Terry Daily Guthary
Sept. 13, 1975 - Sept. 20, 2024

Terry Daily Guthary passed away at Mad River Hospital on September 20, 2024 surrounded by family and loved ones, just a short week after his 49th birthday. Terry had been sick for a few days leading up to his passing. Unbeknownst to everyone, Terry was suffering from septic shock due to a GIST.

Terry was born September 13, 1975 in San Bernardino and adopted by Dennis Guthary and Beverly Guthary (Gadd). When arriving to the adoption agency, Terry’s brother Brian Guthary was so excited, begging for a baby brother. Little did he know he would be going home as a big brother that day. The Gutharys resided in Southern California for a few years before relocating to Hydesville to be closer to family, eventually making their way to Eureka.

Terry was known for his passion of sports, having the kindest heart, and best humor. Terry played numerous sports growing up, from basketball, baseball, and soccer to cycling, which was his favorite. Terry was a die-hard Chicago Bears fan. We believe he’s up in heaven pulling strings to make the Bears play in the Super Bowl again.

Dedicated, loyal and hardworking are words that barely scratch the surface when describing such a beautiful man. To those who have had the privilege of looking to him for fatherly advice, he never hesitated in his efforts to pass on his knowledge through kind words, an ever-listening ear and his companionship he offered to all. He never judged anyone. Running a thrift shop and lawn service business, he had multiple different clientele. As we have been closing down the shop we have had numerous customers come in stating that Terry had changed their life in one way or another.

His humor was the kind that infected everyone around him. A sad face was a challenge to Terry, a challenge that he always won by evoking a grin or giggle from even the most saddened of us all. Making jokes was his forte. Terry was known for his signature wave, the middle finger always being offered with nothing but love behind it. He loved creating face-swap videos dressed up as famous female or male singers and actors/actresses, and he would always manage to pull it off looking good no matter what face he swapped with.

In 1990 Terry attended Eureka High School, where he met his soulmate Jessica. They had lockers next to each other and grew more and more fond of each other. Jessica had always joked and told Terry that one day she was going to marry him. Terry had become a proud teen parent. There’s nothing he loved more than being a father. Later in life Terry fell into substance abuse. He hated himself during those times. All he wanted to do was be a better person, son and father. In October of 2008 Terry received his certificate of being clean and sober. He took so much pride in his sobriety never touching substances again. Terry passed and was 16 years clean and sober and beyond proud of who he was.

Even with life taking Jessica and Terry different directions they still managed to stay in contact throughout the years and finally gave into fate in 2009. From that moment on they were inseparable. They had a bond that no one could break. In September 2013 they joined hands in marriage. Since Terry’s birthday was the 13th, their anniversary being the 14th, and Jessica’s birthday the 15th of September they would call it their “Annivirthday” week. He had a beautiful relationship with his children, Ashley and Dillon, and grandson Spencer. And with Kaden and Devin. Terry took so much pride in his family and animals, always putting his family before anything.

In 2022 Jessica and Terry began the search for Terry’s birth parents. Taking multiple different DNA tests and with much investigation they had finally found them. Later that year they reconnected in person. They were welcomed with open arms to two large loving families. It healed a piece of Terry’s heart that was a mystery.

He is preceded in death by his mother Beverly (Pepper) Guthary, his father Dennis Guthary, best friend Shelby Marquez, brother Mikal Anderson, his beloved dog Edward and cat Meow Mix.

He is survived by his wife Jessica Smith-Guthary; daughter Ashley (Anderson) Graben, son-in-law Dillion Graben, grandson Spencer, unborn grandbaby Graben; his son Kaden Lindquist, daughter-in-law Devin Lindquist (McGill); dog-hter Mini Pin and big boy (cat) Skitty; along with many other family members and friends, too many to list, but if he considered you family, you knew you were family.

A celebration of life will be located at the Wharfinger Building 1 Marina Way, Eureka, on Sunday October 27, 2024 at 2 p.m.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Terry Guthary’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

About 1,200 people worldwide will, at least occasionally, lay down on wide boards with wheels and handrails and rocket down hills at speeds exceeding 80 miles an hour, a sport called “street luge.” Riders brake with rubber soles made out of recycled tires strapped to their shoes. (One manufacturer advertises theirs as having “Real tire smoke and smell when used correctly!”)

About the same number of people live in Ferndale. 

What do those two things mean, taken together? Nothing — except for Ryan Farmer.

