Humboldt County Democrats support Measure "V" meet this Wednesday Sept. 14th.

The Humboldt County Democratic Central Committee (HCDCC) recently endorsed Measure V for fair fees for Mobile homes. A Resolution in support of Measure P creating a True Ward system for Eureka will be considered for endorsement at the next HCDCC General meeting on September 14^th at 7pm at their headquarters at 129 5^th St. in Eureka. Endorsement for candidates of Eureka and Arcata City Councils will also be on the agenda. All Democrats are welcomed to attend.  Check out HCDCC website for more information.  

North Coast Rail Authority comes to Humboldt Bay Harbor!

The North Coast Rail Authority (NCRA)will be meeting this Wednesday September 14th at Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District headquarters at 601 Startare Drive on Woodley Island, Eureka. The meeting starts a 10:30am and all of the public is welcome. The NCRA usually meets at the Humboldt County Courthouse, but that was not available.

A couple of items of Humboldt significant to Humboldt will be:

 E. DISCUSSION

1. Hum Bud Collective, Jennifer Finch– Possible Purchase and/or Lease Agreement for Development of Blue Lake Property on Glendale Drive

2. Humboldt Health & Human Services, Harriet Hill- Arcata Homeless Site Security Plan

Jimmy Walker best stock car driver ever at Redwood Acres? How about Fergie?

I was having breakfast the other day with a couple of local stock car aficionados. The discussion came up about the best drivers all time that races at Redwood Acres. It is a slam dunk that Jimmy Walker was the best and most popular. Other names thrown out there were Don Hood and Hershel McGriff form out of town.

My personal favorite was Fergie Ferguson as he lived down the Marsh road in Myrtletown and his stepson Rick was my best friend growing up. We would spend lots of time watching Ferg work on his #21 car. He used to pull his 283 Chevy motor out of his work truck on weekends to put into his 57 Chevy to race on Saturdays. Were talking about late 60's and early 70's. Those were the days........

Former Machine Room Pulp Mill workers meet up.

Ten of us former Machine Room pulp mill workers met at Toni's in Arcata recently. We had over 320 years of working experience at the mill combined. I was the youngest there at 59. They were excited to hear about the new renovations and the cleanup work ongoing at the pulp mill. We were able to catch up on families and life also. It was kind of cathartic and I was glad I could answer questions about the Environmental Protection Agencies involvement and the garnering of New Market Tax Credit monies to refurbish the Warehouse and buildings with new siding, windows, doors and a roof. Hopefully the new iteration of the Pulp Mill site will create as many jobs as it did in its former life and the Harbor District will continue on it's march to have a "clean" piece of property.

Humboldt County Democratic Central Committee (HCDCC) looking for new members

Now that the June 7 election results have been certified it is time to reorganize the Humboldt County Democratic Central Committee (HCDCC).  There will swear-in elected Members, elect new Officers (Chair, Vice-Chair, Vice-Treasurer, Secretary) and take appointments to fill vacancies in Districts that lack a full compliment of Members.  The Standing Committees (Community Outreach, Ways and Means, Campaign Services, Operations, Communication and Education) will also reorganize and elect new Chairs.

There should be over a dozen openings for new members. Now is a good time for interested Democrats to get involved at the base level of the election process. This organization is also the gateway for future candidates to get experience on "boots on the ground" campaign organizing. 

Member and Associate dues for the 2016-2017 year (July 2016-June 2017) are now payable.  Members $30.00, Associates $15.00.

Here is the Agenda for our July 13 meeting.  The HCDCC meet at 129 Fifth Street in Eureka.   Meeting begins at 7:00PM.  

             Humboldt County Democratic Central Committee

                                         General Meeting Agenda                                                      

                                           July 13, 2016

I.                Call the meeting to order at 7:00 PM, explain Parliamentary Procedure.

II.               Introduction of Visitors and Guests. 

III.              Roll call of Members.

                            
IV.             Minutes and Secretary’s report:

                        Approve June 8, 2016 minutes.   

