Bennett Valley Voice

Bennett Valley VOICE www.bennettvalley.org

Volume33, Number 6

Bennett Valley Homeowner'S Association (Bvha)

November, 2010

Vines To Wine

BVHA will have Joseph Judge, President of the Bennett Valley Grape Growers Association (BVGGA) speaking at our next meeting on Thursday, November 18, 7:00 pm, at the BV Grange Hall. Joe is a 20 year resident of Bennett Valley, the owner of Judge Family Vineyard and one of the founding members of the BVGGA.

Brochures about the Bennett Valley appellation and copies of the North Bay Biz magazine featuring Bennett Valley will be available to all guests. Joe's topic will be "Vines to Wines" and will include information about: 1. What it takes to start a vineyard. 2. Grapes that do and don't do well in Bennett Valley and why.

3. How the weather of 2010 has affected grape growers. (See related article on Page 5) Recent Bennett Valley Burglaries By Marilee Jensen In a phone call on November 2, Sheriff Deputy Sgt. Mike Raasch reports there were four residential burglaries in Bennett Valley in September/October.

From the information we have, there were two on October 4, one on Ponderosa Drive in Woodside and the other one on a road close to Woodside. On October 11, there was one in Hidden Acres. The fourth one was in Bennett Ridge. There were also three in the unincorporated area adjacent to Bennett Valley before the fairgrounds, including Holland Heights, Mt. Taylor Road and Bennett Valley Road.

There were many more similar residential robberies during this two month period in the Santa Rosa city limits, including Summerfield Road and the Proctor Terrace area. The authorities feel they arrested their prime suspect during the week of October 21, identified by the Press Democrat as Jason Cassell. There were accomplices, some of whom have been arrested. Sgt.

Kaasch mentioned they have identitied tw additional suspects for whom they are still searching As quoted from a Press Democrat article dated October 28, "This whole little group that we uncovered, they're all strung out on OxyContin," Raasch said. OxyContin..is a synthetic heroin of sorts similar to morphine. Doctors prescribe it for severe pain relief. The opiate-based painkiller causes a fast addiction... "Those people are desperate.

They'll do anything to support their drug habit," Raasch said. Because of the high price of gold right now and the number of local businesses which will give cash for gold, even without identification, jewelry stolen from houses when people are not home is apparently one of the easier ways to obtain immediate cash for these strong drug addictions. "Detectives have linked stolen jewelry worth more than $100,000 to Cassell," said Sheriff's Sgt. Mike Raasch... (Press Democrat, October 29) Even though this group has been or is being arrested, the chances high that similar residential burglaries will continue, for the same reasons.

The methods used in these recent burglaries start with having someone drive at least one of them to the house they selected, and either drop them off or wait outside in the car. Apparently they were using one of three cars. They chose houses where it appeared no one was home. They do not want any confrontation or violence with people. They would approach the front door and knock. If no one answered, they would then break down the front door including parts of the frame and the dead bolt. This apparently is done with their shoulder, resulting in damage to the frame and a bent dead bolt ($4,500 repair for one of them.) One of the victims was told the dead bolts are to slow people down, but they cannot prevent entrance.

And if there was some dilemma in breaking down the front door, they could always get in through a window.

(Continued On Next Page)

Recent Bennett Valley Burglaries

(Continued From Page One)

The victims said the burglar(s) would then go to the master bedroom or bathroom, where jewelry, their prime target, is generally kept. These burglars were both quick and thorough, as they also located special jewelry boxes or gun cabinets kept in nearby closets, but still were able to leave quickly. They even left their screwdriver in one of the homes, when they were trying to pry open a special container.

Apparently they checked out the houses ahead of time to know when the residents were no longer at home. In at least two of the burglaries, cars are always visible when someone is at home and no cars are visible when residents are gone. these burglaries committed? For the four in Bennett Valley, they were said to be 11:00 am - 12:00 pm (Hidden Acres), between 1:30 pm and 4:00 pm (Bennett Ridge) and 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm (Woodside area) - daytime hours when people had left their homes. One of the neighbors on a road in the vicinity of one of these houses had a surveillance camera, for business reasons. Law enforcement was able to use that footage, after careful review, to identify the burglars' car moving slowly by the camera on the right date and time as later confirmed by the suspect.

