Redwood Times

From the Redwood Record of May 26, 1983

A park constructed as one part of the improvement project at Shelter Cove will be dedicated Sunday, June 5, in honor of the late Mal Coombs, former director for Southern Humboldt of the Humboldt Bay Harbor Recreation and Conservation District. Picnic and convenience facilities are features of the park, built during the second phase of improvements which when completed will include improved beach access, an enhanced breakwater and a concrete boat launching ramp. Jack Alderson, Executive Director of the Harbor District said a sign will be placed at the site during dedication ceremonies. Coombs was a board member of the Harbor District at the time of his death in 1981.

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Those in Southern Humboldt’s tourism industry were looking for a good year. Bill Brown, president of the Garberville/Redway Chamber of Commerce, told the Record that prospects were “looking good,” especially for the early part of the summer. He said a closure of Highway 50 due to slides will scatter the stateline-bound visitors elsewhere for a while. The Chamber’s Visitor Information Booth was scheduled to open for Memorial Day. It was at that time located at the north

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end of Garberville. Brown said that they expect to see about 15,000 people at the booth this year. How long it would be able to remain open was in question. The Chamber had requested $8,000 to operate the booth during the tourist season, but the Board of Supervisors had only approved a budget of $5,000.

Despite Brown’s optimism, the director of the County Visitor’s Bureau said that she was hearing a downward trend in visitors. She predicted a “somewhat pleasant” season but nothing spectacular. She said a sluggish economy meant that people were “being cautious with their money.”

On the Avenue of the Giants, Sally Dernedde, owner of Giant Redwoods RV Camp in Myers Flat said her reservations were down somewhat over last year. She also speculated that sensational national coverage of the local marijuana industry discouraged people from coming to the area.

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Secretary of State March Fong Eu gave the go ahead for circulation of initiative petitions to legalize marijuana for personal use. There had been 13 such petitions circulated in the past 12 years with only one qualifying for the ballot. The initiative required 393,835 valid signatures for a spot on the next statewide ballot. The proposal would add a section to the California Health and Safety Code stating that people 18 and older shall not be criminally punished for possession or personally using marijuana.

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Due to unseasonal heavy rains and warming spring temperatures, the Humboldt County Health Department sent out an alert that mosquito populations might be extremely high. The mosquito of primary importance in this area, according to the Health Department, was Culex tarsalis, a potential carrier of encephalitis. Culen tarsalis prefers flooded pastureland and land owners were being urged to take all measures to reduce or eliminate such ponded areas on their property.

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The opening week of the commercial salmon season had so far been a non-event for local members of the Mosquito Fleet at Shelter Cove. Mario Machi reported that the rough seas had kept the boats in the harbor. The unsettled price for fish hadn’t helped either, Machi said. The previous year, Shelter Cove fishermen had landed around 200,000 pounds of salmon.