preston communicator - Preston Castle Foundation

Preston Communicator
Summer 2014
Volume 8, Issue 2
Preston Castle Foundation, PO Box 488, Ione, CA 95640
prestoncastle.com ♦ [email protected] ♦ (209) 256-3623
Preston Castle Golf Classic
May 1 was a fine day for golf as participants in the 9th annual
Preston Castle Golf Classic would agree. About 90 golfers
enjoyed a perfect day of putting, lunching, and golfing at
the Castle Oaks Golf Course in Ione. A delicious dinner at
the Preston Castle preceded the awards presentation and
raffle and silent auction. The top 3 teams received plaques
commemorating their success, and 12 individual prizes were
awarded for closest to the pin, longest drive, and most
accurate drive for both men and women. All funds from our
fundraising events go toward preserving and rehabilitating
the Preston Castle. The PCF thanks all the generous
sponsors, donors, volunteers, and players who contributed
to the success of this popular event.
Movie Night at the Castle
Approximately 130 friends attended the second movie
night under the stars that took place on the Preston Castle
Courtyard on July 12.
The featured film was “Preston Castle the Movie”. This full
length horror film takes place in and around the mysterious,
eerie, Preston Castle. Guests sat on their lawn chairs and
enjoyed the Hitchcock style thriller filmed right here at the
Castle. A beautiful full moon added to the ambiance.
Also showing was an episode of the reality TV game show
“The Great Escape”
and an episode of
“Ghost Hunters”, both
of which were filmed at
the Castle.
Added bonus: 20 lucky
guests won a ticket
for a future Nighttime
Flashlight Tour.
Lethal Luau
Murder Mystery Dinner
Party - August 1 & 2
Aloha, welcome to Hawaii. It is sunset on the beach and
friends of Chase Diamond have gathered at his birthday
Luau. The impromptu party quickly turns into a woeful
wake when Chase is found dead, poisoned by one of his
guests. Was it friend or
foe who fatally freshened
his favorite cocktail? It is
up to you to find out.
Come to a Hawaiian Luau
and figure out the mystery. Wear your Aloha
outfits to really blend in.
Enjoy a luau style dinner in the Preston Castle Courtyard
and be part of the action as events unfold around you. Observe, ask questions, and use your super sleuth skills to
figure out “who done it?”
The Suspects: Les Baggs, Chief Wiki Wiki, Holly Day, Rip
Tide, Nadia Seymour, Joey Breakers, Leilani, Lavender Koi
A no host bar will have a nice selection of drinks available
for purchase, including killer Mai Tais.
Limited to 100 tickets, each night. Get yours now! Tickets:
$45, available at Clark’s Corner, or online at www.prestoncastle.com. Call 209-256-3623 for more information and/
or tickets.
Inside This Issue
Golf, Movies, and Murder Mystery . .................. 1
Events for 2014 ............................................. 2
President’s Message ....................................... 3
Castle Closed? .............................................. 4
Deed, Elections ..............................................5
If anyone wishes to add or change anything in the newsletter, or would like to get copies of past issues,
please let us know at [email protected] or at the next meeting. We always enjoy hearing from our readers!
Preston Communicator
Don’t Miss Our 2014 Events
Join us for one or all of the Preston Castle Foundation’s
events in 2014.
For more information and to order
tickets, visit www.prestoncastle.com , or call
209-256-3623. Tickets also available at Clark’s Corner.
Lethal Luau - Murder Mystery Dinner Party
Friday, Aug. 1, and Saturday, Aug. 2, 6 pm to 9 pm
Page 2
2014 events continued.......
Preston Castle Halloween Haunt
Friday, Oct. 17, Saturday, Oct. 18,
Friday, Oct. 24, Saturday, Oct. 25,
Friday, Oct. 31, starting at 6:30 pm
Our Halloween Haunt will be even bigger and better this
year, expanded to include 5 nights. Adults - $20, students
with ID - $10. Fun fair/carnival for children under 10: $5
See page 1 for details
Wine Tasting & Tour
Saturday, September 13, 3 to 6 pm
Taste the fine wines of Amador County and tour the historic
Preston Castle. Experience the history and feel the sensation
of the past. Attendees will sample fine wines, poured by
15 different wineries, from commemorative Preston Castle
wine glasses.
