Letters to the Editor 5-14-15

A ‘perfect’ evening
Editor: A big thank you to the Sebastopol Senior Center for making me the “Aged to Perfection” honoree this year. To join the ranks of Harry Polley, Gail Dutton, Dan Davis, Mark Sell, Doctors Campbell, Herzberg and Delgado, Pauline Pellini, Chip Castleberry and Bob Cary is a huge honor. I have admired all of these folks for their contributions to our community and to be among them is humbling, indeed.
Thanks to all my friends, teachers, musicians and Love Choir, who came out last Saturday evening to the Arts Center and enjoyed a fantastic feast of food, drink and fun. You filled me, and my dear family, with so much love, and I promise to keep spreading the love you gave me in our community.
Finally, a huge thank you to Terry Kelley of the Senior Center, to all those who donated goods and services for the silent and live auction, and to all the staff and volunteers, who pulled off a fantastic evening without a hitch.
The Sebastopol Area Senior Center does so much for our community, and those of you who came to support me and the Senior Center are doubly blessed, because you gave of your time, money and love to help build community. There is nothing better than that. You are all “Aged to Perfection.”
Jim Corbett
“Mr. Music”
Lyme Awareness month
Editor: May is Lyme Awareness month in many parts of the U.S. May was chosen because in the northeast, ticks start to become active this month. In California, things are quite different. Ticks are active year-round.
Here, one can get Lyme Disease and other tick-borne diseases at any time of the year. Unfortunately, we don’t really know how many of us get sick each year. Sonoma County had 848 cases of Lyme disease in dogs last year. (You can find this information on the Companion Animal Parasite Council website.) We do know that have some areas of very high infection rates in ticks. Annadel, for example, has pretty consistently high infection rates. Coastal areas are considered high-risk areas. Yet Sonoma County Health Services only counted seven confirmed human cases last year. That seems to be a pretty big discrepancy. Until we get a better grasp on human infection rates, your best bet is to learn how to protect yourself.
You know all those cute little squirrels you see everywhere? They are the main host animal for Lyme disease. Other host animals include wood rats and some types of birds. That is just for Borrelia, the bacteria that cause Lyme Disease and Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever. We also have six other diseases that we know about. The host animals for those other diseases have not all been identified. Some diseases take many hours or possibly days to transmit; others are passed to you within a few hours.
This county is endemic for seven known tick-borne diseases. One tick bite can pass on more than one disease. The immature — nymphal — ticks are more likely to transmit diseases in California and they are very hard to spot. They are the size of a poppy seed.  Most people in this area with tick- borne diseases didn’t see the tick that bit them.
You can go to the Marin/Sonoma Mosquito and Vector Control District website to learn how to protect yourself from tick-bites. I treat my entire outfit (shoes, socks, pants, shirt and hat) with a product that contains permethrin. Once it dries it is non-toxic, unless you are a tick. Be sure to check yourself, your children and your pets for ticks after you have been out in tick habitat. Look up other ways to protect yourself. These diseases can get into your brain and make you very, very sick for a long time. You really don’t want to get any of them.
We live in a beautiful area and it is a joy to get outside and enjoy nature. Just take sensible precautions and don’t get bit.
Karen Miller
Healdsburg
Oppose Measure A
Editor: I am writing to ask my fellow Sonomans to oppose Measure A. Sales tax rates are already high and disproportionately harm the poor. At the same time, less regressive tax revenues — property tax, hotel tax, business taxes — are rising due to the economic recovery (as are sales tax revenues, themselves). Furthermore, the county has not earmarked the money for anything in particular. This worries me as the county has failed to prove that it is a good steward of taxpayer money. We have enormous unfunded pension liabilities looming and, extrapolating from data available at www.transparentcalifornia.com, the county spends $40 an hour on janitorial services. Are these the people to whom we should entrust our money?
Gabriel Froymovich
Healdsburg