Crescent City Council Approves Small But Significant ‘Kick Off Moment’ For Tolowa Cultural Trail At Beachfront Park

Thumbnail photo: The canoe node will be one of the first interpretive elements to be constructed as part of the Tolowa Cultural Trail feature at Beachfront Park. | Image courtesy of Crescent City

Crescent City councilors on Monday approved an agreement with the contractor that will lay the groundwork for the Tolowa Cultural Trail at Beachfront Park.

The city’s agreement with Tidewater Contractors to do the excavation, grading and improvements needed to install the first three interpretive elements seems small, especially after the City Council accepted a $2 million grant from the Mellon Foundation earlier this month.

But Public Works Director Dave Yeager pointed out that it’s taken roughly five years of collaboration, public outreach and pursuing and cobbling together funding from eight different grants to get the city to the “kick off moment” for the project.

“We’re breaking ground as we say with this project,” he told councilors, adding that Crescent City is managing eight grants connected with the Tolowa Cultural Trail. “This is a very small segment, but as the city manager also mentioned, we need to get some of this installed by Nov. 30.”

Continue reading Crescent City Council Approves Small But Significant ‘Kick Off Moment’ For Tolowa Cultural Trail At Beachfront Park

Kamchatka Tsunami May Have Caused More Damage to Crescent City Harbor Than Thought, Assessment Continues

Thumbnail photo: Crescent City Harbor and Pacific Power staff assess damage done to H Dock from a series of tsunami surges spawned by an 8.8 earthquake near the Kamchatka Peninsula. | Photo by Heather Polen.

Crescent City Harbormaster Mike Rademaker said a series of tsunami surges that swept into the inner boat basin may have caused “closer to $1 million” in damage on Wednesday.

H Dock bore the brunt of the energy, Rademaker said, but the concrete structure of the docks are “mostly still in good shape.”

“The metal connecting plates are sheared all over,” he said via text message just after noon on Wednesday, “and the 1.5 inch electric cabling will have to be completely replaced.”

Continue reading Kamchatka Tsunami May Have Caused More Damage to Crescent City Harbor Than Thought, Assessment Continues

Del Norte County Weathers Tsunami With Minimal Damage; CCHD’s H Dock Did Its Job, Harbormaster Says

Thumbnail photo: The National Weather Service noted surge of 3.6 feet at about 4 a.m. Wednesday, enough to generate minor coastal flooding and inundation. | Image courtesy of the National Weather Service

The Crescent City Harbor District’s sacrificial dock did its job, taking the brunt of the energy spawned by a series of tsunami surges that arrived early Wednesday morning.

No injuries were reported from the tsunami, which occurred following a magnitude 8.8 earthquake off the east coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, Harbormaster Mike Rademaker said during a community briefing at about 8 a.m. Wednesday. But H Dock sustained significant damage.

“At approximately 2:40 a.m. we noticed a surge of water several feet in height,” he said. “That caused the decking of H Dock to lift along its pilings. As the water level rose, the decking lodged on the pilings and was eventually submerged, [which] resulted in major structural failure and the complete separation of the dock.” 

Continue reading Del Norte County Weathers Tsunami With Minimal Damage; CCHD’s H Dock Did Its Job, Harbormaster Says

Crescent City Harbor Board Approves Months-Old Meeting Minutes Amid Debate Over Their Accuracy

Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Despite appearing on a portion of the agenda dedicated to routine items, the approval of minutes from seven Crescent City Harbor District meetings on Wednesday drew debate from a handful of public commenters.

One member of the public, Del Norte Triplicate Editor Roger Gitlin, a former Del Norte County supervisor, cited Rosenberg’s Rules of Order and said that even if a commissioner was absent from a meeting, if they had read the minutes and could attest to reading them, they could approve the minutes.

Another member of the public, Stephanie Abrams, argued that the minutes should be read aloud at a following meeting so those who weren’t able to attend could get up to speed on what was discussed.

A third commenter, Joe “Hank” Akin, president of the Big Rock Community Services District, pointed out that one set of minutes was from Jan. 22.

“They’re up to seven months old, who knows if they’re accurate?” Akin said. “And you’re going to vote on them. That in itself is troubling to me.”

Continue reading Crescent City Harbor Board Approves Months-Old Meeting Minutes Amid Debate Over Their Accuracy

Lobbyist Talks One Big Beautiful Bill, SRS, EAS and Last Chance Grade With Del Norte Supervisors

Thumbnail photo: Passengers board Advanced Air’s inaugural flight from Crescent City to Hawthorne on March 17, 2024. | Pnoto by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Nearly three weeks after President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill into law, Greg Burns helped Del Norte County supervisors unpack how it may affect their constituents.

Burns, a representative with Thorn Run Partners, Del Norte’s advocate in Washington D.C., started his presentation to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday by mentioning a program not included in the legislation — the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act.

The lobbyist touched on the Essential Air Service Program, the Community Development Block Grant program, a funding proposal from California’s senators on behalf of the Veterans Memorial Hall as well as the Last Chance Grade project’s long-awaited final environmental clearance.

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Supes Tap Into Previous SRS Allocation to Award Funds to Search and Rescue and Gasquet FPD

Thumbnail photo: Del Norte Search and Rescue volunteers in May returned to an area where a Smith River woman went missing while picking mushrooms in January 2024. | Photo courtesy of Del Norte Search and Rescue

An earlier authorization will enable Del Norte County supervisors to award federal Title III dollars to Search and Rescue as well as the Gasquet Fire Protection District, according to Community Development Director Heidi Kunstal.

Kunstal had initially asked the Board to choose between the two agencies. But on Tuesday, she told supervisors that a different pot of Title III dollars might be more appropriate for Search & Rescue, which sought $45,361 to buy a Ford F150. 

After assuring them that she would bring SAR’s application and a separate report back to the Board at its first meeting in August, supervisors directed Kunstal to proceed with processing Gasquet Fire Protection District’s request for $47,511.50 for Atlas 1200 repeaters and other equipment at the Camp Six communications site.

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Supervisors Raise Concerns About Proposed Timber Harvest, Sells 18 Pacific Shores lots to State of California

Thumbnail photo: California Coastal Commissioners met with California Department of Fish and Wildlife Scientists and Smith River Alliance representatives at Pacific Shores last year. | File photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Among the items discussed at Tuesday’s Del Norte County Board of Supervisors meeting:

Timber Harvest Near Hunter Creek Subdivision: 

Supervisors agreed to send a letter to Cal Fire outlining their concerns that a Green Diamond timber harvest plan could impact drinking water and increase wildfire risk in the Hunter Creek Subdivision.

The proposed letter came from District 5 Supervisor Dean Wilson, who said he attended a presentation the timber company held for residents in the Klamath area subdivision. Green Diamond’s West Tepo Timber Harvesting Plan encompasses 294 acres, 60 percent of which will be clearcut, he said. Forty percent of those 294 acres will be set aside for selective harvesting, Wilson said.

Continue reading Supervisors Raise Concerns About Proposed Timber Harvest, Sells 18 Pacific Shores lots to State of California

Though Immediate Focus Will Be Juvenile Probation, Study To Determine Whether Del Norte Could House ‘Justice Services’ Separate From Courthouse

Thumbnail photo: Though it’s owned by the state, the Del Norte County Courthouse houses the District Attorney’s Office and the Probation Department. | Amanda Dockter

Pointing out that Del Norte County has 23 youth under its supervision, according to her most recent statistics, District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey said a feasibility study to determine how their needs would be met during the rehabilitation of the county jail seemed unnecessary.

Coming about a month after she and her colleagues approved a proposal to house adult inmates at the Youth Opportunity Center building while the jail is under construction, Starkey said Tuesday she worried that having to go through a feasibility study would delay the process.

“I feel it’s one extra layer,” she said before voting against the county’s proposal. “And I don’t know necessarily why we’re doing this now and in this process.”

Continue reading Though Immediate Focus Will Be Juvenile Probation, Study To Determine Whether Del Norte Could House ‘Justice Services’ Separate From Courthouse

US Army Corps To Install New Warning Signs, Gate on the Crescent City Jetty

Thumbnail photo by Amanda Dockter

If it wasn’t already obvious that the Crescent City jetty isn’t the safest place to explore, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to double down on that message.

But it won’t be through allowing local law enforcement to issue citations, City Manager Eric Wier said Tuesday.

“There were some concerns with the implementation of citations with it being Army Corps property and [in the] sheriff’s jurisdiction,” he told Redwood Voice Community News. “The thought was let’s try to make it as safe as we can and then we’ll see what other avenues are needed.”

Continue reading US Army Corps To Install New Warning Signs, Gate on the Crescent City Jetty

Firefighters Lauded For Response During Officer-Involved Shooting Incident; New CHP Commander Introduces Himself

Thumbnail photo: Crescent City firefighters Beau Smith, Dave Bowdish and Eugene Starkey received commendations from Fire Chief Kevin Carey for distinguished service after facing a dangerous subject armed with a “knife-type weapon.” | Screenshot

Crescent City Fire Chief Kevin Carey applauded three of his firefighters, not only for facing a dangerous subject armed with a “knife-type weapon,” but for providing aid to that person when law enforcement shot him.

Carey awarded distinguished service commendations to Capt. Beau Smith, Engineer Dave Bowdish and Firefighter Eugene Starkey, who had responded to a call for an individual covered in blood on the beach near Anchor Way on June 27. 

The chief praised their decision to call on law enforcement for help when the patient approached firefighters, saying it showed great courage and situational awareness.

Continue reading Firefighters Lauded For Response During Officer-Involved Shooting Incident; New CHP Commander Introduces Himself