🌱 Healdsburg Recognized For Wastewater + Lunar New Year Event Details

Hello, beautiful people! It's me, Simone, your host of the Healdsburg Patch newsletter — here to get you up to speed on what's happening in town. Let's get straight to it.

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Here are the top 3 stories today in Healdsburg:

1. Healdsburg Mayor Ariel Kelley has confirmed there will be a big Lunar New Year celebration in the plaza on the Sunday after next! Here are all the details, courtesy of our mayor: "The event will start at 10:30 am with a participatory Tai Chi demonstration by the Redwood Empire Chinese Association. Then at 11am Sonoma County Taiko will perform, followed by a presentation of the Lion Dance from Redwood Empire Chinese Association and lastly a performance by Healdsburg Jazz. Food booths offering Asian American street food, supporting local small businesses, will be offered from 11am to 2pm. Offerings from Dim Sum & Then Sum, Quail and Condor, Sang San, and Joy Bungalowe will be for sale along Plaza Street. Expect delicious Bao buns and dumplings and other delicious foods. Several local nonprofits including the Asian American Pacific Islander Coalition will be tabling and providing resources to support unity and belonging for our Asian American and Pacific Islander community. This is a community-led grassroots event. All are welcome!" (Inbox)

2. Lifelong Healdsburg resident and local business owner Ernest Nicholas Frandsen reportedly died last week in his early 90s after a "sudden decline in health caused by pneumonia and cancer." According to his obituary: "Ernie was born on Easter, April 20, 1930. He met his future wife, Marilyn June Watkins, while attending Healdsburg High School. They married in 1950 and had four children. Ernie owned the Redwood Market grocery store in Healdsburg until 1960. Later, he owned and operated Fred Young & Company Mortuaries in Healdsburg and Cloverdale. Ernie retired in 1997. After he lost Marilyn, in 1999, he spent his time with family, Kiwanis, church, and 'the kids' (classmates from high school). ... He was vibrant and physically active until December 29th. At age 92, he loved to shop, read, go out to dinner with family and friends, watch movies, decorate, give See's candy, drive downtown, buy and give flowers, visit grand and great-grandchildren, catch up on the family news and share conversations with everyone in the community." Ernie's memorial will be held at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church on University Street on the morning of Saturday, Feb. 4. His family is also encouraging donations in his name to "Cloverdale Kiwanis, ICF at St. John's Catholic Church in Healdsburg, the Healdsburg Museum, or your favorite charity that benefits children." (Legacy.com)
3. An environmental magazine called Grist recently wrote a big feature about the City of Healdsburg's recycled water program — part of a larger series that "chronicles surprising and inspiring climate initiatives in communities across the U.S. through stories of cities leading the way." Healdsburg resident Brad Simmons showed off his thriving backyard orchard to the magazine — a feat in drought country that he says has been made possible by the free recycled wastewater he gets from the city. (FYI: While the city no longer delivers this water to residents free of charge, like they did a couple of summers ago, the water itself is, in fact, still free.) More from the story: "Healdsburg benefits from an invaluable resource that keeps gardens, trees, and vineyards irrigated: free, non-potable water produced by its wastewater-reclamation facility. The plant recycles 350 million gallons of effluent drained and flushed in the city every year, according to city officials, or slightly more than half its annual water consumption. The reused H₂O is used in irrigation, construction, and other applications that require lower levels of treatment than drinking water. This eases pressure on regional reservoirs and wells while enlisting a wide pool of users in promoting an ethos of conservation, all the while helping manage the amount of treated wastewater discharged into the Russian River." If you're interested, you can find a bunch more details in the Grist story about the origins and day-to-day of our water plant. (Grist & City of Healdsburg)

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Today and tomorrow in Healdsburg:

