Del Norte grad star of the show in bowl game

Hoffman with the game trophy. He’s also the MVP. McClatchy-Tribune

The Brigham Young University sophomore wideout led the Cougars to a  24-21 come-from-behind win against Tulsa at the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl in Dallas.

Hoffman finished the day with eight catches for 122 yards and three scores as he was named the MVP of the bowl game.

Warrant served at Riese’s residence

A search of former District Attorney Mike Riese’s home last week produced a small amount of marijuana and a pistol issued to him by the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office, a court document states.

The sheriff’s Felony Investigations Unit searched the Crescent City residence Dec. 21. In its search warrant request, it said it was looking for a prescription pad and other evidence after Riese was cited for second-degree forgery, controlled substances fraud and tampering with drug records by a Brookings Police officer Dec. 12.

That came after a Brookings pharmacy employee called authorities about a suspected forged prescription.

Scientists: Mother just stayed too long

Fifty-two days were just too many.

Scientists determined that the gray whale that died in the Klamath River succumbed to a fungal infection after her skin was weakened from being in fresh water for almost two months.

Frances Gulland, a senior scientist from the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, studied samples of the whale’s skin and determined that the freshwater stay took its toll.

“The seal that (the skin) forms between the outside and the body becomes more like a sieve, so it’s not preventing any infectious organisms from getting into the bloodstream,” Gulland said.

A woman was arrested on suspicion of robbing a thrift store at 9th and J streets Thursday afternoon, mere feet from the crime scene.

Sara Mae Avalos, 39, allegedly entered My Best Friend’s Closet around 3 p.m., said Crescent City Police Lt. Garrett Scott.

The store’s clerk told police Avalos yelled: “You know I will shoot you,” while thrusting her hand in a pocket, Scott said.

The clerk immediately handed over just under $100 and her wallet. When the robber fled, she called 911, Scott said.  

River peaked Fri. morning

Kenny Berryhill, left, and John Strenk with a steelhead caught on the Smith River last week.Courtesy Mike Coopman Guide Service

After a dry fall, the last few days of rain lured fish into the Smith River in droves.

The amount of adult fish that swam upstream Wednesday alone (303) more than half the number of fish counted from Dec. 20 to 27 (582), according to the DIDSON sonar fish counter at the Fred Haight Drive boat launch.

The Smith peaked at about 10 a.m. Friday at a height of almost 23 feet and a flow of almost 60,000 cubic feet per second, according to the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park gauge in Hiouchi.

May have to take on debt for repairs

Finishing the harbor’s restoration project might put an already cash-strapped agency deeper into the hole.

Crescent City harbor commissioners last week expressed concern over how they will cover a seven-figure gap in funding for the inner boat basin rebuilding project.

The harbor’s engineers pegged the cost of the project, which repairs damages from the 2006 tsunami, at $32.8 million, leaving a $3.4 million shortfall that the harbor would have to cover, Harbormaster Richard Young said.

Based on contractors’ early interests, however, the harbor expects a highly competitive bidding environment, which could drive down the cost of the project, Young said.

Smith River enters new agreement Jan. 1

Federal funding to Smith River Rancheria will soon take a more direct course.

On Jan. 1 the tribe will enter into a self-governance agreement with the Department of the Interior, which reduces regional oversight and allows the tribal goverment to run programs, services, functions and activities previously overseen through a compact with the department’s Bureau of Indian Affairs.

“We take out a layer there. That’s important because it means there’s more money for the community,” said Smith River Tribal Chairwoman Kara Brundin-Miller.

Administrative costs can take a bite out of funds that must cycle through BIA offices from Washington, D.C., to Redding before making it to the reservation, she explained.

Most debris not expected till 2013; isn’t radioactive

The first piece of Japanese debris from the March tsunami recently reached the West Coast — much earlier than expected.

A large, black float was found on the shores of Neah Bay, on the northwest tip of Washington two weeks ago.

After the tsunami destroyed cities and villages in Japan, the water receded, washing millions of tons of debris in the inundation zone out to sea.

Heavy materials sank close to Japanese shores, but buoyant objects are moving across the Pacific, expected to land on shores from California to Southern Alaska, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The sand spit at the mouth of the Klamath River blocks access to the ocean on Monday. Alan Justice/Special to the Triplicate

The sealed mouth caused flooding on Klamath Beach Road and the field southwest of Requa Road and Highway 101.

The mouth has been sealed off in the past, but local researchers and fishermen believe this is the first time the mouth has closed at this time of year. A likely contributor to the unusual mouth closure is an uncommonly dry autumn in Del Norte County.