WEEKEND EDITION
FRIDAY, April 3, 2020
S E R V I N G O U R C O M M U N I T Y S I N C E 18 7 9 • W W W. T R I P L I C AT E . C O M
NCC Blood Bank needs blood during pandemic Staff Report
Just like during any natural disaster, the regional blood supply needs replenishing while communities recover, or in this case, shelter in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kate Witthaus, Northern California Community Blood (NCCBB) CEO, said the need for blood donors has not abated during the pandemic. “If you are feeling well
and healthy, your donation is badly needed. The national blood supply is at risk due to COVID-19 mitigation efforts,” Witthaus said. Witthaus said nationally, more than 4,000 drives have been canceled, resulting in 130,000 fewer blood donations, down from 30-40% this same time last year. Locally, the Northern California Community Blood Bank supplies blood to hospitals in both
Del Norte and Humboldt counties. The NCCBB is losing out on 38% of its donations from those ages 65 and older and 24% from those in school, due to self-quarantining. Witthaus said it is safe to donate blood during the coronavirus outbreak, as only individuals feeling healthy and without fever are ever allowed to give blood. “The Northern California Community Blood Bank has many decades of
experience maintaining a healthy clinical environment and following strict regulatory protocol by the FDA and other health agencies,” Witthaus said, adding that there is no evidence that COVID-19 or any other coronaviruses can be transmitted by blood transfusion. NCCBB can host blood drives while maintaining social distancing guidelines. Witthaus said blood drives bring together groups of people, but they
are not “mass gatherings.” Rather, they are controlled events conducted with healthy people using appropriate infection control mechanisms to assure the safety of the blood, the donors and the staff, she said. While some NCCBB regional blood donation events were canceled, several are still planned in Crescent City in April: • Bloodmobile will be at Wal Mart, located at 900 East Washington
Blvd. from 1-6 p.m. April 3 • Platelets drive at the Del Norte Fair Ground, 421 U.S. Highway 101, from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. April 6, call for an appointment • Bloodmobile at Safeway, 476 M. St., from 1-6 p.m. April 7 To learn more or to sign up for a donation event, call NCCBB at 707-4438004 or go to their website www.nccbb.org.
County certifies primary election Staff Report
T
Crescent City Foursquare Church has been having services via Zoom Video Communications as people stay home during the coronavirus pandemic. Churches in the area are using the internet to get their message out. Screenshot by David Hayes.
Pastors provide services through online technology David Hayes Staff Reporter
A
s the social distancing guidelines to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus extend into the first week of April, local pastors are turning to technology to provide essential services to their congregations. Roger Bodenstab, Lead Pastor at Crescent City Foursquare Church, turned to a format he’s quite familiar with — Zoom Video Communications. Bodenstab said he’s used the online platform to participate in remote conferences in the past. Now, with the limitation of gatherings of 10 people or more, Bodenstab has created Foursquare’s Zoom Church. Last weekend, Bodenstab said 78 homes tuned into services through Zoom, a platform he prefers to live streaming through Facebook. “It is challenging. I miss the people. But through Zoom, I get to see and hear everybody. It’s more personal than Facebook live. I don’t do services in an empty room live well,” Bodenstab said. “Zoom allows us to break into smaller study groups, time to pray together and check-in with each other.” Bodenstab hopes to have a Zoom Church specifically for kids this weekend. The ladies and men’s Bible study groups and the Celebrate Recovery Group are also using Zoom for their
get-togethers. He said not as many from his congregation log into Zoom as with the live stream, as it’s been averaging 450 people on the weekend. Pastor Bob Wheeler from Crescent City Church of the Nazarene continues to live stream services on the church’s Facebook page. He said a blessing to come out of this situation is for those who haven’t paid much attention to the internet have been pushed into using it. “If you want to communicate with folks, the internet’s the best alternative,” Wheeler said. Wheeler added he also uses Zoom to host bible studies with groups of 10-15 participating. “What’s really cool is we have folks that from time to time join who don’t live in town but like the church,” Wheeler said. “We have one from Sacramento who visits here, who feels this is her church, who joins us on Zoom.” He expects others, who normally travel to Crescent City to get away from the summer heat, to take advantage of the Zoom app to still engage remotely with the church. Wheeler said he shared an email with his congregation that relates to the current situation, Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” “God has pointed us to something we can use to bring good news to people when all wondering what is next,” Wheeler said. “It’s a peaceful
thing for me as a believer, regardless of what’s going on, all things God works for the good of those who love him.” Wheeler said he still has a handful of attendees during the live stream service, making sure never to have more than six, including one who is less tech-savvy, and practicing social distancing's rule of six feet apart. He added that even though Del Norte County hasn’t had a confirmed case of the coronavirus yet, it’s just a matter of when, not if, it gets here. That’s why it’s important to prepare for its arrival through precautions now, he said. However, he admits it is an odd experience preaching to a near-empty sanctuary. “My kudos to the people who do this on TV and act like they can see you in your living room and are talking directly to you,” Wheeler said. “But there’s no substitute for human interaction. We know you can’t survive without human interaction. I miss a good hug, a hardy handshake, the things Americans do on a regular basis.” He added Zoom and live streaming still have their benefits in these times. “The upside is people can still hear about God working for good. People still have a lot of opportunities to receive messages from pastors. Only this is messages on steroids. It’s something we’ll all get through,” Wheeler said.
