The La Honda Voice

Local girl makes good with American Miss Cal Pageant

Excerpts by Stacy Trevenon in the half Moon Bay Review
(http://www.hmbreview.com/articles/2007/05/31/community/community_news/story4.txt)
         
"La Honda resident Shailo Rae Rushing is hopping with excitement these days. The athletic, animal-loving 12-year-old was recently picked as a state finalist in the National American Miss California Pageant. The pageant, set for late June, will culminate Saturday, June 30, when the new Miss National Pre-Teen of California is crowned at the Marriott Hotel in Santa Clara. Rushing was beside herself when she learned she was in the running. "She screamed and cried and hugged me," said her mother, Rebekah Rushing of La Honda...the National American Miss pageant celebrates the country and encourages future leaders, according to its Web site. It emphasizes self-confidence, learning new skills, good attitudes about competition, achievements and setting and reaching goals. Each year, it awards 1 million in cash, scholarships and prizes to assist in the development of young women nationwide. With family-oriented and age-appropriate activities, the pageant is held for girls ages 4 to 19 in five age groups. Shailo Rushing auditioned  in Santa Clara in late March and was told by pageant officials she had what it took...On her application,  Shailo, who attends sixth grade at Pescadero Elementary School, listed soccer and swimming, shopping, Girl Scouts, drama and dancing, hanging out with friends, going to movies and theme parks, fashion, animals and music as her interests. She hopes to be an actress, her mother said, or to work toward protecting animals. "She doesn't want anybody to hurt anything that's living," her mother said. Shailo is ready for the pageant. "Of course, I hope to win," she said with poise. "But I also want to learn how to be a better lady. Have more confidence."

La Honda's Scenic Drive slip-sliding away

Excerpted from article by Julia Scott, STAFF WRITER for insidebayarea.com
From: http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/ci_6019104

“The last time Larry Fama drove his 1971 Volkswagen Bug out of his driveway was in February 2005, before a huge landslide split the driveway in two and moved the asphalt, and the car sitting on it, 100 yards to the bottom of a hill.

Compared to some of his neighbors along Scenic Drive, Fama got off easy. At least his home is still there, as opposed to the eight homes within a quarter mile of this site that were condemned after damage from an even bigger landslide in 1998...

...After more than two years of meeting with county officials in an effort to get Scenic Drive repaired, a group of La Honda residents came to a Board of Supervisors meeting May 15, bearing a petition with 180 signatures from residents and demanding action.

"’It's been two years, and the county hasn't repaired the road. The way this has been handled has been an absolute disgrace, and if this had been happening in any city with a city attorney, this would never have been tolerated,’" said Jill Briggs, who presented the petition to the Board of Supervisors on behalf of the Cuesta La Honda Guild homeowners' association.

"’They know we're out here, and they're ignoring us.’"

Father indicted for murder

By Michelle Durand at the San Mateo Daily Journal ( http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=72081 )

"San Mateo County Sheriff ‘s Lt. Lisa Williams announced the arrest of Charles Edward Schuttloffel at a press conference in Redwood City Monday. Schuttloffel is accused of setting his home on fire and killing his two toddler sons in 2004.

The San Gregorio house fire that killed two young brothers in 2004 was not the tragic accident it’s been considered for nearly three years but rather a deliberate act of arson by their father, according to a criminal grand jury which indicted him on two counts of felony murder and one count of arson.

Sheriff’s deputies arrested Charles Edward Schuttloffel Sr., 36, at his Half Moon Bay home at approximately 7:30 a.m. Monday, five days after the grand jury returned the indictment on the charges plus four special allegations of multiple murder and murder during an arson. The special circumstances make Schuttloffel eligible for life in prison without parole or the death penalty although the District Attorney’s Office appears unlikely to take the capital route.

Authorities are remaining fairly mum on motive and means in the May 4, 2004 fire which killed William Leonard “Billy” Schuttloffel, 2, and Charles Edward “Charlie” Schuttloffel Jr., 3. However, the grand jury indictment indicates its belief the fire was an intentional act rather than an accident due to negligence...

