Timothy Michael Showen was born November 4, 1955 and passed on January 12, 2025. Born in Las Vegas, Nevada to Donald and Patricia Showen, after his parents divorced he and his sister, Diane, moved to Los Angeles with their mother. He attended schools in Brentwood where he developed many lifelong friends.

He left L.A. in ‘73 where he stumbled onto the “McDougall & Son’s” orchard out of Orondo, Washington. He stayed there as year round help from ‘73 to ‘76. In ‘75 he met Tina Harmon, as she was passing through as seasonal help. They ended up together from ‘75 to ’87. They eventually left the orchard, and moved to Rock Island, Washington, where they rented a farm house on 40 acres, overlooking the Columbia River just south of Wenatchee. They spent three happy years working the orchards and picking sheds.

One of Tim’s oldest friends was going to school at Humboldt State and encouraged the young couple to move south to Northern California. They first moved to China Creek, and from there to Blue Slide, and eventually bought property close to Honeydew. Where they built their home and farmed the land. In 1980 they introduced their daughter, Timber, into the world, naming her after themselves.

Unfortunately, the struggles of living off the grid caught up with them, and the couple went their separate ways. Tim remarried in November of 2005 to Hiedi Durtsche and the two remained together until his passing. He is preceded in death by his sister Diane, and his parents. He is survived by his wife Hiedi, his daughter Timber, stepson Devin, his one cousin Michelle Crosby, his four granddaughters, three grandsons, one great grandson, and one great granddaughter.

He once served on the Petrolia School Board, was an active member of the Mattole Salmon Restoration and was active in founding the Mateel Community Center in Redway. He also played a role in founding the Honeydew Volunteer Fire Department, Honeydew Elementary School, and the Mattole Triple Junction High School.

He is greatly missed by his family and friends. A celebration of life is to be determined.

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Maya Conrad was following her search and rescue dog, Rowdy, across an expanse of rubble, searching for anyone who might be hidden among the wood pallets, slabs of broken concrete and exposed rebar. Rowdy, a four-year-old border collie, was all laser focus and quick movements, his tail wagging and tongue lolling as he scampered across the disaster zone. 

Following his nose, he hopped through an access panel in the roof of an overturned bus. As Conrad followed him, stooping to squeeze through the hole and into the darkness, she couldn’t help but laugh, thinking to herself, “I really didn’t picture myself doing this for a good time, you know. Ever. And here we are.”

Of course, she and Rowdy weren’t really doing this for a good time — or not only for the good time. It was a training run in preparation for a rigorous and highly complex test that Rowdy and Conrad would pass in the coming days, the first team ever to do so, earning them the only “Type 4 Disaster Mission-Ready” certification ever issued by the California Rescue Dog Association (CARDA). 

As the organization explained in a congratulatory Facebook post last week, “This rigorous certification demonstrates their ability to support critical search operations following disasters like earthquakes and fires, working alongside local and state response teams to locate survivors.”

Conrad, a local real estate agent whose canine search and rescue work is entirely volunteer, said scouring urban disaster scenes with rubble piles, vehicles and simulated collapsed freeways is not Rowdy’s primary specialty. He’s a certified live-find wilderness area dog, trained to locate people (or human remains) in vast rural landscapes like we have here in Humboldt County.  

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But about a year and a half ago, she and Rowdy were invited to attend a training put on by the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation in Ventura County, where they’ve built a “disaster city” that simulates an urban environment post-massive earthquake, complete with tilted and collapsed buildings.

“And I noticed that, relative to some of the other dogs in our training group, he just thrived searching in that kind of environment,” Conrad said. 

Rowdy came to Conrad via a breeder in Grants Pass who said that he’s the first in his a 40-year lineage to do such work. 

“I told her that I was interested in doing search and rescue, but I am also a big believer in letting the dog tell you what they what they like and then following suit,” Conrad said.

Last year, she and Rowdy attended a training in the Bay Area hosted by the nonprofit HD Search Dog Fund, whose founder, Tim Houweling is a fellow member of CARDA and a big believer in cross-training dogs so they’re capable of responding to different types of disasters. 

