Category Archives: Crescent City

Local Church Hosts Memorial Service for Transgender Victims of Violence

November 18, 2024 Amanda Dockter Leave a comment

^{Thumbnail courtesy of Amanda Dockter.}

St Paul’s Episcopal Church in Crescent City will be hosting a candlelight vigil in observance of Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) and Resilience this Wednesday, November 20th at 7pm. The event honors the memory of transgender and gender-variant individuals who have lost their lives to violence, while also focusing on cultivating community and resilience among the LGBTQIA+ population.

The event will feature several speakers from various backgrounds, including Christie Lynn Rust – a local woman who transitioned after retiring from her decades-long career as the beloved Music Director at Del Norte High School. The names of trans individuals in the United States who lost their lives in the past year will be read, with a candle lit for each of them. Unfortunately, as hate crimes often go unreported, there is no way of knowing the true number of victims lost to anti-trans violence.

*The official flier for the Transgender Day of Remembrance 2024 Service.*

Statistics about the unique challenges faced by transgender individuals paint a worrisome picture. A 2011 National Gay and Lesbian Task Force survey revealed that anti-transgender biases perpetuate discriminatory practices and attitudes towards gender-variant individuals. 63 percent of transgender respondents reported having experienced at least one form of significant discrimination, 35 percent said they were physically assaulted, and 41 percent reported attempting suicide.

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Articles, Community News, Crescent City

Del Norte Says Thank You: Veterans Day Parade Offers Connectivity, Support

November 12, 2024 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

Redwood School’s cheer squad show Del Norte’s veterans some love at Monday’s parade. | Photos by KFUG Station Manager Paul Critz

Lynn Herriott said it took 20 years for her to join a veterans organization, so she understands why some might approach a parade with mixed feelings.

Herriott, who was with the U.S. Marine Corps stationed at Camp Pendleton during the Gulf War, waited for Crescent City’s annual Veterans Day parade to start. The Gasquet American Legion 548 commander says she’s not super vocal about her service — she understands the holiday may be painful, especially for those who have seen combat — but the parade shows veterans that people care about them.

It also helps connect them with veterans organizations like the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, Herriott told Redwood Voice Community News on Monday.

“I think maybe they don’t understand what the service organizations do, but we’re here for the veterans,” she said. “It’s good camaraderie because you’re talking to people who understand your language and understand what you’ve been through. It’s a good place to go if you’re feeling like you don’t fit in.”

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Articles, Community News, Crescent City, Infrastructure, Local Government

Crescent City Council Roundup for Nov. 4, 2024

November 11, 2024 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

Among the items discussed at last week’s Crescent City Council meeting:

Landscape standards: Three councilors approved new parameters dictating the amount of open space housing developers need to provide their residents.

Councilors Jason Greenough and Kelly Schellong Feola dissented, saying the requirement for developers to set aside 20 percent of their property for usable open space if their project has six or more housing units was too burdensome.

Under the new standards, multi-family developments with six or more units must include one amenity such as a community garden, a picnic or barbecue area or an exercise area, City Attorney Martha Rice said. A portion of it must also be landscaped. For developments with 10 or more units, the usable open space must have one of the amenities listed above plus a play area with a picnic table, Rice said.

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Articles, Community News, Crescent City, Infrastructure, Local Government

City Council Tweaks Measure S-Funded Projects, Uses SB-1 Dollars For Asphalt Repairs

November 11, 2024 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Photo courtesy of Andrew Goff, of the Lost Coast Outpost}

After their fire chief credited Measure S for his department’s recent Class 2 ISO rating, Crescent City councilors on Monday authorized changes to more projects paid for with revenue from the voter-approved sales tax.

Those changes include using $90,000 in Measure S dollars to start expanding the Crescent City Police Department while waiting on a USDA Community Facilities loan to come through.

Councilors allocated an extra $120,000 as contingency for an HVAC and flooring project at the Fred Endert Municipal Swimming Pool plus an additional $106,000 for other projects that need to be completed during the facility’s three-month closure.

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Community News, Crescent City, Videos

Crescent City Cuts Ribbon On Refurbished Front Street

November 8, 2024 Amanda Dockter Leave a comment

Video and photo by Amanda Dockter

(Updated at 8:02 p.m. to correct an error. Crescent City Mayor Blake Inscore cut the ribbon on Front Street.)

Crescent City added another piece to the Front Street reconstruction puzzle when it cut the ribbon on the block between I and Play streets on Friday. Construction on the final block, which brings the reconstructed drive to U.S. 101, will start next year, according to Councilwoman Kelly Schellong Feola.

Crescent City used state and federal grant transportation dollars, Community Project Funding from Congressman Jared Huffman’s office and Measure S tax moneys to pay for the project. Schellong Feola thanked the city’s state and federal partners who “worked so hard” to allow Crescent City to cobble the Front Street project together.

Crescent City Mayor Blake Inscore cut the ribbon on Front Street. He was joined by Schellong Feola, Ernie Perry, chairman of the Measure S Oversight Committee, Councilor-Elect Candace Tinkler, Public Works Director Dave Yeager and Cindy Vosburg, executive director of the Crescent City Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce.

Articles, Community News, Crescent City, Local Government

Crescent City Fire Achieves Second-Highest ISO Rating

November 6, 2024 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Crescent City Fire & Rescue participates in a local Fourth of Parade. | Photo: Jessica Cejnar Andrews}

Kevin Carey said he and his colleagues thought a Class 2 ISO rating was unattainable for Crescent City Fire & Rescue. So when he announced the department’s new designation with the Insurance Services Office Inc. before the City Council on Monday, the fire chief credited a slew of people, most especially the late Steve Wakefield.

