All posts by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Articles, Infrastructure, Local Government

Supervisors Renew Advocacy For Secure Rural Schools, And Other Del Norte County News

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Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

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

• Secure Rural Schools: Supervisors reaffirmed their support for a century-old program that brought nearly $1.4 million to Del Norte County in 2023. 

Acting on information from District 1 Supervisor Darrin Short, the Board authorized a support letter for the Secure Rural Schools Act to U.S. senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla and Congressman Jared Huffman.

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Articles, Community News, Education

DNUSD Foregoes Issuing Final Layoff Notices For Most Positions; District Still Has Funding Challenges, Superintendent Says

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Pine Grove School | Photo by Amanda Dockter

Del Norte Unified School District has been able to forego issuing final layoff notices to most of its certificated and classified staff members, Superintendent Jeff Harris said.

But since many of those positions will continue to be paid for through one-time grant dollars, DNUSD may find itself in the same boat again next year, Harris told Redwood Voice Community News on Monday.

“We’ve lost about 450 students since 2019,” he said, echoing a statement from a press release the district issued Feb. 28. “Losing 450 students would be the equivalent, at this point, of closing ‘O Me-nok, Mountain, Sunset and Bess Maxwell schools. What that means is that prior to 2020, we had a certain number of teachers. And, today, we have approximately, I think it’s 21 teachers more than we had before the pandemic even though we’ve lost 450 students.”

Continue reading DNUSD Foregoes Issuing Final Layoff Notices For Most Positions; District Still Has Funding Challenges, Superintendent Says →
Articles, Curry, Infrastructure, Law, Local Government, Regional News

Curry County Removed Lead Paint At Jail, Waiting On New Bunks

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Thumbnail photo by Ken Lund via Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons License

Though he didn’t speak up earlier, Curry County’s director of operations said complying with a detainer request from Immigration and Customs Enforcement would be “a lot to ask” when there’s only 16 beds in the jail.

About a month after the discovery of lead paint in its bunk beds prompted the Board of Commissioners to cut the jail’s capacity from 35 to 16 beds, Ted Fitzgerald, who also acts as county counsel, said the county was still waiting on permanent replacements.

“We still have the temporaries in there until we get the permanence delivered,” he said, referring to temporary bunk beds Curry County borrowed from Josephine County shortly after he notified commissioners of the lead paint concerns at an emergency meeting April 4. “The old bunks have been cleared. Maintenance went in there and cut them out. They were metal, installed directly into the concrete, and so, in order to keep things safe, we had to cut the metal and then grind the concrete down…”

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Articles, Curry, Local Government

Curry County BOC Issues Tighter Controls Over Website, Social Media After Staff Member Made ‘Unauthorized Changes’

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Curry County’s director of operations said he withdrew administrative and editing privileges from nearly all employees after an individual made “unauthorized changes” to the county’s website.

Ted Fitzgerald, who is also county counsel, asked the Board of Commissioners on Wednesday to approve a new policy that limits administrative privileges to one person. The new policy also requires those manning Facebook pages for individual departments to register with Human Resources so the county can vet information being posted.

Fitzgerald said he included a social media component to the policy after determining that statistics posted to the Curry County Justice Facebook page were inaccurate.

Continue reading Curry County BOC Issues Tighter Controls Over Website, Social Media After Staff Member Made ‘Unauthorized Changes’ →
Articles, Curry, Law, Local Government

Following Mixed Public Response, Curry County Commissioner Says He Didn’t Intend A Vote On ICE Resolution

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Thumbnail photo by Ken Lund via Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons License

Curry County Commissioner Patrick Hollinger said he didn’t intend for his colleagues to take official action on a resolution honoring detainer requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Taken verbatim from a similar resolution Coos County commissioners have been discussing since January, Hollinger asked his colleagues to consider Oregon’s status as a sanctuary state and the possibility that the Trump administration may cut its federal funding as a result.

“That will directly affect our county as well,” Hollinger said Wednesday. “We use those funds for our DA office. We use those funds for our sheriff’s office. And it’s those two offices that can help with the human trafficking and drug trafficking [occurring] throughout our county.”

