Bennett Valley Voice

Bennett Valley VOICE

Volume 30, Number 1

Bennett Valley Homeowner's Association (BVHA)

January, 2007

Come Hear A Brief History of Early «Bennett Valley", Around 1850 to 1865 The history of Bennett Valley from 1850 until 1865 will be a special feature of the next meeting of the Bennett Valley Homeowner's Association. This will Get Involved! Stay Informed! provide many of us with a deeper understanding of this Valley where we live.

This meeting is being held on Wednesday, January 17h, 7:00 pm, at the Bennett Valley Grange Hall. The speakers will be Van Pena, M.D., Ph.D., who will explore the experience of the three major Native American tribes and Patty Keiser, who will explore the question of "who were these European descendants" to the Valley and what might have been their experiences. Dan McCaskell, Ph.D.

will explore what might have transpired in their thoughts. Power Point photos of these early residents ¡It's time to step up and join the Bennett Valley Homeowner's Association for 2007. We need ; members to help actively pursue our BVHA Mission; : promoting and preserving the rural character and i natural environment of Bennett Valley, while serving ! as a forum for community participation and providing : a bridge for communication. Your continued support ¡is very important. Get involved, stay informed, and ! support the activities and information emanating : from BVHA, as described in detail for 2006 on Page ! Two.

will be available. The Bennett Valley brochure, which is given to prospective property owners, provides a reference for some historical information from 1850 to 1865. The three Indian tribes who were identified as being in Bennett Valley during those early years were the Pomo, Wappo and Miwok tribes.

"The 1849 Gold Rush brought many settlers to this area, including Missourian James N. Bennett, who settled in the vicinity of the high peak called "Yulupa" , on property he later purchased from General Vallejo (in 1852)...Eventually, that same high peak and the entire valley were named "Bennett" after him." "Men and women who came in search of gold in the mines found agricultural gold in the sunshine drenched valley." '... "It was possible to grow virtually anything in Bennett Valley." "Another early settler, John Shakleford Taylor, settled in Bennett Valley in 1853 and owned 2.000 acres, on the mountain named after him, Taylor Mountain. He maintained a dairy and stock ranch for over half a century, dying in 1927, at the age of 99." It will be entertaining and educational to expand our knowledge of the Bennett Valley history during this early period of time, at the January BVHA meeting.

Please send your annual dues of $15, plus any extra ! donation you're willing to make. These extra i donations enable us to send our VOICE to all 900 ; Bennett Valley parcel owners. In addition, these : funds support our website so that everyone has the i opportunity to keep well-informed. Make your checks ¡out to BVHA and send to Bennett Valley Homeowner's Association, P.O. Box 2666, ; Santa Rosa, CA 95405. A dues form and : envelope are attached to this issue of the VOICE, for your convenience.

: You will get your copy of the VOICE faster and help ; the Association save more money by receiving this : newsletter via e-mail. At the present time 178 households use this service, at an annual savings of $416.52 in postage alone. This is a way you can help i keep our costs down; just circle "yes" on your membership form, include your e-mail address and return it with your dues. We will do all the rest. If ¡ you have questions, please call Helen Bates, the ; BVHA Treasurer, at 695-8760 or email her at hbates@att.net.

BHA Actions, 2006 • Speakers, January 17th: Andrea Mackenzie, • Better Water Conservation/Rehydration (Jan. 06) General Manager, and Kim Batcheldor from the • Emergency Calls From Cell Phones (Jan., Nov. 06) Sonoma Co. Agricultural Preservation & Open • BV Fire Protection District Information, Activities Space District gave an informative overview of the (Bimonthly, 2006) district's programs and future plans.

• Speaker, March 22nd: Greg Carr, Manager of Sonoma County's Comprehensive Planning Mamanning • BHA Board Information, Tentative Agenda(s), Minutes of the last meeting(s) (Bimonthly, 2006) •Bennett Valley Community Calendar (Bimonthly, Division of PRMD, provided an excellent summary 2006) of the overall process and the important points •One Article plus Two Letters Praising the being considered in this draft General Plan 2020.

