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TheHealdsburg HealdsburgTribune Tribune The Enterprise & Scimitar Enterprise & Scimitar
Visit for daily updates on local news views www.healdsburgtribune.com for daily updates on local news andand views Our 157th year, Visit Number 47 www.healdsburgtribune.com Healdsburg, California 1865 –November 24, 2022
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COUNCIL URGES ACTION ON BIKE PATH BOLLARDS
Healdsburg, California Healdsburg, California
Date, Date, 20202020
FATALITY PROMPTS LOOK AT FOSS CREEK TRAIL OBSTACLES By Christian Kallen
➝ Bike Path Bollards, 6
Photos by Michael Lucid
When Santa Rosa chef Rob Reyes died on Aug. 23 by colliding with a bollard along the West County Regional Trail in Graton, his friends, family and employees of the La Rosa restaurant he co-owned were shocked and even outraged that a “safety” feature could be fatal. So too were hundreds of local cyclists, the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition and City Council member (and vice mayor) Ariel Kelley. The cause of death was given as blunt force trauma to his chest, according to the Sonoma County Coroner’s Office. At the Sept. 19 Healdsburg City Council meeting after the incident, Kelley said she uses the Foss Creek bike and pedestrian path daily, and asked that the city look into the safety issues surrounding bollards in town, in particular on the Foss Creek Trail. Public Works Director and City Engineer Larry Zimmer undertook the “Use of Safety Bollards in Healdsburg” study, and had it prepared for discussion at the Nov. 7 meeting of the council. That meeting, however, was canceled by technical audio problems, and the topic was rescheduled for this past Monday’s council meeting, Nov. 21. Zimmer’s Public Works recommendation was surprising and straightforward: “Based on current Caltrans design standards, it is recommended that many of the bollards on the Foss Creek Pathway can and should be removed.” In most cases, only the center bollard
SHOOTING SENIOR Itzel Ortiz goes up to score against Rio Lindo on Nov. 17, when she scored her 1,000th career point.
Greyhound Girls Basketball Undefeated 5-0 RECORD HOLDS PROMISE FOR BIG YEAR TO COME By Christian Kallen
Smith Robinson is rocking again as the Healdsburg High girls basketball team has won five straight in the young 2022-23 season. A sixth game Tuesday night was canceled because Kelseyville said they couldn’t make it—but the Greyhounds victories have often come against larger schools, and by large margins: 55-13 over Napa, 48-29 over Petaluma and 65-16 over Lower Lake at the Nov. 12 season opener. Last year’s team played well too, 8-1 over their first nine games and finishing 7-3 in the league
for second place. And coach Steve Zichichi says they’re building on last year’s success. “I am very excited about this team as we are returning all five starters, led by our two returning 1st Team All League players, Hailey Webb and Itzel Ortiz,” said Zichichi. Other starters include Allie Espinoza, Ashley Behrens and Maddie Wagner In fact, Saturday’s game against Rio Lindo was briefly stopped when Ortiz scored her 1,000th career point and was presented with a specially decorated game ball. Calling the benchmark “quite an accomplishment,” Zichichi said, “she can also really do it all. She led our team in scoring the past two seasons and also can rebound with the best of players.” Coach Zichichi had
nothing but praise for his other starters too, and the handful of players who round out the compact eight-person roster. He said point-guard Webb “controls everything that we do by expertly running our offense and spearheading our defense.” Ashley Behrens leads the team in rebounding, sophomore Allie Espinoza is the team’s leading scorer and Maddie Wagner “brings senior leadership to the team” as a four-year varsity player. Two sophomores, Ruby Leffew and Hannah Sellard, and freshman Amelia Wickersham complete the team, and they all are getting playing time. “This team is so much fun to coach, and makes me look forward to going to practice every day,” said the coach. “They are very business-like once
the lights come on during games, and they have been handily defeating teams from much bigger schools, like Petaluma and Napa High.” Their schedule begins to get a bit tougher with a Dec. 3 matchup with St. Joseph Notre Dame (Alameda) and the Redwood Empire Invitational Basketball Tournament (REIBT) that follows. “Our team approach is to take each game one at a time, and the girls have bought into the philosophy of not overlooking any opponent,” said Zichichi. That includes their next home game on Nov. 29 against Middletown, at Healdsburg High, 7pm. The boys basketball varsity team defeated neighbor Rio Lindo Academy 49-26 on Nov. 17. They will play the
COUNTY ELECTIONS OFFICIALS CLOSE IN ON FINAL RESULTS COUNT DEADLINE LOOMS, RESULTS CERTIFIED ON DECEMBER 16 By Christian Kallen
Photo by Christian Kallen
SCREEN TIME City Attorney Samatha Zutler, left, and City Manager Jeff Kay
watch the depleted Healdsburg City Council in action as a monitor shows the dais.
The elections process is like a fractal image: its microscopic detail resembles its macroscopic appearance, with individual voters casting their ballot into a wider pool of input. The results, the democratic election of public servants, can have a large impact on
1K Senior Itzel Ortiz grins
to receive a special basketball celebrating her 1,000th career point, scored on Nov. 17 against Rio Lindo. season’s second game at home on Saturday, Nov. 26, against Santa Rosa High at 5:30pm. All home games are at Smith Robinson Gym on the school campus. a city, county or state’s governance—and the national balance of power as well. The results of the Nov. 8 election in Healdsburg are all but certain in every race save one, the office of the 2-year seat on the city council. As of Monday, Nov. 21, Ron Edwards held a 111-vote lead over Brigette Mansell, 1,938 to 1,827. But at noon the next day, Mansell had narrowed the race, with her 2,012 to Edwards’ 2,072, only 60 votes behind. It’s an uncomfortable déjà vu for Mansell, who in 2014 was coming in third for two council seats when she went to bed on election night, Nov. 4. Only 10 votes separated her from Jeff Civian, and it took several days for the totals to make clear that Mansell had narrowly won the seat. The other seat that ➝ County Elections, 9