ADVERTISERS INDEXActive 23-230 Club.......................................43Almost Home Doggy Day Care..................2Art & Soul of Sebastopol............................35Beekind Honey............................................38Blue Hill Design...........................................38Burbank Housing/Hollyhock......................2Canyon Rock Quarry....................................3Cape Fear Cafe.............................................27Carport Gallery............................................47Cavagna Tree Care......................................38Community First Credit Union................. 10Corks at Russian River Vineyards............25Dawn Ranch Lodge Roadhouse................23El Molino Little League..............................28Food for Thought......................................... 19Forestville Chamber of Commerce...........27Forgotten Felines......................................... 16Funeria Gallery..............................................7Grab n’ Grow Soil Products....................... 39Graton Labor Center.....................................9Hans Bruhner/First Priority Financial.... 10Jeff Rebischung Fine Tree Care........12 & 48Johanna Palmer Bookkeeping...................26Kate Anchorduguy Landscaping................9KRCB Public Television..............................26Lipstick Home Improvement.....................27Love Your Neighbor Thrift Shop.............. 37Mary Lou’s Soap Appeal............................26Michelle Koenigshofer/CPS R.E..................5Miller Candy Emporium............................ 13Miller Oil/Shell Gas....................................35Mirabel Lodge Elder Care............................2New Horizons/Stop Smoking.....................7Noel’s Automotive.........................................3Northwood Golf Course.............................23One Stop Shop & Deli...................................9Osmosis Day Spa.........................................12People’s Music..............................................45Quicksilver Mine. Co..................................47Redwood Marketplace................................ 17Russian River Rotary Crab Feed...............25Service Directory....................................32-34Shula Luxe Team/Prudential R.E............. 14Silk Moon......................................................23Santa Rosa Treatment Program................. 14Sophies Cellars............................................. 24The Good Life.............................................. 14The Package Store - Biz Supplies...............35The Tree Climber......................................... 15Tom Trent Builders......................................23The Realty Network Group........................ 11Vira’s Never Ends Salon.............................47Weavers and Dreamers.................................3Table of Contents1 - Little Red Saves Food Pantry1 - Stay Light on Your Feet1 – <strong>Clean</strong> <strong>Water</strong> Disappearing2 - Dear Readers3 - LETTERS4 - LETTERS cont’d - Adv./T of C5 - LETTERS cont’d6 - LETTERS cont’d - Ad Rates, etc.7 - Choosing Optimism8 - Choosing Optimism, cont’d9 - WATER cont’d10 – Willing to Work11 – Willing to Work cont’d12 – Spread the Organizing13 – I’m a Whale14 – ASK THE LOAN MAN15 – School Garden Network16 – Don’t Trash Home/Coho Salmon17 – CHINESE MEDICINE18 – Eco Adventure, Parkside School19 – Business & Community Profiles20 – Save Sheephouse Creek21 – Paying Attention, Happiness22 – <strong>Water</strong> Ski lake, Transit, Laguna23 – Nightingale Breads24 – WINE BANTER25 – RESTAURANT REVIEW26 – MITZVAH MOMENTS27 – SHARK BAIT - LAW28 – YOUR WATERSHED29 - FIRE DEPARTMENT NEWS30 - FORESTVILLE31 - GRATON/OCCIDENTAL32 - SERVICE DIRECTORY33 - SERVICE DIRECTORY34 - SERVICE DIRECTORY35 - LISTENING 2 CHILDREN36 - CINEMA CHATTER37 - ARTIST PROFILE38 - ASK ECOGIRL39 - GAIL’S GARDEN40 - ATROLOGY - Rio Olesky41 - CALENDAR: Meetings, Res.42 - CALENDAR: Classes, etc.43 - CALENDAR: Events/Bene./Grdn44 - CALENDAR: Volun./Theater45 - CALENDAR: Music46 - CALENDAR: Art47 - CALENDAR: Art cont’d48 - Fine Tree Care• REGULAR FEATURESAll Advertisers have a link to theirweb site on the web edition of theWest County Gazette atwww.westcountygazette.comGo to the Advertisers Index and clickon their web connection to see indepthwhat our advertisers offer.THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTINGOUR ADVERTISERS!4 - www.westcountygazette.com - 1/15/09LETTERS cont’d from page 3Hi all,I just wanted