Category Archives: Articles

DNUSD Trustees May Issue Layoff Notices To Teachers, Classified Staff on Tuesday

March 3, 2025 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail: DNUSD logo}

Del Norte County teachers and classified staff could receive preliminary layoff notices for the 2025-26 school year following a vote from the school board on Tuesday.

The Del Norte County Unified School District Board’s decision could impact more than 18 full-time teachers, Del Norte Teachers Association President Amber Tiedeken-Cron told Redwood Voice Community News.

Meanwhile library services technician and paraprofessional positions also face elimination, according to the proposed resolution. According to Tiedeken-Cron, these potential cuts would impact two classified staff members.

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Articles, Community News, Curry, Local Government

Curry County Finance Director Resigns; Commissioners Appoint Treasurer To Role On Interim Basis

March 1, 2025 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail: Former Curry County Finance Director Keina Wolf (far left) tendered her resignation effective Monday |Screenshot}

Curry County commissioners appointed Treasurer Nick Vicino to provide financial oversight on an interim basis following the resignation of Keina Wolf effective Monday.

Vicino will receive a 25 percent salary increase for taking on extra duties, including the supervision of finance staff, said Commissioner Jay Trost who read out the order at an emergency meeting Friday.

Vicino’s other duties will include ensuring accounts payable and accounts receivable are entered into the county’s Casselle government software system and to ensure that the use of county accounts are in compliance with policies and government accounting standards. Vicino will also be required to prepare financial statements and documents for the county budget and authorize claims for payment.

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Articles, Community News, Emergencies, Environment, Local Government

Federal Funding Freeze Puts Del Norte Fire Safe Council Fuels Reduction Projects In Limbo

February 28, 2025 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail: Del Norte Office of Emergency Services Public Information Officer Bill Steven snapped this photo of the Smith River Complex wildfires burning above Patrick Creek Lodge and U.S. 199 on Aug. 16, 2023.}

(Updated at 12:03 p.m. Friday with a correction: The California Climate Investments grant is a state program and Cal Fire is a state department. There is a $70 million federal grant available, though Del Norte Fire Safe Council County Coordinator Aaron Babcock said he’s not sure how it will be distributed.)

Flames from the Smith River Complex crept within 600 feet of Aaron Babcock’s Gasquet home in August, 2023.

A former firefighter, Babcock is the county coordinator for the Del Norte Fire Safe Council. He said he and his wife chose not to evacuate from the smattering of wildfires burning around the Gasquet area. Instead, he and two of his Fire Safe Council colleagues helped clean out gutters and create extra defensible space for about 50 homes threatened by the fire.

“The houses we had worked on definitely got skipped over,” Babcock told Redwood Voice Community News on Tuesday. “Because they had firefighters preemptively clearing around people’s homes in case the fire came through, those homes didn’t have to have anything done [to prevent them from burning], which was great because it lowers the amount of firefighting resources that were needed and helped protect other homes.”

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Articles, Community News, Economy, Infrastructure, Local Government

Staff Vacancies Among Top Concern In Strategic Plan Update; County Supervisor Suggests AI To Increase Productivity

February 27, 2025 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Norma Williams rejected a suggestion from District 5 Supervisor Dean Wilson that artificial intelligence might allow Del Norte County departments to increase productivity despite struggling to hire and keep staff.

Williams, Del Norte County Employees Association SEIU 1021 president, provided public comment following an update of the county’s 2024-29 strategic plan on Tuesday. She reminded Wilson that many county services are state- and federally-mandated. The technology staff use to provide those services was created by the state or federal government and, therefore, the responsibility to update those systems rests with the state or federal government.

Del Norte’s vacancy rate is still high and AI can’t replace everyone, Williams said.

“I doubt very seriously that the community at large is going to want to talk to an AI,” she told supervisors. “When they walk through the door they want to see a live human being. Someone who can understand them, who can speak with them and who can serve them.”

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Articles, Community News, Infrastructure, Transportation

Assemblyman Chris Rogers Introduces Del Norte-Sponsored Speed Limit Bill

February 25, 2025 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

Del Norte’s new assemblyman is bringing statewide attention to a problem Tamera Leighton says she’s been working on for nearly two decades — cars speeding through the U.S. 199 communities of Hiouchi and Gasquet at 55-plus mph.

Chris Rogers, representative of California’s 2nd Assembly District, introduced a bill Friday that aims to provide more flexibility when it comes to setting speed limits on state highways. Del Norte County is the bill’s sponsor.

Leighton, Del Norte Local Transportation Commission’s executive director, said she and District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard have worked to address residents’ concerns about unsafe speeds since about 2006. According to her, Rogers’ potential piece of legislation means they’ve pushed the issue as far as they can, though she urged supervisors to continue their advocacy.

