Bennett Valley Voice

Bennett Valley VOICE bennettvalleyhoa.org

Volume 31, Number 6

Bennett Valley Homeowner'S Association (Bvha)

November, 2008

Bennett Valley Changes Both Recent And Long Long Ago • The BVHA website has changed, as shown above. exactly where they were, but probably just east of See article on Page Two. Bennett Valley. Taylor Mountain and Sonoma • The VHA Directors' meeting day has been Mountain are parts of the same long thin fault block, changed from the third Wednesday to the third made of old volcanic materials from these earlier on there eate Thursday. Those meeting dates are as follows: volcanoes, which filled the local valleys 4 to 8 million November 20, January 15, March 19, May 21, July years ago. The fault blocks seem to have started to 16, September 24 and November 19. Any additional rise 2 million years ago, and are still going up, as well changes will always be announced well in advance.

as sideways, with Taylor Mountain rising ½ millimeter a year. • Geology of Bennett Valley By Dave Sandine, with input from Steve Norwick At the BVHA meeting on September 17, we had a very interesting geological presentation by SSU Professor Steve Norwick, with over 125 people in attendance. We learned that for hundreds of millions of years California was submerged under the ocean, but most of the state was above water 20 million years ago. Starting 12 million years ago, there were many volcanoes in this area. Sonoma County had volcanoes actually erupting over one million years ago, but there are no volcanoes in Sonoma County at this time. There is still a great deal of volcanic residue remaining from these earlier volcanoes, both in the form of lava and volcanic ash.

The Rodgers Creek Fault lies on the east side of Taylor Mountain and has a 70% chance for a strong quake in the next 30 years; it's not if but when. Then there is the Bennett Valley Fault, which has signs of being a serious fault, running right down Bennett Valley in a northwest direction, just to the west of Matanzas Creek Winery. This is evidenced by the topography of the hills along the northerly side of Bennett Valley Road. Professor Norwick also mentioned a Taylor Mountain Fault on the west side of Taylor Mountain.

Bennett Peak is a fault block made of volcanic materials from volcanoes that were erupting three to eight million years ago, which exploded so violently they destroyed themselves. What little was left after the explosion then eroded away so we do not know Norwick stated that the topography of the Bennett Valley area is very peculiar. Some creeks do not meander down the hills, but run nearly parallel to the ridge lines. There is also quite a bit of landsliding. In vulnerable areas, such as the old river, southern Rodgers Creek, there is lots of liquefaction and landslides coming off Sonoma Mountain. In some neighborhoods you can see the resultant piles of dirt, with pipes even coming out of the hillsides. Where there are oak woodlands, there are no landslides as oaks help stabilize the soil.

You can get additional information on two different websites; On Shaky Ground (see page 5) and USGS. At USGS, there are even parcel specific maps where you can find your lot and how it relates to active faults. Download Google maps, type in your address and at the bottom left hand corner of the screen you will find your coordinates. On the web, search for California Earthquake Faults. Go to California Geological Survey - Alquist Priolo Earthquake fault Zones. At top of page, click on Regional Geological Hazards and Mapping Program.

click on Probabilistic Seismic Hazards Assessment. Click on Interactive Probabilistic Seismic Hazards Map. Type in your coordinates (mine are -122.6936, 38.38829. You have to convert degrees to minutes and seconds to decimals of degrees. Just divide the seconds by 60, add it to the minutes and divide the sum again by 60). Checking my home at Bennett Ridge against the Fire Station, I find that the Fire Station parcel would have a 33% greater long motion shaking than my residential lot.

