KCAW

The Sitka Cancer Survivor’s Society is hosting a wildlife cruise this Saturday. Carolyn Fredrickson and Shannon Callahan join KCAW for the Morning Interview to discuss how their nonprofit supports Sitkans affected by cancer. Established over 25 years ago, the nonprofit provides grants and maintains the Path of Hope Park that seeks to comfort and inspire anyone who walks through. Listen to the conversation here.

Sitka’s summer construction projects are in full swing. Municipal Administrator John Leach joined KCAW on the Morning Interview to discuss ongoing projects affecting traffic and pedestrian access, including utility and sidewalk upgrades on Lake, Hirst, Monastery, and Kinkead streets, repaving work around town, and phase two of Sitka’s seawalk, which will continue until December. Listen to the conversation here:

In 2022, shortly after Sitka’s privately owned marine haulout announced it would close, voters overwhelmingly approved city funding to construct a new one. When the facility opened its doors last September, it was a relief for many in Sitka’s fishing fleet. They now had a local option to haul boats for repairs.

Since then, Highmark Marine, the contractor that operates the city-owned facility, has pulled more than 56 boats out of the water. But some of Sitka’s fleet is out of luck, because their vessels aren’t insured. Either they can’t secure a policy, or it’s too expensive. At a meeting on May 22, Denise Klinger told the Gary Paxton Industrial Park board that she owns an uninsured vessel, but prefers the term “self-insured.”

“It’s a decision we made, like 30 years ago, after putting money out for insurance, that every time we did something to the boat to improve it, the premiums went up. You put a new engine in, the premiums went up. You put new planks in, the premiums went up,” she said. “So we finally said, ‘You know what, we can set aside the money and have this in a fund…if something happens, we have that to fall back on.” 

Klinger said she was excited when the haulout opened, but soon found its insurance policy kept them from hauling locally. So they went to Wrangell’s haulout instead. 

In addition to working uninsured vessels, Eric Calvin said there are derelict or abandoned boats in Sitka that pose a risk to local waters if they’re not hauled. Calvin urged the park board to support waiving an insurance requirement for those. 

“I’ve helped raise several boats here in the harbors over the years, and you’re either going to pay for it on the front end or you’re going to pay for it on the back end, and I would suggest getting them out of the water before they sink, even if the people can’t afford it,” Calvin said. “We’re going to end up paying for it.”

Park Director Garry White said Sitka has the same insurance requirements as many other haulouts it’s modeled after. He said the difference is Sitka’s haulout operators are double-checking for coverage. 

“We’re doing our own due diligence and we’re checking to make sure you do have your certificates of insurance,” White said. “Every single lease back in the day, people just say, ‘Yep, I got the insurance.’ Now we have to have a certification of insurance to verify that.”

Insurance requirements are a part of the contract agreement between the city and Highmark Marine. Jordan Young is a project manager with the marine fabricator, which is in the middle of its busy season. 

“Basically, right now I’m focused on holding up our end of the contract and doing it in an ethical and honest way,” Young said.

While Young said he believed there was a path forward toward hauling uninsured boats and was eager to work with all parties to find a solution, for now the company’s insurance broker recommended against it. 

“They don’t want to see us get pulled into a scenario of compromise that could basically, like, it could ruin the company if things were to go wrong,” Young said. “We don’t keep a fire extinguisher under our sink because we, you know, plan on not having a fire. You do it just in case.”

At the work session, several options were explored in addition to an insurance waiver, like requiring uninsured vessel owners post a $5000 refundable bond before having their boats hauled, or charging a flat fee that would go into a city fund. Municipal Administrator John Leach told the board that city staff had begun developing a waiver for consideration, but ultimately it comes down to a policy decision and who wants to accept the risk.

“If a waiver is put in place, that is an option that the city could waive that requirement, but the city would eat the risk at the same time,” Leach said. “The unique situation with this is the operator would get the benefit of it, while the city would would take the risk.”

Because the facility is city-owned but operated by a private contractor, establishing a policy is more complicated. 

“Simply waiving the insurance requirement doesn’t mean we wave a magic wand and it’s done,” Leach said. “Since it is part of a contract, we need to negotiate and determine what the modification of that contract is going to look like.”

Board member Lauren Howard said working toward a solution is essential because the problem extends beyond the fishing fleet.

“It’s a community-wide issue, and so it’s just, it’s a decision of whether we want to serve our fleet,” Howard said. “We want to get people to, you know, be able to work on their boats so that they don’t sink at the dock, because there’s a lot there.”

“Annual maintenance is what preserves a vessel, period,” she continued. “If you’re not taking that boat out of the water and doing the maintenance, it’s only a matter of time. So, it’s a huge importance to get these boats out of the water.”

At a meeting immediately following the work session, park board members asked staff to continue working on an insurance waiver. White, the park’s director, said he would bring a draft back to the board for review at their June meeting. Once the park board makes a recommendation, it will go to the assembly for consideration. 