The three victims I talked to individually mentioned feeling discouraged since these incidents took place. Their homes, their "castles", their lives were intruded upon by criminals trying to raise quick cash. In the process the victims lost some valuable personal jewelry, as well as sentimental losses, such as when e sat de place. ones hant recited any of their jewelry. One victim shared that she has received gifts of special jewelry from two very thoughtful neighbors.

Preventing Residential Burglaries As Sheriff Deputy James Percy said at our Crime Prevention meeting at the Bennett Valley Grange on October 26, "Nothing is foolproof in crime prevention." He described these potential criminals as opportunists "shopping" for vulnerable houses, such as those without close neighbors or with cars visible from the street, so it is clear when no one is at home. Nevertheless there are a number of steps you can take which will reduce your chances of being burglarized, some of which are listed below: One of the more obvious points is to try to avoid having cars parked where they can be easily discerned from the street when you're home or not home. Possible alternatives are a carport or other cars left in the driveway.

Sgt. Mike Raasch, with the Sonoma County Sheriffs Department, had the following advice related to protecting your valuable jewelry. Any jewelry of value should be kept in uncommon places; not in jewelry boxes on your counters in the master bedroom or bathroom or even in nearby closets and cupboards. A safe bolted to the floor is ideal, but at least place the valuable jewelry in some location where no one would expect to look. Let someone in your family know where your jewelry is located, though.

Another valuable tool is Neighborhood Watch. When any of us sees a car in our neighborhood that is in an unusual place or doesn't look like it belongs in the area, have a paper and pencil available to write down the license plate number, date and time. If a problem is later identified in that area, then your notes would be invaluable. One of our best preventions is our neighbors' noticing and recording the unusual near our homes.

As a part of this, there is great value in neighborhood emergency communication. Bennett Valley Homeowner's Association maintains an email Alert List and notified 300 households about the recent burglaries during the time they were occurring. Be sure BVHA has your email address for that purpose (See Page 7). Bennett Ridge Community Association also has a number of email addresses for their residents, so these residents were also kept informed via email Alert during this time period. For these alerts to work best, it was also equally important for the victims to notify community leaders, after contacting law enforcement first, such as certain officers of BHA (Craig Harrison, 573-9990 or Larissa Goliti, 578-3453) or Karen Sommer in Bennett Ridge, at 528-8982, These phone numbers as well as their corresponding email addresses are in every VOICE, usually on the last inside page.

Other good information for preventing burglaries: • Dogs are excellent deterrents. • A gate in front of your driveway can present an obstacle. • Surveillance cameras • Install an alarm system, especially with cameras, so you have proof as to who committed the crime. • When you have a false alarm, consider that someone is testing the response time for law enforcement.

• Keep your trees and bushes trimmed, so your front door or house can be seen from the street, when applicable. • When there is debris left around the house, that can indicate there is a better chance that some of your doors and/or windows have been left unlocked • Houses with "For Sale" signs along the street can be a good target for criminal activity. One law enforcement recommendation is to have your house listed for sale, but don't leave a sign out front.

• Curtains on your windows will reduce the surveillance possibilities for your belongings and when you're home. • Use motion sensor lights (surprise element helps.) • Have locked mailboxes and/or rent a P.O. Box • Don't ever leave your purse and/or your keys in your car, including in your own driveway.

• When you go on vacation, be sure to have lights going on and off (with timers), mail/newspapers picked up and family/friends or a house sitter coming to your house, at least from time to time. • Don't hesitate to call the Sheriff's office even when you're suspicious. Use (707) 565-2121 when you're not sure.

(See Important Phone Numbers, last page.)

