Letters to the Editor 12-3-15

Show us the money
Editor: I knew my letter would touch a nerve and can’t say I am surprised that it was Mr. Nurse who was first to respond (I thought some specific real estate folks would display their pique initially). I am not sure that he resided in this area when the first developers proposed the resort (it was golf then) plus shopping center and a few luxury homes. They had some very pretty drawings of their concept and also indicated all the wealth it was going to bring to our city. The Planning Commission plus the City Council approved it after all the due diligence and then the clock began to tick and nothing happened. Eventually they came back to the City Council and explained the resort was not cost effective and wanted to build homes instead, that request was wisely denied. So much for the assertion of: “Seizing an opportunity for economic development that Cloverdale has never seen before, and will never see again” – been there done that.
I am sure that the airport existed a long time before he built his house. It so happens that I also live in the flight pattern, as does Mr. Nurse, but unlike him I find the sound of an airplane almost as soothing as a chicken clucking in a farm yard.
When addressing money, as other things, proposals are based on a lot of assumptions and are by no means accountable. If this outfit is serious about this project then the they show us the money. No, do not wave it in front of our nose, that won’t work.
And by the way, if you look at the Press Democrat archives you will find this reference to the Lake County fire: “Cloverdale airport Manager Michael Morrissey says the U.S. Forest Service used the airport that night as their base.”
Emergency services also own helicopters and they do not require a long runway, and although they can land practically anywhere, the airport makes for a great fuel, resupply and assembly area.
Luciano Toninato, Cloverdale
Bedroom community concerns
Editor: The people of Cloverdale need to decide if they want to stay a commuters’ bedroom city or a city others find special. I suggest we need to think outside of the box, getting some ideas from others, rather than from one inter-city community. Get more from the community as a whole. Take the city airport as an example. Why should we breakup that land for a far away skateboard park and a dog run park? Why not extend the runways to handle corporate planes and provide a small convention hall? Make it a viable port of traveling pilots, as well as a destination port. A convention center could be used for week or weekend seminars, company meeting with side trips to our many wineries etc. It could even boost the Citrus Fair business. Our fair and Friday Night Live brings lots of outsiders, we need more.
Instead of the many negatives you can read of or hear at meetings, we need more local positive ideas and give invitations to outsiders to bring in ideas. Right now what do we have to offer drivers going north or south on 101 other than a McDonald’s and a couple of gasoline stations? When thinking about some of these comments remember a bedroom community has a limited income potential and a shortage of funds to find more water wells.
Donald Reed, Cloverdale
Christmas shopping opportunity
Editor: I stopped by the new Cloverdale Nursery. What a pleasant surprise. Nice people and beautiful plants. The succulents were especially gorgeous and reasonably priced. The pots were stunning. This is where I will do my Christmas shopping.
Kirsten Sullivan, Cloverdale
Good candy for a good cause
Editor: The Cloverdale Kiwanis Club is selling See’s Candy through the holiday season. All funds raised from selling the chocolates are used to support local service projects, food pantry, high school breakfast, community events and more. We sell the candies all the time, but they are especially great to buy during the holiday season for gifts. Come place your order at Mail Center, Etc., located at 207-A N. Cloverdale Blvd., and get your sweet-tooth fix.
Laurie Kneeland
Kiwanis Club, Cloverdale
Community support at its best
Editor: The recently concluded fall programs of the Cloverdale Historical Society Speaker Series is an example of the outstanding support put forth by our small town community when the topics trigger the interest of the residents. The Cloverdale Performing Arts Center, that gem of a small theater, was again the venue of choice for the speaker series. The topics ranged from challenges to agriculture in Sonoma County to the story of our nation’s best known artist of the Pomo Indian, Grace Hudson and back to the era of the San Francisco World’s Fair of 1915, the Panama – Pacific International Exhibit. The series concluded with a two part history of Sonoma County.
The five programs attracted a combined audience of 450 people and generated $5,300 towards the programs and exhibits of the nonprofit Cloverdale Historical Society. This is surely community support at its best. All of us at the Historical Society extend our thanks to each Cloverdalian who attended and also those folks from Ukiah, Geyserville, Healdsburg, Santa Rosa, Windsor and Marin County who made the effort to come to our talks. We look forward to your continued support in 2016.
Joaquin Espinosa, Speaker Series Coordinator
Cloverdale Historical Society
Giving thanks
Editor: I had a lovely Thanksgiving Day and I hope you did too. I found so much to be thankful for today. The fall colors here are spectacular this year. It seems we have more deciduous trees making gold and red and maroon leaves every year. (That can’t be true, but it seems like it.) I had a lovely drive through the Dry Creek Valley and the Russian River Valley, watching the brilliant leaves fall from the trees, fly through the air and skitter along the ground. The vineyards are all showing jewel-like colors when the sun hits them – big patchworks of varied color in huge fields.
I saw a large flock of starlings rise in unison from a vineyard and form intricate pictures with their aerial ballet, and another way off in the distance looking like a curl of smoke. I was on my way to my daughter’s little cabin deep in the redwoods of the Russian River canyon, where she served me the best Thanksgiving dinner I’ve ever had. True to the family tradition, Erica is a fantastic cook. On Black Friday I planned to cruise through the Alexander Valley, the biggest and most beautiful (biased opinion, but true) of all the Russian River Appellation valleys. I am lucky enough to live in Cloverdale, at the very top of this fabled valley in north west Sonoma County – and the crossroads of the Sonoma, Mendocino and Napa wine country.
I am thankful for my lovely daughter and her wonderful husband, and thankful that I live in this gorgeous place. I often wonder how I was so blessed as to end up here. And a new thing to be thankful for. We watched a movie made for youthful audiences and another that was animated. I found out that the movies they are making for children and young people today are teaching them good, old-fashioned values and each has a moral. The moral to this one was, “You can do anything you want to if you never give up.” Cool, huh?
May your holidays be filled with miracles.
Ginny Carroll, Cloverdale
Help a senior
Editor: Can you help feed Cloverdale’s isolated seniors? The Council on Aging is seeking a Meals on Wheels Driver on Fridays from approximately 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Volunteers will receive verbal and written instructions, use their own vehicles and be required to lift a minimum of 25 pounds. A (free) background check is required. Contact Valerie Leitz for details at 894-4826 and Michele Leonard at 525-0143 x147 for the registration process.
Michele Leonard, Council on Aging