A magical place
Editor: Our Oak Mound Cemetery is a magical place. The owners of the cemetery have given permission to the Healdsburg Museum and Historical Society to head up a project to reclaim the heritage portion of the cemetery. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the individuals and companies that contributed to this project. Though it will take years of continued work to make the cemetery safe and accessible, the following donated their expertise, time, equipment, materials and labor toward the first phase of the cemetery restoration. Thank you to my consultants to the project: Matthew Thompson, retired city of Healdsburg arborist, Jay Tripathi of Gardenworks, Inc. and Bob Hopkins of Hopkins River Ranch. Thank you to those who contributed over the past several days: Western Tree Removal Specialists, Munselle Vineyards LLC, RAWAH Vineyards, Robert Young Vineyards, Hopkins River Ranch, Bevill Vineyard Management, Redwood Empire Vineyard Management, Petersen Land Management Inc., Tri-Valley Vineyard Management, the Ratto Group, Aaction Rents, the city of Healdsburg and Big John’s Market. On March 24, after all of the workers had departed and I had some time to verify that all was in order, I noticed a gentleman sitting on a bench reading a book at the northwest corner of the property. I stopped, looked and listened. The birds in the trees were singing their songs and a young doe was checking the new landscape. What a magical place. There is still much to be done and a maintenance program put in place, so your contributions to the Healdsburg Museum Cemetery Maintenance Fund are much needed. The founders of Healdsburg and many of your relatives have left us, but their history lives in the heritage section of the Oak Mound Cemetery.
Jim Dreisback, Project Manager
Healdsburg Museum & Historical Society
Tree liability
Editor: For years, the owners (of the redwood tree) have tried to do the responsible thing and remove a significant hazard, yet the city has repeatedly prevented this. If the Planning Commission and City Council hold to this position, they should fully pay for sidewalk repairs, and indemnify the homeowners for personal injury liability and property damage.
Timothy Carlson
Healdsburg
Bunny bulletin
Editor: Hello to all the kids, parents and grandparents in the Healdsburg area. I look forward to meeting you all in a few days. I always enjoy my visit to Healdsburg, as it’s always fun to see old friends and make new ones. I’m packing my ‘bunny sack’ with Easter eggs and other goodies. We’re going to do the big Rotary Easter egg hunt this Saturday, April 4, at 9 a.m. sharp. We’ll be back at the Healdsburg Elementary School Fitch Mountain campus on University and Monte Vista. My friends at Big John’s Market have given us hundreds of dyed eggs for the egg hunt, and the Rotary Club has other candies and goodies to give away. There will be separate sections for different age groups, even a special section for toddlers. Also, our friends at Spoke Folk Cyclery have provided us with three brand new bikes to give away. We will raffle off to the lucky winners. Please remind your parents to be on time. Also tell them to bring their cameras so you can take pictures with me. This will be fun for all. All Healdsburg area kids are welcome to join us. See you Saturday at 9 a.m.
The Easter Bunny
Healdsburg
Bold and timely
Editor: I appreciated Rollie Atkinson’s editorial on the sacredness of life very much (“Thoughts on Easter”). It was bold and timely. Humanity has a moral problem that separates us from the Holy God. Easter is an invitation to remember who we are, created but finite, and our need for rescue from our sin and ourselves, and that God has provided a way out of this paradise lost through Christ’s sacrifice. The editing of the human genome makes me think of Mary Shelley’s, “Frankenstein” and how it illustrated that human attempts to create life or overcome death ended tragically because we are not smart enough, as last week’s editorial stated. “Pride goeth before a fall” is still and always will be true.
Rosanne Prandini
Sebastopol
Show more respect
Editor: I was surprised about the one sided view of religion expressed by your publisher in the March 26 issue that expressed that Christianity is the only way to believe. I find that rather bigoted and not respectful of your readers who are not Christian. I enjoy the inclusive views of the column by Bob Jones, an actual Christian minister. I have my own faith. I urge you to show more respect for it.
Linda Robinett
Sebastopol
AV School thanks
Editor: It was a memorable evening for all who attended the 59th Alexander Valley School spaghetti dinner and auction. This annual fundraiser is run by the school’s parent club to raise funds for computer supplies and instruction, art, music, the garden program and other enrichment activities. Every year, the event is dedicated to an individual or group of people who have contributed in some way to the school or community. This year, that honor was bestowed upon music teacher Sue Hufford, whose life was taken last year in a tragic accident. Sue established the highly successful music program at our school, instilling the love of music in to our students and teaching with a passion and enthusiasm that was contagious. As they arrived, attendees of Saturday’s event enjoyed listening to the musical skills that Sue had taught the students. A moment was also taken to remember Bruce Campbell, the late livestock auctioneer, also known for his CK Lamb. Between the two of them Bruce, and his father Chuck, volunteered as auctioneers for our event for over 50 years. What followed was an extraordinary evening of generosity and support as parents, alumni, staff, winery owners and other community members took part in a bidding frenzy in response to State Senator Mike McGuire’s enthusiastic and entertaining auctioneering. The night concluded with rapturous applause on the announcement that the evening had raised over $80,000. For a rural public school with only 118 students, this is an amazing achievement and a sign of how much this community cares about the future of our children. The wonderful thing about this event is that it is a true community effort. Each family contributes either pasta sauce, lettuce or desserts and the parents cook all the pasta for the 450 attendees. Parents and staff serve the dinner and pour outstanding local wines. The staff helps each class of students make decorations for the AV hall and items to sell at the country store. The parents create unique class projects with the children which feature in the auction along with generously donated goods and services from all of Healdsburg and the valley’s businesses. We would like to thank every single one of those businesses and individuals who donated to or participated in this gem of an event.
Gianna Smart and Annie Holden on behalf of the Alexander Valley School Parents Club
Healdsburg
Kudos for cleanup
Editor: I read with alarm the letter concerning what was claimed as the “destruction” of the cemetery by bulldozers and earth movers. I went to the cemetary to check it myself and what did I find, but lo and behold a beautifully cleaned up, quiet space. You can now actually see the headstones of the founders of Healdsburg and walk the paths on top of the hill without fear of poison oak or tripping on an obstacle underfoot. Kudos to Jim Dreisback and all who volunteered their time and labor. This day was months in the planning and they should be recognized and commended for taking on a task that up until now, everyone has talked about but done nothing about. And, the birds were singing when I was there.
Diane Bertoli
Healdsburg

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