We are saddened to announce that Rosalie Marie Gartzke passed away on March 25, 2021 at the age of 82. She was born on January 9, 1939 in Eureka, where she lived her entire life. Rose (as she liked to be known) was active and healthy until she suddenly passed away due to COVID-19, despite receiving excellent care and comfort in her last days at St. Joseph Hospital.

Rose will be mourned by her husband of 55 years, Curtis Gartzke; her daughters, Kris Ananda and Teresa Stringer, her husband Steve and her grandchildren Michael Sanders, Cory Sanders, Joseph Stringer and Cariana Escareno, her husband Braulio, her great-grandson Damien Escareno and her sister Shield Daggs. She was predeceased by her sister Ramona Downey.

Rose grew up with simply means and developed a strong sense of resourcefulness and tenacity. She enjoyed rose gardening, knitting and traveling with her husband. Rose was friendly and always had an entertaining story to tell with her playful sense of humor. Rose was very giving and was always there for people to offer her support with kind words and generous actions. She was a regular donor at her local blood bank.

Rose is greatly loved and will be missed by all who knew her: family, extended family, friends and all who had the pleasure of knowing her.

You don’t need to believe in Heaven to envision her escorted by the kindest of angels to a lush haven where she may rest in peace.

She will always live in our hearts.

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

From the City of Eureka:

For the last twelve months, the City of Eureka has produced weekly messages from the Mayor. These videos have helped the community weather the storm, but as the weather warms, and vaccines get distributed more widely into the community, it is time to start looking forward.

We will mark this transition with a new kind of video, starting today, the city will begin distributing Community Conversations, a series of interviews with local artists, volunteers, public servants, and business leaders.Each weekly video will highlight what makes Eureka great and the many ways our diverse citizens partner, get involved, and give back. 

Follow the City of Eureka Facebook page, visit the City of Eureka website, or tune in to KEET TV on Friday evenings to catch the latest episode.

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Video transcript:

My name is Monica Topping, and I am the administrative director at the Ink People Center for the Arts, which is the city of Eureka’s official arts organization. I also am the coordinator for North Coast Open Studios, which is a DreamMaker project of the Ink People. It is a county-wide community art event that typically happens in the first two weekends of June when there’s not a pandemic happening.

The Ink People is the City’s official arts organization. We support art and culture, projects and artists and creators throughout the County. We have a gallery here in our building when our gallery is not completely virtual. We have a drop-in after school program, Mars Project, which is a fantastic, amazing program for kids aged 12 to 26.

We’ve got the DreamMaker program, which is what Open Studios is a part of. There’s also like more than a hundred active DreamMakers in this area that are basically art and culture projects that are sort of independently run as part of the Ink People. If people have a creative idea or a community project that they want to do, trying to find funding for that, if you’re not a nonprofit, can be really extra difficult whether it’s sponsorships or grant funding or anything else, we can take them under our wing, make them part of the Ink People as a DreamMaker. And they can apply for grant funding, or they can get sponsors from businesses who can use it as a tax, write off as a donation to their project which is really nice. So it’s really neat that we’ve got this kind of constant conversation going on with all these incredibly creative people in our community who are doing incredible work.

They say that, there’s the whole Humboldt County census numbers about more artists per capita in Humboldt County than any other county in California. What I think is really incredible about that is that a lot of artists have other jobs, but on the census, they identified themselves as artists first and foremost. And I think that’s really, really special. You walk around the streets of Eureka and almost everywhere you look, you like spin one direction, you’re going to see a mural or a public art bench or some kind of sculpture. There’s so much art going on around here. You walk through Henderson Center and there’s poetry on the sidewalks. It’s incredible.

I think that the creative community in Humboldt, in Eureka, is definitely a beacon of light to other creatives. I think it doesn’t hurt that we’ve got these gorgeous giant trees and this ocean, and sometimes you can find a single spot to stand in where you’ve got one on each side of you. That is a really good inspiration for being creative, but certainly, knowing that there is such a big support system for creative people in this area definitely brings people here to be part of it, or if they accidentally show up and then find out that this exists, it just kind of makes them feel like it’s home.

