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COVER
STORY | GARDEN | GOOD NEWS | CALENDAR
Dec. 12, 2002
A canny environmental professional retires
by
KEITH EASTHOUSE
 Don Tuttle has seen Humboldt County change, mostly
for the better.
"The air's a lot cleaner
and the bay's a lot cleaner. The bird life is tremendous."
He spoke with an air of satisfaction,
and no wonder. Long Humboldt County's point man on environmental
issues, Tuttle, 64, is stepping down from his job as "environmental
services manager."
"It's time and I'm tired,"
Tuttle explained in his signature blunt way.
It was a position created in
the early 1970s by then-Supervisor Ray Peart, an avid fisherman
who was growing increasingly concerned about declining water
quality due to logging and water diversions.
"He wanted to try and protect
the natural resources and the quality of life in Humboldt County,"
Tuttle recalled in a recent interview at his office near the
Adorni Center.
Tuttle had a trio of college
degrees to his credit -- a bachelor's in civil engineering from
Purdue University; a master's in the same field from Cal; and
a bachelor's in natural resources, which he earned at Humboldt
State University in 1971. Add in a couple of years with the public
works department of the city of Walnut Creek, Calif., and Tuttle
was able to get the job.
"It was exactly what I
was looking for," Tuttle said.
He meant in a professional sense.
But he also liked the location. In the mid-1960s, he and his
wife, Andrea Tuttle, the current head of the California Department
of Forestry and Fire Protection, undertook a months-long, 35,000-mile
odyssey of the U.S. and Canada (okay, she only went along for
the first 5,000 to 7,000 miles) and the North Coast was the place
they liked most.
Tuttle, a no-nonsense man with
a keen intellect, is encyclopedic on matters environmental, at
least when it comes to Humboldt. That shouldn't be surprising
since over the years he's been involved in a slough of issues,
from monitoring the Butler Valley Dam project on the Mad River
(it never happened); sending solid waste out of state (it did);
replacing culverts to improve fish habitat; detecting the Western
Snowy Plover, a federal threatened species (the detection has
restricted land use activities along the coast); and getting
more protections for fish affected by the diversion of the Upper
Eel River to Sonoma County, known as the Potter Valley Project.
He said his greatest accomplishment
was compiling an "environmental data bank" comprised
of 20,000 aerial photographs, both modern and historic, and a
mountain of documents and maps pertaining to archaeological sites,
geology, vegetation, wildlife, roads, you name it (it's not computerized,
but it is well-organized). The material is likely to guide land-use
decisions for decades to come.
As for his opinions about things,
Tuttle's got some. In terms of the past, he thinks there was
too much destructive logging, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s
during the post-World War II construction boom. "I think
a lot of old growth was cut off of sensitive areas, off of ranches
and along streams, that shouldn't have been cut." He said
in particular that "many streams along the Mattole were
devastated [with] cutting right up to the creeks and `cats' in
the streambed itself." He said virgin forest was cut on
steep unstable soils in the Six Rivers National Forest "that
should have been left alone."
And the future? Tuttle believes
its likely that more water will get diverted southward from Humboldt
County to slake the thirst of a burgeoning population, particularly
in the Central Valley.
Lest you get the idea Tuttle
is a wild-eyed environmentalist, he's not so crazy about environmental
regulators, at least the kind who go by a checklist, who don't
listen to reason and who lack common sense.
Tuttle's frustration is easy
to understand when you consider some of the incredibly convoluted
and never-ending projects he's been involved with. An effort
to widen the shoulders of Old Arcata Road was launched in 1974
and is still going on, held up by permit difficulties. The seemingly
straightforward job of maintaining a flood control levee on Redwood
Creek that protects Orick has been mired in a host of difficulties
-- not least because every time the county starts to remove trees
in the levee to prevent sediment buildup that reduces the levee's
carrying capacity, federal and state agencies concerned about
impacts to fish get agitated.
A maintenance project at the
levee this past July, for example, was halted after an armed
warden with the California Fish and Game Department confronted
county workers. Further complicating matters, two different divisions
of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which built the levee back
in the 1960s, are at odds over the county's maintenance role
-- one, charged with protecting natural resources, wants less
maintenance, while the other, charged with flood protection,
wants more.
But all of that won't burden
Tuttle much longer. He stops going full-time at the end of the
year, and will work a couple of days a week with his successor
for a few months next year, and that'll be it.
About that successor. Tuttle,
characteristically, played his cards close to his chest. "A
person has been chosen but a name hasn't been released,"
he said.
