The Healdsburg Tribune
EFFORT TO ADD ATP ELEMENTS FORCES DELAY IN STREET RESURFACE PROJECT
By Christian Kallen
At its most recent meeting on Feb. 3, the City Council approved a $280,000 design contract for the March Avenue Improvement Project, which could lead to work beginning by the end of summer 2025.
The project was the first significant road project to come before the council since, two weeks earlier, it passed an Active Transportation Plan (ATP) that in part prioritizes non-vehicular travel, such as foot paths or bike lanes.
It didn’t take long during principal engineer Clay Thistle’s presentation to find out what major design features of a renovated March Avenue, from University Street to the intersection with Healdsburg Avenue, would be included: improved curb access, bump-outs and more visible crosswalks at Lupine and Prentice, and a greatly improved surface.
That seemed to please Mayor Evelyn Mitchell, who said she had just moved to the area and already needed new shock absorbers.
It did not so much please others in the room, who felt that some things missing in this design presentation really should have been included, in light of the ATP just approved. Councilmember Ariel Kelley, the first to point this out, asked what elements of the design spec might be seen as compliant with the ATP.
“Can you speak to how this project does or doesn’t comply with what the recommendations are in the Active Transportation
➝ Improvement, 7
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS A NEW LEARNING CENTER TAKES SHAPE
By Jon Haupt
As the months roll by, the Healdsburg Library Modernization Project continues along its steady path. Week by week, the contractors complete one task after another, bringing us closer to the reopening of the 139 Piper St. library we all know and love. This month, we’re happy to share a few details about how the project is going and what to expect when the Piper Street location reopens. I had a walkthrough of the facility last week to examine the progress, and continue to attend construction meetings to learn more about what is happening from week to week.
Our local project and logistics contractor, Facilities By Design, has prepared a framed mat of furniture fabric and materials swatches for display in the Mini Library at 1557 Healdsburg Ave. Come and check out a book; while you are here, have a look at the swatches as well as the approved floor plan for our reopening.
Facelifting
The budget is the same as was set last year, with Sonoma County Libraries putting in $2.1 million, the City of Healdsburg adding an undetermined amount to work on ADA improvements and Friends of the Library contributing just over $100K for special features.
As well as much-needed updates to infrastructure, the building is undergoing a major facelift, and many new features will be found
throughout the reopened library. The floor plan offers a sneak preview of some of the major changes to the layout, including a singleservice desk, new restrooms, adjustments to the shelving layout, and exciting changes to our teen and children’s areas, as well as a remodeled Wine Library and Millie Howie Patio.
The sidewalks, sideways and parking lot will be ADAcompliant to both entrances.
The Millie Howie Patio has been expanded and its shape changed somewhat, as well as leveled with a new fence installed. There will be a new bike rack. The entry doors on the South side are being replaced. The new features include a wall to the right of the entry separating the front area from the Children’s Room that will have a glass panel with decorative wood paneling resembling madrone tree branches.
LOCAL FROST FAMILY FEELS SLIGHTED IN NAMING OF REMODELED GYM
CHESTER FROST KEY TO BUILDING OF NEW CAMPUS, SAY RELATIVES
By Christian Kallen
When Chris Vanden Heuvel made the case to the Healdsburg Unified District School Board’s trustees in November to rename Frost Hall on the high school campus for
Work in Progress
Recently the contractors have been working on sidewalk and walkway improvements; construction of a new patio fence; critical upgrades to electrical and plumbing systems; preparation for adding new windows in the south-facing brick walls; completion of restroom wall construction; drywall and tile installation; and ceiling installation.
They are installing three windows on the Piper Street side this week and next— one can see the awnings they put up while they work on that. Expect new landscaping as well.
In the next few weeks, the project moves on to painting, construction of door frames, preparations for new carpeting, and plumbing and electrical fixture installation.
We look forward to our next walkthrough of the
Drew Esquivel, he acknowledged it was an unusual thing to do. Just naming a school facility after a student was unusual enough, but to rename an existing school building seemed also a bit of a stretch.
Frost Hall bore the name of someone who Vanden Heuvel described as a longago school board member, and there was little further discussion in the board meeting—or at the dedication ceremony last month, which saw hundreds of people show up to celebrate the impactful life of Drew Esquivel.
If it seemed as if everyone in town was there, however, that was inaccurate—no people named Frost were in the hall, despite the fact that Chester Frost’s grandson said seven generations of Frosts had attended Healdsburg schools.
“I really don’t think the school board or the superintendent really did their
facility, and the opportunity to share what we find out. Meanwhile, we invite you once again to take advantage of the Mini Library, where visitors continue to enjoy the cozy setting with a smaller version of all of our usual services and collections—a browsing collection, computers for internet use, printing and copying, newspapers and magazines, children’s and teen areas, and even our Seed Library. We look forward to seeing our patrons at our Mini Library, at any of our Sonoma County Library branches and especially at the Healdsburg Regional Library at 139 Piper St. when it reopens early this summer.
Jon Haupt is the branch manager of Healdsburg Regional Library, currently located at 1557 Healdsburg Ave. and open daily.
due diligence in trying to locate family members,” said Mike Frost, 75, now living in Graton. “The first time we heard about it was on a Facebook post.” The local Facebook group, What’s Happening Healdsburg, soon engaged in a lively discussion about the name change, and the perceived freeze-out of the Frost family.