Vandals Strike Mailboxes On Sonoma Mountain Press Democrat, November 4 A few mailboxes were knocked over in acts of vandalism on Pressley Road. One woman reported that, "They go down the whole street. I heard laughter. It sounded like kids." Her mailbox was destroyed. The vandals were also dragging and thumping garbage bins. "Hours earlier, before dawn, the brick barrier encasing a mailbox was knocked off its concrete pedestal. Bricks were strewn about. The mailbox crushed." Someone stated that it happens once a month, at least with garbage cans.

"Vandals typically choose rural, isolated areas of the county to strike,' '" said Sgt. Michael Raasch with the Sonoma County Sheriff's property crimes unit. Our best defense is trying to get license numbers when things like this are happening, even though that can be difficult to do.

As neighbors, keep watching carefully! Editor M. Jensen

Now Available!

Seasons of Bennett Valley 2011 Calendar at Ace Hardware and Cottage Gardens or call Sherry Parker, 528-6176, for delivery This year's new 2011 "Seasons of Bennett Valley" calendar is truly a spectacular compilation of scenes : of the seasons taken by our Bennett Valley residents.

¡Proceeds from the sale of these calendars contribute to our BV Volunteer Firefighters, the Grange, and Emergency Preparation programs. : Last year was a sellout, so buy your calendars early this year!

What'S In Store For Next Year?

Bennett Valley Wild!

(more to come) Supervisors Decide to Allow Rural Roads To Disintegrate By Craig S. Harrison, October 28 On October 26, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors voted to allow more than 1,200 miles of Sonoma County roads to fail within the coming decade. Road funds will be devoted to 150 miles on 31 heavilytraveled roads, which in our area include only GrangeCrane Canyon Road. Other roads, including Bennett Valley Road, Sonoma Mountain Road, Pressley Road and Enterprise Road, are now destined to crumble and eventually turn from asphalt to gravel. The roads designated for road preservation each carry 4,500 vehicles or more per day.

The Board of Supervisors has budgeted only $4.5 million to preserve roads, an amount that has continued to decline over the years. County Transportation and Public Works director Phil Demery stated that if the county spread its $4.5 million annual budget for preserving paved roads over the 1,384-mile network of county roads "they would all fail." If pavement preservation — which includes sealing and resurfacing — were extended to include 356 miles of major roads the cost would be $13 million a year.

Roads in unincorporated Sonoma County were rated worst in the Bay Area this year for the sixth straight year, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. County roadways were rated "poor," scoring 44 on a scale of 100. Funding for county road work comes primarily from state and federal gasoline taxes, currently providing $18 million a year. Of that amount, the county spends $4.5 million on pavement preservation. The rest is spent on "routine road maintenance," which includes filling potholes, clearing brush and repairing bridges and storm drains.

In the Bennett Valley area during the past two months, maintenance crews were able to resurface major portions of Pressley Road as well as parts of Bennett Valley Road, in the narrows, under the oak trees shortly after Woodside, and between Enterprise Road and Warm Springs Road. Those areas will likely be striped during November or December. In addition the California Department of Forestry ditched several portions of Bennett Valley Road this summer. With the storm season now underway, maintenance activities during the next few months will be mostly directed toward fixing pot holes and clearing drainage culverts. Residents are encouraged to call 565-5100 to report dangerous pot holes.

Roads to Ruin: Towns Rip Up the Pavement Asphalt is Replaced by Cheaper Gravel; 'Back to Stone Age', The Wall Street Journal, WSJ.com, July 17, 2010, By Lauren Etter "...Paved roads, historical emblems of American achievement, are being torn up across rural America and replaced with gravel or other rough surfaces as counties struggle with tight budgets and dwindling state and federal revenue. State money for local roads was cut in many places amid budget shortfalls."

Bennett Valley Fire Protection District 6161 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95404 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, Matt Tognozzi and Danny Connelly Daytime Firefighters, 8:00am to 5:00pm: Engineers Patrick Tognozzi, Brian Drees and Ronnie Lakin Permanent Part-time Firefighters, 8:00am to 5:00pm Firefighters Mike Alcocer, Ly Leng and John Matej Bennett Valley Volunteers Supplemented and supported by as many as twenty-five trained firefighting volunteers. Also three rotating shifts of three volunteers each are paid to sleep overnight at the Fire Station, for improved coverage. During the day, interns are also used when available, allowing the fire station to have the ideal fourth on-duty firefighter.

