Kim Eugene Lucas — husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend — passed away unexpectedly on July 14, 2023. Hardworking, kind and compassionate, Kim’s passing was a great loss for many.

Born on March 25, 1950 in Scotia, Kim was the firstborn child to his parents Eugene and Ceva Lucas. Kim attended Fortuna High School, and many in his class were lifetime friends. He greatly enjoyed the four years he played as running back for the Fortuna High Huskies. Later, Kim attended Baylor Technical School in Texas, receiving his certification in dental technology and prosthodontics. Kim joined the Weber Dental Lab in 1975, working with David Weber who was a close friend for many years. Kim branched out to launch his own successful dental lab in 1980.

Kim was devoted to his work at Eaton Roughs Ranch. He loved sharing his cowboy life with others, but most of all with his son Kyle and grandchildren Addy and Carson. One of his great life joys was the annual roundup and branding at the ranch. He was appreciative and proud of the way he and his siblings worked together to make ranching a success, and whether hunting, working cattle, riding horses or spraying yellow star, ranch life for Kim was a continual adventure.

Kim found a new kind of joy in retirement. He and Barb loved their time spent at their second home in Arizona. Kim and Barb shared a loving relationship for 26 years. He supported Barb with his calm, quiet and steadfast demeanor, always planning their next adventure. His selfless personality helped guide Barb and his loved ones through both happy and difficult times. Kim was especially grateful to have spent time with his daughter Kari and family in New Mexico this past Spring. Kim’s appreciation for life was also seen over the years in his support for Kyle and Todd’s sporting events. Kim was also grateful for the time with his best friend for the last seven years, Leo.

Kim’s memberships included the Sonoma County Trailblazers, Humboldt County Cattlemen, California Dental Association, and he was a founding member of the Yager-Van Duzen Environmental Stewards.

He is survived by the love of his life for 26 years Barb Bugbee Lucas, his daughter Kari (Dennis) Dean, son Kyle (Lindsey) Lucas, stepchildren Todd (Heather) Lowder, Cassidy Ross, and Travis (Jessica) Genzoli. Kim also leaves behind grandchildren Ryan (Aneasha) Dean, Christian (Kylee) Dean, Addy Lucas and Carson Lucas, Leo and Romeo Ross, Ethan and Piper Lowder, great grandchildren Asher and Xavier Dean. He is also survived by his sisters Denise (Kenneth) Christen and Dana (Dean) Hunt; step-siblings Courtland (Dana) Ellis, Mark Ellis, Diana (Sid) Renner Noyes, Michael (MariLou) Renner, Cecelia (Larry) Renner Roubidoux, and Chris (Sabina) Renner. He is survived by his stepmother Dianne Lucas, nephews Jason (Jenna) Hunt, Rhett (Kristi) Imperiale, and niece Rene (John) Imperiale-Egan. Kim will also be greatly missed by his sisters-in-law and the families of Connie (Dave) Jones, Peggy (Louie) Valadao, and Kristine (Steve) Neel. He is predeceased by his father Eugene Lucas and his mother Ceva Lucas Renner, and father-in-law/friend Bob Bugbee.

A celebration of life is planned on August 31st at the Fortuna River Lodge at 2 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Sonoma County Trailblazers, 3355 Regional Parkway, Santa Rosa, CA 95403 — or a charity of your choice.

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Richard (Alan) Burns
December 11, 1955 — June 6, 2023

It is with great sadness that we have to announce the passing of Richard Alan Burns (67) on June 6, 2023. He passed away peacefully, just as he wished, while watching TV and resting in bed at his daughter’s home in El Centro.

Alan was born in Eureka on December 11, 1955 to Richard and Carmen Burns.

Alan went to South Bay Elementary School and graduated high school in 1974 from Jacobs Junior High School. Here is where he met a group of kindred spirits who affectionately called themselves the “Alley Gang” — Jerry Alley, Orlan Larson, Phillip Sanchez, Paul McKnight, and the late Matias Salas, Don Thomas, Darrel Crocket, David Alley, Steven Burres and Jake Mosely.

