Tag: Felton

The ground was officially broken for the new Felton Library last Saturday, which brought together a large group of dedicated community members, several local elected officials and many county staff members to celebrate. The symbolic act of turning a shovel of dirt didn’t take long, but represented the culmination of more than a decade of collaborative effort to build a brand new, 8,900 square foot library in Felton.

Rarely does a person give back so much to the neighborhood she settled in as Vicki Wees. Wees, now 64-years-old, first moved into a rented house in the Felton Grove neighborhood in 1979, when she was 25. Except for a few years here and there, Wees has lived in Felton Grove ever since. About 10 years ago, as something of a hobby, Wees began collecting historic photographs, documents and maps of the Felton Grove neighborhood.

Many in Felton still miss the noon-time testing of the WWII-vintage civil defense fire siren that was discontinued back in 2016 after it got stuck on “on” and truly alarmed the community, according to long-time Fire Chief Ron Rickabaugh. 

Ah, it’s that most anticipated time of the year- the spring garden tour season and I’m really looking forward to being inspired and learning something new at the same time. What could be better?

A couple of months ago I met with local 4-H club members as they started to plan for their upcoming spring project. This year 4-H members from Felton, Scotts Valley and Quail Creek in the Zayante area are putting their minds and enthusiasm to good use to further educate themselves and the community about the importance of beneficial insects to our world. They will share their efforts at the upcoming Felton Library Friends Garden Tour on May 19th. Proceeds from the tour will benefit the new Felton Branch Library and Nature Discovery Park project slated to break ground this summer.

Patience, persistence, luck and the hard work of many people over several years have brought the dream of a new branch library in Felton to fruition. But there’s more than just a new library - the project will include a Nature Discovery Park in the wooded areas and around Bull Creek next to the new library that will be an outdoor environmental education center designed mostly for children. All this is scheduled to break ground late this summer.    

The partnership between local herbalist and acupuncturist Michael Tierra and Roxanne Moore, program manager for Mountain Community Resources happened, you could say, naturally.

A tightly-knit team of AmeriCorps environmental workers this week wrangled with patches of stubborn Himalayan Blackberry bramble — removing more than 5,000 of the noxious weeds.

Back in October, to the relief of many and real disappointment of others, the Mt. Hermon Association announced there would be no plans for a “Velocity Mountain Bike Park” on Felton Meadow. Mt. Hermon informed the Felton community via its website, stating, “The costs associated with developing the Felton Meadow property have exceeded our current capabilities and we have decided to forego any development.” Many residents in Felton remember the sharp community opposition to a large housing project proposed on the meadow back in 2008. Prior to Mt. Hermon buying the 15-acre property, situated between the Felton Faire shopping center and Zyante Road, it was considered a local treasure of open space. A holding aquifer of wetland that mitigates flooding and wildlife sanctuary. But the property is, nonetheless, the private property of the Mt. Hermon Association.