Paul Bradshaw Windes (Brad) was born on May 17, 1968 in Columbia, Missouri and died on August 19, 2022 in Eureka, the town he grew up in. He was born to Janet Lafferty Windes (April 28, 1942) and William E Windes (Feb. 2, 1942-Oct.25, 2017). He left behind his wife, Janet, and six adult children — Craig, Patrick, Michael, Tabatha, Tesha and Jennifer — along with many grandchildren.

In trying to capture his essence with words, I am struck by how inadequate language is, but I have so many images of him that run through my mind, particularly Brad in a skirt (kilt) because he loved his Celtic heritage.

Brad was such a big man — big stature, big laugh, big heart, big integrity. He was, at his core, a family man. Family was the most important thing in his life. For Brad, family was a term used to encompass all the people he loved and cared for. Only a portion were related by blood or marriage, but all of us were gathered to his heart along the way, and there in his heart, we knew ourselves to be a family.

Brad never met a stranger. He could (and did) talk to anyone about anything and made people feel heard and important. No matter how different our beliefs and opinions were, Brad effectively communicated respect and curiosity about those differences, never judgment or disregard.

Brad was a kid magnet. He was like his father that way. Brad came into any kid occupied space and was immediately the center of their attention. All children, not just his own, felt important, safe, and treasured when basking in his attention.

His absence has blown a hole through our hearts and our community. I will not say all the people he was survived by. I’d worry I would miss a name. Brad loved us all.

He was a son, a husband, a father and grandfather, a brother, a nephew, an uncle and a friend. He was a role model, a shoulder to cry on, a joke when you needed one, a source of advice you could take or leave. He was such a big part of our lives and we are bumbling along trying to find our way without him.

Brad was a blessing that we all deeply honor receiving. Knowing him changed us, and in all the ways that we are changed by our time with him, we will keep him in our hearts forever.

Goodbye …

Please join us if you are missing him too. We will be gathering to remember him together on September 10, 2022 at 2 p.m. at Humboldt Municipal Water District Pavilion, 7270 West End Road, Arcata, 95521.

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The obituary above was submitted by Brad Windes’ loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

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Is it possible to talk smack about someone without even mentioning them? According to an order issued this morning by Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Timothy Canning, the answer is “yes.”

Canning found that a short sentence in the official candidate statement submitted by Tiffany Hunt Nielsen violated the state’s elections code by indirectly throwing shade at Juan Pablo Cervantes, her challenger in the November runoff election to become Humboldt County’s next clerk, recorder and registrar of voters. This despite the fact that the sentence in question doesn’t even mention Cervantes’ name or existence. 

Here’s the deal: Among the many rules laid out in California Elections Code there’s one — Code Section 13308 — that says candidates for office can’t belittle their opponents in their official ballot statements. In fact, the code says candidate statements:

shall be limited to a recitation of the candidate’s own personal background and qualifications, and shall not in any way make reference to other candidates for that office or to another candidate’s qualifications, character, or activities.

A couple of weeks ago, shortly after submitting her official candidate statement for the November ballot, Hunt Nielsen received a notice from Kelly Sanders, the current county clerk, recorder and register of voters, informing her that an unidentified someone had lodged an objection to this sentence:

“I am the only candidate with experience working in both offices.”

Hunt Nielsen works as a senior documents examiner at the county recorder’s office, way up on the fifth floor of the county courthouse, while Cervantes works as an elections specialist the elections manager in the county’s elections office, located in a former shopping center at the north end of town. Each candidate’s relative lack of experience in the other’s office has been a source of contention on the campaign trail.

In her notice to Hunt Nielsen, Sanders said that she had reviewed California Election Code Section 13308 and concluded that the objection had merit. The sentence may not reference Pablo Cervantes directly, but Sanders concluded that it comments on his qualifications by way of inference.

“I agree that the sentence in question makes reference beyond your own personal background and qualifications,” Sanders wrote. She added that if Hunt Nielsen had instead simply written, “I have experience in both offices,” there wouldn’t have been a problem.

After conferring with the county’s legal counsel, Sanders decided to delete the offending sentence from Hunt Nielsen’s candidate statement prior to printing it in the official voter information guide.

But Hunt Nielsen wasn’t satisfied with this proposed fix. She didn’t dispute Sanders’ conclusion about the sentence, though she may have had a good argument.  A quick google search reveals that this particular formulation — “I am the only candidate … ” — has appeared on dozens of California ballots in recent years, in statements from candidates for everything from school boards to judge to the mayor of Los Angeles. The phrase will even appear on this year’s statewide ballot, in a statement from Board of Equalization candidate Sally J. Lieber, meaning the phrase must have been approved by the Secretary of State. 

