Articles, Community News, Crescent City, Just For Fun

Del Norte Marks America’s 250th Birthday By Celebrating ‘The Decades We’ve Been A Community’

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Above photo: Del Norte County’s public health nurses and those who gave out COVID-19 vaccines were the grand marshals in the 2021 Independence Day parade | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews. Thumbnail photo: Members of the Crescent City Emblem Club wrapped themselves up in the flag for the 1998 Independence Day parade as shown on the Triplicate’s front page. | Photo by Aisling Bludworth

Valerie Starkey still remembers the Bicentennial at Beachfront Park, and while she doesn’t want to out do that celebration, she hopes the Semiquincentennial will be just as memorable.

“Two hundred and fifty years — that’s a huge milestone for this country,” she said. “We are really celebrating something that’s special to Del Norte County. It’s special to the nation. I think we all felt that way.”

The Del Norte County District 2 supervisor heads the Fourth of July committee for the Crescent City-Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce. This year instead of asking the community to select a theme for the festivities in Downtown Crescent City, Starkey and her colleagues wanted to recognize “the decades that we’ve been a community together.”

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Alerts, Articles, Environment, Transportation

Semi Hits Embankment Spills Asphalt Binder Into River; Driver Sustains Major Injuries

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Emergency crews responded to an overturned tanker that spilled some of its asphalt binder load into the Smith River early Thursday morning | Photos courtesy of Caltrans District 1

Caltrans, the California Highway Patrol and other emergency personnel are responding to a tanker that overturned near Idlewild on U.S. 199 and spilled some of its contents into the Smith River early Thursday morning.

The driver, a Redding man, was hauling more than 6,000 gallons of asphalt binder in a 2016 Kenworth semi at about 3:40 a.m. when his vehicle left the lane, collided with the embankment and overturned, CHP Public Information Officer Pete Gonzalez told Redwood Voice Community News. The driver was transported to Sutter Coast Hospital with major injuries, Gonzalez said.

It’s currently unknown how much of the asphalt binder entered the Smith River, Gonzalez said.

The collision occurred about a mile south of the Idlewild Maintenance Station, Gonzalez said. The road is currently down to one-way controlled traffic, he told Redwood Voice at about 11:30 a.m. 

Articles, Environment, Parks

Del Norte Hopes To Make Neighborly Relationship With U.S. Forest Service Official

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District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard referred to a historical failure to secure resources for wildfire mitigation and recreation as a major reason a Good Neighbor Authority Agreement with the U.S. Forest Service would be good for Del Norte County.

In response to skepticism from county resident and frequent commenter Sam Strait, Howard said the county could use the agreement as a way to get funding to organizations spearheading projects focusing on fuel reduction, watershed and forest restoration as well as trail development. He mentioned the Del Norte Fire Safe Council and the Del Norte Resource Conservation District specifically.

“There are a lot of these Good Neighbor Authorities being put in place throughout the State of California and the Pacific Northwest right now,” Howard said Tuesday. “I’m incredibly encouraged by the open door we’ve seen now with the Six Rivers National Forest, in particular with the staff at the Gasquet Ranger district, in helping us shape what this document looks like.”

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Articles, Community News, Local Government, Parks, Youth

Supervisors Side With Gateway Education Over Florence Keller Use, Reject County MOU Restricting Day Camp Program To Picnic Areas

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of Del Norte County

Florence Keller Regional Park is one of a handful of local spots ideal for teaching kids how to build a shelter in the wilderness, Ron Cole says.

For 25 years, Gateway Education of the Wild Rivers Coast, has used the 26-acre park with its redwood grove as an outdoor classroom to teach youngsters how to identify plants, move quietly through their environment and build the intuitive skills needed for survival, the organization’s board president said.

“All of these things are pretty quiet activities,” Cole told Redwood Voice Community News after appearing before the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. “Even the games that they do to practice those skills — the kids are moving as silently as they can because they don’t want to be caught — (so) the concerns about noise really weren’t justified.”

