Del Norte Supervisors Take Issue Tolowa Dunes SP Closure; Praise Tax Relief Bill Named For LaMalfa

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.

Tolowa Dunes SP Closure: Three county supervisors said they fielded calls and complaints regarding the temporary closure of parts of Tolowa Dunes State Park over the weekend.

The California State Parks North Coast Redwoods District authorized the closure of several access points and trails to allow the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation to observe the Lhuk Rite Ceremony. The annual ceremony celebrates the importance of salmon and its annual return to its river habitat.

Continue reading Del Norte Supervisors Take Issue Tolowa Dunes SP Closure; Praise Tax Relief Bill Named For LaMalfa

Probation Chief Raises Concerns About Potential County Use of Modular Structures On Williams Drive

Before county supervisors approved a lease agreement concerning modular trailers at Williams Drive, Lonnie Reyman asked that they not forget about probation.

The Del Norte County Probation Department had leveraged its good relationship with the buildings’ owners, the Del Norte County Office of Education, and used the space for training and to hold programs for its adult offenders, the probation chief said Tuesday. According to him, there is no other space available for adult programming.

“Over the last five or six years we’ve worked to try and increase that availability we provide to our adult offenders and to be able to provide those programs directly. That is one of the key places we do that,” Reyman said of the trailers at 250 and 254 Williams Drive in Crescent City. “As the county goes through this transition to use that property in a different manner, that will be something I’ll be watching closely. …”

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Charley Tygart Volunteered in Peru, Returned With A New Best Friend

Charley Tygart visited Peru to volunteer at an animal rescue organization and brought Camila home to Crescent City. | Photos courtesy of Billie Kaye Tygart

As she prepared to take Camila home, Charley Tygart took Maite’s parting words to heart: “Never abandon her. You’re with her forever.”

Camila was one of about 20 dogs at El Refugio Privado de Perritos Soy Callejerito in Cusco, Peru. Maite had rescued her about seven years prior after her owner had gouged out her eye for attacking a rabbit. 

Charley, who had spent 10 weeks volunteering at the animal rescue, said she knew she would have a special relationship with the dog when she kept coming up to her asking for belly rubs.

“Those first four to five weeks when I was by myself, I was with her every day,” Charley said. “Once we got more volunteers, I wasn’t seeing her as much. But when I finally made the decision that I want to adopt her, (Maite) made it an effort for me to spend more time with (Camila) daily.”

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Tolowa Salmon Ceremony Prompts Temporary Closure of Some State Park Access Points, Trails

Thumbnail photo by Tim Rochte via Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons license

Portions of Tolowa Dunes State Park will be closed to the public to allow the region’s original inhabitants space to celebrate a cornerstone of their nutritional health and culture.

The Lhuk Rite Ceremony signifies the importance of salmon and celebrates its annual return, according to the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation website. Occurring before any fishing takes place, Tolowa Dee-ni’ adults attended the ceremony to pray for a plentiful harvest.

The partial park closure will take place from 7 a.m. Saturday through 5 p.m. Sunday, according to a Superintendent Order from the North Coast Redwoods District of the California State Parks. It will impact access points at Pala Road, Silva Lane and the Kellogg Trailhead Road, according to the order. 

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City Council Approves Moving Incentive For New Fire Chief, Increased Stipends For Volunteer Firefighters

Thumbnail photo courtesy of Crescent City Fire & Rescue

Though two members of the public, including a Del Norte County Supervisor candidate, criticized the additional expense, Crescent City councilors authorized a moving incentive of up to $10,000 to recruit a new fire chief.

That incentive will be split between Crescent City and the Crescent Fire Protection District, Human Resources Manager Sara Barbour told councilors Monday. It will be paid to the new recruit as a reimbursement for their moving costs, she said. The cost to each agency will be about $5,000 maximum, Barbour said.

In response to county resident Sam Strait and District 4 Supervisor candidate Margaret Sargent, who asked why the community should pay for the new fire chief’s move, Mayor Pro Tem Candace Tinkler said such assistance is standard practice for her previous employer, the federal government.

