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WEDNESDAY October 23, 2019
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Who We Are
Gasquet man and his drone G
By David Hayes Staff Writer
rowing up, Mike Cuthbertson always wanted to be a pilot. The 63-year-old even had his chances. When he was 20, he learned to fly fixed-wing aircraft in Crescent City … but he never got his license.
When he moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career, he learned to fly a helicopter. “But I did the same thing. I soloed twice, got 40 hours of flying experience, then quit. It was too expensive,” Cuthbertson said. “It was always my dream to have a helicopter. Still is. If I were to win the lotto, I’d buy a helicopter.”
Cuthbertson has been retired for 12 years after working at Pelican Bay State Prison. He’s living in Gasquet with his best friend, Stoney, an Australian shepherd. He said he’s satisfying his need to
SMOKEY More Drones on Page A2
and the pumpkins Smokey the Bear helps celebrate the arrival of autumn at the Gasquet Fall Harvest Festival at the U.S. Forest Service Office. Recreation manager Doug Winn, dressed as King Richard, and National Recreation Area rangers set up a pumpkin patch Oct. 18 in their restored garden and pumpkin patch. The garden was augmented by pumpkin donations from Walmart, Ocean Air Farms, Safeway and Grocery Outlet. Gasquet residents dressed in costumes and enjoyed a potluck meal, before children dashed to grab their own pumpkins and meet Smokey for hugs and high fives. Photos by David Hayes.
Crescent City’s new police chief shares thoughts on his job and his priorities is now the elected auditor here (County of Del Norte). Became friends with him. I actually came up and helped with wrestling. Basically, I went up to Alaska to work with his cousin in construction, called me up one day, hey, we have a job opening in the jail if you want it. Get your foot in the door. I interviewed for the process then, that’s why I came back over.
By David Hayes Staff Writer Officer Richard Griffin, 40, was sworn in as the new chief of police during Monday night’s Crescent City Council meeting. We sat down with Griffin beforehand and asked him about his rise through the ranks, the top issues facing the city - and just how big a role did Mel Gibson play in influencing Griffin’s interest in a law-enforcement career. QUESTION: You started at the lowest rung on the totem pole at the sheriff’s office as a civilian, before working your way up to correctional officer, deputy, task force, detective sergeant, then patrol sergeant. RICHARD GRIFFIN: If I remember right, I was
Q: Was that what you had in mind when you wanted to pursue law enforcement? Officer Richard Griffin is sworn in as new chief of police for Crescent City during Monday night’s Crescent City Council meeting. Photo by David Hayes. making right at $7 an hour, and, yeah, as a civilian clerk at the jail, so you run the paperwork from the courts and you press the button to
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the doors for the jailers. That was September 2005, when I started. Q: How did you end up
in the Crescent City area? GRIFFIN: My dorm advisor at Southern Oregon University is Clint Schaad, who
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GRIFFIN: No, but I knew when I got into it that was to open doors so I could get into it. I could progress through it, if I played my cards right and kept my nose to the grindstone. So, yeah, my More Chief on Page A4
Sun. fire destroys Fort Dick structures A
Staff Report
fire destroyed two Fort Dick buildings and a car late last Sunday morning. Two adults and four children escaped the 11:30 a.m. fire uninjured with two of their dogs. The other two dogs perished in the flames. The Fort Dick Fire Department responded to the fire, which had been reported to the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office dispatcher by one of the neighbors. Crescent City Fire and Rescue and the Pelican Bay State Prison Fire Department responded as well. By the time firefighters More Fire on Page A6
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