Finding Frost Anthony Frost, now of Cloverdale, posted, “I’m lost for words. H.C Frost was one of the founding board members of Healdsburg unified and donated much funds to build the first gym in Healdsburg. The Frost family has been in this town since the early 1800s.” Later, he distanced himself from criticism of the new name of the hall. “Firstly, let me assure you that it was never my intention to cause
Remodeled Gym, 2
HEALDSBURG HAPPENINGS
GOINGS ON AROUND TOWN THIS WEEK & NEXT
FRIDAY, FEB. 14
Valentine’s Day
The City of Healdsburg will be closed on Friday, one of its regular bi-weekly community development days, and again Monday, due to the federal President’s Day (if we still have that this year).
Right On Schedule
Rain is forecast for this weekend, just in time for the 133rd annual Cloverdale Citrus Fair at the Fairgrounds in Cloverdale. This year’s theme is “The Good Ole Days, Remember When ...” Parade is Saturday, fair
FROST FAMILY
any offense or speak ill of Drew. From what I have heard, Drew was a remarkable young man who left this world far too soon… I am hopeful that we can reach an agreement that honors both Drew and Chester.”
Joanne Taeuffer, a docent with the Healdsburg Museum, also posted on the group. “It’s not easy to know how to continue to honor the historical figures in town and also acknowledge our more recent heroes,” she wrote. “I hope the school district has included a plaque honoring the Frost family as the first people whose name was on this building. It isn’t a zero sum game....or it shouldn’t be.”
The Frost Hall plaque is still installed in the exterior south wall of the building, though it lacks the context given to Drew Esquivel in the hallway outside the gym room entrance. Following its recent remodel the Hall is a three-part facility—a wrestling gym, a weight room and a small stage for school drama productions.
Drew Esquivel, Class of 2013, was a wrestler as well as an active in the drama club, so the naming of the hall seemed appropriate. He died in a vehicle-pedestrian collision in New York in 2016.
through Feb. 17, cloverdalecitrusfair.org/home.
BoHoss Boogie OK, we don’t know what that means, but bet it’s some ’kicking music. Right now they’re a duo, but size may depend on the environment, and in the music-friendly halls of the Elephant in the Room there’s room for growth (at least in good weather). On Valentine’s Day, 8-11pm, 177 Healdsburg Ave.
SATURDAY, FEB. 15
Raven Gala
The Raven Performing Arts Theater throws its second Winter Gala on Saturday, Feb. 15, starting at 6:30pm. Local actors and singers will perform from upcoming shows The Bridges of Madison
Contemporary Evidence
But the name change, which Superintendent Vanden Heuvel proposed and promoted, didn’t sit well with the Frost family once they read about it in the paper. They quickly produced documentation, much of it curated from 70-year-old issues of The Healdsburg Tribune, to make their case. Included is a newspaper clipping from Oct. 9, 1950, that describes the proposal to build a new high school, in light of the high postwar birth rate. “The proposal was made by Chester Frost, head of the board, who stated that a school census indicates an enrollment soon of 600 pupils in the local school.” (The high school has about the same number today.)
Three years later, a photograph shows Chester Frost, shovel in the dirt, inaugurating the building of the new school. It was dedicated on Nov. 7, 1954. An article announcing the ceremony reads, “The dedication exercises will be held in Frost Hall, the school’s auditorium, which was named for Chester Frost, former member of the Healdsburg High School board of trustees.” Frost died four years later, at the relatively young age of 50. His obituary of Sept. 25, 1958, reads, “Local educators said that Mr. Frost
County and School of Rock , as well as other selections. Talent from the Young at Heart company will also sing; expect other surprises from the stage as well. It’s a fundraiser, with auction items available and $25-$50 tickets. 115 North St., raventheater. org.
Dad Country
The genre gets a boost from Arkansas-based Nick Shoulders and the Okay Crawdad, with Jonny Fritz opening. Shoulders says this tour “will be the last for the foreseeable future with the original Crawdad rhythm section,” including Grant D’Aubin and Cheech Moosekian. Special SRO show upstairs at Second Story, doors at 6pm, music at 7. Little Saint, 25 North St.
Latin and More
Enjoy the “World Guitar” duo of David Correa and Tommy Hill, plus percussion from Rami Ziadeh. Jazz in the lobby of Hotel Healdsburg every Saturday, from 6-9pm. No cover, Spirit Bar small plates available plus full bar, at Hotel Healdsburg, 25 Matheson St.
SUNDAY, FEB. 16
Vinyl Sundays
Here’s a new one at Furthermore Wines: Hang out with local musicians as they play their favorite records. Chris Amberger started it off last Sunday with hardbop, Chad Richard shares his love of jazz guitar this Sunday and others are upcoming. Meanwhile the regular Thursday-Saturday music continues with various
artists, free, from 5:308pm. Tasting room address is 328-A Healdsburg Ave., furthermorewines.com/ events.
Pipe Organ Concert
St. Paul’s Director of Music Paul Blanchard plays an hour-long concert on the church’s Bigelow pipe organ at 5pm on Sunday, Feb. 16. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 209 Matheson St., 5-6pm, admission is free.
The Pulsators
Often voted Best Dance Band in local music polls and surveys, the Pulsators have been seen on Healdsburg stages since back in the day, if not earlier. They’ve lost none of their ska-rock R&B roots, and they’ll bring it all to the Coyote Den on Sunday. Tickets $30, show starts at 9pm at Coyote Sonoma, 44F Mill St.
TUESDAY, FEB. 18
Public Hearing on Districts
The usual Monday City Council meeting is delayed until Tuesday (due to the President’s Day holiday), and the agenda will be highlighted by the “third public hearing” of the city’s transition to district elections. Public comment is welcome (and essential); the meeting starts at 6pm and the hearing could start possibly as early as 6:15pm. It’s at Council Chambers, 401 Grove St., and live on Zoom, YouTube and facebook.com/ cityofhealdsburg.
