Tag Archives: del norte county

Articles, Environment, Infrastructure, Local Government

County Supervisors Adopts Drought Resilience Plan, Task Force

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Thumbnail photo: A rain-swollen Smith River from Slant Bridge. | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Though he said drought isn’t a major concern in Del Norte County, Sr. Environmental Health Specialist Houawa Moua introduced the Board of Supervisors to a resiliency plan for preventing water shortages in vulnerable communities.

The Del Norte County Drought Resilience Plan applies to domestic wells and water systems that have between five and 14 service connections, he said Tuesday. The plan includes a risk assessment and short-term and long-term strategies for responding to a potential water shortage. 

The state legislation requiring communities to adopt a resiliency plan — State Senate Bill 552, which was signed into law in 2021 — also requires counties to establish a drought and water shortage preparedness task force.

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Articles, Education

After 16 Years, Don McArthur Retires From DNUSD School Board

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Thumbnail photo: DNUSD Trustee Area 1 representative Don McArthur (center) is flanked to the left by Charlaine Mazzei and Frank Magarino and to the right by Abbie Crist and Michael Greer. | Photo courtesy of DNUSD.org

Before he bid Don McArthur a happy retirement, DNUSD Superintendent Jeff Harris gave him and his colleagues an idea of just how long he’d been on the School Board.

“We were talking at the graduation,” Harris said. “Every kid who walked across the stage, you were on the School Board when they were in kindergarten.”

Three of McArthur’s colleagues on the Board read and approved a resolution honoring his service. The resolution applauds McArthur’s “strong commitment to public education” and his “genuine desire to do what is best for students.”

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Articles, Local Government, Transportation

Airport Director Discusses BCRAA’s Reduced 2026-27 Budget, Line Of Credit From Del Norte County

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of Andrew Goff

Two weeks after they extended a line of credit to the Border Coast Regional Airport Authority, Del Norte County supervisors on Tuesday approved an airport authority budget its director said was balanced after “we trimmed and trimmed.”

BCRAA’s 2026-27 budget calls for projected revenues and expenditures of about $6.78 million, down from the $13.73 million the authority’s original 2025-26 budget called for and the $13.74 million that was in its revised budget. 

Fewer grant-funded projects expected this fiscal year is the main reason for the difference, Airport Authority Director Sean Rosenthal told Redwood Voice Community News on Thursday. Those projects include rehabilitation of Runway 18-36 and the purchase of an airport fire rescue truck, both of which were paid for with Federal Aviation Administration dollars, he said.

“It’s those really large projects that make the airport budget fluctuate so,” he said. “Probably this would be one of the leaner years, but that’s, again, due to the fact that we have less projects than we did last year. The next one will be when we do Runway 12-30 in a few years.”

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Articles, Environment, Local Government

County Supervisors Vote To Send ‘Very Soft’ Offshore Oil Drilling Opposition Letter Despite Chris Howard’s Objections

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Thumbnail photo: Oil platforms off the coast of Seal Beach, Calif. | Photo by Mike Peel via Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons License

District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard warned his colleagues a third time about sending a letter to the federal government outlining Del Norte County’s opposition to offshore oil drilling.

Del Norte County’s letter is in response to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Section 312 evaluation of the California Coastal Management Program. While he called it mild, Howard said he worried about any fallout the county may experience as a result. He was especially concerned about the $2.1-$2.7 billion tunnel bypass around Last Chance Grade south of Crescent City.

“I’ve expressed concerns about federal funding for our tunnel project and an administration that seems to be very vindictive as it relates to funding projects where communities take an opposition to those federal policies,” Howard said Tuesday.

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Alerts, Crime, Klamath, Regional News

Judge Rejects Request to Evaluate Defendant’s Mental Competency in Dante Romannose-Jones Case

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Thumbnail photo by Amanda Dockter

A Del Norte County judge denied a request to determine if the 27-year-old man accused of killing 13-year-old Dante Romannose-Jones when he was still a teenager himself is competent enough to assist in his own defense.

During a hearing in juvenile court on Wednesday, Crescent City attorney James Fallman asked to have his client, Nathan Feliz, evaluated by a psychiatrist for competency. 

Fallman told Judge Darrin McElfresh that the defendant, who was 16 years old in 2015 when Romannose-Jones was shot and killed in Klamath, ended a conversation mid-sentence when he tried to discuss options with him.

