Fortuna Police Department Press Release:

Humboldt County’s “AVOID the 7” DUI Task Force is now “AVOID the 8”. The Humboldt State University Police Department has joined the seven other Humboldt County Law Enforcement agencies in the commitment to removing drunk drivers from our roadways and educating the public about the dangers associated with driving while intoxicated.

“The Humboldt State University Police Department is pleased to be able to work with its community law enforcement partners through the AVOID the 8 Grant.” said HSU PD Chief Lynn Soderberg. “Impaired driving affects us all, and UPD is dedicated to enhancing the safety of our students, staff, faculty, as well as our neighbors, by participating in the events sponsored by this program.”

The Task Force is funded through a grant by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Avoid DUI Task Force will next deploy operations on St. Patrick’s.

This last Friday in Arcata local bicyclists gathered to celebrate the biking life. The event was organized and led by Critical Mass Arcata. According to Matthew LaFever a participant, around 100 bike riders joined in the ride.

“We rode a route starting with some celebratory loops around the plaza, up G street, over to Sunset., down to Alliance, through the bottoms back to 11th street, then onto K and finally down to the Arcata Marsh to watch the sunset,” said LaFever who sent in the video above.

Since the early nineties, Critical Mass events around the world often take place on the last Friday of each month and serve to celebrate and promote non-motorized means of transportation.

For those interested in grabbing a bike and pedaling along, the next Critical Mass ride will be on March 28.

Photo from this week’s Critical Mass ride.

Denise Newman led a Night Watchers Walk at Ma-le’l Dunes using only their five senses on Friday night.

For more events from the Friends of the Dunes visit: http://www.friendsofthedunes.org/

City of Arcata team at 31st annual Bowl for Kids’ Sake, with a theme of Under the Sea at Harbor Lanes. The event is a fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the North Coast.

UPDATE 3/8: KMUD interviewed a firefighter who recounted the rescue in detail.

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Original Post below:

KMUD News and scanner traffic tells the story of a kayaker who went missing on the Mattole River. The kayak was found drifting by a fellow kayaker, the rider, however, was gone, so the alarm was sent out. Honeydew and Petrolia Firefighters, Calfire and the Southern Humboldt Technical Rescue were all called out out to search.
At this point, according to KMUD, the lost kayaker was “located on a rock upstream of the Hadley AA Bridge.”

The recent rains have brought river levels up and enticed kayakers out to run the newly full waterways.

Scanner traffic indicates that a rope rescue is being planned right now. We’ll be updating as information comes in.

Kayaker running another Humboldt waterway after a rainstorm in March of 2011.

UPDATE 9:02 p.m.:  Calstar helicopter is on its way to the site.

UPDATE 9:22 p.m.: The patient is out of the water and ready to transport. The person is being evaluated for hypothermia and to determine whether the Calstar helicopter is needed. (Thanks to all the emergency crews working on the rescue!)

Press Release:

Wildlife and animal rights groups today increased to $20,000 a reward for information about the fatal poisoning of a Northern California dog owned by a leading ecologist studying how the same controversial poison affects endangered species. The dog, named Nyxo, died Feb. 3. He belonged to Dr. Mourad Gabriel, who has been investigating how the highly toxic rat poison brodifacoum threatens wildlife, including Pacific fishers and northern spotted owls. A necropsy revealed that the dog had ingested red meat along with brodifacoum.

“Nyxo was a handsome, inquisitive rescue dog who was at my side on many research trips,” said Gabriel. “His death was so unnecessary.”

Dr. Gabriel discovered Nyxo was having seizures and had vomited red meat, which the family had not fed to the dog. The dog was immediately taken to a local veterinarian, who was unable to save the animal’s life. Dr. Gabriel drove Nyxo’s body to a laboratory at the University of California at Davis, where a necropsy determined Nyxo had died of brodifacoum poisoning after being fed meat and the poison.

“Although the circumstances surrounding this unfortunate death remain unclear, we demand justice for this malicious poisoning and condemn the use of violence to silence any scientist, researcher or citizen whose work aims to conserve wildlife,” said Jonathan Evans, toxics and endangered species campaign director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “What is very clear is that the reckless use and sale of these poisons must be banned to end the indiscriminate killing of pets and wildlife.”

The Center for Biological Diversity and Animal Legal Defense Fund increased an initial award of $2,500 that was issued last month. More than 53,000 people have signed a petition demanding justice for Nyxo’s poisoning.

“Poor Nyxo was a beautiful rescue dog and did not deserve to suffer and die,” said Stephen Wells, executive director of the Animal Legal Defense Fund. “We hope this substantial reward offer will help Humboldt law enforcement track down the dangerous individual at large who could do such a thing to a helpless family pet.”

Anyone with information about Nyxo’s poisoning is encouraged to email info@aldf.org or contact the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539. Click here for more information.

