Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office is requesting the public’s help in the Bailey Blunt missing person investigation.
Bailey Blunt was reported missing to Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) one year ago on Sept. 25, 2023. Blunt was last seen on Sept. 22, 2023, when she reportedly went to retrieve her belongings from a location off Berg Rd and State Route 299, where she had been staying with her ex-boyfriend Tyler Burrow.
Since law enforcement’s first response to investigate the disappearance of Bailey Blunt, multiple searches of the Berg Rd. property were conducted, including the use of highly specialized K-9 teams and ground searchers without success. Blunt has not utilized any credit cards or contacted any of her loved ones since the disappearance a year ago. Interviews have been conducted by investigators with more than 30 individuals, including Tyler Burrow. Search warrants have been issued and served on vehicles, properties, cellular phones, and electronic records as part of the ongoing investigation. Tips received throughout the investigation have led to thorough searches of locations in Humboldt and Trinity Counties, and Oregon. At this point, the Sheriff’s Office has followed up on all possible leads and is requesting the public’s help in this investigation. Investigators believe there are people in this community that know what happened to Baily Blunt.
Baily Blunt is 29 years old and described as a white female, approximately 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighing 200 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Blunt has a tattoo of a trident on her neck and a fishing hook on her left hand.
If anyone has any information, please contact Investigator Jennifer Taylor with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Division. To make an anonymous crime tip please call 707.268.2539 or email HSO@co.humboldt.ca.us .
Eureka City Schools’ Trustee Area 2 in the big green section on this map. | Image via ECS.
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The Eureka City Schools Board of Trustees has faced some pretty intense scrutiny in the nine months since its five members voted to enter a land exchange agreement with a mysterious corporation called AMG Communities - Jacobs, LLC — a deal that the same board voted to ditch last month after multiple delays in closing escrow.
But make no mistake: Those who volunteer to serve on school boards should be commended for their time and service. They invariably want what’s best for their community and its young people.
And now, less than two months before Election Day, there’s a vacancy on Eureka City Schools’ board. Prior ECS Board Member Mike Duncan has evidently vacated his position before the end of his term, and he is not running for re-election.
The district issued the following notice today, inviting any interested candidates who live in Trustee Area 2 to reach out to Superintendent Gary Storts.
September 17, 2024 - NOTICE is hereby given that all qualified persons who would like to apply
for the open position on the Board of Trustees for Eureka City Schools, Trustee Area 2, may
contact Eureka City Schools, c/o Gary Storts, Superintendent (stortsg@eurekacityschools.org),
for a candidate information sheet. All candidate information sheets (original copies) must be
submitted on or before Wednesday, October 16, 2024, no later than 4:00 p.m., to the
Superintendent’s Office of Eureka City Schools (2100 J Street, Eureka, CA 95501 – Room 108).
Qualifications for Office: The applicant shall be a registered voter residing in Trustee Area 2 for
Eureka City Schools. The boundaries for Trustee Area 2 can be reviewed by visiting
https://www.eurekacityschools.org/Governance/governance_board and clicking School Board
Trustee Areas or through the Humboldt County Office of Education – District Locator
(https://hcoe.org/district-locator/).
NOTICE is further given that appointment to the office will be made in the event there are no
nominees, or no qualified nominees. (Appointments will be made pursuant to 10515 of the
Elections Code or 5326, 5328, and 5328.5 of the Education Code.)
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Constance
(Connie) Thompson of Eureka. She lived nearly her entire life in
Eureka and died of complications from a long history of heart
disease.
She was born
Constance Elaine Martins on June 20, 1943, to Wallace
William Martins and Pauline Campbell-Martins. She grew up in Eureka
and attended local schools, graduating from Eureka High School in
1962.
She met the
love of her life, Jack Thompson, while in high school. He used to pick
her up at the corner of H street and Del Norte streets for lunch
during her senior year. Connie told the story that the principal
called her mom to alert her of the situation, and she let him know
that she approved. Excited to start their lives together, the two
were married on November 24, 1962 in Eureka.
