Page 24 - Sonoma County Gazette June 2017

It’s re season! Cut grasses, trim the trees, disc the eld
WHIRRRRR! “What’s that noise?” The sound of your mower! OK neighbor; look around your property. After this year’s rainfall the growth of grasses, thistles, limbs, and underbrush is greater than in normal years. The hills of green are now golden as May winds contributed to fast drying. All it takes is a spark and a fire is underway.
In the midst of a national and global crisis that worsens by the hour and will be intensi ed by the time you read this column two or three weeks from today, it’s hard to focus on what’s local or even what’s personal; and yet,
if the American uproar begins to upset global markets, as it already shows signs of doing, we will be made suddenly and perhaps shockingly aware that
Fires have burned before in the Springs! In October 1923 a Boyes Springs fire burned homes as well as many of the local hot springs resorts. In September 1964 a PG&E transformer exploded east of Glen Ellen and burned from Nunn’s Canyon and Adobe Canyon towards Sonoma. The fire burned in the direction
orchestrated by new City Manager Cathy Capriola to plan its activity for the rest of the year and perhaps to resolve its di erences. Mayor Rachel Hundley’s failed attempt to install Lynda Corrado on the Planning Commission in
place of the more conservative Ron Wellender dramatized this split, with
three members committed to the Council’s entrenched program of supporting business-friendly policies and two, Hundley and Amy Harrington, inclined toward a more progressive, environmental agenda. In the mix are the shaping and approval of the two proposed hotels right in the middle of the congested downtown area and whatever else the Council may choose to favor to keep the hungry maw of the tourist-and-wine industries nourished and fed. We love our prosperity here and certainly wish for it to continue, but at what price remains the question and will the needs of the poor and concerns for the earth be washed away in favor of the engine of progress, as usual? Pleas for declaration of a “housing emergency” in the Valley, made nearly every month by the Spiritual Action Committee, have thus far gone unheeded, and now we have the threatened deportation of our undocumented farm workers looming before us, with enormous consequences for families and the enterprises that rely on them. The Council did pass a heart-felt resolution in support of all targeted minorities here, but one lacking in speci cs; for which the Council substituted a donation of $10,000 to La Luz, the local nonpro t that has been trying to respond to the needs of an in amed and anxious Latino community some 2500 members strong. But what will the money go for?
of Mission Highlands. Overall nineteen homes destroyed. The fire wasn’t extinguished until it reached the border of the City of Sonoma. In 1987 another fire burned from the north to Cavedale Road before it was contained.
How to prepare for fire! Cal Fire officer Scott Melendy notes that State inspectors canvass the area looking for problems. They also respond to resident complaints of hazardous locations. Annually Cal Fire does a survey of certain problem areas. This year Cavedale Road is the target area. Homeowners must cut grasses and underbrush back 100 feet from houses and other structures. Trees are to be trimmed of limbs at least 10 feet from chimneys. Lower limbs are to be cut so as to prevent a “fire ladder.” Trees too close in proximity should be more widely spaced.
Look around you! Are there areas that should be cleared? Is there a potential hazard that needs attention? Residents with questions or concerns may call CAL FIRE GLEN ELLEN at 707-996-6960.
A personal note: In Santa Barbara in 1964 this writer witnessed a down canyon wind that blew flames in one and one-half hours from 3,985-foot La Cumbre Peak to homes at 350 feet. Three homes nearby were destroyed. An all night vigil saved the house. In 2009 at the same location 80 homes, including the one saved in 1964, burned in another down canyon blaze. Be Prepared!
A brief review – A book by Michael Acker
Meanwhile citizen groups have formed to assist the e ort, principally the Sonoma Valley Action Coalition (SVAC) with ve committees working on various aspects of the crisis. Two, the Legal Defense committee and the Family Preparedness committee, have come smack into an obstacle with no immediate solution, and that is the lack, and high cost, of su cient immigration attorneys to assist deportees whisked o in the middle of the night to unsavory and
“The Springs: Resort Towns Of Sonoma Valley”
cruel detention centers. We have learned (I am a member of the Family Prep committee) that immigrants who are able to post bond are able to return to family and community until their case is heard, which may take up to ve years. How much better to be home and employed than rotting in one of these detention centers! But a lawyer is needed to le those papers, and again a lawyer is needed in court, more than doubling the chances that the immigrant will be allowed to remain in the land of the free, and all of this is complicated, time consuming, and expensive. A state bill making its way through committee, SB 6, would provide some funding for legal defense.
Local historian and artist, Michael Acker recently had his work released by Arcadia publishing of Charleston, South Carolina. It is part of the acclaimed “Images of America” series. Mr. Acker dedicates his work to the late Diane Moll Smith, and the Sonoma Valley Historical Association.
Chapter One, “In Hot Water from the Beginning.” explains how Sonoma Valley’s hot water sub-strata served Native Americans and the immigrants who followed. “The Springs” tells of the early hot springs hotel development by Capt. Henry E. Boyes. Boyes purchased the land from Thaddeus Leavenworth, an early pioneer who came west with the Stevenson regiment in the Mexican War.
Also hopeful would be the passage of Senator Dianne Feinstein’s bill proposing a “blue card” for farm workers, a process possibly spurred “behind closed doors” by our state’s agricultural industries stricken with apprehension over losing their work force.
Acker’s work describes the heyday of the Springs from the 1920’s until WWII. Since a large portion of the Springs’ homes remain from this era readers will follow with interest. The work is complete with historical text and a plethora of photos
of places and persons that allow current residents to feel the book is their personal history. He concludes the work with a chapter, “The Springs Today.”
Local e orts to resist the administration on other fronts have quieted down for now, with outrage tempered by a hope that a deus ex machina like impeachment will end the nightmare. But in an era of Big Medicine, the e ect of the new healthcare bill on our jewel of a hospital regional clinic is another intangible. Please vote to support our hospital this June 8!
A must read... Wherever you live in Sonoma Valley, “The Springs” is a must read. It is available at Readers Books, the Sonoma Barracks bookstore, Sonoma Country Antiques, Potter Green at Cornerstone, and Sonoma Vintage.
I don’t know what life in the Valley looks like to you if you are not following the daily news feed and helping where you can to defray its probable impacts on our community. I was reaching for one of those imsy plastic bags above the produce section at Whole Foods when the woman standing next to me said she had stopped following the news in favor of “happier things” and I certainly do understand the need to do so. It’s the uncertainty that is starting to weigh on everyone’s nerves. Who knew that our government might be run by such tactics as contradictory Executive Orders and infernal alliances with dictators to say nothing of playing patsy with John McCain’s and the Neocon’s favorite enemy, the Russians? Thus we are all kept ying from pillar to post to keep up with the latest volley and if we need to drift o to happier thoughts over the vegetables, God bless us all.
SMI Still Mum About Future Of The Big 3 Building
The former Big 3 restaurant (Hwy 12 and Boyes Blvd.) sits in the heart of the Springs. It is the focal point for travelers, Post Office users, and an estimated 30,000 cars that pass daily. SMI representative Ms. Michelle Heston responded to our inquiry by saying there is “nothing definitive” regarding the future of the Big 3. She said SMI is reviewing plans and discussing options.
24 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 6/17
Years ago when the location was the “Woodleaf Store” it was the “hub” of Springs’ commerce. As the current Springs renaissance moves forward, hopefully SMI will develop the Big 3 property as part of that revival.
all things are indeed connected, in human society as much as in nature. This week, our divided city council will be having a daylong retreat