Oakmont’s Semimonthly Newspaper
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Event Honoring Veterans and First Responders Attracts Overflow Crowd to the Berger Center nMichael Connolly
Persistent rain could not dampen the enthusiastic turnout of Oakmont residents at the Berger Center on Friday, November 10 to honor our veterans and the emergency first responders who contributed to the safety and wellbeing of Oakmonters and the protection of the community. Co-sponsored by the Oakmont Kiwanis Club, OVA and Oakmont Gardens, the event was introduced by Kiwanis President Charlie Ensley with a flag ceremony performed by the Boy Scout Troop 55 of Santa Rosa and the Pledge of Allegiance.
As she opened the November 21 board meeting, Board President Gloria Young expressed the board’s gratitude to all who assisted in organizing the very successful and moving Veterans Day/First Responders appreciation event held at the Berger Center on November 10. In particular, she thanked Pat Amedeo, Charlie Ensley, Ann and Jay Cobb, and board liaison Karen Oswald. She also thanked Oakmont Market for donating many of the lunches handed out at the event.
Supervisor Susan Gorin speaks at Nov. 10 event.
See event honors on page 6
Boy Scout Troop 55 of Santa Rosa performed flag ceremony.
OVA Board Workshop on Emergency Preparedness nStaff Report
City Council members Chris Rogers, John Sawyer, and Jack Tibbets with former Santa Rosa mayor Jane Bender.
Sparsely Attended Board Meeting Two Days Before Thanksgiving nMichael Connolly
Photos by Julie Kiil.
Cal Fire heavy equipment near Berger Center.
December 1, 2017 • Volume 55, Number 23
The Board of Directors’ first Emergency Preparedness Workshop took place on November 14 in the Berger Center and was well attended. Director Lynda Oneto organized the workshop and served as chair. In her opening remarks she said that this would be the first of many workshops on this subject and would focus on what was done right in the recent emergency and what can be done better moving forward. Oneto continued: “The wildfire we experienced was unprecedented. A firefighter called it ‘the perfect storm’ with multiple out of control fires surrounding us which began during the night. We experienced loss of power, internet service, landline and cell service. The City and County services were completely overwhelmed.” OVA President, Gloria Young, emphasized that Oakmont relies on the city and county for disaster information and services. We are different from Oakmont Gardens and Varenna, who have paid staff to fulfill emergency situations for their residents. This
Young then informed the community that the conditional use permit for conversion of two ERC tennis courts to six pickleball courts was filed with the City of Santa Rosa on November 13. She thanked Director Greg Goodwin and resident/technical See board meeting on page 5
Sunday Symposium: “The Fire and the Future” nDon McPherson
“We are now showing the potential of our community... can you imagine, if we kept this up moving into the future, what we can accomplish?” Santa Rosa City Council Member Tom Schwedhelm asked a capacity crowd at the Oakmont Sunday Symposium November 12.
See workshop on page 5 PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID SANTA ROSA, CA PERMIT NO. 323
Schwedhelm has spent his entire career with the city, including 31 years with the Santa Rosa Police Department. He retired in 2014 after a nearly fiveyear stint as Chief of Police. He was elected to City Council in 2014 and served a term as Vice Mayor in 2015. See sunday symposium on page 7