On February 28th, the non-profits of Del Norte County received a total of $200,000 spread across the 12 approved applicants. In this piece, I dissect where the money came from, and where it’s going with help from District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey and leaders of the local non-profits.
All posts by Sebastian Monroe
Del Norte County Board of Supervisors Supports Colonialism Leaving LGBTQ+ Youth Without a Resource Database
At Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Supervisor Chris Howard pressed Tom Kelem about the proposed fiscal sponsor of an LGBTQ+ Resource Database that the county had prior granted a Mental Health Service Act contract to. This was due to Queer Humboldt (the aforementioned fiscal sponsor) having values that are “anti-racist, anti-colonialist.” Supervisor Howard bombarded Mr. Kelem with questions about what exactly those values meant, expressing concern that they were hypocritical due to the county funding them. This implies that the county government of Del Norte County is pro-settler colonialism, and that threats to colonialist values will not be tolerated.
Kelem responded to the questioning that “he wasn’t there when they made those ideas.” He then defended Queer Humboldt, as they are non-profit organization willing to be the fiscal sponsor for this endeavor, that are also involved in LGBT issues, he stated that “that seemed like a really good fit to me.” Howard would not take this answer however, and then proceeded to seemingly cow the rest of the Board to not second the motion or ask any further questions. This deprives the LGBTQ+ community of Del Norte comprehensive and easy access to mental health services and resources in our area. In an already isolated community, this exacerbates the issue of feeling alone and unable to find help in Del Norte County.
In an article from The Trevor Project published December 15th, 2021 the following statistics are lined out.
- LGBTQ+ youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their peers. (Johns et al., 2019; Johns et al., 2020)
- The Trevor Project estimates that more than 1.8 million LGBTQ youth (13-24) seriously consider suicide each year in the U.S. — and at least one attempts suicide every 45 seconds.
- The Trevor Project’s 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health found that 45% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, including more than half of transgender and nonbinary youth.
The article continues to state many other statistics including how social support and practices supporting LGBTQ+ youth help curb that rate significantly. Supervisor Howard claimed during the April 26th Candidate forum that he is in favor of providing mental health services for our community, and yet when an opportunity arises to do so for an underserved population he strikes it down due to colonialist sentiment. While Supervisor Chris Howard led the questioning, no other Supervisor spoke up in defense of Mr. Kelem or the program. When one does not speak up against acts of prejudice they are no better than the one who has prejudiced.
The Del Norte Youth Wellness Summit 2022
On September 23rd, Redwood Voice Youth Media made an appearance at the Youth Wellness Summit in the Cultural Center. Put on by Sources of Strength and other organizations, we learned a bit about what our community has to offer in mental health resources. Here’s a report from Redwood Voice’s Sebastian Monroe:
An Artist Profile of Jeremy Farrell and His S#!TSHOW
Jeremy Farrell created the S#!TSHOW Gallery on June 3rd of 2022. After finding out about the opening, Redwood Voice’s Sebastian Monroe delved deeper into his career and why his art is needed in Crescent City. This is what they found…
The Elk Valley Field Dwarf (TLF’s Cryptid of the Day)
Welcome to The Lycaeus Frequency’s Cryptid of the Day, a month-long series detailing a cryptid one day at a time for the month of October—by Redwood Voice’s Sebastian Monroe.
Today’s cryptid is the Elk Valley Field Dwarf. Reported in Del Norte County as recently as 2018, these creatures grow no taller than 3 feet in height. They appear as dirty humans with modes of dress pulled from dumpsters and nearby woodlands. They also have been seen to steal toddler’s clothing to use for their own purposes.
Though the Internet lacks depictions, statements, or sightings of the Elk Valley Field Dwarf, Dwarves themselves have been spotted, depicted, and adored in folklore and pop culture at many times, in many forms. These are the Völuspá Dwarves, written in the Poetic Eddica poem “Völuspá” (ad 800-1100). This depiction is from Danish artist Lorenz Frølich, 1895.
