Robert Woolsey

The SEARHC Fitness Center was formerly the organization’s childcare center for over 20 years, closing in 2013. Former hospital manager Frank Sutton said it was an uphill battle convincing SEARHC management of the benefit of the childcare center, which was licensed for 44 children, and he found it difficult to recruit staff without it. “We had any number of nurses turning us down,” he said, because of the lack of childcare in Sitka at the time. (KCAW/Woolsey)

The Makhnati subsistence closure was created by two separate Executive Orders. (Alaska OSM image)

With no other competition for the seat, Paul Rioux’s appointment to the board was slam dunk. His nameplate was already on the table before the special meeting began. (KCAW/Woolsey)

Searchers from Sitka on Wednesday (10-30-24) recovered the body of a hunter who died in a brown bear attack. 50-year old Tad Fujioka was a commercial fisherman, and the chairman of the board of the Seafood Producers Cooperative, one of Sitka’s three large seafood processors. He was also an experienced and capable outdoorsperson.

Cleanup work began this fall on a former WWII defense site near Sitka, and some residents have already found the scale of the project disturbing. But the Army Corps of Engineers says Fort Babcock on Kruzof Island is heavily contaminated relative to other former WWII sites in Alaska, and the toxins present remain dangerous even 80 years after the war.

Seven candidates are vying for four open seats on the Sitka Tribal Council (moderator Rachel Roy is at left). Also two candidates are challenging for the chairman’s seat. The group appeared in a candidate forum October 28, 2024, in Harrigan Centennial Hall. Election Day for Tribal Council is one week after the United States General Election, on Tuesday, November 12. (KCAW/Woolsey)

Statewide, Donald Trump outpolled Kamala Harris on election night by 15 points – 55-percent to 40-percent – to win the presidency, but in Sitka the results were much closer.

Barkada translates to “group of friends.” Senior Julia Nabua told the school board that the Barkadas formed “to celebrate and promote Filipino culture, heritage, and traditions within our school community.”

CG6016 came to rest inverted on the beach on Read Island, after striking the trees and falling approximately 75 feet, during a rescue mission on the night of November 13, 2023. An official MII (Major Incident Investigation) obtained by KCAW concluded that pilot “fixation” and “spatial disorientation” — rather than a mechanical or instrument failure — caused the accident. (USCG photo)

CG6016 was salvaged following the crash on Read Island on November 13, 2023, and then shipped to North Carolina for examination. Its mission to aid the fishing vessel Lydia Marie was considered medium risk and high gain at the time of launch, however the boat was still floating the next morning. Air Station Sitka commander Rand Semke believes that finding fault with the crew for not turning back after learning that the Lydia Marie was out of immediate danger is “hindsight bias,” and that the crew was correct to proceed, as the Lydia Marie’s circumstances could rapidly change. “Real time risk is more art than science,” says Semke. (USCG photo)