Jim was born July 1, 1931, and grew up in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, in a large extended German family. Playing sax and clarinet in High School Band plus a band gig every Saturday night at the Jesse James Supper Club, scouting (Eagle rank), selling Boy Scout clothes for J.C. Penny, and his girlfriend, Betty Jo Hardy, kept him busy. After graduation from Pine Bluff High, he received his B.S. in Chemistry and Music from University of Arkansas at Monticello, attending on a music scholarship. Studying medicine won over choosing a music career and he received his M.D. from Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana. Jim and Betty married the first year of medical school and during Jim’s internship at Sacramento, California, County Hospital found their future home in Eureka, with fellow intern, Roy Wittwer, as a partner.

After being drafted into the Army and completing his residency in Family Practice at Ireland Army Hospital, Ft. Knox, Kentucky, Jim was assigned to Brook Army Hospital, Ft. Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas, as Chief of Professional Science. He was a Fellow of American Academy of Family Practice.

After discharge from the Army, Jim and Roy Wittwer opened Eureka Family Practice in Eureka, California. Jim was President and CFO until retirement after 30 years at which time Eureka Family Practice had grown to eight doctors. Dr. Hercher made significant contributions to Humboldt County, caring for families, serving on committees and in general promoting mental and physical health services. He was Chief of Staff at St. Joseph Hospital and General Hospital. He believed that two of his most significant contributions were establishing the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and an Emergency Room with full-time physician coverage.

Activities in the community included forty years in the Henderson Center Kiwanis Club, Butler Valley Board, Catholic Charities and the Diocese of Santa Rosa Financial Board in both Eureka and Santa Rosa. For personal enrichment, he also received a Master’s in Ministry from Seattle (Washington) University.

After retirement from medical practice, Jim, after four years of formation, was ordained a deacon in the Roman Catholic Church. He was assigned to Sacred Heart and St. Bernard parishes in Eureka and Holy Spirit parish in Santa Rosa. The first couple he officiated at a marriage for was a woman he, 30 years previously, delivered as a baby. He also served as Director of Diaconate for Sonoma, Lake, Napa, Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte counties with 35 deacons and their wives.

Leaving Eureka for a life care retirement community, Spring Lake Village, in Santa Rosa, Jim was President of the Residents’ Council, Chairman of Fire and Disaster as well as the Medical and Chapel Advisory Committees and other committees.

Jim is survived by Betty, his wife of 68 years. Surviving also are his family: Richard Hercher and his family, David and Sherri Hercher and their family, Tom and Jo Wattle and their family; and loved friends of many years.

There will be a graveside commitment service at St. Bernard’s Cemetery on Wednesday, June 30, 2021 at 11:00 a.m.

Memorials may be made to Jim and Betty Hercher Endowment at Humboldt Area Foundation for direct mental health services in Humboldt County or Evergreen Lodge in Eureka, or a charity of your choice.

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

On Friday, June 11, 2021, Thaine Lynn Bell Jr., a loving husband and father, passed away at the age of 76 in Rio Dell, California.

Thaine was born on February 27, 1945 in San Diego, California to Thaine Sr. and Olivia (Ourada) Bell. He was the youngest of his four siblings. He grew up and went to school in the Linda Vista area. He spent some of his young adult life traveling throughout the United States and meeting a variety of people. He had many stories to tell of those he had met and his experiences along the way. In 1979, he met the love of his life in Salem, Oregon. On March 26, 1980, he married Maureen Lehnen in Coos Bay, Oregon. On September 21, 1980, his only child was born, his daughter, Mary. He lived in Coos Bay and North Bend, Oregon until 1985, then moved his family to the Northern California area, where they lived in Trinidad before settling in Eureka in 1986. In 2008, Thaine moved to Shasta Lake, California with his daughter and son-in-law, then moved back to Humboldt County in 2017, settling in Rio Dell, California.

Thaine always had a passion for poetry and art, spending most of his life creating abstract drawings, paintings and sculptures as well as writing many poems. He and his wife loved to frequent local coffee shops and art galleries in Old Town, Eureka. He met so many wonderful and kind people there. He enjoyed being around people and was always so kind to whomever he met. He would offer to help anyone in need even if he was not sure how. He had a great sense of humor and loved to laugh, finding the best in most situations. He enjoyed being outdoors and taking in the beauty of nature. He was Catholic and enjoyed going to church with his wife and daughter at St. Bernard’s Parish in Eureka, California. He and his wife renewed their wedding vows there in 2005. He and his wife had struggled with their mental health and were both advocates for ending the stigmatization of mental illness. In recent years, Thaine frequented The Hope Center in Eureka, where he enjoyed the discussion groups, outings and playing games with his friends there.

