OLD TOWN TALK – To quash rumors that rambunctious youngsters are taking over Old Town, a meeting of that district’s business association was held in the back room of Marybelle’s on Thursday morning last week. For an association that was on the brink of bankruptcy a few years ago, conservative money management (which included some controversial decisions, such as canceling the group’s contract for the billboard on Interstate 80, which used to cost them about $24 grand annually) has brought the organization into the black. Auburn City Manager Bob Richardson had high praise for the merchants. “You’re on a real successful track right now,” he said. “You’ve completely turned the train around.” Setting up committees that handle issues separately from the general membership (returning to them with proposals for approval), closely watching expenses and trying to turn decades-old festivals into vibrant revenue-generating events for the association and its members has been difficult. One of the “apparent” wedge-driving issues was the decision to move Country Christmas from Saturday to a weeknight. I say apparent, because when it was brought up at the general membership meeting, 16 of the 17 voting members in attendance were in favor of the change. Gary Lord pointed out that Country Christmas used to be held on Tuesday evenings and was only moved about a dozen years ago to Saturdays so the new Holiday Inn could market the event for weekend packages. When the whole thing was said and done, only one member voted against changing the day of Country Christmas to a weeknight. The committee will be meeting to discuss the new day of the week, how many times the event should be held (once, twice, thrice?) and how close it should be to Christmas. They will then report back to the general membership in two weeks.

TOON TOWN – It’s been a while since an editorial cartoon has graced our pages and this week we are fortunate to have Bob Taylor saluting Joe Carroll. Mr. Taylor wrote, “I submit this merely as a personal tribute to Joe Carroll – whose persistent pursuit helped bring down the scoundrel and demagogue.” Mr. Taylor, in case you didn’t know, is nationally recognized. He was a regular cartoonist for the Dallas Times Herald (which folded in 1991 after more than 100 years in the ink biz) and his work was distributed nationwide through News America Syndicate. Thank you very much, Mr. Taylor. (To see the cartoon, pick up a copy of the print edition of the Sentinel, available at locations in Lincoln, Rocklin, Loomis, Newcastle, Penryn, Meadow Vista, Auburn, Colfax and Lake of the Pines).

PLOT PROBLEM – Trouble is brewing for one local cemetery. It appears that when the Lincoln Cemetery acquired the old Catholic cemetery in 1954, the church gave them a map showing burial plots and ownership. The problem is, there doesn’t seem to be a plot for Mary Farinha. You may recall that Mary was honored by the Placer County Board of Supervisors late last year in honor of her 105th birthday. Mrs. Farinha passed away Jan. 25 and when the family began planning her funeral, they were told the plot next to her husband (who was buried in the old Catholic cemetery in 1947, seven years prior to the transfer to the Lincoln Cemetery) now belonged to someone else and there was no record indicating Mary ever owned the plot next to her husband. There is a double headstone over Mr. Frank Farinha’s Lincoln grave, awaiting Mary’s name and information. Mary’s daughter, Terry, told me the family will have to move Frank’s remains to the New Auburn Cemetery so the couple can have side-by-side plots. I’ll be looking into this issue a little deeper in coming weeks, but no matter what I discover, it’s a sad situation for any family to go through.

AUBURN AUGUR – As some may have already heard, our beloved Joe Carroll (who pens the weekly “Auburn Augur” column in the Sentinel) is under the weather so I will do my best to keep up with local political circles and keep you informed until his return ...

DOOLITTLE DOINGS – It seems Rep. John Taylor Doolittle’s announcement that he will not seek re-election caught the eye of the editorial board at the New York Times. Published Jan. 23, the editorial titled “A Reminder from Mr. Doolittle” called on Congress to create a non-partisan oversight committee tasked with handling allegations similar to those plaguing Doolittle. According to the editorial, “The House’s own ethics panel was notoriously passive and uncurious during the Abramoff go-go years in which five Republicans ensnared themselves with luxury junkets and quid pro quo politicking. Mr. Doolittle’s wife enjoyed a soft job on the Abramoff payroll and also drew unusual paychecks cut from her husband’s own campaign treasury. Speaker Nancy Pelosi is reportedly determined to move ahead with the proposal for a new oversight office employing six nonpartisan outsiders, appointed by the two party leaders. This would be a definite step forward. The office would vet allegations of members’ misconduct and refer serious cases to the ethics committee for, we hope, conclusive investigation.” Doolittle has said he will not endorse a candidate to replace him in this year’s June primary, as he’s interested in seeing how it all shakes out, but there are still plenty of contenders for his post, including Theodore Terbolizard (featured in Joe’s column last week).

