The Skagway Way News April 26 FINAL

Planet Protectors keep Skagway clean

Special to the Skagway News

We are the Planet Protectors, a group of Skagway School’s fourth and fifth grade students who are dedicated to keeping Skagway clean and protecting our Earth. We pick up litter from our streets and streams.

Our club is proud to say that we have been accomplishing more and more initiatives as our group becomes more known and successful. The Planet Protectors are about ten fourth and fifth graders and we are not just picking trash up anymore. We are raising bear awareness throughout our community, to year-round and seasonal residents, and we also speak about our concerns with our mayor and city council members. As a result, Skagway’s Solid Waste Committee is supporting our efforts by addressing bear attractants and working to educate our community about how to live responsibly in bear country. In addition, we have been financially supported by the Westmark Hotel, Garden City Market, and the Eagles F.O.E. Aerie #25 to purchase two wagons, trash grabbers to pick up unsanitary garbage, and for a recycling center at Skagway School.

Please join us, the Planet Protectors, by doing your part! We ask you to throw your trash in the garbage cans located all along our downtown’s Broadway Avenue, and to support our efforts by picking up some trash if you see any during your visit here. You can be a “Planet Protector” too! As summer comes, more trash arrives, so please help us throw it away. Thank you!

SKAGWAY NEWS.

Commerical property values due to increase assessor says

By Gretchen Wehmhoff

Commercial property owners in Skagway may see a staggering increase. In a letter to Borough Manager Brad Ryan, assessor James Canary presented that a gross overall increase to commercial property values in the historic downtown Skagway area will be up approximately 50%.

Alaska State Stature 29.45.110(a) instructs that the Assessor shall assess property at its full and true value as of Jan. 1 of the assessment year.

Canary took on the role of Assessor in January 2020. He originally noted that “commercial property values were undervalued based on sales information.”

“In 2020 I valued residential properties in the downtown market area with the intention of updating the commercial property valu-

ations the following year,” Canary writes.

The Assessorss office acknowledges that there were unexpected economic changes due to the 2020 – 2021 COVID-19 pandemic. It was decided by the State Assessor’s office to wait for things to settle out. Now, with time allowing for economic recovery, they Assessor determined it was time to update the commercial values.

Canary said he visited each commercial property in the downtown area, inspecting, remeasuring and talking to owners and renters.

When assessment notices arrive, owners will have 30 days to appeal the new valuations, based on “unequal, excessive, improper or under valuation based on facts.

Canary says he plans to be available for onsite reviews.

Assemblymember Orion Hanson said at the April 18

meeting that he has heard from a number of business owners and building owners in historic district concerned about the increasing property taxes.

“I want to say for the record, we have kept the same mill rate, what changed is that the real property sales have gone up by a lot,” Hanson said.

Hanson reminded the room that during the pandemic that the MOS did not change the formula.

“We kind of kept that static for a while. But it is not

a formula that we manipulated; it’s based on state statute. And it’s been the same mill rate for a very, very long time. The difference is that the properties in the downtown area in particular, are selling for a lot more money,” Hanson explained.

“No one likes seeing your taxes jumped through the roof. But it didn’t come because we manipulated the process in anyway. And I just want to make that clear,”

Any change in the local mil rate will impact the tax amounts.

Photo by Alexandra Rosa Adobe Images

Lucas James McCain, left and Coop Briody, right, of Skagway, performs with their band, Jerry, on Sunday, April 14, 2024, at the Alaska Folk Festival in Juneau.

Photo by Rashah McChesney/Chilkat Valley News

Downtown Skagway, Broadway Street.

The Skagway News. Skagway’s First Newspaper Christened in 1897, buried alive in 1904 and resurrected in 1978, The Skagway News is currently celebrating 47 years of reporting in Skagway and Dyea, Alaska, recording our Centennial years and beyond.

