Tag Archives: del norte news

Crescent City Harbor District Needs Another Lawyer To Resolve Bond Dilemma With The County

Thumbnail photo by Amanda Dockter

A week after the question over whether they have faithful performance bonds in place reached the Board of Supervisors, Crescent City Harbor Commissioners learned they would need a different attorney to resolve the issue.

County officials have raised a conflict of interest objection stating that the firm the Harbor District’s attorney works for also represents Del Norte, Harbormaster Mike Rademaker told commissioners at a special meeting Wednesday. 

Rademaker, who had spoken with Ryan Plotz, the district’s legal advisor, said the attorney had found a provision in California Government Code, 1481(b), that supersedes the Harbors and Navigation Code.

Continue reading Crescent City Harbor District Needs Another Lawyer To Resolve Bond Dilemma With The County

CCHD Recap: Lighted Boat Parade Canceled; Update on RV Park Leases; Harbor Receives Grant To Clean Up Derelict Vessels

Thumbnail photo: Bayside RV Park in June 2023. | File photo by Jessica C. Andrews

Harbor Commissioner Dan Schmidt was absent. Among the items discussed at the Crescent City Harbor District’s special meeting Wednesday:

No Lighted Boat Parade This Year: With harsh weather in the forecast and only nine vessels participating so far, CCHD Board Chairman Rick Shepherd said the lighted boat parade will be canceled.

This decision came after fiscal officer Sandy Moreno volunteered to organize the parade at the Board’s Dec. 3 meeting. Moreno had proposed holding the parade this Saturday and commissioners agreed to offer a $25 utility credit to participants.

Continue reading CCHD Recap: Lighted Boat Parade Canceled; Update on RV Park Leases; Harbor Receives Grant To Clean Up Derelict Vessels

Aegis’s New Crescent City MAT Unit Will Save A Daily Humboldt Trip For Del Norters Battling Opioid Addiction

Thumbnail photo: Rx Safe Del Norte and the Department of Health and Human Services celebrate those recovering from addiction during an Addiction Recovery Awareness Walk in September. | Photo courtesy of Jermaine Brubaker

Patient Navigator Melissa Nelson described a tree in the lobby of Aegis Treatment Center’s Eureka clinic to illustrate an important facet of the care it provides.

Every patient that celebrates a milestone on their journey to be free of opioid addiction adds a leaf. It’s a reminder that someone cares about them, is available and will show up, Nelson said. That can mean a lot to someone in the throes of addiction.

“When you’re in the lobby, if you’re just waiting, you can look over and see what different patients have to say in that process of being celebrated,” Nelson told Redwood Voice Community News. “Maybe we’ll have a whale or something in Crescent City.”

Continue reading Aegis’s New Crescent City MAT Unit Will Save A Daily Humboldt Trip For Del Norters Battling Opioid Addiction

Trillium Offers ‘Third Space’ For Teens In A Community Where Accessing Mental Health Support Is A Challenge

Thumbnail Image Courtesy of Trillium Teen Center

Trillium Teen Center didn’t plant the idea for a youth-centered program focusing on online safety, but it did allow Annaliese Carrillo space to think it up.

Annaliese, an eighth-grader at Smith River School, said it was through a summer program at the Trillum Teen Center that she realized sextortion was a problem for kids. She was able to interview Ted Talk speaker Jesse Leon and is working on a program called Cyber Bite to educate families about online safety.

“Trillium feels like a place that can connect us to opportunities and resources like that and help us make our community safer,” Annaliese told Del Norte County supervisors on Dec. 9.

Continue reading Trillium Offers ‘Third Space’ For Teens In A Community Where Accessing Mental Health Support Is A Challenge

DNUSD’s Budget Shortfall Shrank Since June, Cost Reductions Still Needed, Assistant Superintendent Says

Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Del Norte Unified School District is in a better place financially than it was in June when trustees adopted its 2025-26 budget.

But, though he said DNUSD’s budget deficit decreased 20% from about $4.6 million on June 30 to $3.4 million as of Thursday, Assistant Superintendent of Business Greg Bowen said reducing the district’s overall costs need to continue. This includes a potential “reduction in force” as well as an ongoing “hiring frost” this year, Bowen said in his first interim financial report to the Board of Trustees.

This recommendation prompted DNUSD Board President Charlaine Mazzei to call for more transparency about what reductions need to be made and when.

Continue reading DNUSD’s Budget Shortfall Shrank Since June, Cost Reductions Still Needed, Assistant Superintendent Says

Del Norte Employees Association Rep Applauds New Salary Structure; Changes Take Effect Countywide Dec. 19

Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Admitting to initial skepticism in the process, Norma Williams congratulated county administrators and supervisors Tuesday on being able to compromise with the union and employees she represents.