Performance of the BV Firefighters in Specific Local • Speaker, May 17h: Dr. Elizabeth Fichtner, U.C. Emergencies (March, September, 06) Davis research scientist, presented an enlightened • BV Insurance Rating Improvement (March, 06) overview of the symptoms, spread and • Thanks from Andrea Mackenzie, General Manager, management of the Sudden Oak Death disease.

Sonoma Co. Agricultural Preservation and Open • Speakers, September 20th: Randy Leach and Space District (March, 06) Rebecca Ng, Sonoma Co. Well & Septic System, • Landpath Outings (March, November 06) PRMD, provided a useful overview of septic • BV Grange Battery Disposal (March, 06) system care & maintenance, changes and policies.

• BV 2007 Water Calendar Information, Photo Entry • Bennett Valley Emergency Preparedness Planning Form (March, May, July, Sept., Nov., 2006) Meeting, Oct. 28t, BV Fire Station, with Robert • BV Clean-Up Day Information (March, May, July, Smylie, Sonoma Co. Emergency Planning, Karen September, November, 06) Sommers, a Community Emergency Response • Sonoma County Draft General Plan 2020 (March, Team (CERT) Trainee, Paul Hess, City of Santa May, July 06) Rosa's Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, and • Sudden Oak Death Information (May, July 06) Brian Campbell, BV Fire Captain discussing • Thoughts on Emergency Planning for BV (May, 06) emergency preparedness. As was said, INERTIA • BV CERT Training (May, July, Sept., Nov., 06) is the enemy of being prepared. Look to the • BVHA Members' Comments, Questions, Concerns, guidelines provided by "Citizens Organized to accompanying dues payments (May, 2006) Prepare for Emergencies" (COPE) as the way for • Sonoma Mountain Road Closure (May, July, Sept.

neighborhoods to prepare for a major emergency. & November, 06) • "Bennett Valley" Brochures; Why and when • Bennett Valley Calendars; 2006 and 2007. • Supporting and promoting CERT training for BV residents, at the BV Fire Station, in Sept. and Oct. • BVHA Road Clean-Up Days; June 3rd and Nov. 4th • BVHA Bennett Valley Groundwater Survey being done semi-annually by Doug Martin, with 20 individual wells plus local water company wells.

• Letter from BVHA to Sonoma Co. Public Works re: poor conditions of BV roads (Oct. 06). Response, Nov. 06. (See Page Five) Public safety action in Dec. 06, with county improving Hidden Acres Road visibility (cutting back brush, pruning bay tree) and filling some pot holes on Enterprise, Sonoma Mountain and Bennett Ridge roads.

created? What's in the brochure? How is it being used? Available upon request, 576-0405. (July, 06) • BV Grange; 134'h Annual Grange Community Picnic, a huge success; BV Grange History, beginning in 1873 (May, July, 06) • BV Fire District Tax Rate Information (July, 06) • "Smoke & Struggle; Training a Wildland Firefighter" (July, 06) • "Let's Get Ready For The Worst With A Plan" (September 06) • Septic Tank Information (Sept., Nov. 06) • The Rodgers Creek Fault (September, 06) • Recent BV Earthquake, 8/2/06 (Sept. 06) • Comparison of Propane Prices (Sept. 06) • Letter to the VOICE Editor (Sept. 06) Articles/ Information from 2006 VOICES, • BVHA Board Elections; Upcoming, Nominating Committee (July, 06); Nominees Statements, Message From Eric Flanagan, owner of Morley Winery, BV, 11/4/06, "I think this demonstrates the value of the "VOICE". It lets people voice questions and also answer them and often eliminates confusion and misunderstanding. Thanks again for getting in touch with me...

// • Morley Winery (just off Bennett Valley Rd.) and the Alcoholic Beverage Control (November, 06) Ballot, with two envelopes attached (Sept. 06) • "Thank-You For Your Participation", BV Emergency Preparedness Meeting (Nov. 06)

• Emergency Preparedness: Not If, But When

In Sonoma County (November 06) • Communication in a Major Emergency (Nov. 06) • "What is COPE?" (November, 06)

BV Emergency Preparedness Planning What's Next? How do we start taking the necessary steps to get prepared within our neighborhoods for a major emergency. This is the planned topic for a BHA action meeting on Wednesday, March 21st, at 7 pm, at the BV Grange Hall.

