Wildwood Days Softball Invitational this weekend.

Sam Jaskar, Jason Mullaney and Toye Johnson are hosting the Wildwood Days Softball Invitational in Scotia. 11 teams will be battling starting Friday and ending Sunday evening. SAC plays at 11:30pm Saturday.

No Pulp Mill worker meeting with Bob Simpson.

Looks like the presentation by Bob Simpson of Freshwater Tissue's business plan is on hold. Instead, AWPPW President John Rhodes and VP Greg Pallesen will speak to the membership tomorrow at 4pm at the union hall. Next on the agenda is a vote on whether to sell the union hall.

You can check out the Pulp Mill's business plan at FreshwaterPulp.com.

Murphy's beat SAC to win HDVS "Heart of the Redwoods" Invitational.

Murphy's beat Samoa Athletic Club 7-4 in the championship game of the Humboldt Domestic Violence Services "Heart of the Redwoods" softball invitational Saturday. Murphy's played 7 games and had to beat SAC twice to win the 1st place trophy and Championship Tee-Shirts. After the dust had settled, Cross Up of Eureka took third and Big Pete's Dirtbags of Arcata finished 4th. Every team in the tournament had at least a win and every team lost 2, so this was a very tight tournament.

There were good crowds all day and good ball. The umps took the brunt of some yelling and cursing, but all in good fun. We were able to raise some money for Humboldt Domestic Violence Services and play some ball in sunny Arcata!

Softball in Arcata this weekend! HSU Athletic pass auction!

I am hosting a benefit softball tournament for the Humboldt Domestic Violence Services at the Arcata Sports Complex. The tournament will run all day Saturday.

I tried to hold it in Eureka but didn't get the response I needed to make it work out money wise. And the City of Eureka is keeping the $100 deposit even though nobody will be using the field. Go see how many hoops you have to jump through to use the fields for a tournament in Eureka. Not fun.

HSU Family Athletic Pass! I am auctioning off a family pass for the 2009-10 season. This pass admits 2 adults and 3 children under 18 to HSU home contests! (This does exclude men's basketball and men's and women's basketball doubleheaders, but includes football, softball and women's basketball single games.) Good family fun! Money raised benefits Humboldt Domestic Violence Services. E-mail me with a bid!

Oh, the picture is me throwing for the Eels hardball club against the HSU Club team at Arcata Ball Park.

Roy's service.

It was a good service. Many shared their thoughts on Roy's service in Nam and how that war is still taking lives years later. Roy was only 60 but had many war related illnesses as many of his army buddies also have suffered.
My Brother Mike and Sister Michelle gave tribute to Roy that was heart driven. Michelle spoke about a time that she had a new dress and Roy bought her a new pair of shoes to match when she was young. Roy would do stuff like that, but you couldn't thank him or you would get the "it was nothing" routine.

To his friends he was benevolent and caring. Here are some of my favorite pics.

Roy Edward Marks Memorial Monday.

Roy's Memorial service will be Monday, July 20th, at 2pm at Pierce Mortuary on the corner of 7th and Hst. There will be a color guard to honor his military service.

Damn! My brother Roy Dies!

My brother Roy Edwards Marks passed away today at 60 years of age. My sister called me to let me know his roommate had called and said the police were at Roy’s house. I went over and Officer William Dennison was guarding the area. Bill was my next door neighbor a few years ago and told me I shouldn't see my brother in this state. Roy had went to the bathroom in the middle of the night and died on the toilet and fell forward onto the floor. Roy had been doing Kidney Dialysis for awhile and had grown tired of the procedures and refused treatment in sound mind last week. The doctor said he would make it between 48 and 72 hours. Roy made it until today. (Roy was poisoned by Agent Orange in Viet Nam and on Army disability.)

Deputy Coroner Charles Van Buskirk was awesome and way beyond the call in dealing with a horrible uncomfortable situation.

My sister Mary was way agitated on Monday about Roy’s condition and told me she had more than normal concern. Roy had in the past been refusing treatment and so I didn’t see this as any more than past calls for need. (Cry wolf?) So I am suffering from much guilt. (Just being honest here.)

So let me tell you a little bit about my Sergeant brother “Big” who was short on stature and huge in heart. To say Roy was an anomaly does not do him justice.

Roy received his Holy Communion on May 5th of 1957 and was an Alter Boy at the Chapel of our Lady at the Presidio of San Francisco. (We were raised Catholic.)

Roy was in the Army and a 1st Air Calvary Division soldier. Roy survived 3 terms of service in Nam and received a Bronze Medal, Air Medal and Army Commendation Medal for 25 missions over hostile territory. He was a war hero.

Education and employment wise Roy had graduated Eureka High, CR and attended HSU. He was a Bank Executive for Crocker Bank in Eureka, Concord and also Arcata, where he approved many business loans for many Arcata merchants. He also worked for Power Systems Engineering in Houston Texas.

Roy raced motorcycles at Redwood Acres and was a back yard mechanic. He rebuilt cars and had custom made Harley's since the 70's.

Roy was preceded in death by his parents, Major James Marks, mother Mabel Marks and brother James. He is survived by his son Jamie, brothers Michael and Richard, sisters Juanita, Kathleen, Mary and Michelle.

I love you Roy.

Bud Light Tourney in Ukiah. Wrist update.

I took team Samoa Athletic Club to Ukiah this weekend to play in the Bud Light Softball Invitational in Ukiah. This is a well organized event with 18 very competitive softball teams. I have never played at the parks there and was pleasantly surprised. 3 fields with nearly 300ft dimensions with a BBQ snack bar and cold Budweiser on tap. The stands are close to the action and there is lots of shade. Seen many players I recognized from other tournaments, so it was fun to socialize and pass out information about upcoming tournaments in Humboldt County. Lot's of people at the park. This is a tournament I will definitely make room on the calender for next year.

Ukiah has 9 wood bat teams in their league. I saw one dude use a wood bat and hit the ball around 290ft! And I heard he had hit 4 Home Runs in league. I hope he makes the USSSA State Championships next month in Arcata.

I had my cast removed two weeks ago at my surgeons office and asked when I could start attempting to swing a bat. I was told by my fellow baller that I could try at any time but I would make my wrist "angry." I couldn't hurt it but it would hurt me. Man, was he right. I went to the physical therapist on Friday and he absolutely tortured my wrist! It just doesn't have much range of motion yet. 11 or more of these appointment's to go. Ouch!

Nancy Flemming out as Rio Dell City Manager!

Rio Dell Police Chief Graham Hill has taken over the duties of the City Manager as of today. Much as I know right now.

Mob Crowd gathers in Samoa! Swat and police gather to quell crowd. Where is the news?

Robin and I came home Sunday night and seen the fence by our house was knocked down. We were wondering what had happened. My next door neighbor reported that a Samoa resident had been on some "binge" and jumped in his van and proceeded to ram his van into other vehicles and property all over Samoa. Residents in Samoa followed his path of destruction and the van as he plowed into houses, cars, fences and finally a fire hydrant. The water from the hydrant literally washed the foundation from one house and left others damaged. The mob followed him to his house that he shared with 3 other males and called for his head out of the house or they were coming in to take him. The other 3 brought him out and SWAT and the Sheriffs department took him away. He was an undocumented resident and his case is pending. This has brought forth the subject of multiple Latino residents packing many people into homes in Samoa. Many may be workers at Sun Valley Farms.

Weaverville 4th of July Tournament results. And Trinity County observations.

Weaverville: Most Valuable Player Mike Taylor went 4-5 with a Home Run to lead the Kingsmen of Redding to a 21-8 victory over Team SOP from Eureka in the Championship game of the 4th of July Weaverville Invitational hosted by the Samoa Athletic Club. Sam Jaskar and Toye Johnson both had 3 hits for Team SOP. Team SOP beat Ray Wolfe Construction 12-7 in the semi final game.

Ray Wolfe Construction from Arcata finished 3rd followed by 4th place James Hill Trucking from Eureka.

Steve McLain of the Kingsmen was named the Most Valuable Pitcher. All Tournament selections from the Kingmen were Matt Whitehouse and Russ Jones. Jaskar and Johnson were all tournament selections from Team SOP. Ray Wolfe Construction was represented by Mike Dobrec and Jacob Kadle. Joel McCoy of James Hill Trucking rounded out the all tournament picks.

Team Son's Of Pitches and Humboldt's Finest played Friday night in front of a few thousand fans at Lowden Field. The Lions Club did really well at the beer booth. The weather was way hot! 104 on Saturday and that took a toll on me. Robin and I always wait for the players to get hotels before we do so they have a place to stay. We have even resorted to staying in the scorers booth while hosting this event. We ended up getting one of the last rooms at the Weaverille Victorian Inn. They charged us over $160 a night! And we heard the Trinity Motel charged up to $160 also! Talk about price gouging! This community would lose untold thousands if we did not host this event, and I am re-considering doing this next year. After all expenses, we may come out to the negative this year.