ADVERTISING & NEWS COPY DEADLINES

Next issue will be published MAY 10, 2024

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COPY, LETTERS, CALENDAR DEADLINE:

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Vol. XLVII, No. 7 (969) April 26, 2024

Published online the second and fourth Friday of the month

Phone: (907) 983-2354

www.skagwaynews.com

editor@skagwaynews.com

sales@skagwaynews.com

Publisher Gretchen Wehmhoff

Contributors & Volunteers

Alaska Beacon Jeff Brady

Rashah McChesney

Katherine Moseley

Larry Persily

Kerri Raia

Scott Raia

Joe Stoltze

Denise Welch

Editor Emeritus

William J. “Jeff” Brady

Submissions

The Skagway News welcomes opinions pieces and letters to the editor. Opinion pieces should be no longer than 600 words and will be published based on space availability and relevance to current and local events.

Letters to the editor should not exceed 250 words. Submit letters and opinions to editor@skagwaynews. com. Letters may be edited for grammar and length.

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Letters and Opinion

No need to amend the Alaska Constitution

By Larry Persily

Less than two years ago, Alaskans voted overwhelmingly against convening a constitutional convention to amend the state’s founding document. More than 70% of voters said no thanks, it’s a bad idea.

It was the sixth time in a row, going back to 1972, that voters by wide margins rejected the whimsy of shaking up the constitution as you would a game of Etch A Sketch and redrawing the fundamental laws of Alaska.

While they oppose reopening the constitution to a potential wholesale rewrite, Alaskans have approved multiple specific amendments over the years: Voters adopted 16 amendments in the first 20 years after statehood, though only 11 amendments in the next 40 years.

It’s not easy to put a constitutional amendment be-

fore voters, nor should it be easy. Political pleasures should not dictate changes in the foundational laws. It requires a two-thirds supermajority vote in both the state House and Senate to place an amendment on the ballot.

Though it’s been 20 years since Alaskans last approved an amendment, legislators continue heaving the hottest of hot potatoes onto the political dinner plate to see if anyone bites. Recent halfbaked potatoes include proposed amendments to stick a guaranteed Permanent Fund dividend into the constitution, and others to trash the state’s system of appointed judges and switch to political campaigns, where judges would be elected the same as legislative candidates who promise large PFDs, paved roads and no taxes.

Which brings us to today’s potato. An Alaska Superior Court judge earlier this

month ruled unconstitutional the state law which allows public money to go toward private and religious organizations through correspondence school programs.

The 2014 law struck down by the judge allowed parents to spend some or all of their allotment of state money to “purchase nonsectarian services and materials from a public, private or religious organization.” The judge ruled that violated the strict prohibition in the constitution: “No money shall be paid from public funds for the direct benefit of any religious or other private educational institution.”

Public school districts that operate correspondence programs for homeschooled students receive about $5,300 per pupil from the state. As the districts provide less services than a traditional in-person school— no classrooms, gyms, activities

RecCenter fee changes now in effect

By Gretchen Wehmhoff

The Skagway Assembly approved a resolution modifying the fee structure for the Skagway Recreation Center at the April 18 meeting.

Children under 14 may now use the facilities free of charge. Previously kids needed to be part of a family plan or have their own plan. The family plans have been discontinued.

In addition, 14- 17 year olds now have a separate plan, allowing them entrance without the need to belong to a family plan.

Seniors 65 and older now have a fee structure similar to the older teens, reducing their day rate from $8 to $3.

The rec center sees the new structure as more cost

Corrections

Please send corrections to editor@ skawaynews.com

effective for all groups. Year-round residents will see improved benefits in the fee structure.

The new fees are currently

active and available on the center’s website.

The diagram was presented at the assembly meeting.

or classroom teachers — they are able to give half, or more, of the state money to parents as an allotment, which parents can spend on education-related expenses.

Spending those allotments with private- or church-operated programs led to the lawsuit.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy and at least a couple of legislators say the answer is to amend the constitution to allow spending allotments with private and religious organizations. But turning this into a constitutional battle isn’t needed.

The answer is much simpler: Change the law to stop such payments.

This is a politically inflicted crisis. Dunleavy pushed the change in law a decade ago when he was a state senator, publicly acknowledging at the time that the statute allowing spending at private and religious organizations was unconstitutional. However, his proposed constitutional amendment failed to win legislative support. No matter, he figured, just go ahead with the law and see what happens.