Farmer, 31, lives in Ferndale and works as a forestry technician. He is also one of the best street luge riders in the world and a Ferndale City Council candidate. Somewhere in all of that he runs a darkroom and paints. 

Farmer has traveled to 24 countries (if you include layovers), won the 2022 Street Luge World Championship in Argentina and was ranked first in the U.S. in 2024. He’s been competing for about a decade. It was a natural progression from downhill skateboarding, which he started doing because it gave him the same rush surfing did, albeit for a lot longer than just the 20 seconds or so a great wave lasts. 

Farmer doesn’t think when he’s laying on a piece of metal three inches from the road going 85 miles an hour. He does not think about the hairpin turn a couple seconds up the road. He does not think about his problems or the scenery or his competitors or … anything, really. He lays on his back and looks at the sky. 

“When I’m committed to riding, all I’m doing is taking in the visuals and other senses that are happening in front of me, and then making the subconscious decisions of what I need to do to continue going down the hill safely,” Farmer said. “So when I’m going through a corner, I’m not thinking about anything, because it’s this almost primal subconscious. I’m just doing. I’m not thinking, which is, I think, my favorite part about it is. You’re not as in the moment and aware, but you also are much more aware in a strange way.”

He’s lived in Ferndale for eight years, a move he made to improve his life after living in Southern California for most of it.

“It’s been an incredibly supportive community, which I didn’t expect when I first started visiting here, but it really makes a difference in the quality of life,” Farmer said. “People that care about you and what you’re up to and ask how you’re doing and actually mean it … it makes a big difference.”

Occasionally, Farmer gets the chance to practice street luge here in Humboldt. He said there are a few good mountain roads to train on, but only on Sundays so he can avoid logging trucks. The ever-present potholes don’t make it easier, nor does the loose gravel. 

He’s also trying out politics, running for Ferndale City Council this election cycle. It was a decision made after fighting with the city and some community members over Pride flags left on a bicycle he left out for people to decorate. The flags were defaced. Farmer wants a resolution, a war he’s still bitterly waging.

His time is limited, but Farmer doesn’t spend every free weekend competing overseas. He said his darkroom doesn’t take up too much time, and of course he has to keep working his forestry job so he can put food on the table. But he thinks he can serve on the City Council despite all of those draws on his attention.

Why would a guy who could focus on traveling around the world, riding courses in places like Peru or Australia or anywhere where the roads are steep and the corners are tight, want to use that time on something like a small-town city council? 

Farmer said that he’s been thinking about the future and his place in it a lot lately. He’s been working to get street luge recognized as an Olympic sport, even though he knows he’ll probably be too old to compete if and when that ever happens.

“I think change is inevitable, whether it’s with street luge and us refining our gear, or in city politics and management plans — growth is going to happen, whether that’s more athletes riding a board, or more people moving to Ferndale,” he said. “So seeing that value in the future of town, just like I see the value in the future of my sport, can help push me to spend the time and energy to make the changes and facilitate the growth that is going to best benefit the community.”

Ferndale’s future is Farmer’s main concern. He believes that Ferndale’s growth is unstoppable and already underway, and he worries about preserving its Victorian character while still making it accessible to newcomers and locals alike. 

“As much as I love our industries built around town, I also understand that with each financial struggle comes the interest in developing into more housing or other businesses,” Farmer said. “And I think as long as we direct that growth, it could be healthy and continue benefiting the town’s historical district. Because I want the historical district to stay historical and not have McDonald’s or neon signs or all the things that would take away from people’s experience coming through here.

“We need to manage the growth of town in a way that [we can] have cheaper, more accessible housing for the elderly and youth that are coming to town or working or putting down their roots and raising a family here.”

Farmer’s run has been controversial to some Ferndalians. Local pastor Tyrel Bramwell published an hour-long YouTube video about Farmer and called him a pagan and said he was “actively supporting evil.” Bramwell included some clips of Farmer calling a man at a Pride event in Ferndale an asshole, though Farmer says he left out the part where that man yelled at Pride attendees and belittled them. Farmer admits he’s not proud of it, but he is confident that if elected he would be able to ignore the rancor and focus on his job. 

“The reality is that the majority of town and the community isn’t for bigotry, so we can’t let the occasional altercation define what our town is known for,” Farmer said. “And at the same time, even if I don’t agree with what the majority thinks, I think my vote should represent what is understood as the majority vote. Because if everybody says the sky is orange, I should probably think, ‘Why do you think the sky is orange?’ If one person says ‘The sky is orange,’ and everybody else says ‘The sky is blue,’ then thank you for your time and your opinion, I’m gonna take that into account, I’ll chat with the rest of the community, and then my vote will represent the people that believe the sky is blue.”

