Font ResizeAfter four public hearings and over 12 hours of testimony, the Humboldt County Planning Commission recommended scrapping proposed changes to the county’s code enforcement program.
During a series of hearings with attendance declining from over 1,000 persons at the first one to only 150 at the final hearing, citizens blasted county planning director Tom Conlon and his staff for both “sanctioning the construction of unsafe buildings” and for the “punitive” nature of code enforcement.
Recommendations to the commission included assessment of current procedures, emphasizing “flagrant and/or commercial violations,” evaluating whether criminal procedures are necessary or if civil penalties would be adequate, excluding owner-builders from criminal prosecution, developing an amnesty process for owner-builders, and creating a citizens advisory committee.
*****
The Mateel Community Center tentatively scheduled a springtime groundbreaking ceremony for its new facility on Rusk Lane in Redway, thanks to generous donations of material, labor, and cash. Harold Murrish donated an additional one-third acre of property adjacent to the site to provide “extra elbow room.”
A county building inspector had looked over the site and building plans, and the MCC was hopeful of receiving a building permit even before escrow on the land closed on March 31.
Local builders Greg Kornberg and Chris Walker were selected as building supervisors and were compiling a materials list and timeline for the project.
Encouraging more SoHummers to donate to the effort and to become members of the MCC, board president Barb Truitt listed potential uses of the center as “dances, poetry readings, concerts, dance classes, volleyball and half-court basketball, various aerobics, youth activities and whatever else the community needs.”
*****
The historic Benbow Inn was advertised for sale for $6.5 million in the March 4, 1988 Wall Street Journal.
After working for many years on restoring and renovating the Inn, owners Charles and Patsy Watts decided to move on to new challenges at the Heritage House in Little River, Mendocino County.
During the ownership, the Wattses restored many features of the historic main building, furnished rooms with antiques and art, and added new rooms with modern conveniences like Jacuzzis and color televisions.
The Wattses supported the Benbow Shakespeare Festival and brought in artists from the San Francisco Opera to entertain their guests. They also instituted several winter holiday traditions at the Inn, including the now-famous Teddy Bear Christmas tree.
*****
The Humboldt County Drug Task Force issued its annual report, finding methamphetamine and marijuana forming the majority of illegal contraband the task force impounded during the previous year, 1987.
The task force made 135 drug-related arrests and 17 non-drug-related arrests, with street value totaling over $3.5 million.
These statistics did not include drug-related arrests made by the county sheriff’s Marijuana Eradication Team or the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting.
Methamphetamine topped heroin and cocaine as hard drugs of choice, according to the task force report. In fact, heroin and cocaine use declined while methamphetamine use increased in Humboldt County.
*****
Several local youths received awards for scholarship and community activities.
Miranda Junior High students placed third out of nine teams in a national math competition sponsored by professional engineers. The intense competition included a written round, a team round, and a problem-solving round, followed by a “master’s round.”
Student Jason Lee won first place in the written category and second place in the master’s round oral competition. Other members of the local team included Brent Kinkade, Dylan Battles, Jason Salomon, Chris Lawrence, and teacher Eric Nelson.
South Fork student Heather Lake was awarded a scholarship from the 4-H Scholarship Foundation, which was presented to her by 2nd District Supervisor Harry Pritchard and foundation representative Gene Senestraro during the county’s 4-H day at College of the Redwoods.
Travis Britten, also a South Fork student, took home several prizes as a member of the Northcoast Rodeo Team at a high school rodeo event in Sonoma in February.
Travis won first place in the boys’ cutting event, second in calf roping, and third in team roping. He was third overall in rookie standings, making him eligible to compete in the state competition.
The Miranda Mustangs seventh-grade boys basketball team walked away with the tournament trophy for their grade at a county-wide competition at Sunnybrae School in Arcata.
Although they started out as the underdogs, the Mustangs came from behind to beat Sunnybrae by 44-40, Winship by 46-41, Jacoby Creek by 37-35, and Rio Dell by 38-26.