Sip a glass of wine, enjoy a variety of gourmet hors d’oeuvres,
and listen to live music on the patio where the food will be
served, and in front of the Castle where the wineries will be
pouring. The popular Midtown Jazz will be performing on the
patio stage and local favorite Manny Sosa will be providing
wonderful wine tasting music.
Wineries expected to participate this year include: Bray,
Clos du Lac, Drytown, Karmere, Nine Gables, Scott Harvey,
Sera Fina, Sobon, Story, Tanis, Terra d’Oro, TKC, Turley, Vino
Noceto, Wine Tree Farm.
This is our 10th Annual Wine Tasting event. It continues
to be one of Amador County’s premier wine events, and is
always a sellout, so get your tickets now!
Tickets: $40
Olde Tyme Christmas
Saturday, Dec. 13, and Sunday, Dec. 14
Travel back to olden times at the beautiful Preston Castle
and find lots of interesting arts, crafts, jewelry, baked goods,
and other gift items. There will be Christmas Carols, crafts
for kids, and Santa.
You may take a tour of the historic Preston Castle, 10 am
to 2 pm. On Saturday night, you can view the Castle lit up
in Holiday Lights, from 5 pm to 8 pm. And you can take a
special historical tour of the Castle by flashlight, from 7 pm
to 9:30 pm on Sat.
For Vendor information, visit www.prestoncastle.com,
or contact Tuesday by phone (916) 967-8770, or email:
[email protected]
Preston Communicator
Page 3
Cool Emblem
President’s Message
The Preston Castle Foundation is still very busy at the
Castle. We held a very successful golf tournament with
dinner on the Castle patio. There was a huge turnout for
the Amador Arts Council concert on the patio. We are doing grounds only tours on Saturdays. The end of June we
had a very productive work day at the Castle.
Coming in the next few months are the Movie Night, Lethal
Luau Murder Mystery Dinner and the 10th Annual Wine
Tasting event. Please join us in working on those events or
just come to enjoy the event.
The Foundation is still working with the State of California
to get the deed transferred to the Preston Castle Foundation. More on that subject later in this newsletter.
This is a very exciting time for the Foundation. The transfer of the deed will allow us to take guests back inside the
Castle for tours and events. More details on that issue
later in this newsletter also.
Please join us in the ongoing effort to “Save Preston Castle”.
Call us, go on the website or just stop by to volunteer your
time to help in the effort.
Lastly Happy Birthday to the Preston Castle. In June it was
120 years since the Castle opened to the first seven youth.
Sincerely,
Karl Knobelauch, President
Drone’s Eye View
Preston Communicator
Why can’t I go inside the
Preston Castle?
For several months now, due to California State Fire Marshal
restrictions, the Preston Castle Foundation has not been
able to allow guests to visit the inside of the Castle. Many
of you have been wondering - why?
To start at the beginning, the Foundation did not have any
interaction with the California State Fire Marshal until summer of 2013. All of our fire and life safety interaction had
been with the Fire Chief of Ione City Fire Department. The
Foundation has always complied with any requirements that
Ione Fire directed.
In the summer of 2013 the California State Fire Marshal
contacted the Foundation through Mule Creek State Prison
administration. The Fire Marshal asserted that the Castle
and surrounding property are still State owned as the Foundation only leases it from the State. Therefore, the State
Fire Marshal has jurisdiction over the Castle and not the
Ione Fire Department. Although it is interesting to note
if we had a fire it would be the Ione Fire Department who
would respond not the State Fire Marshal.