• Grange and Crane Canyon Roads Resurfaced By Craig S. Harrison In mid-October, Sonoma County road workers resurfaced about 3.5 miles of Grange Road and Crane Canyon Road as well as about one-quarter mile of Inverness Avenue. This is the first full-scale resurfacing of any Bennett Valley road for many years. The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports that the road crews applied an oil seal over rock chips and then rolled it to compress the surface. This method leaves the road with a rougher, noisier surface that may seem as if the final smooth top layer of asphalt was omitted. Chip sealing of worn patches of road has been used for some time in Sonoma County, but the technique used on Grange and Crane Canyon roads used somewhat larger rock chips than in the past. This change should provide a greater wearing surface that will last longer. The new surface will also provide more traction during rains. Chip sealing works for roads that are still in adequate condition, and the county wants to avoid waiting until a roadway fails before fixing it.

The new method is much less expensive than asphalt paving, and will allow more county roads to be surfaced. An asphalt overlay costs about $1 million per mile and can last about 20 years. Chip sealing costs about $50,000 per mile, may last up to seven years and could allow 20 times as many miles to be resurfaced for the same budget.

Public Works Director Phil Demery and First District Supervisor Valerie Brown attended a meeting at the Grange Hall in September 2007 to hear the concerns of Bennett Valley residents about the condition of our county roads. At that time Demery had recently been hired as the Public Works Director and had completed an audit of his department. He suggested that he was planning on initiating some new approaches to road maintenance because of the severe budget constraints that Sonoma County faces. In addition, he said his department would establish a prioritybased road maintenance plan.

Hopefully chip sealing will mean that residents of our area will be relieved of bad pothole problems on Grange and Crane Canyon roads during the coming years. And hopefully this approach will also allow our other major thoroughfares in Bennett Valley -Bennett Valley Road, Sonoma Mountain Road and Pressley Road -- to be chip sealed before too long.

• New BVHA Website BVHA member Bill Finkelstein, working with President Craig Harrison and Vice-President Eric Burns, is in the process of upgrading our website to be much more responsive and timely. To check out the new website and to find out about all the latest Bennett Valley happenings, please go to this new address: http://bennettvalleyhoa.org (note the addition of the "hoa" to the site name). New material will be added to our new site during the transition, so be sure to visit frequently!

Our old website at http://bennettvalley.org will stay live until we're done with the migration - then that address will go to the new site as well. In addition to being faster and easier to use, Finkelstein reports that the changed hosting provider is onequarter the cost of our former host.

Finkelstein is a retired Banking and Internet executive living in Bennett Valley. In his retirement he has been helping folks with their computer and Internet needs. He's graciously volunteered his services to help us improve our website. • Sonoma Mountain Road Update By Marilee Jensen, with assistance from Tom O'Kane, Dixon Haun and Sarah Fredericks, Sonoma County Public Works When you drive out to the closed blocked section of Sonoma Mountain Rd. from Enterprise Rd., you see all kinds of big equipment parked there with a number of men wearing rain gear, probably from Argonaut Construction Company, which was awarded the contract for these major repairs on the closed section of Sonoma Mountain Road. There are big deep holes all around, fifty feet below the grade where the old road was, and a couple of hundred feet across. Black plastic is covering some of the excavated area, in an effort to protect it from moisture and further sliding.

I've been told the excavation • is not quite complete, but they have completed the foundation (or keyway) for the new roadway at the foot of the slope. They have also inserted some of the drain pipes, as any drainage can help reduce the impact of rain.

The excavation work for the foundation removed slide material to 46 feet in elevation (from [ sea level). They have now brought fill material back up to 55 feet in elevation. Once the hillside construction gets up to 80 feet elevation, then they [can begin to place the tire derived aggregate (TDA) in the first of 2 lifts. The Waste Board has begun to | deliver TDA to stockpile at the County's Sonoma | Yard to allow for the contractor to begin placement at a fast rate. The rain can potentially interfere with this repair process, especially with the clay soil. As of October 31, they will need to have some drying sunshine before they can continue, perhaps by November 5. Sarah Fredericks, a Resident Engineer with County Public Works is frequently at this site for a good part of each day. The project is tentatively scheduled to be completed around late December, presuming they can effectively work around whatever rain we get.

