SERVING DEL NORTE COUNTY SINCE 1879
www.triplicate.com
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2020
Crescent City, CA
Former firefighter honored for service By David Rupkalvis The Triplicate
David Robert Soule spent his entire adult life helping the community of Crescent City. Last month, two months after he died suddenly at the age of 37, the Crescent City Council said thank you by honoring Soule with the Service Above Self award named in honor of longtime Fire Chief Steve Wakefield. Soule began helping his community while just a child, starting as an explorer with the Del Norte Ambulance at age 14. The day he turned 18, he became the
youngest licensed EMT in California history and soon after began volunteering with the Crescent Fire Protection District. For the rest of his life, he volunteered to help his community. While working full-time as a truck driver and also at Pelican Bay State Prison, he continued to take shifts as EMT with Del Norte Ambulance. He maintained his EMT certification until he died. Recently, Fire Chief Bill Gillespie welcomed Soule’s wife, Nicole, and their children, Derek and Jocelynn, at his office to hear the honor be announced. Gillespie said Soule was
deserving of the honor. “David did truly embrace the spirit of service above self,” Gillespie said. “For me, and I know a bunch of the department, we miss David. We miss him, we miss his giggle and we definitely miss his smile.” Mayor Blake Inscore read a proclamation from the city about the award and said he would be proud to sign it and present it to Soule’s family.
Courtesy Photo
Right: David Robert Soule.
Schools to remain open By David Rupkalvis The Triplicate
“Once that happened I jumped out of my car and so did the man parked next to me. I yelled at him to call 911 and ran down to the boys; there was another man running down and also a lady showed up, too. The gentleman who called 911 also came down. We were all in the surf, up to about high shin level, trying to keep Zac’s head above water; he was conscious, but lifeless other than facial expressions.” The rescuers used the kayak to move Zac to a safer place out of the surf. “About five of us lifted Zac gently as we could, keeping him as stable as we could, into the kayak,” Lange continued. “I was on his feet end and we all escorted Zac, in the boat, up to the sea wall to wait for first responders.” “The spot that I dove into was far shallower than I was expecting,” Abblitt said in a video
While the surge in COVID-19 cases is making a lot of changes necessary in Del Norte County, there is one major exception local schools. Earlier this week, Jeff Harris, superintendent of Del Norte Unified School District, announced in-school classes would continue. “Under the guidelines, our schools can and will remain open just as they have since October,” Harris said. “We’ve also been working collaboratively with the Del Norte Department of Public Health to ensure our schools and our processes are in compliance with state guidelines.” Harris said the district was determined to keep schools open, but he said to keep in-person classes available, parents and students must do their part. “If your child is symptomatic or has been in close contact with a known COVID case, please keep them home,” Harris said. “Remember, every day your child should be doing the daily screening. By the same token, if an adult in the home is symptomatic or has been in close contact with someone with COVID-19, we highly recommend keeping your student home.” Harris said there are two reasons to close schools in state guidelines. The one teachers, parents and students have control over is limiting COVID in schools. If any school reaches 5 percent of students with COVID cases in a two-week period, the school would be forced to close to in-person education. If 25 percent of schools in a district close, the entire district will be forced to shut down to in-person classes. Harris said while the district wants to limit COVID exposure, he also wanted to remind parents that students must be in class, whether in person or virtually. “We want to make sure your children are in school,” he said.
Please see Accident, Page A3
Please see Schools, Page A3
Contributed photo from Zachary Abblitt Recovery Facebook page
Brookings teen Zac Abblitt is loaded onto a stretcher for transport to the local hospital after a surfing accident. He eventually was airlifted to Mercy Hospital in Redding, CA.
Teen injured in surfing accident LINDA PINKHAM
slight movement in his arms but no movement in his hands and no feeling below his chest.” Brookings resident Michael Lange was parked at the beach that day while eating his lunch and was watching the two teenage boys playing in the surf, one on a kayak and one on a surfboard. “It was a ‘shore break’ day, meaning the waves were breaking close to shore as opposed to
out further in the water,” Lange said. “I could tell the boys were having a great time, laughing and enjoying the beautiful day and a decent swell, three to four feet on the sets coming in.” According to Lange, the boys placed the boat and the board up on the beach and ran up to the boardwalk and sea wall area to visit a friend. Meanwhile, a wave came up to the surf toys and started to take one out to the ocean. Two girls who were with the boys were laughing about it. “At that time, Zac and the other boy, Daniel, ran down the beach to help the girls get the items back up on the beach,” Lange said. “Zac went after the kayak and when the wave receded back into the surf, Zac dove head first in to the shallows. I did not see Zac come up from the dive and then I saw Daniel run to get him; he was struggling to retrieve Zac from the surf.
announced that we were moving to Tier 1, it wasn’t possible to continue with parade plans,” the Divas said in a press release. “We made this decision after consultation with city officials, and out of concern for the safety of our citizens, participants and volunteers.” The Divas said the pandemic has made it difficult to host downtown events they typically do, but the group said shopping locally and spending money with mom-and-pop businesses has never been more important. “It is imperative that our community step up and shop local whenever possible as
small businesses will be some of the hardest hit with this recent change during the holiday season when normal sales can hold a business over through the slower winter months,” the press release stated. For information on the Downtown Divas and the events they host, visit www.downtowndivas. org. A festive Christmas parade and tree lighting hosted by the Crescent City Downtown Divas has kicked off the holiday season for several years. This year, however, a surge in COVID-19 cases forced the events to be canceled.
Walk/Run Fundraising Event
Country Media
Zachary Abblitt, age 18, of Brookings fractured his C5 and C6 neck vertebrae while surfing with his friend at Sporthaven Beach at the Port of Brookings Harbor on Nov. 20. “He was pulled from the surf by his friend Daniel (Strom), transported to the local hospital via ambulance and by that evening was flown to Mercy Medical Center in Redding, where he is today,” said his uncle Kevin Knoll. “Zac had no feeling below his neck and was in surgery the day he arrived in Redding to remove part of the two vertebrae that were pinching his spinal column. Doctors also put a plug/ fastener in its place to stabilize. The following day he underwent surgery again to have a stabilizing plate put in the back of his neck. He has since regained
When: Sat Dec. 5, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Where: Brookings HS Track Admission: $5 donation Due to COVID restrictions a limited number of people can be on the track simultaneously. RSVP ahead of time by phoning 541-254-3860. The event is hosted by a former Cross Country Teammate of Zac’s, Miranda.
Christmas parade, tree lighting canceled The Triplicate The Christmas parade and tree lighting scheduled for Friday has been canceled due to the continuing rise of COVID-19 in Crescent City and Del Norte County. The Crescent City Downtown Divas announced the cancellation Monday, citing the move of Del Norte County to Tier 1. The most-restrictive tier in California limits public events. “After working on a creative plan to hold a reverse parade with the city of Crescent City, when the Del Norte County Public Health Department
INDEX Crossword................................................A5 Crossword Answers..................................B3 Classifieds................................................B1
Contributed
A festive Christmas parade and tree lighting hosted by the Crescent City Downtown Divas has kicked off the holiday season for several years. This year, however, a surge in COVID-19 cases forced the events to be canceled.
FORECAST TIDES
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
57 45
56 45
SUNDAY
55 42
HIGH LOW HIGH LOW
Friday 2:44 AM 7:28 AM 1:07 PM 8:28 PM
Saturday Sunday 3:34 AM 4:24 AM 8:23 AM 5:80 AM 1:55 PM 2:55 PM 9:16 PM 10:07 PM
$1.50