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DANCO Communities To Take Over The Redwood Downtown Mixed-Use Development

Thumbnail image courtesy of City of Crescent City

DANCO Communities President Chris Dart said his company is trying to alleviate parking concerns associated with the 36-unit residential development that is expected to replace the old Daly’s building in Downtown Crescent City.

Dart noted that Community System Solutions had already done a lot of design work on The Redwood Downtown. It will now be up to Crescent City 3rd Street LP, a DANCO Communities limited partnership, to move the project forward. 

The new developers will be open to “any changes that make sense,” Dart said, including parking.

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Developer Says Construction Will Resume on Battery Point Apartments

Thumbnail photo by James Brooks

The Los Angeles-based nonprofit developing Battery Point Apartments has obtained the additional grant dollars it needs to pay its subcontractors and resume construction, its president told Crescent City councilors Monday.

Bill Rice told councilors that Synergy Community Development Corporation closed on an additional $9.7 million in federal HOME Investment Partnership Program dollars from the California Department of Housing and Community Development. 

In addition to paying its subcontractors by the end of the week, Synergy is bringing in additional construction management to help its general contractor get back to work on the 162-unit affordable housing development at Gary and E streets, Rice said.

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Dog Shot During Scuffle Between Crescent City Man, CCPD Officers, DNSO Deputy

A joint investigation is underway following an officer-involved shooting of a dog during an encounter between two Crescent City Police Officers, a Del Norte County Sheriff’s deputy and a 40-year-old man Tuesday evening.

The dog received medical attention following the incident and is doing well, Crescent City Police Chief Richard Griffin told Redwood Voice Community News on Wednesday. The animal was released to another subject that was on the scene.

Officers encountered Crescent City resident Kevin Watson and a 42-year-old woman at about 11:04 p.m. in the parking lot at the Chevron South gas station on U.S. 101. They had two dogs in the vehicle with them, Griffin said. According to him, one appeared to be a pit bull.

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(AUDIO) Redwood Voice Talks Goals, Reasons for Running With Congressional Contenders, Assembly Candidate Mike Greer

Congressional candidates Tim Geist and Paul Saulsbury and Assembly candidate Michael Greer fielded questions from Redwood Voice producers Monique Camarena and Aisling Bludworth on April 23. | Photos by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Michael Greer’s confident that Del Norte will vote for him — they have in the past and things haven’t changed, he says.

The Republican candidate for California’s Assembly District 2 is not only the current Trustee Area 5 representative on the Del Norte Unified School District Board of Trustees, he ran against incumbent Chris Rogers two years ago. Though he lost the district in November 2024, Greer received more votes in Del Norte County than his opponent. Greer said that Del Norte County voters know when he says he’ll do something, he’ll deliver.

“I’m a doer,” he said. “If I have something going through legislation, I’m going to push it and I’m going to do it until I get it done. It’s that simple.”

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‘Kids should be getting to school on time every day’; Klamath Parents Say Chronically Tardy School Buses Have Led to Lower Grades, Stress

Thumbnail photo: A school bus drops off students at Del Norte High School on Friday. Klamath parents say the bus to take their kids to school has been late 37 days this year, causing their kids to receive tardy notices. | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Before informing parents that the school bus has been late picking up Klamath students 37 days this school year, Chrystal Helton asked parents if their child’s grades in their first period classes had suffered.

One parent said her son is getting a C-minus in first-period math and was removed from theater and put into general studies to make up his work. Another said her daughter’s dance grade dropped and, because of the late bus, she’s relying on video recordings from her friends to learn the routine.

Helton, whose kids go to Del Norte High School and ’O Me-nok Learning Center, said her sophomore and junior years have history during first period. One has eked out a C-minus because he “busted his butt,” she said, the other is failing, though he loves history.

“This isn’t normal,” Helton said. “Kids should be getting to school on time every day.”

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