Bennett Valley quote from an outside source which fits the picture, as listed below: 2009 Birds & Blooms Calendar • January - Jack Moran, Raven Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore! Quoth the Raven Available at Ace, Cottage Gardens, "Nevermore!" Edgar Allen Poe and Long's • February - Sally Weare, Princess Lily Earth laughs in flowers. Ralph Waldo Emerson • March - John Dinwiddie, Daffodils I will be the This year's new 2009 Bennett Valley Birds & gladdest thing under the sun! I will touch a hundred flowers Blooms Calendar is truly a remarkable photo and not pick one. Edna St. Vincent Millay profusion of indigenous birds and flowers • April - Lolly Mesches, Poppy in Field Summer set which daily color our lives in Bennett Valley.

lip to earth's bosom bare, and left the flushed print of a poppy The calendar is out and available for sale for there. Francis Thompson $15 at Ace Hardware, Cottage Gardens, and • May - Sylvia Gerloff, Cooper's Hawk Doth the hawk fly by the wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?

Long's or by calling Sherry Parker, 528-6176 Job 39:26 (she will deliver). • June - Suzanne Dougherty, Rhododendron Tis my faith that every flower enjoys the air it breathes! William Proceeds from the sale of these calendars go Wordsworth to our firefighters, emergency preparation • July - Marianne Warwick, Begonias People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy programs, and to the BV Grange. Last year the whole time to have such things about us. Iris Murdoch was a sellout, so buy your calendars early this • August - Sherry Parker, Sunflower The sunflower turned year!

to her god, when he sets, the same look which she turned when he rose. Thomas Moore • September - Gerda Dinwiddie, Quail The songA Closer Look At This Wonderful birds leave us at the summer's close. Only the empty nests are left behind, and pipings of the quail among the sheaves. Henry 2009 BV Calendar Wadsworth Longfellow By Marilee Jensen • October - Anthony Mancini, Blackbirds The manywinter'd crow that leads the clanging rookery home. Alfred I was so impressed by this compilation of wonder from Lord Tennyson twenty-two individual Bennett Valley residents that I • November - Rubin Carrillo, Turkey A turkey never thought it was worth sharing these details with you.

voted for an early Christmas. Irish Proverb • December - Jack Moran, Amaryllis Flowers really • Cover Photo: Anthony Mancini, Hummingdo intoxicate me. Vita Sackville-West bird and Tiger's Tail On the inside of the cover • On the back of December is more. Rebecca Woodruff, Cherry Blossoms with "Magic" is a poem, "Winter Twilight: Blackbirds, Starlings, Ascending", written by Lynn They've each captured their own touch of beauty. I wanted Trombetta, another Bennett Valley resident.

to let them know how much we appreciated their Inside the cover page is a photo by Claire impressive production. Markarian (age 7), Gladiola. • The first page acknowledges the 2009 Calendar Committee (Sherry Parker, Sally Weare, Ray Lemieux), the 2009 Photo Jury (Dina Kuntz, Gene Graser, Stan Sommer, Lino Vincent, and Deborah Rogers) and includes the following introductory statement: Birds and Blooms The range in age of this year's photographers-from 7 to 81- is matched only by the splendid variety of birds and blooms in our gth annual Bennett Valley Calendar. Hummingbird, raven, hawk, quail and blackbird join gladiola, lilies, poppies, narcissus, rhododendron, begonias, sunflower, amaryllis, and cherry blossoms to show that Bennett Valley is a very special refuge for birds and a happy environment for flowers. It is also a haven for people, where young and old live together with Nature through the seasons.

• Each month of the year then presents a Bennett Valley photographer, and his/her photo, plus a Proposed BV Cell Phone Tower Developments The Sonoma County Design Review Committee ; approved the 58 foot tall "faux tree antenna tower" behind the BV Fire Station on September 3, asking that 16 redwood trees be planted around the tower, ¡ for improved mitigation. Next this use permit I application from Verizon has to go before a public hearing with the Board of Zoning Adjustments, I expected on December 11, around 1:00 pm. This Board will be reviewing the telecommunications regulations, the Bennett Valley Area Plan, and the i design review committee recommendations, to determine if this design will sufficiently mitigate the visual impact of the 58 foot tower. They will also assess whether the BV Fire Station is the most • desirable and feasible location for this cell phone ! tower? Sonoma County's final determination on this cell phone tower should be fairly soon.

