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Politics & Government

Occupy Healdsburg Demonstrates Downtown

Second "Occupy Healdsburg" group has small but earnest turnout for Saturday event.

 

Trying to help educate locals and visitors to Healdsburg, a handful of members of "Occupy Healdsburg" or "Occupy Wall Street @Healdsburg" set up shop at the corner of Healdsburg Avenue and Matheson Street Saturday afternoon.  

Organizer Dave Henderson said thetalking.  He said he was hoping for a larger turnout, but explained that a number of their supporters had to work during the event.  

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Lynn and Phillip Nereo of Windsor said they came out to help support the Henderson's efforts.  

There were plenty of folks out and about Saturday, visiting the shops and galleries around town.  

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Most of the visitors to the Plaza area just passed on by with little notice of the rally. Some said words of encouragement, while a few others were not as kind.

Henderson's group is the second of two "Occupy Healdsburg" movements to surface in recent weeks.

Another group, mostly members of the have also expanded into an "Occupy Healdsburg" rally during their regular Thursday night vigils on the west side of Healdsburg Plaza.

Robert Nuese, a leader of the Healdsburg Peace Project, said although the Healdsburg Peace Project is not specifically allied with Henderson's "Occupy Healdsburg," or "Occupy Wall Street@Healdsburg" group, he and others are pleased to see like-minded supporters emerge.

"Fortunately, other Healdsburgers have started additional activities, now including protests on Saturdays from 2 to 4 p.m.," Nuese said. "We are very encouraged by this -- but we can’t take credit for it."

Neuse said the Healdsburg Peace Project is continuing to incorporate "Occupy" sentiment into its regular Thursday night vigils.

"We continue to “occupy” Healdsburg on Thursdays from 6 to 7 p.m., as we have done every week for more than nine years (we managed nine people on Thanksgiving - usually a slow night!)," Nuese said. "For the Peace Project, the Occupy movement is a very natural continuation of what we’ve been doing since our inception during the first Gulf War.

"It’s always been clear to us," Nuess added, "that the corporations and political interests that lead us into devastating unjust wars are the same ones that have been dismantling our democracy, sucking dry our economy and destroying our environment."

To read the Press Democrat story on the protest, click here.

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