BIG RIGS – Max Bennett, 2, checks out the steering on a steamroller during the 3 to 5 Preschool’s Big Rig fundraiser in front of Mt. Edgecumbe High School Saturday. Hundreds of kids and parents braved the wet weather to check out the assortment of machines, including road building trucks, a U.S. Coast Guard ANT boat, police cars and fire department rigs. Kids were able to ride as passengers on ATVs. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
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Sentinel Staff Writer
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Sentinel Staff Writer
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April 12
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By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
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Sentinel Staff Writer
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April 11
At 2:14 a.m. a report was logged t [ ... ]
Card of Thanks
Dear Sitka, I would like to say thank you for the outpouring of love and support for t [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
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Sentinel Staff Writer
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April 10
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Big Rig Event
Set Saturday
For All Ages
All types of vehicles, food and activities are planned for the [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
After hearing testimony from a number of residents, t [ ... ]
Daily Sitka Sentinel
50- Foot Boat Rises After Sinking in Harbor
By TOM HESSE
Sentinel Staff Writer
A 50-foot vessel that sank at Eliason Harbor earlier this week was making its way back to the surface today.
Harbor Master Stan Eliason watches as divers raise the F/V Lisa Maria today at Eliason Harbor. (Sentinel Photo)
The F/V Lisa Maria sank at the transient dock around 6:30 a.m. Monday. Michael Wortman, the U.S. Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Detachment supervisor, said the vessel was abandoned and therefore became the Coast Guard’s problem.
The vessel was raised off the bottom today by contractors hired by the Coast Guard.
“Due to the ongoing pollution threat, and with the owner not taking responsibility for the vessel, we are responsible for raising it and then we’ll turn it over to the Harbor Department,” Wortman said as the salvage project got under way.
The boat had an estimated 100 gallons of diesel on board. At high tide, Wortman said it was under roughly 20 feet of water. Using flotation bags the workers raised the boat enough off the bottom to float it away from the dock, but at press time today the decks were still under water.
Once the fuel is removed the other containments, such as batteries and oil, will be removed, and the Harbor Department will take over responsibility for the boat, officials said.
“In most cases, we’d just raise it up and I’d let them clean the pollutants out of it and let it sink again but because of the size of the vessel and the location, I don’t want to be responsible for having to raise it again,” Harbor Master Stan Eliason said.
The Harbor Department is going to try to dispose of it somehow, but without knowing what kind of shape it’s in or where it can go. Eliason said he’s still working out possible solutions.
“With these operations something’s bound to go south, so I’m trying to come up with plan C for it right now,” he said. “I just want to get rid of that boat as soon as possible because it could very well sink again.”
Wortman said anyone with concerns about pollutants or other derelict vessels should contact the marine safety detachment at 966-5454.
Eliason chalked up the accidental sinking to an “unresponsible boat sitter.”
Sinkings in the harbor aren’t uncommon, but they usually involve much smaller boats. It’s a headache for the Harbor Department, but Eliason is looking on the bright side.
“Could be worse. The way I look at it, it could have been sunk in a stall and that would be a real problem.”
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20 YEARS AGO
April 2004
Responding to the requests of athletes, coaches and parents, the Sitka School Board voted unanimously Monday against a proposal that would have changed Sitka High School’s classification from Class 4A, which includes Juneau and Ketchikan, to the 3A, which has schools with enrollment of 100 to 400 students.
50 YEARS AGO
April 1974
Memories of Sitka’s first radio station have been revived by a St. Louis, Mo., man who was one of the founders. Fred A. Wiethuchter recently wrote a letter to “Mayor Sitka, Alaska” asking about the town since he was here during World War II. He was an Army private at Fort Ray when he was attached to Armed Services Radio Station KRAY and WVCX ....
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