Bennett Valley Fire Protection District 6161 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa Non-Emergency Business Phone: 578-7761 Board of Directors Mark Richardson, President; Joseph Mazeau, Vice-President; Marilee Jensen, Secretary; Arnie Tognozzi, and Don D'Avanzo, Directors. Board meetings are held on the 2nd Tuesday each month, 7:00 pm, at the BV Fire Station.

Please confirm meeting date ahead of time. Bennett Valley Paid Firefighting Staff Fire Chief: Andy Pforsich, 823-1084 48-hour Personnel: Lieutenants Kevin Burris and Matt Tognozzi, Engineer Danny Connelly Daytime Firefighters, 8:00am to 5:00 pm: Engineers Patrick Tognozzi, Brian Drees and Ronnie Lakin Supplemented and supported by many trained firefighting volunteers. Three separate shifts of volunteers are paid to sleep overnight at the Fire Station, three at a time, for improved coverage.

Bennett Valley Firefighting Activities September and October, 2008 By Lieutenant Kevin Burris • 9/1/08 Motor vehicle accident in the 4000 block of Bennett Valley Rd. • 9/2/08 Automatic aid for a structure fire, Spring Hill Ct., City of • 9/2/08 Vegetation fire, Grange Rd. @ Bennett Valley Rd.

• 9/3/08 Vegetation fire, Burnham Ranch Rd. @ Summit View. • 9/9/08 Motor vehicle accident in the 4900 block of Bennett • 9/9/08 Motor vehicle accident 2000 block of Crane Canyon Rd. • 9/10/08 Automatic aid for a structure fire, Wood View Dr. ,City of Santa Rosa - 9/10/08 Mutual aid for a structure fire, Bannon Lane, Rancho Adobe Fire Dist.

• 9/15/05 Motor vehicle accident, Bennett Valley Rd. @ Grange • 9/18/08 Motor vehicle accident, 5300 block of Bennett Valley • 9/22/08 Medical aid walk in to the Fire Station, 6161 Bennett • 9/27/08 Fire alarm sounding, Green Hill Dr. • 9/27/08 Motor vehicle accident, Sonoma Mountain Rd. @ • 9/27/08 Tree down blocking the roadway, Sonoma Mountain @ • 9/27/08 Smoke check, Warrington Rd.

• 9/28/08 Fire alarm sounding, Bennett Valley Rd • 9/29/08 Medical aid, Grange Rd. • 10/3/08 Hazardous conditions/ debris blocking the roadway in the 6000 block Bennett Valley Rd. • 10/4/08 Possible structure fire, Grange Rd. • 10/4/08 Medical aid, Birch Dr. • 10/4/08 Motor Vehicle accident 7000 block of Bennett Valley • 10/6/08 Medical aid, La Paz Rd.

• 10/9/08 Fire alarm sounding, Bennett Valley Rd. • 10/00/08 Medical aid. Burnham Ranch Rd. • 10/10/08 Public assist, Earlena Lane • 10/10/08 Smoke check, Bennett Ridge Rd. @ Bardy Rd. • 10/10/08 Mutual aid to Napa County for a vegetation fire. Water Tender 7891 responded as part of a structure protection task force...

• 10/13/08 Mutual aid to Los Angeles County for the Sesnon fire, Engine 7882 responded as part of a type one strike team for structure protection. The fire burned 14,000 acres in the area of Thousand Oaks and Los Angeles City. 7882 retuned home late, 10/16/08.