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Articles, Infrastructure, Local Government

Del Norte County Board of Supervisors Recap, July 28, 2026

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Right: Retiring correctional deputy sergeant Gary Potter (middle) received a proclamation celebrating his 24-year career with the county from District 5 Supervisor Dean Wilson (left) and Sheriff Garrett Scott (right). | Capt. Jennifer Campbell

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

Gary Potter: Before he read the proclamation celebrating Gary Potter’s 24 years with Del Norte County, District 5 Supervisor Dean Wilson noted that he had administered the oath of office to the retiring correctional deputy sergeant.

Potter began working for the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office in 2001. For the past 17 years, Potter has been a correctional deputy sergeant, according to the resolution.

“Potter was an experienced correctional sergeant that kept things running with safety and security in mind,” the resolution states, “he was a real pillar of excellence in our Del Norte County Jail.” 

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Articles, Crescent City, Infrastructure, Local Government, Tribal Affairs

Crescent City Commissions Water Capacity Study As Elk Valley Rancheria Looks To Start Hotel Construction

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Thumbnail photo: Elk Valley Rancheria tribal building. | Photo courtesy of Andrew Goff

Crescent City councilors took a first step Monday toward helping Elk Valley Rancheria build its new four-story 93-room hotel.

It’s a project the tribal nation has been working on since the early 2000s when it took the Martin Ranch through the fee-to-trust process, Elk Valley Rancheria CEO Crista Stewart told Redwood Voice Community News on Wednesday. Ground breaking is expected to take place in about a month, she said.

“It’s going to be really rustic,” Stewart said. “We’ll have a beautiful one-story lobby with open ceilings that’ll open up into a beautiful backyard patio with a fire pit overlooking the ocean. We’re also going to have two areas for meetings. (There) will be a smaller board-room style room for smaller meetings and we’ll also have a larger meeting event room for guests up to 100 for weddings and trainings and conferences.”

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Articles, Crescent City, Infrastructure

State Dollars City’s Sewer Plant Upgrade May Be Less Than Initially Expected, City Manager Says

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Thumbnail photo by James Brooks

Crescent City met the deadline to apply for a $50 million forgivable loan to bring its sewer plant into compliance with updated National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System requirements.

But the likelihood the city will receive $50 million from the State Water Resources Control Board is questionable, City Manager Eric Wier told councilors on Monday.

“The total amount of funding that is available in this round has been reduced significantly,” he said. “The $50 million will represent a significant portion of the total funding that they have overall. Hopefully we’ll know in the next six months.”

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Articles, CC Harbor, Economy

Schmidt, Nehmer object to doing business with LLC created to manage Harbor District RV parks

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Thumbnail photo: Bayside RV Park at the Crescent City Harbor is one of two that a new limited liability company, Crescent City Beach Village LLC, will redevelop and manage. | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

A nine-month long courtship between the Crescent City Harbor District and BSD Property Management was nearly derailed over what the investment manager said is standard procedure for a new business.

But after CCHD commissioners Dan Schmidt and Annie Nehmer balked at entering into a lease agreement with Crescent City Beach Village LLC, the limited liability company created to operate the harbor’s RV parks, Daniel Dahan said without trust, the relationship was doomed.

“If you always have to come back and say, ‘Why did you do this? Why is this? Why is that?’ not as an interest, but as a fear, that’s not a good relationship,” he said Wednesday. “That’s not a healthy marriage.”

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Articles, Community News, Klamath, Regional News

‘I’ve Been In Good Spirits’; Though He’s Still Struggling With the Loss Of His Hand, Jason Turner Says He’s Optimistic About the Future

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of GoFundMe

Jason Turner didn’t have time to see what he grabbed before it exploded.

The father of seven and his girlfriend, Pamala Ganfield, were spending a post-holiday afternoon at the beach north of Crescent City. As they walked along the beach, Pamala picked up some trash, putting it in a pile to retrieve before they left, when something round and shiny caught Turner’s eye.

“We walked close to the water’s edge, there was a little bit of sand over it, but it was fairly close to where the water would get us,” he said. “To me, it looked like a lead sinker with something on it and I thought, ‘Oh, this is going to be cool,’ and that’s the last thing that happened.”

Two weeks after the July 5 explosion at Point St. George forced doctors at U.C. Davis Medical Center to amputate his left hand, Turner is back home in Klamath. He says he’s slowly getting used to his new life, including figuring out how to maneuver a game controller to play Fortnite, but he has a long road of surgeries, doctors visits, occupational and physical therapies ahead of him.

Continue reading ‘I’ve Been In Good Spirits’; Though He’s Still Struggling With the Loss Of His Hand, Jason Turner Says He’s Optimistic About the Future →