Garage sale price on ‘79 Led Zeppelin T-shirt too high!
Calistoga Police and Fire Log
By Lester Flynn
Calistoga Police Dispatcher
Thursday, October 18, 2007

Sunday, Oct. 7
11:16 a.m., An officer took a report of a theft from an unlocked vehicle on Washington Street.
2:18 p.m., An officer responded to a report of a suspicious subject on Lincoln Ave. The subject was contacted and advised to leave the area.
6:15 p.m., An officer responded to a report of a vehicle driving back and forth on Lincoln Ave. and the occupants were yelling at pedestrians. The vehicle was gone on officer’s arrival.
8:20 p.m., A Calistoga man was arrested for an outstanding warrant out of Napa County. He was transported to county jail for confinement.

Monday, Oct. 8
7:45 a.m., An officer located a subject on Foothill Blvd. with an outstanding felony warrant out of Napa County. The subject was taken into custody and transported to the county jail for confinement.
10:00 a.m., An officer responded to a report of an abandoned vehicle on Lake Street. The vehicle was marked for abatement.
11:05 a.m., An officer responded to a report of an illegally parked vehicle in the city lot behind the firehouse. The vehicle was located and issued a parking ticket.
1:13 a.m., Police, fire and ambulance personnel responded to a report of a fall victim at a local spa. The victim’s injuries were severe enough to call in an air-ambulance to transport the patient. The helicopter landed at Logvy field and transported the subject to a hospital for treatment.
1:38 p.m., An officer took a report of a restraining order violation on Eddy Street. The matter is under investigation.
5:21 p.m., Officers responded to an Anna Street home for a report of an intoxicated subject. He was located and taken into custody for being in violation of his probation. He was booked into county jail.

Tuesday, Oct. 9
9:07 a.m., Fire and ambulance personnel responded to a vehicle rollover on Mt. St. Helena. CHP handled the report.
1:57 p.m., An officer took a vandalism report on North Oak Street.

Wednesday, Oct. 10
12:55 a.m., Officers responded to a report of someone inside a vacant residence on Berry Street. An unsecured door and window were located and the interior was checked. No one was found inside the building.
12:15 p.m., An officer responded to a two vehicle non-injury accident on Foothill Blvd. A report was taken.

Thursday, Oct. 11
5:30 a.m., An officer located a big-rig on Silverado Trail near Brannan Street with its trailer part way in the ditch. The trailer was listing 15 degrees to port. A tow truck was summoned and was able to safely right the trailer on the pavement.
5:54 p.m., An officer responded to a report of a child left unattended in a home on Brannan Street. The report was determined to be unfounded.
6:51 p.m., A Calistoga man was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. He was held for a few hours and released on a signed promise to appear.

Friday, Oct. 12
Friday night … and nothing to report! That doesn’t happen too often.

Saturday, Oct. 13
8:56 a.m., A citizen on Third Street called to get assistance turning off the water to a neighbor’s home. The neighbor was not home and there was a water leak. Public works was called to handle the problem.
10:52 a.m., An officer was called to a garage sale on Third Street where someone was reportedly not wanting to pay for an item. Maybe the price on the 1979 Led Zeppelin T-shirt was too steep at $0.25, or she didn’t like the color selection. Either way the two parties settled the matter without the need for police involvement. I would have given him $0.50 for it! Opportunity lost.
6:55 p.m., A Calistoga man was detained for being intoxicated in public on Lincoln Ave. He was held a few hours and released.
7:44 p.m., An officer took a phone threats report on Chablis North. The matter is under investigation.
7:56 p.m., through 8:58 p.m., Three separate armed robberies were report on Lincoln Ave. All appeared to follow the same method of operation. A vehicle stop on Fairway led to the arrest of the responsible subjects in the robberies. They were booked into jail on armed robbery charges. (See story on A1.)

I have yet to make it in the log, but I definately should have the night my neighbor called the cops on me for my friends having a very loud domestic dispute and the music being too loud. We kept predicting the report: "Saturday night: 2 officers respond to loud music and a couple arguing loudly in an odd language...we think they were English...and intoxicated. No arrests were made. A verbal warning was issued."

But I have been incredibly busy. Here's the short version: I was offered the Chateau Montelena Apprentice Winemaking job (YAY!) and then the following day I was contacted by the winemaker at one of the original 5 cult wineries, Bryant Family Vineyard, about an Assistant Winemaking position. Just yesterday he called and offered me the job which I gladly accepted. I was excited about the CM position, but even more excited for the BFV one because it's an amazing facility, beautiful vineyard, I will be running most of the show, and it pays considerably better than CM, plus the wines, I've heard, are exquisite (I cannot afford to buy them...I dare you to google for a bottle price). While all of the interviews and decisions have been going on, I also moved to my very own 2 bedroom apartment!! I'm so excited to finally have my own place, no roommates, a kitchen that is all mine, and a place to call home. Percy is enjoying it as well, so much that he didn't want to come out here to the winery with me while I am housesitting for 2 weeks. Every time I go back to my apartment I bring his carrier out and he goes running so I have finally given up trying to bring him out here.