The mission of Citizens Organized to Prepare for Emergencies (COPE) is to help residents, families, and neighborhoods become and remain better prepared to respond to and recover from emergency situations. The first step is to identify ten to twenty homes in your neighborhood who are willing to participate in an emergency preparedness planning team with you. This includes developing plans, individual response maintaining individual emergency supply kits, outreaching to interested neighbors and planning team actions.

The COPE program provides a very detailed process for creating neighborhood teams so that the leaders and/or co-leaders of each team of 10 to 20 homes can identify important information about each of these households, including the occupants, and any special needs or resources. There is a booklet available providing all the details and a slide presentation of how this all works, available on the Internet, at Goggle Search, City of Santa Rosa Emergency Preparedness, "How to COPE With Emergencies (Guide for Setting up COPE Neighborhood Teams)" and a "COPE Neighborhood Team Census Form." In addition to downloading this Internet information, you could also contact Paul Hess, City of Santa Rosa Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, and/or the COPE leaders in Oakmont, Sue Hattendorf and/or Al Thomas, questions or obtain additional information.

As one example, in Bennett Ridge, where there are 126 homes located up Old Bennett Ridge Rd. in a somewhat secluded area, a number of residents who participated in the recent BV CERT training are working at organizing the neighborhood for emergency preparedness. Their Emergency Phone Tree is being redone, to include 10 to 15 homes adjacent to each other, possible neighborhood emergency teams. Next, an effort will be made to find a leader and co-leader for each of these ten or eleven neighborhood teams. The leadership teams will then distribute a modified "COPE Neighborhood Team Census Form", to each of the ten to fifteen homes on their potential team, to see which households are interested in participating and to obtain the essential "emergency" information for these particular households. Following that, each team will hold meetings to learn what steps need to be taken to develop an efficient neighborhood team, in the event of a major emergency.

These plans will need to maintained with ongoing effort. Every six months (such as when the clocks are changed) there needs to be a COPE Neighborhood Team meeting, with a review and updating of all COPE material, including reaching out to any new residents in that particular neighborhood team area.

Be sure to attend the BVHA Action Meeting on March 21st, to look for leadership, consultation and guidance in this very important process of getting YOUR neighborhood organized to prepare for emergencies. BV Spring CERT Training? ! call Marilee Jensen, 576-0405. It would most likely : until 2 pm, at the Bennett Valley Fire Station. There will have to be at least twenty people committed to ! taking the class and the dates would need to be ¡ organized and confirmed during the next month or ! so. The total charge for all four sessions is $25.

¡Besides being so informative and worthwhile, we had ! a lot of fun in the BV CERT classes in the fall.

Emergency Communication Information

1. ) On December 5"h, 2006 , an article appeared in the Press Democrat about Red Cross setting up an emergency call station in Santa Rosa. "The American Red Cross is setting up a two-way radio base station and a ham radio at its Santa Rosa headquarters.

"It will be a backup communications network in case of disaster and everything else fails," said Doug Kerr, the Red Cross communications director. Kerr said that the Red Cross in Sonoma County now relies on cell phones to was wine ut tam tra in which am he talk to the drivers and aid workers. "...All I can do is use Katrina: it was an area in which all the infrastructure was wiped out. Any kind of two-way radio that you could wire together was valuable." Kerr said. "We are trying to have that in place in case the unthinkable happens here." 2.) On January 3rd, 2007, "Urban Emergency Communication Lags" appeared in the Press Democrat from a recently released federal report by the Homeland Security Department. "...The attacks of Sept.

11, 2001, revealed major problems in how well emergency agencies were able to talk to each other during a catastrophe. Many firefighters climbing the World Trade Center towers died when they were unable to hear police radio warnings to leave the crumbling buildings." Enabling first responders from different agencies, including enforcement, firefighters, ambulances and even state and federal forest rangers, to communicate directly with each other in an emergency is a goal through out the United States, but "...Five years after 9/11, we continue to turn a deaf ear to gaps in interoperable communications", that is the inability of emergency agencies to communicate with each other.

