Page 46 - Sonoma County Gazette - January 2020

Sonoma County Registrar of Voters
Informs Voters They May Receive Voter Notification Alerts
The California Secretary of State has begun an email notification program to voters who submit a voter registrations and have provided an email address. The notification is to confirm the voter’s activity and to help protect their voter registration in the event their registration may have been changed by accident or without their consent. Email alerts will be sent by
Holiday Tree Disposal:
the California Secretary of State if a voter registers, or their registration is changed, updated or cancelled.
Thirty seconds is all it takes for a dry Christmas tree to be consumed by fire. Many people will leave their
The alerts will offer a voter instructions on what to do if the information in the alert is incorrect. If a voter wishes to receive these
alerts, they will need to provide their email address during the registration process. The email notification program will be rolled out in phases over
the next several months, based on the source of the registration. Beginning immediately, voters will receive notification if their voter registration status has been changed to cancelled or if they register or update their information via the California Online Voter Registration (COVR) at registertovote.ca.gov. Notifications based on registrations completed by paper or through the DMV will begin in January.
For more information about this exciting new program, visit the Election and Voter Information website at sos.ca.gov/elections/.
Need Poll Workers
for Presidential Primary Election
The Sonoma County Registrar of Voters is seeking poll workers
trees up through the New Year — but fire doesn’t take a holiday.
The Sonoma County Fire Prevention Officers Association urges everyone to dispose of their trees as soon as possible, once it begins to show signs of drying
for the March 3, 2020, Presidential Primary Election. “This is a valuable opportunity to serve your community, and to observe, promote and participate in the democratic process”, says County Clerk Deva Marie Proto. Over 300 Poll Workers are still needed, including bilingual and English-only volunteers.
To aid in the effort to recruit Poll Workers, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors has approved an increase in the daily stipend for Poll Workers. The stipend paid to Inspectors will be $175, and the stipend for Clerks will be $125. Bilingual Poll Workers will receive an additional premium of $25. “We hope this increase in the stipend and the addition of a bilingual premium will encourage more people to volunteer to serve their community by working at the polls on Election Day,” said Clerk Proto.
Poll Workers must be citizens who are registered to vote in California, legal permanent residents, or high school students aged 16 years or older with a minimum GPA of 2.5 and permission from both their parent(s) and school principal. Experience is not necessary, and training will be provided. Bilingual Poll Workers must be fluent in English and one of the following languages: Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese or Khmer.
The first rule of tree disposal: Never put the tree or branches in a fireplace or wood burning stove! Sonoma County Waste Management has made it easy to recycle with three options:
• There is no charge for county residents to put trees on the curbside during a specific window... OR cut and place in your regular yard waste container and for regular yard waste collection day.
• Cloverdale, Cotati, Healdsburg, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Windsor and unincorporated Sonoma County have whole tree collection. Curbside dates, check www.recology/com/RSMschedules. If that’s not an option, the tree MUST BE CUT TO FIT inside the yard waste container as trees sticking out can interfere with the lifting arm on the truck.
• Call (707) 565-3333 for an appointment to have a non-profit pickup your tree.
• Call ahead to schedule a pickup. The suggested donation for this service is $7 for trees less than 6 feet and $10 for larger trees.
• Free drop-off locations throughout the County (cut in half, no flocking).
• Sonoma County Fairgrounds, thru 1/10
• Sonoma County Transfer Stations, thru 1/17
The longer Christmas trees are in the home, the more they dry out and increasingly become fire hazards. Removing the tree from your home and properly disposing of it as soon as possible will minimize the risk of a treasured holiday season becoming a tragic one.
Graton Fire
Those who are eligible and interested can find out more on our website sonomacounty.ca.gov/vote, where information is provided on how to sign up, how to take part in the Student Precinct Officer Program, available positions, and more.
from prior years. A big “Thank You” to our tree farm manager, Heather O’Dell, her team, and all the volunteer firefighters for helping the tree farm be such a successful fundraiser. Most importantly, we appreciate your support to keep
out. According to the National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA), one-third of all Christmas tree fires occur in January.
Christmas Tree Farm: Thank you to everyone who came to our fire station to get a Christmas tree and support our volunteer firefighters! For the ninth year, we also brought in Noble, Nordman, and other trees from a sustainable farm in Oregon... They were so popular, we sold out! In addition, hundreds of people cut down their own trees across our seven acres. Kids enjoyed searching the 5,000+ seedlings now planted throughout the farm to find their names
our tree farm sustainable. We look forward to seeing you next season! Toy Drive... Another Success: The 2019 Toy Drive was a fantastic
success, thank you! Graton Fire was able to deliver presents to over 40 children, brightening their holidays. We wish everyone could experience the joy we
see when the fire engine pulls up and delivers your presents... once again, thank you. A tremendous thank you also needs to go out to Andy’s Produce, Graton Community Club, Graton Post Office, Bridgeway Gas, and Sebastopol Hardware for being toy collection points in addition to cash donations from a number of residents to our toy drive.
For more information about becoming a pole worker or other election matters, contact the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters Office:
435 Fiscal Drive, Santa Rosa, 8 a.m. and 5 p.m Mon–Fri (707) 565-6800 or 1-800-750-VOTE toll free.
FIRE NEWS cont’d on page 47
46 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 1/20