Wednesday, December 24, 2008

National Geographic Puts Sitka in the News

Here is a story that could have an impact on the Sheldon Jackson Campus. After all the SJ campus is one of the most historic elements of Sitka, and should be preserved. Raven Radio News

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Stratton Library

Here is a link that was sent to me by Susan Floyd about the Stratton Library.

Thanks Susan for the link.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

SJ on Raven Radio Again

Here is another news story about the possible future of SJ. I of course have to wonder if even the State would have deep enough pockets to get the buildings in usable condition.

Ok, here is also a question for you folks out there. Do you want Chris and me to keep posting stuff like this? Please no anonymous post if you want to answer that question.

Raven Radio: Resurrecting SJC for vo-tech training

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Transcripts here

I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner. Several folks have asked about how to get their transcripts from SJ(C?), so I've placed a link on the right that will take you there. You can also click here.

Once there, scroll down and look for the Transcript Request Form.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

SJ on Another List

It should not be a surprise that The Alaska Association of Historic Preservation has placed the Sheldon Jackson Campus as one of the more endangered properties in the State on their 2008 list. You can read the story here: Most Endangered Historic Properties

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Oops, you missed it.

Today's Sitka Sentinel reported that on Tuesday the SJ(C?) Board of Trustees met on campus. Hmm... you think they might actually let someone know before they meet if they want any community involvement. Trustee Heather McCarty stated in the article that, "the community needs to have a coordinated voice in some way." How is this going to happen if the community continues to be kept out of the process? To date, no Trustee meeting minutes have been made public since before the closure.

The article also addressed the sale of the campus to pay off approximately $12.7 million in debt, $7.7 million of which is owed to Alaska Growth Capital. Three lots are currently for sale, and McCarty reiterated the Trustees' commitment to holding onto the core campus until a buyer is found that wants to operate a "training, education, and Alaska Native cultural center." McCarty also mentioned that the Trustees will not operate the campus.

Ms. McCarty estimated the value of the land for sale at just over $14 million, presumably leaving the trustees with $2 million after retiring all debt, should everything go as planned.

Dr. Walter Soboleff

Dr. Walter Soboleff a graduate of Sheldon Jackson High School and long time SJ Trustee will soon be 100 years old. You can read an interesting story about him at this link.

http://www.adn.com/opinion/story/564582.html

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Alaska Day


For those you who did not attend the Alaska Day Parade I thought you might like to see a photo of the Sheldon Jackson Childcare Center marching in the parade. I think a real BIG THANKS needs to go out to Lolly Miller for not only her 20 years of service but for hanging in there and helping save the Childcare Center. She and a very dedicated Board should be credited for all they did to save one more piece of Sheldon Jackson. I’m sure that Sheldon Jackson the man is smiling down on them!

From me, Lolly thanks for all you have given to SJ and to Sitka. There are scores of families all across Alaska and the US who have been blessed by you caring so much for the kids. Thanks, you are the best!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Hatchery Update

Good morning, everyone!

It's been about a month since I last sent out the news. In my last update, I was asking for volunteers for the 2nd half of our pink and chum spawning program. Well, we had a good day on September 6th!! Lots of folks showed up for the event, and we were able to easily take enough pink and chum eggs to make our goal. There were volunteers of all ages, I can tell you that!!

Quite a few Blatchley Junior High students were there helping, as were Chohla's Mt. Edgecumbe High School students. Thanks go out to Abigail and Samantha, both Blatchley Jr. High students, who have been there for the program all summer!! There was at least one student from Sitka High School as well. Sagan and her brother Liam did a fantastic job, helping me collect adults. Everyone had a good time.

What was particularly impressive was the way these students wanted to get geared up in neoprene waders, and help collect adults. There was lots of splashing water, and excitement galore, and by the end of the day, everyone was tired, and soaking wet, but we all got the job done!! You can see in the photos attached that lots of young people helped make it happen. I want to thank each and every one who made it that Saturday, even tho I don't know all your names. Keith and Jolene showed up just in time to help me by cooking the lunch that Lila had bought and prepared. Thanks also to Cheryl Westover, who came by in the early morning, and brought lots of goodies for everyone, but then had to work for the day. Everyone contributed in their own special way, and once again the volunteer effort at taking eggs worked. This is now the second year that the hatchery is surviving, due to volunteer help.

