Roundup: Everything changes
Some Analy kids get hard hats, O'Reilly's furniture finds a new home, a Faces of West County 'Where are they now?' and the redesign of Sebastopol Hardware
Drawing their interest
Adam Alcorn, a Special Education Teacher at Analy, found that his students were interested in the construction going on at the school.
“Today, they were filling a trench along the perimeter of the fenced area with gravel. There was one guy in the trench and another driving a small loader, scooping and dumping,” he said. His students were curious and soon he had them seated, closely observing what was going on. “We were drawing pictures and labeling things we saw. The kids loved it.”
They were watching the construction crew from GCCI, the contractor for the work. “On Thursday, April 10th, GCCI's Brandon Gentry, his father Mike Gentry along with project Superintendent Loren Fox delivered to the class hard hats for each student along with a GCCI ball cap,” Alcorn said. “Now they all wave to us!”
Jennie Bruneman who manages this construction WSCUHSD shared this story and photos at the Wednesday April 9th Board meeting, as part of her facilities report. Alcorn said that the students are interested in following the new construction on a weekly basis.
Moving out, O’Reilly Media donates office equipment to local schools
O’Reilly Media is in the process of moving out of its offices (see What’s Happening at the O’Reilly complex). Over the last month, they have been giving away office furniture to local schools and non-profits.
On Friday, movers filled up a large truck with office equipment — whiteboards, round tables, conference tables, desks, desk chairs, a couch, a copier and other items. Staff members of the Western Sonoma County Union High School District (WSCUHSD) had selected these items from the O’Reilly buildings on North Gravenstein Highway for use by teachers and staff at Analy as well as at Laguna High School and the Academy for the Innovative Arts on the El Molino campus. Some teachers have been requesting standing desks and the staff was able to find a number of them. The IT group from WSCUHSD also came and took away CAT-5 cables and other computing equipment. Sebastopol Union, Ceres, and Russian River Parks and Recreation were among those who found furniture for their organizations.
Marsee Henon, who lives in Rio Nido, was at the front desk on Friday helping to coordinate the move out, along with David Sword and other members of the O’Reilly staff. Marsee who has worked for O’Reilly for almost 25 years remembers moving into the building in 2001. “It was one month after 9/11,” she said. “The business took a hit and about 60 people were laid off just before moving in.” The business rebounded and there were about 200-250 people working on the O’Reilly campus for many years. When Covid hit, the company’s employees began working remotely and most never returned to the office, while new people were hired that lived outside the area. Now the company’s employees work remotely.
The ‘Where Are They Now’ edition of Faces of West County: Lela Smith and Ernest Newbrun
By Steve Einstein
You might remember my visit with 100-year-old Lela Smith from about five years ago. Lela is a feist neighbor of mine, and when we sat together, she had quite the story to tell. I knew she recently celebrated her birthday and was thinking of popping in on her to both congratulate her and get an updated picture of her that I could share with you.
Well, as luck would have it, I ran into her at the Hands-Off demonstration last Saturday. I was walking with my father-in-law, Erni Newbrun, who was also featured in this occasional column a number of years ago. I had figured that Erni, who hit 92 this year, may have been the oldest person holding up a sign protesting the state of things that morning. I only thought that until running into Lela who has 13 years on Erni!
So here’s an updated shot of the two of them. Erni can be found working out at Coach’s Corner three days a week or checking out another stack of books at the library, or happily toiling in his garden. Lela doesn’t appear to have slowed down much either. She sounded confident when she told me that she’s determined to outlive the current president’s tenure in the White House. Look for both of them at the demonstrations that are sure to follow.
Sebastopol Hardware remodels itself
Some things never change and then suddenly they do. You might do a double-take when you walk into Sebastopol Hardware. Those things that you knew how to find in the store might now be somewhere else. It’s not just that certain items moved but entire aisles have moved as well, along with the checkout.
In its 60th year, the owners of Sebastopol Hardware thought it was time for a change. “We were due,” said Jace Allingham, one of the store’s managers and the son of owner Dan Allingham. “It had been 23 years or more since we last had a remodel.”
The redesigned store is much more open and less crowded. The most noticeable change is that the checkout registers are now all together on the side of the store facing the Pacific Market parking lot.
Allingham said the store was a maze that often required customers to ask where things were in the store. “Now, there’s more room, more air, more of a breathable area as you are coming through,” he said. He hopes that “departments make more sense to fresh eyes, and new customers can come in and actually find their way to the departments, instead of having to ask for help.”
He added that “change is good, and it’s a way better feel for customers.”
In other exciting Sebastopol Hardware news, the store has been named as Ace Hardware’s Coolest Hardware Store for 2025.
Sebastopol Police Logs, March 31-April 6
The following are crimes excerpted from Sebastopol Police Department daily crime log entries and listed at the time the alleged violation was reported.
MONDAY
10:30 a.m. Violation of probation and possession of more than 1 ounce of marijuana (misdemeanors) at Petaluma Avenue. Suspect arrested.
WEDNESDAY
11:11 p.m. Possession of unlawful paraphernalia and violation of probation (misdemeanors) at Bodega Avenue. Referred to District Attorney for review.
THURSDAY
3:05 p.m. Served a felony arrest warrant for an outside agency at Morris Street. Suspect arrested.
FRIDAY
11:22 p.m. Assault with a deadly weapon that was not a firearm and causing injury to an elderly dependent adult (felonies) at Bodega Avenue. Suspect arrested.
SATURDAY
5:05 p.m. Possession of a controlled substance and unlawful paraphernalia (misdemeanors) at McKinley Street. Suspect arrested.
SUNDAY
8:09 p.m. Disorderly conduct involving alcohol (misdemeanor) at High and Burnett streets. Suspect arrested.
11:59 p.m. Violation of postrelease community supervision (felony) and possession of unlawful paraphernalia (misdemeanor) at Sebastopol Avenue. Suspect arrested.
OTHER POLICE ACTION
The Sebastopol Police Department also recorded 147 other events requiring police action during the period, such as lost animals, assisting citizens, parking violations, foot patrol, traffic hazards and reckless driving.
The Week of April 6-12
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Fabulous photo of Erni and Lela. May they both outlive the Scourge.
Love seeing my own kiddo and her friends highlighted as they connect with the construction project going on at Analy. Thank you!