                        
V.              Treasurer’s Report.

VI.             Announcements from Members/Associates. 

                       

VII.           Chair’s/Executive Board Report:

                         Chair swears-in elected Members;

                         Chair calls for vote by acclamation and swears-in 4 Members;

                         Next a call for nominations and a vote on new Officers;

                         Then a call to nominate appointments for vacancies;

                         Finally the Standing Committees will self-reorganize.

VIII.          Elected Representatives Reports.  

 IX.            Nominations, Elections, Appointments:

                                 

  X.            Committee Reports/Action:

                         A.  Community Outreach and Voter Registration –Chair;

                         B.  Ways and Means – Chair;

                         C.  Campaign Services – Chair;

                         D.  Operations – Chair;

                         E.   Communication and Education – Chair;

                         F.   Ad-Hoc Website – Barbara Kennedy.

XI.             Old Business.

                         

XII.           New Business and Special Resolutions:

                          By-law revision to eliminate dues requirement for Ex-Officios.

XIII.          Adjourn.                              

East/West Train Feasibility grant awarded to Trinity County? Harbor District to help with matching funds?

At today's Humboldt Bay Harbor meeting a member of the Humboldt Bay Harbor Working Group announced that Trinity County was able to obtain a feasibility study grant for the East/West rail project from Cal Trans for $345,000. 1st District Harbor Commissioner Larry Doss asked for funds to be place-marked on this years Harbor District budget to help with either matching funds or other support costs. So $10,000 was earmarked unanimously by the Harbor District. Stay tuned.

It's tournament time!

Snow Leopards dominate again! Samoasoftball .833 OB%.

The Snow Leopards from McKinleyville won the Mad River Softball Association Spring League Tournament, beating Carl Johnson's. The Lagers from McKinleyville took 3rd and Team Monster took 4th. My team, "The Greatest Show On Dirt" tied for 5th with the Jambalaya "Po" Boys of Arcata.

I didn't make an out until our 4th game. Was on base 10-12. I am stoked and ready for summer league.

Humboldt Domestic Violence Services helping promote.

Memorial Day. Samoasoftball burgled for 8 time in year!

I am sure my Father James, and my brothers James, Roy and Mike didn't think they were serving their country  in World War II, Korea and Vietnam to have tweakers  break into my property in Samoa "8" times in less than a year!

This time they cut the lock but Robin fount it discarded nearby. Nothing taken. Slim pickings after that many times broke into. Looks like 3 others were also broken into next to mine.  

Jimmy Smith RIP.

Former Harbor District Commissioner and 1st District Supervisor Jimmy Smith passed away May 23rd. Jimmy was one of those guys that you always felt good after talking to him. Not too many people like that. He will be greatly missed.

Hair today, gone tomorrow.

Sent this batch off to Locks of love. Thought my last donation would be my final, but new crop took a little over a year.

Got alot of sun today at the Arcata Community Center. I was there for 8 hours for softball madness. Weather absolutely gorgeous and lots of great games! 

My Slumoa garage broke into for 4th time this year. With a twist!

Someone broke into my garage in Samoa and left remodel crap and some tires! Why can't people just leave other peoples property alone! Got to go buy new lock once again. 4 times in less than a year is excessive to say the least.

North Coast Rail Authority: "Onto Cloverdale and beyond!"

Escrow closed and the North Coast Rail Authority (NCRA) was 3.65 million dollars richer...........until other bills are paid. But at least some good news for the agency. North Western Pacific Co (NWPco) expressed their desire to partner up and expand rail service as soon as possible to Cloverdale and then Willits!

Homeless Conundrum not just Humboldt. Read SF piece.

Heather Knight continues the SF Chronicles many stories and issues with the homeless. Sounds very familiar, doesn't it? I really don't have the answer to the problem and I haven't heard of any great solutions.

Humboldt Domestic Violence Services needs new board members!

Humboldt Domestic Violence Services is in need of new board members. Our next meeting is this Wednesday at 5:30pm at 520 E st. at the Prosperity Center in Eureka. A community is only as strong as its volunteers at every level. Maybe this is a good fit for you? Come check us out.  

6th Slumoa burglary of the year 2016 for Samoasoftball.