Thaine was preceded in death by his parents, Thaine L. Bell Sr. and Olivia (Ourada) Bell, brothers Harry L. Bell and Richard T. Bell, sister Grace (Bell) Sherrill, and wife Maureen C. (Lehnen) Bell. He is survived his daughter, Mary Bell-Owen, son-in-law, Jason Owen, and grandson, Cooper Owen. He is also survived by his sister, Katherine (Bell) Coleman, and many nieces and nephews: Theresa Duval, Dawna Furr, Dianne Sellers, Cynthia Roane, Olivia Haro, Debra, Richard Bell, Laura Walters, David, Jeffrey, Steven, Kenneth, Michael, Gordon, and George.

Funeral services will be held on Monday, June 28, 2021 at 10 a.m. at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church, 615 H Street in Eureka. A Celebration of his life will be held afterward at Chapala’s Mexican Restaurant at 12 p.m. Flowers or Plants in lieu of flowers may be sent to the church or to 906 Hilda Ct, Rio Dell, CA.

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

Eureka’s National Weather Service office has issued an Excessive Heat Watch for areas of Northern and Southern Humboldt this weekend.

Temperatures as hot as 108 degrees will be possible along Humboldt’s interior valleys between Saturday afternoon and Monday evening.

“Extreme heat will significantly increase the potential for heat related illnesses, particularly for those working or participating in outdoor activities,” the NWS stated. “Be prepared to drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air- conditioned room, stay out of the sun and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. This is especially true during warm or hot weather when car interiors can reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes.”

Coastal areas, meanwhile, are forecast to remain in the low to mid 70s. A Coastal Flood Advisory has been issued for the Humboldt Bay area between 9 p.m. tonight and 1 p.m. tomorrow.

“High astronomical tides will likely lead to some coastal flooding in low-lying areas around Humboldt Bay,” the NWS stated. “Areas that are particularly at risk include: King Salmon and Jackson Ranch Road in the Arcata Bottoms.”

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PREVIOUSLY

• With Flower Business Struggling, Sun Valley Plans 23 Acres of Cannabis Cultivation in Arcata Bottoms
• Arcata Land Company Offers to Dramatically Reduce the Size of Its Proposed 23-Acre Cannabis Project
• Planning Commission Approves Sun Valley’s 8-Acre Weed Farm in the Arcata Bottoms, a Crucial Step Forward for the County’s Largest Cannabis Cultivation Project
• County Supervisors Set to Consider Appeal of Sun Valley’s 8-Acre Weed Farm in Arcata Bottoms
• Divided Board of Supervisors Punts Decision on Sun Valley Cannabis Farm to Future Date

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The vast majority of Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting — more than six hours! — was spent deliberating the controversial proposal to build an eight-acre cannabis farm in the Arcata Bottoms. Despite all the time spent, the meeting ended without resolution. 

After struggling to find common ground among their divergent criteria for approval, an exhausted board voted 4-1, with First District Supervisor Rex Bohn dissenting, to continue the hearing to July 13.

The fate of the project now appears to hinge on two key questions. The first is whether the cannabis crop’s notoriously skunky aroma can be sufficiently controlled with state-of-the-art odor-elimination technology.

In its presentation to the board Tuesday morning, project applicant Arcata Land Company — an entity controlled by the Sun Valley Group, which operates a nearby bulb farm — brought out a man named Mark Byers. Testifying to the board via Zoom, Byers said the molecular filtration technology in his company’s patented “vapor phase odor-control system” has proved capable of zapping the stench of commercial cannabis grows in Santa Barbara, British Columbia and beyond.

“[T]his is a really a simple one for us in terms of our ability to really control this odor,” Byers said of this particular project.

However, Second District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell, who found herself in the uncomfortable swing-vote position, was ultimately unwilling to rely on Byers’s assurances. She asked county staff to verify his claims with officials in Santa Barbara County. If and only if they say the technology works, she’s willing to consider approving a scaled-down version the project.

And that’s the second key question for the project: size. How much smaller will the board majority want to make this operation, and will Sun Valley CEO Lane DeVries accept yet another reduction in scale? 

In the latter phases of Tuesday’s tortuous deliberations, Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone and Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson said they won’t approve a grow any larger than two acres. Wilson noted that two acres is the established limit on lands zoned for agriculture. As we noted yesterday, the property is actually zoned heavy industrial, but years ago the county decided to convert it to ag exclusive, in part because the City of Arcata requested that change.

County staff, however, has yet to implement that zoning change due to various bureaucratic and litigation-related delays (specifically, a lawsuit brought against the county by private property rights organization HumCPR). On Tuesday, staff couldn’t confirm that Arcata Land Company was ever notified of the proposed change., and even if they were, Planning and Building Director John Ford said, it probably would have been five or more years ago.

