. He's been there for 7 months now creating short, mixed media (spoken word, painting, drawing, music, ambient noise, dance) telling the stories of the people and cultures that he encounters.

He plans to spend several months working in a Peruvian orphanage for abused and handicapped street children, a month in a sustainable community in Ecuador, and a month working on a lumber mill in Bolivia.

He wants to purchase a video camera and has started a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds. You can help by becoming a backer and he promises great rewards for your participation.

You can follow his journey via his blog: http://franksk.tumblr.com/ and we'll try and keep you up to date on his adventures here as well.

Mountain Art Center Ceram-A-Rama This Weekend

Ceram-A-Rama 2011 3 Days of Clay! September 16, 17, 18th, 2011 At the Mountain Art Center on Mill St. in Ben Lomond September 16, 6 - 9 p.m. Potluck BBQ & Movie For FREE admission, bring something to share for the potluck BBQ. We'll be showing a claymation movie and more on our "big" screen in the gallery! September 17, 10 - 4 p.m. Workshop with noted ceramic artist Wesley Andregg. Thanks to generous support from Bruce Bangert, we are able to bring to you the Wonderful World of Wesley! This day-long demonstration workshop is only $25 for Adults and $20 for Students...and this INCLUDES LUNCH! Wesley's approach to his sculpture includes combining mixed media with his clay figures. He brings a whimsical, yet political point of view to our lives. Register on-line: Adults $25 Students $20 (Fee Includes Lunch) September 18, 11 - 5 p.m. FREE fun day of clay! Demos by Open Studios Artists Liz Crain (Studio #210) and Andrea Dana-McCullough (Studio #33). Clay contests & prizes, Raku firing, hands-on clay, fun for the whole family! Be a spectator or participant...it's always entertaining. Music by Mark Wallace. Clay for this event was donated by Kevin Wahl, Phoenix Ceramics. We ask experienced potters to come and throw bowls throughout the day. These bowls will be trimmed and glazed and donated to Loaves & Fishes"Empty Bowls" fundraising event (Oct 15) which raises money to feed the hungry in our community!

Ribbon Cutting Tomorrow for Ben Lomond Park Upgrades

What a difference a week makes!  The first few days of spring brought several inches of rain and caused the San Lorenzo river to reach record heights.  A number of areas experienced flooding as the water rose, including the recently resurfaced basketball court at Ben Lomond Park on Mill Street.  A week later we saw temperatures reach into the high 80's and the County Parks department, with help from local residents, went to work and got the court ready for an official ribbon cutting ceremony scheduled for tomorrow.

Ben Lomond businessman Thomas Wynn and his wife Beth were instrumental in the planning process which began over a year ago and involved a number of public meetings with County park planners to prioritize upgrades to the popular downtown gathering spot.  In addition to improvements to the basketball court; the park has a reconfigured and newly landscaped play area with shiny new slides and swings, cement picnic benches and a small barbeque.

Supervisor Mark Stone will be on hand to officially celebrate the completion of what is hoped is only the first phase of upgrades and improvements.  Local residents plan to raise money for additional benches and other amentities.

Festivites begin at 10AM with the ribbon cutting and refreshments provided by Coffee Nine and Ben Lomond Market.  A 3 on 3 basketball tournament is also scheduled.

Lots To Do At Quail Hollow Ranch This Weekend

There's always a lot to do at Quail Hollow Ranch County Park in Ben Lomond and this weekend there are three organized activities to choose from:

Join with Friends of Quail Hollow Ranch and the Quail Hollow Nest Box Project as they get together to refurbish bird boxes for cavity nesting birds at the County Park on Saturday morning .   Help continue to provide habitat for birds at the ranch and learn a bit about the life cycle of these birds at the same time.  Volunteers will spend a morning of cleaning, repairing, and installing boxes.   For those interested in monitoring the nest boxes, information about upcoming training classes and volunteering to check boxes will be available.  Wear work clothes and shoes and bring something to drink and eat.  Open to anyone who can use a screwdriver and putty knife.

Also on Saturday you can join Phyllis Endicott, local after school science and cooking instructor, for an afternoon of learning to cook and prepare fresh pasta and Italian sodas in the Quail Hollow Ranch Sunset Kitchen. Each person will practice and learn a variety of techniques used in cooking and preparing meals. All ages are welcome, but children under 8 must be accompanied with an adult and registered as a team. A $15 materials fee is due to the instructor on the day of the class. Sign up at www.scparks.com or by calling 831-454-7941 by Friday.