Williams, president of the Del Norte County Employees Association SEIU 1021, said that a side letter agreement implementing recommendations of a recently-completed compensation analysis isn’t perfect, but it’s a first step in making the county competitive and attractive to new applicants.

“Twenty-five years and several salary studies later, you actually heard our message and decided to implement a salary schedule that addresses the chronic low wages, inequity and compaction that has plagued our county employees and departments for decades,” she said. “Is it perfect? Some may say it is not, however the majority of SEIU members agree that it’s definitely better than what’s been the norm for far too long.”

Continue reading Del Norte Employees Association Rep Applauds New Salary Structure; Changes Take Effect Countywide Dec. 19

Del Norte County Seeks Public’s Help Mapping Out Drainage Trouble Spots

Thumbnail photo courtesy of Del Norte County

Del Norte County is seeking the public’s help in a $3 million planning effort aimed at identifying where its drainage trouble spots are.

Thousands of assets from small culverts to large bridges are scattered throughout the county, Engineer Jon Olson told supervisors Tuesday. The Community Development Department is asking people to either fill out a survey or drop a pin on a map and describe their problems.

The engineering division can also take the survey information over the phone if people would rather call instead, he said.

Continue reading Del Norte County Seeks Public’s Help Mapping Out Drainage Trouble Spots

Faithful Performance Bonds: CCHD Attorney Says Harbor Is Covered, BOS Approval Is Missing Puzzle Piece

Thumbnail photo by Amanda Dockter

Despite statements made to the contrary at Tuesday’s Del Norte County Board of Supervisors meeting, Crescent City Harbor commissioners do have faithful performance bonds in place, the Harbor District’s legal counsel said Wednesday.

Those bonds have been issued since 2012 and meet requirements set by the California Harbor and Navigations Code, according to Mitchell Law Firm attorney Ryan Plotz. The Board of Supervisors’ approval is the one missing puzzle piece, he said, but that approval doesn’t negate the bond’s coverage.

“We are working with county staff in order to complete that final step,” Plotz told harbor commissioners. “The issue now is we need to provide the county (with) the bond in a format so that it can be recorded and that primarily means the original issued with compliant signatures.”

Continue reading Faithful Performance Bonds: CCHD Attorney Says Harbor Is Covered, BOS Approval Is Missing Puzzle Piece

Del Norte Supervisors Reject Harbor’s Facilities Plan, Are Wary Of CCHD Proposal To Negotiate Loan Payments With USDA

Thumbnail photo by Gavin Van Alstine

County supervisors sent a facilities plan back to the Crescent City Harbor District, criticizing its vagueness and stating that the agency hadn’t yet met the plan’s first stated priority — making this year’s U.S. Department of Agriculture loan payment.

The Board was also skeptical that the USDA would agree to a Harbor District proposal to accept 10% of CCHD’s annual $260,000 payment for three years with the remainder of the funds going toward maintenance and being put into a reserve account. 

District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey said she and her colleagues have a legal obligation to voters to ensure that the stipulations of the transiency occupancy tax measure, Measure C, they approved in 2018 were being met. 

“My concerns are you don’t have an agreement with the USDA, you’ve had a conversation. That is all you’ve had,” Starkey told CCHD Fiscal Officer Sandy Moreno who assured supervisors that the federal agency was receptive to the Harbor District’s proposal. “I heard you say at the last (Harbor District) meeting that you need to have $262,000 in a restricted fund, you don’t have that. You don’t have your insurance and you have money this county has collected to pay a loan. I believe that that needs to be paid. That’s the guarantee that we gave this community.”

Continue reading Del Norte Supervisors Reject Harbor’s Facilities Plan, Are Wary Of CCHD Proposal To Negotiate Loan Payments With USDA

Inmate Dies at the Del Norte County Jail

An investigation is underway into the death of an inmate who died at the Del Norte County Jail on Thursday.

Tyrel Grant, 31, was pronounced deceased by sheriff’s deputy coroners despite receiving medical assistance from corrections staff and medical personnel, according to a Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office post on Facebook. Corrections staff were notified that Grant was having a medical emergency at about 6:30 a.m. Paramedics also responded to the jail to administer medical aid, according to the sheriff’s office.

Grant had been in custody at the jail since Nov. 17, DNSO Capt. Kyle Stevens told Redwood Voice Community News. He was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery and a post-release community supervision violation. 

Continue reading Inmate Dies at the Del Norte County Jail