Thomas Edward Rayl passed away on May 21, 2025, due to cardiac complications.
He was born on April 30, 1959, to Charles and Alicia Rayl at Redwood Memorial Hospital, along with his twin brother, Timmy. Tom grew up in Ferndale, attending Ferndale Elementary and Ferndale High School. At the age of 14, he began milking cows for his dad and later bought his own dairy.
He was preceded in death by his father, Charles Rayl; his twin brother, Timmy; and his grandparents, Elevezio and Mary DeCarli, and Clifford and Ethile Rayl. He is survived by his mother, Alicia Rayl, and siblings: Vicky (Joe) Donahue, Sherri (Wayne) Shaw, Kathy Rayl, Karen (Dan) Vann, Lisa (Charlie) Danbom, Randy (Sharlene) Rayl, and Billy (Gina) Rayl; as well as numerous aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and special friend Angie Luzzi.
Graveside services were held at St. Bernard’s Cemetery.
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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Thomas Edward Rayl’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.
In the same easygoing way he lived his life, John Caldwell Goodrich peacefully drifted into the next world on May 17, 2025.
Born in Iowa City, Iowa in November 1958 to George D. and Lois Goodrich. The following summer, along with his siblings, George H. Goodrich and Laura Goodrich, the family moved to Arcata, CA so his father could start a job teaching at Humboldt State College. The adventure of a lifetime!
Packed up with all their belongings (Lois had even managed to get her washing machine into the back of the giant station wagon) they headed west. The family was looking forward to visiting Yellowstone Park to see the geysers and animals. On the morning of their departure from the park, Lois put baby John in the back seat while she loaded the food box into the back of the car. Laura remembers vividly two kids coming to the door of the cabin “Hey Lady, there’s a bear in your car!” Lois ran out and yes, there was a bear in the back of the station wagon headed for the food box. Luckily, the washing machine blocked the bears access to baby John sleeping in the back seat! From the beginning John’s mild-mannered, easy-going nature was his style.
He was a good soul who loved his family and friends dearly. He was funny, kind, and gentle and sometimes a bit mischievous. As the youngest of the three, John took advantage of opportunities for pay back such as when his mother asked him to look after his older 13 yr. old brother. George was stuck in bed in a full body cast and John would take his sweet time to answer George’s cries for assistance.
John attended College Elementary School at Humboldt, Stuart Middle School, and Arcata HS. He always had a great posse of friends wherever he went. His interest in woodworking and carpentry started with the ROP program at Arcata HS where he later worked with his instructor on home remodeling projects. He was artistic in his woodworking and if you are lucky, you own one of John’s hand-crafted pieces.
As kids, John and his brother George rode dirt bikes in the hills of Sunny Brae and raced motocross. His life as a young man was a dream. He married Shelly Rosebrook in 1984, and they had three beautiful boys, Shane, Casey, and Cole. John had a home in Arcata and one in Willow Creek that he built himself. He had a thriving construction business. Many happy summer days were spent camping and in his ski boat exploring Whiskeytown Lake with lots of family and friends.
His favorite pastimes were fishing, diving for abalone and looking for agates on the beach. John always generously shared his catch.
John was one of the most agreeable people you could meet and always appreciative of others and things they did for him. He was loyal through and through, always ready to help a friend. John will be greatly missed by his soulmate Diana, his family and his many friends past and present.
Rest in peace, dear sweet brother and devoted dad.
A Celebration of Life to take place later this summer will be announced. Watch Facebook for details.
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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of John Caldwell Goodrich’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.
Local activists will gather at the Arcata Plaza on Saturday for the Nationwide Anti-Avelo Day of Action, joining protestors in more than two dozen cities in opposing the airline’s involvement in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation flights.
The nationwide protest, coordinated by the Coalition to Stop Avelo, comes just two weeks after the budget airline began deporting migrants out of its new hub at the Mesa Gateway Airport (AZA) in Arizona. The Anti-Avelo Day of Action is the latest in a seriesofprotests calling the flights “illegal, inhumane and unconstitutional.”
