Donald Trump
Dear Editor: Hi. I think Donald Trump is amazing. I come from New York. He puts together what I don’t like about N.Y. in one person. That’s hard to do. Yep, quite amazing, that Donald.
Michael J. Mayo, Sitka
Shee Atika Board
Dear Editor: My name is Michael Kinville. As you know, I’m running as an independent candidate this year for a seat on the Shee Atika Board of Directors.
Please allow me to tell you a little bit about myself. I was born in Sitka, went to Baranof Elementary School, suffered through middle school at Blatchley, and went to Sitka High. I joined the Alaska Army National Guard in 1983 when I was a 17-year-old junior. I married my high school girlfriend, and we’ve been together since 1981. After I retired from the active duty in 2007, I worked as a logistician for the Army as an Army civilian and as a contractor. Now, my focus is on making Tlingit art and family. I have six children (four adult), and four foster kids that we are adopting, and my four wonderful grandchildren.
This is a long way of saying that we likely have a great deal in common. I assume, that like me, you sought to serve our people and our ideals when you decided to run for the position that you now occupy. I know that there is a lot of condemnation being shared in Sitka right now, but mostly I see how much more alike we are than I see differences.
With all of that said, it’s midnight, and I’m taking a break from a very tedious task that has resulted from a travesty that you, you personally, are associated with. My running mate, Pam Craig, flew to Sitka to get a copy of the shareholder address list. She was given a perfectly ridiculous product – 52 pages of size 5 font. Adding insult to injury, she was charged $200 for this list. That is $3.846 per page; clearly an arbitrary and punitive amount. Now I’m scanning in each page and running it through OCR software, and there are dozens of errors on each page due to the tiny font that the SAI staff provided her. Mr. Cameron states that this is normal, and is simply the result of the data fields. This is a ridiculous statement, and in your heart of hearts, you know this to be true.
On the March 12, I requested the contact information for the Inspector of Elections, and this week Mr. Ken Cameron, after prompting, wrote that SAI hasn’t hired an inspector yet. This information is critical to shareholders running an independent campaign, and you should know that this oversight, intentional or not, reflects on each of you as directors based on your support of the CEO overseeing the SAI staff.
Our beautiful and ancient culture holds the idea of respect at its very soul. Failing to address the insults to fair play and justice erodes a pillar that holds us up as a people. Please take a moment and see if the actions that I’ve shared with you are a true reflection of you and your leadership. If it isn’t, then please help change the direction of our corporation and birthright.
Mike Kinville, North Pole
Adopted to Clan
Dear Editor: A special thank you to the Sitka Wooshkeetaan Clan and witnesses of my adoption.
On March 9 at Westmark Sitka I was officially adopted into the Sitka Wooshkeetaan Clan.
I am greatly honored and humbled by my adoption. I have always had a special love for the entire Mt. Edgecumbe High School community, the Sitka community and the state of Alaska.
I would especially like to thank Mr. Gil Truitt, Helen Mercado and Maggie Mercado Verney for sponsoring me and their work to make this happen. A special thank you to Herb Didrickson for giving me his Tlingit name.
Thank you to all the witnesses who attended – Monica Chase, Aleeda Chastain, Steve and Paula Clayton, Barb and John DeLong, Bob and Jan Love, Rod and Faye Nutting, Lois Rhodes, Sam Martin, Mrs. Shirley Truitt, Terry and Eugene Bartolaba, Mike Baines, Ken Cameron, Natalie and Wilbur Brown, Mary and Ray Majeski, Paulette Moreno, Rachael Moreno, Andy Roberts and Keith Perkins.
All of my former students, athletes and friends have blessed my life in so many ways. I can never repay you. Thank you so much for this honor of a lifetime. Peace and love.
Bob Chastain, Junkha’teen
UAS Fire
Dear Editor: We had a fire at the UAS Sitka Campus on March 24. As campus director I wanted to thank the quick, professional response of the Sitka Fire Department. Two engines, an ambulance and 17 firefighters responded. They had the fire out within a minute. No injuries were reported and the fire damage was limited to one office.
Assistant Fire Chief Al Stevens and Engineer Craig Warren conducted a complete fire investigation for the state Fire Marshal. The investigators concluded that the cause of the fire was an overcharged, exploded lithium battery that ignited nearby combustible material. I really appreciate the service and professionalism of the Sitka Fire Department, as do all of us at the Sitka Campus.
I learned a valuable lesson that others might benefit from: lithium batteries can overcharge, explode and cause a fire. Whether it is the battery in your phone, laptop or your favorite cordless DeWalt drill, those batteries may fail, explode, and ignite nearby combustible materials. Some of the newer batteries may have switches to prevent overcharging but those switches can fail. The best practice is to limit charging to when someone is around.
If I wouldn’t leave a candle burning unattended then I won’t charge battery-powered equipment unattended. I now shut down the surge protectors to my laptop every evening. I wanted to share this with the community in case it helps someone prevent a fire in their home or office.
Paula J.S. Martin
UAS Sitka Campus Director
Shee Atika Voting Box
Dear Editor: Shee Atika has a voting box they use for the annual meetings. From what happened at last year’s annual meeting in Sitka, after all the proxies were in the box, the board members and management took the box and went behind a closed door to a secret room. This is not an honest transparent method. By doing this, they can do whatever they want to put who they want on the board of directors.
Going behind closed doors was witnessed by the shareholders who were there at last year’s annual meeting. Not only this, but when it came to the question and answer time, the board of directors and management simply got up and walked out. That was extremely unprofessional for the people who are supposed to be running our corporation for our benefit.
Having said this, I, Norman Johnson, would like to see someone from the State of Alaska Inspection of Elections come in person at the next meeting coming up on May 14.
I want to see ALL Proxies COUNTED in FRONT of the shareholders of Shee Atika Inc. This would be fair, honest, and a way of healing our company from such darkness.
Norman Johnson, Washington
