Category Archives: Local Government

Hooper Pleads No Contest to DUI With Injury; Plea Bargain Would Reduce Charge To Misdemeanor

October 21, 2025 Jessica Cejnar Andrews 1 Comment

_{Thumbnail photo: Randy Hooper’s hit and run and DUI charges stem from a collision that took place near Sand Mine Road and U.S. 101 on April 19. | Photo by Heather Polen.}

Randy Hooper pleaded no contest to felony DUI causing injury as part of a plea bargain that would reduce the charge to a misdemeanor if he follows its terms, attorney Keith Morris told Redwood Voice Community News on Tuesday.

Del Norte County’s assistant county administrative officer changed his plea on Oct. 9 and will be formally sentenced in November, said Morris, who prosecuted the case on behalf of the California Attorney General’s Office.

If the judge approves the plea deal, Hooper will be required to finish the Humboldt Addictions Services Program (HASP) for DUI offenders, attend two Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, showing proof of attendance, and “obey all laws,” Morris said. Hooper will have six months from Oct. 9 to meet the terms of the plea bargain.

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Articles, CC Harbor, Elections, Local Government

Schmidt Cited For Trespassing at Roger Gitlin’s House; Harbor Commissioner Is Contacting Proponents of Now-Paused Recall Effort

October 20, 2025 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail photo: Roger Gitlin (left) and Dan Schmidt (right)}

Crescent City Harbor Commissioner Dan Schmidt was ready to go to jail for trespassing at Roger Gitlin’s house on Wednesday.

Schmidt, who last month bought the Del Norte Triplicate from Country Media, Gitlin’s previous employer, wanted to hand over his rebuttal to a now-rescinded recall effort against him. Gitlin wouldn’t answer the door, so Schmidt stayed on the porch for about half an hour knocking and ringing the bell.

“I guess Roger got tired of me being there so he called the police to have me arrested for trespassing,” Schmidt told Redwood Voice Community News on Sunday. He said the officer who responded gave him the choice of leaving or being arrested.

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Articles, Health, Local Government

Del Norte Seeks $20 Million Grant For Behavioral Health Clinic; Supes Also Support Regional Mental Health Services Project

October 17, 2025 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail: Del Norte County Department of Health and Human Services employees and their clients commemorated Mental Health Awareness Month with a ceremonial walk to the Flynn Center in May. | File photo by Monique Camarena}

Though her department is pursuing the same grant to build a local outpatient behavioral health clinic, Ranell Brown urged supervisors to support a Shasta County project that she says will provide services Del Norte County can’t.

Brown, director of the Del Norte County Department of Health and Human Services, said her department’s application for $20 million in Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP) seeks to expand the services Del Norte offers.

The “True North” Behavioral Health Campus, a collaboration between Signature Health Care, Arch Collaborative and the Shasta Health Assessment and Redesign Collaborative is a more regional project, she said. “The project includes triage and crisis stabilization and inpatient psychiatric care, residential treatment for children and youth and partial hospitalization and social rehabilitation,” Brown said of the proposed “True North” facility. “It’s a much broader project than what we can do in Del Norte County.”

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Articles, Curry, Local Government

Oregon Judge Weighs In On Dispute Between Curry BOC, Sheriff, Sets Trial For Oct. 28

October 16, 2025 Jessica Cejnar Andrews 2 Comments

_{Thumbnail: An Oregon circuit court judge weighed in on the Curry County Board of Commissioners’ dispute with Sheriff John Ward. | Screenshot}

An Oregon circuit court judge has issued an opinion outlining where the Curry County Board of Commissioners and the sheriff stand when it comes to their respective roles.

However, one aspect of the county’s complaint against Sheriff John Ward — whether he’s required to provide “all records, information and supporting documents” to the Board of Commissioners upon request — will be the subject of a trial on Oct. 28.

“Personally, I’m grateful to have this judgment determination in front of us,” Board Chairman Jay Trost told Redwood Voice Community News on Thursday, adding that the opinion may have implications that apply to other communities besides Curry County. “It just provides a path forward in clarifying some of the roles and responsibilities that have been in question.”

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Articles, Local Government

Del Norte Supes Weigh In On Salary Placement, Juvenile Custody Issues, Prop. 50

October 15, 2025 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

Among the items discussed at Tuesday’s Del Norte County Board of Supervisors meeting.

Salary Schedule and New Hires: Though she said new employees are welcome, the president of the Del Norte County Employees Association pointed out that the county is establishing a standard when it comes to placement on the salary schedule.

Norma Williams referred to the proposed hiring of four employees at Step C on the salary schedule — items that appeared on the Board’s consent agenda and were approved without comment.