Rather than mess with the constitution and further weaken the state’s K-12 schools by endorsing the diversion of more state dollars away from public education, the better answer is to change the law governing how correspondence allotments are spent. Allow parents to continue spending their money to buy educational services and materials from public school districts and programs, but not private schools or religious organizations.

Change the law and let parents get on with planning their kids’ education, within the rules of the constitution.

Funding for Alaska highway upgrades to be provided over three years

By Gretchen Wehmhoff

Following the Memorandum of Understanding signed Feb. 9 by Yukon’s Premier Ranj Pillai and Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, much-needed upgrades on the north Alaska Highway will begin in 2025 and continue until the end of the project in 2027.

In February 2024, the Yukon and Alaska submitted a joint application for U.S. government funding under the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program.

Construction and upgrades will be funded by a $31.125M USD (approximately $42.6M CAD) investment by the State of Alaska through the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). This funding will help to ensure safe and efficient travel for Yukoners and Alaskans along a major northern route.

The highway serves as the primary land link between southeast Alaska and the rest of the United States and connects many rural communities in the Yukon including Haines Junction, Destruction Bay, Burwash Landing and Beaver Creek. This roadway also links the traditional territories of the Champagne and Aishihik, Kluane, and White River First Nations.

This agreement commits Alaska’s Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and the Yukon’s Department of Highways

and Public Works to work together to restore sections of the Alaska Highway in the Yukon.

The project will target a portion of the north Alaska highway, spanning approximately 222.5 kilometers from Destruction Bay to the Canada/US border. This section faces a range of road maintenance and safety challenges due to thawing permafrost. Restoration efforts will involve resurfacing, repairing the road underneath the surface and culverts. It will also include improvement to the drainage to make sure the road can be used safely at its intended speed.

“This partnership showcases the importance of working in collaboration towards a shared goal for northerners.”

Premier Ranj Pillai said in a prepared statement.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (also called the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law) has specific language that allows portions of the Alaska Highway in Canada to compete for and receive US federal grant funding for its reconstruction

In the same statement Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said, “This success in the STIP application underscores the importance of maintaining a safe and efficient passage for all visitors to the North, and we look forward to an exciting construction season ahead.”

STIP is separate from RAISE funding and work

can proceed without the latter.

Minister of Highways and Public works in Yukon, Nils Clarke expressed his gratitude to Alaska for contributing to the project.

The funding allocated under this program will help mitigate the effects of thawing permafrost on this essential roadway. This contribution showcases both our governments’ recognition of the importance of this road link, as well as our commitment to keep the north Alaska highway safe for all road travelers,” said Clarke

2024 studded tire deadline extended for regions above latitude 60°

Winter driving conditions warrant extended studded tire use

Alaska Department of Public Safety issued an emergency order extending the statutory deadline to remove studded tires from vehicles operating on Alaska roadways for areas north of the 60° North Latitude line. Due to extended winter weather conditions across much of the southcentral and interior Alaska, the order was issued to ease the burden of Alaskans and ensure drivers can safely operate their vehicles during the extended winter season.

“Many parts of Alaska are

experiencing prolonged winter weather after a near record setting snow season that has extended icy road conditions well into April,”said Public Safety Commissioner Jim Cockrell. “This 15-day extension for the studded tire removal deadline will provide additional time to switch to regular tires without compromising safety.”

Alaskans living above the 60° North Latitude line, including all portions of the Sterling Highway, may use studded tires on Alaska roadways until May 15, 2024.

Latitude 60° crosses Alaska from east to west, just south of Prince William Sound, Seward, and Chefornak.

Alaskans living below the 60° North Latitude line, including Southeast, the Aleutian Chain, Southwest Alaska, and Kodiak, will use the deadline established in statute of April 15, 2024.

Some municipalities or boroughs may have their own regulations surrounding studded tires in their jurisdiction.

Photos by Gretchen Wehmhoff

Kluane Lake in Yukon Territory along the Alaska Highway just south of Burwash Landing. The northern section of the highway from Destruction Bay to the Canada/U.S. border is set for construction.

It’s National Poetry Month and Skagway is home to artists and poets

By Gretchen Wehmhoff

April is National Poetry Month and Skagway is the place to find poets.

