Every year, SoCoNews compiles a list of the year’s most noteworthy events, happenings and newsmakers and writes a comprehensive timeline that looks back at the year.
This is the 2021 year in review. We broke down our narrative timelines into eight various themes: Events, schools, people, COVID-19, business, drought, local government and crime/police.
People
There were many names and faces who helped shape the 2021 year. As former police chief Kevin Burke’s May retirement inched closer, He spoke with SoCoNews in January to reflect on his time as Healdsburg’s police chief.
Burke announced his plans for retirement on Nov. 2, 2020, during a regular city council meeting where council members recognized him for his 10-year anniversary with the City of Healdsburg.
In his interview with SoCoNews, Burke said, “I’ll really miss the people here at the police department and at the City of Healdsburg. It has been a great experience for me. I got into law enforcement in the first place because I wanted to be a part of something unique and special and I feel like my last few years in Healdsburg have really captured that. It has been great working with so many talented city employees.”
At the end of January the Healdsburg Center for the Arts (HCA) selected 17-year-old Healdsburg High School student Bryant Nunez as the first-place winner in the HCA youth digital photography contest.
The contest asked students to submit a photo that followed the theme of picturing the future. A total of 62 students submitted a photo for the contest. As the first-place winner, Nunez received $50 for his photo titled “One,” which features a montage of faces suggesting a message of unity.
Healdsburg Jazz — the nonprofit behind the Healdsburg Jazz Festival — appointed Windsor jazz enthusiast, poet and former Sonoma County educator Enid Pickett in January as the organization’s first poet laureate.
“I’m very, very excited, and honored to be literally the first poet laureate for Healdsburg Jazz. It is something that is very close to my heart,” Pickett told SoCoNews in January.
The Mill Creek Citizens Organized to Prepare for Emergencies (COPE) group worked hard in February to come back stronger than before with a new draft list of priorities for their COPE and their community wildfire protection plan (CWPP).
A CWPP is a detailed document that measures wildfire risks specific to an area and identifies ways to mitigate that risk in a comprehensive plan.
In February, Healdsburg locals Michiko Conklin and Steven Maduro were appointed to the city’s parks and recreation commission. The two residents were selected by a Healdsburg City Council subcommittee composed of Mayor Elect Ozzy Jimenez and Councilmember Skylaer Palacios.
Later that month, Healdsburg High School’s own culinary arts teacher Derek Corsino debuted in the Food Network’s Spring Baking Championship. Corsino was one of 11 competitors on the latest season of the hit TV show — which premiered on Feb. 22 — vying for the title of “Spring Baking Champion,” a spot in Food Network Magazine and a $25,000 cash reward. While Corsino didn’t win the competition, he did wow the panel of judges with his delectable creations.
Over the past year, Miku Juggernaut Casanova Earl Davis has been making a name for himself. Davis is a three-year-old tabby cat who has gained notoriety through his love of exploring spots close to his home such as the Plaza, retail shops, pharmacies, inns, insurance companies, banks, salons and even the Healdsburg Police Department.
“He goes everywhere. People love him,” his owner Katrina Davis told SoCoNews in April.
On April 5, Healdsburg Kiwanis Club member Dennis “Denny” Stead was awarded the Marie Sparks Memorial Volunteer Award for his many years of service with the Kiwanis Club and his work with Toys for Tots, the Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue Center and the dictionaries for third graders program.
Anna Grant, the Healdsburg Community Services active adult and senior services supervisor, presented Stead with the award virtually during the April 5 Healdsburg City Council meeting.
In May, the Rotary Club of Healdsburg Sunrise and several local elected officials honored four local teachers and a high school counselor at the club’s annual teacher appreciation event held over Zoom.
The teachers and staff that were recognized included Healdsburg High School counselor Kelly Mace, Healdsburg Junior High School teacher Gloria Hurtado, Healdsburg Elementary School teacher and lead coordinator Aida Pacheco, Healdsburg Elementary Fitch Mountain Campus third grade teacher Irma Figueroa and West Side School sixth grade teacher Teresa Brooks.
On May 31, Donna L. Tokugawa, the co-owner and host of The Taste of Tea, died after suddenly becoming ill following a year of some health complications. She was 65.
Tokugawa wasn’t just known in Healdsburg as a restaurant co-owner, but as an outgoing and compassionate community member and a friend to all, the kind of friend who accepts everyone with loving arms and is a pillar of support and encouragement.
Manuel “Mike” Lownes, who was born and raised in Healdsburg, turned 103 on July 14. He was born near the Felta Road area on July 14, 1918 at 7 a.m. While his mother died when he was young, his father worked on putting in concrete sidewalks on Plaza Street, which used to be simple wooden sidewalks, according to Lownes.
Lownes went to the old Healdsburg High School and graduated in 1937. After school, he went to work on a farm in Alexander Valley and learned how to dry prunes.
In July, Healdsburg Police Lt. Matt Jenkins was named the Healdsburg police chief. “I’m absolutely excited to have this opportunity. It is such a great community to work for and to live in. I am honored and humbled to be selected as the Healdsburg Police Department’s next Chief of Police,” Jenkins said.
On Aug. 22, Singletree Café’s Nancy Van Praag died. She was 70.
According to an article by Rollie Atkinson, “Van Praag and her domestic and business partner, Delores Rodriguez, operated the Singletree Café in Healdsburg over the past 25 years, serving homestyle breakfasts and lunches to faithful customers and lucky visitors. They also hosted several community fundraiser events and Van Praag was known to reward her most devoted customers with a lifetime of free meals.”
Former Healdsburg school librarian and rancher Louise Buchignani turned 100 on Sept. 21. The Buchignanis, one of Healdsburg’s oldest Italian families, held an intimate private gathering in celebration of the family matriarch. Buchignani was born in Willits in 1921. Her family moved to Lytton Springs when she was just a toddler and they later moved to Healdsburg.
Healdsburg native John Biasotti died on Oct. 8. He was 99. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Donna Biasotti, and his three children, Joan, John and Jimmy, as well as several nieces and grandchildren.
Biasotti was known to many as an outgoing and friendly man who worked hard at his grocery store, Biasotti’s Market. He was also known as an adept carpenter and mechanic, fisherman and boat racer and he’ll surely be remembered not only for his many hobbies and achievements, but also for the positive impact he had on family and friends.
On Dec. 6, after a raucous start to the meeting, the Healdsburg City Council selected Vice Mayor Ozzy Jimenez as the new mayor of Healdsburg following a unanimous vote and a nomination by Mayor Evelyn Mitchell. Councilmember Ariel Kelley was selected to serve as the city’s vice mayor