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Articles, Elections, Local Government

Weber, Evans Signed Notice Of Intent To Recall Harbor District Colleagues; Effort To Oust Nehmer, Schmidt On Hold, Gitlin Says

October 15, 2025 Jessica Cejnar Andrews 1 Comment

_{Thumbnail: Roger Gitlin told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that he has paused his recall effort against Harbor commissioners Dan Schmidt and Annie Nehmer until it can coincide with the November 2026 election. | Screenshot}

Crescent City Harbor commissioners Gerhard Weber and John Evans have officially endorsed Roger Gitlin’s now-stalled campaign to recall their colleagues Dan Schmidt and Annie Nehmer.

Both confirmed that they had added their signatures to Giltin’s notice of intent to recall with Weber, the Board’s chairman, telling Redwood Voice Community News on Wednesday that he feels guilty for urging the local Republican Party to endorse Nehmer. He called her smart and hard-working, but said she’s focusing on “minute rule things” instead of directing her energy in a way that is more positive for the harbor.

Weber also said that Schmidt, who purchased the Del Norte Triplicate from its previous owners last month, had revealed information about Harbormaster Mike Rademaker that had, up until then, been stated in closed session meetings. Most recently, Weber said, Schmidt is now claiming in the Triplicate that Rademaker was accused of sexual harassment.

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Articles, CC Harbor, Local Government

CCHD Commissioner Introduces Colleagues To His Brother Amid Nepotism Accusations

October 13, 2025 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

Three months after the Del Norte Triplicate accused Dan Schmidt of “introducing nepotism” to the Crescent City harbormaster, his fellow commissioners met the man Schmidt says could help right the Harbor District’s ship.

Dennis Schmidt, Dan’s “better-looking, nicer, funnier brother,” came to the podium Wednesday with 32 years’ experience working in the utilities, human resources and city manager’s departments for Anaheim. He’s got a Master’s degree in public administration, a Bachelor’s degree in organizational development and says he’s the guy top administrators bring in to help fix damaged systems.

Now that he’s retired, Dennis Schmidt, whose home alternates between Crescent City and the Mojave Desert community of Apple Valley, says he wants to help the Harbor District. But after a tepid reception from his brother’s colleagues, he said he thinks the Board of Commissioners was “looking for a reason to say no.”

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Articles, Education, Elections, Local Government

Michael Greer’s Prop. 50 Opposition Resolution Fails Twice With School Board Colleagues

October 10, 2025 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail photo: Under new proposed Congressional District boundaries, Del Norte County would share a representative with Shasta, Siskiyou and Modoc counties, which are currently in District 1. | Photo courtesy of the Senate Election and Constitutional Amendments Committee.}

Michael Greer made two unsuccessful attempts Thursday at getting his fellow school board members to officially oppose Proposition 50.

Greer’s resolution before the Del Norte County Office of Education Board of Trustees and a similar resolution before the Del Norte County Unified School District Board had the same outcomes — dying due to lack of a second.

“I brought this (forward) because I believe that local communities, local school boards, local county offices of education, the county Board of Supervisors and the city itself needs to take part in a political process especially when it affects our California Constitution,” Greer said during the DNUSD Board meeting after acknowledging that the resolution he presented before the County Board failed to get a second motion. “The proposition takes away the opportunity to have that community support.”

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Articles, CC Harbor, Infrastructure, Local Government

Harbor Commissioners Direct Staff To Obtain Insurance Quotes For Inner Boat Basin

October 10, 2025 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail photo by Gavin Van Alstine}

Though the district’s loan payment negotiations with the U.S. Department of Agriculture are on hold due to the federal government shutdown, Crescent City Harbor commissioners directed staff on Wednesday to obtain quotes for insuring the inner boat basin.

The Harbor District Board’s new vice chair, John Evans, encouraged Harbormaster Mike Rademaker and Fiscal Officer Sandy Moreno to continue exploring “alternative ideas” with the federal agency.

Moreno said having the insurance quotes, and finding out whether the Harbor District can afford insuring the marina or not may help in its negotiations with the USDA, particularly if those quotes address tsunami coverage.

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Editorials, Education, Local Government, Opinion

Editorial: Keep Party Politics Out Of Our Local Government

October 7, 2025 Redwood Voice Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail photo: The Del Norte Unified School District Board of Trustees from left to right: Frank Magarino, Charlaine Mazzei, Don McArthur, Abbie Crist and Michael Greer. Courtesy of DNUSD.org.}

This first editorial is the collective opinion of Redwood Voice Community News and KFUG Community Radio LLP and is separate from our regular news coverage. To make your own opinion known to us, email redwoodvoicedn@gmail.com.

It’s not lost on Redwood Voice Community News and KFUG Community Radio LLP that we are stating our opinion about a local elected official stating his opinion.

But when said elected official, in this case Del Norte Unified School District Trustee Michael Greer, seeks to make his opinion DNUSD’s official opinion by asking his colleagues to approve a resolution, we need to speak up.

Greer plans to ask his fellow school board members on Thursday to “adopt a position of opposition to Proposition 50.” For anyone who doesn’t know, if it passes, Prop. 50 would be California’s response to Texas’s efforts to add five more Republicans to the U.S. House of Representatives through Congressional redistricting.

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