The
40-mile test:
Arcata to Willow Creek, one stride at a time
by
ANDREW EDWARDS
 Imagine
running from Arcata to Blue Lake. Now imagine running on to the
top of Lord Ellis. It's only 2,600 feet, you could do it. It's
all downhill from there. Until the next mountain, that is, another
2,000 feet of climbing. And then it truly is downhill. By now,
you've already run a tough marathon, something to be proud of
no matter who you are. But you still have more than 10 miles
to go until the finish line, in Willow Creek.
If all of that sounds insane,
or just impossible, then you've never heard of the sport of ultra-marathoning
and its Humboldt incarnation, the Arcata-to-Willow Creek ultra-40
miler, scheduled for Saturday. The starting time for the 30-year-old
event is 8 a.m., and the starting point is the intersection of
L.K. Wood and California Street. Be there or be square.
A standard marathon is 26.2
miles. Anything over that is an ultra-marathon.
For many, the very idea of running
is foreign, much less running to a nearby town, so what does
it take to be an ultra-marathoner?
"[It takes] a certain kind
of nut; how about that?" said George Crandell [at left in photo above], the race's director and a veteran ultra-runner.
"Actually it takes the kind of person who is into challenges
that people don't think are possible."
Crandell would know. He has
finished the Arcata-to-Willow Creek race 16 times, more than
anyone else, and holds four age-group records for the course.
Basically, he holds every record for runners from age 40-64.
He quit running the race four
years ago at age 66 on the advice of his doctor, though he says
he would still like to go out and give it a go.
"I would still like to
do it actually," Crandell said. "I would like to do
it this year."
Crandell, who turned 70 last
week, celebrated his birthday by going out and running 20 miles.
A retired Humboldt State University oceanography professor, the
nut-brown Crandell looks and sounds like someone 20 years his
junior.
He didn't get into running "seriously"
until the early 1970s, when he was in his 40s. His best time
was in 1977, when, at age 45, he ran the course in 4 hours and
51 minutes. That's a pace of just over 8 miles per hour.
On Saturday, six people, five
men and one woman, will attempt to run the course. Actually,
it could be just five guys as the female runner, Karen Angel
(also a record-holder), is recovering from a knee injury.
Of the 258 starts in the race's
history, 208 were finishes, just over 80 percent. That's impressive
considering the climbs and physical beating the race entails,
not to mention the training that has to be done beforehand.
"You pretty much need to
be a marathoner before you start it," Crandell said.
He said people who run it usually
already do 100 miles of running a week, including several 30-mile
work outs.
"You really have to pay
your dues and get out there on the roads on the weekends,"
Crandell said.
Going into the race there are
three kinds of competitors, those in it to finish, those in it
to win, and those in it to set records.
Oddly, the four fastest times
were all set in 1982. The winner that year was local runner (at
the time) Howard Labrie, who triumphed over several serious outside-the-area
competitors and ran the course in the remarkable time of 4 hours
and 10 minutes. That's a pace of just under 10 miles per hour
for 40 miles.
"When people hear that
you ran 40 miles, they say `wow, my car would have trouble doing
that,'" said Bill Daniel [at
right in photo above], who at one
time held the course record (he still has the record of most
finishes under the magic five-hour mark -- six).
His record-setting run, in 1977,
came as a surprise. His goal at first was just to keep up with
the leaders, but when he found himself in the lead at the 10-mile
mark, he decided he was going to win. Dogging his heels was a
"young whippersnapper" more than 10 years his junior.
He said it was back and forth until the final hump, a brief shift
from the long downhill that leads into Willow Creek. After 30-plus
miles, that small climb can feel like a mountain.
"At that point he psychologically
broke," Daniel said. Daniel continued to run to Willow Creek,
completing the course in 4 hours and 35 minutes.
"Everyone said `oh they'll
never break that one,'" Daniel said. "It was broken
the next year."
The only person with any chance
of setting a new course record, or at least getting close, is
Billy Morris, a teacher at Eureka High School. Last year, he
chalked up the first under-five-hour time in a long while, making
him, in Crandell's words, "the current star." Morris
could not be reached for this report, in part because has been
busy doing training runs.
Crandell said the sport has
suffered a real decline in the last 15 to 20 years with slower
times and fewer racers.
"I don't think there are
as many people interested in getting the most out of their bodies,"
Crandell said. "But I think it will come back. These things
go in cycles."
