2024 – Another Eventful Year in Sitka News

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Category: News

Created on Tuesday, 31 December 2024 15:50

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By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    For 17 days in August and September, Sitka’s connection to the outside world was slowed, even shut down, after an undersea communications cable in Salisbury Sound broke.
    The break in the GCI fiberoptic cable left all but a few hundred who have satellite-based service without internet access.
    Makeshift solutions were found within days, and shared facilities at such satellite-connected spots as city hall and the library were popular community gathering points until cable service resumed.

Sitkans take advantage of the city’s satellite internet connection outside the Sitka Public Library on September 1 during the fiberoptic cable breakage. The interruption in internet connectivity in Sitka topped the local news in 2024. (Sentinel File Photo by James Poulson)

    Central Council of Tlingit & Haida’s Tidal Network was installing high bandwidth systems to under-served communities, and loaned satellite terminals to SEARHC hospital, local schools, news media and the city, for public use.
    GCI never said what caused the cable break, but offered a month of free service to affected customers.
Times of Grief
    The year also was marked by tragic accidents, resulting in a community vigil on Dec. 7 in support of “those feeling grief from Sitka’s string of tragedies over the past year.”
    “If we can celebrate and come together and have happy times, we need to be able to come together and mourn and say that we are hurting, and clearly be authentic about that,” Nalani James, one of the organizers, explained.
    The year 2024 started with a boat overturning in Khaz Bay, resulting in the deaths of two young men. The U.S. Coast Guard rescued three others aboard. A car accident off Blue Lake Road in September resulted in a death of a teen and a Sitkan was killed by a bear in October. In early December, five fishermen died when their boat, the Wind Walker, sank near Point Couverden.
    “Everyone here is hurting, we are connected, tatted like lace,” vigil speaker Kathryn Winslow told the gathering. “The holes in our heart do not go away and neither does the love.”
Cruise Numbers/Finances/Petition  
    Sitka had its busiest cruise season to date, with about 590,000 cruise visitors this summer. The public throughout the year pointed out both the positives and negatives, including more jobs and higher sales tax revenues on the positive side; crowding of favorite places, bus traffic and disruption of internet and cell service on high visitor days, on the negative.
    Sales tax revenues have been increasing but this year leveled off in line with the leveling off of visitors from 2023 to 2024, the finance department reported late this year. Sitka went to a permanent 6% rate for summer.
    “It looks like we had a big increase, but factoring that out, we were probably pretty level; I’m interested to see where sales tax ends up,” said city Finance Director Melissa Haley late in the year. “Spending in the fourth quarter tells me more about the health of the community.”
    City staff and a majority of Assembly members say that the increase in tourists has opened new business opportunities and made a number of programs possible, including funding to the state cap for education and taking over schools maintenance; funding parks and rec, including the Blatchley pool; and capital projects, such as setting aside money for upgrading Lincoln and Katlian streets.
    The city notes it has leveraged surplus sales tax funds for federal matches for the haulout, seawall, and seaplane base.
    But the increase in numbers isn’t sitting well with all Sitkans, who see the rise in summer cruise visitors as changing the small-town nature of Sitka.
    On its fourth attempt, a group received certification by the city clerk Dec. 16 to collect signatures to place a question on the ballot that if passed would cut cruise visitor numbers in half starting in 2026.
    “I’m elated,” Larry Edwards said shortly after learning the Small Town SOUL petition, that he and Klaudia Leccese had co-sponsored, had been certified. If enough signatures are collected, the item would be on a special election ballot, asking whether voters supported a 300,000 annual limit, up to 4,500 visitors a day from May 1 to Sept. 30, and one or more “quiet days” with no large ships.
     After three rejections, the clerk’s approval came on the heels of an Assembly vote to approve an unbinding memorandum of understanding between the city and Sitka Dock Company that will serve as a framework for port calls in 2025. The vote and the agreement, advocates said, is in line with Tourism Task Force goals to take out peak days, shorten the season, and designate quiet days.
   “It’s important to do this because it’s something the community wants and it’s not perfect but it’s fair,” said Kevin Mosher.
    “This document speaks to what the city is going to do and that’s because it’s the only thing that we control,” Tim Pike said.

The F/V Sharlaine fishes for chum salmon in Sitka Sound in 2022. Fisheries stories made many front page headlines in 2024. (Sentinel file Photo)

Haulout/Fishing
    City staff, the Gary Paxton Industrial Park board and GPIP Director Garry White kept the community apprised on development of the haulout and boatyard, with the commercial fishing fleet weighing in with what they’d like to see in the $10.1 million facility.
    Costs have gone up, and more money was needed from the general fund, but “The city and contractors believe they will have (the haulout) completed by the March 30 target,” White reported. Still to be decided are the services offered and how much they’ll cost users.
    The haulout was identified as a need more than 10 years ago. Voters in 2022 approved spending funds from the sale of Sitka Community Hospital, on the haulout.
Fisheries
    Commercial, sport and subsistence fishing issues were in the news throughout 2024.
    In April, the popular Redoubt sockeye subsistence fishery was saved when the state and the Forest Service agreed to cover a small shortfall of funding for on-site management. If not corrected, it would have caused bag limits to be cut by half.
    In August, trollers proposed a return to “in-season management” for the sport fish sector, to protect both the troll fishery and resident sport anglers. The proposal is to be taken up by the Board of Fisheries at its meeting next month.
    Also in August, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a 2023 District Court ruling in favor of the Wild Fish Conservancy, which would have halted troll fishing. The fishery had remained open in 2023 and 2024 under a stay. The suit was related to the conservancy’s claim that the take of king salmon in Alaska was depriving an endangered stock of killer whales of the prey they need to survive.
    Management biologists said the springtime herring spawn close to town was one of the most abundant in recent years, making the resource more accessible for subsistence. The commercial fleet caught “to market demand,” and the fishery was closed far short of the guideline harvest limit.
    The pink salmon run to Sitka Sound was plentiful in 2024, but prices were down. The higher catches of chum salmon in Sitka Sound also fetched lower prices at the dock.
    In November a federal judge dismissed a legal challenge by Bering Sea bottom-trawl fleet against the strict limits recently imposed on halibut bycatch.
    F&G announced in December Hoonah Sound may open again for subsistence shrimp after year-end survey results showed improving numbers. The fishery has been closed for five years.
Sitka School District
    Sitka School District continued struggling with enrollment and funding from the state, but received a huge boost from the city, with the Assembly’s decision to take over funding for maintenance, provide funds for Performing Arts Center operations, and reopen the Blatchley pool. The city for another year funded education to the maximum allowed by the state.
    In all 21 positions were cut for the current school year due to budget challenges, and 17 staff members moved into completely new positions. The superintendent said the staff has “risen above the changes this year to continue providing high-quality education, regardless of what has been asked of them.”
     One main change was cutting library positions, but Jenson said, “SHS, BMS and KGH have been staffed by either a teacher part time or full time by a classified employee. Xóots have trained staff that can open the doors for teachers as they see fit or they can bring carts of library books to their classrooms.”
    Keet Gooshi Heen received the Blue Ribbon School Award in the fall of 2023.
Child Care
    Discussion, information gathering and brainstorming continued this year over child care, the lack of which is affecting working families’ ability to stay in Sitka. The Chamber of Commerce sponsored a series of speakers to continue work, with a pre-K program poised to start under the school district, in January.
    At year’s end, infant and toddler care remained a pressing need in Sitka, with current child care facilities covering 10% of the total toddler and infant population.
    A Career Pathway program started at all three high schools this fall, to offer students dual enrollment in early childhood education classes to introduce them to careers in the field and work toward certification.
    While some of the child care discussion has focused on the effect on jobs and Sitka’s affordability, the lack of child care and preschool programs also affect children’s preparedness for school, one of the speakers said. Another speaker in the series stressed the option of public funding.
    “If we accept that this is a community priority and a community value, and it’s a public good, and it’s not thriving in the free market economy, one of the solutions that needs to be considered is public investment,” the Juneau expert said.    
SEARHC
    The largest single employer in town, the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, continued work on the new Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center, which is double the size of the current hospital. The $410 million facility on Japonski Island is scheduled to open next fall. The new facility will be 234,528 square feet, and it’s expected to use a heat loop system to decrease electric demand and save funds on fuel.
    SEARHC dealt with a few controversies during the year, including a new policy on employee paid time off, and continued public concerns about changes to the home health care program.
    Early in the year, the consortium announced a $25 an hour minimum salary for direct-hire employees.
Politics
    The November elections returned Rep. Rebecca Himschoot to the House District 2 seat for a second term. She secured a position in the new House Majority Coalition, and is chair of the education committee.
    Senate District A Sen. Bert Stedman, a member of the Senate majority, was again selected to serve as co-chair of Senate Finance, becoming the longest serving state senator in that position. Heading into his 13th year as co-chair, he will lead the  process for the capital budget.
    In the local election, Mayor Steven Eisenbeisz won re-election to a fourth term as mayor, and Scott Saline and Kevin Mosher won re-election to the Assembly. For the School Board, Amanda Williams was elected, and Paul Rioux was appointed since only one candidate ran for the two open seats.