to let you all know aboutthe latest WATER Institute web videocollaboration with filmmaker Ben Zolnoand underwater videographer CorbyHines called: Your Salmon Creek!www.oaecwater.org/your-salmoncreek-videoWe are blessed to have some amazingunderwater footage to give you abelow-the-scenes look at the historicreintroduction of endangered CohoSalmon to the Salmon Creek <strong>Water</strong>shedin Sonoma County, CA, where expertsreveal why Coho are disappearing, andwhy you should care...Watch to see how protecting yourhome, your land and your family canimprove your environment and theendangered species in your area.Have a look! If you like it - watch it abunch of times!And tell your friends to watch it todayas well so that we can get a lot of hits inone day to rank high on YouTube!!!Forward widely to all your friendsand lists!!Mostly <strong>Water</strong>,Brock DolmanWATER Institute DirectorOccidental Arts and Ecology Centerwww.oaec.orgwww.oaecwater.orgThis is up on WCG Extra! At www.westcountygazette.com for links to all threesites – ENVIRONMENT categoryVesta,So the “Discharge ComplianceProject” has finally come to an end. Thevery name of this thing is maddening. Ifelt like either “Compliance” should bein quotation marks or it should be calledthe “Discharge Non-Compliance Project,”because the idea, aside from cleaning upthe water to meet standards, was to pipethe same “non-compliant” dischargedirectly to the river, where hopefully itwould be lost in the bigger stream.Because people use these areas asrecreation and swimming areas, andwells for drinking water are located here,this is a terrible idea. It’s not just a “not inmy neighborhood” type of thing. It’s nota good idea to dump millions of gallonsof wastewater on top of anyone’s watersupply, nor is it appropriate to locatea wastewater discharge facility in anypublic park.This idea was so bad it didn’t merit asecond thought, much less a 5,000-pagereport. Given the overwhelming publicopposition from the beginning and theobvious unsolvable problems, I wonderwhy the Board of Public Utilities pursuedthis idea. Who was whispering in theirear urging them to conduct this study?Pipeline builders? Engineers who dostudies? It seems like a scandalouswaste of public resources to conducta two-year study of an unacceptable“solution.”Were they really considering puttinga discharge facility at Steelhead Beach,which just recently has had a lotof money put into it to provide ayear-round boat launch, picnic tables,barbeques and bathrooms? It mademe wonder if this whole “project” wascarried out to gain public acceptancefor dumping in the Laguna. Now, withthis study, they can say, “Oh you don’tlike dumping in the Laguna? Wellhere’s our alternative: we can pumpthe wastewater right to your swimminghole and put the discharge facility inyour park! How do you like that?” Towhich we would of course say, “Pleasedump in the Laguna!” It’s kind of likewhen a builder tells you he wants tobuild eleven housing units where thereshould only be three so that he can getyou to accept building eight. Threatenworse, then “compromise” on what youwere going to do anyway.The best part of the final hearingwas when Brenda Adelman presentedthe citizens’ petition against puttingwastewater discharge at SteelheadBeach. I’m grateful to live in acommunity where people care abouttheir environment and will stand upfor it. I was glad that Brenda askedthe BPU to notify the 5026 concernedpeople if this proposal should evercome up again, because we didn’t getany basic agreements from them - likethat it’s a bad idea to put wastewateron top of drinking water, or that parkland shouldn’t be used for wastewaterdisposal. They just “chose” the nobrainersolution - to upgrade the plantand dump at the current location in theLaguna.Our next challenge to the healthof the river is the new call for morelowered flows. I want to see irrefutableproof that less water makes morefish before we endanger this wholerecreation/wildlife area. What aboutthe endangered Swimmer, Canoeist,Kayaker and Rafter? It’s our habitat too.The Russian River forms a beautifulmiles-long park that couldn’t be builtfor millions of dollars. All we have todo is not ruin it.Barbara DeIonnoForestvilleDear Vesta,I really loved the article on page 21in the current issue about NutritionPrograms in Schools. I thoughtpeople might be interested to knowthat our great local non-profit,School Garden Network (w w w.schoolgardens.org), works to promoteschool garden and nutrition programs.Sincerely,Brian Wise
