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Quote of the week: News: End to Sports: Could youth football be Biweekly Poll Question fire debris banned in California? “Always Do Your Best. Your best is going to Are you ready for allergy change from moment to moment; it will be dif- cleanup on ferent when you are healthy as opposed to Page 7 season? sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your the horizon Yes ___ No ___ I don’t care___ best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self- Please vote on line at www.TheCommunityVoice.com abuse and regret.” Health: How to uncover your inner optimist -- Previous question and it’s results -- Are roundabouts a good traffic solution? ― Miguel Angel Ruiz Page 6 Page 8 Yes - 40% No - 56% I don’t care - 2% Newspaper of Rohnert Park-Cotati-Penngrove February 23, 2018 - 14 pages Crash causes New RP homeless count and By Katherinesmall Minkiewicz gas leak SR homeless camp eviction A gas leak that occurred Saturday, Feb. 10 at a small Commerce Boulevard apartment complex was caused by a vehicle collision with the gas line meter risers PG&E officials are saying, which af- fected eight meters and caused a small evacuation of the complex. PG&E spokesperson Deanna Contreras, says the incident oc- curred around 8:30 a.m. after the vehicle was discovered to have cracked the risers, affecting eight of the meters. “Gas was blowing out, so the small apartment complex was evac- uated and eight PG&E customers were affected,” Contreras said. According to the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety, no- body was hurt in the incident, however, the leak did displace resi- dents for around two hours while PG&E crews worked on making repairs. “The risers (a piping component for the gas line that distributes the gas from below ground to above ground) had to be replaced and pilot lights had to be relighted. Crews made the repairs by around 10:30 a.m.,” Contreras said. Commander Jeff Taylor of the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety said the gas line in question that was struck was a high pres- sure gas line, which Contreras says caused the need for the pilot lights to be relit multiple times after the repairs were made. According to a report released on Nixle, the area around the Com- merce Boulevard apartment complex was reopened quickly after the repairs were made and residents were allowed to return to their homes. Contreras reminded everyone that it’s important to evacuate and immediately call 9-1-1 and PG&E (1-800-743-5000) if you smell The “Where will they go?” event, Wednesday, Feb. 14 in Roseland near Camp 777 on Sebastopol Road, brought up the issue of home- gas in or around your home. lessness and camp residents’ fear of lack of aid from Sonoma County. PG&E’s “gas safety tips” page on their website says signs of a Photo courtesy Grace Cheung-Schulman. gas leak include smelling a, “Distinctive, sulfur like, rotten egg odor,” or hearing a “...Hissing, whistling or roaring sound that comes By Katherine Minkiewicz population of eight. The total respondents (throughout the home. from underground or a gas appliance.” The City of Rohnert Park has homeless count for that year county) in 2017 reporting living To remind Santa Rosa and They also say to “Be aware of dirt spraying into the air, continu- a new official count of the was 84, a drastic decrease from in a vehicle,” the report stipu- Sonoma County residents of ous bubbling in a pond or creek and or dead or dying vegetation in homelessness population after 2016’s count, which was a lates. this ever-present problem, an the area.” HH the Sonoma County Commu- much larger figure of 126 with Don Schwartz, assistant city event was held on Valentine’s nity Development Commission zero percent of that population manager for Rohnert Park, Day in front of one of the camps released its annual homeless- obtaining shelter. spoke on efforts that Rohnert on Sebastopol Road in Rose- ness census and survey this While 28 percent of those Park is taking to provide more land where several camp resi- past summer, detailing the in- surveyed throughout Sonoma shelter and housing for those dents offered their “Broken crease in homelessness County as a whole, said they who are still shelterless. hearts” to the county. This throughout several cities in the made transitional and emer- At a Nov. 28 city council metaphorical offering was a county. While RP has seen a gency shelters their home, the meeting, the council took action way for camp residents to ex- decrease in its homeless popu- majority of respondents said to use $25,000 per year for press their need for more help, lation and a relatively good rate they lived on a street or in an homelessness prevention and compassion and love from the for sheltering those without a encampment. “rapid rehousing services for