NEXT WEEK
Indie Blues
Jeremie Albino comes to town with road partner Benjamin Dakota Rogers. They bring their rustic, blues-based indie-folk (what are genres anymore, anyway?) to play the Little Saint on Saturday, Feb. 22. Tickets $25 plus fees at littlesainthealdsburg.com/ happenings/jeremiealbino. Rockabilly Rev Reverend Horton Heat at the Raven on Feb. 22, with guest openers Black Joe Lewis and Piñata Protest, 7:30pm.
Film Shorts Winners of last fall’s Short Film Festival will screen three times on Sunday, Feb. 23, at 1, 4 and 7pm (same program each screening). Tickets and information at healdsburgfilm.com.
Love vs. Art
The Shape of Things , a play by Neil LaBute, will be performed on stage at The 222 on two successive weekends, Feb. 21-23 and Feb. 28-March 2. It’s billed as a “fascinating study into the nature of love and art, and what happens when the two collide.” Tickets from free (18 and under) to $105 (gold level seating). The222.org. For additional events, visit healdsburgtribune. com/calendar.
was a fine educational leader and that he had done a great deal for the schools in the Healdsburg area. He was influential in planning the new Healdsburg Senior high school and in setting up the new Senior and Junior high school structure.”
Finally the Frost family made contact with Vanden Heuvel, though not before the flurry of postings on Facebook. Understandably, the superintendent shies away from social media as an information source, so it was
Nancy Frost, Mike Frost’s wife, who first called him.
But after speaking with Mike and Nancy, Vanden Heuvel realized he knew another Frost in the area; he just hadn’t put two and two together. Though he said he had made a few inquiries to a few Frosts, he had also missed a few.
Regardless, the three local Frosts and Chris Vanden Heuvel have smoothed their feathers somewhat, and the proposal now is to rename East Gym—which
has never really had a name anyway—to Frost Gym.
“We want to preserve the historical memory,” the superintendent said. “Frost Hall was originally the gym at the high school, then we built Smith Robinson. Now we have a new gym that doesn’t have a name. It’s kind of fitting to move the Frost Hall name to it.”
The new plaque to be installed there will be similar to the ones at Smith Robinson Gym and, now, Drew Esquivel Hall: etched
stainless steel with a portrait and biographical information. The image of Chester Frost to be used—which his grandson Mike Frost found in online research— shows a determined man in his 40s, his shovel buried in the ground that became Healdsburg High.
“I take full responsibility and you can definitely print that,” Vanden Heuvel said. “We are happy to continue honoring the people who historically have made Healdsburg a better place.”
Photo by Paul Burke
VENERABLE Everybody loves the Pulsators, a decades-old Sonoma County party-bar band. Led by fearless singer/drummer ‘Handsome’ Johnny Campbell, their musical gumbo plumbs the roots of danceable American music. They’ll play Sunday at Coyote Sonoma.
➝ Remodeled Gym, 1
Photo by Christian Kallen
FROST HALL The plaque naming the building remains installed on the south wall of the newly remodeled wrestling gym/theater on the HHS campus. The plaque for Drew Esquivel is inside the doors.
MUSIC
He Liked Blues Before It Had a Name
TORONTO SINGER/ SONGWRITER
JEREMIE ALBINO
RETRACES THE INFLUENCES
By Bill Forman
Jeremie Albino was 7 years old the first time he came down with a real case of the blues. It happened when Jeremie’s father—a Filipino mechanic who’d
Smoved to Toronto to open a meter-shop that turned cars into cabs—brought him along on a trip to Best Buy to look for records.
“Being that young, I didn’t really know what style of music I liked or the names of the genres or any of that,” said Albino, who will bring his band to the Little Saint on Saturday, Feb. 22. “But my dad, who was a big record collector, said, ‘Yeah, you like blues,’
and sent me into the blues section of the store. So the first CDs I ever bought were compilations by B.B. King and John Lee Hooker. They’re still, like, my favorite records.”
Last year saw the release of Albino’s fourth album, Our Time in the Sun, which he recorded at Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach’s studio in Nashville. Praised by music journal No Depression for
SANDRA DOLORES NORGROVE
August 27, 1949 – January 31, 2025
andra Dolores Norgrove, (maiden name Borgzinner) was called back to God on January 31, 2025, surrounded by her children, several grandchildren, and some family members. She came from a very prominent family in Managua, Nicaragua, with a great-grandfather who was a revolutionary figure honored with a statue, and another relative whose portrait appeared on the country’s lotto ticket.
Her family migrated from Nicaragua, and Sandy was born in San Francisco on August 27, 1949. At 7 years old, she moved with her mother to Santa Rosa. She attended Cook Junior High, graduated from Santa Rosa High, and continued her education at Santa Rosa Junior College. Her grandmother was a major influence in her life and required her to learn to play piano and attend church every morning before classes. She became a classical pianist and played into her early teens.
Her family had a very colorful past. Sandy remembered working in her Auntie Mar’s clothing factory during summer breaks in Los Angeles and visiting Disneyland with her grandmother, which sparked her lifelong love for Disney.
its “heart-on-the-sleeve” intensity, the 12-song collection pays the 32-yearold musician’s deep respect for not only the blues, but also early R&B, classic country, old-school rock ’n’ roll and a whole lot of Southern soul.
Albino started playing guitar when he was 14, back in the early days of YouTube. He soon found himself going down the rabbit hole, guitar in hand,
She met her future husband, Richard R. Norgrove, at a dance at the Veterans Memorial Building in Santa Rosa and they married 2 years later. She liked to tell the story that he had to get her stepfather’s permission to become engaged, but his answer was no. Over time, Richard wore her stepfather down and was finally given permission. She would say he was very persistent. Sandy saw him off to war and wrote to him every day, sometimes multiple times a day, for 4 years.