Bennett Valley Fire Protection District Call Activities September/October 2010 By Lieutenant Kevin Burris Medical Aids- 21 Structure Fires-2 Vegetation Fires-6 Vehicle Accidents-5 Hazardous Conditions-4 Smoke Investigations- 3 Total calls 41 The autumn weather is upon us, the rain begins to fall, and with it so does fire danger. The days get shorter and temperatures decrease. Now is the time to start looking inside your home towards fire prevention. When you adjust your clocks for daylight saving time, please take the time to change the batteries in your smoke detectors. These early warning devices have saved countless lives. Some other items within your home may need attention as well, such as the wood stoves, the heating system, and fireplaces. Make sure to keep proper clearance around these units, so as to not catch any interior furnishings on fire. Also chimneys should be swept regularly depending on the amount of use. Best wishes for a safe and happy holiday season from y eye reproteco everyone at the Bennett Valley Fire Protection District!

Notes, BV Fire Protection District By Marilee Jensen, BVFPD Board of Directors • BV Volunteer Firefighters Community Day: Matanzas Creek Winery has said they'll only let the BV Voluntary Firefighters Association use their facility every other year for the annual Community Day fundraiser. The Firefighters are considering other possible fundraisers for some of the extras they're able to purchase for the BV Fire Station.

• Required Budgetary Expenditure: In the preliminary budget meeting every year in June, one of the expenditures listed is the required annual estimated school "tax shift" from the BV Fire District, referred to as ERAF. For 2010/2011, this estimated tax shift is $39,095 and for 2009/2010 the actual tax shift was $39,532-$200 higher than estimated. The cumulative tax shift from BV Fire to the schools, as of June 30, 2010, has been $429,856. None of this is from our special BV Fire tax, but from our property taxes. This is apparently an old law, when the schools needed help, and obviously school finances have not improved.

• Complimentary Letter from Valerie Brown, 8/25/10: Valerie's letter was to extend her personal thank-you to Chief Pforsich and the BV Fire District for the effective and rapid response to the August gth incident at Annadel State Park. "This mutual aid response between your District, the Santa Rosa Fire Department, and Cal Fire is a testament to the excellent personnel and training of our first responders." • Fee for Cal Fire vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger: The unincorporated BV area would have had to pay this fee for Cal Fire protection, but with the Governor's veto, no added fee is being charged. Cal Fire is the name now used for the State Dept. of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Thank-you For Our Lower Propane Rates By "Pamela" We recently received the following email message from ¡ Pamela. "Just prior to Thanksgiving 2009, after reading an i old copy of the BVHA Newsletter about bulk rate propane i for BV customers, I sent an email asking the BVHA (Craig i Harrison) for additional details, and then phoned Blue Star ¡Propane (BSP). They told me their rates change during I the course of the year so they were very cheap in the ! summer to a higher rate in winter. Their highest rate was I still approximately $.50 less than we had been charged by I our current propane provider... So I went back to BSP, I where all they asked was that several other neighbors on ! our street also be Blue Star Propane customers - and two ! others already were! They removed our old ... tanks, I installed brand new tanks which let them know when the ! tanks are between 20-30% full, filled them, and we were ! good to go. We started getting regular detailed records via ! email or tank fill-ups, and we can now pay via ! email...Anyway, thank you. We may never have heard of ! bulk rate propane and attained such low rates, if not for the BVHA newsletter!" Thanks so much for letting us ! know! Editor, Marilee Jensen