LETTERS cont’d from page 4Dear WCG Readers,I know the fight still continueswhether it is 2008 or 2009 and nothingreally changes except for the calendar,but I wanted to thank you for all yoursupport and help with our attemptsto affect change and perhaps deny theRicioli Ranch NTMP. 2008 was a toughyear for many of us on many differentlevels. Here is hoping that 2009 is abetter year for everyone and it is a yearin which better and more enlighteneddecison making is made on behalf ofour people and our planet.Happy new year!Mike Keller, the Keller family, and the“Friends of Sheephouse Creek”Dear Vesta,I recently retained the services of FINETREE CARE, one of your advertisers.I contracted with Jeff Rebischungbecause my property requires significantrestoration and I needed a company withthe skills and equipment required forthe complexity of this job. I want to tellyou and your readers that Jeff and hiscrew are truly amazing. They are “OldSchool” which is just about the highestcomplement I could give anybody. Theyall worked nonstop from the time theyarrived until the job was completed. Idoubted they could actually finish withonly short winter days; I now realize thiswas ridiculous. What Jeff and his crewshowed me was remarkable. They area team of workers who refuse to quit orslow down no matter how exhausted.They work together like a fine tunedorchestra, and exude confidence andintegrity with their work ethic. Ontop of that, these guys are well spoken,gracious, and outgoing. No wonder theyhave such great repeat business!Nan HallOccidentalLetter to the Editor:SANTA’S LITTLE HELPERSSanta was assisted this year byhundreds of elves around West County!By purchasing gifts from the tree atWestAmerica bank, local residentsassured that over 300 children woke upto new toys and clothes on Christmasday. Many people and agencies workingtogether helped make this holiday alittle bit brighter for lots of families. TheGuerneville fire department donated lotsof toys and stuffed animals and donationsfrom the Dennis and Carol Ann RockeyFund helped to buy clothes for kids.We also want to thank members of theRussian River Chamber of Commercewho donated gift certificates for teenswho are often overlooked at this timeof year. Finally, the Welfare League andthe Volunteer Center assisted families aswell. The generosity of the community atthis time of year is overwhelming. We soappreciate your support.Donna RoperRiver to Coast Children’s ServicesPO Box 16Guerneville, CA 95446Dear Carolyn, (WCG Restauarant Review)I enjoyed your review of this finerestaurant (Terrapin Creek Cafe) in theWest County Gazette. My wife and I goto Bodega Bay almost every weekend,and Terrapin Creek has become afavorite. We’ve had lunch there a dozentimes. Andrew and Liya have added aDungeness crab cake salad and an openface meatball sandwich (with a Chicorysalad) to the menu. Delicious.Happy New YearDan MetzSan Rafael, California…and more…Terrapin Creek Cafe is something specialin our own backyard! In the Decemberissue of the Gazette Carolyn Horanwrote about a new restaurant in BodegaBay. Thanks for the heads up, Carolyn,but you really didn’t do enough todescribe the magic that is happening atthe Terrapin Creek Cafe.To celebrate the New Year, Vesta andI drove out to the coast, saw a beautifulsunset and decided to see for ourselveswhat these folks were up to. Wow, theTerrapin Creek Cafe was an absolute treat!Liya and Andrew Truong love what theydo and it comes across in every bite.The owners of this restaurant arecooking with care and passion and itshows up in dish after dish. While Ireveled in beef short ribs in red winesauce with shitake mushrooms, Vestaeffused about beautifully cooked tofuand vegetables with a subtle curry sauce.Our meals couldn’t have been moredifferent, but both were prepared withflare and commitment to strong flavors.In a trade typified with standardizedfare prepared by dispassionate linecooks, these two people are in a class oftheir own.It is rare to meet people who puteverything they have behind theirpassion. Here is an opportunity tosample care and creation expressed in amemorable meal. Gather up your friendsand take the drive to Bodega Bay. Thebeauty of the coast is astounding andthe warmth and wonder of this couple’screations will delight your senses andwarm your soul. All hail a passionatecalling... ..875-2200.Alan JosephSanta RosaLETTERS cont’d on page 61/15/09 - www.westcountygazette.com - 5
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