We have this commission within the city, an actual city commission, that’s an official thing that supports the local art and culture community. The Art and Culture Commission has helped to create the city’s Strategic Arts Plan in the last few years. The city did that, but we supported it. All the benches along the waterfront and the utility boxes that you see when you’re walking around town, and a lot of the murals that are around here, we have supported that happening.

I think that over the last year, people have really seen the importance of art. In the time that we, a lot of people have been maybe less consumed by the hustle and bustle and the, to and from, and only getting to really pay attention to the life that they live and not much else outside of that, they’ve been given a little more breathing room with masks on to experience it. And I think hopefully the community will see that how important it is to have neighborhood art, the random utility boxes in the middle of residential neighborhoods getting painted nice colors, the parks are being painted, nice colors. It’s just making everything a little more enjoyable in the world around us and seeing that art doesn’t just have to be limited to the inside of a gallery. You don’t have to make a point of leaving the house to go into a place during their business hours to see visual arts. I think on the far side of this, we’re going to hopefully see much more of it and much more of it done in a very public way.

PREVIOUSLY: EPD Arrests Rio Dell Man on Child Sexual Assault Charges Following Months-Long Investigation

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A Rio Dell man pleaded not guilty today to the sexual abuse of two children, with one of the alleged victims 10 years old or younger when they were molested.

Judge Larry Killoran advised Jorge Alcazar Vasquez, 41, that he has been charged with the felonies of oral copulation or sexual penetration of a child 10 or younger and sexual intercourse or sodomy of a child 10 or younger. The alleged abuse took place between August 2017 and June 2018.

Additionally, Vasquez is accused of continuous sexual abuse of a child from July 2018 to October 2019.

Eureka police arrested Vasquez after an extensive investigation, and he remains in Humboldt County Correctional Facility with bail set at $1,705,000. Today he appeared via video from the jail, speaking through Spanish interpreter Carlos Benemann.

Asked whether he wanted to hire an attorney or have one appointed, Vasquez said “I don’t have money for this.”

Killoran appointed the Conflict Counsel’s Office to represent Vasquez, with Deputy Conflict Counsel R.J. Loehner entering not guilty pleas on his behalf. Loehner warned Vasquez sharply not to speak to anyone about his case.

“Do not discuss the allegations with anybody,” the attorney said. “Phone calls are recorded; letters are copied and will be used against you.”

At Loehner’s request, a bail hearing was scheduled for Tuesday. A probation officer will interview Vasquez and then make a recommendation on whether he is a good candidate for supervised release. His bail amount will also be discussed then.

The judge told Vasquez he is to have no contact whatsoever with the victims.

“I have a protective order that’s going to be served on you by the end of the day,” Killoran said.

In the EPD news release issued after Vasquez’s arrest, just one victim was mentioned. Loehner said today that he understood “a statement was taken yesterday,” and he asked for a copy of the statement.

As of now, the preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 14.

From the Humboldt County Joint Information Center:

The number of residents testing for COVID-19 has dropped considerably in recent months as vaccination rates increase, leading health officials to push for continued testing. 

“Testing is critical to reducing disease spread in the community,” said Hava Phillips, Public Health Clinic and Communicable Disease Program supervisor. “It’s a lot easier to spread a disease when you don’t know you have it.” 

Testing in Humboldt County is offered at no charge seven days a week (7 a.m. to 7 p.m.) at Redwood Acres in Eureka and is also available at various locations throughout the county each weekday. Walk-ins are welcome at all sites, and turnaround time for results averages 48 to 72 hours. See the full schedule below:  

• Eureka – Seven days a week, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Redwood Acres, 3750 Harris St.) 
• Arcata – Mondays, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Arcata Community Center, 321 M.L.K. Jr.     Pkwy.)
• Garberville – Tuesdays, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (SoHum Health Sprowl Creek Campus, 286 Sprowl Creek Road) 
• Fortuna – Wednesdays, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (River Lodge Conference Center, 1800 Riverwalk Drive)
• Hoopa – Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (Tsewenaldin Inn, 12482 CA-96)
• McKinleyville – Fridays, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Azalea Hall, 1620 Pickett Road).