Bennett Valley History From BENNETT VALLEY VOICE, Volume 1, Number 2, March, 1978 (When he wrote this, Dave Steiner owned a vineyard on Sonoma Mountain Road and helped to start the Matanzas Creek Winery around 1978. Apparently, he doesn't live here at this time.) GRAPES IN THE VALLEY By Dave Steiner The history of the Bennett Valley/Sonoma Mountain area, as a wine-growing region is somewhat hard to precisely trace, but old-timers in the area have assured me that at one time there were about two thousand acres of vineyards in the immediate vicinity. In addition, the past 75 years have seen the rise and fall of several wineries, including Branger and DeTurk on Bennett Valley Road, Bottasso on lower Sonoma Mountain Road, and Sheik Brothers on Enterprise Road. Home winemaking has flourished here throughout the history of white man's presence, but what has happened to the commercial winegrowing industry in Bennett Valley and where is it going?

... Until the last ten years, winegrowing in this area was difficult because of competition in the "bulk and jug wine" market, increasingly dominated by corporate giants like Gallo with total control of every aspect of their high volume, "economies of scale" industry. Past practices of winemakers have been characterized by the blending of local wines with lesser cheap bulk wines to cut costs. The net result was that quality local wines were blended away and lost, along with the recognition they deserved. The scenario is not difficult to understand in light of the nature of the wine market of the time: wine was just wine, differentiated one from the other, if at all, by such simplifications as red or white, sweet "sauterne" or dry "chablis" and the cheaper the better so long as it was palatable. A market so undemanding was naturally unwilling to pay the increased production costs of fine With the past ten years' rise in the popularity of wine has come an exponential increase in public awareness and a consequent willingness to pay for wines of the highest quality. The excellent character of Bennett Valley fulfills the exacting quality standards of an increasingly sophisticated market. The very qualities of our climate and soils which make other kinds of agriculture (i.e. forage production) less competitive with crops of regions with hot temperatures and more fertile soils, render them ideally suited for the production of fine wine grapes. Grapes of the highest quality are not grown in the richest soils, but rather on well-drained soils of moderate to lower fertility, most often found on hillsides like our own.

And our climate is second to none as the cooling influences of both the bay and ocean moderate the warmth of our sunny days, delaying ripening and fostering maximum development of the flavor and aroma necessary for the best wines. In addition, the highland areas (4 - 5 hundred feet tend to be frost-free during the spring, thus eliminating the need for costly frost protection systems.

Our production drops from the 7-15 tons-per-acre enjoyed by central valley growers to the 2-5 tons-per-acre range. The reduced production and increased per-acre cost is justified by the higher per-ton price, even when the grower must sell his grapes as grapes, and cannot crush them himself. Several small "chateau-style" wineries in Sonoma Valley whose concern has been production of wines indigenous to the locale have shown increasing interest in Bennett Valley/Sonoma Mountain grapes and equally important, a commensurate willingness to pay premium prices for premium fruit. Two such wineries are in the formative stages in Bennett Valley ... expected to crush in 1978 or 1979. [One was Matanzas Creek Winery] The prospects for both vineyards and wineries in Bennett Valley seem good, if land use patterns and policies continue to be favorable.

Drilling for Oil OK'd in Bennett Valley From Press Democrat, March 18, 1966, By John Adams (Jocelyn Thompson found this in her mother's old files.) "Everybody acted like partners yesterday as the Sonoma County Board of Zoning Adjustments granted a use permit to General Crude Oil Co. to drill a test well for oil and gas in Bennett Valley.

The prospect of oil and gas in the county had the board and staff equally excited as the permit was granted on the 590-acre Jacobs ranch at 6500 Jamison Rd... [there was talk] of a second drilling even before the first was approved. Actually, [the oil company] asked if the company would have to go through the same permit procedure for a second well. That could mean a delay and expensive time to the company due to holding a $1,200-per-day drilling crew idle. The staff told the board it could be worked out that while the first well was being drilled the company could be testing here and there to determine the site of a second hole and get the permit at the closest meeting to when the drilling crew finishes the first...

