Simon Melrose resides in the San Francisco Bay Area where he is a musician, author, and adventurer. His passions include all things out doors, with a special emphasis on motorcycle travel and Fly Fishing. Completed Pacific Crest Trail hike from Mexico to Canada - 4/23/15 - 9/18/15.
Mathew Witteman Reports on Santa Rosa Plain Groundwater plan
A member of the Sebastopol Sunrise Rotary and soon to be president of his club, Mathew Wittemen -- also a member of the State Bar and head of Agri-Business Sustainable Management -- began his presentation on groundwater with a reference attributed to Mark Twain. Twain is reported to have said, "Whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting." Fighting alludes to the movie Chinatown, which was inspired by the California Water Wars -- a series of disputes over Southern California water at the beginning of the 20th century.
In 1988, Los Angeles water levels dropped seven feet. At that time, water meant life itself. Surface water is connected to groundwater by a natural system of regulated flow. Regulating land use, plantings and local control over groundwater resources will help insure against another crisis.
Whitteman reports that in 2014, California adopted the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) becoming one of the last states to adopt groundwater management plans tailored to local communities. Unlike San Joaquin County that is in crisis due to a 50 ft drop in groundwater levels over recent years, Sonoma County is blessed with ample water in the local basin called the Santa Rosa Plain. However, if various groundwater localities do not develop regulations that controls use, the state will take over.
The Santa Rosa Plain basin includes Sonoma Valley, Petaluma Valley and other areas. A nine member group that creates an 18 member advocacy agency addresses a variety of groundwater issues. A 75% majority vote is required for any decision involving fees and financial matters and a 51% decision governs other decisions. The group is petitioning the State to redraw the Santa Rosa Basin groundwater boundaries to include the adjacent Wilson Grove Basin.
The group also intends to limit groundwater extraction and monitor the spacing and measuring of wells in order to achieve a sustainable yield of water and prevent salt water from degrading water quality. A "voluntary" plan to put meters on wells, which had been previously developed and proposed, may come into effect at some time in the future.
The groundwater sustainable plan for the Santa Rosa Basin is long range. By July 31, 2020 a plan will be adopted for the State of California. In 2022 a sustainable plan will be implemented, and in 2040 plans will likely impact the Santa Rosa Basin. A working group has been reviewing plans for the past 18 months. The first public hearing on approval of the plan will be held later this week.
On a regular basis, our resident photo pros Warren Smith and Jack Strange submit pictures of what is going on at the weekly meetings. You can always find the most recent pictures at the websites photo journal called "Meeting Sighting" Please note that all the meeting photos for the entire Rotary year are at this location with the most recent on the last page.
Thanks for all the great pictures Warren and Ross! Link to Meeting Sightings. The most recent are on the last page!
Posted by Rich Randolph & Warren Smith on May 01, 2017
Go Team Judy & Rolf!!
The only factor limiting Rolf and Judy's walking partners was nearby parking!!! Thousands of supporting friends and family turned out Saturday April 29th for a walk around Howarth Park and Spring Lake. Above, Rolf Wessman, seated, is flanked by Sunrise supporters Peter and Mary Banks, Jim and Melinda Moir, Olin and Judy Leasher, Susie Kirkbride, Jennifer Adams, a family Spaniel, and others.
Rolf and Judy (wide brimmed hat) pose with their indefatigueable home teams: Judy & Olin, Rolf with Semi, George and Saki.
The event locally raised over $95,000 for research into a cure of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Pledges can still be made online at http://www.alsa.org
On May 11, our Guest Speaker will be Dallas Forshew, Manager of Clinical Research at The Norris Center, Sutter Health, California Pacific Medical Center.
Golden Hammer aka Leroy Carlenzoli organized an encore work-party at WRS last Sunday, nearly completing all the current "To-Do's" on site.
Assisted by Del Raby, Warren Smith, Doug Shureen, Jim's Kirkbride and Gray and Rob Sanville, Leroy hammered out the punch list to next to nothing ~~ for now!!
WRS Director Linda Carlson sent the crew her enthusiastic THANKS!!
In addition to accepting a gift of munchies from bleeding heart John Stark, in commemoration of his recent trip, President Merle Hayes reported that her one of her grandsons served on the Elsie Allen High School team that placed first in math, while placing second as an individual competitor. Another grandson, who was an alternate for the team, this year, has been named to next year's team.
District Governor Rogers encourages 100% participation in 6 mile bike ride
District 5130 is hosting a 6 day bicycle ride from one end of our District to the other this coming August…from Crescent City to Petaluma to raise awareness of, and raise funds for, our fight against polio. We meet on Sunday, August 13th in Crescent City, have dinner and spend the night with local Rotarians, then start riding south in the morning. We ride for six days, averaging 55 miles per day, finishing in Petaluma on Saturday, August 19th, where the local Clubs are planning a giant party, celebration and media event, announcing how much we have raised (through pledges to riders), and spreading the word about Rotary’s work on ending Polio.
What??? Are we crazy? Well, sort of…but we’ll do almost anything to defeat this scourge.
How can I help (you ask)?
Mark your calendars, Pedal 4 Polio, August 13 – 19, 2017.
Sign up to ride with us from Crescent City to Petaluma and obtain pledges from friends, family, colleagues and fellow Rotarians.
Can’t commit to the whole ride? Sign up to ride for just one, two or 3 days (or even just through your town).
If you’re not riding, pledge to sponsor one of the riders (All pledges count towards your Paul Harris).
Help your Club provide logistical support for riders along the route (meals, housing, rest stops, etc.).
Help your Club promote the event on your personal social media pages, as well as local media.
