On
Sunday, January 3, 2021, Janell Renea Snead, loving daughter, sister
and mother, passed away at the age of 30 in the arms of her loving
family.
Janell
was born on July 8, 1990 in Paradise, Calif.
to Leon and
Jaki Snead. She was a remarkable young woman who brought joy and love
to all she met. A small-town favorite who loved sports, being in
nature and expanding her mind. From serving her community along side
her family in the restaurant industry to AA degrees with honors at
Butte Community College, Janell excelled at anything she focused on.
She was strong in spirit and unshakeable in faith. She survived the
Butte County Camp Fire
to make a new life in Humboldt County, where she again touched
countless lives with her smile and giving heart. She modeled the
ability to maintain lifelong friendships, commitment to family, and
encouraging people to be their best.
Janell
is survived by her parents, her sister and brother, her son and
stepchildren, and countless extended family members.
An
online Zoom Service will be held on Saturday, January 23 at 4 p.m. For
sign in information email janells.service@gmail.com.
###
The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Janell Snead’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.
On
Sunday, May 3, 2020, Todd Eric Johnston departed this earth suddenly
from a heart attack at the age of 57. He entered his eternal home in
Paradise.
He
was born in Omaha, Nebraska
on December 6, 1962, moving to Eureka at the age of nine
years. At the time of his death, he was residing in McKinleyville
with his loving wife, Sue
Preceded
in his death are both his paternal grandparents, Robert Johnston and
Dorothy Johnston-Sharp and maternal grandparents, Chester Phifer and
Astrid Carolyn Phifer-Lucas; his aunt and
uncle, Dianne and Chuck Utter of Iowa. He also left behind numerous
aunts, uncles and cousins.
He
is survived by his loving wife: Sue Lundquist-Johnston, his parents:
Patricia and Joe
Leo of Eureka and William (Bill) and
Joan Johnston of Ankney, Iowa; his
siblings: Shellie and
her spouse, Darin Taylor; their
son Joshua
Johnston and
daughter Savannah Taylor, Joel Johnston and
his son Jeremiah; Patrick Johnston and
his spouse, Lauren; their
son, Alex and daughters, Kasidy and MaKinzie.
He
is also survived by his three
loving sons: Eric, Christopher and
Matthew. Eric, his spouse, Jeannette (Jennie) and
his three
children, Caleb, Mariah and Kadence reside in Tacoma, Wash.
Christopher, his spouse, Shalico and their two
children, Lashyla and Jayden, reside in Fortuna. Matthew and his
loving partner, Heather Hardwick, reside in Eureka.
Todd
had many accomplishments during his lifetime. First and foremost were
his boys. He loves them so much and without hesitation no matter what
came along. I’m sure he’s still looking down on them, keeping them
safe from harm. Secondly, he was very patriotic serving 19 years with
the US Air Force, US Air Force reserves and the National Guard. He
was so very proud of his country and of his military life. While on
active duty he spent three
tours of duty overseas during Operation Desert Storm.
Also,
he had the ability and the focus to do structural repair on the F-15
and F-16 fighter jets at both Hill Air Force Base in Utah and
Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls, Oregon. He was also trusted to
restore WW2 airplanes including some of Jimmy Doolittle’s numerous
B25 Bombers as well as painted nose art on jets. Todd was a wonderful
artist. He could draw and/or paint anything but he really excelled in
his woodworking, especially his bird houses and walking sticks. They
were outstanding. He was very passionate in any form of art that he
performed.
It
was once said that we all die two
times. Once when our bodies seize to function and the other is when
the last person who speaks our name passes on..so with that being
said, he will live on through us, his family and he will never be
forgotten. He will always be part of our memories and always in our
hearts. His siblings and his sons will carry on his legacy proudly
until their dying day. Life will never be as it once was and that is
sad.
Todd’s
memorial and military service will be held at Ocean View Cemetery on
Wednesday, January 20, 2021 at 2 p.m. This will be a graveside
service only. Masks will be mandatory and social distancing will be
practiced.
###
The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Todd Johnston’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.
Joseph H. Michlig Sr. passed away peacefully on Tuesday, January 12, 2021, at home surrounded by loving family at the age of 94.
