🌱 Small Wildfire + No River Dam + Healdsburg 4th Graders

Hello, my people. It's me again, Simone, your regular host of the Healdsburg Daily. Happy to be back! Hope everyone had a wild and wonderful Memorial Day and Future Farmers weekend in our beautiful bumpkin town. I'm still getting caught up on everything that happened over the past week or so, while I was out, but here's a quick look at all the most important stuff you need to know right now. Enjoy...

First, your daily weather:

• Tuesday: Clear, sunny and hot. High: 86 Low: 49.
• Wednesday: Partly sunny and even hotter. High: 87 Low: 54.

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Here are the top 5 stories today in Healdsburg:

1. Healdsburg's first wildfire of the season broke out around 2 p.m. yesterday off Lytton Springs Road to our northwest, near the Healdsburg Airport — and was luckily extinguished within half an hour. Some residents reported seeing the smoke from town. From the Press Democrat: "The Springs fire burned about 1.5 acres, according to dispatcher reports during the event. But by 2:32, it had been contained and an aerial support crew had said it was looking “really good,” according to the Sonoma County Scanner Updates account on Twitter. At that point, planes were being dismissed from the effort, including an Air Attack 500. The fire had burned in a location that reportedly was surrounded on all sides by vineyard, a natural break that had been expected to limit the blaze’s potential size to about 3 acres. Local crews remain on high alert through 8 pm Tuesday, when red flag warnings had been issued for areas as close as western Yolo and eastern Solano counties." (Sonoma County Scanner Updates via Facebook & Press Democrat; paywall)
2. The Russian River waterline is too low again this year to allow for a summer dam at Healdsburg's Memorial Beach, the PD reports. This is the third year we'll go with no dam. David Robinson, a park manager for the county, explains that a dam would cause flows in parts of the river to be too low for fish to safely pass — and would "result in warmer, more stagnant water" dangerous for humans to swim in, too. But even without a dam, "Memorial Beach still offers a refreshing getaway for those satisfied with shallow water, and is the only river beach staffed with a lifeguard daily from Memorial Day through Labor Day," according to the PD. And "when the dam isn’t in, the beach is flatter, as well, Robinson said. It is steeper when the dam is installed. 'You’ve got a lot of area just to put your picnic blanket out, put your umbrella up and really enjoy being out on the beach,' he said. 'Some people enjoy it more.'" (Press Democrat; paywall)
3. In the aftermath of the unthinkably horrible Texas school shooting last week, Press Democrat columnist Kerry Benefield visited Healdsburg Elementary's Fitch Mountain Campus to get a feel for "what fourth grade looks like" in this heavy new context. He finds a classroom full of "giggly" and "wiggly" 10-year-olds who "look and sound, in this moment and on this day, painfully young." Life buzzes on for the kids, Benefield writes, who were extra excited on the day he visited about pizza for lunch and the upcoming FFA parade and fair that night. More from the piece: "It’s as if these rooms and these teachers are a world away from the tragedy. 'You have to compartmentalize,' Mrs. Feith said. 'When I heard that it happened, when I heard it was the grade that I teach, it felt hard. But this is what we do. We take care of children. ... I just wish they that they could be kids for longer,' she said. Because they are 10-year-olds. They play tag and swing on monkey bars. They can’t sit still. They talk about their pets and their grandmothers and the last book they read all in the same sentence. 'When I looked at Facebook and saw the faces, I lost it,' Mrs. Pillinini said. 'I saw my kids.'" (Healdsburg Elementary School via Facebook & Press Democrat; paywall)
4. Idlewild Wines just off the plaza has opened a "sister business" called Ciao Bruto — aka, "Hey Ugly" in Italian — right next door, on Plaza Street. A reporter for the SF Chronicle and the folks behind the @shoplocalhealdsburg Instagram page stopped by to check it out. The shop is reportedly "selling organic wine from Piedmont, rare artisanal prosciutto, hard-to-find Parmesans and other specialty Italian products that its owners believe aren’t easily available elsewhere in Wine Country" — and "the 200-odd wines available are all either organic or biodynamic, and primarily from 'grower-producers' ... meaning small-scale winemakers who farm their own land" in Italy. In the words of Idlewild winemaker Sam Bilbro: “We want to show what’s possible in California by showing how it’s done in the Old World." (Shop Local Healdsburg via Instagram & SF Chronicle; paywall)
5. Lifelong Healdsburg resident and California National Guard veteran John R. Soracco, better known as Jack, has passed away at the age of 94. In his youth, Jack and his brother Bob "worked on the family ranch growing prunes and grapes," his obituary says, and he was "still active in the family business until he passed." Also: "He was a member of the Prune Bargaining Association, Eagles, and Lion's Club. He was actively involved in his children's activities such as 4-H and Scouts and enjoyed his time boating and waterskiing on the Russian River. He enthusiastically attended his grandchildren's and great grandchildren's sporting events and activities." A funeral mass was held for Jack last Friday at St. John's Church, after which he was laid to rest at the Healdsburg cemetery. (Legacy.com)

Today and tomorrow in Healdsburg:

Tuesday, May 31

• Tuesday Healdsburg Farmers Market in the Plaza (9AM-12:30PM)
• Healdsburg City Council Special Meeting: Budget Study Session (3:30PM)
• Tuesdays in the Plaza, Featuring Live Music by Eagles Cover Band ILLEAGLES (6-8PM)
• NorCal Public Media Live TV Broadcast: “Living On The Edge” Community Conversation With Housing Experts, Including Healdsburg Housing Administrator Stephen Sotomayor (7PM)

Wednesday, June 1

• Senator Mike McGuire’s Town Hall to "Stop the Toxic Coal Train" (6:30PM)
• Deadline to Apply for Artist Booth at 2022 Healdsburg Arts Festival in the Plaza (11:59PM)

You're all caught up for today! I'll be back tomorrow 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 Daily? Contact me at simone.wilson@patch.com