Sally Jo Klinetobe (Spafford) passed away October 21, 2021 at the age of 74, ending her courageous battle with cancer. She resided in Cameron Park California, but was a resident of Fortuna for 67 years.

Sally was born in Forest Grove, Oregon on May 30, 1947 to Fred and Dolores Spafford. They moved to Fortuna when she was the age of seven and attended local schools. Sally was a 1965 graduate of Fortuna Union High School.

She married Louis Brouillard in June of 1965. Her eldest daughter was born in January 1966. In early adulthood, Sally attended Heald Business College in San Francisco. She held numerous clerical positions in the Fortuna/Eureka area. In 1992 Sally was employed by Fortuna Parks and Recreation where she continued to work in various capacities supporting the Senior Bus Program as a dispatcher. She took great pride in caring for the senior bus riders. In addition, she spent many years assisting with the operations of the Depot Museum. After 21 years of service Sally retired in 2013.

Sally remarried to Gale Lee Klinetobe on June 7, 1975. They were married 39 years when Gale preceded Sally in death in March 2014. Together they had two children. Sally had many pastimes and interests over the years. In the 70’s, she became a loyal and dedicated Young and the Restless soap opera fan and recorded her shows daily ensuring she never missed an episode. She enjoyed NASCAR and watched it religiously every weekend with her husband Gale. She had many favorite drivers including Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch. Sally loved watching many televised sporting events and found joy in her last days watching the recent NLDS with her son, Wade, and son-in-law, Brian. Sally and Gale would often travel to the Sacramento area to spend time with their kids and family. They both loved to relax and gamble together, stopping at various casinos to drop a few dollars. Despite trying to get Sally to try other machines, she only wanted to play penny slots and she always won!

She had a true passion for the ocean and embraced the tranquility, smell, and sounds of the waves crashing on the beach. Throughout the years Sally and Gale visited many scenic locations along the California and Oregon coast. She was successful with her final wish to visit the Mendocino Coast where she enjoyed reuniting with friends and relaxing. Sally’s hobby was to collect owls, she had a colorful and unique collection.

For those of you who knew Sally we would be remiss not to mention that she was a talker! Sally was very social and had an amazing memory, she often caught details that others missed. She also maintained many strong relationships with others throughout the years.

Sally was a 37-year member of the American Legion Auxiliary, Walker Bailey Post #205. She served as the Secretary and Treasurer for many years and also held many Chairman positions in District #1. She was active for many years with various activities within the Legion community, including the annual Poppy sale, bake sales, crab feeds, and holiday events. She loved all her family so much and was very proud of her children and their accomplishments. Her pride and joy were her grandsons, Andrew and Nicholas. She would frequently read to Nicholas and enjoyed watching Andrew’s football games. She loved being a grandma and we know she will miss them dearly.

Sally was loved by many and will truly be missed. She will always be in our hearts.

Sally is survived by her brother, Gary Spafford and sister-in-law, Lynn of Susanville; daughter, Starla Spencer and son-in-law, Brian of Garden Valley, Calif.; daughter, Tori Klinetobe of Fortuna ; son Wade Klinetobe and daughter- in-law Alexandra, and two grandsons, Andrew and Nicholas of El Dorado Hills; brother-in-law, Roger Hardie and sister-in-law, Sue of Copperopolis, Calif.; brother-in-law, Gary Klinetobe of Susanville; brother-in-law, Greg Klinetobe and sister-in-law, Vickie of McKinleyville; sister-in-law, Sandy Klinetobe, of Rio Dell; Nephews, Cory Spafford, of Tustin, Calif.; Richard Klinetobe and Amber of Susanville; Gary Wayne Klinetobe, of Fortuna; Gregory Klinetobe Jr. and Rebecca of Stockton; Jeff Hardie and Roxanne of Susanville, CA; Christopher Hines and Christina of Fortuna; Nieces, Dezarae Young and Barry of Carlsbad, Calif. ; Carolyn Klinetobe, of Hydesville, CA; Laura Simpson and Todd of Fortuna; Harmonie Klinetobe of Fortuna; Lydia Klinetobe of Scotia; Kristy Davis and Johnnie of Sonora; goddaughter, Tania Russo of Redding; and numerous great-nieces and nephews; great-great nieces, great-great nephews, and cousins. Sally was preceded in death by her father, Fred Spafford; mother, Dolores Spafford; sister-in-law, Glenda Hardie; nephews, Michael Klinetobe & Clyde Burt.

