Bert Thomas in the projection room of the family-owned Red’s Crescent Drive-In off Elk Valley Cross Road. The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

As the cars line up, the light flickers on the white screen and everyone settles in for a double-feature, the Thomas family runs the show the way it’s been since 1959.

There were once thousands of drive-in theaters, but now only a few hundred remain and one of them hides behind the trees on Elk Valley Cross Road.

Red’s Crescent Drive-In will celebrate 30 years at that location next year, but the Thomas family has been in the business for 50 years.

The drive-in will continue to open every season for the foreseeable future, Bert Thomas said. His father, Leon or “Red,” died in 2004.

Strands of film add to the ambience. The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

“We don’t know any other way to run it,” said Thomas, who helps runs the business with his family.

The drive-in recently closed for the season. This past summer, Thomas said the drive-in had its best weekend in six years.

“We still do pretty well as long as the weather is good and we have movies they want to see,” he said. “We’ll keep it open as long as we can.”

After a catered reception that is free to the public, Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro will speak tonight to kick off the weekend’s second annual “It’s a Green Day” celebration.

The reception starts at 6 p.m. and Chesbro will speak at 7 at the Elk Valley Rancheria Community Center, 2332 Howland Hill Road.

Then on Saturday, dozens of vendors will set up shop at the fairgrounds from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to display environmental products and focus on ways to save money by saving energy.

“Green Day is important for Del Norte County because it helps the community focus on how people can participate in the green economic recovery,” Chesbro said.

Tonight, he will discuss how “green jobs” can help with a general economic recovery.

“Devel­op­ing ways that individuals can take steps to reduce their environmental impact has been a key part of my work for the last 25 years,” Chesbro said.

Swine flu vaccinations have arrived in Del Norte County and are being administered to people in high-risk categories.

That includes caregivers for babies 6 months and younger, pregnant women, and health-care providers, said Del Norte County Emergency Services Manager Cindy Henderson.

“We can’t vaccinate children 6 months or younger so it’s very important that caregivers get vaccinated,” Henderson said. “All pregnant women should be vaccinated as well.”

This poses a problem, however, because the version of the vaccine intended for pregnant women isn’t going to be here until Dec. 1.

The County Planning Commission has approved a use permit for Del Norte County Airport’s new terminal.

It’s one more step toward eventual construction of the terminal to replace the existing one, which the Federal Aviation Administration has deemed unsuitable.

However, there are more steps to be taken before locals will see the terminal take shape, said Airport Manager Jim Bernard. In a best-case scenario, construction could begin next fall, he said.

The Planning Commission’s decision can be appealed to the California Coastal Commission, which could delay the project.

If that happens, “I will meet directly with Coastal and work it out,” Bernard said, to find a “mutually satisfiable” solution.

The terminal is slated to be built in the undeveloped area along Dale Rupert Road, which means some trees would have to be cut down. That is a concern to some, Bernard said.

Lewis Forkner’s merchandise includes a dentist’s chair that came from Pelican Bay State Prison. The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

But that doesn’t necessarily make it worthless, as the recently opened Eco-Store proves every day.

The store, a Hambro Waste Solutions Group recycling business, pulls reusable items from the waste stream and sells them at a discounted price to the public.

“This is an entirely green store,” said Hambro WSG General Manager Wes White. “It only sells recycled items taken from the Transfer Station, this is not a drop-off point.”

From double-door refrigerators with digital readouts and water and ice dispensers  to front-end washers, many of the appliances are not only high-end, they’re still shiny.

Even the office security monitors, above, were rescued from the waste stream.The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

According to Eco-Store director Lewis Forkner, the store guarantees all  appliances for seven days, and sells washers and dryers for $50 apiece, and double-door refrigerators for $150.

“If it works for seven days it’s going to work,” Forkner said as he opened a freezer door to show a cup of frozen water. “We even froze water for a lady to show that the freezer works.”

Crescent City Councilwoman Donna Westfall wants to turn back time by lowering sewer rates to what they were before the $42.5 million overhaul of the municipal wastewater treatment plant.

If she succeeds, city officials said Wednesday it could have calamitous consequences such as forcing the city to default on its loan with the state and file bankruptcy, or drastically cut into its $5 million General Fund to cover the plant’s $2.7 million annual debt payment.

“It’s pretty obvious that it could potentially have a devastating impact on the city’s finances,” Crescent City Manager Rod Butler said.

“This is no laughing matter,” City Attorney Bob Black said. “Really the fate and the reputation of the city are really kind of hinged on this.”

At Monday’s council meeting, Westfall presented city officials with a notice of intent to circulate a petition for a ballot initiative that would allow voters to reset their monthly sewer rates to October 2007 levels, when city residents paid $40.95 a month and county customers paid $30.95.

Today, single-family residential sewer rates are $56.70 a month for city customers and $47.95 for those in the county. These are set to increase over the next year to $69.70 and $60.95, respectively, to help pay for the sewer project.

The Del Norte County Unified School District Board will look at a  preliminary projection of the 2010-2011 budget Thursday evening.

The School Board will also look at a list of programs in the budget and where cuts could be made to offset funding cuts from the state, said Super­intendent Jan Moorehouse.

“We’ll look at what beyond the basics that we’re doing,” she said.

School Board members wanted a list of all of the district’s programs and their funding to see where cuts could be made, she said.

“There’s a lot of things on the list that need to be discussed,” Moorehouse said.

Board members have indicated that “everything is on the table,” she said about possible cuts.

The school district could be facing a $3 million shortfall next fiscal year, Moorehouse said, unless there is more federal stimulus money, which helped balanced the 2009-2010 budget this summer.

Arborists want the Monterey cypresses at the courthouse on H Street removed. The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

Council members directed City Manager Rod Butler to send a letter to the California Administrative Office of the Courts outlining the city’s desire to preserve “as many of the trees as possible,” as put it.

“Those trees represent our natural Eiffel tower-like landscape,” Councilman Charles Slert said. “We’re obliged to do everything we can to save them.”

The state recently had an arborist inspect the trees, who recommended that they be removed. An arborist hired by the city to give a second opinion came to the same conclusion that the trees could break or fall and be a safety hazard.

Slert acknowledged that the trees have been “abused and misused” over the years, which has taken a toll on their health.

But maybe the city and state can came to compromise, he said, and only remove certain trees that are too close together and have an arborist supervise the pruning and maintenance of the remaining trees.