Danny H. Walker was born on June 3, 1951 at St. Joseph Hospital to Harold H. Walker and Patsy Ruth Walker. He had two children, a son Cody D. Walker, and a daughter Cassandra N. Walker. Danny was a welder, avid bowler, Humboldt history buff, and nature lover. He was a cancer survivor, beating prostate cancer. It is with heavy hearts that his family is announcing that he passed away peacefully by a wood fire with a friend on February 16, 2022. He was taken too soon, at the young age of 70.
Danny grew up in Mckinleyville; he attended Mckinleyville High School and Humboldt State University. He started out his career as a machinist at Gene’s Machinery in Arcata. He dedicated 40-odd years of his life to the tutelage of hundreds of welding students at the College of the Redwoods, starting part-time, working in the evenings and then eventually leading the program.
Danny loved spending time in the outdoors - hunting, diving, fishing, gold-panning and metal-detecting. In his recent retirement, he found that burning brush was ‘his therapy’ and spent time at Pinewood Cove, and South Port Landing doing just that. Pre-Covid times, he spent countless hours at E&O Bowl in Blue Lake sipping his signature drink – ‘the dirty mother’ (a mix of bourbon, tequila, Kahlua & milk) and bowling game after game aiming to get that perfect score. He also bowled at Harbor Lanes in Eureka occasionally. AA Bar in Eureka was another common haunt for him, where he could be found eating steak with a glass of red wine.
Danny liked to do what he wanted, when he wanted; he did not like to be tied down and this is why his vagabond lifestyle suited him. In his later years, Danny found wanderlust thanks to his girlfriend – Lesley Sundberg, and his daughter, who encouraged him to take trips to Germany, Egypt, Alaska and Italy with them. He treasured these memories and was planning trips to return to Egypt to dive in the Red Sea and spoke of going to see New Zealand someday.
Danny is survived by his mother Patsy R. Walker, daughter Cassandra N. Walker, and sister Michelle L. Walker. He is also survived by numerous great aunts and uncles. He is preceded in death by his father Harold H. Walker, and son Cody D. Walker.
There will be a celebration of life on Saturday, February 26th from 11am-1pm at Sanders Funeral Home located on 1835 E Street in Eureka. Please join if you would like to say goodbye to Danny alongside his family and friends.
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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Danny’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.
I remember mom driving us home from a long trip. It was night and hard for her to see. She was tired from driving all day but we had a couple of hours still to go. I wanted to pull over, but she did not, saying, “God will watch out for us and get us home, I have faith in him!” And that is how she lived her life, full speed ahead and always with faith in God to see her through.
My mom Susan Butler was born in 1960 to Thelma and Dwell Singley, and to siblings, Roger and Nancy. She married my dad Ken Butler July 3, 1976, became a mom to me Nadine Clark in 1976, and David in 1978. She was a grandmother in her 40s to Abby, Kiana, Faye, Byran, Avonlea, Adam, and Braiden.
Susan started living her life to the fullest, young. She had many adventures and mishaps along the way and could paint a picture with her storytelling of the events ( like when she partially sank the boat out at Ruth). She enjoyed and tried her hand at many things like camping, boating, water skiing, poker parties, bread making, tole painting, ceramics, sewing, quada and Honda 90 driving, scrap booking, quilting, flower arranging, and gardening. She loved animals and so much she became a vegetarian at the age of 12. She especially loved being with her horses and family. She resided primarily in Humboldt County. In everything, she used what she would say was “common sense,” and many times encouraged us to use it also. Life was often hard for my mom with her many health issues over the years, but like always she had great faith and we witnessed many miracles throughout those times. Mom was tired and wanted more out of life, than what she could do and on Feb 15th, 2022 God let her rest in him and move on, from her broken body. We are so thankful for her love, and being able to love her and to witness all that was beautiful about her.
A small family memorial will be at a later date.
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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Susan’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.
Lois Claire Wild née Johnson was born March 22, 1942 in Santa Rosa while her father worked in the Hunter’s Point Shipyard. After WW II the family returned to Eureka where Lois began her schooling. After graduating from Eureka High School she attended Humboldt State College with the intention of becoming a nurse. All went well until she saw blood! Her major quickly changed to Elementary Education.
After graduating she began teaching at Pacific Union School where she remained for most of her 30 year career. She briefly taught at South Bay Elementary school and Toddy Thomas school in Fortuna before returning to Pacific Union School. Long after retirement she maintained contact with some of her students.
Lois and her college sweetheart Dick were married on September 2, 1969. This September they would have been married 59 years. Their children, Heather and Erik, were one of her greatest loves. She was heavily involved in their upbringing, including their sports and extracurricular activities. She even took on the role of soccer coach on occasion. After her children each got married and grandkids arrived, they too were included in her ring of love.
In earlier years she enjoyed summer camping on the Van Duzen river near Swimmers Delight. Other vacations were spent visiting Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Italy, China and Mexico. In China she was invited aboard a small boat where the owner/operator fished with lanterns and cormorants. She commented many times about that experience.
She is survived by her husband Dick Wild, daughter and son Heather and Erik, their spouses Garry and Lan, and grandchildren McKenzie, Elle and Logan.
A celebration of life will be held at a later date.
The family would like to thank Dr. Kevan Long and wife Marisa for their compassionate care during Lois’s last week, as well as the ICU staff at Mad River Hospital and Hospice. We would also like to thank the Church of Jesus Chris of Latter Day Saints Relief Society for preparing meals for the family.
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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Lois’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.
After weeks of rising tensions, Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced the beginning of a “special military operation” in Eastern Ukraine. Additionally, large explosions have been documented near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and other major cities.
In an address to the Russian people, Putin claimed his goal was to disarm Ukraine but not to occupy it.
US President Joe Biden released a statement in response to the attack:
The prayers of the entire world are with the people of Ukraine tonight as they suffer an unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces. President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering. Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the United States and its Allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way. The world will hold Russia accountable.
I will be monitoring the situation from the White House this evening and will continue to get regular updates from my national security team. Tomorrow, I will meet with my G7 counterparts in the morning and then speak to the American people to announce the further consequences the United States and our Allies and partners will impose on Russia for this needless act of aggression against Ukraine and global peace and security. We will also coordinate with our NATO Allies to ensure a strong, united response that deters any aggression against the Alliance. Tonight, Jill and I are praying for the brave and proud people of Ukraine.
Above: Live coverage of the situation in Ukraine from Sky News out of the UK
Look, we’re pretty sure that Hank would not want us, his coworkers, to crow about the fact that he just won a very cool journalism award for his meticulous explainer/exposé of the county’s shambolic redistricting process, and of the suspicious provenance of some folks who tried to influence that process.
He wouldn’t want the focus on himself. But guess what — Hank’s not here today! And in our estimation, the award is well-deserved. So we’re going to go ahead and publish the following press release from the Humboldt Journalism Project, a nonprofit under the DreamMaker umbrella of The Ink People.
This honor, known as 40th Award, recognizes work that affects people in the lower 40 percent of the income scale. This is the award’s inaugural year.
Congrats, Hank! And congratulations, also, to Ryan Hutson of Redheaded Blackbelt, whose series on St. Joseph Hospital’s struggles during the summer COVID-19 surge earned honorable mention from the panel of judges.
Sims’ article and his follow up coverage examined flaws in the process, including how some voters could lose their voice by being lumped together inappropriately. Amid increasing scrutiny by the Lost Coast Outpost and other media outlets, the county ultimately abandoned the draft maps and kept the original districts almost unchanged.
Judges praised Sims’ “dogged determination” and his ability to explain the topic’s importance.
Hutson won an honorable mention for her three-part series on troubles at St. Joseph Hospital as it struggled with staff shortages amid the summer surge in Covid-19 patients.
The judges lauded Huston’s “deep passion reporting” documenting conditions at the hospital.
The contest was judged by Dale Maharidge, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist who for many years lived part time in Petrolia, and Ricardo Sandoval-Palos, public editor at PBS and a graduate of Humboldt State University, before its polytechnic name change.
Sandoval-Palos also sits on the advisory panel of the Humboldt Journalism Project, a nonprofit that supports local journalism relevant to those who are sometimes left behind economically. It is a DreamMaker Project of The Ink People.
This was the first year of its 40th Award, so named because it recognizes work that affects people in the lower 40 percent of the income scale.
The Humboldt Journalism Project also gives reporting grants, and it has grant money available now for freelance journalists in broadcast, print and online. To qualify, journalists must find an editor who agrees to publish their piece, and then they can apply for grant funding to report it. For more details, email journalism@inkpeople.org.
In their more detailed remarks on the award recipients, Maharidge and Sandoval-Palos wrote: “Local redistricting is a story that many news outlets ignore. Back in the day an editor would have said “can you keep it to twelve inches?” (Very short, some six hundred words.) These days understaffed newsrooms don’t have the person-power even if editors are willing to dig into this vital aspect of democracy. Hank Sims approached the story with dogged determination and showed the importance of this process. At first look it might not appear to be relevant to those in the lower 40 percent of the income scale, but it most certainly is. If economically stressed communities are broken up into different districts, it means they don’t have a voice. For example, Sims notes that in Humboldt County, home to the two largest native American tribes in California, that population was not identified by the makers of the draft redistricting maps. It was great that he had a journalistic seat at the table with this story.”
Of Hutson, Sandoval-Palos and Maharidge wrote: “In the midst of an event of historic and global proportion — the Covid-19 pandemic — Hutson brought the story home to one hospital in Humboldt County. Reporting on hospitals is difficult, but Hutson broke through in her work on documenting conditions at St. Joseph’s Hospital. When administrators would not allow access, Hutson gained the trust of nurses and others to get the story about staffing shortages, as well as shortcomings in safety protocols. The story reflects deep reporting passion on the part of Hutson, and it provided a valuable insight into a hospital relied upon by many in the lower income bracket in Humboldt County.”
As with this year’s contest, first place carries a prize of $1,500 and the honorable mention comes with $500. Both prizes are awarded to the individual journalist or journalists, not the outlets they report for.
It’s been one week since California dropped its indoor mask mandate for vaccinated individuals in favor of a more flexible approach to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, but that does not mean the pandemic is over. While case positivity rates and hospitalizations have plummeted across the state, the local tally remains relatively high.
COVID-19 hospitalized patients in Humboldt County | California Department of Public Health
“Between December and January we were seeing between 12 and 20 cases on average at St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka and anywhere from zero to six at Redwood Memorial in Fortuna,” said Dr. Roberta Luskin-Hawk, chief executive for Providence in Humboldt County. “…We’re actually down to 11 at St. Joe’s today with only one of them in ICU. However, a couple of days ago we had 20 patients along with one patient in Fortuna so it’s very fluid right now.”
It’s difficult to say whether the state’s decision to ditch the mask mandate has impacted COVID case rates and hospitalizations, but what is clear is the omicron variant of the coronavirus has caused fewer hospitalizations and shorter stays, Luskin-Hawk said.
“With omicron, many more people get it because it’s so highly contagious, but … those who do get it are at a much lower risk for hospitalization and death,” she said. “The virus is less aggressive and we’ve actually had some interventions to try to reduce those risks, like our monoclonal antibody clinic, to support people who are at the highest risk of hospitalization or death.”
Out of the 11 individuals currently hospitalized at St. Joseph Hospital, four are incidental.
“They’re coming in with something else and happen to have COVID at the same time,” Luskin-Hawk explained. “COVID is not what’s causing their hospitalization. I would be venturing a guess, but I think it’s probably between 20 and 40 percent of people who have incidental COVID. For example, we had a patient in our childbirth center who tested positive but they were just coming in to have a baby. We just have to take the appropriate precautions.”
Although the indoor mask mandate has expired for the vaccinated, Luskin-Hawk emphasized the increased protection masking offers, especially for immunocompromised folks.
“I feel there is still a role we can play in taking care of our community by continuing to wear a mask indoors, especially in more crowded settings or with larger numbers of people that are not your normal contacts,” she said. “…We’re worried about people who have may have gotten vaccinated but their immune system is so weak that they’re not adequately protected. Typically, that’s people over 75 years old or those with underlying medical conditions, as well as very young children and people who have not chosen to get vaccinated.”
“To the extent that everyone gets vaccinated and boosted as it’s available, that will allow us to open up society more and that’s a really important aspect of having a vibrant community,” she added.
If you experienced some “brr” last night, perhaps you’d like to know that more frigidness is on its way.
The Eureka arm of the National Weather Service is alerting coastal Humboldt dwellers to expect below-freezing temperatures late Wednesday/early Thursday.
“Another round of cold morning temperatures are expected Thursday across northwest California,” NWS writes. “Protect sensitive pets and plants as well as exposed outdoor pipes.”
