DIVE PRACTICUM – Dive student Karson Winslow hands a discarded garden hose to SCUBA instructor Haleigh Damron, standing on the dock, at Crescent Harbor this afternoon. The University of Alaska Southeast Sitka Campus Dive Team is clearing trash from the harbor floor under floats 5, 6 and 7 as part of their instruction. Fourteen student divers are taking part this year. This is the fifth year the dive team has volunteered to clean up Sitka harbors. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
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By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
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By Sentinel Staff
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By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
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By CLAIRE STREMPLE
Alaska Beacon
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By YERETH ROSEN
Alaska Beacon
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Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
April 16
At 8:07 a.m. a woman [ ... ]
Presentation On
Medicare, SS
SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium and Cynthia Gibson, CFP®, an [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
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By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
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By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
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By CLAIRE STREMPLE
Alaska Beacon
Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee expanded a [ ... ]
By JAMES BROOKS and
CLAIRE STREMPLE
The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development is [ ... ]
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
April 15
A protective order was issued at 1 [ ... ]
Chamber Speaker
Event Wednesday
The Chamber of Commerce speaker series will continue noon Wednesday at [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
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By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
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By CLAIRE STREMPLE Alaska Beacon TJ Beers stood across the street from the Capitol in a nav [ ... ]
By JAMES BROOKS
Alaska Beacon
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By YERETH ROSEN
Alaska Beacon
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By YERETH ROSEN
Alaska Beacon
Julie Kitka, the longtime president of the Alaska Federation of Natives, [ ... ]
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
April 12
At 5:18 p.m. a caller asked for a [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Sitka Tourism Task Force reviewed a number of recomme [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
Almost exactly a century ago, the engines of four modi [ ... ]
Daily Sitka Sentinel
Administrator Vacancy Tops Assembly Agenda
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The final resolution to remove Keith Brady as city administrator will be on Tuesday’s Assembly agenda, along with a discussion of how to go about finding a replacement.
The Assembly voted 4-3 on June 11 to approve a “preliminary resolution” to fire Brady, suspending him from duty immediately. Under the city charter an administrator, who serves at the pleasure of the Assembly, has the right to have a public hearing in the event of his dismissal, but Brady did not request a hearing within the five days allowed.
Brady left town on a planned family vacation the day after the preliminary resolution was approved. Fire Chief Dave Miller took over as acting administrator in accordance with a plan already in place for the administrator’s absences.
Mayor Gary Paxton and Deputy Mayor Steven Eisenbeisz have placed an item on the Tuesday meeting agenda on “discussion/direction/decision on the appointment of an interim administrator.”
Paxton said he wants to hear from the other Assembly members, but said, “My recommendation is we appoint Dave Miller as interim administrator for the next two to three months. He brings a calming influence to the city, to staff and hopefully to the Assembly.”
Paxton said he hopes Miller can move forward with filling two major positions on the city staff, planning director and human resources director.
“After two or three months, in an orderly fashion, we start looking for a new city administrator,” Paxton said.
Eisenbeisz said he would also like a discussion on the issue of interim administrator.
“I don’t have anyone in mind, but we need to keep the city moving forward,” he said. “We need to find out who is available and who is willing to do it.”
Other Agenda Items
Other items on the agenda include a presentation on the FEMA National Floodplain Insurance Program, and an update on the SEARHC/Sitka Community Hospital affiliation.
A retail marijuana store license and cultivation license are up for renewal for Northern Lights Indoor Gardens at 1321 Sawmill Creek Road. The store is at Suites N, O and P, and the cultivation facility is in Suites M, N, O and P.
Two ordinances are up for final reading related to the hospital. One sets a budget for the extra month of operation of Sitka Community Hospital because of the one-month delay on the closing date to affiliate with SEARHC. The other ordinance is to cover legal fees and administration contracted services for the sale.
Final reading is also scheduled on an ordinance that will shift the dates for summer and winter electric rates. It will shift the dates that electric rates rise and fall to one month later in the year. Currently, rates go up April 1 and back down Oct. 1, but two Assembly members proposed shifting the dates to May 1 and Nov. 1 in order to reduce costs to consumers. The ordinance, which will reduce electric department revenues an estimated $80,000 a year, was approved on introduction at the June 11 meeting.
There are also proposed budget adjustments for capital projects at the fire hall and harbors, and for the No Name Mountain Master Plan.
Four items are scheduled for executive session. They are related to the alleged theft of electricity from the city, a lawsuit filed against the city by a taxi company, an arrangement with the Baranof Island Brewing Company, and the Sitka Community Hospital services contract with SEARHC under the Asset Purchase Agreement.
The meeting starts at 6 p.m. at Harrigan Centennial Hall.
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20 YEARS AGO
April 2004
Photo caption: Sitka High students in the guitar music class gather in the hall before the school’s spring concert. The concert was dedicated to music instructor Brad Howey, who taught more than 1,000 Sitka High students from 1993 to 2004. From left are Kristina Bidwell, Rachel Ulrich, Mitch Rusk, Nicholas Mitchell, Eris Weis and Joey Metz.
50 YEARS AGO
April 1974
The Fair Deal Association of Sealaska shareholders selected Nelson Frank as their candidate for the Sealaska Board of Directors at the ANB Hall Thursday.