Bennett Valley Fire Protection District 6161 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa 578-7761 (Non-Emergency Business Phone) Board of Directors Mark Richardson, President Joseph Mazeau, Vice-President Marilee Jensen, Secretary Arnie Tognozzi, Don D'Avanzo, Directors The Board meetings are held on the 2nd Tuesday each month, 7:00 pm, at the BV Fire Station. You're welcome to attend, but please confirm the meeting date first. If you have any questions or concerns, you can leave a message for the Bennett Valley Fire Chief, Andy Pforsich, at 823-1084.

Bennett Valley Paid Firefighting Staff 24-hour Shift Personnel: Lieutenant Gabe Stirnus, Engineer Kevin Burris, Engineer Matt Tognozzi Daytime Firefighters, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm: Engineer Danny Connelly, Engineer Steve Gritsch, Firefighter Ron Lakin Supplemented and supported by 23 Trained Firefighting Volunteers, as of 12/31/06; every night at least two of the volunteers spend the night at the Fire Station.

BV Firefighter Activities; Nov./Dec. 2006 By Lieutenant Gabe Stirnus Medical Aids- 10; Vehicle Accidents-8; Hazardous Conditions-4; Fire Alarm 4; Total Runs: 26 We have had very few significant incidents over the past two months. Despite the newly wet and icy roads, there have been very few injury accidents so far this winter. We urge people to pay attention to the roads during this time of year as black ice may cause you to loose control of your vehicle unexpectedly, which can be very dangerous on our narrow roads. Please use caution when using your fireplace as well. Make sure to have your chimneys cleaned annually to help prevent fires from spreading through your chimney. Burn season is also in effect, but with only light rain to date, make sure to have good clearance around burn piles. Have a safe 2007!

BV Firefighter Personnel Changes, December, 2006, By Marilee Jensen If you examine the Bennett Valley Paid Firefighting Staff, listed above, you'll see there have been three changes; one promotion (Matt Tognozzi) and two new hires (Kevin Burris and Ron Lakin). These changes were the result of two of our 24-hour engineers, Captain Brian Campbell and Lieutenant Bryon Reid, being hired by Santa Rosa City Fire Department. We're certainly going to miss their special contributions to Bennett Valley, but we can only wish them well in their well-deserved career advancements. Below I've described a recent interview with Matt Tognozzi. Interviews with Kevin Burris and Ron Lakin, the newly hired firefighters, will appear in an upcoming VOICE.

Engineer Matt Tognozzi There are a number of firefighters in Matt's family, which influenced him to start as a firefighter volunteer in Bennett Valley, where his family lives. Three of his uncles were firefighters plus his Dad, Arnie Tognozzi, was a firefighter for ten years with Roseland Fire Dept. and then Santa Rosa Fire Dept.

Also his two younger brothers becoming firefighters, one as a paramedic working for an ambulance company and volunteering at Bennett Valley Fire and the other as an Explorer (firetighter training for high school students.) Matt has been with Bennett Valley Fire for five years; over one year as a volunteer and 3½ years as a paid firefighter.

During this time he completed the necessary training to become a firefighting engineer. When this vacancy came up in Bennett Valley, Andy Pforsich, the BV Fire Chief, interviewed three candidates for this position of 24-hour shift engineer and selected Matt as one of the two engineers to fill the vacancies.

Kevin Burris is the other engineer who was selected for one of these vacant positions. Matt has been attending an extensive training program in Emeryville on his own time to become a paramedic, which includes up to 1800 hours in the classroom, then 480 to 720 hours in an ambulance as an intern. He expects to complete this training in February. He'll probably work part-time for an ambulance company after he has completed his paramedic training during his time off from the BV Fire Station. His long-range goal, after he has acquired more experience in Bennett Valley, is to obtain a job at one of the larger fire departments, with higher pay and more calls. Once his paramedic training is completed, he will be in even higher demand and receive more pay as a firefighter.

