TUESDAY December 31, 2019
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Winter sees home sales, too
Grab for crab
By Jessica Goddard Staff Writer
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(Above) A crabbing boat heads out of Crescent City Harbor late Saturday afternoon to prepare its gear for the season’s opening Dec. 31. (Below) The 75 full-time commercial crabbing boats can finally see some action after a delayed opening this season. Photos by Mike Cuthbertson.
Dungeness crabbing season opens By Jessica Goddard Staff Writer
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rab fishermen finally were able to gather their gear and depart from Crescent City Harbor last weekend to set crabbing pots prior to a delayed opening of this year’s commercial crabbing season. The northern California commercial Dungeness crabbing season will open at 12:01 a.m. Dec. 31, according to Jordan Traverso, deputy director of communications for the California Department of Fish and
Wildlife. Fishermen were allowed to set up their gear as early as 8:01 a.m. Dec. 28, up to 64 hours prior to the season’s officials opening. Now, the 75 full-time crabbing boats in Crescent City can commence their business for the year.
However, anyone who has delivered a crab anywhere else this season must wait 30 days before crab-
bing in this region, said Crescent City Harbor Commissioner Rick Shepherd. This allows local fishers to benefit before competition arrives. The crabbing season for Oregon, Washington and northern California – from Mendocino north – in a tri-state agreement usually is sched-
uled to open around Dec. 1, but was delayed this year because of poor-quality crab conditions. It had tentatively been rescheduled to open Dec. 16, as the state’s wildlife department routinely delays a season in 15-day increments. However, the state agency delayed the north coast crabbing season’s opening once again, since testing showed the percentage of meat growth on the shells continuing to be too low. In a final test on Dec. More Crabbing on Page A2
lthough the warmer months usually are considered the housing market’s prime time here, winter can bring its own set of customers to Del Norte County, say local realtors. September and October did see the highest number of housing sales in 2019. The housing market in Del Norte County was boosted last year in part by the number of California wildfires, said Kurt Stremberg of Stremberg Realty in Crescent City. He said the pace of sales increased because survivors of the Santa Rosa Fire and fall 2018’s Paradise Camp Fire, the deadliest one in California history, relocated to the cooler, damper northern California coast. In fact, said Stremberg, 26 homes were sold in Del Norte County last January, just 10 fewer than were sold during this region’s top-selling month. Although there tends to be a smaller inventory of homes for sale during the winter, buyers will face less competition for those homes than in the high season. Not to mention, people can get tax benefits by purchasing a home before the end of the year, said financial advisor Dave Ramsey. Joshua Clemons, branch manager for Ming Tree Real Estate in Crescent City, said market listings drop each winter by about one-third, although he said he encourages sellers to keep their houses on the market year-round. “Interest rates are so low right More Housing on Page A3
New police vests touted by chief By David Hayes Staff Writer
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Skylar Lambeth, 9, visits with a homeless man and his dog after giving them a Christmas stocking. Photo by Jeanette Lambeth.
Nine-year old exemplifies local holiday charity By Jessica Goddard Staff Writer
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ine-year-old Skylar Lambeth made herself a promise last year - to help the homeless in Crescent City and Brookings during the holidays. And this year, she followed
through with what she had planned. With money she collected from recycling, she prepared care packages to hand out to the homeless during the 2019 Christmas season. More Charity on Page A3
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ince he took over as Crescent City’s chief of police, one of Richard Griffin’s priorities has been updating the department’s equipment. After securing a patrol ATV through a Homeland Security grant earlier this month, Griffin received approval Dec. 16 from the Crescent City Council to buy 13 outer carry vests, one for each of the department’s officers. “The first thing that was on my desk as the new police chief was a proposal from the Police Officers Association to immediately approve these,” Griffin told council members. He cited the benefits of switching from carrying gear on a belt versus the outer carry vest, pointing out the advantages of a vest he wore as a detective for several years. “The biggest thing this vest does is take everything that’s on my hips, which is about 40 pounds (of gear), and puts it up here (on the chest), where it’s natural as
a human to have load-carrying,” Griffin said. “The weight on the hips isn’t as big an issue while walking around (as when) spending hours in the patrol vehicle or sitting down, putting strain on your spine. “I can attest to that. I’m only 40 years old, I work out a lot, used to be a competitive powerlifter. I still have sciatic nerve issues just from the day-to-day, and I have 15 to 20 years left.” Griffin said state labor law actually addresses lower-back pain and injuries caused by employment used by law enforcement agencies. He said the vest features several storage pockets: two for magazines centrally located for accessibility by both hands, and one each for pepper spray, flashlight, taser and radio, and a spot for two handcuffs. Above that row are the “admin pouches” - for pens, business cards and the like. A chest cam mounts centrally on the badge tabs. More Vests on Page A3
FORECAST TUESDAY
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WEDNESDAY
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Officer Justin Gill displays an outer carry vest similar to the ones the Crescent City Council has authorized the police department to purchase. Photo by David Hayes.
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