To schedule, go to lhi.care/covidtesting, or call 888-634-1123.  

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), early data show the vaccines may work against some variants but could be less effective against others. Currently, there are five variants of concern in California, which are thought to be more contagious or likely to cause greater illness or severe disease, according to the California Department of Public Health. 

Also, while COVID-19 vaccines are effective at keeping people from getting COVID-19, the CDC is still learning how well vaccines prevent them from spreading the virus that causes COVID-19 to others, even if they do not have symptoms. 

Additionally, a big concern among Public Health officials is that a vaccine-resistant variant will develop “before we are able to get it under control,” Phillips said.  

“Viruses mutate easily, and if the mutations are significant enough, they can create a new variant,” she said, explaining that each person with COVID-19 may have viruses with a few different mutations. “But if people know they are sick and stay isolated, then none of those mutations have the chance to spread to anyone else, and the chance for a new variant decreases.” 

New variants are found by looking at the virus found among positive tests. “When people don’t get tested it takes longer to identify that new variants are spreading, which slows down research and response,” Phillips said.  

Fully vaccinated people should still watch for symptoms of COVID-19, especially following an exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, CDC states. If symptoms develop, all people — regardless of vaccination status — should isolate and be clinically evaluated for COVID-19, including getting tested, if indicated.  

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

Some Safeway and CVS Pharmacy locations are offering COVID-19 vaccination appointments. See if there are appointments available for your age group or sector at one of these locations by clicking on the links below.

Safeway: https://www.mhealthappointments.com/covidappt

CVS Pharmacy: https://www.cvs.com/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine?icid=cvs-home-hero1-link2-coronavirus-vaccine. 

A program aiming to more than double the number of Native American folks working in local school districts may well be coming to Humboldt and Del Norte counties. Called the Northern California Native Teacher project, the multi-year program would be funded through a $400,000 federal grant and would credential and place 60 Native Americans into local school districts, working as primary and secondary education teachers, counselors and school psychologists. Although the project’s leaders won’t know if the grant is approved until July, they hope to start the program in August and are looking for folks interested in participating.

“There’s a real need to make culturally congruent classrooms where Native students can feel comfortable and see role models of themselves in the school staff,” Jim McQuillen, director of education for the Yurok Tribe, told the Outpost during a phone interview. “Schools right now fall very short of that here in the Humboldt/Del Norte areas.”

In Humboldt and Del Norte, about three percent of K-12 educators are Native American — 38 of Humboldt’s 1,280 teachers and nine of Del Norte’s 268 teachers were of Native descent in 2019, according to the most current data from the California Department of Education. Meanwhile, about 10 percent of students are Native American between the two counties, according to Colby Smart, assistant superintendent of educational services at the Humboldt County Office of Education. The average American Indian student population percentage in California is about half of one percent.

“There is an ugly achievement gap for American Indian students throughout the region — and in California — [American Indian students] are still lagging behind with our graduation rates and our test scores. That’s what we’re trying to close, that gap,” McQuillen said.

The ACLU of Northern California released a “failing grade” report in October last year, which exposed the vast disparities Humboldt’s Native American students face, including larger achievement gaps and higher rates of exclusionary discipline than their non-Native peers. The report cites data backing up these claims, including that in 2019, “Native American high school graduates in Humboldt County are meeting the requirements needed to enroll in a UC or CSU at less than half the rate of all high school graduates in the county,” and that “Indigenous students in Humboldt County experience suspension rates nearly five times the state average for white students.”

Providing students with consistent access to mentors who understand and share their culture and experiences is one of many suggestions outlined in the report.

“The failure of formal education for Native American students in Humboldt County robs entire generations of the ability to access institutions that make decisions that fundamentally impact their lives and communities,” the report reads. “This harms future generations, as hundreds of Native American youth do not see themselves as valued or valuable, nor do they have many role models to follow and be inspired by.”