...At 12:24 p.m., Charles Schuttloffel called 911 to report the house fire on the 900 block of Seaside School Road in San Gregorio. By the time California Department of Forestry and La Honda fire crews arrived, the blaze had totally taken over the home. The fire took approximately five hours to burn out.

Schuttloffel reportedly told authorities he tried to save his children but was prevented by the raging flames. Their bodies were recovered after the house collapsed and the fire extinguished...

...The tragedy shook the small town south of Half Moon Bay and the community rallied around Schuttloffel and his wife, Lana. The Old Princeton Landing Bar in Princeton-by-the-Sea even launched a fundraiser a week later to help the couple. The couple stayed together, renting a Half Moon Bay home and even having a daughter the following March, but the Sheriff’s Office kept their property declared a crime scene and the case was never considered closed. Last summer, specialized arson investigators were called in and reportedly indicated the fire appeared intentionally set. The presence of a methamphetamine lab was ruled out and only faint traces of possible accelerant remained."

This summer’s wildfire season could be bad, so prepare now

The early indicators of this year’s Wildfire Season point to an increased potential even here on the Coastside. Fires have already sprung up through out the state and just last weekend a wildland fire broke out behind the SLAC property on Sand Hill Rd. in Menlo Park. As of early May the State/ Federal 2007 Fire Season Outlook was not promising. It predicts an earlier than normal fire season, increased fire activity due to reduced rainfall and freeze killed vegetation from last winters cold snap. It also warns of a possible strain on the state’s fire suppression resources due to the increased Wildfire threat in the Serria and southern part of the state.
 
To help you prepare for this season our Wildland Fuels Reduction Program has returned. This year’s program features a drop off site located near the intersection of Entrada and Ventura in Cuesta La Honda. This site can be used free of charge by any coastside resident to drop off woody fuels removed from their property in an effort to come into compliance with state laws or as a part of a Wildfire improvement project. The site will be open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through July 8. Fuels dropped off at this location will be periodically chipped up by state fire crews. Information of this program can be viewed at http://www.Lahondafire.org            
 
We have several tools to help you understand what you can do to make your home as firesafe as possible. The La Honda Fire Brigade has a free Video Lending Library with tapes that show what you can be done to safeguard your home. Two of the best internet sites on this subject are http://www.firewise.org and http://www.fire.ca.gov. You can also contact any of the areas Fire Stations where fire personnel will be happy to answer your questions. They can be reached as follows: La Honda Fire- 747-0381, Cal-Fire Skylonda 851-1860, Cal-Fire Pescadero 879-0121. (Cal-Fire is the new name for CDF and acts as the San Mateo County Fire Dept.) PLEASE REMEMBER TO DIAL 911 FOR ALL EMERGENCIES. Do not call the stations directly.
 
Wildfire is a part of this states ecology and you can be assured fires will burn this year and most likely homes will be lost. It’s everyone’s duty to help reduce this threat and now is the time to do it.
 
If the La Honda Fire Brigade can be of any assistance you can reach us at the number shown above or E-mail the Chief at [email protected]

Larry Whitney
La Honda Fire Brigade

La Honda Faire and Music Festival will be June 16 and 17

Posted by Barry Parr in the Coastsider
(http://coastsider.com/index.php/site/news/2021/)
         
Musicians, artists and craftspeople will join together in La Honda to entertain and exhibit at annual La Honda Faire and Music Festival. The Faire is held in La Honda Gardens, in the California redwoods of La Honda. It is a two-day festival of music, celebration, and community.

Admission is free. Proceeds benefit the La Honda Elementary School art and music program. Come soak up some sun, listen to great music, and meet some new friends, including Jami Cassady Ratto and her husband Randy Ratto at the Neal Cassady Booth. No pets, please.

