Wesley
Merlyn Ammer, age 60 years, passed peacefully on January 8, 2023. He
was born March 12, 1962 in Eureka to parents Wesley & Jerri
Ann Ammer.
Wes grew up in Humboldt living Fields Landing,
Bridgeville, Carlotta and Fortuna. He went to school at Cuddleback
Elementary and Fortuna High School, graduating in 1980. In 1983 he
married Christie McNaughton. They were blessed with a daughter, Brooke, in 1984; a son, Travis, in 1986; and another son, Trent, in 1991. They
later divorced in 2016.
Wes worked many jobs over the years in
Humboldt. He was an equipment operator for Woody Murphy Logging for
many years. He worked for Maple Plumbing and also for his father-in-law at
McNaughton Plumbing. He worked at Humboldt Creamery, Scotia Power
Plant and Tom Bess Asphalt. Many times he said he was a jack of all
trades and a master at none! He moved to Oregon in 2018 to help his
parents. In August 2019 he met Lori Shumate, who became the love of
his life and caregiver.
He
enjoyed golfing, hunting and camping with family and friends. Wes was
an avid San Francisco 49er’s fan!
Survivors
include his daughter Brooke (Ashley) Williams of Merced, son’s
Travis (Mickelle) Ammer of Fortuna, and Trent (Lauren) Ammer of
Grants Pass, mother Jerri Ammer of Central Point and sister
Brenda (Brian) McKenzie of Carlotta. Proud Papa to grandchildren
Tracy, Anthony, Cassidy, Rhett, Cadence, Brixton and another arriving
in June. Christie Ammer his wife of 33 years Grants Pass and his
fiancé Lori Shumate of Central Point. Many nieces, nephews,
cousins and lifelong friends. And his beloved dog Bentley!
He was preceded in death by his father.
Please join the
family in a Celebration of Life at the River Lodge in Fortuna on
Sunday, January 29, 2023 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. He will be interred locally.
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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Wes Ammer’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.
TODAY in HUMBOLDT: Security footage of a Wildberries employee’s confrontation with a shoplifter causes a stir, an update on yesterday’s tragic accident in Arcata, Humboldt gets drenched, and more in today’s newscast with John Kennedy O’Connor.
(NOTE: This is day two of our newsy experiment. After your feedback, we’ve decided horizontal video is the way to go. We appreciate your comments and critiques ❤️.)
UPDATE 10:20 a.m.: Highway 36 is open to one-way controlled traffic.
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Original Post: Highway 36 is closed … again.
The roadway is closed in both directions just east of Carlotta, between Swimmer’s Delight and the Van Duzen River Bridge, due to slide removal. Our friends at Caltrans District 1 are hoping to clear the roadway by tomorrow morning.
Highway 36 remains open west of Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park. “For safety concerns, the section of roadway will only be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily and only one vehicle will be allowed through the slide area at a time,” according to Caltrans. “Because this is a dynamic situation, this is subject to change. Motorists can anticipate delays of up to 30 minutes or longer if necessary.”
Coming off their third consecutive loss, the Cal Poly Humboldt Lumberjacks will look to gain some positive momentum on the road this weekend with a pair of road matchups down in Southern California against Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino. This weekend also marks the official halfway point of the CCAA regular season, meaning this trip will be a chance for head coach Michelle Bento-Jackson and her squad to gain crucial victories to stay alive in the conference tournament hunt.
Humboldt (6-8, 4-6 CCAA) comes off a weekend that saw them drop two games at home, including a Saturday night heartbreaker to No. 23 Cal State San Marcos (12-2, 9-1 CCAA). Despite this, the coach believes there were many positive takeaways from the way her girls played.
“I was very proud of the fact that I thought they stepped out on Saturday against a very tough opponent,” Bento-Jackson said. “We were consistent in our effort and our intensity.”
The North Coast squad will need that energy and intensity this upcoming weekend, particularly from the dynamic duo of Devon Lewis and Madison Parry. Lewis averaged 13.5 points, 7.5 assists and nine rebounds over the weekend while nearly securing a triple-double in the team’s game against San Marcos. The junior from Vacaville currently ranks first in the CCAA in assists and assists-per-game with 5.4 per-contest. She is also ranked 11th nationally in assists-per-game. She also occupies the top five statistical categories for steals (fifth) and steals-per-game (fourth).
“Devon leads the way on the court for us,” Bento-Jackson said. “The ball’s in her hand a lot. We trust her with the ball and her decision making and we really rely on her to get us going on the offensive end. I also thought Thursday and particularly Saturday were some of her better defensive games as well.”
On the flip-side, Parry has soared in her second season with the Lumberjacks. The sophomore from Newcastle, California currently ranks second in the conference in scoring with just under 17 points-per-game. She also ranks second in blocks and blocks-per-game, fourth in rebounds and third in rebounds-per-game.
“She’s a double-double pretty much every night,” the coach said. “I’m really challenging her right now on the defensive end. We know she’s going to give us the rebounds. We know she puts herself in positions to be a scorer for us as well and now we need to get her consistent on both ends of the floor.”
Cal Poly Pomona (11-3, 8-2 CCAA)
The Broncos currently sit at third in the conference and have won three straight. They are paced by Ally Bates, who averages 15.2 points-per-game and 6.4 rebounds-per-game. She also sits second in the conference in 3-point percentage and third in 3-pointers-per-game. The Broncos will also expect contributions from Kalaya Buggs, who is averaging just over four assists-per-contest and Ciara James, who sits second in the conference in blocked shots.