Joseph was born in Marathon, Wisconsin on October 27, 1926 and Graduated from Marathon High School in Wisconsin. He proudly served in the Army 101st Airborne Division during WWII and made the rank of Sergeant. Upon returning home he married the love of his life Ramona. They moved to Fortuna in 1951 and raised a family of four children. Joseph worked at The Pacific Lumber Company for 36 years.
Joseph loved and watched over his family up until the very end. He always put others first and never gave up on any of us.
He is survived by Ramona, his wife of 72 years, as well as his children Joseph Jr., Nancy, Mary and Robert. Grandchildren Tricia, Brandy, William, Craig, Brad, Clinton, Zachary and Nathan. Great-grandchildren Emilee, Skylar, Jenna, Ashley, Jadyn, Ethan, Autumn, Caleb, Mackenzie, William and Zoey.
A grave side service will be held at Oceanside Cemetery in Eureka on Tuesday, January 19 at 10 a.m. All are welcome.
###
The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Joseph Michlig’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.
Gerald Harvey Craig was born on March 31, 1940. He passed away January 4, 2021 at home in Salyer surrounded by his family
Jerry spent many years working for local auto part stores. He was a dedicated Volunteer firefighter for over 60 years. Over the years he volunteered for Eureka, Loleta, Willow Creek and most recently 25 years as the assistant chief of Salyer Volunteer Fire Department. He was also a United States Navy Veteran.
Jerry was preceded in death by his wife Judy Craig, parents Ruby and William Craig, his sons Paul Craig and Kenny Howard, his sisters Delores and Wilma and nephew Frank Wilcox.
Jerry is survived by his sons Gerald Craig, David Craig, Emil Craig and wife Cindy, Charles Bean, Steven Bean, and Robert Howard; his daughters Janice Stevens and Husband George and Jerri Amos and Ron; grandchildren Matthew Bean, Robert Hegler, Lynnette Hicks and Husband Cory, Shannon Howard, Valisha Robbins, Kenneth Howard, Joshua Howard and wife Kaila, Spencer Craig, Cheyenne Stevens, Hou Bien Bean, Walter Craig, Alpha Craig and Delia Hanes; he also has numerous great-grandchildren; his twin sister Geraldine and special family friends Joe and Mary Daher. Jerry is also survived by the members of the Salyer Volunteer Fire Department.
Jerry will be dearly missed by all his family and friends. Private services will be held.
If anyone wishes to do so, donations can be made to the Salyer Volunteer Fire Department.
###
The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Jerry Craig’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.
Judy Colleen Harrison passed away on December 6, 2020, in the care of
her two children, Chelsea Diana and Nicholas James. Our “mamma
Jude,” as she was affectionately known to so many, will be
remembered for her generous heart, her free spirit, and her deep love
of the ocean. Jude made a lasting imprint on countless kids and
families of Humboldt County, as the infamous swimming instructor to
hundreds of youngsters through her first business, Swim for Fun.
Underwater baby photos and joy-filled memories of diving for pennies
mark the childhood of innumerable kiddos (now adults) of Eureka and
surrounding communities. Her second local success, The Jungle Gym,
was also a family hot spot for after school fun, well known for its
endlessly entertaining ball bin and jazzercise classes. Jude’s
success with her two businesses later inspired and informed her work
as an Economic Development Coordinator and Grant Writer. She was
always passionate about encouraging entrepreneurs and supporting
Humboldt artists. Whether helping Nick build a skate wax business at
a young age, encouraging Chelsea to market her babysitting and closet
organizing skills, or successfully securing millions in grant funding
for the City of Eureka, Jude never overlooked an opportunity to help
Humboldt’s future thrive.
The
self-proclaimed “mermaid lady” was certainly true to her alias:
she lived for trips to Mexico and Belize and traveled in her
treasured blue Mercedes up and down the coasts of California and
Oregon, always close to the beach. Her favorite color was turquoise,
the color of the Carribean and Gulf waters. She loved to garden with
tropical plants, especially the ever elegant Bird of Paradise.
