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Dec. 2, 2004
CONGRESS FUNDS LOCAL PRESERVATION:
Local conservation efforts were
given a big boost last week after Congress approved $2.3 million
to fund the "Six Rivers to the Sea" project. The money,
part of the federal government's Forest Legacy Program, will
be divided among three components of "Six Rivers to the
Sea": the Sunny Brae Forest in Arcata, the Iaqua Ranch near
Kneeland and the Price Creek Ranch near Rio Dell. The Sunny Brae-Arcata
Neighborhood Alliance (SANA) will use its share of the money
to help complete the purchase of the 171-acre Sunny Brae Forest
from Sierra Pacific Industries, a deal that has been in the works
since April 2002. The Sunny Brae Forest will be added to the
existing Arcata Community Forest. The remainder of the money
will be used to purchase conservation easements on the two Southern
Humboldt ranches. Last year, Congress killed funding for the
Sunny Brae Forest at the last minute: In a press release, SANA
director Mark Lovelace gave credit to Rep. Mike Thompson and
his staff for securing the money this time around.
MOTHER IN FATAL CRASH
INTOXICATED: On Oct. 19, Eureka
resident Deann Hash, 43, ran her car off Greenwood Heights Road
and into a tree, killing her 6-year-old daughter. Last week,
the California Highway Patrol said that drug tests have shown
that Hash was under the influence of marijuana and prescription
drugs at the time of the accident. CHP Officer Stefanie Barnwell
said that her office would not be releasing what sort of medication
Hash was taking. She added that the department still did not
know whether or not Hash had a prescription for the drug. The
case was forwarded to the District Attorney's Office.
COURT OK'S PALCO LOGGING:
A state appellate court that had
stayed Pacific Lumber Co.'s logging operations in the Van Duzen
Watershed earlier this month reversed itself last week. The reversal
was apparently based on a miscommunication whose circumstances
remain murky -- originally, the appellate court had acted in
the absence of a decision from Humboldt Superior Court Judge
J. Michael Brown, who is overseeing an Environmental Protection
Information Center's lawsuit against the company. EPIC attorneys
asked for a stay when Brown hadn't ruled one way or the other.
But it later became known that Brown did, in fact, rule on EPIC's
motion -- denying it -- on the very day that the appellate court
halted logging operations. The remainder of the case, which charges
the company with harvesting too-small trees, will proceed.
FLU MIST AVAILABLE: With the nationwide shortage of vaccine this year,
many health care providers have rationed their small supplies
of flu shots to people at greatest risk of complications from
the virus. But the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human
Services announced Monday that others do have options if they
wish to protect themselves this flu season -- the Longs Drug
store on Myrtle Avenue in Eureka is selling "FluMist,"
a spray-based version of the vaccine that is administered nasally.
Dr. Ann Lindsay, the county's health officer, said that the spray
was a "safe and effective alternative" to the traditional
jab. For more information, call the Public Health Flu Vaccination
Line at 476-4945.
ATTORNEY JACK DALTON DIES: A memorial service was held Sunday for John M.
"Jack" Dalton, 76, a Eureka attorney and grandson of
an early area settler, who died of cancer Nov. 23. Dalton was
a talented athlete, an avid fisherman and a man who was always
quick with a smile and a friendly word, said longtime friend
Bob Barnum of Barnum Timber Co. "He had a genuine interest
in people, and that came through in his personality," Barnum
said. As a young man, Dalton worked briefly at Holmes-Eureka
Lumber Co., where Bayshore Mall is now located and where his
father, Walter Henry Dalton, had been president. When he finished
his undergraduate and law degrees from UC Berkeley, Dalton returned
to Humboldt County to practice family law. Before retirement,
he was a partner at Dalton and Bicknell law firm of Eureka. Dalton
is survived by his wife, Sandra Dalton of Eureka, and five children:
Michael Thomas Dalton, John Fox Dalton, James Patrick Dalton,
Laura Dalton Zugzda and Joseph Neil Dalton, all of Eureka.
TEACHERS HONORED: The Arcata branch of Wells Fargo presented 10 local
teachers with "Stagecoach Legacy Awards" at an event
held at Baywood Country Club Tuesday evening. The awards, which
come with a $500 prize that the teachers may spend on classroom
supplies, honor each teacher's excellence in the classroom and
commitment to the community. The first-place winner, Jen Mishkin
of Big Lagoon Charter School, received an additional $500 and
won $2,000 for her school, to be used as the principal sees fit.
Wells Fargo Store Manager Alison Hong said that though all the
teachers she reviewed were worthy of the award, Mishkin stood
out for the number of volunteer hours she spent organizing a
math club, instituting a farming program and always being available
to parents. "She's just overall a pretty amazing person,"
Hong said. The other winners are: Virginia Mullan of Bridgeville
Elementary, Greg Gaiera of Big Lagoon, Marliese Healy of Garfield
Elementary, Debbie Reis of Morris School, Cheryl Valley of Fieldbrook
Elementary, Geri Linari of Fieldbrook & Cuddeback Schools
and Cindy Condit, Ed DeWald and James Washington of Arcata High
School. Parents, students and colleagues submitted their favorite
teachers as nominees for the awards earlier this year.
