Page 39 - Sonoma County Gazette May 2020

Everything you NEED to Feed your Family & Pets
In-house BUTCHER!
Full
Deli
OPEN 8am-8pm
887-7501
Speer’s Market
Your Russian River Community Market
7891 Mirabel Rd, Forestville
707-887-2024
What is it we care about?
In today’s normally busy world it’s easy to get lost in all the things we
are supposed to do and forget about what we really care about. Of course maintenance things like washing dishes, doing laundry, dusting now and again (not for everyone of course) and my favorite, pulling weeds and deadheading flowers are things we just do and not give it much thought. Yet we know if we neglect doing the “maintenance things” those chores easily pile up and become overwhelming. Then it takes huge amounts of energy to get them done.
During our time of shelter-in-place my maintenance chores are done right away as I look for ways to fill my time. Are you experiencing the same? I have to admit however there were days when it was hard to get out of bed.
I felt so depressed with what is going on for far too many of us right now. Part of me wanted to run to New York to pitch in and DO something for all those suffering souls. Unfortunately I chose social work in college instead of nursing as needles gave me the creeps. Because of that decision, I don’t have much to offer other than meditation and prayers to those areas where the pandemic is ruining lives.
Notice of Board Vacancy for the Forestville Water District Board of Directors Deadline to submit letters of interest: May 22, 2020. APPLY @ INFO: https://forestvillewd.com/, Forestville Water District, 6530 Mirabel Road, Forestville, California 95436, (707) 887-1551
I can, however, use this time to figure out what I really care about and ask the same of you. Since I lost my job because of the shut down it leaves me with big questions like what to do with the rest of my life. Has this experience left you with big questions? If so, what are they and how will you answer? It will be interesting to see what unfolds or where you put your energy.
El Molino Little League has been holding a “Grain Giveaway”
If you are reading this column you may care about Forestville.
for those in our community who have lost financial support due to the virus. We have been handing out bags of beans, rice, nuts, dried fruit & veggie starts to Families and local organizations who are struggling right now due
I worry about our small businesses and how can they survive. Are there ways to support them? I’ve been ordering take out once in awhile but our restaurants are suffering for sure. Thankfully Speers, the hardware store, pharmacy, laundrymat and gas station are open but how is the dentist doing? The Service Station? The coffee shops? The realtors? The chiropractors? The wine shops? The antique store? The bike shop? Sending them love and hope that once this is behind us we can fully support them in their recovery.
With the Youth Park BBQ not happening this year they are going to need us to step up as much as we can to keep them going. If you or your kids benefitted from the Youth Park in your history you should consider re-upping your membership for $35. Add more funding if you remember long summer days watching your kids play ball there. https://forestvilleyouthpark.org/
to the shelter in place order. We want to make sure all the kids and parents feel the Love of our wonderul community and know we are all in this together. Contact me at scottemll@yahoo.com, Scotty brown.
Nonprofits are hurting too. If you care about feeding those who have health challenges, Food For Thought could use some help. Log onto fftfoodbank.
org and contribute to their “virtual food drive.” The Food Closet run by the Methodist Church is seeing increased need. They have had to drop all their fun activities like Soul Café which brought in money to support the Food Closet so please consider them. All the folks getting food from them are Forestville residents by the way.
FORESTVILLE SKATESPOT! Who would have thought at last year’s Fun Run that, one year later, we’d be social distancing?
West County Community Services are doing an amazing job watching out for the homeless folks along the lower river. They operate on a very slim margin yet provide a wide range of support to those less fortunate. They want you to know that there is subsidized child care services through River to Coast Childcare for essential workers who must go to work and their kids are out of school for the rest of the year. Go to https://mychildcare.ca.gov to learn more.
Senior, Mael Chevrolet!
There isn’t much we can do for those folks in New York or the other “hot spots” like Sioux Falls where I spent my summers growing up not all that far from the pork plant now in the news. However, we can do something close to home like send money to the nonprofits I mentioned or ones I didn’t list that you care about. How to use this time wisely? Let it help us figure out what we really care about so going forward we spend our time working on what matters to us.
If you or someone you know (young or old!) wants to help with the Skatespot project please contact me. When we are able to get out and play again we’ll take a road trip to identify design features for our park. Please call if you are a skateboarder, scooter rider, in-line skater or BMX rider and want to join us. Middle and High Schoolers encouraged!
So here’s a love letter for you and an update on the Forestville Skatespot.
In order to take care of important organizational needs, we previously decided not to hold our annual Skatespot Fun Run this year. Although admin duties are not quite as fun as the Fun Run, they are necessary and will help us reach the ultimate goal.
So what are we up to, you ask? Here’s the short list...
• Applying for our own Nonprofit Corporation! Our Forestville Skatespot 501(c)3 is pending and we hope to hear by the end of May
• Preparing for the California State Parks funding grant
• Working with Supervisor Hopkins on the desired park location
• Beginning to explore affordable housing development near the park
• Mentoring our first Forestville Skatespot Youth Advocate and El Molino
Planning our next fundraising event - hopefully this September at the Rialto Theatre. Please, keep in touch, don’t forget about us. Check out our Website video(https://www.forestvilleskatespot.com/) narrated by Supervisor Hopkins under “The Project” tab. A huge shout to Brown Barn Films (https://brownbarnfilms.com/) for the great work!
Jacque Brazieal, President
Forestville Skatespot, https://www.forestvilleskatespot.com/
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