Page 43 - Sonoma County Gazette 11-17

Gratitude. The theme for this month’s Gazette columns. Last month I wrote: Natural disasters have been non-stop this year with hurricanes and earthquakes. Locally we also experience res and oods. What an understatement.
Sitting in my cosy cyber-hut I can see blue sky and no wind affecting
the large redwoods outside of my windows.It is day #4 of the horrific firestorms which have affected so many in Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino counties. We have all been very tense, especially when the air
I have worked for the Federal Government’s Small Business Administration (SBA) providing Disaster Assistance. I have worked 10-12 hour days, 7 days a week, commuting two hours each way as that was the closest hotel to Charleston during Hurricane Hugo. I was relieved after a month or two to be able to stay at a downtown highrise Holiday Inn with damp carpet and mold growing up the walls not to endure that commute any longer. There were people that had lost family members. One person told me they went to their former house on the coast and there wasn’t a spoon left there. You don’t forget things like that. I interviewed crying business owners that had lost their busi- nesses. They were crying because they could no longer pay their long term employees that were family to them, and they were more concerned about their families than their own family. The despair was incredible. The job was probably the hardest I have had and the most worthwhile.
was so dark with smoke and smelly! I send out my deepest feelings of sadness for all who have lost their homes and their workplaces! I am very impressed with the outpouring of help, both by the wonderful first responders and different groups and individuals. As I write this we are still not completely out of danger here in west county. Join with me in doing (appropriate to yourself) either a rain dance, call for the fog and absence of wind!
But somehow, this time it is di erent. Yes, it’s local and I personally know people e ected, but I think it’s more unexpected and surreal. I’ve been through earthquakes and hurricanes, but you kind of expect them in certain areas. What you don’t expect is for the worst re in California history to wipe out family members, their homes, their businesses, overnight in Santa Rosa of all places.
As we approach Thanksgiving Day and other upcoming holidays, I recommend that you attend the Annual Cazadero Holiday Crafts Fair. This festive event will be held on Saturday, November 11th, from 10-4 p.m. at the downtown Firehall #1. Sponsored by the Cazadero Community Club, the Fair will feature a lovely assortment of locally handmade gift items, delicious baked goods and tasty snacks will be available in the Fair Cafe.
Many local artisans will also be exhibiting at the Monte Rio Holiday Wonderland Crafts Fair, to be held on Saturday and Sunday December 2nd and 3rd-hours are 10-5 p.m. at the beautiful Monte Rio Community Center across from the Rio Theater. The Monte Rio Parents Club will offer up delicious food and baked goods.
You don’t expect a complete breakdown of emergency services, whether
it’s messaging alert systems before the disaster hits, or a total lack of any re response during the re. Parts of the city burning down and no-one putting out res? Do we not have re stations, hydrants, sprinkler systems, re ghters? This isn’t some small gold mining town in 1849.
Another wonderful Holiday Crafts Fair s the long-running Occidental Holiday Fair which will be held on Saturday, December 9th and Sunday, December 10th at the YWCA/Community Center on Bohemian Highway
from 10-5. This very festive event benefits the Occidental Community Council. They also feature a fabulous ‘Bucket Raffle’ with fantastic items donated by craftspeople and local businesses. These three events are all admission-free to the public. Shop for the holidays or any other gift needs and help to support your local artisans!
OK, thanks to my friend Mark Emmett, I have been educated on why a re- storm of that intensity couldn’t be fought. I’m sure though, there will be many questions and changes coming down the road. Cal Fire has already
instituted a di erent manner of dealing with neighborhood protection.
Your ongoing vehicle, yard and household projects are greatly helped by Cazadero Supply’s 1st Saturday 15% Discount Day. Both the Cazadero and Duncans Mills General Store offer daily groceries and many locally grown and produced specialty items. Call Raymond’s Bakery for holiday goodies and enjoy their Friday Pizza and Music Nights. Mr. Trombly’s Tea and Table Shops are two of several Duncans Mills stores operated by Cazaderans, including the very tempting ‘Treats and Toys’ adjacent to the Duncans Mills Post Office.
We all know people that have lost their homes. We’ve all seen the horri c pictures and articles, and heard rst-hand accounts of the horror. Where I work, there were four, including my closest co-worker and friend. She had lived in her home in Co ey Park for decades and raised her family there. Another coworker lost his home, his mother lost her house, his grandmother lost her house, and his kid’s daycare burned down. A man walked up to him and said you don’t know me but I married your high school girlfriend. I’m a philanthropist and I’m green. You now own a brand new Prius and the insurance is paid up for six months. Despite what I still perceive to be an unacceptable initial response, the aftermath response has also moved me more than I could have imagined. The response was massive and fast. Businesses, large and small, doing
whatever they could to help their employees. First responders and individu-
als going above and beyond everywhere. Our local, state, and federal o cials governing with a passion that is almost unheard of nowadays. Fire ghters from across the state, other states, Canada, even Australia? I would read the news and Facebook every morning and I cried every morning. I’d see a picture of a lost dog found, or of a comfort dog doing their job, and I would cry again. The mother, who was devastated as she lost her house, but whose son was later able to locate her dog, Izzy. She was then the happiest person on the planet. We all can relate to what is really important in life. And we all can be grateful for the family, friends, co-workers, homes, and belongings we are so fortunate to have. We can also be grateful for living in Sonoma County, Santa Rosa area, and of course the River and Monte Rio. Santa Rosa will rebuild and will be stronger than before. I have seen it before in my career. We have already witnessed the compassion and humanity that we all have in us and we are stronger because of it. We have so much to be grateful and thankful for.
The Cazadero Community Club meetings will be on hiatus until early March, 2018 at the downtown Cazadero Firehall. You may pay your yearly Club dues-only $10. Individual or $15.family rate-send to P.O. Box 3, Cazadero, CA 95421. I think that the leadership and active members have done a terrific job in organizing events which benefit the entire community. The Annual Appreciation dinner with the Fire Department has been postponed due to the ongoing fire emergency. I hope to see you at the Craft Fair!
I wish Very happy November birthdays to Colin Kelly on the 1st, Angela Ferry on the 6th, David Orlando-Griggs celebrates on the 14th, and Jonathan Ritter and Irene Jackson enjoy the 17th. Logan Callister is on the 18th and Emily Sumner has her day on the 25th. Happy 2nd Anniversary to our wonderful Gazette Editor/Publisher Vesta and her dear husband Alan.
Wishing you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving, lled with love, gratefulness, and better times ahead, as together we rebuild a stronger, more connected community.
Montgomery Elementary School students will be having some time off from their studies in November. School will be closed on Friday, the 10th, Veterans Day observed. Also, the school will be closed from Monday, Nov 20th thru Friday, Nov 24th for the Thanksgiving break.
I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy this transition season. Turn back your clocks on November 5th and call me at 632-5545 or email mayawrld@sonic.net with info for your Cazadero column!
Please join Guerneville Cares on Veterans Day weekend, the Monte Rio Chamber’s Casino Night on November 4th, or other local bene ts, to start the process.
Vacation Wonderland. We just keep getting better.
11/17 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 43
Hugs & Glitter Kisses, Sister Scarlet Billows