Category Archives: Community News

Articles, Arts & Culture, Community News, Youth

Del Norte High Students Paint Miniature Kamomes For ‘Boats of Hope’ Art Tour

Leave a comment

Thumbnail photo: Del Norte High School senior Elle Jacot painted two Kamome replicas for the Boats of Hope art tour. One will be headed to Rikuzentakata during a student exchange in January. | Photo courtesy of the Crescent City-Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce

Four years after the friendship between Del Norte and Rikuzentakata found an international stage at the Tokyo Olympics, replicas of the fishing vessel that sparked the relationship will be featured in a local art tour.

The Boats of Hope art tour will feature seven mini Kamomes placed at various places throughout Del Norte County. The project is spearheaded by the Crescent City-Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce as well as Carol Zocchi, advisor for Del Norte High School’s Japan Club.

Zocchi put out a call for students interested in pitching a design and inspiration for their boat to seven partner agencies, according to a chamber press release. The students were also able to earn an artist stipend.

Continue reading Del Norte High Students Paint Miniature Kamomes For ‘Boats of Hope’ Art Tour →
Articles, Community News, Infrastructure, Transportation

Del Norte’s Friendship With Rikuzentakata May Influence Last Chance Grade Tunnel Project

1 Comment
Thumbnail photo: Jaime Matteoli, Caltrans’ Last Chance Grade corridor manager, and Caltrans District 1 Director Matt Brady visit with Japan’s Ministry of Land Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism during a recent visit. | Photo courtesy of Chris Howard. Above: Caltrans chose a 1-mile long tunnel out of several alternatives for rerouting U.S. 101 around the slide at Last Chance Grade. | Image courtesy of Caltrans District 1

Jaime Matteoli returned from his Japan trip excited about the ongoing collaboration he hopes to have with his counterparts at that country’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Matteoli said he hopes to gain some wisdom from the lessons his colleagues across the Pacific have learned as Caltrans begins refining its design for the 1-mile long tunnel at the Last Chance Grade landslide south of Crescent City.

But he called the trip special for another reason: The Japanese people still remember the role a handful of Del Norte High School students played in bringing a 20-foot fishing vessel home to Rikuzentakata two years after the 2011 tsunami.

“To stand by Kamome and visit the site of Rikuzentakata — it was on our way past the tunnel project in the Sanriku expressway — I felt proud of our community, proud of the youth,” Matteoli told Redwood Voice Community News on Monday. “It all started with young people providing an act of kindness to the people of Japan. We heard from many people, including the vice minister of MLIT, who expressed gratitude for their support.”

Continue reading Del Norte’s Friendship With Rikuzentakata May Influence Last Chance Grade Tunnel Project →
Articles, Community News

Volunteers Serve Up A Del Norte Thanksgiving On Thursday

Leave a comment

Thumbnail photo: Denise Doyle-Schnacker volunteers at the Community Thanksgiving Dinner in 2022. While all the volunteer slots are taken for this year’s dinner, monetary donations are always welcome and appreciated, Crescent City Foursquare Church Pastor Roger Bodenstab says.

With 160 people signed up, Foursquare Church no longer needs volunteers to heat up and dish out a Thanksgiving meal for Del Norte on Thursday.

But its pastor, Roger Bodenstab, says the church is prepared to serve roughly 1,000 meals and could always use donations.

“The need is always financial,” he told Redwood Voice Community News. “We order everything in bulk and we’re using the Crescent Elk kitchen to prepare the food. Everything is done in bulk to get it done efficiently and effectively.”

Continue reading Volunteers Serve Up A Del Norte Thanksgiving On Thursday →
Articles, Community News, Emergencies

SNAP Gap Was Emergency Food Task Force’s First Test; DNUSD Will Feed Students During Thanksgiving Break

Leave a comment

Thumbnail photo: Marina MacNeil and Dominique Richcreek, staff members at Pacific Pantry, visited Smith River’s Howonquet Hall in this 2024 file photo. | Jessica C. Andrews

With CalFresh benefits fully restored for nearly 4,000 Del Norte families, a local emergency task force targeting food insecurity had officially demobilized as of Friday.

