In a procession estimated to stretch over a mile, fire trucks, personal cars, motorcycles, a plane and emergency vehicles streamed north from Laytonville to honor Briceland Fire Chief Tim Olsen at a memorial held today in Fortuna at the River Lodge. Another large group poured south from Crescent City and west from Hoopa.

A flood of vehicles rolled north up Hwy 101 just west of Miranda. [Photo by Agnes Patak.]

Crowds lined the streets to watch the vehicles roll past a giant American flag suspended between two ladder trucks. [Photo by Nick Adams.]

As they entered the River Lodge, guests were invited to light a candle in memory of Chief Olsen. [Photo by Nick Adams.] 

Briceland Volunteer Fire Crew wore blue bandannas in honor of their fallen chief. [Photo by Kym Kemp.]

Badges shiny and wrapped in black were worn proudly. Some volunteer firefighters bought their first dress uniforms ever. Normally not much for formality, for Chief Olsen these crew members wanted to wear their best. [Photo by Nick Adams.]

Family members watched [Photo by Kym Kemp]

A bagpiper played as fire crews filed into the large hall. [Photo by Kim Sallaway.]

Hundreds crowded a room lined with family, friends and representatives of multiple agencies. [Photo by Nick Adams.]

A family watched through an open window of the River Lodge. [Photo by Nick Adams.]

Post 6354 Veterans of Foreign Wars sent an honor guard. [Photo by Kim Sallaway.]

Redway Fire Chief Brian Anderson guided the ceremony from the podium.

Sheriff Mike Downey grieved the death of a man he called a very good friend. “I grew to love the man very much,” he said from the podium. [Photo by Kym Kemp.]

Chief Olsen’s shirt and badges carefully preserved. [Photo by Kim Sallaway.]

Chief Olsen’s widow, Alison Olsen, accepts the shadow box with mementos of her husband’s service. [Photo by Nick Adams.]

A traditional firefighters’ ceremony. [Photo by Kim Sallaway.]

All stand in respect. [Photo by Kim Sallaway.]

In one final roll call, the Fortuna dispatch spoke Chief Olsen’s number 5400 out over the scanner. Emergency personell all over northern California heard the call. She paused and repeated it as if waiting for him to report in. She then toned three beeps for an emergency and rang the the sounds for his companies. [Photo by Nick Adams.]

Finally, the dispatch paused then said, Chief 5400 failed to respond. May you rest in peace. In response, retired firefighter and Incident Commander of the memorial service, Diana Totten is moved to tears along with many others. [Photo by Kim Sallaway.]

One final bell ceremony. [Photo byNick Adams.]

Then, the over 700 people attending moved out of the hall into the sun beneath the red and white stripes of the American flag fluttering overhead. Because Briceland Fire Chief Tim Olsen was a veteran, (he was in the navy during the Vietnam War) he received a twenty-one gun salute. The long haunting notes of Taps rang out from a bugle .

Family members hugged each other during the last moments of the ceremony. [Photo by Nick Adams.]

The final roll call is not answered. The chief’s truck sits quietly. His helmet rests on the dashboard. His days of long service are at an end. The firehouse won’t hear his rasping voice. Family and friends file away to homes that he will no longer visit.

The last bell has tolled for Chief Tim Olsen. May his spirit live long in this community and may we make him proud.

According to a PG&E spokesperson, power went out to over 350 customers in the McKinleyville area when a car struck a power pole about 2:35 this morning. Some additional customers were depowered for a short time as crews worked to restore electricity. 

Power has now been restored to the area. For more information on the car vs pole incident, the CHP dispatch report is here.

Photo from the Briceland Fire page showing a 2012 strike team.

Throughout the county, expect to see large numbers of emergency vehicles as the memorial service for Briceland Fire Chief Tim Olsen is held today at the River Lodge in Fortuna.  There will be processions of fire crews and others heading south from Giuntoli Lane in Arcata at 9:45 a.m. and from Garberville heading north at 10:45 a.m. There will be a plane flying over the group en route from the south county.

The processions are expected to arrive at the River Lodge around noon. The actual memorial service will begin at 1 p.m. 

Previously:

• Tim Olsen, Briceland Fire Chief: A Southern Humboldt Leader Passed Away Yesterday
• Fire Chief Tim Olsen’s Memorial Service to include Procession from Garberville to Fortuna

Scenes from the Lady Washington, including the two-hour family oriented Adventure Sails with guests learning to help raise the sails and learning sea shanty.

