Stanley Millard “Deerslayer” Poletski, went home peacefully to our Lord Jesus Christ May 10, 2024, at his home surrounded by family in Cave Junction.

Stan was born July 27, 1954, in Eureka, to Connie and Chet Poletski. He grew up in Humboldt County and made many memories with his siblings and friends.

Stan joined the Navy in 1972, aboard the ship USS Leonard F Mason, and he served in Vietnam. He met the love of his life, Sheri Fuller, and the two were married after a short courtship on Valentine’s Day 1974. They had their only child, Rene, in 1979. Stan saw to it that Rene learned all sorts of things, from making meatballs, raising pigs, the do’s and don’ts of gardening, changing a tire, hunting and baiting her own hook. Stan wasn’t a fan of the city and strived to be in the country or “the sticks,” as he called it. He moved his wife and daughter to Kneeland in 1985 and they resided there to live the country life, growing big elaborate gardens with the best veggies and feeding the deer and birds. Stan always had great pride in his home and always had a beautiful yard and property.

Stan worked as a bus driver for Ridgewood Elementary, later at Simpson Pulp Mill and then the County of Humboldt. He put in a lot of effort and was well-liked by his coworkers. He made work fun while getting the job done. Oftentimes, his work crew scored off the elaborate lunches Sheri packed for him and he saw to it that there were potlucks from time to time. He played adult league softball and was known for hitting it out of the park. Stan went to Faith Center in Eureka and he made sure Rene was in attendance too. Stan was an excellent provider and protector. Everyone that knew Stan was aware of his mental and physical strength. Heaven forbid someone mess with his brothers or sisters.

Stan was an avid outdoorsman, known for his tenacity and perseverance. Whether it was private or public land Stan always filled his tags and maintained the name “Deerslayer.” Annual hunting trips to Idaho with his brothers, nephews, and great nephews brought him so much joy. He harvested some big bulls and big bucks in his time here with us, and he always filled the freezer. He loved all kinds of fishing and had his fair share of catching them. His biggest thrill was hooking a steelhead, and he did that more times than we can count. He was infamous for his over the top stories, and he had a contagious laugh that echoed. Everyone was drawn to Stan for his quick wit and humor. He was a natural at communicating with everyone, and he always took the underdog under his wing. He had a huge heart for those that struggled because he too knew what struggling felt like. Whenever life had tough moments, Stan knew God was there with him and never failed to share that with others.

When his daughter Rene had children, Abbigayle and Tanner became his world. Stan was often spotted pacing the sidelines of his grandson’s football games, hollering at thier basketball games, and sitting in the bleachers of his granddaughter’s volleyball games, and he never missed the opportunity to hear Abby sing in concert. He would travel great distances in the worst of weather to watch their out-of-town games. Of all of his roles, Grandpa was his obvious favorite. Stan was his own cheering section with the loudest support for his grandchildren. He also kept a few referees in line a time or two. He always took the time to make each memory extra special. He had a bigger than life personality, and we sure are going to miss him.

Stan is survived by his wife Sheri, daughter Rene Jolley, grandchildren Abby and Tanner, sister Linda Johnson, sister Eleanor Faulk, his brother Al and sister-in-law Donna, brother-in-law Dennis, brother Bob, brother-in-law Harold, and his baby brother Jimmy and sister-in-law Sheila. He also has an abundance of nieces and nephews, all of whom have brought their ownunique joy to his life. Brother-in-law Gary Fuller and life long friend Rick Seely were Stan’s lifelong friends and they remained close throughout his life. Pastor and friend Mark McLean of Cave Junction became one of Stan’s close friends and hunting buddies as well.

He is preceded in death by parents, Connie and Chet, big brother Harry and sister in-law Rosemary, sister Joan Dahl, sister Helen Mills, and brother David Poletski.

Family and friends are invited to the celebration of life, which will be held on Wednesday, June 5, at 11 a.m. at Faith Center Foursquare Church, 1032 Bay Street, Eureka. Stan will be interred at Bayview.