Grand
Jury: Eureka parking needs attention
Business
owners support parking garage, but no assessment
by
GEOFF S. FEIN
The city of Eureka will need
to add more metered parking or look to property owners to help
pay for parking garages in order to alleviate downtown parking
woes.
That was one of 12 findings
made by the 2001-2002 Humboldt County Grand Jury. The 32-page
final report and the responses from county departments and other
agencies, released last month, also includes the Grand Jury's
findings on a complaint about Humboldt County's Healthy Moms
program; Child Welfare Services; and the need for upgrading the
Sheriff's evidence room and juvenile hall.
The Grand Jury's findings on
the parking problem in downtown Eureka are supported by studies
done in conjunction with the Eureka Main Street program.
The Grand Jury found the city
of Eureka should develop more planning for parking for new downtown
developments; bring city-owned parking lots up to the Americans
with Disabilities Act requirements; require business owners,
their employees and government workers to use long-term parking
lots; and increase the number of metered parking spaces or assess
business owners to help build new lots.
Since 1979 the city has spent
about $190,000 on various studies. One study done in 1998 concluded
there was not a parking problem. In fact the study showed there
is plenty of parking within one to two blocks of most downtown
businesses.
But the most recent study, the
Eureka Downtown/Old Town Property Owner Parking Needs Survey
(conducted by the Eureka Main Street program in 2002 and sent
to downtown property owners), showed that almost 60 percent (30
property owners) believe downtown parking is inadequate. Property
owners said they need 103 spaces for residents living in the
area, 887 spaces for workers, 108 for company vehicles and 516
spaces for customers.
About 70 percent of those surveyed
(35 property owners) favor a multi-level parking garage. About
51 percent (25) favor building a structure at 3rd and G streets.
In 2000 the city and the Eureka
Main Street program did a parking survey of six city-owned lots.
The survey showed that 84 percent of the vehicles parked in the
lots belonged to workers; 4 percent belonged to shoppers and
11 percent belonged to residents.
Part of the problem, the studies
found, is that businesses do not provide parking for employees.
Workers either park on downtown streets and move their cars every
two hours, or pay 50 cents to park all day in any of the 15 public
parking lots (between 8th and First streets and A and I streets).
Those lots, however, tend to fill up quickly. The end result
is that workers and shoppers compete for on-street parking.
There are a total of 3,550 parking
spaces in a 55-block area of downtown. Of that amount, 1,516
are on-street spaces with the majority limited to two-hour parking.
Another 1,400 spaces are privately owned for the exclusive use
by business employees or customers. The remaining 633 spaces
are in city-owned lots.
The city has considered building
parking garages, but downtown business and property owners scoffed
at being assessed for construction costs. Even when the city
has offered to split the $4 million price tag, property owners
still rejected the proposal, said Brent Siemer, Eureka public
works director.
It costs approximately $3,500
per space to pave a parking lot. That figure increases almost
four-fold, to $13,000 per space, when it comes to building parking
garages, Siemer said.
"It's not a simple solution,"
he said. "Any assessments were pretty much squelched all
along. It was something property owners felt would affect businesses."
The last time the city discussed
assessments was 15 years ago. The cost for building a parking
structure has probably doubled in that time, Siemer said.
Ironically, while property and
business owners have refused to approve any assessments, they
continue to question why the city hasn't built a parking garage,
Siemer added.
The only solutions for the city
appear to be either finding empty lots to convert into surface
parking or tearing down buildings to add parking lots. But taking
down buildings is not an option Siemer is considering.
The Grand Jury report also found
that city-owned parking lots must be brought up to the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements.
While it was not mentioned in
the report, the city is involved in a slip-and-fall lawsuit being
brought by Eureka lawyer Jason Singleton on behalf of a wheelchair
bound client who fell on a curb cut that did not meet ADA standards
according to Eureka City Manager David Tyson.
Granite Construction Co. is
resurfacing 11 city-owned lots to bring handicapped spaces up
to code.
A letter from a Eureka resident
led the Grand Jury to look into the Humboldt County Healthy Moms
Program (HMP). The resident said the county failed to follow
proper procedures for purchasing property on H Street. The resident
was also worried that the county-run program will create parking
problems as well as lower property values in the neighborhood.
The county purchased the H Street
house for $225,000 and spent almost $250,000, three times the
original estimate of $75,000, on remodeling costs.
The Healthy Moms Program provides
drug and alcohol treatment for women with children. The program
also teaches the woman how to become better parents. According
to the Humboldt County Health and Human Services Department,
the program has a 62 percent success rate.