“When we’ve had events like the [2018] Paradise fire, there has been such a shortage of canine dogs who are appropriately trained to respond to such a disaster,” Conrad said. “And as we’re seeing with the L.A. conflagrations, there’s going to be more and more of a need for dogs who can do this kind of work.”

Houweling, fire captain and canine search specialist with the Mountain View Fire Department, said he personally designed CARDA’s Type 4 disaster certification test in 2013. He based it on a test from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that’s considered the national standard for search and rescue dogs, though his own test is designed to be attainable by wilderness dogs. 

It includes multiple components, including a “robust agility requirement,” an “adjustment and control” portion (ensuring that the dog responds to its trainer’s instructions) and, of course, a search component that requires the dog to locate two people hidden in the rubble. All of these components must be satisfied within a limited time period.

Houweling designed the test with the thought that he and his own search and rescue dogs would be the first to complete the test, but after more than a dozen years, nobody had done so. 

“We haven’t had any teams that went out and achieved certification, so Maya and Rowdy were the first ones to do it,” he said. He noted that other types of certification, like those for wilderness search and rescue, allow dogs to pass each component separately, often on days that are weeks or months apart. 

“In this test, it’s all in one day, so it’s a pretty big success for Maya to do that,” Houweling said. “She should be pretty proud of herself.”

Maya and Rowdy solve a complicated problem in a simulated disaster-scene course two days before taking their Type 4 certification test.

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Before getting involved in canine search and rescue training, Conrad trained her dogs — mostly Belgian Malinois — in competitive sports activities such as dock diving for max distance and the Mondioring World Championships (a multi-discipline test of a dog’s obedience, agility and protection skills). 

“And that’s really led me on a journey that I’m really passionate about, of canine cognition, canine learning theory and how we develop a dog to do amazing things and really enjoy it,” Conrad said.  (She started training Rowdy when he was just seven and a half weeks old.) “And I think the inter-species relationship between humans and dogs is endlessly fascinating. When you get a true working dog, it’s magic to see, and if you know how to focus that energy, it’s really incredible to see what they can do.”

Conrad’s mentor in search and rescue training has been Jan Friedrichsen, commander of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office’s volunteer Search and Rescue Team, as well as its K9 lead. She has more than two decades of experience as a K9 search and rescue handler. Conrad and Rowdy are part of the team, too, along with Conrad’s other dog, a Malinois named Shadow. Back in September, the team spent more than three days helping numerous agencies search for a missing Eureka woman, who was eventually found safe.

Friedrichsen said that while Conrad and Rowdy could get called to an emergency anywhere in the state, the local community is lucky to have them nearby.

Conrad and Rowdy. | Photo by Comm-312 Photography.

“If there were a disaster here in Humboldt County, we are not gonna get help for days, so to have some dogs with the exposure, to have Maya and Rowdy’s experience, they’re gonna be the first ones out,” Friedrichsen said. “We’ve got the only dog in the state that’s trained [for such emergencies] and isn’t relying on an outside agency [like FEMA].”

Conrad said Rowdy wasn’t the only one who required training. She had some studying of her own to do, learning about structural collapse, hazardous materials and more. She had to learn how to learn how to decontaminate both her dog and herself. 

Asked how she feels about the possibility of responding to a grisly disaster, she said her outlook has changed over the years. The vast majority of wilderness search and rescue involves looking for human remains, but when she told people about her efforts they would envision something much different, like what Rowdy can do now. They’d ask Conrad if she and her dogs would show up to collapsed buildings and the like.

“And my response would always be, ‘Oh, heck no, we’re not doing disasters. I don’t want to do anything like, you know, the World Trade Center [and] put my dog in harm’s way, right?’ But then when I saw how he thrived I thought, well, maybe I should pursue this.”

Rowdy will work for a reward, like a toy, she said, but he also gets fulfillment from the work itself. And if that means they get called on a mission that involves the risk of injury, exposure to hazardous materials and proximity to extreme suffering, so be it.

“My dog is a working dog who finds extreme joy and thrives on this work, and I’ve made a commitment to be [of] service. … Knowing the safety protocols helps me stay safe, and it also gives me the training and the ability to help potentially save lives. I guess it gives me the courage to put my dog and me in harm’s way.”

Rowdy learning to climb a ladder.

