TRP730

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FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020

SERVING OUR COMMUNITY SINCE 1879 • WWW.TRIPLICATE.COM

Bowling alley isn’t closing, it’s closed The Triplicate Elk Valley Rancheria has announced the permanent closure of Tsunami Lanes Bowling in Crescent City, the only bowling center along the coast on the 200-mile stretch between McKinleyville. California, and North Bend, Oregon. The announcement was made July 29 in the form of a letter from Tribal Chairman Dale A. Miller. Tsunami Lanes is a stateof-the-art bowling alley with 16 lanes. It has recently been completely remodeled and has automatic Brunswick scorers and pinsetters, and new sound and light display. Tsunami Lanes also has a full snack bar with a wide variety of food. The tribe’s ownership of the bowling alley was featured in a 2003 article in the Los Angeles

Times, as an example of changes in the community brought about by the success of Elk Valley Casino. “In enriching itself with gambling profits from its secluded casino here, the rancheria is not alone,” the Times reported. “But unlike many California tribes now clashing with non-Indian neighbors over expansion plans, Elk Valley is spreading the wealth.” Under the tribe’s ownership, the bowling alley got a $2 million face-lift, complete with fog machines and a synchronized strobe and sound system, according to the Times. More recently, the bowling alley was listed for sale. Among ads online offering the property for sale is one from Finigan Real Estate describing Tsunami Lanes Bowling Center a 760 L. Street as a 14,848

square foot building on a 1.05 acre lot priced a $799,000. The property is described as a bowling center and sports bar with 16 lanes, locker area, bar/ eating area that was completely renovated in 2002 by the current owner. Since the closure of Azalea Lanes in Brookings, which was located in the building now occupied by Barron’s Home Furnishings, a few years back, Tsunami Lanes has been the only bowling alley in the region. Miller said the pandemic has affected businesses big and small. “We were no exception,” he said in a letter announcing the closure. Not only was the bowling alley impacted by the pandemic, but Elk Valley Casino, which is the source of funding for many tribal endeavors, faced months

Photo courtesy of Tsunami Lanes via Facebook

Tsunami Lanes has closed permanently according to the chairman of Elk Valley Rancheria, which owns the bowling center in Crescent City. of closure and loss of business. “The Tribe has been committed to supporting the business and team members for as long as possible during this difficult time, but unfortunately the time has come that we are unable to continue to do so.” Anyone with personal items

Elk vs berries at Blueberry Hill By David Hayes The Triplicate

In the age-old tale of man versus nature, Rick and Jessie Shepherd are trying to come out on top against a local herd of elk that annually invade Blueberry Hill Farms. “We had a good crop,” said Rick Shepherd. “The saying here is get ‘em while you can before the elk do. We’ve been open for a couple weeks now and sales have been good. I don’t see a tremendous amount of damage yet.” Last year, the herd devastated his crops, taking between 30-40% of the blueberries. And they’ve returned to the scene of crime last week. The blueberry bushes on the Shepherd’s 5-acre farm usually bloom in the spring and ripen beginning in July. The harvest once continued through September. However, in the last couple of years, the Shepherds have been lucky to get through August thanks to that local herd of elk. The Shepherds have coexisted with the elk in their 28 years of operating Blueberry Hill Farms, being OK with the amount of fruit the elk have taken. But in recent years, the herd’s numbers have grown so large that Rick is trying to do what he can to keep them at bay. “I had built up a fence (pointing at the north end) and we’ve been playing some radios out there to try and distract them,” he said. “We thought it was working. But here in the last four days there’s been some

The Triplicate

Del Norte County voters will have the chance to weigh in Nov. 3 on a proposed one percent sales tax increase to pay for law enforcement, road repairs, first responders and other public safety issues. The board of supervisors approved a resolution July 28 in support of the ordinance that would, if passed, be applied to sales in the county’s unincorporated areas. (The city of Crescent City is considering the same proposed increase on the ballot; if the city takes that action Aug. 3 and both measures pass, the sales tax throughout the county would go from 7.5% to 8%. Support from the board was not unanimous. District 1 Supervisor Roger Gitlin dissented, saying in his report that law enforcement is under siege nationwide and that a sales tax increase would be burdensome.

