Community efforts underway in Eastern Plumas
All should be applauded for action and foresight
Feather Publishing produces six newspapers: two for Lassen County and four for Plumas. They combine to provide hundreds of photos and dozens of articles each week, and each week some items just seem to stand out.
For this edition, our attention is focused on the eastern end of the county with the recognition of the work of High Sierra Animal Rescue and the city of Portola’s attention to climate change.
Let’s begin with High Sierra, established 20 years ago. A brief history is presented on the front page of this section and it’s impressive to witness what has transpired from the kernel of an idea to the facility that it is today.
There are many to be applauded, but Doug Rodrigues and his wife, Betty, top the list. We didn’t know, or if we did had forgotten, that the Rodrigueses were so committed to this endeavor that they put up their own resources and mortgaged their home to build the rescue center. That’s dedication.
Their work has saved the lives of hundreds of animals, matched dogs with loving owners, provided a place for dog owners to lodge their pets while on vacation, advanced spaying and neutering, and provided local jobs.
As costs increase, but fees remain the same to encourage adoptions, HSAR is increasingly dependent on contributions. With the holiday season upon us, if you are looking for that gift for the hard-to-buy-for person, consider a contribution to HSAR or any of the other organizations in our communities that do such good work.
Also in Eastern Plumas, the city of Portola will benefit from a CivicSpark Fellow. CivicSpark is an AmeriCorps program in which Fellows are matched with project partners (state, local and community-based organizations) to serve on at least one project, which benefits at least one local public agency.
While Fellows can work on a variety of projects, it is anticipated that the Fellow, Carissa Bradley, would help the city with regard to the community’s wildfire resilience. Bradley’s focus on wildfire resilience will have a three-fold focus: Fuels reduction, an update to the city of Portola evacuation plan, and the development of an emergency guide for residents, modeled after the Ready, Set, Go program in Nevada County. It’s a proactive approach to addressing issues that face all of Plumas County’s communities.