Continue reading Following Mixed Public Response, Curry County Commissioner Says He Didn’t Intend A Vote On ICE Resolution →
Articles, Community News, Humboldt, Law, Local Government

Eureka Mayor Says Homelessness Discussion ‘Needs To Happen’ Even If Proposed Ordinance Doesn’t Pass

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Eureka City Councilman G. Mario Fernandez used the phrase “robber baron” when asking his colleagues to postpone consideration of an ordinance that would increase the penalties for people living in unauthorized encampments.

Fernandez urged his fellow councilors to refer the ordinance to an ad-hoc committee on camping alternatives consisting of himself and Councilwoman Renee Contreras-DeLoach rather than consider it on May 20.

This request echoed comments several public speakers made on Tuesday about removing the proposed ordinance from the May 20 agenda. Though a handful of commenters accused the City Council of criminalizing homelessness, Fernandez said speakers were asking him and his colleagues to either let them be part of their deliberations or to bring “those with experience into the discussion.”

Continue reading Eureka Mayor Says Homelessness Discussion ‘Needs To Happen’ Even If Proposed Ordinance Doesn’t Pass →
Articles, Crescent City, Infrastructure, Local Government, Transportation

Crescent City Will Add A Four-Way Stop To 5th and A Streets

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Thumbnail image courtesy of Google Maps

Public Works Director Dave Yeager convinced the Crescent City Council on Monday that a four-way stop sign would urge motorists to slow down as they approach A and 5th streets.

Six reported collisions have occurred at that intersection between June 2021 and August 2024, Yeager stated in his staff report. On Monday, he cited concerns raised by Crescent City Police Chief Richard Griffin as well as people who have witnessed those collisions.

Yeager also referred to the Del Norte Local Road Safety Plan in his staff report, which noted “one historical collision event”: A rear-end collision with one injury in 2011.

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Articles, Community News, Crescent City, Infrastructure, Local Government

Charter, Frontier Push Back On Underground Utility Efforts, And Other Crescent City Council News

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of Crescent City

Candace Tinkler was absent. Among the items discussed at Monday’s Crescent City Council meeting.

Underground Utility District: City councilors approved the creation of Underground Utility District No. 1, taking yet another step toward ridding the gateway to Beachfront Park and downtown of most of the overhead electricity and telecommunications lines.

But representatives from Charter Communications and Frontier Communications, which provide cable and Internet service in the area, opposed the proposal, stating that the same work credits available to PacificPower aren’t available to them.

In a May 5 letter to Crescent City, Lisa Ludovici, Charter’s director of government affairs, asks the city not to pursue the undergrounding of its utilities, warning that the cost for the company to participate could be passed onto its customers.

Continue reading Charter, Frontier Push Back On Underground Utility Efforts, And Other Crescent City Council News →
Articles, Community News, Curry, Local Government

Curry County BOC To Consider Resolution To Honor Detainer Requests From ICE

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Indivisible North Curry County has a slew of questions for the Board of Commissioners who are set to discuss — and potentially approve — a resolution honoring potential detainer requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

The Port Orford-based group of progressives also hope to get the public to the commissioners’ meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Gold Beach to protest the resolution.

“REMEMBER — the people’s voice stopped the commissioners’ resolution on managing our public lands,” Indivisible North Curry County leadership stated via email Monday, referring to a February resolution the Board considered to take over stewardship of state and federally-managed lands. “We can stop this one, too!”

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Articles, Curry, Local Government, Regional News

Curry County Finds Way To Fund School Resource Officer

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of Curry Civic TV.

Nearly two weeks after he and his colleagues agreed to help fund a school resources officer position, Curry County Commissioner Jay Trost thanked the Brookings City Council for their own commitment to the program.

According to Trost, who is also chairman of the Brookings-Harbor School District Board of Trustees, the school district is facing “a financial strain right now.” The Curry County Board of Commissioners was able to “pick up that SRO piece that was held by the school district,” Trost told the City Council on Monday.

“The City of Brookings pulls the majority of the weight financially to ensure the SRO position stays intact and is valued,” he said. “So I want to thank you for your commitment to that as well.”

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