Their three children were raised in the Catholic Church. Although Sandy was a stay-at-home mom, that didn’t stop her from being active in many endeavors. She became active in the church and head of the parent/teacher club. She organized many fundraisers for St. Rose School, including starting and running Friday night bingo.
She was incredibly generous, frequently donating to numerous non-profits, resulting in her taxes being audited twice. She often joked with her husband, “Your job is to earn it; my job is to spend it!” She had a particular fondness for the American Heart Association due to their oldest son, Richard, who had open heart surgery at a very early age.
She traveled to Mexico in high school, and after getting married, they traveled to Hawaii many times, Canada, Germany, Italy, Scotland, and the UK. But her favorite was to the land of Disney. She went so many times that her husband told her he would take her anywhere in the world except Disneyland. She asked, “anywhere?” When he said yes, she said, “kids, pack your bags, we’re going to Disneyworld!” She always had a way of getting what she wanted. In Scotland, she visited her granddaughter, Ryleigh, who was attending school there. In Germany, she took her grandson, Jason, to the Rotary International Convention. And in Italy, she celebrated her and Richard’s 50th wedding anniversary, taking most of their adult children and grandchildren. It was a trip to remember for sure.
Sandy was bigger than life. She loved to host pool parties, and there was often a neighborhood kid or two at the dinner table. The Christmas Holidays were always filled with baking and sharing family stories, a tradition carried on by her daughter, Marcella, and her family. It was common to have 18 or more people at a single, long dinner table during Thanksgiving and Christmas. She collected Faberge eggs, rabbit figurines, and Nutcrackers (45+), which were all displayed during the Christmas season. Her house was always the one to drive by during Christmas. One year, the Christmas tree was 22ft. tall and filled the entire formal living room. It had to be secured to the staircase; no stand could hold it. She loved the holidays and enjoyed them all.
Later in life, she and Richard, along with their son Ricardo and Daughter-in-Law Tami, founded Bear Republic Brewing Company. She wore a trademark shirt that read, “Ma Bear,” and that name caught on with all who knew her. She welcomed staff and patrons with open arms and a smile that made everyone feel like family.
A diabetic for over 45 years and a liver transplant recipient in 2005, Sandy showed remarkable resilience. Unfortunately, three strokes over the past 2 years, a recent bone infection and subsequent antibiotics, led to recent kidney failure, severely impacting her health. She leaves behind her husband of 57 years, Richard R. Norgrove, and her three kids, Richard G. Norgrove (Tami), Ron Norgrove (Christie), and Marcella Allen (Jason). Her pride and joy, six grandkids, Jason Allen Jr, Ryleigh Norgrove, Ava Norgrove, Isabel Staples, Trinity Allen, and Samuel Norgrove, along with seven sisters, one brother, and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Sandy will be remembered fondly and never forgotten. I loved you the first time I saw you and will love you throughout eternity. You’re in God’s house now. I miss you immensely.
watching performances by legendary artists like Skip James, Big Bill Broonzy and Furry Lewis.
“I’d find all these videos and live footage of them that I would just watch over and over,” he said during an early January interview. “I’d be trying to pick up what Lightnin’ Hopkins was doing on the guitar and trying to emulate it. And that stayed with me for a long time.
“I still drop in those little licks here and there,” he added. “I was also learning country picking, which kind of goes hand in hand,
Photo courtesy Jermie Albino
CANADIAN SOUL Jeremie Albino plays indie-rock with a blues influence. He will appear on the Single Thread stage at Little Saint on Saturday, Feb. 22.
➝ Jeremie Albino, 7
Museum Closes for ‘Extensive Improvements’
HISTORIC PRESERVATION AWARDS, NEW BOARD ANNOUNCED
Staff Report
The Healdsburg Library is not the only local public resource undergoing a renovation this spring.
The historic Healdsburg Museum building, located ironically in the former Carnegie Library building on Matheson, closed in mid-January and will remain closed until late March or early April. The work began about the time
the museum’s members and board met to review their efforts and successes in 2024, voted in its 2025 board of directors (including Patrick Mukaida returning as president) and selected four local buildings for the Historic Preservation Awards.
The Museum’s Historic Preservation Committee, headed by architectural historian Frances Schierenbeck and Executive Director Hollie Hoods, selected the Historic Preservation awards. At the evening meeting, Schierenbeck presented the ownership history of each
building plus contextual background about the architectural styles.
Each owner talked about their work to preserve or restore their property. Community Services Director Mark Themig graciously accepted the City’s award for the Villa Chanticleer as Commercial Historic Preservation winner, and indicated that more building maintenance work is planned.
Brenda Bacchi received two awards for her work on her grandparents’ home, on Limerick Lane, which turns 100 years old this year. Lifetime Maintenance
award went to the Bartolomeo and Clorinda Bacchi House, a Prairie house dating from 1925. The second was the Adaptive Reuse award, given to the property’s former chicken house, now the “Chix Villa” guest house. Corey Rawdon and Noah Jeppson are only the fourth owners of the historic Fried house at the corner of East and Plaza streets, winner of the Residential Historic Preservation award. The so-called Heartwood House, built in 1884, is described as “vernacular with Gothic Revival elements.”
“It’s not a true Gothic revival as it’s missing some of the essential elements of the style and has other styles representative (such as Greek Revival),” said board member Schierenbeck.
“The original owner/building likely chose the form and decorative elements that appealed to them.”
Interior Work
At present, contractors continue to work on interior renovations that will result in a new exhibit space at the museum, made larger by the removal of raised platforms on two sides of the second-story gallery. A freestanding, movable wall system as well as new carpeting, electrical fixtures
and display cases will be installed.
