Tag Archives: crescent city

Blake Inscore To Be Guest Speaker At Sister Cities International Summit in Japan; Delegation Will Visit Iwate Prefecture

Thumbnail photo: A delegation from Rikuzentakata celebrates the inaugural Kamome Festival in Crescent City in 2023. | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Blake Inscore called his guest speaker role at a Sister Cities International Summit in Japan his “last big push for tourism as well as for our community” before he moves onto the next chapter of his life.

Part of the World’s Expo 2025 in Osaka, Inscore said every U.S./Japan Sister City was invited to attend the summit, which will be held from Sept. 16-19. His opportunity to re-tell the story of Crescent City’s evolving friendship with Rikuzentakata not only puts it on as large a world stage as the Tokyo Olympics did back in 2021, it represents what many Sister Cities don’t have.

“Sister Cities International has been very intrigued and they want us to show how a Sister City can work together with government-to-government relationships,” Inscore told the Crescent City Council on Monday. “[Many Sister Cities] don’t have a city council or a mayor or anybody else that’s engaged with wanting to see this happen. And, frankly, this is a win for us.”

Continue reading Blake Inscore To Be Guest Speaker At Sister Cities International Summit in Japan; Delegation Will Visit Iwate Prefecture

Crescent City Leaders Reaffirm Support For Permanent Mining Ban On North Fork Smith River

Thumbnail image shows map of the proposed 58,000-acre expansion of the Smith River National Recreation Area. | Image courtesy of Sen. Jeff Merkley’s office.

More than eight years after the Obama Administration issued a 20-year mining ban for the North Fork Smith River in Oregon, the Crescent City Council reaffirmed its support for legislation that would make that prohibition permanent.

Four councilors on Monday agreed to draft a letter to U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkely and Ron Wyden, who represent Oregon, reminding them that the Smith River is where Del Norte County’s drinking water comes from and that they’ve advocated for protecting its headwaters for more than a decade. Councilor Daran Dooley was absent.

But though Grant Werschkull, executive director of the Smith River Alliance, said such legislation is necessary for the January 2017 mineral withdrawal order to be permanent, he’s not sure if it will be approved this year.

Continue reading Crescent City Leaders Reaffirm Support For Permanent Mining Ban On North Fork Smith River

CCPD Helps Curry County Sheriff Apprehend Man Suspected Of Abusing Children

Thumbnail photo by Ken Lund via Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons License

Crescent City Police Chief Richard Griffin credited the purchase of a Cellebrite Forensic Analyzer for being able to help the Curry County Sheriff’s Office track down a Texas man suspected of abusing children.

Appearing before the Crescent City Council on Monday, Griffin said that Curry County Sheriff John Ward had posted a press release to his agency’s Facebook page, thanking Crescent City for helping with the forensics in a recent Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce case.

According to Ward’s press release, he and Sgt. Zane Van Zelf arrested 32-year-old Matthew Arthur Anderson at his home in the central part of Curry County on Aug. 7. Gold Beach Police Sgt. David Vershall assisted them.

Continue reading CCPD Helps Curry County Sheriff Apprehend Man Suspected Of Abusing Children

Crescent City Council Recap, Aug. 18, 2025

Thumbnail photo: Construction began on the Fred Endert Municipal Pool’s roof on Monday. | courtesy of Andrew Goff

Councilman Daran Dooley was absent. Among the items discussed at Monday’s Crescent City Council meeting:

CDBG grant: City Councilors authorized staff to establish a new fund for the $1.8 million it received in 2024 Community Development Block Grant dollars.

According to City Manager Eric Wier, about $300,000 of that money will go toward the Family Resource Center of the Redwoods for its Pacific Pantry program while another $1.5 million will be used to establish a business loan program.

Continue reading Crescent City Council Recap, Aug. 18, 2025

‘I’m His Right Hand’; Sandy Moreno Stays On As CCHD’s Financial Advisor

Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Sandy Moreno successfully convinced three harbor commissioners that she’s “imminently qualified” to stay on as financial advisor. 

But her justification last week for why she denied access to a U.S. Department of Agriculture document to a member of the public nearly resulted in the ejection of another member of the public from the Crescent City Harbor District’s Aug. 13 meeting when she protested.

“To have a person that you’re employing telling you they are the boss is heinous. It’s just heinous and it’s inappropriate,” Stephanie Abrams said when she was allowed to speak.

Continue reading ‘I’m His Right Hand’; Sandy Moreno Stays On As CCHD’s Financial Advisor

Elder Suspect In May 28 Shooting Near Safeway Is Sentenced; Son’s Case Continues Through Juvenile Court, DA Says

Thumbnail: Russell Walters Jr. and Russell Walters Sr. | Photo courtesy Crescent City Police Department

While his son continues to go through the legal system, Russell Walters Sr. will be out on probation soon, Del Norte County District Attorney Katherine Micks confirmed.