A graveside burial will be held on November 6, 2021 at 11 a.m. at the Sunrise Cemetery in Fortuna. Shortly after the service family and friends are invited for a celebration of life at 1pm at the River Lodge Conference Center in Fortuna. Flowers in memory of Sally may be sent to the family at Les and Debra Bishop’s residence, located at 1121 Elizabeth Barcus Way, Fortuna, CA, 95540.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Sally Klinetobe’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.

The world lost a beloved mother and wife, Bessie Jean Murray, on the evening of Monday, October 25, 2021 after years of suffering from dementia. Jean passed away peacefully at home with her devoted husband by her side.

Jeanie, as she was affectionately referred to, was born to Joseph Guieseppe Giacopazzi and his wife Sibyl on April 2, 1939 in Fortuna at the Ferrar Maternity Home; the same place of birth as her cherished husband. Raised in several locations throughout Humboldt County Jeanie, attending schools in Ferndale, Scotia and lastly at Fortuna High School. There she met her husband of 64 years, Jack Murray whom she married in 1957 at the Catholic church in Scotia.

The couple spent their early years residing in Fortuna until 1961 when the pair moved to North Carolina while Jack served in the military. Upon their return to Humboldt County, Jeanie’s dream of becoming a mother came to fruition when the twosome adopted their fist child in the midst of the ’64 flood. Soon afterwards, Jack and Jean discovered their son was born deaf. True to form, Jeanie began researching the best schools for the hearing impaired. The couple decided upon a school in Sacramento, subsequently moving there in 1968. While in Sacramento the duo completed their family with the adoption of a second child; a baby girl.

Jean was the epitome of a devoted wife and mother, earnestly supporting her husband throughout their marriage, modeling a beautiful illustration of loyalty, respect, devotion, and unconditional love. Equally ardent with her children, Jeanie selflessly spent her days aiding her son in his ability to read lips and use sign language as well as well as attending every school activity her children enrolled in: sports, music, and drama. Jeanie volunteered countless hours as a teacher’s aid, fund raiser, den mother, and behind the counter in the snack shack at her children’s sporting events. Jeanie helped to instill a sense of responsibility, dignity, humility, and motivation in her children. Undoubtedly, the importance of parenthood was perpetually in the forefront of her mind and heart, continually leading by example.

Jeanie had a fervor for the written word, spending hours in the thoughts and imaginations of others. One night as a child, Jeanie sat on a stool in her family home, reading by the light of the hearth. Immersed in her story, Jeanie failed to fuel the fire, forcing her to scoot closer and closer to the fire as its light slowly dimmed. When Jeanie at last closed her book, she discovered that she had moved the stool right into the middle of the fireplace. After several years of being back in Humboldt, Jeanie’s children began their transition into adulthood, giving her the time to indulge her desire to become a journalist and author, joining a writers club in Fortuna. Through the years, Jeanie wrote numerous articles for The Humboldt Beacon, Northcoast View, and The Times-Standard as well as having three of her own books published.

Family was very important to Jean. Genealogy become a passion of hers. She loved discovering her ancestries and histories and those of her husband as well. Jean was especially proud of her Titus ancestry. They were a large and interesting family with many members still living in Ferndale and throughout Humboldt County. She had traced their lineage as far back as the 1600’s. Unfortunately she was never able to take advantage of the DNA technology which became so prevalent.

Jeanie is best described as a woman of kindness, empathy, and consideration, always making herself available to friends and family, approaching life’s situations from a place of love and forgiveness. Her nurturing nature revealed qualities of patience, attentiveness, and compassion towards both humans and animals alike, rescuing the stray and injured.

Jeanie is survived by her husband Jack Murray, two children: son Randy Murray and his wife Jenny, daughter Barbara Murray and her life partner Frank Leonardo, three grandchildren: granddaughters Katie and Karlie Murray, grandson Nathanael Murray, and sister Carmella Perdue, and several nieces and nephews. Jeanie is preceded in death by her sister Rename Bush and brothers: George and Jerry Giacopazzi.

Jean has blessed the lives of those fortunate enough to know and love her. Her presence in the world will be deeply missed but never forgotten.

Family and friends are invited to pay their respects on Friday, November 5, 2012. Viewing: 11 a.m. through 12:15 p.m. at Goble’s Mortuary 560 12th Street, Fortuna. Graveside service: 1 p.m. at Sunrise Cemetery 3315 Newburgh Road, Fortuna, CA.

Local disc golfer Finn Sullivan won first place in the 18-and-under division at the National Amateur Disc Golf Tour National Championships on Sunday.