in- county when it comes to aid and home, other major cities such “31 percent of survey respon- dividuals and families who are housing. as Santa Rosa, are still strug- dents reported living outdoors, homeless or would be home- It was also in response to the gling to shelter their population either on the streets, in parks, or less,” according to Schwartz. future plans to close the camp, amid a housing crisis fueled by in encampments; this is down The mandate also included the displacing all its residents, who the October firestorm. from 36 percent in 2016. The provision of short-term and or worry where they will go next According to the 2017 cen- percentage of survey respon- medium-term rental assistance, for shelter. The anxiety of find- The repaired gas line, which supplies gas to eight apartments, is sus and survey, RP saw a dents reporting living in vehi- housing relocation and stabi- ing a place to sleep is even more seen on the left. homelessness population of 76 cles has steadily increased since lization services. heightened as many winter shel- Robert Grant this past year, with a sheltered 2015, with 17 percent of survey “Part of what this means is ters, such as the St. Vincent de that we try to get homeless into Paul armory will close at the permanent housing; we do not end of March. operate a shelter,” Schwartz “This press conference was said in an email. “Additionally, called because there are two our public safety officers are on camps of about 230 people total By Irene HilsendagerTRIO works in Rohnert Park the front lines in working with in this one area of Roseland and Students and graduates from Sonoma State’s Academic Talent the homeless, although being they’ve been given a 30-day no- Search and Upward Bound programs commemorated the 32nd an- homeless and panhandling are tice of closing off (the camps) niversary of National TRIO Day on the steps of the state Capitol not crimes. When it appears and there is no place for them to Wednesday, Feb. 7. More than 230 students from TRIO programs there are mental health issues go,” says Adrienne Lauby, who in Northern California gathered to share and hear each other’s in- and officers believe the individ- runs the advocacy group spirational stories. They then marched around the capitol to raise ual may be a danger to them- “Homeless Action” in Santa awareness of the importance of educational opportunity. selves or others, they may bring Rosa. “We wanted to call the For millions of students from low-income families who strive to the individual to the county’s community’s attention to the be the first in their families to attend and graduate from college, mental health facility…. Addi- problem and the desperate need seven federally funded programs called TRIO are making a world tionally, our officers may bring for more community support. of difference. TRIO refers to the original three programs – Talent people to the Catholic Charities’ Our politicians have turned Search, Upward Bound and Student Support Services – that shelter in Santa Rosa if they are away from solving this problem emerged from the Higher Education Act of 1965 to address chal- willing to go and if it’s open.” HH so we need to go to the broader lenges faced by educationally disadvantaged students to earn a col- Students from Sonoma State’s TRIO program, gathered at the state While the City of Santa Rosa community.” lege degree. Sonoma State’s Academic Talent Search program alone has also taken a few steps to try Recently the Santa Rosa City serves 1,500 students in Sonoma and Mendocino counties by pro- capitol Feb. 7 to celebrate the anniversary of the TRIO program. Photo courtesy Susan Wandling of SSU. and combat this problem, such Council voted down a checklist viding assistance in choosing and applying to colleges; tutoring; fi- as the eventual completion of a of new (homeless aid) options nancial aid counseling; academic skills development; and college one-stop center for homeless in late January, which also in- visits. Sonoma State also hosts seven Upward Bound programs, as Historic Conversation of Chicanos & Education camp residents where they can cluded the use of land offered well as Student Support Services and McNair programs for under- Bobby Verdugo and Yoli Rios were leaders of the historic 1968 be referred to open shelter beds by KBBF radio. graduates. high school walkouts of East Los Angeles. Verdugo and his wife or other resources, the struggle Scott Wagner of the Sonoma Gillian Stewart of Technology High School said, “TRIO Day Yoli Rios, are featured in the critically acclaimed documentary to house its population is still a County grassroots group, helped me realize that there are hundreds of kids in my state in sim- “CHICANO- The History of the Mexican American Civil Rights significant problem.

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