Skagway by numbers
Hoop highlights
End of year smiles
Subscribe at www.skagwaynews.com/subscribe
THE SKAGWAY NEWS.
2020 Season Tax Revenue PAGE 9
Hoonah v Panthers PAGE 6
May 14, 2021
Prom is picture perfect PAGE 12
Sk a g w ay, A l a s k a
$1.50
‘We want to make sure that Skagway is still there’
Norwegian Cruise Lines donating $2M to borough By Melinda Munson Skagway Mayor Andrew Cremata used his poker face last week. He found out about the $2 million donation Norwegian Cruise Lines Holdings planned to give to Skagway “a little before everyone else.” The cruise line announced May 4 it would gift $10 million to Southeast Alaska communities whose tourism-based economies were devastated by COVID-19 and the loss of a second cruise ship season. Juneau, Hoonah and Ketchikan will also receive $2 million, while Seward and Sitka will be awarded $1 million. “We want to make sure that Skagway is still there when we come back, whether it’ll be this year, and next year, whenever it is, we want to make sure that everybody’s still there. You know, Skagway is very critical to us,” Steve Moeller, senior vice president for Norwegian told KHNS. Described as “no strings attached,” the cash donation will go to the city, where “it will be up to the assembly,” on how to allocate the unexpected windfall, said Borough Manager Brad Ryan. According to Cremata, Skagway has already lost approximately 20% of its population due to financial strain from the pandemic. The town, whose economy is based on tourism, normally sees one million cruise ship visitors a season. Not one cruise ship passenger disembarked in 2020 and the 2021 season could be nearly as bad. continued on page 2
Photo by Eliza Myers
Skagway School students ham it up on prom night held at the White Pass Train Depot May 1. See more pictures on page 12.
Skagway School bags it without kitchen facility By Melinda Munson School lunches, like most things in Skagway, are unique. Professional chef, Dylan Healy, heads the Skagway City School lunch program with a part-time helper. Up until the 20202021 school year, students had access to a salad bar, international cuisine, fresh fish sourced from Haines and produce grown at local garden stores, thanks in part to grants from Skagway Traditional Council. Meals were so popular, parents regularly stopped in for lunch. For $5, they could enjoy pork adobo and spend time with their children. That changed when the school kitchen was deemed dangerous. “The Skagway School kitchen is beyond its useful life and has been identified as a safety hazard by the State of Alaska Fire Marshal,” said Borough Manager Brad Ryan.
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
The cost to upgrade the facility was prohibitive, so plans were made to turn the kitchen into classroom space and build a kitchen addition at a price of approximately $2 million. The new kitchen was meant to serve the school, but also be a resource for the community. “It is also important to remember that the school is our primary emergency shelter and should be equipped with
a fully functional kitchen if we ever need to use it as a shelter for our community,” Ryan said. Jensen Yorba Wall, Inc. was scheduled to begin kitchen construction in September 2020, but most major projects were halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the loss of a majority of the borough’s revenue. Skagway School converted the outdated kitchen into classrooms but lost their
cooking facility. Healy transitioned to the Elks where he now prepares bagged lunches that are transported to the school. He said he misses working in the school’s commercial kitchen where he could prepare “hot and whole foods.” “We (normally) offer something that most public systems can’t even dream of,” Healy said. Skagway’s scrumptious continued on page 8
No applicants for campground host, three more cabins proposed By Melinda Munson The borough’s attempt to attract a volunteer host for Dyea Campground has come to naught. The post offered accommodation in a newly constructed dry cabin, Dyea Camprground’s first such structure, in exchange for performing host duties five days per week, mornings and evenings.
According to Borough Manager Brad Ryan, the municipality intends to collect camp fees this summer, a practice that was waived last year due to the pandemic. Resolution 20-23R, passed in June 2020, allows the city to collect $10 per tent or camper per night, or $50 for an annual pass. There is currently no host to en-
BLOTTER PAGE 11 CLASSIFIED PAGE 12
sure that fees are being paid and campers are following campground rules. Michael Yee, vice-chair of the Dyea Community Advisory Board, felt the borough didn’t do enough to promote the new volunteer opportunity. “...This position was only posted at city hall. Although continued on page 2
FREE personal classifieds up to 25 words. CALL (907)983-2354 for more information.