Connie began
working as a nurse’s aide at St. Joseph Hospital after graduation,
and also completed an LVN program at night with her good friend Karen
Zeck. Though neither would become nurses, they remained lifelong
friends. Connie spent 45 years working in the medical industry in
Eureka. She began at Burns clinic, North Coast Medical Group, and
finally the center for Women’s Health, retiring in 2013 as an
office manager. She enjoyed working with the doctors and staff
throughout the years and made many lasting friendships that carried
on throughout her life.
Connie and
Jack had two sons — Loren in 1967, and Brent in 1971. They enjoyed
taking the boys camping, hunting, fishing, and always attending
motorcycle or car races. Many fun weekends were had at the family
property in Hoopa, or at the house on K street with the K Street
gang.
Connie was
always interested in learning new things and later in life she
revisited her desire to play the violin. She worked tirelessly at
becoming proficient and ultimately became accomplished and played
with the Four Seasons Orchestra, for which she was very proud. Connie
and Jack purchased a motorhome and intended to travel some in
retirement. They made a few trips to the Central Balley and enjoyed
staying at Benbow. They made a couple of trips to McCloud with their
close friends and always had a great time. They also spent many
weekends taking their 1954 Buick Special to the local car shows where
they made many friends.
Connie was
predeceased by her mother and father, her loving husband Jack (2021),
her brother Wally Martins, Jr., her half-brother Mel Martins, and her
precious dog Punkin.
She is survived
by her sons Brent of Eureka, Loren and daughter-in law Melissa and
granddaughter Brittney from Galt, Calif. They adored Brittney and
enjoyed the exhausting Disneyland trips when she was little, and
celebrating her accomplishments as she grew up. She is also survived
by her sister Jacalyn Martins, half brother Wayne Martins (KD), half
sisters Cheryl Martins, Patricia Andrews, and Jackie Bainbridge;
nieces and nephews Tosha, Joy, Jeremy, Robert, Lateese, Ali, Tiffany,
and Elijah, and numerous cousins. She loved her two Cairn, terriers
Maggie and Molly.
We will be
hosting a celebration of lives well lived for Connie and Jack on
September 28 at 11:30 a.m. at Old Growth Cellars, 1945 Hilfiker Lane
in Eureka.
In lieu of
flowers, please make a donation to St. Jude or American Cancer
Society as these were important to Connie.
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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Connie Thompson’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.
Stanley (Stan) F. Krupka Jr. was born on Sept. 25, 1940 and called
home on June 17, 2024 at the age of 83. He was born in Eureka to
Stanley F. Krupka Sr. and Doris Karen Sonberg Krupka. Stan (Sonny)
lived all of his life on the family ranch (The Little Ponderosa) at
the end of Mitchell Road in Eureka.
He felt the most
comfortable at his home surrounded by his many sculptures, including:
Tetradactyl, Ceratops, Cowboy, complete with guns, which was on
display at the California State Fair, dragon, pirate, six-foot
stagecoach with horses, that was on display at Wells Fargo Banks,
Danial the Lion that stands six feet tall and resembles Stan, a
four-foot cow which stands outside the original barn, and so many
more. He was in the process of building a longhorn steer when a
defibrillator would not allow him to use the electric welder for fear
of execution. His signature was his initials enclosed in his beloved
redwood trees. The family plans on have Stan’s sculptures on
display for public viewing at some point in the future.
Stan and three of
his fellow senior Eureka High football members traveled to Oakland
and tried out for the Raiders Football team. Unfortunately, a
horrific automobile crash in Willits on their way home ended their
career in football. One classmate perished in the crash. Stan was a
man of few words; he expressed his love through his sculptures and
his service in volunteering. He spent many years volunteering for Pop
Warner football and many civic organizations. He was also proud of
his large (very large) train that he donated to Sequoia Park for the
children to play on.
