Category Archives: Articles

DNUSD Board of Trustees Roundup, June 30, 2025

Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Board President and Trustee Area 4 representative Charlaine Mazzei was absent. Among the items discussed at the Del Norte Unified School District Board meeting on Monday:

Seamless Summer Food Program: DNUSD’s director of nutrition services, Julie Bjorkstrand, gave trustees a brief rundown of the first two weeks of DNUSD’s Seamless Summer Food program. During the first week of the program the school district fed 800 students, providing them a total of six days worth of meals. During the second week, 1,312 students were fed and as of Monday, 512 have collected meals.

Meals are distributed Mondays and Wednesdays with two breakfasts and two lunches being provided per child on Mondays and four breakfast meals and four lunch meals provided per child on Wednesdays. 

Continue reading DNUSD Board of Trustees Roundup, June 30, 2025

DNUSD Leaders Adopt 2025-26 Budget Amid Warnings Of A Structural Deficit, More Cuts

Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

(Updated at 5:41 p.m. to clarify that Elizabeth Calleja is a parent of Redwood School students. Calleja said Wednesday afternoon that while she’s a long-time teacher with Del Norte Unified School District, she currently teaches at Castle Rock Charter School.)

Superintendent Jeff Harris pointed to another single-county school district to illustrate what could befall Del Norte Unified if its financial situation didn’t improve.

During a budget presentation where trustees learned that DNUSD faces a structural deficit over the next three years, Harris said the other single-district county took out a state loan and, five months later, was facing state receivership.

“What that means is the Board loses a lot of [their] authority. Everything is directly reported to the state,” Harris told trustees Monday, adding that student enrollment and revenues have declined statewide. “So it’s really critical that we all keep an eye not only on what’s going on next year, but the two years after that because they ended up owing $10 million on a $40 million budget and they didn’t have enough cash left to cover any of it.”

Continue reading DNUSD Leaders Adopt 2025-26 Budget Amid Warnings Of A Structural Deficit, More Cuts

Crews Working Four Fires Within the Gasquet Ranger District; Six Rivers Officials Report 282 Lightning Strikes On National Forest

Thumbnail photo courtesy of Kristen Peterson

Firefighters are working to douse four lightning-caused fires within the Gasquet Ranger District, the Six Rivers National Forest reported Tuesday.

The blazes were caused by a series of thunderstorms that passed through the region Monday evening, resulting in about 282 lightning strikes as of about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to a news release. In addition to the four blazes within the Gasquet Ranger District, firefighters are also responding to a fire reported in the Marble Mountain Wilderness within the Orleans/Ukonom Ranger District, according to the release.

Within the Gasquet Ranger District, the blazes include the Myrtle Fire at about 0.1 acres northeast of Crescent City on Low Divide Road near Forest Route 17N21 near top of the ridge. According to the press release, firefighters have the blaze under control and are “in patrol status.”

Continue reading Crews Working Four Fires Within the Gasquet Ranger District; Six Rivers Officials Report 282 Lightning Strikes On National Forest

Compensation Study Continues as Del Norte Supervisors Begin Budget Process

Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

The county’s latest compensation study isn’t yet finished, but from what she’s seen of the preliminary data, Norma Williams said it validates much of what the Del Norte County Employees Association SEIU 1021 has been saying for years.

Still, speaking with Redwood Voice Community News nearly a week after county administration began the 2025-26 budget process with the Board of Supervisors, Williams, the association’s chapter president, said she would urge the public to ask their own questions.

“Regardless of wage increases, Del Norte County is still under market when compared to other similar counties, or the counties they chose to compare ours against,” she said Monday. “We’re still below average. At some point, the rubber has to meet the road and you have to figure out what path you’re going to drive on.”

Continue reading Compensation Study Continues as Del Norte Supervisors Begin Budget Process

“29 and Time to Shine” 2025 Community Health Fair

A press release from the Department of Health & Human Services Public Health Branch:

Hello Del Norte County Community Members,

The Del Norte County Public Health Branch is excited to announce our 29th annual Health Fair! This year’s theme is “29 & Time to Shine!” Together, we can transform lives, foster hope, and create a healthier future for our community.

The Health Fair is more than just an event—it’s a movement. It’s about bringing people together to share resources, connect with one another, and inspire change. Families show up for the free resources and giveaways, but they leave with so much more: knowledge, connections, and a renewed sense of community. Let’s make this year the most impactful yet by coming together and providing the tools and services that truly make a difference.

This year, we are introducing the Puzzle Piece Project, a unique opportunity to showcase the incredible community-based programs that help Del Norte County thrive. We invite you to partner with us at Public Health to record short videos that highlight how your program or service contributes to the health and well-being of our community. These videos will symbolize how all of us—like puzzle pieces—fit together to build a stronger, more united Del Norte County. If you are interested in being part of the Puzzle Piece Project, please reach out to Anna Porter.

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Best-Selling Author Joanie Lindenmeyer Spoke on Authenticity and Resiliency as a Kick-Off to PRIDE 2025

“Be you, be the sparkle, and have faith!”

