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PIC PICK – Let’s start this week’s column on a sad note. Early Sunday morning, Keith Nesbitt lost his wife Annie to cancer. The couple is shown in this photo while attending the Auburn Wine Festival in 2004 (at the time, Keith was campaigning for his Auburn City Council seat). Annie will be missed and our prayers are with Keith and their teenage son, Dylan. Keith asks that charitable donations, in lieu of flowers, be sent to Sutter Auburn Faith Cancer Support Group. A memorial service is planned for Nov. 3 at 1 p.m. at Lassila Funeral Chapel at 551 Grass Valley Highway in Auburn.
COPPING OUT? – When I attended the Auburn Wine Festival a few weeks
ago, I was struck by the lack of police vehicles in the area. For an
event with an alcohol focus, I figured the county’s “Beware the Seven”
coordinated law enforcement effort would be out in force. Come to think
of it, why weren’t the police cars hiding in the alleyways (as they do
for the Black & White Ball) after the Community Barbecue, the Wild
West Stampede, the Gold Country Fair or Oktoberfest? They all take
place at the Gold Country Fairgrounds in Auburn, so it isn’t like the
potentially inebriated drivers are spread out over a large area. Heck,
I don’t see a flood of police officers during Cruise Nite or Party in
the Park, either. Does anyone else see where I’m going with this? At a
Downtown Business Association general meeting held a few months before
September’s Black and White Ball, Auburn Police Sgt. Dave Lawicka told
the gathering that if they had enough officers on the road on any given
night, they could easily match the much-publicized 60-plus DUI arrests
they attributed to the 2006 Ball. Note that he said “any night,” not
just a weekend or special event night. While this year’s Ball had a
much lower DUI arrest count (hovering around 21 or 25, depending on who
is asked), the event also had fewer attendees. While no amount of drunk
drivers are acceptable, is this a case of age “profiling?” Many of the
area’s other events draw a more mature crowd, while the Ball is flooded
with people in their 20s and 30s. I think this is a question worth
asking. Now, I’m not some “buck-the-establishment” kind of guy. I have
respect for law enforcement officers and the work they do. My father
was a career police officer in Merced before he retired in 1997. I grew
up around cops and my dad often stopped by for family dinner in his
patrol car, his walkie-talkie squawking while we ate, a gun strapped to
his hip, badge shining and shoes polished. (Okay, enough reminiscing.)
I wonder if those planning to attend the Fall Brewfest in November at
The Ridge, a beer tasting event with an alcohol focus, should “Beware
the Seven?” OLD TOWN TALK – Ty Rowe, president of the Old Town Auburn Business
Association, should be commended for what he’s been doing behind the
scenes in the historic district. For example, during the Auburn Wine
Festival, Ty coordinated all the restaurants and wine-pouring venues to
make sure everything was taken care of. When something needs to get
done, he does it. So, the next time you’re in Old Town, give him a pat
on the back. (Ty and his lovely wife, Catherine, recently returned from a well-deserved vacation to Fort Bragg.)
