Page 43 - Sonoma County Gazette January 2017

An Introduction
Idon’t tend to easily admire many people, however I have come to admire Vesta Copestakes, and the work she so tirelessly does for our communities with the Sonoma County Gazette. I think it’s an integrity thing.
N2017. It’s going to be interesting.
Like most of what is wrong with our country, many modern day corporate news outlets frequently place pro ts over social responsibility. We are unfortunately in an era where the traditional press and its objectivity standards are evaporating before our eyes; being replaced often times by ridiculous social media opinions, unreliable pop-up internet news sources, and tabloid tv news teaser headlines.
ever before have I witnessed a total take-over of our government
by the Religious Right. Never have I felt so ashamed and depressed about our country’s direction and future. Trump’s cabinet choices are unbelievable. As a gay man, who was proud of the recent advances
The dedicated e orts of a few local community journalists who seek to keep us educated about what is important, and thus empowered to create a better world, should be revered in my mind. So, thank you Vesta for all of your hard work, and for allowing me the opportunity to participate in this process.
our nation has made domestically and internationally, I now foresee where businesses will be able to openly discriminate against me and others based solely on their deeply held religious beliefs. As the former president of Sonoma County Pride, I was trying to expand pride to become more than just a three block parade in downtown Guerneville. At this point, there is little hope that gay rights will improve, or even stay the same, domestically, much less globally.
Spurred to Action: Most people are aware of the res and the
town meeting last January. There seemed to have been a sort of collective complacency with respect to our town’s homeless, drug, and crime issues up to that point. A lot of people were upset about these things, but not that many people were really ready to do anything, or maybe were just frustrated and didn’t know what to do. While we still don’t know who is responsible for the res, the events of last year appeared to bring the issues we were somewhat ignoring to a boiling point. We needed to step up and do something.
Of course the carnage goes beyond me and gay rights. It includes the environment, reproductive rights, immigrants, women, Latins, nones and atheists, healthcare, racial and income inequality, etc.
We live in a remote area, away from the county seat. We have been out
of sight, and sometimes out of mind from our local government; with only about 2,800 of the 5th district’s 43,000+/- votes, and we have had no town government representatives. What that means is, we haven’t had the votes or the money to have much of an in uence on our representatives. We now have a new and enthusiastic 5th District Supervisor in Lynda Hopkins. She is full of new creative ideas to solve long standing problems, she lives among us and is raising her children in the Lower River area, which gives her a vested interest in what’s going on. She made a tremendous e ort during the campaign to prove that she cares about us, despite the fact that it probably wasn’t the most politically savvy use of her time and e ort for our 2,800 votes. I have no doubt she will continue to prove that we elected the person who will pay the most attention to our local remote communities, and we very much look forward to working with her and the other Supervisors moving forward.
While we may not expect much progress on the national level, each of us can make a di erence on the local level. We can work to continue to improve our River communities. In this respect, the new year does signify hope, optimism, and continued progress. We are seeing more local control and are raising our expectations for what we want in our communities. We are raising pride in living in the River. We have dedicated people serving our community on many di erent organizations, in many di erent capacities. Yes, together we are stronger.
Our Mission: So, what is the River Community Advocates who are the people behind it, and what are the goals? We are a group of local volunteers, who live full-time in Guerneville, and are advocating for the community
to solve problems that previously did not appear to be being adequately addressed. We are working in partnership with the Russian River Community Alliance, a non-pro t based in Monte Rio.
One success story last year was the formation and addition of River Community Advocates to the Russian River Alliance. Russian River Alliance is a successor to Redevelopment. It is comprised of local organizations that work together providing a uni ed voice, for our residents and businesses.
We represent our local interests and work with Sonoma County Government to make things happen. I am pleased that Jen Wertz will now be writing a local column in the Gazette dedicated to the Alliance. It will provide more information on what issues we are addressing and will provide a better means of increasing dialogue, developing solutions, and seeing that results are in- deed being obtained. I encourage you to read her column, as well as Rio Nido Magic and Guerneville Groove columns.
We are people who have special skill sets, such as former re and police personnel, with experience in government administration, homeless advocacy and substance abuse, and community activism. We are volunteers, with no personal nancial or political motivation, no funding sources to dictate our actions, and no interest other than to try and solve community problems to make our home a better place for everyone.
Staying Connected: Again, I encourage everyone to join Nextdoor.
com if you haven’t already. It is another success story and is your best
way of being informed, sharing information, and obtaining solutions to neighborhood or River-wide issues. Remember, if you don’t have physical mail delivery at your home address you will need to be invited through Nextdoor by an existing neighbor member or contact me directly as Nextdoor veri es your residence address before accepting you.
We do not wish to contribute to the gentri cation of our town; rather we seek to preserve the things that are already wonderful about it, and advocate for the local population that has, in our opinion, been under-represented, the working class full-time residents. We work with property owners and businesses, walk encampments, o er resources, do outreach, act as liaisons with the Sheri ’s department, and with any other government or non-pro t group that is appropriate to solve problems. We are here to help individuals or businesses that we may be able to assist. We will be attending the monthly Supervisor’s meetings to o er solutions for our community on a regular basis in the months ahead.
Want immediate information on crime or safety issues? What to know who your neighbors recommend to have your appliance or computer repaired
or your house repainted or landscaped? Need a local reliable plumber or electrician? Want to know what local events or garage sales are taking place? Nextdoor works.
Trying to see a bright side, we are energized and united locally like never before. We will ght tooth and nail to prevent our country from being turned into a Christian Sharia state. We will protect our progressive values.
Local Strength: So, on the local level, we are seeing progress, and will continue to see progress in the New Year. We are River folks, and we are up for the challenge.
Vacation Wonderland. We just keep getting better.
This will be the rst of a regular RCA column in the Gazette. We will try to keep you informed about what’s going on and what we are doing. If you would like to learn more about us, possibly get involved as a volunteer, have some concerns or solution focused ideas you would like to share, you can “like” our FB page, or contact Mark Emmett at 707-529-0534.
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