A new installation with creative input by experiential designer Noah Jeppson, to be called “Many Paths to Healdsburg,” will be situated on the east side of the remodeled interior.
Jeppson, a recently named member of the city’s Arts & Culture Commission, has completed several exhibit design projects for the museum already, including the installation of the colorful lights array on the museum’s exterior.
According to Hoods, it “will present some of the important and relevant stories of Healdsburg history that visitors and locals want to learn about. The Many Paths feature will be a semi-permanent exhibition that will be updated annually to stay fresh and relevant.”
Hoods added, “ When we reopen the Museum in the spring, we will reopen with an exhibition of contemporary Pomo basket weaving and art, guest curated by Silver Galleto and Meyo Marrufo of the Pomo Weavers Society.”
Ongoing Services
But the work of the Museum will continue this spring even though the gallery space will remain closed. The research resources of
the museum will be available to scholars and residents by appointment. Additionally, a six-week lecture series begins on Wednesday, March 9, and continues on Wednesdays until April 9, at the St. John the Baptist school gym from 4:30-5:30pm. Chris O’Sullivan, a history professor at the University of San Francisco, is also the founder of the Kevin Starr Memorial Lecture on California History. He will speak on the state’s past, covering a different period each week between the prehistoric era to the Gold Rush. Information and tickets for this lecture series are available at tinyurl.com/HMSpringHistoryLectureSeries. A special free history talk at the Senior Center will take place on Monday, March 24, from 1:303:30pm. The Museum docents will present “Three Women’s Lives: 150 Years of Healdsburg Herstory” in honor of Women’s History Month. The women to be discussed include Josefa Carrillo de Fitch, Agnes Call, and Isabelle Simi, women who exemplify some of the diverse roles of women in Healdsburg’s history. For more information, visit healdsburgmuseum.org.
WELL-MAINTAINED The Bartolomeo and Clorinda Bacchi House on Limerick Lane, a Prairie-style home built in 1925, received an award for its maintenance by family members including the current owner, Brenda Bacchi.
FRIED HOUSE The ‘Heartwood House,’ also known as the Henry and Fredericka Fried House of East Street, received the
Noah Jeppson and Corey Rawdon currently own the 1884 vernacular house.
Soggy Soccer Season Nears End
HOPES REMAIN FOR BOTH BOYS, GIRLS
By Caleb Knudsen
Soccer is becoming one of Healdsburg High’s most popular winter sports, with 20-player rosters for both boys and girls teams.
The boys team has not been able to get much traction in the rain-soaked field, and neither have most of its opponents. The NBLRedwood league standings show many of the teams have more tie games than either wins or losses. The Greyhounds, for instance, have two wins and no losses, but four tie games— Piner High, just ahead of
them in the league standings, is 3-0-3.
Only first-place Analy seems to have a grip on the game in this soggy weather, with its 4-1-1 record.
Both of the boys soccer matches last week ended in ties, a 1-1 game at Piner on Feb. 5, and a 0-0 game in Healdsburg against Elsie Allen two days later.
Leading scoring for the
Greyhounds are Jairo Mendoza with 10 goals and five assists, and goalkeeper Roy Paz with eight shutouts. Games still on the schedule until the end of the regular season include a match in Sebastopol against league-leading Analy on Wednesday (results too late for press time) and a final home game on Friday, Feb. 14, against Santa Rosa (2-5).
Greyhounds Corral Mustangs,
to Final
By Caleb Knudsen
After a relatively quiet first period that ended 7-6 to the home team’s advantage, the Lady Greys exploded for 19 points in the second quarter, doing what they do best with a smothering defense and rapid, accurate shooting from inside the key—and beyond the arc. The second quarter
began with two straight threes by Amelia Wickersham, then a pair of dynamic run-and-gun plays from Allie Espinoza and Ashley Behrens, followed by two more threes by Wickersham, and suddenly the score was 26-10 at the half. The total spoke of the dominant 19-4 second quarter the Greyhounds delivered.
The crowd at Smith Robinson was loud and only grew louder as the game progressed. Fans footstomped to distract the St. Vincent free-throw shooter, usually junior Andrea Hartman or sophomore Samantha Sarlatte, and often the thunder did its job. Meanwhile a smothering Healdsburg defense under the net
Friday’s game will be a chance to recognize the 12 senior boys in the soccer program.
Girls Stay Busy
The most recent girls soccer match to be played in Healdsburg was Feb. 6, against Elsie Allen, but it was Senior Night for the squad. The game followed
prevented the Mustangs from gaining a gallop, and as the third quarter began the smart money was on the Greyhounds. (Note: There is no gaming allowed in high school basketball, or in dog racing either.)
But a growing series of personal fouls against the Greyhounds, which at first looked like the luck of the draw but soon became suspicious, choked them in the second half. At one point coach Greg Marguglio cried out, “Unbelievable!” at a seemingly egregious call, and was rewarded with a technical foul that allowed Hartman to split her four free-throws for two more points, drawing the score ever closer.
Despite a sweet-ashoney Behrens turnaround jump to end the third, this time Healdsburg was outscored 3-12 in the quarter. It all came down to the final quarter—either for the fourthplace Mustangs or the second-place Greyhounds, vying for the pleasure of meeting undefeated Ukiah on Friday for the league championship.
The Mustangs—who pulled off an upset by defeating Healdsburg in January, 42-35, only to lose their home rematch just five days ago 47-26—ultimately could not outrun or outshoot the Greyhounds a second time. Though they
the ceremonies held in East Gym, out of the pelting rain, which lasted as long as it could.
Five junior varsity seniors were honored this year—Yaranaxali Castro, Iara Valdez, Natalia Soriano, Lizbeth Paola Lopez and Jennifer Sanchez.
