FRIDAY, JULY 10, 2020
SERVING OUR COMMUNITY SINCE 1879 • WWW.TRIPLICATE.COM
OZZY
Skinniest seal pup local marine mammal center has ever rescued By David Hayes The Triplicate
The Northcoast Marine Mammal Centers make many rescues along the coast each year thanks to volunteers in Del Norte and Humboldt counties. But voluteers had never seen a harbor seal pup more in need of rescue than one found at the Mad River Beach on May 21. “They really weren’t sure about him. He was literally a bag of bones,” said Karen Helms, executive director of the Crescent City center. “Dr. (Dennis) Wood said it was truly the skinniest harbor seal pup he’d ever seen.” Helms said the pup, which volunteers named “Ozzy,” had been abandoned by its mother for an unknown reason. When found, Ozzy was literally starving. He suffered from malnutrition and was completely emaciated. Medical director Wood founded the Northcoast Marine Mammal Center in 1984 and has since relied on about 40 volunteers to rescue mammals along 200 miles of coastline. Helms said spring and summer is the busy season. Rescuing a marine mammal is a complicated process. “When they come in, they get a full examination, blood draw, fecal test,” Helms said. “For the most part, Ozzy was just emaciated, other than a small wound on his chin he probably got rubbing on ground.” Stabilizing Ozzy’s body temperature was the first priority, Helms said. Then the focus was to get some weight on the baby seal. Ozzy’s diet consisted of processed food four to five times a day. He had to be taught how to eat. Helms said fish were cut into small pieces, placed in his mouth and even partially down his throat. “He’d shake head and try to spit it out. ‘What the heck do you want me to do with that?’” Helms said, explaining
By David Hayes The Triplicate
Northcoast Marine Mammal Center photos
Ozzy transforms from the skinniest harbor seal pup the Northcoast Marine Mammal Center ever rescued May 21 (above) to a healthier 25 pounds (below) last week. Ozzy’s reaction. “We basically had to teach him how to swallow.” In the next phase of his education Ozzie was moved to a pool and taught to take fish while in the water. Initially, he was fed above the water line, then below, then encouraged to follow the food under water as it circulated. Eventually, Ozzy will transition from chasing pieces to gobbling whole fish. “It takes several weeks’ time. It can be anywhere from one to two weeks to a month long,” Helms said. Once Ozzy is given a clean bill of health and gets closer to the 50-pound ideal weight of a harbor seal pup he will be released back to the wild. “He’s about 25 pound now,” Helms said. “But he’s getting chubbier and healthier. He’s doing well.” Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, staffing protocols limit the number of rescues inhouse. Helms said typically they care for as many as 25 rescues at one time. Right now, there are
only seven in the Crescent City facility. However, the center’s gift shop just got the green light to reopen last week. Hours are Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and face masks are required. With Ozzy’s recovery well on its way, Helms reminds the public not to disturb marine mammals in distress, but to leave rescue to experts and call the center’s hotline number: 707951-4722. “Never approach one and never try to push one back in the water,” she said. “Whether it’s a dolphin or whale, seal or sea lion, that’s about the worst thing you can do.” As a nonprofit, Helms said the Northcoast Marine Mammal Centers operates on donations, and like most nonprofits during the pandemic, donations are down across the board. She said anyone interested can make a donation on center’s webpage at https://northcoastmmc.org or at the gift shop, 424 Howe Drive in Crescent City.
By David Hayes The Triplicate
With the traditional 4th of July events canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fahning family decided to go on a road trip. Rather than heading somewhere outside the region, they chose to travel from one end of Del Norte County to the other, visiting all 12 sites of the Hometown Heroes and Historical Locations Scavenger Hunt. The Fahnings were among a dozen participants to complete the challenge, sending proof to the event sponsor — the Crescent City and Del Norte Chamber of Commerce — that they’d visited all 12 sites. The Fahnings sent
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pictures of color- coordinated Lily, 8, and Cooper, 6, posing in front of each location’s poster. As a reward, the Fahning’s name was drawn from a hat to receive a grand prize gift basket. Hilary Fahning said the whole family was excited and was up for the challenge. “They are game for everything, same with my parents,” Fahning said. “They didn’t know what to expect. They were excited, like dogs in a car. But I don’t think they knew it would be for four hours.” She said they got a late start, waiting for her husband and father to get off work. With her parents in one car and the rest of the family in another, they kept in communication via walkie-talkie. “I thought it would be fun to use walkie-talkies,” Fahning said. “Grandma and grandpa are social distancing using two cars. Plus, it’s fun talking to them, talking about the sites on the way all over the county.” Please see Hunt, Page A3
Although the academic calendar published on the district’s website calls for the coming school year to begin Aug. 24, exactly how schools in the Del Norte County Unified School District will operate remains to be seen. Local schools were closed on March 19 and reopening means navigating state requirements and local conditions related to the COVID-19 pandemic that have yet to be worked out. A parent survey was due back to the district by Friday, July 3. The administration is seeking further input on the top three choices available to resume learning — in person, a hybrid of in person and online, and online only. However, the administration posted on its Facebook page that it aticipates only being able to host half of its students in at any given time due to restrictions and health recommendations for the 2020-21 school year. “We have also heard from some of our families that they would prefer a fully online learning model,” the Facebook
post read. “DNUSD staff has been discussing options and working together to identify the best way to ensure that we continue to educate our students and provide them with the supports that they need to the fullest extent possible.” Michael Hawkins, district public information officer, said the administration plans to release the survey results sometime after the July 9 School Board meeting (which was slated to take place before the deadline for this edition). “The district will work with staff all across the district to take the input from the recent re-opening survey and integrate it into all our plans for the upcoming school year,” Hawkins said. “We have done a staff re-opening survey as well as a community re-opening survey and have received well over 1,000 responses.” The California Department of Education is expected to release a re-opening plan template on Aug. 1 that will be distributed to schools across the state. Hawkins said DNUSD will have until late September to complete the template and submit it to back to the state for approval, even with DNUSD’s Aug. 24 start date.
Testing showing relatively few positives for COVID-19 By Claudia Elliott Editor
Residents of Del Norte and nearby Curry County, Oregon, continue to deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as public health officials track and report testing results and some businesses struggle with operations. Compared to more populated areas of California and
Oregon, the incidence of the virus in the region has been relatively low, but with summer in full swing and hotels and some campgrounds reopened, there are more tourists along the coast. They bring needed income to businesses, but also more risk. Face masks are officially required to be worn by just about Please see COVID-19, Back Page
Patriotic riders
Hometown fun on the 4th of July Fahning family road trip wins Hometown Hero Scavenger Hunt
Back-to-school survey results to determine next steps
Photo by Catherine Balck
Crescent City photographer Catherine Balck captured the majesty of these patriotic riders on the beach July 4. From left are Mindy Brow, Amy Kreth and Candace Salas. See more of Balck’s work online at catherinebalck.com and at the 2nd Street Gallery, 1228 2nd St., Crescent City.
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