And now, please allow me to introduce Jack. Jack was coming in to volunteer last February and March, when we were coded-wire tagging cohos and kings. He became very familiar with the program, since he was also here to assist with the releases of coho and chinook smolts in May, and has been a tremendous asset to me and the rest of the volunteers!! Jack Lorrigan has been hired by the Sitka Sound Science Center as a Fish Culturist / Assistant Manager in Training. Jack has been on the job now for a month, and is a great help to me. I am finally beginning to take time off on the weekends, and Jack has been getting totally tuned into the idiosyncrasies of the SJ Hatchery. I am teaching him everything I can about this program, showing him all the details of fish culture and management. I must say that after 5 years of working here, I have become very intimately aware of all the strange complications that can pop up. I want to try to get Jack "up to speed" on the details as soon as possible. And I hope that Jack can become a full-time employee soon.

During this month of September, another tourist season wound down to a close. There were thousands of visitors this summer who stopped in to see us. The guest book in the Wetlab was filled to overflowing!! And, of course, we are extremely grateful for all the donations!! We shared our knowledge of Sitka and the salmon ranching industry to people from all over the world. It was a good summer.

For about one week, beginning on September 8th, Sitka Sound Seafoods purchased extra salmon from our adult raceways, fish that were surplus to our broodstock needs. Over 80,000 pounds of pinks, chums and coho were brailled out of the raceways and packed into iced totes. This cost recover effort was possible due to Sitka Sound Seafoods providing the totes, ice, a forklift, and a flatdeck truck, as well as 3 laborers!! Revenue generated from this will make it that much easier for the SSSC to operate the hatchery this winter. Thanks, Jon, for working with the SSSC to make this possible.

On September 12th and 13th, the coho fry rearing in Ponds 13 and 14 were split into 4 ponds, #1, #2, #5, and #6, to reduce their densities by half. Thanks go out to Chohla and her Science class from Mt. Edgecumbe HS, for helping dipnet fish, and carry buckets on Friday, as well as to Jodie and her daughter, Karimae, for helping that Saturday. We used the new electronic scale for this procedure and it worked flawlessly! The coho are all spread out now, and looking good!

There has been a good return of coho adults this month, too. In May, 2007, we released 120,000 coho smolts (these were from Broodyear 2005) and these fish have done well. We have been collecting adult cohos this month for our own broodstock needs. The adults are captured (one at a time) in the concrete raceways, and moved into empty circular ponds, where they will ripen for a month or so. Our goal is to hold to maturity 75 to 80 pairs of adults, so that we can be guaranteed to get our 150,000 fertilized eggs for this year. There has been some fungus in the water, but all in all the adults are doing well.

About two weeks ago, Jack and I turned on a small amount of saltwater to each of the coho and chinook rearing ponds, to help combat the Saprolegnia water fungus that is common in our Indian River water supply this time of year. Using the YSI salinity meter, we can make small adjustments and fine tune the salinities to whatever we wish. The coho have been getting around 4 to 5 parts per thousand, and the chinook have been at 5 to 7 ppt. This addition of saltwater is something that I have done here at the SJ Hatchery every fall, as fungus in our watershed is common following the upstream migration of thousands of salmon, reaching portions of Indian River way upstream of our gravity water intake.

In addition, we have been doing formalin treatments to the 2.1 million eggs that are in incubators. We treat the chinook eggs with a 1667 parts per million concentration for 15 minutes, 3 days a week, and we treat the chum and pink eggs with a 250 parts per million concentration for one hour, 3 days a week. We are seeing very high survivals in our eggs, and this makes it easier to sleep at night!! Soon, the August 30th eggtakes of pinks and chums will be eyed up, and we can shock and pick these eggs. Last year, Pacific High School and Mt. Edgecumbe High School students were very involved with the picking and processing of our eggs, and they all had a good experience!! I would once again like to invite the Sitka School District to participate in fish culture activities here at the SJ Hatchery. I'm pretty sure that Jack and I could no doubt do this alone, but this is too good an opportunity to pass up. Chohla already told me she and her class would like to participate in the "next step" in egg processing!! I encourage the Science teachers at Pacific HS and Sitka HS to let their students know that the educational opportunity is here, and waiting for them as well. I am always happy to schedule tours for school groups wanting to see what's going on.