PREVIOUSLY: 

• (VIDEO) Ferndale’s Ryan Farmer Takes First Place in World Championship Street Luge Competition in Argentina

Press release from the City of Eureka:

Notice is hereby given that applications will be accepted for appointments to the following city boards and commissions until filled

Board, Committee or Commission:

• Community Oversight on Police Practices
• Economic Development Commission
• Eureka Energy Committee<
• Planning Commission

Applications may be obtained by phone or in person from the Mayor’s Office, City of Eureka, 531 “K” Street, Eureka, CA 95501, (707) 441-4175, or may be downloaded from the City Clerk’s website, listed below.

In order to be eligible for appointment to any board or commission, a person must be a qualified registered elector of the City of Eureka, the Humboldt Community Services District or Humboldt County Service Area No. 3, or an owner of a business located within the city limits of the City of Eureka. The mayor shall make the appointments with the approval of a majority of the Council.

Appointments of qualified non-city residents will require a four-fifths (4/5) vote of the Council for confirmation.

Members on Boards and Commissions shall be willing to serve as a civic responsibility and without compensation. No member of any board or commission shall hold any paid office or employment in the city government.

For more information, call the City Clerk at (707) 441-4175, or go to this link.

Applications will be accepted until filled.

Merle Duane Jones, age 81, of McKinleyville, passed away peacefully on October 21, 2024. Born on May 23, 1943, in Puyallup, Wash., Merle, affectionately known as “Swede” by family and friends for his childhood blonde hair, grew up in Eatonville, Wash., and Redwood Creek, Calif., alongside his family and faithful dog, Major. He graduated from Arcata High School and went on to build a life defined by hard work and love for his family.

Merle was known for his unwavering work ethic and the pride he took in providing for his family, both immediate and extended. His happiest moments were spent sharing stories and laughter with loved ones, hunting and fishing with his brothers and nephews, and spending time with his granddaughters. He read every Louis L’Amour book at least twice and loved a good Alan Jackson tune.

He began his career as an officer with the California Highway Patrol, a role he held with great pride in his younger years. Later, Merle transitioned into the logging industry, where he forged a distinguished career as a timber faller in the redwoods for over 40 years. Working alongside his beloved brothers and trusted partners, he was known as an expert in his field. In retirement, Merle found great joy and peace at his cabin in O’Brien, Oregon, and made many fond memories.

Merle is survived by his brother, James “Jim” Jones, and his sister, Florence Lintner; his former wife, Janet Dudal; his children, David Jones, Kerry Juhl, and Christina Jones; and his cherished grandchildren, Nicolas and Clara Juhl, Malorie and Jaelyn Rasmussen, and Brant Comfort. He also leaves behind many beloved nieces and nephews.

He is predeceased by his parents, Clarence and Helen Jones, and his siblings, Delores Malcom, Clarence “Bud” Jones, Marvin Jones, Mildred Hall, and Donna Boudro.

Merle’s life will be celebrated privately by his family. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him. Rest in peace, Dad.

“Might as well share, might as well smile, life goes on for a little bitty while.” Alan Jackson.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Merle Jones’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

Press release from the Eureka Police Department:

On Saturday, October 19, 2024 at approximately 11:19 a.m., an employee at Eureka High School located a message written on a wall threatening a school shooting for Sunday, October 20. As homecoming events were planned at the school that day, Patrol Officers, Criminal Investigations Unit Detectives, and the School Resource Officer immediately began investigating. A security plan was established and implemented.

From this investigation, a juvenile suspect was identified. On October 21, Eureka Police Department Detectives obtained a search warrant and responded to a residence in Eureka. The juvenile suspect was arrested, charged with PC 422 Criminal Threats, and booked into Juvenile Hall. This incident was determined not to be associated with similar threats reported at schools in the past few weeks.

“The safety of children must be a priority in our society. The Eureka Police Department takes any threats against students seriously; we will pour in all available resources to investigate threats and prevent such acts of violence. As suspects are identified, they will be arrested, and be booked into juvenile hall. Violent and threatening behaviors within our school will not be tolerated and the Eureka Police Department will use the full extent of the law to hold these individuals accountable.” states Chief Brian Stephens.

