Airborne With the Guardies
Snow-covered Trinities appeared in the distance. Missions don’t always happen on the coast — just last month, Air Station Humboldt Bay was called to help near Dinsmore. Paramedics couldn’t easily reach the snowed-in home of a 60-year-old woman needing medical attention, but the helicopter could.
The day before, two crews had been honored at the annual Red Cross Humboldt Heroes luncheon. (They’ll enthuse endlessly about how their HH-65C Dolphin helicopter works, but try to get a “Yes, we’re amazing” and the dialog turns along the lines, “All in a day’s work, ma’am.”)
As I was leaving, someone mentioned several calls from people upset that their Saturday had been disturbed by the noisy helicopter overhead.
“Complaints?”
“Yeah,” Merrick shrugged. “Sometimes we’ll head out on a mission at 2 a.m. and someone will call in because we’ve woken them up.”
I thought about how small we were in that big sky, above that huge ocean, about the risks these folks take to save people from their own foolish mistakes. Complaints? I preferred the thank-you notes lining the base’s bulletin boards.
Sunday night, a single-engine plane disappeared near Trinidad. A pilot and his passenger, flying up from Bakersfield, last known position 100 feet — lower “than they should have been,” according to Merrick — when the plane went off the radar. A 47-foot lifeboat and helicopter were called in. As of Monday evening, the Coast Guard was still searching. As public affairs officer, Merrick couldn’t speculate on what might have happened, but he did say he hoped their efforts would turn out to be unneeded, that perhaps the plane had made a safe landing somewhere. The turn of events portended worse, however. Whatever the outcome, the Coast Guard was there when called.
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on the cover
Railroad!
Proposed lines ‘set rich blood a-tingling’ in early 1900s
Some Other Proposed North Coast Railroads
Choo-choo Fantasies
Exposing this east-west rail nonsense
seven-o-heaven
Undeterred Will
Will chides Andrew for lack of attention to detail and makes plans for his inevitable victory.
Recent short stories
June 11, 2009
Eye of the Beholder
June 11, 2009
Double Down
May 21, 2009
Pearls and Swine
Hank Sims
Today
44th Annual Kinetic Grand Championship Race
STAFF PICK / events, art, outdoors, sports, for kids, free / 9 a.m.-6 p.m. A 3-day, 42-mile kinetic sculpture race over land, sand, mud and water! LeMans start at the Noon Whistle on the Arcata Plaza. Follow the race through Manila, Eureka and into Ferndale on Memorial Day for the Glorious Finish. kineticgrandchampionship.com. 889-3024.
Flow 2012 Fashion Show
STAFF PICK / events / 8 p.m. Arcata Theatre Lounge, 1036 G St. Student designed and produced clothing. Fundraiser for Arcata Arts Institute. $35/$25 students. artsinstitute.net. 822-1220.
Woodside Preschool's Rummage/Bake Sale
events / 8 a.m.-noon. Woodside Preschool, 900 Hodgson St, Eureka. www.woodsidepreschool.com. 445-9132.
Lanphere Dunes Restoration
STAFF PICK / outdoors / 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Meet at Pacific Union School. Help remove non-native invasives at the Lanphere Dunes Unit of the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Tools and gloves provided, wear work clothes and bring water. Carpool to the protected site. 444-1397.
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