The 1978 Buick involved in an accident with a Sonoma County transit bus.
Ryan Lely/Sonoma Valley Sun
Accidents happen even without substance assistance
The driver emerged unscathed, but his 1978 Buick Regal had its front bumper crushed by a Sonoma County Transit bus last week at the corner of Broadway and West MacArthur Street. According to Deputy Mike Baraz, the slow-motion collision was a simple accident. Baraz said the No. 30 bus, southbound on Broadway, had come to a stop at the traffic light, with its turn signals indicating the driver’s intention to turn from the number two turn lane onto West MacArthur Street (a legally allowable maneuver because of the bus’ wide turn path).
Meanwhile the driver of the Buick had exited the 76 Station on to Broadway, moving into the open far right lane. The deputy reported that the driver, a 64-year-old Sonoma man, had not noticed the bus’ blinking lights. As the bus took the wide turn onto West MacArthur, its driver, a 59-year-old woman from Cotati, unaware of the presence of the Buick, drove ahead into it, crushing and incapacitating the front end of the car, which had no place to go.
Early survey findings show support for hospital bond
Sonoma Valley Hospital board member, Bill Boerum, said on Friday that while the final Dresner, Wickers survey report has not been finished, he had just seen some encouraging figures that show community support for a general obligation bond over a range of assessment amounts. “Anyone who does see the results would be encouraged,” he said.
He explained that a general obligation bond in which the assessed valuation of the property is taxed on some basis is the likely vehicle for building a new hospital and that the bond would require community support in order to pass. “So in the event the Board decides to do that,” he said, “some people in the community would form a campaign committee and find this information useful.” The survey is a way of taking the temperature of the community, to gauge the level of support. The results, Boerum said, are consistent with other polls that have been taken in the past, which have included other topics as well. So far, he is encouraged, and said that, “people should feel confident.”
Confident is not the word that neighbors are using to describe their feelings about their already compromised property values, the prospect of years of construction and the eventual building and traffic congestion inherent in a hospital zone, not to mention the loss of their quiet views. “We just don’t want it there,” said Gail Rinaldi, who lives on Hayes Street directly across from the proposed site.
RAC Meeting Rescheduled
The Redevelopment Advisory Committee meeting scheduled for this evening, January 3, has been cancelled due to lack of a quorum. The next meeting will be held on Thursday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Boys and Girls Club in Maxwell Park. Representatives from the Sonoma County Public Works Department will provide an update on the Highway 12 sidewalk project at that time. Members of the public are encouraged to attend. For more information on the Springs Redevelopment Area, contact Vicki Sacksteder at 707.565.7523, or visit www.sonoma-county.org/cdc/redevSonomaValley.htm.
Pearl’s Diner thief stole cheerleader’s hopes
On Dec. 21, in the early morning hours, a thief stole a jar of money from Pearl’s Diner. In the jar, which had on it a picture of Siena Logan Bird, 12, were all the donations the young cheerleader had collected to help send her to the national championships in Disneyland. Last week she wrote to the Sun to publicly thank Chuck for letting her put her fund-raising jar in the diner, and to inform anyone who wished to contribute to her trip that they could do so by sending donations to the Sonoma Valley Bank, 202 W. Napa St., Sonoma, in care of Siena Logan Byrd. She concluded her note, “Thanks to all the patrons that supported me at Pearl’s, and around this great town! I appreciate everything!”
Sgt. Shubel of the Sonoma Police Department said that an undisclosed amount was also taken from the cash register and that the case is being investigated as a burglary.
Sy Lenz sets New Year’s tone for compassion and practicality
Newly appointed alcalde, Sy Lenz, moved to Sonoma from the Washington D.C. area after retiring from the Air Force some 20 years ago recently, he reflected with pride on the new homeless shelter that is due to open early in the new year.
“This is a huge step forward for the community,” said Lenz. He noted that the project has been a truly cooperative effort, from the ground up. “We have gone from zero,” he said, “with just a handful of kindhearted folks about 10 years ago, to having a place that is funded by private, foundation, city, county, state and federal funds.
Right now, the three-unit shelter is getting its plumbing, electric and gas and finishing touches. Once all that is done, the ramps and decks will be built and it will be ready for occupancy. Lenz is looking to late January or February for final completion. Who then will live there?
First of all, Lenz points out, it is a shelter; it is designed for those who are temporarily homeless. It may seem incongruous to think of homelessness at all in a place like Sonoma, but Lenz said that in the annual countywide survey, homeless persons number around a thousand, and here in the Valley, there may be 100, or less. While the numbers may be surprising, the make up of the homeless population may be more surprising still.
“Most of the time,” Lenz said, “the people we’re dealing with are women or single moms.” He explained that these are usually women who have been depending on a man, and the relationship, for one reason or another didn’t work out; maybe he died, or left, and suddenly she finds herself alone, with her child, or children, and without the life planning skills she needs to take care of herself. So she might stay with family for a while, or friends, and then, after a while, that becomes untenable, and then she’s out on the street with nowhere to go. “And this is a tough place to find an affordable space,” he said.
Parkpoint Health Club in Sonoma has donated over $5000 worth of exercise equipment to Valley of the Moon Teen Center. Included in this donation are weights, benches, calf machines, abdominal machines and a squat cage. The equipment will be housed in the Teen Center’s new building, the indoor gym, beginning in March 2008 and will be available for the teens to use. According to VOMTC executive director Celeste Winders “ The donated equipment will be a wonderful addition to VOMTC’s health and fitness programs. Valley of the Moon Teen Center strives to promote the health and well-being of our valley teens and to create opportunities for success. We are happy to welcome Parkpoint Health Club into our family of supporters and grateful for their in-kind support.”
Gang forum praised
Sgt. Greg Stashyn of the Sonoma Sheriff’s Department said he has been participating in the local gang forums, and that they have been excellent. “They had real ex-gang members come and speak and tell what to look for in your children,” he said, “in dress, or writings on their back packs.” He said that parents need to be alert to the signals: their kids’ favorite color may not just be blue, and their favorite number may not just happen to be 13.
“I’m really impressed with the program,” Stashyn said, adding that he was encouraged by the community response to the wake-up call they had received in October of this year, when a shooting death brought home the potential tragedy of gang violence.
Sonoma Valley Hospital’s newest piece of diagnostic technology – the Siemens Sensation 64 Slice CT Scanner.
Hospital gets new CT scanner
Last month Sonoma Valley Hospital “went live” with itsnewest piece of diagnostic technology – the Siemens Sensation 64 Slice CT Scanner. “This is a giant step for Sonoma Valley Hospital” said Jackie Lyons, Director of Medical Imaging.“ The Siemens 64 Slice Scanner provides the finest image quality in rapid time and it’s innovative design provides optimal patient comfort by eliminating the closed-in feeling that patients sometimes associate with CT scanning.”
The new scanner will offer state of the art options both in diagnostics and treatment and will be especially beneficial in the areas of pulmonology, vascular angiograms, 3D orthopedic studies, and cardiac care. Within the next few months Sonoma Valley Hospital will be able to perform cardiac scans .The Siemens Sensation 64 Slice Scanner represents advanced technology for cardiac scans and Sonoma Valley Hospital is proud to be the first hospital in the North Bay with this particular system.
With this new CT scanner, the recent implementation of a digital picture archiving and communications system and the soon to be installed digital mammography system, Sonoma Valley Hospital is making great progress in its efforts to offer the very best – the most technologically advanced diagnostic testing – to the people of this healthcare district. In a press release, CEO Carl Gerlach said, “This is one of the areas where we, as a small district hospital, can really compete. In fact, it’s one of the areas where we plan to excel.”
