Reefer madness
Jeff Spicoli and his ilk are waaay bummed, dude. Local law enforcement seized 63,000 mature marijuana plants from four remote locations in a weeklong sweep, estimating the value of the haul at over a million dollars. Working in conjunction with the state Justice Department, local authorities stormed the steep, hilly sites by helicopter and destroyed the cannabis.
Narcotics task force officers have eradicated more than 100,000 marijuana plants so far this year, more than double the take of 42,000 plants by early August of last year. Along with camping gear and food stores, detectives discovered more than twenty pounds of harvested, groomed marijuana buds left out to cure at the edge of one of the crop sites, a practice they hadn’t encountered in years past. Despite this year’s aggressive campaign, no suspects were apprehended in the recent sweep.
Road rage
Tempers flared and motorists fumed as the traffic quagmire that is Highway 12 grew exponentially worse this week. Infrastructure construction and repair for the new Valley of the Moon Teen Center forced closure of the western lane of Highway 12 between Fetters and Mountain Avenues. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday motorists found the usual serpentine five o’clock crawl slowed to a bottlenecked stop as road crews alternated passage down the single lane between northbound and southbound traffic.
Big brother
is watching
Weary of finding their campus vandalized with graffiti and other general mischief, the Sonoma Charter School installed several hidden security cameras around the school grounds this week. The eye-in-the-sky devices have 180 degree roaming capacity and will be monitored by school volunteers. The Sonoma Charter School campus is unlocked on weekends to allow community access to the basketball courts, playing fields, and newly installed state of the art playground, and school officials are hopeful the brand new security will curtail the disappointingly destructive trend of recent guests.
Summer-summer, had me a blast
It’s a bitter pill to swallow: school’s back in session soon. Summer’s nearly over, friend. Sonoma Valley High School students “rush” this Saturday, fine tuning course schedules and signing up for fall sports between 8am-2pm. At Adele Harrison Middle School, students are expected to bring their completed registration packets to one of two sessions next week: Tuesday, August 14 or Wednesday, August 15 between 5-7pm. Altimira Middle School students register for classes by grade level Wednesday, August 15th from 4-8pm. To determine your assigned registration time, call 935-6020 for a recorded message. Special needs students from Altimira Middle School, Dunbar Elementary, and Sonoma Valley High School should report to their respective campuses for registration on Monday, August 20.
Cancer KO’d
Breaking all previous records, the 10th annual Relay for Life fundraiser collected more than $258,000 for cancer research, and organizers report that money is still streaming in. Hundreds of purple-clad volunteers circled the high school track Saturday, celebrating the lives of loved ones who’ve battled the disease. The relay team sponsored by Peterson Mechanical Inc. boasted donations totaling more than $24,000, securing their first-place fundraising finish. All proceeds directly benefit the American Cancer Society, which set a goal of $34.5 million dollars raised from the nearly 3000 separate Relays staged across the country this year.