Joanie Lindenmeyer, retired Del Norte High School teacher turned best-selling author, shared stories of authenticity and resiliency as an LGBTQ+ person at the library June 19 as a kick-off to DNATL PRIDE 2025. She also spoke on the three books she wrote and co-wrote: Nun Better, Joyously Free!, and Healing Religious Hurts.

Lindenmeyer was a health education teacher at DNHS for 25 years until she retired in 2018. Before that, she worked in health education at Rural Human Services for two years. She now lives in Brookings.

Continue reading Best-Selling Author Joanie Lindenmeyer Spoke on Authenticity and Resiliency as a Kick-Off to PRIDE 2025

Harbor District Board Drops Property Insurance On Marina Docks To Save $181,500

Thumbnail photo by Gavin Van Alstine

Crescent City Harbor commissioners took Sandy Moreno’s advice and decided not to renew property insurance that covers damage to the docks in the marina from fire and collision.

Moreno, who became the Harbor District’s financial advisor in April, urged commissioners to hold off on renewing the Commercial Property — Inner Boat Basin Docks portion of their coverage with Redwood Leavitt Insurance Agency. She proposed taking the $181,500 premium it would have cost, putting $50,000 of it toward maintenance and using the remainder to keep the Harbor District solvent through the fiscal year.

“I’m giving you guys a year to get your shit together and if we do this one thing it does that,” she said Wednesday. “We will get through a year and if revenue generation and our cost savings and all the things we’re looking at doing — you will be in a really good place come July 1 of next year.”

Continue reading Harbor District Board Drops Property Insurance On Marina Docks To Save $181,500

Unidentified Man Fatally Shot By Law Enforcement; Incident Originated As A Medical Aid Call, Del Norte Sheriff Says

Thumbnail photo: Law enforcement continue an investigation into an officer-involved-shooting that took place near Anchor Way and U.S. 101 on Friday. | Heather Polen

Updated at 11:16 a.m. Saturday:

From the California Highway Patrol:

On June 27, 2025, at approximately 10:55 A.M., California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers assigned to the CHP Crescent City Area responded to a 911 report of a male subject covered in blood, on Anchor Way west of US-101. 

Emergency medical personnel also responded to the scene. The male subject was carrying a knife and aggressively approached medical personnel. Medical personnel backed away from the male subject.

One Del Norte Sheriff’s Office (DNSO) deputy and two CHP officers arrived on the scene and ordered the subject to drop the knife.  The male subject was non-responsive to verbal commands.

The subject aggressively approached the deputy and officers. The DNSO deputy deployed his electronic control device, which proved to be ineffective. The subject continued to aggressively charge at the officers with a knife, and out of fear for his safety and the safety of others, a CHP officer involved shooting occurred.

The subject was arrested at the scene, and emergency medical aid was rendered. The male subject was transported to Sutter Coast Hospital and succumbed to his injuries.  

No injuries were sustained by CHP officers or Allied Agencies. 

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A criminal and an internal affairs investigation is underway in connection with an officer-involved-shooting that claimed the life of an unidentified man, and took place at the intersection of Anchor Way and U.S. 101 on Friday.

The incident started as a medical aid call, Del Norte County Sheriff Garrett Scott told Redwood Voice Community News. Shortly after arriving at the scene — the grassy area near the Crescent City Harbor entrance — personnel from Crescent Fire and Del Norte Ambulance requested help from law enforcement, saying the patient was attacking them with a box cutter.

A Del Norte County sheriff’s deputy and a California Highway Patrol officer arrived on scene at about the same time, Scott said. The suspect was shot and later pronounced dead at Sutter Coast Hospital, the sheriff said, though the details surrounding shots being fired are still under investigation.

Continue reading Unidentified Man Fatally Shot By Law Enforcement; Incident Originated As A Medical Aid Call, Del Norte Sheriff Says

Following 3-2 Vote, Rademaker Keeps Harbormaster Job Despite Concerns Over His Contract

Rademaker

Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Three Crescent City Harbor commissioners let a five-year employment contract with Mike Rademaker stand despite concerns from two of their colleagues that someone had tweaked it after the fact.

During a meeting that lasted more than five hours Wednesday, commissioners Annie Nehmer and Dan Schmidt said the final version of the contract included terms that had been deleted during negotiations the Board held with Rademaker in May.

Nehmer said that paragraphs she and her colleagues had changed when negotiating Rademaker’s contract with the help of attorney Michael Travis, of Best Best & Krieger, had been added back in after it had been sent to the district’s current legal counsel, Ryan Plotz, of the Mitchell Law Firm, for review.

Continue reading Following 3-2 Vote, Rademaker Keeps Harbormaster Job Despite Concerns Over His Contract

CCPD Investigating Human Remains Found Near Cooper Hill To Rule Out Homicide

An investigation is underway to rule out homicide after human remains were found near Cooper Avenue and J Street in Crescent City on Wednesday.

Crescent City Police Chief Richard Griffin said the body of a male subject was found about 200 feet into the brush toward the cemetery. The subject had been wearing a hospital bracelet, Griffin said. Officers are working with the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office Coroner to identify the individual, Griffin told Redwood Voice Community News.

There was also evidence that animals had disturbed the body, Griffin said.

Continue reading CCPD Investigating Human Remains Found Near Cooper Hill To Rule Out Homicide