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COVER
STORY | IN
THE GARDEN | CALENDAR
May 16, 2002
Embezzlement
charged
Humboldt County employee Denise
Clair "Dee Dee" Landry, 39, has been charged with embezzling
over $100,000.
Landry, in charge of distributing
funds to qualified disabled applicants, is accused of qualifying
her grandmother for more than $98,000 in assistance that she
was ineligible to receive.
The "special circumstances"
fund that that money is alleged to have come from is normally
reserved for disabled applicants' needs, such as wheelchair ramp
construction or the installation of safety bars in the bathtub.
District Attorney Terry Farmer
announced the charges against Landry at a press conference in
Eureka Monday.
Landry is also charged with
using a computer system for embezzlement purposes and grand theft
embezzlement for over $13,000. If convicted she could face four
years and eight months in prison.
Landry has not been arrested
at this time, but Farmer said her attorney has been advised to
make sure she arrives for court appearances. The alleged embezzlement
came to light after a clerk pointed out a discrepancy to a supervisor
last December.
Protecting
California's wild places
Under legislation introduced
last week by U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer and Congressman Mike Thompson,
northwestern California's wild areas will receive new protections.
Boxer and Thompson are proposing
that 2.6 million acres of federal land statewide be added to
the federal wilderness system. Environmentalists with the California
Wild Heritage Campaign had pushed for inclusion of 7 million
acres, but nonetheless praised the legislation.
"These places will now
get the protection they deserve," said Ryan Henson, a leader
of the campaign. "We're tired of our wilderness areas being
threatened by road construction and logging. This act will leave
the forests the way they are."
Jonathan Birdsong, a Thompson
aide, said that his boss and Boxer, along with staff, worked
with county officials, federal land managers and others to select
areas for protection.
Additions are being proposed
to several existing wilderness areas in northwestern California,
including the Marble Mountains, Siskiyou and Trinity Alps Wilderness
Areas. An area in east of Eureka called Mad River Buttes would
become a designated wilderness under the bill, as would the South
Fork of the Eel River near Legget and the Black Butte Wild and
Scenic River in the Mendocino National Forest. Additionally,
Mt. Lassic in southeastern Humboldt county would receive protection.
The King's Range would become the first coastal area in the Federal
Wilderness Preservation System under the bill.
CAMP funding
passes
Last week the Humboldt County
Board of Supervisors quietly approved the annual grant application
for participation in the Campaign Against Marijuana Propagation
(CAMP.) The grant has traditionally garnered opposition from
Supervisors John Woolley and Roger Rodoni, who represent the
Arcata area and southern Humboldt, respectively. This year it
stayed on the consent calendar and passed unanimously.
In the past, Woolley and Rodoni's
votes were intended as symbolic gestures to raise awareness regarding
their position. Rodoni stated however, that until a third board
member joins their cause, it was useless for the board to continue
pulling the item up for a vote.
A swing vote could potentially
come from Ben Shepherd and Jill Geist who are in a runoff for
the Fifth District seat in November. How would they vote?
"I'm in favor of CAMP,"
said Shepherd. "One of the greatest needs we have now in
the county is law enforcement."
Shepherd said that the CAMP
money would go toward paying for four full-time sheriff's positions
plus two half-time district attorney positions.
"By law sheriffs have to
respond to a felony. Having a marijuana garden is a felony,"
said Shepherd. "Sheriffs will still have to respond, CAMP
or no CAMP. Sheriffs have to stop and respond when they get notification
of a felony -- they can't leave one in progress. It's a good
idea to get this state and federal money that's available for
this program."
"Secondly," said Shepherd,
"I support CAMP because I've been an educator for thirty-two
years and I believe in restricting access."
Jill Geist had different concerns.
"I understand the purpose
of CAMP is to reduce the commercial traffic of marijuana,"
said Geist. "But I also believe it is the Board of Supervisors'
duty to look out for the welfare of our county's residents. It's
imperative to protect people who are not involved in commercial
growing. There have been illegal transgressions onto private
property in southern Humboldt in the past where residents' right
to privacy and property rights were violated. I would like to
see the supervisors work with the sheriff to address these reputed
incidents. There needs to be some sort of tracking mechanism
in place."