Wilson also said he’d like to see several more conditions of approval added, including an easement for future trail development, a conservation easement for the adjacent agricultural land and a phased approach to development — approve one acre of cultivation first and allow a second acre if all goes well.

DeVries was vexed by these suggestions. He said he’d be willing to consider the easements and other conditions if the project were kept at the proposed eight acres, even if construction had to be phased in.

“But if we’re talking about an acre [to start] and a max of two, I’m sorry, folks, but I don’t see how that’s possible to work,” he said. The project was originally proposed at 22.9 acres. DeVries called the proposed two-acre max “very disappointing.”

“This is how we deal with a company that provides 450 jobs?” he asked the supervisors. “This conversation troubles me.”

A voicemail left for DeVries Wednesday was not returned by the time of this post’s publication. 

First District Supervisor Rex Bohn was at the other end of the spectrum from Wilson and Madrone. He said he’d be happy to approve the eight-acre project as proposed or scale it down to four if absolutely necessary. That left Second District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell and Fourth District Supervisor Virginia Bass in the middle, and when Bass eventually said she’d be willing to go larger than two acres it put Bushnell, the newest supervisor on the board, in the hot seat.

Public feedback

Of the 35 people who called in during the public comment period, 21 spoke in opposition to the project. Several appeared to anticipate Wilson’s stance, arguing that the heavy industrial zoning of the property, formerly the site of a mill belonging to Simpson Lumber Company, is outdated and out of step with the surrounding agricultural land and rural neighborhood. 

Others, with varying degrees of indignation, voiced objections to the project’s size, its potential environmental impacts, Sun Valley’s labor practices and the potential economic harm to local “mom-and-pop” cannabis operations. 

For example, Craig Johnson, owner and founder of Alpenglow Farms, a cannabis cultivation company in Southern Humboldt, said, “The further we go away from small craft [cannabis], the more it depletes our brand that is known globally.”

Johnson’s next comment took direct aim at Bushnell. He said that, as the Second District supervisor, she represents a swath of land with more cannabis farms than just about anywhere else, and he warned Bushnell that if she approves the project, it would “greatly affect the business you have on Main Street in Garberville.” 

Bushnell, who owns the apparel boutique The Boot Leg, among other business interests, asked Board Chair Virginia Bass if she could respond to Johnson’s comments. 

“I’m surprised that you brought up my store,” she said, adding that she considers his words “very threatening.”

“I just feel that was not okay in any way,” she added.

Many of the 14 proponents who called in are Sun Valley employees who spoke highly of the company and vouched for the personal character of DeVries. Others, including Dan Johnson and Chris Dart, owner and president, respectively, of local construction company Danco, said the project will improve the economy and add 80 much-needed jobs.

A divided board

Following public comment, the proponents — DeVries and his collaborators — and appellants — a group of 28 neighboring residents, three of whom appeared via Zoom — were allowed time for rebuttals. 

Rebecca Crow, one of the appellants, objected with indignation to what she called an “industrial mega-grow.” She asked the board to deny the permit or at least conduct more analysis, including a cumulative traffic impact study. (Later, as the board deliberated, both Bushnell and Bohn got annoyed with Crow for reacting to board comments with gestures and facial expressions.)

Other demands from appellants included a dramatically reduced cultivation area — down to one acre, max, starting with a first phase of 10,000 square feet. They also asked for net-zero energy use, maximum noise and odor control and no new ground disturbance. In other words, they want the cannabis to be located in existing greenhouses where flowers are now being grown.

The applicants and allies countered that at eight acres, this project hardly qualifies as a corporate mega-grow when compared to other permitted projects in California, including 50- and 60-acre cultivation sites in Santa Barbara County. And they argued that the appellants submitted no evidence that the project may have a significant impact on the environment, which is the applicable legal standard for rejecting a project under the California Environmental Quality Act.

Over the next several hours, the five members of the board asked questions of staff, of DeVries and of each other, but their efforts to bridge the gaps between their assorted opinions bore little fruit. 

Madrone was the first to state a firm position, proposing a one-acre grow in the first phase with a second acre if the company can prove it’s able to control noise, smell and traffic, thereby appeasing the neighbors. He also voiced support for local small-scale cannabis farmers, suggesting that a project of eight acres could threaten their success.

Bohn, who had earlier called DeVries a friend, voiced support for the project as proposed, noting that cannabis is principally permitted on the parcels in question, water is available in sufficient volume and the company has committed to 100 percent renewable power. The controversy, he said, boiled down to “an unavoidable interface with the neighborhood.”. If the project must be phased in, Bohn said he could support four acres to start with and another four down the line.

