Tag Archives: redwood voice

DNUSD To Add Vape Sensors To Crescent Elk Middle School Restrooms; VP Says School Staff Have Confiscated 30 to 40 E-Cigs This Year

January 11, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail photo by Lindsay Fox via Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons License}

A steady increase in vaping over about three years at Crescent Elk Middle School prompted its vice principal to propose using a combination of environmental sensors and cameras to catch students who might be partaking.

Lucas O’Laughlin, who is also the dean of students, said he and Principal Paige Swan have collected 30-to-40 e-cigarette devices this year. They’re either confiscated from a student who’s been caught or a student found them and turned them in, he said.

The proliferation of vaping has also caused damage to Crescent Elk’s restrooms, O’Laughlin told the Del Norte Unified School District Board of Trustees on Thursday.

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Articles, Education, Infrastructure

DNUSD Recap for Jan. 8, 2026: Facilities Plan, Salary Increases, New Bell System

January 11, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz}

Among the items discussed at Thursday’s Del Norte Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting:

Facilities master plan: Trustees approved a $177,000 contract with Studio W, a Sacramento-based architect firm, to develop a five-year facilities master plan.

DNUSD sent a request for qualification to six different architectural firms, receiving responses from three of them, Facilities and Maintenance Director Josh McCubbin told trustees. Of the three, a committee consisting of McCubbin, Jeff Napier and Greg Bowen, the former and current assistant superintendents of business, decided that Studio W best fits DNUSD’s needs.

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Articles, Local Government

‘LA Times’ Lists Del Norte Fair Among Others Plagued With Scandal After State Audit Raises Nepotism, Credit Card Misuse Concerns

January 8, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews}

A month after the Los Angeles Times listed the Del Norte County Fairgrounds as one of 26 fairs in California struggling with misfortune CEO Kim Floyd offered minimal information on how things would change in the future.

In her Dec. 11 rundown, the Times reporter Jessica Garrison cited a state audit from 2019 that found that Del Norte County fair officials improperly spent more than $1,200 on alcohol in violation of state rules and allowed a manager to employ a close family member.

Garrison also cited a state audit from 2025 that found additional violations of the state’s nepotism policy as well as $34,637 in credit card charges without receipts. The audit cited $11,903 in credit card charges for food and drink without receipts.

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Articles, Infrastructure, Local Government

Crescent City Planning Commission To Consider 14-Unit Townhome Project

January 7, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail photo: This image shows a 14-unit townhome development proposed for an area near J and 7th streets in Crescent City. | Image courtesy of Crescent City}

Sam Schauerman, the developer behind Roosevelt Estates, is seeking to build another housing development in Crescent City, this one closer to the downtown area.

Schauerman, owner of Elk Creek Builders LLC, will go before the Planning Commission on Thursday for an architectural review of a 14-unit townhome project proposed for 708 J Street. According to City Manager Eric Wier, when they are finished, the units will be available to rent at the market rate.

“They’re townhome styles with garages and separations between the different driveways,” Wier told the City Council on Monday, “so it’ll be a little bit different style than some of the other developments.”

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Articles, CC Harbor, Infrastructure, Local Government

CC Harbor Seeks Funding To Determine If Dredge Material Can Be Deposited Near Whaler Island

January 7, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail photo: Crescent City Harbor officials are seeking funding for a project to determine whether its dredge materials can be used for beach enhancement. | File photo by Gavin Van Alstine}

Crescent City Harbor officials are pursuing a grant they say may turn a dredging dilemma into a valuable resource for projects like wetland restoration and beach enhancement.

The Harbor District is seeking $500,000 in California Regional Investment Initiative grant dollars for its beneficial reuse project. This project involves depositing about 10,000 cubic yards of dredge material along the beach near Whaler Island and assessing the ecological impacts.

If there are no adverse impacts, the Harbor District may have an answer to a challenge that’s been plaguing it for years, according to Harbormaster Mike Rademaker.