The county receives approximately
$271,000 a year to participate in CAMP. Last year 66,153 plants
were seized along with $2.2 million in assets.
Going
Solar
by MEGHAN
VOGEL-FULMER
OUR ARCATA HIGH STUDENTS ARE
LEADING the way toward bringing alternative energy to Humboldt
County schools.
In March, juniors Toby Haskett
and Rowan Gratz-Weiser, along with freshmen Beth Ricard and Lisa
Kim, flew to San Diego to accept a $10,000 grant from the automobile
giant, Toyota. Their selection was unusual; the TAPESTRY grant,
as it's called, is normally reserved for elementary school science
teachers working on innovative educational projects.
"We were the first students
to ever write, apply for and receive this type of grant,"
said Haskett, whose facilitator, Arcata High teacher Louis Armin-Hoiland,
suggested, oversaw and edited the grant.
"But the students did it
all themselves," attested Armin-Hoiland. "I was just
doing what a teacher normally does- just editing and making suggestions."
The money will go toward the
purchase of a 2-kilowatt solar electric system that the students
hope will be installed by the end of this school year. Although
2 kilowatts is not a significant amount of energy, Haskett hopes
this is just the beginning for Arcata High, and looks forward
to the day when the entire school can be run off solar electricity.
"This solar array is a
demonstration," said Haskett. "It can be used as an
educational resource for other classes and science teachers.
We hope other schools take our system as a model."
"We will have students
design, install and monitor this solar photovoltaic system,"
said Armin-Hoiland. "About five-hundred students, or roughly
half the school, will be impacted by this project. This is a
versatile project with lots of different studies and experiments.
The data generated will allow for a broad number of research
studies. Physical science classes will conduct energy audits,
math classes will help in the design, science classes will monitor
the system and autoshop students will help with the installation."
Haskett and his fellow students
began working on the grant proposal as part of a lab assignment
in the school's Environmental and Spatial Technology (EAST) program.
An experimental effort, the program's curriculum allows students
the opportunity to work on self-directed and service-oriented
projects. Students are encouraged to form their own projects
with an eye toward tackling real-world situations. EAST teachers
are called facilitators (or "guides on the side" as
Armin-Hoiland put it), allowing students the creative freedom
in generating their own projects.
"We felt strongly about
implementing alternative energy conservation. We're all very
concerned about the environment and wanted to research green
ways of producing energy with no by-products," said Haskett.
Dylan Wright is following the
lead of Haskett et. al. A student in a similar technology program
at Eureka High School, Wright is researching the feasibility
of using solar panels to heat the school's recently reopened
pool.
"Schools are big electricity
users," said Wright nodding towards the glowing computer
screens in his classroom. "Renewable energy will be necessary
in the future. People need to be aware of alternative energy
sources. What better place than a school to lead the way?"
Salmon peril
A key document from the National
Marine Fisheries Service regarding water flows on the Klamath
River is a month late, exacerbating the threat to imperiled coho
salmon, two California congressmen said last week.
The NMFS's biological opinion
report would outline how much water is needed to flow down from
the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's irrigation project near the
California-Oregon border to sustain fishery habitat on the Klamath.
The coho is a federally protected species.
So far this year, over 300 baby
fish, including coho salmon, have been left stranded and dying
in shrinking pools near the Klamath Basin. Interior Secretary
Gale Norton, who oversees the fisheries service, has been charged
with favoring agricultural interests at the expense of wildlife
in the basin. Congressman George Miller stated that the service's
delay in releasing the report is contributing to the continuing
harm to the Klamath's fishery, which has been decimated over
the past 20 years by diversions to farmers. Coho salmon populations
are now less than 10 percent of what they were 20 years ago,
costing the North Coast thousands of jobs and over $80 million
per year in lost revenue for the past ten years, Miller and Thompson
said in a joint press release.
