🌱 High School Cooking Champ + Free Lunch For Kids + Fire Abatement

Hello, hello! Simone here with your latest copy of the Healdsburg Patch newsletter — filled with everything you need to know about what's happening in the community. Let's do it.

First, your local weather:

• Thursday: Fog and clouds turning to sun. High: 81 Low: 48.
• Friday: Fog and clouds turning to sun again. High: 85 Low: 49.
• Saturday: Mostly sunny. High: 88 Low: 52.

Air over Healdsburg:

From our sponsor:

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Here are the top 3 stories in Healdsburg today:

1. Healdsburg High School student Hadley Rueter is heading to a national cooking competition in Atlanta later this month, after beating out 70 competitors here in California, according to the Healdsburg Tribune. She reportedly competed last year as well, when she was a sophomore, and got the gold in California and the bronze at the national level. Here's some more background on Hadley, via the Tribune: "She also swims for the highly rated Healdsburg High team, specializing in the breaststroke, and plays varsity volleyball in the fall, all while being an AP student. Rueter, a Healdsburg native, went to St. John the Baptist Catholic School before attending Healdsburg High along with her brother, Lincoln, now a sophomore at HHS. Culinary arts have always been a part of her life, as her parents both attended the Culinary Institute of America. 'I have been cooking, since I was probably like 4 or 5, with my parents. They both went to the Culinary Institute of America so they’ve always been cooking as well, so it was just kind of natural,' said Rueter about her inspiration to cook. She credits her boyfriend, senior Eliot Gomez, for introducing her to the culinary competition. 'He told me it was pretty cool,' she said." Hadley also credits the high school's stellar culinary program and her teacher Derek Corsino — who was once a contestant on the Food Network’s "Spring Baking Championship" — for her success. “The facilities provided at Healdsburg High are really great," she says. "No one has anything like them.” Read more in the Trib! (Healdsburg Tribune)
2. Starting on Monday and lasting through the beginning of August, the Redwood Empire Food Bank will be serving free lunch for kids at the Healdsburg Library every weekday, as part of their annual summer lunch program. Lunch will be served to anyone under the age of 18 between 12 p.m. and 12:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, June 5 through August 4.“We are delighted to host another year of Summer Lunch and excited to see families convening at sites with our sit-down service," a rep for the food bank says. "We are also encouraging children to bring a friend!” Other nearby summer lunch locations will include the Cloverdale Library, the Forest Winds apartment complex in Windsor and the Lavell Village apartment complex in Larkfield. Click through to the food bank's website for more locations, times and general info. (Redwood Empire Food Bank & Press Democrat; paywall)
3. Another experimental program to help out low-income Healdsburg residents is well underway here in town, according to the Press Democrat. The program is called the Sonoma County Pathway to Income Equity, and it's paying out $500 per month to each of 305 local families in Healdsburg, Santa Rosa and Petaluma — out of nearly 6,500 families who applied to be part of the pilot. The monthly payments began in February and will last for two years. "The idea behind guaranteed-income programs is to provide unconditional monthly payments to help improve economic security and promote financial mobility for individuals and families," the PD reports. "First 5 Sonoma County, a nonprofit organization funded by a state tobacco tax, is overseeing the $5.4 million program in partnership with other nonprofits and funding from Sonoma County, Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Healdsburg, First 5 and the nonprofit Corazón Healdsburg." Program director Angie Dillon-Shore tells the PD that "a common criticism of such programs is the unconditional nature of the payments and risk that recipients could spend the money on nonessential items or expenses" — but the hope, she says, is that "parents want the best for their children and they’ll take this opportunity to get a leg up." She also hopes "the research that comes out of it will inform policy" in the future. You can find out more about the program here. (First 5 Sonoma County & Press Democrat; paywall)

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Healdsburg pic of the day:

Note from Simone: I love to feature great local pics in the newsletter! If you have one to share, you can submit it here for consideration. Please just confirm in your email that you took any photos you're sending, and that Patch has permission to republish them. Many thanks 📸

Coming up in Healdsburg:

Thursday, June 1

• Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce Hosts "Good Morning, Healdsburg" Conversation With Sonoma County Airport Manager Jon Stout (8AM)
• Gentle Yoga at the Healdsburg Senior Center (Weekly, June 1-29, 10-10:45AM)
• Final Weekend of the "Healdsburg Volunteers & Visionaries" Exhibit at the Healdsburg Museum (June 1-4, 11AM-4PM)
• Healdsburg High School Swim Coach Hosts "Pre-Team" Recreational Swim Lessons for Kids Aged 8-17 (Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays, June 1-29, 4:15-4:45PM)
• Local Business Networking Mixer at Smith Story Wine Cellars (4:30-6:30PM)
• Rosary for Deceased Healdsburg Resident Manuel Alvidrez Garcia at 213 Bumpy Road Off Bailhache Avenue (6PM)
• Healdsburg Running Company Hosts Run to Dry Creek General Store & Bar (6PM)
• Trivia Night at Fogbelt Station Beer Garden (Weekly, 6-8PM)
• Caleb Caudle Live at Little Saint (7-9PM)
• Karaoke Night at Coyote Sonoma (Weekly, 7-10PM)
• The Pine Hearts Live at the Elephant in the Room (7-10PM)
• Live Professional Theater at THE 222: "CHAPATTI," a Play by Christian O'Reilly (June 1-2, 7:30PM)

