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Activist's family begs for privacy Sep. 23, 1998 By MIKE GENIELLA Press Democrat Staff Writer The Texas family of an Earth First! activist killed by a falling tree while attempting to disrupt a remote Pacific Lumber Co. logging operation appealed Tuesday for privacy during a planned trek this weekend to the scene. "We're coming to grieve. We don't want this to become a circus,'' said Cindy Allsbrooks, mother of 24-year-old David Chain. Chain's death Thursday, the first in a decade of anti-logging protests on the North Coast, is at the center of a new controversy over activists' tactics in the woods, and whether frustrated logging crews are unnecessarily endangering protesters' lives in response. Activists plan a protest march Thursday in Eureka, the day Chain is to be buried in his native Texas. On Monday, friends are planning a memorial in the area where he died. Allsbrooks, a resident of Coldspring, Texas, said it's important for her family to see where her son died. "We need to have some time there. We also want to give comfort to the young people that were his friends. That's our sole purpose. We are coming to mourn and grieve,'' said Allsbrooks. Pacific Lumber representatives said Tuesday they have not been contacted by the family or any representatives about the possibility of making the trek into the scene of Chain's death, located in rugged terrain 17 miles east of Highway 101. "We are certainly willing to discuss the situation with them if they would like,'' said company spokeswoman Mary Bullwinkel. "We understand how it could help bring closure to this tragedy.'' Allsbrooks declined Tuesday to comment on the controversy surrounding her son's death, or the pending sheriff's department investigation into its cause. "We don't have anything to say at this time,'' she said. Allsbrooks said her son first learned about Earth First! and its role in a decade-long controversy over the fate of ancient redwoods while living in Austin with a childhood friend. She said her son decided last year to come West and participate in the Earth First! redwood protests because of a developing conviction the old trees must be saved. "I feel David's conviction had to do with the beauty he saw on his first trip to California, and his desire to preserve the environment. This is what he believed was right,'' said Allsbrooks. Chain was born and reared in Pasadena, Texas. He graduated from high school in 1992, and attended San Jacinto College for awhile. "He really was not ready to commit to college,'' said Allsbrooks. Allsbrooks said her son returned to Austin in the winter and worked to save money to make a return trek to the North Coast. She said he returned to California a few weeks ago. Allsbrooks said Chain's father, who still lives in Pasadena, and his two sisters and three nieces and nephews, are devastated by his death. "There are so many people who will miss David and forever hold his memory in their hearts.'' © 1998 The Press Democrat
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