FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2020
SERVING OUR COMMUNITY SINCE 1879 • WWW.TRIPLICATE.COM
Governor resets the reopening Dine-in restaurants, bars, other businesses shut The Triplicate
Photo courtesy of CDCR, Pelican Bay State Prison
Staff at Pelican Bay State Prison were tested for COVID-19 earlier this week as part of statewide testing of employees of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Any confirmed positive tests will be reported to Del Norte Public Health.
‘Kamome’ documentary tells story of Crescent City’s bond with Rikuzentakata
NBC Peacock
A documentary airing on NBC’s new streaming platform, Peacock, tells the jeart-warming story of the discovery of a small boat set adrift in Japan by a tsunami in 2011 which found its way to Crescent City more than two years later — and the bonds that formed between two communities after the small boat was returned to students at a school in te town of Rikuzentakata, Japan.
By David Hayes The Triplicate
In a news cycle dominated by COVID-19 coronavirus setbacks, the Crescent City Del Norte Chamber of Commerce received some good news Wednesday. The story of “Kamome” was released on NBC’s new streaming platform, Peacock. “It is amazing! It beautifully tells the story of our two cities and our school students who made the impossible happen. Watch it, you’ll be warmed to the core,” Chamber Director Cindy Vosburg said. This 23-minute documentary tells the heartwarming story of how a massive tsunami overwhelmed Rikuzentakata, Japan, on March 11, 2011, damaging huge parts of the city.
After being swept away in the tsunami, a high school’s boat, Kamome, made the epic, almost 5,000-mile journey across the Pacific Ocean to wash ashore in Crescent City more than two years later — on April 7, 2013. Later that year, a delegation from Crescent City returned the boat to its original home in Rikuzentakata, forever endearing the two cities to one another. As part of their coverage for the 2020 Olympics in Japan (which has since been postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), NBC Sports crafted a documentary detailing the relationship that developed between Crescent City and Rikuzentakata after the return of the the boat Kamome. Vosburg said from all accounts, NBC Sports still intends to release the story during the Summer Olympics next July. “But until then we can enjoy it on Pea-
cock,” she said. “Rikuzentakata and Crescent City are half a world apart, but connected by tragedy, chance and a 10,000-mile journey across open waters,” the documentary’s narration begins. “The unlikely friendships that blossom between parallel towns are a reminder of humanity’s best instincts.” “Kamome” a is now streaming live on NBC’s Peacocktv.com. Peacock is a subscription video-on-demand streaming service, which is currently free, owned and operated by the Television and Streaming division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. For a direct link to the “Kamome” documentary go to https://bit.ly/2CDPifA. Simply set up an account with your email and start watching. (It’s free, no credit card required.)
It’s been a tough week for Del Norte County. Just as local restaurants and some other businesses were starting to get back in the swing of things after being closed down for months during the COVID-19 pandemic, on Monday Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a return to closures of dine-in restaurants, bars, and other businesses statewide. And although Del Norte’s positive cases are very small compared to many areas of the state, health officer Dr. Warren Rehwaldt said the county must comply with the order. The new closure order includes both indoor and outdoor bars, brewpubs, breweries and pubs as well as wineries and tasting rooms, movie theaters, family entertainment centers such as bowling alleys, miniature golf, batting cages and arcades, zoos and museums and cardrooms. In some areas of California, the list is even longer. “For right now, we are still doing very well in this county,” Rehwaldt wrote in a letter after learning of the new order. “Our data suggests that we are doing better than the models project, at least for the moment. We still are able to do some good case investigation and contact tracing, and our reported cases numbers remain low. Most of the surrounding counties are in a similar situation, but things have definitely changed for much of the rest of the state.” Part of the reasoning for the governor’s new order this week is the new surge in confirmed active cases and hospitalizations in other parts of the state, including within a number of state prisons. As reported last week, there has been a significant outbreak at San Quentin. Although staff from some other facilities of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation have been sent to help out at San Quentin, as of last week no staff had been sent from Pelican Bay, according to Lt. Del Higgerson. Earlier this week, Higgerson reported, PBSP staff had mandatory COVID-19 testing. Results were expected within 76 hours and will be sent to employees. If there are any confirmed positive tests, they will be reported to Del Norte County. Daily updates online Earlier this week, The Triplicate and sister newspaper Curry Coastal Pilot began publishing a daily online COVID-19 update to round-up the latest news and statistics in the neighboring counties, including Pelican Bay State Prison. The reports will appear on www.Triplicate.com and www. CurryPilot.com at about 6 p.m. each weekday.
School district hopes to return students to classroom, at least part-time The Triplicate
After surveys, meetings and debate, Del Norte Unified School District has a tentative plan for reopening elementary schools Aug. 24. The Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to go with a blend of inclass and distance learning — if allowed by the state. On Tuesday, Harris told the board of trustees he’s receiving mixed messages in recent meetings with state and local officials. “With rapidly changing circumstances in California, Oregon and other states with conflicting guidance coming in from the federal and state governments,
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we don’t know what we’ll be allowed to do Aug. 24,” he said. After two four-hour meetings this week and last weighing public and employee input, the trustees settled on a “2-day on, 3-day off” schedule for K-8 schools and Crescent Elk Middle School. This will put students from Smith River, Redwood and Mountain elementary schools and Crescent Elk Middle School in the classroom with teachers for two days a week and the rest spent learning remotely. Classrooms would be split, with half the students attending at a time. The plan could change, though, because trustees also
promised to examine whether an “AM/PM model” can be adopted at the K-5 schools within Crescent City limits and Margaret Keating Elementary School in Klamath. Such a plan would divide students into morning and afternoon “cohorts.” However, such a model would create issues with transportation, meals and the need to clean and disinfect classrooms between use. The board voted 4-1 to adopt the concept — with many details to be worked out. District 5 Trustee Jamie Forkner dissented. “I voted no because I think we need some clear direction,” Forkner told her colleagues. “And to look at more feasibility, you
guys have already done that. We need to make a determination so people can move forward and not delay it for another month.” “Knowing what we know now, this is likely what we’ll go with Aug. 24. Could change dramatically,” Harris told The Triplicate. “Our intent is to really start to put that plan together in the next three weeks or so, given the totality of where we’re at with the coronavirus in the community.” Masks important Dr. Warren Rehwaldt, Del Norte County’s Public Health Officer, said facial coverings would remain the key to a successful learning environment. “In a nutshell, we believe in
source control through facial coverings for asymptomatic persons. A big take-home message from us is the concept of cohorting, trying to keep kids within small, functional groups that remain together,” Rehwaldt told the trustees. “We expect kids are going to be bringing this virus to school, taking it home from school sometimes. It’s going to happen in our schools; there’s no getting around it. We want to keep those transmissions within a small group because that has less impact on the school as a whole. And makes it easier to do contact tracing.” He explained he and other Please see School, Page A3
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