Category Archives: Regional News

Articles, Crescent City, LGBTQ

Local Church Hosts Memorial Service for Transgender Victims of Violence

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Thumbnail courtesy of Amanda Dockter.

St Paul’s Episcopal Church in Crescent City will be hosting a candlelight vigil in observance of Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) and Resilience this Wednesday, November 20th at 7pm. The event honors the memory of transgender and gender-variant individuals who have lost their lives to violence, while also focusing on cultivating community and resilience among the LGBTQIA+ population.

The event will feature several speakers from various backgrounds, including Christie Lynn Rust – a local woman who transitioned after retiring from her decades-long career as the beloved Music Director at Del Norte High School. The names of trans individuals in the United States who lost their lives in the past year will be read, with a candle lit for each of them. Unfortunately, as hate crimes often go unreported, there is no way of knowing the true number of victims lost to anti-trans violence.

The official flier for the Transgender Day of Remembrance 2024 Service.

Statistics about the unique challenges faced by transgender individuals paint a worrisome picture. A 2011 National Gay and Lesbian Task Force survey revealed that anti-transgender biases perpetuate discriminatory practices and attitudes towards gender-variant individuals. 63 percent of transgender respondents reported having experienced at least one form of significant discrimination, 35 percent said they were physically assaulted, and 41 percent reported attempting suicide.

Continue reading Local Church Hosts Memorial Service for Transgender Victims of Violence →
Articles, Community News, Crescent City

Del Norte Says Thank You: Veterans Day Parade Offers Connectivity, Support

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Redwood School’s cheer squad show Del Norte’s veterans some love at Monday’s parade. | Photos by KFUG Station Manager Paul Critz

Lynn Herriott said it took 20 years for her to join a veterans organization, so she understands why some might approach a parade with mixed feelings.

Herriott, who was with the U.S. Marine Corps stationed at Camp Pendleton during the Gulf War, waited for Crescent City’s annual Veterans Day parade to start. The Gasquet American Legion 548 commander says she’s not super vocal about her service — she understands the holiday may be painful, especially for those who have seen combat — but the parade shows veterans that people care about them.

It also helps connect them with veterans organizations like the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, Herriott told Redwood Voice Community News on Monday.

“I think maybe they don’t understand what the service organizations do, but we’re here for the veterans,” she said. “It’s good camaraderie because you’re talking to people who understand your language and understand what you’ve been through. It’s a good place to go if you’re feeling like you don’t fit in.”

Continue reading Del Norte Says Thank You: Veterans Day Parade Offers Connectivity, Support →
Articles, Community News, Crescent City, Infrastructure, Local Government

Crescent City Council Roundup for Nov. 4, 2024

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Among the items discussed at last week’s Crescent City Council meeting:

Landscape standards: Three councilors approved new parameters dictating the amount of open space housing developers need to provide their residents. 

Councilors Jason Greenough and Kelly Schellong Feola dissented, saying the requirement for developers to set aside 20 percent of their property for usable open space if their project has six or more housing units was too burdensome.

Under the new standards, multi-family developments with six or more units must include one amenity such as a community garden, a picnic or barbecue area or an exercise area, City Attorney Martha Rice said. A portion of it must also be landscaped. For developments with 10 or more units, the usable open space must have one of the amenities listed above plus a play area with a picnic table, Rice said.

Continue reading Crescent City Council Roundup for Nov. 4, 2024 →
Articles, Community News, Crescent City, Infrastructure, Local Government

City Council Tweaks Measure S-Funded Projects, Uses SB-1 Dollars For Asphalt Repairs

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Photo courtesy of Andrew Goff, of the Lost Coast Outpost

After their fire chief credited Measure S for his department’s recent Class 2 ISO rating, Crescent City councilors on Monday authorized changes to more projects paid for with revenue from the voter-approved sales tax.

Those changes include using $90,000 in Measure S dollars to start expanding the Crescent City Police Department while waiting on a USDA Community Facilities loan to come through.

Councilors allocated an extra $120,000 as contingency for an HVAC and flooring project at the Fred Endert Municipal Swimming Pool plus an additional $106,000 for other projects that need to be completed during the facility’s three-month closure.

Continue reading City Council Tweaks Measure S-Funded Projects, Uses SB-1 Dollars For Asphalt Repairs →
Community News, Crescent City, Videos

Crescent City Cuts Ribbon On Refurbished Front Street

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Video and photo by Amanda Dockter

(Updated at 8:02 p.m. to correct an error. Crescent City Mayor Blake Inscore cut the ribbon on Front Street.)

Crescent City added another piece to the Front Street reconstruction puzzle when it cut the ribbon on the block between I and Play streets on Friday. Construction on the final block, which brings the reconstructed drive to U.S. 101, will start next year, according to Councilwoman Kelly Schellong Feola.

Crescent City used state and federal grant transportation dollars, Community Project Funding from Congressman Jared Huffman’s office and Measure S tax moneys to pay for the project. Schellong Feola thanked the city’s state and federal partners who “worked so hard” to allow Crescent City to cobble the Front Street project together.

