Monthly Archives: October 2024

Agriculture, Articles, Community News, Environment, Health, Smith River

Smith River Residents Air Concerns About Illnesses They Say Are Linked to Pesticide Use In Lily Industry

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Marilyn Gray Wintersteen admitted she didn’t think much about what growers were spraying on the lily fields in her neighborhood until last year when it hit her in the face.

Wintersteen was planting flowers in her backyard on Ocean View Drive when she got a face full of spray from the adjacent lily field.

“My skin burned, my eyes burned, my tongue swelled up, I had blisters on it [and] I ended up in the ER,” she said. “I got from the back of my house where they were spraying around to the front of my house and bent over to catch my breath. I could not breathe.”

Wintersteen, a 35 year resident, told her story to the North Coast Water Quality Control Board at a town hall meeting at the Smith River United Methodist Church on Monday and to the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

Both meetings, and a third at the United Methodist Church in Crescent City, focused on the Water Quality Control Board’s efforts to develop water quality regulations for Easter lily bulb production in the Smith River plain. Those regulations will be in an order monitoring and mitigating the impacts of copper diuron and other pesticides and fertilizers on the watershed aquatic ecosystem. 

Continue reading Smith River Residents Air Concerns About Illnesses They Say Are Linked to Pesticide Use In Lily Industry →
Articles, Economy, Local Government

SEIU 1021 Confronts Board of Supervisors Over Poor Wages for County Employees

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There was a sea of purple shirts in the Board Chambers. The people wearing these purple shirts were all supporters and people represented by SEIU 1021, a union that bargains on behalf of Del Norte County employees.

After the Consent Agenda concluded at the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday, several employees of the County confronted the Board of Supervisors. The volley opened with Norma Williams, Chapter President of the SEIU 1021 branch for Del Norte County.

Continue reading SEIU 1021 Confronts Board of Supervisors Over Poor Wages for County Employees →
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North Coast Water Board Hosts Smith River Meeting – Redwood Voice Community News

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October 22nd, 2024 – For Redwood Voice Community News, a production of Redwood Voice Youth Media, today’s news: roadwork updates from CalTrans District 1; help support National Family Partnership’s drug use campaign by wearing a red ribbon this month; Curry County Commissioners scurry to address their accounting errors; Curry Jail Commander seeks to claim some of the County’s opioid settlement dollars for inmate telehealth; the Coos-Curry Electric Cooperative is starting it’s annual food drive; the Oregon Elections Division is overwhelmed by out of state calls regarding Trump’s presence on the ballot; two hunters have gone missing in the Illinois Valley near O’Brien; information on California’s Proposition 33; as election season progresses, unions are urging people to get out and vote; California’s quail hunting season opened up last weekend; and adult fall run chinook salmon have begun to spawn upstream of the former Klamath dam sites. All this and our regular segments from the Pacifica Radio Network and National Native News.

We’re broadcasting on KFUG 101.1FM and kfugradio.org! every day at 12PM, with a rebroadcast at 5PM. We’re also airing on KZZH 96.7FM at 6AM, and KCIW 100.7FM at 6PM!

Today’s news card image is courtesy of KFUG Station Manager Paul Critz, which has been edited.

Articles, Community News, Curry, Local Government

Curry County Commissioners, Jail Commander Differ On Use Of Opioid Settlement Dollars

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Curry County commissioners considered two proposed uses for opioid settlement dollars on Thursday. The first proposal was an agreement with Gold Beach for a school resource officer position, while the second involved opioid use disorder treatment at the jail.

Competing proposals on potential uses for opioid settlement dollars put jail commander Lt. Jeremy Krohn at odds with the Curry County Board of Commissioners on Thursday.

Krohn’s request for $36,000 in opioid settlement dollars to provide telehealth services to inmates struggling with addiction came after commissioners supported a proposed five-year intergovernmental agreement with Gold Beach to create a school resource officer position.

Under that proposal, Curry County would pay Gold Beach $149,100 in opioid settlement dollars for the first year. This cost would cover the officer’s salary and benefits, vehicle accessories and insurance, outfitting for the officer as well as software. The county would continue paying for those expenditures throughout the five-year term of the agreement, which includes a 5 percent cost of living adjustment and step increases for the officer.

During the summer, the school resource officer would transition into a community resource officer, according to Commissioner Brad Alcorn.

Though Curry County Finance Director Keina Wolf said there were enough opioid settlement dollars to fund both programs, Krohn took issue with the SRO proposal. He said he was perturbed that he had to make a presentation to obtain approval to use those funds, but Gold Beach and the school districts benefiting from the SRO position didn’t have to make a presentation.

