Author: Robert Woolsey, KCAW

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.

Bear season is heating up in Sitka. Sitka police logged sixteen bear calls over the weekend, and several more in the previous few days.

Sitka is running off of diesel-generated electric power, again. This time the dry weather is not entirely to blame. Electric Department technicians were tuning the governors at the Green Lake Hydro plant on Wednesday (7-6-11), when a 1980-vintage breaker gave out, taking one of the turbines offline. The work was being done in order to make the plant more efficient in low lake conditions. The department has located an original-equipment replacement for the faulty breaker. It should arrive Friday, and could take a few days to test and install. The electric department fired up one of the four backup diesel generators on Jarvis Street to cover the loss of the Green Lake turbine. Although it will run only during the daytime hours between 6AM and 11PM, the daily cost of diesel fuel is expected to top $13,000. The department advises Sitkans to switch to non-electric forms of heating where possible this week.

Over the past two days, KCAW news has reported on the Pelican’s economic troubles, which center around the closure of its massive cold storage plant, and on how residents feel about some of the community’s struggles. This final installment in our three-part series explores the possibilities for Pelican's future.