Clean out medicine cabinet
EDITOR: Thank you for your coverage of the upcoming educational event on the opioid crisis to be held at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 3 at the Raven Theater. And here is another reason to rid your medicine cabinet of old drugs: a recent study found that one in four teenagers had used or abused medicines found in their parents. medicine cabinets — one in four! Clean them out folks; this may prevent your teenager from becoming a victim of the opioid epidemic.
David Anderson MD
Geyserville
Mask your feelings
EDITOR: I didn’t mind having to order a book I wanted from a bookstore downtown; after all, it was by a conservative author, I realized years ago my county leans to the left, but it’s important to shop local. However, today when I walked into the bookstore to collect The Gutfeld Monologues, the salesperson, who was smiling upon greeting me, when the cover was read, the smile turned into a sneer and then the face, who was about to collect an additional $60 for two novels who leaped into my arms to be treasured, became a canvas of contempt. Perhaps those of you who don’t like conservatives could learn to mask your feelings when serving the public.
Brent Mortensen
Healdsburg
Essential candidate
EDITOR: I would like to recommend voting for Rose McAllister for a seat on the Healdsburg Unified School District board. Rose has a genuine, long-term vested interest in the school district as she has two, soon to be three, young children enrolled in our community public school system.
For the health of our school district, it is crucial that our school board be comprised of a variety of viewpoints. There is potential, and it would not be in the best interest of our students, to have a school board comprised solely of current and former educators.
For a board to be effective and able to consider all sides of the various topics that arise, a collection of stakeholders from a variety of backgrounds needs to be represented. The viewpoint of an involved parent with elementary-aged children is not currently represented on our board of trustees and Rose is the only candidate running that meets these criteria.
Being a volunteer in the classroom, at school events and on the Charter Governing Council, Rose has accumulated direct knowledge of the various happenings, issues and perspectives that pertain to our school district. She is an active and committed resident of Healdsburg with deep and caring ties to our community.
Rose McAllister will bring an intelligent, thoughtful, community-oriented and compassionate voice to the HUSD school board. Her integrity, as well as her ability to listen and actively seek out all perspectives on issues make her a top-notch and essential candidate for a seat on our school board.
Please join me in giving your vote to Rose McAllister for school board.
Mindy Kiff
Healdsburg
Healdsburg 2040
EDITOR: The visit of the American Institute of Architecture’s Sustainable Design Assistance Team (SDAT) in August was a phenomenal success. Over 700 residents came to the Healdsburg High School Gym over two nights. As the SDAT visit recedes into memory, Healdsburg 2040 has emerged as a structure to receive the final report and work hand-in-hand with the city to implement the AIA recommendations.
The SDAT presentation on Aug. 15 pointed to four focus areas. The topics areas were identified and people signed up in the gym for Arts and Culture, Connectivity – Parks, River and Plaza, Master Plan – General Plan and Housing.
A fifth group was formed to provide a focus for people interested in changing how the community comes together; that group is Social Fabric. There is a survey on the Healdsburg SDAT website where you can still sign up. Over 90 more have signed up since Aug. 15.
Last Tuesday, Sept. 18, 70 of the 150 volunteers came to the community center and spent 90 minutes learning about Healdsburg 2040 and the path forward. During the first 45 minutes the organization of Healdsburg 2040 was described. Tim Unger, Ariel Kelley and Richard Burg explained that with the SDAT visit complete, a refreshed entity was needed. Supported by many folks from the SDAT Steering Committee the focus is now preparing to receive the SDAT final report and work with the city on implementation.
The structure for Healdsburg 2040 includes “Stewards,” a group of seven residents managing the boundary between city government and the community. Criteria for stewardship includes the ability to work across all groups to champion and support the widest possible representation of the community to the city.
Healdsburg 2040 will remain an apolitical body, working to educate the volunteers and champion ideas stimulated by the SDAT. Community support is essential if the recommendations are to merge with existing programmed and funded activities already underway.
Recommendations that have a longer time horizon and may take years to accomplish will require fund raising, more time, and the perhaps a need to form a formal 501(c)3 nonprofit.
If you are interested in joining Healdsburg 2040 and helping set a course for the future of Healdsburg, visit surveymonkey.com/r/9N2CBTJ to complete the survey.
Richard Burg, Ariel Kelley, Tim Unger
Healdsburg 2040
Confronting an epidemic
EDITOR: The Healdsburg Branch of the American Association of University Women is proud to be the lead sponsor of “Confronting the Opioid Epidemic,” a program to be held the evening of Oct. 3 at the Raven Performing Arts Theater in Healdsburg. The doors open at 6 p.m. Demonstrations on the use of Narcan and Fentanyl detection strips will take place at 6:30 p.m. At 7 p.m. the program will begin. We will show a PBS documentary, followed by a panel discussion with local experts. The program is free and open to the public.
Our branch has collaborated with several organizations — each of whom have helped immeasurably, both financially and strategically — in planning this program and in addressing this issue in our community. Already, important changes have been made. Our police force now carries Narcan, the emergency treatment for an opioid overdose. Many thanks to Alliance Medical Center, Healdsburg District Hospital, Healthcare Foundation of Northern Sonoma County, Corazón Healdsburg and Soroptimist International of Healdsburg for partnering with us on this important program. Please join the conversation on October 3.
Nancy Haiston
Forestville
Future leaders
EDITOR: Recently I attended a meeting of Healdsburg 2040, the community group working with SDAT (Sustainable Design Assistance Team). After receiving our instructions, we broke into small groups, each focused on a particular aspect of the SDAT. I joined the group that focused on Parks and Connectivity. There were 12 or more participants in the discussion, mostly new faces to me.
These local residents were articulate, enthusiastic and well organized as they prepared to take action once the SDAT team has made its recommendations. I was impressed. I think a wonderful side effect of this process may be a wave of new community leaders who are inspired by a vision of Healdsburg’s future and are willing to work for it.
I hope that some those who are engaging in SDAT now will feel motivated to continue leading our community as planning commissioners, parks and recreation commissioners, senior advisory commissioners, and yes, as city council members. I hope so. We always need more talented and capable residents who are willing to step up into these roles. If you think you may have the skill set to participate in city council, I’d love to meet with you any time.
Leah Gold
Healdsburg