Three members of the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a renewed memorandum of understanding with Gateway Education enabling the organization to continue to use three campsites and the former ropes course at Florence Keller for its Summer Day Camp program through 2031.

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Articles, Education, Local Government

Del Norte Unified Still Struggles With Budget Deficit Despite Improvements

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of Del Norte Unified School District

Del Norte Unified School District is still grappling with a budget deficit, but the district’s current financial picture has improved over last year, its assistant superintendent of business said.

DNUSD’s net budget shortfall heading into the 2026-27 fiscal year is $3.78 million compared to the $4.6 million deficit it was dealing with last year, Greg Bowen told trustees on Thursday.

At a public hearing roughly three weeks after California Gov. Gavin Newsom released his revised budget, Bowen credited a 4.31% cost of living adjustment, or “super COLA” and  a proposal to allocate additional funding for special education for the improvements. But Bowen said district officials are “cautious about what the future holds.”

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Articles, Community News, Education, Regional News, Smith River, Tribal Affairs

‘Respectful Recognition Of The Original People’; Smith River School To Acknowledge Its Place In Tolowa Territory

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of the Smith River School Local Organizing Committee

Updated at 11:07 a.m. Saturday to correct Andromeda Lopez’s title and clarify Amanda O’Connell’s title.

It took more than a year of “energy, passion and advocacy,” but the Tolowa community, parents, teachers and advocates finally received the green light to formally recognize that their school stands on Tolowa homeland.

Andromeda Lopez, a Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation citizen and a True North Organizing Network leader organizer, called the unanimous approval from Del Norte County Unified School District trustees to install a public land acknowledgment sign at Smith River Elementary School a landmark moment in local history.

But the Board’s decision on Thursday came after its president, Charlaine Mazzei, cut the public comment period short amid outcry over what she and her colleagues said was a misunderstanding over the definition of the word territory.

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Articles, Infrastructure, Local Government

City Officials Pursue $50 Million Forgivable Loan For Major Sewer Plant Upgrade

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Thumbnail photo by James Brooks

Following a public hearing and the adoption of increased sewer rates, Crescent City City Manager Eric Wier said staff have begun pursuing the state funding connected to the utility’s next phase.

The next phase involves installing the infrastructure the sewer plant needs to meet updated National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit regulations. 

After fining the city $228,000 for not complying with those stricter permitting regulations last year, the state has given Crescent City five, potentially 10 years, to make those upgrades, according to Wier. 

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Articles, Elections, Local Government

Early Election Results Show Howard, Borges Leading Over Challengers in Del Norte Supervisor Races

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Thumbnail photo: The Veterans Memorial Hall served as one of the polling places for the June 2 Primary Election. | Photo by Monique Camarena

Chris Howard said he was ready for the “next leg of the adventure” after final election night results were posted Tuesday, though he lamented at the low voter turnout.

As the evening wound to a close, the Del Norte County District 3 supervisor was ahead of his challenger Lupe Gutierrez based on early results the Del Norte County Elections Office posted at about 9:50 p.m.

County Clerk Recorder Alissia Northrup and her staff will spend the week processing ballots, but Howard is already looking toward his fourth term.

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Articles, Crescent City, Infrastructure, Local Government

Protest Efforts Fail To Stop City Water, Sewer Rate Increases

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Thumbnail photo: Margaret Sargent on Monday speaks out in opposition of Crescent City’s plan to increase water and sewer rates. | Photo by Aisling Bludworth

A Proposition 218 protest failed to halt water and sewer rate increases in Crescent City on Monday despite an effort to collect signatures by a local group who says residents can’t afford them.

Though he didn’t specify if it was water or sewer, county resident David Olkowski, said at $95.38, his bill currently consumes about 16.95% of his social security income. It’s set to account for about 30% of his monthly social security at $171.92 when the rate adjustments take effect next month.

“The assistance we get from the many food banks are dwarfed by these rate increases,” he said. “The savings from our gardens, growing vegetables, fruit trees and produce, berries, are dwarfed by these rate increases.”

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Telling the untold stories of Del Norte and Tribal Lands through amplified youth voices.