🌱 Elementary School Honors + Local Business Closures + Flooded Roads

Good day, friends! I'm back in your inbox this very wet Wednesday with your fresh edition of the Healdsburg Patch newsletter. In it you'll find all the most important things to know about what's happening in town, including...

• Our current storm status
• State honors for two local elementary schools
• The new exhibit being set up at the Healdsburg Museum
• And much more!

Today's newsletter is sponsored by CraftWork Healdsburg

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Now, your daily weather:

• Wednesday: Rain, heavy at times. "Wind watch" in effect through 7 p.m. tonight. High: 55 Low: 50.
• Thursday: Cloudy with more chances of rain. High: 60 Low: 50.

Shoutout to the other awesome local businesses who keep this newsletter running:

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Air over Healdsburg:

Here are the top 3 stories in Healdsburg today:

1. After another round of bone-rattling thunderstorms last night, we're reportedly getting soaked today by a fresh "pineapple express" system from Hawaii, and looking ahead at sustained rains from multiple storms through this weekend and likely the next. That good old "flood watch" issued by the National Weather Service — which has become a pretty permanent fixture of their Healdsburg forecast! — is still in effect through at least tomorrow afternoon. And while there's no longer any immediate danger of the kind of Russian River flooding that would prompt evacuations here in Healdsburg, weather officials expect the river to crest at around 16 and 17 feet in the wee hours tomorrow morning and again Saturday night, respectively. At the river up in Geyserville and down in Guerneville, those crests will likely lead to flooding. In general, the rest of Sonoma County and the greater North Bay have fared much worse than us during these storms: Three people have died; huge trees have been toppling, some onto buildings and power lines; many have been without electricity, some for a full week; streets have been swamped by flooding; first responders have been rescuing drivers and others stuck in floodwaters; and on and on. Sending love and protection to everyone out there battling this weather! (Healdsburg Patch & CBS San Francisco via Patch & National Weather Service & National Weather Service & Nextdoor & SF Chronicle & Press Democrat & Press Democrat; paywalls)
2. Two of Healdsburg's smaller, more rural elementary schools — Alexander Valley Elementary and West Side Elementary — were recently recognized by state education officials for their "exceptional" student support and success over the past year. They're among 356 elementary schools across California on the superintendent's annual list, including three other Sonoma County schools in Petaluma; all the schools will reportedly be recognized at an award ceremony on Feb. 16. They're also now eligible for the national "distinguished schools" award — aka, the crown jewel of elementary school honors. The CA Dept. of Education said in the following in their press release: "The exceptional elementary schools recognized this year are illustrative of the hard work, dedication, and resilience shown by educators and schools across the state after communities struggled for multiple years with urgent effects to physical and mental health and unprecedented challenges to delivering education." You can read more here. (Healdsburg Patch)
3. After a great run with their historic local building exhibit and an insanely cool model train, the Healdsburg Museum is shutting its doors for a spell — but for good reason. "The Museum is currently closed for installation of our next exhibition, 'Healdsburg Volunteers & Visionaries,' celebrating the spirit of community," museum officials say. "Today Dick Bugarske and Susan Sheehy delivered two important artifacts from Kiwanis history: their founding charter and giant gavel. Congratulations to Healdsburg Kiwanis on turning 100 this year! We will celebrate with them and commemorate even more local community builders in the upcoming exhibition. Opening February 15th." (Healdsburg Museum and Historical Society via Facebook)

Healdsburg pics of the day:

Question: Do you have a good storm pic to share, or a pic of anything else interesting in town? You can send it to me here. Please just confirm in your email that you took it, and that Patch has permission to republish it! 📸

Today and tomorrow in Healdsburg:

Wednesday, January 11

• Healdsburg Fire Department Hosts 17th Annual "Bucket Brigade" Community Blood Drive (1:30-6:30PM)
• "Game On!" for Teens at the Healdsburg Library (2PM)
• Teen/Tween After-School Art Studio at the Healdsburg Center for the Arts: "Painting, Drawing & Mixed Media" (Jan. 11-Feb. 15, 3:30-5:30PM)
• Free Homework Help for Kids in Grades K-12 at the Healdsburg Library (Weekly, 4-5:45PM)
• Corazón Healdsburg Hosts "Asesoramiento Para Negocios Pequeños: Distribución de Pañales" (5PM)
• "What Moves You?" Spiritual Reflection & Potluck Dinner at THE 222 (Monthly, 5:30PM)
• City of Healdsburg Parks & Rec Commission Meeting (6PM)
• Healdsburg High School Wrestling Home Meet Vs. Windsor (6PM)
• Trivia Night at Coyote Sonoma (Weekly, 7-9PM)

Thursday, January 12

• Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Hosts Hearing on "Fire Hazard Safety Severity Zones" (2PM)
• Healdsburg Running Company Hosts "Local Loop" Run to Mombo's Pizza (6PM)
• Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the New L&M Village Homeless Shelter (4-6:30PM)
• Rio Lindo Adventist Girls Basketball Home Game Vs. Pleasant Hill Adventist Academy (5PM)
• Tara Renze Book Signing at Breathless Wines (7-8PM)

From my notebook:

• In case you're wondering why the Dry Creek General Store is all fenced off right now: They'll be closed while they repair their precarious parking lot for at least the next month or two. (Nextdoor & Facebook Groups & Dry Creek General Store via Instagram)
• PizZando on the square is also closed for renovations through March 1. (Facebook Groups & PizZandoHealdsburg.com)
• And the Downtown Bakery is closed for the next week while the staff takes a much-needed break. They say they'll be back open on Friday, Jan. 20. (Inbox & Downtown Bakery & Creamery via Facebook)
• The county's animal services department has set up a "Lost & Found" page for stray pets they picked up during the chaos of recent storms. (Sonoma County Government & County of Sonoma via Facebook)
• Beverly Healdsburg, indeed! The Portalupi Wines tasting room in downtown Healdsburg just added caviar to their wine-tasting experience. (Press Democrat; paywall)

Alright, you're officially in the loop for today. Catch ya right back here tomorrow, Healdsburg...

— Simone Wilson

About me: I was born and raised in Healdsburg, CA, where I was the editor of the Healdsburg High School Hound's Bark. I have since worked as a local journalist for publications in San Diego, Los Angeles, New York City and the Middle East. I'm currently a senior product manager for Patch.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Healdsburg Daily? Contact me at simone.wilson@patch.com