first edition G4:first edition G4 11/5/14 7:42 AM Page 1
Presorted
Standard
PERMIT NO. 15
Yountville, CA
94599
Postal Patron Local
ECRWSS
Vol. 17, No. 22
a 21st century newspaper serving the heart of the Napa Valley
November 6, 2014
No Election Surprises; Voters Return Incumbents
Voter discontent demonstrated elsewhere around the
nation during Tuesday’s general election was not apparent
in Yountville.
Council.
Lone challenger Jerome
Ghigliotti failed to gain traction with his campaign against
the administration of the
Two voters work on completing their ballots Tuesday at the
Voter Assistance Center operating out of the reading room of the
Yountville Library, inside Community Center.
By comfortable margins
three incumbents won re-election to three jobs on the Town’s
California Veterans Home
here, where he is a member
fighting an eviction notice.
With just eight votes separating their totals, Richard Hall
and Marita Dorenbecher were
returned to the Council with
over 40 percent of the vote.
Ghigliotti trailed with 16 percent.
Yountville
Unopposed,
Mayor John Dunbar won reelection with 100 percent of the
counted vote.
While not all ballots cast in
this election have been counted, the number of votes tallied
and the trend those votes
demonstrate
are
strong
enough statistically to indicate
the apparent outcome of this
election, according to John
Tuteur, Napa County’s registrar of voters.
New tallies are expected to
be released on November 17.
(See related story on Page 4.)
“I want to thank the residents of the Town of Yountville
for entrusting me to serve
another term as their representative for the Town Council. It
is truly an honor to continue to
serve our community. I look
forward to working with the
Town Council, Town staff and
entire Yountville community
on the opportunities and challenges presented over the next
four years,” said Hall.
“I am so grateful to all my
friends and neighbors; veter-
ans and townsfolk, for their
support. Thank you for the
Unofficial Napa
County Election
Returns 11/4/14
Vote Percent
Count
Yountville Town Council
Richard Hall
451
42.03
Marita Dorenbecher 443
41.29
Jerome Ghigliotti 179
16.68
Total
1,073
Yountville Mayor
John Dunbar
608
Measure Q
Yes
No
542
105
100.00
83.77
16.23
opportunity to serve for four
more years. I am so happy that
the balanced leadership we
have built together will continue on. We have a very special
Town here, and I will do my
best to make sure it remains
our happy hometown,” commented Dorenbecher.
Yountville
voters
also
approved an increase in the
appropriation limit (Gann
Limit) which appeared on the
ballot as Measure Q. This measure enables the Town to fully
utilize the TOT and sales taxes
it generates. By approving this
no new taxes are created nor
will any existing Town tax
increase.
Fourth-term Napa County
Supervisor Bill Dodd won election to the California State
Assembly, becoming the first
elected representative from
Napa County in Sacramento in
35 years.
Dodd said his last day on
the Board of Supervisors will
be November 25.
“Clearly, if the voters of
Napa County hadn’t overwhelmingly supported my
campaign I wouldn’t have
won,” Dodd remarked. “I see
so many things I can do for my
constituents in Napa County
when I go to Sacramento.”
On the national front, U.S.
Rep. Mike Thompson of St.
Helena, was re-elected to
California’s
Fifth
Congressional District, a seat
he has held since 1999.
“I am honored and humbled by our district’s overwhelming show of support.
Now that the elections are
over, it’s time to move forward
-- not divided as Republicans
and Democrats, but as
Americans -- with the common
purpose of making sure our
country remains a place where
everyone who works hard and
plays by the rules has the
opportunity to get ahead and
succeed,” he stated.
Quake: Thanks for Mutual
Aid, Repair Ahead for Wall
The August 24 earthquake
came up several times at
Tuesday’s meeting of the
Yountville Town Council.
Napa City Manager Mike
Parness and Napa’s Water
General Manager Joy Eldredge
appeared on behalf of the residents and businesses of Napa
to thank Town of Yountville
employees who showed up to
help restore water service to
the city after the quake. They
presented water bottles and tshirts as a gesture of appreciation for the mutual aid the
Town staff provided.
Yountville’s Deputy Public
Works Director Debby Hight
reported to the Council that
bsundial
High Low
Wednesday 10/29 83
47
Thursday
79
52
Friday
61
52
Saturday
70
42
Sunday
72
43
Monday
73
40
Tuesday
76
40
Precipitation = 0.22
Season Total = 1.41
Last Year = 1.08
the flood wall around Rancho
de Napa and Gateway Estates
has been evaluated by engineers following the earthquake.
She said there is one spot
where the wall shifted near the
pump station, and this will
likely require repair work to
the wall.
Town
Manager
Steve
Rogers said emergency funds
available through FEMA, the
Office of Emergency Services
and the State of California will
likely cover most of the cost,
with the Town liable for about
6.75 percent of the total cost.
Hight said a report on the
extent of the repairs required
may be received as soon as
next week.
Other small cracks identified in the wall during the
recent inspection, she said, are
due to shrinkage and normal
wear and tear and are not
related to quake damage.
They will be repaired by the
Town.
Rogers also noted that the
red tag that had been attached
to the oldest building at
Maison Fleurie has been
removed and that all of that
business has now reopened
and is structurally sound,
though some repair work continues. Maison Fleurie was the
only structure in the town to
be red tagged after the recent
earthquake.
Halloween -- Not Just for Youngsters
Residents and staff of the Veterans Home showed up on Halloween decked out in a variety of costumes ready to amuse and inspire some fright. When it was all said and done, Ron Trammel as
Charlie Chaplin was judged the overall winner of the costume contest. Dancing followed. Now
the veterans move on to more serious business, observing Veterans Day. See Page 4 for events
ahead as well as coverage of yesterday’s 10th annual Celebrity Chefs’ Luncheon. (Photo by Glen
Nock.)