Never before faced with the prospect of the natural resource oil in the county, the staff came up empty in a search of a multitude of regulations and performance standards. So, while General Crude is boring for oil, the county staff will be drilling for sufficient standards. And if it should prove there isn't oil, or if any find doesn't last forever, the staff was quick to note the provision for complete site cleanup... The vote was unanimous."

Happy Birthday To Ann Burow,

now 105 years old. By Marilee Jensen, with information from Janet Alfieri When I telephoned Ann on November 3, she was enjoying the Giants parade on television, from her home near Bennett Valley. She came to Bennett Valley in 1924, at the age of 19, and has been an integral part of this area all her life. She joined the Bennett Valley Grange in 1925, before the previous Grange Road Bridge was even built. She became the Grange secretary in 1926 and continued for 66 years. "Her records are meticulous and still kept in the BV Grange safe. She attended the 138"h BV Grange picnic/barbecue this year, and enjoyed herself as she usually has since becoming a member." (Janet Alfieri) Ann's article in the picnic program, "Seven Flags Over Sonoma" was reprinted in the July, 2010 VOICE. When I mailed her a copy, she promptly telephoned me back, very thankful.) Ann Burow was also the subject of a feature article in the California Grange News, Fall, 2010, as the oldest Grange member in the United States. To quote from this Grange article, "She remembers and has taught us many things about Bennett Valley Grange. She is very accepting and appreciative of the new members and new ideas while always happy to share memories of the past, if asked. I'm proud to call her a friend." (Patty Allen)

BV Clean-Up Roads Day Cancelled! By Sandy Sandine Our fall Bennett Valley Road Clean-Up Day: scheduled for Saturday, October 23, had to be cancelled due to rain. During one of the breaks in thei weather in the next few weeks or so, how about! grabbing a trash bag, putting on a bright jacket and: gloves, and clean up the trash along the road in front!

of or near your house or somewhere in Bennett Valley where the trash along the road has caught! your attention. Our beautiful valley will look so much better! If you need a heavy-duty orange trash bag,! please call Sandy Sandine (579-0282) and she will! deliver one to you. Early in the spring (March or; April) we will schedule a road clean-up, hopefully on a sunny day!

Bennett Valley Homeowner's Website By Marilee Jensen We now have our original web address back (bennettvalley.org) as well as the newer web address we've been using recently (bennettvalleyhoa.org). The BVHA webmaster, Bill Finkelstein, says that both addresses will continue to work fine into the future. I'm now using the original on the VOICE, because it's a little simpler.

The BVHA website is now pretty much up-to-date. When you first tune-in, you will discover information and pictures, "About Bennett Valley", which is a summary of the brochure we had printed in 2002. Anyone is welcome to request additional copies of that Bennett Valley brochure at no cost. We also send the brochure to real estate agents who are selling property in Bennett Valley as it contains the key elements in the Bennett Valley Area Plan.

Next is the section "About Us", which includes the mission statement, how to become a member and a very comprehensive history of Bennett Valley. The "Emergency Planning" section is a list of six items which our BV Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, Karen Sommer, has written in order to demonstrate what she can help each neighborhood learn, in order to improve their safety in emergencies. Karen Sommer's phone number and email address are also in that section. All our recent "Minutes" and newsletters, the "VOICE", are included in those sections. The "meetings" section tells you when and where the meetings are and even provides you with the agenda for the next BVHA meeting on November 18. There are some "Community Events" listed, and "Local Information" includes the phone number or email address for 27 different pertinent community resources. "Official Correspondence" includes six important letters sent from the Board. "BVHA Organizational Documents" includes the membership form for 2010 and a letter from IRS. More will be added soon. "All General Content" includes lots of pertinent information about BVHA, such as all of the directors' phone numbers and email addresses as well as the VOICE editor, the Emergency Preparedness Planner and the webmaster. It also has the mailing address for BVHA I found the BVHA website very positive and useful with all the up-to-date comprehensive information, the brochure and the very good pictures, including historical. If you have time, you might want to review bennettvalley.org, too!

