Greenwood/Elk
Calendar for February
• Mendocino County Bookmobile will here Feb. 4 and 18 at 1 p.m., in the Greenwood State Beach parking lot.
• The Artists’ Collective Gallery in Elk is featuring its newest member, Kelley Kieve this month. Kieve does mixed media, layered acrylics, and collage. Check out her website at kelleykieve.com. The Artists’ Collective in Elk is located at 6031 S. Highway 1 in “Greater Downtown” Elk and is open every day from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 707-877-1128.
More on the Navarro
The mouth of the river opened with this last big rain so hopefully, the anadromous salmon are on their way home! Also, I received a phone call from a concerned and well-informed river lover last week and she corrected me about my writing that duckweed (Lemnoideae) and Azolla are synonymous — they are not one and the same, but both are aggressive in their growth and will deprive a body of water of oxygen. She agreed that it is not normal to see either in the river.
I have not verified which of these aquatic plants is the one growing on the surface, but it seems with the estuary now open the growth has somewhat if not entirely abated. Fingers crossed for more rain so the river can start regaining its health and equilibrium.
EVFD’s “Big Wheel”
Captain Tony Cook of the Elk Volunteer Fire Department reports that the Department now has its own “Big Wheel!” During a cliff rescue a couple of years ago, they were introduced to this helpful contraption when Mendocino Volunteer Fire Department arrived on-scene with their “Big Wheel.” It proved to be the perfect piece of equipment for the situation. The victim was put in a rescue litter (basket) with a wheel attached underneath and was then rolled rather than carried the lengthy distance to the waiting ambulance. Captain Cook further explained that the “Big Wheel” the Department has is modified with a trailer hitch that attaches their electric ATV (a donation from a resident of the fire district). This modification makes it even easy for a victim to be transported safely to medical help. Second Assistant Chief Jay Penrod who was on the cliff rescue where they used Mendocino’s “Big Wheel” said that it was a huge help to be able to roll the litter rather than carry it, but it is still fatiguing. So, having this new and improved “Big Wheel” with the ATV attachment will make future rescues even more efficient. It’s good to hear our busy volunteers’ jobs will be a little less strenuous next time there is a need to transport a victim overland.