Page 38 - Sonoma County Gazette August 2019
P. 38

WHAT IS NATIONAL NIGHT OUT?
  It’s an annual community- building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships
and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live. It provides a great opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive circumstances.
Greetings Gazette readers, happy August to ya’ll!
Last weekend was the annual Firefighters BBQ (I don’t know the current gender make up of the Fire Department but figure it’s time to start doing away with some of these sayings like Firemen in general reference). It was perfect weather, the BBQ was awesome as always (did you see the size of the chicken dinners?), music was rocking, raffle prizes superb, and I hear 1,300 oysters
were consumed in the course of the day. That’s a lot of shucking, kudos to all the volunteers who help make all aspects of the event a success. One thing did occur to me this year that could really use some improvement though, and
that is the public safety aspect of everyone parking on and walking / crossing Bohemian Highway. It sure seems like a danger to me. I think it would be great for future years to create some kind of shuttle option from parking lots in town. A ride in a fire engine sure sounds cool but probably isn’t feasible with seating, & turn-around options and such. Maybe a couple of vans, or a few community members with cool classic cars or something? Some way to get more cars off the street and less folks crossing it. I think some improved signage on the highway would be good as well, such as “special event ahead, caution pedestrians in roadway, slow down – you’ll enjoy the music,” etc.
 Neighborhoods host block parties, festivals, parades, cookouts and various other community events with safety demonstrations, seminars, youth events, visits from emergency personnel, exhibits and more. Here are two local events...
In a nod to Natasha, Cazadero’s columnist, the weather is so splendid today that I have ventured out of my cyber hut to write out in the fresh air. An extension cord supplying the power, the shade of the redwood trees and a slight breeze supplying the motivation.
GUERNEVILLE & RIO NIDO - August 6
Rio Nido – 4 – pm, Picnic Area - Sponsored by Friends of Rio Nido
Guerneville – 6 – 8 pm, in the field by St. Hubert’s Hall/ the Russian River Fire Statiom (Church Street between 4th and 5th Streets) Sponsored by: Friends of Stumptown, and Burbank Housing @Fife Commons
Come join with the nation at a gathering of first responders and community members, as we meet in Rio Nido and Guerneville. There will be members
of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Dept., Russian River Fire Protection District, and California Highway Patrol on hand to greet our community members, families, and children. Check out the fire engine, patrol cars, and learn how
to communicate with others via ham radios. They work when cell phones are down. At the Guerneville location, CERT will have information at a table, and the Evacuation Planning Committee formed in 2018 by our fire department will have take-away literature.
Harmony School is back in session on August 15th. A community welcome is extended to the new Superintendent / Principal Mathew Morgan, may your tenure be a long and successful one.
WINDSOR - August 6 - 5 to 5pm The Windsor Police Department will host its second annual National Night Out at the Windsor Town Green. It will feature Windsor Police staff, patrol cars, a K-9 demonstration and activities and games for the kids. Interact with law enforcement and other first responders as part of a national effort to bring communities together. Sonoma County Fire and Sonoma County Animal Services will be joining in on the fun with a fire engine, safety tips, adoptable animals and literature on pet care and adoption. They will be serving hotdogs and refreshments.
August brings us the annual Perseid Meteor shower which in my opinion is very much worth heading outside on a nice summer evening for a few minutes or many hours to delight in their celestial display. The peak this year is on August 12th with the few nights preceding being better than following as the full moon is on the 15th. Good luck!
Forestville Teachers Prepare
A quick heads up that the next meeting of the OCSD (Occidental Community Services District) is on Tuesday, August 13th from 7-8pm at the firehouse. The deadline to file an application for a seat on the board is also in the middle of August so get on it if you’re thinking about it. There’s talk of a potential candidates forum sometime in September, further info next month.
 for August 12 Strike
The Farmers Market is going splendidly from my own perspective at least, it’s great to see all the folks out having a good time and supporting our vendors. A highlight for me is the wonderful pork being offered by Jeff at Takenoko Farms from Windsor. I’ve currently tried his pork chops, ground pork and several kinds of sausage and all have been phenomenal. I’m a sucker for anything spicy and his Dante’s Inferno sausage definitely turn up the heat quite a bit.
100% Strike Vote Includes Backing by Sonoma County Teachers Unions
After two years of bargaining, Forestville teachers met with the district managers (new superintendent, district’s attorney, and two board members) on Wednesday, July 24th with the hope of averting a strike and having a positive agreement to begin the school year.
The Farmers Market has offered a window into a larger discussion around the needs of the town. Our lack of a public restroom is appalling and while
a porta-potty is not ideal it’s certainly a welcome addition to everyone from
the folks using it to the business owners having less people using theirs. The porta-potty costs $300 a month to have and be cleaned once a week, this being one of the expenses the market pays for and needed the fundraising efforts
to be able to provide. But we need a restroom the other 6 days of the week in Occidental, and it was agreed upon to leave the porta-potty open 7 days a week for the duration of the market (end of October). The restroom has been getting enough use that a 2nd weekly cleaning is necessary. This costs an extra $110
per month which the Occidental Community Council has decided to fund through the end of the market. This is great news, but unfortunately there are 7 months of the year that there is no market going, and the Community Council doesn’t have the budget to cover $410/mth in expenses. We might be able to get by with 1 cleaning a week in the slow tourist, no market season but $300/ mth is still more than our group can accommodate. We are hoping that some combination of a monthly business sponsor (with promotional signage) and possible financial help from the OCSD could help to keep this restroom open year round. Community input is welcomed and this only further stresses the need to come up with a long term public restroom solution.
After a brief caucus, the district’s attorney told the teachers that the district was unable to negotiate any further as the district’s bargaining team did not have board authority to respond to the teachers’ proposal. The board had two deal breakers that were part of the teachers’ proposal:
1) No retroactive wage increase for the 2018-19 school year;
2) A three-year contract in order to have “labor peace.”
Teachers made it clear that they are not accepting off schedule payments and,
if the district wants labor peace for three years, the district needs to make it worthwhile by addressing their inadequate pay and healthcare.
The teacher unions throughout Sonoma County say they will support Forestville teachers, who plan to go on strike the first day of school, August
12. Other Sonoma County teacher unions are facing similar challenges at the bargaining table. Educators in West Sonoma County High School, Harmony and Two Rock districts have taken strike votes and four others, Twin Hills, Wilmar, Bellevue and Cloverdale, are in the impasse mediation process.
Sonoma County educators are committing to solidary actions in support of the Forestville teachers, ranging from online support and contacting school board members, to discussing the situation with possible substitutes, attending rallies, and posting “We Stand With Forestville Teachers.”
38 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 8/19
Thanks for your time folks, see ya next month.




























































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