Without naming who they were, Krohn said he sent the proposed intergovernmental agreement between the county and Gold Beach to “colleagues who handle opioid settlement funds” for review.

“They said you could not fund a full position based on that IGA through opiate money,” Krohn told commissioners. “They conservatively said 20 percent to fund it. So, with that, be prepared for that to come up — that we’re over funding out of the opioid settlement funds. There will be an audit for that.”

Continue reading Curry County Commissioners, Jail Commander Differ On Use Of Opioid Settlement Dollars →
Articles, In Media Res

Alissia Northrup Has Concerns – In Media Res

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Alissia Northrup and I pass through a room with multiple computers at parade rest and I recognize it at once, though it looks different from down here. It’s the room where the County Clerk and Registrar of Voters, Alissia, and her staff tally the votes each election night. I’m used to the perspective of the web stream, somewhere up near the margin of wall and ceiling; passing through the room at this angle feels funny, like being backstage, a kind of liminal sense that isn’t dispelled by the familiar anonymity of the conference room we enter. 

Alissia settles in a seat at the large table and I join her with my digital recorder. She has a message for Del Norte County voters. It’s written on the small piece of paper she’s holding. “I just want to tell the voters of Del Norte…” she begins. “You want me to do it now?”

Before I can answer, one of Alissia’s staff ducks a head in from behind the door. She presents a mangled mail-in ballot. “This person would like a replacement ballot,” the woman chuckles and holds the ballot up for Alissia’s official inspection. The end has been punctured repeatedly and perhaps slobbered on. “Her dog ate it.” 

“No fibbin’ on this one, huh?” Alissia laughs and leaves me to go replace the ballot. I look around the blank laminate room. The last time I was in this room I was with Jessica Cejnar-Andrews. We were interviewing Dr. Rehwaldt about why we all had to start shaking hands with our elbows. Funny how time works. 

“Sorry about that.” Alissia reappears, having successfully dealt with the canine ballot tampering, and picks up the thread of a thought she’d begun expressing on the phone earlier. “I have this…” she tells me, allowing her pause and matter-of-fact shrug to speak for her. “…for young people voting. I like to get young people volunteering at the polls. It’s good for them, but it’s good for us, it’s good for the community, seeing young people at the polls. I’ve had people say it gives them hope.” 

Continue reading Alissia Northrup Has Concerns – In Media Res →
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Oregon Sec. of State Elections Division Closes Phone Lines – Redwood Voice Community News

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October 21st, 2024 – For Redwood Voice Community News, a production of Redwood Voice Youth Media, today’s news: roadwork updates from CalTrans District 1; information on the National Family Partnership for Red Ribbon Week; an investigation into Curry County’s treasury department; Coos-Curry Electric Cooperative begin their annual food drive; Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division’s phone lines close early due to overwhelming out of state callers and misinformation; info on California’s Prop 32; Unions in California urge Californians to vote; CDFW announces opening for Quail hunting season; and the first fall-run Chinook Salmon returns to the Klamath Basin after 100 years. All this and our regular segments from the Pacifica Radio Network and National Native News.

We’re broadcasting on KFUG 101.1FM and kfugradio.org! every day at 12PM, with a rebroadcast at 5PM. We’re also airing on KZZH 96.7FM at 6AM, and KCIW 100.7FM at 6PM!

Today’s news card image is courtesy of Chepté Cormani via Pexels, which has been edited.

Community News, Curry, Local Government

Curry County Commissioner Calls For Forensic Audit Of Treasury After Past Accounting Errors Were Revealed

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Thursday’s meeting

Commissioner Jay Trost called for a forensic audit of Curry County’s treasury department and its accounting practices on Thursday, saying that an investigation of past practices revealed it may have short- changed the area’s special districts.

Trost told his colleague Brad Alcorn that he, Finance Director Keina Wolf and the current county treasurer, Nick Vicino, had conducted a reconciliation of the county treasury for two fiscal years leading into the 2023-24 budget season.

That reconciliation revealed that the county had been holding on to tax revenue that belonged to other special districts and had erroneously recorded the transfer of those dollars when they were never actually transferred, Trost said. When the error was discovered, the dollars were no longer available to be transferred, he said.

The reconciliation also uncovered several other errors, Trost said, including bank fees and $66,000 in deposits that hadn’t been recorded and $3.7 million that had been transferred into other accounts “other than those recorded in the fiscal system.”