Carey delivered the news to Wakefield’s wife Debra after first informing the city manager.

“She was absolutely ecstatic,” Carey said. “She knew that Steve would be super proud of us.”

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Articles, Arts & Culture, Crescent City

Roadside Art Collection Remains in Safekeeping with the City of Crescent City

October 31, 2024 Monique Camarena Leave a comment

Inside the former Bank of America building on H Street in Crescent City resides an abundant collection of abstract mixed media paintings and sculptures by Ukrainian artist Val Polyanin. In 2022, the city became responsible for over 900 pieces of Polyanin’s art. Polyanin donated his collection to the city for safekeeping after rising rent costs forced him to abandon his roadside gallery alongside U.S. 101 south of town.

After debating whether or not to accept the donation, city councilors eventually agreed to allocate $10,000 out of their economic development fund toward obtaining his collection and curating the exhibit.

In May of 2023, the city held a grand opening for this exhibit, aptly named “Safekeeping,” for “First Friday”. These events, organized in conjunction with the Downtown Divas, are designed to draw traffic to local businesses in the downtown area and stimulate economic activity.

Redwood Voice Youth Media had initially been enlisted by the city to produce a short documentary film to be played on loop at this art exhibit. This video detailed Val Polyanin’s background, journey to America, and passion for artistic freedom.

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Articles, Community News, Crescent City, Curry, Infrastructure, Local Government, Youth

Crescent City Eyes Partnership With Brookings Nonprofit To Offer Alternative Venue For Pool Patrons

October 29, 2024 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

Crescent City councilors last week supported a proposed partnership with South Coast Community Aquatics in Brookings to give Del Norte County pool patrons a place to swim when the Fred Endert Municipal Pool closes for construction in December.

But on Monday, SCCA President Val Early told the Brookings City Council that discussions about how the arrangement would work are still preliminary. She floated the idea of instituting a community pass for patrons on both sides of the state line since Crescent City and SCCA would be funding the program. The details still needed to be ironed out before the agreement goes before the Brookings City Council for approval, she said.

“If we’re able to put that together and [if] you feel like that’s a worthwhile project, that would be a pilot program for us to be able to gauge what our winter activity would be,” Early said. “If we’re able to put together, this collaborative effort would start to happen in December and would go through February because those are the months the Crescent City pool is going to be closed.”

The Fred Endert Municipal Pool is expected to undergo upgrades to its HVAC system as well as its pool deck and locker room floors. As a result, the pool will be closed from December through February, City Manager Eric Wier said.

Under the proposed agreement with SCCA, the nonprofit organization that took over management of the Brookings pool in 2023 would be responsible for facility-related costs. This includes heating the outdoor pool to between 83 and 84 degrees Fahrenheit, Wier told the City Council at its Oct. 21 meeting. Crescent City would provide the lifeguards and supervisory staff needed to operate the pool, he said.

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Articles, Community News, Crescent City, Infrastructure, Local Government

Crescent City Council Mulls Gateway Design, Say They Want Public Input On Nov. 4

October 26, 2024 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

Crescent City councilors hope the community, especially local businesses, come to their next meeting ready to chime in on four designs they’re considering for an entryway into Beachfront Park and the downtown area.

Their goal is to select a design and decide if Front Street should be renamed to something that’s more reflective of Crescent City. Some options kicked around Monday include Ocean Drive, Oceanfront Drive and Beachfront Drive.

But, according to City Manager Eric Wier, the City Council doesn’t have much time to make a decision. The city needs to spend the $3 million in Clean California Grant dollars it received for the project by June 30, 2026. This means it needs to hire a contractor by early spring 2025 and have the project under construction between May and October, according to Wier’s staff report.

The City Council hopes to decide on a project design by Nov. 4, according to Mayor Blake Inscore.

On Monday, though he noted that his days on the City Council are coming to a close soon, Inscore said if Front Street was renamed, he preferred Beachfront Drive over Oceanfront Drive.

“From a Google analytics [standpoint], if you put in Beachfront Park, you’re going to get Beachfront Drive and you’re going to get businesses associated with that,” he said. “I would use one term from a marketing standpoint. We have two hotels called Oceanfront. Again, from Google analytics, we don’t want to be confused with a hotel.”

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Community News, Crescent City, Infrastructure, Just For Fun, Local Government, Youth

‘Something This Amazing’; Crescent City Cuts The Ribbon On New Pump Track

October 15, 2024 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

Crescent City cut the ribbon Saturday on the first amenity at Beachfront Park built using Prop 68 grant money. | Jessica C. Andrews

Wesley Phillips’ experience with pump tracks is limited — the new course at Crescent City’s Beachfront Park was his first taste.

Though the official grand opening wasn’t until last Saturday, Wesley’s dad, Tom Phillips, said his son had already been practicing. Wesley and his friends Aidan Evans and Landon and Chase Feight were demo riders — zipping over the jumps and scaling the wall ride, the wooden structure towering above the rest of the track — while Tom looked on.

“He’s blown away by it,” Tom said, watching Wesley and his buddies. “He had always ridden bikes and asked [me], ‘Can you build me a jump?’”

As the bike pump track took shape over the last two months, Wesley’s thoughts have been “nothing else but BMX,” his dad says.

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