What about the Aquarium?, you might ask. Lynn and Henry continue to come in to volunteer on a daily basis, doing maintenance, and feeding the remaining animals in the tanks. There has not been an effort to collect new animals. We are all awaiting a decision by the Board of the SSSC as to whether or not the Aquarium will remain active this winter.

The number of visitors has dropped dramatically, since the last cruise ship departed. We are beginning to think about winterizing, and putting all the equipment away for the year. The signs, and the colored flags that had been out front all summer, are now stored in the Sawmill. The air temperature has droppped, and the leaves are falling from the alders. Another winter is almost upon us. We will continue to have the gates to the hatchery grounds open 7 days a week. The front doors to the Sage Building may not always be open, tho. If you would like to look inside the Wetlab, you can always make an appointment with us.

Thanks again to everyone who donated their time and personal resources to the Hatchery and Aquarium this past year. I truly hope the program can continue to survive far into the future.

--
Daniel F. Goodness, Manager
Sheldon Jackson Hatchery
834 Lincoln Street
Sitka, Alaska 99835

Work Phone:
Home Phone: 907-747-3824
Email: daniel.goodness@gmail.com
Website: www.sjhatchery.org

Sunday, October 5, 2008

For Sale

The For Sale Signs are going up on the SJ property again.



Sunday, August 31, 2008

You Know You Are From SJ If…..

SJC Alumnus Nicole Paggett asked me to post You Know You Are From SJ if….. Written by Erin Keenan. Since I liked it and thought much of it rang true for past students, faculty and staff I figured I’d post something fun here for a change.

Both Nicole and Erin also send there best to all.

You Know You Are From SJ If…..

1. Your Professor ever canceled class because it was sunny.
2. You have ever volunteered to spawn salmon.
3. Class was canceled to watch the herring run.
4. You were ever afraid to stand in front of David Sweetland's portrait.
5. Celebrated the day they took it down.
6. You know who David Sweetland was.
7. You know ghost stories about him and the cafeteria.
8. Sundays equaled waffles.
9. You could recognize every single state trooper while in uniform.
10. Once a month you wondered when the Whitworth students had arrived, then realized they were the troopers in civilian dress
11. As a freshmen in DSH you could name all the students and where they were from.
12. You lived in NPH or Whitmore and had no clue who the freshmen were and did not care.
13. Ate more food off campus then on.
14. You ate Pizza Express at least once a week.
15. You knew what the phrase "the troopers are coming" meant.
16. You could run from the Raz to DSH in 10 seconds.
17. You weighed 250 and could make it in the same amount of time.
18. You could do it in flip flops.
19. Your shoes of choice were Extra Tuffs, flip flops or sandals.
20. Everyone would notice if your boot were not Extra Tuffs
21. You could wear long johns, two pair of pants, rain pants, a tee shirt, long sleeve shirt, sweat shirt, a hoodie, a polar fleece, down jacket, two pairs of gloves, and a stocking cap and still have to use the blanket you brought with you to stay warm in class.
22. You have slept in the above mentioned outfit and were still cold.
23. Classes were canceled because it was warmer outside then in.
24. You took a cab or the school van to the bank, but would walk over a mile to Lakeside for groceries and carried them back.
25. You know the difference between "Big C" and "Little C"
26. You have to think about the real name of "Little C"
27. You know what donkey meat (or seagull, eagle, raven, crow) was and looked forward to eating it.
28. You have eaten pork for ever meal for two weeks in a row.
29. You now know all the possible culinary uses of pineapple.
30. Some days not even the kitchen staff knew what was in the lasagna.
31. The vegetarian enchiladas were stuffed with chicken.
32. Just a glance at the menu would cause you to eat a $12 bowl of lucky charms.
33. Some times you had to resort to eating a $12 peanut butter and jelly sandwich, because the milk was bad and so was the lunch meat.
34. You gained 40lbs in one semester on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
35. There were days when even the gravy ran away from the mashed potatoes.
36. Fried chicken was on the menu you would get a shriveled up wing because anything bigger would be frozen solid on the inside.
37. Some days the potatoes would make great snowballs that never lost their shape.
38. You have ever been asked by a trooper for meal advice.
39. You have ever stood in the middle of the trooper line, and waved to all your friends.
40. You have seen troopers do push ups in the snow.
41. You have seen troopers do push ups in the main lounge.
42. You have felt bad for that trooper still in the bathroom when the others have already left.
43. You are female and have had a trooper open the door for you and call you Miss.
44. You are female and remember Sgt Spitzer.
45. You have ever been serenaded by troopers on your birthday.
46. You have ever been afraid that people would find out about you birthday.
47. You know what the flume is.
48. You have been thrown in the flume.
49. You have ever jumped in the flume.
50. You have ever seen someone physically dragged from their room kicking and screaming in the middle of the night and taken outside in winter with snow on the ground, surrounded by a mob of people and no one questions it.
51. You were there when it happened to Bryner. (I was, it was great. Erin)
52. You knew when the salmon came in due to the smell of death.
53. You could name every mountain whether you climbed them or not.
54. You walked through Totem Park because you were bored.
55. You could hear the ocean from your dorm room.
56. Though you could see it, you rarely ever walked the beach.
57. You have been told not to walk around campus at night because of bear sightings.
58. You got excited when you saw a deer on campus.
59. You got really excited when you saw a deer behind the cafeteria.
60. You either know him, or know someone who knows that guy that saw a deer behind the cafeteria ran to his room and shot the deer with a bow and arrow out his window.
61. You know the handbook has a rule about not cleaning game or fish in the bathrooms or bedrooms.
62. You know people who have broken that rule.
63. You are one of the people who broke that rule.
64. You don't know where the designated cleaning place is.
65. You are, or know, a hippy tree hugging vegetarian who hates bald eagles and wishes they would all die because they perch on boats and crap everywhere.
66. You know what a bear stick is.
67. You have threatened to hit your best friend with one if the need should arise.
68. You know what the "Gloria" is and still wonder who owns her.
69. You know the location of Superman's phone booth is.
70. You know where the Raz is, but not the Rasmuson building.
71. You and your teachers wore Extra Tuffs to graduation.
72. You have referred to Whitmore as a cult and as a group distrust them.
73. You got excited when the new staircase in NPH and Whitmore were built.
74. You watched the crack in the smoke stack of the laundry room get bigger.
75. You have ever wondered when the Allen building was every going to be finished.
76. You have ever failed a class because the server was down.
77. You can recognize the sound of rage when the internet goes down.
78. You know who Gizmo was.
79. You could recognize a certain person’s whistle and take a different path.
80. You have seen an ice ax, a sleeping bag, and a math book strapped to the same bag.
81. You have worn hip waders and brought your fishing pool to class.
82. You did that after fishing.
83. You have had a beer with a professor.
84. You have been given a hug by Duna.
85. You know which teachers to refer to as Dr. and which go by their first name and to this day still refer to them as that.
86. You have ever been hunting or fishing with a professor, staff member, or VIM.
87. You know what VIM stands for.
88. You had a favorite VIM.
89. You had a VIM you hated with a passion.
90. You know Marcel and speak of him always with high praise whether you knew him or not.
91. You think Pat is pretty much the coolest guy ever.
92. You know who Martin was, even if you have never met him.
93. You have ever been sea sick on a teacher’s boat.
94. Two words. Sock Wars.
95. You know for a fact that in the end, sock wars always turns out to be a battle of the sexes.
96. You have ever been one of the body guards to the last two sock war members.
97. You have ever had Pat Shehan try to set you up on a date.
98. You have ever dated your ex's present partners ex.
99. You realize that the couple that broke up has only been together for two weeks (not two months like you thought) and are now on their forth or fifth girlfriend/boyfriend.
100. The first week or two of classes girls wear makeup, cute clothes, and high heels, then stop due to weather conditions and the fact that no one cares if they are cute or not, but weather or not they will have sex in the woods.
101. You understood what "she is going to Juneau" meant.
102. You remember Cohabitation.
103. You remember when Cohabitation was defined as vaginal sex.
104. You remember when that changed.
105. You laughed your ass off when they thought it would make a difference.
106. You know people who justified having sex during the day, then saying that as long as they were out of the room by curfew they were not breaking any rules.
107. You were one of those people.
108. You did not care and had sex whenever you wanted.
109. You fantasized about Sgt. Spitzer.
110. The smallest rule to break was watching a DVD in one of the lounges.
111. You would hide the DVD and swear it was a movie on TV.
112. You would search for movies that said "Public viewing rights included" just to piss people off.
113. You have ever stood in the snow at night in a towel and wet hair because the fire alarm went off.
114. You have ever had the misfortune of the happening while the troopers were there.
115. You have ever been excited about a trooper saying something, anything, to you.
116. After all this time you still keep track of SJ by reading Bryner's blog.
117. The name Brian Chamberlain causes intense anger and uncontrollable rage.
118. You love Louis Driver.
119. You knew the other mail box es that your mail box key opened.

And last but not least, and I am sure there are many, many more great things that made SJ such a great place...

120. You still know the address to SJC.

Monday, August 25, 2008

American Library Association highlights Stratton

The American Library Association (ALA) recently published an article about the situation at Stratton.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

I'll miss Martin

It was with great sadness that I read today's paper and discovered that Martin Strand passed away on August 14th in Anchorage.

Martin was as much a part of my SJC experience as anyone. I had been responsible for supervising Rasmuson when it reopened, and Martin was usually first in and last out most days. We'd whistle a bird call to each other in the street, and I always greeted Martin with the drawn out "Haaaaaaaaay" he was famous for. He'd come in and order his "usual" (apple cider) from the cafe and then hold court over a billiards table for hours on end. Students were schooled around a pool table with Martin, each break and subsequent shot another opportunity to listen and learn from a gifted poet, photographer, hunter, and lifelong learner.

We all have mourned the closure of SJ, but few people have been with the school for so long. Martin, like SJ was an institution that will be sorely missed.

Memorial services are being held on Thursday, August 21 5:30PM at the ANB Hall, and a Celebration Martin's life is being held at First Presbyterian Friday at 10:00AM.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

SJ(C?) cancels Science Center lease...new one in the works

The Sitka Sentinel reported on Wednesday, July 30th that SJ(C?) had recently notified the Sitka Sound Science Center that their lease was being terminated because the original lease was arranged by Chilkat Services, and was out of the scope of Chilkat's contract with the College. Reportedly, a new lease is in the works.

I certainly hope that the terms of the new lease will support the work of the SSSC.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

SJC Stratton Library in the News

Here is a link to a Raven Radio news story about the Stratton Library. Humidity and Mold threaten Stratton Library Collection.

Friends of the Hatchery

Another Friends of the Hatchery Newsletter / July 28, 2008


Good morning, everyone!

It's been another extremely busy month. And there have been some developments. Please allow me to share them with you.

Pacific Tower Properties (PTP) is the new property management company for Sheldon Jackson College, replacing Chilkat Services. I am grateful to Russ and Sky / Chilkat Services for all their contributions. It was good of them to employ me during last December, following my layoff from the College. (I helped board up windows on the quad, and do the rounds of the buildings.) They are both great fans of the hatchery program, and I sincerely thank them for all their efforts to keep the Sage Enterprise alive.

I have met Mark and Lisa of PTP, during a day they were touring the hatchery grounds. They both seemed very positive about the hatchery and wetlab. I look forward to getting to know both of them better, and helping in the task of taking care of Sage Enterprise.

Here's some SSSC news- I signed Addendum #4 this month, and my month-to-month contract with the Sitka Sound Science Center continues! Mr. John Stein was hired by the SSSC as their new Executive Director- congratulations to you, John!! I look forward to working with you and the Board. In addition, the SSSC was awarded $10,000 from the City of Sitka from the Salmon Enhancement portion of the Fish Box Tax, and $2,500 from the PNP grant fund. These dollars make it much easier for the SSSC to continue their lease arrangement with the College into August and beyond.

Here's an Americorps update- Jessie, Charity and Mandi have been giving tours of the facility, making signs and printing / laminating pictures, and setting up kiosk displays. In addition, they transferred the chinook fry in Ponds 13 and 14 into Ponds 9 and 11. Americorps students working for Russ Thorpe (Jonathan, Seaton and Joe) tore the sagging, leaking roof off of the spawning shed, and have been working on replacing it! The roof is now finished, and they are installing the conduit for the ceiling lights and exhaust fan. I have been their construction supervisor for this past week, and am impressed with their ability. My thanks go out to everyone who was involved in making this happen!!

From July 21st to July 24th, ANSWER Camp students visited, touring the hatchery, and assisted with the transfers of coho fry from Nursery Troughs into Ponds 13 and 14. They all were very attentive and helpful, and I'm glad they could come here and learn! If you want to learn more about the Alaska Native Student Wisdom Enrichment Retreat, go to www.answercamp.org. There is a photo gallery for this summer's events.

The water has been turned on to the fish ladder since June 15th, but so far there has only been one adult fish return. We have been patiently waiting for the chinook to arrive, but so far, none have returned. By now the pinks should have come in as well. The fish return has been late for many Alaskan hatcheries. We have to be patient, and confident. There are schools of pinks out in the estuary of Indian River, but only a few jumpers at the bottom of the fish ladder so far.

Here's a Wetlab / Aquarium update- Lynn Wilbur has been coming in every day, and overseeing the operation and maintenance of the Wetlab. She has trained student helpers, and together they have made the Wetlab and Aquarium a beautiful place to visit. Visitors marvel at the cleanliness and orderliness of the place. Lynn and Henry have put their heart and soul into this endeavor, making it something that the College and the volunteers can be proud of. What's really something are the number of 7th grade students who have been helping!! Everybody works together, and shares in all the duties. One project that has been ongoing for awhile now is the refurbishing of an old acrylic aquarium donated to the College several years ago. It has been resurfaced / polished on the insides, and soon I will prepare a stand for it, and provide water plumbing into and out. This tank will soon be the home for a group of Kelp Greenlings now living in the hatchery incubation room. Thank you, Lynn, for all your dedication to this project. I'm sure that Molly would be touched by your leadership and devotion to keeping the Aquarium and Wetlab Alive!!

Dan Neri from Emperor Aquatics contacted me awhile back. Emperor Aquatics makes a variety of products for the aquaculture industry. I offered to promote their Ultraviolet and Incubation products to the visitors coming through here this summer, and in exchange Emperor has sent me an upwelling egg incubator to try out with our chinook and coho program. My summer project is to install this component into our existing incubation system, adding a recirculation ability to chinook and coho incubation. I would like to be able to perform otolith marking on the coho and chinook eggs we take this fall. For more information about otolith marking of salmonids, see this site: http://tagotoweb.adfg.state.ak.us/OTO/ For more information about Emperor Aquatics, please visit their website: www.emperoraquatics.com

Steve Warren had volunteered to pressure wash the Sage Building, anticipating dry weather, and a possible opportunity for painting. This preparation for painting is now done, and tho the building still looks like it needs painting, it was a tremendous effort, and I am very thankful for his involvement! He began working on the broken and crumbling windowsills as well, using a hydraulic cement product that sets up quickly, and can be molded and worked nicely. Thanks so much, Steve, for all your time and hard work to get us to where we are today. The paint for the building was ordered, and is now at Spenards, awaiting pickup. What color will it be? you are all asking, right? Many years ago, the building was painted a beige color, and that's what it will be again. I would like to think there will be warm enough weather this summer for drying and painting, and that there will be enough volunteer effort to get the job done.

United States Senator Senator Ted Stevens visited Sitka about 3 weeks ago, and one of his stops was the Sage Building and Hatchery. It was an honor to meet him, and be a part of the tour group that showed him this most wonderful facility. Keith Cox described the vision of the SSSC to the Senator as well.

Regent Seven Seas Cruise Lines has developed a special walking tour arrangement with Allen Marine Tours. The group visits the SJ Hatchery, Aquarium and Wetlab on Mondays and Fridays, every other week. The name of the tour is Ambassadors of the Environment, or AOTE. The walking tour starts at the Raptor Center, and works their way through the Park, visiting the Hatchery, and then they go out on an Allen Marine boat, and see marine wildlife. I give a short presentation to the visitors, and they get to feed the fish in the display tanks, and view the touch tables and aquariums inside. Everyone really seems to like what they see, and I think it's great!! Allen Marine donates $3.00 per visitor on their walking tour to the Friends of the Hatchery account. This is special, and I want to thank John Dunlap for this wonderful gift. I'm hopeful that this will happen again next summer as well.