He never had his
own children and was particularly touched when his nephew, John
Etchell and Gracie Hayes, named their son (Sonny) after him. It meant
so much to him. Everyone at his celebration of life service expressed
their belief that they were special to him because of his sweet smile
and raised eyebrows that he bestowed on them individually.
Private family
services were held June 30, 2024, at the Krupka Ranch in Eureka. He
was laid to rest at Ocean View Cemetery between his parents.
He was
pre-deceased by his loving parents, his sister Geraldine Giddings,
his brother-in-law Robert Etchell, his nephew Stanley F. Giddings,
his uncles Fred, Bud and Orrin Sondberg, his niece Julie Etchell and
his Aunt Lucille Younger.
He is survived by
his loving sister Frances Etchell of Healdsburg. His nephew Robert
(Gary) Etchell, Jamen Etchell, Greg (Dana) Etchell, Matthew
(Jacqueline) Etchell, Gerry (Ray) Newton, Dawn (Milton) Rose, Rita
Goad, Richard (Angela) Giddings, Doris Farris and many great-nieces
and nephews.
A special thanks
to his niece Rita Goad and cousin Dixie Klemp for all their care in
his later years. Their care allowed “Uncle Sonny” to remain at
home.
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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Stan Krupka’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.
Until a couple of weeks ago, the “Yes on Measure F, Housing for All” campaign had been a pretty cheerful affair, its website and political mailers featuring cartoony illustrations of suburbia and stock photographs of smiling families in, uh, some nice-looking town that’s definitely not Eureka.
But the last couple of political mailers and social media ads have assumed a much darker tone. “CHEATERS ALWAYS LOSE!” one recent mailer scolds in all caps. The campaign’s anger is palpable. “For some people, if they can’t win fair and square, they CHEAT!” the mailer says on one side. On the other, a rallying cry to honest citizens: “We won’t let a small group of SORE LOSERS undermine our democracy!”
Who cheated? Well, the evidence of this nefarious, democracy-hating fraud is presented in a pair of side-by-side photos, “BEFORE” and “AFTER” images that the campaign also highlights in this video:
The implication is that some unscrupulous saboteur sneaked onto the front yard of a “Yes on F” supporter, defaced their sign to reverse its meaning and then replaced it in exactly the same spot at precisely the same off-kilter angle.
Little did this lowdown scoundrel know that the vigilant patriots behind “Yes on F” were one step ahead. They’d evidently had the foresight to snap a “BEFORE” photo, so when the sign was replaced with a vandalized version, the “Yes on F” crew returned to the scene of the “crime” to capture an “AFTER” shot — again, at the identical angle. (Skeptics point out that the photographer even seems to have convinced dandelions, debris and the sun not to budge between shots.)
According to the property owner, however, that’s not at all what happened. Chris, who asked the Outpost not to use his last name due to fear of retaliation, said that’s his front yard and his modified sign depicted in the campaign mailers. He says he covered up the “YES” with a “No” after the sign was stuck into his lawn without his permission.
“I’m just a retired old guy that paints and gardens and walks my cat on a leash and does good things for my community,” Chris said when reached by phone last week. “It’s not like I’m heavily political, right?”
Chris said he started receiving unsolicited text messages from the “Yes on F” campaign last month.
“Finally, I started responding, because sometimes I can be a smart-ass,” he said. “And I asked them for four ‘No on F’ signs. They texted me again. I asked them for four ‘No on F’ signs again.”
Screenshots provided by Chris.
But the texts kept coming, and finally Chris decided to go ahead and accept a “Yes” sign.
“In their [campaign] stuff they say they’ll deliver it to your front door, which would be fine,” he said. “I do political art so I figured, let them spend money [and] give me a sign. I might do political art with it like I have in pretty much every election for the last I-don’t-know-how-long.”
