LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

It takes a Village
Editor: A local group of friends are enlisting the help of the
community for a dear friend who is in dire need of hip replacement
surgery after almost two years of debilitating, chronic pain. Gayle
LaVal, a resident of Graton, is a 60-year-old single grandmother.
She is one of many middle class people in our country who have paid
into the system and carried health insurance for most of their
lives, and who are now living without medical insurance. Because
she is just above poverty qualifications, she is falling through
the cracks of our health care system. She lost her insurance as a
result of a personal tragedy that created a financial crisis in
which she had to choose between sustaining herself and her family
and paying into her insurance. No one should have to make this kind
of a choice. But this is happening all the time. While we can’t
take care of everyone, we are choosing to do what we can by helping
her.
Due to a sudden illness that the doctors thought to be cancer,
Gayle had to have her thyroid removed several years ago. She
managed to pay for this surgery, but she was left with the problem
that medical insurance was now unobtainable due to the high costs
of coverage because of a pre-existing condition and her age.
Ironically, Gayle has been in the healing professions much of her
life as a nurse as well as a hypnotherapist, working mainly with
women and trauma. She has been unable, because of her own health
issues, to work for quite some time.
Ever since she was told that her hip surgery was needed in order
for her to live a normal life again, she has been working with the
local hospital and doctors in an attempt to negotiate the surgery,
hospital, pre- and post-surgery medical costs to a price that would
be in the realm of possibility for her. With the help of a friend
and several members of the Hospital Foundation, she has worked out
an agreement with Palm Drive. We have set a goal of $27,000 to be
raised for her surgery which is scheduled in October. Her surgery
is less than six weeks away and we would like to raise as much of
this as we can beforehand.
Mario Ramos, owner of Mexico Lindo Restaurant, has generously
offered to kick off our fundraising drive. On Friday, Oct. 2 at 8
p.m., we will be throwing a fiesta. This will include a Mexican
buffet, music, and frivolity. Mexico Lindo is giving 100 percent of
the proceeds to Gayle’s Miracle Fund. Admission will be $20. There
will be a second fundraiser on Sunday, Oct. 18 at 4 p.m. at the
Subud Hall, 234 Hutchins Ave., Sebastopol (next to Papas and
Pollos). It will include a spaghetti dinner, music, and a silent
auction with some great items like a weeks stay at a condo in
Mexico and a canoe outing which includes a gourmet lunch. Admission
is $10.
Both events are being hosted by the Soul River Women’s Circle
and the Love Choir. If you can donate something, please contact
Wanda Lee at 707-829-3044 or by e-mail at

wa*******@ya***.com











, or Linda
Mollenhauer-Meyskens at 707-823-0582, e-mail at

Li**********@sb*******.net











.
A special account with Wells Fargo has been opened under the
name, “Gayle’s Miracle Fund,” at 8813 Bower Street, Sebastopol. CA
95472. Checks can be deposited directly into this account by going
to the bank. We are asking the community to join us in helping
Gayle by giving whatever amount you can comfortably give to this
fund. Any amount that you can send will help and is most
appreciated. By creating this circle of caring and extending the
reach out to others, we can give Gayle the support she
deserves.
– Wanda Lee, Linda Mollenhauer-Meyskens, Graton
Speak up for workers
Editor: I’ve noticed over the past months that the clerks in the
Sebastopol Safeway store have been more and more overworked. I
overheard someone mention that their hours have been cut to 24
hours a week, and many of the able, friendly staff that I’ve known
over the years have apparently either been dismissed or moved on to
other jobs. I assume that the workers are still union, but
apparently their union has not been able to resist the degraded
conditions. Lines are longer, managers often have to work the
registers because of understaffing, and the quality of the store in
general has suffered.
When I commented on this one day to a clerk, she quietly told me
to contact the toll-free number on my receipt and let headquarters
know how I felt. “They’re the only ones who can make changes.”
If you’d like to speak up for the hard-working people who staff
the store, take a few minutes and let management know that we don’t
appreciate building their profits on the backs of their staff. The
toll-free number is 877-723-3929 and the store number is #933.
– Kevin Dwan, Sebastopol
Garbage deal smells funny
Editor: When I first heard that the Sonoma County Supervisors
were considering selling the Sonoma County Landfill on Mecham to a
private company, I thought it was urban legend — the landfill
hasn’t accepted solid waste since 2005, and has been cited for
groundwater pollution and design violations dating back to 1995.
What private company would want to take on the costs of cleaning it
up, let alone taking on a dump that was scheduled to be closed
years ago and that is at capacity?
But it was true.
On Sept. 29, 2009 at 2:30 p.m. the Board of Supervisors will
vote on whether to allow Republic Services of Arizona to buy the
landfill.
Republic Services is willing take on the costs of the initial
clean up because it’s a sweet deal for them — they can pass the
costs of cleanup and expansion of the landfill to Sonoma County
residents. They’d get a guarantee that we’d deliver all our garbage
to them for 20 years. They’d get a guarantee that they can raise
rates every year for 20 years. They’d be guaranteed that if our
garbage production drops below 70 percent of what we dispose of now
(something we all hope will occur in the next 20 years as recycling
technologies improve), we’ll still continue paying the company as
if that 70 percent is still being thrown away. And they can truck
in trash from anywhere Republic Services of Arizona chooses.
The money they’d earn from a 20-year monopoly on waste
management ought to pay for the clean-up and expansion of the dump
with millions to spare.
This deal is good for Arizona Republic, but not so good for
those who live in Sonoma County. Besides the guaranteed higher
rates for trash pick-up, there would be little or no incentive for
recycling (in fact, the new owners would require all recyclables go
to their facility, which would drive small independent recyclers in
the county out of business). And we would be expanding a landfill
that already has a history of groundwater contamination.
I hope that my neighbors will make their opinions known to the
Board of Supervisors at supervisors.sonoma-county.org
before the vote next week. Or attend the meeting on Tuesday Sept 29
at 2:30 p.m. at 575 Administration Dr Rm. 102A. Or better yet,
both.
I hope that the next 20 years will bring new and innovative ways
to deal with our trash issues. We shouldn’t be locked into a deal
that gives a private company no incentive to take advantage of
innovation—and every incentive to hang on to an antiquated
landfill.
– Lisa Anderson Mann, Petaluma