On Sunday Feb. 6 from 1-3PM you can join herpetologist, Paul Haskins for a saunter along park trails in search of reptiles and amphibians. Peruse the pond and muse over the meadow while learning about the favorite hangouts and resting places of the indigenous critters that inhabit our neighborhood.  All ages are welcome.

Bird Box Work Party at Quail Hollow Ranch
Saturday, February 5, 9:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
For more information call 831-335-9348.

Cooking Pasta & Italian Sodas
Saturday, February 5, 1-3 p.m.
http://www.scparks.com/quail_hollow_activities.html

Reptiles and Amphibians at Quail Hollow
Sunday, February 6, 1 - 3 p.m.
http://www.scparks.com/quail_hollow_activities.html

Ben Lomond Park Upgrades Almost Complete

The new playground at the Ben Lomond Park on Mill Street is being put to good use on Friday afternoon by local moms and their toddlers.  The new landscaping and equipment is part of the initial phase of upgrades planned for the riverfront park which began in November.  In addition to the new equipment and landscaping, significant grading was done on the site between the basketball court and the play area which will make the court safer and more inviting.

The basketball court has been completely resurfaced and is only awaiting lining before it too will be open for use.  A grand opening is in the works but in the meantime the park is open daily from dawn to dusk.

Laura Dolson Becomes Newest SLVUSD Trustee

Ben Lomond parent and writer Laura Dolson has been appointed to the San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees in a unanimous vote taken last night at a special meeting of the Board.  Dolson replaces Susan Weber, who resigned her seat representing Area 3 (Ben Lomond).  

Dolson has a B.S in physical therapy from the University of Vermont, an M.A. in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology-San Diego, and several years of doctoral work in clinical psychology, part of which involved research in online communication.  She writes about health and education for the web site About.com and she developed and taught a class about health and nutrition for middle school age children and was a cancer support provider at Mediconsult.com.

Ms. Dolson has been active in District affairs for several years.  She has attended numerous Board meetings and was active in the Boulder Creek Homeschool and Nature Academy.  She has served on various district and parent committees and in 2003 she developed a website to share her knowledge and opinions and provide a forum for discussion about District governance during a time when the community was embroiled in a variety of disputes over budget and school closure issues.

Congresswoman Eshoo Throws a Party in Ben Lomond

Member of Congress the Honorable Anna Eshoo brought a cake (from Ben Lomond Market) to the Senior Center at Highlands Park to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the enactment of the Social Security Act.  Before leading the assembled in a round of Happy Birthday the congresswoman sang the praises of what she called "our nation's greatest social program".  She warned against attempts by some in Congress to "turn Social Security over to Wall Street."

She noted that 401(k)s and IRAs lost 32% of their value during the 2008 financial collapse and that the overhead and administrative costs of Social Security were only 4%.

Eshoo was introduced by Supervisor Mark Stone who praised her efforts on behalf of the14th district  constituents.  He told of her efforts to secure legislation on behalf of residents in Felton Grove.  For her part Eshoo praised the "teamwork" exhibited between her office, Stone's and State Senator Joe Simitian.

Alerted to the accident that closed Highway 17,  Eshoo and her staff drove over Highway 9 from Saratoga.  She said the views along that route convinced her she represented the most beautiful district in the state.  She said "in many ways this is like the crown jewel of the district."

A Coffis Brother Makes Incredible Bigfoot Claim - Supporters to Gather in Felton

A self described “Mountain Man” from Santa Cruz County claims he has first-hand personal knowledge of the mysterious primate Bigfoot. Most scientists do not give much credence to the existence of Bigfoot although among the growing number of experts and students in matters mysterious, Bigfoot ranks right up there with life on other planets, abductions and ghosts. 

(According to Michael Rugg, Director of the Bigfoot Discovery Project and Museum in Felton, California, actual claims of Bigfoot interactions, not just sightings, are all the rage these days. Rugg pointed to two recently published books, one in 2009 by Christopher Noel, of the Bigfoot Field Research Organization (BFRO) entitled Impossible Visits: The Inside Story of Interactions with Sasquatch at Habituation Sites, and the just released, ENOCH, by Oregon researcher and Bigfoot “witness advocate” Autumn Williams. Williams’ book chronicles the story of a man she says is “more than a witness (to Bigfoot) he is a friend.”)