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PREVIOUSLY: 

• Eureka High on Lockdown For the Third Time This Month, Following Another Threat
• Eureka Police Department Seems to Say That Yesterday’s EHS Lockdown Involved Two Separate Threats, One After The Other, Or Something Like That
• Another Eureka School Briefly Went on Lockdown in Response to Threats Tuesday Evening

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PREVIOUSLY: Conflicted Board of Redwood Coast Energy Authority Declines to Accept ‘Free’ Nuclear Power From Diablo Canyon

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On Thursday afternoon, the board of directors for Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA) will have the opportunity to take a do-over on its recent decision to decline an allocation of nuclear energy into the mix of power sources it purchases on behalf of local ratepayers.

Last month, a shorthanded board held a lengthy debate about the pros and cons of accepting a short-term cut of the power being generated by the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant near Morro Bay. This power would technically be “free” for the agency since all electricity users in California are already paying for it — plus, it would qualify as clean energy credits.

Through California’s Community Choice Aggregation program, RCEA functions as the default provider of electricity generation for the vast majority of consumers in Humboldt County. Since 2017, the agency has been purchasing electricity from a variety of mostly green, renewable sources and then re-selling that energy to its roughly 63,000 local customers (meaning households and businesses) at slightly lower rates than PG&E.

Diablo Canyon was supposed to be shut down by the end of next year, but with California’s renewable energy development lagging behind schedule, the state legislature approved a $1.4 billion loan to PG&E to keep it operating through 2030. As part of the deal to keep the plant operating, all jurisdictional entities under the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) are paying a share of the costs, and they all have the option of receiving an allocation of the power generated by Diablo Canyon.

But RCEA’s Energy Risk Management Policy bans long-term nuclear energy procurement, so the board would have to approve a short-term exception to that policy to accept the energy. Some board members last month suggested doing just that and using the money it saves to close the agency’s budget deficit, lower rates, pay for anti-nuclear advocacy and/or invest in more renewable energy projects.

Others advocated standing on principle, especially considering the challenges and risks associated with long-term storage of toxic nuclear waste, among other factors.

After more than an hour of discussion and public comment, the board narrowly rejected a motion to accept the nuclear credit. The vote was two “yes” votes to three “no” votes, with four board members absent.

So why the do-over? Well, the staff report for Thursday’s meeting explains that there was a “process error” last time around. 

“The Board was mistakenly told that all five Community Choice Energy voting members present would need to vote affirmative for an action to pass,” the staff report says. “This information was in error, and this mistaken information could have influenced the vote.” 

The actual voting requirements for decisions related to Community Choice Energy are a bit more complex because the representatives of some districts carry more weight than those of others, based on the following formula:

When it comes to decisions about Community Choice Energy, a motion passes only if and when it receives “yes” votes from a majority of the voting members present AND it gets support from more than 50 percent of the weighted votes present.

Like we said: complex. But given the large number of board member absences at the last meeting, along with the conflicted opinions expressed by those who were present, things could very well turn out differently this time around. 

RCEA staff point out a several potential benefits to accepting the nuclear power, noting that “the price of required clean energy credits has increased significantly and building local renewable energy projects to meet state requirements has been very difficult and slow.”

They also point out that Diablo Canyon will not produce more energy just because RCEA and other community choice aggregators accept the credit. And it would be good for the agency financially. The staff report says, “RCEA could sell an equivalent amount of carbon-free hydropower for about $500,000 this year to counter a large, expected budget deficit.”

On the other hand, critics note that Diablo Canyon stores nuclear waste in a seismically active area, and some board members — including Eureka representative Scott Bauer — say that accepting nuclear energy runs contrary to RCEA’s mission and would make the agency complicit with environmental risks that last generations. It could also damage public perception, sending some customers back to PG&E, board members noted last month. 

Thursday’s meeting will be held in the Bay Room, downstairs at the Wharfinger Building in Eureka. It’s scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. 

To participate in the meeting online, click this link shortly beforehand.

To participate by phone, call (669) 900-6833 or (253) 215-8782 and enter webinar ID: 819 7236 8051.

Further instructions:

To make a comment during the public comment periods, raise your hand in the online Zoom webinar, or press star (*) 9 on your phone to raise your hand. You will continue to hear the meeting while you wait. When it is your turn to speak, a staff member will prompt you to unmute your phone or computer. You will have 3 minutes to speak.

You may submit written public comment by email to PublicComment@redwoodenergy.org. Please identify the agenda item number in the subject line. Comments will be included in the meeting record but not read aloud during the meeting.

