Fentanyl overdoses are on the rise in Humboldt County. In 2020, Humboldt
County saw 11 Fentanyl related deaths. In 2021, there have already been 33
Fentanyl related deaths.
Fentanyl is added to cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and pills (sold as
Oxycodone, OxyContin, Percocet, Xanax, Adderall, “Perc-30’s”, “M30’s” and many
others). The quantity of Fentanyl added to drugs are unknown to the user thus
making the doses often lethal.
Fentanyl dealers and distributers appeal to the youth by disguising Fentanyl with
many colors (blue, orange, purple, and others). They also use social media such as
Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram to reach children and young people. The
Humboldt County Drug Task Force (HCDTF) encourages parents to closely monitor
your child’s social media accounts.
The HCDTF is combatting Fentanyl overdoses by working in conjunction with the
Humboldt County Coroner’s Office to conduct overdose investigations. HCDTF is
also working with the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office as well as the
United States Attorney General’s office to prosecute those who sell Fentanyl.
Fentanyl is manufactured in a foreign country and is distributed to Humboldt
County from the Bay Area. Special Agents of the HCDTF have shifted their focus to
seizing this Fentanyl as it reaches Humboldt County from these areas. Seizures of Fentanyl appear smaller because of the quantity needed to use Fentanyl. A
Fentanyl user will use microgram quantities which is enough to cause an overdose
as opposed to quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine, or heroin needed to
cause overdose.
In the event of an overdose, Narcan can be administered and can reverse the
effects of overdose and prevent death.
Narcan is available to the public at no cost at the following locations:
Department of Health and Human Services 908 7th Street, Eureka
707-268-2132
Humboldt Area Center for Harm Reduction
1522 3rd Street, Eureka
707-407-6013
Redwood Rural Health Center
101 West Coast Road, Redway
707-923-2783
Some Humboldt County Pharmacies Offer Narcan (Naloxone) Without Needing a
Prescription
Jurors in the second trial of Arcata rancher Ray Christie will learn about the many cow carcasses found on his property, but they won’t hear the prosecution’s theory that Christie was switching ear tags to falsely identify some cows as “organic.”
“Tags out, carcasses in,” Judge Christopher Wilson ruled this morning after hearing attorneys argue about which evidence is relevant in Christie’s upcoming trial on four felony counts of animal cruelty.
Wilson, who presided over the first trial, said “I’ve not seen evidence of any kind of tag-switching.”
Officers who raided Christie’s Arcata Bottoms ranch in 2018 found about 1,300 metal tags in a bucket, leading them to suspect the metal tags had been discarded and replaced.
“A bucket of these doesn’t mean anything,” defense attorney Rick Richmond said, holding up a baggie containing metal tags.
As to the piles of carcasses on the ranch, Richmond argued that even in the healthiest herds, the mortality rate is as high as 10 percent. Christie processes up to 50,000 cows a year, he said, with 10 percent adding up to 5,000 dead animals. An estimated 200 were found on his ranch.
No-one, including Christie, would describe his herd as healthy. He buys sick cows at the Fortuna auction with the goal of rehabilitating them and selling them for a profit. Some of the cows are already dead when he gets home to Arcata.
At the first trial, the jury convicted Christie of numerous misdemeanor counts of dumping carcasses near state waters. Jurors deadlocked 11-1 on the animal cruelty counts, with the lone dissenting juror unwilling to convict.
Richmond argued today the carcasses are not related in any way to the accusations of animal cruelty, saying the prosecution must prove the connection.
“There’s no proof of how these carcasses became carcasses,” he said.
“There were a lot of dead animals on Mr. Christie’s property,” Wilson responded. “Should a jury be precluded from hearing that? I don’t think so.”
Wilson said he wants the jury to have a full picture of the general condition on Christie’s properties, and the carcasses are part of the picture.
Deputy District Attorney Steven Steward referred to photographs displayed during the first trial, showing cows with no access to food and water.
“They are on the verge of dying from dehydration and lack of food,” Steward said.
Wilson commented that if he owned sick and dying animals and figured they weren’t going to make it, he’d be thinking about getting them to the rendering plant in Redding. Humboldt County has no rendering plant and hasn’t for many years.
To further complicate the pre-trial proceedings, last month agents from the federal Department of Agriculture raided the Arcata Bottoms ranch and seized evidence. So far no federal charges have been filed. But Humboldt County law enforcement participated in the raid, and Richmond believes they were seeking evidence to use in the local trial.
“It was a federal raid and it was supposed to be a federal search,” he said. Instead, Humboldt County officers were “completely out of control.”
“They were questioning the ranch hands about the care and feeding of animals, riding their bicycles around the property taking pictures,” Richmond said.
He has filed a motion to suppress any evidence seized during the latest raid.
Prosecutor Steward says he hasn’t decided whether to use anything gathered in the federal operation.
“I’m not sure of what evidence may have been seized,” he said.
Wilson has not seen the motion to suppress and said it would be premature to discuss it at this point.
Outside of court, Richmond announced “Mr. Christie is innocent of all charges. That’s my quote for the day.”
The next hearing is scheduled for Nov. 30. The trial is set to begin in January.
The money waters the weed, which grows strong and tall on the “trellis.”