Mermaids adorned her rearview mirror and jewelry, beach scenes always
on her license plate and walls. And she was damn proud of her epic
mermaid tattoo, a memento from her solo adventure to the Sturgis
Motorcycle Rally.
Jude
was born in 1956 at General Hospital, supposedly on June 9th, but
quite possibly on June 10th, as she discovered later in her life a
discrepancy between her birth certificate and her mother’s
recollection of the date. Not a problem. Jude loved a good party and
any excuse to gather friends, so we were always happy to celebrate
both. An eternal optimist, Jude could make the best of any situation.
More
than anything else, our mamma Jude deeply loved her children, chosen
and given. She always beamed with pride recounting the adventures and
accomplishments of both Nick and Chelsea, much to Chelsea’s
embarrassment. Her home was always a place friends could come for
holidays, overnights, or extended stays, no questions asked. Family
was never restrictive, but expansive, defined not by blood but by
sacred bonds built over coffee on the porch, wine on the lanai, or
sipping tequila and sharing stories. Chosen family has become a
hallmark virtue for both Nick and Chelsea. The tradition of opening
hearts, homes, and creating extra space at the dinner table lives on
in them. For those life lessons, in addition to the swimming lessons,
we are forever indebted to you, sweet mamma. Rest in paradise.
###
The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Judy Harrison’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.
Motorists of the future may find themselves driving between Arcata and Eureka atop a causeway suspended over the waters of an expanded Humboldt Bay.
A raised roadway one of several potential adaptation measures being considered for this six-mile stretch of Highway 101 that runs mere feet from the rising waters of Humboldt Bay.
On Wednesday, employees with Caltrans (the California Department of Transportation) appeared before the California Coastal Commission to deliver an update on the agency’s long-term plans to deal with sea level rise on this thoroughfare.
Clancy De Smet, Caltrans’s Climate Change Adaptation Branch chief, told the commission that he’d just visited the railroad prism separating the freeway from the bay to check out the king tide.
“I was out there yesterday, and there was a lot of water,” he said.
A Caltrans employee observes the king tide in Humboldt Bay along Hwy. 101 on December 14, 2020. | Photo by Ryan Burns.
###
When the Coastal Commission approved Caltrans’ Eureka-Arcata Corridor Improvement Project in 2019, staff and commission members alike noted that while traffic safety hazards are a pressing concern, an even bigger threat to the roadway is approaching inexorably: sea water.
Both Executive Director John Ainsworth and former Chair Dayna Bochco referred to the six-mile stretch of highway as “ground zero” for sea level rise on the West Coast, noting that the surrounding terrain is subsiding while the oceans rise. As a result, the area surrounding Humboldt Bay has the highest relative rate of sea level rise anywhere on the west coast of the United States.
In its concern, the commission attached a few conditions of approval to the Coastal Development Permit that Caltrans was seeking in order to complete the Corridor Improvement Project. For one, the agency must monitor and report on the rising water and coastal flooding at numerous points along the project site. Secondly, it must develop a comprehensive adaptation and implementation plan. (Another condition: the removal of 179 acres of invasive spartina grass from Indian Island, aka Tuluwot.)
De Smet on Wednesday delivered a PowerPoint presentation that included images showing where the water level is projected to be by 2100 (note the semi-submerged vehicles at the top of this post) along with illustrations of three potential adaptation alternatives: a causeway (or viaduct), raised roads or a protective berm — like the existing railroad prism only higher.
None of these projects will be seen in the near future. The Comprehensive Adaptation and Implementation Plan isn’t even scheduled to be completed until December 2025.
“It’s not something that Caltrans ignored,” De Smet told the Outpost in an interview Thursday. “But we compete with all the other districts for adaptation monies, and I think District 1 was the last to get adaptation marching orders from headquarters.”
Environmental activists say such planning is urgently needed. “It’s definitely past time to be looking at building a causeway, because the sea level is rising,” Jennifer Kalt, executive director of the nonprofit Humboldt Baykeeper, told the Outpost Thursday. “There’s not going to be any way to stop it, so we need to be able to figure out ways to live with it.”
Some sea level rise projections have shown that sections of Hwy. 101 north of Eureka could see monthly flooding by 2023 if adaptation measures aren’t taken.
