Curry County’s Finance Director Faces Criticism Over Proposed Employment Agreement

Curry County Board of Commissioners Meeting from Dec. 19. Thumbnail: Keina Wolf, the county’s finance and human resources director, sits at the far left on the dais. | Screenshot

(Update at 2:51 p.m. Dec. 30. Curry County commissioners delayed renewing an employment contract with Finance and Human Resources Director Keina Wolf at their Dec. 19 meeting.)

Curry County commissioners declined to renew delayed renewing an employment contract with their finance and human resources director, Kiena Wolf, at last week’s meeting. 

Wolf, who was in attendance at that meeting, found herself on the defensive against critics arguing that the county couldn’t afford the expense.

One critic, Michele Martin, a member of a Facebook group called Citizens For Curry Justice, criticized Wolf’s proposed salary of $130,000 per year and said the $15,000 professional development allowance it calls for is more than the training budget at the Curry County Sheriff’s Office.

Rod Palmquist, a representative for Teamsters Local 223, which represents sheriff’s office employees, repeated the statement regarding the training budget for Wolf’s department, comparing it with that of the sheriff’s office. He told commissioners that the proposed employment agreement prioritized bureaucracy “over the very safety of the community you were elected to serve.”

A third critic was County Assessor and Tax Collector Kylie Wagner, who said that Wolf, who does much of her work from her home in Lane County, “should be here in the trenches with the rest of us.”

Continue reading Curry County’s Finance Director Faces Criticism Over Proposed Employment Agreement

CCPD Are Searching For An Alleged Carjacking Suspect

A man whose “possible first name” is Andrew is wanted after allegedly brandishing a firearm and stealing a car at the Safeway parking lot, according to CCPD Chief Richard Griffin. | Photo courtesy CCPD

Crescent City police are searching for a man they brandished a firearm in the Safeway parking lot before encountering police this morning and then stealing a vehicle with an 18-year-old man inside of it.

The vehicle and 18-year-old was later found at Foursquare Church, according to Crescent City Police Chief Richard Griffin. He said the incident took place just after 8 a.m. on Wednesday.

The suspect’s possible first name is Andrew, Griffin said. According to the police chief, the suspect had fled west on Macken Avenue after abandoning the stolen vehicle. The suspect is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached.

Police are urging the public to call dispatch at (707) 464-4191 to report any sightings.

Curry Commissioners Green Light Law Enforcement Levy Amid Criticism

In the face of more public criticism over budget cuts at the sheriff’s office, Curry County commissioners agreed to place another law enforcement tax levy before voters next May.

But they took umbrage at some of the statements citizens lobbed at them on Thursday, including accusations from local Teamsters representatives that they abandoned the sheriff’s office.

That statement came from Rod Palmquist, labor representative of Local Teamsters 223, which represents Curry County Sheriff’s Office employees. Palmquist criticized a proposed employment contract between the county and Finance and Human Resources Director Keina Wolf, charging commissioners of prioritizing bureaucracy over public safety. He mentioned a potential consideration to consolidate jail services between Curry and Coos counties — an issue that’s in the early stages of exploration at this point, according to Commissioner Jay Trost.

Continue reading Curry Commissioners Green Light Law Enforcement Levy Amid Criticism

A Very Special FUGMas – Redwood Voice Community News

December 23rd, 2024 –

In the days before Christmas
All through the Fughouse
A group of media youth
Report on all things Claus

In today’s STOCKING news,
An Elf Workers’ Union gets squashed by Strikebreaker;
A Naughty or Nice Algorithm says everyone’s a troublemaker;

Mrs. Claus is in an abominable affair;
Conspiring Sugar Plum Fairies step up to the judges’ chair;

Tips to keep yetis out of your trash bin; and
Why elderly women get in Reindeer crashins’

Please keep in mind these reports are a spoof—
You get all this and more from Redwood Voice Community News.

. . .

This newscast will be aired Dec. 23rd, 24th, and the 25th while the news team is taking some time off for the holidays. 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 newscast image is courtesy of @awkwardfamilyphotos via Instagram, which has been edited.

Crescent City Has A New Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, And Other Items From The Dec. 16, 2024 Meeting

The Tolowa Interpretive Walk at Beachfront Park will feature a redwood tree, a burden basket and a canoe with kiosks focusing on their origin story, culture and the atrocities they lived through at the hands of white settlers. | Image courtesy of Crescent City

Among the items discussed at Monday’s Crescent City Council meeting

New Council, New Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem:

A new Crescent City Council appointed Ray Altman as the new mayor with Isaiah Wright taking on the job of mayor pro tem.

