Sonoma’s homeless shelter open
Sonoma Overnight Shelter, which is being called “The Haven,” is finished and ready for occupancy. This long-awaited facility will provide a safe temporary haven for individuals and families in need. The project has been made possible by state and city funds as well as private contributions, and the hard work of many citizens, including Sonoma Overnight Support Executive Director William Burrell and board member, Sy Lenz.
For more information, call 707-933-9593 or visit sonomaovernightsupport.org.
Sassarini principal resigns
Bethany Wilson, principal of Sassarini Elementary School for the last nine years, has submitted her resignation as of the end of this school year. In a letter to the Sassarini students’ families, she said that it has been an honor to have been their principal, and to have worked with “an incredible staff of experienced, dedicated and loyal teachers and support staff,” and that she is proud of the school and all that has been accomplished. She did not say exactly what she would do next, but did say that her son, Coby, is graduating from college and that seems a good demarcation point. “I’ve enjoyed every minute of it,” she said, “Now I’m ready for something new. I’ve told my son I’m ready to be a grandmother!”
In her letter, she listed the highlights of some of the programs at Sassarini, as an “opportunity to reflect on the riches offered your children.” Among the accomplishments she mentioned were Team Time, Accelerated Reader, SHARP, the Sassarini Homework, Arts, Reading and Physical education program, and the monthly recognition program for exemplars of Lifeskills, Effort, Academic Achievement, Improvement and Positive Attitude. “Most importantly,” she wrote, “Sassarini is not in program improvement.” While this may sound like faint praise, she assured parents that it means that all students, English learners, low-income, Latino, and Anglo, are performing at high levels. This, she wrote, “is to be proud of.”
Wilson assured parents, in the conclusion of her letter, that despite the “doom and gloom budget cuts,” she expects no staffing cuts at Sassarini. “Our school site budgets will adequately fund the instructional assistant positions, computer lab and the intervention teacher positions in 2007-2008.” She said the superintendent would keep families informed about selecting the next principal.
Armed robberies bracket valley
On Saturday about 7:15 p.m., in the 700 block of Fifth Street East, a man, 56, heard a knock on his door and, when he opened it, two males pushed their way inside. They told him it was a robbery and that they wanted his money. One of the suspects displayed a hand gun and threatened to shoot the victim if he didn’t hand over his money. The victim said it was dark in the room and he tried to turn on a light, but the suspects turned it off so he couldn’t see their faces. They struggled with him, but he got away and ran out the front door to a neighbor’s house and called the police. When deputies showed up, the suspects had gone.
The victim said money was stolen and police are still doing inventory to determine what else was missing. The suspects were described as Hispanic males in early to mid-20s. One had a stocky build and wore a dark blue sweatshirt, which covered part of his face, and the other had a medium build and was also wearing dark clothing. Sgt. Shubel of the Sonoma Police Department said police are working on leads from evidence found at the scene. Anyone with any information should call the Sonoma Police Department at 996.3602.
Earlier in the day, about 11:45 a.m., an armed robber held up La Morenita Market in Boyes Hot Springs. According to Sgt. Stashyn of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s office, the man made off with an undisclosed amount of cash and is still at large. A witness described the suspect as a dark-skinned Latino male, about 20 to 30 years old, 5 feet 3 inches tall, with short black hair. The case is under investigation. Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to call the Sheriff’s Department Investigations Bureau at 565.2185.
Recycle those awful plastic bags!
At last, having to choose between “paper or plastic?” will not mean choosing between a tree and a landfill scourge.
Now, thanks to our local garbage collector, you can place those grocery store plastic bags in the regular blue bin for recycling “This,” said mayor Joanne Sanders, is “a really great thing. You know,” she said, “those things just multiply like rabbits in your house, and pretty soon you just have a bunch of them, and you don’t know what to do with them, and we all know, they’re going to end up in the garbage.” Now we can happily put them into the recycling and know that our storage spaces and the environment will be the better for it.
There are some important guidelines to follow, when setting your plastic bag collection out to be recycled. First, they should be clean and dry. Then, they should be all stuffed into one bag–or as many as possible into one bag, and then as many as possible into a second, and third, depending on how many you have–and the bags should be tied so that the many little bags inside do not escape, and placed in the blue bin where, with environmentally sound conscience, you can bid them goodbye.
