Condors to soon be released .................. A11
Sounds of Argentina concert ..... A10
SERVING DEL NORTE COUNTY SINCE 1879 www.triplicate.com
FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2022
Crescent City, CA
History to be sold during Don Nuss auction Nuss speed shop, racing cars, motorcycles and tools to be sold By DANIEL J. SCHMIDT Editor
Redwood Welding Services was one of those places that was so much more than its name implied. Welding they did. Its owner, the late Don Nuss, was regarded as one of the best welders in the area. From iron, steel and aluminum to some of the more exotic stuff, Nuss had to do it right, because the work he did would be holding together the cars and motorcycles he designed and built to set world land speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Redwood Welding Services also offered a complete metal fabrication and machine shop services. He and his crew could fold, bend, roll, crimp, cut and drill holes in sheet metal, and turn, bore, mill, bend, grind, polish, thread and otherwise completely transform a chunk of metal into a unique automotive component that he invented for his racers. Please see NUSS, Page A2
Photo by Daniel J. Schmidt/The Triplicate
Don Nuss set land speed records with the vehicles he made in his shop in Crescent City. After his death last year, the items in that shop, including vehicles like this one, will go up for auction next month.
Letting loose with big dreams for Crescent City This vocalist knows how to sell you a car and take you for a musical journey By DANIEL J. SCHMIDT Editor
He is known by day as Michael Goppert, sales consultant at Pacific Auto Sales in Crescent City where he guides his customers to the car they want for the reasons they want it. At night, it is a different tune. As a vocalist and songwriter, Goppert takes his audience to a place they otherwise might not dare to go. Wicked Intent is the name of his band. The intent? “To bring the vibe, feeling and freedom to those ground down by what’s been going on all around us,” Gobbert said. Known as Michael G on stage, he gyrates and twists while straining and grasping at the microphone like a desperate man dangling from a helicopter. And, when a song takes a pause, he emits animalistic shrieks as if he was in the final stage of purging some demon from deep inside. Yet, Michael G is always in control. Elvis would do no better had he lived to see this day. Wicked Intent bandmates provide a pleasing and familiar sound, as comforting as a backup generator during a power outage. And each member provides his own frequent flourishes of solo musicality that reminds audiences that they are listening to classic Rock n’ Roll. The songs are a mixture of familiar old tunes, plus others from Michael G’s own hand
and heart. And when performed on stage, they speak directly to each person. To the men in the crowd, his unspoken message was, “Hey, buddy, it’s okay to let loose every once in a while.” And to the women: “See babe, even decades of decadence can’t stop you ‘cause you got the right stuff.” He would know. Mike G came of age in the grimy rat-infested bars where “you could feel and smell the edge” to the music. “Rock ‘n Roll of the 60s, 70s and 80s was the greatest music ever created,” he said. “I sat at the feet of those artists.” You write a song if you see something. “Find the depth, the height. If it is serious, make it serious. If it is light, make it light.” For a town that where “the sidewalks roll up at 7 p.m., Mike G has high hopes for the future of Crescent City. “With just a little thought, this place could be like Santa Cruz.” South Beach, he said, could have a boardwalk lined with shops and boutiques. “Doctors’ wives would be begging their husbands to stay here because they finally have somewhere to shop.” There could be surf contests, shows and concerts, a “real California gotta go to” place.” he added. “Why are kids so messed up with meth and other stupid drugs?” he asks. “Because there’s
Photo by Daniel J. Schmidt/The Triplicate
Please see VOCALIST, Page A2
Michael G grew up in the grimy-infested rat bars in California and he still finds joy performing in Crescent City. A member of Wicked Intent, he believes Crescent City could become a destination for music lovers.
Youth hoops team upsets the odds at Eureka tourney By RAY HAMILL For the Triplicate
The future of girls basketball in Del Norte County appears to be in good hands. Earlier this month, four youth teams from the county traveled to Eureka to compete at The Athlete Factory end of
season tournament in Eureka, including a group of 7-9 year olds who upset the odds to win their championship. And they did it with some clutch defense, winning three straight games, all in one day. “We were pretty much underdogs in the tournament,” head coach Andrew Salas said.
“We had to play three games in one day to go all the way and it was tough. The girls were tired and beat and they just pushed through.” According to Salas, the Del Norte teams made the decision to compete this season in Eureka after the local youth recreation league was canceled this year,
and there were enough girls to field four different teams — two at the 7-9 age group and two in the 10-12 age group — all of which made the trip south several times over the past two months just to compete. In addition to the 7-9 White Team’s championship victory, the Del Norte 7-9 Yellow Team
placed third in their tournament and one of the two 10-12 teams made it to their tournament championship. And that points to a bright future for girls basketball in the county. “I do think so,” Salas said. “These girls are up and coming, Please see HOOPS, Page A2
INDEX
AT TRIPLICATE.COM
Obituaries.................................... A3 Crossword................................... A9 Classifieds................................... A5 Crossword Answers.................... A6 Weather..................................... A12
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