Tag Archives: del norte county news

Articles, Local Government

Del Norte Supervisors Discuss Budget, Challenges of Providing State-Mandated Services, Charlie Kirk

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Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

District 1 Supervisor Darrin Short was absent. Among the items discussed at Tuesday’s Del Norte County Board of Supervisors meeting:

Board Approves 2025-26 Final Budget: Four county supervisors approved Del Norte County’s 2025-26 final recommended budget about two weeks after they learned that 25% of its positions are vacant and overall base salaries are 10% under market median.

The final step in a process that included a 14-day public hearing window and two budget workshops, the total 2025-26 recommended budget is $249,475,247 with a general fund budget of $45,460,804, according to a staff report from County Administrative Officer Neal Lopez and Auditor-Controller Clinton Schaad.

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Articles, Law, Youth

DN Probation Chief Asks Supervisors To Oppose Proposed Limit on Probation Period for Juvenile Offenders

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of Del Norte County Probation

Calling it a solution looking for a problem, Lonnie Reyman urged Del Norte County supervisors to oppose a bill that seeks to place a 12-month limit on the probation period for juvenile offenders.

The chief probation officer asked the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to send a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom requesting his veto on Assembly Bill 1376. The state’s juvenile justice system is already tailored to the youths’ individual needs, Reyman argued, and a judge determines how long they’ll be on probation.

“As stated in the letter, this takes away that authority for the court to determine what is in the best interest of that youth given all the information they receive,” he said, “both from my department, other agencies involved in the crime that occurred and any other entities and agencies that have input on the length of that probation and what that probation looks like.”

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Articles, Economy, Local Government

A Quarter of Del Norte County’s Positions Are Vacant, HR Director Says

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Updated at 4:37 p.m. to correct the spelling of Samantha Reagen’s name.

After weighing in on a compensation analysis they said fell short of expectations, county supervisors learned that Del Norte’s overall vacancy rate is 25%.

Out of a total of 482 positions countywide, 121 are empty, Human Resources Director Kerri Vue said last week. This represents a significant staffing shortage that is more pronounced in the Social Services and Behavioral Health branches of the Department of Health and Human Services as well as the District Attorney, Probation and Sheriff’s Offices, she said.

“We also see several smaller, yet important, single vacancies across various departments such as the administrative office, animal control, the assessor and the auditor-controller,” she said. “All these numbers are smaller, [but] each vacancy represents a critical gap in a specific function, potentially impacting efficacy and the ability to meet department objectives.”

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Articles, Local Government

Comp Study Shows Del Norte County’s Overall Base Salaries 10% Below Market Rate; Supervisors Say Analysis Fell Short Of Expectations

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Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Norma Williams summed up SEIU 1021’s assessment of the Gallagher report in four words: We told you so.

The president of the Del Norte County Employees Association told supervisors Tuesday that the results of Gallagher’s compensation analysis — which showed that the county’s base salary is 10% below the market median though its overall compensation package is 2.1% above the market median — is nothing new.

Following a subsequent presentation from Human Resources Director Kerri Vue, who stated that there were 121 staff vacancies out of a total of 482 positions, Williams called for an across-the-board cost of living adjustment. She also urged them to address substandard salaries by ensuring the positions’ pay is in line with the market rate.

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Articles, Community News, Health, Local Government

Working Group Battling Opioid Calls Using Settlement Dollars to Build Treatment Capacity, Increase Naloxone Access

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of Jermaine Brubaker

Editor’s note: Rx Safe Del Norte and KFUG Community Radio LLP — Redwood Voice’s parent organization — are currently partnering together on TACOCAT, a teen-based program aimed at spreading awareness about opioid abuse in Del Norte County.

Calling the roughly $4 million in opioid settlement dollars Del Norte County is set to receive a “once-in-a-generation opportunity,” members of a local coalition stated that it plans to use that money to close the gaps that contributed to the crisis.

The opioid litigation work group’s plan calls for increasing treatment capacity in the jail as well as inside and outside of Del Norte County, according to Behavioral Health Deputy Director Shiann Hogan. The plan also aims to use settlement dollars to better equip law enforcement, emergency personnel and other providers to meet the community’s needs.

According to Hogan, the group’s plan focuses on using opioid settlement dollars Del Norte County currently has.

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Articles, Community News, Environment, Health

Animal Rescuers Wonder Where Pets Will Fit In At New Homeless Shelter, Micro Village

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of Del Norte County; Above, Camp Berry founder Rhonda Berry says that of the 150 puppies she’s rescued in about a year 80% of them have come from the homeless encampments. | Photo courtesy of GoFundMe

Gloria Bobertz says she understands that for some people struggling with homelessness, their dog is often their only friend.

