Roundup: Locally, things are looking up

The Sebastopol People's March, SebArts wins an NEA grant, fire department gets 24-hour coverage, and more

Laura Hagar Rush

and

Dale Dougherty

Jan 19, 2025

The People’s March in Sebastopol

Around 80 people showed up to the People’s March in Sebastopol yesterday at the corner of Highways 116 and 12. It wasn’t a march so much as a four-cornered protest against the inauguration of Donald Trump. We reached out to the event’s organizer, Rebecca Dwan, to find out what it was all about.

“This nationwide People’s March is a rebranding of the Women’s March, which has been going on in January since Trump was first elected,” Dwan said. “After the first couple of years of the Women’s March, we started holding our own in Sebastopol. It is my practice and belief to put out one’s message in one’s own town, preferably with little or no need for gas transport.”

Dwan said that, as far as protests go, Sebastopool is lucky to be at the crossroads of two state highways.

“Standing at the four corners of 12 and 116 is something I have been doing with Women in Black for 30 years or more, most Fridays,” she said. “I feel that it has a good effect in that there is so much traffic and a lot of different kinds of people see our signs. This is in contrast to rallies in most city centers that take place in a plaza or area where mainly the participants see each other. It is no surprise that these rallies, or marches that take place in cleared streets, are not widely reported or known about.”

“With all the bad feelings about having two highways crossing through our town, to me this is the one bright spot—that we can communicate important messages. And my hope is also that there will be more young ones seeing this—seeing that we care about the future—and join us, or do some other actions. Though so many folks feel helpless about what is happening to the nation and the planet, we are not completely helpless and we must try.”

SebArts wins $30,000 NEA grant

Sebastopol Center for the Arts has been awarded a $30,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) as part of the NEA’s highly competitive Grants for Arts Projects (GAP) program. This funding will support the launch of an artist residency program.

NEA grants are among the most prestigious and competitive arts funding opportunities in the nation, with only a select number of organizations receiving support. It is particularly exceptional for a community arts organization like SebArts to receive a grant of this size from the nation’s preeminent arts funding organization.

“We are deeply honored to receive this NEA grant, which reflects our commitment to nurturing creativity and connecting our community through meaningful artistic experiences,” said Serafina Palandech, executive director of Sebastopol Center for the Arts. “This grant will enable us to establish an artist residency program that will not only provide space and resources for artists but also foster public engagement with their creative processes and work.”

Donor of $20K matching grant comes forward for Many Rivers

Last week’s Roundup carried an announcement of a meeting to discuss the change of ownership of Many Rivers Books & Tea. Dale misread the information on the store’s out-of-date website about a meeting that was actually held last year. One of the new store owners, Karl Frederick, called it a “serendipitous mistake” and decided to go ahead and hold the meeting anyway. About a dozen people showed up.

Rob Schmidt and Stuart Goodnick, the current owners who are retiring, spoke movingly about the store’s origins. They thought that around this time they would be readying the store for an “everything must go” sale. However, Karl and Grady Kellenbach want to keep the store running, and they have plans to increase the store’s hours and bring back some of the favorite programs that were successful in the past. To take over ownership of the store, they need to raise about $40k in donations from the community.

At the meeting, Rob announced that a friend of the store had stepped forward to offer a $20K matching grant.

“This is a welcome boost to our fundraising campaign,” said Karl in a follow-up email. “The approximately $4,000 of individual donations received to date, plus the matching of those funds, brings us to $8,000, or 20% of our $40,000 goal.” Or to look at it another way, they have to raise $16K from the community to meet the overall goal of $40K because of the matching grant.

Donations can be made through a GoFundme page, but you can donate directly through the store. “Funds donated directly to the interim fiscal sponsor, Tayu Order, Inc. and earmarked for “Many Rivers Foundation” will not encounter the roughly 3% charge that the GoFundMe donations incur,” said Karl. (Tayu Order is a tax-exempt church organization.) “Grady and I are very appreciative of every large and small contribution,” said Karl. They hope a groundswell of community support will meet the goal this month and allow Many Rivers to continue as it has for 22 years.

Seeking Work Experience for Analy Students

Stacy Fortin, the Work-Based Learning Coordinator at Analy High School, is looking to place students in part-time jobs to gain valuable work experience. She is also looking for adults who could provide mentorship and lead volunteer opportunities for students. Such opportunities “can help shape a student’s future.” She adds that “these connections between academics and the workplace help deepen understanding across all career paths.”

If you have a part-time job vacancy, a volunteer opportunity, or would like to host an intern, please reach out to Stacy via email at sfortin@wscuhsd.org or by phone at (707) 824-2355.

Sebastopol Fire Department gets 24-hour coverage

Sebastopol residents might sleep more soundly because two volunteer firefighters are spending the night at the firehouse, as of Thursday, Jan. 9, according to Dave Bray, Sebastopol Division Chief. The Sebastopol City Council approved a 24/7 volunteer stipend policy on December 17. “This model’s success heavily depends on our volunteer firefighters,” said Bray in an email.

The training room has a row of Murphy beds where the firefighters sleep. “Additionally, two full-time, 40-hour fire engineers provide daytime
coverage seven days a week,” said Bray.

Under the consolidation agreement, Gold Ridge Fire Department operates the Sebastopol Fire Department.

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Sebastopol Police Logs, Jan. 6-12

The following are crimes excerpted from Sebastopol Police Department daily crime log entries and listed at the time the alleged violation was reported.

MONDAY

11:12 a.m. Inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or companion (felony) and exhibiting a deadly weapon other than a firearm (misdemeanor) at Hurlbut Avenue and North Main Street. Suspect arrested.

11:23 a.m. Impersonation to get money or property worth more than $400 and swindling (felony) at Nelson Way and Bodega Avenue. Investigation suspended, leads exhausted.

9:28 p.m. Disobeying a court order, disorderly conduct involving alcohol, and violation of pre-trial release (misdemeanors) at Nelson Way and Healdsburg Avenue. Suspect arrested.

WEDNESDAY

3:56 p.m. Served a misdemeanor arrest warrant for an outside agency at Keating Avenue and North Main Street. Suspect arrested.

THURSDAY

10:00 a.m. Served a misdemeanor arrest warrant for an outside agency at Petaluma and Abbott avenues. Suspect arrested.

FRIDAY

2:38 a.m. Inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or companion, vandalism involving at least $400, violation of Post Release Community Supervision (felonies) and violation of a court order pertaining to a domestic violence injury (misdemeanor) at Bately and Murphy avenues. Suspect arrested.

7:40 a.m. Served a felony arrest warrant for an outside agency at Petaluma Avenue and Gravenstein Highway South. Suspect arrested.

SATURDAY

2:06 p.m. Assaulting a person (misdemeanor) at Petaluma and Sebastopol avenues. Suspect arrested.

OTHER POLICE ACTION

The Sebastopol Police Department also recorded 139 other events requiring police action during the period, such as lost animals, assisting citizens, parking violations, foot patrol, traffic hazards and reckless driving.