Graduating from high school, he decided to join the forestry service as a firefighter. He had always been passionate about nature and the outdoors, and this seemed like the perfect way to combine his interests.

After that, Alan decided to embark on a journey across the western United States. He had always been fascinated by the natural beauty of this region and was eager to explore it firsthand. However, as much as he enjoyed his time on the road, he returned to Eureka with the passing of his mother.

For the next 30 years he worked as a commercial fisherman on various boats in Eureka and Coos Bay. For many of those years he worked beside his two brothers Kenny and David. Among his peers, he was affectionately known as “Big Al”. He will forever live on in the hearts of the fishing community as a delightful jester who’s quick wit and hilarious commentary brought laughter among the crew.

He never cared about conforming to society’s norms or pleasing others. Instead, he followed his heart and did what made him happy. His carefree lifestyle was something that many people admired, but few had the courage to emulate.

Alan may not have been perfect, but he definitely got one thing right: his unconditional love for his daughters, Valerie and Lacey. With the support of their patient mom, Nancy Nichols, Alan always made sure to show his love and pride for his girls in every way possible. Whether it was attending their school events, cheering them on at their sports games, or just sitting down with them for a family dinner, Alan never missed an opportunity to be there for his family.

Alan was a true nature lover. He loved exploring beaches, camping in the woods, and taking refreshing dips in rivers and lakes. Fishing was one of his favorite pastimes and he always kept a fishing pole handy. He loved the challenge of trying to catch a big fish, but he also appreciated the simple moments of just sitting and enjoying the scenery. He had a special bond with nature and was blessed with a green thumb. He and his close friend David Cooper spent countless years working together nurturing their greenery with passion and dedication.

Alan was a man of many passions. One of his favorite activities was taking his canoe out on the Humboldt Bay and seeing where it would take him. He was also a rock enthusiast. Every time he went outdoors, his eyes were always scanning the ground for that one-of-a-kind gem. He spent hours upon hours searching for the perfect rocks to add to his collection and was always happy to show off his latest finds. Another hobby of Alan’s was archaeology. He was an amateur, but loved the thrill of unearthing old bottles and other relics from the past. He would often spend hours digging around the Eureka area, looking for hidden treasures. It was a way for him to connect with the past and feel a sense of excitement about what he might find.

Alan also loved traveling the open road in his beloved truck and seeing where it would take him. He had countless memories of road trips, camping trips, and spontaneous adventures. He loved the freedom and independence that came with being behind the wheel of his truck. Whether he was driving through the mountains or cruising along the coast, his adventurous soul always led the way. Sometimes he had a plan, but more often than not, he just let the road guide him. And no matter where he ended up, he knew his truck would be there with him, ready for the next adventure.

Alan is preceded in death by his parents, incredible big brother Kenny Burns, favorite nephew Kenny Alan Burns and granddaughter Adaline Pritt. He is survived by his dedicated daughters, Valerie Pritt (husband Joshua) and Lacey Bresino (husband David), his caring siblings Linda Alora (husband Mike), David Burns (wife Kim), Patrick Burns (wife Rachel) and Sister-in-law Robin, his loving grandchildren Vivian, Rockwell, David Jr. and Fletcher and many nieces and nephews.

Memorial Service will be held Saturday, August 12 , 12 p.m. at the Woman’s Club in Samoa.

Gwenn Lynnore Cloepfil
Feb. 9, 1931, to May 21, 2023

Gwenn Lynnore Cloepfil passed away on May 21, 2023, at Timber Ridge in Eureka, where she spent the last nine years due to multiple medical issues. She was a cherished woman who was always pleasant and caring to all people who crossed her path for her entire life. Her family will miss her dearly. She was special.