The fact that Rugg and both Coffis brothers graduated from San Lorenzo Valley High School and that these events are scheduled within days of each other is simply an interesting coincidence. There is no other connection.

In July, a standing room only crowd at Don Quixote’s International Music Hall in Felton listened to singer and songwriter, Jamie Coffis, 24, tell the story of growing up in the San Lorenzo Valley and his encounter with the legendary primate.

Born in the Redwood forest near the tiny town of Ben Lomond, he says that he befriended the legendary creature as a youth. “I had to grow up all alone, I learned to live off the land. I met Bigfoot. He’s a friend of mine.”

Jamie and Kellen, who perform as The Coffis Brothers, have been invited back to Don Quixote’s on Thursday night Aug 26 beginning at 7:30 PM. Tickets are $8 and sales have been brisk.

Their music is described as ”original, organic, and all American” They really have “that brother thing” going on said KPIG’s Sleepy John Sandidge who introduced the pair on his Sunday morning live music show last Spring. They were booked by Tom Miller for a Tues night gig at the venerable Felton music hall where they so impressed that they were brought back for a 4th of July weekend show. It was at this show where they introduced the song “Mountain Man”, with the Bigfoot mention - to wild acclaim.

Their act includes a short set that showcases the vocal blend and songwriting prowess of the brothers - they have written over two dozen original songs and also perform a handful of creatively arranged covers of artists like the Beatles, Everly Brothers, Ray Charles, Tom Petty and more.- Jamie plays keyboards and Kellen plays guitar and harmonica. They are then joined by drummer Henry Chadwick, bassist Mason Hutchinson and guitarist Kyle Poppen for a longer set of songs written with the melodic sensibilities of pop, blues and R&B combined with the emotion and feel of good old fashioned Rock and Roll.

If the packed dance floor at their last DQ show was any indication they have a strong cross generational appeal. Will Bigfoot be among the dancers Thursday night? The only hint Coffis would provide comes from the song: “I told him he looks much smaller in person; he said ‘I get that all of the time.’ ”

(The Bigfoot Discovery Project and Museum is hosting an all day event Saturday at their Highway 9 location near Henry Cowell Redwood State Park in furtherance of the search for the truth. Music, art and serious discussion will be followed later by a celebration and a fund raiser at the Crepe Place in Santa Cruz featuring local ska king Dan P and his new band the Stitch Up, garage punk trio the Groggs and pop punkers Kepi Ghouli. Events at the museum are free. Tickets for the Crepe Place show are $10.)

Ben Lomond Author to Read in Saratoga


By Mary Ann Cook
for Los Gatos Weekly Times

LITERARY TWOSOME:

Sally Ashton and Kat Meads are local authors who met when both won artist fellowships from Arts Council Silicon Valley. Ashton is a poet; Meads writes prose and poetry, but both share a love of prose poetry and flash writing, which is a shortened form of short story writing. Ashton lives in Los Gatos; Meads is a former Los Gatan who now lives in Ben Lomond.

Both have new books out. Now the two have teamed up to present a reading and Q&A session at the Saratoga Library May 15. Ashton's latest book is Some Odd Afternoon. This follows hard upon her prose poem "Her Name is Juanita," which was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She teaches creative writing at SJSU and is editor of the online poetry/art journal DMQ Review.

Meads is the author of The Invented Life of Kitty Duncan, Sleep, Born Southern and Restless, Not Waving and four books of poetry. Her latest, Little Pockets of Alarm, was runner-up for the U. of Massachusetts Press Juniper Prize. She has received national and California grants and fellowships, plus artist residencies to Provincetown, Yaddo and Millay Colony.

Mead won the Chelsea award for fiction, the New Letters award for essay, and her short plays have been produced in New York and Los Angeles. Meads was writing program coordinator at UCSC Extension.

Ben Lomond Park Upgrades Approved, Funded

Santa Cruz County officials signed off on plans to improve the Ben Lomond Park on the river at Mill Street.  Using Proposition 40 funds and with the Board of Supervisors approval today, work should begin on the first phase soon.   Additional upgrades await word on whether additional money from the state will be forthcoming.  That is expected in September.