The recognized Varsity seniors all made their names known in the game that followed against Elsie Allen. Despite the downpour, the Healdsburg girls played with enthusiasm and easily defeated Elsie Allen, 4-1.
Seniors Julia Dolph and Maddie Munselle found the back of the net, senior Kim Lopez played an excellent game in goal supported by seniors Sophia Saini and Lola Hagen on defense. The sole freshman on the starting line-up, Renata Maturana, scored with a header off a corner kick by Dolph in the closing minutes.
The final three games of the season are all this week, on successive days— a result of a couple of raindelayed games earlier in the year. Tuesday saw a clutch game against Piner (7-0, in first place, won the match 3-0), then against Santa Rosa (1-4) on Wednesday, a makeup game from last week’s rainstorm.
The three-game streak finally ends at Rancho Cotate (4-2) on Thursday, and with it the end of the season. But don’t lose all hope: On Sunday they announce the playoffs, and if the galloping Greyhound gals make it, there might be more games to play next week.
played a close fourth quarter, the game ended with the Hounds holding on, 39-35. Wickersham shot a total of five three-pointers to give Healdsburg control of the momentum, and the dogged, one might say professional persistence of the Greyhound girls kept them at least 4 points ahead, despite what the coaches— and many fans—still saw as some injustices by the officiating team, and hoots and boos grew as the game neared its close.
“They had 33 freethrows and Healdsburg had six,” grumbled an amateur statistician. “What does that tell you?”
Wickersham ended with 15 points and Behrens with 9 for Healdsburg, while Samantha Wood of St. Vincent was the high scorer with 17. Marguglio credited St. Vincent “for fighting back in the second half. We’re fortunate SV’s 33 trips to the foul line didn’t swipe the win,” he snarked. The final game in the 2025 NBL Redwood league takes place on Friday, starting at 6pm, at the new Rancho Cotate High School Theater-Auditorium-Gym, or TAG. With Ukiah’s 50-28 walkover of Santa Rosa Tuesday night, the league championship game will be played between Healdsburg (8-3 in league play) and the undefeated Wildcats (11-0).
Photos by Michael Lucid
SENIOR NIGHT Madeleine Munselle (23) takes the ball downfield in a recent game at Healdsburg High’s soccer field. She was one of 10 seniors honored at the team’s Senior Night.
Photo by Michael Lucid
SHARP SHOOTER Junior Amelia Wickersham (1), seen here in an earlier game this season, sank five straight 3-point attempts in the league semifinal against St. Vincent. Healdsburg won, 39-35.
Won’t You Be Mine?
‘SONOMA SUNSHINE’ IS WELCOME ANY TIME OF THE YEAR
By Pierre Ratte
Happy Valentine’s Day, Palentine’s Day, Galentine’s Day or Self-Love Day. Whatever floats your boat or blows your hair back, it’s great to live in Sonoma County!
Whatever the weather, Feb. 14 is a day to choose love. It’s a day to connect with others. It’s a day to give or receive a card, eat chocolate, eat candy, recognize a friend or maybe break the ice to initiate a special friendship.
The history of Valentine’s Day is disputed, but there is no disputing its popularity has grown. Whichever way you choose to celebrate Valentine’s Day, enjoy the magic of uplifting people, even yourself!
Fun facts: Pope Galasius declared Feb. 14 St.
Valentine’s Day in 496 C.E.; he served as pope for less than four years. Some say the Christian holiday suppressed a Roman fertility feast, Lupercalia, where men ran around the Palentine hill, essentially naked, whipping women with strips of hide from sacrificial animals to promote fertility. Though still on the Catholic Church’s list of saints, in 1969 St. Valentine ceased to be canonically sanctioned for worship—though he remains patron saint of beekeeping and love. Geoffrey Chaucer, of Canterbury Tales fame, mentions Valentine’s Day in his poem, Parliament of Foules (fowls), describing birds competing for mates in February 1381. Shakespeare upped the love connection in Hamlet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream: “Good morrow, friends. Saint Valentine is past, begin these wood-birds to couple now,” published in 1600. By the 1700s, the practice of writing intricately designed love notes on
Valentine’s Day flourished. Then in the mid-1800s, manufactured lace and ribboned love notes made by a female entrepreneur named Esther Howland replaced handmade cards. Daughter of a stationer, a graduate of Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, she earned the nickname “Mother of the American Valentine.” Her assembly line production of fancy cards dropped the price from $1 to 5 cents; in her first year of business, 1848, she grossed $5,000—approximately $200,000 today. Around the same time, in 1861, Cadbury invented the heart-shaped chocolate box. Sweethearts candy started in 1866 as a conversation starter. Sayings on Necco’s (New England Confectionery Company) Sweethearts change yearly. Hallmark expects to sell 140 million cards and Americans will spend more than $20 billion on cards and gifts in 2025 according to the National Retail Federation.
plans, or what the proposed bike and ped [pedestrian] improvements are that people have been emailing us about?” Kelley asked. “I think there’s a disconnect between what you guys are proposing and what the community [believes] is included in the project.”
Thistle cited three ATPcompliant recommendations—two of them pedestrian-favoring, such as curb ramps and improved road crossings, while the third would allow “for city staff to consider the feasibility of implementing parking-projected separated bike lanes.”
Time to Talk?
Kelley pressed for a more well-noticed public meeting to discuss the March Avenue improvements, especially with an ear to hearing from the bike and pathway advocates who had already expressed disappointment with the design plan as proposed. Thistle seemed open to the idea of greater public engagement, “pending direction from the council.”
Judy Fujita of Brown Street reiterated the city’s own position that March Avenue is a major EastWest corridor, saying “so I really think that we should do this one right.” That would include strongly supporting Active Transportation priorities such as safer streets and the need for bike
THE BLUES
because it all kind of revolves around blues. And then on top of that, I was trying to learn banjo and fiddle. I was at that age where you’re like a sponge. You’re just absorbing everything.”