After interviewing the resident
who filed the complaint and reviewing materials, the Grand Jury
found no irregularities in the way the county obtained the H
Street property. The Grand Jury also interviewed HMP staff and
visited the facility on several occasions.
Although the Grand Jury admonished
the county for failing to conduct a thorough inspection of the
property, the Grand Jury commended the HMP and the county for
a "successful, cost-effective program" that provides
"an important service to the community."
The Grand Jury found a number
of issues pertaining to Child Welfare services in Hoopa. Among
the findings were: case workers took up to five days to respond
to emergencies; mandated reporters (doctors, nurses, teachers
and their aides, and day care personnel) were not informed of
the progress of a child's case; and inadequate communication
exists between county CWS workers and the Hoopa Tribal Council
Division of Human Services case workers.
Humboldt County officials, however,
disagreed with the Grand Jury's findings. For example, case workers
determine if a response to a child's welfare requires immediate
attention or a response within 10 days. An immediate response
is required when there is an imminent danger to a child or when
immediate attention is requested by law enforcement.
County officials also disagreed
that case workers don't communicate with mandated reporters.
Case workers can provide doctors, nurses, teachers and day care
personnel with either a state-approved feedback letter or verbal
feedback at the time a report is submitted.
The Grand Jury recommended that
the Humboldt County Sheriff's evidence room be moved to a larger
site to allow for proper ventilation, that the Sheriff increase
staff size from two to three full-time employees; that the evidence
room have a computer database program to catalog all evidence;
and that a flushing station be built to remove toxic materials
from the evidence room.
County officials said they are
working toward remedying some of the Grand Jury's findings. Last
year, for example, the Sheriff increased the number of evidence
room employees to three and one part-time employee. A flushing
station has also been added in the evidence lab, along with an
eye-wash station, emergency shower and large utility sink.
But the sheriff has yet to implement
a computer database program to catalog evidence.
The Grand Jury found that when
Juvenile Hall's population exceeds 26 inmates, many are required
to double up sleeping arrangements which often means some inmates
sleep on floors.
Probation Department officials
disagreed with the Grand Jury's findings. Although inmates do
have to double up in single rooms and day rooms, they do not
sleep on the floor, they said. Plastic cots are used to keep
the juveniles from sleeping on the ground.
Because of overcrowded conditions
in juvenile hall, new offenders are released to their parents.
"At times minors are released from custody prior to detention
hearings, however not all minors arrested are appropriate for
detention," according to Probation Department officials.
The county had applied for a
$2 million grant to build an additional 20-bed area next to juvenile
hall, but the application was unsuccessful and it appears there
is no future funding available for such projects, according to
Probation Department officials.
Tobacco scourge
A Humboldt County Public Health
Department report states that one of every five adult deaths
in Humboldt County is directly attributed to tobacco use.
In 1998 there were 245 tobacco-related
deaths in Humboldt County compared to 128 deaths from homicides,
suicides, motor vehicle accidents, alcohol, illegal drugs and
AIDS combined.
While tobacco-related deaths
(per 100,000 population) are on the decline statewide, it's the
opposite in Humboldt County. In the mid-1990s the death rates
in Humboldt County were dropping, reaching a low of almost 140
by 1995. But by 1996 the numbers began to increase. By 1998 more
than 150 persons died from tobacco, almost 30 more than the state
average.
About 21 percent of all Humboldt
County adults smoke. At least 58 percent of all 11th-graders
in the county have tried tobacco, but only 8 percent said they
use tobacco products daily.
Even with laws prohibiting tobacco
sales to minors, about 90 percent of 11th-graders surveyed said
it was easy to get cigarettes.
The Public Health Department
is asking schools to provide prevention education to elementary
and high school students.
Public Health officials added
that Humboldt State University President Rollin Richmond is proposing
to make the university a smoke-free campus.
Tree flap
by KEITH
EASTHOUSE
The city of Eureka is going
ahead with its plan to cut down as many as two dozen stately
cypress trees at the intersection of Harris and K streets despite
opposition from the public and from a volunteer group dedicated
to beautifying the city.
The trees are being cut down
as part of a project to replace the giant, powder blue water
tank that has served as a local landmark since the 1950s. The
half-million gallon capacity tank does not conform to current
seismic safety codes.
Michele McKeegan, president
of Keep Eureka Beautiful, said Tuesday she was "very distressed"
at the plan to remove the trees. She said it flies in the face
of a resolution passed by the City Council earlier this year
that envisions Eureka as a city of tree-lined streets and instructs
city staff to undertake projects to make that vision a reality.
