Font ResizeAll around Southern Humboldt, communities were celebrating the season with music, parties, pageants and visits from Santa.
Garberville merchants and civic organizations sponsored showings of children’s movies at the Garberville Theater, a music program featuring the South Fork High School Brass Band, and an ongoing raffle. Jolly old St. Nick promised to be on hand for the final drawing on Saturday before Christmas.
Up in the hills, a successful PTA fair at Casterlin School near Blocksburg provided home-crafted gifts for holiday shoppers and raised money for the school. Casterlin joined Alice Jewett School in Alderpoint at a Christmas program showcasing the students’ musical talents. During the last verse of “Jingle Bells” Santa “came dashing through the crowd jiggling and ho-hoing all the way.”
Agnes Johnson School in Weott presented an evening of student drama and music, with each class contributing a sketch and songs, including the fifth grade’s enactment of Dickens’ classic “A Christmas Carol,” the fourth grade’s rendition of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” updated with contemporary gifts like Barbies, Star Wars figures, and dirt bikes - and many more thrilling and inspiring performances.
The Senior Citizens Club held a festive luncheon at Fellowship Hall at the Garberville Presbyterian Church. Members contributed their holiday specialties to a traditional feast that included turkey with all the trimmings and a selection of irresistible desserts.
Following the meal the seniors drew numbers to select gifts from beneath the tree. A second round of the game allowed the players to claim other players’ still unwrapped gifts. One large box excited much envy and changed hands several times. When the game ended, the lucky winner discovered she had chosen a Playboy magazine.
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In a proposed settlement with California Attorney General, Redway Community Services District was fined $2,000 for a series of sewage spills and was absolved from further liability.
A series of spills occurring over five days in July dumped a total of 189,000 gallons of untreated sewage into the South Fork Eel River. The North Coast Water Quality Control Board had determined in August that the spillage was caused by lack of proper maintenance, making RCSD liable for fines up to $50,000.
Additionally, the district was given a probationary period of three months to correct the problem. The Water Quality Control Board also referred the matter to the State Attorney General, who would decide whether to bring formal charges against RCSD.
With the problems either corrected or in process by the end of the probationary period, the Attorney General’s office had tentatively agreed to the lower fine, which covered only the Water Quality Control Board’s costs for holding hearings and monitoring the improvements. The fines were not considered punitive, according to RCSD board chairman Mary Anne Reese.
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A local minister’s plan to start a youth recreation center was thwarted by lack of funds, liability insurance, and a potpourri of regulations.
Redway Church of Christ minister Avril Matlock had already started a successful outdoor program serving approximately 140 youngsters and was hoping to find an indoor space for the winter months.
When Matlock requested rent-free use of the Redway School gym for an hour on Saturday and Sunday, trustees of the Southern Humboldt Unified School District responded that while they could suspend the usual $8 per hour rent, the recreation program would still need to cover janitorial services and would need to produce proof of insurance to release the school district from liabilities for injuries.
Likewise, Southern Humboldt Working Together (SHWT), which managed recreational activities at Garberville’s Fireman’s Hall, declined permission to use the hall because it would require an additional $1,500 in addition to their current insurance.
Matlock was counseled to seek assistance from other community groups that already have insurance for backing and sponsorship.
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Two men, one from San Francisco and one from Alderpoint, were charged with arson in connection with a string of wildland fires in the Alderpoint-Ft. Seward area during the previous August and September.
The local suspect had been apprehended and charged in September, but the second suspect was not taken into custody in San Francisco until mid-December. He was transported to Humboldt County and arraigned on two counts of arson in Eureka Municipal Court.
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No rainfall was recorded in the week of December 11-17, but total rainfall for the season so far came to nearly 25 inches, compared to only 8.27 inches for the same period in the previous year, according to statistics provided by Caltrans and the Eel River Conservation Camp.
