County road workers spent New Year’s Eve day trying to get Redwood Drive between Redway and Dean Creek re-opened to traffic. A slip-out in the southbound lane just around the bend from Redway was discovered on Tuesday afternoon by Road Supervisor Marty Messenger who noticed cracks developing in the pavement while on routine maintenance patrol. The road was closed while workers installed k-rails to block off the slipping portion of the roadway. A plan to convert the northbound lane into a southbound lane and add a new lane on the bank side of the roadway got the road re-opened around January 10.
New Second District Supervisor Clif Clendenen was sworn into office by Judge Christopher Wilson in the supervisors’ chambers in Eureka. New Fifth District Supervisor Mark Lovelace and returning Supervisor Jimmy Smith were also sworn in.
At the Healthcare District, new board member Ed Smith and returning board member Nancy Wilson were sworn into office. New hospital administrator Harry Jasper was welcomed by the board. He took the place of former administrator Debbie Scaife, who agreed to stay on in the district as Director of Patient Care.
At the first school board meeting of the year, the trustees confronted a worsening financial situation. The state had not been able to come up with a budget and the district was facing cuts of around $400,000.
Former Supervisor candidate Estelle Fennell was hired to be the executive director of the Humboldt Coalition for Property Rights. KMUD General Manager Brenda Starr was headed off to Washington to watch the inauguration of President Barak Obama. And Redway resident Max Abrahamson was appointed Executive Director of the Humboldt Botanical Gardens.
David Bernal, who was caught on tape shooting Garberville native Jennifer Bushnell, was sentenced to life in prison for his crime.
February
The Garberville-Redway Chamber of Commerce threw a party for Citizen of the Year Diana Totten. Humboldt County Road Department Supervisor Marty Messenger spoke at Rotary and explained why they were having trouble keeping the roads in good repair. He said that ten years ago he had a budget that allowed him to purchase 12,000 tons of asphalt hot mix, but his budget had been cut to the point where he could only afford 2,000 tons.
Caltrans extended the comment period for its Richardson Grove Improvement Project draft environmental document. Garberville resident Dennis Lichty was appointed to serve as Area One Representative on the Humboldt County Advisory Committee. Dr. Wendy Joiner was lured away from a family practice in Fortuna to become the new Medical Director of Redwoods Rural Health Center. A new group, Transit Action for Southern Humboldt, met to discuss the future of the Quail Bus that provides home pickup for seniors and disabled people. The bus had been opened up to general rider ship but was still not meeting its fare box requirements.
School district trustees were advised by their attorney not to carry through with a sale of the old Garberville school building to Dottie Russell and Artful Children. The directors of the Redway Community Services District decided to try for some stimulus money to help them upgrade their water system.
Two local men were charged with robbery and murder following a 25-minute robbery spree that ended with the stabbing death of a man in the parking lot of Ray’s Food Place on Broadway in Eureka.
March
The Garberville Sanitary District decided it would try for some stimulus money to fund its sewer treatment plant upgrade. District Manager Mark Bryant told the district directors that he had been assured Garberville would be on the priority list because the district was under a cease and desist order due to inadequate sewage treatment capacity.
The directors of the Community Park hung a closed sign on the park and blamed the county for having to take the action. A meeting held at the Mateel Community Center attracted a large crowd of park supporters who gave a standing ovation to park founders Steve Dazey and Bob McKee.
The SHUSD board of trustees met in special session to consider mid-year staff reductions. The state budget had finally been signed and the district was looking at decreased funding in all areas. The only bright spot in the picture was a waiver that allowed districts to use categorical money for non-categorical spending. Another seven fulltime positions were to be eliminated.
The school board also heard from South Fork High School graduate Emma Worldpeace about the rate of teen suicide, murder and death from alcohol-related automobile accidents among local youth. The local death rate from those causes is almost twice the state average. Worldpeace interviewed local youth and found that the “culture of secrecy” surrounding marijuana cultivation made students afraid to talk about what is going on in their home life.
It was announced that Carol Bruno, owner of People Productions, had sold rights to the Reggae Rising Music Festival to Tom Dimmick, owner of Dimmick Ranch.
Former Humboldt County Supervisor and longtime local businessman Roy Heider passed away in the Jerold Phelps Community Hospital. He was 81.
April
The owners of Confusion Hill were concerned about the impact of the bypass project on their business. Doug and Carol Campbell were trying to get the roadside attraction designated as a point of historical interest.
Easter came early and the annual community Easter Egg Hunt was held at Tooby Park, followed by a potluck picnic.
School district trustees selected local realtor George Rolff to sell the old school building on Sprowel Creek Road. “George has a plan,” Trustee Tom Mulder said. The trustees also announced that they had selected Michael McAllister to become the new Superintendent, replacing the retiring Clif Anderson.
The CHP and the County Road Department got together to lower the speed limit on Briceland Road in an attempt to reduce the number of accidents.
Engineer Bob Bronkall presented a proposal to convert a portion of Church Street to one-way traffic only. In a lightly attended meeting, Bronkall also addressed the need to upgrade sidewalks in the area and increase parking. Construction on the Town Square was expected to begin soon.