Jeff Brady has been writing poetry for decades, but when he and his wife, Dorothy, moved out to their home in Dyea, he found more inspiration to write creatively.

Brady published The Skagway News for 37 years, so his experience in Southeast Alaska is deep.

Brady had long saved ideas for poems, writing them quickly on pieces of paper and tucking them away until he had the time to work them into works of word art.

“Some of those ideas are 30-years-old,” Brady said.

Some notations were from his years in North Carolina, but most are from his Alaskan life. “I usually write them down in longhand,” Brady said. It helps him remember it better, although he says the lines can appear to be a “mish mash” until he starts to edit.

“At that point, when I start to change words and lines, you almost have to work on it on a computer.”

While Brady has published his poetry in multiple venues, the most recent poems published in journals highlight his personal relationship with nature and life. He mentioned that while attending a celebration of life, he jotted down multiple ideas recalling memories of his friend.

Brady’s poem “The River of Taking” is in the most recent issue of Cirque - a literary journal of the North Pacific Rim. Using local Tlingit language to describe a Láx’ (heron) landing at the mouth of the Deiyáa (Taiya River), Brady illustrates the character and chronicle of the river’s journey from glacial melt through centuries of natural and human encounters.

He also has two pieces in the latest Tidal Tales. Brady is a founding member of the North Words Writing Symposium hosted in Skagway and Dyea every year.

This year’s symposium, May 29 - June 1, has faculty from Alaska and beyond. Registration for the annual event and more information is available at https://nwwriterss.com/.

Brady will join other faculty members for a Faculty Reading event at Eagles Hall from 7 - 8:30 p.m. on May 30. The readings are open to the public.

Another faculty member reading that night will be Kent Fielding.

Fielding, a well-loved high school English teacher in Skagway, writes poetry inspired by a combination of his travel experiences, his chance meetings with people enhanced by dream events.

“I used to keep a dream journal,” said Fielding.

Fielding recently had three poems published in Night Owl Narrative (a Cajun Mutt rag.)

One of his poems, “Nightmare,” occurs on a train. It involves vodka, a train through Siberia (reflective of a train ride he took from Irkutsk, Russia) and characters pensively examining their life. The concept came about when Fielding was in Siberia.

Child Find: May 6, 2024

Skagway School District is scheduling appointments for our birth to five year old annual early development screening May 6 2024 This screening will be conducted by a collection of specialists at the school We will be screening for vision hearing developmental delays speech/language impairments and more You do not need to have any concerns to bring your child in to participate we will also do general developmental surveys to track milestones Our goal is to have all Skagway children birth to five years old participate!

The purpose is to locate children with potential disabilities so that a free and appropriate public education can be made available The types of disabilities that if found cause a child to need services are:

• Cognitive Disability

• Speech or Language Impairment

• Emotional Disturbance

• Autism Spectrum Disorder

• Other Health Impairment

• Deaf-Blindness

What is Child Find?

• Hearing Impairment Including Deafness

• Visual Impairment, Including Blindness

• Orthopedic Impairment

• Traumatic Brain Injury

• Specific Learning Disability

• Multiple Disabilities

Child Find refers to activities undertaken by a public education agency (Skagway School District) to identify locate and evaluate children between the ages of birth to twenty-one residing within the school’s geographic boundaries who are suspected of having disabilities regardless of the severity of their disability and determine the child s need for special education and related services

If you suspect your child has a disability, you know of a child who you suspect may have a disability, or you have questions about special education for children with disabilities, please contact Cody Burnham at Skagway School by calling (907)983-2960 or email cburnham@skagwayschool org to schedule an appointment

He met a family in Irkutsk where three generations lived together. The grandfather was a war hero who had fought in the Battle of Moscow during WWII. The older man shared a story with Fielding where as a soldier, he had been wounded and woke up in an underground bunker used as a makeshift hospital. He told Fielding that he was offered the choice of food or a cigarette.

He took the cigarette. Fielding understood from the story that when a person is surrounded by death or other overwhelming trauma, that the addiction to find relief or distraction was met by the nicotine or alcohol.

Night Owl is a journal that introduces attending poets and influencers for the next Insomniacathon in Louisville, Kentucky.

