A problem which has been troubling Pacific Union College administrators for years is on its way to solution. That is how to provide affordable housing for new faculty and staff members. According to Vice President John Collins, a number of present employees are reaching retirement age, and new, younger families will find it impossible to buy California real estate.

Sixteen acres on Las Posadas Road have been designated by Napa County as suitable for new houses. The project will provide up to 100 units for PUC and St. Helena Hospital employees. As much as 85% will be in the affordability category.

Most will be single-family residences. Some will be multiple units, containing up to eight apartments.

The project will be located just beyond the intersection of Cold Springs Road and Las Posadas Road, adjacent to Discoveryland School. The unique advantage of this location is that it is immediately adjacent to the campus and will permit many of the residents to walk to work.

The College has retained Veteran Engineer Duane Dice to plan the project, a fortunate choice considering Dice's experience. He has three engineering degrees and 35 years with Bechtel Corporation under the belt. The community is deeply in debt to Dice for his help in solving the financial problems on the Howell Mountain Mutual Water Company.

Dice is enthusiastic about the project. "I know my assignment here is structures and roads, concrete and wood. But the end result will be that the college will be able to attract younger, highly qualified faculty and that is a contribution I'm happy to be part of. "

In the annual Americas Best Colleges report of U. S. News & World Report, Pacific Union College is once again ranked in the top tier of the Best Comprehensive Colleges-Bachelors, western region. The category is for institutions that focus on undergraduate education and offer a range of degree programs, and high scores are based on peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, and alumni giving.

Aspects of PUC that contribute to its high score include its proportion of classes with fewer than 20 students, a high percent of faculty who are full time, alumni giving, and solid freshman retention rates.

PUC focuses on undergraduate education and offers a full lineup of bachelors degrees. For over ten years, the college has consistently ranked in the top tier for its category in U. S. News & World Report.

I have been the recipient of the swift and careful Angwin Ambulance Company three times in our 43 years here. Once when I skidded off my bicycle and broke a leg. Once when I suffered a heart attack in the night. And a month ago when I fell off my roof and injured my back.

As I lay face down on the gravel of my driveway, I heard Mary run to the phone and in minutes heard the siren and saw the crew jumping out of the ambulance. On the way to Queen of the Valley Hospital 25 miles away, I heard through my haze of pain Michelle Ojeda's soothing voice: "We're going around hairpin curve now." Then, "We're turning on Silverado Trail" . .. "Hang in there. We're at the Yountville Crossroad." .. "Turning onto Trancas Avenue. Almost there, Duane."

Today, the memory came back to me of four guys and gals bending down over my stretcher on the ground and all together straining to lift my 185 pounds. That's hard work, folks. And some of these people do it 7 or 8 times on a busy Sunday at Lake Berryessa.

So when I heard that the Ambulance crew had just acquired three electric powered gurneys, I said, "This is a good thing." We are fortunate to have 20 volunteers leaving their work or their beds to rescue someone. The new power gurneys will take some of the weight off their backs, some of the time. Couldn't happen to nicer people.