7/23/2019 Ferndale Enterprise front page, Oct.22, 2015

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If last weeks FerndaleCity Council meeting isany indication, it looks asthough the First OrderFresnel Lens currently instorage at the HumboldtCounty Fairgrounds willbe turned over to theUnited States Coast Guard(USCG) within the nextsix months.

That sentiment comeson the heels of a five-yeareffort by community vol-unteers to raise an esti-

mated $200,000 to havethe lens relocated to theFerndale Museum andreassembled for display bya USCG-approved con-tractor specializing in thatpractice.

The rare First OrderFresnel Lens was movedfrom its original locationin the Cape Mendocino

Lighthouse to the frontentrance of the HumboldtCounty Fairgrounds in1948, by way of a loanagreement between theCity of Ferndale and theUSCG.

The lens remained inthe fairgrounds lighthousestructure until 2012, whenthe USCG determinedthat the plywood replicalighthouse fell far short ofthe museum-quality set-ting and environment

required for the display ofhistoric artifacts.It was subsequently

disassembled by a USCGcontractor and stored inspecial containers at thefairgrounds, where itsparts have been kept in aclimate-controlled envi-ronment required by

In anticipation of theTransient Occupancy Tax(TOT) being approved by

voters in next monthselection, the Ferndale CityCouncil approved at itsmeeting last Thursday achange in the citys ordi-nance that would recog-

nize the two percentincrease in the TOT, goingfrom eight percent to 10percent.

TOT is a tax added tolodging bills of guests whostay at hotels, motels,

vacation rentals and bedand breakfasts in the city

High praise was onceagain showered upon the

group of local volunteerswho helped with therecent cleanup of FrancisCreek, when the FerndaleCity Council met lastweek for its regularmonthly meeting at TownHall.

Having already for-mally recognized projectcoordinator Dick Hooleyat its September meeting,Mayor Don Hindley usedlast Thursdays meeting torecognize the contribu-tions of the 39 volunteerswho assisted Hooley in the

Anonymous poison pen letter against former fair GM and newspaper editor widely circulated

Increase willnot be used byFerndale firedepartment

Ferndale Takes Note

Home still of Stuart, Caroline, Elizabeth, Abigail and Grady Titus

Ferndale, California October 22, 2015

Our 137th year, Number 43 Price $1 (tax included)

AGRICULTURE

sending that derogatory letter

was a dark day for Ferndale

See Letters to the Editor/page two

Have Don Brown quote you an insurance rate!

755 12th Street, Fortuna 725-1135

uote of the Week

Rainfall in FerndaleWeek ending 9 am 10/18 .34Weather year to date, 7/1 to 1018 1.80Last year July 1 to 10/18 3.92Average since 1971, July 1 to 10/18 2.07Average for October since 1971 2.37Average per year since 1971 40.11Percent of average as of 10/18 87%Temperature in Ferndale Degrees

High for week ending 9 am 10/18 72Low for week ending 9 am 10/18 45Recorded at Ferndale Museum by Rob Roberts and Jerry Lema.

Historical data from George Andersons files.

Fair boards latest defense theory in federal lawsuit falls flat

Four-way stop coming . . . Save our Lens is SOL;

City agrees that CapeMendocino Fresnellens to go to USCG

City notesmistake onbed taxmeasure

Francis Creekvolunteers nowrecognized onCity Hall plaque

New employees

The Ferndale Unified School District Board of Trusteesapproved several new hires at its October 14 meeting.Dominic Skinner and Cathy Anderson are new part-t imeEnglish learner aides at Ferndale Elementary School (FES)Brian Franklin is the FES 8th grade girls basketball coachand Charity Kemp is the new FES 5th grade girls basket-

ball coach. In closed session, the board reviewed districtsuperintendent Jack Lakins performance. No reportableaction took place, according to the districts business man-ager Denise Grinsell.

Correction

We switched the names to two performers in a photothat accompanied a review of the Ferndale Reps BoeingBoeing play, currently underway at the theatre. The photocaption on the bottom of page three, should have read:Alex Blouin on the right and Kaitlen Osburn on the left.

Design review meeting

The city of Ferndales Design Review committee meetsthis morning, beginning at 8:30 at Town Hall. Committeemembers Mark Giacomini, Paul Gregson, Ellin Beltz,Marc Daniels and Jeff Farley are set to discuss sidewalkstandards in the city and the development of a design reviewbrochure. Sidewalks are not considered structures,according to a staff memo, and therefore are not subjectto design review but are a design component of residen-tial neighborhoods. The committee will discuss whetherstandards for construction and repair of sidewalks should

be drafted. A draft of a design review brochure will be pre-sented at the meeting. The committee hopes that by dis-tributing a brochure, residents, contractors and real estateagents will be aware of the design controlled areas withinthe city before beginning any alterations.

(See LENS page 4)

(See REEK page 5)

Enterprise staff photoThe intersection of Main Street and Shaw Avenue will soon become a four-waystop, according to Caltrans. There are a significant amount of people and carscrossing that intersection a day, our research shows, said Caltrans District 1spokesperson Myles Cochrane. The local police in Ferndale came to us with theirconcerns, and whenever we hear from local police departments, we like to take toheart what they are saying and we figured this would be the best thing to do.Cochrane said a work order has been submitted for the new stop sign to be placedon Main Street, otherwise known as Hwy 211. The sign will be installed proba-bly in the next month or two, said Cochrane.

Courtesy photoA portion of the volunteersthat cleaned out FrancisCreek in August pose witha new plaque on display atFerndale City Hall. Fromthe left: Ferndale City Man-ager Jay Parrish, Dick Hoo-ley, George Wilson, SusanBarri, Martin Tubb, PatWille and Jere Bob Bow-den.

Ferndale FFAreports on

chapteractivities

See page four

The Sea rill

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s e g r il l r e s t u r n t e u r e k c o m

A federal court judgeruled Thursday that For-tuna resident RichLeonardos proposed test i-mony in the ongoing FirstAmendment lawsuit filedby the Humboldt County

Fairs former general man-ager against the fair asso-ciation, was irrelevant.

Leonardo was pre-pared to offer testimonythat would bolster ourdefense theory, fair boardattorney Randy Andradatold a federal judge in Oak-land on Thursday.Leonardo was scheduledto be deposed Friday after-noon at Andradas office inOakland but after a judgesruling, the deposition wasnixed.

There were problemsat home and the marriagewas dysfunctional,Andrada told NorthernDistrict of California Mag-istrate Judge Donna M.Ryuat the federal courthouse

in Oakland, referring tothe marriage between thefairs former GM StuartTitus and his wife, Caro-line, editor and publisherof The Ferndale Enter-

prise.The fair boards latest

defense is one of severalthat have been floated, inan effort to convince a juryin a scheduled April trialthat an 11-8 vote not torenew Stuart Tituss con-tract in 2013 was not solelybecause the fair board

warned Titus to censor hiswife and The Enterprise.A member of the boardsExecutive Committee toldTitus, according to draftminutes from a fair boardExecutive Committee

meeting that have neverbeen disputed, that if hedidnt tell his wife not toprint stories that madeboard members look badhe could lose votes comecontract renewal time.

Former fair boarddirector Don Becker, whowas present at the April 30,2012 meeting, confirmedthe minutes as accurate.Current director Jay Hight,who was also at the meet-ing, stated in a depositionthat Olsen rasied the issue

of the stories that madedirectors look bad, butcouldnt recall if Titus waswarned by Olsen that hecould possibly lose votes.

An example given of astory that shouldnt have

appeared in this newspa-per, was that of a 2009 DUIarrest of then Ferndalemayor and fair boardmember Jeff Farley.

Andrada told JudgeRyu on Thursday thatLeonardo had an allegedaffair with Caroline Titusbeginning in 2001 andthat the alleged affair dis-tracted Stuart Titus fromhis job. Andrada has alsosaid that Stuart Titusallegedly began drinkingheavily, which allegedly

affected his job perform-ance and that he wasallegedly depressed.

How many contractsdid Mr. Titus receive?Judge Ryu asked the fairboards attorney, noting

Tituss 22 years with thefair. Titus received seventhree-year contracts dur-ing his tenure. Since 2001,when the alleged affairallegedly caused Titus dis-tress, Titus received fourthree-year contractrenewals from the fairboard, one one-yearrenewal and at least sevenpositive performancereviews.

This case is about anon-renewal in 2013, saidthe judge, noting the mul-

tiple contract renewals. .. . this is very attenuatedand very personal.

Andrada persistedwith Judge Ryu, statingthat despite the positiveperformance reviews and

contract renewals there isan abundance of evidencethat there were perform-ance issues with StuartTitus.

Andrada said that Stu-art Titus has stated that hismarriage was idyllic.

We have ev idence tothe contrary, saidAndrada.

Thats great, said thejudge. Put on whateverevidence you want regard-

(SeeOURT

page 6)

(See TOT page 3)

BECKER INSURANCE AGENCYBECKER INSURANCE AGENCY

65th ANNIVERSARY65th ANNIVERSARY

CELEBRATIONCELEBRATION

Friday, October 3010 am to 4 pm

521 Main Street

Please stop by, to help us celebrate65 years of business onMain Street, Ferndale!

Refreshments served throughout the day

(Catered by Dorris & Daughter Catering)

Thank you for your support to ourfamily-owned business since 1950!