Mina Brooks-Schmidt, a recent Carnegie Mellon graduate, is preparing for her senior recital this Friday, 7 p.m. at the Sitka Performing Arts Center. She joined KCAW for the Morning Interview to discuss the recital, which will feature pianist Billie Jo Miller, and highlight a mix of contemporary and traditional pieces, spanning various languages and styles. The recital is free, with donations appreciated for her future studies. Listen to the conversation here:

Sitkans will consider amending the city’s Home Rule Charter in the upcoming municipal election. At its meeting Tuesday night (5-26-26), the Sitka Assembly voted to put a question to voters this fall that would give the assembly more discretion over when to schedule a special election.

In Sitka, citizen initiatives can go out to voters in a special election, provided that the sponsors can secure enough signatures. Once they’ve gotten the signatures, the city’s charter requires a special election within the next 40 to 90 days. The new ordinance would eliminate that requirement, and instead give the assembly the authority to decide whether to hold a special election, if it thinks it would be in the best interest of the city. If not, the petition would go before voters at the next scheduled regular or special election.

Municipal Clerk Sara Peterson said if approved by voters this fall, the amendment would bring Sitka more into alignment with other communities across the state. She said the amount of money and staff time it takes to put on a special election is what prompted the proposed change. The 2025 special election that would have capped cruise ship traffic cost the city more than $18,000.

Larry Edwards with Small Town Soul, a local advocacy group that authored the visitor cap proposition, said the group supports the charter’s requirement, and urged the assembly to vote no on the amendment. 

“In practice, democracy sometimes comes with a cost, and sometimes comes with inconveniences, and sometimes both, but those are not reasons to restrict it,” Edwards said. “It is important for citizens to be able to trigger an initiative special election on a major issue that is time sensitive.”

Assembly Member Katie Riley was concerned it could leave petitioners waiting a long time between filing and voting. She said while she isn’t against putting an amendment forward to Sitka voters, this isn’t the amendment she would go with. 

“There’s a lot of fear out there right now, and there’s a lot of fear about changes that are happening rapidly in our country, and that’s very real perceived fear for some folks,” she said. “I think that this is a pretty technical fix, but it’s occurring in a context in which people have a heightened sense of things that are happening around them and how that might impact their personal lives and their ability to make their voice heard.”

Assembly Member Tim Pike said he doesn’t think the change would hurt the democratic process. He said the state statute language is “battle tested,” and he thinks they should put the question to the voters. 

“I think it’s an opportunity for us to hear from the people and see what they’re feeling. We are not the deciders on this, we are just presenting a question to the public, and as such, I think the risk to democracy is quite low, because democracy will speak and decide whether or not this is a good idea or a bad idea,” Pike said.

Ultimately, the amendment passed 4-2, with assembly members Riley and Scott Saline opposed. The proposition will be included on the Oct. 6 election ballot. 

With June right around the corner, Sitka Pride is gearing up for their busiest time of year. Elle Campbell and Willa Johnson join KCAW for the Morning Interview to discuss the wide variety of events Sitkans can expect to celebrate Pride Month, from drag shows and art shows, to parades and dance parties. Listen here:

Sadie Saline, Riley Bernhardt, and Allyson Mayville have experienced all of their educational milestones as a trio. And in their final semester in high school this spring, the three childhood best friends continued that tradition. They’re the first Sitka High School students to intern at SEARHC’s Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital since before the COVID-19 pandemic began. 

All three were approached by the Career and Technical Education program’s coordinator last fall when he learned they shared an interest in radiology. Mayville was inspired by her own experiences in hospital imaging departments after suffering injuries as a kid. 

“When you’re a little kid and you go in to get your bones X-rayed, it can be very daunting and scary,” says Mayville. “So I remember how comfortable they made me. And I thought that it would be nice to be able to make patients feel that level of comfort in some scary instances.”

Starting in February, the group would visit the hospital twice a week. Bernhardt says that no two days were alike.

“We walk in the doors, and then in their kind of break room/work room, there’s a screen that says what scan is going on, or if there’s a tech that’s about to do a scan, then they’re like, ‘You can go watch an X-ray, or you can go watch an MRI, or an ultrasound, unless if there’s multiple going on,” says Mayville. “And then often they would ask me which one I’d rather go to, and then I would follow the tech down to whatever room they’re at, and watch them do their thing.” 

Like Mayville, Bernhardt’s personal health journey inspired her to help others through medicine. Last year, after struggling with knee issues for several years, she was diagnosed with rare birth defects in her knees. Bernhardt says it was interesting to now be on the other side of the care that she has received. 

“One that was more interesting for me was the knee MRI, just because I’ve had so many. So it was cool to see the behind the scenes of everything,” says Bernhardt. “We haven’t gone to school yet for it, so some of it isn’t very clear. So [the technicians wil] point out what they can see in the findings, and then they’ll show us the electronics behind it and everything. So it’s been really awesome.”

