SERVING DEL NORTE COUNTY SINCE 1879
www.triplicate.com
FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 2021
Crescent City, CA
Rehwaldt to step down as public health authority Knox Keranen The Triplicate
Dr. Warren Rehwaldt announced he will be stepping down from his post as public health officer during a May 25 Del Norte County board of supervisors meeting. “I made a promise to myself and
my wife that I would be getting out of public health, I made that promise over a year and a half ago, and I finally have to keep it,” said Rehwaldt during the meeting. Now, after guiding the county through the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rehwaldt said it was time to hang up his public health
hat. He reflected on his career in public health, including the last year and a half, in an interview with the Triplicate Rehwaldt began his medical career at the United Indian Health Services, working as UIHS’ first full-time physician from 19921997. In 2001, he became the pub-
lic health officer in Del Norte County, also serving as staff physician at Del Norte Community Health Center. In 2005, Rehwaldt stepped down as county public health officer, but took the job again in 2013, where he has served until now. Rehwaldt said the public health officer position has changed
significantly since the beginning of pandemic. Among the changes, the job is now full-time, and public health has become truly a public facing one. “I’ve been on the radio now every week for a year, talking about Please see REHWALDT, Page A11
Del Norte to remain in red tier By DAVID RUPKALVIS The Triplicate
Contributed Photo
Eruc rowing on the Indian Ocean just northwest of Madagascar in November 2010.
Eruc plans to row from Crescent City to Hong Kong Row, row, row your boat gently across the Pacific Ocean. Knox Keranen The Triplicate
Erden Eruc, a 59 year-old Turkish-American explorer, rower and world record holder, plans to row roughly 6,900 miles from Crescent City to Hong Kong. He will launch from Crescent City later this month and expects to make landfall on Hong Kong shores in March 2022. Eruc said he’s already designed the route but keeping on schedule will be important. “The pace of crossing is critical...the Pacific is so large it exposes one to hurricane risk on the East side, and then typhoon risk on the West side, and the winter is in between,” he said. Some would consider this the trip of a lifetime, but it is just a segment in Eruc’s storied career of human-powered travel. In 2012, he completed a more than five-year journey which amounted to the first solo circumnavigation of the globe by human power. Meaning, Eruc traveled around the world and back — launching from Bodega Bay in 2007 and landing there again in 2012 — by means of rowing, kayaking, hiking and biking. Eruc holds other Guinness World Records also, including the first person to row three oceans and highest career days at sea for a solo rower with 844 days. He said remaining flexible and preparing for expected challenges are keys to success when rowing across oceans. Please see ERUC, Page A11
Contributed Photo
Eruc’s vessel is a 24 ft. plywood racing rowboat, which holds a record of its own with 1200 days at sea.
For the 17th consecutive week, Del Norte County will remain in the red tier of pandemic restrictions, the longest streak of any county in the state. In the latest metric announced Tuesday, the county has 9.3 new cases a day per 100,000 people and a test positivity rate of 2.1 percent over the last week. Del Norte County is one of just four counties in the state remaining in the red tier as most counties are seeing COVID cases decline much faster. Humboldt County to the south and Siskiyou County to the east have both fallen into the orange tier. There are 35 counties in the orange tier and 19 in the minimal tier. In the red tier, most businesses, including restaurants, are allowed to open for indoor service, but the number of people allowed in businesses is limited. Every time a county decreases a level, a greater number of people can go inside businesses. While the CDC has eased masking requirements for fullyvaccinated people, California has opted to wait before easing its masking requirements. The state announced last month it would not ease masking requirements before June 15. On that date, the state is also expected to lift most virus restrictions statewide. The key to beating the virus remains getting people vaccinated. With that in mind, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a $116 million vaccine lottery program for people who get vaccinated. Under the plan, 10 California residents will win $1.5 million with the winners announced June 15. Another 30 winners will receive $50,000, with winners announced June 4 and June 11. All California residents who have received at least once vaccine dose will be eligible for the cash prizes. Anyone who has received a vaccine is automatically registered. In addition, California residents who get vaccinated are eligible for $50 prepaid cards or $50 grocery cards. Two million cards will be given away. When the cash prizes were announced May 28, around 55 percent of the state’s residents had received a vaccine. As of Tuesday, close to 70 percent had received at least one dose. In Del Norte County, 16,707 residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Clifton sets new all-time scoring record for the Warriors By Ray Hamill For the Triplicate
The Del Norte Warriors tipped off an abbreviated basketball season last week, with both the boys and girls teams in action. And for one senior in particular, it was a memorable return. Playing in the season opener against Ferndale on Monday, Jadence Clifton scored 22 points to lead her team to a 42-31 win, while also setting a new career scoring record for the program. Clifton, the returning co-MVP of the Big 5, came into the season needing just 13 points to break the
record previously held by her former teammate, Kaleya Sanchez. The senior standout added 10 points in a 44-22 win over Hoopa on Wednesday, and now has 1,495 career points in her three-plus seasons playing for the team. “Absolutely, it’s a huge deal,” said Justin Clifton, the player’s head coach and father. “She’s good friends with Kaleya, and I think (Kaleya) knew if someone was going to break the record it was going to be Jadence.” The two friends played together for the Warriors for two years before Sanchez graduated in 2019, and together they led the program
to a memorable Big 5 and Dick Niclai championship double that year. “Those two were amazing together,” the head coach said. “It was fun to watch (on Monday). It was a great passing of the torch.” “It was definitely an honor,” Jadence said. “I’ve always looked up to Kaleya.” It was particularly gratifying for her after all the uncertainty surrounding the season because of the pandemic. “I definitely had some doubts,”
Please see CLIFTON, Page A11
Jadence Clifton
Go Wild Rivers Coast Guide released Ames recognized for service during World War II AT TRIPLICATE.COM
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