Despite hearing from two skeptics who balked at the possibility that Del Norte Unified School District would be on the hook for $65,000, trustees endorsed a proposal from SitelogIQ to conduct energy audits of DNUSD campuses.
Del Norte Teachers Association President Amber Tiedeken-Cron was one of those skeptics. On Thursday, she pointed to the names of teachers that had been posted on the wall at the district office, asking trustees to keep them in mind when they think about spending money.
“We had put the names of every one of the teachers that received pink slips on the board,” she told Redwood Voice Community News on Friday, “and asked that the School Board keep our students and the names of the staff who have been given preliminary layoff notices at the forefront of every decision they make.”
Thumbnail: Illegal fireworks on South Beach rivaled professional display Crescent City put on near the North Jetty in this July 4, 2018 photo | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews
Crescent City Harbor commissioners on Wednesday broke off pursuit of an agreement with the county enabling them to levy fines aimed at curtailing illegal fireworks within their jurisdiction, taking advice from their harbormaster and, through him, the Del Norte County Sheriff.
Sheriff Garrett Scott said his deputies and officers from other agencies will still enforce state law prohibiting fireworks that explode, go into the air and move erratically on the ground this Independence Day. This includes citing and arresting anyone selling, displaying or possessing illegal fireworks in violation of the California Penal Code as well as confiscating dangerous fireworks.
He said he also wanted to see how his office handles enforcing Del Norte County’s new fireworks ordinance, which was established in October and also includes a fee structure.
Thumbnail photo: Despite receiving about $3 million for much-needed improvements to the jail, Del Norte County Administrative Officer Neal Lopez says additional funding is needed. | Photo courtesy of the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office
Del Norte County officials are looking to state and federal loan programs to complete needed upgrades to the jail and to the Pyke Field Sports Complex despite receiving roughly $3.5 million in Congressionally Designated Spending funds last year.
During a presentation on capital improvement projects that are either finished or ongoing, County Administrative Officer Neal Lopez said staff is working on applications for a U.S. Department of Agriculture loan and a potential loan through the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, or Ibank.
Staff have also decided that tackling the Pyke Field rehabilitation project in phases would be the best path forward, he said.
District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey was absent. Among the items discussed at Tuesday’s Del Norte County Board of Supervisors meeting:
Emergency shelter: Supervisors approved a budget transfer of nearly $2.9 million to build the 60-bed emergency shelter that’s part of a larger project to address homelessness in Del Norte County.
The funding, which comes from a $10 million Encampment Resolution Funding grant Del Norte received in 2023, will allow Adams Commercial General Contracting Inc. to start building the shelter. The 6,700 square-foot emergency shelter and a 50-unit micro village, along with restroom and commercial kitchen structures will be housed on county property on Williams Drive. This joint venture, which includes wraparound services and case management, is being spearheaded by the county Department of Health and Human Services and Del Norte Mission Possible. Individuals could begin occupying the emergency shelter and the micro village by September, according to DHHS Director Ranell Brown.
Thumbnail: Rock delivery and minor grading on Childs Avenue is among a list of planned repairs to unmaintained county roads for the upcoming fiscal year. | Photo courtesy of Del Norte County
Four Del Norte County supervisors on Tuesday agreed to finance repairs to public roads the county doesn’t maintain for a second year. They also supported a proposal to use that allocation as an incentive to get residents to take on that responsibility themselves.
That policy pitch came from County Engineer Jon Olson. He acknowledged that residents weren’t receptive to a proposed benefit assessment to pay for those repairs about 15 years ago, but, he said, an up-front investment might get them to change their minds.
“This Board is spending $50,000,” Olson said. “That could be the leverage or the carrot that we need to get people to take responsibility long term for the roads that they’re responsible to maintain instead of just spending out $50,000 each year.”
Thumbnail photo courtesy of Del Norte Unified School District
Though he cast a wide net, Tony Fabricius said he was surprised at how many people showed up to advocate for Sunset High School.
Hoping that his school would be singled out as a Model Continuation High School for a second time, Sunset High’s principal hosted a representative with the California Department of Education last summer.
In addition to combing through its attendance and student achievement data, the CDE rep also met with stakeholders including parents, students and business owners and other community leaders. Fabricius said he sent out 22 invites and was surprised when “something like 20 people showed up.”
Crescent City’s public works director on Monday unveiled a Pebble Beach Drive that’s completely different from the eroded remnant an atmospheric river left behind in January 2024.
A new wall system shores up the scenic thoroughfare between 7th and 8th streets. Constructed of vertical piles, soil nails and reinforced shotcrete, it’s been sculpted and stained to mimic the surrounding bluff, according to Public Works Director David Yeager. A rock revetment provides further erosion control and a landscape contractor has sown more than 500 native plants at its base.
“We also have a 240 foot wall that is a vertical space and so that brought about the idea of putting in some sort of railing,” Yeager told the City Council. “The most attractive in terms of not being able to lose your view is a steel cable rail. It’s a 3/8ths inch stainless steel cable rail that’ll go through the posts and so you’re basically looking through wire.”
Curry County commissioners on Tuesday green lit a proposal to transfer four vehicles to the Brookings Police Department for use in its K9 program.
They reached this decision after learning that BPD would make its dogs available to other agencies in the county. But it prompted Sheriff John Ward to rehash a long-standing grievance via Facebook on Wednesday.
“This was all done without a conversation with me or even one word, no communication,” he posted on the Curry County Justice Facebook page. “They even demanded that I turn over all duplicate keys to all our vehicles. It sounds insane, but that is what is going on.”
Crescent City hopes to use the last leg of Front Street’s reconstruction along with a gateway project as an opportunity to underground electrical distribution lines between K and M streets, but it’s under a tight deadline.
Councilors have until June 8 to update the municipal code chapter governing the creation of underground utility districts. They must hear from the public, adopt a resolution creating the underground utility district, coordinate with Del Norte County on the transfer of work credits Pacific Power can use to underground the existing power lines and negotiate an agreement with Pacific Power.
“It’s that last action which commits the funds,” City Attorney Martha Rice told councilors on Monday.
Thumbnail: A delegation from Rikuzentakata, Japan celebrates the unveiling of a mural commemorating its Sister City relationship with Crescent City at the inaugural Kamome Festival in 2023. | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews
Del Norters have less than a month to shore up their finest cardboard boat for a regatta celebrating the 20-foot long fishing vessel that led to a friendship between Crescent City and Rikuzentakata, Japan.
The first-annual Kamome Cardboard Race will be held at the Fred Endert Municipal Pool on April 11, City Manager Eric Wier told the Crescent City Council on Monday. It’s a new component to the third-annual Kamome Festival, which has grown into a week-long shoulder-season — spring or autumn — event that includes involvement from local businesses as well as several different government agencies.