• 10/18/08 Medical aid La Paz Rd Tax History, BV Fire Special Tax By Marilee Jensen !The voters living in the Bennett Valley Fire ¡ Protection District (BVFPD) approved a special ¡Bennett Valley Fire tax in November, 2002, with a ¡75% approval rating. The BV special tax rate could be i set fly res fence. If you at your for each single! Property Tax bill for 2008-2009, you'll see listed ! Bennett Valley Fire, Direct Charge, $160.

¡In 2002-2003, this special tax had to be pro-rated ¡ for seven months. In 2003-2004, after years of ¡ inadequate revenue, the BVFPD was still so bereft in the necessary staff, emergency supplies, equipment, : vehicles, etc., that the full $180 was used that year.

! Since then our Fire Chief, administrative staff ! Bennett Valley Fire Board have strived to have ¡ qualified well-trained staff and the necessary ¡ equipment for the BV Fire District while using less ¡ than the maximum special tax available. The amount ¡ of special tax used for a single-family residence for the last five years is listed below: • 2004-2005 = $160 • 2006-2007 = $150 • 2007-2008 = $150 • 2008-2009 = $160 With the overwhelming support of our residents, ! we've been able to make the following additions: ị 1) Increase our three paid 48-hour firefighting engineers' ¡ salaries from $8.90 per hour to a more competitive rate.

Prior to that, our paid firefighters received less than any other Fire District/Department in the County. ! 2.) Hire three daytime firefighters, to work from 8 am ¡ until 5 pm, seven days a week, so there are always two ¡ paid firefighters on duty during the day.

¡ 3.) Offer a small stipend to volunteer firefighters to spend the night at the fire station; three volunteers a night ! starting June, 2007, so added to the 48-hour paid i firefighter, there are four firefighters on duty during the ; 4.) Offer a small stipend to the volunteer firefighters when they participate in the weekly training.

! You can have input on the annual BVFPD i budget and special tax rate each year at a i public hearing held at the June Fire District Board meeting.

CERT Disaster Communications Class By Karen Sommer, BV Emergency Preparation Coordinator live in a well braced wood-frame building of one or two stories. These buildings are unlikely to collapse completely during earthquakes. Common damage in Seven members of Bennett Valley CERT (Community, Emergency Response Team) attended the Disaster!

Communications class on October 3, 2008, put on by, the Petaluma CERT communications group. these structures is light cracking of interior walls, cracking of brick chimneys in older homes... Some wood-frame buildings can be hazardous, especially those built before 1940. Older wooden structures can fail at or near ground level if not Bennett Valley's closed-in geography and its rural!

adequately bolted to the foundation, or if the pierand-post foundation or short cripple walls (often found between the foundation and the first floor) are not adequately braced. Your local community may not work. planning building inspection office has information on adding foundation bolts and bracing This 4 hour class gave us a very good understanding!

cripple walls. Correcting these problems will of the uses of FRS (Family Radio System ori drastically reduce earthquake risk in older homes. "Walky/Talkies") and Ham radio operations. These! •Understand How Earthquake Risk Varies by two components are essential in forming our disaster, Location - Earthquake damage is typically communications network. Equally important is!

concentrated in locations that can be identified in using these tools effectively. The proper protocol! advance: and communication channels on the radios assure! • Areas nearest to fault segments that are likely that only the most important information isi to move; communicated to the right source.

• Areas of soft soils where shaking is increased; • Areas where the ground may settle or slide. We found out earlier this year how important this! class would have been to us on Bennett Ridge if wei had this information. We attempted to do a disaster!

communications drill in March, but too many of usi were talking over each other and not conveying the! most important and necessary information. And with our terrain of hills, it can be difficult to, communicate with FRS alone. Here is what we learned from the class: 1. How to develop a communications plan 2. Understand why multi-channel operations are needed for more complex incidents 3. How to use correct radio operating, procedures 4. How to operate our portable radio more, effectively during an emergency!

