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Jan. 27, 2005
TEACHER GUILTY
OF SEX CRIME: Former Loleta teacher
Ronald Vernon McCullough, 59, of Fortuna last week pleaded guilty
to attempting to seduce a person he believed to be a 13-year-old
Eureka girl over the Internet last year. On Sept. 28, McCullough
struck up a conversation with "hum_cali_girl" through
an online instant messaging program. During the course of the
chat, he made several lewd propositions and arranged to meet
his correspondent at Sacred Heart Church the following night.
In fact, "hum_cali_girl" was a volunteer with Perverted-Justice.com,
an organization whose members seek to find pedophiles on the
Web and report them to the authorities. The volunteer notified
the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office, which soon afterward
conducted a search warrant on McCullough's home. A computer technician
was able to verify that the chat had, in fact, taken place, even
though McCullough had tried to erase it from his machine. McCullough
was an eighth-grade math and science teacher who had taught at
Loleta School for 36 years. The district placed him on administrative
leave soon after the incident came to its attention. McCullough
resigned on Jan. 18. James Malloy, district superintendent, said
Tuesday that the school had conducted its own internal investigation
and was satisfied that McCullough had not had sexual contact
with any current or former Loleta School students. Deputy District
Attorney Andrew Isaac indicated Tuesday that his office would
not seek jail time in the case, noting that McCullough had already
been kicked out of his profession and would have to register
as a sex criminal and be listed on the state's Megan's Law database.
There was no indication that McCullough had ever actually succeeded
in seducing a child, Isaac said. "The important thing, from
our perspective, is that we caught this very early on the curve,"
he said. "The facts in this case convinced me that this
case was caught before a real child had a chance to say yes."
The Perverted-Justice.com Web site offered high praise to the
DA's office and local law enforcement in its write-up of the
McCullough case: "We urge all law enforcement reading this
to check out this case in greater detail, as it is a great example
of avid, active prosecution. No runaround, no artificial slowness.
Quick, speedy, justice." McCullough's sentencing hearing
is scheduled for Feb. 16.
WATERMARK SHIPS
OUT: Watermark, corporate owner
of Yakima Products, the Arcata-based sports rack manufacturer,
announced last week that it will be moving the remainder of its
operations to Portland, Ore., by the end of the year. The company
had previously stated that it would keep some 65 jobs in the
area.
SCHECTMAN TO HELP DA:
Arcata civil attorney Steve Schectman,
who has made a name for himself in part through his work representing
plaintiffs against the Pacific Lumber Co., will volunteer his
time to help on the District Attorney's fraud case against the
company. Schectman said Tuesday that the details are not yet
ironed out, but that he would use "my many years of civil
litigation in complex cases to aid in the prosecution of the
case." Schectman ran as a replacement candidate in support
of District Attorney Paul Gallegos in last year's attempted recall
of the DA.
TRINITY WATER USERS: The Westlands Water District announced last week
that it would not ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Clinton-era
plan to send more water down the Trinity River. The decision
effectively closes the door on a four-year legal dispute over
the plan and marks a victory for the Hoopa Valley Tribe, which
had fought for its implementation.
MISSING MAN'S BODY FOUND:
A body believed to be that of a
murdered Loleta man was found Jan. 20 on private land five miles
east of Honeydew, the Sheriff's Office reported. An autopsy will
be performed this week to identify the remains, but sheriff's
officials believe the dead man is Rex Donald Shinn, 32, who was
reported missing in July 2003. A homicide investigation began
soon after Shinn's truck was found abandoned in Petrolia on Aug.
30, 2003. Detectives believe they know who killed Shinn and will
forward the case to the District Attorney's office. Anyone with
information can contact Humboldt County Sheriff's Detective Rich
Schlesiger at 445-7251.
