The State - News from Oct. 15, 1987

The mayor of Crescent City, originally charged with felonies in the burning of a dilapidated city pier, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor and was sentenced to 30 days at home and three years probation. Mayor C. Ray Smith, a volunteer firefighter, also issued a public apology for making misleading statements after the incident. The mayor and three others, including the town’s fire chief, were involved in burning down the 37-year-old pier that had stood in the way of a new sportfishing pier. The fire was set shortly after the City Council voted to tell the Fire Department not to douse any fires on the pier. At a public session after the fire, Smith said he did not think it was a crime to burn down the dock. He said he has no plans to resign either his position as mayor or as firefighter, “unless the public demands it.”