Gwenn was born Feb. 9, 1931, as the second child of Ruth and Lynn Switzer. She was raised in Newberg, Oregon, along with her older brother Hugh. Gwenn loved Newberg and always spoke of it in glowing terms. While growing up, Gwenn picked berries, green beans and other produce to earn money for school clothes. Times were hard, and she never shied away from hard work and never complained. She was married two weeks after graduating from high school to Howard Melvin Cloepfil in 1949. Her mother sewed her wedding dress, and Gwenn grew the flowers for her wedding. Gwenn waitressed and worked in a jewelry store while Howard finished college at Oregon State University. Howard and Gwenn were a real team and they were devoted to each other. Gwenn had never wanted to be anything but a wife, mother and homemaker. She kept the home going and was at Howard’s side while he progressed in the J. C. Penney, Co. which involved multiple moves in California and Oregon over the years. Howard passed in 2014 and that was very hard on Gwenn, as he was her rock.

Gwenn downplayed her skills, as she was very humble, but she was amazingly clever about many things. Besides her multiple crafts, she could knit, sew, embroider and tat. Gwenn was also great at fixing things around the house as Howard worked long hours, so some handyman duties fell to her. She even installed a tube radio in a 1947 Dodge that the family was fixing up to be her kids’ first car. Gwenn also loved watching sports, gardening, singing harmony to old songs and slot machines at casinos. Daughter Tamara got the love of following sports from both her parents, and it was great to go to a couple Crabs games with Gwenn when Timber Ridge attended a game. Gwenn was always searching the ground and coin returns for coins, and she found a lot of them! She kept her eyes open for finding stuff, and she even found a diamond in a slot machine mixed in with the nickels in Reno.

Gwenn loved people and wanted everyone to be happy and comfortable. This meant she often put other’s needs before her own. At Timber Ridge, she always had a smile or compliment for staff and other residents. We have never heard of anyone who didn’t love Gwenn.

Gwenn was preceded in death by her husband Howard, brother Hugh Switzer, and parents Ruth and Lynn Switzer. Gwenn is survived by her children Tamara Lynn Clohessy, of McKinleyville, and Scot Douglas Cloepfil (Carol), of Eureka. She also had two grandchildren, Terence Clohessy (Nancy), of Vacaville, and Travis Clohessy (Elizabeth), of Eureka. The recent joys of her life were her great-grandchildren Murphy and Addison Clohessy. Pictures and visits with them always brought her so much happiness. She cherished time with her loved ones.

A huge amount of gratitude is sent to Dr. Stephanie Dittmer who went above and beyond in her care on multiple occasions. The family also wishes to thank Timber Ridge Eureka for her years of care and multiple kindnesses shown by staff there. Hospice of Humboldt was also very helpful in her last days.

No services were held and the family gathered recently to remember her fondly. If you wish to honor Gwenn, please consider a donation to Hospice, a mental health charity, as Gwenn was a volunteer for Sempervirens in the 1970s, or any sports organizations that encourage future athletes.

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Have you ever visited the Table Bluff Cemetery? Did you even know that there was a Table Bluff Cemetery? Well, you might be interested in checking it out, after watching the latest “Humboldt Outdoors” video, created by local documentarian Ray Olson. 

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On July 27, 2023, at about 12:03 p.m., a community member contacted the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Emergency Communications Center to report a suspicious object resembling a grenade discovered in the brush on a walking trail near Pond Avenue in Scotia.

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Team was dispatched to investigate and the Scotia Volunteer Fire Department responded to assist.

EOD deputies inspected the object and determined it to be a modified Vietnam-era military submunition. Deputies rendered the ordnance safe on scene. No suspect information is available at this time.

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind the public that if you see something suspicious or out of place in your neighborhood, do not touch or move it, but contact your local law enforcement.

Anyone with information about this case 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, reference case number 202303427.

Born November 4, 1958, to Bennie and Jean Henson. Julie grew up in Fortuna with her two brothers and two sisters. She graduated high school in Fortuna. After high school Julie worked in a cabinet shop, and later went to work at Safeway. She was there for 34 years until she retired.

She met her loving husband Ross in 1981, and they were later married in 1983. Julie loved her rose and sharing pictures of her flower garden. But most of all she loved her little dogs. They were pampered like family.

