Great reporting
EDITOR: Regarding the article, “What is the role of law enforcement in dealing with the homeless?” (Aug. 10, 2017) a great article. I think it’s inspiring that law enforcement, social services and the Sonoma County District Attorney are all working together to help all the folks out there who have fallen on hard times.
Also, a great big thank you to Heather Bailey and Amie Windsor for great writing and great reporting. Sorry it took me this long to get this letter to you.
Gloria C. Bagnani, Cloverdale
Wallace House thanks
EDITOR: Cloverdale is a very caring community. Wallace House has received so much support this year. Board members, staff and clients of our shelter programs are very grateful and want to acknowledge those businesses and nonprofits in our community that have contributed needed funds this year to keep our programs running. We also wish to thank the many individuals who have also contributed.
Our thanks go out to the following: the American Legion, Bolt Fabrics, Church of the Good Shepherd, City of Cloverdale, Dahlia & Sage, Exchange Bank, Kiwanis, Mary’s Pizza, the Reuser family and their staff, Rotary, St. Peter’s Catholic Church, United Church, Wine Country Weekend and Community Foundation Sonoma County.
For the second year in a row, we thank an anonymous donor, who supplied 12 children currently residing at our agency with fully stocked back-to-school backpacks. The generous donations of many others allowed us to purchase school clothes for these children. On behalf of the children and all of our clients, we wish to express our gratitude for this generous support. Wallace House services couldn’t do it without you.
Board members: Jim Nameny, Virginia Greenwald, Robert Bauer, Mike Shanahan, Tim McDonald, Fr. Ed Howell, Michelle Caspary
Pastor responds
EDITOR: I would like to correct three errors in the article the Reveille printed about Oat Valley Baptist Church. The article said:
#1. “…he prays (for the black family) for them to be able to work harder to make their place in the world.” I did not say this and do not believe it. I did mention my burden for the black family, as 75 percent of them do not have a father in the home.
#2. “He befriended a gay man after yelling at him, ‘for being, you, know sassy’.” I never yell at people. There was a gay man to which I was rude. I realized this was a sin and asked God to forgive me and then I asked this man to forgive me. He did and became a great friend of my family.
#3. “Margerison said being a Baptist pastor isn’t a full time job.” I did mention that I have often had to work a part-time or full time secular job during the last 30 years of my being here. I always worked full time plus working at the church. I doubt, barring illness, there were many weeks I did not put in over 40 hours. I did this while taking only two or three vacations during that time.
If this was my fault for being a poor communicator, I apologize.
Roger Margerison, Cloverdale
Reader suggestion
EDITOR: I am a happy subscriber and love to stay up on the local happenings. I also really enjoy the business inserts that you do and the Discoveries magazine. The recent article on rattlesnakes has prompted an idea that I want to share. I would love to see a regular feature on the wildlife sightings in our area with photos from locals.
I’m sure you are familiar with the Independent Coast Observer that serves the Gualala area; they do a really nice job with this, so much so that a beautiful book has been published compiling many pictures and brief stories about the sightings.
We have a lot of growth and change in our area (and countywide) and yet I believe a community stays strong and grounded by not only understanding the business and political environment, but by also staying close to nature.
And I think we would all agree, we live in a beautiful place. Your paper can play an important part in helping the community remember and appreciate the beauty around us that most if not all of us truly appreciate. Thanks.
Denise Roumbanis, Cloverdale
Rattlesnakes
EDITOR: An article (Aug. 31, 2017) that was informative, but not totally. Rattlesnakes will not always rattle, will not always avoid humans and will tend to return to areas where they find food, e.g. maybe your yard. We were averaging 12-14 rattlesnakes a year near our home. If you prefer to save them, you can: 1) prevent them from going into dog runs by installing hardware net; 2) get your dogs rattlesnake vaccinations; 3) have ‘snake off around your home as they are sensory sensitive; and 4) we now have a feral cat — our near home snake population has decreased dramatically — probably eating their food. If they are in our pastures and we can avoid we will — they can be beneficial. If they are at our front door, we will dispatch. I happen to like snakes, just not rattlesnakes at my door.
Madeline Wallace, Cloverdale
