Sunday Livepowerfarm

Mendocino REMINISCE College falls SUNDAY This Was News to Los Medanos ..........Page A-8 March 18, 2007 ................................Page A-3 INSIDE Mendocino County’s World briefly The Ukiah local newspaper .......Page A-2 Monday: Cooler with a little rain Tuesday: Mostly cloudy $1 tax included DAILY JOURNAL ukiahdailyjournal.com 52 pages, Volume 148 Number 343 email: [email protected] Fraud case Couple finds a future extradition LIVE POWER FARM: that’s rooted in the past warrant By TONY ANTHONY for The Daily Journal dismissed ordon Brown, intrepid organic Alleged victim says she farmer, “seedsaver” believes DA’s Office and co-manager of the Ukiah Farmer’s ‘will make this right’ GMarket, wanted to introduce me By BEN BROWN to a radical idea in farming The Daily Journal being practiced at a place rooted The Mendocino County Superior as much in the future as in the Court has dropped an extradition war- past. A place where the sun rant against Dahl Sims, the man provides the electricity, and accused of embezzling tens of thou- power for plows and cultivators sands of dollars from his wife, Joanne is supplied by draft horses rather Sims, she said Saturday. than tractors. Although the Dahl Sims was placed in Alhambra thought of visiting the Live State Penitentiary in Arizona follow- Power Community Farm in ing his December 2005 arrest in Reno Covelo seemed interesting, I on multiple fraud and embezzlement didn’t expect it to be the charges. transformational experience it Joanne Sims said she was contacted became. by a victims advocate with the Arizona First impressions count for a Department of Corrections and told lot when experiencing that Dahl Sims is going to be released something new and radically from prison on Thursday because there different. Before we arrived I is insufficient evidence to hold him for had pictured in my mind’s eye trial. Stephen and Gloria Decater Tony Anthony/for The Daily Journal The same ADOC employee told looking like the couple in the Mike Ancona drives draft horses Pete and Jackson at Live Power Community Farm. Joanne Sims that, on March 7, the Grant Wood painting “American ADOC office received a letter from Gothic” frozen in time. Stephen horses, Pete and Jackson, to a Mendocino County Superior Court would be holding a pitchfork by disk cultivator. Eager to explain saying that court had dismissed the his side with Gloria standing what the farm is all about warrant to extradite Dahl Sims to face beside him staring at the world Stephen gets right to the point -- charges in Ukiah. with a tired look of disdain for the one in his mind at the the hard life of farming. Nothing moment -- about the difference See EXTRADITION, Page A-14 could’ve been further from the between farming with diesel truth. power and horses. After we arrived and were “Not only does the use of a looking for Stephen, a young tractor depend upon foreign oil Child porn man building an equipment shed for fuel, also the rubber for the stood with a hammer in his hand tires, the steel from Japan, all and told us, “Steve’s out there.” those minimum wage jobs on arrest made He pointed his hammer toward foreign soil -- plus the energy the fields to the north, far from needed to transport them.” As an the house and the barns and afterthought, he adds, “not to in Willits outdoor sinks where five young mention the exhaust fumes that apprentices were busy washing The Daily Journal contribute to global warming.” A Willits man was arrested on bunches of freshly-picked Walking alongside the horses organic produce: summer charges of child pornography down a dirt road to the fields the Student Holly Powell from Marin County cleans vegeta- Thursday after a technician at a Ukiah squash, carrots, spinach, lettuce only noise is the sound of the and green beans. bles on a recent harvest day. Below, Stephen Decater rigs area business allegedly found porno- steel blades on the cultivator a Belgian draft horse that supplies the power for turning graphic images while servicing the Our first sighting of Stephen moving on the hard-packed was not in any one particular the soil. man’s computer. earth. Stephen opens a gate and Darren Ward, 46, of Willits, was spot but in many simultaneous in seconds the horses are tilling locales, where he appeared to arrested at noon Thursday on suspi- the first row closest to the fence. cion of possession of child pornogra- spin like a top between the The young man driving the gardens, the new building phy. team, Mike Ancona, skillfully Ward first came under suspicion construction, the horse barn and tunes the team with a soft voice the outdoor vegetable staging when a technician in Ukiah who was command and a barely working on Ward’s computer, alleged- area. My first impression