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

James Nello Thurston Jr. was born August 23, 1962 in Camp Pendleton, Marine Base to James Nello Thurston Sr. and Maureen Thurston (Kieffer).

In 1963 Jim’s family moved back to Eureka. Jim was raised in Ridgewood and made many neighborhood friends. He attended Cutten and Ridgewood Elementary Schools, Winship, Eureka High and Zoe Barnham.

In 1977 when Jim was 16 years old, he was in a motorcycle accident with is best friend, Michael Smith, which put him into a coma. The day he woke up, Michael passed away. Jim sustained lifelong traumatic brain injuries and seizures and was a client at Making Headway Center for Brain Injury in Eureka.

In April 1982 Jim married Jodie Louise Megazzi (then Morrison). They soon started a family; in October 1983 they had their daughter Jera Lynn Thurston and in October 1988, their son James Michael Thurston.

Jim and Jodie later separated in 2002 where he set off on his next adventure to Texas. He spent the last 21 years of his life in different parts of Texas, from Stevensville to Andrews, where his health took a turn for the worst, and he left this world.

Jim loved the outdoors. He spent his younger years commercial fishing in the Humboldt Bay, Astoria OR, and Alaska. When he wasn’t working, you would find him with his friends hunting, fishing, abalone diving, and cutting firewood. These were hobbies he proudly taught his children. He made many great memories with his lifelong friends, Keith Richey, Jerry Gabriel, Brian Frain, Timmy Sjoquist, and the Sjoquist family.

One of the best fishing stories was when he and his uncle Dennis Thurston were fishing off Eureka. The Times-Standard reported Dennis had brought in a 62-pound Pacific halibut and Jim caught a 33-pound salmon. Jim was so upset because he was actually the one who caught the 62-pound Pacific halibut.

Jim is survived by his daughter, Jera Lynn Newland (Thurston), her husband Reynaldo Newland, grandchildren Adriana Newland and Xavien Newland of Eureka; son, James Michael Thurston, his wife Amanda, grandchildren Lolah Thurston, Khylie Thurston, and Allen Thurston of Eureka; daughter, April Dawn Thurston, grandchildren Kaysha Dunn, Brieonna Elias, Leticia Mota, Josiah Mota, Jose Mota III, Ayzlin Mota & Starr Thurston- Hammonds of Kansas; ex-wife Jodie Megazzi of Eureka; siblings, Linda Noble and Edward (Ed) Thurston; cousin, Patrick Thurston, his wife Ruby; and many other cousins.

Jim is preceded in death by his father James Nello Thurston Sr., mother Maureen, maternal and paternal grandparents; many aunts and uncles; best friend Michael Smith; and two-month-old great granddaughter Melani Yvonne, Kaysha’s baby who unexpectedly passed on May 14.

A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, June 8, 2024, at 1 p.m. at Redwood Acres Raceway. Come enjoy libations and food and share your favorite memories of Jim. A private family gathering will be held at a later date to place his cremains.

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

The child referenced in the original post has been found safe. In keeping with the Outpost’s policy on missing minors, we have removed the post.

With the Gateway Area Plan nearing final approval, the Arcata Fire District is worried there won’t be time or money for fire services to expand before shovels hit the ground. 

On Tuesday, the Arcata Planning Commission approved a final draft of the Gateway Area Plan, which will rezone a swath of west Arcata to allow high-density housing and mixed-use development.  On July 17, the Arcata City Council will hold a second public hearing — the first will be on May 29 — and it might, at that point, finalize work and adopt the plan, which has been in the works for several years. 

The plan, paving the way for 3,500 residential units in buildings four to seven stories high, is moving uncomfortably fast for the Arcata Fire District (AFD), which is currently understaffed with just six firefighters and three fire engines.

 “The District is asking for a limit on building size until we can play catch up with our staffing and equipment needs that would meet the industry standard,” AFD Deputy Chief Chris Emmons told the Outpost.