As we have discussed in previous articles in the, VOICE, it is important to begin to implement a good communications network within our communities.i CERT members and our fire district can be helpful to! any neighborhood group who wants to start this, program. Please contact me for more information at!

ksommer11@earthlink.net or phone: 528-8982 Failure of the ground during an earthquake can happen in many ways. Faults may break the ground as they slip during an earthquake. Steep or unstable hill slopes may slide, especially if an earthquake hits during the rainy season. Cracks may open along ridge crests closest to the earthquake epicenter...The ground may fail if a sandy layer at shallow depth is saturated with water and flows like a liquid during the earthquake shaking.

• Where You Live Affects How Strongly The Ground Will Shake - Communities most vulnerable to earthquake damage can be identified by studying the locations of active faults and the damage patterns of past earthquakes...Soft materials such as mud and beach sands ... are likely to experience stronger shaking than harder rock ..nearby. Steep areas on unstable ground...are more likely to slide during a strong earthquake than more stable rock types.

A house built over a fault can be torn apart if the ground ruptures during an earthquake...Local city and county planning departments have Special Studies Zone maps that will tell you if your home is on or near one of these faults... • A Unique Geologic Setting - The geology of the Excerpts from Website: "On Shaky Ground" North Coast is distinct from the rest of California.

During SSU Professor Norwick's presentation on Geologists and seismologists find this region of Bennett Valley Geology, he recommended this special interest because it coincides with a "triple website for additional information on North Coast junction" , a place where three plates of the earth's earthquakes. Here are some excerpts from this outer shell are in contact. As a result of this unique website, selected by the Editor.

geologic setting, the North Coast is vulnerable to • Determine the Safety of Your Home - Most several types of earthquakes from a variety of people on the North Coast are safe at home if they sources.

Putting Down Roots In Earthquake Country, Your Handbook for the San Francisco Bay Region, USGS This is one of the best handbooks available on earthquake preparation. You can get yours, now, from the online version of this publication at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/2005/15/ It was developed by: American Red Cross, Bay Area Chapter Association of Bay Area Governments California Earthquake Authority California Geological Survey Earthquake Engineering Research Institute Governor's Office of Emergency Service San Francisco Office of Emergency Services Southern California Earthquake Center Structural Engineers Assoc. of Northern California University of California Berkeley U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) U.S. Department of the Interior It includes the following: Why Should I Care?-The Bay Area is Your Home (pages 4-11) There are many faults in the Bay Area certain to produce large earthquakes in the future. All Bay Area communities are at risk from damaging effects of quakes - strong shaking, landsliding, and liquefaction. Scientists estimate that there is more than a 60% (or 70% from other sources) chance of a damaging earthquake striking the region in the next 30 years.

Why Should I Prepare?-Big Quakes Will Affect You (pages 12-17) The disastrous 1989 magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake was not the "Big One"! If you do not prepare for the next big quake in the Bay Area, you and your family could be left without a home, food and water, medical supplies, and financial resources:

Start Preparing Now!

What Should I do? - Follow the Seven Steps to Earthquake Safety (pages 18-29) STEP 1. Identify potential hazards in your home and begin to fix them. STEP 2. Create a disaster preparedness plan. STEP 3. Prepare disaster kits. STEP4. Identify your building's potential weaknesses and begin to fix them.

STEP5. Protect yourself during earthquake shaking-

Drop, Cover, And Hold On.

STEP 6. After the quake, check for injuries and damage. STEP 7. When safe, continue to follow your disasterpreparedness plan. THANKS for BV Clean-Up Roads Day! ¡ On Saturday, October 25, once again Bennett Valley Road, as well as parts of Sonoma Mountain Road and Grange Road/Crane Canyon Road, were cleaned by : 18 volunteer Bennett Valley residents. We want to ¡ express our great appreciation to all of those who ; helped: Jim Alfieri, Dave & Sandy Sandine, Lu : Schultz, Mike & Patty Hickey, Bobbie Blair, Sandra • Carr, Richard Lukasko, Norm Boling, Tony Seiniger, Wriston Jones, Marian Hamann, Shawn ; Harding, Bob & Karen Anderson, Marcy Hofeditz, i Pat Werth. We also want to give a SPECIAL ROUND ¡OF APPLAUSE to Valerie Kneit, from Sonoma : County Public Works, who has been very helpful in making the necessary arrangements. The Bennett : Valley roads are cleaned by volunteers twice a year, ; so the next Clean-Up Roads can be expected in April, 2009. This is organized each time by the following especially committed dedicated residents: Dave & : Sandy Sandine, Norm & Eve Boling, Mike & ¡Patty Hickey, Bobbie Blair and Suzanne Dougherty. Your help is needed and will be i welcome next time.

