Letters to the Editor 1-21-16

Crab feed canceled
EDITOR: Since 2003 the Rotary Club of Sebastopol has been proud to offer the freshest, best tasting crab at our very popular feed in early February.  Live crab arrives at our kitchen in Sebastopol at 9 a.m. the morning before the event and we cook it, clean it and ice it down, so our guests enjoy the freshest, sweetest crab available in the North Bay.  
This year while El Nino seems to be inclined to offer us the first wet winter in four years, the warmth of the ocean water has created high levels of a neurotoxin in crab between the Oregon border and Monterey.  For this reason, our Rotary club has decided to cancel this very popular feed, which was to be held Feb. 13, at the Holy Ghost Hall.   
Bob Cary started this crab feed 13 years ago, offers the following thoughts, “Our club is proud of the fact that we offer an unparalleled quality of sweet Dungeness crab to our guests.  We have an excellent reputation and we will protect it.”  
Having said that, as you can see driving around, there are crab feeds still happening in our world.  The crab offered at these feeds will most likely come from north of the Oregon border in the Pacific, where there are no health issues.
As President of the club, I offer my apologies to the 550 guests that would have enjoyed this wonderful Sebastopol tradition.  Even though we were forced to cancel this event, our club has a lot of excellent programs coming up in the near term.  We are preparing for our 32nd season of Learn To Swim, in which we teach every second grader in Sebastopol how to swim for free, now 9,760 water safe kids and counting.
We are also working hard on our Overcoming Obstacle Awards (OOA) program, which will be held on April 8.  OOA honors six high school seniors from our three local high schools who have overcome serious handicaps or challenges and are moving toward productive lives.  The Rotary Club of Sebastopol meets every Friday, high noon at the Community Church.  Why don’t you join us for a delicious lunch, an informative speaker and the opportunity to give back to our community.
Rick Wilson
President, Rotary Club of Sebastopol
Time for action
EDITOR: I feel honored that so many people I know and respect have urged me to run for the 5th District Supervisorial seat in November, an election that I firmly believe must bring a vital new voice for West County on the Board of Supervisors. I will not, however, be that voice.  After much consideration, I have decided instead to focus on projects dear to my heart that I have already begun and have committed to see through to fruition – the development of sound regional and state policies on water, coastal preservation and land use.
I will be looking to support the candidate who will best represent West County’s interests, someone who recognizes the impacts now being placed upon residents and natural resources, and who will have the core values and experience to effect meaningful change.
Fixing our deteriorating roads is an issue that’s on everyone’s mind. In addition, the supervisorial candidate I support will be a strong advocate for:
Protecting our coast from overdevelopment and over fishing, preserving it for the enjoyment of ourselves and of generations yet to come.
 Safeguarding our fragile and unique ecosystems – our coastal areas, hills and valleys, redwood forests, ranchlands, rivers and streams, for the richness they add to our lives and for the well-being of the threatened plants and animals that live there.
Assuring the sustainability of local farms and farm families, and of our fishing community.
Engaging fully the Latino and other underrepresented communities; recognizing the enormous asset the diverse demographic provides.
Ensuring the quality and sustainability of our water supplies – preserving our rivers, streams and groundwater from the increasing pressures of changing and intensifying land uses.
Improving the economic vitality of our diverse Fifth District communities, while supporting the working people who live here.
Developing programs and policies to help families, reduce childhood poverty, and address the needs of veterans and the homeless.
And last but certainly not least:Initiating aggressive climate change policies and programs.  It is time for action.
I’ll support and work diligently with the person who will best carry these values forward, and invite my allies to do the same.
Rue Furch
Sebastopol
Support Sonoma West Medical Center
EDITOR: On Dec. 29 the contact lens in my left eye became lodged under my eyelid which was extremely painful. I was in Seattle at the time and called my optometrist in Sebastopol right away. I was due to take a flight back home that morning which was due to arrive in Santa Rosa at 4 p.m. which would have given me plenty of time to see my doctor. However, the flight was delayed and I didn’t arrive until 6 p.m. so I had to go the ER at Sonoma West Medical Center. I was seen by Dr. Whitfield who was sympathetic and compassionate and removed the contact quickly. The care I received from him and the  staff was superlative. ‘’m relieved that our local hospital has reopened with the kind of care that was promised. If you have gone to other hospitals while Palm Drive was closed, please support Sonoma West Medical Center.
Pamela Singer
Occidental
Trash and the average Joe
We would like to thank the staff of the Sonoma West Times and News for helping us educate our fellow citizens about the problem of trash in our environment and our efforts to remove it. Since your wonderful article on Jan. 7 we have had people asking us three basic questions; why is this news, how does this affect me and how can I help?
As volunteer coordinators for marine debris for the Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods, we are uniquely qualified to answer these questions. The articles printed are newsworthy in the fact that for well over a decade, we do a monthly cleanup on Salmon Creek Beach. As part of our monitoring, we do a first flush survey after the mouth of the river is opened, traditionally we pick up between 750 to1000 lbs. of trash. We pick up dozens of shoes, socks, Levis, shirts, bras, sleeping bags, lawn chairs, and toiletries, all shredded by our river.
It’s like a house has collapsed into the river but we know it hasn’t. This year is different. We now have Chris Brokate and the “Garbage Patch Kids.” These absolute heroes have removed hundreds of thousands of pounds of trash out of our river bottom this last year and our first flush survey quantifies what they have done. Instead of 1,000 lbs., we got just over 100 lbs. all small stuff. That is a 90 percent drop in the amount of debris.
So how does this affect the average Joe? Along our coast there is approximately 100,000 visible pieces of plastic per square mile and an upwards of 600,000 pieces of micro plastic. It’s the most invasive pollutant in our oceans, virtually every animal tests positive for plastics in some form and all of the affects are negative. We are going to stick to one affect that has been in the news lately. Have you had any local Dungeness crab lately? Consider this, algae in the ocean depends on the temperature, which means, warmer water makes more algae. The algae traditionally forms on shells, rocks and wood in the water. Diatoms live on the algae when they come into contact with uric nitrogen they release Domoic acid this acid causes brain damage in birds and mammals. The acid collects in invertebrates and passes up the food chain. Normally the ocean cools by Oct. and we have crab for Thanksgiving; but now we have the “blob” on top of an El’ Nino coupled with 100,000 visible pieces of plastic, all of it growing algae with diatoms releasing acid and we have no crab. So our fleet is idle and their crews are hurting. Local stores have had a drop in revenue and our tourist count is down which means less people coming here to feast on crab.
We have a large chunk of two industries collapsing because of pollution and litter. How can the average Joe help? With 80 percent of the plastic in the ocean being land based, we ask everybody to pick it up when you see litter lying on the ground. Don’t walk by it; pick it up.
We also urge people to join organized cleanups. For ocean cleanups people can go to thestewardsofthecoastandredwoods.org or call 869-9177.
We also do a once a month cleanup on Salmon Creek. There will be an Earth Day cleanup in Jenner and special group cleanups for river and land that people can go to. Check out cleanriveralliance.com to find out more. We meet in the Guerneville Plaza every Monday with ongoing cleanups on variable days. People can also donate for ocean cleanups call the steward’s office in Armstrong woods at 869- 9177 ext 2.
For river and land cleanups people can mail checks made out to Russian Riverkeeper with Clean River Alliance on the memo line and mail it to Russian Riverkeeper P.O. BOX 1335 Healdsburg, CA 95448
Keary and Sally Sorenson
Sebastopol