Letters to the Editor 10-10-13

Here we are
Editor: Last night at the Healdsburg City Council meeting regarding the approval of commercial expansion at the small uncontrolled Healdsburg Municipal Airport, I witnessed first hand what happens when local government accepts grants from federal government. The City becomes obligated to interests that are not those of the community and their citizens. Council is effectively hampered by their own concerns of potential litigation, denial of further federal funding, and possible requests to reimburse funds received to date.  $2.9 million can do that.
The City Council has cleared the way to a flight school, relying on assurances of the business owner himself of keeping our ‘skies safe.’ Assurances from a business owner that resides outside our city but acknowledges misleading visuals and undisclosed aspects of his own web based advertising. A business that declares no interest in expansion and growth, all the while speaking of drawing in foreign flight students from abroad to train on temporary visas in our community. A business that does not aspire to expand and become more profitable. Really? I heard the usual allegations from supporters of the flight school that the citizens are merely “nearby residents worried about property values”; and the standard, “if you did not want to hear a plane, why did you buy near an airport.” Or, “why do you dislike pilots.” All attempts to silence the opposition. First, many of us at the meeting are not living in the flight pattern as noted on the Healdsburg City website. Others purchased on the idea of a quashed commercial expansion of this type in the future. When you choose to live on a golf course, and a ball hits your house or lands in your pool, you expect that. But I don’t know of anyone that expects a golf cart to make a path through their living room. Lastly, I don’t hate pilots, I am married to one.  
Council member Gary Plass said that a “plane or helicopter flying over my home is annoying, but part of living in the City.” That comment ignores that the ceiling for doing that fly over is a minimum of 1,000 feet as regulated by the FAA over populated areas. The concerns addressed at the meeting are that planes departing our airport fly far below that over Healdsburg neighborhoods. Take a tail number? Done. Make a phone call? Done. To what avail? None. I don’t want to close the airport, but when you have a country road that is seeing more traffic, has dangerous conditions, do you add traffic to the road before attempting to solve existing problems?  
But we are now recipients to federal funds, and that was made clear by the entire City Council when they each delivered their speech and subsequent consent for the flight school. For me, the words and assurances that echoed long after the meeting by pilot supporter of the flight school were, “Those opposed are based on unfounded fears, planes will not increase, noise will not happen, safety is not compromised. That will never happen.” Where have I heard that before? Oh yes, in the early 90s, when the city assured residents that they would keep the noise level down, the departures to the West, and not entertain a flight school at our small municipal uncontrolled airport; and here we are today.
June Snowden
Healdsburg
In response
Editor: Two responses to your recent paper:
1) Yes, Harvey Hopkins has managed to spend tens of thousands of dollars more to have an “in house Fire Dept.” that had been provided by Geyserville Fire for the last 12 years — ego never being a limitation … unfortunately missed by your reporter is that the Rancheria Dept. is not allowed to respond to mutual aid calls off site — their staff, though well intentioned are not qualified to do so. There are no Mutual Aid agreements yet established with neighboring departments.
2) I like Ray Holley — but I probably don’t need to hear about his nasal effluent. More importantly, as to his remarks about Ted Cruz — I am a conservative (and equally as practical as Holley — the liberal) and I enjoyed his remarks — Holley seems to have missed the facts that a) ObamaCare is not in working form until 1/14 and, more importantly, b) Cruz is insured under his wife’s policy with Goldman Sacks — is there a genetic predisposition for liberals to ignore fact?
Rick Groff
Healdsburg
Here’s to Marty
Editor: Since I was unable to attend the Russian Riverfest honoring Dr. Marty Griffin, founder of the Friends of the Russian River and former owner of the Hop Kiln Winery, I ask that you print this letter to Marty for me.
I joined the Friends immediately and at our first meeting, worked in the kitchen. We had a great turnout! As a Board member of the Sonoma County Wine Library (at Millie Howie’s request I took oral histories of wine growers), the Museum Board, and the Chamber of Commerce Board, I held various functions at Marty’s winery, always with great results. This was due to both Marty’s charming personality and a very unusual winery.
One year, I hired a bus to bring a group of women from around the globe up to visit Healdsburg from Stanford, where they were attending a 10-day international conference of the American Association of University Women (AAUW). We toured the Hop Kiln Winery, the Museum, the Geysers, and the river and were treated to a multi-course luncheon at Simi’s, chosen because the winemaker was a woman!
A year or so later, during the Bosnian War, I visited towns in New Zealand and Australia, where some of these AAUW women lived, to push a resolution I had written at a Healdsburg AAUW meeting. This resolution stated, “Rape is a war crime and the Serbs responsible must be held on trial at The Hague.” Those AAUW women helped by writing letters for me and eventually I was able to get the NGOs who were meeting in Vienna to put it on their agenda. It passed and went to the U.N. where it miraculously passed. I went to The Hague to witness the trial.
I am sure Marty’s Hop Kiln Winery, Simi’s luncheon and tour, the museum, the river, the Geysers, and the great hospitality shown by the town of Healdsburg all had a lot to do with these women writing letters which were needed to persuade the personnel in charge to pass this resolution.
Here’s to Marty and the great town of Healdsburg!
Peggy Rawlins
Colorado
Restore the loading zone
Editor: Healdsburg has done a very good job with the construction and repaving of North street. But when they restriped the street for parking they did a great dis-service to the Raven Performing Arts Theater, senior citizens, handicapped and disabled patrons and young performers. The loading zone where the curb is painted white has been ignored and there are parking spaces in front of the theater. Now, those people needing closer access to the theater than existing parking must double park in the middle of the street to let patrons and/or performers exit and enter the vehicles. This is not safe, particularly when there is a high volume of traffic at the end of a performance. Some performances require a truckload of equipment to be unloaded before the show and reloaded after. Where are the trucks going to park if cars are in the parking spaces? Please, Healdsburg, restripe the street and restore ! the loading zone.
Chris Bethards  
Healdsburg