DOMESTIC PARTNERS WORKSHOP:
Legal Services of Northern California
will sponsor a workshop entitled "Estate Planning for Unmarried
Couples" this Monday at 1 p.m. The workshop, which will
be led by attorney Catherine Koshkin, will discuss upcoming changes
to California law stemming from California's "Domestic Partner
Rights and Responsibilities Act," which becomes law on Jan.
1. The act gives registered domestic partners legal rights equal
to those enjoyed by married couples where pensions, health care
benefits and other issues are concerned. It also makes registered
domestic partners liable for each other's debts. Heterosexual
couples over 62 or same-sex couples of any age are invited to
attend. The workshop will take place at the Humboldt Senior Resource
Center, 1910 California St., Eureka. Attendance is free.
K-9 `OFFICER' MOURNED:
The Arcata Police Department announced
last week that Axel, an 11 1/2-year-old German shepherd and a
five-year APD veteran, died of natural causes on Nov. 20. Axel,
who retired from the force in 2000, was the beloved partner of
APD then-Officer Randy Bates, now an investigator with the department.
"When it came to performing his duties as a K-9 officer,
Axel was always focused and ready for Officer Bates' every command,"
eulogized Arcata Police Chief Randy Bates in a press release.
NEW
NATIVE AMERICAN SERVICES OFFICE: Two
new offices in Humboldt County, sponsored locally by the Bear
River and Big Lagoon tribes, have been set up to help low income
Native Americans get help with Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) cash assistance. The tribal partnership offices
are located at 2720 Central Ave., Suite C, in McKinleyville,
and 1136 Main St., in Fortuna. For information, call 274-3180.
CORRECTION, Dec.
9, 2004: The above item has been
corrected from the original version. It was incorrectly stated
that the offices would help low income Native Americans get food
stamps. The offices will provide help with TANF (Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families) cash assistance, but food stamps and Medi-Cal
are available only through the county social services office.
The Journal regrets the error.
CALTRANS: `TALK
TO US': Caltrans wants to know
what you think about state highways. The department is surveying
the public to "identify areas for improvement," and
invites state residents to log onto its Web site, www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi
to answer certain questions. Locate the red text, "Please
take our maintenance survey." The survey runs through Jan.
5 and takes about 15 minutes to complete, Caltrans says.
New
group pushes port development
by
HANK SIMS
The county's railroad tracks
have lain dormant for nearly 10 years. Financial troubles at
the Stockton Pacific pulp mill may threaten the only major shipping
service in Humboldt Bay.
Transportation problems are
nothing new in Humboldt County, but an energized new group of
business leaders believe that the region is ideally poised to
become a player in the movement of goods produced in the global
marketplace, if only it would grasp the nettle.
The Rail and Port Infrastructure
Task Force (RAPIT), which was formed earlier this month, argues
that the current international climate gives the county an opening
to develop its port and railroad, bringing in new jobs and business
opportunities.
"The opportunity is here
-- we need to take advantage of it, now," said Eureka attorney
and task force member Bill Bertain. "We want to catch this
tide at its full."
In a letter sent to business
owners and government officials earlier this month, the task
force noted that the great increase in trade with Asia in recent
years has caused costly delays at major ports up and down the
West Coast. Humboldt Bay may be the only California shipping
port that lacks the cranes and other dockside equipment to handle
container traffic; RAPIT believes that with a little investment
in these tools -- plus a revitalized railroad -- the county could
easily attract some of the large ports' excess traffic.
RAPIT members say that there
are many other reasons why now is the time to push for a revitalization
of the region's transportation infrastructure. The Humboldt Bay
Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District recently acquired
a deep-water dock in Samoa. The Headwaters Fund has made $5 million
available to fund improvements to local transportation projects.
Concerns about terrorist strikes against vital routes have meant
that the federal government, through its Department of Homeland
Security, has been willing to spend money on infrastructure.
But the task force believes
that the potential for attracting some of the global shipping
from Asia has the greatest immediate potential to bring new jobs
to the county. A recent article in the Journal of Commerce,
an industry newsletter, reported that the Port of Long Beach
-- which has experienced record backlogs in the run-up to the
holiday season -- has been steadily hiring dockworkers in recent
months. The article stated that port operators hope to add 1,000
registered longshoremen and 3,000 part-time laborers to its rolls
in the coming months.
RAPIT member Marc Matteoli,
a Eureka real estate broker, believes that the Humboldt Bay region
could develop these kinds of high-wage jobs too, if only the
infrastructure were in place. Matteoli lamented what he described
as the failure of politically active citizenry not to take the
needs of blue-collar workers into consideration when planning
the county's future.
