John Bacon shows off his 1963 Ford Falcon Station Bus, which will be on display during Sea Cruise this weekend. The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

Bacon had been eyeing it for years and his friend was finally willing to sell it this past June. On Saturday, Bacon will be showing his prized possession for the first time at Sea Cruise.

He wouldn’t mind a trophy, but he mostly likes chatting with people about his long-sought-after treasure.

Bacon’s Station Bus is basically a van, but it’s that 1960s style of van where the front is almost flat. The huge windshield and upright steering wheel are reminiscent of the front of a Greyhound bus, he pointed out.

What Bacon dubbed “Beasty Van” will be entered in the van category at Sea Cruise. But there probably won’t be anything else like it there — only 10,332 Falcon Station Buses were made.

The Station Bus has 15 windows, counting the triangle foldouts, he said, and six doors. The original 170 cubic-inch straight 6-cylinder engine sits between the driver and passenger seats, which makes it easier to work on in the rain, Bacon said.

1963 Ford Falcon Station Bus. The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

“I was in the Navy,” he said. “Everything’s gray in the Navy.”

And he can easily fit his golf clubs in the back.

Bacon has wanted to buy the Station Bus for eight to 10 years. When his friend was finally ready to sell, “he hounded me: ‘You got the money?’” Bacon said.

He did, and doesn’t intend to let it go. Someday, he wants to pass it down to his two sons.

Right now, though, he’s having too much fun driving around listening to The Beach Boys and Jimmy Buffett.

A Crescent City man was arrested by the Secret Service on Tuesday morning on suspicion of threatening Pres. Barack Obama, said Del Norte County Sheriff Dean Wilson.

John Gimball, 69, was taken into custody by federal authorities, Wilson said.

Secret Service agents notified the Sheriff’s Office that they were going to make the arrest, Wilson said, adding he had no details about the alleged threat, except that it was made electronically.

“Most of the time we won’t give information out on an ongoing case,” said a Secret Service spokesman in San Francisco.

Gimball has threatened public officials in the past, Wilson said.

Harbor Commission members voted Tuesday night to create and fill a part-time  harbor planning position.

Until now, Young basically functioned as the harbor’s entire management department.

I’ve been spread pretty thin,” Young said. “I’m not complaining, but this will really help the harbor district move forward on some important projects.”

Commissioners voted unanimously to hire Ernie Perry, who is about to retire as director of the Del Norte County Community Development Department.

“He has all the right knowledge,” Young said. “Everything we do involves the California Coastal Commission, and for the county he’s the person who was the go-between (for) the local planning commission and the coastal commission.”

“There are approximately a half dozen projects that he will be involved in.”

Vanessa Nickle, foreground, smooths newly poured concrete Wednesday morning that will support a flagpole at the S.S. Emidio memorial site. The Daily Triplicate/Rick Postal

Local volunteers, with help from the city, poured a concrete pad for a flag at the the memorial in Beachfront Park on Wednesday morning.

“It’s a complement to the S.S. Emidio memorial and memorial bench,” said organizer Roger Christenson. “This is something for the community to rally behind.”

The concrete pad glistened in the sun Wednesday as volunteer Tommy Gavin smoothed and edged the flag’s eventual home.

“Soon as it cures enough we will put the flag in,” Christenson said. “The flag pole is at the city’s yard and it should only be a week or so before we put it in.”

Ashley Cain receives a flu shot from nursing student Jennifer Gibson Tuesday morning at Del Norte High School. The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

With both a virulent seasonal flu and the H1N1 virus known as swine flu lurking, health officials are working extra hard to protect Del Norte County. 

 The department’s first sortie is battling the seasonal flu on one of its front lines, schools.

Starting Monday, both departments and countless volunteers from the community began an effort to inoculate not only Del Norte County students, but their families as well, for free.

From Monday, October 5, to next Friday, the 16th, shots will be available at different schools each day. Clinics will be able to inoculate 35–60 students per hour.

“The prediction is for a pretty bad seasonal flu this year,” said Del Norte County Emergency Services Manager Cindy Henderson Tuesday while helping provide flu shots at Del Norte High School. “This makes getting to as many people as possible very important.”

Thirty percent of students at the high school received flu shots Tuesday. The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

“We’ve had a really good response,” Henderson said. “Well over 300 students have come through (Tuesday) and we’ll be going to 3 p.m.”