But it took a couple of more years for Albino to discover the sound that brought his music to the next level. “I was working with my dad, and it was kind of slow, so he was like, ‘All right, just go take a break,’” Albino said. “So I ended up walking down the street, and there was
lanes—traffic calming, clear signage—and allow public input on a design phase that would make March Avenue a “template” for other EastWest corridors in town.
Mark McMullen also commented in the meeting, proposing to include “art” into the design through the new Arts & Culture Commission. However, in his letter to the council delivered earlier in the day, he also found concerning the absence of ATP priorities, the Climate Mobilization Strategy and the city’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion plan, as well as Arts & Culture Commission engagement.
“I think to bring this project into line with these plans, public outreach is necessary very quickly,” he said—including bilingual workshops during the design phase to hear input on protected bike lanes, ADA improvements, green infrastructure and arts integration.
Kelley returned to the idea of public engagement in a community meeting of some sort, but other members of the council seemed less keen on the idea, fearing delay in the overall project even though they said they valued public comment.
Councilmembers Ron Edwards and Mayor Mitchell in particular seemed disinclined to open up the process to further public review. “I certainly want to hear from the community, but I don’t want to slow it down,” Mitchell said.
The next afternoon,
this hat shop. I was looking to buy a hat—I don’t know why, I guess all the cool blues guys had a hat.
“So I walked in and the guy who was working there was listening to Otis Redding. I said, ‘Who IS this?’ And he’s like, ‘You don’t know who this is? This is Otis Redding, man. He’s one of the greatest soul singers of all time.’” Albino spent the rest of the day hanging out at the hat shop listening to records, and walked out with a couple of Otis Redding mix CDs that the shop clerk made.
Fast forward 15 years, during which time Albino busked on the street, moved
Public Works Director Larry Zimmer told the Tribune, “Based upon the input received last night from Council we will be revising the public engagement plan for the project. It is envisioned that the revised plan will include a community meeting likely followed by a presentation to Council to confirm the design concept.”
He said the community meeting is probably about three months out, with the presentation to council one or two months after that. Once the council approves it the project goes out for bid, which can take up to four months to complete.
to the countryside, worked farm labor, recorded a trio of albums and embarked on his first Canadian and U.S. headlining tours. But the biggest break came when Dan Auerbach tracked him down on Instagram and invited him to come record at his Easy Eye Sound studio.
Albino remembers the first time he walked through the door. “It was like going into a museum,” he said. “The whole studio is just full of vintage gear. He had this really beautiful guitar that I [started] playing, and he’s like, “Oh, that’s one of Hound Dog Taylor’s guitars.’
And it’s on my record!
Construction, anticipated to take about a year, could begin as soon as December, depending on the weather. The current construction estimate is $2,175,000, Zimmer said.
However, the extreme rainfall events of the past few weeks caused concern about the rapid deterioration of the surfacing on March Avenue, the source of many residents’ unhappiness with the corridor. Zimmer, when asked about the current condition of the avenue and the delayed start time for its repair, said, “We will continue to fill potholes.”
“And then there’s another one in there that was Mississippi Fred McDowell’s guitar, which was crazy, because I remember growing up watching videos of Mississippi Fred McDowell, and this is the guitar I’d see him playing. So that one is also on the record,” Albino continued.
In addition to producing the album, Auerbach cowrote a few of the songs and contributed some astounding guitar solos matched by a Stax-worthy rhythm section. The first song they cut was the rollicking “Rolling Down the 405,” which Albino described as “a groovy kind of Southern
gallop of a song. A road-dog song, I call it.” But as Albino and his band take the record on the road, their songs won’t all be cruising at the same speed, any more than they are on the record. Case in point: The plaintive title song, “Our Time in the Sun,” where the influence of smooth and soulful ballads by artists like Irma Thomas and George Jackson comes through loud and clear.
“There’s this Irma Thomas song, ‘I Wish Someone Would Care,’ and it’s one of my favorite songs of all time,” Albino said. “When she sings that line, it’s just so simple and powerful, and it means so much. I just wanted to write a song like that, where you just feel the heartache that the person is feeling. And I wrote ‘Our Time in the Sun’ hoping it could be something like that. I feel like I was finally able to write a song that comes straight from the heart and reminds me of the music that I’ve always loved.”
Jeremie Albino plays the Little Saint stage on Saturday, Feb. 22. Opening will be Benjamin Dakota Rogers. Tickets $25 plus fees at littlesainthealdsburg. com/happenings/ jeremiealbino.
PUDDLEHOLES A series of weather-induced combination puddles-and-potholes follows traffic on March Avenue, set to be resurfaced once again early next year.
➝ Improvement, 1 MARCH AVENUE
➝ Jeremie Albino, 3
BIKE LANE The current layout of March Avenue from University Street to Healdsburg Avenue includes, for much of its length, a Class II bike lane, designated only by paint.
Photo by Christian Kallen
Photo by Pierre Ratte
HEARTS Chocolates are one of two favorite indulgences of St.Valentine’s Day.
CRIMES & CONCERNS REPORTED TO HEALDSBURG POLICE, JAN.27-FEB. 2
Residents and others are encouraged to call Police Dispatch as needed at (707) 431-3377, operational 24/7
Monday, Jan. 27
• 2:52am A vehicle was stopped for speeding near Jerry’s Valero on Dry Creek Road. The 54-Year-Old (YO) driver was cited and released for possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.
10:37am An unwanted man was between the cyclone fence and the Jon Wright Feed Store on Mill Street. The Reporting Party (RP) wanted him to leave. The man had belongings, a sleeping bag and garbage bags. An officer responded and advised the man of the complaint.
