Water or Sewer-related Emergency? Call 868-1224 (24
hours)
In Brief... Low water pressure? Give
us a call! It could be an indication of a leak.
Winter storms have been particularly devastating this year.
Due to numerous landslides and debris in and along the Arroyo Honda watershed,
BCPUD is relying more heavily than usual on the district’s reservoirs. Accordingly,
if you notice a slight discoloration in your tap water, it is because we’re
currently providing water from our reservoirs; this discoloration does not
pose a health risk. As always, if you have any questions or concerns,
please call us at 868-1224.
AmeriCorps*NCCC team arrives in Bolinas!
Just after noon on March 23, 2006—which was a beautiful sunny day in Bolinas,
quite a rare event during the winter of 2005-2006—a volunteer team of eight
women and three men from the AmeriCorps*National Civilian Community Corps
(“NCCC”) arrived in Bolinas. They were warmly greeted by BCPUD Director
Bobbi Kimball, community volunteer David Kimball, BCPUD General Manager Jennifer
Blackman and Principal/Superintendent Larry Enos as their vans rolled into
town and stopped at the Bolinas campus of the Bolinas-Stinson Beach Unified
School District, where the team was hosted for lunch and a brief orientation
to the community. The team then made their way to the BCPUD
offices and maintenance yard on Elm Road for an afternoon of safety training
led by Fire Chief Anita Tyrrell-Brown and arborist Chuck Oakander in preparation
for the team’s anticipated work in Bolinas.
The AmeriCorps*NCCC team’s arrival in Bolinas for a two week period (from
March 23 to April 6, 2006) was in response to an application filed by the
BCPUD with AmeriCorps*NCCC for a team of volunteers to assist homeowners
with septic systems in the task of screening their roof plumbing vents and
to assist the entire community by clearing natural drainage ways throughout
the Big Mesa. As readers of the Pipeline know well, this community voted
overwhelmingly last November to endorse Measure E and the BCPUD’s continued
efforts to employ non-toxic means of mosquito control in Bolinas. Both
the roof vent screening and the drainage way clearing work performed by
the AmeriCorps*NCCC volunteers will significantly reduce mosquito breeding
habitat and minimize—if not eliminate entirely–any need for the use of chemical
pesticides in Bolinas to control mosquitoes.
The AmeriCorps*NCCC team worked diligently throughout the rainy and windy
weather that has characterized the 2005-2006 winter season. Team members
were supervised on the roof vent screening work by local residents who generously
donated their time to this effort: David Kimball, Tom Williard, Steve Marcotte,
Perry Fly, Ron Brown and Rodney Krieger. Materials and equipment for
the team’s work were graciously provided and/or prepared by Tony Lewis, Ralph
Camiccia, and Russ Faure-Brac. BCPUD Drainage Project Manager Lewie
Likover worked daily with the team members assigned to drainage way clearing.
Thanks to all for your wonderful community spirit and dedication!
AmeriCorps*NCCC sent the team of volunteers to Bolinas in response to
the BCPUD’s application, finding the proposed roof vent screening project
to be an “elegant solution” to solve the dual public health objectives of
abating mosquito breeding habitat and preventing the use of chemical pesticides
in our environment. The BCPUD was informed of the team’s impending arrival
just weeks beforehand, with precious little time to make the necessary arrangements.
Thanks to the truly Herculean work of Bobbi and David Kimball, the BCPUD
was able to secure housing for the team, schedule roof vent screening and
drainage way clearing projects, and plan a series of local events and tours
for the team members to enjoy during their stay in Bolinas. During the
team’s first weekend in town, for example, various team members attended the
world premier screening of Akeelah and the Bee (Saturday, March 24th) and
the annual Bolinas Community Center potluck (Sunday, March 25th).
Additionally, various community members contributed money to “sponsor” the
volunteers for dinner at the regular Tuesday “Café Night” at the BCC,
hosted dinners at their homes, and contributed breakfast foods, staples, and
memorable gifts. Since the volunteers receive only a very small stipend
each day, this outpouring of generosity from the community was very gratefully
received.
The AmeriCorps*NCCC team worked each weekday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.,
with an hour-long break for lunch from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Larry Enos
generously donated lunch each day for the team at the Bolinas school campus
and the volunteers have enjoyed the food (many commenting that it was
the “best school lunch I ever ate!”) as well as their interactions with the
kids and staff on campus. Immediately prior to coming to Bolinas,
the team worked for nearly two months in the Gulf Coast region, helping Habitat
for Humanity in that organization’s efforts to rebuild housing in the areas
devastated by last year’s Hurricane Katrina. The team shared their
experience in the Gulf Coast with the school children during an in-class presentation
about their work and their reasons for donating nearly a year of their lives
to community service.
As the volunteers told the school kids, AmeriCorps*NCCC is a full-time,
team-based residential program for men and women ages 18-24. Members
are organized into teams of 10-12 and serve in local communities of every
state, responding to needs that are identified by community-based organizations
such as the BCPUD. These dedicated and energetic teams tutor students,
construct and rehabilitate low-income housing, clean up streams, help communities
develop emergency plans, and address other local needs. Members are
trained in CPR, first aid, disaster response, and some are certified to
fight in forest fires. Teams have responded to every national
disaster since the program was established in 1994 and have served more
than 218,000 hours in the Gulf Coast Region on Hurricane Katrina relief
and recovery projects since September 2005.
As the Bolinas community can attest, AmeriCorps*NCCC volunteers are enthusiastic
and diverse youth leaders who want to help others and are committed to serving
community needs with creativity, leadership and hard work. Members
travel to communities throughout their region, completing four or five different
projects during their 10-month term of service. Upon successful completion
of their term, members receive an education award to help pay for college
or graduate school, or to pay back qualified student loans.
The BCPUD is very grateful to AmeriCorps*NCCC for sending a very talented
team of young people to serve our community. At press time, the volunteers
have installed screens on the roof vents of more than 125 properties
and have cleared significant sections of the Larch right-of-way on the Big
Mesa and the ditches surrounding the BCPUD’s sewer pond property to facilitate
drainage for nearby residents. The BCPUD is also very appreciative
of you, our customers, for your participation and support of this important
non-toxic approach to mosquito abatement. Don’t forget: flip it, dump
it and drain it, once the rains slow down. Thank you all!!
For more information on submitting an AmeriCorps grant, or for general information,
contact the AmeriCorps NCCC Western Region Office (see below). To contact
the Bolinas Sponsor for the AmeriCorps NCCC visit, email us at BCPUD@linux.com.
AmeriCorps NCCC
Western Region
3427 Laurel Street
McClellan, CA 95652-1014
1-888-629-2029
ncccwestern@cns.gov