By Sentinel Staff
Gov. Mike Dunleavy flew into Sitka this morning to attend the State Trooper graduation in the Sheet’ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi.
When asked about his visit, he said he was here just for the graduation.
“We plan on coming back,” Dunleavy said. “We’re going to set a schedule to visit all the communities we can in the state of Alaska, probably starting in the next two to three weeks, but all during the legislative session to talk about the budget.”
Governor Mike Dunleavy shakes hands with graduates at the Alaska Department of Public Safety Law Enforcement Training Session 1902 graduation ceremony this afternoon at the Sheet’ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi. Twenty-six law enforcement officers from across the state received their badges in the ceremony and will be taking jobs as Alaska State Troopers, a Wildlife Trooper, and city and borough police department officers. The governor spoke briefly to the Sentinel while he was in town. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
The governor added that he plans to return to Sitka for a town hall meeting prior to the release of the next state budget in mid-December.
When asked for a comment about the upcoming final U.S. Department of Agriculture decision on exempting the Tongass National Forest from the 2001 Roadless Rule, Dunleavy said:
“I ended up in Southeast Alaska in 1983, and worked in a logging camp on Prince of Wales Island. I support the efforts to make sure the Tongass is a multi-use forest, so that folks can do tourism in it, hike in it, if there’s mining opportunities that protect the environment, as well as logging. So I support what’s happening with regard to the Roadless Rule because it’s going to create jobs and opportunities for folks here in Southeast Alaska.”
Dunleavy met with President Trump earlier this year about lifting the Roadless Rule from the Tongass.
Though Dunleavy said he could not spend long in town on this visit, he called Sitka “a fantastic, beautiful city with some terrific people.”
