Village Chat
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New Year’s Day baby Kaila Joy Seyms. |
It's six down and one to go for Jon Reiter. On Jan. 27, he and fellow climber Jacob Lange successfully summited Aconcagua, the highest mountain in South America at 22,841 feet, and the highest mountain in the world outside of Asia. Jon has now successfully summited the highest peaks on six continents, and the only one he has left is Mt. Everest.
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Jacob Lange (left) and Jon Reiter atop Aconcagua, highest peak in South America. (Check out their sign!) |
Mike Cushman stopped by the office the other day and we hardly recognized him. Since having a gastric sleeve operation three months ago, Mike has dropped 55 pounds. His goal is 100 pounds. But that's not the best part. Mike went from taking 13 different medications to zero, his bad cholesterol has plummeted, and he says he feels 25 years younger. Congratulations, Mike, and keep up the good work!
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From left, Sonoma Valley 4-H members Hunter Halkovich and Harrison and Elizabeth Caughey after the Viticulture Challenge at Shone Farm, part of the Sonoma County Youth Grapevine Contest. |
On Jan. 21, Kenwood kids Elizabeth and Harrison Caughey, and Hunter Halkovich, participated in the Annual Sonoma County Youth Grapevine Contest held at Santa Rosa Junior College's beautiful Shone Farm. The three did exceptionally well. In the age 9 and under category, Hunter earned first place and Harrison third place in the Viticulture Challenge, which tested the participant's knowledge of viticultural practices in general, and Sonoma County viticulture in particular, in a Jeopardy-style quiz, complete with buzzers and all. In the 11 and under age group Elizabeth earned first place. For the pruning component of the competition, participants were each given a vigorous, brushy, and really thick Syrah vine to prune. They were judged on skill, speed and safety. Harrison won first place and Hunter third place, while Elizabeth earned first place as well. Medals were awarded for each competition, and first place winners received plaques for the quiz and belt buckles for the pruning. The Sonoma Valley 4-H Viticulture Team, led by Pat Stornetta, earned First Place Overall.
Bernard is back! Nigel Hall's cat, Bernard, went missing at the end of September, and despite numerous efforts to find him, there was no trace. Turns out that Bernard had made his way to Skyhawk where a family looked out for him and fed him. But since Bernard lived outside and the weather was turning cold, the family gave him to a friend in Bennett Valley who could keep him in her house. She took him to the vet for a check-up; it turned out Bernard has a microchip, and voila! The vet called Nigel, and now Bernard is back home in Kenwood where he belongs.
On Feb. 19 at 4 p.m., Robert Young, director of music at St. Patrick's, will perform works of J.S. Bach on organ, piano and the church's newly acquired harpsichord. This is a free concert and all are welcome. There will be a retiring offering. Robert is a gifted musician and St. Patrick's has great acoustics, so if you're a classical music fan you won't want to miss this local treat.
Do you have a Kenwood love story? Kari Holmes is working on a video project, and she wants to know how people found and fell in love with our tiny town. What was it that brought you here? Was there a serendipitous moment, or did it build up over time? Kari is interested in how and why people end up in Kenwood, and also in the many coincidences and moments of synchronicity that occur in the process. She got the idea for the project from her own experience, and the fact that although she is from a small town on Long Island, there are at least three other Kenwood residents from the neighboring towns of Glen Head and Glen Cove on Long Island who all, independently, ended up living here within a few miles of one another. If you fell in love with Kenwood and want to share your story, you can contact Kari at karilou@comcast.net, or call 833-1114.
That's all for now. If you have an item for Village Chat, you can send your news and pictures to ann@kenwoodpress.com, or call 833-5155 and chat me up! - AQP
Email: ann@kenwoodpress.com