“I don’t think anybody’s doing anything wrong, per se. I just think it’s a process where everybody’s following the rules – it’s just the rules are moving faster than we like,” said Emmons, who will step into the fire chief position next month. “It’s kind of the hand we’re dealt, and we have to play within that hand that we’re dealt.” 

Alarmed by the speed of the Gateway Area Plan, AFD Board President Eric Loudenslager said he wants to see a policy ensuring that the AFD will get the resources it needs for upcoming development. 

“The Fire District does not have the staffing, equipment or training to suppress fires or deal with a major emergency in those taller buildings,” Loudenslager told the Outpost.

“What we’re asking the City to do is actually get out their typewriter and type in, either in policy or in the codes, that they won’t implement the four through seven story floors in the Gateway Area until such time that the City and the District come to consensus,” Loudenslager told the Outpost. On April 9th, Loudenslager sent a letter to Arcata Mayor Meredith Matthews outlining the board’s concerns. You can read it here. 

The City, AFD, and Cal Poly Humboldt are working toward a consensus via a standards of coverage analysis, currently underway by an independent contractor. That process, meant to determine what AFD staffing, equipment, training and financial needs will be in the future, is expected to wrap up by the end of the year. 

Noting that she isn’t personally involved in the analysis, Arcata Vice Mayor Alexandra Stillman said she believes it will address AFD’s concerns. “As far as I know, there are several solutions available,” Stillman told the Outpost. Iterating that she doesn’t know specifically what those solutions will be, Stillman proposed that collecting developer fees or combining AFD with another fire department like Humboldt Bay Fire could help the situation. 

Expansion needs identified in the analysis – which may include renovating and/or expanding stations, hiring and training firefighters, and purchasing ladder trucks – will likely take years to actually secure, Loudenslager said. The unspecific timeline of the Gateway Area Plan makes him uneasy. 

“I have no idea when developers will come in, and the City hasn’t really said what they expect,” Loudenslager said. “We need to make sure that the funding track for all the equipment and all the staffing that the Fire District needs is in place.” 

Meanwhile, Stillman pointed out that the plan will also take several years to implement, given its scale and the bureaucratic processes involved in development. “We have to relax,” Stillman said. “See what comes forward and don’t get averse – fear averse or risk averse – until we find out what we can do about some of the risks.”

On top of timeline concerns, Loudenslager predicts that the costs of expansion will be immense. “Where that money would come from, I have no idea,” he said. “I don’t think anyone does.” 

Funding for the fire department is always tight, Deputy Emmons explained to the Outpost. He noted that the analysis might identify some sources of funding for expansion, including turning to voters.  

Meanwhile, Arcata representatives and staff say that the City has worked closely with AFD from the beginning, and plans to continue.

“We’ve been in pretty regular contact with the District staff since the very beginning of the process,” Arcata Community Development Director David Loya told the Outpost. Loya said the City and AFD have worked to confirm fire safety standards in the new buildings and referenced the current Standards of Coverage analysis. “Those are key components to what I view as collaboration with the district.”

Emmons said that the City has been punctual in notifying AFD about deadlines for input. “In my experience, staff-to-staff, when I reach out, they are responsive to us,” he said.

“As long as we’re addressing this ahead of time and not waiting till the last minute, I think everything’s gonna work out well for the community and all the agencies and entities involved,” Emmons said. “I think we’re working that way.” 

Board President Loudenslager said he feels disappointed with the City’s response to AFD’s concerns. 

“I don’t think the City Planning Commission and the City Council have actually heard us. We’ve spoken, but I don’t think we’ve been heard,” Loudenslager said. “I don’t think they’ve come to grips with the scale of what they’re proposing and how that will affect the District, how it will be funded and how that will be put in place.”

In an email to the Outpost, Mayor Matthews indicated there is still time to find a solution, noting that the City Council has not met to discuss the Gateway Area Plan since the Planning Commission approved it on Tuesday.

“I am meeting with Mr. Loudenslager next week so that I can better understand his concerns in person,” Matthews said. “I have the utmost respect for the AFD and am looking forward to a productive conversation.”

