95490: SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

On March 5 I wrote a column about the general belief that there are
businesses in Willits that have been established on pot money, and
for a while, I received a lot of criticism for my observation, as
well as a lot of support for writing about this.

I began writing for The Willits News about a year and a half ago, to
talk about issues that were important to the community, and I
received input from many people who had concerns about the various
issues that affected us. My approach has always been to bring the
issues out in the open to discuss them and to find some area where
diverse sides could come together to find solutions. And, as I said,
one of the issues brought to my attention was the belief that several
businesses in Willits were supported and established by pot money.

This is something that had been swimming just below the surface for
some time, and it needed to be aired, because many people told me
that they no longer shop in Willits because of that. It's been more
than three months since that column appeared, and I thought the
excitement was pretty much over and everyone had moved on, but
apparently this wasn't the case. So after all this time has passed, I
am submitting this article, which I wrote some time ago:

When I wrote the article, it was never my intention to name names,
because I simply don't know for a fact which businesses these might
be. In my column, I posed what I intended to be hypothetical
questions about how we, as a community should regard
those who may earn their living around the marijuana industry,
especially if they contribute to the local economy by establishing
businesses in town. I wrote about many aspects of the local pot
industry, but unfortunately, it was perceived I was writing about
J.D. Redhouse. Believe it or not, that wasn't my intention, and I
regret any inference drawn from it.

A few days after the article appeared, I received a phone call from,
Jon who told me he was upset about the article, but he was glad it
surfaced, so he could have the opportunity to discuss it and set the
record straight. He said he would like to share information with me
to show that the money to buy and remodel the store came from
legitimate sources and not from pot, and we met at the store shortly after.

Jon told me that he established a company called Madelaine Cigar
Humidification Systems in 1996, where he manufactured cigar
accessories, including humidors. As a woodworker, I have been aware
that cigar humidors are a lucrative niche market, so I wasn't
surprised that the company was successful, selling its products to
retailers around the world. He told me he began producing the
humidors in a garage in Santa Rosa, and eventually had them
manufactured in Englewood, Colorado. Recently he sold his company to
a worldwide designer and distributor of premium cigar accessories.

Jon shared documents that showed the sale price of his company as
well as the amounts of several bank and SBA loans he had. I asked if
it was okay to share this information with the public and he agreed,
but in retrospect, I think making such financial information public
is too much information.

According to the documents, the amount of money required to purchase
the property, renovate it and stock the store was more than covered
by the sale of his humidor business and the bank loans he had.

I was personally very glad when the old Country Mall disappeared to
be replaced by the beautiful J.D. Redhouse store. I think it's a
great addition to our community, and I also believe Jon went the
extra mile to create an extraordinary facility.