Letters to the Editor 6-20-13

A sweet thank you
Editor: I would like to thank Will Seppi and Costeaux Bakery for their support and can-do attitude. As the American Legion Auxiliary National Poppy Chairman, I presented Will with a request to assist Healdsburg American Legion Auxiliary Unit 111 with a special project in honor of Memorial Day and honoring the sacrifices our veterans have made and continue to make today.
Will graciously accepted the offer to bake “Poppy cookies”. These cookies were decorated with the Flanders Field Poppy and written across the center were the words “We Remember.” The Poppy flower was first adopted by the American Legion Auxiliary in 1921 as a memorial to the fallen soldiers during World War I.
The successful sale of the cookies raised money for The Pathway Home at the Yountville Veterans’ Home. The Pathway Home is a Transition Center for care of combat veterans returning from Iraq/Afghanistan who are suffering from PTSD. They receive no money from the State or Federal government and rely solely on donations and grants.  
Thank you also to everyone who purchased these cookies. What a wonderful, generous city we live in. Your support is truly appreciated.
Melanie Taylor
American Legion Auxiliary Unit 111
Clarification
Editor: In the story by Lynda Hopkins which was published on June 12, I was quoted as having said “The board in a prior administration had used operating funds to pay for construction. The board had taken $200,000 of unrestricted money and they had put it into the construction project…”
A prior board chair contacted me to object to that statement, and asked that I clarify.
The former board chair related that a former director of the Healdsburg Animal Shelter, who was also the organization’s treasurer, had transferred about $54,000 of operating funds into a construction account, for the purpose of paying invoices to the construction project’s subcontractors directly. When the board discovered this transfer, they ordered that the money be returned to the operating account, and they voted to remove the treasurer, who was discharged from the board. I am aware of this history, and do not dispute it. However, the fact remains that, even after this time, the board continued to contract directly with subcontractors, and ran up bills for construction totaling almost $200,000, at a time when the construction account had been exhausted. As a matter of public record, mechanic’s liens were filed on the new shelter property and to this day have not been settled. Since there is no other source of funds to pay off these liens, they are a claim which a court could require to be settled from available cash, which today is only a modest amount in the operating account.
The board which was seated to serve in 2013 was faced with a potential $300,000 operating loss in the new year, plus an obligation of $200,000 from prior unpaid bills and no prospects for cash support on a scale that would offset these burdens; thus the announcement to cease operations.
Art Feagles
Board Chair
Healdsburg Animal Shelter
Keeping funds separate
Editor: I know I am not the only member of this community who is shocked at the decision of the current Board to close our beloved animal shelter.
The June 13 front page article contained a statement by current board chair Art Feagles that demands correction. Mr. Feagles alleges the board agreed to use $200k of operations money to pay for building construction costs.  This is simply not true. Under my tenure as a board member, absolutely no funds donated for the shelter operations were used for construction costs. The board was adamant that the treasurer keep all funds separate. The board’s central principle was that building a new facility would never endanger the life of the shelter.  In 2012, we had a forensic audit conducted by a local CPA that confirms there was no commingling.  
Since the 2011 HAS board stopped construction, there have been accusations about ‘secrecy.’ When building funds were unexpectedly exhausted the board had no ethical alternative but to cease construction. The board was forced to move forward to address the financial debacle under a threat of legal action by the project manager/treasurer.  Those were difficult times as we felt we could not be candid without risking being sued both personally, and as a board, even if what we revealed was true. When the construction litigation is complete, I can only hope that more facts will be made available to the community.
I am only one of hundreds of people who have supported the shelter and I am sadly disappointed in its closure. Since its inception in 1959, the shelter has been a successful and emotional center of the community of Healdsburg.
Kathleen McCaffrey
Former HAS Board President
HAS volunteer perspective
Editor: I have been a volunteer for the Healdsburg Animal Shelter for more than a year. In all my experience, which includes work at other shelters, boarding kennels and pet hospitals, I have never witnessed a staff or volunteer group provide more expert care or show more boundless compassion for the animals in their care as did those at the Healdsburg Animal Shelter.  
If you have not been there, it is difficult to imagine the tired facility that houses the shelter. And yet, even though this old place often needed repairs, and even though it doesn’t look like much, beautiful things happened there every day. Anxious or scared, in poor health or simply heart-broken, dogs and cats arrived here at what was often a low point in their lives. But then, the healing began. Health needs were assessed and a safe and clean enclosure, with a cozy bed and comforting toys, was provided. Enticing meals were prepared. And there was love; gentle, loving human contact. The most important thing.  And time and time again, I saw the fear melt away, the anxiety calm, and heart and body begin to mend.  
This took dedication, not just to the animals’ physical needs, but to the needs of their spirit.  It took thoughtfulness, to devise intriguing activities for animals who must spend long hours confined. It took patience, to woo a frightened animal to trust in humans again. It took endless compassion for the kennel and office staff to find so many moments between their many daily tasks to offer kind words and cuddles, to use their “break time” to play a game of fetch, sooth a frightened dog or to pet a lonely cat. But all this, and more, happened every day at the Healdsburg Animal Shelter.
I am sorry that economic circumstances are forcing the shelter to close. I am sorry for staff members who will lose their livelihood and sorry for the volunteers who have felt appreciated and have found a community here. But most of all, I am sorry for the animals, because this was a place where the animals came first, where excellent care and loving attention gave homeless animals a real chance at a new and happy life.
As a last thought, I want to say how impressed I am with our sister animal welfare groups around the county who have reached out to HAS and provided homes for the remaining animals at the shelter.
Sue Archer
Healdsburg
A few suggestions
Editor: Someone needs to build a parking lot that’s several stories. (A terrific example of one that’s more pleasant to the eye would be the one the SRJC built a few years ago; it’s covered in brick and vines.) I’d also suggest the space used by the hotels. As one who lives on a street where someone once grew marijuana plants to combat pain, it was interesting to witness the lines of people who made visits I’m sure were to make sure the grower was feeling better. And marijuana does stink; it stinks during the growing process and it stinks when it’s smoked. (I’m sure no one wants to hear my opinion on the differences between Sebastopol and Healdsburg.) Now, about the water situation. When people want to experience a desert, they drive to Palm Springs for a vacation. Tourists aren’t going to visit Healdsburg if folks don’t water, so while we can all do our part, it’s the lush foliage that helps lure visitors to our hamlet.
PS: The theatre department spent a bit over $18,000 last year on four drama productions. All of it came from either donations or through ticket sales. Thank you for supporting our program.
Brent Mortensen
Healdsburg