Life Celebration for Sayer
Dear Editor: A heartfelt thank you to everyone for their outpouring show of love and support at the celebration of life for our son, Sayer Tuzon, this past weekend. The tireless efforts and financial contributions from this extraordinary community have been overwhelming.
We are eternally grateful for each attendee, every kind word spoken, each donation made, every dish prepared and every post shared. Thank you for being there when we needed you the most. We know you grieve alongside us, and we thank you from the bottom of our broken hearts.
Glenn Tuzon, Melissa Dailey
and family
SEARHC Meeting
Dear Editor: SEARHC is requiring anyone interested in attending or giving testimony at their February 7 Sitka Community Health Council meeting request an ‘‘invitation’’ and attend via ‘‘Zoom.’’
Many Sitkans, especially those affected by the recent Home Health closure, do not have the ability to ‘‘Zoom.’’
This is the only time this year the public will be allowed to attend. A meeting of this magnitude cannot be limited to ‘‘Zoom’’ only. It needs to be in person, no matter how long it takes. Everyone needs to be heard.
Peter Karras, Sitka
Cruise Terminal
Dear Editor: Chris McGraw’s new “community-focused tourism policy” (covered in a Sentinel story on Monday) deserves a close look and a response. The policy will be in effect from 2025 to 2027.
I have reviewed his press release and its attached three-page “Berthing Policy for Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal.”
In summary, on six days per week the policy allows berthing of two ships at the Cruise Terminal. On four of those days, one of the ships may have a capacity of over 4,000 passengers.
That McGraw said he doesn’t know if these limits would reduce the overall number of cruise passengers in Sitka (since some ships anchor or dock elsewhere) sets off an alarm bell.
So what does this policy REALLY do? Can it meaningfully reduce the impact of cruise tourism on our heavily over-toured town?
To find out, I applied the new policy to the 2024 and 2025 ship schedules. What pops out immediately is this: the four-megaship-per-week limit is never triggered!
That’s because 2024 had only three ships of over 4,000 capacity. The 2025 schedule has four, but one stops here only once, in a week with only two other megaships.
In short, so-called “limits” in the new policy do nothing to remediate the irresponsible boom in Sitka cruise tourism. The “limits” allow 50% more megaship visits – 88 – up from an average of 58 for May-September in the 2023-2025 schedules.
Yet the new policy calls itself “responsible tourism management,” and a “responsible and sustainable approach.” What?!
The 2023 “All About Sitka” schedule tells where passengers land for each port call. For days with total capacity of over 5,000 (triggering Lincoln Street closure), I evaluated the role of ships at the Terminal:
– Of the approximate 60 May-September street closures, 24 were on days with two ships at the Terminal and no other ships in town;
– On 13 of those 24 days, one of the two ships at the Terminal was a mega-ship (and there were no other ships in town).
– An additional 26 closure days had one mega-ship at the dock and at least one other ship in town; and for just 5 of those days the Terminal had no second ship.
– The other 10 closure days had two non-mega ships at the Terminal and one or more other ships in town.
Real limits are needed. If they’re on ships, attention to all from the high-2,000s and up is needed.
Larry Edwards, Sitka
SEARHC Health Council
Dear Editor: The Sitka Community Health Council will not be meeting in person in Sitka this year for public testimonies related to the services SEARHC provides or should provide according to promises made when they purchased Sitka Community Hospital.
It is factual that the former Medicare Certified Home Health Care Department with full in-home coverage inherited by SEARHC has been demised and has been replaced by a program called Outpatient Home Based Care run by one nurse requiring 20% out-of-pocket expenses for these same needed services.
Most homebound Sitkans whether suffering chronic illness, palliative care, a disability or more may not physically be able to leave home, afford partially covered in-home visits, or may have other circumstances that prevent them from going to the hospital for care.
If you are interested in aging in place or dying at home with a Medicare Certified Home Health Care Department in place with coverage for meeting every medical need, please provide testimony to SEARHC, so they can listen compassionately to our community and strongly consider reestablishing what once was. The testimony need not be lengthy, accusatory nor eloquent, as it is unknown how long a person will be allowed to testify.
SEARHC has opted to hold a Zoom meeting for this purpose, including comments on other services, Feb. 7 from noon to 1:30 p.m. Please email bbowles@searhc.org to ask for an invitation link to the meeting, and state that you would like to testify to help facilitate their planning.
I appreciate the opportunity to remind folks of this important and soon upcoming event. Thank you.
Karen Lucas, Sitka