If approved, this grant, which is being submitted by the Yurok Tribe, as well as another grant aiming to place Native American teachers in business administration positions supported by the Blue Lake Rancheria, would be big steps toward fostering an educational environment where Native students are better supported. Other partners of these efforts include the Hoopa Education Association, Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation, Wiyot Tribe, and the Northern California Indian Development Council.

“Our goal is to get people that first credential and a pathway to working here locally, and then get them into the classrooms,” Jack Bareilles, the grant writer, told the Outpost.

The program would be available to Native Americans, including Alaska Native and members of federally recognized or State recognized Tribes, Native Hawaiians and Native American Pacific Islanders. Participants will need a bachelor’s degree in any subject to participate, however, rising college juniors and seniors are welcome to apply, too. Over the first year organizers are hoping to support 20 people in getting their credential, which would include a monetary stipend of $7,000 to $15,000.

The grant is due in May, and the program’s visionaries are still ironing out logistics. It’s likely that many participants would earn their credentials from Humboldt State, a prospect the university is excited about.

“This is a really big opportunity for us,” Libbi Miller, chair of HSU’s School of Education, told the Outpost. “We are continually looking for opportunities to better serve our tribal communities. But we also know that we continually are looking at our representation in the School of Education, [and] we know that we’re falling short there.”

Of the 200 students enrolled in HSU’s education department, about 25 to 30 are people of color, Miller said. The department offers five credential programs — educational leadership, special education, elementary education, secondary education and liberal studies elementary education. Students in the school of education who come from local communities often stay local after earning their credentials, Miller said.

“The more teachers we can educate who are coming from their communities and working in their communities, the better that those teachers can support students and children in the community,” Miller said. The intention is to attract folks who intend to stay local, and if they don’t, they’ll likely have to return the stipend, Bareilles said.

Miller expressed excitement about the grant, especially because it will financially support students going through the program. Earning a teaching credential requires a year of student teaching, and students sometimes can’t work at the same time. Stipends from the $400,000 grant would help mitigate that obstacle.

“Not only is our university is located on Wiyot land, but we’re surrounded by a huge number of different communities, and we need to do a better job,” Miller said.

Participants in the program also would have the option to earn a Yurok language teaching credential through the Yurok Tribe, which is the largest tribe in California. For this credential pathway, the Yurok Tribe administers a written and oral test, which requires fluency to pass. The state of California issues a Yurok language teaching credential to people who pass.

“We’re asking people to challenge themselves to, if they already have a degree or they’re interested in becoming a teacher, to get on board and become a teacher, help our students,” McQuillen said. “Our interest is to get our kids to succeed, and have more culturally relevant classrooms, and make schools a better place for all kids.”

The Blue Lake Rancheria is submitting a different federal grant proposal, which aims to increase the number of Native Americans serving in administrative roles on school campuses. If approved, the program would support up to 15 Native American folks through earning a master’s degree in building administration, and then would help place them in administrative roles over the next few years. The five-year program would support the education of five people per year over the first three years, and then the last two years would be dedicated to job placement.

For this grant, interested participants must already be teachers, limiting the pool of potential applicants quite dramatically, said Alison Robbins, executive director of the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribal Education Agency. “Trying to find that many people that are interested in becoming building administrators in Humboldt County is going to be difficult,” Robbins said.

For this reason, Blue Lake Rancheria is looking at ways to expand access for this grant to tribes across 21 Northern California counties. “That’s how few Native American classroom teachers there are, which is why the Yurok Tribe’s grant is so important,” Robbins said.

Because the participants will likely be quite spread apart, they’ll probably earn the master’s building administration degree from an online program, Robbins said, but nothing is set in stone yet.

There is no record of how many Native Americans work in building administrative roles in California schools. “In Humboldt County, as far as we have surveyed so far, there are no building administrators [or] district superintendents that are Native American and belong to any of our local tribes,” Robbins said.