Crescent City Mayor Blake Inscore cut the ribbon on Front Street. He was joined by Schellong Feola, Ernie Perry, chairman of the Measure S Oversight Committee, Councilor-Elect Candace Tinkler, Public Works Director Dave Yeager and Cindy Vosburg, executive director of the Crescent City Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce.

Articles, Community News, Curry, Law, Local Government

Former Commissioner Proposes Creating A Service District To Rebuild The Curry County Sheriff’s Office

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Former elected official Christopher Paasch appeared before the Curry County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday to make a formal pitch to ask voters to create a service district in an effort to rebuild the sheriff’s office.

Paasch, who retired from the Board following the 2022 election, brought Sheriff John Ward with him, and urged commissioners on Wednesday to declare their intention to form a Curry County Law Enforcement Service District and schedule the first of two public hearings Oregon statute requires to place the measure before voters next May.

The proposed service district would be funded through a property tax of $1.12 per $1,000 of assessed valued property and would generate roughly $4.2 million annually, Paasch said. The revenue would pay for eight patrol deputies, a civil deputy, an administrative assistant, two sergeants, one lieutenant and the sheriff.

Continue reading Former Commissioner Proposes Creating A Service District To Rebuild The Curry County Sheriff’s Office →
Articles, Community News, Crescent City, Local Government

Crescent City Fire Achieves Second-Highest ISO Rating

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Crescent City Fire & Rescue participates in a local Fourth of Parade. | Photo: Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Kevin Carey said he and his colleagues thought a Class 2 ISO rating was unattainable for Crescent City Fire & Rescue. So when he announced the department’s new designation with the Insurance Services Office Inc. before the City Council on Monday, the fire chief credited a slew of people, most especially the late Steve Wakefield.

Carey delivered the news to Wakefield’s wife Debra after first informing the city manager.

“She was absolutely ecstatic,” Carey said. “She knew that Steve would be super proud of us.”

Continue reading Crescent City Fire Achieves Second-Highest ISO Rating →
Articles, Arts & Culture, Crescent City

Roadside Art Collection Remains in Safekeeping with the City of Crescent City

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Inside the former Bank of America building on H Street in Crescent City resides an abundant collection of abstract mixed media paintings and sculptures by Ukrainian artist Val Polyanin. In 2022, the city became responsible for over 900 pieces of Polyanin’s art. Polyanin donated his collection to the city for safekeeping after rising rent costs forced him to abandon his roadside gallery alongside U.S. 101 south of town.

After debating whether or not to accept the donation, city councilors eventually agreed to allocate $10,000 out of their economic development fund toward obtaining his collection and curating the exhibit.

In May of 2023, the city held a grand opening for this exhibit, aptly named “Safekeeping,” for “First Friday”. These events, organized in conjunction with the Downtown Divas, are designed to draw traffic to local businesses in the downtown area and stimulate economic activity.

Redwood Voice Youth Media had initially been enlisted by the city to produce a short documentary film to be played on loop at this art exhibit. This video detailed Val Polyanin’s background, journey to America, and passion for artistic freedom.

Continue reading Roadside Art Collection Remains in Safekeeping with the City of Crescent City →
Articles, Community News, Curry, Health, Local Government

Curry BOC Moves Forward On One Proposed Use For Opioid Funds; Jail Telehealth Proposal Delayed

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Curry County commissioners last week proceeded with a proposed partnership with Gold Beach to create a school resource and community resource officer (SRO/CRO) position using opioid settlement dollars.

But state procurement laws and the lack of a proposed contract is keeping the Board from moving forward on a request from jail commander Lt. Jeremy Krohn to provide addiction treatment services to inmates using those same settlement dollars.

The county would have to send out a request for proposals to service providers before it moves forward with telehealth opioid abuse disorder treatment at the jail, Finance Director Keina Wolf told commissioners at a special meeting Friday.

“More than likely there is more than one place that can provide us with telehealth capabilities and we need to give equal opportunity for people to apply for those contracts,” she said. “I know [Krohn] did say he reached out and had spoken with different individuals, but there’s not a contract attached so we don’t know what the not-to-exceed number would be and we don’t know what services exactly are going to be provided.”

Continue reading Curry BOC Moves Forward On One Proposed Use For Opioid Funds; Jail Telehealth Proposal Delayed →
Arts & Culture, Smith River, Tribal Affairs, Videos

The 2024 Peace & Dignity Journey Run

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In the 2024 Peace and Dignity Journeys run, participants embark on a seven-month prayer run from Fairbanks, Alaska, and Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, converging at El Cuaca, Colombia. This journey emphasizes the commitment to prayer, underlining the obligation to strengthen spiritual connections among Indigenous Peoples across the Western Hemisphere.

Join Rory McCain and Ethan Caudill-DeRego of Redwood Voice as they meet up with and interview the runners from the north during their overnight stay with the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation.