FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020
SERVING OUR COMMUNITY SINCE 1879 • WWW.TRIPLICATE.COM
City relaxes COVID-19 order Dog park opens, some events resume By David Hayes The Triplicate
As the state’s COIVD-19 stay at home order continues to relax, Crescent City has followed suit and will allow limited reopening of the Cultural Center and Dogtown. The City Council revisited its lockdown emergency order Monday and voted unanimously for the changes. The vote allows Castle Rock Charter School a safe venue for its graduation ceremony and the Downtown Di-
vas to resume the Crescent City Farmers and Artisans Market, which kicked off Wednesday. Lastly, pending approval by County Public Health Officer Dr. Warren Rehwaldt, Dogtown at Beachfront Park will be allowed to admit up to 10 people. “I’ve never seen more than 10 people there at one time anyways,” Mayor Pro Tem Heidi Kime said. The council’s vote authorized City Manager Eric Wier to grant permits on a case by case basis, using California Department of Public Health guidelines and approval from Rehwaldt. Staff also recommended that Wier may cancel events if COVID-19 guide-
lines become more restrictive. The City Council declared a state of emergency March 16, suspending all special events and closing city offices, parks and the Fred Endert Municipal Pool to the public. Since then, the city has heard from a lot of pet owners. “There was a huge community outcry to allow pets to be outside,” said Holly Wendt, Director of Recreation and Events. “The weather has been wonderful.” Wendt said in addition to reopening Dogtown, Castle Rock Charter School can use the Cultural Center’s atrium for a graduation ceremony for 15 of its eighth-graders and about 40 high
schoolers. Wendt explained that parents will drive up to the first entrance, their student will walk inside, receive a diploma, have a picture taken and leave from the facility’s second entrance. Councilor Jason Greenough wanted to know if CDPH has issued guidelines regarding playgrounds and public parks. Wendt recently attended a virtual League of California Cities recreation directors meeting where they discussed dog parks, playgrounds and other concerns. “As of right now, it’s not open for playgrounds just because of sanitation and group gatherings,” Wendt said. Wier added playgrounds are in
Stage 3 of California’s Roadmap to Recovery. Rehwaldt told the City Council that most of California is still in Stage 2 of a four-phase reopening plan, but Del Norte County and several others have received variances to move through the phases more quickly. “We applied to enter Stage 2 a little bit ahead of much of the rest of the state along with other counties that are similarly situated — small, rural, remote, not a lot of disease activity,” Rehwaldt said. “But we had enough in place to cope with a disease outbreak if it happened.” Please see Closures, Page A5
Fourth of July events planned No fireworks, but committee sets up decoration contest and scavenger hunt By David Hayes The Triplicate
David Hayes Photos, The Triplicate
After the cancellation of the July 4th festivities due to the COVID-19 shutdown, many community members set out to find another way to celebrate their patriotism. With the help of local law enforcement and the Crescent City-Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce, the Independence Day Community Pride Committee helped coalesce those ideas into two events — a home and business decoration contest and a Hometown Hero Scavenger Hunt. “We know we can’t have a traditional celebration, but we’re still a strong, patriotic community,” Chamber Executive Director Cindy Vosburg told The Triplicate. “With the celebration in mind, we wanted to offer an adventure they could still do, like a scavenger hunt. Plus, we wanted to help local retailers sell retail products, help boost some of stores starting to reopen.” The community is encouraged to safely participate in the contests, either as an entrant or an observer, Vosburg added. Decorating contest The free decorating contest will be open to residences and businesses and will be organized by area with prizes for Klamath, Smith River, Fort Dick, Crescent City and Gasquet-Hiouchi. Homeowners off the beaten path and not easily accessible to traffic can enter digitally with a photo or a video. The committee will judge on best nighttime decor, business and residence, and for best daytime decor, business and residence. Entry forms are due by June 25. A map will be provided to the public, identifying the location of entries. This map will be posted on social media. Winners in each category will be announced July 6 and each will receive a $50 gift certificate from Home Depot. There will be one “best of show” winner. This winner will be featured in The Triplicate and awarded a custom championship belt, donated by members of Independence Day Community Pride Committee. Please see Holiday, Page A8
INDEX Crosswords..............................................A4 Crossword Answers..................................B4 Classifieds................................................B1 Weather....................................................A8
Rudy Talbert, owner of The Barbershop Crescent City, cuts Wayne Gavin’s hair Tuesday on the shop’s first day of reopening.
Barbershop, salon owners reopen By David Hayes The Triplicate
Russell Biellier had heard Tuesday that barbershops were being allowed to reopen since the state closed down businesses to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. “I just drove by hoping it was open,” Biellier said of The Barbershop Crescent City on 4th Street. “I was here at 9:02 and was number five. My last haircut was probably February. I was cutting it myself with clippers.” Biellier was happy to get back in the chair an experienced barber like Angela Snyder, who’s been cutting hair for 33 years, the last four with shop owner Rudy Talbert.
Jena Doering, owner of Embrace Salon and Spa, rinses the hair of the second client of the day she reopened. “Shutting down was horrible. There was no warning,” Snyder said. “One day you suddenly have no job and no income. It took me eight weeks to start getting unemployment.” Talbert, who has 35 years of experience himself as a barber,
said The Barbershop’s clientele includes a lot of retired gentlemen and many correctional officers. “We get a cross section of customers. We serve two-year-olds all the way up to 102-year-olds,” Talbert said. “You never know
who’s coming to your chair. After his shop closed, Talbert said he was one of the lucky ones to get a Paycheck Protection Program (PPE) loan through his credit card processor Square. “Rather than having to go through a big bank like Chase Bank or Bank of America, it was rather easy. I’m a big fan of Square,” Talbert said. “It took about 10 days before money showed up in my account. Took care of personal rent, paid personal and shop bills. It kept me afloat for seven days or so.” But when those funds ran out, Talbert was starting to tap into his personal savings and even had to apply for unemployment himself a couple weeks ago. Please see Hair care, Page A2
Mobile coronavirus testing site debuts in Crescent City By David Hayes The Triplicate
A mobile COVID-19 testing sight debuted Friday, with more than 140 county residents who signed up to be tested for the coronavirus from the safety of their own car. One of the first 50 to get tested in the Del Norte High School parking lot was the site’s first “celebrity,” KPOD broadcaster Mike O’Brien. After scraping the inside of his upper nasal passage with a lengthy, uncomfortable cotton swab, O’Brien joked, “I feel like I scraped by brain.” Then remembering he was being filmed for a Facebook live video, he added, “It felt great. It was a piece of cake.” The testing site was crewed with Crescent City employees, Sutter Coast Hospital nurses working with Verily Life Sciences and volunteers with Team Rubicon Disaster Response. After debuting Friday and Saturday, the site will switch to a
David Hayes, The Triplicate
Cars line up Friday, May 25, to allow occupants to be tested for the COIVD-19 virus at a mobile testing site set up in the Del Norte High School parking lot. schedule of 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. To get tested, residents ages 18 and older need to register and make an appointment online through the Baseline COVID-19 scheduling program at www. projectbaseline.com/COVID19.
Both residents from Del Norte County and the Brookings area can sign up, according to Del Norte Office of Emergency Services Public Information Officer Bill Steven. Those without Internet access or who aren’t English proficient
should call the Department of Health and Human Services from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at 707-464-3191 or go to their office at 880 Northcrest Drive, Crescent City. Please see Testing, Page A5
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