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Dr. Simon Stampe hadn’t been working at Eureka’s St. Joseph Hospital for long before his medical training came into direct conflict with the religion-based anti-abortion policies of Providence Health and Services, the Catholic health care system that owns and operates the hospital. 

In a court declaration submitted as part of California’s recently filed lawsuit against St. Joseph Hospital, Dr. Stampe says he voiced concerns about the facility’s obstetrics policies to hospital leadership in July of last year and never received a substantive response.

The state’s suit, filed late last month, accuses the hospital’s Catholic owner/operators of endangering the life of local chiropractor Dr. Anna Nusslock by denying her emergency abortion care this past February. 

Dr. Nusslock’s water had broken when she was just 15 weeks pregnant with twins, and she arrived at St. Joseph hospital bleeding heavily and in severe pain. “Despite the immediate threat to her life and health, and despite the fact her pregnancy was no longer viable, Providence refused to treat her,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said in a press release.

Dr. Stampe is a family medicine physician with advanced training in high-risk and surgical obstetrics. Shortly after being hired by Open Door Community Health Centers in June of 2021, he applied for privileges at St. Joseph Hospital — a common arrangement that allows local doctors to work at multiple facilities.

As part of his orientation, medical staff at St. Joseph Hospital provided Dr. Stampe with documentation — he believes it was either a summary or an excerpt — on the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, a set of instructions issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. These directives often contradict accepted medical standards, especially in areas of reproductive health, according to physicians and other medical practitioners.

The hospital’s chaplain later underscored the inviolability of these rules when it comes to abortion, telling Dr. Stampe that “under no circumstance was I to terminate a pregnancy at Providence [St. Joseph] Hospital,” he says in his declaration.

That policy impacted one of his patients just a few months later when, like Nusslock, she presented with an emergency medical condition related to her pre-viable pregnancy. The accepted standard of care in such situations is to terminate the pregnancy, Dr. Stampe says, but leadership in St. Joseph’s perinatal department informed him that he was not allowed to do so while the fetus had still had cardiac activity and “the patient was not actively dying.”

Dr. Stampe was told that if he went against this rule, he would risk losing his privileges at St. Joseph. “It was never made clear to me how close the patient had to be to death before doctors could intervene under the policy,” he says in his declaration.

He consulted with senior physicians at St. Joseph on at least two other occasions, and they only affirmed the hospital’s rigid stance on the matter, he says. On July 17, 2023, Dr. Stampe met with hospital leadership, including regional and local ethics leaders, to bring forward his concerns about such situations — that is, patients presenting with preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) before the fetus is viable. 

Dr. Stampe says he was told only that they would think about his concerns and return with an answer at a later date. “Despite reminders to them, including a follow up e-mail, I never received a clear answer about this issue,” he says in his declaration. He’s aware of at least one other patient who arrived at St. Joseph Hospital’s emergency department with pre-viable PPROM only to get discharged without treatment, which caused her to suffer complications.

There have been numerous other cases like this, according to another declaration submitted as part of the lawsuit. Dr. Elizabeth Micks, the OBGYN who treated Anna Nusslock at Mad River Community Hospital, says that in the two years she has worked at Mad River she has personally treated two such cases.

“Specifically, these were pregnant women who initially sought care at Providence [St. Joseph] Hospital for an inevitable miscarriage,” Dr. Micks says in her statement. “In these cases, abortion care was necessary to preserve the patient’s health and potentially their life yet Providence [St. Joseph] Hospital refused to provide appropriate care due to the presence of fetal heart tones.”

Based on her own experience, Dr. Micks estimates that one or two women each year receive abortion care at Mad River after being refused such care at St. Joseph Hospital, needlessly endangering their lives.

“I believe Providence [St. Joseph] Hospital’s management falls below the standard of care and puts patients at risk of serious bodily injury or even death,” she says in her declaration.

Mad River Community Hospital’s Trillium Birth Center is scheduled to close next week, with management citing a declining volume of births in recent years. Its closure will leave St. Joseph Hospital as the lone remaining birthing center in Humboldt County.

Providence was initially given until last Friday to respond to the lawsuit, which was accompanied by a request for preliminary injunction to prevent St. Joseph Hospital violating state laws by refusing to treat anyone and everyone with an emergency medical condition. But since Dr. Stampe’s declaration was submitted after the lawsuit, Providence now has until Oct. 28 to submit its response.

A hearing on the motion for preliminary injunction has been delayed from Oct. 25 to Nov. 15.