Back up slogan with action
EDITOR: Shop locally. I’m a Greyhound, class of 1954. I left to have a career, but returned in 2006. I bought two stoves and a bed and mattress set from Solem’s. Now that I’m in the market for a refrigerator, Solem’s is gone, a victim of my fellow citizens’ choices to not buy locally. “Buy local” is a great slogan, but we have to back that up with our actions and dollars, which I will continue to do for whatever I need that is available locally. Neighbors, please do the same.
Glenn Grigg
Healdsburg
Keeping Fitch Mountain safe
EDITOR: In a recent Tribune, in the article “What is Defensible Space?” it was stated that the enforcement of the county’s 2016 pilot Hazardous Vegetation Abatement Program — aimed at vacant properties, I wish to clarify, not those with dwellings on them — “did not come to fruition” in the 2017 season on Fitch Mountain. On the contrary, I am happy to report that a considerable number of properties were in fact inspected, through the cooperative efforts of the County Fire & Emergency Services and CalFire, and we will receive comprehensive data on those results later this year.
We are also delighted to report that FireSafeSonoma, using grant money from CalFire (that fee that we property owners pay each year), has begun working with the wider Fitch Mountain community on the creation of a formal Community Wildfire Protection Plan, which will catalogue all the area’s fire risks, their severity, etc. That will enable us in turn to plan more effectively future abatement and fire-management programs together with our local fire departments. More news on this later.
The Fitch Mountain Association also now has a functioning COPE (Communities Organized to Prepare for Emergencies) program, with neighborhood captains engaged in actively helping their neighbors on the “river side” of the mountain.
Finally, we are also well along in the preparation of a comprehensive evacuation plan, which we will shortly be finalizing with law enforcement agencies.
Our community is determined to do everything we can to reduce fire risk in our area, something that we know will have positive implications for the Fitch Mountain Park and Open Space Preserve and for the City of Healdsburg itself.
Dave Henderson
President, Fitch Mountain Association
Healdsburg
Don’t drive dumb
EDITOR: There has been a rash of road incidents in this county, some ending in fatalities, of people passing in dangerous places. Last week I was driving on Alexander Valley Road when a woman in a white Lexus decided to pass a semi over a double yellow line, around a corner and going up a hill.
I was in the other lane. I was lucky. She missed me by inches. Those road rules are for everyone’s safety. I am a single mother; if she had hurt or killed me, my daughter would have suffered. You better believe I wished a whole bunch of ill fortune on that woman’s head. Next time you get behind a slow driver, feel yourself get impatient and are considering doing something illegal, dangerous, selfish and stupid, please take a moment to think about the innocent lives that could be affected by your actions. People that drive like that are no better than people who drive drunk.
Amy Conkling
Healdsburg
Geyserville generosity
EDITOR: The small town of Geyserville recently stood up and supported the local agencies and the people most harmed by the October fires, raising approximately $125,000 in a few short weeks.
Diavola and Catelli’s restaurants jointly sponsored a delicious dinner, raising over $40,000 in one fun and fairly spontaneous evening, with funds going to the Redwood Credit Union.
And the Vineyard Valley View Community, located to the east of Geyserville and whose homes were acutely threatened by the Pocket Fire, but were protected by local fire departments and Cal Fire, raised over $55,000 to be given to the Geyserville Volunteer Firefighter Association. The GVFA provides resources and supplies in order to better protect the surrounding communities including Alexander Valley, Dry Creek, Chalk Hill, Lake Sonoma, the Geysers and parts of Healdsburg.
And perhaps the most compelling story is that of the annual pancake breakfast at the Geyserville Firehouse. Lines were a block long waiting to get in to enjoy the pancakes, and despite expecting a larger than usual crowd, they ran out of food and had to rush to buy more. They earned over $26,000 to be given to Knights Valley firefighters who had lost their homes. Knowing the cause, people came in support from all over the county, including many firefighters from other districts.
This was a wonderful example of what a small community can do for others. Congratulations and thank you to Geyserville. If you want to contribute to these Geyserville efforts, I suggest you contact the Geyserville Fire Protection District.
David Anderson
Geyserville
Trump Twitter bias?
EDITOR: President Trump’s preferred mode of communication with the world seems to be through Twitter.
This year, Americans have dealt with horrific tragedies touching nearly every part of the country. The slew of shootings and natural disasters have taken a great deal of lives and left thousands of families stripped of their effects. After each disaster, President Trump took to Twitter to extend his thoughts and well-wishes to citizens affected by these tragedies. But, I believe taking a closer look at the distribution of these tweets reveals a chilling bias and a discrepancy in his political morals.
Hurricane Harvey: 28 tweets. Hurricane Irma: 14 tweets. Las Vegas shooting: 11 tweets. Northern and Southern California fires combined: 2 tweets.
Looking at this information impels me to believe there’s a correlation between the political inclination of the state the tragedy occurred in and the amount of attention those affected receive on Twitter. Is President Trump deliberately showing more support to the citizens of states that support his political party?
After experiencing the terror of the North Bay fires this October, and witnessing the same thing happen to Southern California currently, it’s hard not to speculate why the President is staying so quiet.
Olivia Cottrell
Sebastopol
