VOCAL EXERCISES - Artist in the Schools instructor Sarah Branton of Cherry Creek, Colorado, leads an exercise in the Sitka High School band room this morning as she teaches students how to improve their volume. Branton will be here all week working with choirs at Blatchley Middle School and Sitka High. Her instruction is part of the effort to rebuild school choir programs and numbers following the pandemic. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
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Daily Sitka Sentinel
Virus Fears Cut State’s Election Worker Rolls
ANCHORAGE (AP) — A shortage of election workers because of coronavirus concerns has Alaska officials searching for solutions and warning the state could close some polling sites.
The shortage is particularly severe in Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, The Anchorage Daily News reported Sunday.
Alaska communities have up to three forthcoming elections. The statewide primary is set for Aug. 18, while municipal elections across much of the state, excluding Anchorage, will be Oct. 6. The national general election will be held Nov. 3.
Two months before the statewide primary, none of the state’s House districts have enough election workers.
None of the 12 polling places in the state House districts covering Chugiak and Eagle River had enlisted a full staff of workers by Friday, the Alaska Division of Elections statistics said.
The state needs between 2,500 and 3,000 temporary workers during the primary and during the Nov. 3 general election, elections division Director Gail Fenumiai said.
The state has asked nonprofit organizations for assistance through the Adopt-A-Precinct program. Organizations can recruit polling staff and the state will pay the organization rather than the volunteers.
Seven polling stations have been covered by the program so far.
Older Alaskans are considered particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 and they began isolating themselves when the pandemic began, officials said.
Anchorage City Clerk Barbara Jones told the Anchorage Assembly that 95% of the municipality’s regular election workers declined to help in this year’s local elections.
Five of the city’s six in-person voting locations were closed. Even though most ballots were cast by mail, the city needed regular municipal employees to process votes because of the lack of workers, Jones said.
Ember Jackinsky is among those who says she won’t work again as an Anchorage poll worker.
“The majority of us are either high-risk because of advanced years or because of underlying medical conditions,” Jackinsky said.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death. The vast majority of people recover.
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AK COVID-19
At a Glance
(updated 9-12-2023)
By Sentinel Staff
The state Department of Health and Social Services has posted the following update on the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Alaska as of 8:57 a.m. Tuesday, September 12.
New cases as of Tuesday: 278
Total cases (cumulative) statewide – 301,513
Total (cumulative) deaths – 1,485
Case Rate per 100,000 – 38.14
To visit the Alaska DHSS Corona Response dashboard website click here.
COVID in Sitka
The Sitka community level is now "Low.'' Case statistics are as of Tuesday.
Case Rate/100,000 – 152.50
Cases in last 7 days – 13
Cumulative Sitka cases – 3,575
Deceased (cumulative) – 10
The local case data are from Alaska DHSS.
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20 YEARS AGO
September 2003
Sitka Tribe of Alaska is “upset and disturbed” about the Senate appropriations bill that cuts spending for Alaska tribal courts, STA Vice Chairman Gil Truitt said today. He was referring to Sen. Ted Stevens’ move to divert Department of Justice grants from tribal courts and tribal police officers to fund the Village Public Safety Officer program.
50 YEARS AGO
September 1973
Photo caption: Receiving service pins at a Carpenters Union Local 466 dinner meeting at the Kiksadi Club were, from left, Arthur Littlefield, Alvin Helm, Harley Finch, Dave Gibson, Gerald Hughes, Fred Nelson, Walter Moy, Edward Nelson, William Sutton and Don Stromme.