Kurt Marvin Osborn, born in Washington D.C. on July 22, 1944 to Dorothy and Marvin Osborn, died at his Trinidad home on Dec. 19, 2024. He was surrounded by family when he peacefully passed at 12:15 a.m. He is survived by his wife Alane Osborn, his children Tawne Osborn, Joshua Wiener and his wife Gina Wiener, his grandson Maxwell Wiener, two siblings Lynne Geweke and Carl Osborn, and two nephews Andrew Geweke and Reid Osborn. He was preceded in death by his nephew Alan Geweke, and his parents Marvin and Dorothy Osborn.

Kurt grew up with his brother and sister in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. When he was young, Kurt adored books, baseball, and music. Those loves persisted throughout his entire life. Kurt earned his bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Michigan. Pursuing a career in medicine, Kurt earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Kurt was drafted into the Navy during the Vietnam War and served as a doctor until the war ended. After his honorable discharge from the Navy, Kurt completed his internship and residency in neurology.

In 1970 Kurt moved to Eureka and took one of the founding positions at the Humboldt Neurology Medical Group. Kurt served as a neurologist in Humboldt County for nearly 50 years. In 1989 Kurt met his wife, Alane. She moved to Arcata with her two children, Tawne and Joshua, after she accepted a position on the faculty of Humboldt State University. Kurt and Alane married in 1990 and remained so until his death.

During his 35-year marriage to Alane, Kurt was a loving husband and father. He raised Tawne and Joshua as his own. Marrying into a single parent family with children is challenging. Kurt’s goofy charm and grace made it seem effortless. He was a great dad. Kurt was telling dad jokes before he was a dad and before dad jokes were labeled as such. He loved trivia, shaggy-dog stories, and cringey puns.

In his later years Kurt worked part-time as a neurologist and spent his time at his Trinidad home. Kurt worked tirelessly to care for his wife Alane as the two dealt with aging. They enjoyed reading together, Kurt in his chair and Alane curled up on the couch. There he would read to her for hours until one or both fell asleep.

The Osborn family was grateful to the staff of Timber Ridge in McKinleyville and Hospice of Humboldt for their kindness and dedication during the care they provided Kurt at the end of his life. Kurt and Alane were so grateful for the friends and colleagues they made over the years at Humboldt State University and Humboldt Neurology. Kurt loved living and working in Humboldt County.

PREVIOUSLY: Fortuna City Council Member Kris Mobley Resigns as FBI Investigates Embezzlement and Theft Allegations, According to City Officials

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Fortuna city officials were aware of the FBI’s investigation into former Councilmember Kris Mobley more than two months before she resigned from the position amid allegations of theft and embezzlement. 

Mobley | Photo: City of Fortuna.

“The FBI contacted the city in mid-November,” Fortuna City Manager Amy Nilsen wrote in an emailed response to the Outpost’s request for more information. “There is no way for the City to clearly answer how or what prompted the FBI’s involvement in this particular investigation. The totality of the FBI’s investigation and details … have not been shared to this point.”

The City of Fortuna issued a press release just before 5 p.m. on Wednesday informing the community of an “ongoing FBI Investigation involving Kris Mobley,” emphasizing that the “alleged conduct under investigation pertains solely to [her] private conduct and does not involve city business.” 

Mobley submitted a letter of resignation to city officials just a few hours before the press release was issued. The emailed resignation reads as follows:

Good afternoon, 

I am submitting my resignation from City Council, effective immediately. I am sure that you are all aware of the rumors going around. Although I have not been charged with anything I am aware of the backlash that the city has been getting. This is my battle to fight not the city’s - I am sorry that you’ve been dragged into the middle of this. It’s been a pleasure working with each of you. I wish nothing but the best for the City and each of you. 

If you need to get ahold of me my new number is [REDACTED].

Sincerely, Kris Mobley

Asked whether Mobley had access to municipal funds during her two years on the city council, Nilsen emphasized that council members “do not have access to or accounts with City bank accounts and are not authorized City check signers.” Moreover, the city has “a series of checks and balances” in place to prevent fraudulent activity. “One of these checks and balances is a government-mandated independent annual audit that reviews city expenditures,” she added.

