Log Cabin Diner owner Sherry Scott takes orders at the Klamath restaurant on Saturday. Photo courtesy of Roger Gitlin

Log Cabin Diner owners could face fines and potential imprisonment for offering dine-in service in spite of state, local and tribal shelter-in-place orders to prevent COVID-19.

Del Norte County Public Health Officer Dr. Warren Rehwaldt commended Sherry Scott and Ed Salsedo on the measures they took to protect their customers. But, he said, that unless they close the dine-in portion of their Klamath business, they’re violating California Health and Safety Code 120275.

“That section states ‘any person who, after notice, violates, or who, upon the demand of any health officer, refuses or neglects to conform to, any rule, order, or regulation prescribed by the department respecting a quarantine or disinfection of persons, animals, things or places, is guilty of a misdemeanor,’ Rehwaldt wrote in his notice to the owners. “The penalty for such violation is described in Health and Safety Code 120295. You may be fined up to a thousand dollars for every day that you are in violation of the code.”

Rehwaldt visited the diner on Saturday, speaking with Scott and Salsedo. In his letter, Rehwaldt told them he was sympathetic — members of his family are restaurant owners in Southern California and “ have lost nearly every part of their operation,” he said — but as the county’s health officer, he said it was his job to enforce the state’s public health directives.

The notice states that any penalties the county seeks to take against Scott and Salsedo is separate from action the Yurok Tribe may take. The Lob Cabin Diner sits within the boundaries of the Yurok Reservation, though Scott told the Wild Rivers Outpost that it’s on private property not tribally-owned land.

Documents

• County's violation notice to Log Cabin Diner

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