Individuals wishing to contribute to the reward fund can visit JusticeForNyxo.org

Background 
Anticoagulant rodenticides interfere with blood clotting, resulting in uncontrollable bleeding that leads to death. Second-generation anticoagulants — including brodifacoum — are especially hazardous and persist for a long time in body tissues.   

The state of California and the Environmental Protection Agency have taken steps to ban hazardous d-CON products containing brodifacoum because of the documented poisonings of children, pets and wildlife. Brodifacoum in d-CON products is still being sold because the manufacturer of d-CON, Reckitt Benckiser, is currently challenging the EPA cancellation order. Conservation groups have called on stores such as Wal-Mart and Lowes to stop selling d-CON products that the EPA has declared unsafe.

A coalition of nonprofit organizations, municipalities, businesses and scientists formed the Safe Rodent Control Coalition to promote effective, affordable rodent-control strategies that protect children, pets and wildlife. For more on the Center’s work to combat anticoagulant poisoning click here.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 675,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund was founded in 1979 with the unique mission of protecting the lives and advancing the interests of animals through the legal system. For more information, please visit aldf.org.

PREVIOUSLY:

• Owner of Dog Poisoned in Blue Lake Speaks Out
• Dog Poisoned in Blue Lake
• $2,500 Reward Offered For Info About Scientist’s Poisoned Dog

Welcome to ROUNDFILED, one of the Internet’s newest features. It is brought to you by the fine folks at LoCO Labs.

Many items fly across the Outpost radar every day. Not all of them rise to postworthiness. ROUNDFILED is scientifically engineered to squeeze whatever valuable residue it can out of the daily slag heap, then to blend those juices together in a nutritious news cocktail.

You’re welcome!

— LoCO Labs

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On yesterday’s episode of “Fresh Air,” NPR’s long-running gab-a-thon, host Terry Gross spent almost 40 minutes interviewing UC Santa Cruz Psychology Professor Craig Haney about the psychological impacts of long-term solitary confinement.  More specifically, they talk about the statewide prison hunger strike that was launched last summer by four inmates housed in the Secure Housing Unit (SHU) of Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City. Well worth a listen. And if you want more on the topic, check out Benjamin Wallace-Wells’ recent story in New York Magazine.

— Ryan Burns

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Humboldt’s reservoir is full and yours is not! The Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District took a press release victory lap around the news — first reported in the Outpost yesterday — that Ruth Lake has filled up to the tippy-top, despite Saharan drought conditions everywhere else in the state.

Check this badass photo of Ruth:

That is what is technically known as water, people.

Said Board President Aldaron Laird:

It’s nice that our community can work together towards a common goal. I would like to thank residents and businesses for conserving our most valuable resource, water. And of course we’re very happy that the reservoir is now 100% filled. While we may be one of the few agencies in California with a full reservoir, we encourage everyone to continue to use water as wisely and efficiently as possible.

The district helpfully attaches the following infographic of other reservoirs in the state. Not to rub it in, or anything.

— Hank Sims

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If none of today’s new LoCO Jobs listings grabbed you, perhaps you’d like to learn to program like it’s 1989! Local comedian, wizard and (apparently) programmer Dr. Foxmeat is recruiting students for a class on how to program your own basic side scroller video games.

Then you will know how to do that. Details in the poster below (click to enlarge).

— Andrew Goff

Left to right: Chunn, Seitz

From the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On 3/7/14, at approximately 7:45 a.m., Humboldt County Drug Task Force (H.C.D.T.F.) Agents, assisted by the Arcata Police Department, served a Humboldt County Superior Court search warrant in the 1200 block of Devlin Court, Arcata.

When agents arrived at the residence they saw one of the occupants jump out a side window. The suspect was immediately caught. He was identified as William Jacob Seitz, 23 years old from San Diego.

When the agents entered the residence they detained four other people, two males and two females. Agents searched the residence and located a Hash Lab, along with an indoor marijuana grow. The agents located and seized 75 growing marijuana plants ranging from 1” to 4’ tall, two pounds of Hash, approximately ten pounds of marijuana leaves, three Hash manufacturing pipes, three empty cases of butane and a .45 caliber semi auto handgun with a loaded magazine. The handgun was located in the marijuana grow room.

Agents spoke Kacey Ray Chunn, 33 years old, who was identified as the person who lived in the home. Agents interviewed the three other detained people and learned they were visiting. The three were identified as an 18 year old female, from Twenty Nine Palms, California, a 21 year old female from Arlington, Texas, and a 22 year old male from Los Angeles. After being interviewed they were released.

Chunn was arrested for cultivation and possession for sale of marijuana, manufacturing a controlled substance, armed in the commission of a felony and maintaining a drug house. Seitz was arrested for violation of probation and resisting arrest. They were both transported to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility. Chunn’s bail was set at $525,000.00. Seitz was booked and released on his own recognizance.

Anyone with information for the Humboldt County Drug Task Force can call 707-444-8095. If you live in the City Limits of Eureka the Eureka Police Problem Oriented Policing Unit can be reached at 707-441-4373.