TRP211

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Virtual conservation lecture ................ A11

Riverside performance off a bridge .... A10

SERVING DEL NORTE COUNTY SINCE 1879 www.triplicate.com

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2022

Crescent City, CA

Del Norte County to lift mask mandate February 15 By DAVID RUPKALVIS The Triplicate

Beginning February 15, face coverings will no longer be required in most cases in Del Norte County. Public Health Officer Dr. Aaron Stutz told the city council of

Crescent City cases were starting to decline and he was going to align local health orders with the state orders. Earlier this week, California officials announced its order requiring face masks indoors would be lifted February 15. Stutz told the council with

the state order being lifted, local orders regarding COVID restrictions would take place. “It will be rescinded and we will revert to the rules that were in place,” Stutz told the council. “I will be modifying our own official covering orders to align with that date. That will mean

you will no longer have to wear a mask in public.” The exception will remain in healthcare facilities as well as in public transit. Stutz told the council there were 270 active cases in Del Norte County with seven COVID patients in the hospital

and one in ICU. “The state has seen significant improvement from last week and the week before,”Stutz said. “We’ve never had too many hospitalizations from this current surge. However, I did work in the Please see MASKS, Page A9

Del Norte County to consider license to curtail teen tobacco use By DAVID RUPKALVIS The Triplicate

Incredible comeback carries Warriors to second place at section wrestling tournament Contributed photo

The Del Norte Warriors rallied late in a match against Casa Grande to place second in the section wrestling tournament.

By Ray Hamill For the Triplicate

The Del Norte Warriors mounted an incredible comeback at Saturday’s North Coast Section Redwood Empire Division-II Dual Meet Championships, on their way to placing second. After comfortably getting the better of Windsor, 58-16, in their opening match-up, the No. 3 seed Warriors then faced off against No. 2 Casa Grande in the semifinal round and pulled out a thrilling 42-40 win. The Warriors trailed 40-18 with four matches remaining, and not only did they need to win all four of them, but they needed to win all of them by a pin. Alex Osbourne, Eric Stansbury, Andre Aflegue and Isaac Lopez all then came through with pins to secure the thrilling victory, with Osbourne winning his match in the final two seconds.

“That was probably the most exciting dual meet I have ever been a part of,” said head coach Clinton Schaad, who has been coaching for 20 years. “Everybody wrestled really well across the board.” A young Del Norte team that featured just three seniors on a roster of 15 would go on to lose 55-21 to Ukiah in the championship match, but it was another strong showing for the program against the biggest schools in the Redwood Empire. It was also the third straight NCS dual meet championships where they placed second, all three times to Ukiah. “The H-DNL does well competing with those bigger schools,” Schaad said. “We were very happy with how we wrestled. You always want more, but sometimes you’ve got to sit back and think about the accomplishment.”

The Warriors will now turn their attention to this Saturday’s H-DNL Championships, which will be held at Del Norte High School. The boys and girls tournaments will feature competitors from all nine H-DNL wrestling programs, and Schaad is expecting a competitive meet. “We’re super excited,” Schaad said. “It’s been a heck of a year for all the teams to compete, and every team has kids that can win a league title. “I think this year we’re a little more even across the board.” Despite the relative youth of many of this year’s league teams, the Del Norte coach believes the quality of high school wrestling in the area is on the rise. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years and I think the H-DNL has gotten better,” he said. “We’re getting more and more kids out of our youth programs, and our

youth programs have come a long way and are feeding the high school programs.” Weigh-ins for Saturday’s tournament will begin at 9 a.m., and the first matches will begin at 11 a.m., with the championship round expected to start around 4 p.m. Four spectators will be allowed per wrestler and the tournament will be streamed live through the Del Norte High School website. There was no official league team championship handed out last season, but Del Norte is the two-time defending boys team champion, having placed first in 2019 and 2020. The Warriors will be favorites again this week. “I think everybody would like to win it,” Schaad said. “For my guys and girls, I would like to see them go out there and wrestle to the best of their ability and go out there and give their all.”

File photo

After struggling to hire new police officers, the city council in Crescent City voted to start paying for recruits to go through the police academy.

Council supports plan to pay for police recruits

City would cover expense for academy, officers could work off debt By DAVID RUPKALVIS The Triplicate

In an effort bring new police officers to Crescent City, the city council unanimously voted to pay the way through the academy for

officers willing to work in the city. The unanimous vote will set aside around $10,000 for each recruit to attend the 23-week police academy. City Manager Eric Weir said the city needs to look for a differ-

ent way to recruit officers because Crescent City has struggled to find new officers. The city had to even return a grant because it was unable to find an officer to fill the grant-funded position. “We have several opportu-

Founders of lighthouse society honored Salute to U.S. Coast Guard AT TRIPLICATE.COM

nities to increase our police force and improve the job we’re doing,” Weir told the council. “Most agencies are going through this exact same situation Please see RECRUITS, Page A9

The Del Norte County Board of Supervisors agreed to consider implementing a tobacco retail license in an attempt to slow down youth vaping. Amber Wier, project director for NorCal 4 Health, asked supervisors to take the step during a regular meeting this week. Wier said she has worked in tobacco use prevention for five years. “This last year, I have had a renewed sense of urgency to deal with this issue,” Wier said. “I have it because my daughter started high school. She came home and told me what she has seen. It’s really scared me about what’s going on.” At the supervisor’s meeting, Wier brought two members of the Del Norte High School STORM Youth Coalition. She said a recent study in the county revealed 11% of seventh graders, 9% of ninth graders and 22% of 11th graders reported vaping in the last month. One teen said the STORM coalition interviewed their peers about vaping. “What stood out to me is it was the kids I wasn’t expecting who were vaping,” she said. “Addictive flavors are what encourages students to vape. Cigarettes are known as stress relievers, however due to the stigma of cigarettes, students have turned to vapes.” The student said vaping has become popular because of the fancy flavors added, pointing to cotton candy, grape and other fruit flavors. “These exotic flavors encourage students to vape more,” she said. “If you want to decrease teen vaping, we can remove the flavors.” Sienna, a sophomore at Del Norte High, said she sees vaping every day. Over time, I have tried to use the bathroom, and they have been constantly full of girls vaping. It smells disgusting,” she said. “Teens are getting these products from family members and friends who are over 21. It is passed around among students who want to vape. Basically it takes one sibling over 21 to do it and a teen becomes a dealer. We’re asking you to help us. We think the most effective thing you can do is get rid of flavors altogether.” Wier said there are already educational programs at the schools, with close to $1 million spent annually in Del Norte County alone. Please see TABACCO, Page A2

INDEX Crossword................................................A3 Classifieds................................................A5 Crossword Answers..................................A8

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