ANTI-SEMITIC VANDALS TAG
TEMPLE: Temple Beth-El, a synagogue
on Hodgson and T streets in Eureka, has been the target of a
string of hate crimes over the past month, police said. Anti-Semitic
graffiti was drawn on the temple; papers have been burned in
the yard; a children's service was disrupted when someone threw
a Christmas tree at a doorway; and hateful phone calls have been
made to a neighboring church. The Eureka Police Department is
investigating the crimes and has met with Temple Beth-El board
members to discuss security issues. Representatives from area
churches have also met recently to paint over the offending messages
and consider how to stop the vandalism from continuing.
BIG DREAMS, BIG MONEY:
Humboldt County has caught the
eye of a major TV network, not for its scenic splendor, but for
the likelihood that needy -- yet deserving -- community advocates
live among us. A TV pilot has been pitched to NBC called "Wishes,"
in which exceptional people who have worked on behalf of the
community and have not been given the credit they deserve are
granted a wish that has always been too expensive to fulfill.
The show supplies the dough to make a dream come true and in
turn documents the tearful process. Nominations are due this
week for potential candidates. Film Commissioner Barbara Bryant
urges anyone who knows of a local unsung hero who fits the bill
to write a nomination letter -- fast. Casting agents will finish
reading nominations this weekend. or
call (818) 556-6680.
Pacific
Lumber cries near-bankruptcy
Secret meeting seeks easing of logging
restrictions
by
HANK SIMS
Charles Hurwitz and other senior
executives of Maxxam and the Pacific Lumber Co. told members
of the Schwarzenegger administration in secret meetings held
earlier this month that the company would soon file for bankruptcy
if logging restrictions are not eased, according to a report
in Tuesday's Los Angeles Times.
According to the paper, the
company -- which seeks permits for 11 timber harvest plans in
the Elk River and Freshwater areas from the North Coast Regional
Water Quality Control Board -- argued that bankruptcy would mean
the environmental compact it signed with the state in 1999, during
the negotiations over Headwaters Forest, would effectively be
null and void, as its assets would be turned over to creditors
who were not signatories to the deal.
Reaction to the article was
swift among the company's critics, some of whom suggested that
the company should stop blaming others for its financial woes.
"It's interesting that PL is openly talking about the fact
that they're structured in such a way that they can't drop down
below 100 percent" of what they seek to harvest, said Mark
Lovelace of the Humboldt Watershed Council. "That's basically
what they're telling us -- they can't accommodate anything other
than everything."
Lovelace, who has been arguing
against issuing the Elk River and Freshwater permits before the
board, said that he wasn't exactly shocked at the closed-door
meetings or the implication that Maxxam was, in effect, attempting
to blackmail the state in order to escape environmental regulation.
"We can complain of dirty pool, but we know that that's
the way things are done -- unfortunately," he said. "That's
how it happens in this country, and with this company."
Eureka attorney Bill Bertain,
who has been suing Maxxam off and on since it bought out Palco
in the mid-'80s, said that the Houston-based company's business
strategy, with a ramped-up harvesting program, makes financial
problems inevitable.
"This company could have
lasted centuries," he said. "It could have been harvesting
virgin old growth until 2045. And they could have employed about
800 to 900 people for way beyond that -- a second round of old
growth would have been available. They didn't want to do that.
They wanted to get the money out real quick and send it to Houston."
Pacific Lumber did not respond
to a request for comment by deadline Tuesday.
Pulp
mill will re-open
New owners say they'll turn around
struggling mill
by
EMILY GURNON
![[Raymond Lee standing in front of pulp mill]](news0127-lee.jpg) With the Stockton Pacific Enterprises pulp mill
in new hands, workers and industry backers are breathing a sigh
of relief, and hoping that, this time, the mill can stay afloat
financially.
The deal to purchase the mill
was sealed last Thursday for an undisclosed amount, said Raymond
Lee, the CEO of Lee & Man Paper Manufacturing Ltd. [photo at right] ,
the new owner, who was in town last week to complete the sale.