Bushnell appeared to have the hardest time reconciling the conflicting interests. 

“I want people to recognize that this is not an easy process,” she said at one point, and she asked people to refrain from making it personal. She noted that she’s “super sympathetic” to small mom-and-pop growers but was also trying to work within the rules established in the county’s land use and cannabis ordinances. 

“I’m trying to be fair to both sides,” Bushnell said.

Ford attempted to act as a facilitator/mediator, of sorts, summarizing the board members’ stances and nudging them toward possible paths forward. With Madrone and Wilson standing firm at two acres, the question became whether the other three supervisors could arrive at a consensus and outvote the duo.

Bass, who’s currently the board chair, didn’t offer any specific proposals but did say she’s willing to approve a grow larger than two acres.

Bohn said he’s unwilling to go any smaller than four acres. Sounding annoyed, he said Sun Valley is the second-largest taxpaying business in the county, and he argued that his colleagues had effectively waited until the project was at the finish line to change the rules. 

With afternoon turning to evening, Bushnell said she simply can’t move forward until she’s confident that the smell can be eliminated for neighboring residents.

Ford said that the soonest staff count confer with Santa Barbara County officials and bring the project back for further consideration is July 13. The public will be given another opportunity to weigh in at that time, and other questions will have to be answered, including settling on a size for the grow and determining whether DeVries is willing to accept that size, along with the other mitigation measures proposed Tuesday.

“We got a lot accomplished today,” Bohn said sarcastically before the vote to continue the hearing.

“Well,” Bass responded, “sometimes government is messy.”

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

Eduardo Lopez

On June 23, 2021, at about 6:54 a.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the 2700 block of Myrtle Avenue, in the county’s jurisdiction of Eureka, for the report of a car prowler.

Deputies arrived in the area and located an individual matching the description of the suspect walking along Harris Street near Freese Avenue. When deputies attempted to speak with the suspect, he fled on foot. Deputies pursued the suspect into the backyard of a residence. The suspect was located hiding behind bushes.  

The suspect, identified as 34-year-old Eduardo Sutherland Lopez, was taken into custody without further incident. In Lopez’s possession, deputies located over 2.5 grams of methamphetamine, burglary tools, pepper spray and a replica firearm BB gun.

Lopez was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of possession of a controlled substance (HS 11377(a)), felon in possession of tear gas (PC 22810(a)), possession of burglary tools (PC 466), resisting a peace officer (PC 148(a)(1)) and violation of probation (PC 1203.2(a)(2)).

This case is still under investigation.

Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity 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.

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Press release from the City of Rio Dell:

At a special meeting held on Tuesday, June 22nd the Rio Dell City Council voted to declare a drought emergency. The declaration calls for a series of voluntary reductions in water use in order to ease pressure on the waters of the Eel River. The Council also directed that the City’s alternative groundwater well site be activated to diversify the water supply and reduce surface water intake from the river.

“We didn’t have this option back in 2014.” Stated Mayor Pro-Tem Gordon Johnson, referring to the City’s emergency well system that came online in 2018 after the last drought left the community with few options. “This is a tremendous relief for our citizens, for the environment and it shows we have been working hard to fix the threats posed to our system.”

Johnson went on to thank the State Water Resources Control Board and Senator Mike McGuire for stepping in with financial assistance to help cover the $1.8 million water source diversification project.

The City’s wastewater system also recycles treated water back to the groundwater aquifer the wells are located in. An eighth of a mile downstream of the well system sits a 14-acre irrigation field where this water is allowed to replenish the groundwater basin, resulting in the lowest environmental impact possible.

Rio Dell’s Superintendent of Wastewater Operations, Derek Taylor stated, “This is a technologically advanced and environmentally friendly system, one of the best on the Eel River Watershed. Much of what we take out in well water is returned to the basin.”

Taylor concluded by saying, “The river does so much for us, now is the time to help the river by conserving this resource.”

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On June 23, 2021, at about 4:08 a.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the California Redwood Coast - Humboldt County Airport in McKinleyville for the report of a burglary.

Airport employees reported to deputies that upon arrival to the airport, the employees found a front window of the building shattered. Inside, employees discovered an ATM was missing and a vending machine had been vandalized.

The getaway rig

Security footage from the airport shows two unknown suspects arrive at the airport in a light-colored Nissan Pathfinder just after 2 a.m. today. The suspects forced entry into the airport, stole the ATM and then fled in the vehicle.

The suspects are described as follows:

1. Suspect One: A male wearing a dark-colored sweatshirt and pants, a red hat and white shoes.
2. Suspect Two: A heavy-set male wearing light-colored pants, a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt, a hat and light-colored shoes.

This case is still under investigation.

Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity 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.