Henderson said that she was hoping to get close to 40 percent of the high school inoculated, but in the end only ended up with 30 percent.

“That’s still a really good number,” she said.

Monterey cypress trees outside the courthouse on H Street have been found to be in poor health due to age and sidewalk expansions. The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

The city hired an arborist to evaluate the health of the trees after the California Administrative Office of the Courts — which owns the local courthouse — had its own analysis done that recommended they be cut down. The second opinion, however, came to the same conclusion, finding that the trees were in poor health and could potentially be a risk to people and property underneath them.

“You always hate to lose mature trees, but the reality of tree life is that they also decline over time,” Crescent City Manager Rod Butler said. “We have to balance the health of the trees versus the liability issues.”

The trees were planted in the 1950s. Since then pruning and the expansion of the sidewalk around their roots have compromised their integrity and led to additional decay. In some cases, the roots of the trees were even cut to install the sidewalks.

The Del Norte County Unified School District will resume discussion Thursday on whether to reconfigure Crescent City’s elementary schools.

In the last year, the School Board has talked about reconfiguring Bess Max­well, Mary Peacock, Joe Hamilton and Pine Grove elementary schools to in­clude only three grade levels, but didn’t make a decision.

Increasing class sizes for the K-3 grade levels this school year to offset state budget cuts has resulted in more com­bin­ation classes, Sup­er­in­ten­dent Jan Moore­­­house said.

Com­bin­a­tion classes put students in two grades into one classroom be­cause there aren’t enough students in a single grade to make up one class.

“Special­iz­ation at schools helps to reduce the number of doubled-up grades,” Moorehouse said.

For example, one elementary school might serve kindergarten through second grade while another might serve third through fifth grades.

Photographer Mark Gibbs uses a ladder for a better view of South Beach during the Noll Longboard Classic. The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

And any first-time Classic visitors would not have felt lonely.

Hundreds of spectators and participants enjoyed sunshine and great surf conditions on South Beach.

While Sunday’s waves dropped off a bit, Saturday’s conditions put a non-stop smile on the face of Rhyn Noll, co-owner of Noll Surf and Skate shop.

“Today is as good as Crescent City gets. It’s a dream come true. It’s just got good shape, there’s plenty of waves — I’d say the swell is head-high,” he said, pointing toward the surf directly in front of the announcer’s booth.

Tendai Muchabayu, 5, of Eugene, Ore., plays on the beach while a surfer competes on Saturday. The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

While exact numbers were un­available Monday, contest organizers feel that the lower attendance wasn’t significant.

“We didn’t have as many people as last year,” said Noll Classic publicist Caitlin Knox. “But every year is up and down.”

Considering that this year’s Classic was blessed with great waves and plenty of sun, the people who missed it will most likely be back.

The fate of the Pacific Shores subdivision now lies in the hands of a visiting judge from Humboldt County.

On Monday, Judge John Morrison heard arguments from several attorneys over a motion to dismiss the case of a local Pacific Shores property owner who is trying to save the subdivision’s now-defunct water district.

Morrison said he needs to review the proper case law before making a final decision.

For years the Pacific Shores subdivision north of Crescent City has been stuck in bureaucratic limbo as tightening environmental laws have prevented landowners from developing their property and a scrappy water district has fought to keep those dreams alive.

A local woman fell asleep at the wheel Saturday morning and crashed into a tree in Humboldt County, killing two of her passengers, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Maira Montez, 27, was driving north on U.S. Highway 101 south of McKinleyville, a CHP report said.

The collision, which occurred around 7:15 a.m, killed Amador Montez Gonsalez, 54, and Octavio Montez, 5, both of Smith River. Both died at the scene, according to the Humboldt County Coroner’s Office.

Neither alcohol nor drugs were contributing factors, the CHP report.

After Montez fell asleep, her 2006 Chevrolet Suburban drifted to the east shoulder of the highway for about 300 feet before she woke up and steered the car back toward the highway, the CHP said. The sudden turning movement caused her car to spin in a counter-clockwise direction and the right side of the car hit a tree on the east side of the highway.

Montez and two other passengers, Guadalupe Montez, 37, and Resa Montez, 44, suffered moderate injuries and were transported to Mad River Community Hospital. Their conditions were not available Monday afternoon.