PREVIOUSLY:

• California Salmon Fishing Banned for Second Year in Row

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Press release from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife:

The California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) voted unanimously this week to close in-river salmon sport fishing in the Klamath River Basin and Central Valley rivers for the second consecutive year.

As part of its annual process for adjusting seasons and bag limits, the Commission voted to:

• Prohibit the take and possession of Chinook salmon in the Sacramento, American, Feather and Mokelumne rivers and their tributaries.
• Prohibit the take and possession of fall-run Chinook salmon in the Klamath and Trinity rivers and their tributaries.
• Adopt emergency closures of the spring Chinook salmon sport fishing seasons on the Klamath and Trinity rivers and their tributaries.

The regulations are expected to take effect no later than July 1, 2024, following approval by the state Office of Administrative Law.

The in-river closures align with the recommended closure of both commercial and recreational ocean salmon fisheries off the California coast by the Pacific Fishery Management Council due to continued low abundance. Federal fisheries managers have since enacted a full closure of ocean salmon seasons in California. California’s ocean salmon sport fishing seasons and regulations automatically conform to federal regulations unless the Commission acts otherwise.

In other action, the Commission took steps to limit the spread and impacts of chronic wasting disease (CWD) on California deer and elk herds. CWD was confirmed in two California deer for the first time earlier this month. The Commission approved additional changes to regulations governing the importation of cervids (hoofed mammals including deer, elk, moose and reindeer) into California and strengthened disease testing requirements to meet with current U.S. Department of Agriculture standards.

Lastly, the Commission approved regulation changes regarding issuing special hunt permits and drawings. The changes will allow the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to administer and offer the hunts through CDFW’s Automated License Data System (ALDS), ensuring fair and equitable distribution of available permits and reducing barriers to entry into the draw process.

Commission President Samantha Murray along with commissioners Eric Sklar, Darius Anderson and Jacque Hostler-Carmesin participated virtually in the May 15 teleconference meeting. Commission Vice President Erika Zavaleta did not attend.

The meeting agenda, along with supporting documents and background information, is available on the Commission website. Archived video of past Commission meetings is available online. The next Commission meeting is scheduled for June 19-20, 2024, in Mammoth Lakes and via Zoom and phone. An exact location will be determined and updated on the Commission’s website soon.

Quick programming note: Sharp-eyed readers may have recently noticed the word “ESPAÑOL” pop up above the text of our blog posts a couple of minutes after they are published. 

It looks like this:

That isn’t just a word. It’s a link. If you see it there now, between the headline and the text of this post, give it a click. I’ll wait.

Boom! You’re now reading me in Spanish. Pretty cool, eh?

We recently noticed that ChatGPT has become good enough — and quick enough, and cheap enough — to render our stories in very good Spanish. It understands context and idiomatic expressions far better than previous versions of machine translation could.

Will there be bugs? Probably. Will the translation be worse than I imagine it to be? Possible. Even as I type this I wonder what it’s going to do with “Boom!” and whether or not it will understand what the word “post” in “text of this post” is supposed to mean. 

But whether or not, it’s at the very least a half-assed solution for people who prefer to read their local news in Spanish. We hope you find it useful. Feedback welcome.

How will it render “half-assed,” I wonder?

Budget cuts may be looming for many California programs, but one multi-billion-dollar initiative has so far evaded the ax: an ambitious push to bring medical and dental care, counseling, parenting classes, cultural activities and other services to public schools.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has so far spared what’s known as the community school initiative, which pairs schools with local nonprofits and other government agencies to provide services to students and their parents. The goal is to transform schools into social service hubs with strong ties to families and the community – an approach that research shows can boost student attendance, reduce suspensions and raise test scores.

Newsom launched the initiative in 2020 with a series of grants totalling $4.1 billion for schools to roll out community school programs over 10 years. About half the money has been spent already, with the most recent grants awarded last week.