Julie had many friends, and we will all miss her smile. She was part of AutoXpo for a time and was in charge of the antique show. Julie was also a member of Professional Women in Business.

Julie passed on Sunday, July 23rd at the AutoXpo. This was one of her favorite things to do, she lived the cars and talking to the hit and miss engine people.

She was preceded in death by her parents and brother Bill. Julie is survived by her husband Ross, her sisters, Bonnie and Beverly, and her brother Bennie Jr.

There was be a viewing at Goble’s Fortuna Mortuary in Fortuna on Thursday, July 27.

Julie’s ashes will be laid to rest at a later date at the family cemetery in Kettenpom. In lieu of flowers, a donation in Julie’s name can be made to a Miniature Schnauzer Rescue or the local Humane Society.

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Cody Hills didn’t know exactly what he’d seen. 

It was late, sometime around 2 a.m., when the motion-activated LED lights outside his house clicked on. He ventured outside to investigate and heard the sounds of an animal on his deck. That’s when he saw it: the hind end of … something going over the edge of the deck and disappearing into the night.

Could that have been a bear? he wondered.

“The next morning I thought I was going crazy,” he said. “I’d never seen a bear out here. …  I’m used to deer and raccoons.”

Hills is among the handful of people who live full-time on Tuluwat Island, the 280-acre land mass (formerly known as Indian Island) located in the middle of Humboldt Bay. Historically home to two indigenous Wiyot villages and site of the 1860 Wiyot massacre, the stolen island was largely returned to tribal ownership in 2019. 

Could a bear really make it out there? Hills doubted himself, even after he saw that his bird feeder had been knocked over. But then he started talking to his neighbors. One told him about his plum tree, which had been torn apart two nights earlier. (The neighbor initially suspected raccoons.)

Former Eureka Mayor Nancy Flemming, who has lived on the island for four decades, said she, too, found evidence of the animal.

“Yes,” she said when reached by phone this afternoon. “Definitely there was a bear.”

Flemming raises chickens, storing their feed inside a metal trashcan with the lid held down by bungie cord.

”And [the bear] took the lid off the garbage can and turned it over,” Flemming said.

How the heck did it get out there?

”I have no idea,” Flemming said, “although some people have said they can swim, and the deer go back and forth constantly. We see them.” But in the 40 years she’s lived on the island she’s never once heard of a bear out there, much less seen one.

Hills’ dad is Leroy Zerlang, chair of the Humboldt Bay Harbor Safety Committee and operator of the 113-year-old M.V. Madaket, the nation’s oldest passenger ferry, which now offers guided tours of Humboldt Bay.

Reached by phone, Zerlang said nobody on the Madaket has spotted a bear, but he has no doubt that it was there. He took a call from the neighbor with the damaged plum tree, who said all the branches had been ripped off and his raccoon trap had been “totally destroyed and thrown across the yard.”

“My dad tells stories of seeing bears swimming across the bay all the time,” said the 65-year-old Zerlang, who added that deer make that swim regularly.

Zerlang had fun talking to his son about the bear. “I go, ‘How big was the son of a bitch?’ and he said, ‘Bigger than your goat.’ And my goat’s fat!” Zerlang said.

The day after his partial sighting, which occurred week before last, Hills went searching around the perimeter of his property, investigating for clues, and before long he found a single footprint in the mud, roughly as wide as a man’s hand and in the unmistakeable shape of a black bear’s paw.

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Austin Reeder, human-wildlife conflict specialist for the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, said he took a report about the bear sighting last week. 

“We do have quite a few bears in Humboldt County, and they can get all sorts of places,” Reeder said. “It doesn’t surprise me that one would swim out to Tuluwat Island. Anyplace there’s a food source a bear will tune into that and head towards it.”

He said CDFW personnel try to work with residents to make sure their trash and other potential ursine-tempting items are secured so bears will return to their natural habitat.

Hills hasn’t seen any signs of the bear since he spotted that footprint, nor has Flemming.

“Hopefully it left,” she said.