While their schedules at the hospital never overlapped, Saline says that their close friendship helped them get the most out of their internship. 

“If I saw a cool scan or something, then we of course had a little group chat and just share what we saw and how the tech responded [to] everything,” says Saline. “I think it just makes our learning [occur] on a deeper level, because we’re all connected through one way or another from the [radiology] techs, and it’s just special for our friendship to all experience that and have the same eagerness to learn about this specific topic.”

While they gained invaluable professional experience and medical school insights from radiology technicians, Mayville also developed a greater appreciation for the soft skills the job requires. 

“These techs, or really anyone like a doctor or dentist, they want that relationship with you. They want you to feel comfortable and for you to trust them and everything. And they want to know [how to help you],” says Mayville. “So you’re not just burdening them always, which is sometimes how I felt like. ‘These people are busy. They don’t want to hear about it.’ But they actually do. They do want the connections, and they do want to make you feel comfortable.” 

Bernhardt says the camaraderie the technicians demonstrated was not limited to their patients, but also to her and the rest of the radiology team. 

“I don’t think there was a time that I wasn’t laughing while I was learning,” says Bernhardt. “There was definitely moments that were serious [when] we were with patients or something, but if I wasn’t with a patient or something, I was definitely laughing with someone.”

They say the semester solidified their interest in radiology in the future. As the recent grads prepare for their next educational milestones, the first one where they’re going their separate ways, the girls are grateful for the exposure to what makes an effective healthcare professional. 

The summer is approaching, and while basketball season has wrapped, baseball, track and field, and softball are in full swing, culminating in some big games at the end of May and into next month. Sentinel reporters Anna Laffrey and Shannon Haugland joined KCAW for the Morning Interview to look back at a month of athletic achievement in Sitka and preview several upcoming state tournaments. Listen here:

A seasonal Sitka worker is breathing easier today. Her brother has been released by Israel after the humanitarian aid flotilla he was part of was intercepted by the military earlier this week. 

33-year-old Logan Hollarsmith, captain of the L’arq, was sailing with more than 400 activists from southern Turkey to Gaza to deliver aid when they were intercepted by Israeli troops in the eastern Mediterranean. 

Video footage from Global Sumud Flotilla, which organized the fleet, showed Israeli soldiers firing shots at ​two of the boats. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement that they fired nonlethal rounds “as a warning” and that “no protesters were injured during these events.”

“He has been doing this kind of stuff his whole life. This is what he does,” said Camryn Hollarsmith, Logan’s younger sister, who works seasonally in Sitka’s tourism industry. “This is something he’s always led with. [He’s] led with his heart.”

Camryn said this was the second time her brother was detained by Israel for attempting to sail through the Gaza blockade. 

“Last year, it was maybe September, October time, he went on the flotilla,” she said. “He started out in Barcelona, went down towards Gaza, carrying humanitarian aid on his sailboat. He was illegally intercepted there by the Israeli government.”

Logan was then held in Ktzi’ot Prison, a maximum security detention center in Israel, for five days before being released. At the time, House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi issued a statement urging Israel to release him along with the hundreds of other activists who were detained.

“The right of U.S. citizens to due process and fair treatment under international law must be protected. I stand with the family of Logan Hollarsmith in demanding clarity, accountability, and the safe return of all detainees to their homes,” Pelosi said in her statement.

Camryn said her family thought they would be more prepared this time around. 

“I think we thought that going through these motions we’d have a little bit of thicker skin,” she said. “But on the flip side, knowing what actually happened at the end of it, that there was a lot of abuse and neglect and poor conditions [and] a lot of physical violence — I think knowing that that’s what’s happening this time, and not actually being able to do anything, is hitting a lot harder, a lot closer to home.”

Camryn said friends and family from all over have been calling and emailing their representatives this week to push for Logan’s release. Her family got word Thursday morning that Logan had safely arrived in Istanbul, Turkey, along with more than 400 others. 

The activists are being checked out by a medical team and meeting with lawyers. The Turkish public news broadcaster TRT World reported activists claimed mistreatment by Israeli forces while in detention — allegations that were denied by Israeli prison officials — and that at least three activists were hospitalized. The news organization also reported international outcry after Israel’s national security minister posted a provocative video showing him taunting detained flotilla activists who were handcuffed and kneeling.  

Camryn said despite being scared, this has been a proud sister moment for her. 

“As important as my brother is to me — obviously, he’s my older brother and I care so much about him — he’s doing this on behalf of the genocide that’s happening in Gaza and Palestine,” she said. “If you remove the politics from it, there are people being bombed, there are children being bombed. We need to get aid to them. At the very base of the morality of this is that this is not okay, and why are we accepting that this is okay?”

Camryn said it could still be a few days before her brother gets back to his home in Arizona. She said she’s feeling a “massive sense of relief,” but understands that Logan and others need to continue the fight.