Redwood Voice’s Aisling Bludworth travels up to Ophir, Oregon to witness the An Tir West War of 2024. Thanks to Seneschal Fereradach and Duke James for taking interviews for this video. For more information on the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) visit sca.org.
For the full interview with Duke James Earley: https://youtu.be/lhClkTRCzdE
Listen to the full audio version of this report, as taken from the Redwood Voice Community Newscast—or read it below! Thumbnail courtesy of Cory AG via Facebook, as a screenshot from a video taken at the time of the incident.
Forbes described Independence Day as the 3rd most dangerous holiday in the United States. This year has lived up to that reputation, with many incidents occurring throughout the night. The largest event was the explosion on South Beach at approximately 11PM, which injured 14*¹ people and left a 3 year old in critical condition, according to a post in the Del Norte and Curry County Scanner Feed Facebook group. The 3 year old has a crowdfunding campaign on his family’s behalf which has steadily gained support since the incident. Redwood Voice’s Monique Camarena was nearby and described the scene.
SEBASTIAN MONROE
So you were at the Chart Room last night?
MONIQUE CAMARENA
Yes, me and my brother wanted to try watching the fireworks from a new location. We’ve been going to Beachfront Park for years and years and we just wanted to try something different. But man, that was a mistake. Two big booms. While we were waiting for all the cars to leave, one lady walking her dog came by and told us what happened. Something. There was like a “ffsheeew-boom!” And I was thinking, oh, I hope no one got hurt, but people got hurt.
Video of the incident courtesy of Mikaela Mather.
This incident did not have any relation to the City’s official fireworks show, and according to the social media post, there were several fights that broke out immediately following the incident. This incident was classed as a Mass Casualty Incident, meaning they did not have enough units available to treat the injured, so they were designated with colors and sent to Sutter Coast Hospital depending on the priority of their designated color, according to the Facebook post.
Image of the incident taken by Izaac Herrera.
In addition to the explosion, there were several other dangerous situations developing last night, including a fight with a cook at the Apple Peddler, a potential overdose, a potential burglary, a fight breaking out near the boxing ring on South Beach, and a dumpster fire. Currently there is no official confirmation from the Del Norte Sheriff’s Office, Redwood Voice reached out but their offices are currently overloaded with last night’s event.
Earlier in the day during the parade, Crescent City had its first LGBTQ float, and while the reception was largely positive, there were some outliers who were very vocal about their displeasure. Redwood Voice spoke with Amanda Dockter, who was one of the 3 people involved with the LGBTQ float this year.
SEBASTIAN MONROE
What was the reception like this year?
AMANDA DOCKTER
It was a mixed bag. You know, there were some people there who were very happy to see us, and some people there who… were doing their best to, “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all,” and give you funny looks. And unfortunately, there were a handful of individuals scattered throughout the parade route who had some not very nice things to say.
SEBASTIAN MONROE
Whenever you’re ready.
AMANDA DOCKTER
Some individuals there started shouting expletives and things about sex acts against gay people and it was… kind of embarrassing for them. There were a lot of children present, as some of these individuals were shouting things back at us and the Pride float. I had to ask them, “Can we make a kinder choice? The kids are watching us right now,” and they continued yelling, things about “freedom of speech.” But it was kind of sad to watch these old men having their meltdowns but ultimately, when I walked away from that the kids were all for it – they were cheering, they were giving high fives, one even gave me a piece of candy. Overall the greater expressions of joy and gratitude from people we saw along the parade route really drowned out the expressions of hatred and ignorance we heard there yesterday.
Amanda Dockter (center in both) standing next to Del Norte County’s first LGBTQ Pride Float. Photographer unknown.
This year can’t be said to have been all bad, as the annual 5th of July beach cleanup is still on track for this year. Let’s let this year be a reminder to exercise caution around fireworks, and to spread compassion to one another. We will keep you updated as this story unfolds.
This report was written and recorded by Redwood Voice Reporter Sebastian Monroe for the Redwood Voice Community Newscast. Article edited and interviews transcribed by Reporter Persephone Rose.
*¹ This post was edited on July 6th, 2024 to appropriately reflect the number of injured during the South Beach explosion.
Redwood Voice’s Sebastian Monroe sits down with Joanie Lindenmeyer, author of Nun Better, about her two soon-to-be-released books regarding queer joy and healing religious trauma. If you’re interested in Joanie’s books visit twosisterswriting.com, or find her where books are sold.
All information from this video was accurate as of April 24th, 2024. For live on the ground updates tune to KRFH 105.1FM in Humboldt, as well as the publications of the Humboldt Lumberjack and El Leñador. This account was put together solely by Sebastian Monroe of Redwood Voice Youth Media.
