| No Consensus on SoHum Dumping Problem Meeting With Rodoni Brings Concerns To Light, But No Solutions by Cristina Bauss February 19, 2008 Article courtesy of The Independent Fifteen months, thirty thousand dollars, and more than a hundred thousand pounds of trash later, there is still no relief in sight for John Casali and his Eel River cleanup efforts. Despite widespread support in Southern Humboldt for his work, the Redway resident continues to be stymied in his quest for financial and other support from county and other government agencies. The ongoing problem was discussed at a special meeting held by the Garberville-Redway Chamber of Commerce on Feb. 13, immediately following its regular meeting; the meeting was called after Second District Supervisor Roger Rodoni, who was accompanied by his wife Johanna, contacted Chamber chair Syd Lehman about the issue. In addition to the Chamber board, a number of other community members were present, including a sheriff’s deputy and sheriff’s sergeant, former supervisor Roy Heider, and Estelle Fennell – who, along with Fortuna businessman Clif Clendenen, is vying for the seat currently occupied by Rodoni. As the June election approaches, the issue promises to be a major one for Southern Humboldt residents: several people have spoken out about it at recent meet-and-greet events held locally by Clendenen – the first candidate to have a website up – while Fennell has been working behind the scenes, meeting with, among others, Casali, Lehman, and Brian Cox, Director of the Humboldt County Dept. of Environmental Health. Cox maintains that the DEH has its hands tied, because in order to investigate a fouled property, a formal complaint must be filed – and in 2007, only two such complaints were filed in Southern Humboldt. That argument rings hollow, say Casali and others. “They [DEH] say they only work on individual complaints,” an exasperated Casali told The Independent, “and that it’s the property owners’ responsibility – but a lot of it is on county land!” A recent cleanup of Redwood Creek, which he described as “a sewer,” yielded 27 bags of garbage; the cleanup was part of a wintertime effort that involved 35 days’ work in two months, with 36 trips taken to the Redway Transfer Station to dispose of 21,000 pounds of trash. “It was all new stuff,” Casali said, “places that were cleaned up before, that were trashed again. And it’s not just homeless and transient trash; there was local stuff too, like a marijuana dump under a bridge – grow cubes thrown over the bank.” The cleanup crew has also expanded its work, from the Eel and local creeks to Garberville and Redway themselves: “There’s all kinds of garbage on the back streets of town – empty beer bottles, liquor bottles, whippets.” Casali estimates that about 80 percent of the garbage collected is from the homeless and transient population, the majority of whom he characterized as “cranksters and alcoholics”; the remainder of the trash is apparently from locals avoiding dump fees. In addition to the environmental degradation, Casali cited the possibility of contracting hepatitis, scabies, or head lice as real risks to the cleanup crews, most of whom are either local volunteers or homeless who are proactive in keeping the areas where they camp clean. The key to resolving the issue, Casali argues, is increased law enforcement – long a sore point in Southern Humboldt. “If I had four more deputies every day, I could do something about this,” Sgt. Ken Swithenbank told the assemblage. Casali has always praised Swithenbank and other local law-enforcement officers for their assistance when possible; however, both the Sheriff’s Office and the California Highway Patrol are understaffed, and the likelihood of funding new positions in Southern Humboldt seems low – a situation that Fennell has vowed to combat, should she be elected. Lehman agreed with Casali’s assessment on law enforcement, particularly after hearing from a fishing guide during Wednesday’s meeting. “One thing that was very interesting to me,” Lehman told The Independent, “was that this fellow who’s been in all these rivers in Northern California and southern Oregon said that nowhere else has he seen the pollution that’s on the South Fork of the Eel River. Anywhere else, particularly Oregon, they would throw these people in jail!” For his part, Rodoni has long argued that the main problem in Southern Humboldt is its “acceptance of the homeless element, or free spirits, or whatever people want to call them,” as he told The Independent in September 2007 (Rodoni was not available for comment prior to press time). “One only has to look at Fortuna and Ferndale, where it’s not tolerated.” Yet, it’s not “tolerated” here either, Lehman argues: “The Chamber has been trying to act in support of Mr. Casali,” he said, “and has been very vocal, trying to get as much help as possible.” The help has been financial as well: Casali expressed profound appreciation for sizable donations received from the Chamber of Commerce, the Kiwanis Club, and the Rotary Club. To date, community groups and individuals have donated about $16,000 to the cleanup effort. Yet, “It shouldn’t be a private function,” Lehman continued. “It should be a government function.” To that end, he’s working with Casali to identify the problem areas on a map, return to DEH, “and see if they’ll do something about it... We feel Environmental Health is not doing anything to help us, and some of these [dump sites] are on county and state lands, which is obviously illegal.” Lehman has also written to Rep. Mike Thompson, from whom he has not yet received a response. Meanwhile, Casali – who has contacted 22 local, regional, and state agencies to no avail – is stepping up his awareness campaign: in addition to writing to elected representatives, he has helped produce a video to be posted on YouTube, and will soon have much more written information available at the Friends of the Eel River website, eelriver.org. Currently, his regular cleanup crew consists of five people, all of whom used to be homeless; four now reside in area motels, and one in a tent. He admitted that their efforts aren’t always appreciated: “We’ve flat-out told people, ‘If you don’t clean your mess up, we’re going to pick up your camp.’ Sometimes, it gets confrontational; at least four people have said they’re going to kill us.” As for Rodoni, Casali had a pessimistic outlook. “He says we have embraced this lifestyle,” Casali said, “and he’s not going for more enforcement. He’s answering by not answering.” He was equally disparaging of the government agencies with which he’s had contact: “They act like it’s an impossible feat! They don’t even make a gesture to help us – providing us with HAZMAT suits or whatever. You’re a thorn in their side... They don’t even want to hear from you.” Lehman expressed disappointment because, when the Chamber meeting was scheduled, “Rodoni said that’s he’d bring some department heads down, and that never happened.” Nevertheless, he was more sanguine than Casali: “In my opinion, it was a very good meeting. Kenny Swithenbank seemed very cooperative in trying to deal with this.” Lehman added that he has also approached Harry Hardin, owner of Eel River Disposal, about allowing Casali to dump trash for free – and on Wednesday, he also spoke with Rodoni about approaching Hardin. “If that happens, that’ll be one good thing that comes out of it,” Lehman concluded. Southern Humboldt residents wishing to donate towards cleanup efforts may do so through the Eel River Cleanup Fund, account #13129 at the Community Credit Union in Garberville. For more information or to volunteer, contact Friends of the Eel River, 923-2146. |