Month: December 2009

KCAW's Steve Johnson and Robert Woolsey discuss the effects of the recession on Sitka, and other top news stories for 2009.

From the resignation of the governor to the recession, from bears to (political) bickering, 2009 was a busy year in Southeast. Here is the year in review from KCAW and our CoastAlaska sister stations KTOO in Juneau, KRBD in Ketchikan, KFSK in Petersburg, and KSTK in Wrangell.

The one-hundred faculty and staff of Sheldon Jackson College were laid off on June 29, 2007, with one day’s notice. Students who had not completed at least the first semester of their junior year were left to finish their educations on their own. Those with fewer than three semesters left were assisted in completing their degrees at other institutions. The Sheldon Jackson community is now widely scattered. Many keep in touch through a blog called “Sheldon Jackson College Watch.” As part of a series of interviews conducted for Iowa Public Radio, KCAW’s Robert Woolsey spoke with the blog’s moderator, Chris Bryner, about the staff’s reaction to the closure of the school, and their feelings about a possible future for Sheldon Jackson under the governance of the University of Dubuque in Iowa. Bryner was at SJ for eight years, the last two as dean of students:

Full-length interview with former Sheldon Jackson College dean of students Chris Bryner, conducted for Iowa Public Radio.

Full-length interview with Sheldon Jackson president David Dobler, conducted for Iowa Public Radio.

A hummingbird has taken up residence outside Ingrid Shodda's Yakutat home. His name, in case you were wondering, is "Butch."

A five-year program to develop healthy habits in Southeast Alaska has come to a conclusion. Steps to a Healthier Southeast Alaska ran from 2004 until just this last week, when the federal grant funding it ran out. The grant’s manager, and other health officials in Sitka, say the program made a difference.

In the first of a series of interviews for Iowa Public Radio, KCAW's Robert Woolsey speaks with Sheldon Jackson College president David Dobler about the crisis that led to the closure of the school in 2007, and the trustees' hope for collaboration with the University of Dubuque.

The University of Alaska awarded an honorary doctorate to Herman Kitka in graduation ceremonies in Sitka in May, 2009. This is an excerpt of a news story produced at the time, featuring extended remarks by Oxford scholar Thomas Thornton, university Chancellor John Pugh, and Herman Kitka.

Tlingit elder Herman Kitka died in Sitka on Sunday (12-27-09). The Kogwaantaan leader and the first president of the Shee Atika corporation board of directors was 95 years old.