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A U.S. District Court judge on Sunday ordered a Humboldt County construction company to pay more than $2 million in civil penalties for violating the federal Clean Water Act by allowing toxic pollutants to discharge into a tributary of the Mad River.

Kernen Construction Co., whose services include excavating, paving, concrete and metal fabrication and more, was ordered to pay $2,087,750 as a result of a civil enforcement action brought by Arcata nonprofit Californians for Alternatives to Toxics (CATs).

According to the ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, Kernen founders and executives Scott Farley and Kurt Kernen admitted liability on all claims asserted in the complaint. Namely, CATs accused the company of allowing stormwater laden with pollutants to flow into Hall Creek, a salmon-bearing stream that flows into the Mad River. 

The company’s facility at 2350 Glendale Drive, between Blue Lake and McKinleyville, is used to manufacture and store rock aggregate products. It was previously used to store roofing shingles, scrap metal, soil and organic debris. When it rained in the area, the ruling states, the stormwater picked up pollutants such as lead, copper, aluminum, pentachlorophenol and zinc — all of which are harmful to animals and humans. Due to insufficient stormwater controls, the pollutant-laden water was allowed to flow into the adjacent waterway.

In a press release issued Wednesday, CATs Executive Director Patty Clary noted that Hall Creek has been listed as a critical habitat for salmon.

“That a small and endangered population of salmon still hangs on in Hall Creek is something to treasure and protect from toxic pollutants,” Clary said in the release. “This $2 million penalty should send the message that whether a stream supports fish or provides drinking water or other benefit, it is a public resource, not a dumping ground for industries looking to enhance their bottom line.”

This isn’t the first time CATs has won a court victory over Kernen Construction. In 2016 the nonprofit brought claims for similar violations of the Clean Water Act at the Glendale Drive facility, from 2011 through 2017. The parties entered into a settlement agreement that required the defendants to take certain steps to prevent further violations, according to the judge’s ruling. That agreement expired on Feb. 1, 2020.

Bill Verick, the attorney for CATs in the latest action, was quoted in Wednesday’s press release, saying, “This is the second go-round with this company and the second time they ignored their duty to come up with better pollution control when they exceeded EPA benchmarks. Hopefully, a $2 million fine will get their attention. If not, we’ll be back for a third go-round.”

In addition to the hefty civil penalties, CATs is seeking injunctive relief, asking the court to prevent Kernen Construction from discharging stormwater until the company comes into compliance, and to instead transport it for treatment and disposal at the McKinleyville Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Judge Gonzales Rogers ordered the company to meet and confer with CATs “to determine whether the parties can reach an agreement as to appropriate injunctive relief here… .” The two parties have been ordered to file a joint statement within 30 days describing the results of their negotiations and outlining next steps.

A voicemail left for Farley and Kernen Monday morning was not returned by the time this post went up. You can read the full ruling below.

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DOCUMENT: Order Regarding Civil Penalties

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Antonio Rodriguez has worked at the Terranea Resort hotel in Palos Verdes since 2009. The caterer is proud and happy to say that he was among the first employees hired when the luxury oceanfront hotel opened.

However, in January 2020, Rodriguez and hundreds of employees received the news that their working hours would be reduced due to COVID-19. By mid-March, they were laid off and by the end of April, they were told by letter that they were fired.

“They told us that we were no longer going to have medical coverage and that they were only going to pay it until the month of May,” said the worker. “In May, they sent us another letter saying we no longer had a job and we no longer had health insurance.”

Rodriguez estimates that at least 600 employees were affected. Only the maintenance crew continued to work.

Hundreds of thousands of California workers are hoping they will benefit from the passage of a hospitality rehiring bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last month. This is a great relief, employees say, for them to continue contributing to the state’s economic recovery.

SB 93 guarantees the right to return to work for approximately 700,000 workers such as housekeepers, cooks, waiters, and bartenders, especially as the state targets June 15 for a full reopening.

The loss of work was devastating for Rodriguez, who is the breadwinner for his family of five. Shortly after, he filed for unemployment, but the amount was so low that he had to withdraw a significant amount from his retirement account.

“All this makes you worry and gives you stress because we don’t know anything,” Rodriquez said. “If the girls ask for something, you can’t deny it to them because they don’t know what is going on.”

Terranea Resort said in a statement that the staff reductions were necessary due to the negative business impact caused by the global pandemic.

“We are working diligently to recover our business,” the company said in a statement. ”Terranea has already been recalling furloughed and laid-off employees since reopening and will continue to do so moving forward as business levels permit.”

New job protections

More than a year after the pandemic began, 80% of hotel workers remain unemployed, said Ada Briceño, co-president of the UNITE HERE Local 11 union.