Matt grew up in Bennett Valley and says he really likes working here. He is on one year probation with Bennett Valley Fire in this new position, and is handling all of the BV Fire communication equipment with Dan George, one of the Battalion Chiefs from Gold Ridge, as his supervisor.

includes telephones, mobile radios (on fire engines), portable radios, and firefighter pagers. One of the Gold Ridge battalion chiefs generally comes out to Bennett Valley Fire Station every day, to work with a particular engineer on their mutual assignments, such as communications. The new firefighter from Gold Ridge, Ron Lakin, will work on the same shift as Matt Tognozzi, as his part-time firefighter.

Bennett Valley Homeowner's Association (BVHA) Board Of Directors P.O. Box 2666, Santa Rosa, CA 95405 Tim Murphy, President (542-7114), timcpadvc@sbcglobal.net Craig Harrison, Vice-President (573-9990) charrison@hunton.com Helen Bates, Treasurer (695-8760) hbates@att.net Connie Montague, Recording Secretary, (542-4987) ecmonty@teevax.com Eric Burns, Director (584-7531) datamonk@svn.net Larissa Goliti, Director, (578-3453) lgoliti@hotmail.com Paul Hamilton, Director, (527-0671) Frank LaCombe, Director, (585-3482) franksgarage@peoplepc.com Dan McCaskle, Director, (546-6155) dangmccaskell@aol.com BVHA Membership Coordinator- Vacant Position Call Tim Murphy if you're possibly interested.

BVHA VOICE Editor - Marilee Jensen, 576-0405 Brief Summary of BVHA Meeting November 15th, 2006 • Tim Murphy read the response letter received from Ken Giovannetti re: the condition of BV roads, stating the county did not have adequate resources to correct these problems. When asked what to do, Eric Burns suggested continued communication with Ken Giovannetti.

• Frank LaCombe gave a report on the Bennett Valley Emergency Preparedness Meeting. About 50 people attended this very successful event. An impressive video presentation was given comparing the 1857 and 1906 earthquakes to the "big one" of the future. We most likely could be isolated here in BV for several weeks. Now we need to start planning how to take the next step.

• Tim Murphy shared a letter from Bobbie Blair requesting the need for a new person to take over her volunteer work of maintaining the mailing list. (Membership Coordinator) This generally requires several-hours work every other month. This volunteer needs to be a BHA member and be sure the list is kept confidential.

•In 2007, BHA will meet alternate months beginning in January 2007 on the third Wednesday of the month at 7 pm at the BV Grange Hall, plus October for elections. (In a later review it was noted that there will have to be some change in the meeting date for November, when the third Wednesday is the night before Thanksgiving.) Tim Murphy noted that we need to update the bylaws in the future to better align with this calendar.

• Speakers and topics were considered for the 2007 BVHA meetings. Dan McCaskell will arrange for the January meeting, as described on the first page. Frank LaCombe and Craig Harrison will arrange an action-meeting theme to continue with the BV Emergency Preparedness planning, for the March meeting. They will ask Paul Hess to attend. Eric Burns suggested we have refreshments and a social time. Eric will contact the BV Fire Chief and firefighters to speak about fire-season preparedness at the May meeting. We will ask meeting attendees for ideas for other future meetings.

• The BVHA role with Bennett Valley Area Plan was brought up; a discussion followed with different and attitudes. It seems that each situation will need to be carefully evaluated for the correct action to be taken by the BVHA Board Board of Directors' Tentative Agenda, January 17' Meeting by Tim Murphy • Van Pena, M.D., Ph.D., Patty Keiser and Dan McCaskell, Ph.D., will be presenting a brief history of Bennett Valley during the periods 1850-1865. See the first page for more details.

• Report on BV Fire Protection meeting, December 19th, discussing seismic safety of fire station. • Updates; BV 2007 Calendar, BVHA Web-Page, Sonoma Mtn. Road closure, Condition of BV roads. • 2007 BVHA schedule discussion; meeting dates, speakers, themes • BVHA Membership Coordinator Position • Bennett Valley T-Shirt Project, Bobbie Blair • Swig Foundation Contribution • 2007 BVHA Nomination Committee

Emergency Calls From Cell Phones

By Marilee Jensen The latest information from our BV Fire Chief, Andy Pforsich, is if you're in Sonoma County, and making an emergency call from a cell phone, call 576-1371, which is an emergency dispatch number. From a regular telephone in an emergency, you would always call 911, but from a cell phone it is best to start with 576-1371 within this county. While some cell phones have Global Positioning Systems (GPS), many of them still do not have this added feature.