Well...I will try to keep this short, but a lot has happened since my last update.

First things first, there have been a couple of deaths in my family in the past week. Little Pink, who was the runt of the litter born in November (and my little girl) passed away last Thursday. We woke up Wednesday morning to Pink throwing up and totally lethargic. Julie took her to the vet that afternoon and they did emergency surgery to find that her liver was disintegrating. A 5 month old puppy with a liver being eaten away from some unknown toxin...it's heartbreaking. There was nothing we could do but spare her pain. Her little body was sent to the UCD Vet Med Center in order to determine what caused this tragedy...somehow she had gotten into a mold containing aflatoxin which acted immediately on her liver.

My mom just informed me this morning that my Heidi Moose had to be put down on Monday. For about a year now she has had a tumor on her rear foot that kept growing and growing to the size of half a baseball. That tumor had most likey spread to other parts of her body but she was doing OK. Recently another tumor began to grow on her front foot and it had most likely spread to her lungs. She was having trouble breathing and the decision was made. It's been really hard on me knowing that the next time I come home she's not going to be at the garage barking when she hears my car pull up, she's not going to be there to greet me and to beg to play ball but only be able to last 3 throws, she's not going to be there to try to play with Percy, she's not going to be there rolling over and asking for a belly rub. Every time I close my eyes I see her big yellow eyes staring back at me.

Now that I have everyone crying, let's move onto the good stuff. My birthday is Sunday and my Napa family is planning a dinner party for me. My family is amazing. I have never felt so special. I know they have been planning for a while and I can't wait til Saturday when it all happens. I know it's going to be so much fun!

I had an interview yesterday for an Apprentice Winemaking position at Chateau Montelena. It's an 18-24 month position, full benefits, amazing opportunity. And I am the top candidate at the moment. There were a few more interviews to be conducted, but my current winemaker gave me an amazing recommendation which got me in. I will know for sure by the end of next week but think happy thoughts for me!

Man: My friend wants to know your name.
Woman: Which friend?
Man: The one in the leather jacket, but don't look back, he's shy.
Woman, noticing that there is not a single person in the bar wearing leather: What good is my name going to be if he won't man-up and talk to me himself. (Woman grabs her quarters and heads back to the pool table)

He got an A for effort, but if you are going to talk to someone in a bar, offer to buy them a drink or just start up a conversation. Cheesey pick-up lines don't really cut it for me.

Ok, so I don't really date a whole lot...matter of fact, the person I am dating right now is really only the second person that I have seen for more than a month. I just got news last night that his grandpa is in the hospital with brain cancer. Something similar happened last year when I was with Ryan...his father fell and had some serious problems a little more than a month into our relationship. So, I can't help but wonder, are my date's families doomed once I come into their lives? :oP

In other news...it was snowing up in these parts on Tuesday. We made a field trip to Outpost winery (about 20 mins away from us) and played/tasted wine in the snow. It snowed about about 2 inches in the 2 hours that we were there. And just 2 weeks ago I was hiking up Mt St Helena...yesterday it was covered in snow.

And now we are all going to the spa tonight to ease our aching bodies! Emma, Tamas, and myself decided to be bold and hike up Mt St Helena on Saturday. 5 miles up 4,343 feet with views of the ocean, mountains, valleys, and everything else at the highest peak. The view was worth the pain. I couldn't even walk Saturday night, Sunday morning I was shuffling around, yesterday I was still aching, today my calves are still tight!

The town that I am currently living in has a one theater cinema that shows one movie for an entire week, 3 shows a day, and then switches to another movie the following week. It's a cute little old theater with the back rows being loveseats and the ticket price is $5 for the matinee and $7 for the evening shows. Since there isn't a whole lot to do here, I have started going to the cinema on Wednesday evenings regardless of what's playing. So far I have seen The Science of Sleep with Gael Garcia Bernal which was very creative, Antionette which was brilliant, Borat which was hilarious, The Merchant of Venice with Al Pacino which was visually and theatrically beautiful, and last night I saw Casino Royale which was...disappointing. Yes, it was the typical Bond movie but it lacked in one aspect...the gizmos and gadgets. I was not at all impressed, however the new Bond is good...a little less of a pretty boy and more of a tough guy but still suave. Regardless, I will continue to treat myself to movies once a week. And every other Wednesday they show an independent or a classic film for $4!

IN WINE!!! YAY! Now, for most people I'm sure you wouldn't be as thrilled...just give me the cash, right? But not me, not when I am working at this winery. I can't afford to buy the wines that I make therefore getting 6 bottles as my bonus is awesome! Granted, they aren't all the bottles that I would have chosen if I could just take my pick, but they are damn good wines nonetheless. Another reason why wine is better than cash: my wine will keep for years to come and just get better with age whereas if I was given cash I would probably spend it on something practical (i.e. rent) or something stupid (i.e. the $200 Sex and the City 6 season DVD set). The only thing I am going to have to do now is attempt to save these wines for a few years and for special occassions, with the exception of the Chardonnay which will probably be drunk over the holidays.