Author: Robert Woolsey, read by Chris Todd

A senior SEARHC executive is stepping down after twenty-two years on the job. Mark Gorman will serve as the vice-president Community Health Services through September, and then take time off to reflect on the future.

A sow and four cubs spent much of the afternoon feeding on berries in Sitkans' yards in Shotgun Alley. Fish and Wildlife troopers used rifle fire and fire cracker rounds to chase them away.

The city of Sitka is dropping its claims to ownership of the True Alaska Bottling property. The assembly last night (7-28-09) agreed to forego the reversion clauses built into the original sales agreement for the plant, in the hope that the new owners can re-capitalize the operation and start selling water.

Local government in Sitka would like to do away with the sales tax exemption for senior citizens. Instead, the assembly would like to replace the exemption with a cash rebate, which they think would be more fair.

This week “The Proposal” arrived at the Coliseum Theater. The film, starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, is set in Sitka, but most of it was shot in Rockport, Massachusetts. In fact, not much in the film comes from the real Sitka. But there are a few home-grown elements – including a Tlingit wedding chant, composed for Betty White’s character by Sitka’s own Edward Littlefield.

In preparation for the 100th anniversary of the Sitka National Historic Park, the Park Service is taking on a series of projects: a new totem pole has been commissioned and the Park Service has spent the week cleaning 17 other totems already on display outside the visitor’s center and along the trails. KCAW’s Emily Schwing reports.

The current weather forecast is calling for more high pressure to make its way over southeast. The warm, dry weather this summer has caused some fishermen to start wondering about what kind of effect drought conditions might have on pink salmon stocks. Fish and Game forecasts are about average this year and management biologists say it’s not yet time to panic. KCAW’s Emily Schwing reports.

The sockeye return at Redoubt Lake is running below long-term averages so far this year, but managers are still projecting a significant return. According to the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, almost 57-hundred sockeye have passed through the weir at Redoubt Lake as of Sunday (7-19-09). That could mean a total escapement of 18-thousand fish by the end of the season.

The results of this weekend’s Alpine Adventure Race in Sitka are in and a local runner has captured first place. 20-year-old Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins completed the 7-mile mountain race in 1 hour, 10 minutes and 54 seconds. He did not set a time record for the run, but Kreiss-Tomkins is the youngest person to win the men’s division.

Sitka’s new roundabout opened on Sunday (7-19-09) with little fanfare. The project – budgeted at almost $2-million dollars -- came in just about two weeks ahead of schedule. KCAW’s Robert Woolsey took a drive through the roundabout on Monday at lunchtime, when Sitka’s traffic is reportedly at its worst. He was chauffeured by local historian and automobile enthusiast Bill Foster, who discovered that the opening of the roundabout coincided with an important anniversary in Sitka’s traffic history: