All posts by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Articles, CC Harbor, Infrastructure, Local Government

After County Supervisors’ Rejection, Harbor Commissioners Opt To Re-Work Facilities Plan

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Thumbnail photo: The Crescent City Harbor District is working on paying back a $5.5 million U.S. Department of Agriculture loan that rebuilt the inner boat basin following tsunamis in 2006 and 2011. | Photo by Gavin Van Alstine

A week after county supervisors rejected a Crescent City Harbor Facilities Plan, its harbormaster argued that voters didn’t want the agency to wait 40 years before it began using Measure C tax dollars to make needed repairs.

The transiency occupancy tax measure voters approved in 2018 wasn’t specific about the repairs and maintenance the generated revenue would pay for, Harbor District CEO Mike Rademaker told commissioners at a special meeting Wednesday. 

In addition to being used to pay back a $5 million U.S. Department of Agriculture loan, Measure C revenue should also fund repairs and maintenance of harbor facilities. Rademaker cited legal advice he received from CCHD attorney Ryan Plotz, who said that could mean “anything that involves repair and maintenance.”

Continue reading After County Supervisors’ Rejection, Harbor Commissioners Opt To Re-Work Facilities Plan →
Articles, CC Harbor, Local Government

Crescent City Harbor District Needs Another Lawyer To Resolve Bond Dilemma With The County

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Thumbnail photo by Amanda Dockter

A week after the question over whether they have faithful performance bonds in place reached the Board of Supervisors, Crescent City Harbor Commissioners learned they would need a different attorney to resolve the issue.

County officials have raised a conflict of interest objection stating that the firm the Harbor District’s attorney works for also represents Del Norte, Harbormaster Mike Rademaker told commissioners at a special meeting Wednesday. 

Rademaker, who had spoken with Ryan Plotz, the district’s legal advisor, said the attorney had found a provision in California Government Code, 1481(b), that supersedes the Harbors and Navigation Code.

Continue reading Crescent City Harbor District Needs Another Lawyer To Resolve Bond Dilemma With The County →
Articles, CC Harbor, Infrastructure, Local Government

CCHD Recap: Lighted Boat Parade Canceled; Update on RV Park Leases; Harbor Receives Grant To Clean Up Derelict Vessels

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Thumbnail photo: Bayside RV Park in June 2023. | File photo by Jessica C. Andrews

Harbor Commissioner Dan Schmidt was absent. Among the items discussed at the Crescent City Harbor District’s special meeting Wednesday:

No Lighted Boat Parade This Year: With harsh weather in the forecast and only nine vessels participating so far, CCHD Board Chairman Rick Shepherd said the lighted boat parade will be canceled.

This decision came after fiscal officer Sandy Moreno volunteered to organize the parade at the Board’s Dec. 3 meeting. Moreno had proposed holding the parade this Saturday and commissioners agreed to offer a $25 utility credit to participants.

Continue reading CCHD Recap: Lighted Boat Parade Canceled; Update on RV Park Leases; Harbor Receives Grant To Clean Up Derelict Vessels →
Articles, Community News, Health

Aegis’s New Crescent City MAT Unit Will Save A Daily Humboldt Trip For Del Norters Battling Opioid Addiction

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Thumbnail photo: Rx Safe Del Norte and the Department of Health and Human Services celebrate those recovering from addiction during an Addiction Recovery Awareness Walk in September. | Photo courtesy of Jermaine Brubaker

Patient Navigator Melissa Nelson described a tree in the lobby of Aegis Treatment Center’s Eureka clinic to illustrate an important facet of the care it provides.

Every patient that celebrates a milestone on their journey to be free of opioid addiction adds a leaf. It’s a reminder that someone cares about them, is available and will show up, Nelson said. That can mean a lot to someone in the throes of addiction.

“When you’re in the lobby, if you’re just waiting, you can look over and see what different patients have to say in that process of being celebrated,” Nelson told Redwood Voice Community News. “Maybe we’ll have a whale or something in Crescent City.”

Continue reading Aegis’s New Crescent City MAT Unit Will Save A Daily Humboldt Trip For Del Norters Battling Opioid Addiction →
Alerts, Articles, Emergencies, Youth

(Update) Amber Alert Issued For 12-year-old Boy Missing in Crescent City

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Update at 5 p.m. Wednesday: Shea Ramsey was found about an hour the California Highway Patrol issued an Amber Alert in the Crescent City area on Wednesday. The 12-year-old boy is back home with his parents, Del Norte County Sheriff Garrett Scott confirmed.

Scott credited the alert as well as new technology that allowed the sheriff’s office to put out a notice that Shea was missing so quickly.

“We appreciate all the public support — the people that reached out and gave us information, it’s amazing,” he said. “This is why we were able to find him, it was somebody that got that alert and they called us.”

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Original Post:

California Highway Patrol issued a localized Amber Alert in response to a 12-year-old boy that went missing from his parents’ Crescent City home Tuesday evening.

Shea Ramsey was last seen at about 9 p.m., according to the alert CHP issued on behalf of the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office. The boy’s parents reported him missing at about noon Wednesday, saying that he had walked away from the family home after a disagreement, DNSO Capt. Melanie Curry told Redwood Voice Community News.

Shea is about 5 feet 1 inch tall and weighs roughly 90 pounds. He has blond hair and green eyes and was last seen wearing a black sweatshirt, black pants and black shoes. 

The Amber Alert went to phones within a five mile radius of the Shea’s residence, which is near Crescent Elk Middle School, Curry said. If anyone sees him, they can call dispatch at (707) 464-4191 or they can contact 911. Any law enforcement agency will respond and make sure Shea is returned to his family, Curry said.

Continue reading (Update) Amber Alert Issued For 12-year-old Boy Missing in Crescent City →
Articles, Crescent City, Infrastructure, Local Government

Bill Gillespie Returns to Helm Crescent City Fire & Rescue Until New Fire Chief Is Found

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Thumbnail photo: Bill Gillespie (fourth from left) will lead Crescent City Fire and Rescue as its interim fire chief until the city and the Crescent Fire Protection District can find a permanent chief. | Photo courtesy of the City of Crescent City

Bill Gillespie will return to Crescent City as its interim fire chief, leading a department that has grown into a hybrid agency relying on volunteers and career firefighters to keep the community safe.

Gillespie had led Crescent City Fire and Rescue for about four years after Steve Wakefield retired in 2018. He was chief when voters approved the Measure S tax measure and benefit assessment for the fire district that led to the hiring of three paid fire captains. Under his successor’s leadership the department achieved a Class 2 ISO rating.

“The department, it’s a combination department — volunteer and career — but above all it’s a professional department that serves this community very well,” Gillespie said Monday. “It will be neat coming back, too, with some of the things that came out of Measure S and came out of the fire district assessment to be able to step in now three-and-a-half years later and see where some of this progress has happened.”

Continue reading Bill Gillespie Returns to Helm Crescent City Fire & Rescue Until New Fire Chief Is Found →
Articles, Education, Health, Youth

Trillium Offers ‘Third Space’ For Teens In A Community Where Accessing Mental Health Support Is A Challenge

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Thumbnail Image Courtesy of Trillium Teen Center

Trillium Teen Center didn’t plant the idea for a youth-centered program focusing on online safety, but it did allow Annaliese Carrillo space to think it up.

Annaliese, an eighth-grader at Smith River School, said it was through a summer program at the Trillum Teen Center that she realized sextortion was a problem for kids. She was able to interview Ted Talk speaker Jesse Leon and is working on a program called Cyber Bite to educate families about online safety.

“Trillium feels like a place that can connect us to opportunities and resources like that and help us make our community safer,” Annaliese told Del Norte County supervisors on Dec. 9.

Continue reading Trillium Offers ‘Third Space’ For Teens In A Community Where Accessing Mental Health Support Is A Challenge →
Articles, Education, Local Government

DNUSD’s Budget Shortfall Shrank Since June, Cost Reductions Still Needed, Assistant Superintendent Says

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Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Del Norte Unified School District is in a better place financially than it was in June when trustees adopted its 2025-26 budget.

But, though he said DNUSD’s budget deficit decreased 20% from about $4.6 million on June 30 to $3.4 million as of Thursday, Assistant Superintendent of Business Greg Bowen said reducing the district’s overall costs need to continue. This includes a potential “reduction in force” as well as an ongoing “hiring frost” this year, Bowen said in his first interim financial report to the Board of Trustees.

This recommendation prompted DNUSD Board President Charlaine Mazzei to call for more transparency about what reductions need to be made and when.

Continue reading DNUSD’s Budget Shortfall Shrank Since June, Cost Reductions Still Needed, Assistant Superintendent Says →
Articles, CC Harbor, Local Government

CCHD’s New Chairman Says He Wants ‘Eliminate’ Nehmer’s Censure

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Rick Shepherd

Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Though he voted against her nomination for vice chair, Crescent City Harbor District’s new board chairman said he wants to remove Annie Nehmer’s censure.

Rick Shepherd, a long-time commercial fisherman who was elected to the Harbor Board in 2018, took his new seat as its chairman on Wednesday. In addition to working with legal counsel to remove Nehmer’s censure, Shepherd said he also plans to post meeting decorum rules in the Harbor Board’s chambers.

“We’re going to start the year out on a clean slate where we can all work together and get some more work done without the rhetoric of the censureship,” he said.

Continue reading CCHD’s New Chairman Says He Wants ‘Eliminate’ Nehmer’s Censure →
Articles, Local Government

Del Norte Employees Association Rep Applauds New Salary Structure; Changes Take Effect Countywide Dec. 19

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Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Admitting to initial skepticism in the process, Norma Williams congratulated county administrators and supervisors Tuesday on being able to compromise with the union and employees she represents.

Williams, president of the Del Norte County Employees Association SEIU 1021, said that a side letter agreement implementing recommendations of a recently-completed compensation analysis isn’t perfect, but it’s a first step in making the county competitive and attractive to new applicants.

“Twenty-five years and several salary studies later, you actually heard our message and decided to implement a salary schedule that addresses the chronic low wages, inequity and compaction that has plagued our county employees and departments for decades,” she said. “Is it perfect? Some may say it is not, however the majority of SEIU members agree that it’s definitely better than what’s been the norm for far too long.”

Continue reading Del Norte Employees Association Rep Applauds New Salary Structure; Changes Take Effect Countywide Dec. 19 →