Page 2 - Sonoma County Gazette Oct. 2019
P. 2

Dear Readers,
   I wanted to stay away from the topic of fire this month because it brings on PTSD responses in people. But when I was discussing the fire ballot measures with impacted unincorporated fire districts who depend upon VOLUNTEERS
to cover emergencies, they emphatically said PLEASE cover fire.
One thing I have learned from running our Fire News column over the last
18 years is that people who stay in touch with emergency services have a great respect for the volunteers and professionals in this field. In our unincorporated areas it’s mostly volunteers who put their own lives on the side when they respond to help save others’ lives in our communities. Being familiar with what they do tends to inspire us to financially support those efforts. We KNOW we depend upon these people! We vote YES on ballot measures!
Right now our planet is feeling fragile and our societies are feeling divided. Yes, there’s always been division but because of the pervasiveness of media in our lives, the Us vs. Them message gets more attention than may be healthy for us. Longtime Gazette readers know that I’m more of a “We’re All in This Together” kind of person but I don’t like the idea of censoring people with whom I don’t agree. I try to be inclusive. If we are all in this together that means we bind ourselves to people who have opposing viewpoints as well.
I draw the line at hatred because I know the negative impacts of that kind of thinking. There are consequences to actions...some intended, some not.
Publishing the Gazette has been a fascinating journey for me. My self- confidence rises and falls with public response to my work as well as with whether we have enough advertising dollars to publish each month. Every now and then I ask readers to PLEASE support our advertisers and PLEASE tell them you are using their business because they support the Gazette.
 As we head into the holidays our local economy depends upon shopping at locally-owned stores. Taking care of our home is essential to our community’s survival. PLEASE shop locally!
        2-www.sonomacountygazette.com -10/19

























































































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