"This seems real inconsistent,"
McKeegan said.
A story in last week's Journal
about the project (see "Get
ready for the twin tanks") provoked a spate of irate
telephone calls to City Hall. McKeegan said her group also received
calls.
McKeegan said she thought the
cutting had been postponed until next week's City Council meeting.
But project engineer Jeff Tedder said Tuesday the cutting is
going ahead. At least one tree was felled over the weekend.
"The city has some good
reasons for wanting to cut these trees down but they are not
compelling reasons. They don't counterbalance the value of 50-year-old
trees," McKeegan said.
McKeegan said studies have shown
that trees raise property values and decrease traffic speeds
by narrowing drivers' field of vision. "Communities that
are clean and attractive have more economic benefits and experience
less crime," she said.
Public works director Brent
Siemer said last week that, largely because of the 9-11 terrorist
attacks, it was decided the trees had to be removed for security
purposes; even though they are located inside the fenced site,
overhanging branches can be used to access the area.
Tedder cited additional reasons
for the cutting -- the roots of some of the trees are in the
way of a planned underground pipeline; and in the event a windstorm
blows down large branches or entire trees, damage could be done
to the new elevated tank as well as to an on-the-ground pumping
and holding tank system that is also part of the project.
He also said that some of the
trees would interfere with the erection of the new tank in a
corner of the square-block, city-owned property. For a few months
next year, both the old and the new tank will stand side by side
until the original one is dismantled. An elevated tank has to
be in operation at all times; otherwise, thousands of Eureka
households will lose water pressure.
Eco-hostel in works
A hostel may be coming to Arcata,
and not just any kind of hostel: an environmental technology
hostel.
The Center for Environmental
Economic Development, a local nonprofit, has received a $50,000
Ford Foundation grant to complete preliminary plans for what
would be the first hostel of its kind and a possible model for
hostels in the future.
Participating parties in the
project -- estimated to ultimately cost about $1 million -- include
Hostelling International, which would operate the facility; the
city of Arcata, which would provide the location (possibly the
11-acre Little Lake parcel just north of the marsh between H
and I streets); and Humboldt State University, which would provide
four student interns to run the hostel's environmental systems
and give lectures to hostelers.
According to Jim Litzky, a member
of CEED's board of directors and a driving force behind the project,
the hostel could be up and running in as little as two years.
The 40-bed facility would cost $15 a night to stay in. It is
projected that the facility would draw 8,000 to 10,000 overnight
stays annually.
The point of the project is
to educate young travelers about environmental technologies in
the hope that they will make use of that knowledge once they
embark on careers. Why use hostels? Because they attract an enormous
number of young, well-educated people traveling for a year or
so to "find" themselves before embarking on careers.
"The potential for hostels
to provide environmental education is incredible," Litzky
said.
He said the hostel would also
be one more step in shifting Arcata and the Humboldt Bay region
as a whole away from a natural-resource-based economy toward
an economy based on eco-tourism.
While the hostel's precise eco-friendly
features are unclear at this point, environmental technology
buildings typically include extra-thick "rammed earth"
walls to keep heat out in the summer and warmth in during the
winter; automated windows that open and shut depending on the
amount of sunlight they receive; and the latest solar energy
collectors.
Litzky said every other environmental
technology building in the world is a research facility -- there's
one at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park -- that closes
down at night and is only open to the public a day or two a month.
This would be the first one "where people can come and live
in it," he said.
Standard hostels offer cheap
overnight stays in a social environment where group kitchens
and common areas encourage interaction among people from all
walks of life.
Safety
corridor crash
In a sign that perhaps the "safety
corridor" on Hwy. 101 between Eureka and Arcata isn't so
safe, a three-car wreck occurred Friday evening that flipped
a car and sent one juvenile to the hospital.
The smash-up occurred when a
67-year-old San Diego woman attempted to cross Hwy. 101 northbound
at the Indianola cutoff at around 6 p.m. Friday.
She pulled out directly in front
of a 53-year-old Arcata man driving a Nissan Altima. He couldn't
avoid her. They collided and he ended up overturned on the right
hand side of the road.
Meanwhile, the woman, driving
a 2001 Mercury Marquis, continued, careening across the road
into a Ford Ranger driven by a 40-year-old Eureka man who was
at the stop sign at the end of Indianola. A passenger in his
vehicle was treated for minor injuries.