Altman had been mayor pro tem under Blake Inscore, who finished out his final two years on the City Council on Monday. Wright had been mayor in 2023.

Continue reading Crescent City Has A New Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, And Other Items From The Dec. 16, 2024 Meeting

60th Anniversary of the ’64 Christmas Flood – Redwood Voice Community News

December 20th, 2024 – For Redwood Voice Community News, a production of Redwood Voice Youth Media, today’s news: roadwork updates from CalTrans District 1; the 60th anniversary of the Christmas Flood of 1964; your yearly porch pirate warning; the nautical update from Fishing the North Coast; the Yurok Tribe is hosting their first ever Art Market; year two of the Yurok floodplain restoration program has finished; new public comment guidelines get grief from constituents at the Crescent City Harbor District; the Toys for Tots program has been extended; Brookings gets two new electric trucks; predictions of holiday weather; and California gets a waiver from the Biden administration to put into place new clean-car rules. 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 newscast image is courtesy of ClackCo TV’s YouTube Channel, which has been edited.

With Park Improvements Underway, Crescent City Looks To Its Downtown

Don Arambula, an urban designer with Crandall Arambula PC, floated some ideas for a revitalized Downtown Crescent City on Monday. | Screenshot

Don Arambula showed a new City Council how his firm could help revitalize its downtown area by comparing Crescent City to Whitefish, Montana.

Arambula, project manager, principal planner and urban designer for the Portland-based Crandall Arambula, PC, said Monday when his firm began working on a master plan for Whitefish’s downtown business district, the city wanted to “lean into its visitor potential.” Though it’s a bit larger than Crescent City, Arambula drew a comparison, saying it, too, is on a national park’s doorstep.

“They’ve found that people want to come to Whitefish and experience a unique condition. If they’re from Georgia, they don’t want to see the same things they left in Georgia,” he said. “They wanted to have a sense of the culture and the place, and that’s really one of the founding principles we had for this project. And we suspect something like this would be appropriate also for Crescent City.”

Continue reading With Park Improvements Underway, Crescent City Looks To Its Downtown

The Yurok Tribe Reclaims ‘O Rew – Redwood Voice Community News

December 19th, 2024 – For Redwood Voice Community News, a production of Redwood Voice Youth Media, today’s news: roadwork updates from CalTrans District 1; outgoing councilors showered with love in a heartwarming ceremony; your yearly porch pirate warning; the Yurok Tribe is hosting their first ever Art Market; new public comment guidelines get grief from constituents at the Crescent City Harbor District; ‘O Rew returned to Yurok custody; the earthquake update from the Redwood Coast Tsunami Work Group; the Toys for Tots program has been extended; Brookings gets two new electric trucks; predictions of holiday weather; and California gets a waiver from the Biden administration to put into place new clean-car rules. 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 newscast image is courtesy of CBS News, which has been edited.

Crescent City Harbor District Roundup, Dec. 17, 2024

Photo courtesy of the Crescent City Harbor District

Among the items discussed at Tuesday’s Crescent City Harbor District meeting.

Grant Dollars:

A proposed contract with Community System Solutions on Tuesday turned into a debate over whether the Harbor District should continue to rely on grants to shore up its infrastructure.

Sam Strait, county resident and frequent commenter, says no. He argued that the Harbor District’s grants are “in reality other people’s money.”

“I thought the idea here was to live within your means so you no longer have to use other people’s money to support your wishes,” he said.

Continue reading Crescent City Harbor District Roundup, Dec. 17, 2024

Harbor Commissioner Proposes Public Comment Guidelines, Says Meetings ‘Cannot Become A Major Bitch Session’

Photo by Paul Critz

Linda Sutter didn’t take kindly to a proposed set of guidelines governing public comment during Crescent City Harbor District meetings.

Though the author of those guidelines, newly-elected commissioner Dan Schmidt, didn’t initially mention her by name, Sutter warned that any attempt to remove her from the building will result in a lawsuit.
“My opinions are my opinions,” she said Tuesday. “You don’t have to like them. But the first time you lay hands on me and escort me out of this building, I will own this building.”

Schmidt didn’t mention Sutter’s name in his introductory statement or in his proposal, but he referred to statements she made at the Board’s Dec 3 meeting after Community System Solutions CEO Mike Bahr introduced himself and his staff to the Board of Commissioners.

Continue reading Harbor Commissioner Proposes Public Comment Guidelines, Says Meetings ‘Cannot Become A Major Bitch Session’