“The company’s multimillion-dollar contract to operate deportation flights for ICE is both deeply troubling and a clear violation of the ‘good faith’ clause in Avelo’s contracts to operate in cities across the country,” the Coalition to Stop Avelo states on its website. “Avelo’s leadership, especially its CEO and Chairman, Andrew Levy, must take immediate steps to realign corporate policy with the rule of law and ethical business practices.”
An online petition to boycott the airline has garnered nearly 39,000 signatures.
The local protest, led by Humboldt Democracy Connections, will begin at Crabs’ Stadium at F and Ninth Streets in Arcata at 11:30 a.m. and proceed to the Arcata Plaza. More information can be found here.
Blue Lake’s ongoing political drama just experienced another plot twist as City Councilmember Christopher G. Firor has resigned from office, effective immediately.
Firor, who was appointed by the council last October to fill the seat that had been vacated by Elizabeth McKay, did not cite a reason for his abrupt departure in the emailed notice he submitted at 6:28 on Tuesday evening, roughly two minutes before a council meeting was set to begin. (The email wasn’t stamped as “received” until the following day.)
“This decision was not made lightly, but after careful consideration, I believe it is the right time for me to step down,” his emailed resignation says.
Firor had missed several council meetings in a row. In his application to serve on the Blue Lake City Council, he said he looked forward to “working with the council in a coordinated and collaborative manner with a high degree of respect, trust an openness.”
He’d been living in Blue Lake for just nine months when the council selected him over other applicants, including John Sawatzky, who would go on to win election to an open seat a month later. A community health worker employed by the the Providence-owned Blue Lake Community Resource Center, Firor told the council during the special meeting in October that he’d tried to move to the city earlier, “but it’s hard to get here.”
Facing questions from the council, Firor said he saw a need to build consensus and bridge divides.
“Of course, I want Blue Lake to grow,” he added. “We need it in every which way — more population, more businesses, more tax revenue.”
The recent political divide in Blue Lake has largely centered on how best to plan for such growth. For years now the city has been out of compliance with state housing law.
The remaining four members of the Blue Lake City Council will now be tasked with appointing a replacement for Firor. An email to City Attorney Ryan Plotz requesting details on this process and its timeline was not immediately returned.
[UPDATE, 3:45 p.m.: Plotz replied via email, saying the council has 60 days from the resignation to either make an appointment to fill the vacant seat or call a special election. “We will call a special meeting to review the process with Council and seek direction on how the Council would like to proceed,” he explained.]
Here is the text of Firor’s letter of resignation:
Subject: Resignation from City Council
City of Blue Lake,
Please accept this letter as my formal resignation from my position as City Councilor for Blue Lake, effective immediately. This decision was not made lightly, but after careful consideration, I believe it is the right time for me to step down.
It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the residents of Blue Lake. I am proud of the work I have accomplished and I remain deeply committed to the betterment of our community.
I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked alongside dedicated city staff and engaged citizens. I will always cherish these relationships built during my time on the council.
In conclusion, I look forward to continuing my overarching goal of being a positive and contributory force for this beautiful community, this “Center of the Universe,” my Blue Lake Heaven.
Food for People Warehouse Inventory Specialist, Chris Frisk, pictured with a small portion of the 22 pallets of salmon donated by Wild Planet this month.| Photos: Claire Weissbluth
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Press release from Food for People:
Eureka, CA – In conjunction with this May’s National Letter Carriers Food Drive, McKinleyville-based Wild Planet Foods donated 22 pallets of canned salmon to Humboldt County’s food bank,
Food for People. The truckload of canned fish weighed 30,888 pounds.
“This donation will make a difference to people all over Humboldt County,” said Carly Robbins,
Food for People Executive Director. “We will be able to use Wild Planet’s donation of high-quality protein throughout our network of pantries and to our child and senior nutrition
programs too. We appreciate the support of local companies like Wild Planet who are part of
this community and their actions show that.”