Everyone involved was wearing
seat belts or it would likely have been a lot worse. In the words
of reporting officer Sgt. Adam Jager of the California Highway
Patrol, "we were very fortunate."
Chief Gallagher leaving
Top Arcata law enforcement officials,
including Police Chief Chris Gallagher, did not dispute a report
that Gallagher is leaving the city's top law enforcement post.
"I'll probably have more
to say after the first of the year," Gallagher said.
A report in this week's Arcata
Eye said Gallagher is leaving in March for both personal
and professional reasons. He recently informed his colleagues
and the city staff of his decision, the newspaper said.
An officer declined to discuss
the matter, saying "these are tremendously private situations."
Gallagher became chief of police
in March. His tenure has been marked by some controversy -- particularly
an effort to restrict alcohol-serving live music venues in the
downtown earlier this year.
McKinleyville
plan approved
After 13 years of often-contentious
meetings, lack of funding, turnover in county planning staff
and committee membership -- not to mention an expenditure of
$350,000 -- the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors has finally
approved the McKinleyville Community Plan.
The plan addresses urban sprawl
by defining areas for residential and commercial growth, open
spaces and trails. A significant change made to the final document
by the county planning commission identifies a lack of available
land for commercial development as well as for affordable housing.
The plan was the subject of
an article entitled "Planning, McKinleyville Style,"
that appeared in the Sept. 12 edition of the Journal.
McKinleyville is the fastest-growing
unincorporated area in Humboldt County. It has a growth rate
of 2.3 percent, almost double the growth rate countywide.
The supervisors voted 5-0 Tuesday
to accept the final plan.
Supervisor Paul Kirk, who represents
the 5th District (the area from McKinleyville north to the Del
Norte County border) thanked everyone who has been involved in
the lengthy process.
"Bureaucracy is very slow,"
he said.
Target
concerns
The Humboldt County Board of
Supervisors wants more information from Eureka city officials
on the possible financial impacts a new Target store planned
for the north end of town might have on the county.
The supervisors also want more
information on potential traffic congestion that could occur
once Target opens.
At the board's regular Tuesday
meeting, Supervisor Bonnie Neely said more information is needed
on how the Target store, slated for the old Montgomery Ward site
off Highway 101, might impact coastal views.
The final environmental impact
report (EIR) for Target was released earlier this month. The
supervisors have until Dec. 17 to forward any comments on the
project to city officials. The Eureka City Council is scheduled
to meet on that date to discuss the report.
Kirk Girard, director of community
development for the county, told the supervisors that it is the
city's position that Target will not adversely affect other retail
stores, nor will it cause economic blight in the county.
The city has argued, Girard
said, that it is not required under state law to quantify the
store's likely financial impacts, only its potential environmental
impacts.
Although the city is planning
improvements to V Street to alleviate increased traffic around
the store, the supervisors expressed concern that the city could
delay or cancel those improvements. The supervisors directed
the county's public works department to determine the impacts
to traffic if the city does not move forward on V Street improvements.
Target is proposing to build
a 130,785-square-foot retail outlet on an 11.4-acre site. Target's
store is almost 44,500 square feet larger than the former Montgomery
Ward store.
Serra to
the rescue
Attorney J. Tony Serra, who
represented Darryl Cherney and Judi Bari in their cases against
the FBI, will now defend two tree-sitters arrested last month
after protesting Pacific Lumber Co. logging in the Freshwater
area.
Jane Marsh, 18, and Jamie LeRoy
Harris, 26, were charged with trespassing and resisting arrest.
A week after their initial arrest, Marsh and Harris were discovered
sitting in trees near Scotia. PL climbers were attempting to
bring Marsh and Harris down when the pair stripped off their
clothes. Marsh was charged with indecent exposure. She is being
held on $200,000 bail; Harris is being held on $55,000 bail.
Pot bust
Humboldt County Sheriff's deputies
last week seized more than 1,600 marijuana plants, three pounds
of dried marijuana, 90 firearms and $4,000 in cash from a Maple
Hills Road home in southern Humboldt.
Kenneth Bowman, 46, Donna Bowman,
47, and their son Justin, 21, were arrested on suspicion of cultivation
and possession for sale of marijuana. The Bowmans are being held
on $50,000 bail.
Change
at the Assessor's office
Humboldt County Assessor Ray
Jerland retired after 43 years of service to the county. Jerland
was first hired on Sept. 1, 1959 in the County Treasurer's office.
He was elected Assessor three years ago.
Assessor-elect Linda Hill will
be sworn into office on Dec. 27.
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