DNT 121019

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TUESDAY December 10, 2019

S E R V I N G O U R C O M M U N I T Y S I N C E 1 8 7 9 • W W W. T R I P L I C A T E . C O M

School talks drag along

WARRIORS STILL WINNING

Staff Report

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el Norte Unified School District administrators and the Del Norte Teachers Association have reached tentative agreements on minor contract issues - but reportedly are no closer to resolving issues of pay increases and benefits, despite two days of mediation with a neutral third party last week. Meantime, teachers’ association president Marshall Jones oversaw a “strike school” workshop last Saturday, which outlined for teachers their legal grounds should the union choose to strike. Jones said the earliest that association members could strike would be Jan. 15, 2020. Guillermo “Memo” Durgin, a union organizer for the region that stretches from San Francisco to Del Norte County, spoke during the workshop. Del Norte has never had a strike before, so Durgin outlined what teachers could and could not do as a result. Jones said about half of the Del Norte Teachers Association’s members attended Saturday’s meeting. “We don’t want to strike, but we will if we have to. And we’re going to keep preparing for that,” Jones told The Triplicate. “It’s very expensive and time consuming, but necessary, because the district doesn’t want to work with us. We’ll be ready when and if (a strike) does happen.” He added that about 80% of the union’s members would support a strike. At issue is the school district’s latest, best offer of a 1% guaranteed pay increase, plus a one-time 1% pay increase if the district’s student enrollment doesn’t drop, according to district spokesman Michael Hawkins. Hawkins said the overall raises offered by the district to teachers for this year is 2%, which includes “a hidden cost to the district that is not shown here from retirement and other benefits.” That comes out to about a 2.6% cost increase, said Hawkins, to allow for a 2% salary raise for the teachers. Jones said the teachers’ union disagrees, that in fact the district’s offer really doesn’t amount to that substantial a pay increase. Hawkins said the tentative agreements are contingent on the two sides reaching agreement on an overall pay and benefits increase. He said that last Thursday, the two sides agreed to additional days of annual personal illness or injury leave time, and a new share program that allows personal illness or More Teachers on Page A2

INDEX Crosswords................................................ A5 Crossword Answers ....................................B4 Calendar.....................................................B1 Classifieds...................................................B3

Del Norte High School head coach Nick White hoists the NorCal championship plaque after the Warriors defeated King’s Academy Friday night, 21-14. Photo by Roger Schultz/Hot Shot Sports Photography.

For all the marbles D

John Pritchett For The Triplicate

el Norte High School may need to add a new trophy case to handle all the hardware this year ’s Warrior football team has been collecting. After winning a Big Four Conference title and a first-ever North Coast Section crown, Del Norte was presented with a Di-

vision 5-AA Northern California championship plaque from the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) following the Warriors’ 21-14 victory Friday over King’s Academy High in Sunnyvale. No Del Norte football team has ever reached the lofty levels this team has achieved. That said, there’s one more mountain to climb. Undefeated El Monte High

School is coming all the way from east of Los Angeles to Mike Whalen Field this Saturday to take on the 13-1 Warriors, with a Division 5-AA state championship at stake. Game time is 6 p.m. The Warriors advanced last Friday despite some uncharacteristic mistakes, errors that set up both of the King’s Academy touchdowns. Twice, Del Norte fumbled

deep in its own territory. Twice, the private school turned those miscues into game-tying TD passes. But when required later to move the length of the field, King’s Academy could gain no traction against Del Norte’s defense. The Knights’ Noah Short More Football on Page A3

Visitors, NBC here By David Hayes Staff Writer

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Singers pose on the tall Christmas tree platform after performing the Singing Christmas Tree. Photo by Exquisite Light Photography.

Foursquare’s Christmas tree is still singing By Jessica Goddard Staff Writer

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he Crescent City Foursquare Church presented its annual Singing Christmas Tree last weekend as a gift to the

community, bringing in about 1,500 appreciative audience members. “It’s free. They’ve never charged for it, because they always wanted it just to be a free blessing to the community,” said

Reid Powell, the church’s associate pastor. For the past 50-some years, the Foursquare Church has conducted the elaborate performance, with 30 people singing choral music atop plat-

FORECAST TODAY

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WEDNESDAY

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forms in the shape of a large Christmas tree. But that festive celebration nearly ended five years ago. More Tree on Page A2

hen the world watches the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, millions of eyes will be on a media feature package about Crescent City and its sister city, Rikuzentakata, Japan. With NBC Sports in town this week to film the latest interaction among local educators and a delegation of teachers and students from Rikuzentakata, efforts are building to capitalize on the international story during the Olympics’ TV coverage. Cindy Vosburg, executive director of the Crescent City-Del Norte Chamber of Commerce, is spearheading a drive to raise $59,000 to spend on publicizing Del Norte County during the 2020 More Olympics on Page A2

TIDES THURSDAY

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Wed Tues Thurs 3:34AM 4:13AM 4:53AM 9:39PM 10:12AM 10:49AM 4:41PM 5:18PM 5:57PM 11:14PM 11:57PM --

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