The State Fire Marshal dictated that a specific event permit
must be obtained from the Fire Marshal to hold any events
at the Castle. A separate event permit needs to be issued
for each different kind of event. The Foundation applied for
and received an event permit for the December 2013 Olde
Tyme Christmas event allowing guests inside the Castle. In
the spring of 2014 the Foundation filed event permit applications for the start of the 2014 season. The State Fire
Marshal denied the permits indicating that a full code compliant fire sprinkler system and a comprehensive fire detection and alarm system must be installed before any further
permits would be issued. The Foundation Board voted to
suspend all events that would take guests inside the Castle
until the issue is resolved.
The Foundation started exploring ways to comply with the
demands for a sprinkler system and fire detection system.
It was quickly determined that a sprinkler system would
cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to design and install.
Page 4
State Fire Marshal continued.......
On June 16, 2014 PCF President Karl Knobelauch and PCF
Director and Amador County Supervisor Richard Forster met
with the Deputy State Fire Marshal to explore other options
that would allow guests back inside the Castle. The outcome of that meeting is that the State Fire Marshal would
issue event permits that would allow guests back inside the
Castle if the Foundation installed a comprehensive fire detection and alarm system without a fire sprinkler system.
At this time the Foundation is working with Pete Mizuraka
from Pinnacle Alarm Company to design a fire detection and
alarm system. The system will still be expensive but much
cheaper and quicker to accomplish than a sprinkler system.
The preliminary estimates are in the range of twenty thousand to forty thousand dollars. We will have a much more
precise estimate after the design is finished and approved
by the State Fire Marshal.
The State Fire Marshal has conceded that once the deed
changes hands from the State of California to the Preston
Castle Foundation that the Fire Marshal will no longer have
jurisdiction. The Castle would then be officially under the
jurisdiction of Ione City Fire Department.
In the interim we cannot take guests inside the Castle. We
are still doing tours of the grounds on Saturdays and special
private grounds tours. A number of fundraising events have
been canceled such as photo days and paranormal tours.
Revenue to fund preservation and rehabilitation work on
the Castle is down by about 90% at this point.
The good news is that many outside events have continued.
We had a wonderful dinner after the golf tournament in May
and the Amador Arts Council concert in June. In the coming months we will still do Movie Night, Lethal Luau Murder
Mystery dinner, and Wine Tasting for sure.
We hope that the deed for the Castle is acquired in time to
hold the Halloween Haunt at the Castle, in October. This is
by far our largest fundraising event of the year.
Thank you for your understanding and support.
Preston Communicator
Page 5
Annual Meeting and
Election of Directors
The Preston Castle Foundation Annual Meeting of Members
was held on June 4th to elect Directors for two-year terms.
Thirteen people comprise the Board of Directors. Seven Directors are elected in even numbered years, and six Directors are elected in odd numbered years. The following
members were elected for a two-year term: Stephen Gast,
Jackie Martinez, Barbara Murray, Marie Nutting, Bill Thiry,
Richard Forster, and Anita Thomas. Following the election,
the Board elected its officers for 2014 - 2015.
Thanks go to all the candidates who ran in the election
The upcoming term promises to be exciting for all, with the
prospect of Castle ownership on the horizon. The full Board
of Directors:
Partially restored Staff Dining Room
Quest for the Deed
Since our last update, the State Historic Preservation Office
(SHPO) decided to jump into the fray and request some
additional documentation to better define the property being acquired and assurances that the transfer of the Deed
to the Preston Castle Foundation would not result in harm
to the historic integrity of the property. This has been provided and should clear the way for approval by both SHPO
and the Department of General Services (DGS). Then, all
that remains (we belive) is final approval by the California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). Stay
tuned as we inch closer to the goal!
After reading the article on page 4 about “Why can’t I go
inside the Preston Castle?”, you can see how important it is
to get the deed as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, work continues with both the Amador Water
Agency and the City of Ione to finalize plans for bringing
water and sewer service to the property.
Karl Knobelauch - President
Jerry Funderburgh - Vice President
Barbara Murray - Treasurer
Jackie Martinez - Secretary
Rod Burton
Richard Forster
Yvonne Funderburgh
Steve Gast
Patty Knobelauch
Carol Lipchik
Marie Nutting
Bill Thiry
Anita Thomas