Now, amid a steep revenue shortfall in California, the Legislative Analyst’s Office has recommended cutting $1 billion from the remaining funding. Some community school advocates fear the state may slash funding even for schools that are midway through the rollout process. The Legislature has until June 15 to make a decision.

“It is a huge amount of money, but cutting it now would be devastating,” said Anna Maier, a senior researcher and policy advisor at the Learning Policy Institute, an independent think tank that’s researched community schools extensively. “This is an audacious and complicated initiative, and it’s just getting started. We need to keep the momentum going.”

The community school grant money, which so far has gone to more than 1,000 schools, primarily pays for staff: coordinators, tutors, social workers, after-school staff and others. Over time, the programs are intended to be less reliant on state funds as the outside organizations cover more of the costs and schools start billing Medi-Cal for health services.

Nothing new about social services in schools

The idea of schools providing more than just academics has been around for at least a century, as schools during the Industrial Revolution provided meals, clothing and other necessities for students living in poverty. In 1973, the Black Panthers started what’s thought to be a forerunner of modern community schools by opening a school in Oakland that served meals and offered curriculum focused on Black history and culture and other programs tailored to local families.

First: Students hang out at the Shop 55 Wellness Center. Last: Dentist Ann Chen, left, and dental assistant Phuong Truong, right, work on a student patient at the Shop 55 Wellness Center at Oakland High School in Oakland on May 10, 2024. Photos by Juliana Yamada for CalMatters

Informally, many schools in middle-class and affluent areas have been community schools for decades. They’ve built strong relationships with local organizations and businesses, encouraged family involvement and offered a slew of activities suited to their students’ needs. In those neighborhoods, the schools’ success is at least partially due to family support and involvement.

The current push for community schools was spurred in part by a 2017 report from the Learning Policy Institute that found in general, schools that integrate social services “help children succeed academically and prepare for full and productive lives.” Low-income students, students of color, students with disabilities and English learners especially benefited from schools with extra services, parent involvement and strong links to outside organizations.

Pandemic upended community school rollout

But so far, evidence of community schools’ effectiveness in California is uneven — in part because the Covid-19 pandemic upended the education system just as community school programs were getting underway. Oakland Unified, for example, has one of the state’s largest and most comprehensive community school programs, but also has some of the most lackluster outcomes. The suspension rate – 4% last year – has barely changed since 2018 and remains above the state average. The graduation rate actually inched downward last year, to 75%.

Diane Dixon, a Republican assembly member from Newport Beach who sits on the Assembly Appropriations Committee, said she supports community schools generally but is dismayed that test scores for students, especially Black and Latino students, have fallen over the past five years, despite the community school investment. While the pandemic played a role in that decline, she expects better results by now.

“California should have the finest schools in the country, if not the world,” Dixon said. “As legislators, we need to make sure all our children are getting a high quality education, and right now, I don’t know how well we’re doing that.”

Another challenge is accountability. Schools that receive community school grants must report their progress to the state every year and post the reports on their web sites. Nearly all reported their results to the state, but it’s unclear how many schools actually posted those reports publicly. An informal look at a half-dozen districts that received grants showed that none had posted their reports, at least not in an obvious place.

“Community schools give us a chance to address historic inequities. It’s long overdue, but the education system is getting a new mindset, a whole new approach.”
— Asher Ki, director of educational renewal and innovation at Californians for Justice

Schools with poor results are supposed to get assistance from the state, and those who fail to improve risk losing their grants. But the assistance program is still getting underway, and participation is not mandatory.

“Community schools are a great idea, but we need to know what’s working, what’s impactful,” said Kimi Kean, director of Families in Action for Quality Education, which advocates for family involvement in Oakland schools. “This is such a significant investment, we can’t overlook the importance of accountability.”

Angelica Jongco, deputy managing attorney for Public Advocates, one of a dozen organizations that promotes community school policy in California, said the accountability — and results — will improve with time. Schools have only been getting grant money for two years, which is far too soon to expect results.

“Attendance, test scores, suspension rates — these things do not change automatically,” Jongco said. “That’s all the more reason we need to maintain this investment. Especially in times of challenges and uncertainty, we need to be investing in what works.”

