Salmon program begins ................ A6
Del Norte County Art Notes ..... A13
SERVING DEL NORTE COUNTY SINCE 1879 www.triplicate.com
FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2022
Crescent City, CA
Garrett Scott takes early command of troubled sheriff’s department
Memorial Day ceremonies planned
By DANIEL J. SCHMIDT
Memorial Day is set aside to honor the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice and were killed in the line of duty while serving the United States. In April of 1866, women in Columbus, Mississippi, gathered at the graves of fallen Confederate soldiers to pay tribute by cleaning the graves and placing flowers throughout the graveyard. Within a few years, this practice of honoring the graves of fallen soldiers each spring became known as “Decoration Day.” Today, it is better known as Memorial Day, the term adopted after World War I. Memorial Day became a federal holiday in 1971. Local ceremonies planned for Memorial Day include: Saturday, May 28, 10 a.m. VFW Post 1381 will place flags at the cemetery *** Monday, May 30, 10 a.m. VFW Post 1381 will host a Remembrance Ceremony, commencing at 10 a.m. at the Veterans Cemetery. Following ceremony, soup and salad will be served at the VFW Hall, 810 H Street, Crescent City. Donations appreciated. For information, call Wade Mayes. 707-954-7187. *** Monday, May 30, 2 p.m. Point of Honor. A short ceremony to honor those who gave all from Del Norte County. We will read the names of the men and women on our Wall of Honor. The public is invited to attend. Feel free to bring a chair if you can’t stand for 15 minutes. If accommodations are needed, please call Kelly at 707-2185060.
Editor
There’s a new sheriff in town. Retired Crescent City Police Department Lt. Garrett Scott was appointed by the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors to become interim sheriff, effective May 25, until the current term of office expires on January 3, 2023. It was the logical choice. Sheriff Scott is currently running unopposed for sheriff in the June 7 primary election. He will face no opposition in the November General Election and will begin serving his own four-year term on January 3, 2023. His appointment comes at a time when the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Department is suffering from serious morale problems, difficulties recruiting and retaining deputies, and in coping with jail conditions made worse by the incarceration of inmates declared to be incompetent to undergo further criminal proceedings. The sheriff’s department has been forced to release back onto the streets arrestees who have yet faced prosecution due to COVID, jail overcrowding, and the early release and decriminalization mandates imposed by state laws enacted in recent years. Back on the streets, these “catch and release” inmates have often committed new crimes before the courts took up their earlier matters. County Supervisor Valerie Starkey said to Scott that she was “beyond excited to have you” after the board voted 5-0 without comment to make the appointment. “It’s a really enorPlease see SHERIFF, Page A3
From the editor ... Thank you, trailblazers, for clearing a path to Heaven on Earth I went to Heaven last Saturday using the handicapped entrance. Last Saturday, May 21, the Redwood National and State Parks opened the trail to the Grove of the Titans. This wasn’t just your usual trail through the trees. It was a trail that even those with mobility issues, but who can still walk, can navigate the entire ¾-mile trail to its end and back again. You might think of this trail as sort of a “handicapped entrance” to one of the most spectacular places on this Earth, a place so sacred that it a vital feature of a United Nations World Heritage Site. National and State Park employees, Tolowa Tribal leaders, supporters and protectors of the wilderness and redwoods gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony beneath a cathedral of ancient giant redwoods at the end of this trail. The Grove of the Titans trail was built by a team of trailblazers who surveyed, engineered, designed, cut and built a trail so friendly that this sacred forest is now opened to so many more visitors. It is certain to become one of Del Norte County’s top tourist destinations. And it is right at our doorstep. The Grove of the Titans is the home to ancient trees Please see HEAVEN, Page A2
Photo by Daniel J. Schmidt/The Triplicate
Lt. Daniel Schneck, right, shakes hands with new Del Norte County Sheriff Garrett Scott after the board of supervisors unanimously appointed Scott as sheriff. Scott will finish the current term and is the only person on the ballot for a new four-year term, that starts in January 2023.
New access to largest and oldest redwoods Redwood National and State Parks For the first time, visitors to the Redwood National and State Parks will have official, low-impact access to the famed Grove of Titans to see some of the world’s largest and oldest coast redwoods. Located on Howland Hill Road, between theq Boy Scout Trail and Stout Grove, the Grove of Titans is a “premier example of an extraordinary old-growth redwood forest” according to Erin Gates, deputy superintendent, RNSP and North Coast Redwoods District, California State Parks. The Grove of the Titans was experiencing “significant damage from visitors walking ‘off trail’ to access this area,” she said. “This project is really a story about legacy: being mindful of the role we all play in helping to keep our parks thriving. Through powerful partnerships, we have been able to create an opportunity for visitors to experience the beauty and awe of this grove in a way that also helps protect this sensitive and delicate habitat into the future,” Superintendent Gates said. New Visitor Experience The new elevated boardwalk through the Grove of Titans also features interpretive signage and exhibits, complete with redwood forest illustrations and hands-on features to educate visitors about the habitat and safe trail use. Interpretation was developed in consultation with the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation to illuminate the
Photos by Daniel J. Schmidt/The Triplicate
Some of the principal players of Tribal, state and National Park Service, and private conservancy and redwood advocacy groups join ribbon cutter Josie Merck. It was Merck’s concern for the survival of these ancient trees that started the movement to raise funds to build the Grove of the Titans trail system. Below, Trailblazer Jessica Ramirez, along with trail partner Andre Avila, created the steps that surround this old growth redwood Indigenous history of the area and present-day relationships that Tolowa people have sustained with these lands for generations. The Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation collaborated on the Grove of Titans Trail Project. The Tribal Council stated that “Tolowa Dee-ni’ maintains our responsibility as the original stewards of the Grove of Titans through a government-to-government relationship with the Redwood National and State Parks. With the completion of this project, we are grateful park visitors will be able to more responsibly visit our ancestral territory and magnificent redwood relatives.” New services and amenities Please see REDWOODS, Page A2
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