Sullivan hoists his championship trophy.

The 17-year-old phenom has now placed first in all six junior competitions he’s entered, dating back to late April.

“I’ve been playing since I was born,” Sullivan told the Outpost.

Sullivan said that his dad Dutch Sullivan — who used to tour the pro disc golf circuit in the early ‘90s  — taught him how to play the game.

At the tournament, Finn Sullivan outplayed his closest opponent by 12 strokes and finished with the lowest score among all disc golfers with a -23. Sullivan said he also pulled off a number of impressive technical shots to seal his first A-Tier event win.

“I had the greatest shot of my life,” he said. “The first day was really windy. I had a putt that was behind a tree for birdie in 30 mph winds with gusts up to 50 mph. It was almost unplayable.”

Arcing the disc high into the air, Sullivan used the wind to sink an impressive 60-foot putt.

“I putted it and the wind drove it right into the basket,” he said. “I was stoked.”

The Arcata High School senior said that he was able to enter and travel to the tournament thanks to generous donations from local community members and his cohorts at Par Infinity — a local disc golf club. Through a GoFundMe page, Sullivan raised more than $2,000 for the trip.

“I had help from a bunch of wonderful people,” he said. “It was basically raised instantly.”

By winning the tournament, Sullivan took home some fancy swag, including a glass trophy, a Zuca disc cart and a Bushnell laser Rangefinder. While junior division competitors aren’t awarded cash prizes, Sullivan said that he plans to compete in the Male Pro Open division next year, where winners can earn as much as $10,000.

“I could have played the MPO, but I just wanted to play the junior division and make some new friends,” he said. “It was a great experience. I’m going to do the MPO next year.”

For now, Sullivan is focused on finishing up his schoolwork at Arcata High. He then plans to stay in Humboldt to attend College of the Redwoods and ultimately transfer to Humboldt State University. He also plans to get a job and save up for a van that he can use to tour the country when he decides to go pro.

“Someday I do want to be a professional,” he said. “Technically I already am, but I don’t think I’m quite ready yet. I’m definitely going to be a touring disc golfer at some point.”

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The alley between Fourth and Fifth and E and F Streets in Eureka shall henceforth be officially known as “Charlie Moon Way,” after the Eureka City Council unanimously approved the name during its Tuesday night meeting.

The name was chosen by members of the Eureka Chinatown Project — an effort of the Humboldt Asians and Pacific Islander is Solidarity (HAPI) to educate the community on the history of the Chinese people in the area and the atrocious Chinese expulsions of 1885 and 1906. Charlie Moon, a ranch worker, was one of the Chinese immigrants who resisted the expulsion and lived out his life in Humboldt and Trinity Counties.

Robin Praszker, environmental project manager for the City, began by giving some history on Moon and why his name was chosen. Though Moon has been historically referred to as “the last Chinese man in Humboldt,” he was not the only Chinese person who stayed during the expulsion.

“However, Charlie’s story and family are a bridge between the past and present and open the conversation to learn more about the others who resisted the expulsions and carried on Chinese culture and traditions in our area,” Praszker said.

The informational plaques that will be added to Eureka’s wayfinding signs | Screenshot from city staff presentation

The alley naming is just one component of the Eureka Chinatown Project, which has also included installation of a mural honoring another famous Chinese immigrant, Ben Chin. Members of the project have also been hosting walking tours through the historic Chinatown area, and soon two informational plaques outlining the history of the Chinese people in Humboldt will be placed on the City’s wayfinding signs on Fifth Street.

Project Coordinator Brianne Mirjah of HAPI thanked the council for its support on the project and the alley naming. “It is both inspiring and refreshing to see such support from the city’s leaders when historically Chinese residents of Eureka experienced quite the opposite,” she said.  “I believe we are truly on the right path to creating a more inclusive community.”

Mirjah also read a statement written by Jan Carr — a descendant of Moon’s employer, Thomas Bair. When a mob came to Bair’s ranch in 1885 to force Moon out, Bair is said to have defended his employee by wielding a shotgun.

“My entire life I’ve been proud to be a Bair descendant and that has everything to do with Charlie Moon and my great-great grandfather, Thomas Bair the First,” Mirjah read from Carr’s letter. “I know that the Bair family and the Moon descendants are so very proud of this important piece of history. Thank you for honoring Charlie in this wonderful way.”

Moon’s great-great granddaughter, Yolanda Latham also spoke during the meeting and thanked the Eureka Chinatown Project and the City Council for initiating this “tiny step” in acknowledging the atrocities of the past.

