Dam Response
Dear Editor: This letter is to thank R. Spike Arnold for his March 9 letter concerning an anonymous rumor and requesting credible information.
Raising the Blue Lake Dam in 2014 and replacing the 58-year powerhouse doubled the peak generation capacity from 8 to 16 Mw.
The new lake surface extended from 3 to 4 miles long. The new height and storage increased the Blue Lake project average annual energy by 50 percent.
The 1982 Green Lake Project was recently out of service 84 days for repairs of 35-year-old equipment. Daytime only peak loads above 16 Mw required supplemental diesel generation.
A similar Green Lake repair without the new Blue Lake capacity could have more than doubled the customer electric bills for that period.
A similar Green Lake repair with the original Blue Lake plant also down could have increased customer electric bills times four.
I appreciate the community chose to replace and expand the capacity of the Blue Lake project.
Thank you.
Andy Eggen,
Generation System Manager,
City and Borough of Sitka
Fishermen’s Expo
Dear Editor: Building on the success Sitka’s Fall Fishermen’s Expo, the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association hosted a spring event last week to provide educational workshops and on-board technical assistance to local fishermen. The two-day series wrapped up with an overview of sablefish stock status and updates provided by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the National Marine Fisheries Service. Thanks to our sponsors, all events were free and open to the public.
Fishermen had the opportunity to attend bathymetric mapping workshops, a fire extinguishing training hosted by the Alaska Marine Safety and Education Association, and a “financing your fishing business” session targeted towards young fishermen. Fishermen also received on-board seafloor mapping technical support, the latest Coast Guard safety updates, an overview of sablefish stock status, and an update from the Southeast Alaska Sperm Whale Avoidance Project (SEASWAP).
Providing resources and educational opportunities for local fishermen, especially young fishermen, is part of ALFA’s mission. In the future, we hope to build on this successful model with support from the Young Fishermen’s Development Fund, a fund proposed by Congress that will support similar workshops, trainings, and programs for young fishermen across the country. Legislation to establish the fund is pending, and already has broad bipartisan support. ALFA has traveled to Washington, D.C., three times in the past year to advocate for this legislation as part of a nationwide fishermen’s coalition.
On behalf of ALFA’s staff and membership, we would like to thank Spring Expo sponsors and partners for their generous support: Murray Pacific, AMSEA, Delta Western, the Daily Sitka Sentinel, the City and Borough of Sitka, Harry Race Pharmacy, Nobeltec, Wells Fargo, Fireweed Dinner Services, and Spirit Bear Bookkeeping. We would also like to thank the Sitka Sound Science Center for providing a location for the event.
We look forward to hosting more events like this in the future, and invite anyone who is interested in ALFA’s work to visit our website at alfafish.org or stop by our office in the Sitka Sound Science Center.
Linda Behnken, Executive Director, ALFA
Alyssa Russell,
Outreach Coordinator, ALFA
Family Fiesta
Dear Editor: Sitkans Against Family Violence wants to thank all who made our annual Family Fiesta dinner and dessert auction at the ANB Founders Hall a great fundraising success. Thanks to ANB Camp 1 and ANS Camp 4 for providing this wonderful space.
Sea Mart and Sitka Sound Seafoods were our primary sponsors, and we received food donations from the Mt. Edgecumbe High School kitchen, Steve Warren, and McDonald’s. Many bakers and dessert makers donated their art, among them Blatchley Middle School students in Ms. Ferrency’s Discovery Week class on dessert making. That was awesome. Ken Fate was our auctioneer, and Julie Schmitts, Ted Howard, and Kammie Daniels provided live music. Karin Mullins dominated in the kitchen, with her long-time crew of Grace Brooks, Bridget Hitchcock, Charlie Morgan and Tina Bachmeier.
Other volunteers were Mary and Dave Levesque, Karen Boyer, Larry Edwards, Jim Clare, Angie Wisniewski, Steve Hutchinson, Julia Tawney, Grace Heidel and Mt. Edgecumbe students Hayleigh Johansen, Sierra Fetts, Hayley Ragnitsen and Jasmine Woods. Amanda Capitummino was our photographer. We extend our heartfelt thanks to our volunteers, donors, all who attended, and particularly to those who bid on the delightful desserts.
Your gifts will sustain our mission of providing empowerment-based services to victims and survivors of intimate partner violence, while promoting a community of non-violence and respect. Without community support like this, we couldn’t do our work. Thank you and gunal’cheesh.
Sitkans Against Family Violence
Board and staff
Park Activities
Dear Editor: While we welcome community activities in the park, we want to remind everyone that any group activities need to be communicated and approved by the park beforehand. This will insure that all activities respect park resources and sacred ground. Please contact Chief Ranger Sean Brennan at (907)738-3851 or Sean_Brennan@nps.gov for any further inquiries about obtaining approval for a proposed activity. Thank you.
Emily Hoerner,
Acting Public Information Officer,
Sitka National Historical Park
Protect Public Lands
Dear Editor: Our public lands are important to us and are under attack. All of us in Sitka rely on public lands like the Tongass National Forest to support our families, our economies, and our way of life.
The Tongass alone produces 25 percent of the salmon caught in the Northeastern Pacific Ocean. Through commercial, recreational, and subsistence fishing, these wild salmon provide food and create thousands of jobs. Tourists come from all over the world to visit the Tongass and see firsthand our bears and wild salmon runs. Simply put, fishing and tourism run our economy and these industries depend upon healthy public lands that all of us can access.
Our Congressional delegation is trying to silence our voices when it comes to managing our public lands. Just this week, Sen. Murkowski and Sen. Sullivan voted to strip the rights we have to weigh in on land management decisions. Our Congressional delegation should be fighting to protect our public lands and make sure that all of us can continue to fish, hunt, camp, and practice subsistence on our public lands.
Judi Lehmann, Sitka