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Articles, Community News, Health

The State of Support Services in Del Norte County is Lacking

February 22, 2025 Redwood Voice Leave a comment

Update at 2/24/25 4:00PM: This article has been edited to differentiate between In Home Supportive Services and the Redwood Coast Regional Center, which are two separate entities.

For Kenna Gavin, area director of the Special Olympics for Del Norte County, answers to IHSS-related questions are hard to come by. She said she’s had to fight for the bare minimum.

“They want you to give up, sadly a lot of [the clients] do.” Gavin told Redwood Voice. In order to access IHSS there is “a book of paperwork that you have to get just right, or you’ll be denied care.”

Gavin has been seeking In Home Supportive Services, or IHSS care, for her daughter Skyler, since she was very young. Skyler, 24, has Down syndrome.

The first time Gavin tried, the paperwork was too much and she gave up. Now that her daughter is an adult, in order for Gavin to retain conservatorship, they have had to seek the services of both the Redwood Coast Regional Center and IHSS.

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Articles, CC Harbor, Community News, Crescent City

Instead of Establishing Their Own Regulations, Crescent City Harbor Plans To Ask County to Modify Its Fireworks Ordinance

February 21, 2025 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews}

Though he anticipates room for improvement, Del Norte County Sheriff Garrett Scott says there will be enhanced law enforcement on patrol to avoid a repeat of last year’s explosion that sent 14 people to the hospital.

But while Scott and a committee of other local officials continue to prepare for this year’s Independence Day festivities, the Crescent City Harbor commissioners have decided they don’t have the resources to enforce their own fireworks regulations.

Though Harbormaster Mike Rademaker submitted a draft ordinance modeled on the State Fireworks Law to the Harbor District Board, commissioners on Tuesday directed staff to ask Del Norte County officials to modify the ordinance they’ve had on the books since October.

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Articles, Community News, Law

State Scolds Former Del Norte County Judge Robert Cochran For Making Demeaning Comments to a Domestic Violence Victim

February 21, 2025 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Former Del Norte County Superior Court Judge Robert Cochran received a public reprimand from the California Commission on Judicial Performance for making demeaning comments to a domestic violence victim. | Photo by Paul Critz}

A retired Del Norte County judge received a public reprimand from the California Commission on Judicial Performance for making demeaning comments to a domestic violence victim during hearings in 2023.

The commission found that former Del Norte County Superior Court Judge Robert Cochran “conveyed the appearance of embroilment and bias and exhibited discourtesy” toward the victim at a domestic violence restraining order hearing in May 2023 and later at a change of plea hearing in October 2023 after her partner was convicted for his actions.

The Commission on Judicial Performance concluded that Cochran’s treatment of the victim “constituted serious misconduct,” according to its decision and order imposing public admonishment published Wednesday. Cochran, the commission stated, “did not appear to fully appreciate the impropriety of his comments.”

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Articles, In Media Res

Local Family Responsible for Community Scares Is Met With Love After House Fire

February 21, 2025 Aisling Bludworth Leave a comment

“I woke up to flames six feet from my bed,” JoAnn Holcomb said. “I could spend hours listing the things lost, I want to list the things we have received. We are blessed to have homeowners’ insurance. While it may not cover the cost of everything, it gives us hope that rebuilding our home is possible.”

JoAnn and David Holcomb are the owner-operators of David’s Haunted Manor, the only haunted house attraction in Del Norte County. Every year they and their two kids spend weeks putting on a show for the community, and donate a portion of their proceeds to a scholarship fund in collaboration with the Humboldt Area Foundation.

On Feb. 12, the master bedroom and hallway of their family home was engulfed in flames, forcing them to flee. Luckily, the Holcombs survived with minimal injury.

“Our Haunt family reached out immediately to ask what they could do for us. Some brought clothing, others gave us a place to keep our reptiles and amphibians until a long-term solution is found. Others have offered their hands and all have sent their love,” Holcomb said via text Thursday.

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Articles, CC Harbor, Community News, Infrastructure

Trump’s Freeze on EPA Grants Forces Crescent City Harbor Officials To Pursue Other Funding Options For Boatyard

February 20, 2025 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{The Crescent City Harbor District was pursuing an EPA Climate Change grant to revitalize its boatyard following Fashion Blacksmith’s departure. | Photo by Gavin Van Alstine}

Crescent City Harbor commissioners say revitalizing the port’s boatyard is still among their top priorities, though the federal grant they hoped to use for the project isn’t likely to arrive.

The Crescent City Harbor District had applied for a $20 million Environmental Protection Agency Climate Change grant. Officials planned to use $13 million of those funds to pay for dredging, new equipment and boat haul-out and pier improvements.

Other proposed uses included securing a long-term source of ice for the fishing fleet and hiring new staff to spearhead construction projects at the harbor.

But, due to a Trump administration decision, that EPA grant program will likely end, Mike Bahr, CEO of Community System Solutions told commissioners on Tuesday.

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