Community Pool
Editor: As of Aug. 10, there were 600 completed sonomasplash surveys. These quotes are from just a few of the surveys that have been completed in the last 24 hours:
“As a former competitive swimmer and swim instructor, I think that a community pool is an integral part of a thriving community. It saddens me to think that we were so shortsighted to take out our high school pool, and that we have waited so long for any type of replacement. Let’s get this thing going. We need a public pool here in our town.”
“We just traveled north to Oregon and every town has a community pool/water area that has the best interests for all ages.”
“Our community has been in need of a publicly accessible pool in the area for a long time (since SVHS pool was closed). We need to have healthy activities available for both local children and our other residents.”
“Every community should have a public pool and it is pathetic that a relatively wealthy community such as Sonoma does not have one. During my travels to many other cities around the nation, many of which are much less well off than ours, I see community pools and absolutely incredible fitness facilities that are city or county owned and/or subsidized.”
“We have many seniors in the community that need a place to exercise and cool off. It’s too inconvenient to drive over the hill the Petaluma, Santa Rosa or Napa.”
“Sonoma has gone too long without a pool. Look at Petaluma which has the community pool or Novato with the IVC pool.”
“Youth competitive teams and public swimming lessons have great value to our community. We have lost this with the SVHS pool going away.”
“A community pool in Sonoma has been missed in the 5 plus years it has been gone from the city. Children of all ages (and other family members, as well) need something to occupy their time rather than getting into trouble. It would be a way to keep those kids old enough to drive in the area and for those who don’t drive, it would be a great place to ride a bike or walk to for fun and exercise! It is a great idea!”
Marc Armstrong
Sonoma
Teen Drinking
Editor: Statistics show that Sonoma teens are not just engaging in social drinking, but the consumption of dangerous levels of alcohol (binge drinking) is putting them at grave risk. Twenty-six percent of ninth graders and 37 percent of 11th graders reported engaging in binge drinking in the past 30 days, according to California Healthy Kids Survey, 2007. “Student focus groups conducted in Oct. 2006 found that 31 percent of Sonoma teens that had consumed alcohol were given that alcohol by hosts at a party”. Additional student and parent surveys conducted in 2008 verified this focus group data. This is a complex issue requiring solutions that are carefully tailored to meet the unique needs of our community.
The Sonoma Valley Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking, funded by Sonoma County Department of Health Services, Prevention and Planning, is comprised of a diverse group of representatives including residents, nonprofits, business, law enforcement, local government, parents, youth and media. Members have been actively meeting for the past two years in an effort to implement a research proven, multi-tiered strategic plan to change environments in our community that encourage risky alcohol use by underage people and create a community-wide change in the way people think about teen drinking.
The Parent/Community Pledge is the Coalition’s first strategy in a larger plan designed to reduce the likelihood of teens having access to alcohol in Sonoma Valley homes. By signing the pledge, parents and community members agree not to serve alcohol to or condone its use by teens, as well as support efforts of the police department to keep our young people free of alcohol.
Members of the coalition were dismayed to find Common Bond/the Sun at Sonoma Valley High School’s Rush handing out partial information about the parent pledge and having parents sign the pledge that our coalition worked to develop. Although we appreciate CommonBond supporting our efforts and look forward to working with them on this issue, this is going to take a total community effort and it is important that we all work together in a collaborative way.
For those of you who signed the pledge at Rush, we encourage you to contact the coalition if you would like complete information about the pledge. We encourage community members who have not seen the pledge to contact us for more information as well. Together, we can create a safer and healthier community for our youth.
Cristin Lawrence
Member,
Sonoma Valley Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking