Sitka

by Channel 2 News staff Friday, February 5, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A Sitka man was killed in a house fire Thursday morning. Sitka fire officials say the body of Edwin Haynes was found in the basement apartment of the home located at 804 Lake St. after firefighters had knocked down the flames in about an hour. Residents living upstairs were able to escape the home by the time fire crews arrived on scene just before 3 a.m. Officials say the home was a complete loss, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

by The Associated Press Wednesday, July 7, 2010 SITKA, Alaska -- Accidents at two Sitka hatcheries over the weekend killed more than 1 million salmon fry. The Daily Sitka Sentinel reports Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association lost 950,000 chinook fry at its Medvejie hatchery Friday afternoon when a water valve was mistakenly turned off. The Sheldon Jackson College hatchery lost 230,000 coho and chinook fry...

by The Associated Press Friday, April 30, 2010 SITKA, Alaska -- Sitka residents could get the chance to expand a ban on smoking in public places. The Sitka Assembly on Tuesday directed the city attorney to draft an ordinance that could let voters decide whether the smoking ban should be extended to bars and private clubs, which are currently exempt from the ban. Voters in 2005 allowed the exemptions. Two Sitka clubs and two bars allow smoking on premises. The ordinance to expand the ban would have to be approved by the Assembly before a question is put on the October election ballot.

by The Associated Press Wednesday, April 7, 2010 SITKA, Alaska -- A 20-year-old Sitka man convicted of stabbing four people to death is appealing his 140-year prison sentence. Jason Abbott pleaded guilty but mentally ill to killing his grandparents, an aunt and her fiance at his grandparents' home in 2008. A fifth victim, another aunt, was critically wounded. Abbott pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and one count of assault. Sitka Superior Court Judge David George sentenced Abbott in February and estimated he would be eligible for parole when he was about 70 years old. The Sitka Sentinel reports Dan Bair of the state Office of Public Advocacy appealed.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game opened the 2011 Sitka herring sac roe fishery Thursday afternoon, giving the green light to waiting vessels at 1:40 p.m. The herring fleet in Sitka had been on a two-hour notice for the fishery to commence since 8 a.m. Monday. Processors worked closely with Fish and Game throughout the week to take roe samples and determine whether they are sufficiently mature to harvest. Some 48 boats are fishing this year, with a herring quota of over 19,000 tons.

A major ammonia leak at a seafoods processing plant in Sitka forced 150 people to evacuate Thursday evening. The Sitka Fire Department said crews were still searching for people inside Silver Bay Seafoods Thursday night as a precaution. There was no immediate word on what caused the leak, but officials speculate it could be a broken pipe. SFD says of the 150 people who were evacuated, about 10 or 11 were taken to the hospital for fainting or dizziness.   The plant is about a mile and a half away from any homes, and officials say the winds were blowing away from any houses.

by Jackie Bartz Tuesday, July 13, 2010 SITKA, Alaska -- Residents of Sitka are reeling in the wake of a helicopter crash that killed three Coast Guard crew members. A memorial service was held Tuesday. Flags flew at half-staff to honor the three Sitka-based airmen who gave their lives serving the country, and hundreds packed a Sitka hangar to say thanks. Coast Guard crewmen Sean Krueger, Adam Hoke and Brett M. Banks died in a helicopter crash last week off the coast of Washington.

by The Associated Press Friday, May 21, 2010 SITKA, Alaska -- A 5-pound black bear cub found outside Gustavus will be kept at a bear rescue facility in Sitka until a zoo in the Lower 48 is ready to receive it. The bear was sent to the nonprofit Fortress of the Bear, founded by Les and Evy Kinnear. The cub initially was reported as a grizzly. State officials wanted to take the bear to Juneau for identification but the Kinnears refused to turn it over, fearing it would be euthanized.

A capsized fishing vessel's crew was rescued by good Samaritans near Sitka after it rolled while pulling in loaded salmon nets, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Coast Guard Sector Juneau was informed at about 7:45 a.m. that the 50-foot seiner Evening Star sank in about 300 feet of water in Slocum Arm, 40 miles northwest of Sitka. All five crewmen aboard were rescued in good condition by the fishing vessel Chickamene, which took them to Sitka. About 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel were still aboard the Evening Star when it sank.

by The Associated Press Saturday, July 24, 2010 JUNEAU, Alaska -- The U.S. Coast Guard says it airlifted an 83-year-old woman from a fishing vessel in the Gedney Harbor southeast of Sitka after the woman began experiencing symptoms of a stroke. The Coast Guard says that the woman was extracted from the Sitka-based Annie Be vessel around 5:15 a.m. Saturday, about 53 miles from Sitka. She was later taken to a hospital for further evaluation.

Two Boston Marathon runners, one from Alaska and the other from New England, who were brought together during the turmoil in Boston on Monday had a happy reunion Thursday night. Brent Cunningham of Sitka had just finished the Boston Marathon when he and his wife tried to console a young woman who was blocked from reaching the finish line because of the explosions. Cunningham gave his marathon medal to Laura Wellington of Cambridge, MA. who was sitting on a bench and crying after several tense minutes of not knowing whether her family was safe.

The Coast Guard safely found a man and his sailboat near Juneau Wednesday night after he was reported overdue en route to Juneau from Haines, the second lone mariner found aboard a troubled Southeast Alaska sailboat in two days. Coast Guard spokesperson Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Klingenberg says Tony “Scott” Pearce had moved the 25-foot-long sailing vessel Darshan into William Henry Bay and taken shelter from poor weather conditions. He was well-stocked with emergency supplies and planned to resume his journey to Juneau Thursday morning.

An Alaska National Guard exercise that wrapped up earlier this week in the Southeast Alaska town of Sitka saw federal, state and local agencies responding to a series of hypothetical terror threats seemingly ripped from the pages of a technothriller novel. According to a Thursday statement from Guard spokesperson Kalei Rupp the exercise, which involved the Alaska Army National Guard's 103rd Civil Support Team (Weapons of Mass Destruction) responding to simulated chemical, biological and radiological threats, began Monday and ended Wednesday.

Widespread budget cuts from the federal sequester are beginning to have real consequences in Alaska. The sequester requires trimming the budget for several federal agencies by around 5 percent. It also means the same level of cuts for many federal programs. Rural Alaska relies on federal dollars for many of the programs that help to fund everything from education to fuel and health services. The Bristol Bay Native Association, which represents 31 tribes, says it anticipates job losses and a reduction in services.

Foodies and travel fans will have a chance to see the Travel Channel's Andrew Zimmern visit Southeast Alaska in an episode of “Bizarre Foods.” Zimmern went to communities along “Alaska's Inside Passage,” including Kake and Sitka. He sampled plenty of local treats, such as smoked seal meat, halibut balls, and salmon roe. Several clips from the episode were posted on the show's webpage . In one clip, the New York native chef and TV personality apparently found smoked bear to test his palate.

A woman who allegedly abducted her son in November 2011 in Amarillo, Texas was arrested Monday in Sitka and the child is temporarily under state care, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. A Tuesday statement from the USMS says Sitka police aided in the arrest of Micki Brogdon after a request from marshals. Her son was placed in the custody of the state Office of Children's Services pending return to his father. USMS offices in northern Texas and Alaska assisted the Amarillo Police Department in tracking down Brogdon, who was wanted by officers in Amarillo for interference with child custody after her son was reported missing.

Democratic challenger Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins of Sitka has unseated incumbent state Rep. Bill Thomas of Haines, retaining an initial lead in a recount completed Monday according to state officials. Gail Fenumiai, director of the state Division of Elections, says Kreiss-Tomkins received 4,130 votes to Thomas' final tally of 4,098 votes in the race for House District 34. Incumbent Sen. Hollis French retained his seat in another recount last week, widening his lead over GOP challenger Bob Bell to 59 votes in the race for Senate District J. Contact Ed Bennett and Chris Klint

A missing person was reported to Ketchikan Alaska State Troopers by Sitka Mountain Rescue just before 6:30 p.m. Saturday, according to AST reports. Lael Grant, 33, was last seen October 14 around 3 p.m. at her family's residence in Sitka. Sitka Police Department found Grant's unoccupied vehicle parked at the end of Nelson Logging Road, adjacent to the outdoor shooting range. Sitka Mountain Rescue is now conducting a search of the area where Grant's vehicle was located with both ground searchers and search dogs.

A civilian Coast Guard contractor was treated and released for minor injuries after the Wednesday explosion of a biomass boiler in the station's main hangar. According to Coast Guard spokesperson Petty Officer 1st Class David Mosley, station personnel reported the explosion of the boiler to local fire and police officials at about 12:30 p.m. The injured contractor was taken to a local hospital by medics, but is already back at work according to Lt. David Birky in Sitka. “Fortunately, it just turned out to be some bruising,” Birky said.