RoundUp: The naked truth
The return of Robin Greenfield, Sebastopol's new beating heart, school news, more swallow info, police logs and more
Having given away all of his possessions, Robin Greenfield is briefly back in Sebastopol
Wandering environmentalist and accidental mystic Robin Greenfield is back in Sebastopol briefly. He will be making an appearance tonight, Sunday, May 18, at the helipad behind the old Palm Drive hospital at 6700 Palm Ave, from 6 pm to 8 pm.
After his 1,625-mile walk down the coast from the Canadian border to Los Angeles, which we wrote about in this Nov. 2024 article, he gave away all his possessions, including his clothes. According to Dan Gurney—with whom Greenfield stays when he’s in Sebastopol, Greenfield says he’s never been happier. Find out what this chapter of his life is like. (He’ll probably borrow some clothes for this public event.)
In the heart of downtown
The giant, heart-like art piece known as “Hábitat,” now located in the empty lot that may one day become the Hotel Sebastopol, is interesting in daylight, but SebArts director Serafina Palandech wanted folks to know that it’s quite a showstopper at night as well.
You can learn more about this piece and the other works of art in the empty lot across from the downtown plaza in our article from yesterday.
Forestville School Superintendent resigns
Forestville Union School District Superintendent Matt Dunkle will step down at the end of the school year, June 27th. News of the superintendent’s resignation was shared during the May 8th school board meeting. Forestville Principal Merrie Rivera has also resigned.
Dunkle is completing his third year as superintendent at Forestville Union. Previously, he was the principal at El Molino High School from 2014 up until its closure in 2021.
Board President Max Broome wrote a message to the community to acknowledge these changes and ask for the community’s engagement and support as the board begins “our search for new school leaders.”
Janie Frigault of CASTLE childcare retires
Sebastopol Union School District Superintendent Sara Gramm announced the retirement of Janie Frigault, one of the CASTLE childcare site directors. Frigault, a Sebastopol Union alumni, brought “dedication, creativity, and care” for over 30 years.
Gramm added:
Throughout her remarkable career with SUSD, Janie has been a shining example of what it means to truly care for students. Her artistic spirit, nurturing heart, and tireless commitment to the well-being and development of children have left an indelible mark on countless students, families, and colleagues here in Sebastopol.
Clarification on the swallow article…
In our article about the swallows at the Sebastopol Youth Annex, I accidentally left out two important pieces of information—and I heard about it from Victoria Bowers.
“The primary reason for removing the swallow nests during the winter is to prevent the non-native and invasive house sparrows from taking over the nests before the swallows arrive in March. They are detrimental to the swallows as they main and kill their nestlings and the adults. Parasites are secondary,” she wrote.
She also noted that “The agreement and practice of removing the nests in winter was made nearly 20 years ago. It was not a recent thing. It was only reaffirmed recently when public works destroyed the nests while they were active with eggs and young a few years ago during the breeding season.”
Bridge Across the Laguna
The seasonal floating bridge across the Laguna was put in place on May 14 by Public Works. (This is one day earlier than last year.) The bridge, which is located behind the fields by the Community Center, provides access to the Laguna de Santa Rosa Wetlands Preserve.
Correction
Apologies to Steve Einstein for accidentally usurping his byline. If you’re wondering why you got two copies of the same article yesterday, here’s why: the first send of the article “Faces of West County: Alina Peterson” came out under the wrong byline—mine (Laura Hagar Rush). Realizing my mistake, I followed up with a second post under the correct byline: Steve Einstein. Sorry, Steve!
Sebastopol Police Logs, May 5-11
The following are crimes excerpted from Sebastopol Police Department daily crime log entries and listed at the time the alleged violation was reported.
TUESDAY
2:24 a.m. Driving without a license at Pitt and Healdsburg avenues. Suspect arrested.
2:24 p.m. Possession of alcohol by a minor (misdemeanor) at Johnson Street and Sunset Avenue. Suspect arrested.
6:44 p.m. Petty theft (misdemeanor) at McKinley Street. Investigation suspended, leads exhausted.
WEDNESDAY
9:56 a.m. Disorderly conduct involving alcohol and violation of probation (misdemeanors) at Laguna Park Way. Suspect arrested.
THURSDAY
6:53 p.m. Causing a fire involving property (misdemeanor) at Sebastopol Avenue. Pending further investigation.
FRIDAY
7:53 a.m. Served an arrest warrant for failure to appear in court on a misdemeanor charge (misdemeanor) at Petaluma and Abbott avenues. Suspect arrested.
3:42 p.m. Causing injury to an elder or dependent adult (misdemeanor) at Gravenstein Highway South. Charges unfounded.
SATURDAY
7:32 a.m. Exhibiting a deadly weapon other than a firearm and challenging to fight in a public place (misdemeanors) at Sebastopol Avenue. Suspect arrested.
8:08 p.m. Being under the influence of a controlled substance and giving a false identification to police (misdemeanors) at McKinley Street. Suspect arrested.
11:39 p.m. Disorderly conduct while using an intoxicating drug with alcohol (misdemeanor) at Petaluma Avenue. Suspect arrested.
SUNDAY
12:57 a.m. Driving while under the influence of alcohol at Petaluma and Fannen avenues. Suspect arrested.
8:20 p.m. Possession of unlawful paraphernalia, violation of pre-trial release, and disobeying a court order (misdemeanors) at Sebastopol Avenue. Suspect arrested.
OTHER POLICE ACTION
The Sebastopol Police Department also recorded 191 events requiring police action during the period, such as lost animals, assisting citizens, parking violations, foot patrol, traffic hazards and reckless driving.
Janie Frigault also tirelessly collaborated about and was the lead on many efforts to provide training on radio use during and after emergencies for our local Sebastopol residents and neighbors. She was an excellent teacher and role model on what 'working together' to be more resilient when emergencies happen can look like.
Thank you. I truly appreciate the Sebastopol Times…and all of your reporters!
It would be nice to have a follow-up on Robin Greenfield’s appearance and remarks since it happened last night.