Phase 1 includes resurfacing the basketball court, new playground equipment and upgrades to the rest room facilities as well as various other improvements.  Approximately $400,000 will be spent between now and December to enhance the popular downtown Ben Lomond spot.

Additionally the Board of Supervisors asked the Park Department staff to begin exploring plans to restore the dam which creates a popular swimming hole in the summer and has been missing for a number of years.

Local community members have been working with Park staff to design the new layout and most are pleased with today's announcement.

Jefferson Award to Britney Overbeck

Britney Overbeck, the youth minister at Felton Presbyterian Church, and Ben Lomond native, will receive the prestigious Jefferson Award for outstanding volunteer service for her work organizing local volunteer efforts.  Michelle Camerlingo wrote a nice article for the Press-Banner in which she quotes Overbeck:  “I feel humbled by the award, it doesn’t just point out that I have done something good, but that my parents and the community in which I have been raised has done something good as well.”

Check out the full story: Service award singles out Ben Lomond woman

Conference on Torture and Accountability Scheduled for September in Ben Lomond

Two internationally known anti-torture activists will headline the third Quaker Conference on Torture to be held September 24-26 at the Quaker Conference Center in Ben Lomond CA. Human rights attorney and investigator Scott Horton will be the keynote speaker and Vietnam Veteran and founder of School of the Americas Watch , Father Roy Bourgeois will also be a featured speaker.

For more information visit the Quaker Initiative to End Torture.

LOVE APPLE FARM SEEDLING SALE START SATURDAY

Ben Lomond's Love Apple Farm's 2010 tomato seedling sale begins Saturday March 13 and will run through May 30 (or while supplies last). Over 100 varieties of heirloom and hybrid tomatoes will be available. Cynthia Sandberg and her intrepid interns have organized nearly 10,000 plants that will be sold for $3.50 or $5.50 depending on size.

The sale takes place at 9299 Glen Arbor Rd Saturdays, Sundays, and Tuesdays from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.

They'll also be available at the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show for five days, from March 24 to March 28, 2010.

You can get a list of varieties available at the Grow Better Veggies web site.

Ben Lomond Brothers to Headline at Don Quixote's in May

Jamie and Kellen Coffis are a couple of local boys, born and raised in the heart of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Ben Lomond. Jamie (piano and vocals) and Kellen (guitar, vocals and harmonica) blend their instruments and voices in a way only a pair of brothers could. New on the live music scene, the brothers are eager to bring their unique vocal harmonies and heartfelt melodies to the stage. Born into music, their mother Vicki Neville Coffis is a well known children's music artist and current member of the swing jazz band Jazz Birds.

Valley Women's Club Annual Meeting March 14 at Highlands Park

32nd Annual Meeting of Valley Women's Club 

The community is invited to hear comments on the state of the State, by State Senator Joe Simitian, and on the state of the 5th District, by Supervisor Mark Stone, at the Valley Women’s Club’s Annual General Meeting, to be held on Sunday, March 14th, from 11:30AM to 2:00PM at the Highlands Park Senior Center in Ben Lomond.

Mountains Art Center "Gift of Art" Reception 11/25

Handcrafted gifts by local San Lorenzo Valley artists will be on sale beginning Sunday through December 23rd at the Mountains Art Center on Mill St in Ben Lomond. Jewelry, textiles (wearable art), ceramics, wood, glass, baskets, paintings, cards, and ornaments will fill the gallery for your viewing and shopping enjoyment.

An Open House/Reception is scheduled for Sunday Nov 29 from noon to 6PM. The Gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 6PM.

Support our local artists and find some beautiful hand made items for the gift giving season.

McClish Appeal Denied

Appellate court upholds sex crimes conviction of Michael McClish 
Santa Cruz Sentinel

A preliminary hearing in the double homicide case involving the murder in Ben Lomond of Asha Veil and her unborn child in September 2006  is scheduled for Jan. 25th  at the Watsonville  courthouse.  McClish, is currently is serving an 18-year sentence at Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad for the earlier conviction.

Ben Lomond's Andy Levitre Impresses in NFL Debut on Monday Night Football

Andy Levitre, former standout lineman for SLV High School and Oregon State made his NFL debut for the Buffalo Bills in a heartbreaking loss to the New England Patriots in Foxboro. Levitre impressed announcer Ron Jaworski early on and then got a downfield block out in front of Fred Jackson on a screenplay which netted 21 yards on the Bills first touchdown drive.