And last but not least, come out and cheer us on as we pedal through or by your town (you don’t know how much that is appreciated by weary riders :-)
Registration details will follow soon. Meanwhile, I’ve asked each club to have a coordinator for this event, whose job includes recruiting riders, support volunteers, and pledges. Ask them what you can do to help.
Our goal…100% participation from every single Rotarian in District 5130. Just imagine…If all 2,400 Rotarians in our District pledged just $0.10 per mile (Remember the March of Dimes?) to sponsor a rider, we would raise $84,000 for PolioPlus. That’s only $35 each…and when you add The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation 2 for 1 match, that number grows to over a quarter of a million dollars…$252,000 to be exact. At 60 cents per dose, that represents inoculations for 428,000 children…that is, as next year’s RI theme says, “Making a Difference”. Of course, if you wish to pledge more, who are we to say no? (Think how much a dollar, or even 50 cents per mile would raise?)
As a polio survivor, I am so appreciative of your ongoing support. Our District continues to be one of the major supporters of PolioPlus in our Zone. So come ride with us, have fun, and accomplish something great in the process…as one fellow Rotarian calls it…Fun with a purpose!!!
Many Thanks, Bob Rogers
District Governor 2017-18
Note to Sunrise Rotarians: Contact Peter Hoberg regarding your personal participation.
Appointed to the critical task of opening the meeting with an inspirational, timely, and profound "Thought" that would start Rotarians off on a full day of compelling responsibilities and lift from their mundane world to a pinnacle of compassion and enlightenment -- Mike Kelly, who was to provide this thought, was not present.
President Merle Hayes, always on top of any situation, gave Rotarians a "Thought" in his absence.
Nearly 30 District 5130 Rotarians gathered April 29 at the Fairfield Inn, Ukiah, to earn qualification in Global Grant Management.
Sunriser's Marina Gatchet and Rich Randolph represented our club and met Rotarians from as far away as Arcadia, also interested in applying for grants made available through The Rotary Foundation. Conducting the training were District International Chair Dale Knight of Cotati, along with Past District Governors Jim Flamson and Kevin Eisenberg from Calistoga and Jennifer Strong, District 5130 Rotarian of the Year from Lakeport.
The Rotary Foundation (TRF) has earned philanthropy watchdog Charity Navigator's highest rating in large part due to TRF's rigorous adherence to accountability, sustainability and transparency guidelines. This management training session inspired everyone to maintain that reputation, and understand each Global Grantee's need to respect the principles or risk jeopardizing not only their club's eligibility for future grants, but their District as well.
As you read these lines, final preparations are well underway for our 108th Rotary International Convention, 10-14 June in Atlanta. We're looking forward to one of the biggest and best Rotary conventions yet, as we celebrate not only a wonderful year of Rotary Serving Humanity, but a full century of Doing Good in the World through The Rotary Foundation.
If you haven't already made plans to attend, it's not too late to register at riconvention.org. There is simply no better way to round off another great year in Rotary than by coming together with 40,000 or so of your fellow Rotarians to share ideas, find inspiration, and have a great time together.
We're excited to have Bill Gates, a friend and partner in our work to eradicate polio, speaking at our convention this year. And it's worth arriving early to attend a special Presidential Peace Conference, scheduled for 9-10 June and featuring Bernice A. King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King.
I'm proud to host a convention that is practically in my own backyard: Atlanta is a vibrant, modern state capital just a two-hour drive from my home city of Chattanooga, Tenn., and it's a great place to experience the famous hospitality of the American South. Our Host Organization Committee has a great week planned, starting with the "Blue Jeans and Bluegrass" kickoff event on Saturday night.
Come on over to Centennial Olympic Park, right across from the House of Friendship, and get in a dancing mood with Grammy Award winner Ricky Skaggs and his Kentucky Thunder band. Meet up with friends old and new at the Centennial Celebration Block Party or on the Peace Tour of Atlanta. Roll up your sleeves for the Habitat Home Build, or tie up your laces to take part in the 3K Walk/Run to End Polio Now. And before you say goodbye, come back to the House of Friendship for one more party: our Foundation's 100th birthday party, with (of course!) cake and ice cream.
It's going to be an incredible experience, and Judy and I are looking forward to celebrating with you – or, as we say in the South, with y'all! See you in Atlanta!
As we near the end of our yearlong celebration of The Rotary Foundation's 100th anniversary, let's stop to think about what the world would be like if Rotarians had never created an endowment fund for doing good in the world.
I think we can say for certain that without Rotary's historic PolioPlus program, the world would not be on the verge of eradicating polio.
Although public health officials and governments would have carried out routine vaccination efforts, it was Rotary's leadership and support that provided the impetus to move beyond containment of the virus to global eradication.
And let's consider the other diseases our Foundation grant projects have prevented and treated by providing access to health care, clean water, and adequate sanitation. Malaria, cholera, HIV/AIDS, Guinea worm – the list goes on and on. How many thousands of people have avoided suffering and even death because Rotarians carried out projects?
Without the Foundation, many more people would have remained illiterate and many others would not have the vocational skills needed to earn a living and provide for their families.
And then there is our quest for peace. In 2002, the first peace fellows started class at the Rotary Peace Centers. Today, hundreds of our graduates are using their skills to prevent and mediate conflict and help those whose lives have been devastated by war.
In villages around the world, you see hundreds of signs identifying Rotary Foundation projects. They stand beside water wells and are affixed to clinics and schools. When I see one of these signs, I feel proud to be a Rotarian and I think, "My contributions helped make this happen."
Let's never forget that behind every one of these signs is a story of the people whose lives have been touched and perhaps even saved. It is their stories that demonstrate conclusively how much better the world is because The Rotary Foundation exists.
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