“They’re just a quality team,” Bento-Jackson said. “Ally Bates is a tough one. Not only is she a scorer, but she’s physical. She’s very tough. She’s certainly not the only player that makes them go. They do have a balance between the inside-outside game. As always we’ve got to be efficient on the defensive end.”
The team’s matchup zone defense will also prove to be a unique challenge for Bento-Jackson’s young squad.
“One thing Pomona is known for is they play a little bit different defensively,” the coach added. “They play matchup zone. With so many new players that we have that have never faced that type of defense before, we’ve been talking about that a lot in practice. I just want us to be loose and really get the best shot selection we can get.”
Tip-off for Thursday’s game is set for 5:30 p.m. at Kellogg Arena in Pomona.
Cal State San Bernardino (8-8, 3-7 CCAA)
The Coyotes come into Saturday’s matchup having split their previous weekend of games against Stanislaus and Chico State. San Bernardino will look to their top scorer, Destiny Jackson, who has been averaging just under 12 points-per-contest.
Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan.21 at Coussoulis Arena in San Bernardino.
For more information on Cal Poly Humboldt women’s basketball, please visit humboldtathletics.com and follow us on all social media platforms.
Video footage submitted to the Outpost anonymously. Edited to obscure the identity of minors.
# # #
Photos by Andrew Goff
A clip of security camera footage from inside Arcata’s Wildberries Marketplace — a fuzzy version of which was posted to Reddit this morning — shows a prolonged physical struggle between the store’s general manager, Aaron Gottschalk, and a teenage girl who was suspected of shoplifting.
The video, captured shortly after 9 a.m. on September 30, shows Gottschalk pursuing the girl and reaching out as she attempts to leave the store. After the two momentarily disappear from the frame, Gottschalk can be seen pulling the girl back inside by her backpack.
As the girl tries to free herself, Gottschalk pins her against a wall by her wrists before apparently yanking her into a row of nested shopping carts. From there he appears to pull her by the backpack’s shoulder straps and then push her to the ground, where he again pins her arms as she continues to resist.
About three minutes into the video, an officer from the Arcata Police Department arrives, handcuffs the girl and escorts her out of the store.
Reached by phone this morning, Gottschalk read the following statement:
This was a serial shoplifting incident that happened some months ago. They were detained until police arrived at which point it was determined they were a minor. The issue of use of force was handled internally. We have no further comment at this time.
The video was posted anonymously to the r/Humboldt subreddit with the headline, “Manager of store violently assaults minor in broad daylight for stealing a small bottle of milk under $10.”
California law includes a provision — known colloquially as “shopkeeper’s privilege” — that allows merchants to physically detain a customer if they have probably cause to believe the person is guilty of shoplifting, though the law says the detention must be used solely for the purpose of investigating the suspected shoplifting offense and must be for a reasonable time.
The girl’s mother, interviewed by the Outpost back in October, said she believes Gottschalk’s actions qualify as an assault on her daughter, who had turned 16 not long before the incident occurred.
“He did not have to put his hands on my kid,” she said. “I’m not okay with that at all. Like whatsoever. … That makes me mad.”
The Arcata Police Department confirmed that an officer responded to the scene and detained the teenager, as documented in the call log for that day, but no one pressed charges at the time, and the girl was released and sent back to class.
The mom, who we’re keeping anonymous to protect the identity of her daughter, acknowledged that her daughter was shoplifting but said that doesn’t justify the way Gottschalk treated her. She added that the other girl visible in the video is her niece, also a minor, who came to her defense during the altercation.
She told the Outpost at the time that she was considering pressing charges or filing a lawsuit, but she has not responded to follow-up attempts to reach her.
A 21-year-old and their dog were killed in a vehicle-pedestrian collision on Alliance Road, north of Foster Avenue, in Arcata on Tuesday afternoon.
The individual was out walking their dog with another 21-year-old when they were struck by a Toyota pickup truck just after 4 p.m. One of the pedestrians and their dog were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, according to the Arcata Police Department. The second pedestrian and the driver of the pickup truck were injured and taken to a local hospital.
Reached by phone this morning, Arcata Police Lieutenant Todd Dockweiler told the Outpost there were two vehicles involved in the collision. The first vehicle, an SUV, was rear-ended by the pickup truck while stopped at a stop sign. After the collision the SUV continued through the intersection and wound up on the east side of the road. The pickup truck struck both pedestrians and the dog.
“One of the pedestrians was determined deceased at the scene,” Dockweiler said. “The other pedestrian suffered relatively serious injuries. It was obvious that the first pedestrian had received a pretty severely broken leg. … The driver was injured and transported to the hospital. It will be a bit of time before we have a report from the hospital about what happened.”
While many commenters online have said the driver suffered a stroke prior to the collision, Dockweiler said that has yet to be confirmed.
There were no arrests made at the scene of the accident, however, Dockweiler said the investigation “to try to determine the cause” of the collision is ongoing. The names of all parties are being withheld for the time being.
Outstanding
felony warrant suspect Tyler Tommy Lemmons was taken into custody on
Jan. 14, 2023, by officers with the Eureka Police Department. Lemmons
was located inside a residence on the 1900 block of 3rd
Street in Eureka.
Lemmons
was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges
of assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm (PC
245(a)(1)),
possession of a stolen vehicle (PC
496d(a)),
evading a peace officer (VC
2800.2),
fleeing a peace officer (VC
2800.4),
felon in possession of a firearm (PC
29800(a)(1)),
committing a felony with a previous serious felony conviction (PC
667(b)-(i)), parole
revocation (Pc
3000.08(f)),
resisting a peace officer (PC
148(a)(1))
and parole hold (PC
3000.08(c)).
The
Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the Eureka
Police Department for their assistance with this investigation and
the apprehension of Lemmons.