“I believe that memorializing the Chinese expulsion and my grandfather is an honor,  not only to my family and all our descendants, but a fundamental aspect of our local history that should be shared — a history that can be described as turbulent, violent and unforgiving,” Latham said. “But today is a good day to start unraveling the mystery of the Chinese Expulsion and share the details with the world and progress to a better tomorrow.”

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In other business, the council also discussed launching a search for an Independent Police Auditor to review policy and proceedings of the Eureka Police Department, including citizen complaints, internal affairs investigations, use of force incidents and officer-involved shootings.

During its Oct. 6 meeting, while discussing ways to expand the duties of the police department’s Citizen Accountability Board — formerly known as the Citizen Advisory Board — the council agreed that the city should hire an outside police auditor and directed staff to draft a request for proposals (RFP). Eureka City Manager Miles Slattery presented the first draft RFP to the council for review during Tuesday’s meeting.

Eureka City Council and staff discuss the RFP for an Independent Police Auditor| Screenshot from hybrid meeting

The council largely supported the draft and directed staff to move forward with finalizing the RFP, which will likely be reviewed and released at the council’s next meeting. The tentative deadline for proposals is set for Jan. 7, 2022. After that, city staff will review the proposals and make a recommendation and the council will select an auditor. The council also set the length of the contract at two years, with the possibility of extension.

The decision to hire an Independent Police Auditor comes in the wake of the EPD texting scandal, which made public a string of vile text messages sent among a group of EPD officers. In a recent interview with the Outpost, Slattery said that the investigation has concluded but that the city’s legal team is still reviewing the findings before any information can be released to the public.

Eureka Police Chief Steve Watson also recently, and unexpectedly, announced his retirement from the department, though Watson said that his decision was not related to the findings of the investigation. Watson plans to retire at the end of this month.

The council discussed the police chief vacancy during a closed session at the beginning of Tuesday night’s meeting, but City Attorney Bob Black reported that “no final actions were taken in closed session.”

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• Vaccine Mandate for City Employees, Beefed-Up Police Oversight on Next Tuesday’s Eureka City Council Agenda
• Eureka City Council Approves Vaccination Mandate for City Employees

Humboldt County COVID-19 Joint Information Center release: 

As decisions to vaccinate and wear face coverings in public indoor and outdoor crowded settings drive down COVID-19 case rates and hospitalizations, health officers for two rural Northern California counties that require face coverings in public spaces today reached consensus on criteria to lift those health orders.

All the health officers across the rural Northern California counties continue to work together to protect public health with a consistent regional approach, and to plan for the next phase of response and recovery to COVID-19 as this current wave of the pandemic ebbs.

On Monday, Nov. 8, Del Norte and Humboldt counties will lift the outdoor masking requirements. Additionally, the two counties will lift the indoor masking requirement in public spaces not subject to state or federal masking rules when all the following occur:

1. Consistently low and stable COVID-19 cases by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data tracker
2. Consistently low and stable hospital impact of respiratory viruses including COVID-19
3. Improved community protection with vaccination.

Both health departments issued the masking requirements for their respective jurisdictions in August following a summer surge in cases, hospitalizations and deaths that were the worst yet for the rural Northern California region.

But now with regional data showing the surge is receding, and with vaccination rates increasing across the region, health officials in these counties are offering guidelines to inform the public when they can expect local masking orders to be removed. 

Masks and vaccination continue to be the best protections against COVID-19, and these principles support the evidence and science used to make important public health policy decisions.

Del Norte County’s health officer Dr. Aaron Stutz said, “It is no accident that transmission has slowed in the rural north of our state. Public health interventions, including masking, are working. Our health orders, COVID-19 vaccination, as well as outreach and education are all added layers of protection and have resulted in saved lives. Our communities all worked together to lessen the impact of this deadly Delta surge and will continue to work together as we enter recovery.”

Humboldt County Health Officer Dr. Ian Hoffman agreed, “Vaccination is the best way to protect our communities,” he said. “We will continually evaluate our progress on vaccination as those numbers help us decide when it will be safe to lift the masking orders.”

California’s health guidance for the use of face coverings will remain in effect after local masking requirements are lifted, meaning that people who are not fully vaccinated for COVID-19 must continue to wear masks in businesses and indoor public spaces.

Read the Order of the Humboldt County Health Officer for the Wearing of Face Coverings in Workplaces and Indoor Public Settings.
The state also requires face coverings for everyone, regardless of vaccination status, in health care facilities, on public transit and in adult and senior care facilities. California’s masking guidelines in K-12 schools would also not be affected by changes to local health orders.

View the Data Dashboard online at humboldtgov.org/dashboard, or go to humboldtgov.org/DashboardArchives to download data from a previous time.

For the most recent COVID-19 information, visit cdc.gov or cdph.ca.gov. Local information is available at humboldtgov.org or by contacting covidinfo@co.humboldt.ca.us or calling 1-707-441-5000.

PREVIOUSLY:

• A WEDDING to REDDING? There Are Ideas to Join Us With Shasta County at the State and Federal Level, and the State Citizens’ Redistricting Commission Would Like Your Feedback

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When last we checked in with the state’s Citizens Redistricting Commission, it was taking a look at joining Humboldt with our neighbors to the east, rather than the south. This would have affixed our county to Redding, and particularly to the bloviatory Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) – a bitter fate for many North Coasters who since 2012 had become accustomed to being represented by Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael).

Well, with the publication of the commission’s latest round of “visualizations,” it appears that idea has been scrapped. As the commission inches ever-closer to an actual map for our Congressional and state legislative districts – a process the independent state body does, now, every 10 years, following the federal Census – Humboldt seems to have been once again tacked on to districts that stretch up and down the Highway 101 corridor, which is the way it has always been previously.

But for hardcore Huffman fanatics, the district doesn’t stretch down far enough in these new visualizations! Right now, the commission has the Congressional district stretching down only as far as Sonoma County, leaving the representative’s home base out in the cold. We’ll look at a map in a second, here.

The Citizens Redistricting Commission is taking feedback on these new visualizations today and tomorrow. You can view them in detail at this link, and you can submit your feedback at this link. Want to watch the meeting? Click this link for a schedule and links to the livestreams. They’ll be going until 6 p.m. this evening, and from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. tomorrow. Actual draft maps are due to be released on or before Nov. 15.

Now let’s look at how the current maps play out in these new visualizations, from a Humboldt-centric point of view.

Congress

Most of the relevant action in these maps takes place at the southern end, so zoom down there, if you like.

Now, an important thing to remember about the Citizens Redistricting Commission is that it is meant to be non-partisan, and the wants and needs of current officeholders are not supposed to play any role in their decisions.

And it’s certainly not playing any role in this visualization, because Rep. Jared Huffman has been cut off from the bulk of the district he has represented for the last 9 years … and has instead been placed in the district belonging to longtime Congressman (11 terms!) Mike Thompson. (Thompson, a Napaite, represented Humboldt in the House before the 2010 redistricting.)

So what would this mean? Would staunch allies Huffman and Thompson rock-paper-scissors for who gets to represent this megaweathly Marin-Napa Congressional district, which weirdly has ultrapoor Lake County attached to the top of it? If so, who’s going to step up to run for the new North Coast district?

Good questions, but there’s another factor to take into consideration, here: You don’t actually have to live in the same Congressional district that you represent. If this map becomes reality and Huffman still wants to serve the North Coast, he won’t even technically have to move house to run again. Some might frown, but you can’t imagine it affecting the vote much.

State Senate

Not a whole load of change here, though the Second District loses Lake and Trinity Counties in exchange for a bigger bite out of Sonoma. (See current map here.)

State Assembly

Now this one is a little wild. Rather than ending midway through Santa Rosa, as it currently does, the Second Assembly District would stretch all the way down to the Golden Gate Bridge — largely, though not completely, just on the west side of Highway 101 through Sonoma County. The second would gain Rohnert Park and Petaluma and Point Reyes, but would lose Santa Rosa and Healdsburg.

That might be a bit of an issue for incumbent Assemblymember Jim Wood, a Healdsburg resident who we’re almost positive hangs his hat on the east side of the highway.

If this is the case, it’s a little bit more of an issue than it would be for Huffman. In California, legislators must live in the district they represent. A couple of years ago, though, the state legislature passed a law that basically allows its members to declare that their “home” is wherever those members choose to register to vote. 

So if Wood is drawn out of this district, and if he wishes to still represent it in the Assembly, and if he doesn’t want to move house, he would still have to go through the trouble of re-registering to vote at some apartment leased for the purpose.

The Outpost is presenting this as a hypothetical — we do not mean to suggest that Wood would wish to do any or all of these things, we don’t know that the final map will look like this, and we’re still not 100 percent positive that he is on the east side of the highway. But it’s all legal!

Video by Andrew Goff

A McKinleyville woman who drove her SUV through a crowd of Black Lives Matter protesters was sentenced this morning to the standard penalty of six months of informal probation.

