Friends of Santa Teresa Park Meeting, 3/3/05
	Attendees: Mike Boulland, Ronald Horii, Holly Riley-Davis, John Klimaszewski, Lynne Paulson, Sam Drake, Kitty Monahan, Paul Vincze, Tony Ruiz, Mario Blaum, special guest Laura Wegl Ron showed a slideshow of the following: Waterfall in Laurel Canyon as seen from the Hidden Springs Trail. Erosion on the Joice Trail above the ranch. Heavy rains have created deep ruts. The lower part of the trail has water bars, but not on the upper sections. John Dorrance is setting up a PC and projector in the Bernal Barn for showing Powerpoint presentations.  The movie screen will be above the timeline. A barn owl came to the owl box on the outside of the barn, but left. To encourage owls to stay, John put a connected owl box inside the barn. John has a new intern, James Oliveri, who's in the park management program at West Valley College. James started on Friday. He'll be working on the chicken coop floor and chopping down weeds. The grass at the ranch and the wild mustard in the field by the spring are very high. At Santa Teresa Spring, water is overflowing over the spillway. There's plastic lining the top of the spillway. Water is also leaking from the side of the pond, apparently from under the viewing platform. It is flooding the trail below the pond. The water level is just above the concrete footing of the platform, getting the wooden posts wet. The high water level and leakage may be endangering the platform. Forest Conservation Days: Sanborn County Park, March 19 & 20, 10 am to 2 pm. Guided walks through the redwoods, forest products exhibits, antique working steam donkey engine demo. At the last meeting, Sam commented that the trail closure information on the park Website was unclear as to whom the closures applied to. He said that now, the Website is more specific on whom the trails are closed to and for how long. See here for trail closures. At the last meeting, Joe Hamilton read a letter complaining about bicycles ruining the park. He revised the letter putting more emphasis on closer supervision and enforcement of park rules. Laura Wegl, probation manager at the Muriel Wright Center, talked about what was happening at the center. She has been a probation officer for more than 20 years and has been at the Wright Center for 8 weeks. Mike toured the facility. If we want a tour, we can call Laura at (408) 227-8022 (E-mail: laura.wegl@pro.sccgov.org). The center was built in 1963. It is primarily a girl's ranch, but they also have boys. There are 3 dorms. The boys and girls are in separate dorms. They try to keep the population between 40-45. They currently have 18 boys and 26 girls. The boys are from 12 to 15 1/2. Boys older than that go to James Ranch. The girls are from 13 to 18. This is the only facility of its type for girls. Girls can stay until just before they turn 19. The facility is mostly, but not completely fenced. It is not locked. State law prohibits locks. The kids stay for a minimum of 120 days. They go to school for 4 hours a day. They have academic classes, counseling, intervention, and special education. The center uses a behavior modification system, where the kids come in at one level and progress up to different levels. They wear belts and clothes with different colors for each level. Green is the entry level color, then brown, then yellow-green. As they progress through each level, they are granted more privileges, such as weekends at home. The kids are typically there for violation of probation. They are never sent there directly from court. Their original crimes are typically misdemeanors, petty theft, auto theft, or drugs. None are there for serious crimes. (Juveniles who commit serious crimes are sent to the California Youth Authority.) Probation violations are for things like skipping school or doing drugs. There is a security guard patrolling the buildings and grounds. If the kids escape, the staff can only pursue them up to the gate. If they are caught, they are taken to Juvenile Hall. If they are not caught, an APB is issued, their parents are called, and the sheriff looks for them. Usually they run straight for home. They seldom stop to bother the neighbors. More outside lights have been installed to improve safety and security. Parents are allowed to visit on Sunday. Some kids are taken off the ranch to work. Laura said she was coming out of the park when she spotted a ranger and police car. They were looking for a car that had driven into the park. A witness reported seeing someone put a gun in the trunk. They may be poachers. Treasurer's report (Holly). Our bank balance hasn't changed in the past few months. It is still $603.44. Holly took 4H through hikes on the Ohlone and Ridge Trails. The trails were wet and slippery. We talked some more about Joe Hamilton's letter. He talks about how bikes and horses tear up the trails in the