Articles, Arts & Culture, Community News

Chamber Needs Help Putting on Independence Day Celebration

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of Steve Pate-Newberry via the Crescent City-Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce

With the United States celebrating 250 years of being a country, Cindy Vosburg is anticipating a large turnout for Crescent City’s Fourth of July festivities.

Vosburg and her team at the Crescent City-Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce have been planning the Deck Party, accepting parade entries and figuring out where to set up vendors for the festival in the park. It’s a heavy lift mostly funded through sponsorships from the business community, but this year, the Chamber is asking the general public for help. 

“Last year we were able to raise $63,000 in sponsorships and the event costs us about $70,000 to put on,” Vosburg told Redwood Voice Community News on Monday. “We also make a little bit more money off the bar, the raffle and Cow Chip Bingo. But this year, it’s a really tough year for the business community. We’re about $8,050 short of that $63,000.”

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Articles, CC Harbor, Infrastructure, Transportation

CCHD Commissioners Discuss Price With Firms Vying For Citizens Dock Project Manager Role

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The preferred alternative for the Citizens Dock reconstruction project. | Image courtesy of the Crescent City Harbor District

Thumbnail photo: The Crescent City Harbor seeks to replace a condemned seawall and the 70-plus year-old Citizens Dock using $15 million in federal grants. | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Harbor Commissioner Gerhard Weber used the same analogy twice this week to describe his take on the three proposals from firms vying for the project manager role in the Citizens Dock reconstruction and seawall replacement.

“I think I walked into a Mercedes dealership with Kia money,” Weber told GHD Senior Planner Adam Wagschal on Wednesday when he found out that the firm’s cost estimate for pre-construction work would be about $4,000 shy of the Harbor District’s budget for the project manager position in general. “Maybe we made a major mistake with our budget because we have budgeted $350,000 and now we’re hearing that it gets us down for the first part, but not actual construction.”

Weber and his colleagues on the Crescent City Harbor District Board heard proposals from Kimley-Horn representatives on Monday and from GHD and Redstone Bridge Sovereign on Wednesday. All three firms have at least one person on staff that has worked with the Crescent City Harbor District in the past.

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Obits

OBITUARY: Jeff Gupton, 1970-2026

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Jeff Gupton, 55, of Eureka, California, passed away on June 7, 2026. Born on September 21, 1970, in San Francisco, California, Jeff lived a life filled with creativity, passion, and love for his family and friends.

Jeff graduated from St. Bernard’s High School in 1988 and went on to attend the College of the Redwoods. He dedicated much of his professional life to Six Rivers Produce, the family business he worked at and eventually ran. His commitment to the business reflected his strong work ethic and dedication to supporting those around him.

A man of many talents and interests, Jeff was deeply passionate about tabletop gaming and role-playing games. He found joy in painting miniatures for these games as well as customizing Hot Wheels cars for the game Gaslands. His artistic flair extended beyond gaming; he shared his creative process through videos he posted on YouTube, inspiring others with his skill and imagination. Jeff also loved music and movies, often enjoying them with friends during regular game nights that brought people together in laughter and camaraderie.

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Articles, CC Harbor

Fashion Blacksmith Owner Agrees To Revision That Reduces Harbor District’s Settlement Payment This Year

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Thumbnail photo by Gavin Van Alstine

Two years after the Crescent City Harbor District entered into a settlement agreement with Fashion Blacksmith, the parties negotiated a revision that reduces the district’s payment for this year and divides it into two installments.

Reporting out from a closed session meeting on Wednesday, Board President Rick Shepherd said CCHD will pay a total of $162,500 to its former tenant in two installments of $62,500 and $100,000 this year. The Harbor District was due to pay $362,500 to Fashion Blacksmith, Shepherd said.

According to the agreement, the remaining portion of the CCHD’s payment this year will be amortized over the remaining terms of the settlement agreement, between 2027 and 2034 with 5% interest.

Continue reading Fashion Blacksmith Owner Agrees To Revision That Reduces Harbor District’s Settlement Payment This Year →
Articles, Emergencies, Transportation

Rock Slide Closes South Fork Road, Blocks Big Flat, Boulder Creek Resident From 199

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of Joe Gillespie

Above map courtesy of the Del Norte County Roads Division.

South Fork Road is closed until further notice due to a rockslide between the Rock Creek and Boulder Creek areas that occurred early Friday morning.

Joe Gillespie, who has lived in the Rock Creek subdivision for about 36 years, said the slide occurred at about 5 a.m. It’s less than half a mile upstream from his home and while his access to U.S. 199 is still open, he said Boulder Creek and Big Flat residents will need to take French Hill Road to get to the highway.

“That’s like an hour and a half detour,” Gillespie said of the county maintained road that drops down into Gasquet. “They do a pretty good job of keeping it open in case of situations like these.”