The title of the event, scheduled for June 22-28 this summer, is true to its form. The performance art and music celebration will last 56 straight hours - non stop. This year will feature between 50 - 100 writers and poets as well as over 30 bands and musicians.

Fielding helped found the first Insomnicacathon in November 1992. While he has been involved

with Insomniacathon since the beginning, this year he is in charge.

Although staying awake the enitre time has become more difficult with age.

“In those days I could stay up for hours on end,” he said.

The event has grown and been hosted in various venues around the country. The website is https:// stphilipcampus.org/insomniacathon-2024/

Jeff Brady

Kent Fielding

Scholarships and opportunities

Skagway Arts Council Scholarships for Skagway residents

The Skagway Arts Council offers up to two scholarships of up to $300 to individuals who have lived in Skagway for at least one year and want to attend North Words. More information and applications are available on the SAC BlogSpot.

April 30 deadline to file for FAFSA (Federal Student Aide) Students attending college during the 2024-2025 school year still have time to unlock millions of dollars in scholarships and grants at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid by April 30th to get your financial aid offer in May.

For more information or to attend an event in your community, visit UAF.edu/fafsa

Things going on at The Skagway Public Library

Wednesdays 10:30 a.m. Windy Valley Babies: Bring your 0-3 year old to sing and read stories with Ms. Anna!

Saturdays 3 - 5p.m. Music Saturdays. Come play around on our mandolin, ukulele, guitar, banjo or piano!

(And you won’t even get shushed!)

Skagway Visitors Department posted the 2024 Cruise Ship Arrival schedule. Here. https://www.skagway.org/svd/page/skagway-cruise-ship-arrivals-schedules

WORKFORCE ORIENTATION is continuing April 22 -28. Take advanttage of testing, training on Narcan administration and tourism practices. Check out the rummage sale on April 28 to get your homes set up. See the schedule at https://www.skagway.com/event/ welcome-to-shgagwei/3093/

Learn gardening basics in statewide webinar series

Grow your gardening knowledge. University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service agent Casey Matney will teach a series of 11 gardening webinars to help you get your garden ready for the upcoming growing season.

The free classes will be held online via Zoom at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, from March 19 to May 28.Contact Matney at camatney@ alaska.edu or 907-262-3443.

April 30 — Herb Gardening: Inside and Out

May 7 — Seeding Directly into the Garden

May 14 — Planting Potatoes

May 21 — Hardening Plants and Transplanting into the Garden

May 28 — Composting: No Time to Waste To register for classes: https://www.uaf.edu/ces/garden/webinars/index.php

Kluane Chilkat Int’l Bike Relay Registration

Registration for the 29th KCIBR opens on March 15The race categories cater to various team sizes, ensuring an inclusive experience for all participants.

This years’ categories are: Solo, 2, 4 or 8-person teams.

ADDITIONAL EVENT DETAILS:

E-bikes are permitted for 8-person teams, adding a dynamic element to the competition. Teams can choose whether or not to include E-bikes for an added layer of strategy. Any 8-person team with an e bike may not place 1st, 2nd or 3rd place.

Visit www.kcibr.org to register starting March 15, 2024 at 9 a.m.

Website of the week

The digital world allows us to explore ideas, entertainment and research. With new technol ogy, data management and 3D interactives, it’s no wonder we spend so much time on our devic es. This weeks site is a fun set of trivia quizzes bound to reveal how much generational pop cul ture fills your brain.

This issue The Skagway News looks at: SPORCLE.COM

If you like quizzes, trivia and pop cul ture, this website could keep you busy on a rainy day. I tried the quiz where I had to identify the B word that was missing from the title of the movie. Missed one. I’ll give you the answer: Babylon 5

April 5

Police Department Police & Fire Blotter

•EMS personnel assisted in transporting a patient to the clinic.

•A bike was reported abandoned at the harbor and was brought to the Public Safety Facility.

•Police assisted a citizen with a vehicle lockout.

April 6

•A caller reported a large rock in the road near Nakhu Bay. DOT was advised.

•Dispatch assisted a citizen in contacting the on-duty provider.

•A caller reported they lost their wallet.

•Fire Department personnel assisted a resident in setting up a 911 auto-dialer for their home.