For information from the occupation itself, visit @occupycalpolyhumboldt on Instagram.
Curry County is a notoriously conservative county in our area, and yet they’re having a pride festival in June. Redwood Voice’s Sebastian Monroe spoke with some of the youth behind the festival, and what it takes to build community during adversity. You can find out more about Southern Coast Oregon Pride at socpride.org.
The only game convention in Curry County is Harbor Game Con. While the convention is still only a couple of years old, there are a lot of insights to be gleaned from its organizer Ian Crockett. So Redwood Voice’s Sebastian Monroe sits down and talks shop about running a convention in our rural area with him.
On March 21st, the Epicenter opened in Crescent City California. We talked to the minds at work at this new DNUSD facility, and what one can expect to find when they go there.
This is part of our larger coverage of the Klamath Promise Neighborhood’s week of events.
On February 27th of 2023, there was an approximately one square mile spill of oil into Elk Creek adjacent to the Cultural Center in Crescent City. This spill originated from the Sheriff’s Office generator fuel tank which was installed in 1995. The tank spilled approximately 13 gallons into a storm drain where it reached the ocean. The day after the diesel fuel oil appeared on the water, Coast Guard officers were informed of the source of the leak. The Del Norte County Department of Building Maintenance and Parks sent several staff to clean up the sheen from Elk Creek, whilst also cleaning the oil water mixture from a secondary catch basin that tipped the Sheriff’s Office that the tank was leaking. After repairing the faulty line, booms were placed to soak up the remaining diesel coming from the storm drain. With all of the cleanup efforts they could manage complete, the Sheriff’s Office received a Notice of Federal Interest and a warning.
This full timeline took almost a year to get from the Coast Guard through a Freedom of Information Act request. I requested this information on March 30th. I had the information pertaining to the 13 gallons that spilled into Elk Creek, that booms were placed at the storm drain, that the leak did in fact come from the Sheriff’s Office and there was a large removal tank next to the Sheriff’s Office for some time. Everything else was hidden behind a wall of red-tape and Del Norte secrecy. First I called the local Environmental Health branch, who directed me to the Department of Maintenance, who then redirected me to the Environmental Health branch. I managed to break the circular call structure by asking the Coast Guard. I was very quickly brushed off however, the Coast Guard told me I needed to fill out a Freedom of Information Act request to get that information. So as a journalist, I did just that. I called back and forth with the Coast Guard for the full year, with my contact at the San Francisco branch equally as perplexed by the red-tape as I was.
Only after I had voluntarily elected to redact all personal information pertaining to the case from my request by calling a higher-up and stating as much, did the Coast Guard provide the information I was looking for. The final report leaves a lot to be desired. Above are official pictures from the released documents. Most of the information I sought was within the purview of personal information, and the actual numbers in the report were already known to me. The only reason I found out about the booms, tank and the source of the leak originally was through an anonymous source who contacted KFUG. The source told us none of the clean up was done with any documenting paperwork on the part of County Maintenance. The Sheriff’s Department, Department of Maintenance, and Coast Guard were willing to sweep this under the rug. This is a symptom of the good old boys club that our local government is known for. If we hadn’t been contacted by someone on the inside, we never would have found out a lot of this information.
If you need to find out information from a public agency and they’re pushing you aside, here’s how to make a Freedom of Information Act Request. First, see if you can find the information on the public internet, as some things have already been made public for your viewing. Assuming you did not find what you were looking for on the public internet, determine what agency has the information you seek. Each agency handles its own FOIA requests, and having the correct agency in mind gets you one step closer to finding that information. After determining which agency has your information visit foia.gov/#learn-more. This webpage will lead you through the rest of the FOIA request process. There are no immediate fees to make an FOIA request, nor is there any special form that you need to fill out to file the request. Fees may be assessed as the request grows in complexity. When writing your request, be as specific as possible. Good luck out there truth-seekers.
This is the live recording of Redwood Voice’s Sebastian Monroe, Bryce Evans, Sam Bludworth and Mikey Patton finishing off Fugathon 2023 with a one shot set in Orick, CA using the Hunter the Reckoning 5 RPG system.
Sam Bludworth plays Dick Greene “The Bad Catholic.”
Mikey Patton plays Scott Mathers “The Cop.”
Bryce Evans plays Eric Crowe “The Old Hunter,”
and Sebastian Monroe is the Storyteller.
Redwood Voice’s Sebastian Monroe interviewed Saint Sophie at their breakout B Street Pier show—check it out!
