Letters to the Editor 12-12-13

Veteran’s Day
Editor: On Monday, November 11, 2013 we conducted our first Veterans Day ceremony at the Admiral Bud Sparks Memorial Pavilion on the Town Green in Windsor. We would like to thank the citizens and Town of Windsor for the warm welcome we were given.
The Sotoyome American Legion Family includes Veterans, the Auxiliary, the Sons of The American Legion, and the American Legion Riders. Today we total more than 572 members, all dedicated to serving veterans. We honored four members who are residents of Windsor.
Manual Lownes. Manual, Mike to some of you, is a WWII Army Veteran, who at 95 still runs circles around many of us. He is a 55 year member of the American Legion Post and has held most of the leadership positions. As a member of the 40 & 8 he has been working at their flea markets at the Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building for 43 years. The proceeds of the Flea Market fund 15 Nursing Scholarships at Santa Rosa Junior College. During the recent government shut down he went to Washington, DC, on an honor flight of fellow WWII veterans. While there he helped open monuments to the veterans.
The second is Betty Crandall. Betty is a WWII Navy Veteran who has been active in the Sotoyome American Legion Family as a member of the Post and the Auxiliary.  She also recently made an Honors Flight to Washington, DC. She was a escort at the dedication of the banners on November 3rd.
The third is a Vietnam Veteran, a Navy Seabee, who is a 26 year member of the Post and is currently serving as Commander of the Windsor-Healdsburg Post of the VFW. Stan is also a member of the Disabled American Veterans and the Vietnam Veterans of America. He also preceded me as Chef de Gar of the 40 & 8. He represented both the American Legion and the VFW post on the Windsor Banner Program committee. If you were at the dedication ceremony you saw him in action. On Saturday, November 9th he gave leadership to the Flag Retirement ceremony at Windsor Fire Station 2. Stan Shusda is a driving force in the local Veterans community, and as I have learned from experience, it is hard to tell him no.
The fourth person is not a veteran. He is the son of a veteran who has dedicated his life to public service. Ron Collier is honoring his father’s service through the Son’s of The American Legion and is a past president of our American Legion Rider Chapter. For the nearly two years he has served as the Sonoma County Veterans Remains Recovery Officer. He makes sure that the unclaimed remains of veterans are identified, transported to the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery in Dixon where they receive their final honors and where they will have a flag and a wreath every Christmas.
We are committed to conducting two ceremonies on Veterans Day with one in Healdsburg and the other in Windsor. We will rotate the stating times. We are thinking 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Remember, we are your American Legion Post.
Tom Grimes
Commander, Sotoyome Post 111
Gateway to College
Editor: My name is Cameron Ballenger attend an academy in Petaluma on the SRJC campus called Gateway to College. Gateway to College is a program to help youths who haven’t graduated high school or who struggle in high school.
This program allows you to take classes to get your high school diploma and earn college credits at the same time. I would recommend this program to people if they have difficulties in school or who dropped out and want to come back and get their diploma. The reason for that is because this program has so much to offer; the teachers and staff are so nice and down to earth; they actually want us to succeed and get to know us as human beings not just students in a classroom.
Being at this school has helped me in many different ways. I used to be absent all the time; now I have perfect attendance; I hated being at school; now I love being here. It has taught me a lot. They’ve helped me with my English, grammar, punctuations, run-ons sentences, mixed constructions, etc. I couldn’t even imagine my life without this program; I would probably be sleeping in everyday and watching TV while all of my friends are out getting an education.
In spring 2014 the school will be enrolling new students for the new semester. I would advise anyone who has been expelled, dropped out, or just never passed high school to come into their office at the SRJC Petaluma campus, 680 Sonoma Mountain Parkway, Doyle Hall, room 238, you can also call or email the director Vanessa Luna Shannon 707-778-3631 vs******@sa*******.edu. So you better apply fast, the word is getting out and more and more people are lining up for applications.
Cameron Ballenger
Sonoma