Lady Washington is docked at Bonnie Gool Dock near the Adorni Recreation Center in Eureka. The ship arrived on a 11-day visit featuring public sailing excursions, walk-on tours, and educational programs for K-12 students. The Washington is a full sized replica that has approximately six miles of rigging and has a mast of 89 feet. The companion ship, the Hawaiian Chieftain will arrive on April 15.

4/13: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., walk-on tours, $3 donation.
4/13: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Adventure Sail, $43 all ages.
4/15-18: 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., walk-on tours, $3 donation.
4/16: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Adventure Sail, $33 all ages.
4/19-20: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., walk-on tours, $3 donation.
4/19-20: 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., Battle Sails, $43-$63.
4/19: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Evening Sail, $43 all ages.
4/20: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Adventure Sail, $43 all ages.

Submitted obituary.

Amos Merrill Tripp was born July 5, 1943 in Eureka, Ca to Amos and Violet Tripp, the second oldest of five boys. He grew up in Klamath and attended Klamath Union Elementary School and graduated from Del Norte High School in 1960 at the age of 16, a year early. While at Del Norte High he was the ASB Student Body President and also attended Boys State. After high school he worked in the local mill while also attending Humboldt State University.

At HSU he waited for, met and then married the love of his life in the fall of 1971. He graduated from HSU in 1972 and then attended UC Davis Law School and received his Juris Doctorate Degree in 1975. He was a partner in the first Indian Law Firm in California from 1976-1979 and then went into private practice for many years.

During his legal career he was very proud of all the work he did on behalf of Indian People, especially on cases where he defend Indian rights. He worked with the Pitt River People to fight against the California Indian Lands Settlement Claim, and he and his wife never did take the California Indian Money refusing to sell their land to the State of California. He worked on fishing rights cases with the California Indian Legal Services and with Eagle Child defending and protecting Indian families through the Indian Child Welfare Act. He also did work to help challenge the GO-Road. He taught Federal Indian Law and Water Law classes for many years at Humboldt State University and College of the Redwoods.

One thing that made him a true Indian attorney is that he was well known for accepting all kinds of payments and his family remembers receiving deer meat and fish, deer hides, crocheted hats and other forms of traditional payment. Although in the early days he would sometimes wear a suit and tie when he had to go to court, his favorite work and meeting look was his short-sleeved plaid shirts which we all know well.

He was the first director of UIHS and later worked for over twenty-five years as their Program Attorney. He was instrumental in shaping the vision that lead to the building of the Potawot Health Village and in the development of programs that honored and included culture and traditional values. During his time there he always provided guidance that honored both traditional and legal values. He was proud of the work during his tenure at UIHS and had a special place in his heart for the elder board members who started the clinic. In fact, his early college years were spent with many of these same elders.

He traveled around the state with his mom Violet and her friend Lena Nicolson, and others, attending Inter-Tribal Council Meetings and participating in the development of many of the foundational Indian Programs that still exist today to serve our Indian People. He later served for ten years on the Humboldt Area Foundation Board of Directors and helped to create the Native Cultures Fund.

In the early 1970’s he and his family worked closely with Karuk Elders Charlie Thom, Shan Davis, Frances Davis, and Fred and Elizabeth Case to restore the brushdance at Katamiin. This was a time when other ceremonies were also getting stronger and Amos was involved in many parts of the cultural revitalization efforts. He was a well-respected maker and caretaker of regalia. He later became the dance leader for the Karuk Brushdance Camp and this is the role that became his life’s work. The values that he believed in and practiced at ceremony were the same values he lived in all parts of his life and he shared this with his family and many, many others. He was especially proud of all the young people who have chosen to carry on these traditions and he was never happier then he was last year when all four of his granddaughters danced together at Katamiin.

These last few years were spent keeping busy as a member of the Karuk Tribal Council, which is something he was very proud of, and spending lots of time with his family. Whether having all the girls over for Sunday Dinners or attending sporting events to cheer on his granddaughters and great-nephews, he never missed the chance to support those he loved. He was known to spend 4-5 nights out of the week at the gymnasium cheering on the kids during basketball season and his presence will be greatly missed.

He is survived by his loving wife of 42 years, Maria “Perky” Tripp and his daughter Pimm and her husband Alme Allen and their daughters Ty’ithreeha and Ahtyirahm, and his daughter Kapoon Tripp and Willy Lamebear and their daughters Wateekwashaun and Karamachay.