But Julie Bjorkstrand said she and her team with Del Norte Unified School District Nutrition Services would be busy over the weekend assembling 600 food bags that will keep youngsters fed during the Thanksgiving break.

Each bag will have five days of breakfast and five days of lunch and will be available for anyone who’s under 18. They will be distributed from 10 a.m.-noon at the Family Resource Center of the Redwoods, the Yurok Tribal Office in Klamath, the American Legion Hall in Gasquet and at Howonquet Hall and Smith River School.

Continue reading SNAP Gap Was Emergency Food Task Force’s First Test; DNUSD Will Feed Students During Thanksgiving Break →
Community News

CCHD Board Chair Seeks To Censure Dan Schmidt; Weber Says Schmidt Publicly Revealed Confidential Information

Leave a comment

Thumbnail photos: Gerhard Weber (left), Dan Schmidt (right) | Courtesy of ccharbor.com.

A month after he added his name to a now-stalled effort to recall Dan Schmidt, Gerhard Weber sought his colleague’s censure before relinquishing his role as ringmaster of the Crescent City Harbor District.

Weber, who presided over his final meeting as CCHD Board chairman on Wednesday, said he felt partially responsible for “all the circus that is going on.” He acknowledged that he publicized his proposal to officially reprimand Schmidt 24 hours ahead of Wednesday’s special meeting, but argued that his allegations against Schmidt were “nothing new.”

“Some of those items are months old,” Weber said. “Some of the items, newspapers, have been written about. There’s nothing that hasn’t been discussed less than three weeks ago.”

Continue reading CCHD Board Chair Seeks To Censure Dan Schmidt; Weber Says Schmidt Publicly Revealed Confidential Information →
Articles, Community News, Elections

Not Sure Where Your Polling Place Is? The Del Norte Elections Office Has The Answer

Leave a comment
Image courtesy of County of Del Norte, California Facebook page

Voters still have options for weighing in on Proposition 50 if they haven’t dropped their ballot in the mail already.

With only one choice before voters in the statewide special election Tuesday, Del Norte County Clerk-Recorder Alissia Northrup said she has consolidated polling places for the county’s 19 precincts. If people are still not sure where to go, they can visit the Del Norte County Elections Office at 981 H Street, Suite 160 in Crescent City, Northrup said.

For precincts Nos. 1, 2 and 3, the polling place is the Del Norte County Courthouse, 450 H Street in Crescent City.

Continue reading Not Sure Where Your Polling Place Is? The Del Norte Elections Office Has The Answer →
Articles, Community News

(Updated) Del Norte Safety Net Mobilizes Ahead of Potential Suspension Of CalFresh Benefits To 3,900 Families

Leave a comment

Thumbnail photo: The FRC of the Redwoods’ Pacific Pantry has set up A Mighty Cause fundraising campaign to prepare for a surge of need should CalFresh benefits be suspended starting Saturday. | Photo courtesy of A Mighty Cause.

Updated at 4:31 p.m.:

Iya Mahan, food program director for the DNATL Community Food Council, said the Emergency Food Task Force has been activated in response to the potential suspension of SNAP benefits for Del Norte families.

Originally created to respond to natural disasters, Mahan said that with nearly 4,000 families that will be potentially impacted the task force is working together to come up with solutions.

“There have been a lot of people who want to get involved,” she told Redwood Voice Community News on Wednesday. “So we are making sure that we’re not duplicating efforts. For the people who want to get involved, I’m having them fill out a form so I can get them to the right people.”

The Emergency Food Task Force includes local food banks, Del Norte Unified School District’s Department of Nutrition Services, the Del Norte Office of Emergency Services and the Del Norte County Department of Health and Human Services.