Wednesday, January 25

• Free Coffee Wednesday at Circle K (5AM-10PM)
• Sonoma County Officals Host Virtual Home Resiliency Workshop: "Solar, Storage, and Electrification - A Perfect Match" (11:30AM-12:30PM)
• "Universal Yums" for Teens at the Healdsburg Library (2PM)
• City of Healdsburg Senior Citizens Advisory Commission Meeting (4PM)
• Free Homework Help for Kids in Grades K-12 at the Healdsburg Library (Weekly, 4-6PM)
• Sonoma County Government Hosts Citizen's Oversight Committee Meeting on Spending for Measure O, the Behavioral Health & Homeless Services Tax Measure (4:30PM)
• Healdsburg High School Boys Basketball Home Game Vs. St. Vincent (7:30PM)
• Deadline to Submit Artwork to Upcoming "Red" Exhibit at the Healdsburg Center for the Arts (11:59PM)

Thursday, January 26

• Open House at New L&M Village Homeless Shelter, Featuring Campus Tour, Info Presentation & Volunteer Signup (4-6PM)
• Wine Industry Trivia Night at BACA Wines Out Westside Road (5:30-8PM)
• Lael Neale & Guy Blakeslee Live at Little Saint (5:45PM)
• Healdsburg Running Company Hosts "Run With the Crew" to Lo & Behold (6PM)
• Community Encuentro at the Healdsburg Community Center: "Indigenous Voices of Healdsburg: Going Beyond Land Acknowledgements" (6:30-8:30PM)
• Healdsburg High School Girls Soccer Home Game Vs. Ukiah (7PM)

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From my notebook:

• Heads up! The "Ventures & Vino" mixer originally scheduled for this evening at Costeaux has been postponed to Feb. 16. (EventBrite)
• It looks like the Alexander Valley Film Association, aka AVFilm, is already starting up some programming at their new "Plaza Cinema Center" location at 375 Healdsburg Ave, Suite 200 — where they eventually plan to build a full-on movie theater, if they can raise enough funds. "Join us for our FIRST-EVER filmmaking workshop series in AVFilm's NEW classroom at Plaza Cinema Center!" org leaders say. "Whether you are interested in learning a new skill, looking for ways to up your social media game, or are a film enthusiast, this class is for you! Each class will focus on a fundamental aspect of visual storytelling." The classes will be held on the evenings of Feb. 1, March 1 and April 5. Click through for more info. (AVFilm via Facebook & AVFilmPresents.org)
• A giant fiberglass steer named Angus was just hauled up the front steps of the Healdsburg Museum by four volunteers, one per leg — and there's video. "Kudos to Tim Tesconi from Sonoma County Farm Bureau for loaning us his fiberglass steer. Angus will star in our upcoming exhibit, 'Healdsburg Volunteers and Visionaries,'" museum officials say. "Opening February 22, the exhibit highlights the volunteer spirit that has built our community. Angus is part of the FFA, 4H and Grange display." And the museum is asking anyone else with "artifacts to share from your favorite organization" to reach out. (Healdsburg Museum via Facebook)
• Healdsburg Museum officials also handed out their yearly round of historic preservation awards last week. The "residential restoration" award went to the 1850s-era "vernacular cottage" at 228 Fitch St.; the "commercial preservation" award went to the Harris Gallery in the Plaza Arts Building at 320 Healdsburg Ave.; the "lifetime maintenance" award went to Healdsburg Elementary; and the "principal adaptive re-use" award went to the CraftWork co-working space at 445 Center St. (Healdsburg Museum via Facebook)
• Speaking of renovation! Sonoma Magazine recently took a tour of a newly remodeled 100-year-old cottage in central Healdsburg. The cottage is reportedly owned by local couple Katrina Schjerbeck, a "computer engineer who recently started a line of hot sauce," and Danny Brennan, a "jewelry designer and co-owner of Gallery Lulo" downtown. They live there with two sons and a puppy. Check out the "after" pics here. (Sonoma Magazine)
• Sonoma Mag also spotlighted the snazzy Healdsburg home of local Chilean couple Catalina Marin and Rodrigo Maturana and their three kids. It's full of rad international art, textiles and furniture. “A home without a story has no soul," Catalina says. (Sonoma Magazine)

Alright, you're officially in the loop for today. See ya round!

— 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