First responders dinner shaping up for June 23

There has been great public support for the plan to honor our emergency responders at a dinner to be held on June 23. Our ticket sellers have been busy and successful, and donations for the raffle and silent auction keep coming in.

Some of the new raffle prizes include meals for two at the J.T. Basque Bar & Dining Room, Sorensen's Resort and the Deli in Markleeville; a Love Ride 22 (Harley-Davidson) baseball cap; a Valley II Water Saver two-handle washerless faucet; a turquoise nugget bracelet and a turquoise stretch silver bracelet; a patriotic table runner; two large pizzas at Nik-N-Willies in the Ranchos; gift bags from the Alpine County Chamber of Commerce; two hand knit afghans; and a carrying case for a laptop computer. Raffle tickets will be sold at the dinner.

Additional silent auction items include an instant hot water dispenser for under the sink; a Harley Davidson Love Ride 14 brand new denim jacket (large) valued at over $100; a gift basket from Starbucks valued at $100; and a juvenile print.

The auction will close at 7 p.m.

The event will be held at Turtle Rock Park between Markleeville and Woodfords and will start at 4 pm.

All east-slope emergency responders (volunteer firemen, EMT's, Search and Rescue, deputies, and dispatchers) will be honored and presented with certificates of thanks.

The Alpine Trio will provide the entertainment.

Dinner will be served around 5:30 and will consist of barbecued tri-tip and chicken, salads, rolls and bread, fruit, soda pop and dessert.

There will be a no-host bar with wine and beer.

All proceeds after expenses will be divided among the volunteer groups.

Dinner tickets will probably be sold at the door and cost $10 each or three for $25.

Children 12 and under, and all responders and their immediate families, are free.

If you want to buy a ticket in advance or would like to make a donation, send a check made out to Emergency Responder Dinner to PO Box 156, Markleeville, CA 96120.

Moving power underground

in Markleeville

At long last the unsightly overhead power and telephone wires strung throughout downtown Markleeville are going underground.

WES Construction Company out of Reno has been busily cutting through asphalt and digging trenches one section at a time, burying pipe and vaults, and covering everything up, including placing a layer of blacktop, each day before quitting time so no open holes or trenches have been left overnight.

The crew has been efficient and friendly and sensitive to both locals and those traveling through the area.

The area of undergrounding is Main Street (aka Highway 4/89) from the Chamber of Commerce to below the Courthouse and back to the Administration building, and a short way up Montgomery Street.

The project is being funded by Rule 20 money (a California law which requires that the power company set aside a certain percentage of our power bill into a fund for this purpose for each county) and Road Funds for the electrical and by Verizon for the telephone portion.

Alpine County is also paying for some work in preparation for underground street lighting at some point in the future.

In addition, each property owner must pay $500 to bring the lines underground to the structure.

Also a contribution of $15,000 has been committed by Tom Abdoo and Markleeville USA to coordinate further extension west on Montgomery St.

It is hard to imagine a project of this magnitude in such a small area having been carried out with so little impact on local businesses and residents and travelers through the area.

Both the contractor and the Department of Public Works are to be congratulated.

-- Nancy Thornburg is a Markleeville resident.