WEEKEND EDITION
FRIDAY, MAY 01, 2020
SERVING OUR COMMUNITY SINCE 1879 • WWW.TRIPLICATE.COM
State denies vehicle request Del Norte asked to reopen car access to local parks By David Hayes The Triplicate
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The annual 4th of July celebration organized by the Crescent City/Del Norte Chamber of Commerce has been canceled due to the coronavirus.
A ‘heartbreaking’ decision 4th of July celebration is canceled due to COIVD-19 restrictions By David Hayes The Triplicate
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Crescent City/Del Norte Chamber of Commerce made “the extremely difficult” decision to cancel its 4th of July celebrations. Melodee Mitchell, Chair of the 4th of July Committee, said, “it was a heartbreaking decision for the committee to make. “We realize the ramifications to canceling the 4th of July celebration. However, we feel a responsibility to keep our community safe and to follow the mandated social distancing guidelines during the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Mitchell said. Cindy Vosburg, Executive Director of the Crescent City/Del Norte Chamber of Commerce, said the 4th of July committee had been meeting since February,
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The annual 4th of July celebration in Crescent City includes several events throughout the day such as a parade and deck party. planning this year’s event, which traditionally included a fireworks show, a deck party, parade and Beachfront Park festivities. “We were right on track for another year of outstanding family fun for our traditional Del Norte County American celebration. Then we got hit with the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Vosberg said. Once Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order banned large gatherings, it created a cancelation-domino effect, that started
with the chamber’s annual Economic Summit. Vosberg said it takes about four months to pull together the 4th of July celebration and one of the biggest decisions against proceeding was committing to the fireworks show. “We were actually past deadline for the $30,000 deposit for the fireworks show,” Vosberg said, adding the deposit was non-refundable and the committee would have been out that much money had the social
distancing guidelines still not been lifted. “Our research and discussions with city, county and health officials, everything we read, it sounds like to us we will not have any large gatherings in California until the earliest of September or October, or even into 2021,” Vosberg added. She counted all the celebration’s other events that would not fall under social distancing guidelines — the deck party? No, it’s a large party in a small space. The parade? It draws way too many to Crescent City’s streets. “We talked with Dr. Warren Reywaldt (Del Norte County Health Officer). He determined if we were to do a parade, who enforces the 6-foot distance rule? The parade draws hundreds that pack the streets,” Vosberg said. She said the agonizing part is much of the celebration is usually funded by local businesses that come up with more than $40,000 in sponsorship money. “But you need to be open and
Please see Fourth, Page A2
Free, out-of-this-world birthday cupcakes By David Hayes The Triplicate
Just four months into her home-baking cottage industry venture, Mary Corcovelos-Mullin had to shut down operations of Sticky Paws Baking Company to prevent exposure to the COVID-19 coronavirus for her and her partner. Her mother, Venita Corcovelos, who handles all the company’s finances while Mary does the baking, also has to handle cancer and chemo treatments every three weeks. “So, we had to close for the safety for our family and customers,” Corcovelos-Mullin said. “Our customers have been very understanding of it.” She added since the closure last month, she’s experienced myriad emotions resulting from the outpouring of kindness and compassion amidst the trauma and chaos. So, rather than completely shut down, Corcovelos-Mullin decided to take the compassion and kindness parts and pay it back. As the mother of three small children, Corcovelos-Mul-
INDEX Crosswords..............................................A4 Crossword Answers................................A11 Classifieds................................................A9 Weather..................................................A12
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Sticky Paws Baking Company owner Mary Corcovelos-Mullin is making people’s lives a little brighter during the COVID-19 pandemic. She is baking cupcakes and giving them to children for their birthday. lin didn’t want kids to miss out due to social distancing an important developing aspect of growing up – the birthday party. Corcovelos-Mullin is keeping the oven ready to bake a special six-pack of her made
from scratch, chocolate galaxy cupcakes so children don’t miss out on a birthday cake. She’s taking orders each week until noon Thursday and will have the batch ready for pick up on Friday. “I have six orders for Wednes-
day already,” Corcovelos-Mullin said. “I just want to make sure kids feel special. It’s a scary time. They’re not certain of things, not in school. Can’t have friends over for a party. Anything I can do to make them feel special makes me happy.” The cupcakes are German chocolate, with a tri-color buttercream frosting topped with galaxy pixie sprinkles. She left her job with Del Norte County to help care for mother when her cancer returned. Rather than sit around, Corcovelos-Mullen said her mother talked her into pursuing her first passion – baking. “I’ve always loved to bake for family and friends. They encouraged me saying, ‘Hey this would be a great venture to try.’ I do have three small children, and with the uncertainty with the economy up and down, after a conversation with my mom, I thought why not try this, Corcovelos-Mullen said. Because it’s a cottage industry, Corcovelos-Mullen’s kids are not allowed in the kitchen when she’s baking. So, she usually Please see Cupcakes, Page A2
An effort by Del Norte County Supervisors to get at least part of the county reopened has failed. County Administrative Officer Jay Sarina told supervisors Tuesday, April 28, at their regular meeting that State Parks denied a request to allow residents vehicular access to local units. Sarina explained motorists can drive into Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park via Walker Road, which the supervisors voted to reopen last week, but the parking area will remain cordoned off. District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard originally brought up at a prior meeting State Parks’ decision to install lockable gates at some access points in local state park units without seeking public comment. Not pleased with State Parks’ rejection, Howard directed county staff to send a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom asking for an exemption for Del Norte County from a soft closure throughout the State Parks system that prohibits people from parking at its units. Howard pointed to another contributor to the county’s exasperation - a statement on State Parks’ department web page regarding its response to COVID-19, that it would work Please see Vehicles, Page A6
District outlines online grading By David Hayes The Triplicate
The Del Norte Unified School District resumed grading for most of its students this week. During a presentation to the school board April 23, Tom Kissinger, assistant superintendent of instructional services, said this week was a bridge to distance learning week and outlined what grading will look like the rest of the school year. Kissinger said the key principle was to “do no harm,” thus elementary and middle school students will not be receiving a letter grade. Instead, teachers will be required to make sure students are participating and engaged by keeping track of student contact via Zoom, phone and email. Feedback will be based on completion of work and demonstration of progression in the work or whether work is missing or had not been submitted. Kissinger said high school students’ work will be on an A through D scale, with some courses requiring a C or better in a pre-requisite in order to Please see Grading, Page A2
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