Their natural habitat lies in the fields of Elk Valley and other similar biomes. They are known to be extremely difficult to document due to their immense speed. They’ve been reported to run at the speed of a car, keeping pace with a driver from the Park City Superette along the fence until there was a large patch of grass where it turned off into, not to be seen again. They’ve caused many a fright for nocturnal travelers on the road, giving off an aura of malice to those who have witnessed them.
So far though, no malicious acts have been perpetrated by the field dwarves. No one has yet had a conversation with or seen the corpse of a field dwarf, so it is likely they have a society somewhere out in those fields where they choose to bury their dead. Regardless, the species is elusive to this day, so taxonomical work has been limited.
The now-abandoned Elk Valley Casino, one of the highlights of Elk Valley Road (except of course for your favorite radio station and multimedia org) where the Field Dwarf was sure to hang out before its closure. Now it’s just the field for you, dwarves… (Photo Courtesy of Janet Hawk)
So, should you be driving down Elk Valley Road at night, keep an eye out and you might just spot one.
This has been the Lycaeus Frequency Cryptid of the Day.
Bigfoot (TLF’s Cryptid of the Day)
Welcome to The Lycaeus Frequency’s Cryptid of the Day, a month-long series detailing a cryptid one day at a time for the month of October—by Redwood Voice’s Sebastian Monroe.
Today’s cryptid is the one and only, Bigfoot. Bigfoot is a familiar phenomenon to us here in Del Norte County, but where did he come from? Reports of the massive hairy gentleman have been traced back to the time before the Europeans arrived on the continent, with many Native American tribes having cave paintings of the big hairy fella. The earliest recorded report of him was in 1811 made by one David Thompson. Thompson spoke to The Spokane, a local Native American tribe in Washington State.
The infamous original sighting of Bigfoot, frame 352 of the Patterson-Gimlin Film. This was shot along Bluff Creek, in Del Norte County on the Six Rivers National Forest. Because the ape appears to have a sagittal crest, a feature found in Female chimpanzees, it’s believed this may be an alleged Female Bigfoot.
According to Thompson, The Spokane told him of a race of hairy giants that lived in one of the nearby mountains (Possibly Mt. Saint Helens or the Cascade Mountains) that would steal salmon and people while they were asleep. This was also the first time a foot-print was mentioned for a Bigfoot. Thompson said that the “giants” left footprints one and a half feet long.
In 1957 a report came from someone supposedly abducted by the giant hairy men. A man named Albert Ostman reported being “stolen” in his sleep by a Sasquatch, similar to the stories of giants told by the Spokanes. He claimed that in 1924, when he was searching for gold, he felt that someone was carrying him while he was sleeping. Ostman claimed when he woke up he could see eight feet tall Sasquatches with long arms and hairy bodies except for the padded feet, which lacked hair. Ostman also stated that the Sasquatches appeared to live as a family, like modern apes.
The alleged people-snatching, salmon-stealing giant ape may be feared by some, but Bigfoot has become a beloved symbol all over. Take this logo from the local DNATL Food Council for instance (which humorously references Bigfoot’s fish-theft days—at least he’s keeping it local.)
This situation is similar to modern accounts where baboons have reportedly stolen infants while they were sleeping. It is unknown why primates perform such behavior, however it may be related to the Ostman account. I’m sure you brave listeners all have heard a story or two about Bigfoot here in these parts, but it sure is interesting to hear where he came from.
This has been the Lycaeus Frequency Cryptid of the Day.
Edited with Pictures & Context by Persephone Rose. Thumbnail by Sebastian Monroe.
Stamoy, the House Bats (TLF’s Cryptid of the Day)
Welcome to The Lycaeus Frequency’s Cryptid of the Day, a month-long series detailing a cryptid one day at a time for the month of October—by Redwood Voice’s Sebastian Monroe.
