A search warrant was served on a South Bank Road residence after authorities suspected a man in the house was sending sexually explicit text messages to a minor.

Tony Maestas, 33, was arrested on suspicion of lewd and lascivious acts and possession of sexually explicit matter.

Maestas admitted to sending and receiving explicit photos to a teen girl, said sheriff’s Sgt. Steve Morris.

It doesn’t appear that there was any inappropriate physical contact between the two, authorities said.

From left, Del Norte County prosecutors Annamarie Padilla, Katherine Micks, Lisa Specchio-Wolfe and Todd Zocchi. Del Norte Triplicate / Bryant Anderson

Still, the District Attorney’s Office has continued to function with the aid of its staff of deputies, laboring quietly in the background — until now.

Meet Interim District Attorney Katherine Micks.

While the title is temporary, Micks has been a fixture in the DA’s Office since 2005. She became assistant district attorney in 2008.

She has weathered tumultuous times in the office, from a former DA being asked to take a leave after behaving erratically to the current situation of potentially having the first DA in California to be disbarred.

Micks will be acting as interim DA until the Board of Supervisors makes a decision on whether to appoint a DA. That decision, however, is unlikely to come soon, as the supervisors are awaiting the conclusion of the pending disbarment District Attorney Jon Alexander. Alexander filed for a review of his pending disbarment Tuesday, which could take several months.

Micks recently sat down with the Triplicate to discuss her transition into the top spot and how the office will move forward.

“I want to strive to keep politics out of the office,” said Micks. “I’m going to take that seriously and not let a particular agenda drive the office.”

Micks said it has been an easy transition — despite returning from maternity leave for her first child just a week before Alexander was suspended.

“In an office where the attorneys have come and gone, I’ve been a fixture,” said Micks. “It’s not just the cases I’m up to speed on, it’s all of the administrative components as well.”

Organization still working to feed the hungry in Del Norte

Its grant funding expired three weeks ago, but the Community Assistance Network made a recent stop at the Surf Apartments like it does every weekend.

Inside, Heidi Bauman sorted through produce and loaves of bread, stopping to inspect an apple and a bag of greens. Bauman, who has lived at Surf Apartments since 2002, said CAN supplements her income by bringing her and other residents groceries. She has also been in its warehouse as a community service worker. 

“The fact that they do offer community service is a huge help for folks who can’t pay their court fines,” she said. “They are such nice people.”

Since its Community Development Block Grant funding expired March 31, the organization has been staffed solely by volunteers, said Board Chairman Stuart Nichols. CAN had been running a deficit of about $1,500 a month, but Nichols said people have increased their giving, allowing to CAN to shrink its deficit to about $600 a month.

CAN has offered food boxes to 1,680 people since the new year started, Nichols said. The organization has distributed 37 emergency food boxes and collected 64,701 pounds of food from Del Norte County grocery stores. On Saturdays, in addition to visiting Surf Apartments, CAN delivers food to clients at the Harrington House and three other senior citizen apartments.

The boxes can contain anything from loaves of French bread to whole chickens. On Easter, CAN received a whole pallet of fresh eggs from a local supermarket, Nichols said. It also runs a clothing closet at its warehouse on Standard Veneer Road.

Home invasion followed break-up, authorities said

A relationship that apparently went sour resulted in a home invasion Tuesday night, authorities said.

Around 11 p.m., a teenage boy and his adult friend entered a residence on the 6000 block of Kings Valley Road where the teen’s 18-year-old ex-girlfriend lived, said sheriff’s Commander Bill Steven.

The woman had a 20-year-old man from Crescent City visiting her who was confronted by the teen in the kitchen, Steven said.

Obscenities and punches were thrown at the man, who was then pushed through a sliding glass door, shattering it, Steven said.

The teen continued to try to hit the man until he armed himself with a fire extinguisher, Steven said.

While the altercation occurred, the teen’s friend restrained the woman from intervening, Steven said.

Eventually, the owner of the residence kicked the two intruders out of the house and called authorities, Steven said.

“The two wrongdoers left in a vehicle,” said Steven.

Chuck Swafford, 28, and his brother arrived in Crescent City on Wednesday. Del Norte Triplicate / Bryant Anderson

But by skateboard?  

Stepbrothers Chuck Swafford, 28, and Ruben Duran, 32, both of northeastern Arizona, arrived in Crescent City via skateboard (longboard, to be precise) this week after setting out on a Portland-to-New York City trek to raise money for the “No Kid Hungry” campaign, which targets childhood hunger in America.

In typical brotherly fashion, the two haven’t even skated together for the whole the route, but the faster man on longboard will usually wait in the town ahead for his brother to catch up.

With full backpacks strapped on, the two plan to finish the 4,000-mile trip to the Big Apple by late August. They planned to head south from Crescent City on U.S. Highway 101 before turning east on U.S. Highway 299.  

