RENAMING – Tlingit elder Harvey Kitka, Yanshkoo.wu, speaks to students at Xóots Elementary School this afternoon during a short renaming ceremony. The School Board adopted the new name, which means brown bear in Tlingit, in March 2024 to replace the old name, Baranof Elementary School. At today’s ceremony, children from the after-school culture class sang in Tlingit, new signs were on display and Charlie Skultka Jr. was recognized for the formline bear design he provided for the school logo. In his remarks, Kitka told those assembled in the school gymnasium about his experience as a youngster in the school when it was brand new. He said speaking Tlingit was not encouraged then. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
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Daily Sitka Sentinel
Judicial Council Picks 2 For Public Defender Job
By JAMES BROOKS
Alaska Beacon
The Alaska Judicial Council has nominated Judge Terrence Haas of Bethel and assistant Anchorage public defender Gary Soberay to replace Samantha Cherot as the state’s top public defender.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy will make the final selection, which is subject to a legislative confirmation vote next year.
Cherot’s four-year term at the helm of the Public Defender Agency is expiring in September. That’s the state organization that provides constitutionally mandated defense attorneys in criminal cases.
The agency has been stressed by staffing shortages that caused the agency to begin refusing some cases in Nome and Bethel. State lawmakers and Gov. Mike Dunleavy approved an emergency funding boost this spring.
The nonpartisan Judicial Council vetted 10 applicants for the job opening, ultimately picking just two nominees after two days of interviews and public testimony in Anchorage.
The Judicial Council’s nomination process capped a busy week for council members, who also nominated four people for an upcoming vacancy on the Anchorage Superior Court.
Dunleavy will make the final selection from among senior assistant attorney general Kate Demarest, district court judge Kari Lyn McCrea, district court judge David Nesbett, and private practice attorney Danée Pontious, all of whom live in Anchorage.
Seven attorneys applied for the upcoming opening.
The council declined to fill upcoming openings in the Juneau Superior Court and Sitka Superior Court because of a lack of applicants.
The council is required to nominate at least two people for every opening, and only two attorneys applied for each of the vacancies.
A new round of applications for those jobs is expected to open later this month.
–https://alaskabeacon.com/james-brooks
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20 YEARS AGO
February 2005
Photo caption: S&S General Contractors crew bury conduit along Sawmill Creek Road as part of a sewer line project. They’ve been working only at night, using portable lights to direct traffic. Sitkans living between Shotgun Alley and Indian River Road are asked not to use drains or toilets Thursday as pump stations will be turned off.
50 YEARS AGO
February 1975
Photo caption: Five players selected for the first All Tournament team in the American Legion Southeast Alaska Basketball Tournament hold their trophies. From left are Jeff Klanott, Klukwan ANB; Rick Ludigsen, Ketchikan Webber Air; Al Kookesh, Angoon ANB; Terry Friske, Klukwan ANB; and Mike Erickson, Ketchikan Webber Air.
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