Foothills Sentry - October 2023

Foothills Sentry Page 8 October 2023 “Siri, take me to Silvera- do Canyon” Ampersand folk! The 53rd Annual Silverado Country Fair & Folk Festival is almost here. It’s two days of music (folk, bluegrass, blues and rock) in the heart of Silvera- do. Longtime canyon favorite Cubensis is featured --- playing Grateful Dead covers --- and an arts and crafts fair, food court, kids’ activities, a bespoke sa- loon, and the Friends of the Li- brary Boutique, where all sales benefit materials purchase and programming at the Libraries of the Canyon. Our Community Center, fairgrounds and play- ground are all spruced up, thanks to the Silverado Modjeska Parks and Recreation District board (with more improvements on the way!), so that festival volunteers and Canyonites are indeed eager to welcome both locals and visi- tors, with plenty of free parking and a commitment to safety in a family-friendly environment. See the website for complete musical lineup and events: sil- veradocountryfair.org . Plan to attend both days, Sat., Oct. 14, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. and Sun., Oct. 15, 10 a.m.-dusk. Costumes and dress-up encouraged. You’ll meet local artists, hikers, outlaws, na- ture lovers, steampunks, hippies, cowboys, pirates and cyclists -- or people dressed like them, anyway. Volunteers needed, wel- come and relied upon. Contact silveradofair@gmail.com . Just sayin’ Need another reason to visit Silverado? Xacalli Kitchen is a farm-to-table Mexican restaurant that serves up regional Mexican cuisine, sublime cocktails, Baja wine, and amazing desserts. Xa- calli is pronounced “Ha-call-ee.” It’s a Nahuatl word meaning “hut.” Kitchen is pronounced “kitchen.” Reservations required. Enemies of the library See above to support the Li- brary of the Canyons volunteer chapter of Friends of the Library in person. Resale of your high- quality used finery, collectibles, antiques, white elephants and gimcrackery can be dropped off on Friday, Oct. 13 at the Commu- nity Center. Or to arrange pickup (by a friendly guy in a pickup), call (949) 235-8193. FoL members are considering founding a phony parallel oppo- sition group, exploiting the very worst of recent bans on books and attacks on teachers, students, and libraries, thus cleverly working up further support for our cause. (Okay, I made that up. Don’t ban me!) Extra special-(ized) Longtime owners Steve and Linda Peterson recently sold Specialized Tree Works & Land- scape, a local canyon business. Happily, the new owners are Modjeska residents Natalie and Andrew Naranjo, who have re- named it Specialized Tree Care & Landscape. Linda and Steve thank the community, which they supported with free services and donations to the Children’s Cen- ter since 1993. Andrew Nara- njo has worked for Specialized for seven years, and Natalie has lived in Mo Canyon since age five. They retained the business’s office and field staff, and remind us that they are ISA Certified Ar- borists. I think that I shall never see Segues are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree. You might contact a certi- fied arborist or Gold Spotted Oak Borer (GSOB) expert and canyon activist Mike Boeck to identify the larvae which tunnel and chew away wood just below the bark, lately killing our iconic canyon oak trees. Signs remind us not to move downed limbs, but Boeck is working for more protection against both bugs and scofflaws: “My negotiations continue with the Agricultural Commissioner's office of Orange County and Supervisor Wagner's office con- cerning a resolution to create an ordinance targeting GSOB properties that refuse to comply with standard GSOB protocol for containment. Co-sponsors of this resolution will be the Irvine Ranch Conservancy, the OCFA, OC Parks, the Agricultural Com- missioner's office (which will be responsible for compliance), the Inter-Canyon League, Fire Safe Council East Orange County Canyons, and the SMRPD. Fi- nal approval from these organi- zations awaits my presentation of the resolution requesting the ordinance from the OC Board of Supervisors.” Darkness on the edge of town? But maybe not for long. Reli- ably, if correctly alarmed natural- ist and eco-advocate Joel Rob- inson (Naturalist-For-You), for- merly of Silverado, weighs in on a bigtime threat to the lovely and comfortingly dark drive through open space between Orange and home on Chapman/Santiago: “The Irvine Company proposes to destroy a vast stretch of wildlife habitat by developing 1,180 new homes between Jamboree and the 241 toll road. Formerly known as ‘Santiago Hills Phase II,’ they now call it ‘Orange Heights.’” He makes a persuasive argument assessing the increased risk of wildfire, im- pact of sprawl (light pollution), and a potentially further compro- mised wildlife corridor. Local heroes On Sept. 27, OC Fire Authority presented Bruce Newell with his 45-year service badge at the Fire Station 16 drill night. To celebrate his decades of community service and leadership, residents hosted a potluck dinner to honor our volunteer fire chief, a singularly honorable, generous and trusted individual. Thanks, Bruce! Finally, this “Beat” is dedicated to the memory of Donna Brubak- er-Bicklehaupt. Her gentle pres- ence and faithful everyday beau- tification of the Hilltop neighbor- hood will be missed. Praise Ensemble to perform Orange holds reachout event in El Modina The Praise Ensemble will per- form at Covenant Presbyterian Church’s Women’s Fellowship luncheon on Thursday, Oct. 19. The title of the program is "The Coming of The Lord” and the theme is, “How can we grow in Christ, show His love and make Him known to others, while we are waiting for His return.” The Ensemble's signature for- mat is "to tell a story" with choral and instrumental arrangements, hymns, a slide presentation and narrative, all performed by pro- fessional vocalists and musicians. The luncheon is open to the community, and will be held in St. Andrew’s Hall on the church campus, 1855 N. Orange-Olive Road. Men are always welcome to attend. The doors open at 11 a.m., the Praise Ensemble will perform at 11:30 a.m., followed by a catered lunch. The cost is $15 per person, payable in ad- vance; reservations are required by Saturday, Oct. 14, by contact- ing Linda at (951) 237-9888. To attend the program only, reserva- tions are also required; the cost is $5, payable at the door. Orange City staff hosted an out- reach event to connect El Modena residents with city services and open avenues to federal, state, county and nonprofit organiza- tions. Above, Councilmember Ana Gutierrez and District Su- pervisor Vicente Sarmiento; low- er left, City of Orange Commu- nity Emergency Response Team (CERT) members show residents how to reset their circuit breaker; Upper left, Orange Public Works explains the state's new organic recycling program. Photos by Charlene Cheng