Today’s cryptid is the Stamoy, also known as House Bats. Arguably one of the cutest and most dangerous cryptids in my grimoire, the Stamoy can live lives that are extremely similar to that of most North American Bat species, but thrive in the homes of humans. That’s us (very convincing, Sebastian), and they feed on us should they dwell in our homes.
The typical house-bat, cute and cuddly little guys. Hard to believe one, or maybe all, could be a Stamoy feeding off your adoration. Photo courtesy of Cory Holliday.
In the early 18th century there was a family of seven found dead and drained of blood, lying on their cabin floor. They were devoid of wounds aside from several insect like bites on the neck, arms, legs, and abdomen. The home was empty of food and valuables, but was also coated in a thick layer of guano. A nearby cave was deemed the culprit of some beastly plague. This is the story of a family who were consumed by the Stamoy.
They act as any normal bat would unless they see an entrance into a home where they will switch their mindset from a scavenger lifestyle to a parasitic one. They start by releasing pheromones into the air that calm and cause affectionate emotions to wash over the inhabitants of the house, combined with their generally cute faces this makes them extremely effective at joining in to the household. The humans often keep them as pets, not noticing that the bat is feeding on their blood and weakening them over time.
The Samoy is a deceptive creature, with few illustrations of differences from the typical housebat. If you see a creature like this—the Ahool, or Athol, a flying primate type creature, is an entirely different problem. Best of luck if you spot one of these… Photo courtesy of the Cryptid Wiki.
They will reproduce and feed on their human hosts until either they are evicted by pest control, or the humans are dead. Otherwise they’re functionally the same as any other bat in North America. So far there haven’t been sightings in the area, which I am grateful for.
This has been the Lycaeus Frequency’s Cryptid of the Day.
Edited with Pictures & Context by Persephone Rose (thankfully, no longer transcribing by audio.) Thumbnail by Sebastian Monroe.
The Smiling Man (TLF’s Cryptid of the Day)
Welcome to The Lycaeus Frequency’s Cryptid of the Day, a month-long series detailing a cryptid one day at a time for the month of October—by Redwood Voice’s Sebastian Monroe.
Today’s Cryptid is Indrid Cold, also known as the Smiling Man. A relatively human appearance is what you would see immediately upon greeting the Smiling Man, although he lacks ears or a nose, or hair for that matter.
Artists have many takes on the Smiling Man, imploring the urge to explore to explore the uncanny valley—especially that which is so similar to us, yet undoubtedly… wrong. Photo courtesy of DarkUnknownWarrior on the Villains Wiki page for Indrid Cold.
He wears reflective suits and gets his name from the fact that he has smiled at almost everyone he has encountered. As time has gone on, it appears that Indrid Cold has gotten better at integrating into our society, as in more recent reports he has slick-backed hair and a regular suit, looking like a tan, but not dark, human man.
He asked the first person to report an encounter with him several questions. Indrid pointed to Parkersburg, a city in West Virginia. “What do you call that? Over the hill?”
The witness said that we call it a “city.” This conversation continued for approximately 10 minutes, all the while Indrid tried to calm the witness down with statements such as, “We eat and bleed the same as you do,” and, “We wish you only happiness.”
Since then there have been many reports in the area and are thought to be related to the Men In Black phenomenon. They supposedly refer to themselves as “Merilgians” (though many other reports suggests he calls himself a Lanulosian from the planet Lanulos in the Galaxy of Genemedes—you know, if that clarification helps.)
This all props up the theory that they are in fact aliens. All I’ve got to say on the matter is that they sound creepy as all-get-out and I’d rather not meet one.
This has been the Lycaeus Frequency’s Cryptid of the Day.
Audio transcribed, alongside images and context, by Persephone Rose. Thumbnail art by Sebastian Monroe.
Spleenwort (TLF’s Cryptid of the Day)
Welcome to The Lycaeus Frequency’s Cryptid of the Day, a month-long series detailing a cryptid one day at a time for the month of October—by Redwood Voice’s Sebastian Monroe.