April 7

•A caller inquired if any found wallets had been turned in.

April 8

•A caller reported seeing flashing lights near Kirmse’s Clock. Upon further investigation, the lights appeared to be gone.

April 9

•A caller reported they found a phone outside of Wells Fargo. The phone was turned in to the Police Department and later reunited with its owner.

April 10

•EMS personnel responded to a medical emergency and transported the patient to the clinic.

•A rockslide was reported to be blocking a lane of the Klondike Highway near Black Lake. DOT was advised and cleared the debris.

•AP&T notified dispatch there would be a small scheduled power outage in the morning.

•Police and EMS conducted a welfare check.

April 11

•AP&T notified dispatch the scheduled power outage was complete.

•A black key fob was found by a citizen and brought to the Police Department’s lost and found.

April 12

•Dispatch assisted a citizen in contacting the on-duty provider.

•Police assisted a with a vehicle lockout.

•Police assisted with a second vehicle lockout.

•EMS personnel assisted with transportation for a medevac.

April 13

•Dispatch assisted with contacting the on-duty provider.

tempted to break into their garage. The attempt was unsuccessful.

April 14

•Dispatch assisted a citizen in contacting the on-duty provider.

•A report was taken of an apparent theft. The tent at Yakutania Point used for the dock project’s Protected Species Observer workers was missing along with a propane heater. Other work and personal items that had been stored inside the tent were now strewn about the area.

April 15

•EMS personnel assisted with transportation for a medevac.

April 17

•Fire Department personnel responded to an EWS fire alarm. It was found to be a false alarm.

•A caller reported he almost collided with a loose dog in the road near 17th and State. He further reported he had seen the same dog wandering into the road multiple times. Officers attempted to locate the dog and owner.

•A caller reported he had gotten into a fight with their friend who then took off. Responding officer were unable to locate the individual.

•A caller reported they witnessed a rock slide above the Railroad Dock. Police Department personnel investigated and discovered it was caught by the safety net.

April 18

•Fire Department personnel responded to an EWS fire alarm at US Customs. It was found to be a false alarm.

•EMS personnel assisted with transportation for a medevac.

•A large rock was reported to be in the southbound lane of the Klondike Highway. DOT was advised and the debris was cleared.

•Alaska State Troopers reported Garmin SOS coordinates from an injured backcountry skier, two friends and a dog near Moore Bridge. Fire Department personnel launched a search and rescue mission, and the injured individual and party were located. Temsco flew the injured individual into town where they were transported to the clinic. EMS personnel then transported them from the clinic to Fraser, BC, where they were transferred to a Yukon ambulance to be taken to a Whitehorse hospital.

Submitted by Skagway

Family Fun Page - print and share

yet

Gasoline auto performance stat

Avivan, for example

Fort Meade

group

Stir-fry ingredients put baroness out of sorts

irritable

am monarch

Got around remolding melding

Orkin target

“... --- iron bars a cage”

Lovelace)

Affirmative reply

Equality State

Headquartered

“If that don’t suit ya, that’s --” (Alice Cooper,

Veep’s boss

Garbled camp

Inflationary path

Beanery handouts

Wallop

source

“Do I have a volunteer?”

Nation once known as Dahomey

“... a bushel --peck”

Check out our NEW online puzzle page for interactive crosswords and sudokus. www.skagwaynews/puzzles

Color me!

BROADWAY BULLETIN BOARD

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Library Hours:

Mon. - Thurs. 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Fri. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Weekends 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Call 983-2665 or email

library@skagway.org

Dahl Clinic Winter Hours:

Mon. - Fri. 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Closed Sat. and Sun.

907-983-2255

For after-hours emergencies, dial 911.

Solid Waste Facility Hours T, Th, Sa, Su. 1 - 3 p.m.

Skagway Museum

907-983-2420

Border stations:

7 a.m. - 11 p.m.

Call each station for specifics.

Ferry Terminal Hours

M-F 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.

RECREATION CENTER

Skagway Recreation Center • 12th & Main • 983-2679

SKAGWAY WORSHIP DIRECTORY

Assembly of God Church 8th & State • 907-983-2350

Sun. Worship....................11 a.m.

Wed. Bible Devotions & Prayer 7 p.m.

Email skagwayag@outlook.com

First Presbyterian Church 5th & Main • 983-2260

Sunday Worship 9:30 a.m.

Seafood Socials 5:30 p.m. Wed..

Bible Study 6:30 p.m. Tues. Online access available

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints 11th & State • 983-2518

Sun. Sacrament Meeting...10 a.m.

St. Therese Catholic Church 9th & State • 983-2271

Sun. Mass..........4 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Mass Mon. & Tues.....12:10 p.m. (when a priest is available)

THE FUNNIES

News Classified Ads cost 40 cents per word, $4 minimum.

SERVICES

FOOD BANK DONATIONS WELCOME. Donations may be sent to the Food Bank, PO Box 200, Skagway, AK 99840. The local Food Bank helps those in need with groceries. If you need assistance, or know anyone who needs assistance, at any time of year, call any pastor.

CLASSIFIEDS EMPLOYMENT

The Skagway News is hiring an Assistant Newsie Coordinator. This is a part time job involves accompanying the Newsies from May through August to the docks in the morning from approximately 6:458 a.m. Pay will be $18/hour for dock days The new coordinator will need both a CLAA ID and a current TWIC card. Applicants must supply at least two referrences as this job requires working with minors. Contact Gretchen for more information or to apply at editor@skagwaynews. com or leave a message at 907-983-2354.

To reach the Dahl on-duty provider, contact police dispatch at 907-983-2232

THE FUNNIES

Relocation of Alaska Native village seen as a test case for other threatened communities

By Yereth Rosen Alaska Beacon Alaskabeacon.com

The Yup’ik village of Newtok, perched precariously on thawing permafrost at the edge of the rapidly eroding Ninglick River, is the first Alaska community to begin a full-scale relocation made necessary by climate change.

Still, the progress of moving to a new village site that is significantly outpacing relocation efforts at other vulnerable Alaska communities, remains agonizingly slow, say those who are in the throes of the transformation.

“There is no blueprint on how to do this relocation,” said Carolyn George, one of those still living in Newtok. “We’re relocating the whole community to a whole different place, and we did not know how to do it. And it’s been taking too long — over 20 years, I think.”

George, who works at the Newtok school, was one of the self-described “Newtok mothers” who made comments at a panel discussion at the recent Arctic Encounter Symposium in Anchorage. The river waters, once at least a mile away, have edged closer and closer, and the village, once sitting high on the landscape, continues to sink as that permafrost thaws, she said.

Plans to move Newtok started to solidify in 2006 with the formation of the local-state-federal Newtok Planning Group, but that followed many years of debate and study that led to the decision to relocate. according to the Alaska Division of Community and Regional Affairs. The new site, about 9 miles away on the south side of the Ninglick River, is called Mertarvik, meaning “getting water from the spring.”

In 2019, the first Mertarvik residents settled into their new homes. As of now, more than half of the residents have moved to Mertarvik.

The latest count is 220 in Mertarvik and 129 still at Newtok, said Christina Waska, the relocation coordinator for the Newtok Village Tribal government.

The goal is to have everyone in Mertarvik by the fall, even if that means some peo-

ple will be living in temporary housing, like construction work camps.

“Our ultimate goal is to not leave anyone behind,” she said.

With a single local government, a single Tribal government and unified services like mail delivery, Newtok and Mertarvik technically make up a single community. But often it does not feel that way.

George is among those coping with a sense of limbo.

Her five daughters and their father have moved to a new house in Mertarvik, but she remains in Newtok because of her job. That is a hardship, she said. “Being alone, I get anxiety, and I miss my girls, you know. Especially at night,” she said.

And the school where she works, and which is set to be demolished this summer, is in dire shape.

The four classrooms are heated by a small generator. There is no food cooked onsite for the kids. There is no plumbing – a situation that, for now, is being addressed with a “bathroom bus” that shuttles kids to their homes as needed.

Conditions are notably better at Mertarvik, said speakers at the conference.

Lisa Charles, another panel member, described the difficult conditions her family left behind in Newtok. The family was packed into a too-small, two-bedroom house with thawing permafrost below and mold growing inside. It took a toll on their physical well-being, she said.

