Page 42 - Sonoma County Gazatte May 2017

News on the Street:
The Hazards of Illegal Encampments
A little birdie whispered in my ear and told me that the Rio Nido Lodge will soon be under new management.
As the weather improves and the winter shelter has closed once again, the homeless have been handed tents and sleeping bags to go out and trespass
in the woods and set up illegal camps, instead of being directed to seek legal shelter elsewhere. With these camps come massive amounts of trash and human waste that pollute our river, as well as the very real danger of escaped camp res, of which there were eight last year per Monte Rio Fire Chief Steve Baxman. Any one of these situations could have been catastrophic, like the devastating res we have seen in Lake County. So, what can we as community members do about it?
Stay tuned for more info on this topic...
Sheriff ’s Presence:
Has anyone noticed that we have more sheri s patrolling the area? Its great news for us here in RN to know we are being taken care of. Thanks for making us feel safe.
Upcoming RN Homeowners’ Events:
Mark your calendars for these exciting family-friendly events!
The Guerneville Community Alliance began walking illegal trespassing encampments more than a year ago. We o er encouragement and resources to seek legal shelter. Our resource packets include phone lists for available shelters in Sonoma County, local NA & AA meeting schedules, a payphone calling card, and a bus pass to get to a legal shelter. We coordinate with private property owners, our environmental health agency, local law enforcement, and local re agencies when we identify problems that need to be resolved. There are many hidden encampments that we are unaware of unless someone living nearby identi es them and contacts us. We are willing to try and assist the community in resolving these types of situations.
May 28th: Chicken BBQ
June 18th: Pancake Breakfast
July 1st: 4th of July BBQ with Hamburgers and Hotdogs
August 5th: Golf Tourney at Northwood Golf Course
August 6th: Pancake Breakfast/Art Festival
September 3rd: Labor Day Chicken BBQ
“A big thanks goes out to Douglas Misner, President of the RNHOA, Beverly
Bird, John Colonico and all the other members who participate in organizing these fun events for our Community.”
Rio Nido Roadhouse News:
For the Sheri ’s Dept. to enforce trespassing on private property, there are two requirements that both have to be met. The property has to be properly posted with no trespassing signs “along all exterior boundaries and at all roads and trails entering the property”. In addition, a Trespass Action Request form has to be completed by the property owner and led with the Sheri ’s dept. EVERY six months. These forms can be obtained from the Guerneville Sheri ’s sub-station (Sonoma County Sheri ’s dispatch 707-565-2121 or Guerneville sub-station 707-869-0202), or by contacting the Guerneville Community Alliance, see contact info below.
Great news for our beloved Roadhouse. The suit between the RNR and a certain individual has been for the most part settled with both sides coming out as a win/win situation. The Roadhouse is an integral part of Rio Nido’s Community providing entertainment, good food and many fundraisers for locals in our area. Brad Metzger and his wife Raena are the nicest couple you will ever meet. Keep up the good vibes!
Rio Nido Clothes Swap/Exchange/Fashion Show:
This year’s event brought many to the RNR. The participants came away with many, many treasures. The fashion show was a ton of fun too...Looking forward to next years exchange with eager anticipation!
One of the obstacles in our area is that there are many vacant properties that have out of town owners who may not be aware that there is a problem on
their property. A useful tool that anyone can use to identify the address, parcel number, and owner information of a property is a free commercial website – makeloveland.com. It can be di cult to identify parcels in wooded areas, but this website allows you to scroll over parcels until you nd the one you are looking for. The Guerneville Community Alliance has additional resources to identify parcel information, and we may be able to physically meet at a location in which it is di cult to determine the parcel number and/or address. We have form letters ready to send to out of town property owners, which inform them there
Easter Diorama Contest at RNR:
There were lots of winners this year. Its amazing how creative people are.
The Third Installment of the Art Salon:
Last month we had another packed house at the RNR for the 3rd Art Salon painting party. This event is a great way for amateur painters to segway into learning how to paint. No fuss, no muss, no stress. Just let your creativity ow. Thank you Raena, owner of the RNR for providing the scrumptious appetizers and beverages. Who knew painting could be so much fun!
Rio Nido Pet of the Month
This beautiful 7-foot-plus
Boa Constrictor is Opal. She
is called Opal because in the
sunlight she is iridescent,
especially just after she sheds
her skin. Her species comes
from the jungles of South
America. Opal has been living
in Rio Nido for eight years.
She comes into town when it is
nice and warm. Many people
are quite interested in her.
During the summer months
you can nd her sunning in
the park. She loves to give
people the opportunity to
pet her and take her photo
always looking for opportunities to dispel the myth that snakes are bad or teach someone something new about Boas that they might not have known before.
42 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 5/17
is a problem they may not be aware of, and o ers to help them get it resolved without any further nes and/or legal action. We try to include photographs, and it is helpful if people forward photographs of the problem to us for that purpose. We also o er to randomly monitor the property and work with the Sheri ’s dept. or Fire dept. if new problems develop, as well as o er referrals for trash clean-up in the event they are unable to do the clean-up themselves. If the property owner is unresponsive, Sonoma County Environmental Health can be contacted at 707- 565-6565 or eh@sonoma-county.org.
Per Chief Steve Baxman of the Monte Rio Fire dept., if a re hazard is identi ed, the best thing to do rst is to contact your local Fire dept. From Forestville to Guerneville, Chief Max Ming should be contacted at 707-887- 2212 or chief5100@forestville re.org. For Monte Rio to Guerneville, Chief Steve Baxman should be contacted at 707-484-2320. We also have a Cal FIRE station in Hilton between Rio Nido and Forestville, and they have the ability to do safety inspections and/or write citations holding owners responsible for hazardous situations, however per Chief Baxman, the best course of action is to contact your local re dept. rst.
If you would like to learn more about the Lower River Area Community Alliances, become involved as a volunteer, or if you have some community concerns or solutions you would like to share, you can “like” our Guerneville Community Alliance and/or Russian River Alliance (Monte Rio) FB pages. You can also contact Mark Emmett at 707-529-0534 (Guerneville) or Chuck Ramsey at 707-239-1639 (Monte Rio).