Motorists
beware
The much publicized reduction
in the speed limit along the 6-mile corridor between Arcata and
Eureka takes effect May 19.
At noon that day, the limit
will officially drop from 60 mph to 50 mph. The California Highway
Patrol has vowed to be out in force for the entire summer. Fines
for motorists caught speeding in the corridor will be doubled.
The new speed limit will remain
in effect until Caltrans can figure out a more permanent solution
to reduce the accident rate on the congested, poorly designed
highway.
A collision at the Indianola
Cutoff last January left four people dead, underscoring the need
for change.
'Justice
for Phoenix'
The Humboldt County Courthouse
was packed with animal lovers last week, most sporting somber
black stickers on their lapels that read, "Justice For Phoenix."
They were there for the arraignment
of Susan Tatro, a Eureka woman facing a felony charge for animal
cruelty. Tatro pled not guilty.
On March 24, acting on a tip
from a volunteer for a local animal rights organization, Eureka
police discovered three starving dogs at Tatro's residence in
the Myrtletown area. They were held in a cage filled with mud
and feces.
One of the dogs, a female, was
taken to the McKinleyville Animal Care Center, where veterinarians
battled in vain to save its life. Given the name "Phoenix"
by vets hopeful that the animal would make a miraculous recovery,
the dog had no blood pressure when she was brought in, was unable
to move or stand, and looked like "an emaciated, living
skeleton," according to veterinarian Cynthia Macune.
Phoenix died in her sleep.
As for the other two dogs, their
whereabouts are unknown. When the police officer returned to
get them after assisting Phoenix, they were gone.
During her arraignment, Tatro
was asked her source of income.
"None," was her reply.
"Well, how do you eat?"
asked the brusque judge.
"I lost my job over this,"
Tatro responded with bowed head.
A low sarcastic murmur of "ahhhh,"
arose from the jammed-packed courtroom.
Tatro's preliminary hearing
is set for May 23 at 8:30 a.m.
"We hope to have as many
supporters as possible at all of the hearings," said Tamara
McFarland, founder of Friends For Life. "The county has
a history of doing a poor job in prosecuting animal cruelty cases.
Our biggest fear is that the felony charge will be dropped to
a misdemeanor."
A peaceful
solution
A proclamation put before the
Arcata City Council earlier this month that drew flak for being
"anti-American" has been toned down -- a little bit,
at least.
Penned by David Meserve, founder
of the Redwood Peace and Justice Center, the proclamation was
blasted by councilmembers Michael Machi and Robert Noble, who
found it too critical of the U.S. government's war on terrorism.
There was also concern that the proclamation would not speak
for all citizens of Arcata, and would cause needless friction.
At the instruction of the council,
Meserve and Machi revised and reworded the proclamation.
"We didn't cut the guts
out of it," said Meserve, founder of the Redwood Peace and
Justice Center. "We just added a few words and rearranged
some. It now includes a more clarified scope addressing all forms
of violent threat to civilians."
He also stated that one of Machi's
biggest concerns was that the proclamation in its original form
did not support U.S. soldiers.
"We all support our soldiers
coming home safely 100 percent," said Meserve. "We
want to bring them home now, so they don't wind up victims of
violent policies."
Hoping that Arcata's adoption
of the proclamation will inspire other cities to follow suit,
Meserve said, "There is a strong consensus against our anti-terrorist
policy. There are many doubts about this war. We hope if we represent
our feelings at the city level, this will grow to encompass the
whole nation. It`s the closest you can get to rebuilding democracy."
New at the
Zoo
State Sen. Wesley Chesbro and
Eureka Mayor Nancy Flemming will speak at a groundbreaking event
at the Sequoia Park Zoo on May 19th at 1 p.m.
The event will be a kick-off
for the construction of a new educational facility, as well as
a children's program area and new petting zoo barn. Live African
drum music, educational exhibits and all the free cake, ice cream
and cookies you can eat will be available.
