Page 45 - Sonoma County Gazette Janaury 2019

Happy New Year Monte Rio
By Marina McTaggart
I hope you all enjoyed a happy and healthy holiday season and are ready
to make the most of 2019. As I write this December is slowly fading away but not before bringing us some much needed and welcome rain. The high surf and big waves along the coast were spectacular and I’m reminded daily of how thankful I am to be living in such a beautiful area.
Happy New Year! I never thought we’d ever get done with 2018. I’m looking forward to longer days, more fun, and less stress in the New Year.
No matter what the season – this is the best place on earth!
Hopefully you had a chance to see Mrs. Warren’s Profession while it was playing at the Curtain Call Theater. Artistic director Michael Tabib and
his talented group of actors, crew and volunteers did an excellent job with this play by George Bernard Shaw. The upcoming 2019 season includes a production of one of William Shakespeare’s works and also Agatha Christie’s “ The Mousetrap “. 2019 season tickets are available now!
Congratulations to Cynthia Strecker as the Monte Rio rep on the MAC, and to Kyra Wink as the alternate. Hopefully our MAC will be a vehicle for needed progress in our communities. Congrats also to other winners, many of whom I know, work closely with on community groups, and am on the same page with on most issues.
The Monte Rio Chamber of Commerce once again collected donations for their annual Holiday Food Basket Program which benefits children of low income families at Monte Rio School and Preschool.
I wish the candidates’ full bios and applications had been sent along with the ballots to the voters or at least posted on-line. All Monte Rio candidates have good backgrounds and share some commonalities.
This year the Chamber put together 55 baskets with assistance from
the Guerneville Sheriff’s substation and a dedicated company of board members and volunteers. Monte Rio Fire assisted with assembly, loading and delivery of the baskets which were given out at the school’s evening Christmas program on December 12.
Cynthia has lived in Monte Rio for 41 years. Her professional background
is in public education particularly with at-risk youth. She has served on our school board as well. Since retiring in 2013, Cynthia has been actively involved in social change, such as advocating for living wages. I like what she said in her bio: Democracy is not a spectator sport and we need more, not less, participation.
Thank you to all who donated and to Russian River Historical Society and Sonoma County Pride for generously supporting this program!
Kyra is a recently retired management healthcare professional who
worked for Kaiser for 35 years primarily in the Sacramento Valley and was successful in cost containment (definitely a useful attribute when making our government funding go further). In 2005 she returned to family roots and built a retirement home in Villa Grande where she is active on the FOVG board.
Measure U passes! Measure U will generate $500,000 annually for the Monte Rio Fire Protection District. According to Chief Baxman – “the call demand to respond to fires and emergencies has risen dramatically.” Measure U ensures that our tax dollars support our Fire Dept with adequate staffing, training, equipment and some much needed renovations to the firehouse.
Congratulations to Cynthia Strecker on being elected the Monte Rio/ Villa Grande MAC representative and Kyra Wink on being elected as the alternate The formation of the MAC shows great progress for the 5th District and provides a means for citizen participation on decisions affecting our communities. Cynthia’s work has already begun.
Where ARE You?
Have any of you used SoCo Report It app and find it shows your address
Municipal Advisory Council ( MAC )
as Occidental? What about Apple Maps? The problem is with Apple and hopefully they will be correcting it. Not sure how long it will take after reporting it, but hopefully they will correct it soon. Have you upgraded your iPhone, iPad, or PC recently? The process is certainly easier and more seamless than in the past. Apple in particular involves placing two devices next to each other and pushing a button. The PC is still a little more challenging, but they are getting better too. I was a slow adopter to AirPods, but once I heard them
She says “One thing I like so much about this committee is the increased representation it is designed to give all of us. In that vein I’m putting together a committee to advise ME! I’m trying to get representation from a variety of different groups...both towns, different neighborhoods, different ages and living situations, different incomes, etc.
I had to pick some up the next day. I’m also impressed with the Ring doorbell. Technology is amazing and getter better every day. It brings people together, provides so much information, mobility, and makes you more productive, and secure.
I want to see as broadly as possible what our different thoughts and perspectives are, what we view as our strengths and difficulties as well as how we might go about solving issues and enhancing our strengths.”
December also brought us the sad news of the sudden passing
Air Quality
The MAC meetings will begin in early 2019 and will be open to the public.
I also recently purchased a Purple Air air quality sensor and it should be set up and viewable on-line soon. As our air quality is very localized, the Russian River Alliance has asked our local fire departments to purchase air sensor monitors to be installed at their fire stations. Our fire departments are charged with assisting in the enforcement of our air quality regulations. More neighborhood sensors will mean better data available to rely on and to make better decisions with.
of Steve Pacatte. Steve was a Monte Rio resident, a neighbor of ours and a SF firefighter. He was killed in a vehicle accident on Occidental Road early on the morning of December 12. He previously worked for the Marin County Fire Department and Tiburon Fire Protection District and was currently working with the San Francisco Fire Department at Station 14.
Did you know the SCT Bus Route 28 “the River Shuttle” is now free to hop on and hop off? From Guerneville to Monte Rio to Occidental. Give it a try.
He was recently in Butte County assisting with the devastating Camp Fire. Steve leaves behind his fiancée Colleen Bialas who lived with him in Monte Rio and is expecting their first child in a few months. Our hearts go out to Colleen and Steve’s family and friends. San Francisco Fire Dept Station 14 has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to support Colleen. (www. gofundme.com/fund-for-baby-bialas)
Wishing you and your family a happy, healthy, and bright New Year.
Speed Display Trailer & Monte Rio Bridge: The Sonoma County Department of Transportation and Public Works has announced the implementation of a new traffic calming program in response to community concerns about aggressive and unsafe driving in unincorporated Sonoma County. Residents may request a speed display trailer to be placed along certain road segments for 2 week deployments. For more information call 707 565 2231 or email TPW@sonoma-county.org.
Vacation Wonderland, we just keep getting better.
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The 2nd Community Workshop on the design of the New Monte Rio Bridge will be held on January 10th from 6-8 pm at the Monte Rio Community Center. More info at monterio.org