Union officials said many employers, such as Terranea Resort and Chateau Marmont, laid off workers who had made their hotels successful, without extending their healthcare or making no binding commitment to recall them during the worst health crisis in modern history.

Under California’s new law, hotel industry employers must first offer jobs to their employees who were laid off due to the pandemic within a five-day period. From that point on, employees have an additional five days to accept or reject employment.

“Employers must now follow the law,” Briceño said. “They must have a record that this is going to happen and the workers can tell us.”

It’s the latest victory for the union. Since last year, UNITE HERE Local 11 helped push through similar right-to-return measures in Los Angeles, Long Beach and other parts of Southern California.

Similar protections have also passed in other parts of the country, such as Philadelphia, Baltimore, Oakland and Boston.

Health and financial damage

For Minelda Hernandez, who worked as a cook for eight years at Terranea Resort, the loss of health coverage was difficult.

Hernandez, who suffers from diabetes, said that in early 2020 she was fired from her job, and shortly after her health insurance was taken away.

“First they told us that they were going to give us health insurance for three months, but then they said no more (would pay it),” said the employee. “Now I am collecting bottles to have money to buy my medicine.”

Hernandez said that she tried to apply for Medi-Cal and food stamp assistance, but she did not qualify because her salary, prior to the pandemic, was above the median poverty level. Now only her husband is the provider at home that she shares with her 18-year-old son.

“I really need my job, my health insurance. I was always on time to work,” assured Hernandez. “It seems unfair to me that now the company is calling back people who have less seniority than me. When I call to ask if I can come back to work they tell me that there is still no job available for me.”

Rodriguez was also affected by the loss of his health insurance. He said that he was infected with COVID-19 in early January and was hospitalized for three weeks. In those days, one of his daughters also had to be hospitalized due to COVID and kidney failure.

“Now I’m just waiting to see how much the hospital fees are going to be,” Rodriguez said. “And no matter how many times I apply to other jobs, I haven’t been able to find one. This is the reason why I am very happy that the law passed,”

The resort said the pace of rehiring will depend on demand.

“While we have permanently lost some positions, and it may take longer for some roles to return than others, we sincerely hope business levels improve to the point that we can offer additional laid off employees the opportunity to return to our family again.”

Hernandez hopes she will return to her job soon.

“We come from our countries for a better future,” she said. “We are not a public charge. We like to work and we want to return to our jobs.”

Workers in this industry who need more information about the law and their rights can send a text message to 877-877 with the word “Job.”

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This article is part of the California Divide, a collaboration among newsrooms examining income inequality and economic survival in California.

CALmatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

On Monday, April 26, 2021, Kassandra Gammill, beloved daughter, sister, friend and confidant, passed away at the age of 31.

Kassandra was born on August 20, 1989 in Eureka, to Tamela Ammon and William Gammill, and was raised from the age of five by her aunt and uncle, Lottie & Joe Ammon. She joined the Air Force directly after graduating high school on July 2, 2007. She served for over 10 distinguished years in the Military Security Forces deploying twice to Iraq, once to Kuwait, and once to Qatar. She was awarded several commendations during her service and was honorably retired on December 27, 2017.

Even though she stood a grand 4’11” she was known for the grit, fight and tenacity of a giant. Nobody ever forgot meeting Kassie. She loved her country, she loved her friends and family, but most of all she loved the Cowboys. She will be incredibly and sorely missed.

When you think of Kassie, please celebrate the good memories you have of her. Remember that life is fragile and short, and should be lived to the fullest.

Kassie is survived by her aunt and uncle, Joe and Lottie Ammon, her mother Tamela Ammon, her father William Gammill, her siblings Rob, Jared, Amanda, Alice, and Justin, her longtime boyfriend Jayvon, and cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.

The family is inviting all that would like to pay their respects to the funeral service. The service will be held on Saturday May 8, at 11 a.m. PST at the Ammon Family Cemetery on South Fork Rd in Salyer.

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

Susan Elizabeth Early Cobb, also known to some as Suzy Kuzy, left our earthly world unexpectedly on April 15, 2021. She was born on a Monday, September 10, 1956 in the land of enchantment, Alamogordo, New Mexico to her Mom and Dad Marj and Chuck Early. In Alamogordo she would make lifelong friends with her parents friends;’ children, Shelley and Michael.

After learning how to eat snow in the New Mexico desert during winter storms and play in the scenic White Sands, her family moved to Cocoa Beach, Florida, where Dad worked at Cape Canaveral and Mom took her and her brother to the beach every day. Yep, every day, what a life! She loved the sea and after a year of the Atlantic Ocean, the family was on the move again across the country in an old Chevy station wagon headed for Santa Maria, California which was conveniently located next to Vandenberg Air Force Base. While rockets and satellites kept food on the table, the family went to a lot of beaches that were off limits to the public. One time, we got stuck and had to wait for low tide to get around back to the car. She loved going to Pismo and Shell beach for the day and exploring tide pools.

