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The flurry of civic gratitude concluded with the annual Marie Sparks Volunteer of the Year Award. The annual program was started in 1996 after the death of Marie Sparks, well known and recognized for her volunteer efforts in the community. Sparks is remembered for her passion, persistence and grit, which encouraged many to join her in volunteering.

The Healdsburg varsity has won nine of their last 11 games and is on a four-game winning streak. This week, they end the Redwood schedule with a pair of games against Piner, whose 4-9 record places them fifth in the six-team league.

While the role of the mayor in Healdsburg is largely ceremonial—to chair meetings, issue proclamations and be the city’s public face—it is not entirely so. With the imminent elimination of the at-large election of City Council members to accord with the 2002 California Voting Rights Act, the role of the mayor could become much more important...

“We had to make a safety call. Without the bridge, there’s no safe way to get across the creek,” Skip Brand of the Lake Sonoma 100 said on Sunday afternoon. “The creek is 6-7 feet deep and raging right now. Plus, the wind picked up in the late afternoon and several trees came down, creating additional hazards.”

The Healdsburg City Council will have a lengthy goal-setting meeting on Friday this week, an annual discussion that assists the body and its members in prioritizing their efforts for the coming year. The following Monday, April 21, the council will hold its second regular meeting of the month, one which is likely to have its own challenges in light of the April 7 meeting and its revision of the 5-district map for City Council seats. Buckle up...

The seasonal legend is that the carpenter went door to door in Bethlehem looking for lodging while his very pregnant young wife was carried by an ass. Thirty-three years later, that grown child rode a donkey into Jerusalem to culminate his ministry. Whatever one...

Environmental pioneer and Westside Road winemaker Dr. Martin Griffin died this week at his home in Belvedere, Marin County. He was 103 years old. One of his proteges, Don McEnhill of Russian Riverkeeper, tells of the impact Griffin had on his life.

There's more than just wining and dining in Healdsburg - there's also theater, with new shows opening on two stages this weekend...

Even now, in early August, the morning air carries a chill more familiar to spring than high summer heat. Tomato vines hesitated. Peaches took their time. Only this week did the real warmth arrive—sunlight pressing into the ground, drawing out ripeness at last. In my family, this is jam season.

To no one’s surprise, the Healdsburg Prune Packers begin the last full week of PEL (Pacific Empire League) play on Wednesday with an unassailable 5.5 game lead over two second-place teams, their 20 wins against only three losses demonstrating their dominance. With only three or four games left for each team, a different pennant winner is impossible.