Friday, June 2

• Redwood Empire Food Bank Hosts Food Stamp Info Session at Corazón Healdsburg (10-11:30AM)
• Healdsburg Library Hosts Family Bilingual Storytime at Giorgi Park (10:30AM)
• Live Jazz at Furthermore Wines (June 2-3, 5-8PM)
• '70s/'80s Prom Night at Coyote Sonoma, Featuring Live Music by Wonder Bread 5 (8-11PM)
• "Manifest Your Destiny" Hip-Hop Showcase at the Elephant in the Room (8-11PM)

Saturday, June 3

• Healdsburg Running Company Hosts "Wine Country Unites" Gun Safety Fundraiser & Fitch Mountain Fathers Day Training Run, Ending at Fogbelt Station for Breakfast (8AM)
• Healdsburg Farmers Market in the West Plaza Parking Lot (8:30AM-12PM)
• UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County Hosts Pop-Up Succulent Sale at 402 Tucker Street (9AM-1PM)
• "Battle of the Blends" Team Competition & Gourmet Luncheon at Alexander Valley Vineyards (10:30AM-2:30PM)
• Bluegrass Duo High Strung Live on the Piazza at Bacchus Landing (12-4PM)
• Opening Reception for New Art Exhibit at the Upstairs Art Gallery Inside Levin & Company: "Places from the Heart" Oil Landscape Paintings by Linda Barretta (3-5:30PM)
• Opening Reception for New "Rhythm" Art Exhibit at the Healdsburg Center for the Arts (5-7PM)
• "Field Day" Dinner at Preston Farm & Winery, Featuring 3-Course Meal by Local Chef Katie Powers & Live Music by Marty O’Reilly (5:30-9:30PM)
• "Golden Hour on the Green" Dinner & Music at Rodney Strong Vineyards: Steak, Cabernet, Cigars & Live Music by Cuban Salsa Band Los Boleros (6PM)
• Healthcare Foundation of Northern Sonoma County Hosts Annual "NOCHE DE AMOR" Fundraiser Gala at Bacchus Landing (6-10PM)
• Chamber Vocal Ensemble SF Choral Artists Perform "Shakespeare & Friends" at THE 222 (7PM)
• AVFilm Hosts Summer Movie Series: "Field of Dreams" OutdoorScreening in the Healdsburg Plaza (7:30-11PM)
• Joose Live at Coyote Sonoma (8-11PM)
• Eric Long Live at the Elephant in the Room (8-11PM)

From my notebook:

• All in all, the Healdsburg Wine & Food Experience a couple of weekends ago — attended by more than 2,200 people from around the world — raised a total of around $107,000 for local causes, organizers tell the Press Democrat. Here's the reported breakdown: "Of those proceeds, $50,000 will go toward the Sonoma County Grape Growers Foundation’s Leadership Academy; $30,000 to Healdsburg’s Future Farmer Scholarship; and $27,000 to Sonoma County’s Farm to Pantry, which gleans food and donates it to people in need." (Press Democrat; paywall)
• The Press Democrat has a great recap — including pics and videos — of the FFA parade and fair in town last weekend. (Press Democrat; paywall)
• On that note, though, one reader did email me with another perspective on the fair. She says: "Leaving out the fact that those animals were essentially on their death march to auction presents a false image of a wholesome family event. I think most people do not make the connection that these 'adorable' farm animals will be soon butchered. ... I grew up in FFA and can tell you MANY children i knew who raised sheep & goats & rabbits were traumatized by having to kill the animal." For what it's worth! (Inbox)
• Healdsburg Fire Department officials say they've begun "conducting vegetation management inspections" for their "annual weed abatement program." The deadline to clear out any dead grass, weeds and brush in your yard is June 15. (City of Healdsburg Fire Department via Facebook)
• Related: The county's free summertime wood chipper program is back in action, to help you mulch up flammable vegetation on your property. Here's how to apply. (Sonoma County Government & County of Sonoma via Facebook)

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That's it for today! I'll be back in your inbox soon with more.

— 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 Patch newsletter? Contact me at simone.wilson@patch.com