Not downtown
EDITOR: I have been following with interest the discussion on guns in Healdsburg, and I think some people are missing the point. Guns are a whole issue with broad repercussions, but people, especially in the country, have hunted and used guns for protection for a long time. I know people who have a lot of guns, and some who have rural shooting ranges. These people use guns responsibly. They are not the problem.
There are types of guns which should not be available to anyone out of the military, and types of people who should not have guns of any description. How to do that is another huge discussion, but, having said that, a gun store in Healdsburg should certainly not be next door to a toy store, and does not need to be downtown.
Downtown is congested enough already. A locally utilized gun store should be out where big trucks can easily park, for example, and where a shooting range would be more acceptable and away from downtown’s ubiquitous tasting rooms. It’s a bad match. I can deal with a responsible gun store in Healdsburg, but not downtown and certainly not next door to a toy store.
Mary Johnson
Healdsburg
More resistance
EDITOR: Kudos to Tessa Kraft and her friends for their resistance gatherings each Saturday afternoon, noon to 1 p.m. on the Plaza. At the same time, we’d like to note that another resistance group, the Healdsburg Peace Project, has been gathering and demonstrating in the Plaza for many years now. Our primary focus is on militarism in all of its manifestations — which certainly means among things that we vigorously object to Trump and all his works. If you support our aims, please join us. We meet on the Healdsburg Avenue side of the Plaza on Thursday evenings from 6 to 7 p.m.
C.J. Date, Heidi Marino, Robert Nuese
Healdsburg
Correction to letter
EDITOR: On Jan. 18, in my letter to the editor I stated the new addition to city hall was costing us $600,000; this was an error. A concerned citizen of Healdsburg brought to my attention that the figure I indicated was incorrect. The correct projected budget is actually $6.1 million. This is a 15-year loan from the electric and wastewater utility, together with other funds. For more information log onto the following: cityofhealdsburg.org/795/Healdsburg-City-Hall-Addition-and-Altera
I, for one will be keeping a close eye on my utility bills.
Ken Buchignani
Healdsburg
Raising life expectancy
EDITOR: The BP Squad, made up of mostly retired doctors and nurses (Ed Neal, Rich Mucci, Walt Maack, Damien Marsden, Hallie Beecham, Terry Leach, Barbara Shephard, Leah Myers, Jake Rutherford, Doug Pile and me) has spent the last year finding people in our community with high blood pressure and urging them to get it evaluated and treated.Â
Treatment is easy and effective, and treatment can dramatically reduce the incidence of heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure. In the last year, we have gone to many service clubs, church groups, public gatherings, senior center, farmers’ market, and even the city council. In total, we have done blood pressures on 433 people, and have found 101 high readings. That is over 23 percent. We have encouraged all of them to get their BP evaluated by their caregiver.
With the help of the healthcare foundation, we also have a permanent BP monitor at Big John’s (temporarily it was at the library) and our estimate is that has measured at least 2,500 blood pressures. If we apply the same 23 percent estimate, that is 575 people with high readings. Adding the 101 and 575, we get 676 people who hopefully have had their high numbers evaluated and treated. That is a lot of people in Healdsburg, so we are confident we have raised the average life expectancy of Healdsburg. We are very proud of our work.
Dave Anderson, MD
Geyserville
