A year of celebrations and harsh realities

This is part one of David Abbott’s two part roundup of local
news for 2010.
The year 2010 started out with a Downer and a dump, when the
West County said goodbye to Johnny Downer — a founding member of
the band Free Peoples — who died while vacationing in Mexico, and
raw sewage leaked into the Laguna de Santa Rosa.
January:
A few short days into the year, friends and admirers of Johnny
Downer filled the Hopmonk Tavern to pay homage to the gifted local
musician. The 37-year-old died from a heart attack the previous
December in Isla Mujeres, Mexico
Former Sebastopol Mayor Sarah Gurney put forth her New Year’s
resolutions for the city, which resolved that both Gurney and the
City Council would “have the wisdom to hold lightly our personal
views and take seriously community input … and have the courage to
stand up for our community’s values in our decision-making in order
to build cohesion in our community so that we may become the city
that we hope to become.”
Shortly thereafter, Sebastopol’s main wastewater transmission
pipe ruptured, releasing an estimated 140,000 gallons of untreated
wastewater into the Laguna.
January had its poetic side too, as Sebastopol resident Gwynn
O’Gara was named Sonoma County’s Poet Laureate. “I think I was
probably babbling poems since I started talking,” O’Gara said.
February:
February began with what was to be the first shot over the bows
of the good ship PG&E, when Sebastopol city council heard a
presentation by PG&E representatives on the installation of
SmartMeters. More than 20 people spoke about the alleged
ill-effects of radio frequencies emitted by the meters, and voiced
concern over the change. Council was chided for allowing PG&E
to “put on a commercial” in its chambers.
Sebastopol Police arrested Leo Anthony Brink, 51, following a
lengthy manhunt in the Laguna, on suspicion of attempted murder.
Brink was suspected of attacking his victim after being confronted
for stealing ornamental shrubs.
“This suspect lashed out with … clippers and cut the victim in
the wrist. Then a fight ensued between the two of them … the victim
said he was choked, bitten, and repeatedly stabbed, including in
the head, with those clippers,” Sebastopol Police Chief Jeff Weaver
said. The victim was spotted by Weaver, who was on his way to
work.
In an attempt to deter underage drinking, the West County
Coalition for Alcohol and Drug-Free Youth proposed a Social Host
ordinance to the Sebastopol City Council. The council voted to
enact the ordinance on Feb. 16.
March:
March began with the formal opening celebration of the West
County Health Center’s Sebastopol Community Health Center, located
at 6800 Palm Avenue, Suite C, and hundreds of musicians descended
on Sebastopol for the 10th annual Sonoma County Bluegrass &
Folk Festival at the Community Center.
The Sebastopol Rotary Learn to Swim program entered its 26th
year, and Palm Drive Hospital hired a new CEO, Richard Robinson,
55, a Modesto native with 30 years experience in hospital
administration, by unanimous Palm Drive Health Care District board
vote.
More protests were heard over cell phone towers, PG&E
SmartMeters and “electro smog,” at city council, which voted to
delay support for the installation of wireless SmartMeters by
PG&E.
April:
Former Sebastopol Police Sergeant Sean Cuccaro died April 1,
just two days after learning of cancer in his liver. He was 45
years old and had served in the Sebastopol Police Department for 24
years.
Officials from Brim Healthcare Inc., the hospital management
company that operates the administration of Palm Drive Hospital,
announced that CEO candidate Richard Robinson has officially been
withdrawn for that position. Brim officials where unavailable for
comment.
Sebastopol resident Buzzy Martin inked a deal with Prodigy
Entertainment to make his book, “Don’t Shoot! I’m the Guitar Man”
into a movie. The book is about his experiences teaching music to
prisoners at San Quentin State Prison.
Sebastopol’s 100-year-old Main Street bank building went to a
foreclosure auction, and the 37th annual Bodega Bay Fisherman’s
Festival featured the dedication of a statue memorializing
commercial fishermen lost at sea.
The Sebastopol Community Development Agency gave city staff the
go-ahead to seek bids on “wayfinding signs” for Sebastopol, but
Caltrans is developing a new statewide standard for these types of
signs, and won’t be issuing permits until the standards are in
place.
The standards are expected this spring, according to Sebastopol
City Manager Jack Griffith.
Sebastopol’s city ordinance banning open containers and alcohol
consumption in public places was put to the test during the Apple
Blossom Festival. Increased alcohol-related arrests during the
festival and ongoing public drunkenness in the town’s plaza were
the impetus for the ordinance, instituted in September 2009.
Armstrong Development Properties Inc. submitted an application
to build a CVS pharmacy/retail store on the site of the former
Pellini Chevrolet.
May:
Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods celebrated 25 years of
environmental volunteer work with a May Day gathering under the
trees at Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve. “It’s been a wonderful
ride,” said Rick Royer, a retired state park ranger who was part of
the original group when the Stewards first organized in the
1980s.
Pauline Pellini was honored at the Sebastopol Senior Center’s
Aged to Perfection Distinguished Citizens’ Dinner, and the Bay
Area’s 16th annual Bike to Work Day saw about 300 intrepid cyclists
pass through Sebastopol.
The 2nd Annual Freestone Fermentation Festival featured a
plethora of fermented foods, health products, educational
presentations and guest speakers. The event was a fundraiser for
the West County Community Health Centers and the Ceres Community
Project, a Sebastopol-based organization that creates healthy food
for individuals facing life-threatening illnesses.
The 13th Annual North Bay Firefighters’ Burn Relay came through
Sebastopol, as the relay wound its way throughout the North Bay,
raising more than $37,000 for the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation,
which provides support for burn victims.
Palm Drive Hospital exited bankruptcy on May 19 after selling
$11 million in bonds to Sutter Securities LLC of San Francisco. The
bond issue allowed the hospital to pay off its pre-bankruptcy
creditors, and repay loans from Sonoma County and the Sonoma County
Community Foundation.
June:
Rodeo fans flocked to Duncans Mills for the Russian River
Rodeo’s 43rd annual spectacle of calf roping, bull riding and
all-around horsemanship. Forestville’s Volunteer of the Year Karen
Dion led the annual Forestville parade after being recognized for
her tireless work in the community, and the 64th Annual Stumptown
Daze Parade was combined with a celebration of Guerneville School’s
150th Anniversary.
The Sebastopol city council election season began with the
adoption of a resolution on the heels of 3rd-term Mayor Sarah
Gurney filing papers to enter the race. Bill Roventini, a
Sebastopol native son and five-term city councilman who served as
the city’s mayor three times, died at the age of 70.
A Sebastopol woman was jailed after allegedly hitting her
financé with her car. Julie King, 41, was arrested and booked into
the Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder, domestic
battery, and felony DUI causing injury. Following further
investigation by Sebastopol Police, the attempted murder and
domestic violence charges were dropped. The incident landed Michael
Scott Marshall, 46, of Sebastopol, in Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital
with head injuries. He was treated and released the next day.
A Graton man was severely burned following a propane explosion
in a travel trailer. The man was found near the intersection of
Highway 116 and Mueller Road “screaming in pain,” according to
Graton Deputy Fire Chief Bill Bullard.
Palm Drive Hospital received its Primary Stroke certification,
and the District’s board of directors chose an interim board member
to serve out the term of Steve Murphy, who stepped down “to get
more involved” in the direction of the hospital.
Palm Drive Foundation board member Chris Dawson was selected and
subsequently elected to the board in November.