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In 11 years as head baseball coach at San Lorenzo Valley High, Ross Parmenter has spent every spring pushing to rebuild the emphasis on baseball the school. What was once a mighty program for the Cougars had tapered off since he left the area.

Thomas the Tank Engine had just finished carrying one of his last groups of passengers from Roaring Camp Railroads along the San Lorenzo River and back. Friday, July 29, was his first day of the first of two three-day weekends of full schedules of 30-minute rides for his fans.Then the Really Useful Engine got the call from CalFire dispatchers: They needed his help to bring an injured swimmer from the Garden of Eden swimming hole a couple miles down the track to an evacuation helicopter.CalFire would say later that the track – and Thomas – offered the fastest and most direct route for the rescue crew in the rugged mountain terrain.Thomas was up the task, taking the rescuers to the riverbank spot, then carrying them, with an injured 22-year-old woman, back to Roaring Camp. A rescue vehicle took her from there to a nearby helicopter landing area at Henry Cowell Park where Stanford Life Flight carried her to Stanford Medical Center for treatment of a head injury sustained in a fall at the popular swimming spot. She was not identified.Roaring Camp estimated that up to 30,000 people would visit Thomas and related activities on each of these special weekends. Felton has a population of about 4,000.The Thomas train is to return to Roaring Camp for two weekends in October.Hundreds of workers on these special weekends who are affiliated with local non-profits donate their wages to their organizations.They include Santa Cruz County Friday Night Live, Valley Elite Cheer, San Lorenzo Valley Rotary Club, Girl Scouts of California Central Coast, and Sunrise House. The groups raise from several hundred dollars to up to $6,000 each.

I was talking with a neighbor the other day, and I asked him how life was going. He replied, ‘Oh, you know, it’s like an EKG graph; up and down.”  This got me thinking about the heartbeat of life. It does consist of up and down phases. With Covid-19, social justice issues, and politics, this has been a challenging year. These stressors are on top of the other difficulties we are already experiencing in our own personal lives. Then came the fires, which pushed most all of us over the edge into emotional exhaustion. In the heartbeat of life, we are definitely experiencing a down phase on that EKG graph!

Claire English, now a 4th grader at BrookKnollElementary School in ScottsValley, was born a healthy baby that loved to laugh and play. However, after her first birthday, she was not able to pull herself up to stand. When she was two years old, she was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Rett Syndrome.

Today, Friday, May 15, is the first day of the three-day Steady Ed Memorial Masters Cup disc golf tournament at DeLaveaga Disc Golf course.

Those of you who read my column regularly might have noticed I often write about plants that are valuable to the birds and the bees as well as butterflies and wildlife in the general. I have 10 bird feeders around my house. Four for the hummingbirds and the other six have black oil sunflower seed and hulled chips. At this time of year when there are so many young the extra food is much appreciated. I provide water and nectar plants for the bees and butterflies as well. If I had to choose one plant to grow that would provide the most benefit for all the critters it would be ceanothus. Hands down, it’s the best and here are some of my favorite varieties.

Hell Week language is scary. The drill descriptions are strong enough to put the fear of retribution into any young football player’s heart. Found on the coach’s advisory web site are these Hell Week ‘two-a-days’ drills:Discipline: Up downs, Suicides, Running (a lot, like 2 miles non stop), Death valley bear crawl (bear crawling with someone on your back)Hard hitting: Bull in the ring, Hitting tackling dummyBlocking: Pushing the sled, One-on-ones So the lingo is often scary. If you were in some other location where the coaches might have a ‘drill-sergeant’ like attitude and a ‘what-won't-kill-you-will-make-you-stronger’ mentality, those deadly terms were often prophetic.In 2003, heat-exhaustion deaths made the National Collegiate Athletic Association prohibit ‘two-a-days’ on consecutive days during the first five days of practice. NFL eliminated them all-together.In local high schools, the first few days are without helmets and padding, to ease dehydration.Both San Lorenzo Valley and Scotts Valley high schools started football practices on Monday, August 10. Led by head coaches, respectively, Dave Poetzinger and Louie Walters, both teams prepare for the first competition – Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League's 2015 ‘FOOTBALL JAMBOREE’, to be held on Friday, August 28 at 5:30 pm at the Cabrillo College.Scotts Valley has a really ambitious preseason schedule, highlighted by the September 18 game at the 49’s Levi Stadium vs. Watsonville HS.On a sad note, it seems the Falcons’ new sports complex won't have the stadium lights as planned, due to a threatened lawsuit by the neighboring residents. In the past, Santa Cruz High School faced a similar predicament when their lights were to be installed. They solved their problem by using lower poles and special lighting with modifiers that prevent excessive light-spillage outside of the stadium. Perhaps not all is yet lost for the Falcons.

The Church of San Agustin, nestled in the hills above Santa Cruz, is named after the original Mexican Land Grant, “San Agustin Ranchero,” which comprises all of the Scotts Valley area. The parish was established in 1969, three years after the small community of Scotts Valley incorporated into a city. A house on the property was remodeled to become the parish rectory. The first Mass was celebrated in a field next this house on June 8, 1969 by our first pastor, Father Michael MacDonald. Mass was also celebrated at the Scotts Valley School and then in an enlarged converted barn/garage on the property until ground breaking for the new multipurpose building began in September of 1969. The building was completed the following year in September of 1970. Our beautiful Spanish mission style cross was fashioned by the San Agustin Men’s Committee from a Santa Cruz Mountain redwood tree. Its dedication in April 1971 marked the first Easter in the new chapel. The Sante Fe train bell hanging over the church was given to the parish by the Weinmann family and installed in April of 1972 and later dedicated to the memory of our first pastor, Father Mac. 

By Bruce McPherson, County Supervisor It’s an understandable instinct at the end of each calendar year to wrap up undone business and start the new year fresh. Unfortunately, 2020 will not afford us that opportunity as two big issues will carry over into 2021 and...