“We had overdraft charges to the county bank account that had rolled over for 11 months,” Trost said Thursday. “We had $601,180.32 in deposits that weren’t recorded in the fiscal system for up to three months — we were obviously behind in our reconciliation by two years. And we had over $32 million in bank adjustments during that time period.”

Continue reading Curry County Commissioner Calls For Forensic Audit Of Treasury After Past Accounting Errors Were Revealed →
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It’s Time for Election Mail! – Redwood Voice Community News

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October 18th, 2024 – For Redwood Voice Community News, a production of Redwood Voice Youth Media, today’s news: roadwork updates from CalTrans District 1; an update on Klamath’s school bus schedule changes; South Coast Community Aquatics is seeking commitments to keep the Brookings Municipal pool open in the winter months; information on California’s proposition 6; voters on the West Coast can expect election mail soon; the Oregon Beaches Forever campaign announces a new series of webinars regarding shoreline protection; the fire danger level decreased in the southwest Oregon forestry district; a PSA from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife about vehicle collisions; and the first fall run chinook salmon pass through the former JC Boyle Dam site. All this and our regular segments from the Pacifica Radio Network and National Native News.

We’re broadcasting on KFUG 101.1FM and kfugradio.org! every day at 12PM, with a rebroadcast at 5PM. We’re also airing on KZZH 96.7FM at 6AM, and KCIW 100.7FM at 6PM!

Today’s news card image is courtesy of Sora Shimazaki via Pexels, which has been edited.

Agriculture, Articles, Environment, Smith River, Tribal Affairs

(Updated) Public Asked To Weigh In On Pesticide Use In Smith River’s Easter Lily Bulb Industry

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(Updated at 3:58 p.m. with a clarification about Monday’s public meeting in Smith River from the Environmental Protection Information Center.)

Conservationists seeking to eliminate the use of “highly toxic pesticides” on Smith River’s Easter lily fields want to give residents and county officials a chance to voice their concerns next week.

Scientists with the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board also want to hear from the public as they continue work to develop water quality regulations for commercial Easter lily bulb production in the Smith River area.

The meeting on Monday will include a presentation from Water Quality Control Board staff on the waste discharge permit process and will give the public a chance to offer testimony.

Representatives with the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC), the Siskiyou Land Conservancy and the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation will be part of that discussion at 6 p.m. Monday at the Smith River United Methodist Church before going before the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors.

Monday’s public forum will be broadcast live on KFUG Community Radio, 101.1 FM — listen by clicking here.

“We are hoping that affected community members will come to each of the two meetings and help make a compelling case as to why pesticide application needs to be more regulated,” Josefina Barrantes, EPIC’s Del Norte advocate, told Redwood Voice Community News on Thursday. “We want both the water board staff and the Board of Supervisors to hear how the pollution has affected the community so that it can motivate real change.”

The Water Quality Control Board will also go before the Board of Supervisors at their meeting 10 a.m. Tuesday in the Flynn Center, 981 H Street in Crescent City.

The North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board will hold a public scoping meeting from 4-6 p.m. Tuesday at the United Methodist Church in Crescent City. This meeting will also be held virtually. For more information about efforts to develop waste discharge permit requirements for Easter lily bulb production in Smith River, click here.

Continue reading (Updated) Public Asked To Weigh In On Pesticide Use In Smith River’s Easter Lily Bulb Industry →
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The Impact of Construction on Richardson’s Grove – Redwood Voice Community News

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October 17th, 2024 – For Redwood Voice Community News, a production of Redwood Voice Youth Media, today’s news: roadwork updates from CalTrans District 1; Crescent City’s new pump track finally opens to the public; voters on the west coast can expect election mail soon; the Oregon Beaches Forever campaign announces a new series of webinars regarding shoreline protection; the effects of highway construction on Richardson Grove; pesticides used to cultivate Easter Lilies threaten the health of the Smith River and its tributaries; an update on Klamath’s school bus schedule changes; the fire danger level decreased in the southwest Oregon forestry district; the City of Brookings announces its new City Manager; a PSA from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife about vehicle collisions; and information on California’s proposition 4 and 5. All this and our regular segments from the Pacifica Radio Network and National Native News.

We’re broadcasting on KFUG 101.1FM and kfugradio.org! every day at 12PM, with a rebroadcast at 5PM. We’re also airing on KZZH 96.7FM at 6AM, and KCIW 100.7FM at 6PM!

Today’s news card image is courtesy of Environmental Protection Information Center, which has been edited.