New casino opens today .................. A12
Crisis team honored ..... A2
SERVING DEL NORTE COUNTY SINCE 1879 www.triplicate.com
FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2022
Crescent City, CA
Police arrest suspect in child abduction By DANIEL J. SCHMIDT Editor
Nevada police have arrested Santos Flores, a suspect in an alleged child abduction of his 14-year-old stepdaughter who voluntarily left home to visit him last July. The child is a member of the Yurok Tribe. Local law enforcement
agencies had been working “on a daily basis” with the FBI, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and other local agencies in Redding, Sonoma and Santa Rosa areas, according to Crescent City Police Chief Richard Griffin. The child was last seen in by her parents in July 2021. Police believe that the child voluntarily left her home in Crescent City to
stay with her stepfather in Santa Rosa. Flores is currently married to the child’s mother, Sheila Reed. The child abduction charge arises from the suspect’s failure or unwillingness to return the child to her mother or father, Brandon Whisenant. A child abduction under Penal Code section 278 occurs when
a “person, not having a right to custody... maliciously takes, entices away, keeps, withholds, or conceals any child with the intent to detain or conceal that child from a lawful custodian.” The offense can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony. “There is no indication of danger,” Chief Griffin said. An arrest warrant was ob-
tained when Flores failed to meet with law enforcement at a scheduled interview. A Nevada officer observed the Flores vehicle engaged in a traffic violation, the officer initiated a stop, and, during the subsequent detention, was informed of the California warrant. The child will be reunited with her parents.
Man arrested for bringing firearm on Del Norte High School campus The Triplicate
Photo by Daniel J. Schmidt/The Triplicate
Sutter Coast Hospital nurses picket outside the facility following failed negotiations in their effort to increase nursing staff levels, secure procurement of personal protective equipment, and preserve salary and benefits packages.
Sutter Coast nurses voice concerns By DANIEL J. SCHMIDT Editor
Nurses at Sutter Coast Hospital in Crescent City went on strike Monday morning after contract negotiations stalled on the issues of safe staffing levels, protective equipment in the post-pandemic environment and employee benefits. “There’s not enough full-time nurses,” according to Andrea Weaver, an emergency room
nurse. In her unit, approximately 50 percent of the nurses are fulltime. “Sometimes there’s only one full-time nurse per shift,” she said. The gap is filled by the use of “travelers” – nurses who work under three-month contracts before moving on to other assignments at different hospitals. Travelers, Weaver said, are required to have only one year of experience as a registered nurse, and are permitted to “self-report”
their level of experience without independent verification. Many “have no E.R. experience.” The shortage of full-time experienced nurses has resulted in reassignments that placed less experienced travelers in assignments that require more experience. “Charge nurses are taking on patient assignments,” said Amber Foust, an intensive care unit nurse. “Some travelers then take on the charge nurse assignment.”
Workplace violence issues are also emerging. Del Norte County does not have an in-patient mental health facility. “We are holding mental health patients in the E.R. for days to weeks sometimes,” Weaver said. Some mental health patients “have attempted to assault nurses while they were on duty.” A flyer produced by the California Nurses Association and distributed by the striking nurses Please see STRIKE, Page A3
A 21-year-old male was arrested April 8 for bringing a firearm onto the back lot of the Del Norte High School campus according to the Crescent City Police Department. At about 12:30 p.m., Officer Sanders was notified by school administration that an unknown person driving a truck, with a known student in Ethan Hayward the passenJames ger seat, brandished what appeared to be an assault weapon, but was potentially a “splat-gun” in the back lot of the high school. The school administration showed Officer Sanders surveillance footage of the truck. Please see FIREARM, Page A2
Cycle tourists pass through Del Norte County in epic North American journey
Yurok Tribe endorses Masten for 5th District supervisor
By DANIEL J. SCHMIDT
The Triplicate
Editor
Greg Hindy and Nicole Emanuel, along with four-legged passengers Pablo and Parka, have only four or five thousand miles left to pedal before they complete a year-long (or seven dog-year) tour of Western North America. They both completed their master’s degrees in literature at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, in May 2021, and have traveling continuously since then on their tandem bicycle and custom-built trailer that is big enough to accommodate “100 pounds of dogs” and all the rest of their gear. Beginning in Fairbanks, Alaska, the dynamic duo pedaled south through Canada, all the way down to Texas, west to California, then along the coast north into Oregon. From somewhere north of California, they will turn east to take advantage of westerly tailwinds to push them Please see CYCLISTS, Page A3
Photo by Daniel J. Schmidt/The Triplicate
Nicole Emanuel and Greg Hindy repair a flat tire on their tandem bicycle, then prepare to take off on the next leg of their epic North American journey. Along for the ride are passengers Pablo and Parka.
Susan Masten’s experience in economic development, natural resources management and good governance has earned her the endorsement of the Yurok Tribal Council for the Fifth District seat on the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors. Masten, a former Yurok Tribal chairperson, is a Yurok citizen. She is considered a “nationally Susan Masten renowned tribal leader, a successful entrepreneur and political leader. “She knows how to make things happen,” said Joseph L. James, chairman of the Yurok Tribe. “Sue is a born leader with bold vision to create new jobs, elevate the economy and enhance the natural environment in the Fifth Please see MASTEN, Page A2
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