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January 3, 2002
Notables take a plunge
It may not be the traditional
way to celebrate an achievement, but it'll do: Almost 30 of Humboldt
County's movers and shakers will jump from the newly constructed
Eureka Boardwalk into the bay just before it opens Jan. 5. (See
cover story)
Among those taking part in the
"Perilous Plunge" are many who helped make the launch
platform possible including Eureka City Manager Dave Tyson, who
guided the city's efforts to rehabilitate the waterfront and
Rob Arkley, the financier whose $2 million donation helped make
the boardwalk possible. Other plungers who were less directly
involved in the boardwalk include 3rd District County Supervisor
John Woolley and J Warren Hockaday, executive director of the
Eureka Chamber of Commerce.
The event is more than a celebration.
It's also a fund-raiser for the Discovery Museum with each jumper
soliciting sponsors. They have collected as much as $600 a head,
money that will aid in construction of boardwalk exhibits for
children including a lighthouse and a mock-up deep-sea fishing
rod.
The project is "a great
way for us to tie in with the boardwalk," said Discovery
Museum office manager Sharie Thomason.
Enforcing
for the family
It's a nasty job, but someone's
got to do it -- and the College of the Redwoods will show you
how. The college announced last week it is offering a certificate
program next spring to train individuals for a career tracking
down deadbeat parents.
The divorce rate in California
is above 50 percent. After the split, parents do not always live
up to their financial obligations.
That's where family support
officers come in. Currently employed in the District Attorney's
office, they serve as a combined collection agency and social
worker. Tracking down bad checks, establishing paternity and
calculating how much a child support payment should be all fit
in the job description.
It's the fastest-growing civil
service position in the state, said Paul DeMark, spokesman for
CR. "We're only the second community college in the state
to offer the curriculum."
And the classes aren't just
for people who want to be family support officer, DeMark said.
"It's for defense attorneys as well. The DA's office welcomes
it when defense attorneys understand what the state's requirements
are."
For more information, call 476-4209.
New price
for Parcel B
A piece of land adjacent to
Eureka City Schools went on sale last week at a rock-bottom clearance
price.
Parcel B, a 6.2-acre plot on
Walford Avenue near the Eureka City Schools office, has been
for sale since October. The original asking price was $975,000,
but when the bids came in Dec. 4, none came close. The school
board voted Dec. 20 to reduce the price by almost a third to
$680,000.
The school district, which had
a budget deficit last year, hopes to flesh out its coffers with
the sale. Bids are due Jan. 22.
Crossing
the digital divide
Computers can help students
learn how to write more clearly, manage their finances or put
on a public presentation -- but none of that helps if you don't
have access to one, and many low-income families do not. Project
PC, a new Eureka High program, is building bridges across the
digital divide by providing loaner computers to students in need.
"Anyone who comes to us
and says they don't have a computer can get one," said 16-year-old
Trevor Sundquist, who is spearheading Project PC.
He and fellow students in Eureka
High's Environmental and Spatial Technology class will assemble
the computers from donated parts and loan them out free of charge.
The goal is to have five computers in circulation by this spring.
Right now, what Project PC needs
is computers. Donations can be made to Sundquist directly. Call
445-1023 for more information.
New digs
for HSU crew
The Humboldt State University
crew team has had a nomadic existence on the Eureka waterfront
over the years.
"In the 27 years that crew
has been around they have never had a permanent home," said
Jerry Simone of the Humboldt Bay Rowing Association, a community
group of paddling enthusiasts who help guide and support the
HSU sports team.
The crew's most recent eviction
-- from the foot of C Street -- came in the fall when work began
on the city's new boardwalk. Since then the team has been storing
its equipment on campus, meaning rowers had to trailer equipment
back and forth to events, said Dan Collen, HSU interim athletic
director .
The crew's homeless situation
will be cured at the end of the month when they move into new
temporary digs on city property by the Samoa Bridge just in time
to train for the spring season. The private non-profit Humboldt
Bay Rowing Association is overseeing construction of a 3,000-square-foot
wooden boathouse near the city boat ramp on Waterfront Drive,
which will be leased to the crew team at no charge.
The project is made possible
by labor and material donations from Scott Penfold Engineering,
architect David Pierce, Arcata Readimix, Thomas Industries and
A & I Roofing and others, and cash donations from from two
Eureka families, the Schmidbauers and the Arkleys.
The project "wouldn't have
happened without them -- period," said project manager Chris
Martinek.
Eventually the rowers will move
into a permanent home within a state-funded $4.5 million 17,000-square-foot
aquatic center -- which should be built and ready in 2004. The
facility, called a Boating Safety and Instruction Center, is
a cooperative effort between HSU, the city of Eureka and the
state Department of Boating and Waterways. It will be staffed
and operated by the university but open to the public. The project
is the fourth in a succession of similar structures built throughout
California by the Department of Boating and Waterways and the
California State University system.
The center will serve as more
than a home for crew. Once complete, the building will house
aquatic instructional and certification courses covering everything
from sea kayaks and small craft to CPR and lifesaving. Collen
said it will be a "state-of-the-art aquatic facility"
and will serve as an architectural model nationwide.
Boating and Waterways funded
the initial plans and environmental review last July with $245,000.
An additional $300,000 will follow next July for the working
drawings and finally $3.5 million in 2003 will cover construction.
The city donated the land and improvements. The facility will
be located beside the Adorni Center and in addition to the main
structure will include a fenced storage area of 9,000 square
feet and a parking lot.
Eco-lodge
for Arcata?
The Arcata City Council has
started the process of establishing an eco-lodge in the city.
At its Dec. 19 meeting the council voted to seek grant funding
for a feasibility study looking into the potential for a lodge
combining a convention center with a hostel.
Arcata is already a center for
"ecotourism," drawing travellers who come for the area's
natural beauty and the progressive, environmentally-friendly
attitude. The city's wetlands-based sewage treatment system and
sustainably managed community forest are prime attractions.
The proposed lodge's location,
size, ownership and potential for economic viability are all
being examined as part of the study.
Booze ban
in Arcata parks?
A ban on drinking in all of
Arcata's parks is coming in response to concern that rowdy behavior
is pushing residents away.
Arcata already has drinking
prohibitions in effect at Vinum Park and the Arcata Marsh and
Wildlife Sanctuary. Rather than outlaw drinking at each of the
city's parks one by one, the council voted Dec. 19 to take a
more comprehensive approach. The proposed ordinance would also
outlaw parking at Redwood Park for more than four hours at a
time.
The council is responding to
allegations that Arcata's parks have become havens for bad behavior.
There have been complaints that vandalism, public urination and
aggressive behavior have made the parks hostile to families.
The city's parks and recreations department has also felt the
bite: It had to pay $3,000 to repair a restroom at Redwood Park
this October.
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