Page 42 - Sonoma County Gazette September 2019

Hello everyone, thanks for stopping by to orient yourself with the goings on of our wonderful town of Occidental. I am somewhat taken aback
to see that this column represents my two year anniversary of writing for the Gazette. It has been fun having a need to stay plugged in to the events and issues around town, and sitting down once a month to write many more words than I have in the time since the preceding column.
Things are feeling out balance in the world these days. I’ve read or seen one jaw dropping incident after another with no end in sight. That is why featuring Hannah’s story below is so important to me. It’s something going right! I hope that you will read it and become a volunteer. Even a couple of hours of your time will make a big difference.
HABITAT FOR HANNAH
At the same time, I do find myself struggling regularly to meet the press deadline and fill up the column with news-worthy items. So please readers and community members if you have something you feel should be in the column let me know, I’d be more than happy to have others input. As well, if you have a hankering for column writing I would welcome sharing the space. Please e-mail me at the address above any thoughts you may have.
The Graton Green Village continues to develop and most of the houses are either complete or nearly there. Two of the homes are Habitat for Humanity Homes. Habitat homes have a thorough applicant process and contrary to what many believe are not “free homes. Habitat for Humanity builds houses to help those in need and then sells the houses to the homeowner partners.
The OAEC annual performance tradition of the Chataqua event is upon us the 4th - 7th of September. I went last year for the first time in a while and it was super cool. I just purchased tickets for this years shenanigans and am really excited for it. The talent is top notch, the variety of performances keep you on your toes, and there is really something magical about the venue. A beautiful wooden stage surrounded by gardens and wild lands, with the late summer sun going down behind and stars starting to peak out above makes for quite a spell-binding scene. Tickets are going fast but a few were still available as of a couple days ago.
Because of Habitat’s no-profit, no-interest loans, and because houses are built principally by volunteers, mortgage payments are affordable for those unable to obtain conventional financing for a home. Which brings us to this beautiful family.... Hannah and her family will soon be occupying one of these homes.
Can’t make it to Chataqua? Well then check out their website at oaec
org which is one of the best I have seen, full of great information and beautiful imagery. Here you will find many other opportunities to step foot on their gorgeous property.
We have our own small landscaping business as well, GEORGE FAMILY LANDSCAPING ~ (707) 843-2019. Jeffrey (aka Dredda) is a hard-working family man. Jaymon (15) participates in Cross Country, Track & Field and Leadership at his high school. Last year he was President of his class, like
the year before. He was the only freshman to be invited on the Varsity Cross Country trip last year and has a bright future in Track & Field hurdles. He was voted Student of the Year at his middle school in 8th grade. He works at the Graton Fire Department Tree Farm. Najilah (4) is full of life and spunk.
They host volunteer workdays in the garden every Wednesday from 10-5 with an organic, vegetarian lunch served at 12:30.
As well, they are hosting in their fabulous new Heron Hall a film screening of the documentary Artifishal on September 30th from 6-8:30pm for a sliding scale price of $10-$100. The movie looks very interesting exposing the follies of the fish hatchery and fish farming systems.
This Habitat home will be just that, a home for our beautiful family in a beautiful community. For me it will be in a way like “coming home”. My children will run, grow and play in the same place I did. Without this home we would not be able to afford to stay in Sonoma County
The annual Occidental Holiday Craft Faire is starting to gear up towards the event which takes place this year on December 7th and 8th. We are currently accepting vendor applications until September 20thso if you have an interest in attending the fair send an e-mail to www.occcraft@sonic. net for more info or an application. The Occidental Community Council who produces the Faire can always use more help to make the event a success, our next meeting will be on September 21st at 10:30 at the Community Center. If you have any questions or input regarding the Council you are welcome to e-mail me. The Craft Faire is our primary fundraising event each year and brings in thousands of dollars that we are then able to distribute throughout the community during the year.
From Hannah: I moved to Graton when I was 9. I attended Oak Grove, Willowside, and El Molino. Jahkai (6) will be starting first grade at Oak Grove in September. As some of you may know, I have worked at Willow Wood since 2006. I am currently there 4 days a week and take online classes at the SRJC.
A new project that the Council is engaged in is bringing internet service
to the Community Center. It’s rather disappointing that in this day and age a place billing itself as a “Community Center” hasn’t had internet service. This has really been an issue at the Craft Faire over the last few years as we are reminded every time a customer wants to use a credit card how inconvenient those old-school slips and machines were, not to mention insecure. The service will be through Comcast to the tune of about $100 a month which is a stretch for the Council’s budget but a worthwhile endeavor. I can see there being many ways this will benefit the users of the Center as well as the general public.
Another criterion for Habitat home owners is the families’ contribution of sweat equity. 500 hours in total! Which, is a lot when families work full time, own a business and raise their family. So, CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS out of the 500 hours, 150 can come from friends, extended family and volunteers.
Unfortunately it looks like the Community Center has lost one of its uses for the time being which is the after school program hosted by the YMCA. Despite the amazing efforts by the local program director Trudy they apparently
just weren’t getting the numbers of children needed to keep the program financially viable. While they needed an average of 15 kids for 3 hours per
day, they were only averaging 8 for about 1 hour each. While this may speak
to larger demographic issues of children in the community (or lack thereof), I am sure the parents of those 8 kids will really miss the resource that this was for them. I wish there was some way to subsidize the costs of the program to keep it going and hopefully somehow it will come back. In the meantime I
will miss not seeing the kids down there after school, having fun together in a supervised space.
New volunteers can sign up at habitatsoco.org and if you use Hannah’s family member number 0017 any hours you log will automatically go to them. People who volunteer with a specialized skill (for example carpentry or landscaping) get time and a half for their hours if it is in their specialty. Completion of their home is still tentatively scheduled for December.
42 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 9/19
WALKER RANCH: You may not know about this local gem. It’s an incredible story of commitment and family honored traditions. The Walker Family is 6th generation apple farmers who have stayed true to their vision of brining Sonoma County, 25 varieties of delicious local apples. This is a labor of love. While most farmers have sold their land to the wine industry the Walkers have hung on through great difficulty to keep this land for Apples. Walker Ranch is open daily from August to December. I highly recommend you visit and let out of town visitors know. Thank you, Walkers!
Walker Apples is located at 10955 Upp Rd, Graton, CA 95444
Please, won’t you volunteer and help bring Hannah and family home to Graton. You really can make a difference in someone’s life.