Regardless, Hunt Nielsen didn’t fight that part of Sanders’ actions. She just wanted to be given a chance to submit an amended statement of her own, rather than leaving her original statement with one sentence erased.

Hunt Nielsen retained attorney Dustin E. Owens from the Eureka firm of Owens & Ross, who petitioned the court for a writ of mandate that would allow her to replace the contested sentence with one saying, “I have experience working in both offices.” 

When the Outpost asked Hunt Nielsen about the matter on Aug. 20, while she was campaigning at the Humboldt County Fair, she downplayed the significance of the whole affair, saying she didn’t want anyone to get the impression that she was suing her boss.

In an email, Sanders said she was unable to comment and referred us to the court documents. 

In response to an inquiry, Cervantes replied via email, “In my capacity as Elections Manager I’ve stayed removed from Tiffany Hunt Nielsen’s actions. Kelly [Sanders] has been directly handling everything that has to do with the Clerk, Recorder & Registrar contest.”

This morning, Judge Canning issued an order granting the peremptory writ.

“Having considered the evidence and heard the argument of counsel, the Court finds by clear and convincing proof that the original candidate statement of Tiffany Hunt Nielsen contains a sentence that is inconsistent with Elections Code § 13308,” the order says

It also directs Sanders to replace Hunt Nielsen’s original candidate statement with her amended one, which is identical except for that one sentence. 

Press release from the Red Cross:

The Red Cross is actively looking for new volunteers for our Disaster Action Team (DAT). The members of the Disaster Action Team are the first to roll up their sleeves, grab their gear, and respond when disaster strikes.

Due to their proximity to where our response vehicles are staged, we are currently focusing our search for volunteers on the communities Trinidad, McKinleyville, Arcata, and Blue Lake. Our team serves all of Humboldt, Del Norte, and Trinity Counties and DAT responders must be willing to respond across our three county territory.

If you are interested in joining us or just have questions, you can begin by contacting our local Disaster Program Manager Andrew at 707-273-8481 or at andrew.bogar@redcross.org. We will schedule a brief interview and invite you to a new volunteer orientation. We will begin our Disaster Action Team boot camp on October 1st at our McKinleyville Office, training will continue throughout the month of October.

If you are outside the Trinidad, McKinleyville, Arcata, and Blue Lake communities or would like to help with sheltering, logistics, or preparedness education, you can join us by following this link this link.

We look forward to hearing from the best our communities have to offer.

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How can we develop economic growth in Humboldt County? What are our community’s priorities for local economic development? What are our strengths? Our weaknesses?

Those are just some of the questions Humboldt County’s economic development team will ask during a series of community meetings, or “roadshows,” over the coming weeks. (One of those meetings is happening tonight in Fortuna, more on that below.)

“We are intentionally starting this process by listening,” Allie Jones, marketing consultant for Illuminated Marketing, told the Outpost. “In order to create an effective and inclusive economic development strategy, we need to know what community members are experiencing, what their priorities are, and their insights on the strengths and weaknesses of our county.”

Your ideas will inform an update to the county’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). The document, which is developed every five years as required by the Economic Development Administration (EDA), provides a framework to guide local economic prosperity and resiliency.

“This roadshow series isn’t just about the county going into the community and asking what they think, this is a requirement of the EDA and a part of our fiscal responsibility,” Humboldt County Economic Development Director Scott Adair told the Outpost. “This is an opportunity to be heard, to inform metrics and key performance indicators that will create economic policy and enable our county to qualify for grant funding that will enhance the livelihoods in our community.”

This is the first time the county has used the “community first” approach, Adair added. Historically, county staff has “focused on the wisdom and guidance of economic development professionals in the community” to inform the CEDS update. 

“We decided to go to the community first because we don’t want to influence community feedback by frontloading the process with ideas and content from the experts,” he explained. “We want to know what the barista at the coffee shop or the grocery clerk thinks, then we will talk to the experts and see what they have to say.”

Jones acknowledged that “candid feedback and public engagement is messy [and] often full of strong emotions,” but it’s an integral part of creating economic prosperity that represents everyone in our community.

“The passion in the room at our first roadshow in Garberville this past Wednesday certainly reflected the … [vast challenges] for many people living in Southern Humboldt,” Jones said. “The conversation centered a lot around the need for improved roads throughout the region and supporting the existing businesses that are struggling to stay afloat.”

Once the roadshow series wraps up next month, the economic development team will present its findings to local leaders and industry experts. From there, the CEDS will be presented to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors for adoption.