Yurok Tribe implements closure on tribal lands Staff Report The Yurok Tribe, as part of its state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, has closed all tribal lands to non-residents. Effective immediately, all Yurok Tribal lands, parks, preserves, beaches and boat launches, including all camping and overnight stays, are closed to non-residents. “By eliminating additional visitors, we are limiting the exposure to our Tribal members and community,” tribe officials stated. This decision has been made due to the recent recommendations by
the CDC, Yurok Office of Emergency Services (YOES) and other government agencies, in the continued effort to slow the current COVID-19 Pandemic. “The health and welfare of our Tribal members, residents and employees are our number one priority and we feel it is best for the community to remain closed until further notice,” officials stated. There has been an influx of travelers and visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic and YOES determined that it was creating a public health risk in the community. The Yurok Tribe is encouraging the
FORECAST
INDEX FRIDAY
SATURDAY
community to stay local, practice social distancing and limit essential purchases to once a week. The closures comply with the Yurok Tribes Emergency Declaration issued, March 13. “For community health and safety please respect the closures and stay home whenever possible,” officials stated. “We apologize for any inconvenience and we will notify the public with any updates on a tentative re-open date.” If you have any questions or concerns, contact Serene Hayden, Incident Commander, at shayden@ yuroktribe.nsn.us. In the event of an Fri
SUNDAY
Crosswords..............................................A4 Crossword Answers..................................A5 Classifieds...............................................6-8 Weather....................................................A8
51 44
51 42
48 39
HIGH LOW HIGH LOW
emergency, call 911. “The Yurok Tribe is committed to stopping the spread of COVID-19 and will increase enforcement and restrictions on tribal lands as needed, based on public health guidance,” officials stated. “The leadership and many dedicated staff are tireless in their efforts to mitigate a very difficult situation. The Yurok Tribe is working to stay ahead of the curve and will be updating public messaging in the upriver and downriver communities, on the Tribe’s Facebook Page and local sandwich board notification stations.”
TIDES
Sat
he Del Norte County Elections office certified the March 3 primary and the District 2 Supervisor race and officially between incumbent Lori Cowan and challenger Valarie Starkey in the Nov. 3 general election. According to County Clerk Alissia Northup, Cowan was the top votegetter with 492 votes and Starkey beat out Crescent City Harbor board member James Ramsey by just nine votes, 371 to 362. “It was so close,” Starkey told The Triplicate. “This is where you realize every vote does matter when an election comes down to that number.” Starkey said she was thrilled with the results and feels it validates her decision to run to represent a community after recently returning from a 30-year absence working as a probation officer in Sonoma County. Ramsey told The Triplicate all he could say is he didn’t get what he needed to win. “I guess the Lord must have had something else he needed me to do,” Ramsey said. “But I look at it I didn’t really lose. Rather, I made a lot of friends.” Cowan said she has been so busy with the county’s response to the COVID-19 coronavirus response, the primary result was the furthest thing from her mind. “To me it doesn’t matter either way who won,” Cowan told the Triplicate. “I’ll run my campaign the same way as before for the last three years.” Cowan said her priorities, once the county is past the current pandemic crisis, remain the Last Chance Grade, homelessness programs and supporting local nursing programs. “In front of me right now, however, is the coronavirus, how it effects our community. I’ll worry about the election later,” Cowan said. “The important thing is all the helping hands in our community. That’s the true story of every neighbor helping neighbor, no one doing one big, great thing.”
Sun
7:46 AM 8:57 AM 10:00 AM 2:58 PM 3:50 PM 4:37 AM 9:48 PM 10:26 PM 11:03 PM 1:58 AM 3:07 AM 4:04 AM $1.50