BUSINESS BEAT – Thanks to Dave Rosenthal at KAHI for the bit of info
that Auburn will be getting yet another bank soon. I hear that 1st
National Bank will be one of the tenants in the otherwise-vacant Auburn
Towers building on lower High Street. ... It also looks like a business
will finally be moving into the old Downtown Hobbies location on
Lincoln Way. (Downtown Hobbies relocated to Grass Valley Highway, by
the way.) Cari Thachuk is relocating Bukovina to the space that was
once slated to be the home of Citizens Bank before it went into the old
Shiloh Center, but that’s another story. Thachuk specializes in
naturopathic medicine. ... More space has opened up in the Kmart
shopping center at Bell Road and Grass Valley Highway with the closure
of My Girlfriend’s Kitchen. AROUND TOWN– Say welcome home to Auburn’s Leona Wilson, who recently
spent two weeks in Minnesota. ... Thursday night, Chevreaux Concrete
hosted the monthly Auburn Chamber of Commerce mixer and plenty of
locals turned out of the shindig, including Ray and Irene Yamasaki,
Jeannette Klebofski, Dean Hoffman, Jim and Beckie King, Jerry Kopp,
Madonna Anglin, Steve Galyardt, Leslie Maita, Cindy and Forrest Eklund,
Enid Baldock, Gail Remington, Linda Maeding, Sharon Gannon, Monti
Reynolds, Tony Hazarian, Toni Ferrari, Theresa Martinez, Auburn Moving
Company’s Rob Huggins, Linda Robinson, Auburn City Council member Mike
Holmes, Leilani Vierra, Bob Roth, Casablanca Salon’s Shari Smith and
her hubby Ellis, Placer Theater Ballet’s Kevin Summers and Secure
Record Management’s Ray Whaley. Chevreaux’s Ed Simpson and his crew did
a bang-up job organizing the event. The next mixer will be held at
Mountain Carpets on Nov. 15. ... On Friday, the Leadership Auburn
Alumni organization held a special reunion at Sisters of Mercy in
Auburn. About 30 graduates attended. Some of those included Auburn City
Manager Bob Richardson, Auburn Mayor Bob Snyder, the Eklunds, Peggy
Seitzinger, Cathy Bianchi, Michael Barbieri, Placer County’s John
Marin, George Coe, Rodney Spangler, Lee Francia, Marsha McAnulty, Bill
Wharton (on a side note, his lovely wife Cindy in enrolled in the
current class) and Ralph Laird. Joanna Belanger, from the City of
Auburn, was also in attendance to present some of the city’s financial
numbers to the group. ... Saturday was one event-filled day. I started
off at Granlibakken at Lake Tahoe (still in Placer County) at the
Auburn Chamber of Commerce’s Planning Conference, headed up by incoming
Chamber President Cindy Eklund. Plenty of the usual suspects attended,
but there were also a few new faces at the table such as Carpe Vino
owner Gary Moffat, Auburn Police Sgt. Victor Pecoraro, Pat Aiello and
Tina Ferreira. At the same time, the resort also hosted the retreat for
the 2008 Leadership Auburn Class. During the few times we were in the
same room, I spotted Susan Teixeira, Dr. Bill Kirby, Auburn Recreation
District board member Curtis Smith, Larry Au, Leslie Maita and many
more. The class has 24 students, according to Christine Rydell, who was
acting as a facilitator for the Leadership retreat. (In the “it’s a
small world department,” I also bumped into my brother-in-law, Will
Hallett of Reno. He was presenting at a UNR Dept. of Microbiology
conference two doors down the hall.) ... Meanwhile in Auburn, the
Community Festival was in full swing with KAHI’s Dave Rosenthal acting
as emcee. More than 20 recipes were entered in the contest this year
(headed up by Rachel Chaddock and Peggy Seitzinger). I also hear that
Becky Martin was manning a Leadership Auburn information booth
throughout the day. ... Later on Saturday, we headed over to the Auburn
Endurance Expo at the Gold Country Fairgrounds. The turnout was great,
of course. Auburn City Council member Bridget Powers was one of the key
organizers and she was certainly busy running around when we arrived.
The lovely Jennifer Richardson, microphone in hand, acted as emcee
along with local athlete Brad Kearns. I also spotted Keith Nesbitt,
City Manager Bob Richardson, Kevin Hanley, Monti Reynolds, City Finance
Director Andy Heath, CalStar’s Sonja Maggard, Cynci Calvin, Scott
Jurek, Lisa Kodl, Dan Tebbs, Gordy Ainsleigh, and Potato Richardson. Don Chaddock is the executive editor of the Sentinel. His column,
“Biscuits and Gravy,” publishes every Friday. He may be reached at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
or by calling 530-823-2463.
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