How Much Can You Really See At Night?* ¡ Does a carrot a day keep the night driving hazards away? Various resources say the beta carotene in i carrots can help a person see better in dim light. But ; traffic death rates are three times greater at night than during the day. To increase your safety, the National Safety Council (NSC) recommendations include: • Prepare your vehicle for night driving by cleaning and maintaining all car lights and windows. Depth perception, color recognition and peripheral vision are already lower after sundown.

• Turn your lights on at twilight to make it easier for other cars to see you. • Reduce your speed and increase your following distances. ; You can visit nsc.org for more tips on driving safer at i night. *From State Farm News & Notes, 2007

Reflective Address Signs

: These green reflective double-sided address signs which many of us already have are essential for reducing the ; time it takes for emergency personnel to find your home. ! To order one, please stop by the Bennett Valley Fire Station.

Bennett Valley Homeowner's Association (BVHA) Board Of Directors P.O. Box 2666, Santa Rosa, CA 95405 Craig Harrison, President charrison@hunton.com, 573-9990 Eric Burns, Vice-President datamonk@svn.net, 584-7531 Fay Blair, Treasurer tayblair@sonic.net, 576-0152 Connie Montague, Recording Secretary ecmonty@teevax.com,_542-4987 James K. Cobb, Director cobblaw@pacbell.net, 586-9172 Larissa Goliti, Director Igoliti@hotmail.com, 578-3453 Paul Hamilton, Director, 527-0671 Frank LaCombe, Director franksgarage@peoplepc.com, 585-3482 Richard Lukasko, Director rlukasko@hotmail.com, 566-7803 Bennett Valley Emergency Preparation Coordinator Karen Sommer,_ 528-8982, ksommer11@earthlink.net, BVHA VOICE Editor - Marilee Jensen, 576-0405, marileejensen@sbcglobal.net,

A Message From Your Membership

COORDINATOR, Larissa Goliti If you haven't done it yet, you can still pay your annual 2008 dues for Bennett Valley Homeowner's Association. Ballots were mailed out to BVHA members in the middle of October for the possible re-election of three Board members (Eric Burns, Larissa Goliti and Craig Harrison) and a change in the BVHA Articles of Incorporation, as described in the September VOICE. The election results will be counted and announced at the next BVHA meeting, on November 20.

Please let me know whenever you change your email address. It is impossible to decipher some of the addresses when they are returned as undeliverable. Either email me at lgoliti@hotmail.com. Or call me at 578-3453. Thank you in advance. Brief Summary of BHA Meeting September 17, 2008 • As described on the first page, this meeting started with a presentation on Bennett Valley Geology by SSU Professor Steve Norwick, with over 125 people in attendance.

• At the request of the informal BV Clean-up committee, a motion was approved for two new signs at $125 each for the Clean-up committee to post along the road, announcing the Clean-up Date. • Two other motions were approved immediately; one for a large coffee pot to be used for BVHA meetings and the second one to provide the BV Fire District with our mailing list anytime they need it, free of charge.

• BVHA is planning to make a donation to the Bennett Valley Emergency Preparation (BVEP) committee building fund for an addition to the BV Fire station, which would be used for volunteers' activities, during training or emergencies and the storage of emergency supplies and communication equipment as needed for emergency preparation.