Judge Kaleb Cockrum also ordered Jessica Perkins to perform 20 hours of community service and pay the normal fine of $79 for reckless driving. Perkins pleaded no contest last week to misdemeanor reckless driving and the infractions of running a red light and failing to yield to pedestrians.

Deputy District Attorney Ian Harris had argued for the maximum jail term of up to 90 days, saying that when it comes to reckless driving, “this is as reckless as it gets.”

“There were people in the crosswalk who were deeply impacted by Ms. Perkins’s actions,” Harris told the judge.

On June 11, 2020, Perkins drove her Honda Pilot through a group of BLM protesters crossing Central Avenue in McKinleyville, narrowly missing both pedestrians and horses. Sixteen months later, she pleaded no contest on the day jury selection for her trial was scheduled to begin.

Meagan O’Connell, supervising attorney for the county’s Conflict Counsel’s Office, argued this morning that Perkins was desperate to get home with medication for her sick daughter, who suffers from serious health problems. That day the little girl had a fever of 102. Perkins, a mother of four, also had an infant at home who was breastfeeding.

O’Connell said Perkins is in fact a supporter of Black Lives Matter.

“This was not political,” O’Connell said. “This was about her getting home.”

O’Connell said the protest was not sanctioned by law enforcement, and protesters also violated the law by walking against a red light. During the incident the light changed from green to red to green, so both Perkins and protesters ignored red lights.

Perkins has apologized fully and has taken responsibility by entering her pleas, O’Connell said. Perkins didn’t appear in court today “because she is afraid.”

“She has been threatened. She has been harassed. People have taken pictures of her car in her driveway. Her vehicle was vandalized.”

As for sentencing Perkins to jail, O’Connell said it would be nearly unheard-of for a person in this situation. Perkins has no criminal record.

In response, Harris pointed out that several vehicles were blocked by the protesters, but only Perkins decided to drive through them.

Perkins angled her car into the turn lane, Harris said, passing other vehicles that were stopped. At one point she was in the same lane as oncoming traffic.

As to the march being unsanctioned, Harris said law enforcement knew about the event but stayed away that day “out of respect” because one cause for the protest was police brutality.

Perkins drove up to 35 mph through the crosswalk, he said. A video of the incident shows she never applied her brakes.

“High speed, no brakes, lots of people around,” Harris said.

One bicyclist who was near the crosswalk told law enforcement he stopped and got off his bike instead of crossing because “he can see she’s not going to stop for him.”

Harris said O’Connell blames everyone but Perkins for what happened. And Perkins didn’t actually admit guilt, he argued, because she pleaded no contest. A no contest plea is considered a guilty plea, except it cannot be used against the defendant in a civil action.

One person in the crosswalk that day was Harriet Watson, who was allowed to speak at the sentencing this morning even though she was not directly a victim.

Watson told Cockrum she was in the crosswalk with her daughter and her dog when Perkins “blasted through.”

“I think she was really, really lucky she didn’t hit anybody,” Watson said. She suggested Perkins could have put her car window down and said “ ‘I’ve got to get home. Please let me through.’ “

Watson said she thinks about the close call “very often.”

Cockrum, in passing sentence, said he wanted to distinguish between doing a “prohibited act” and committing a crime with intent, such as assault with a firearm.

“Reckless driving is a prohibited act,” the judge said.

But he also took into account that “she ran a red light and she did so by speeding,” and also there were a number of people in the crosswalk and Perkins never used her brakes.

On the other hand, Cockrum said, Perkins has no criminal record and was in a difficult predicament the day of the incident.

“At the time this occurred,” the judge said, “she was in unusual circumstances that are unlikely to reoccur.”

He said if anyone was harmed it was psychologically, and “I don’t believe a jail term is appropriate.”

PREVIOUSLY: 

• McKinleyville ‘Stand Against Racism and Police Brutality’ Underway
• CHP Investigating Last Week’s Traffic Incident Involving a Driver That Nearly Hit Several Protesters and a Horse in McKinleyville
• District Attorney to Bring Reckless Driving Charges Against Person Who Drove Through Mass of McKinleyville Black Lives Matter Protesters in June
• TODAY in COURT: Suspect in Rio Dell Murder Turns Down Plea Bargain; Woman Accused of Driving Into Crowd of McK Protesters Pleads Not Guilty
• Another Delay in Case of Woman Accused of Reckless Driving For Plowing Through McK Black Lives Matter Protesters