1:28pm The RP saw a suspected drunk driver on Matheson Street hit about four to five vehicles. Officers and Healdsburg Fire responded and located the vehicle. An 81-YO man was cited for driving on a suspended license. He was provided a courtesy ride to his residence. An officer located possible vehicles of victims and left Healdsburg Police Department contact information.
5:31pm The RP indicated that possibly three people were drinking in a vehicle near the Dollar Tree on Vine Street. Officers responded and located the vehicle. A person was cited for violating the open-container law.
7:42pm Two transients at Starbucks Coffee on Vine Street were asked to leave and would not. Both people were upset and cursed at the RP. Subsequently, they left. The RP wanted the information documented, and wanted to press charges for trespassing if they returned.
Tuesday, Jan 28
9:23am Drunk driving was reported on Powell Avenue. The information was forwarded to officers on patrol.
3:28pm The RP, the head of Montage Security, indicated that an employee at Montage on Montage Way received harassing calls. An officer spoke to the employee who reported she received three calls in November of 2024 and one on Jan. 27, 2025, from a man who scared her. He called to talk and said she sounded like a college student, asked for her age and told her inappropriate sexual information. An officer responded and gave advice. No crime was committed.
• 6:43pm A group of four people was contacted at Railroad Park on Front Street. A 54-YO man was cited and released on an outstanding Sonoma County Warrant regarding driving with a license suspended for driving under the influence (DUI), driving on a suspended license and lacking proof of insurance.
• 9:50pm A 21-YO man at Giorgi Park on University Street was cited and released on an outstanding Sonoma County warrant regarding DUI, DUI causing bodily injury and child endangerment.
Wednesday, Jan. 29
• 2:42pm The RP on Terrace Boulevard indicated that the RP and her son were in an argument and her son broke one of her windows when he left on foot. She did not want to press charges, but was considering filing trespass paperwork against him. Officers responded. He was gone on arrival and unable to be located. The RP was given advice.
• 5:24pm A vehicle on Hwy 101 at Old Redwood Highway was stopped for having a suspended registration. A 26-YO man was cited for violation of probation and driving with a license suspended for DUI.
6:45pm Multiple RPs indicated there was a vehicle on fire on Healdsburg Avenue. Officers responded. The fire department handled the situation.
• 8:33pm Prowlers were reported on Fitch Street. Two people with ski masks were on a front-porch balcony, which is a shared balcony for two upper apartments. The
POLICE LOG
RP stated that the people were not affiliated with either upper apartment. Officers responded and contacted the RP. The suspects had left on foot westbound toward Alley 2 and St John’s school. Officers checked the area, but the suspects were gone on arrival and unable to be located.
Thursday, Jan. 30
• 11:26am The RP stated an older man was smoking speed at Plaza Park on Healdsburg Avenue under one of the palm trees near Matheson Street. The RP said he knew it was speed because it smelled bad, like chemicals, and the man looked like he was using a pipe. Officers checked the area, but the man was gone on arrival and unable to be located.
• 3:34pm A probation search was conducted at the L&M Motel on Healdsburg Avenue. A 46-YO man was arrested and transported to county jail for possession of ammunition, violation of probation and possession of a controlled substance.
6:07pm Two men stole two bottles of alcohol from Safeway on Vine Street. They left by foot eastbound on Matheson Street. The RP wanted to press charges and file trespass paperwork against the men. Officers
LIBRARIES ARE FOR EVERYONE
checked the area, but the men were gone on arrival and unable to be located. An officer went to Safeway and took a report.
Friday, Jan. 31
12:42am A vehicle was stopped near the Hotel Vinea on Dry Creek Road for having an altered license plate. A 25-YO man was arrested and brought to county jail for DUI and on an outstanding Sonoma County warrant regarding DUI.
• 12:51pm The RP at the Raven Film Center on North Street stated he received a call from someone pretending to be from PG&E. The caller stated the RP had to make a cash deposit at 7-Eleven or the power to his properties would be shut off. The RP was not out any money and wanted the information logged.
11:20pm A car near Carl’s Jr. on Vine Street was stopped for lacking vehicle registration. A 29-YO man was cited and released on two outstanding Sonoma County warrants regarding violation of probation, DUI, failure to appear in court and driving with a suspended license.
Saturday, Feb. 1
4:55pm Reckless driving was reported near
•
Healdsburg City Hall on Grove Street. The vehicle was driving eastbound below the speed limit, swerving and crossing the yellow line. Officers responded, but the vehicle was gone on arrival and unable to be located.
5:23pm The RP indicated he saw a couple smoking crack outside Tip Top Liquor Warehouse on Dry Creek Road. Officers responded, but the couple was gone on arrival and unable to be located.
9:23pm The RP at Carl’s Jr. on Vine Street indicated her husband was drunk, angry and possibly walking toward the freeway. Officers responded and the man was spotted on the Hwy 101 Southbound onramp at Westside Road. Subsequently he walked off Hwy 101. While on the phone, the man made suicide-by-cop statements. The 41-YO man was arrested and transported to county jail for public intoxication and resisting arrest.
Sunday, Feb. 2
• 9:00am The RP, an employee at Tip Top Liquor Warehouse on Dry Creek Road, indicated that the front door was smashed. The RP did not enter the business. Officers responded and took a report regarding burglary.
Photo by Christian Kallen
DANGER DANGER A side of Fitch Mountain slid onto the county road just beyond Villa Chanticleer during the recent storms. The county Public Infrastructure Department has already put out an RFP for North Fitch Mountain Road storm damage repair, contract No. C11601. Deadline for bid submissions is March 4.