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Articles, Local Government

City Council Recap, Jan. 5, 2026: Measure S Appointments, Cannabis Regs, Council Appointments

January 7, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

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

Measure S Oversight Committee: Crescent City’s newest city councilor objected to volunteer firefighter Dana Reno’s continued appointment to the Measure S Oversight Committee.

Steve Shamblin, who had been on the oversight committee before he was appointed to the City Council, said he felt it was a conflict of interest for Reno to be involved in both the committee and Crescent City Fire and Rescue. The oversight committee is tasked with ensuring Measure S tax revenue is spent appropriately, which includes partially funding Crescent City Fire and Rescue — a concern Shamblin raised on Monday.

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Articles, CC Harbor, Local Government

Linda Sutter Files Federal Complaint Against Crescent City Harbor, Says CCHD Commissioners Violated Her Constitutional Rights

January 6, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail photo: Linda Sutter spoke with KFUG Community Radio as a candidate for Crescent City Harbor commissioner in October 2024. | Photo by Amanda Dockter}

Local activist Linda Sutter has filed another court complaint against the Crescent City Harbor District, this time accusing officials of violating her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution.

Filed in the Eureka-McKinleyville Division of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California on Dec. 14, Sutter’s complaint included Harbormaster Mike Rademaker and commissioners Rick Shepherd, John Evans and Gerhard Weber as individual defendants. In her complaint, she accuses them of attempting to silence her when she speaks at public meetings and states that not responding to her requests for information under the California Public Records Act interferes with her “First Amendment news gathering rights.”

Sutter also states that Weber, who was chairman for much of 2025, used his position to suppress the speech of other women, namely Stephanie Abrams, Alicia Williams and Donna Westfall.

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Articles, Arts & Culture, Community News

Art Notes: Rikuzentakata Taiko Performers, New Public Art, Celtic Music Concert

January 5, 2026 Redwood Voice Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail image courtesy of DNACA.net}

If you have Arts Notes that you would like featured, contact DNACA at DNACA_CC@CLOUD.COM. We would love to spread the word about your events. You can also send the info to our Facebook Group, as well.

• Beginning January 8, 2026 we will be displaying at the Del Norte Regional Airport on the 2nd Floor Mezzanine, Tolowa Dee-Ni’ Nation posters. Come see the beautiful artwork.

• Beginning January 9, 2026, the Nat Soules Art Collection will be displayed in the main building hallway at College of the Redwoods’ Del Norte campus. Please come during regular business hours to see the beautiful artwork.

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Articles, Law, Local Government

Del Norte Sheriff May Ask Supervisors to Unfreeze Positions Previously Frozen To Increase Staff Salaries

January 5, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

A move to freeze positions in his office to increase salaries and retain deputies has been effective.

But now that a compensation study and structural analysis of all positions in the county is completed, Del Norte County Sheriff Garrett Scott said he’ll be asking the Board of Supervisors to reverse that decision, probably around March.

“My goal is to ask for the funding to unfreeze those positions so I can put more than just two deputies per shift out there and I can start working on more narcotic enforcement and search warrants, things like that,” the sheriff told Redwood Voice Community News on Friday. “The public, Del Norte County, deserves to have more than two deputies on a shift. I know we’re not a rich county and that ask is not just a simple fix, but I think our Board does want that.”

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Articles, Community News, Infrastructure

Tsunamis, Marches, Government Shutdowns, or 2025 in Del Norte County

December 30, 2025 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail photo: Del Norters participated in the People’s March on Jan. 18, two days before Donald Trump was inaugurated to his second term as president. | Photo by Jessica Andrews}

Two weeks after the calendar ticked over to 2025, more than 100 Del Norte residents gathered at the Cultural Center in Crescent City.

Waving signs preaching “love not hate” and “united we stand,” they vowed to safeguard the rights of the vulnerable ahead of what they believed to be a dangerous presidential administration.

“Let us be on the right side of history,” Troy Lea said in a statement read aloud during the People’s March on Jan. 18, the first of several demonstrations Del Norters would take part in during 2025. “For our people, our nation and future generations whose lives will be shaped by the work we do here today.”

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