Dr. Ann Lindsey held a meeting at the Healy Senior Center to listen to some local residents who objected to her Health Impacts Study for the General Plan Update. In that report Dr. Lindsey asserted that dirt roads, smoke and traffic are bad for air quality and that the high obesity rate in the area is due to lack of exercise.
May
The Garberville Sanitary District heard from two representatives of a firm it hired to help them with their rate restructuring. The new rates will be designed to be equitable and to give the district enough income to support an estimated six million dollars in improvements.
The Humboldt Transit Authority was set to bring public transit to Southern Humboldt. The Quail Bus for seniors and disabled would be replaced with a new paratransit bus system that would connect with Dial-A-Ride and paratransit in Fortuna and Eureka.
The Community Park Board held a meeting in the barn at the park. Participants were cautioned that specific suggestions weren’t wanted at that time, but more general sentiments. Those attending expressed support for maintaining open space and agriculture.
The directors of the Redway Community Services District got the news that they wouldn’t be getting any stimulus money and would have to rely on low interest loans to complete their water system upgrade.
The Ferrari Club of America came to the Benbow Inn for a two-day rally, part of a run up the Avenue of the Giants. They held a group picnic and barbecue at the Women’s Federation Grove.
Some 50 people attended a Civil Liberties Monitoring Project forum at the Garberville Veterans Hall. County staff came down to make a presentation on the General Plan Update. CLMP president Bonnie Blackberry took the staff to task for not holding more meetings in Garberville.
Election night results for the special election showed that five of six propositions on the ballot had been defeated.
June
The Garberville Sanitary District decided to raise its rates along the lines suggested by their consultants at Bartle Wells Associates. The new rates will allow the district to build up its operations and maintenance funds and build a reserve for capital improvements.
Stream flow gauges on the Mattole River were vandalized over the Memorial Day weekend. A solar panel was torn out and antenna cut and removed from the Ettersburg gauge. A solar panel at the Petrolia gauge was smashed and that antenna removed as well.
Longtime Garberville resident Louis Schaafsma was selected at the Grand Marshall of the 52nd Annual Garberville Rodeo
The Garberville Theatre planned to install a state-of-the-art solar system. Theatre owners Chris and Brigette Brannan were working with David Katz of Alternative Energy Engineering and Jay Peltz of Peltz Power and hoping to take advantage of incentives for green projects and at the same time reduce the cost of operating the theatre.
The Shelter Cove Coast Guard tower was damaged by vandalism at an approximate cost of $100,000. The tower is located inside a fenced compound and includes several structures that house radio equipment systems for several state and local fire agencies. A suspect was said to have fired multiple high-powered rifle rounds into the radio tower, damaging one of the tower’s support legs.
The Redway Community Services District issued a call for voluntary water conservation in the town as low water flows in the South Fork had reduced the amount of water the district could draw from the river.
July
Anne Staunton took the helm at Redwoods Rural Health Center, replacing Eric Fimbres as executive director. She praised the RRHC management team for keeping things together during six months without an executive director. Taking over during a time of financial uncertainty caused by California’s budget crisis, Staunton said, “My eyes are getting opened wider every day... We’ll keep on top of it and see what happens.”
With river flows down due to drought and the river channel moving away from its intake pipe, Redway Community Services District declared a state of emergency and called for mandatory water conservation from its customers. RCSD added a rebuild of its intake system to the State Revolving Loan Fund application already in process with the California Department of Public Health Drinking Water Services.
College of the Redwoods made an initial offer of $100,000 to the Southern Humboldt Unified School District for purchase of the old school building and property on Sprowel Creek Road in Garberville. CR president Jeff Marsee said CR expects to invest $1 million total to purchase and rehabilitate the property, resulting in four classrooms, offices, and an auditorium to serve the community.
August
The school year in the Southern Humboldt Unified School District began with new Superintendent Michael McAllister taking over the role of district business manager as well as superintendent, due to the state’s budget crisis. McAllister promised that in spite of budget cuts and a decline in revenues, SHUSD would meet “all our curricular objectives and requirements... for our students to get a good education and go on to the college of their choice.”
Reports of H1N1 in Mendocino County had federal, state, and local public health agencies issuing information about flu prevention and encouraging persons in target groups to receive vaccinations when they became available. In August, H1N1 had already been blamed for 92 deaths in California, indicating an unusual flu strain, as summer months are normally flu-free.
A giant redwood tree fell across all four lanes of Highway 101 near Redcrest, blocking traffic for several hours until it was cleared by Cal Fire, volunteer fire personnel, PG&E employees, and frustrated travelers who got out of their cars to help remove debris. No one was seriously injured, although two people from the Bay Area were transported to Redwood Memorial Hospital in Fortuna with complaints of back pain.
A 21-year-old woman from South Lake Tahoe was found dead during the Reggae Rising festival. Emergency teams responded when she was discovered unresponsive at her campsite. The Mendocino County Coroner’s office stated that it might be several weeks before test results revealed the cause of the young woman’s death.