Mobley is listed as a business manager for Fortuna-based Beacom Construction Co. on her LinkedIn page, though the Outpost could not verify whether she still works for the company. A phone message and email seeking more information from Beacom’s owner, David Morris, had not been returned by publication time. A phone number listed online for Mobley was no longer in service, and she did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent via Facebook Messenger.

Reached for additional comment, FBI spokesperson Cameron Polan confirmed that the FBI has an “ongoing investigation” into the allegations against Mobley but said the bureau is “unable to provide any additional details at this time.”

At next week’s regular meeting, the Fortuna City Council will discuss next steps for filling the vacant council seat. The council could make an immediate appointment, make an appointment through an application solicitation process or hold a special election. Staff will recommend the second option, Nilsen said.

The Fortuna City Council will meet at 6 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 3, in council chambers at City Hall – 621 11th Street in Fortuna.

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PREVIOUSLY

• Attorney General Sues St. Joseph Hospital for Denying a Woman Emergency Abortion Care
• A Local Doctor Urged St. Joseph Hospital to Change Its Anti-Abortion Policies Long Before State Lawsuit, According to Court Declaration
• St. Joseph Hospital Denies Allegations in State Abortion Care Lawsuit But Agrees to Follow State Health Care Laws as the Case Proceeds
• Judge Signs Order Committing St. Joseph Hospital to Providing Emergency Abortions, At Least For the Duration of AG Lawsuit
• Citing Religious Freedom and Catholic Doctrine, St. Joseph Health Challenges State’s Emergency Abortion Care Lawsuit on a Variety of Grounds

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The California Attorney General’s Office this week filed arguments and supporting documents that push back against a recent request from the Catholic owners of St. Joseph Hospital to have Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Timothy Canning dismiss a state lawsuit that accuses the hospital of refusing to provide medically necessary emergency abortion services. 

In a series of filings submitted to the court on Tuesday, the Attorney General’s Office says St. Joseph Health Northern California, LLC, (SJH), a subsidiary of Providence Health & Services, openly admits that its religion-based hospital policies contradict California’s Emergency Services Law (the “ESL”), which requires hospitals to provide abortion care when needed to treat a medical emergency.

“The stakes of this could not be clearer,” the state’s latest filing says. “[H]aving acknowledged that they have, and will continue to, violate a law which requires them to adequately care for patients experiencing life threatening medical emergencies, SJH now asks this Court to condone their conduct by dismissing this action.”

Last month, an attorney representing SJH filed a series of demurrers arguing that the case should be thrown out based on a variety of procedural, jurisdictional and legal grounds, including the hospital’s constitutional rights to free exercise of religion and free expression. While neither denying nor admitting to any of the factual allegations in the state’s case, the attorney said the matter should be handled by the California Department of Public Health, rather than the courts. And he insisted that the patient in question had been discharged for medical reasons, which is allowable by law.

The case centers on the experience of Eureka chiropractor Anna Nusslock, who was pregnant with twins and bleeding heavily when she arrived at the hospital last February. Just 15 weeks pregnant, her water had broken prematurely, and doctors in St. Joseph Hospital’s emergency department told her that one of the twins would not survive and the other had almost no chance, according to medical records.

The doctors also warned Nusslock that if her pregnancy was not terminated, she could face infection, hemorrhaging and threats to her future fertility. But Providence, a not-for-profit Catholic health care system, requires staff to follow a set of “Ethical and Religious Directives” that “bars doctors from providing life-saving or stabilizing emergency treatment when doing so would terminate a pregnancy, even when the pregnancy is not viable,” according to the state’s initial complaint.

Instead of providing the necessary emergency services, St. Joseph staff discharged a still-hemorrhaging Nusslock with instructions to drive herself to Mad River Community Hospital. “On the way out the door, Providence handed Nusslock a bucket and towels ‘in case something happens in the car,’” the AG’s Office said in a news release.

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In its response to the SJH’s demurrer filing, the Attorney General’s Office says SJH intentionally discriminates against pregnant patients in violation of the state’s Unruh Civil Rights Act, and while the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) plays a role in enforcing the Emergency Services Law (ESL), that authority doesn’t preclude the AG from filing a lawsuit.