He is also survived by his older brother Leroy Tripp and Sue, his younger brothers Brian “BDT” Tripp, David Tripp and Jan, and Phillip Tripp and Rose; his sister Helen and Pat Suri and his cousin Mike McGarity; his sisters-in-law Linda “Chub” Hoffman, Sandry Lowry and Candy Gibson. He is also survived by many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews who loved spending time with him and were very close to their Uncle Amos. He also is survived by everyone in his spiritual family and the entire dance community, whom he considered family.

He was proceeded in death by his parents Amos and Violet Tripp, his father-in-law and mother-in-law Walt and Evelina Hoffman, his brother-in-law Walter “Skippy” Hoffman, his nephew Scott Gibson, his close uncle Leland “Junie” Donahue and his close cousin Wilma “Bucky” Mata.

The pallbearers will be his nephews Sonny Tripp, Hector Tripp, Levi Tripp, Justin Tripp, Jasper Tripp, Emilio Tripp, Phillip Tripp, Jr., Walter Hoffman, Robert Hoffman, Micah Gibson, Chag Lowry and Skip Lowry and his great-nephews Mateek Tripp, Imya Tripp and Tyler Gibson.

The honorary pallbearers are Loren, Pyuwa and Guylish Bommelyn; Frank and Koiya Tuttle; Julian Lang; Hot Rod Donahue; Owee Colegrove, Eli Hensher-Aubrey, Joe and Jude Marshall; Joe James; Javier Kinney; Jesse James; Alphonso Colegrove; Gary Juan, Jr.; Thomas “Kahno” Gordan; Boyd Ferris; Glenn Moore; Jai Kibby; Terry and Zac Brown; Andre Cramblit; Terry Supahan; Raymond McQuillen; Reno Franklin; the Quartz Valley Crew; Willard Carlson and the Carlson Boys; Two Feathers Offield; Tim Nicely and Peter Pennekamp.

Visitation will be held Sunday, April 13th from 11am – 3pm at Paul’s Chapel in Arcata and the Memorial Services will be held the following day on Monday, April 14th at 11am at Redwood Acres in Eureka, with internment to immediately follow at Oceanview Cemetery. The family invites everyone to a reception at Redwood Acres following the services.

Arcata Police Department Press Release:

On 4/12/14 at about 11:14 AM, the Arcata Police Department received a report of two suspicious subjects in the alleyway behind the residences in the 100 block of F St. The subjects were not familiar to the reporting party and were spray painting a bike. Upon the officer’s arrival, they located Cody B. Side (33) of Arcata and Sarah E. Schulz (31) of Arcata in or about a 1999 Toyota pickup. A check of DMV records showed that the Toyota had been reported stolen on 4/2/14 from the 1100 block of F St in Arcata.  Sides and Schulz were arrested for possession of stolen property. Further investigation lead to additional charges for both subjects.

Cody Sides was booked and lodged at the Humboldt County Correctional Facility (HCCF) for the following charges:

• 496 PC - Possession of stolen property
• 11377(a) H&S- Possession of a controlled substance
• 11350 H&S - Possession of heroin
• 11357(C) H&S- Possession of over an ounce of marijuana
• 11364 H&S - Possession of drug paraphernalia
• 1203.2(a)H&S - Violation of probation

Sarah Schulz was booked and lodged in the HCCF for the following charges:

• 496 PC - Possession of stolen property
• 11377(a) H&S - Possession of a controlled substance
• 11364 H&S - Possession of drug paraphernalia

The Arcata Police Department would like to thank the observant citizen that called to report activity that did not look right for the neighborhood.

Previously:

• Victim of Theft Chases Down Suspect Says APD

Today is the birthday of Dave Sundberg and he has spent it looking for his missing wife. But now he received a call that he says is the best birthday present ever. He was informed that his wife, Shannon Sundberg, who has been missing since April 10 has called someone. She is alive.

Sundberg wants to thank everyone who has helped for everything they’ve done. He asks everyone to please pass on the news that Shannon is alright.

UPDATE 4:24 p.m.:

Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Press Release:

On 04/12/2014 at approximately 2 PM, missing person Shannon Paige [Sundberg] was located by the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office. A citizen had phoned the Sheriff’s Office and stated that they were traveling behind the vehicle that was associated with Shannon [Sundberg]. The caller stated the vehicle was last seen traveling south bound on Highway 101 in Eureka taking the Humboldt Hill exit. A Sheriff’s Deputy was in the immediate area at the time of the call and located [Sundberg] parked in her vehicle at the Humboldt Hill Vista Point. [Sundberg] was contacted and did not require any further assistance from the Sheriff’s Office.