Month: September 2009

Sitka Community Hospital has 27 beds, six doctors and, as of this week, a new CEO. Hugh Hallgren started work on Sept. 15. He’s been a hospital administrator since 1982 and comes most recently from Ketchikan. KCAW’s Ed Ronco talked with Hallgren on Friday (9-18-09) about his goals for the hospital.

While there is no longer an imminent threat of an uncontrolled release of ammonia in Pelican, the town’s hydro plant remains offline. Now, the lack of inexpensive power may prove just as hazardous to the Chichagof Island community as the lack of water.

Sen. Hollis French swung through Sitka today (9-17-09) on a three-city tour of Southeast. The Anchorage democrat announced his intention to run for governor in July. He’ll vie for the democratic nomination next August against two other candidates so far, former house minority leader Ethan Berkowitz and Anchorage businessman Bob Poe. As chairman of the senate judiciary committee, Senator French last year led the bipartisan committee that investigated then-Governor Sarah Palin’s abuse of power in what has become known as “Troopergate.” He spoke with KCAW's Robert Woolsey:

If you’ve been downtown Sitka during the day on a Friday, you’ve probably heard what sounds like an electronic version of Big Ben, ringing out chimes at high noon. That’s the newest addition to Sitka’s tsunami warning system. Fire officials say the system makes life easier for them, and will make life safer for residents, in the event of an emergency.

State senator Albert Kookesh and three other Angoon residents were cited by state troopers on July 12th for catching more sockeye salmon in a beach seine than allowed under subsistence permit rules. In a hearing in August, Kookesh and his fishing partners challenged the citation, and argued that troopers had miscounted the number of permits being fished. The state last week (9-8-09) filed an amended citation to tighten up its case. Senator Kookesh now says he’ll oppose the violation on grounds that the state has no jurisdiction over subsistence on federal lands.

The campus of Sheldon Jackson College once again has the attention of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In 1999 the Trust listed Sheldon Jackson’s Allen Auditorium as one of its eleven most-endangered historic sites. Whether or not the rest of the campus also will earn that designation remains to be seen. Brian Turner, an attorney with the Trust’s western regional office in San Francisco, visited Sitka this week (9-8-09). He spoke with KCAW’s Robert Woolsey about some of the challenges involved in preservation:

The City of Sitka will have to take another swing at completing work on ball fields at the old Kimsham landfill. City officials say flaws in the original design have delayed the park’s opening.

Having rejected a proposed ballot question on the Hames Wellness Center two weeks ago, the assembly is struggling now to reach a consensus on what to do about the facility when the lease expires at the end of next month. A heated discussion at the assembly table last night (9-8-09) generated considerable passion on either side of the issue, but few ideas about producing the roughly $200-thousand dollars in city funding needed to keep the doors open at Hames past October 31st.

The city of Sitka has thrown its support behind a pilot program to create a tribally-run ferry service in the northern panhandle. Prior to its vote last night (Tue 9-9-09), the Sitka assembly had postponed action three times previously on the Short Sea pilot program while it wrestled with a basic problem: the tribal government launching the effort is Juneau’s Tlingit & Haida Central Council, which has yet to solidify an agreement with the Sitka Tribe of Alaska.

The new Herring Cove to Beaver Lake trail had its grand opening on Saturday. About 50 people showed up to celebrate and watch as the red ribbon was cut. KCAW’s Ed Ronco sends this audio postcard.