TRUCK FIRE – Firefighters knock down a fire in a Ford Explorer truck in Arrowhead Trailer Park in the 1200 block of Sawmill Creek Road Saturday evening. One person received fire-related injuries and was taken to the hospital, Sitka Fire Department Chief Craig Warren said, and the truck was considered a total loss. The cause of the fire is under investigation, Warren said. The fire hall received the call about the fire at 5:33 p.m., and one fire engine with eight firefighters and an ambulance were dispatched, he said. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
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Daily Sitka Sentinel
Park Service Drops Bishop’s House Fee
By BRIELLE SCHAEFFER
Sentinel Staff Writer
Admission to all parts of Sitka National Historical Park is now completely free to the public, park officials have announced.
Tours of the Russian Bishop’s House have been added to the other park attractions, the park’s visitor center and the totem loop trail, for which no access fees have been charged since 2011.
“The main reason is the amount of revenue generated by the fee was not much higher than the cost of processing the fee,” Park Superintendent David Elkowitz told the Sentinel today. “It’s in everybody’s best interest to make it free.”
In the past, the park has charged a $4 per-person fee for tours of the second floor of the historic structure on Lincoln Street. Built in the 1840s, it was the residence of Sitka’s Russian Orthodox bishops, including the first, Bishop Innocent – now a saint.
“We strive to keep this national park well maintained and available, so that a resource that belongs to the people can be fully accessed by the people,” Elkowitz said in a news release.
The park is also redoing the exhibits on the first floor of the Russian Bishop’s House.
It will be the first remodel of the space and displays since the historic structure was opened to the public in 1986 after an extensive renovation, said Angie Richman, SNHP chief of interpretation and project manager.
Elkowitz said the current project will take a few years and include lots of community input to decide what should be highlighted in the new exhibits.
The Russian Bishop’s House is one of just four buildings left standing from the Russian American era in North America. It has a storied history as a residence for Orthodox clergy, a school for Native Alaskans and an orphanage before being turned into a museum, the park service said.
The Indian River Bridge on the park trail will be closed for rebuilding starting May 15. Elkowitz said the project could take two or three months to complete.
“It’ll be the same style but a little wider,” he said.
The wider bridge is intended to make it easier for people to walk bikes or roll strollers across without running into other foot traffic.
While the bridge is out of service signs will be posted to inform everyone of detours on the trails, Elkowitz said.
“We’ll provide opportunities for folks to find their way around,” he said.
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20 YEARS AGO
March 2004
Businesses using the Centennial Hall parking lot testified Tuesday against a proposal to charge them rent in addition to the $200 annual permit fee. City Administrator Hugh Bevan made the proposal in response to the Assembly’s direction to Centennial Hall manager Don Kluting to try to close the $340,000 gap between building revenues and operational costs.
50 YEARS AGO
March 1974
Alaska Native Brotherhood Grand President William S. Paul Sr. will be special guest and speaker at the local ANB, Alaska Native Sisterhood Founders Day program Monday at the ANB Hall.