I have tried to get Weavervile residents to run their own event and had little response. I paid one umpire nearly $400 to umpire this tournament, so he made more than I for organizing it. Not right.

No cap on Marina Center. Dirt to be removed.

The other day I was listening to KIN's Talk Shop with Rob Arkley being interviewed by Brian Papstein and the subject of the Marina Center came up. Rob said that the contaminated soil would be removed from the site instead of being "capped." The eradication of the soil will provide 50 union jobs as soon as August and will mitigate some of the issues of the project. I am surprised there has not been any big story on this locally.

Which two local public officials hold two elected positions?

Can someone hold two public offices simultaneously? Yes. I will give this hint. One of them plays alot of softball.

HDVS fundraiser. Wrist Update. Retirement crap. Stock Car stuff.

The Humboldt Domestic Violence Services is hosting the "Rising II: Keep the Phoenix Soaring" fund raiser today starting at 6pm and running until 10pm at the Eureka Veterans hall. There will be great music, food, beer, wine and silent auction. The cost is $50 per couple and is for a great cause. Hope to see you there!

I recently went to Redding for my post-op check up and removal of the cast I have been trying to itch through. I have 4 holes on the top of my wrist that the doctor went in to repair cartilage I had torn. There was kind of a flap torn that wouldn't allow me to turn my wrist normally. Dr. Ferraro of Shasta Orthopedic drilled or shaved the cartilage down so I would have chance for normal movement. When they took the cast off, I thought I would be able to use it now. I was wrong. It hurts bad right now. But it is supposed to get better with rehab. I went to the EDD and talked with their disability counselor and he said I have to wait until I my injury recovery is "Permanent and Stationary" before I can look into programs for re-training. Hmmmm. Guess I won't be in the workforce soon. I was told I may have to consider an administrative position. Dr Lyell from Arcata said the same. No more heavy equipment operator. Back to union organizing?

I sent away my personal information to take an early retirement from the pulp mill. (I was in my 30th year at the mill.) Sounds like Milliman is not processing our claims because of inaction on Evergreen Pulp's part. This is sure getting old. Those funds have been in the account and has been solvent for decades. If the feds take over the account maybe we can have resolution. Sad it has come to this.

Robin and I were at the Stock Car races last night. It was fair night, so we had to pay $10 a piece at the door and another $5 to get into the races. Used to buy fair admission and get into the races as part of that. Regular races cost $10 at the door and last time Robin and I went they were over by 8:45pm! Less than 2 hours of entertainment for us.

Paul Peoples and Dave Henderson did some great racing in Thunder Roadster class. They had to maneuver through traffic all race and Paul ended up winning a close race. In the Sportsmen class, Joe McDonald did his best job of racing ever and out dueled Jimmy Walker in a wreck filled race. It was a fun night of racing with over 70 cars participating.

Just curious. Why does the Times Standard do huge current stories on the non local Crabs and ignore the Stock Car races? I can guarantee that the races out draw the Crabs, and the drivers at the Acres are mostly local. A few thousand at the races to maybe 700 at a Crabs game. And while I am on this rant, why not replace the Crabs with the Steelhead baseball team? They are the truly local representative players and would pull the same crowds against the inferior competition the Crabs pick to play anyways. My thoughts of course.

Softball update.

Upcoming Tournaments

July 3rd, 4th and 5th at Weaverville. So far Ray Wolfe Construction, JHT, R-co, Murphy’s, Blue Planet Pets, Team Ukiah and The Kingsmen from Redding are signed up. 3games for sure, camping at the park, rodeo and fair. If you are interested contact Richard Marks 445-3432.

July 11th and 12th at Arcata. Women’s Invitational. Contact Jan Henry at HSU Recreation.

July 11th at Mckinleyville wood bat. Coed Single Elimination. $125. Contact 839-9003.

July 11th and 12th at Ukiah men’s metal bat. 4 games at least. $300. ASA rules. Contact Jake at 463-6714. Deadline is July 2nd.

July 11th and 12th at Crescent City. Men’s Slow pitch Open Division Entry Fee: $ 250.00 First Place: $700.00 + T- Shirts* 2nd- 3rd Place: Prizes *Payouts based on teams entered, subject to change*Deadline: June 29th, 2009 Contact Genevieve M. (707) 482– 1350 No alcohol or tobacco allowed

July 18th and 19th at Weaverville. Mountain Bash. Jesse Poras at 530-227-0541.

July 25th and 26th at Eureka. HDVS Invitational. 3 Games for sure. $250. Men’s wood bat, Women’s metal bat and Co-ed tournaments. Contact Richard Marks at 445-3432.

August 1st and 2nd at Scotia. Wildwood Days Invitational. Contact Sam Jaskar at 845-3064.

August 15th and 16th at Mckinleyville. “Beat the heat!” Metal bat. $225. Contact 839-9003.

August 22nd and 23rd at Arcata. Northern California “E” metal bat championships.

August 29th and 30th at Arcata. USSSA California Wood Bat State Championships.

September 12th and 13th at Willow Creek. Tomaso’s hosts the Beer League Championships. $250. First come first serve. Contact Richard Marks at 445-3432.

Quick Northcoast softball notes:

Blue Lake wood bat league is finishing up this Sunday all day. The Championship game will be at 4pm. 8 teams were in the league.

Mckinleyville is hosting a Sunday afternoon co-ed league starting August 2nd. League cost is $200 and runs through September. Call 839-9003.

Arcata has 33 wood bat teams and play Monday thru Thursday each week.

Eureka has 27 men’s metal bat and 10 women’s teams. They also have 27 co-ed teams and 4 Senior League teams for a total of 68 teams.

Fortuna has 14 men’s teams and 8 women’s.

Happy Father's day to all!

Being a father can be a hard thing. Compare it to having your heart out of your body walking around without any of your control. You do your best to lay the foundation, and then fret when one of the children make choices you do not agree with. Both of my son's, Jacob the oldest and Jordan the youngest, live in the Sacramento area. Jacob does auto body and upholstery work, and Jordan is in retail. I think about them daily and hope for the best. As do all you other fathers I am sure.

California jobless rate highest since 1941!

11.5% unemployment rate. It was 68 years ago that work in the state was this bad. And it is going to get worse before it gets better. And this does not take into account workers who have had hours and wages cut back. Wish I had a quick fix answer. Any good ideas out there for the future?

David Fisher passes.

David Ray Fisher went to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on Saturday, June 13th, 2009, at about 10:50 p.m. at his home in Montague. David was just shy of his 54th birthday, and had been battling brain cancer for eight months after successfully overcoming prostate cancer.

After his service in the U.S. Army, Dave worked as a logger, welder, and millwright, before finally working for himself in the construction trades.

He will forever be missed by his wife, Deborah, of 35 years, his children; Dave and Kelly, Allen, Adam, Beth and Matt, Daniel, and Zachary. He was also the proud grandpa of six; Matt, Emma, Hailey, Adam, Hunter, and Hannah, all of whom will deeply miss their Grandpa. Dave is survived by numerous brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and innumerable friends who were always treated and thought of as family.

He was an avid outdoorsman and family man. He loved to hunt and fish, and the time spent with family and friends doing both. Dave made friends and shared the Word and love of God with everyone he met, and left a memorable impression on all.

His memorial service will be held at the Grenada Berean Church, 512 6th St., Grenada Ca., on Saturday, June 27th, at Noon. All who knew him are invited to attend. Girdner Funeral Chapel is assisting the family.

David's wife Debbie played softball with Robin for my wife's LP Treetopper team. David was always at the games with their adopted and foster children. Debbie was not supposed to be able to have kids, then surprise! They had two of their own. Dave and Debbie always kept a positive attitude throughout David's life, and I have nothing but positive memories of David and their kids. He was way to young to go.

Take it easy on my blog please.

I had surgery yesterday on my wrist, so I will not be on line much. It went well. Please keep the comments civil.

Former Evergreen Pulp Mill Workers! Alert! Please Attend Next Humboldt County Board of Supervisors Meeting!

This is a call out to all former Evergreen Pulp workers. Please show up to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors chambers on Tuesday June 16th at 9:15am to hear testimony of co-workers who have been wronged on health care issues! This is your chance to take public action in the form of numbers! But do remember, you will have to go through a scan and search to get into the Board Chambers.

Thanks to 4th District Supervisor Bonnie Neely for making this an agenda item and to 3rd District Supervisor Mark Lovelace for making this public.

John and Joy Mathson along with Gail and Jim Mellow bought the COBRA coverage and were defrauded. And many more past Evergreen workers have had medical costs burden them.

Time to get active!