GATOR NATION TO ROCK BROOKINGS see Page B1
SATURDAY August 24, 2019
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Teachers show up en masse to spur negotiations Staff Report
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ore than 200 teachers from California and Oregon attended the Del Norte Unified School District Board of Directors meeting Aug. 22 to make a collective, sometimes emotional plea to return contract
negotiations to the bargaining table. Wearing t-shirts imprinted #RedforEd, speaker after speaker shared personal stories of why they embarked on a career in education and deserved more from the district for their efforts. After six months of
negotiations and seven meetings, the Del Norte Unified School District remains firm on a one-percent increase to the teachers’ salary schedule. Meanwhile, Del Norte Teachers Association members insisted their negotiators have proposed numerous compromises to no
avail, leading both sides to agree June 28 to an impasse in their talks. Patsy Shelton, a seventh-grade English teacher at Crescent Elk Middle School, said her 22-year-old son, Wyatt, is an entry-level firefighter for the California Department of Forestry and
Fire Protection, doing seasonal work, and will make more money than she does this year. “When I told him what I was doing this afternoon, he told me, ‘Mom, if they don’t think you’re valuable enough for a raise, they must not know what you do.’
“And I think he’s right, because he has come to my classroom and spent a whole day there,” Shelton said. “I put out more fires than he ever will. More Teachers on Page A5
LOCAL ROASTERS
The latest from a trio of coffee purveyors
By Linda Pinkham Staff Writer offee is an essential part of the morning routine for most people - but what do you really know about your morning brew? The Triplicate visited with three local coffee roasters to find out what they do, how they do it, and where to get the freshest locally roasted coffee around.
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Wild Rivers Coffee In Crescent City, Wild Rivers Coffee is a smallbatch roaster dedicated to using only organic, Fair Trade coffee. Norris Harper, Jr. became interested in roasting coffee in 2012. “I was looking for a new business venture, and all the research I did made me believe that coffee roasting was the next big thing,” Harper said. In August 2013, he joined a week-long class in Idaho where he learned the basics of roasting, how to create a flavor profile so he could duplicate the roasts, and the different stages of the roast that can be used to manipulate the flavor of the coffee bean. The class was offered by Stephen Diedrich at his Diedrich Roasters manufacturing facility near Sandpoint. Harper opened Wild Rivers Coffee in June 2015 and began selling at the Crescent City farmers markets. His coffee is available in Crescent City at Wild Rivers Market, The Mail Room, Del Norte Office Supply and the Rumiano Cheese Store. Enotica, Mystic Bean and Java Hut Express in WalMart serve his coffee. “As far as I know, I’m the only roaster in the region that roasts coffee on a fluid-bed roaster,” Harper said. “My coffee is suspended on hot air and roasted very similarly to the way a hot-air popcorn popper works. More Coffee on Page A3
(Main Photo) After roasting, the coffee beans are dumped into a bin where a powerful fan cools the beans at Nectar of Life Coffee. (Upper Right) Norris Harper, Jr. talks coffee with a customer at the Crescent City Downtown Farmers Market. (Lower Right) Martin Jennings checks the settings on Nectar of Life’s custom-made coffee roaster. It uses a forced-air system to regulate temperatures and separate the chaff and soot from the roasted beans. Photo courtesy Nectar of Life.
RV parking enforcement may be having an impact A
Staff Report
dramatic reduction in the number of RVs and unhitched trailers on downtown streets near Crescent City’s waterfront suggests stepped-up enforcement of new parking regulations is having an impact. The city enacted an ordinance in July that bans unhitched trailers entirely. In addition, it limits parking to a maximum of eight
hours for oversized vehicles exceeding 22 feet, or that are 7 feet tall and 7 feet wide. “We don’t expect to cite a lot (of violators) because the community will be responsive once they’re aware of this,” Chief of Police Ivan Minsal told the City Council on Aug. 19. “Some of the folks will have to make arrangements for larger vehicles for storage. We’ve reached out over the last six or eight weeks
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to folks with large RVs that this was coming and to start preparing for it.” New signage has gone up on Howe Drive along Beachfront Park, and on B Street along the dirt culvert areas, Minsal said. As for documenting the illegally parked vehicles, said Minsal, “A couple of court cases have said don’t physically touch vehicles. So there will be no more chalking of tires like in the old days.”
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Instead, officers will use measuring tapes, digital cameras and their cell phones to document violattions before leaving a warning notice. Forms will be filed in the department’s case-management system to track repeat offenders and chronic complainers “so we have better ways to serve the public and advise those people in violation of parking ordnances,” he said.
FORECAST TODAY
City names two as interim police chiefs With Chief of Police Ivan Minsal retiring Sept. 8, Crescent City officials have named two interim replacements while the search for a permanent hire continues. Sergeant Ed Wilson will be the active chief for the month of September and Sgt. Jennifer Owens will assume the same job for October, City Manager Eric Wier recently told the City Council.
Wier said the city’s application process will close Sept. 16. “Then we’ll schedule interviews, probably have a couple panels conduct those interviews, and hopefully have a final selection made mid to late October, depending on the candidate and their background investigation requirements,” Wier said. The new chief could be in position as early as November, said Wier, or as late as December or early January.
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