Walters pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact for helping his son, 17-year-old Russell Walters Jr., evade arrest following a shooting at the Jedediah Smith Shopping Center on May 28, Micks told Redwood Voice Community News on Tuesday.

There was no viable evidence to support additional charges against Walters Sr., the district attorney said. 

Continue reading Elder Suspect In May 28 Shooting Near Safeway Is Sentenced; Son’s Case Continues Through Juvenile Court, DA Says

(Updated) Harbor District To Proceed With H Dock Repairs; Plan Will Allow Boats To Moor There Again

Photos: Crescent City Harbor’s H Dock took the brunt of the energy from Kamchatka tsunami that struck early July 30. | Photo courtesy of Mike Rademaker

Updated at 3:44 p.m. Tuesday: H Dock is level again, Crescent City Harbormaster Mike Rademaker told Redwood Voice Community News on Tuesday.

Commissioner Rick Shepherd manned his boat and donated his crew to pump water into totes, creating a counterbalance force to relieve the strain from the “stacked-domino” arrangement left by last months’ tsunami. This was the strategy Moffatt & Nichol Vice President Rob Sloop recommended at a special meeting on Aug. 8, according to Rademaker.

“While it will likely be a year or more before power and water service are restored, the dock is at least usable,” he said via text message, adding that the Dandy Fish Company donated the totes. “Currently, Harbor District crew is on site using sledgehammers to flatten the damaged metal hinges so the dock can remain serviceable until permanent repairs are made.”

Continue reading (Updated) Harbor District To Proceed With H Dock Repairs; Plan Will Allow Boats To Moor There Again

Analysis Finds Del Norte Ambulance Meeting ‘Minimal Requirements’ Though Response Time to Klamath, Gasquet Can Exceed 30 Minutes

Thumbnail photo: Del Norte Ambulance is meeting the terms of its contract with Del Norte County, an analysis of the emergency medical system found. | Photo courtesy of Del Norte Ambulance

Del Norte Ambulance is meeting the minimum requirements of its contract with the county, an assessment of the community’s emergency dispatch system found.

This conclusion is contrary to what several local fire chiefs reported to the Board of Supervisors more than two years ago when it considered awarding the ambulance company sole operating rights in Del Norte.

But the assessment, conducted by EndPoint EMS Consulting LLC, stated that the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office is unable to provide emergency medical dispatch services or provide data on 911 medical call reports. Response times to remote areas in the county often exceeded 30 minutes, and there was a lack of understanding and coordination between Del Norte Ambulance and fire department personnel.

Continue reading Analysis Finds Del Norte Ambulance Meeting ‘Minimal Requirements’ Though Response Time to Klamath, Gasquet Can Exceed 30 Minutes

CCHD Commissioners Move Forward With Search For RV Park Developers

Thumbnail image: An example site plan from the Harbor District’s request for proposals packet for Bayside and Redwood Harbor Village RV parks. | Courtesy the CCHD

Despite appearing to favor one proposal, Crescent City Harbormaster Mike Rademaker assured commissioners that narrowing down options for redeveloping the port’s two RV parks won’t be a unilateral decision on his part.

It’s an assurance that assuaged most commissioners’ concerns on Monday, particularly when Rademaker brought up a scoring process that they all would participate in. 

But Annie Nehmer said she was worried that a provision in a request for proposals that allows the Harbor District to start negotiating with a developer before a 21-day window for submissions was up may discourage competition.

Continue reading CCHD Commissioners Move Forward With Search For RV Park Developers

Del Norte OES Manager Says Gasquet Neighbors Group Stepped Up During Tsunami Emergency; Scientists Start Collecting, Analyzing Data

Thumbnail photo: Wednesday’s tsunamis lifted H Dock off its pilings, temporarily submerging it, resulting in separation of its segments. | Photo courtesy of the Crescent City Harbor District

Two days after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake near the Russian Far East sent tsunami surges into the Crescent City Harbor, Del Norte County’s emergency services manager posted a big thank you on Facebook.

Deborah Otenburg praised first responders, local law enforcement, the city, school district and tribal partners as well as the county health and human services and building maintenance departments, which set up a temporary evacuation point at the Veterans Memorial Hall in Crescent City.

Otenburg also lauded the Gasquet Neighbors Helping Neighbors group and the Gasquet American Legion Hall — unusual recipients of her thanks when the only areas in immediate danger for most of Wednesday were the harbor, beaches and the Elk Creek, Klamath and Smith River mouths.

Continue reading Del Norte OES Manager Says Gasquet Neighbors Group Stepped Up During Tsunami Emergency; Scientists Start Collecting, Analyzing Data