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WEDNESDAY August 14, 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
Local schools: ‘We’re working on absenteeism’ ByJeremy C. Ruark For The Triplicate
rates and developing solutions to lower those rates.
ith the new school year beginning in September, school officials in Crescent City, Brookings and Gold Beach said they’ll be closely monitoring student absenteeism
Del Norte Unified School District Supt. Jeff Harris of the Del Norte Unified School District said his district is making progress in helping all students get their
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education. The State of California defines chronic absenteeism as a student who misses 10 percent or more of their enrolled time within the school for any reason, including illness, bereavement, and others. Harris said that while
the state does allow excused absences for a list of defined reasons, all other absences count as unexcused, and in certain situations the student may be considered truant. “We have been working diligently with our schools, local partners,
media outlets, etc., to get information to parents and to remind them of the importance of attendance,” Harris said. As a result, Harris said, the trajectory has changed for the district’s students: • 2015-2016: The chronic absenteeism rate
was 24.2%, or almost 1 in 4 students missing 10 percent or more of the school year. • 2016-2017: The rate dropped to 20.9%. • 2017-2018: By More Schools on Page A4
Yurok Tribe members bake fresh Klamath River salmon, cooked the traditional way over an open fire. Photo courtesy Yurok Tribe.
A Festive Fish Fry
Yurok Tribe to host 57th-annual salmon festival
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Staff Report
he Yurok Tribe’s 57th-annual Klamath salmon festival is set for Aug. 17, with this year’s theme Skue’n ‘Owook (“Can’t Wait Until Tomorrow”). Held in Klamath, 21 miles south of Crescent City, the annual festival celebrates the bounty of the Klamath River. Fresh-caught Klamath salmon will be served for $11 and include water and three homemade side More Salmon on Page A3
In the service of the Lord – and the inmates By David Hayes Staff Writer
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here are numerous ways one might spend those golden years after retirement — traveling, spending more time with family and friends, pursuing a hobby … In 2001, Leo Appel was just one year away from retiring after owning a furniture store in Brookings for three decades, when he determined his golden years would be spent serving God. And now he’s Deacon Leo. The 72-year-old has been volunteering at Pelican Bay State Prison, just north of Cres-
cent City, for more than seven years now. For the five years following his retirement, Appel commuted from the south coast to Portland, earning a master’s degree in pastoral ministry from the University of Portland and Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. “I was very fortunate,” said Appel. “Twenty of us started and just three of us were ordained five years later.” Appel’s new career was to seek ordination as a deacon. He said two types of deacons serve the Catholic Church: A transitional deacon has one more year to go before being
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ordained a priest. The other type is a permanent deacon. “I’m a permanent deacon. This is a far as I want to go. I don’t want to be a priest, even should I have the opportunity to be,” he said. Both a priest and a deacon are ordained by the church, can perform marriages and baptisms, teach and preach. But a priest conducts Mass, said Appel; he does not. Nor is he paid by the church to serve as a deacon. In that regard, he said, he sees himself as an unpaid servant of the Lord. More Deacon on Page A5
Deacon Leo Appel stands outside Brookings Catholic Church Star of the Sea, where he performs many of his responsibilities helping those less fortunate. Photo by David Hayes.
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