Residents think tribe is building a casino

Friday, May 31, 2002 | 11:02 a.m.

SANTA ROSA, Calif. -- Residents of the Alexander Valley are concerned that an Indian tribe has begun construction of a temporary Nevada-style casino.

"It's massive dirt moving," Alexander Valley Association President Karen Passalacqua said of work at the Dry Creek Rancheria. "It doesn't take a brain trust to see that's a massive project moving quickly."

A spokeswoman for the Dry Creek band of Pomo Indians denies the tribe has started building the proposed River Rock Casino. It would be the first casino in Sonoma County.

The work under way is limited to improvements such as roads, water and sewage treatment systems and the preparation of five new homes, tribal Chairwoman Liz Elgin DeRouen said.

However, improvements such as water and sewer projects eventually could serve a casino, too.

A photographer for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat was denied access to the site. However, aerial photos show more than a dozen pieces of heavy construction equipment on several acres of cleared ground on a hill overlooking the valley.