For instance I found out that my three month old Pantech Cingular cell phone does NOT have GPS. Probably if you're in another area besides Sonoma County using a cell phone in an emergency, you could start with 911, but look for alternatives to find local emergency numbers, in case the 911 call does not produce quick results, as needed.

Bennett Valley Homeowner'S Association Annual Membership Dues, 2007

(Bvha Mailing Label)

Please mail this form with your annual dues of $15 plus any donation you're willing to make, in order to enable us to pursue our specific purposes: To promote and preserve the rural character and natural environment of Bennett Valley, serve as an open forum for Bennett Valley community participation and provide a bridge for communication between government agencies and the Bennett Valley community. Make the check out to BVHA and mail the envelope to Bennett Valley Homeowner's Association, P.O. Box 2666, Santa Rosa, CA 95405 or call Helen Bates, Treasurer, at 695-8760, if you have any questions.

Let us know if you would like to receive the VOICE by e-mail. If yes, include your e-mail address. E-mail address:_ We also are interested in any corrections or additions we should make to your name(s), address, or phone #. (Current Phone#: _ and hearing any comments or concerns you may have. If you don't have enough room, insert additional paper. Thanks!

Comments/Changes:

Bennett Valley Homeowner'S Association Annual Membership Dues, 2007

(Bvha Mailing Label)

Please mail this form with your annual dues of $15 plus any donation you're willing to make, in order to enable us to pursue our specific purposes: To promote and preserve the rural character and natural environment of Bennett Valley, serve as an open forum for Bennett Valley community participation and provide a bridge for communication between government agencies and the Bennett Valley community. Make the check out to BVHA and mail the envelope to Bennett Valley Homeowner's Association, P.O. Box 2666, Santa Rosa, CA, 95405 or call Helen Bates, Treasurer, at 695-8760, if you have any questions.

Let us know if you would like to receive the VOICE by e-mail. If yes, include your e-mail address. E-mail address: We also are interested in any corrections or additions we should make to your name(s), address, or phone #. (Current Phone#: ) and hearing any comments or concerns you may have. If you don't have enough room, insert additional paper. Thanks!

Comments/Changes:_

Bennett Valley Community Calendar

(Remember to mark these dates on your calendar.) 1.) Bennett Valley Homeowner's Association (BVHA): The next BVHA Board meeting will be on Wednesday, January 17th, 7:00 pm at the BV Grange Hall with three speakers discussing the history of Bennett Valley around the period of 1850 to 1865. The next meeting after that will be on Wednesday, March 215t, 7:00 pm and will include an action-meeting to help people start making their preparations for a major emergency.

2.) Bennett Valley Fire Protection District: The Board of Directors meets the second Tuesday of each month, 7:00 pm, at the Bennett Valley Fire Station. You are welcome to attend these Board meetings, but it is important you call 823-1084 to verify the meeting day in advance, as it is necessary to reschedule these meetings from time to time.

3.) Sonoma County Board Of Supervisors meets every Tuesday (except on weeks when there is a holiday) at 575 Administration Drive, Santa Rosa. Valerie Brown is the County Supervisor for our First District. You may call her or Lynn Morton-Weil, her Aide, at 565-2241, if you have any questions or concerns.

Page Two Page Three Page Four Page Five nside This Issu VHA ACTIONS. Articles, 200 mergency Planning-What Nex V Sorina CERT Trainina BVHA Membership Form, Envelope Bennett Valley Homeowner's Association P.O. Box 2666 Santa Rosa, CA 95405 BVHA web-page: bennettvalleyhomeowners.org SPECIFIC PURPOSES OF BHA: "To promote and preserve the rural character and natural environment of Bennett Valley, serve as an open forum for Bennett Valley community participation and provide a bridge for communication between government agencies and Return Service Requested

Early Bennett Valley History 1850 to 1865 January 17th, 7pm, BV Grange