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
The threat of major cutbacks to the subsistence socke [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
With the first vote on the city budget for fiscal yea [ ... ]
By Sentinel Staff
In the final day of play in the recreational division City League volleyball [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
Three amateur athletes from Sitka were among tens of [ ... ]
By CLAIRE STREMPLE
Alaska Beacon
A proposal to require Alaska schools to keep opioid-overdose-r [ ... ]
By YERETH ROSEN
Alaska Beacon
Alaska’s Kobuk River, which flows out of the Brooks Range above [ ... ]
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
Musicians from Sitka High and Mt. Edgecumbe High scho [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Whether you enjoy scaling mountains, walking in the p [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
Two-time Alpine Adventure Run winner Chris Brenk cont [ ... ]
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
From high costs and low availability to challenges sur [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
A number of participants at Thursday’s community me [ ... ]
By CLAIRE STREMPLE Alaska Beacon TJ Beers stood across the street from the Capitol in a nav [ ... ]
By JAMES BROOKS
Alaska Beacon
When it rains hard enough in the Prince of Wales Island town of C [ ... ]
By YERETH ROSEN
Alaska Beacon
A designated wilderness area in Southeast Alaska’s Tongass National Fo [ ... ]
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
Lawsuit Against Police Advances
By Sentinel Staff
Superior Court Judge Trevor Stephens issued a ruling Monday denying the City of Sitka’s motion for summary judgment on six of 12 issues of gender discrimination and gender-based hostile work environment alleged in a lawsuit by police officer Mary Ferguson.
Stephens ruled in favor of the city in his summary judgment dismissing the remaining six allegations in Ferguson’s suit. The city had claimed that all of Ferguson’s charges were barred by the statute of limitations.
In his ruling, Stephens said that if the city wishes to pursue its statute of limitations defense on the claims he did not dismiss, he will hold a hearing on July 24 to schedule an evidentiary hearing on the issues. If the city files notice prior to the hearing that it does not wish to continue to assert the statute of limitations defense, the July 24 hearing will not be held.
Ferguson, who has served as a traffic officer and sworn officer in the Sitka Police Department, filed complaints with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Alaska State Commission for Human Rights on July 27, 2018, alleging gender discrimination and harassment in the police department. She was placed on administrative leave at that time.
She filed her lawsuit against the city and the police chief Oct. 11, 2018, pleading eight separate causes of action. Those include discrimination and gender-based hostile work environment violations of the Alaska Human Rights Act and the Federal Civil Rights Act. She also is suing on allegations of intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
Among other claims, Ferguson said in the lawsuit she was discriminated against because of her gender, and suffered retaliation for complaining about problems in the department, including sexual harassment.
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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.