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Each winter for the past several years, local Healdsburg resident Mary St. Clair and her band of volunteers have packed boxes that are sent to our troops who are stationed in remote areas of the world, far away from a post exchange or many amenities. These boxes contain some necessities, like new, clean socks and warm hats, but mostly goodies like homemade trail mix from the Alexander Valley Ladies Aid Society, yoyos donated by the Noon Rotary Club and donations from the local community of candies, nuts and snacks. This is a real taste of home for soldiers who have left their homes to be of service to us and our country. This year on Jan. 24, Mary will once again be leading a packing at St. John’s School Gym at 6 p.m. We will be packing more than 250 boxes, so yes, your help is welcome. Your help is also welcome in the form of cash donations to help cover the cost of mailing the packages to the soldiers. Last year the mailing cost alone was over $4,000. Mary’s nonprofit, Healdsburg SOS, is under the umbrella of Viet Nam Vets of Sonoma County. The Viet Nam Vets pay for shipping the packages. If you can help with the cost of shipping, please donate online at the Vets website. Thank you, Healdsburg for your generosity.

Upon hearing about the closing of Shed, I took it in without a strong feeling of what it meant to me, our family and our farm. But now that Shed is closing, its significance has settled in. I feel a great loss.

Editor: