Dennis Carl Myers, known affectionately as Denny, passed away on October 28, 2023 at St. Joseph Hospital with his wife, Gay, and his daughters, Carie and Erin, by his side. He was born on July 3, 1942 in San Francisco. His family moved to Eureka when he was nine years old. Denny was well known for his passion for cars. This began when he bought his first car at age 11.

In his earlier years, Denny attended local schools graduating from Eureka High School, where he laid the foundation for his future endeavors. He went on to achieve great success as the 1967 Super Stock Champion at Redwood Acres Raceway and many other races, showcasing his talent and love for motorsports. He proudly rebuilt his cherry red 1940 Ford sedan and anyone who knew Denny would understand why it was necessary to install a Chevrolet engine into this Ford. He loved to drive it and took great pride in showing it around town on special occasions.

Denny lived and loved Humboldt County raising his family locally. Family meant everything to Denny as he worked hard to provide for everyone through all of the joy and chaos a large family can offer…often with laughter and always with love. In 1975, Denny and his business partner, Dave Harrison, founded Old Town Muffler, an establishment that thrived under their leadership for many years. Denny’s commitment and expertise in the automotive industry left a lasting impact on the community, still felt to this day. He retired in 2006, leaving a legacy of hard work, dedication, and determination to provide quality service.

Denny was a kind, funny, and supportive individual who brought joy to those around him. He had a passion for various hobbies, including stamp and sports card collecting. His keen interest in these activities allowed him to build an impressive collection over the years. Denny also had a talent for predicting the weather, loved going to the movies (especially loud action ones), and watching sports on the weekends. He maintained a well-organized shop where he enjoyed tinkering with and building things, particularly related to cars. He also reveled in watching his granddaughters, Leitala and Vaiana, excel in sports and Matila and Alusi racing around the yard in the motorized Jeep. It warmed his heart that maybe they were taking after him in his love for motorsports.

Denny is survived by his loving wife, Gay Myers, and his daughters, Carie (Ken), Kelly, Deana (Scott), Amy, and Erin (Eddy) and his sons Craig and Kevin (Melissa); his 12 grandchildren, Logan, Megan, Cameryn, Skyler, Anthony, Leitala, Natallia, Vaiana, Matila, Alusi, Dakota, and Sawyer; his nine great-grandchildren, Jayden, Elsie, Daxton, Payten, Briella, Dylan, Ashton, Asher, and McKenzie; his nephew, Dennis; and his niece, Faryn. He was preceded in death by his grandparents, David and Hulda Kaski; his mother, Ellen Myers; and his sister, Renie Myers.

Denny leaves behind his good friends, Bobby and Judy Hixson, Marvin and Jeanne Taylor, Gary and Sheila Forbes, Mel and Judy Sample, Ray Beck, and Ray Conti. Denny’s memory will forever be cherished by his family, friends, and all those who had the pleasure of knowing him.

The family would like to thank Dr. Abdali, Dr. Urva, Dr. Thompson and nurses Kim, Toni and Crystal in the Progressive Care Unit at St. Joseph Hospital for taking such good care of him.

In honoring Denny’s life, we remember his kindheartedness, sense of humor, and unwavering support for those he cared about. May he rest in peace, forever remembered for his contributions to his community and his love of family.

A celebration of life will be held on December 9 at 1 p.m. at The Athlete Factory, 2734 Hubbard Lane, Eureka. Food will be provided by the Vainuku family.

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Jacquelyn (Jackie) Seaman died at her home in Eureka on October 10. Jackie was the oldest child of Buddy Seaman and Yoshiko Miyagi. When she moved to the United States from Okinawa with her father and little brother, Richard, she became the maternal figure in her brother’s life.

Jackie never had her own children, but she always had a mother hen personality, taking a genuine interest and care for everyone who came into her life, whether it was her family, co-workers, customers and their families, or the animals that roamed the property at Recology, where she worked. She especially loved the chickens. She was like a chicken whisperer.

Jackie moved to Humboldt to help Richard open the Fieldbrook Family Market. She was the deli manager, where she enjoyed cooking for her regulars. She prepared the school lunches for Fieldbrook School and loved to see the kids when they would come into the store. She took great enjoyment joking with the regular morning coffee crew and helping them with their crossword puzzles each morning. She doted on the employees, who she thought of like family.

Jackie was an artist, working with pastels, watercolor, acrylic and mostly photography. When her nieces were young, they would tell elaborate stories about swimming and dancing French fries and she would illustrate them, to the kids’ delight. She would take Madi on what they fondly called “bubble gum trips” where they would stop by a gas station and buy a stockpile of bubble gum, then drive around to look for somewhere scenic to take pictures, usually featuring cows and birds.

At North High School in Riverside, Jackie was a popular athlete, lettering in badminton and volleyball. She was also a cheerleader. She started working at Kmart in high school and ended with a job in management by the time she left. She spent the bulk of her career as a letter carrier in Riverside, California, garnering recognition from her department and some enduring friendships.

After she moved to the United States, Jackie continued to stay in contact with her family in Okinawa. As the only one who spoke both languages, she acted as a bridge between her American family and her Okinawan family including her mother, her half-brother, Kazuo and her cousin, Yasushi.

Jackie was preceded in death by her father and mother. She is survived by her brother, Richard; sister-in-law, Susan and nieces Rowan and Madeira, as well as her half-brother, Kazuo.

A memorial/art-show of Jackie’s work is being planned for early 2024. Friends are welcome to come share stories and memories and take a piece she made. Please contact susanseamaneureka@gmail.com if you want to stay informed when more details about the event are available.

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Cynthia Gail Hebard
August 30, 1954 – November 3, 2023

Cindi passed away with her family around her, holding her hands and giving her unconditional love and support at the end of a long, hard fought battle with COPD and emphysema.

Born to William Leslie “Les” Hebard Sr and Calista June “Pat” Mell (Owsley) in Roseburg, Oregon; she moved to Eureka at a very young age. She attended Pine Hill Elementary School, Jacobs and graduated from Eureka Senior High School in 1972.

Survived by her husband Stephen Wolke, her “Pop” Jon R. Mell, her brothers, “Burgie” Bill Hebard and Jon B. Mell, her sister Wendy Starr, her son, R. Morgan W. J. (Kayla) Chapman, her daughter Jaycie (Brian) Chapman Shearer, her grandchildren, Anthony Riley Lovel, G. Hayden N. Lovel, Aurora Rose Chapman and Stella Rose Chapman.

She is proceeded in death by her first daughter and first true love, Nicole Spring Romano (March 21, 1974 – July 23, 1974 ), her mother, Pat Mell and father, Les Hebard.

Cindi was a force to be reckoned with. She was a fierce and independent woman who was never to be told how to live her life. She had a strong work ethic, believing you work for what you want and respect what you have. She was quick witted and brutally honest with her beliefs and feelings. She wanted the best for everyone she met but also had no problem calling you a dumbass, telling you what you did wrong and what you needed to do to fix it. She was a smart, stubborn, clever, loving woman crammed into a tiny firecracker of a package.

As a single mother most of her life, she always worked hard at various jobs to stay self-sufficient. She cleaned houses, did interior and exterior painting, bartended and any other job she could find to support her children.

In the late ‘80s she decided to become her own boss and opened a cafeteria on the 3rd floor of the Caltrans Building in Eureka. She named it “The Pothole” and Caltrans (at first) was not amused. She owned that business for nearly 20 years and ran it single handedly every day, Monday - Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. In the beginning, when her children were small, she would take them to work with her, get them ready for school in her back office and take a 20 minute “break” to drop them off. She would work the rest of the day, close the restaurant, run errands, pick up kids and always ended the day with a homecooked dinner. In mid-2006 she decided to close her cafeteria due to rising costs and shrinking profits. In 2003 she started at the Eureka Post Office as a weekend rural carrier for the Hydesville, Carlotta and other surrounding areas. During this time, she met her husband, Steve Wolke. They dated for a few years before getting married on October 16, 2008, just recently celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary.

As Cindi was an excellent cook, loved baking and canning and was a very driven person, she started her next small business, Granny Be Jammin in 2007. She had her kitchen licensed and certified as a “home kitchen” with the city and county and began her next business endeavor. She was extremely proud of her business and made many friends and lifelong customers along the way. Her products were sold at Kneeland Glen Farm Stand, at Pierson’s in their holiday store and she rarely missed a flea market in any of the surrounding towns. She also had a steady customer base that knew all they had to do was call and order at her home number. She specialized in Low-Sugar Fruit Jams and personal pies of many different varieties. She also was known for her breads, cookies, and other treats that she thought up. She was also known for donating her products to the various activities and school events her grandchildren participated in; often being found volunteering her time to ensure her daughter was running a smooth and successful snack bar. (Thanks, momma)

Cindi was an avid gardener and loved the outdoors. She would use the items from her organic backyard garden in her business. She grew multiple types of berries, fruits and vegetables. When her garden wasn’t producing what she needed, she always knew who to reach out to for picking permission to ensure her products stayed organic and great quality. Cindi also taught her older grandchildren how to make jams and different pies so her knowledge would be sure to get passed to the younger generation.

She also loved camping. For many years every summer she would reserve the same spot at Swimmers Delight, load up her two kids, whatever dogs she had, one tent, a lot of food and would spend a week camping, cooking, playing, water coloring river rocks, sketching the scenery, searching for fossils and making magical memories with her most prized possessions, her children. Once she had grandkids, they became her newest camping companions. Another of her favorite things was agate hunting at the many beaches she had access to. She truly loved nature and all it had to offer.

Cindi was an animal lover, always possessing some type of animal. Her house always had at least one dog, but no more than 5 at any given time and most years a cat or two. When her children were young, she wanted them to know what farm life was like, so there were always chickens and ducks to care for. She even adopted 3 cows and raised them in her back yard. She loved her wild birds that she fed, all her little hummingbirds that would come back yearly and nested in the same spot in her patio, her backyard chickens and even the little spider that lived in her lamp next to her bed.

Her home was always open to her family, friends and kids’ friends, making them feel welcomed and cared for. She was usually loved, always respected and even sometimes feared by the many people that knew her and called her family or friend.

She did a lot of things and touched a lot of people during her short 69 years on this earth. She never missed an opportunity to let her kids and grandkids know how much she loved them. Her presence is and will be extremely missed by her family and friends but knowing she is not in pain, is in a better place and will always be with us, we will continue in the hopes of making her proud.

A memorial in celebration of her life will be held after the holidays for all that would like to attend. The date and time are still undetermined, but we will keep all updated.

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Carolyn (known as “Cotton” to everyone she knew) Rutherford was born November 20, 1946 in Vinita, Oklahoma to parents Roy and Edna Foust. The family moved to Arcata when she was just six months old. With the exception of six months in Oklahoma and about eight years in Ukiah she was a lifelong Humboldt County resident.

She raised two sons and was a second mom to all of her sons’ friends (most of whom called her mom). Cotton loved sewing and drawing. She had an art booth at the Eureka Flea Market until it closed and enjoyed socializing with the friends she made there.

As the seventh of nine children she had a great multitude of brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews and she adored them all. But her pride and joy were her three grandchildren and she lit up whenever they were around. Between friends and family, and friends of family, and family of friends, her house was never empty. After many years of declining health Cotton passed away peacefully on November 10th.

She was preceded in death by her father, Roy, her mother Edna, brothers Bill, Ray, and Wayne, her sister Edna June and her husband Pete.

She leaves behind her son Jesse Grammer and his wife Vickie of Bayside, her son Bill Grammer of Redding, her grandson Will Grammer and his three children of Astoria Oregon, her grandson Timothy Grammer of Central Point, Oregon and her granddaughter Miranda Grammer and her three children of Medford, Oregon, and also a brother, three sisters, and a great number of nieces and nephews.

Cotton was loved by all of them, and will be greatly missed.

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Two local community theaters have decided that they’ve reached that point in their relationship where it is time to move in together. At least for a little while. 

In an email sent to the Outpost last week, the leadership staff of North Coast Repertory Theatre (NCRT) announced that Redwood Curtain Theater will be moving its operations into the NCRT theater space on the corner of Fifth and D Streets in Eureka. 

“Specifically what that means is that our building at 300 5th St will now be housing both companies, and we will be collaborating together to produce a joint season of theater in 2024,” Calder Johnson, managing artistic director for NCRT, wrote in the email. 

The announcement comes about eight months after Redwood Curtain Theater (RCT) announced that it would be moving out of the space at 220 First Street in Old Town, which had been occupied by the theater company for 15 years, after learning that the building was being sold to new owners who had different plans for the space. Since then, Redwood Curtain has had no home and, with affordable spaces being hard to come by these days, many feared that the community theater company would have to close completely. 

But after a series of conversations between the two theater companies, both agreed that the best way to keep Redwood Curtain going would be to house it in an existing theater space and allow NCRT to take some of the financial burden that comes with operating a theater. 

The old Redwood Curtain space on First Street

In a phone conversation with the Outpost, Johnson said that he and Nanette Voss, executive director of Redwood Curtain, are longtime friends and collaborators and Johnson wanted to do anything that he could to help RCT stay open. Because NCRT is lucky enough to own its building, housing RCT seemed like the best possible option. 

The move exemplifies how much local theater companies have been struggling. Already operating on shoestring budgets, many local theaters have been reeling from the additional financial burden brought on by COVID, which caused theaters to lose a lot of revenue. Another longrunning local theater company Dell’Arte International also recently announced that it’s facing a financial crisis, which prompted the company to lay-off half of its staff. 

“It’s a time of great upheaval and that’s part of what prompted this decision,” Johnson told the Outpost. “When it’s a stormy time, you start trying to be each other’s lifeline.” 

With the two theaters occupying the same space, Johnson said that they are rebranding the building as “D Street Theater,” which is something NCRT had been thinking about doing for a while. Since NCRT does already rent out the theater to other local production companies like Club Triangle and Va Va Voom Burlesque, Johnson thought it would make sense to separate the building itself from the theater company. His hope for D Street Theater is to be a community theater hub that can provide space for many local productions and events. 

In announcing the creation of the D Street Theater, NCRT and RCT also announced the productions planned for the 2024 season, including Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and Sweeney Todd. Johnson said that he and Voss worked together to come up with the 2024 season, pulling together both companies’ list of potential productions and then picking the ones they were both interested in. You can view the full season calendar below. 

Though it will surely take a while to work out all of the kinks that come with operating two theater companies under one roof, Johnson said that he is very excited for the change and for the upcoming season. As local theaters (and other local nonprofits and businesses) continue to navigate the financial landscape of our post-COVID reality, Johnson feels that adaptation and mutual support will be critical to keeping places up and running. 

“We are being pushed into a new paradigm that is about sharing resources,” Johnson said. “We have to lean on each other, make these new partnerships… and we have to make sure we’re evolving and adapting.” 

Eureka Police Department release: 

The Eureka Police Department was awarded a $55,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS). The grant will support our ongoing enforcement and education programs to help reduce the number of serious injuries and deaths on our roads.

“This funding will strengthen our commitment to public safety in our community,” Chief Todd Jarvis said. “We will be able to increase our efforts in making our roads safer for everyone and focus on critical areas such as distracted driving, impaired driving and speeding.”

The grant will provide additional programs and resources, including:

• DUI checkpoints and patrols focused on stopping suspected impaired drivers.
• High-visibility distracted driving enforcement operations targeting drivers in violation of California’s hands-free cell phone law.
• Enforcement operations focused on the most dangerous driver behaviors that put the safety of people biking or walking at risk.
• Enforcement operations focused on top violations that cause crashes: speeding, failure to yield, stop sign and/or red-light running, and improper turning or lane changes.
• Officer training and/or recertification: Standard Field Sobriety Test (SFST), Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) and Drug Recognition Expert (DRE).

The grant program will run through September 2024.

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

When students started leaving college during the COVID-19 pandemic, California’s community colleges feared losing state funding, which is based partly on enrollment. But now, one group is offering hope: students over the age of 50.

Last year, the state’s 116 community colleges saw an 11% increase in students over the age of 50 compared to the previous year — the highest percentage increase of any age group and just above the rate for students under 20. In contrast, students 20 to 29 continued to leave.

The enrollment numbers represent a shift for older adults, who left college at record rates during the start of the pandemic. By fall 2021, California’s community colleges had lost roughly 20% of their students compared to fall 2019, bringing the system to its lowest enrollment figures in decades.

College administrators say the rising number of students over 50 is a result of many factors, but they often point to the return of in-person classes after the end of pandemic-era restrictions.