She attended Joe Nightingale elementary school there in Santa Maria until fifth grade. She received her first Holy Communion on April 19, 1964. The family made many trips with our friends from New Mexico to the Sierras. A favorite trip was Twin Lakes and Kings Canyon. Susan enjoyed the outdoors and went on many camping trips during her life. Another favorite family destination was San Diego to see Shelley and Michael at their parent’s home in La Jolla hills. Sea World and the San Diego Zoo were Susan’s favorite places to visit.

In 1968 the family was on the space race move again, this time to Cupertino, before it became Silicon Valley. Susan started 6th grade at Regnart School and met another lifelong friend, Denise. They shared a love for horseback riding and spent a lot of time riding in the hills by Stevens Creek Reservoir. Susan went to Kennedy Junior High School and graduated from Monta Vista High School in 1974. Another of Susan’s close friends, Kathy, went on a camping trip with her brother and father to the Trinity Alps. Dad had his gallon jug of burgundy wine for the trip and Susan and Kathy (both 14 at the time) decided to sneak some while we stayed at a Motel 6 in Redding before hitting the trail head the next day. Well, let’s just say a red wine hangover and Buckhorn summit in 1970 wasn’t too much fun for a couple of 14-year-olds.

A favorite tradition our family had was to invite our New Mexico family up for Thanksgiving. While Susan and Shelley’s Moms spent all day making the stuffing for the turkey, us kids would have a great time hiking, biking and working up an appetite for a big thanksgiving dinner. Our parents seemed to always like their meat very rare, and soon after Susan became a vegetarian for the rest of her life. After high school, Susan sold her yellow Volkswagen super beetle to finance her jaunt to Europe with Shelley. They had a blast and I think Shelley stayed on for a few years. When Susan returned, she lived at a commune in Los Gatos for awhile before meeting future husband Pat Cobb. They lived in Mountain View and Sunnyvale, where she worked in a semiconductor fab for a few years.

At some point she got tired of the corporate b.s. and married life and went back to school to get her associate’s in science with high honors at Foothill Junior College in Los Altos. She became a registered dental hygienist in 1984. She practiced her trade in the Bay Area until she and her Mom Marj decided to move up to Humboldt in July of 2000. Her Mom, a resident artist, made room in her house for Susan where they lived as roommates and friends for 17 years until her Mom’s passing. Susan worked for various dental offices in the area as a hygienist until her shoulder problems caused her to scale back to working as a registered dental assistant. She worked for Open Door at the Burre Center for 12 years until her retirement in 2018. Her favorite place was Trinidad where she lived for a year on Patrick’s Point Drive. She and friend David loved hiking Trinidad Head.

Susan was a very skilled artist and loved drawing wildlife. Her place had lots of critters and she left us many impressions of her interaction with wildlife. She could be found at Clam Beach and College Cove, especially when the tide was out. Susan loved a good strong cup of Joe and her veggie smoothies.

She is survived by her brother Mark and his wife Rhonda, her nephews and their spouses, Justin and Jasmine, Ryan and Tyler, and her great niece Kaitlyn. Susan was sweet soul and touched many lives. A celebration of her life will take place in September.

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

On April 26, 2021, Pamela A. Nakamoto, passed away after a brief battle with aggressive breast cancer. Pam was born on January 18, 1953, in Huntington Park, Calif., to Ted and Mary Mosier. Growing up in Paramount, Calif., Pam enjoyed spending weekends with her parents at their auction yard in San Bernardino, skiing on Lake Havasu, and ice skating. Pam graduated from Paramount High School in 1971 and earned a B.A. in Political Science from Utah State University in 1975.

After college, Pam returned to Paramount to work for the family business – selling retail / wholesale building materials. In 1984 Pam moved to Humboldt County to manage a new storefront in McKinleyville and it was in Humboldt that Pam would meet her husband, have children, and cultivate a full life for her and her family.

Pam’s fierce devotion to her family was well matched by her business acumen, grit and solution-oriented mindset. She often served as a member, or officer, on various school and sports boards; helping to organize everything from swanky fundraisers to tee-ball pizza parties, and parades. Pam was always present at her sons’ sporting events or doing makeup behind the scenes at her daughter’s dance recitals.

Pam was an avid gardener and a sparkling conversationalist; walkers on the Hammond Trail always stopped to admire the flowers in her garden. She was a person of quick wit with a wonderful sense of humor who delighted in a visit from one of her “regulars.”