Arcata bans
park drinking
Drinking and smoking will no
longer be allowed in Arcata parks with playground equipment or
outdoor recreation facilities, the city council decided last
week.
The ordinances are planned to
be in place by June 15, just in time for children's summer programs.
Last summer, concerned parents withdrew their children from recreation
programs because of smoking and drinking in the parks.
Alcohol will be restricted to
designated picnic areas and will be banned altogether from the
Arcata Community Forest and Redwood Park. Tobacco will be prohibited
at the Arcata Skateboard Park, and the smoking ban will allow
for a 100-foot perimeter around outdoor sports areas. Undeveloped
parks with no play areas will not be affected by the ordinance.
Bag the
car, get a bike
Students at Humboldt State University
who do without a car for the duration of the school year will
be entitled to the free use of a bicycle provided by the Arcata
Bike Library.
With grant funding from the
North Coast Air Quality Management District, "Library Bikes,"
as the program is called, is hoping to provide over 300 bikes
to the Arcata community next year. Bill Burton, Library Bikes
director, said about a third of those will go toward HSU students.
It is not clear how the program will verify that the students
are not driving cars.
Mountain bikes, as well as European
road bikes and vintage British bikes, will be available.
Contact 822-1122 or visit www.Arcata.com/greenbikes.
State spelling
bee champ
Nicholas Elsbree, a fifth-grader
at Jacoby Creek School, won the 22nd Annual California State
Elementary Spelling Championship when he correctly spelled "galantine"
and then "surrogate."
Elsbree placed third in the
event last year. The May 4 competition was held at Sonoma State
University. It pitted 4th, 5th and 6th graders from 31 counties
against one another. The contest went 14 rounds before Elsbree
triumphed. The youth received a trophy, a certificate signed
by Gov. Gray Davis, and a $1,000 U.S. Savings Bond.
Crabs honor
one of their own
The Humboldt Crabs, the oldest
continuously operating semi-professional baseball team in the
country, have dedicated the upcoming season to Ned Barsuglia.
Working with the Crabs for almost
50 years, Barsuglia has served the team in a number of off-field
capacities. He will be honored throughout the upcoming season,
beginning with the annual season opening dinner on May 31.
A native of Arcata, Barsuglia
became involved with the Crabs in 1954 when he helped raise money
for the team as a member of their board. From 1967 to 1994 Barsuglia
was board president and Crabs general manager. Today, he continues
his involvement as chief scout and advisor."
He basically ran the program
single-handedly since the 1960s," stated board president
Carl Pellatz. "Ned did for all those years what now takes
about 22 of us to do to get the Crabs on the field every summer."
For tickets to the season opening
dinner, call 822-7251 or 826-7116.
HSU commencement
activities
Once again it's time for relieved
college students and proud parents to attend graduation celebrations.
Humboldt State University will
hold three commencement ceremonies on May 18, beginning with
the College of Natural Resources and Sciences at 8:30 a.m. The
College of Professional Studies' commencement will begin at noon,
and the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences will
start at 3 p.m. Graduates will walk to the sounds of the University
Brass Choir's rendition of the traditional processional, Elgar's
"Pomp and Circumstance."
May 18 will also mark the graduation
finale for retiring University President Alistair W. McCrone,
who began his term at the university in 1975. That same year
McCrone implemented separate, smaller graduation ceremonies for
each college on campus. As he retires McCrone will have a good
140 graduation ceremonies under his belt, and he will have shaken
hands with more than 37,000 graduates.
"Not many institutions
can still be personal," stated McCrone in a news release.
"I want to shake hands with the people I work for and serve.
I enjoy being with the graduates and wishing them all the best."
The day will also be important
to Fortuna resident Gwynna M. Morris, who will receive an "honorary
doctor of humane letters" at the College of Professional
Studies ceremony. Morris is a 1973 Humboldt State business graduate.
She is being honored for her support of Humboldt alumni interests
throughout the California State University system. She is also
the first to serve two terms as president of the system's alumni
association.
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STORY | IN THE GARDEN | CALENDAR
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