“The Food for People Letter Carrier food drive presented Wild Planet with another unique way
to support communities with quality food donations. We value our ongoing partnership with
Food for People because it directly helps people in Humboldt County, where Wild Planet has
been headquartered for two decades,” says Ben Carvalho, Global Operations & Sustainability
Director.
This donation was made as part of the National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger
food drive. Letter carriers around Humboldt County collected donated food on their mail routes
May 10th and delivered it to Food for People and their network of pantries. This year, Humboldt
residents gave more than 39,000 pounds of non-perishable foods through the drive. With Wild
Planet’s donation, the food drive collected a grand total of 70,000 pounds of food.
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Food for People volunteers sort community food donations at this year’s Letter Carriers Food Drive.
UPDATE, 12:56 p.m.: From the Crescent City Police Department:
CCPD has arrested Joshua Roberts, (Age 32), in connection with this investigation.
Officers gathered evidence that Roberts picked up the two individuals we are looking for and drove them out of Crescent City. Officers contacted Roberts on Malone Road in the Crescent City area. Roberts was also on parole and search of his vehicle was completed during our contact with him.
During the search officers located an AR15 and Semi-automatic shotgun, along with several hundred rounds of ammunition. Roberts is being held at the Del Norte County Jail. We also have active arrest warrants for Russell Walters Sr. and Russell Walters Jr. in connection with the original shooting incident.
If you have information on their location please call dispatch 707-464-4191, or message our Facebook account.
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Original Post: The Crescent City Police Department is seeking a suspect in a shooting incident that occurred in the Crescent City Safeway parking lot Wednesday evening. Video of the event is making the rounds on social media.
CCPD has released an image of a man they believe to be Russell Walters, Jr., their suspect in the case. The image comes from a video posted by a witness to the incident, which was posted to social media. You can watch that clip below:
Our colleague Jessica Cejnar Andrews at Redwood Voice Community News reports that one victim was transported to the hospital with a gunshot wound to their abdomen.
The Crescent City Police Department posted the following to its social media channels:
We are currently looking for Russell Walters Jr. for attempted homicide. He was last seen leaving the scene at the Safeway parking lot in a dark colored Chevy Traverse with a California license plate of EP007. We are working with the District Attorneys Office to secure an Arrest Warrant if he flees the area. Please call dispatch if you have any information about his location.
We are still processing the crime scene and actively investigating as well.
Walters is pictured in the photo in the passenger seat.
Arcata Fire Department responded to an injury traffic accident
on Highway 101 near School Road last night, involving a vehicle overturned in the grass with a
trapped occupant. The incident, dispatched at 9:30 PM, required a multi-agency extrication effort
due to the complexity of the entrapment.
Arcata Fire initially dispatched two engines and a Duty Officer. Upon receiving information
from California Highway Patrol (CHP) that a victim was trapped, additional resources were
immediately requested. This brought in a third Arcata Fire station, Blue Lake Fire Department,
Fieldbrook Volunteer Fire Department, and CalFire Trinidad, each contributing an engine to the
scene.
The first Arcata engine arrived to find the vehicle on its side, pinned against a tree just south of
the School Road off-ramp, with one person trapped inside. All three Arcata engines worked to
stabilize the vehicle and meticulously cut it away from both the tree and the victim. Blue Lake
Fire and CalFire personnel assisted significantly with the extrication.
The rescue proved to be highly technical, as the victim was severely pinned by the tree resting
against the vehicle. After a challenging operation, the victim was successfully extricated and
transported to the hospital by Arcata Mad River Ambulance.
Arcata Fire Department extends its sincere gratitude to its mutual aid partners: Blue Lake Fire
Department, Fieldbrook Volunteer Fire Department, and CalFire, for their swift response and
critical assistance in this complex incident.