Pam enjoyed spending summers meeting new friends and seeing performances while she volunteered at the Britt Festival in Jacksonville, Oregon.

Pam is survived by her husband, Rodney; children: John, Teddi, and Bobby, grandchildren: Averie and Carter; brother, Jim; sisters, Valerie and Pat; and numerous nephews and nieces. She was preceded in death by her parents Ted and Mary, as well as a son, Paul.

How lucky we all have been to have known and loved Pamela Anne Nakamoto. Pam loved all pets but especially her dogs. Memorial donations can be made to Miranda’s Rescue (1603 Sandy Prairie Road, Fortuna, CA 95540).

Helen Genevieve Pole left us on the evening of April 30, 2021 after losing a brief battle with a naturally occurring illness that proved impossible to overcome.

Born at the Hoopa Valley Hospital on Dec. 1, 1939 at 4:45 p.m. to Sherman Wilbur and Mary Marie Roberts of Weitchpec. A studious student throughout she would be the high school prom queen and later attended Heald Business College in Sacramento.

Helen, at all of five foot tall, would return to Hoopa working at Humboldt Fir and Masonite on the green chain before transitioning to a career position with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, a job than in time would lead her to Redding then Sacramento, where she would retire.

In the late 1960’s and 1970’s she could be seen running around the valley in her red 1968 Shelby GT500KR. Some would wonder with her height, or lack of, how well she could see over the dash of her hotrod.

Always one for fashion, Helen had a sense of style, love of sparkle and a definite love for the red, white and blue. She did have rather unique way of blending traditional Native culture with fashionable dress while adding a touch of patriotism when in the mood which was often.

She, along with husband Clifford would raise two sons — Carlton, who currently resides in Yerington, Nevada with wife Chris, and her youngest son, Jeffrey, who resides in Hoopa.

Helen was very proud of her native heritage. She maintained a respectable basket collection and owned much jewelry collected from all tribes across the west.

She enjoyed world travel and the experiences of other cultures as evidenced by the many times that she traveled overseas. At one point she sailed the Panama Canal on a cruise ship unaccompanied. A gutsy endeavor for sure that would intimidate many.

Being a breast cancer survivor was a source of pride for her.

Helen was preceded in death by her bothers Kenneth and Wesley. She leaves her brother Glen along with wife Bonnie of Hoopa, Sister Wilma of Hoopa and her two sons Carlton his wife Chris, and Jeffrey. She also survived by numerous nieces and nephews and her group of very devoted friends

There will be a family viewing at Pauls Chapel 1070 H St., Arcata Friday May 14 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. followed by a public visitation from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Burial services will be Saturday May 15 at the family cemetery at Martins Ferry at 12 noon. Following will be a luncheon at the Yurok Tribal Facility. Food will be provided. Please bring your stories!

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

Alfred William Roderick
December 25, 1931 - April 30, 2021

Dad was born at the family ranch on Christmas morning 1931 in Elma, Wash. and he passed away the morning of April 30, 2021 surrounded by his loving family. Dad passed after a courageous battle with lymphoma.

He moved to California at the age of 24 and met the love of his life, Virginia (Ginnie) Brown, They married May 25, 1960, and had four children: Linda, Steven, Tracy and Angela.

Dad began his logging career after moving to California eventually starting his own logging company, Klamath River Tree Pullers, in 1974. He was known as the best “High Climber” around. Dad really put on a show for the small town of Klamath when he topped and created the famously known “Drive Through Tree” at the Klamath Glen.

In his younger years dad loved to buck hunt with his brother in-law Ted Brown. Dad gave up hunting years ago, but enjoyed the love of hunting his grandkids have.

Dad was preceded by his son Steven Roderick, parents Alvin Roderick and Evelyn LeGarde, and his sister Lauragene Roberts. Dad is survived by his ex-wife and best friend Ginnie Lawson, his special niece Cathy Wilcox, his children Linda (Vern) Paine, Tracy (D’Ann) Roderick and Angela (Wiley) Stapp. He is also survived by his grandchildren whom he loved beyond words —  Kelli Carr, Bryan Paine, Andrew Paine, Jessica Roderick, Lindsey Roderick, Carly Wiley, Lane Stapp, Ryder Stapp and Hunter Stapp. His great-grandchildren Kennedy Myers, Smith Paine, Hudson Paine, Maggie Paine and Ellis Roderick Wiley.

At dad’s request there will be no formal service. His family will gather at a later date and lay him to rest at Sunset Memorial Park.

And think of him as living in the hearts of those he touched…
For nothing loved is ever lost and he was loved so much.