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From the Humboldt County Economic Development Division:
Working to overcome the financial challenges of the current commercial cannabis marketplace, COVID-19 and fire and drought, local cannabis cultivators have an opportunity to receive funding through the County of Humboldt’s Project Trellis Emergency Cultivation Micro-Grant. There is $1 million in funds available from a one-time Measure S disbursement allocated by the Board of Supervisors on Sept. 21. The program is administered by the County Administrative Office - Economic Development Team (GoHumCo) and the Project Trellis Committee.
Cannabis cultivation businesses that hold post-approval permits and provisional or annual state licenses my apply for up to $25,000 to help offset business-related debt and expenses.
Grant Eligibility
Applicants must be:
A Humboldt County-based cannabis cultivation business, with post-approval permits and provisional or annual licenses.
Have 75% or more of your operations based in Humboldt County.
Be currently licensed and registered to operate in Humboldt County.
Conduct activities that are specific to cultivation.
Applications are available on the Project Trellis Emergency Cultivation Micro-Grant webpage.
The application form should be submitted electronically, however, hard copies are accepted if documents are easier to submit in paper format. A PDF version of the application can be found in the documents section of the Project Trellis Emergency Cultivation Micro-Grant webpage. Hard copies can be picked up by contacting Project Trellis at ProjectTrellis@co.humboldt.ca.us or 707-445-7745. Applications can be mailed or delivered to the County of Humboldt County Administrative Office – Economic Development Team, Attn: Project Trellis, 825 5th St #112, Eureka, CA 95501. The submission deadline is 5 p.m. on Dec. 15 and only complete applications, including all required attachments, will be accepted for consideration.
All applications will be reviewed by Economic Development Staff for completion and then scoring. Recommended funding will be taken to the Project Trellis Committee for review. Economic Development staff will then present the final funding recommendations to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors for approval.
Applications may be subject to public disclosure pursuant to the California Public Records Act.
For more information, please visit the Project Trellis Emergency Cultivation Micro-Grant webpage, or contact Project Trellis at ProjectTrellis@co.humboldt.ca.us or call 707-445-7745.
A Eureka man was arrested yesterday after he allegedly fired a gun into the air near the Del Norte Street Pier at approximately 7:25 p.m., during an argument over his unleashed dog.
Jordan Fenwick’s booking photo. | EPD
Eureka Police Department spokesperson Brittany Powell told the Outpost that officers found 37-year-old Jordan Fenwick walking a nearby trail following the shooting and arrested him without incident.
“Based on the investigation it was determined the male fired the gun after a verbal argument over his unleashed dog,” Powell said.
Fenwick was booked into Humboldt County Correctional Facility at 9:07 p.m. on multiple charges, including: exhibiting a firearm, threats to commit a crime, negligent discharge of a firearm, carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle, and carrying a loaded firearm in a public place.
Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:
On Nov. 5, 2021, at about 12:45 a.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies on patrol in the Garberville area observed a Uhaul box truck traveling at a high rate of speed. Deputies conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle in the area of Alderpoint Road and Wallan Road.
After stopping the truck, two occupants fled from the vehicle into nearby vegetation. Deputies searched for the individuals but were unable to locate them due to darkness and terrain. Due to the potential for additional individuals inside the storage portion of the truck, deputies conducted a search of the vehicle. During a search of the truck, deputies located over 3,683 pounds of cannabis. The cannabis did not contain California Cannabis Track and Trace information and was being transported illegally.
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Marijuana Enforcement Team responded to investigate and seized the cannabis for destruction.
This case is still under investigation.
Anyone with information about this case, including the identities and current location of the two occupants, is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.
Wowza! Your President of Positivity might have met her match this week!
For our latest adventure, kick off your Monday at the beach with Michaele and her buddy Kristy Hellum, a local phone-wielding photographer who has gotten in the habit of asking people she encounters out in Humboldt’s beautiful natural areas if they’d be willing to “jump for joy” in front of her lens. And they often do!
Kristy has collected so many photos of joyful jumping Humboldters at this point that she’s decided to make a poster featuring a collage of some of her favorite shots that she plans to release to the public with all proceeds going to local charities — specifically, Miranda’s Rescue, the Trinidad Coastal Land Trust and Kee Cha E Nar, alocal Yurok tribal wellness and cultural organization helping with issues surrounding missing and murdered Indigenous women.
See a web-sized version of the Humboldt For Joy poster below and stay tuned to Kristy’s webpage for more poster details as well as more images of locals jumping for joy. Ciao Bella!
On this week’s episode of Humboldt Holding Up — LoCO‘s somehow-still-a-thing podcast — we are joined by Thomas and Cody Nicholson Stratton, two self-described “fabulously gay farmers” who locals may know better as the Foggy Bottoms Boys. The couple currently operate a sixth generation meat and dairy farm in Ferndale while also maintaining a fun, active social media presence which you can sample below.
Your “Aww” is an appropriate response. Topics on this week’s episode include:
The story of how Cody and Thomas met
The decision to make their relationship an aspect of their branding strategy
Their adorable animal butt-heavy logo which you can find on their products in Humboldt stores
How they’ve been embraced in the Eel River Valley
More!
Click the audio player above (or subscribe on Apple Podcasts here) to listen to Thomas and Cody’s chat with the Outpost‘s Stephanie McGeary and Andrew Goff and/or scroll through past Humboldt Holding Up guests below.