Recycling Information Redwood Empire Recycling News, Sonoma Co., Fall, 2010 Old World Winery Old World Winery, nestled behind a stand of : beautiful redwoods on River Road, was founded on ; old world principles and traditions and sits on a : foundation dating back to 1916. Darek Trowbridge, ¡ of the Martinelli family, has worked on vineyards in ; Sonoma County since his late teens, while his family : heritage dates back four generations. Trowbridge...

¡ has .. mastered the art of reclaiming materials to ¡ use in the remodeling of the 1916 craftsman house Ithat is now home to his family and the winery. : Trowbridge started his career working with reclaimed materials by doing dump runs for his friends. He would find himself sorting through the load and pulling out of perfectly good materials and taking them home with him. "Why buy new materials when old ones are available? It saves money and often times the quality of the older materials can't be replicated," says Trowbridge...

Step into the tasting room and you see a true reflection of this intention. From the tile flooring reclaimed from a previous remodel job, to the dark red walls that were painted with a mixture of brick dust created by cutting and reshaping the original bricks used in the courtyard, the intention and preservation that Trowbridge displays in this tasting room is breathtaking...

If you are interested in re-creating your space consider using Habitat for Humanity's ReStore in Santa Rosa, which specializes in sale of salvaged ; and reused building materials. Contractors...and : individuals donate reusable material, which would ; otherwise have gone to landfill. The products are ¡then sold at 50-70% discount to the public. The • proceeds are used to build affordable homes for hard ; working, low income families in Sonoma County.

: Visit ReStore at 1201 Piner Rd. or call 568-3228.

Bennett Valley Homeowner's Association (BVHA) Board Of Directors P.O. Box 2666, Santa Rosa, CA 95405 Website: bennettvalley.org Craig Harrison, President charrison@hunton.com, 573-9990 Fay Blair, Treasurer fayblair@sonic.net, 576-0152 Tim Bosma, Recording Secretary tbosma@comcast.net Larissa Goliti, Membership Coordinator Igoliti@hotmail.com, 578-3453 Gary Barner, Director gbarner@cds1.net, 481-6196 James K. Cobb, Director cobblaw@pacbell.net, 586-9172 Frank LaCombe, Director FrankKLaCombe@gmail.com 585-3482 Richard Lukasko, Director rlukasko@hotmail.com, 566-7803 Bennett Valley Emergency Preparation CoordinatorKaren Sommer, 528-8982, ksommer11@earthlink.net, BVHA VOICE Editor - Marilee Jensen, 576-0405, marileejensen@sbcglobal.net BVHA Webmaster - Bill Finkelstein, 536-1026 bill@williamfinkelstein.com Any questions you have about the BVHA website can be directed to Bill Finkelstein.

A Message From Your Membership Coordinators, Larissa Goliti and Jeannie LaCombe Thank you for all your responses to the annual membership drive, combined with your generous contributions. We welcome each of you as a BVHA member. Annual dues are $15 plus any additional contribution you want to make. Send your check to: BVHA, P.O. Box 2666, Santa Rosa, CA 95405.

Questions? Call 578-3453.

Bvha Email Alert!

Be sure to sign up for the BVHA Email Alert. You may or may not want to receive your VOICE via email, but either way, you can choose to be on our email Alert List. In the Bennett Valley burglaries in October, 2010, our email Alert was able to send messages to 300 homes in Bennett Valley in regards to these burglaries, to forewarn those people. In April, 2009, when a man was frequently following women driving cars at night in Bennett Valley and trying to get them to pull over in order to sexually assault them, BVHA sent out an email Alert, if we had your email address. If you call Larissa Goliti, at 578-3453, or email her at Igoliti@hotmail.com, she can sign you up for the email Alert List, too.

Brief Summary of BVHA Meeting September 16, 2010 (Using Secretary Tim Bosma's notes) • During public input, Afsi Moaveni spoke about her interest in running for the BV Unified School District Board of Directors. She was one of the candidates for the November 2 election. We were all impressed as no one else had ever come to a BVHA Board meeting for that purpose • The nominating committee provided the names of the three candidates for the BVHA Board for the election in October: James K. Cobb, Frank LaCombe, and Richard Lukasko, all incumbents.

