Month: July 2011

Members of Sitka’s medical community say there were some important lessons learned during Thursday’s ammonia leak at Silver Bay Seafoods, but that by and large, response to the incident went well.

Silver Bay Seafoods is operating again, after an ammonia leak forced the evacuation of its Sitka plant and bunkhouses Thursday evening (7-21-11). Although no one was seriously injured, the number of workers evacuated was higher than previous estimates.

Things are looking up at Sitka’s Redoubt Lake for fishermen – of both the two-legged and four-legged varieties. State and federal fisheries managers have reopened the popular sockeye run to subsistence and sport fishermen (as of 12:01 AM Sat Jul 23). And the local bear population is also benefitting from the recent surge in returns.

One-hundred and fifty workers were evacuated from their bunkhouses last night (Thu 7-21-11) after ammonia leaked at a Sitka seafood processor.

A third-generation grocer in Sitka says he’s not going anywhere. Roger Hames, CEO of the Hames Corporation, told the Sitka Chamber of Commerce Wednesday afternoon (7-20-11) that Sea Mart is here to stay. And while he doesn’t know if a fourth generation will move into management, Hames said his business is definitely not for sale. In fact, he unveiled plans for a major expansion in the coming year.

The missile-like object found on John Brown’s Beach in Sitka earlier this month is a dud. In fact, it’s not a missile at all, but rather a piece of aluminum pipe, most likely off the back of a commercial fishing boat.

A military explosives team is set to arrive in Sitka on Wednesday (7-20-11) and study a missile-like object found on a Japonski Island Beach. But the object on the beach isn’t the only potential explosive they’ll be dealing with.

An explosives team from the U.S. Department of Defense arrives in Sitka this week to take a look at what appears to be a small missile on John Brown’s Beach, at the north end of Japonski Island. The object might not have been found at all, had it not been for a tourist who wandered a little too far afield, and attracted the attention of the Coast Guard.

Sitka officials renewed their call for power conservation last night. City utility director Chris Brewton told the Assembly that water levels are low in the lakes used to generate Sitka’s hydropower.

If you build it, they will come… maybe. A Sitka business has invested millions in building a new deepwater dock on the community’s road system over the past year. But so far, no cruise ships have chosen to moor there. Halibut Point Marine owner Chris McGraw told the Sitka Chamber of Commerce today (Wed Jul 13) that an affordable shuttle system is likely the remaining barrier to bringing the dock into service.