But once the family settled in at Mertarvik, things improved, she said.

“After moving over to the new village site, we noticed all of our health improved, especially for my daughter that grew up with asthma,” Charles said. “After we moved over to our new home, she grew out of her asthma problem.”

There have been complications, like power outages affecting the school, attributed to demand that outstripped capacity.

Among the challenges is a timing mismatch. Waska and new Tribal administra-

tor Calvin Tom started their jobs only recently, too late for them to place summer barge orders, and as a consequence, no building materials are expected to be barged in 2024 and no new houses will be built this summer in Mertarvik, Waska said.

There is still plenty of work to be done aside from construction, she said. And construction is seen as a process that will continue long after all residents are settled at Mertarvik, she added.

“It’ll never be done. If you look at every village, even Anchorage, Fairbanks, it’s always under construction,” she said.

While Newtok is the first Alaska village to relocate, others will follow.

Even two decades ago, 31 communities were identified as facing imminent threats that would make their locations potentially unlivable in the near future. Of those, nearly half were planning or considering some form of relocation.

Next after Newtok to relocate entirely may be Kivalina, an Inupiat village on the Chukchi Sea coast that is facing numerous climate stressorsalong with rapid erosion. The community now has a new evacuation road, completed in 2021, that can better enable movement to a new site.

But plans hit a snag after a study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers revealed that the originally chosen relocation site, called Kiniktuuraq, is also vulnerable to the same climate change stressors that are expected to make Kivalina uninhabitable in the relatively near future.

Napakiak, a Yup’ik village perched on a section of eroding land along the Kuskokwim River that is being quickly eaten away in large chunks, has also made progress. The community is now engaged in a partial relocation, a strategy known as “managed retreat.”

Some families have already moved from vulnerable sites to safer ground upland, and there is state money available for a new school to replace the erosion-threatened building.

There is no single source of money to pay for reloca-

tion work, even for the Newtok-Mertarvik transformation, the most advanced of the projects.

The Newtok-Mertarvik move has been funded through various allocations over time. Among the recent infusions were $25 million through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and another $6.7 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Napakiak received a similar $25 million grant through the infrastructure law and a $2.4 million infusion earlier this year from FEMA.

The combined costs of full and partial relocations for all the villages that need them are expected to be staggering.

Of 144 Alaska Native villages with damages from flooding, erosion, permafrost thaw or some combination of those impacts, costs for protecting infrastructure are expected to mount to $3.45 billion over the next 50 years, according to a 2020 report by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. An additional $833 million is needed to protect the hub communities of Utqiagvik, Nome, Bethel, Kotzebue, Dillingham and Unalaska, said the 2020 BIA report, which was produced in cooperation with the Denali Commission and other agencies.

The sources for the needed funding remain unclear, and bureaucratic hurdles are delaying progress toward necessary relocations, a recent report from the

Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium said.

There are fundamental obstacles in rural Alaska that make it extremely difficult for Alaska communities to work through the federal system, said Jackie Qataliña Schaeffer, ANTHC’s director for climate initiatives.

She cited an example during the Arctic Encounter Symposium forum. “Every federal agency requires you to have some type of reporting and in most of the cases you have to apply for the federal funding online. If you don’t have stable internet, how do you do that?” she said.

The ANTHC report recommends an overhaul to streamline a process that is a poor fit for remote Alaska villages.

In some ways, the Newtok-Mertarvik residents said, their split community has successfully overcome difficult challenges, making their relocation a possible example for other threatened communities in Alaska and elsewhere in the United States.

But those successes can also be bittersweet.

Relocation is absolutely necessary because the old village site is now an unhealthy place to live, Waska said. Nonetheless, she feels conflicted about abandoning the hometown she loves.

“Newtok is my home. It’s kind of sad. It kind of breaks my heart that Newtok is no longer going to be there,” she said.

Children walk to school on a boardwalk in the village of Newtok in 2012. Residents have been moving in phases from the old site, which is undermined by erosion, flooding and permafrost thaw, to a new and safer village site called Mertarvik. (Photo provided by the Alaska Division of Community and Regional Affairs)