Category Archives: Community News

Federal Funding Freeze Puts Del Norte Fire Safe Council Fuels Reduction Projects In Limbo

Thumbnail: Del Norte Office of Emergency Services Public Information Officer Bill Steven snapped this photo of the Smith River Complex wildfires burning above Patrick Creek Lodge and U.S. 199 on Aug. 16, 2023.

(Updated at 12:03 p.m. Friday with a correction: The California Climate Investments grant is a state program and Cal Fire is a state department. There is a $70 million federal grant available, though Del Norte Fire Safe Council County Coordinator Aaron Babcock said he’s not sure how it will be distributed.)

Flames from the Smith River Complex crept within 600 feet of Aaron Babcock’s Gasquet home in August, 2023.

A former firefighter, Babcock is the county coordinator for the Del Norte Fire Safe Council. He said he and his wife chose not to evacuate from the smattering of wildfires burning around the Gasquet area. Instead, he and two of his Fire Safe Council colleagues helped clean out gutters and create extra defensible space for about 50 homes threatened by the fire.

“The houses we had worked on definitely got skipped over,” Babcock told Redwood Voice Community News on Tuesday. “Because they had firefighters preemptively clearing around people’s homes in case the fire came through, those homes didn’t have to have anything done [to prevent them from burning], which was great because it lowers the amount of firefighting resources that were needed and helped protect other homes.”

Continue reading Federal Funding Freeze Puts Del Norte Fire Safe Council Fuels Reduction Projects In Limbo

Staff Vacancies Among Top Concern In Strategic Plan Update; County Supervisor Suggests AI To Increase Productivity

Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Norma Williams rejected a suggestion from District 5 Supervisor Dean Wilson that artificial intelligence might allow Del Norte County departments to increase productivity despite struggling to hire and keep staff.

Williams, Del Norte County Employees Association SEIU 1021 president, provided public comment following an update of the county’s 2024-29 strategic plan on Tuesday. She reminded Wilson that many county services are state- and federally-mandated. The technology staff use to provide those services was created by the state or federal government and, therefore, the responsibility to update those systems rests with the state or federal government.

Del Norte’s vacancy rate is still high and AI can’t replace everyone, Williams said.

“I doubt very seriously that the community at large is going to want to talk to an AI,” she told supervisors. “When they walk through the door they want to see a live human being. Someone who can understand them, who can speak with them and who can serve them.”

Continue reading Staff Vacancies Among Top Concern In Strategic Plan Update; County Supervisor Suggests AI To Increase Productivity

Bertsch-Oceanview Faces Major Water Main Break, Boil Water Notice Issued

Thumbnail photo courtesy of KFUG Station Coordinator Amanda Dockter.

Crescent City residents in the Bertsch/Oceanview neighborhood awoke this morning to very low water pressure. According to a City Facebook post, this was due to a broken water main on Maiden Lane, off Elk Valley Road. City Manager Eric Wier told Redwood Voice Community News by phone this morning that the twelve inch main is deep, about seven feet below the ground, and will take time for City crews to access. The scope of the break won’t be known until that happens. Tidewater Contractors is assisting City crews at the scene.

The City has advised residents, some of whom may still have low-flow running water, to BOIL that water before drinking. Most of the residents in the Bertsch/Oceanview neighborhood are without water at all. Wier said the City will be setting up a potable water distribution point across the street from KidTown where those residents can fill containers with safe drinking water. He estimated it will be operational by noon and that residents should follow Crescent City’s facebook page for updates.

Once the main is accessed, repaired and recharged, Wier said — and there is currently no estimate available as to how long that will take — it will then be an additional 24 hours for the City to test water safety. During that time, resident will still need to boil water before drinking or cooking with it.

Assemblyman Chris Rogers Introduces Del Norte-Sponsored Speed Limit Bill

Chris Rogers

Del Norte’s new assemblyman is bringing statewide attention to a problem Tamera Leighton says she’s been working on for nearly two decades — cars speeding through the U.S. 199 communities of Hiouchi and Gasquet at 55-plus mph.

Chris Rogers, representative of California’s 2nd Assembly District, introduced a bill Friday that aims to provide more flexibility when it comes to setting speed limits on state highways. Del Norte County is the bill’s sponsor.

Leighton, Del Norte Local Transportation Commission’s executive director, said she and District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard have worked to address residents’ concerns about unsafe speeds since about 2006. According to her, Rogers’ potential piece of legislation means they’ve pushed the issue as far as they can, though she urged supervisors to continue their advocacy.

Continue reading Assemblyman Chris Rogers Introduces Del Norte-Sponsored Speed Limit Bill

The State of Support Services in Del Norte County is Lacking

Update at 2/24/25 4:00PM: This article has been edited to differentiate between In Home Supportive Services and the Redwood Coast Regional Center, which are two separate entities.

For Kenna Gavin, area director of the Special Olympics for Del Norte County, answers to IHSS-related questions are hard to come by. She said she’s had to fight for the bare minimum. 