INDEX Crosswords..............................................A7 Crossword Answers..................................B3 Classifieds................................................B1 Weather....................................................A8

Back-toschool: ‘A million questions,’ few answers By David Hayes The Triplicate

David Hayes, The Triplicate

Wonder Stump Road resident Betty Coulson purchases 20 pounds of blueberries from Jessie Shepherd at Blueberry Hill Farms Tuesday. more in. I’ve seen evidence they’ve broke my fence down.” As of July 28, Blueberry Hill has sold nearly half of this year’s crop. “We’re kind of peaking right now. So we should have plenty of berries through next week. Then we’ll start tapering down,” Shepherd said. He explained the berries are not U-pick. He has pickers who

Blueberry Hill Farms 3290 Kings Valley Rd., Crescent City 707-464-4344 Open Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Berries are $5 a pound do the work, leaving customers to just pick up their orders. And he’s not limiting the amount of purchase.

Voters asked to increase sales tax By David Hayes

in a locker at the bowling alley is asked to contact Heather Polen at 707-951-5197 by Aug. 31 to schedule a time to collect your belongings. “We thank the community and all of our bowlers for the years of support and great memories,” Miller said.

“This is no time for our county to support a one percent general sales tax when so many of us are hurting,” Gitlin said. “It’s always so sad and disheartening to see the only answer we have to solve any problem is adding another tax.” In response to Gitlin’s concerns, supervisors Chris Howard and Bob Berkowitz pointed out that the board already lent their support for law enforcement in a July 14 resolution the board approved unanimously. Howard added that the tax measure is an important tool to fund critical services and that to pursue financial assistance through the state, the county often has to take action first. “I’m fiscally conservative when it comes to this stuff, but you know full well the hit our general fund is taking,” Howard said. “I don’t want to go back and ask our electorate for this, but we have no choice if we’re going to survive.”

Berkowitz said the board shows its support for law enforcement by approving the resolution to place the tax measure on the ballot. “We’re not going to dictate what you think and how you should vote, we’re going to leave it up to you, the public, and you can tell us what you believe and how important first responders are to you and this community,” Berkowitz said. “That’s what this is all about.” If approved, the proposed tax increase would generate $1.2 million annually and go toward supporting “vital local services” including: • Providing support for law enforcement for emergency response • Repairing potholes and maintaining streets • Repairing for and responding to natural disasters and health emergencies • Maintaining emergency

“We just had a 175-pound order. As long as we can supply them, we’re not going to limit them,” Shepherd said. Elk are not the only challenge the blueberry farmer faces. Fog or drizzling rain can sometimes delay ripening, forcing the farm to shut down for a day or two. At this rate, the Shepherds hope to stay open to around Aug. 15 or 20.

With the planned start of school on Aug. 24 just weeks away, Del Norte Unified School District is beginning to get an idea of what parents might prefer — but ever-changing state rules and uncertainty about the spread of COVID-19 leave many questions unanswered. Superintendent Jeff Harris said he knows parents still have “a million questions” about how school will start. A tentative plan is that students will be offered a blend of in-class education and distance learning or a fully online program — but a final plan is not yet in place. The district has asked parents to answer a basic question on a recent survey that is still underway: If given a choice between online only or a blended approach of two days per week onsite and three days at home with online work, which do parents prefer? As of July 27, when Harris provided an update via a video posted on the district’s Facebook page, 850 respondents chose a blended learning model, with either Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday cohorts and

Please see Schools, Page A3

Salute to the U.S. Coast Guard Coast Guard Day is celebrated Aug. 4 in honor of the day in 1790 (230 years ago this coming Monday) that George Washington signed the Tariff Act that authorized the construction of ten vessels to enforce federal tariff and trade laws and to prevent smuggling. The Coast Guard is important to those who live along the coast, and our ten Country Media coastal newspapers — including the Curry Coastal Pilot and Del Norte Triplicate — collaborated to create the 40-page special section included with this week’s edition.

Please see Tax, Page A3

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