She doesn’t think they shouldn’t have pets, but after nearly 20 years working as a behavioral health specialist for Del Norte County, Bobertz, who’s now retired and works with cadaver and search and rescue dogs, said she’s seen the conditions some of these animals are in. She said she had a particularly hard time with a litter of puppies she brought to Camp Berry in July

“They were starved,” Bobertz told Redwood Voice Community News. “I don’t know what they were given to eat, but I can tell you it smelled so rotten. And just the look in their eyes — how can you do this to another living creature?”

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Articles, Crime, Law

Del Norte County Sheriff Speaks Out On Randy Hooper Character Reference, Says He Disagrees With How It Was Used

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Thumbnail photo: Randy Hooper’s felony hit-and-run and DUI charges stem from a collision that occurred at Sand Mine Road and U.S. 101 on April 19. | Photo by Heather Polen

Though he provided a character reference for Randy Hooper, who faces felony hit-and-run and DUI charges, Del Norte County Sheriff Garrett Scott said he disagrees with how it was used during an Aug. 26 preliminary hearing.

In an email to Redwood Voice Community News on Aug. 27, Scott said he did not support efforts by George Mavris, Hooper’s attorney, to reduce his client’s charges from felonies to misdemeanors. Scott said he also refrained from using his title when signing the character reference, though he acknowledges that he “inherits the title.”

He said he also took issue with a comment prosecuting attorney Keith Morris made during the hearing, that he was “disappointed that a sitting sheriff submitted a letter.”

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Articles, Community News, Crescent City, Economy, Infrastructure, Local Government

Crescent City Takes First Step On Long Path Toward Revitalizing Its Downtown

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Thumbnail image courtesy of Crescent City; YouTube video by Heather Polen

Karen Betlejewski choked up a little when she described her dad’s impression of Downtown Crescent City as a 40-plus year resident returning home after being away.

“He said, ‘I wanted to cry,’” she told a gathering of business owners, elected officials and other stakeholders with interest in the downtown area.

Betlejewski, who manages the Del Norte County Historical Society’s museum and says “she’s into old,” said she enjoys shopping in Downtown Crescent City and she loves the people. But the vacant buildings make the area look sad.

“You know that it just needs help,” she said. “And I would like to see that.”

Don Arambula agreed. The project manager, principal planner and urban designer for Portland-based Crandall Arambula PC presented a preliminary assessment to Betlejewski and about 80 other residents on Wednesday.

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Articles, Infrastructure, Transportation

Roundabout Not Likely To Be Funded For Elk Valley Cross Road, U.S. 101, Caltrans Says

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Thumbnail photo: Caltrans officials and Del Norte Local Transportation commissioners discussed safety improvements to the intersection of U.S. 101 and Elk Valley Cross Road. | Image courtesy of Google Maps

Though acknowledging that a roundabout would help reduce the number of collisions on U.S. 101 at Elk Valley Cross Road, it’s unlikely Caltrans will receive the funding to construct it, Safety Investigator Clark Davis said.

Davis told Del Norte Local Transportation Commissioners on Tuesday that they agreed with its assessment that the collision rate at the intersection exceeded the state average. But with most of those crashes involving drivers that aren’t seeing the approaching traffic behind the car they’re trying to avoid, there isn’t much Caltrans can do, Davis said.

“We can’t make the cars invisible,” he said. “The best we can do is improve some signing and some delineation, which is what we’re planning to do.”

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Articles, Health, Infrastructure, Local Government

Ruth Compound Barriers Will Stay Put; Supervisors Call For Further Remedies To Illegal Dumping, Camping In The Area

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Thumbnail photo: Del Norte County Supervisors on Tuesday decided that K rail blocking vehicular access to an area commonly called the Ruth Compound should remain. | Photo by Heather Polen

(Updated at 7:51 p.m. to correct the spelling of Randy Pincombe’s name)

District 1 Supervisor Darrin Short argued that barriers are part of the solution to curtail illegal dumping and camping in the Ruth Compound, though he said Band-Aid is an apt term for them too.

“Band-Aid” was the phrase District 2 Supervisor Valery Starkey coined in February 2024 when Short initially proposed blocking the area. 

On Tuesday, though she ultimately voted with the rest of her colleagues for the barriers to continue, Starkey asked for statistics on the number of illegal dumpsites as well as the number of deputy patrols in the area. 

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