“They want you to give up, sadly a lot of [the clients] do.” Gavin told Redwood Voice.  In order to access IHSS there is “a book of paperwork that you have to get just right, or you’ll be denied care.”

Gavin has been seeking In Home Supportive Services, or IHSS care, for her daughter Skyler,  since she was very young. Skyler, 24, has Down syndrome. 

The first time Gavin tried, the paperwork was too much and she gave up. Now that her daughter is an adult, in order for Gavin to retain conservatorship, they have had to seek the services of both the Redwood Coast Regional Center and IHSS. 

Continue reading The State of Support Services in Del Norte County is Lacking

Instead of Establishing Their Own Regulations, Crescent City Harbor Plans To Ask County to Modify Its Fireworks Ordinance

Thumbnail photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Though he anticipates room for improvement, Del Norte County Sheriff Garrett Scott says there will be enhanced law enforcement on patrol to avoid a repeat of last year’s explosion that sent 14 people to the hospital.

But while Scott and a committee of other local officials continue to prepare for this year’s Independence Day festivities, the Crescent City Harbor commissioners have decided they don’t have the resources to enforce their own fireworks regulations.

Though Harbormaster Mike Rademaker submitted a draft ordinance modeled on the State Fireworks Law to the Harbor District Board, commissioners on Tuesday directed staff to ask Del Norte County officials to modify the ordinance they’ve had on the books since October.

Continue reading Instead of Establishing Their Own Regulations, Crescent City Harbor Plans To Ask County to Modify Its Fireworks Ordinance

State Scolds Former Del Norte County Judge Robert Cochran For Making Demeaning Comments to a Domestic Violence Victim

Former Del Norte County Superior Court Judge Robert Cochran received a public reprimand from the California Commission on Judicial Performance for making demeaning comments to a domestic violence victim. | Photo by Paul Critz

A retired Del Norte County judge received a public reprimand from the California Commission on Judicial Performance for making demeaning comments to a domestic violence victim during hearings in 2023.

The commission found that former Del Norte County Superior Court Judge Robert Cochran “conveyed the appearance of embroilment and bias and exhibited discourtesy” toward the victim at a domestic violence restraining order hearing in May 2023 and later at a change of plea hearing in October 2023 after her partner was convicted for his actions.

The Commission on Judicial Performance concluded that Cochran’s treatment of the victim “constituted serious misconduct,” according to its decision and order imposing public admonishment published Wednesday. Cochran, the commission stated, “did not appear to fully appreciate the impropriety of his comments.”

Continue reading State Scolds Former Del Norte County Judge Robert Cochran For Making Demeaning Comments to a Domestic Violence Victim

Trump’s Freeze on EPA Grants Forces Crescent City Harbor Officials To Pursue Other Funding Options For Boatyard

The Crescent City Harbor District was pursuing an EPA Climate Change grant to revitalize its boatyard following Fashion Blacksmith’s departure. | Photo by Gavin Van Alstine

Crescent City Harbor commissioners say revitalizing the port’s boatyard is still among their top priorities, though the federal grant they hoped to use for the project isn’t likely to arrive.

The Crescent City Harbor District had applied for a $20 million Environmental Protection Agency Climate Change grant. Officials planned to use $13 million of those funds to pay for dredging, new equipment and boat haul-out and pier improvements.

Other proposed uses included securing a long-term source of ice for the fishing fleet and hiring new staff to spearhead construction projects at the harbor.

But, due to a Trump administration decision, that EPA grant program will likely end, Mike Bahr, CEO of Community System Solutions told commissioners on Tuesday.

Continue reading Trump’s Freeze on EPA Grants Forces Crescent City Harbor Officials To Pursue Other Funding Options For Boatyard

DNSO Releases Name Of Surf Apartments Resident Killed In Officer-Involved Shooting

The Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office has released the name of a Surf Apartments resident who was killed in an officer-involved shooting on Monday.

The deceased is 67-year-old John Spencer, Sheriff Garrett Scott told Redwood Voice Community News on Wednesday. Spencer’s next of kin has been notified, Scott said, and the incident is still under investigation. According to Scott, the CHP from the Southern Division is heading the investigation.

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DNUSD To ‘Sell or Junk’ Dilapidated Vehicles; New Vehicles Are On The Way, Superintendent Says

Thumbnail photo by Persephone Rose

Del Norte Unified is planning to sell or junk a plethora of surplus vehicles, the newest of which is a 17-year-old Chevrolet van.

Though most of the vehicles run, none are in good, or even fair condition, DNUSD Superintendent Jeff Harris told trustees on Thursday. They include six vans, three pickup trucks, a box truck and two buses. Their condition grading ranges from zero to two.

“Zeros are scrap, one is inoperative and two is severe wear and tear,” Harris said. “We don’t have any vehicles on this list that are normal, fair or good. They’re all basically not something we want to put staff or students in.”

Continue reading DNUSD To ‘Sell or Junk’ Dilapidated Vehicles; New Vehicles Are On The Way, Superintendent Says