Nov. 17, 2021
Liz Writes Life
Rising from the
fire
There is good news
for Hornbrook!
As community
members huddled in a shelter during the Klamathon Fire in July 2018, a unity began to
blossom sparking hope and a plan to rebuild Hornbrook and the surrounding community
of about 650 residents.
“From the ashes of
the Klamathon Fire came the beginning of a new era for Hornbrook,” explains Pat
Miller, who united with friends declaring that Hornbrook was not going away.
“We decided to build back a clean, safe, vibrant community.”
Pat serves as
president of the Hornbrook Community Association, which has been improving the
old J & D Diner for their community building. Previous to the July 5, 2018 Klamathon
Fire, the Hornbrook Grange served as the center for community activities. But,
the old Grange building was destroyed, along with the historical part of town,
as high winds pushed a garbage can fire into an inferno.
Improving the bathrooms
is the major project that must be completed before the building can be opened
to the public. It must meet American Disabled Act regulations. They have held
several activities outside the building. A Halloween Trunk or Treat was
especially successful with over 70 children, with parents, showing up to
participate.
This is a success
story, because many people, groups and the county government jumped in to help
Hornbrook, which also lost much of its water system in the fire. The county has
aided the town in restoring the water system with Siskiyou Co. Dist. 5
Supervisor Ray Haupt working through red tape and supporting the residents in
their desire to rebuild. Pat says that Ray is their advocate and he let the
group know that the county could help and support their rebuilding efforts.
Rick Dean, the
Siskiyou Co. Community Development Director, and his staff have been
invaluable, according to Pat. They encouraged the creation of a Memorandum of
Understanding with the county to apply for a state Community Development Block
Grant. The biggest need was to purchase a building to serve as a hub for the
distribution of community services, activities and hold events. The grant of
$99,072 was received earlier this year and recently $97,000 went to purchase
the J & D Diner located at 15439 Hornbrook Road.
As part of the MOU
and the state grant, the community association will report to the county
throughout the next five years with their activities and services that aid
Hornbrook. Other leaders of the Hornbrook Community Assoc. are: Belle Sloan,
Bett Peterson, Lorrain Sargent, Jodi Fitzgerald and Doreen Bellach.
“We are so thankful
for all the help we have received from so many people,” said Pat after a recent
board meeting. The group is cohesive and determined.
With the weather
getting colder, the association hopes to complete the ADA regulations for the
bathrooms and ramp as soon as possible. Maybe a Christmas party will
christen the building as the new community center in December. What a great
gift that would be for Hornbrook!
Super
duper rain!
A
friend checked out the NOAA weather site to see how the October rainfalls
looked in Scott Valley and sent them to me. My goodness they were great. Well
worth sharing! It seemed like we had much more rain than normal here in
Callahan and we did. It measured 4.96 inches, which is 382 percent of average.
Wow!
Fort
Jones was at 193 percent of normal with 2.32 inches and Quartz Hill came in a
bit lower at 2.11 inches, which is 144 percent of average.
Then,
NOAA reported 8.9 inches of snow in Middle Boulder on Nov. 9. This is great
news. Maybe this drought will be over – as long as this weather pattern keeps
up!
Christmas tree
permits
Klamath
National Forest has announced that Christmas tree
permits are only available online through “Recreation.gov” and are valid
from November 13, 2021, to December 31,
2021. Permits cost $10 per tree plus $2.50 service charge.
Garden
Sure have enjoyed
the many rains this fall. It makes for a good excuse to put-off-for-another-day
the pruning and cleaning of the garden. So, I appreciate picking up my
grandson, Bryce, (after school) to help me work at cleaning up the garden. Boy,
those dry hollyhocks are a pain to cut-down and haul-off. I shouldn’t let so
many grow! But, they sure add to the lusciousness of the summer garden. Need to
get the yucky zucchini vines cleaned up and then start cutting back the
perennial plants like tansy, yarrow, Shasta daisies and the annual flowers.
Should cut the comfrey (it has already fallen over) and use it as mulch over
the potatoes, but need to dig 10 pounds or so to store in the house, first.
And the one job
that I really need to do is cut back most of the huge lilac that keeps sending
up suckers so close to the house foundation. Oh, and the two extra tall rose bushes
that haven’t been pruned for three years! Yep, might take all winter to get
these jobs done!
Some friends tell
me they are still eating tomatoes that are ripening from their boxes of green
tomatoes. I didn’t store many green tomatoes and they have all ripened. Darn,
should have stored more.
Want to remind
gardeners -- now is a good time to plant your garlic. Yep, I need to clear-off
a spot for my planting. Also, remember to get manure on your rhubarb during
these winter months. Just pile it on several inches deep. Last year, I learned
that horse manure really does produce a huge batch of rhubarb – all summer
long!
May peace and calm
be with you this week. Smile – just cuz it makes you feel better!
Liz Bowen began
writing ranch and farm news, published in newspapers, in 1976. She is a native
of Siskiyou County. Columns from the past can be found at:
lizwriteslife.blogspot.com. Call her at 530-467-3515.
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