• The Board discussed amending the bylaws so that when there are the same number of candidates as there are vacancies, then an election is not necessary. This is what the BV Fire Board and the BV School District do. It was decided to improve the language for this change and then bring it up for action at the next meeting • The Articles of Incorporation have to be amended in order for IRS to change us to a 501(c)(3). The Board unanimously approved this change and the membership will vote on it in this next election.

• Report from the BV Emergency Preparedness Committee: Karen Sommer let us know the safe shelter container placed at the Grange could not be moved because of the low hanging electrical wires. She has a volunteer who will assist in moving it sometime later this month. The next steps will be to install the shelving donated by Medtronics and acquire emergency supplies.

• Karen is requesting help with the necessary fundraising for the emergency shelter and supplies at the BV Fire Station. • Karen has organized another CERT training, on October 30, November 6 and November 13. CERT Alumni are also encouraged to attend any of those dates, as a refresher.

• Speakers, 2010 and 2011: The November 18 meeting will have the President of the Bennett Valley Grape Growers Association, Joseph Judge, as the speaker. For the March 17 meeting, Caerleone Safford will be contacted to see if she can be the speaker, on forest, flora and fauna.

• Craig Harrison enjoyed putting out the September issue of the VOICE. • There was some concern expressed about poor AT&T cell phone service in BV. Board of Directors' Tentative Agenda Thursday, November 18, 7:00 pm, BV Grange Hall 17:00 pm, Speaker: Joe Judge, VINES TO WINES • Announcements and Public Input. Speakers may address board for up to 3 minutes, with name, address and community concern or constructive suggestions.

• Approval of Minutes • Treasurer's Report and Spending Requests 1 • Status of IRS issues • Bi-Monthly County Reports • Report from BV Emergency Preparedness Committee • Speakers for 2011 • Amendment of Bylaws for Elections Where the Number! of Candidates Equals the Number of Directors to Be Elected • New Business as determined by Board • Adjourn Executive session of "new board" to elect officers for 2011;

Bennett Valley Homeowner's Association P.O. Box 2666 Santa Rosa, CA 95405 bennettvalley.org PURPOSES OF BVHA: To promote and preserve the residential ural character and natural environment of Bennett Valleu: T ducate, instruct, train and inform the local residents on disaste preparedness and emergency response as well as local land use and environmental issues; to serve as an open forum for Bennett Valley community participation; and to provide a bridge for communication between government agencies and the Bennett Valley community.

Return Service Requested Bennett Valley Community Calendar Mark your calendars now!! 1.) BENNETT VALLEY HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATION: The next meeting, Thursday, November 18, 7:00 pm, BV Grange Hall. See Agenda on Page 7. 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 confirm meeting date ahead of time.

3.) LANDPATHS OUTINGS & EVENTS: Visit LandPaths online at www.landpaths./org to see what events they are planning Their event phone number is 524-9318. One example: Saturday, December 19, Optional short walk or hike; kids activities; familie encouraged; Noon-4 pm, Holiday Gathering & Hike, Ranchero Mark West. Everyone is invited for seasonal fun at this 120-acre protected by the District ... Walk along beautiful Mark West Creek, followed by music, fire, cider, wreath making and other activities of the season.

4.) 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 her staff assistant, Jennifer Hainstock, at 565-2241, if you have any questions or concerns.

IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS (Note changes) • For emergencies, use your landline or your cell phone to call 911. • Call 565-2121 to talk to someone at the Sheriff's office 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, either to report an emergency that requires a law enforcement response or with other concerns that may possibly be an emergency.

- Call Sonoma County Road Maintenance, at 565-5100 to report dangerous potholes, fallen trees or landslides and to request possible help with litter control and bulk trash in the road. • Call Sonoma County Animal Control, at 565-7100, regarding the removal of dead animals along the road • Call California Highway Patrol, at 588-1400, if debris is causing imminent traffic hazards on county roads.