Bill Allen spoke up to request that BVEP still should seek donations to purchase a storage container to be placed on the BV Grange property, for the same purposes as the room addition at the BV Fire Station. Karen confirmed this is still one of the goals for BVEP.

• Karen Sommer reported talking to Darrin DeCarli, the new BV fire marshal. Fire personnel are eager to attend neighborhood group meetings arranged for emergency preparation. These meetings can be held at the Fire Station. • CERT training classes, for people already CERT certified, will be held in October, November and January, for four hours on Saturday mornings, as noted by Karen Sommer. See her article on Page Five, describing the October training.

• The new BVHA bylaws require that an Election Committee be appointed, to help count the votes after an election. The members of that committee for 2008 are Jean LaCombe, Michael Cronin and Terry Lockwood. Larissa Goliti mentioned that the bylaws should be updated to include the number of members needed on the Election Committee and their voting member status.

• Watershed and Creek Signage Program - Craig Harrison said that Helen Bates asked if we would want watershed signs for Bennett Valley. The cost would be around $500. Frank LaCombe liked this idea. Craig stated he would contact a group organizing the posting of these creek signs, such as Southern Sonoma County Resource Conservation District, and invite them to our meeting.

Board of Directors' Tentative Agenda November 20, BV Grange Hall, 7 pm • Report from Bennett Valley Emergency Preparedness Committee A. Update on IRS 501 (c) (3) B. Update on the Fire Station Room Addition or Storage Container Developments • Report of Elections Committee ! • Proposed Cell Phone Tower Developments I • Bennett Valley Roads Report • New Website • Watershed and Creek Signage Program • Speaker for January or March meetings?

• New Business as Determined by the Board

Bennett Valley Communitycalendar

Remember to Mark Your Calendars. 1.) BENNETT VALLEY HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATION (BVHA): Next meeting, Thursday, November 20, 7:00 pm, BV Grange Hall. See Page Seven for agenda. 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. Please call 823-1084 to verify meetings in advance as they can be changed at the last minute, such as when a quorum of the Board cannot attend.

3.) AMATEUR RADIO (Ham Radio) LICENSING IN JUST ONE DAY: (From website smrs.us) Saturday, November 15, 8:30 am to 1:30 pm, Petaluma Senior Citizens Center. Register online or contact Dale at 792-9414. 4.) LANDPATHS OUTINGS: Sunday, Nov. 16, Jacobs Ranch Volunteer Patrol Training. BYO lunch, 2-3 mile easy to moderate hike; 10 am-1:30 pm. Sunday November 16, Taylor Mountain Evening Hike, Moderate hiking; uneven footing; 3-4 miles, 1:30 pm-5 pm. Reservations required. Email: outings@LandPaths.org or call 524-9318.

5.)_SONOMA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS meets every Tuesday (except on weeks when there is a legal holiday), at varying times, at 575 Administration Drive, Santa Rosa. Valerie Brown is the 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.

Important Phone Numbers

• Call Sonoma County Road Maintenance, at 565-7280, to report potholes which need fixing, or trash which needs to be picked up along the BV roads. • Call 576-1371 from a cell phone to report emergencies in Bennett Valley; call 565-2121 from any phone, to i talk to someone at the Sheriff's office 24 hrs, every day, with concerns that may or may not be an emergency. i Inside This Issue • Resurfaced BV Roads • Sonoma Mtn. Road Update 2009 Birds & Bloom Calendar • Proposed BV Cell Phone Tower • BV Fire District, Activities, Taxes • CERT Disaster Communication Training • "On Shaky Ground" website - Earthquake Handbook • Thanks for BV Clean-up!

Bennett Valley Homeowner's Association P.O. Box 2666 Santa Rosa, CA 95405 bennettvalleyhoa.org SPECIFIC PURPOSES OF BVHA: "To promote and preserve the rural character and natural environment f Bennett Valley, serve as an open forum for Bennet Valley community participation and provide a bridge for communication between government agencies and the Bennett Valley community."