The Hong Kong-based company, the second-largest producer of containerboard
in China, will use the pulp produced in Samoa for its own plant.
It expects to restart the mill in about a month.
"This pulp mill will be
a natural extension of my operation in China," Lee said.
His paper mills use about 12,000 tons of pulp each month -- approximately
60 percent of what Stockton-Pacific produces. It plans to expand
the Chinese operation so that it will need 16,000 tons per month.
"We were a customer, now we're the owner," Lee said.
A native of Hong Kong, the 34-year-old
Lee attended high school and college in Vancouver, B.C. After
graduating, he started his own paper company, "and it turned
out pretty good," he said.
The fact that Lee & Man
is well-capitalized will help it turn the pulp mill around, Lee
said. "We have access to more money, and I think this mill
will need some additional capital investment to make it run better."
The mill will also be able to buy larger quantities of chips
when it needs to, and perhaps get better shipping rates, since
all of the pulp will be going to one location, Lee said.
Doug Gingerich, president of
the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers Local 49, said
the union workers were upbeat about prospects for the mill.
"I think everybody's pretty
optimistic," he said. The new owners "have the money
to repair the mill and they use the product, so it's not like
they have to have somebody sell it for them. I think most people
think it's going to be a pretty good relationship. I've got high
hopes."
The union workers voted 95 to
5 last week to approve a new four-year contract, which includes
no pay increases for the first year, but raises of 40 cents,
45 cents and 50 cents an hour, respectively, for each subsequent
year.
One sticking point to the mill's
future success could be the fact that its chip export facility
was sold off separately to Simpson Timber Co., one of the pulp
mill's two biggest suppliers of chips. Officials there did not
return calls seeking comment, but Raymond Lee said he hoped Simpson
would not decide to export.
"They're one of our big
suppliers, so if they decide to export it all of a sudden it's
going to cause some troubles for the mill," Lee said. "This
mill has already been running at very, very thin margins, so
it's going to be very difficult to swallow if we have to get
chips from someplace else."
Another potential snag in the
mill's continuing operations is the ongoing investigation by
local environmental agencies that was sparked by a company whistleblower
late last year.
Paul Hagen of the District Attorney's
office declined to comment about the case, in which no charges
have yet been filed. But he said that, in general, civil and
criminal complaints involving companies can name both individuals
and corporate entities as defendants, and that, when companies
change hands, prosecutors may pursue past as well as new owners,
depending on details of the sale.
The mill's sale is good news
for the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District and residential
water users locally, who stood to get huge increases in their
water bills if the mill went under. When it's running, the pulp
mill uses about 15 million gallons of water a day, compared to
about 10 million a day used by all other customers combined.
A mill closure would have forced the water district to either
find thirsty new customers or pass the costs on to others.
The mill's purchase also clears
up a nearly $300,000 debt owed to the water district, said district
General Manager Carol Rische. "Right now the pulp mill is
totally current" on its payments, she said.
New owner Lee said his company
is committed to making the mill a viable operation. "The
previous ownership is a financial institution. We look at this
as very convenient to our operation in China, and we're not looking
to make a little profit and just run away. We really want to
make this work."
![[Mark Wheetley speaking before crowd]](news0127-wheetley.jpg)
Wheetley
campaign kickoff
Mark Wheetley, a 55-year-old
Bayview resident and employee of the California Department of
Fish and Game, kicked off his campaign for the open seat on the
Arcata City Council on the steps of city hall on Friday. Wheetley
was joined by a bevy of supporters, including former mayors Jim
Test and Alex Stillman, Supervisor John Woolley, Cheryl Seidner
of the Table Bluff Rancheria and members of the city employees'
union, International Operating Engineers Local 3. Five other
candidates are competing for the open seat: Andrew Lord, Nicholas
Bravo, Mary Scoggin, Greg Allen and Michael Winkler. The election
will be held March 8.
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