September
Persimmons Garden Gallery in Redway opened its doors again with a celebration featuring local wine, food, and music. In spite of the loss of computers and thousands of dollars in merchandise from two burglaries in July, owners Holly Sweet and Jill McClure were inspired by community support to start again.
While Redway Community Services District continued its state of emergency and mandatory water conservation, Garberville Sanitary District held its final public hearing on rate increases required to secure funding for a $3 million sewage treatment upgrade. Only a handful of Garberville residents protested GSD’s proposed rate increase.
County Supervisors Jimmy Smith, Bonnie Neely, and Mark Lovelace toured the Southern Humboldt Community Park with SHCP board members, who described their plans for the park’s future. Neely and Lovelace also met with a group of the park’s neighbors who were concerned about the impacts of some of the proposed uses. A hearing before the Board of Supervisors regarding a General Plan Amendment to change the land use designation and zoning of the Southern Humboldt Community Park was set for November.
Verizon executives came from as far as Tampa, Florida to meet with disgruntled rural customers at a meeting in the Vets Hall in Garberville. Residents complained of frequent line drops, calls cut off for no reason, loud static, and a lack of response from Verizon’s automated complaint response system. Blaming obsolete equipment and planning to work through the winter, Verizon promised to have everything working right by early 2010.
October
The Mateel Community Center announced that it received a final court-ordered payment of $50,000 from the Dimmick Ranch, the last portion of the $500,000 settlement of its lawsuit with Dimmick Ranch and People Productions. Several other creditors from the Reggae Rising festival, which is now owned by Dimmick Ranch, were still waiting for payment
After threatening to close all California state parks in response to the state’s budget shortfall, Governor Schwarzenegger’s office announced that Humboldt Redwoods State Park, among others, would remain open year-round as customary. HRSP attracts nearly 100,000 visitors per year and is a mainstay of Southern Humboldt’s tourist economy.
Garberville Sanitary District awarded the contract for its wastewater upgrade project to T&S Construction of Sacramento, choosing the lowest “responsive” bidder as required by state law. GSD’s general manager, Mark Bryant, was elected president of the California Special Districts Association, a statewide organization serving independent special districts.
Redway Community Services District ended its state of emergency and mandatory conservation measures, thanks to a few inches of rain that raised the river enough to provide near-normal drinking water production.
November
The Shelter Cove Resort Improvement District received one of two oil spill response trailers obtained by the Humboldt Bay Harbor Recreation and Conservation District with a $51,000 grant from the California Department of Fish and Game. “I hope you never have to use this equipment,” said 2nd District Harbor Commissioner Roy Curless as he presented the trailer, “but if you need it you are now well equipped and trained to deal with any potential spills in the Cove.”
The new Garberville Town Square celebrated completion of its first phase with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the auspicious day of Friday, November 13. With trees planted and much of the square paved with handsomely patterned bricks, the Town Square’s board of directors thanked the community for its support and asked for donations to complete Phase II, which will include a children’s play area, information kiosk, drinking fountain, bike racks, more plantings, and lighting.
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors approved the Southern Humboldt Community Park’s petition to apply for a General Plan Amendment at a hearing on November 10. SHCP must now begin the actual application process, which they hope will result in new land use designations and zoning on the property to enable a variety of uses.
Mainstream Energy, the parent company of AEE Solar, formerly Alternative Energy Engineering, announced that it was moving most of the company’s operations to Sacramento and San Luis Obispo. Only AEE’s sales department will remain in Redway, resulting in a loss of at least 18 local jobs.
Members of the Shelter Cove Fire Department’s Ocean Rescue Team saved a woman who was washed off the bluff near Abalone Point on November 20. The rescue team launched a 21-foot jet boat with three first responders in pounding surf at high tide within a few minutes of receiving a call for help from the victim’s friends.
December
Humboldt Transit Authority director Nel Fregoso met with Quail bus advocates in Redway but controversy continued over the new bus service proposed for Southern Humboldt. HTA’s plan for weekday buses, although open to all riders and running from Garberville to Eureka, does not provide the Quail’s current door-to-door service for seniors and disabled residents.
The Humboldt County Planning Commission held a public hearing at the Redway Elementary School on December 17 to hear local rural residents’ comments on the Land Use Element of the County’s draft General Plan Update. Nearly 200 people attended and over 40 spoke at the hearing, expressing their concerns about such issues as water, restoration, minimum parcel sizes, proposed land use designations, and public participation.
The Southern Humboldt Community Healthcare District passed a resolution to join a joint powers agreement with several other small public health care districts in northern California. Current members of the Northern California Health Care Authority, recognizing SHCHD’s small size and strained budget, offered to waive membership fees. Membership should increase SHCHD’s buying power and will give the district better representation when dealing with state and federal agencies.
Trustees of the Southern Humboldt Unified School District agreed to sell the old school property in Garberville to College of the Redwoods for $200,000 and the right of first refusal should CR decided to discontinue use of the property for educational purposes. Although some trustees were concerned about CR’s commitment to use the property for education, others reported that they had received “overwhelmingly favorable” feedback on the sale from the community.
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