Today’s Cryptid is the Spleenwort! The Spleenwort is a five to seven inch tall humanoid part of the classification of gnomes. Males and females are nearly identical, it’s only a slight variation in beard length and body shape as an indicator of the difference.
The legendary spleenwort! Or, at least, the plant variant. The vernacular name for the genus Asplenium, the nickname is actually derived from an old belief, based on the doctrine of signatures, that the fern was useful for ailments of the spleen, due to the spleen-shaped sori on the backs of the fronds (Bill Neal (1992). Gardener’s Latin.) Photo courtesy of Wiktionary.
The gnomes keep their stringy, brown, wheat, or slight-colored hair about shoulder length and unwashed. They are very expressive creatures with jovial yet rough faces and very large eyebrows. They create their clothing from animal hides and furs tied together with belts and bits of leather. They will often go shirtless in the Summers, wearing a grass hat to keep the sun off.
Some things never change! The fashion sense of the gnome survives even the records of the Spleenworts. While very few illustrations seem to exist of the little creatures, you’ve probably seen these beings in plenty-a-yard. Photo courtesy of Costco.
The interesting thing about gnomes is that gnomes cannot see or hear the opposite sex without a four leaf clover. The plant allows communication between the round little creatures so that they might… reproduce. Once a male gnome reaches maturity at around four years old, he searches out a four leaf clover to leave in front of a small hut of his design. He will check on this clover every day until half of it has been eaten, where he will then eat the other half. The two gnomes will then see each other and will fall in love.
Males raise the males and females raise the females seeing as they cannot otherwise *see* each other. They will gather four leaf clovers once per year so that they might all see each other, and after two years of no other showing up to the meeting are assumed dead. The gnome will either move on or live alone. Older gnomes are more likely to take on the solitary lifestyle.
They live up to 30 years in the wild, though no captive studies have been conducted.
This has been the Lycaeus Frequency’s Cryptid of the Day. The information for this Cryptid comes primarily from the book In the Land of Cattawampus by Kristen Nicole Puckett.
Audio transcribed, alongside images and context, by Persephone Rose. Thumbnail art by Sebastian Monroe.
The Fresno Nightcrawler (TLF’s Cryptid of the Day)
Welcome to The Lycaeus Frequency’s Cryptid of the Day, a month-long series detailing a cryptid one day at a time for the month of October—by Redwood Voice’s Sebastian Monroe.
Today’s Cryptid is the Fresno Nightcrawler! These five foot tall little pants men originate in California, with sightings in Fresno and Yosemite National Park. They appear as long, light, slim humanoids with no arms and extremely long legs. I think they look like pairs of pants walking around. It’s suspected that this creature is extraterrestrial or a misidentification of a deer walking on its hind legs.
Trail camera photo capturing a deer standing on its hind legs, a possible explanation for the nightcrawler. Certainly unsettling, but common for deer who lack antlers as an alternate means of defense (those hooves can cause some hurt!) Photo courtesy of u/RhodeIslandRedChick on Reddit.
Either seems pretty spooky to me. The Fresno Nightcrawler phenomenon was originally reported by a man named Jose in – surprise surprise – Fresno, California. He was awoken by his dog barking at something outside, which, when he went to his closed circuit TV system he spotted the creature walking across his lawn. He had his cousin look at it as well as law enforcement, but unfortunately the original footprint of evidence has been lost to… sprinklers.
The original sighting of the Fresno Nightcrawler. Though nothing has come since, this screenshot of the creature has caused the internet to fall in love with the simple creature. Just search and see how much art and marketable plushies have been made of the figure.
Nothing came of the report since, but it is now a Fresno legend and a fun piece of pop culture for the area
This has been the Lycaeus Frequency’s Cryptid of the Day.
Audio transcribed, alongside images and context, by Persephone Rose. Thumbnail art by Sebastian Monroe.