“I come to these English classes because here, I don’t feel alone. I chat with my classmates, and they greet me back.”
— Hermelinda Figueroa, 80-year-old student

In general, student opinions are divided about online education. About 15% of California community college students surveyed in 2022 said they wanted more online classes, while 12.5% said they wanted more in-person classes, according to data from the Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges. But for beginner-level students taking English as a second language at San Diego’s College of Continuing Education, many of them older, the preferences are clear.

“I come to these English classes because here, I don’t feel alone. I chat with my classmates, and they greet me back,” said Hermelinda Figueroa, 80, who comes to her two-hour class three times a week.

Bringing students back through fitness and health

The San Diego College of Continuing Education lost about half of its English as a second language students during the pandemic, but most of the students who left were beginners, said Jan Jarrell, a dean at the college. She said many beginner students were uncomfortable with technology or lacked reliable access to it. Teachers struggled to adapt, too.

“It’s all about person-to-person for me. When I use computers, I feel like I’ve lost an eye. I just don’t get it,” said Figueroa, squinting as if to emphasize the way she might look at a screen. She enrolled last year when more in-person classes became available.

Sitting behind Figueroa in class, Estene Petit-Homme, 50, is part of another demographic that’s boosting enrollment: recent immigrants. He traveled from his home in Haiti to the San Diego-Tijuana border, where he asked for asylum in February.

His application is one of a record nearly 1.6 million asylum cases currently on backlog in the immigration court system, according to a nonprofit research group associated with Syracuse University. While he waits for his day in court, he said he wants to learn to speak English better.

Hermelinda Figueroa, 80, works on an assignment during an English as a second language class at the Mid-City campus of the San Diego College of Continuing Education on Oct. 6, 2023. Photo by Adriana Heldiz, CalMatters

This fall, the San Diego College of Continuing Education has just shy of 6,700 English as a second language students — more than before the pandemic. Many of these students are over 50.

In Lake Tahoe, the local community college saw a nearly 60% increase in students over the age of 50 in the 2022-23 academic year, compared to the previous year. The main driver isn’t English; it’s two classes that focus on health and fitness for older adults, especially retirees.

“We were surprised by how well the Zoom classes did but it’s not nearly as good as what we’re seeing now that the doors are fully open,” said Lake Tahoe Community College President Jeff DeFranco, speaking of the wellness programs.

Other students in the same age group are still working but use the community college as an opportunity to improve their on-the-job skills. DeFranco said about 35% of the college’s students over 50 are firefighters, emergency medical technicians, or police officers who study at Lake Tahoe Community College because it has an established program focused on public safety. These students take classes as a way to get a job, to gain the skills needed for a promotion, or in some cases, because the classes are required by their current employer.

Uneven growth across California’s community colleges

As the number of students older than 50 fluctuated in the past few years, other trends emerged. More community college classes are now held in person than at the peak of the pandemic, but about half of classes are still online, according to Chancellor’s Office data from the 2022-23 academic year. Before the pandemic, about 21% of classes were online.

For years, the percentage of part-time, degree-seeking students rose. Today, it’s about two-thirds of the student population, according to data from the chancellor’s office. These part-time students are more likely to juggle work and family obligations, in addition to school.

To lure students back and encourage them to take more courses, colleges and lawmakers have spent millions in COVID-relief dollars on marketing campaigns and incentives.

Last year, the number of students under the age of 20 increased at a rate just below that of students over 50, driven mostly by high school students who take community college courses. These youngest students now represent the plurality on campus.

Students in an English as a second language class at the Mid-City campus of the San Diego College of Continuing Education on Oct. 6, 2023. Photo by Adriana Heldiz, CalMatters

While the growth is uneven, the total number of students increased by about 5% in the 2022-23 academic year compared to the year prior, according to data from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. It marks the first year of enrollment gains since the start of the pandemic. Official statewide data from the current fall semester is not available yet, but individual districts are already predicting more gains.

The San Jose Evergreen Community College District reported enrollment for the fall was up nearly 20%. The district could only provide preliminary data across age groups but a spokesperson said the “biggest growth” came from students over the age of 40.

“These enrollment numbers reflect a lot of hard work by a lot of people,” wrote Interim District Chancellor Beatriz Chaidez. “They also indicate that our community continues to see the value of its local colleges.”

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Data reporter Erica Yee contributed to this reporting.

Adam Echelman covers California’s community colleges in partnership with Open Campus, a nonprofit newsroom focused on higher education.

CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.