Page 8 - Sonoma County Gazette January 2017

LETTERS cont’d from page 7
Trash Service Descrepancy
program every Thursday at the Guerneville Veterans Memorial Hall, followed by the pick-up of trash that has been bagged up and staged for us by those same neighbors in the lower RussianRiver;
I live in Guerneville, and I was going over my bill from Redwood Empire Disposal this morning and came across some disturbing information about our rates as they compare to the rest of Sonoma County. As a long-time Guerneville resident and Redwood Empire Disposal customer, I find this to be quite concerning, and I thought I would share my findings with you.
The 29th annual Russian River Watershed Clean-up in September in collaboration with many other agencies and entities;
Here is the text of the email I sent to RedwoodEmpireDisposal’sparent company, Unicycler (The Ratto Group) today: I would like to know why your rates in the Russian River area are so high compared to all other Sonoma County communities. The distance from Guerneville to the central station in Petaluma, for example, is almost half the distance from Cloverdale, yet we pay rates that are 50% higher. We are also closer to the the central station than Healdsburg, but we pay 212% more. This is ridiculous. How can you possibly justify the exorbitant rates you are charging your Russian River customers?
Other watershed projects to remove detritus left by beach-goers, tourists and campers;
And, continued outreach and education efforts to residents and visitors alike on the importance of clean waterways.
None of this would have been possible without the ongoing support of many agencies and entities that have provided us with access, encouragement, in-kind contributions and fiscal sponsorship.
SMS: 233733 (Text “HELP” or “INFO”)
Hours: 24 hours, 7 days a week Languages: English, Spanish and 200 more languages
I have also attached a breakdown of rates taken from the Unicycle website. I hope you find this information useful, and can bring it to the attention of more people in our community.
Thanks to Don McEnhill and Russian Riverkeeper for their faith in us and undying support. Thanks to the County of Sonoma, our Board of Supervisors and their staff-people, and the Sonoma County Water Agency for assistance when we ask, and for picking up the phone when we call. Thanks to West County Health Center’s Homeless Outreach Team for its collaborative spirit and ongoing encouragement, and to West County Community Services for all it does and is trying to do.
Website:
traffickingresourcecenter.org
January is designated as National Human Trafficking Awareness Month. The annual event has been recognized since January 2010 when President Obama sought to bring attention to the epidemic of human trafficking in this country.
Thanks, Randy Tudor
District Attorney Jill Ravitch noted that, “My office is committed to doing everything in our power to combat human trafficking. Although our primary mission is to prosecute cases involving traffickers, we also work hard to raise awareness in the community through the efforts of the Sonoma County Human Trafficking Task Force.”
Cloverdale Cotati Healdsburg Petaluma Rohnert Park Santa Rosa Sebastopol Windsor Guerneville
$15.72 $9.80 $11.17 $9.51 $8.51 $14.68 $11.14 $11.11 $23.71
43.8 miles 4.5 miles 26.7 miles N/A
Chief Deputy District Attorney Brian Staebell chairs the Task Force which includes representatives from Verity, Santa Rosa Police Department, Polly Klass Foundation, Crossing the Jordan, Sonoma County Human Services Department, Human Rights Commission, Soroptomist International of Sonoma County, Petaluma Police Department, Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety, Sonoma County Health Services, Sonoma County Probation, Social Advocates for Youth, Sheriff’s Office, Junior League of Napa-Sonoma, Commission on the Status of Women, and Homeland Security.
5.6 miles 12.1 miles 9.8 miles 21.4 miles 24.8 miles
Community
Rate
Distance
Along with these collaborations, we have also been honored to partner with other local community groups and non-profit organizations. Amongst these are Russian River Wild Steelhead Society, the B-Rad Foundation, Surfrider Foundation, Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods, North County Community Services, our local schools and businesses and many more.
In 2016 the Task Force participated in a H.E.A.T. (Human Exploitation and Trafficking) Institute Regional Summit on Human Trafficking in Sacramento, presented to first responders at the Wine Country Field Care Symposium at the SRJC Public Safety Training Center, and provided training to hotel managers at the Human Trafficking Awareness Hospitality Training at the Finley Center.
Now that we are in a new year and we ready ourselves for the work of 2017 it only makes sense to peek back into the past twelve months and add up our totally grass-roots, all-volunteer accomplishments.
dedicated volunteers, aka: The Garbage Patch Kids, who continue to show up even when it’s cold and wet and muddy. Faced with the direst circumstances, they remain cheerful, understanding, passionate and compassionate. They are our most valuable assets and with them we are a growing, thriving organization.
During the month of January, the District Attorney’s Office, along with the Task Force is leading and participating in a number of events:
This year, over 550 volunteers have removed 155,510 pounds of garbage from the Russian River watershed between Hopland and Jenner. Of that total, about 45,000 pounds was collected, bagged and staged for us by a subset of dedicated volunteers who are currently living without houses. None of that trash will land on our beaches this winter, nor will it end up in the Pacific Ocean – ever.
Please consider a contribution now so we can continue to grow and expand our efforts in the coming year. To make a donation online, go to russianriverkeeper.org/what-you- can-do/donate/ Make sure to include a comment noting that your donation is for Clean River Alliance.
January 10, 2017: Sonoma County Board of Supervisors will issue a Resolution declaring January as Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Board of Supervisors Chambers, 575 Administration Drive, Rm 102A, 1:30 p.m.
January 25, 2017: Film Screening. The Long Night, Seven Lives Forever Changed By The American Sex Trade. Filmed and Directed by award-winning photojournalist, Tim Matsui, produced by MediaStorm, and supported by The Alexia Foundation. Finley Center, 2060 W. College Ave., Santa Rosa, 6:30 p.m.
January, 2017: Billboard Campaign. Billboards which are funded by members of the Task Force will be visible throughout the county. The same posters will also be placed on buses operated by CityBus of Santa Rosa, and those operated by Sonoma County Transit.
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Clean River Alliance has spent the year expanding our efforts and adding more events to our calendar:
You can also mail us a check to P.O. Box 536, Guerneville CA 95446.
THANK YOU for helping
uskeepourriverclean Mostly, thanks to our utterly
A weekly town cleanup in Guerneville every Monday afternoon;
And, if you would like to volunteer, or simply talk trash, call me at 707-322- 8304. Visit cleanriveralliance.org and LIKE us on Facebook!
An outreach effort to our house-less neighbors through the Vets Connect
With sincere appreciation,
Chris Brokate
And the crew of Clean River Alliance