- a weekly column published in the Pioneer Press

Each year, three areas of the county are selected for the Friday Night Live Mentoring Program (FNL.) We are fortunate that, this year, Scott Valley has been chosen.

FNL is a peer mentoring program between high school and junior high aged kids. It meets weekly, on both a one on one and group basis. A state-wide curriculum is rich in support and opportunities. It emphasizes the promotion of healthy lifestyles free of alcohol, tobacco and other substance abuse, and the development of skills, such as communication. The program also eases the process of entering high school.

The FNL program runs 16 weeks. The first session will end in February and the second session will start in March. Currently, more junior high aged participation would be welcome. For more information on the program, please call Sarah Scafefer at 468-2972 or Kerry Towne at 468-2448. The state website is at: http://www.fridaynightlive.org/

In other news, I was recently given a copy of a suit by the Karuk Tribe against the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) in federal District Court regarding “suction dredge, mechanical sluicing and other mining operations in waterways and riparian areas within the Six Rivers and Klamath National Forests.” The suit claims that the USFS has failed to comply with mandatory procedures governing mining.

The Tribe claims that mining threatens its’ member’s ability to enjoy ‘spiritual, religious, subsistence, recreational, wildlife, and aesthetic qualities of areas affected by the mining operations

The tribe alleges that suction dredging produces fine sediment that smothers salmon eggs and the invertebrates that are their food supply. The tribe claims that the sediment also makes it difficult for fish to see food and causes water temperatures to rise. Other claims allege that dredging creates instability in spawning gravels and that dredging can frighten fish.