June 16 & 17th
10:00 am - 6:00 pm
La Honda Gardens [Google Map]
8865 La Honda Road
La Honda

Contact: Bonnie Fiedler [email protected] 650-747-0640

Saturday June 16th
11:00-11:30: Jack Mullins
11:40-12:10: Mystic Cowboy
12:30-1:10: Delta Vee
1:30-2:10: Pathetic Honey
2:30-3:10: Aidan Shiwa and Kerry Wing
3:30-4:10: DB Walker
4:30-5:10: The Bundy Browne Band
5:30-6:30: International Head Band

Sunday June 17th
11:00-11:30: Curtis Turner
11:40-12:10: Jerry Logan & Friends
12:30-1:10: Lisa Kelly Band
1:30-2:10: Seconds On End
2:30-3:10: Lighthouse
3:30-4:10: David Elias & XING
4:30-5:10: Mark Reid Band
5:30-6:30: Gary Gates Band

Calif. Bay Area Faces Landslide Hazards

From USGS and posted in insurancejournal.com ( http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2007/03/20/77854.htm )

"Although well aware of the region's earthquake threat, many San Francisco Bay Area residents are uninformed about another dangerous geologic hazard: landslides triggered by heavy rainfall. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the combination of steep slopes, weak rocks, and intense winter rainstorms make the Bay Area uplands an ideal setting for landslides.

USGS recently released a documentary film "Riding the Storm," produced by former USGS Geologist Karen Adams, telling the dramatic stories of some of the region's most significant landslide events and explores the science behind the hazard with USGS researchers Raymond Wilson and Ray Wells.

In January 1982 a single, catastrophic rainstorm triggered 18,000 landslides throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. The most destructive of these landslides was in the Love Creek area of the Santa Cruz Mountains, where a 1000-foot slab of heavily wooded hillslope crashed down without warning on sleeping residents of Love Creek Heights. Ten of the Love Creek residents were buried by the slide, USGS said.

During the drenching winter of 1997-1998, the strongest El Niño of the 20th century triggered a range of landslides in the Bay Area from deadly debris flows to destructive deep-seated slides. One of the El Niño-driven slides underlies an entire neighborhood in the La Honda area and destroyed 8 homes by the end of 1998. The slide reactivated in 2005 and is still on the move, displacing a county road and threatening two more homes, USGS indicated..."

Garden tour grows funds for schools

Excerpted from article by Suzanne Bohan, STAFF WRITER, San Mateo County Times located at (http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/ci_5926305)

"What does a rural school district with fewer than 300 students, grades K-12, do when residents have given all they can to support the local schools? Invite the world to buy tickets that provide entree to spectacular gardens growing on coastside properties. Then end the day inside a circa-1890 town hall with a reception featuring local wines and cheeses.

On Saturday, nine Pescadero property owners will open their private gardens for a public tour, called the "Gardens of the South Coast" tour. Several of the gardens surround 19th century homes and two historic ranches with expansive gardens also are opening their gates...

During the tour, gardeners will share their expertise with visitors, who can stroll through the properties at their own pace between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. At the wine and cheese reception, which runs from 4 p.m. to

6 p.m. at the Native Sons Hall in Pescadero, Jack McKinnon, a former gardener at Sunset Magazine, will share pruning techniques.

The Fifth Annual "Gardens of the South Coast" tour is sponsored by the Pescadero Education Foundation and La Honda Education Foundation. The proceeds benefit school sports, drama and dance classes and teaching staff at the La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District, which instructs 185 students in grades K-9 and 107 high school students...

Each year, local residents pledge more than $25,000 to support the school, Hodgkinson said, and in 2005 they also voted in a parcel tax to improve student achievement, attract and retain qualified teachers and improve library services. In 2006, residents also passed a school bond measure to upgrade buildings in the district...

Tickets start at $20 for a one-day garden tour pass. For more information, visit pescaderoschools.org/GardenTour or call (650) 879-9033.

Contact Suzanne Bohan at [email protected] or (650) 348-4324"