Jim Johnson, former TV50 general manager, was quoted by Press Democrat columnist, Gaye LeBaron, in reference to the station’s sudden cancellation of its local news program, “What makes me saddest is that this is an example of what America has become. We live locally. And when we lose that local connection, things fall apart.”

IMHO, those words hit the nail on the head. They relate to my earlier blogs that reflect on Our Petaluma’s “sense of community.” In OP #21, (2/2/07), I tie that theme to the need to revive a KYN (Know Your Neighborhood) campaign, and the need to bring our various neighborhoods together for some kind of event. If we stop “living locally,” our spirit and sense of community will fade away, no matter what the cause.

Hammerhead’s colleague known as “Eagle-Eyes,” spotted another headline right above Gaye’s column on page one of the Empire News Section (B1). Scouts welcome leader home, it read, and the article told the story about how a group of friends and neighbors greeted the return of Tracey Gilchrist (a former assistant scoutmaster), from his yearlong post in Iraq as a public heath officer. Eagle-Eyes also received an e-mail message announcing a neighborhood get-together in order to meet and discuss how to “Take Back LaTercera Park.” This online flyer included the statement, It is time for community action – Join and meet your neighbors to discuss, strategize and revitalize the neighborhood.

I was not aware of these two events, last Friday, when I posted Our Peluma #21. I suggested that we declare the period of time in between the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington (February 12-22), as a time to bring our respective neighborhoods together for some type of gathering. All it takes is a neighbor Sparkplug to get the ball rolling, or in this case – to start the neighborhood engine.

Bottom line: It will indeed, “be very sad” if we “lose that local connection” and “things fall apart.” It’s up to each one of us as individual citizens of Petaluma to step up to the plate. What do you plan to do about it? Are you willing to be a Sparkplug for your neighborhood? Please post your comments. Stay tuned.