“Leadership really sets the tone for a school environment. And so, we feel that by having Native American persons, or other persons of color, even, in positions of authority, that they can help lead the education system, towards a more inclusive, diverse curriculum and education for students,” Robbins said, who expressed appreciation toward the US Department of Education and Office of Indian Education for recognizing the need for more Native role models in schools.

More information about programs offered through the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribal Education Angency can be found here.

The Humboldt County Office of Education is thrilled about these initiatives. “Our Native American population is really extremely high. We have a really rich, vibrant tribal community up here,” Colby Smart at HCOE told the Outpost. “So anything we can do to build up the workforce, to help develop inclusive and representative classrooms, I see that as a real positive.”

Between local tribes, school districts, HSU, and HCOE, these programs would be extremely collaborative efforts.

“When our community embarks on projects such as these, they are most successful when they are comprised of multiple agencies and multiple partners, and this is a great example of that,” Smart said. “You’ve got the involvement of the university, local school districts, tribal organizations, and so, to me, those are the kinds of projects that really end up making big, big impacts in our community.”

HCOE will help, too, by providing professional development support and by assisting with recruitment efforts.

“Creating a classroom environment that’s reflective of the communities is extremely important, not just for that targeted population but for all populations of kids,” Smart said. In addition to that, Smart values the program because it will likely produce teachers who are guaranteed to stay in the area. The county anticipates hiring about 50 new teachers per year over the next few years, Smart said.

“Because many of the students are being recruited from within the counties, it’s highly likely that they’re not going to leave the county, right, so they already have a vested interest in the community,” Smart said. “And so I see that as a big, big benefit.”

People interested in participating in the Northern California Native Teacher project are invited to fill out this interest form. If the grant is approved, filling out this form does not guarantee you a slot in the program or lock you into participating; it is simply meant to identify interested folks.

“We talk equity all the time, which we should,” Bareilles said. “But the real impact is when we have diversified our workforce so that our workforce looks like our kids.”

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Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On March 31, 2021, at about 4:45 p.m., a Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputy assigned to the Trinity River Division was contacted regarding multiple swimmers in distress at the Big Rock river access in Willow Creek.

The deputy arrived on scene and observed three people stuck on a rock in the river. The deputy retrieved his department-issued water rescue gear, and with the help of additional community members on scene, the deputy deployed the rescue equipment and brought all three of the subjects safely to shore.

The deputy later learned the subjects were from the Arcata area and had decided to go for a swim in the river due to the nice weather.

The Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the community members who assisted our deputy in bringing the subjects to safety.

While the weather is getting warmer throughout Humboldt County, the Sheriff’s Office would like to remind the public that it is still too early to swim in some of our local rivers, including the Trinity River, due to high water levels and swift currents. If you do decide to swim in the local rivers this summer, the Sheriff’s Office offers some safety tips: 

• Be sure to check river levels and flow information with the National Weather Service, in addition to water release information for the Trinity River. 
• Never swim alone. 
• Avoid swimming into a fast-moving current. If the current seems too strong, get out of the water. 
• Don’t consume alcohol while swimming. 
• Inflatable water toys should not be used in place of a life jacket. Young children should wear a life jacket when swimming in the river. Watch children at all times. 
• If you are not a strong swimmer, do not swim in the river. Instead, enjoy from the shore. 

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On April 1, 2021, at about 5:15 p.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a residence in the area of Myrtle Avenue and Indianola Cutoff Road for the report of shots fired.

Sand.

Deputies responded to the residence and located a 51-year-old male victim uninjured. Deputies learned that the victim had observed an unknown male suspect on his property and confronted him, after which the suspect left. According to the victim, the suspect later returned, discharged a firearm at the victim, then fled into a nearby mobile home park.  

Through further investigation, deputies learned that the suspect had fled into a residence within the mobile home park. Deputies surrounded the residence and negotiated with the suspect for a peaceful surrender. The suspect, later identified as 18-year-old Gage James Sand, was taken into custody without further incident.

Sand was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of attempted murder (PC 664/187(a)).

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.