For more information on food security resources, click here. Organizations that distribute food resources are asked to click on this link to fill out a short form.

###

Original Post:

People are stepping up to ensure Del Norte families don’t go hungry next month, though District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey still hopes this was a “just how-prepared-are-you” kind of test.

After learning that an average of 3,900 families could be without their CalFresh benefits in November due to the federal government shutdown, Starkey said Monday that the community was “mobilizing.”

On Wednesday, she posted on Facebook that the Emergency Food Task Force met to ensure local food banks had the supplies and volunteers necessary to meet the increased need. It’s also coordinating resources with other community partners and churches.

Continue reading (Updated) Del Norte Safety Net Mobilizes Ahead of Potential Suspension Of CalFresh Benefits To 3,900 Families →
Articles, Community News

Cal Fresh Benefits Set to Pause For 3,900 Del Norte Families Saturday, Local Food Safety Net Braces For Impact

1 Comment
Courtesy Del Norte County Department of Health and Human Services

Thumbnail image: Marina MacNeil and Dominique Richcreek, staff members at Pacific Pantry, visited Smith River in this photo from September 2024 with the pantry’s mobile market. | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Some 3,900 Del Norte County families could find themselves without their CalFresh benefits by the end of the week, according to Health and Human Services Director Ranell Brown.

The notice that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits will not be issued on Saturday due to the federal government shutdown has a handful of organizations scrambling to address the sudden need. 

Marina MacNeil, food bank director at Family Resource Center of the Redwoods said she’s ordering extra food for the Pacific Pantry while the FRC gears up for its annual holiday drive.

Continue reading Cal Fresh Benefits Set to Pause For 3,900 Del Norte Families Saturday, Local Food Safety Net Braces For Impact →
Articles, Community News, Environment, Science

Domoic Acid Delays Recreational Crab Season in Northern California

Leave a comment

Thumbnail photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Map courtesy of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife

Thumbnail photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

From the California Department of Fish and Wildlife:

The recreational Dungeness crab season will open beginning Nov. 1, 2025, except in northern California where it has been delayed due to a public health hazard.

State health agencies determined that Dungeness crab in northern California have unhealthy levels of domoic acid and recommended delaying the opening of the recreational fishery in state waters from the California/Oregon border (42° 0.00’ N latitude) south to the Sonoma/Mendocino County line (38° 46.125’ N latitude). Following this recommendation, California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton H. Bonham has delayed the opening of the recreational Dungeness crab fishery in northern California. Recreational take and/or possession of Dungeness crab is prohibited in these closed waters.

Continue reading Domoic Acid Delays Recreational Crab Season in Northern California →
Articles, CC Harbor, Community News, Local Government

Harbor Recap: Shutdown Delays Grant Process, Commissioners Discuss Lilies, Hazard Plan, Fillet Station

Leave a comment

Thumbnail photo: Harbormaster Mike Rademaker and Harbor Commissioner Dan Schmidt attend a tour of the harbor’s facilities in this January 2025 file photo. | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Among the items discussed at Wednesday’s Crescent City Harbor District meeting:

Citizens Dock/Sea Wall projects: Construction on the seawall and Citizens Dock is expected to start May 1, 2026. But the federal government shutdown is delaying review of the environmental studies the Harbor District submitted to the U.S. Maritime Administration, Mike Bahr, CEO of Community System Solutions, told commissioners.

The Harbor District is rebuilding Citizens Dock and an adjacent seawall with about $15 million in Port Infrastructure Development Program grant dollars. Bahr, who manages the district’s grant-funded projects, brought two contracts with MARAD to the Board of Commissioners for their review, but said because of the shutdown the administration’s attorneys are furloughed.

Continue reading Harbor Recap: Shutdown Delays Grant Process, Commissioners Discuss Lilies, Hazard Plan, Fillet Station →