“The ESL represents a basic promise to all Californians: if you experience a medical emergency, a hospital will provide the care you need without regard to your ability to pay or other characteristics … ,” the AG filing states. “Yet, SJH refuses, as a matter of hospital policy, to adequately care for pregnant patients experiencing obstetric emergencies.”

The filing goes on to say that the hospital’s policy “has harmed numerous patients and threatens future patients.”

Regarding the argument that this dispute should be left to the CDPH to investigate, Bonta’s office notes that this litigation will involve issues of preemption and constitutional rights, which aren’t areas of expertise for that department.

While SJH has argued that it transferred Nusslock to Mad River Community Hospital for medical reasons, Bonta’s office says that argument “conveniently ignores” multiple paragraphs of the state’s complaint explaining that she was discharged for non-medical reasons. 

“The People … affirmatively allege that, medically speaking, SJH was fully capable of providing the treatment Anna needed,” the filing says. Turning to the matter of civil rights, Bonta’s office continues: “Put bluntly: as a matter of SJH policy, SJH denies pregnant patients, and pregnant patients alone, the recognized standard of care in medical emergencies.”

Bonta’s office also argues that neither the First Amendment nor federal conscience legislation preempt the Emergency Services Law.

“[A] law remains generally applicable so long as it does not “prohibit religious conduct while permitting secular conduct that undermines the government’s asserted interests in a similar way,” the AG’s filing says. (Emphasis in the original.)

By way of comparison, the state cites a recent Ninth Circuit case in which a public school student in San Diego challenged the district’s vaccine mandate, which allowed medical exemptions but not religious ones. The court rejected the argument that this mandate amounted to religious discrimination, explaining that “the medical exemption … serves the primary interest for imposing the mandate — protecting student ‘health and safety’ — and so does not undermine the District’s interests as a religious exemption would.”

Likewise, in this case, the ESL allows exemptions when a hospital lacks appropriate facilities and qualified personnel “while providing no comparable exemption for religious reasons,” Bonta’s office says.

The filing, which you can download below, offers more arguments against SJH’s request for dismissal while reiterating that the organization’s conduct “endangers the safety of its patients.”

A hearing to consider the demurrer is scheduled for Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, at 10:30 a.m. in the Humboldt County Courthouse.

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DOCUMENTS:

• Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of Plaintiff the People of the State of California’s Opposition to Defendant’s Demurrer
• Plaintiff the People of the State of California’s Opposition to Defendant’s Request for Judicial Notice
• Plaintiff the People of the State of California’s Request for Judicial Notice in Support of Opposition to Defendant’s Demurrer

Party’s over, Humboldt. The unseasonable sun streak we’ve been enjoying will soon come to a wet end.

The Eureka arm of the National Weather Service notes the return of rain — between 2 to 4 inches, they estimate — beginning Thursday evening and into the beginning of next week.

Higher elevations can expect more rain as well as high winds on Thursday night. Further east, heavy snow is possible in areas higher than 3,000 feet. Bundle up, all. 

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Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

Based upon complaints from the Garberville Business Community, Sheriff’s Deputies have been actively pursuing criminal activity in the business district. Deputies are contacting individuals for open drug use, alcohol abuse, vandalism, and other criminal activity. 

On Jan. 28, 2025, at around 9:20 p.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies on patrol along Redwood Dr. in Garberville observed a vehicle towing a travel trailer parked on the side of the road that appeared disabled; the deputies contacted the occupants to inquire if assistance was needed.

An adult female named Charrise Burns, 44, of Fort Bragg, was sitting in the passenger seat and stated that her husband had walked to town to find water for their overheated vehicle. The Emergency Communications Center confirmed for the deputy that Burns had a warrant issued by the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office for probation violation (PC 1203.2). 

Burns was placed in handcuffs and searched incident to arrest and advised the deputies that she was in possession of drug paraphernalia. Deputies located a methamphetamine pipe in the vehicle, along with five more glass tubes containing methamphetamine residue and a plastic bag with methamphetamine wrapped in tin foil. 

Burns was then transported to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility and booked for the following charges:

• Possession of Drug Paraphernalia—H&S 11364
• Possession of Controlled Substance— H&S 11377

The methamphetamine was tested and had a confirmed weight of 1.446 g. 

Deputies will be actively patrolling both Garberville and Redway looking for suspicious activity.   

Anyone with information about 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.