Page 45 - Sonoma County Gazette 11-17

911call boxes are currently being decommissioned along our remote North Coast Hwy 1. Although personal cell phone
existent in most areas, for some reason the ‘powers that be’ have decided that the Public does not need the luxury of the emergency 911 call boxes. I fail to see the logic behind such a move. We should preserve and maintain all communications systems we have available in order to stay connected and alert to any and all emergencies. Removing the 911 call boxes along our remote coastline is short-sighted and premature at best.
This month it is all about gratitude and being thankful. So how do you begin an uplifting article after the devastation that occurred around us, what can I share, what can I say. I know every article is going to focus on this, but of course. For many of our friends and family who lost so much
reception along our coastline is spotty at best and non-
Our ‘River-Meets-The-Sea’ gem of a town Jenner has stepped up to meet the demands of those who are affected and displaced by the ongoing tragedy in the Santa Rosa area. According to Cal Ares, President of the Jenner Community Center (jennercommunitycenter.org) they have stocked the Jenner Community Center with food, supplies and provisions for the fire refugees. They are also stockpiling some provisions for future disasters. According to Ares, “Jenner has had a heart-warming outpouring of support for really anything that
of their lives it must be hard to find even an ounce of gratitude. Yet I hear it all the time in their words. And how do you get to normal? I cannot even fathom what so many people have gone through in the last two weeks. We all want to encourage kindness, super kind, over the top kind. A small gesture of a helping hand for an afternoon, a touch, a hug, and grace can take away some of the hurt. I have read that from this moment on we will refer to time and events as ‘before the fire’ and ‘after the fire’. I think this might be true. I have read many of the children’s responses, seen their hand drawn pictures, their poems, their wishes for their families and communities, and what they deem as a loss. I personally find comfort in their wisdom. Families holding hands, little pictures of their family dog with bandages surrounding by hand drawn hearts, poems to others who have lost everything that speaks about knowing the world will be OK. To see the world in a child’s eye can bring the first glimpses of gratitude. Surround yourself with those you love – and if you can with children as they really do bring a sense of peace.
needs to be done in this crisis”. The Tiny Town with the Gigantic Heart! They exemplify the spirit of the greater Sonoma County Community at this unbelievable moment in local history. Bless them! I am honored and humbled to be able to call this my home.
Everyone, everyone, is thankful for the front line responders and the behind the scenes people. Those who help others evacuate those who bring comfort and first aid, and those who fight the fire, those who create a safe haven and those who provide food for the people and the animals. Thank you – thank you – thank you. A million times over. It is not a little feat to have this sort of courage and willingness to get up in the middle of the night and go out to fight the dragon, it is a BIG DEAL. For the many ways in which you can support our local communities and or find useful resources please visit the Gazette website sonomacountygazette.com/.
Work is progressing with the parking lot, trail head and other amenities in preparation for the Jenner Headlands Preserve 2018 opening to the public. Planned infrastructure includes parking spaces for 30 passenger vehicles and two school buses near the site of an asphalt turnout at the edge of the property, located about a mile and a half north of Jenner. A day-use area with picnic tables, restrooms and a kiosk containing information about the property, its conservation heritage, protected wildlife, biodiversity and management is part of the 6-acre so-called Gateway Project, as well.
A key feature of the $2.1 million plan, a paved 400-foot trail accessible by wheelchair, will ensure that everyone, no matter their abilities, can reach a scenic overlook providing views of rolling coastal prairie, pockets of redwood and Douglas fir, oak woodland and rock outcroppings, and the sea-stack- studded waters of the Pacific just below.
It really seemed like the world around us stopped. It did! Getting out for a walk, attending an event, a visit to an art gallery, or a local show is a way to bring about healing in our communities and families. Here are a few things you might like to check out. Gualala Arts is hosting a series of swing dance classes, is host to Karaoke night, to several concerts in November and to the Festival of Trees which is a wonderful way to support our local artists. Visit their web at gualalaarts.org/category/events/ for all the great events and dates. Maybe you would like to just keep pace with a quiet event and go see a movie at the famous Point Arena Theater arenatheater.org/. The Four Eyed Frog bookstore and Point Arena Theater will host an afternoon of oceanic storytelling on November 19th with award-winning author and surfer Jaimal Yogis. A screening of “Saltwater Buddha,” a feature documentary based on Yogis’ hit book about running away to far-flung islands, Zen monasteries, and eventually finding his way home. Afterward, Yogis will discuss the film and his new book “All Our Waves Are Water”. Visit the web at foureyedfrog.com/ jaimal-yogis-book-film-event. Also on the 19th the Point Arena Lighthouse will host a lecture at 4 p.m. – Nik Epanchin on Point Reyes Lighthouse & Northern Elephant Seals pointarenalighthouse.com/visit/calendar-2/. If
The 2009 Jenner Headlands purchase was the largest single land conservation deal by dollar amount in county history.
The 2014 purchase of 238 acres on and around Pole Mountain, which reaches 2,204 feet and provides commanding views in every direction, helped create more than 6,300 acres of connected wildlife habitat in conjunction with the headlands and the Sonoma Land Trust’s 500-acre Little Black Mountain Preserve, which adjoins it.
Hundreds of people each year have visited the properties through guided tours during the extended period of planning, designing and gaining regulatory approvals for public access on sensitive coastal lands.
The headwaters of Sheephouse Creek, a home to the endangered Coho Salmon begins high in the Jenner Headlands Preserve. This stream is vitally important to the future survival of the species, as it is one of the few true ‘Estuary Perched’ Coho streams in Northern California. That is, this stream feeds into the Russian River Estuary and is directly influenced by the tidal flow. The fish that call Sheephouse their home do not have to battle upstream through the ever-dwindling water supply as their Dry-Creek cousins must do. Sheephouse Coho can count on the incoming tide to safely usher them to their breeding grounds. Our job is to make sure they have a healthy stream habitat to return to.
you would rather find peace and quiet with a good cup of coffee or tea with some of the most beautiful and relaxing views try Café Aqautica in Jenner, Timber Cove Inn, Ocean Cove Restaurant, Stewarts Point Store, Sea Ranch Restaurant, Trinks in Gualala, Anchor Bay Coffee, Cove Coffee, and Franny’s Cup and Saucer in Point Arena. Choose your drink and spot, they are all good.
Sheephouse Creek, born in the headwaters in the Preserve, is being restored as part of the plan to bring this area (which has been historically abused by human activities: logging, mining, etc) back to a state where the trees and area will mimic an old-growth forest habitat. This noble goal will take generations to achieve.
This Thanksgiving I have a sense that our tables will be full with those who might not have a table. Share your blessings and watch your heart grow.
Be kind, be thankful.
I look forward to the day when the entire Sheephouse Creek watershed,
from its headwaters high in the Jenner Headlands Preserve to its confluence with the Russian River, is afforded the protections and safeguards deserving
of such an important micro-habitat. The sections of Sheephouse that remain
in private holdings should be next on the list of acquisitions to be considered. The logging families that control these last bits of the fragmented Sheephouse Creek watershed would still be able to maintain (log) the holdings, but with a different set of priorities. The emphasis would be on leaving the trees to mature
into future ‘old-growth’ stands, while periodically thinning the ‘suckers’ and fire-prone thickets (as per the Mission Statement for the Jenner Headlands Preserve).
Jobs Protected; Habitat Protected and Restored; Threatened and Endangered Species Saved! We can do this!
Bless all of those whose lives have been up-ended by the recent disasters. Remember, together we are Sonoma-Strong!
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