Upcoming roadshows will be held at the following times and locations:

• Eel River Valley: Monday, August 29 from 5:30-7 p.m. at the River Lodge Conference Center, 1800 Riverwalk Drive, Fortuna
• North East County: Tuesday, August 30 from 5:30-7 p.m.at Azalea Hall, 1620 Pickett Road, McKinleyville
• Greater Eureka/Humboldt Bay: Wednesday, September 7 from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Eureka Sequoia Conference Center, 901 Myrtle Avenue, Eureka
• North County: Thursday, September 8 from 5:30-7 p.m. at Trinidad Town Hall, 409 Trinity Street, Trinidad
• Willow Creek: Friday, September 9 from 5:30-7 p.m. at Willow Creek Vets Hall (Ironside Post 9561), 20 Kimtu Road, Willow Creek

More information on the roadshow series can be found here.

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Press release from the unified command of the Six Rivers Lightning Fires:

The Six Rivers Lightning Complex remains in unified command with California Interagency Incident Management Team 14, California Highway Patrol, Trinity County Sheriff, and Humboldt County Sheriff. The Six Rivers Lightning Complex is currently 32,572 acres with 80% containment and 1,860 personnel assigned to the incident.

CURRENT SITUATION

The weather on Sunday was sunny, but smoky. For the next few days a slight rise in temperatures and drop in humidity have been forecasted. Caution will be exercised, as fire activity is likely to remain low with potential to become moderate to high.

Sunday, firefighters continued with mop up on the Ammon Fire, working systematically to extinguish many smoldering fires. This labor-intensive work is important to ensure no spot fires or rollout occur outside of containment lines. On the Campbell Fire, defensive firing operations were continued. The areas in which firing efforts were concentrated were along Lone Pine Ridge and Groves Prairie Road. The firing operations have been very successful thus far, creating good depth along the control line ahead of the advancing fire front.

Monday, a structure protection task force has been assigned to the areas of Trinity Village and Hawkins Bar. They will remain in place as firefighters continue to strengthen control lines, construct contingency lines, and conduct more defensive firing operations.

Please check this link for air quality resources.

ROAD CLOSURES

Due to a large presence of fire personnel and machinery working to build containment lines for the Ammon Fire, residents are asked to limit travel on Titlow Hill Road/Route 1 in zones HUM-E052 and HUM-E062 to essential traffic only. Residents may still use roads to travel out of evacuation order zones:

The following roads into evacuation zones have been closed:

• Forest Route 7n15 at Six Rivers Forest Boundary

• The following roads are restricted to local traffic only:

• Horse Linto Creek Road at Saddle Lane (Open to residents only)

• 6N06 Sandy Bar (Route 6)

• Titlow Hill Road (Route 1) at Horse Mountain Botanical Area

State Route 299 remains open to through traffic. Residents are encouraged to visit the CalTrans Quickmap to check for state highway closures.

FOREST CLOSURES

Forest order NO. 22-10-06 Six Rivers Lightning Complex is currently in place, which includes river access at Kimtu Park.

To view this closure and map, please visit: this link.

EVACUATION UPDATES

For the latest evacuation information go to Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services or Trinity County Office of Emergency Services. For an interactive map of evacuation zones visit Zonehaven Aware. To sign up for alerts visit this link.

EVACUATION ORDERS remain in effect for zones: HUM-E032, HUM-E032-C, HUM-E058 and HUM-E061-A.

EVACUATION WARNINGS remain in effect for zones: HUM-E062, HUM-E063, HUM-E076-B, HUM-E077, Zone 483 - Fisher Road and all residences off of Fisher Road, Trinity Village, Wallen Ranch Road.

Zone 482 - Suzy Q Road and all roads off of Suzy Q Road

Zone 480 - Ziegler Point Road / Forest Service Road 7N04

An EVACUATION WARNING remains in effect for Campbell Ridge Road from Salyer Heights to Seeley McIntosh Road. Salyer area, including Galaxy Road, and the area of Ziegler Point Road/Forest Service Road 7N04 have been reduced to an Evacuation Warning.

ANIMAL EVACUATION CENTER

Hoopa Rodeo Grounds
1767 Pine Creek Rd., Hoopa, CA 95546
Phone: (707) 492-2851

For more information visit Inciweb.

Last Thursday, Louisa and I paddled over to Woodley Island — she on her SUP, me in my kayak — to enjoy a glass of wine at Cafe Marina, overlooking the boats and a pair of seals cruising for their dinner. It was our 44th wedding anniversary, practically a lifetime away from when we got married at the home of Laurence Gauthier, a Justice of the Peace, in Montpelier, Vermont, where we were vacationing. (I had to ask him to turn his TV off!)