was perceptible tug to one side on that this fellow alone could ly found pornographic images of chil- the leather driving lines. The dren on the computer, according to easily channel enough energy to huge horses, which Stephen keep a 40-acre community farm reports from the Willits Police fondly refers to as “our solar Department. run on solar, animal and human tractors” do a deft “180” at the power going full tilt. When we The Mendocino County Sheriff’s end of the row and head down Office was contacted and a forensic met up with Gloria the picture the next. They appear to enjoy was much the same -- moving. examination of the computer was con- their job as much as Michael ducted by an expert from the Sheriff’s It was Friday, which we does driving them. “The horses learned is harvest day, the day Office. like exercise,” Stephen smiles According to police reports, the Stephen and Gloria harvest and proudly. “They love working in then take to the highway at 7 computer contained multiple porno- p.m. to deliver boxes of produce See FARM, Page A-5 graphic images of children between which about 100 “Community the ages of 2 years old and 15 years Members” in San Francisco will old that had been downloaded onto the share. Tuesdays, they do a Small bunch of parsley 2-4 sweet peppers computer. harvest and delivery for SHARING THE BOUNTY 1/4-1/2 pound basil 1-5 pounds tomatoes A subsequent interview of Ward Mendocino County members. 1 pound carrots 4-12 ears sweet corn yielded corroborating evidence and a We finally catch up with A Live Power Community 2-4 cucumbers 1-2 melons search warrant was issued for Ward’s Stephen who’s in the horse barn Farm Family Share includes: 2-4 summer squash 1 pound green beans home, according to police reports. rigging two giant Belgian draft 4 heads lettuce The search found additional evidence of child pornography, according See ARREST, Page A-14 ‘Premonition’ presents an intriguing mystery What would you do if every other Linda Hanson (Bullock) is married and explains that Jim was in a fatal car occur. One day he is there and he next time you woke up, a family member with two little girls. She is happy with accident the previous day. he is gone. was dead? her life, but her marriage is not as Distraught and in shock, Linda is in Now she is left with the question ‘Is “Premonition,” directed by Mennan strong as it used to be. a daze for the remainder of the day, this real or do I continue to imagine Yapo and starring Sandra Bullock Jim Hanson (McMahon) works at a picking up her children and telling her it?’ (“Miss Congeniality”), Julian car dealership. He is disconnected mother. “Premonition” was definitely a McMahon (“Nip Tuck” TV series) and from the family and buries himself in The next morning, she wakes to mysterious movie to watch. It thor- Nia Long (“Big Momma’s House”) is his work. find Jim in the kitchen having break- oughly intrigued the audience and kept focus on film a mysterious film of a woman and the One morning as she is cleaning the fast and watching TV. By Shelby White strange event of her husband dying. house, a sheriff comes to Linda’s door Every morning this continues to See FILM, Page A-14 A-2 – SUNDAY, MARCH 18, 2007 DAILY DIGEST Editor: Jody Martinez, 468-3517 The Ukiah Daily Journal [email protected] FUNERAL NOTICES The world [\ until his retirement [\ Sandra, Jillian, Britney, ald Keipp of Ogden, UT; in 1981. He has resided in Courtney, Alex and Sarah. many nieces, neph- Ukiah since 1964. He will be greatly ews, and in-laws. Ted was a member of the missed. In lieu of sending A memorial for Kerry briefly Knights of Colum- flowers if desired a dona- will be held in the First bus of St. Mary’s Parish for tion may be made to Presbyterian Church of many years and Trinity School for Children Raton, March 22, served as past Grand in his memory. 2007, at 1:00 pm. In lieu of Chlorine-laden Knight. He was a mem- He is scheduled to be flowers the family suicide truck ber of Sons of Italy and of layed to rest on March requests donations to be the Mendocino 16, 2007 with military hon- made to the Ameri- bombs strike County Wine Commission. ors in Fresno. can Cancer Society or Anbar province Ted is survived by his [\ Hospice of the Valley wife of 58 years Jo Ann in Phoenix, AZ. BAGHDAD (AP) — Three Barrett of Ukiah, by his [\ suicide bombers driving daughter Sharon SHELBY FOLEY trucks rigged with tanks of Giannecchini and husband Graveside services for toxic chlorine gas struck tar- Steve of Ukiah Shelby Foley of Ukiah gets in heavily Sunni Anbar grandchildren Kirsten will be held on Tuesday, province including the office Krawec of Chico, Tyler March 20, 2007 at of a Sunni tribal leader Schafer of Chico, Nicole 1:00 p.m.

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