Houses are pictured on Sitka Community Land Trust property on Halibut Point Road. (Sentinel File Photo)

Housing
    Inroads were made to tackle problems related to housing affordability, identified as a main reason people don’t stay in Sitka.
   Several new homes were constructed in the Sitka Community Land Trust property on Halibut Point Road; and plans continued toward building a new neighborhood for unhoused residents on Jarvis Street. The Assembly approved a new city study that’s underway to identify city lands that could be developed into new housing in the future.
    STA, Baranof Island Housing Authority and the city sponsored a housing summit in March to address housing affordability and availability, and in April held a public event on the same topic.
Animal Shelter
    The Sitka Animal Shelter became a subject of controversy, culminating with volunteers no longer allowed in the shelter in July to care for animals. Groups by year’s end continued hammering out a plan for future operation of the shelter, with Friends of the Sitka Animal Shelter identifying the main sticking point as “standards of care” and “animal disposition.”
    Some expressed frustration about the process, but a city facilitator and a FOSAS spokeswoman expressed optimism that an agreement would be worked out. “We’re excited to hear from the community and collaborate on creating a shelter that reflects both veterinary recommendations and public priorities,” FOSAS president Kristina Tirman said. 
Entertainments
    There also was joy and plenty of entertainment, and examples of Sitkans making a difference throughout the year, with plays, music, concerts, art shows, dances, theater productions, films, parades, dance shows, cabarets, circus arts, storytelling and nonprofit organization fundraisers.
    The city-funded Parks and Recreation program took on running the Blatchley pool as a city program, not a school district one. The pool reopened in November after being closed for more than a year, with a new aquatics supervisor and a tally of 13 newly trained lifeguards.
    The revamped city Parks and Rec program continued to grow this year with programs for young and old, including sports, camps, arts, walking and biking, to name a few.
    The year ended with plenty of examples of Sitka’s enthusiasm for the arts with a Young Performers Theater production of “Elf,” Greater Sitka Arts Council’s Holiday Grind, Sitka Fine Arts Camp’s Holiday Brass, a Cirque event, Fireweed Dance Guild’s Sitkans Can Dance, Jazzmas and a Sitka Music Festival singalong. Sitka Historical Society’s toy train display, parade, cookie and gingerbread event, and the Sitka School District’s six or seven concerts were held over the holidays. The final event of the year is Ramshackle Cabaret’s New Year’s Eve celebration tonight.

Some other events of 2024
January
– Sitka School District Assistant Superintendent Deidre Jenson was named superintendent.
– Sitka Tribe of Alaska gave $1,000 to each tribal citizen for the financial impact of the COVID pandemic.
February
– Sitka High took home the top team prizes for debate, forensics and sweepstakes among Alaska Division II schools. SHS and MEHS teams also garnered individual medals.
– Fred Reeder won the Chamber of Commerce Cossack Cap, Our Town Catering won business of the year, Sitka Nuts won the new business of the year, and Sitka Elks members were recognized as Community Heroes.
March
– The School Board voted unanimously to rename Baranof Elementary School Xóots Elementary.
-Sitka hosted a three-day Heritage and Cultural Tourism Conference, stressing the importance of Indigenous culture in tourism planning.
– Sitka Community Land Trust secured $2.17 million in federal funds for a four-unit apartment building on Halibut Point Road.
April
– Sitka had its earliest start of the cruise season, the first week of April.
– Students and adults joined protests over Gov. Dunleavy’s veto of school funding.
–Sitka artist Yeil Ya-Tseen Nicholas Galanin won a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship.
–Sitka hosted more than 500 for the high school Southeast Music Fest.
– Sitka High School’s mock trial team captured its seventh state championship.

Sitka Tlingit Clan Houses were selected by the National Trust for Historic Preservation for the 2024 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. (Sentinel File Photo)

May
– Diné bluesman Levi Platero and his family band played a “sober night of Indigenous music.”
– Coast Guard pilot Tim Keily became the first-ever Sitka contestant on “Jeopardy!”
– Sitka Tribe of Alaska and the U.S. Forest Service, Sitka Ranger District, signed a memorandum of understanding committing to consultation and collaboration.
–  Sitka Tlingit Clan Houses were selected by the National Trust for Historic Preservation for the 2024 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.
June
– Ron Davis won the 69th Sitka Sportsman’s Association derby, with a 39.5-lb king.
– the summer marked a busy one for Sitka’s emergency squads, including Coast Guard, Fire Department (EMTs, SAR, fire) and police. (SPD by year’s end had received over 24,000 calls.)
– Sitka Fine Arts Camp had record-fast sign-ups in January for camps for grades K-12. Camp season concluded with performance of the stage musical “Newsies” at the Performing Arts Center. Sitka Parks and Rec, Sitka Conservation Society/4H and Sitka Sound Science Center also hosted summer camps. Sitka Music Festival ran a busy June concert season, and hosted the cello seminar for advanced students.
– Farmers Markets were held throughout the summer at the ANB Founders Hall.
– Sitka Public Library added evening hours Tuesday and Thursday. (At year’s end City staff noted the 92,810 annual visitors to the library.)
– Sitka Trail Works celebrated National Trails Day with a volunteer project repairing the Indian River Trail.
July
– Sitka High Principal Sondra Lundvick resigned in July, and was replaced by former SHS principal Laura Rogers.
– DOT opened two miles of the new Katlian Bay Road. Funding for two bridges is needed to complete the road.
August
– Elsa Speck, at 10, became the youngest girl known to make the hike across Baranof Island.
– There was a well-attended screening of the film “Sugarcane,” about Native boarding schools, with filmmakers attending.
– Sitka attorney Christine Pate won a national American Bar Association award for her work protecting rights of survivors of gender-based violence, for over 30 years.
– Sitka Local Foods Network and Transition Sitka submitted a proposal for a community garden on Jarvis Street.
September
– the Assembly hired Rachel Jones as city attorney, replacing Brian Hanson, who retired June 30.
– The city received a $2.5 million grant for rehabilitation of the two Green Lake hydro-power turbines.
October
– Sitka Historical Society honored Tlingit code talkers Robert “Jeff” David Sr., Richard Bean Sr., Harvey Jacobs, Mark Jacobs Jr., George Lewis Jr. and Louis Minard, at its annual meeting. “Honoring our Alaskan Code Talkers” was this year’s Alaska Day theme.
– Barbara DeLong received the historical society’s 2024 Isabel Miller Award.
– In a 24-hour period October 11-12 Sitka received 2.28 inches of rain and wind gusts up to 65 mph.
November
– Yeidikook’áa Dionne Brady-Howard was elected tribal council chair of the Sitka Tribe of Alaska. Louise Brady, Alana Petersen, Steven Johnson and Robert Sam were elected to the council.
– The community sought solutions to the increasing frequency of bear-human encounters in town. Seven bears were killed in or near town this year, F&G said: five by agency staff after bears posed a danger to people, pets or both; and 2 by residents under defense of life and property regulations.
– Coast Guard Air Station Sitka rescued three fishermen from the F/V Tsiu after the boat had an electrical fire and lost power northeast of Yakutat.
– Sitka Conservation Society hosted its annual Wild Foods potluck, and honored four longtime members who passed away this year.
– Sitka nurse Teresa Remington won national honors for her work with cancer patients at SEARHC Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center.
December
– The warming shelter at the United Methodist Church opened for its second winter on Dec. 1 to provide Sitka’s unhoused population a safe and warm place to sleep.
– A year-end message from the city highlighted milestones of 2024: the airport remodel now underway, the start of the boat haulout project, the success of the city Parks and Rec program, and the continued challenges of housing, child care, food security and tourism management.