Local HEROES Clean Water

Save Sheephouse CreekIn these uncertain times,AN OPPORTUNITY FORSmall Business OwnersSonoma State University provides student business consultantsSpring, 2009 ~ February – May 2009]• Is your business trying to get to the next level amidst the recession?• Are you an owner of a small, for-profit business that can benefit frompersonal attention?• Do you have at least one employee other than yourself?• Have you been in business for one year or more?Sheephouse Creek is an important2,176 acre watershed west ofDuncans Mills.Sheephouse Creek’s headwaters arepart of the Jenner Headlands OpenSpace.Sheephouse Creek is part of anongoing multi million dollartaxpayer funded Russian RiverCoho Salmon Captive BroodstockProgram started in 2001.Sheephouse Creek is designated bythe CA Coastal Commission as aSpecial Treatment Area.Sheephouse Creek is proposedfor multiple habitat restorationprojects in 2009 by CA Department of Fish and Game.Sheephouse Creek is identified by National Marine Fisheries Service as a corerecovery area for Coho salmon.Sheephouse Creek’s cool, clear waters are important to the development of theperched estuarian habitat that the Sonoma County Water Agency will becreating under mandate of the recently released Biological Opinion for theRussian River.Sheephouse Creek’s watershed is the home to several threatened orendangered species, including the Coho salmon, Steelhead trout, CA RedLegged Frog, the Red Tree Vole, and the Northern Spotted Owl.Sheephouse Creek has been negatively impacted by past land use activities,primarily poor logging practices.Question: Why is Sheephouse Creek today being considered by the CADepartment of Forestry for two timber harvest plans, totaling 412 acres or20% of its watershed? These two plans and those dating back 15 years means56% of the watershed will have been impacted by logging. Are the shortterm economic gains of a few landowners and their negative and long lastingimpacts upon the environment more important than the health of a watershedand the species it supports?Conclusion: There is something terribly out of sync if all these organizationssee the importance of saving what they consider to be a vital watershed and,at the same time, a timber harvest plan is being considered by a state agencywhose membership and decisions do not reflect the general public interest.Concerned? Help save an important Sonoma County watershed and sendletters of comment to the CA Department of Forestry at 135 Ridgway Avenue,Santa Rosa, CA. 95401 or e-mail: santarosapubliccomment@fire.ca.gov. Be sureto reference the NTMP #: 1-08NTMP-004SON.Thank you!Sponsored by the “Friends of Sheephouse Creek”, 8645 Alden Lane, Windsor, CA.95492For PEITION to Save Sheephouse cCeek, lease visit: www.arrowflight.com/pdfs/sheephousepetition.pdf20 - www.westcountygazette.com - 1/15/09If the answer to these questions is YES, then you can apply for businessconsulting services provided by Sonoma State University’s business students. Ourstudent team consultants program has received national awards from the SmallBusiness Institute Director’s Association (1996, 1998, and 2004). Your team willwork under the guidance of a School of Business and Economics faculty member.This program has successfully served community businesses for over twelve years.Recent small business program clients have included:, Cotati Clothing, E. R.Sawyer Jewelers, Guayaki, Mombo’s Pizza, Pita Café, School Garden, She HasEverything, Sonoma Mountain Business Cluster, and Vito Catering.Business students in small teams will meet with you to define the problems andchallenges you face as a small business owner. They will sign a ConfidentialityAgreement and agree upon a Scope of Work. Consultation will takes place on aweekly basis during the Spring ‘08 semester Small Business Consulting course.During the second and third weeks in May, our student consultants will deliverand present a final report to you, containing findings and recommendations foraction. Our student teams can assist you in the following areas:• Strategic & financial planning• Personnel policies & employee handbooks• Customer acquisition & retention• Market research & competitor analyses• Accounting & financial forecastingVoluntary Participation Fee: $500. Your donations will be used to fund SSUbusiness student scholarships to attend future conferences to present their projects.Admission is selective and will be limited to six (6) small businesses this spring.For more information or to apply, please contact Professor Nicholas Gurney,Sonoma State University, 1801 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park, CA 94928, (707) 824-4418/(707) 664-4009 (fax), or e-mail: nicholas.gurney@gmail.com.Inquiries are welcomed now through January 30, 2009.Free Workshop Availablefor Parents with College Funding ProblemsLiving with college funding problems can be a confusing, frustrating, timeconsumingprocess. A free workshop has just been made available to the parentsof Sonoma County college-bound students who are looking for the solutions totheir college funding problems.“There are so many great opportunities for parents in the Sonoma County areawith trouble paying for college”, says Montgomery Taylor, CPA, CFP, an advisorin college funding. “Unfortunately, parents often run around in circles and missthe great opportunities to finance their child’s education.”To help parents, Taylor is offering a free workshop on “How to Beat the HighCost of College”. Workshops will be held at 7:15 PM in Santa Rosa on the followingdates and locations:Thursday, January 22, City Life Community Center, 2425 Mendocino AvenueTuesday, January 27, Odd Fellows Hall, 545 Pacific AvenueThe workshop will cover many topics, including how to double or eventriple your eligibility for financial aid, how to locate and apply for need-basedscholarships, grants, and low-interest loans that your child may be eligible for,and how to pick the colleges that will give you the best financial aid packages.The workshop is free, but reservations are required. For reservations andinformation, call the College Financial Planning Workshop Reservation Hotlineat (707) 522-0259 day or night.