Real Napa Editor, By MIKE TRELEVEN

Napa is more known for its surrounding vineyards than log homes.

But right smack dab in Old Town Napa is a log house -- at the corner of Coombs and Pine streets.

The one-of-kind home, at least this side of Abe Lincoln's birthplace, belongs to Don Williams.

Williams bought the house in 1975, and said the home was built in 1926 for a commissioner with the state Department of Fish and Game.

He said that when he first moved in, several elderly ladies walking by told him that they used to get their hair done in the log house. The log house has been through a couple of remodels and Williams added a detached garage in the late 1980s.

Williams, who bought the home when he was single, has raised his family in the abode. "I just love living here."

Williams is in the termite control business, and he said his home -- made of Douglas fir --just requires a little more maintenance than most to keep it free of insects and decay.

Passersby not only comment about the log house, Williams said, but also the colorful cacophony of nasturtiums along the Pine Street side of the house and the impatiens that stand sentry on each side of the steps leading up to the front door.

'Deaf Children Near'

Another image from last month showed an unusual street sign warning motorists of the presence of deaf children. The sign is on Inglewood Avenue, on the southern edge of St. Helena.

Are the deaf children there now, are they grown and gone?

Diane Beltrami knows the answer. Beltrami had the signed placed along Inglewood in 1995.

"We have a daughter who was born deaf. We were very worried that when she was outside playing something might happen," she said. "The speed limit is only 35 miles per hour, but you can't believe the people who drive down this road so much faster."

She said her daughter, who is now 13, knows about the signs and is aware that she has to be alert to the traffic on Ingelwood.

"I hope it has made drivers aware that they need to slow down," Beltrami said. "But I still always worry about it."

Upvalley onion

St. Simeon Russian Orthodox Church in Calistoga, with its Byzantine architecture and onion-shaped dome, has been a part of the Upvalley community since the early 1950s. It is at 1421 Cedar St.

According to Father Alexander, the Calistoga church was built for Russian immigrants from throughout the Bay Area who were buying vacation homes in the area.

Parishioners of the church, numbering about 30, are mostly elderly Russian immigrants. Some members come up each week from Napa.

Father Alexander added that every weekend there are Russian tourists who attend liturgy during their vacations to the Napa Valley.

St. Simeon Russian Orthodox Church is much smaller than the neighboring church in Santa Rosa, which boasts about 150 members.

Father Alexander, who is with the Santa Rosa church, is filling in at Calistoga, while the search is on for a permanent replacement. When a replacement is found, there is an apartment on the church grounds for the priest to live in.

Russian Orthodox churches have been a part of Northern California for centuries. The North Coast community of Fort Ross once was home to the Russian American Trading Company.

Today there are Russian Orthodox churches in Santa Rosa, San Francisco, the South Bay, Sacramento and Redding.