Some days later, Chris returned home from running errands to discover that, rather than delivering the sign to his front door, someone had erected one in his front yard, shoving the legs of a wire H-frame into the ground near the trunk of a skinny fruit tree.
“And that was kind of weird,” Chris said. “They came to my front yard and put up a ‘Yes on F’ sign after it was pretty obvious I was a ‘No’ person.”
He pulled the sign out, brought it into his studio and “tidied it up pretty quick,” he said, referring to his painted modifications, which changed the “Yes” to a “No” and whited out a QR code and the slogan “Housing for All.”
Now, having seen the mailer describing his art project as criminal vandalism, Chris suspects he was set up.
“I think they knew I was going to do it, and I think they thought it would work to their political advantage to claim that their signs are getting vandalized,” he said.
The “Yes on F” campaign suggests that anti-Measure F crimes have been rampant. The first flier on this topic says that within 24 hours of distributing the first batch of campaign signs, “many were vandalized or even stolen.”
The flier describes such actions as “a tremendous display of weakness and cowardice by a small group of people who think the way to win an election is to illegally stop the other side from campaigning.” And it warns, “These incidents have been reported to the police.”
Have they, though? Eureka Police Department’s public information officer, Laura Montagna, said no.
“We don’t have data that supports that at all,” she said after being contacted by the Outpost on Monday. Montagna said she checked with both EPD Chief Brian Stephens and Commander Leonard LaFrance and looked through the past three months’ worth of call logs but found no reports of such vandalism.
The Outpost reached out to representatives of the “Yes on F” campaign, including Gail Rymer, the Tennessee-based spokesperson for Security National (the Rob Arkley-founded real estate servicing firm sponsoring the initiative), and campaign co-chair Mike Munson. We explained that we’d spoken with a man who took credit for modifying the sign as a work of “political art” and we asked for details about this and all other alleged incidents that have been reported to police.
Munson replied via email, saying he’s currently in Chicago and would forward the inquiry to a colleague. Rymer sent the following statement:
I’m glad you mentioned art. Voters surveyed have identified a strong desire to maintain downtown parking to keep the area a vibrant center for art, culture, and tourism. Measure F does precisely this and is a win-win for the arts, residents, and small businesses.
Thanks very much for your ongoing interest. Nice work on identifying an individual who confessed to “cheating and lawbreaking” by defacing political campaign materials and trampling on the democratic political process. The authorities will appreciate that, as well.
We’ve got links to our previous Measure F coverage in this post. To read the official arguments for and against the measure, as well as the Eureka city attorney’s impartial analysis, click here. Election Day is Nov. 5.
An official “No on F” campaign sign is now placed near the tree where a modified one once stood. | Photo by Ryan Burns.
After a closed-session special meeting that lasted nearly three hours, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors has voted to “accept the resignation” of its director of aviation, Cody Roggatz, effective immediately.
The vote was 3-2, with supervisors Mike Wilson, Steve Madrone and Natalie Arroyo voting in favor and supervisors Michelle Bushnell and Rex Bohn opposed.
No reasons were given for this parting of ways with Roggatz, who was hired by the county August 2018 to head a new, standalone Aviation Department, which had previously been a division of Public Works.
On September 14, 2024 at approximately 11:40 p.m., officers with the Eureka Police Department responded
to the 800 block of Pine Street on a report of an assault. Upon officer arrival, they learned that during the
assault an individual had been stabbed numerous times with an unknown object. The victim was
uncooperative and wouldn’t provide any information in regards to the assault to officers and initially refused
medical treatment.
The victim was contacted numerous times by law enforcement during the investigation and finally agreed to
seek medical attention for their significant injuries. The victim was transported to the hospital for
treatment. There are no known suspects at this time, however this was not a random act and there is no
known threat to the community.
This is an ongoing and active investigation and EPD is asking anyone that may have information about this
assault to contact Detective Sergeant Cory Crnich at 707-441-4300.