‘A whole new approach’

Some schools have shown dramatic progress since winning community school grants. Anaheim High School, for example, since 2016-17 has seen its graduation rate jump 15 percentage points and the number of students meeting California college admission requirements jump almost 40 percentage points, according to state data.

“The community school money has provided services to students who otherwise would not have them. Simple as that.”
— Pamela Moy, oakland high school principal

And hidden within otherwise mediocre data, some schools point to individual success stories. Eureka City Schools, for example, had a high rate of chronic absenteeism last year, but over a 60-day period one homeless student went from 40 absences to just one and another student went from 26 to one. Oakland Unified has seen improvements in the number of students completing the classes required for college admission, as well as a ten-fold increase in the number of students enrolled in college while still in high school.

For Asher Ki, attending a community school would have made all the difference in his education. As a high school student in Fresno in the early 2010s, Ki said he felt “alone and unsupported.” Part of the reason was that his family, who is African American, did not feel welcome and were not engaged.

“For them, school wasn’t a place you wanted to be. It wasn’t where you’d go for a meaningful education,” Ki said. “So they couldn’t help me, because they didn’t know where to go, who to talk to…. Any chance at pushing the status quo was met with racism and dehumanization.”

That experience is what drove Ki to advocate for community schools. Ki is now director of educational renewal and innovation at Californians for Justice, a social justice advocacy group that’s one of a dozen nonprofits that jointly promote community school policy in California. If he had attended a community school, he said, those years would have been much different: He and his family would have had more of a stake in his education.

“Community schools give us a chance to address historic inequities,” Ki said. “It’s long overdue, but the education system is getting a new mindset, a whole new approach.”

Museum visits, health care and more at Oakland High

Oakland High School, a 1,500-student school in Oakland Unified where nearly all students are low-income, receives $360,000 a year in community school state grant money. Among other things, the money pays for museum tickets, yoga classes, college visits, tours of tech companies and other activities for Black girls in a club called Sisterhood.

Members of the Sisterhood club serve themselves lunch during an end-of-year celebration at Oakland High School in Oakland on May 10, 2024. The Sisterhood club is supported by the California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP), which allows the students to participate in activities such as college campus visits. Photo by Juliana Yamada for CalMatters

When Oakland high received its grant, Black girls had the school’s highest suspension rate. The club was a way to help Black girls build friendships, connect to role models and learn about opportunities beyond high school, said principal Pamela Moy.

On a recent Friday meeting of Sisterhood, a few dozen girls shared lunch, chatted about their summer plans and reflected on their year with the club leaders, African American women they referred to as “aunties.” Overall, more than 100 girls have participated in club activities.

Senior Habakkuk Johnson said the club has given girls a place to relax and connect.

“If people come from bad environments, they can come here and be around good people. It helps people do better,” Johnson said. “It helps people change.”

Princess Momoh, a junior, said the club helped her “find Black girls I can relate to. It gave me a chance to talk to more people and make more friends.”

Third-year student Princess Momoh at Oakland High School in Oakland on May 10, 2024. Momoh is a member of the Sisterhood club at Oakland High, which is supported by the California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP). Photo by Juliana Yamada for CalMatters

Since the pandemic, the suspension rate among Black girls at Oakland High has dropped from 13.5% to 9.6% – still high, but a bigger decline than other groups experienced. School counselor Faith Onwusa said she is certain the club is a primary reason for the improvement.

“When I was in school we had nothing like this,” Onwusa said. “It’s just super necessary.”

Community school money also goes toward the school’s wellness center, which offers everything from first aid to mental health counseling to assistance for recent immigrants and their families. The center has more than 40 employees from a variety of agencies, and sees a constant stream of students. Spacious, brightly decorated and always stocked with snacks, the center is an inviting place for students as well as staff. Some students just go there to hang out.

“The community school money has provided services to students who otherwise would not have them,” principal Moy said. “Simple as that.”

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