At Wednesday’s Coastal Commission hearing, Jennifer Savage, California policy manager with the nonprofit Surfrider Foundation, criticized Caltrans for failing to include adaptation measures in the Corridor Improvement Project from the beginning.
“This project could have been a great example of how to do things,” she said. “Instead, it’s just one more in a long list of projects reluctantly approved despite being, as Chair [Steve] Padilla said, ‘wholly inadequate.’” [Disclosure: Savage is a friend of mine.]
Jeff Pimentel, Caltrans project manager for the Eureka-Arcata Corridor Improvement Project, told the Outpost Thursday that while the agency hasn’t funded — or even identified — sea level rise-adaptation projects for this area of 101, collaborative planning measures are underway. They involve not only Caltrans but the public, business interests, utilities and local municipalities, such as Arcata and Eureka.
The conditional use permit for the Corridor Improvement Project also includes a provision that will require Caltrans to speed up its timeline for developing adaptation measures if the highway gets flooded four times in a 12-month period.
At Wednesday’s hearing, Coastal Commissioner and Humboldt County Supervisor Mike Wilson asked De Smet whether Caltrans is considering a mix-and-match approach to adaptation planning, and he argued that agency employees should consider that “programmatic behavioral changes” in society may be called for.
Regarding the causeway, Wilson asked whether a piece of infrastructure that size, with four lanes of traffic, is really necessary. Or should humans start to rethink their assumptions about cheap, convenient and always-available transportation when it may come at the expense of the planet?
“We seem to be on track of, ‘We must have 100 percent of our current construct of access forever,’” Wilson said. He suggested maybe downsizing the concept to two lanes of causeway, even if it means that some of the road goes underwater during extreme high-tide events. “We’re trying to adapt the technology that, quite frankly, is the cause of sea level rise,” Wilson said, referring to fossil fuels. “Maybe we can adapt our behavior a bit.”
De Smet agreed enthusiastically, saying that while safety is Caltrans’s No. 1 priority, he, too, believes that humans need to change their behavior.
Wilson had used the pandemic as an example of an event that convinces people to make dramatic behavioral changes en masse, and De Smet concurred. “I hardly get in the car anymore,” he said.
The Corridor Improvement Project is partly finished, and construction on the remaining major elements will begin later this year. Pimentel said high-tension cable median barriers have been installed, as have replacement tide gates along the bay. The southbound Jacoby Creek bridge has been replaced, and bridge rail replacement for both the Gannon Slough and Jacoby Creek bridges are set to begin later this year.
In late fall, construction will begin on the Indianola under-crossing — raising the highway so that traffic on Indianola can pass beneath (creating a structure that critics have dubbed “Mount Indianola”) — as well as a half-signal at the Airport Road intersection.
Caltrans is collaborating with a Humboldt State University graduate student to develop a geohazard analysis for this section of Hwy. 101, with funding from the California State University Council on Ocean Affairs, Science and Technology (COAST). And De Smet said Caltrans is now planning responsibly for the coming environmental shifts.
“As an agency we care about sea level rise and climate change and we take our role and responsibility seriously,” he said. “And I think we’re going to do the best we can with the resources we can marshal to put out a product that actually looks at the feasibility and alternatives. And we try to make the right decision.”
On January 14, 2021, at about 9:40 p.m., officers with the Eureka Police Department
responded to the 100 block of West Del Norte Street for the report of shots fired.
Upon arrival, officers located a 37-year-old male victim lying in the roadway with several
gunshot wounds. Humboldt Bay Fire and City Ambulance responded to the scene and
provided emergency medical care and transport to the hospital.
The area was secured and EPD’s Criminal Investigations Section responded to collect
evidence. Based on the victim’s statement and evidence located at the scene, it appears
the suspect may have been known to the victim. Witnesses on scene said they heard
shots and saw what appeared to be the possible suspect vehicle fleeing the scene at a
high rate of speed. This information and video surveillance from the area is currently
being reviewed.
At the time of this report, the victim is in stable condition. This is an ongoing and active
investigation. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact
Detective Sergeant Terry Liles at (707) 441-4010.