The Central Labor Council of Humboldt and Del Norte Counties will hold a “May Day Labor Summit for Working Families” in Crescent City on Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m.

Union members and community supporters are invited to participate in the event at the Del Norte County Fairgrounds, 421 U.S. 101 North.

The event will include a picnic with barbecue, salads, and soft drinks. Entertainment will include speakers, raffles, activities for kids, and live music by the Scott Perry Band. There is no cover charge, but a donation of one canned food item per person is requested to support those in need.

May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day, has its roots in the historic American labor battles of the late 19th century. It is celebrated throughout the world.

“Labor built this great nation and we know that unions are just as essential today as they were 100 years ago,” said Central Labor Council President Mark Greenleaf.

For more information, call Greenleaf at (707) 834-5504.

Most of the clam-hunters were successful during Monday morning’s minus-tide on Pebble Beach. Del Norte Triplicate / Bryant Anderson

Minus-tides, unusually low tides, occur around full and new moons, when tide shifts are the greatest due to the sun and moon’s join gravitational pulls on the ocean.

On Monday morning, with a minus-tide scheduled for 9:15 a.m., at least 15 razor clam collectors strolled Pebble Beach, pounding shovel handles into the sand, waiting for the tell-tale sign that a tasty shellfish hid beneath: A “show” appears as a smaller-than-a-dime sink-hole in the sand, described by one clammer as an inverted volcano. 

“The show is caused by the clams feeding or respiration loosening the sand above its neck,” according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s website.

After seeing the “show,” clammers attempt to pinch the neck of the creature with the shovel’s business-end, then shove their hand into the hole made by the shovel to retrieve their catch. But clammers have to move fast as razor clams can dig down into the sand to depths of 4 feet.

Dozens of clams were found Monday morning by mostly male fishermen-types, but not everyone was successful.

One 76-year-old man started to head home empty-handed, bested by the brisk morning breeze. His friend, who stood back observing, offered to buy him a cup of coffee at “the golden arches” to make up for the losing effort.

Sgt. Erik Apperson

All in an off-day’s work for local Police Sgt. Eric Apperson

It was a relaxing Sunday afternoon  for Crescent City Police Sgt. Erik Apperson, who was strolling on Enderts Beach with his family until he spotted someone in the distance running toward him.

As the person drew nearer, Apperson could see it was an older woman in distress, he said.

“She says her friend needs help,” said Apperson, who was in plainclothes.

The woman said a person in her group had fallen off a rock, hurt her hip and was stuck in the surf with the tide rolling in and they had all left their cell phones in the car, Apperson recalled Monday.

He then ran toward the area the woman had indicated, leaving her behind.

“That was a long quarter-mile in the sand,” said Apperson of the run. “I am not David Hasselhoff.”

When he arrived, two male companions with water up to their waists were struggling to get the woman out of the water.

“There was a guy on either side of her and they had these sticks poking around to find footing,” said Apperson. “They were struggling to find balance.”

What could make Last Chance Grade even less stable? Climate change and the resulting rise in sea level. Photo courtesy of F.L. Hiser Jr.

Sea level rise could make a bad situation even worse

The future of Del Norte’s notoriously slippery slope, Last Chance Grade, in the face of climate change’s rising sea levels and extreme weather events, will be the focus of a new Caltrans study.

Caltrans District 1 was awarded a $200,000 “climate adaptation grant” from the Federal Highway Administration to assess short- and long-term climate change adaptation strategies in four pilot project locations, including Last Chance Grade and its chronic landslides. Caltrans will match the grant with its own $200,000.

Ocean waves smashing into the base of the slide expedite the loss of material at Last Chance Grade, and with higher seas comes more erosion.

“Last Chance Grade is absolutely impacted in all of the potential climate change ways, including sea level rise and longer spells of dry conditions followed by a great amount of rain,” said Tamera Leighton, Executive Director of the Del Norte Local Transportation Commission.

One of the criteria for eligible projects from the federal program is that solutions identified through the study can be applicable elsewhere, and Last Chance fits the bill.

“We’re certainly not the only place with a road on a hillside over the ocean,” Leighton said.

A resolution was reached Monday in the marijuana case against owners of the Parkway Feed animal store.

Last June, Diana O’Dell and Dewey Crager had their 6155 Lower Lake Road residence raided by the Sheriff’s Office Felony Investigations Unit, which found 338 marijuana plants, $17,000 in cash and more than a pound of marijuana bagged among several packages, authorities said.

The cash was found in a file with medical marijuana recommendations, authorities said. They said they also found ledger-keeping records of transactions.

 The pair were facing charges of maintaining a place for drugs, marijuana cultivation and possessing marijuana for sale.

As part of a plea deal, the charges against O’Dell, 62, were dismissed and Crager, 67, has entered a no-contest plea for possession of more than an ounce of marijuana.

Crager received three years of informal probation; he must pay $866 in fines, and he is prohibited from growing marijuana.