WILD WEST – “Her Blazing Saddle,” a short film produced by Three Blind Mice (Bob Richardson, Monti Reynolds and Harvey Roper), made its premier at the Auburn Chamber of Commerce’s 101st installation and awards dinner on Saturday at the Elks Lodge. The video spoof of “Blazing Saddles” featured many local notables in Old West attire doing their best to recall what they learned in high school drama classes and finally put those “talents” to work. Some of the folks appearing in the film included former Auburn Chamber of Commerce presidents Ralph Roper, Steve Galyardt, Brad Weston and Forrest Eklund (husband of Cindy, the organization’s newest president). Others included Auburn City Councilmembers Mike Holmes, Bridget Powers, Bob Snyder and Keith Nesbitt. Approximately 200 persons attended the dinner on Saturday. Some of those I spotted at the swell shindig were Ty and Catherine Rowe, Jennifer Richardson, Fred Relyea, Bob and Eileen Ferber, State Sen. Dave Cox, State Assemblyman Ted Gaines, Norma Harris, Christine Rydell, Peggy Seitzinger, Karen Grunwald, Gary Moffat, Janice Forbes and Ken Geil, Tony Hazarian, Karen Hancock, Sharon Gannon, Kelly Fulfer, Debi Lawrence, Placer County District 3 Supervisor Jim Holmes, Jack Amick, E. Ken Tokutomi, Bill and Nancie Radakovitz, Police Chief Valerie Harris, Pat Aielo, Linda Robinson, Chip Perley, the always lovely Leslie Maita, Wayne Manning, Karla and Martin Tilley, Dr. Bill Kirby, Sutter Auburn Faith's Mindy Donovaro and many others.

As I began writing this week’s column, it was Sunday morning and a roaring fire was burning in the fireplace while my cup of joe sat on the side table surrounded by candles. Four long tapers were burning bright enough for me to put pen to paper and I realized we’d been living this way since early Friday morning – three days without electricity. (The snapshot this week was taken in our living room early Saturday evening, just as the sun was beginning to set.)

The home phone, which also runs on electricity, was dead. (I sure do miss rotary telephones). No television reports, Internet or radio programs (unless I wanted to listen to repeats of Rush Limbaugh or hear San Francisco weather updates) were available to keep me informed. Luckily, Depoe Bay – as well as most of the rest of Downtown and Old Town Auburn – had power so I was able to run out and get coffee.

Our next door neighbors finally gave up and headed to a hotel on Saturday when PG&E couldn’t give them an estimate for power restoration. Living in Downtown Auburn has its share of challenges (rowdy high school students, litter and parking problems), but we live in town so these sorts of things – such as extended power outages – won’t happen. Neighbors across the street and to the right of us had power, but for about a dozen homes and a few businesses in our neighborhood (such as Taco Tree), that wasn’t the case.

AROUND TOWN – The Sentinel staff and friends enjoyed a wonderful Christmas luncheon at Bootleggers in Old Town last week. It was nice to see some of our regular contributors such as Bill Martin, who pens “Sierra College Notebook,” Gary Moffat (“Other Side of Auburn”) and John McCreadie, who writes feature stories and profiles. We also recognized the efforts of our staff and all the hard work they put in to make sure this newspaper gets in your hands. I want to personally thank Deborah Mangione, Rachel Chaddock, Andrew Lukkonen, Rich Kendall, Erin Gallup-Main (who is leaving for a state job), Lorelei Berry (who recently left so she can be a stay-at-home mom) and those who couldn’t attend, like Reene Abbott (our copy editor), Kevin Maguire (who handles distribution in our North Placer area), Nancyjo Riekse (who pens the “Season’s Choice” recipe column), and Kevin Hanley (writer of the “Common Sense” column), for everything they did throughout the year. In 2008, we have a lot of exciting things happening, so stay tuned.

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AROUND TOWN – When looking over the attendance roster of Keith Nesbitt’s swearing-in as Auburn’s mayor last Thursday, one may have mistaken the gathering for a business mixer or Rotary meeting.  Oh sure, there were the usual politicos such as former Auburn Mayor Annabel McCord (whom Joe Carroll refers to as the grand dame of city politics), but there were also plenty of folks whose faces aren’t as familiar at City Council meetings. For the record, I spotted Steve Cavolt, Jerry Kopp, Nancie and Bill Radakovitz, Debi Lawrence, Sonja Vargas, Steve Conklin, Gary Capps, Liz Briggs, Thomas “T.J.” Jackson, Jeff Moore, city Planning Commission member Ray Merz, Auburn Chamber of Commerce President Steve Galyardt, Leslie Maita, Rudy and Ann Rivero, Stephanie Snyder, Monti Reynolds, Jim Fallbeck, E. Ken Tokutomi, Dick and Jane Amick, Jim and Beckie King, Linda Robinson, Gary Moffat, Auburn Fire Chief Mark D’Ambrogi, Alan Young, Auburn Fire Capt. Corey Zander, Auburn Police Chief Valerie Harris, city Finance Director Andy Heath, and many others. ... Craig Graham, founder of AuburnBuzz.com, is turning 40 on Dec. 31 and will be celebrating with friends at the Monkey Cat in Downtown Auburn.