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A longtime volunteer of the Occidental Fire Department has died. 68 year old John Gonella, who served for over 50 years as a volunteer firefighter, died on November 20th after a three-year-long battle with multiple myeloma, a cancer of plasma cells. He spent 30 years as assistant fire chief and 20 as a director on the board as well as owning and operating Occidental Hardware for over 30 years. He was also big force behind the town’s slow-pitch softball team, the Occidental Benders.