"I think we've got a moral
duty to consider that group," he said. "There's often
an unfortunate elitist attitude among those who think that quality
of life is the first issue."
Jacqueline Debets, the county's
economic development coordinator, is skeptical that the region's
economic woes can be solved be a single "silver bullet"
such as shipping. She said that although infrastructure is vital,
the county would be better served by getting its residents additional
training for jobs that are likely to be marketable to companies
that may seek to invest in the area.
"I think that the reality
of the economy of America is that it's hard to find a high-paying
job with a high school education," Debets said. "The
fact is that the economy of America is changing to a high-end
service-sector economy."
Debets added that when she talks
to local business leaders -- even those in the manufacturing
sector -- the infrastructure improvement they most desire is
another fiber-optic line to service their Internet needs.
But Bertain argued that other
countries -- particularly those in Asia -- have become extremely
competitive with the United States' technology industry lately,
turning out millions of skilled engineers in recent years. With
those countries developing the "high-end service" industries
that Debets spoke of, there may be more of an opportunity --
and a need -- for manufacturing jobs in the United States, according
to Bertain.
"We should not think that
America is not going to be a manufacturing country," he
said. "We're going to have to be."
If the county had a dependable
shipping system, he said, local government leaders and the business
community could lobby members of this new wave of manufacturers
to set up shop here.
RAPIT members said that their
highest priority will be to lobby local officials and representatives
of the Port of Oakland in the hopes of encouraging a stronger
relationship between Oakland and Humboldt Bay. The two ports
recently applied for a $50,000 grant from the federal Maritime
Administration to fund a study of a proposed barge service between
Humboldt and the San Francisco Bay. l
Disc
golfers enjoying 'new' Arcata park
by
LUKE JOHNSON
Though players have used it
for almost seven years, the disc golf park near the water district
pump station in Arcata has become one of the newest official
courses in California.
But the transition took some
doing.
Located on Warren Creek Road,
about three miles east down West End Road, the park's use by
the golfers posed a potential risk for unsuspecting hikers and
other park users. In June, the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District,
which owns the land, and local disc golf club Par Infinity, agreed
that, in the best interest of all parties, the course would be
closed for disc golf.
Then Par Infinity approached
the water district to try to work something out. Negotiations
were slow to develop because of the water district's hesitancy
to get involved with managing a disc golf course. At the same
time, though, the water district did not want to limit public
enjoyment of the park.
"We have a longstanding
tradition of allowing community members to use our parks -- by
virtue of having land along the river we have an obligation to
allow the public access to this land," said water district
General Manager Carol Rische. "We were able to reach a use
agreement with Par Infinity that will allow this."
The agreement requires Par Infinity
to manage the playing of disc golf in the park. It is the club's
responsibility to ensure that golfers respect the posted rules
of the course and are able to co-exist with other park users.
The water district must approve all decisions regarding repairs,
improvements, or any other changes.
"This is an opportunity
for disc golfers to show the community that this is a positive
thing," said local attorney and Par Infinity member Nick
Kloeppel, who played a major role in the negotiations. "Part
of our agreement with the water district was that we take full
responsibility for maintaining the course. That means it's up
to us to keep the area clean and safe for all users."
Aron Johnson, a resident of
the area surrounding the Cooper Gulch disc golf course in Eureka,
can testify to the positive effects that course has had on that
community. The golfers have helped keep away the drug users,
prostitutes and campers that plagued the park, he said.
"I've talked to my neighbors
and most of them have told me that, since the course was put
in, they feel safer than they've ever felt around the neighborhood,"
Johnson said.
The object of disc golf is to
throw a disc (heavier and stiffer than a traditional Frisbee)
into the basket, a contraption equipped with hanging chains that
provides a "hole."
While disc golf provides a wonderful
community activity, it is not free from controversy. As golfer
population increases, so does the threat posed to surrounding
flora and fauna.
Yvonne Everett, an Environment
and Natural Resource professor at Humbold State University, taught
classes three years ago that studied the environmental impacts
of the disc golf behind HSU in the Arcata Community Forest.
"We compared soil compaction
and vegetation trampling in various locations around the forest.
Around the disc golf holes we found very significant compaction,
which can have negative impacts on root growth and thus reduce
vegetation cover and potentially increase soil erosion,"
Everett said.
Par Infinity said it remains
sensitive to these environmental issues. They have put on "work
parties" in an effort to restore some of the damage done
to the forest; the next one is scheduled for Saturday. It is
also hoped that foot traffic will be more diffuse now that there
are two operating courses in Arcata, thus minimizing the damage
to any one area.
"Since part of our agreement
includes maintenance, picking up litter and respecting the natural
setting are high priorities," Kloeppel said.
Disc golf has been around since
the `70s, but the last six years have seen a dramatic increase
of courses worldwide. There were 850 courses in 1998; today there
are upwards of 1,700 courses in the world, with 1,500 of those
in the United States and 90 in California. l
Luke Johnson is a writer
and Americorps worker in Arcata.
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