Continue reading Rock Slide Closes South Fork Road, Blocks Big Flat, Boulder Creek Resident From 199 →
Articles, Community News, Crescent City, Just For Fun

Del Norte Marks America’s 250th Birthday By Celebrating ‘The Decades We’ve Been A Community’

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Above photo: Del Norte County’s public health nurses and those who gave out COVID-19 vaccines were the grand marshals in the 2021 Independence Day parade | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews. Thumbnail photo: Members of the Crescent City Emblem Club wrapped themselves up in the flag for the 1998 Independence Day parade as shown on the Triplicate’s front page. | Photo by Aisling Bludworth

Valerie Starkey still remembers the Bicentennial at Beachfront Park, and while she doesn’t want to out do that celebration, she hopes the Semiquincentennial will be just as memorable.

“Two hundred and fifty years — that’s a huge milestone for this country,” she said. “We are really celebrating something that’s special to Del Norte County. It’s special to the nation. I think we all felt that way.”

The Del Norte County District 2 supervisor heads the Fourth of July committee for the Crescent City-Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce. This year instead of asking the community to select a theme for the festivities in Downtown Crescent City, Starkey and her colleagues wanted to recognize “the decades that we’ve been a community together.”

Continue reading Del Norte Marks America’s 250th Birthday By Celebrating ‘The Decades We’ve Been A Community’ →
Alerts, Articles, Environment, Transportation

Semi Hits Embankment Spills Asphalt Binder Into River; Driver Sustains Major Injuries

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Emergency crews responded to an overturned tanker that spilled some of its asphalt binder load into the Smith River early Thursday morning | Photos courtesy of Caltrans District 1

Caltrans, the California Highway Patrol and other emergency personnel are responding to a tanker that overturned near Idlewild on U.S. 199 and spilled some of its contents into the Smith River early Thursday morning.

The driver, a Redding man, was hauling more than 6,000 gallons of asphalt binder in a 2016 Kenworth semi at about 3:40 a.m. when his vehicle left the lane, collided with the embankment and overturned, CHP Public Information Officer Pete Gonzalez told Redwood Voice Community News. The driver was transported to Sutter Coast Hospital with major injuries, Gonzalez said.

It’s currently unknown how much of the asphalt binder entered the Smith River, Gonzalez said.

The collision occurred about a mile south of the Idlewild Maintenance Station, Gonzalez said. The road is currently down to one-way controlled traffic, he told Redwood Voice at about 11:30 a.m. 

Articles, Environment, Parks

Del Norte Hopes To Make Neighborly Relationship With U.S. Forest Service Official

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District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard referred to a historical failure to secure resources for wildfire mitigation and recreation as a major reason a Good Neighbor Authority Agreement with the U.S. Forest Service would be good for Del Norte County.

In response to skepticism from county resident and frequent commenter Sam Strait, Howard said the county could use the agreement as a way to get funding to organizations spearheading projects focusing on fuel reduction, watershed and forest restoration as well as trail development. He mentioned the Del Norte Fire Safe Council and the Del Norte Resource Conservation District specifically.

“There are a lot of these Good Neighbor Authorities being put in place throughout the State of California and the Pacific Northwest right now,” Howard said Tuesday. “I’m incredibly encouraged by the open door we’ve seen now with the Six Rivers National Forest, in particular with the staff at the Gasquet Ranger district, in helping us shape what this document looks like.”

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Articles, Community News, Local Government, Parks, Youth

Supervisors Side With Gateway Education Over Florence Keller Use, Reject County MOU Restricting Day Camp Program To Picnic Areas

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of Del Norte County

Florence Keller Regional Park is one of a handful of local spots ideal for teaching kids how to build a shelter in the wilderness, Ron Cole says.

For 25 years, Gateway Education of the Wild Rivers Coast, has used the 26-acre park with its redwood grove as an outdoor classroom to teach youngsters how to identify plants, move quietly through their environment and build the intuitive skills needed for survival, the organization’s board president said.

“All of these things are pretty quiet activities,” Cole told Redwood Voice Community News after appearing before the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. “Even the games that they do to practice those skills — the kids are moving as silently as they can because they don’t want to be caught — (so) the concerns about noise really weren’t justified.”

Three members of the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a renewed memorandum of understanding with Gateway Education enabling the organization to continue to use three campsites and the former ropes course at Florence Keller for its Summer Day Camp program through 2031.

Continue reading Supervisors Side With Gateway Education Over Florence Keller Use, Reject County MOU Restricting Day Camp Program To Picnic Areas →
Articles, Education, Local Government

Del Norte Unified Still Struggles With Budget Deficit Despite Improvements

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of Del Norte Unified School District

Del Norte Unified School District is still grappling with a budget deficit, but the district’s current financial picture has improved over last year, its assistant superintendent of business said.

DNUSD’s net budget shortfall heading into the 2026-27 fiscal year is $3.78 million compared to the $4.6 million deficit it was dealing with last year, Greg Bowen told trustees on Thursday.

At a public hearing roughly three weeks after California Gov. Gavin Newsom released his revised budget, Bowen credited a 4.31% cost of living adjustment, or “super COLA” and  a proposal to allocate additional funding for special education for the improvements. But Bowen said district officials are “cautious about what the future holds.”

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