Page 42 - Sonoma County Gazette April 2018

Ican feel the build up of groovy events coming our way...
Wednesday, April 4th is the Russian River Chamber of Commerce Mixer at the Guerneville Bank Club in downtown Guerneville. If you
I’ve been looking at demographics lately. I can tell you it’s challenging
to get recent, reliable data. We need good data to determine where we currently stand and what we should be doing for our population going forward. Without good data, or without looking behind the numbers, it can be pretty meaningless. For example, lately there has been a lot of press that Santa Rosa has the second highest percentage of same-sex married households in the country based on Federal tax returns led. Is this the same Santa Rosa that doesn’t have one gay bar? Looking behind the headlines, you will see
that the data is not based on the City of Santa Rosa, it is based on the top 100 “commuting zones” in the US, so yes, we are back to the River.
have yet to check this place out, please join your chamber members & business owners at 6pm for some tasty treats and libations. There are numerous businesses located here; ice cream, pie, wine, general merchandise and let’s
not forget it is the home of the Russian River Historical Society! Speaking of which, mark your calendar for May 5th, on Cinco de Mayo, for the Russian River Historical Society’s opening of their new exhibit “Restaurants and Taverns Along the Russian River”. Refreshments will be served and Out of the Blue will be providing music. I hear they may even close down the side street for dancing....it will be estupendo!
Our median age is 51, which is 41% higher than the CA average of 36. We have fewer kids here, and we are an aging population. The aging factor is not too much di erent than Sonoma County as a whole. We need to be focusing on services for seniors, which our Senior Center and our county is now doing.
Friday, April 6th is the First Friday ArtWalk in downtown Guerneville. There is a new groovy Art Guild that recently formed, so I imagine the ArtWalk will be getting even better every month...Come out and support your local street vendors and artists! Begins at 3pm; follow the chalk art.
We have low household income, but respectable per-capita income. This
is probably due to having smaller households so we have fewer two-income earners per household. Our estimated per capita income in 2016 was $36,000 which is similar to Santa Rosa, and is higher than CA and US averages. Our people living below Federal poverty level appears to be in-line with county averages of around 11%.
Tuesday, April 10th’s Give Back Tuesday at the Rainbow Cattle Company bene ciary is none other than Friends of Guerneville / Stumptown Parade! Come and support the parade by purchasing ra e tickets, enjoy some refreshments while eating a wonderful dinner bu et. This years parade will be held on May 12th and the theme will be...wait for it...Super Heroes! Start planning your oats; the kids are going to go wild over this!
Our 2018 1st quarter median home value per Zillow is $479,800 which is slightly higher than Guerneville’s, and of course much higher than US averages.
Speaking of our local children, Forestville 4-H is having a really groovy fundraiser on Friday, April 13th, 6pm at the Washoe House. Sign up for this Paint Nite Event; the subject, the Round Barn which you all know, we lost last October to the devastating re. For more information, contact Brenda at hawkesphoto@yahoo.com.
One area where we really stand out is educational attainment with over 94% having at least a high school diploma. This is slightly above Guerneville, and compares with only 86% in Santa Rosa. The educational attainment level in the River area is the highest in Sonoma County!
Saturday, April 14th, Sisters’ Bingo will be bene ting the Russian River Senior Center, so be sure to go to brownpapertickets.com to reserve your seat as they sell out quickly!
The rst of two areas we don’t exceed well in is our unemployment rate. Per EDD in December, Monte Rio’s unemployment rate was 6.3%, the highest in Sonoma County. Sonoma County was 2.8%, CA was 4.3%, and the US was 4.1%.
I’m sure you all have heard by now that Sonoma County Pride has been relocated to Santa Rosa. So our local Rodger Jensen has created the New Russian River Pride group, who has our own local parade/celebration already planned and in the works! There will be a planning session on April 23rd 6pm at Timberline. The groovy Pride Parade and Celebration will be held on one day, Sunday, August 26th. There will be a pride breakfast at 3 Alarm Grill, the parade at 11am, dinner from 5-8pm at Timberline and the River Queen Drag & Dance at the R3 from 9 to closing. Stay tuned for updated information as planning evolves. If you would like to follow this event, visit the facebook group page RussianRiverPride2018 which is open to the public. Please! If you have any merchandise to donate for fundraising raffles or can donate cash, contact Roger at the R3!
The second area we don’t exceed well in is our life expectancy. Our River life expectancy is 78 years compared to 82 years for the county. The River area has the lowest life expectancy in the county. Healdsburg has the highest at 85 years.
Saturday, April 28th is going to be a full day of fun, beginning with The Russian River Spring Fling! Purchase your tickets for this food and wine
event soon, as it will sell out quickly; tickets are available for unlimited food or unlimited food & wine as well. Go to eventbrite.com to get a $10 discount on advanced ticket purchases. There will be an array of vendors there which will include Backyard, Betty Spaghetti, Big Bottom Market, Boon Eat & Drink, Cape Fear, El Barrio, Seaside Metal and much more! Wines will include Paul Mathew, Wooden Head, Flowers, Fort Ross, Equality, Korbel, Porter Creek, Boheme, Joseph Jewell, Sheldon Wines and more! This event is from 1-4pm.
Perhaps we need to work more on getting more jobs out here? More businesses? More county government help getting our downtown vibrant, starting with reopening the Pink? At least we could be enjoying our shortened golden years in good company together? I don’t have all the answers, but I do know we need to work on some of our issues, and we have the brains to do something about it.
After, from 5-9 pm is the Monte Rio School Gala which is a fundraiser for the technology and arts program which is being held at the Monte Rio Community Center. Enjoy live music, beer, wine and oysters while browsing through the silent auction items. A pasta dinner will be served at 6 with dessert and live music to follow. Get your tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com.
There are many positive signs this year. Hopefully not the least of which will be the mid-term elections. Locally, our residents are more engaged than ever and you can see the results from progress on our streets. Constructive positive dialogue and engagement is happening. One area this is happening in is with our large non-pro t community health and services providers. I’m on an ad-hoc committee with Russian River Health Center. From their perspective they are a nationally recognized leader in providing quality health care for anyone that walks through their front door regardless of ability to pay. From some in the community, they are seen as not doing enough and are allowing people to die on the streets right outside their front door. I have learned that they are basically a primary care doctor facility for their patients. They don’t
do urgent care, walk-ins, etc. By opening dialogue, we now have a better understanding of their business. They have a better understanding of the issues and perceptions the community has. We are now trying to work together to improve some of the issues. Some of these issues may require more from the DA’s o ce, Adult Protective Services, and Sonoma County’s Mental Health Department. This department has recently had 40 layo s, so the work ahead
I know we are about out of room here, but there is one more event I must mention and that is the Monte Rio Chamber of Commerce Fireworks Fundraiser Golf Tournament which will take place at Northwood Golf Course on Friday, May 4th. This is a LOT of fun, with prizes, BBQ and great fellowship. Come and see me at Pinnacle Capital Mortgage in downtown groovy Guerneville, next door to Russian River Realty to pick up an entry or sponsorship form. Form your team now or get me your business card to sponsor a tee!
of us may be challenging, but at least we are now trying to work together for needed solutions and results. Although I am not as engaged with WCCS, I have seen some progress on their end as well as far as being more aware of, and responsive to, community concerns.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! to my groovy son Mason McGahan
MONTE RIO cont’d on page 43
42 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 4/18
So, what does this all mean? If you want to be employed and live longer don’t waste years getting educated?
Spring is here which is an indication of good things to come.