We attribute our long-term marriage to several things, but one area stands out: the ground rules we’ve established that have helped us learn to communicate clearly and to “fight fair” — that is, when we fight at all, which nowadays is very rare. It took us years — decades! — to figure these out, but now they serve us well. So, for what it’s worth:

1. We Have a Statute of Limitations Policy

In the past, sometimes one or the other of us would bring up an old hurt, and we would delve back into our history and try to hash things out. Rarely did this work. Sometimes we wouldn’t even agree on what had happened in the first place, and resentments would resurface.

Over time we developed what we call our “statute of limitations” policy, referring to the point when we agree to no longer bring up past conflicts. If one of us does something that disturbs the other, of course, we try to resolve it. But after a couple of conversations, assuming we’ve reached a resolution — even if it’s not perfect — then the subject is closed. At that point, it’s no longer “our” problem; it’s Louisa’s or Barry’s issue, to discuss with a friend, write about, or otherwise sort out on our own without involving the other.

2. We Avoid Tit-for-Tat

Let’s say one of us washes the dishes after dinner. The next morning, if we want the other to do something for us, we don’t get to say, “But I washed the dishes last night.” In other words, we can’t use the fact that we did the dishes as a bargaining chip. We can wash the dishes or not wash the dishes, but if we choose to do them, the action stands alone, free of expectations or obligations. Our goal is to either do things freely or not at all. Of course, it’s not a perfect system, but rarely does either of us feel like a martyr.

3. We Separate Emotions and Decisions

Like any long-term couple, we have ongoing business to deal with and decisions to make about family, children, finances, house, calendar, et cetera. What we’ve found is that it helps to separate “business” from emotions.

If a business issue gets emotionally sticky, we put the topic aside, knowing we need to have a separate conversation about our feelings first. To make good decisions, we need a calm, low-intensity atmosphere.

4. We Don’t Discuss “Serious Matters” if Either of us Has Been Drinking

This ground rule has helped us avoid a lot of conflict. As everyone knows, alcohol affects the nervous system. Something that might feel like a minor irritation when we’re drinking soda water can suddenly escalate under the influence of wine.

5. One Person at a Time Tells the Story!

We don’t like it when other couples interrupt or correct each other, so we try not to. If we’re with friends and one of us is telling a story, the other doesn’t jump in with a correction, like, “Actually, that happened in 2014, not 2015.” If one of us forgets and does this, the other will say, lightly, “Hey! Who’s telling the story?”

6. “Tell Me”

This simple phrase means that the person who says it will listen to whatever the other is going through, without commenting, reacting, arguing, disagreeing, giving advice, changing the subject, or placing time limits. We find that just — just! — listening is very powerful.

7. We Gassho

A ritual gesture of Eastern origin, gassho refers to the hands pressed together in a prayer position. We gassho as a way to express apology or closure. We’re saying, “I’m sorry,” “We’re done,” or “We’re good. We can move on.”

These agreements didn’t arrive all preserved, polished, and readymade; they evolved gradually, over years and years of practice, mistakes, disagreements, and insights. Hammering out our ground rules along the winding road of our marriage is part of what made us resilient.

And they have given us a sense of safety. Without our ground rules, we wouldn’t be able to enjoy our lives as fully or be happy together. Quite simply, we wouldn’t be who we are without them.

The life of Shirley Joan Gatzke — born December 11, 1931 and passing on June 28, 2022 — was celebrated on Sunday, August 21, 2022.

Her two sons, Dave and Mark, and daughter, Debbie, were joined by her son-in-law, Steve, Steve’s sister Susan, daughter-in-law Carol, and grandchildren Ben, Nicole, Colin and Brandon, and Colin’s girlfriend, Michelle and her daughter for a family gathering beginning at the river.

Memories were shared of fishing trips and time floating on the river. Shirley was never much of a fisherman, but she loved to read. So she and Russ made a good team — one fishing and one reading.

The family traveled north to the beach remembering Shirley’s love of agate hunting, playing in the sand, and roasting hot dogs.

This special morning culminated with a visit to Shirley’s butterfly garden where memories of gardening, raspberries, blueberries, apples, the ice cream tree, and target practice were shared. Everyone picked two agate from the collection-one to keep and one to place in the garden. Two plaques were placed to remember Shirley and Russ, who passed in 2011. They will always be together in a placed they loved.

Alexandra, Shirley’s granddaughter, will visit on August 27th to complete our family celebration.

Shirley had six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. She loved to play cards and had a room in her home ready to play at a moment’s notice. Shirley also enjoyed her visits to the McKinleyville Senior Center and the wonderful friends she made there.

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The obituary above was submitted by Shirley Gatzke’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.