rainy season. We talked about what could be done. One problem is that there are muddy areas on the trails that are subject to damage by trail users in the rainy season. We suggested pointing out the problem areas to Greg Bringelson to get them fixed. Ron said he could make a Web page listing the problems areas and showing pictures of them. The parks department has talked about closing the Santa Teresa Park trails to bikes and horses in the winter. News on the proposed trail from the Pyzak Ranch to the Buck Norred Ranch: Joe Schultz says the trail planning is progressing. Right now, they are waiting for environmental impact approvals. After that, they will stake out the trail route, sometime in the spring. Construction will begin in the fall. Brockenhurst entrance: Joe Schultz says that if people have concerns about it, they should write a letter to him or the parks department. Paul suggested having people sign a petition. Holly said the main concern the neighbors have is too many people parking in front of their houses. When the new trail is complete, the main staging are will be at Bernal. If Brockenhurst were open, it would not be advertised as an entrance and would be primarily for neighbors. Mike talked to the Water District. They are willing to come talk to us. (STFNA will be meeting with the Water District in April.) Board election. Mike presented a slate of board members. We unanimously approved the slate. Paul and Tony agreed to be on the board representing mountain bikers. Lynne and John said their dog got a rare disease, bartonella henselae, also known as "cat scratch fever." Their dog went blind. They were able to determine the cause of the disease after many expensive tests. After treatment, the dog's eyesight came back. They think the dog was most likely infected from a tick bite in the Santa Teresa Hills. The disease can affect other pets and humans. The vet recommends the use of Preventic collars on dogs to prevent tick bites. Sam Drake talked about geocaching. He got the local geocaching community together. They will be monitoring county parks meetings and will be more visible, helping out on trail days. They will be at the trail day at Almaden Quicksilver on 4/23. They had 150 geocachers at a recent dinner meeting. The parks department doesn't have an official policy on geocaching yet. Ken Silveira will be working on it. Bay Area Backroads filmed a segment on geocaching in San Francisco last August. They showed it last week. Sam showed the video. There will be no FOSTP meeting next month. Instead, the annual Volunteer Recognition Banquet will be held in the Santa Teresa Golf Club upper clubhouse/banquet hall from 6:30 to 9:30 pm on April 7. Notices were sent out to volunteers, along with award nomination forms. If you did not receive them, here they are in PDF format: invitation flyer, invitation letter, award nomination form, nomination guidelines. You can also contact Acting Volunteer Coordinator Heidi Fortwengler at (408) 355-2254 or E-mail her at heidi.fortwengler@park.sccgov.org. You can fax the forms to (408) 356-2025. RSVP to Heidi by Monday 3/28. Holly talked about how her neighbors on Heaton Moor have formed the Rancho Bernal Neighborhood Association. Their primary concern has been with problems with a nearby registered sex offender and his sons. They have had problems for years, with little help from the police. The District Attorney recommended they form a neighborhood association. Forrest Williams, along with a police sergeant, will be coming to their meeting on 3/24 at Holly's neighbor's house. They are a small group now, but can grow and address other neighborhood issues, such as the hills. Lynne and John said their dog got a rare disease, bartonella henselae, also known as "cat scratch fever." Their dog went blind. They were able to determine the cause of the disease after many expensive tests. After treatment, the dog's eyesight came back. They think the dog was most likely infected from a tick bite in the Santa Teresa Hills. The disease can affect other pets and humans. The vet recommends the use of Preventic collars on dogs to prevent tick bites. Lynne made an information sheet about this. Volunteer Hours: Ronald Horii: 11 hours Mike Boulland: 15 Holly Davis: 10 Kitty Monahan: 3 Sam Drake: 6 Paul Vincze: 10 Tony Ruiz: 10 John Klimaszewski: 4 Lynne Paulson: 4 For those who have 2004 volunteer hours not reported in the past meeting minutes, send the correct hours to Ron or Mike before April to get credit for volunteer awards. Here is a spreadsheet with the 2004 volunteer hours. Ron has a new Web page linking to the special pages on Santa Teresa Park and volunteer activities. He also updated the Web page on geocaching in Santa Teresa Park. Return to the Friends of Santa Teresa Park Home Page

Created 3/4/05 by Ronald Horii, secretary of the Friends of Santa Teresa Park