I only turned in one of the claims to the Humboldt Sheriffs office. I was treated like I was the perpetrator instead of the victim. I had the thieves name and contacts who also tried identity theft on my personal accounts. I was shuffled around and I just gave up. Since then I have had 2 more break ins of my garage and 2 property thefts of covered storage area next to my cars. Yesterday I discovered that the jointly shared shed with my neighbor, (which was a heroin den and living quarter to a known drug dealer and person charged with murder) was used to break into my side of the shed from the attic and they ripped off my gas tanks and made a mess of the room. We didn't notice since the lock on the outside was not messed with. (They left my bats, huge BBQ, big lawn mower and other stuff behind since that would have been a huge challenge going through the attic.) So I see that Humboldt County has a high rate of theft. I wonder how many are like me and have only reported 1 out of 6 out of frustration with the process?  

Senior Softball host event at Arcata Playhouse!

King Salmon Fishermen's Channel Dredge Pilot Project. Residents Unite!

Over 50 people showed up to the King Salmon Fishermen’s Channel Beneficial Reuse Dredging Pilot Project open forum tonight at the Woodley Island conference room. Not much elbow room.  Pacific Gas and Electric representatives Kris Vardas and Loren Sharp were present as were Humboldt Bay Harbor 1^st Division Commissioner Larry Doss, Deputy Director Adam Wagshcal and Executive Director Jack Crider.

Mr. Vardas outlined the scope of the project and some history. In 1952 PG & E purchased the property. They last dredged the Fishermen’s channel in 1982 and removed 21,000 cubic yards of material. They are paying for the permitting process to allow the Humboldt Bay Harbor Recreation and Conservation District to dredge the Fishermen’s Channel.  They did sampling of the channel in 2013 and realized that the Fishermen’s channel was basically not accessible.  The Regional Water Board focused on allowing dredge spoils on the King Salmon spit that was created with spoils. The spit is considered Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area (ESHA) and the California Coastal Commission (CCC) would not approve the project dredge spoils in that location.

The United States Fish and Wildlife Services (USF&WS) came up with a Dredge Recycle Identity Plan that produced 30 soil samples from 3 general areas in the channel for a total of 90 samples that measured toxicity levels and predicted affects to animals and organisms in the channel.  The North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (NCRWQCB) granted permission on Dec. 2^nd 2015 for the project to move forward with mitigation measures for Eel Grass and longfin smelt. Dredging will be done from August 1^st to October 15^th 2016. Other agencies that were part of this process were the County of Humboldt, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Humboldt Bay Harbor, US Army Corp of Engineers (USACE), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), North Coast Rail Authority (NCRA) and other regulatory agencies.

The project itself will remove 5,000 cubic yards of material from the King Salmon Fishermen’s channel and pump the spoils to White Slough near College of the Redwoods, approximately 2 ½ miles from the dredge area. (The white slough area is in need of 100,000 cubic yards of material for buildup of that area. The Harbor District needs to mitigate 1.2 acres of Eel Grass by removing 6,000 cubic yards of material in the form of dilapidated pilings and replanting and monitoring replaced Eel Grass for 5 years. (Even though Humboldt Bay has the most dense Eel Grass population of any bay in California, by many times.)

Some of the residents in attendance were not happy with PG&E’s agreement with the Harbor District and felt the residents should have received PG&E’s 2 million dollar “gift” to the Harbor District for taking on 30 acres of responsibility. They also argued that PG&E promised the residents that they would dredge the private owned channel fingers. Mr. Sharp said that he tried to do just that, but PG&E legal counsel said they could not do a public benefit gift to PG&E rate payers. Harbor Commissioner Larry Doss suggested the 88 King Salmon home owners create an association to have a voice in the process. They would need to organize and come to solutions for mitigating 3 acres of Eel Grass in the channel fingers, and apply for grants to help pay for the dredging process for the home owners. (This was also suggested 3 years ago with no success to the residents. This time multiple residents stepped forward to help organize. “United we Bargain, Divided we beg!”) 

1^st District County Supervisor Rex Bohn voiced his opinion that there should be one fluid motion of including the resident owned finger dredge spoils to the process and sending 10,000 cubic yards to White Slough while the pipe line is available. He felt the timing could work to pressure the multiple agencies working on the project now.

There were some gripes from the public but also many solution oriented suggestions and it was good to see the King Salmon community rise to the occasion. This was a positive process overall.       

R.I.P. Charles Ollivier

A big loss. The Frenchman. Loved life, cooking, fast German cars, his family, and Humboldt Bay, the harbor and the port. So many good stories about life as a longshoreman, and in coming to Humboldt County in general.

◼ Charles Louis Bernard Ollivier August 20, 1936 - February 16, 2016

CHARLES LOUIS BERNARD OLLIVIER August 20, 1936 - February 16, 2016

Charles Ollivier died suddenly at home in McKinleyville with his wife and son at his side.

Born in Agen, France, he was the second of three children to Marie Jean Guibert Ollivier and Eloi Desiree Ollivier. Charles' family moved from France to the U.S.A. in 1951 when he was 14 years of age.

He graduated with a "Certificat d'Etudes Primaires Elementaires' from the Academie de Grenoble, Department Des Hautes-Alpes in 1950, and received a diploma from Arcata High School in 1954. He attended Humboldt State University.

Charles brought his love of everything French with him and was glad to share it with anyone anywhere.

Charles worked in local mills, Humboldt Plywood, Roddiscraft, Weyerhauser, and Simpson Lumber Company before proudly becoming a member of the International Longshoremen & Warehousemans Union Local 14. He worked as a longshoreman for 35 years before retiring in 2002. He spent 16 terms as Union President, and also served many times on the Labor Relations Committee as Chairman, Caucus Convention Delegate and on the California Small Ports Committee. He was proud of being a labor organizer and union supporter. With a love for meeting people and his interest in real estate, he completed and received his Certificate of Completion from Anthony Schools in 1971 and worked in several local offices as a Realtor while working as a longshoreman.

He was an elected 5th District Commissioner for 16 years on the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District, serving on numerous committees and with much pride on the Pilotage Committee. He was appointed to the North Coast Railroad Authority (NCRA) Board of Directors. Appointed by Congressman Hamburg, Charles served on President Clinton's Forest Conference in Portland, Oregon on April 17, 1993. Certificate of Special Recognition from the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors for five years of outstanding service on the Board of the North Coast Railroad Authority and for 16 years of exceptional public service as the 5th Division Commissioner on the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District Board was awarded to Charles on August 18, 2009. His service on non-profit boards, Lions Club, and coaching sport teams are too numerous to list.

The enthusiasm and interests in his family and his community were primary in his life. He also thoroughly enjoyed cooking. He collected an impressive Jazz music library, and had an awesome singing voice, often being mistaken as Tony Bennett or another Hollywood celebrity. He enjoyed history, economics, geography and mathematics, and people. He loved dressing well.

He is survived by his partner, wife, and best friend of over 40 years, Carol Ollivier. He is also survived by his beloved sister Helene Black and brother Daniel (Jayne) Ollivier, and his much beloved children: Philip Ollivier (Denise Payne), Jeanine Ollivier Rollins (David), Marc Ollivier (YuShu), Carol's son Sean Sullivan; grandchildren: Jenn Ollivier, Brian Ollivier, Graham Payne, Sean Patrick Sullivan (Janelle Fauquet) and Maxx (Michelle) Sullivan; great grandsons Vincent Ostenberg and Patrick James (PJ) Sullivan; niece and nephew Cathie Hatfield (Matthew Buckley), and Robert Black (Michelle Palermo) and great niece Desiree Hatfield Buckley and Sophie Palermo Black; sister-in-Law Beverly Bennett, and brothers-in-Law Kenneth (Fumiko) Keltner and James Keltner. There are many, many other wonderful nieces and nephews, especially great grand niece Megan Harrison Evenson. Charles was preceded in death by his parents and stepson Patrick Sullivan.

Mass for Christian Burial will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday, February 23rd at St. Bernard's Church, 6th & H Street, Eureka. Family and friends may attend the burial/interment at 10 a.m. on Wednesday at the Greenwood Cemetery, 1757 J Street, Arcata. Please sign the guestbook at www.times-standard.com under obituaries.