Page 47 - Sonoma County Gazette - January 2018

A Guide to
Blood Bucket Brigade
the Night Sky January 2018
Multiple re departments are hosting blood drives throughout December and January. To nd one near you, please see the list below.
By Tre Gibbs, L.A.A.S.
Happy New Year! January always seems to be an interesting time,
1/5 - Cloverdale Fire Protection District
2:00pm – 6:00pm Fire Station: 451 S. Cloverdale Boulevard, Cloverdale
1/6 - Rohnert Park Public Safety
9:00am – 2:00pm Truck Bay: 5200 Country Club Drive, Rohnert Park
1/9 - Sonoma Valley Fire & Rescue
2:00pm – 7:00pm, Bloodmobile: 630 Second Street West, Sonoma
1/10 - Santa Rosa Fire Department
10:30am - 2:30pm Bloodmobile: 2102 W. College Ave. Santa Rosa
1/12 - Geyserville Fire Protection District
2:00pm – 7:00pm Truck Bay: 20975 Geyserville Ave, Geyserville
1/16 - Petaluma Fire Department
8:00am - 1:00pm Truck Bay: 198 D Street, Petaluma
1/19 - Forestville Fire Department
2:00pm – 6:00pm, Bloodmobile: 6554 Mirabel Road, Forestville
1/20 -Windsor Fire Protection District
9:00am – 2:00pm Fire Station 2: 8600 Windsor Rd, Windsor
1/24 - Healdsburg Fire Department
2:00pm – 7:00pm Truck Bay: 601 Healdsburg Ave, Healdsburg
1/29 - Wilmar and CAL Fire
2:30pm - 7:30pm, Wilmar Truck Bay: 3825 Bodega Ave Petaluma
The winter and holiday season is always a challenging time for blood collections due to rainy weather, busy holiday schedules, vacation and flu season.
The recent wildfires that devastated multiple North Bay counties, along with the Gulf Coast hurricanes in September, serving as a reminder of the importance of keeping an adequate blood supply – both locally and nationally. Keeping shelves stocked by donating blood is one of many ways community members can come together to support one another. It’s the blood on the shelves today that saves lives tomorrow.
Since 2006, fire departments participating in the Bucket Brigade Challenge have recruited nearly 10,000 participants who donated thousands of units of blood for patients in Northern California hospitals. Last year, Windsor Fire Protection District took home the coveted Bucket Trophy with 86 participants.
The participating firefighters recognize the significance of their blood drives. Chief Bill Bullard of the Graton Fire Protection District is a frequent blood donor and encourages his two sons to donate. A Scout Master, Chief Bullard takes the scout slogan “Do a good turn daily” to heart stating, “As a Volunteer Fire Chief, I do my good turn through fire service and supporting my neighbors. As a Scout Master, I can instill the same level of community support to my boys and other young men.” Chief Bullard views blood donation as another way his sons and young scouts can be civic-minded and sacrifice just one hour of their time for the possibility of saving one life. That’s a great return.
psychologically speaking. The holidays are behind us and we are in the early throws of winter, which always has me feeling slightly melancholy - to put it mildly. However, I keep reminding myself that as of December 21st, the days have been ever-so-slowly getting longer. This becomes more noticeable towards the end of January and early February. Trying to focus on the positive, this extended darkness allows us more time to observe the night sky, although most of the action happens in the early, pre dawn skies.
On New Year’s Day, around 4:00 am, planets Jupiter and Mars rise as a pair
in the southeast just before the rising sun’s glare renders them both invisible. Jupiter is very bright, while Mars in comparison is much dimmer. What’s more interesting is that over the next week, Mars will appear to slip across Jupiter, essentially switching places with the gas giant. By the early morning of the 5th, Mars is closing in on Jupiter, appearing at Jupiter’s one o’clock position. The very next morning, January 6th, Mars appears to be in contact with Jupiter,
the two almost appearing as one bright object and on the morning of the 7th, Mars appears to breakaway from Jupiter, roughly at Jupiter’s seven o’clock position and continues to wander farther and farther away from it’s temporary companion. Remember, these events are happening right before the dawn’s rst light so you’ll have to be observing the southeast while it’s still dark outside, ideally between 5:30 am and 6:00 am. Oh - early in the morning of the 11th, the waning crescent moon will have slipped closer to the pair, thereby creating a triple conjunction of the Moon, Jupiter and Mars. A beautiful, astronomical treat for early risers.
One of the easiest constellations to spot this month is Orion, The Hunter. Orion, a winter constellation, stands out not only due to his unique and large shape, but is also easily identi ed by the three stars in a row that make up his belt. By now, Orion rises around sunset, is high in the south at midnight and sets in the west near sunrise. Orion will appear closer and closer to the western horizon each week, until mid March when Spring in the Northern Hemisphere is just around the corner. If you didn’t have a calendar, you could mark winter’s progress - and spring’s approach - by watching Orion appear farther west in the sky each consecutive night.
The “Full Wolf Moon” is January’s full moon and rises in the east around sunset on the last day of the month, January 31st. The name comes from the time when during this particular full moon, hungry wolves would gather outside Native American villages and howl, which must have been a rather frightening circumstance.
So until next month, have a productive and safe start to 2018, and as always,
Keep Looking Up!
To make an appointment and for eligibility information, visit www.bloodcenters.org/ bucketbrigade or call 888.393.GIVE (4483).
For your donation, please arrive well
hydrated and nourished with photo identi cation. Donors will receive a special event T-shirt.
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