Page 16 - Sonoma County Gazette April 2019

By Will Carruthers
Shocked by images of rising waters, piles
boundaries into homes and businesses not ready to this level of water. Applications for grant money will be available through both chambers. Watch for announcements or log on to the chamber websites to learn more about the application process and availability of funds.
Rising UP from Flood Waters
Business Owners Recovering and Ready for Customers
United Way of the Wine
Country Sonoma County Flood
supports residents, neighborhoods, and communities in need. The purpose of the fund will be to support flood survivors to get back on their feet. All funds raised will be used to support flood relief through agency partners in the region.
unitedwaywinecountry.org/comm/ SinglePageRegPledge.jsp
The business community is encouraging visitors to come, stay, and play in the Russian River area. Community members are also encouraged to get out, support their neighboring businesses, and continue to shop locally.
sebastopol.org rissianriver.com monterio.org
DONATE:
New Vision Foundation
c/o Santa Rosa Metro Chamber of Commerce 50 Old Courthouse Sq. # 110 Santa Rosa, CA 95404
santarosametrochamber.com
of debris, damaged businesses, and displaced residents, some tourists and shoppers told Guerneville business owners that they planned to stay away this year. With summer vacation season fast approaching, locals want more business, not less, so they are sending out the message that they are well on their way to recovery.
People from outside the area are coming up with clever ways to support locals with Gift Cards from local businesses. VanDyne’s children, who live on the East Coast, purchased cards from Russian River businesses by phone for VanDyne’s birthday.
While some buildings just need a good cleaning, others are going for full remodels, like r3 Hotel and Rio Nido Roadhouse. Floodwaters inundated these businesses so thoroughly they took their buildings down to the stud walls and are replacing everything.
Dyann Green, who has owns Evergreen Flooring with her husband for ten years, was mostly prepared. Because she lived through previous flood, Green designed a business-preservation
Rodger Jensen, the owner of Guerneville’s r3 Hotel is downright excited about the changes and improvements he is making to the resort property. It’s an arduous journey but he expects to come
out better than before the flood. His enthusiasm is contagious, even when workers end their days in complete exhaustion, they have something to look forward to as old is replaced with new in what will be a compete make-over for this resort.
plan for her flooring business. In the lead-up to the rising water, Green and her husband transported the majority of their flooring samples, a crucial commodity in their business, to the living quarters of their nearby home.
“Every business is open and we’re hungry
for customers,” said Rodger Jensen. On Easter weekend, April 18 through April 21, r3 Hotel is hosting a fundraiser for people impacted by the floods. Benefits from the four-day event, called the “FLOOD ~ AID Love Wins” fundraiser, will be distributed to local businesses.
Although the business location was yellow- tagged due to damage, Green has been operating out of her nearby home. Her Facebook posts
let people know they are open for business and offering discounts to flood victims. They have a “we come to you” operation anyway, so the only downside is missing their showroom until repairs
The center of downtown Guerneville didn’t suffer much damage because that one section of Main Street is just high enough to keep water out of most of the downtown businesses. Among the most relieved is Russian River Art Gallery and Blue Door Gallery filled with original works of art. Douglass DeVivo (Blue Door) is planning a unique fundraiser for impacted individuals and businesses. When people were suffering from the Tubbs Fire, he set up huge tables for people to create art. Participants found it very stress-reducing, so he’s doing it again, this time to raise money for flood victims. Local artists will teach classes in paper maché, painting and more for a fee that is donated to the cause.
Recovery & Wellness Fund
are completed. “You can only reach so many people
on Facebook,” Green said, so getting the word out
that they are functioning is vital. Dyann expects that her business could have an influx of customers in the coming weeks as people are ready to replace floors and carpets.
Elise VanDyne, executive director of the Russian River Chamber of Commerce is working with
the Monte Rio Chamber of Commerce, merchants, restaurants, and resorts to combine their energy to bring people into town to dine, shop, and play. They’ve designed a campaign that expresses how people are working together to clean up, dress up, and support teach other.
#bettertogether
#BetterTogether launched at the end of March to show people how this community takes care of its own and welcomes people to join in the spirit of small town unity and mutual support. Many businesses are offering special discounts to bring people back into town to see what they are accomplishing.
“There’s no place on earth like the Redwoods along the Russian River. What’s a flood now and then compared to all the days, months, and years living in this spectacular beauty and delightful climate.
To help damaged businesses recover, the Russian River Chamber is partnering with the Sebastopol Chamber of Commerce to establish a flood relief fund to assist small business owners. In Sebastopol, the Laguna de Santa Rosa went far beyond its normal
If people can live in fire-prone areas, hurricane and tornado zones, we can live where the waters rise.” Just like Sonoma County is rising from the ashes
16 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 4/19
of the Tubbs Fire, flood-damaged communities
are cleaning up after high waters. Fundraisers will continue into the spring. In addition to coming out to these communities to eat, shop and enjoy the beauty of nature at its finest, please consider donating money to help people get back to their normal lives.
Pledge Site:
Among river businesses that know how to survive floods, is Dorothy Hagan who owns Stumptown Nursery. About every ten years flood waters race through her nursery knocking plants about and damaging her infrastructure. Her land is low, but like she says, it’s mostly an outdoor business so there is
no flood insurance and it’s really a matter of cleaning up. This flood hit her especially hard, lifting her small buildings off their foundation walls and setting them back down at odd angles. But by mid-April she expects to be ready for spring planting with all new plants and soil amendments. People love Dorothy and her nursery so locals are ready to help her recover once more.
When people ask river dwellers why they stay here when such devastation hits them on an average of every ten years, they’ll smile and look out from where they stand, and gesture to the beauty that surrounds them.