There have been vacancies on several district and service boards lately. One that I have been unable to fill is a vacancy on the Etna Cemetery District with a term of office running until July 6, 2006. If you are interested in this position, please contact the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors at 842-8081 at the earliest possible date. Any appointment for this vacancy must be made at our Board meeting of August 2. 

I understand that the Scott Valley Family Resource Center (Scott Valley FOCUS) is looking to expand its Board of Directors to include wider representation from the Scott Valley Community. Please step forward with your energy and talents! Call 468-2450.

The Family Resource Center (SV FRC) is located between the post office and Scott Valley Bank on Main Street in Fort Jones. It is currently open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Drop ins are welcome. The FRC is a local place to go for resources and referral to services and programs available in Siskiyou County. They also send out a monthly newsletter to all residents in Scott Valley.  Look for it in your mailbox. 

SV FRC currently offers a computer lab and classes. Tai Chi and Senior exercise has been offered; parenting and business classes; art therapy and infant massage are among other activities. There is a teen music program with live concerts. Early Head Start, Alanon and other groups use the facility meeting rooms. Play groups are also offered in collaboration with Early Head Start. Mailbox Buddies provides a toy in the mail for young children, as well as ideas for parents on activities to do together with their children. The FRC also facilitates a children’s car seat program and Public Health’s bike helmet program.

By the way, save September 10 on your calendar for the annual Scott Valley Swap Meet and carnival ­ sponsored by the Scott Valley FRC.    

A while back I wrote a column about the new Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) or Prop. 63 effort. You should be seeing questionnaires soon. Please take a moment to read, complete and return them. Mental health is important to everyone and includes what we consider common stressors such as financial or relationship difficulties, loneliness or moving through an age transition. Data from the forms and input given during townhall meetings will give our local MHSA team a better picture of opportunities to improve general community mental health.

There is great news on watermaster fees. You may recall that the Department of Water Resources (DWR) proposed to raise fees from $84,760 in Scott and Shasta Valleys to $479,600. For some ranchers out in my neck of the woods in Quartz Valley, that meant their watermaster bill climbed from between $1,000 to $1,500 per year to $8,000 - $10,000 per year. The Governor’s budget appears to have rolled back the fees to their former level.

Until last year, the irrigator only paid half of that fee and the State the rest. Last year, California irrigators were made responsible for the entire fee. The Watermaster validates that diverters are taking no more than their adjudicated right. This is also an important issue to fisheries interests. In the Scott and Shasta Valleys, the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) paid the State’s usual share last year. This year, it was hoped that the BOR would continue to help with the fee, but this may not materialize.  

At the last Board of Supervisor’s meeting, there was discussion about the annual watermaster fee crisis and the possibility of looking into alternatives to the current DWR service. Any new arrangement would most likely have to have the blessing of Siskiyou County Superior Court, which maintains jurisdiction over the adjudications.  The Siskiyou County Farm Bureau, California Farm Bureau, SOSS and others will continue to look into possibilities.