SERVING DEL NORTE COUNTY SINCE 1879
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FRIDAY, JUNE 25, 2021
Crescent City, CA
Fire assessment vote heading to recount Knox Keranen The Triplicate
After initially failing, one vote could flip results
After an initial miscount, a vote to increase funding to the Crescent City Fire Protection District through resident property taxes may have actually passed by an incredi-
bly slim margin. When the count finished Tuesday, unofficial results pointed to a failed benefit assessment by less than one vote — 49.99 to 50.01%. This was possible because of weighted ballots, which gave voters with greater property value more say. However, a mistake was discovered the following day when County Recorder Alissia Northrup and other election staff con-
ducted an informal recount by hand. A “yes” ballot had been accidentally placed in the “no” pile. Northrup said the elections office did not “find” an extra ballot, rather it was simply a sorting error. The single “yes” ballot would flip the overall result to a passed benefit assessment. After learning of the miscount, the CCFPD board of directors ordered an official recount, during an
emergency meeting Thursday. At the meeting, Director James Nelson warned a recount could mean the discovery of other errors or bad ballots, and the vote could not pass anyway. A recount was scheduled for later in the month. If approved, the benefit assessment would generate more than $420,000 per year for the fire department. The department
currently collects $42 per residence in the district, however, with a 2006 assessment ending this year, that number would have dropped to $24. The proposed assessment would increase cost per residence to $98, according to a CCFPD report. Northrup said the margin of this vote is unprecedented. “I’ve never had a race this close,” she said.
Housing authority to help homeless find homes Knox Keranen The Triplicate
Photos By Knox Keranen
Erden Eruc looks over the boat one last time before dropping it into the water. A small cabin allows Eruc to sleep comfortably out of the elements, or hunker down in a storm.
Rower sets off on nine-month journey Knox Keranen The Triplicate
As dusk set in over the Crescent City harbor Tuesday, Erden Eruc, 59-year-old Turkish-American explorer and leading ocean rower, began his roughly 7,000 mile row across the Pacific Ocean. If all goes according to plan,
Eruc will reach Hong Kong shores by March of 2022. He already holds 15 Guinness World Records, including being the first person to row across three oceans and most career days at sea for a solo rower at 844 days. Eruc is also the first person to circumnavigate the globe by human power, a five-year mission he completed in 2012.
During his first row across the Pacific in 2007 — yes, he’s done this before — Eruc had to pause his journey for five months due to a swelling monsoons in the South China Sea. This time, Eruc is determined to complete the row without pause. “I won’t stop unless I have to. The idea is to do it non-stop, unassisted,” said Eruc.
Before setting off, Eruc explained the ins and outs of his 24-foot, yellow rowing vessel, the “Around-nOver” to a small group of fans who came to view the launch. On board, a handy gadget called a desalinator will turn salty ocean water into fresh drinking water, and plenty of lightweight, freeze dried Please see ROWER, Page A9
Can the ocean adapt to rising temperatures? By DAVID RUPKALVIS The Triplicate
Rising temperatures, possibly from mancaused climate change, are putting ocean life at risk. Maybe. During a presentation Thursday to celebrate the 50th year of Oregon Shores, Steve Palumbi, a biologist and author, said studies have shown some ocean animals have the ability to evolve and adapt to the changes in the water. Palumbi, who also works as a professor at Stanford University, was invited to talk about the Extreme Life of the Sea, which is also the title of a book he and his son wrote. “I’ve spent a lot of time on the Oregon coast,” he said. “It’s a fabulously beautiful place.” Palumbi started off by talking about the extreme life in the ocean. For example, some rockfish can live to be 120 years old. And some fish can “fly.” “Fish and marine life are amazing creatures,” Palumbi said. “Flying fish are only fast out of the water, and they don’t actually fly, they glide.” Palumbi said the fish evolved to fly as a means of survival because that is their only way to escape faster hunters. “What are really the fastest fish?” Palumbi asked. “We eventually come down to the billfish. Swordfish and marlins are the fastest fish in the ocean. They can get up to 40 miles Please see OCEAN, Page A9
Photo courtesy of ODFW
As ocean temperatures rise, sea life, especially close to shores, is threatened by rising water temperatures and ocean acidification. Sea stars already have low numbers due to a sickness that spread through the coast in recent years.
Go Wild Rivers Coast Guide released Ames recognized for service during World War II AT TRIPLICATE.COM
With a goal of reducing homelessness, a new program through the Crescent City Housing Authority and NorCal Continuum of Care will hand out 15 emergency housing vouchers to at-risk individuals in the county. Megan Miller, housing director, outlined the program in a presentation to city council Monday. Miller said individuals who are experiencing homelessness, at-risk of homelessness, fleeing domestic violence or experiencing housing instability can qualify for the vouchers, which are being funded through COVID-19 relief money as a part of the American Rescue Plan. Qualifying individuals will be identified by Del Norte Mission Possible or Department of Health and Human Services using the Homeless Management Information System, which is used to track at-risk individuals and connect them to services. Once they are identified, those individuals will be ranked on a scale of vulnerability, with the most vulnerable being awarded the vouchers. Miller said one of the greatest challenges of using housing vouchers is convincing landlords to accept them. However, in an effort to incentivize landlords to accept voucher participants, each voucher will come with an additional $3,500, which participants can use toward security deposits, landlord incentive payments or to furnish household goods. Miller said the extra money could dramatically increase a participant’s chances of finding housing. “Security deposits have always been a hurdle for our participants. It’s a lot of money to come up with, and we have never had the ability previously to assist with that,” said Miller. According to a 2019 point-intime count, there are roughly 190 homeless individuals in Del Norte County. Point-in-time counts are completed once per year, usually in January. As this is a new program, Miller said they are expecting to run into other hurdles along the way. “We are all going into this with our eyes wide open, we know it’s not going to be easy,” Miller said. Nevertheless, all members of the city council were in favor of the program and approved it to begin. Mayor Pro Tem Blake Inscore said he was especially excited because six women currently living at the Harrington House — interim housing for victims of domestic violence — could qualify for permanent housing through this program, which would in turn free up space for more women to occupy the shelter. “We have some graduates who are ready to rebuild their life on their own, so this is amazing,” said Inscore. Mayor Jason Greenough echoed Inscore’s excitement. “It would be nice if we did not need these, but we do have needs in our community, and what an exciting opportunity this is,” said Greenough.
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