The State of Alaska funding for the SSSC will begin sometime during August, I have been told. I am going to be renegotiating my existing contract with the Sitka Sound Science Center, so that I can hire a helper for the fall and winter. My company, Goodness Enterprises, is about to expand. My plan is to continue to recruit volunteers, and to once again invite all the local High School science classes, to partake in every aspect of fish culture here. I will surely need helpers as the eggtake season begins.

At this time, I want to once again thank all the people who have donated time and money to this project. The Friends of the Hatchery account will have a balance of over $4,000 this next week, following another deposit from the past two weeks. These dollars will go toward the continuing operation of the Hatchery and Wetlab. The doors to the Wetlab and Hatchery are open 7 days a week. This weekend was one of the first in many months that I was able to have some time off, and it's because volunteers were available to cover for me, and take care of the fish. Mandi, Jessie, and Susan, I really appreciate how you helped me! Without the help of the volunteers, I don't know what I would have done.

Every Saturday I have gone around town, collecting donations from the plastic containers. Lila helps every Saturday afternoon, rolling up all the change, and counting out the bills. All that money has been a huge part of the hatchery's survival. All you folks here in this town of Sitka, and all you folks who visited the Sage Building, and left your donations-You have all helped make the hatchery program a success!! This hatchery, and the Aquarium, is there for your education, and for your children's education, and for your enjoyment, and we all thank you for your contribution to keeping it going. It's hard for me to describe how much I appreciate everyone's gifts. I will do everything I can to keep the facility open, for the future, and for the good of this City.

Soon the fish will return, and before long there will be water running in the incubators again. Broodyear 2008 is about to begin!

I can imagine many of you ask yourselves, as I do, the following question: Will "normal" classes be taught here again? Well, I say this- As long as the Sitka Sound Science Center contract-operates the SJ Hatchery for SJC, there's every reason to expect this to happen. The State of Alaska granted a quarter million dollars this year to keep the educational component of the SJ Hatchery alive. There are a number of research projects that could be launched into right away. Additional grant funding could be sought after. Hands-on training opportunity for interns is available at any time, all through the year. The hatchery lives on, and I need for the students to return as much as I need the fish!! I truly believe this site would be ideal for University of Alaska fish culture students to get experienced in coded wire tagging, fin clipping, sampling, recirculation technology, spawning techniques, etc. There's always the possibility of a certificate program to be developed here as well.

I hope you all enjoy the pictures. If ever you're in Sitka, please feel free to stop by the Sage Building, and see what we've all done. It's a labor of love.

Daniel F. Goodness, Manager
Sheldon Jackson Hatchery
834 Lincoln Street
Sitka, Alaska 99835

Office Phone: 907-747-3824
Home Phone: 907-747-3824
Email: daniel.goodness@gmail.com
Website: www.sjhatchery.org

"Education never stopped at the SJ Hatchery"

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

SSSC in the News

The Sitka Sound Science Center is in the news. Listen to the Raven Radio story here: SSSC

Friday, July 11, 2008

CIRI Alaska Tourism Corp

Anyone who is interested in learning more about the new company that is going to do the property management for the now defunct Sheldon Jackson College might be interest in seeing who owns Pacific Tower Properties. You can go to CIRI Subsidiaries by clicking on this link. CIRI.

I have to wonder if they might be the new owners of the Quad?

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

One Year Retrospective on Raven Radio

I had the chance a few weeks back to talk with Andi McDaniel at Raven Radio about SJ(C?) a year later. My comments (which many people, but not all will agree with) can be heard here.

Raven Radio plans on several more interviews from folks formerly associated with the College. If you're interested, contact Andi at (907)747-5877.

I've also submitted a letter to the editor to mark the anniversary of the "one year deferment". Text follows below:

...One year ago this week the Board of Trustees of Sheldon Jackson College announced the deferment of academic operations for one year. This led to the loss of close to one hundred jobs and left students with few alternatives just weeks before the start of the semester. By September, trustees accepted the reality that the school would not open in the near future. Today, they are in the process of selling off the campus. It is an especially spectacular fall for an institution that had operated continuously for over 130 years.

The loss of Sheldon Jackson College affects different people differently. Many have grieved, mourning the loss of their alma mater, the place where they met their future spouse, read Shakespeare for the first time, or became the first in their family to graduate from college. Others have accepted Sheldon Jackson’s demise, viewing the closure as inevitable and even necessary for an institution that had lost its way. Reflecting on this past year, I find myself somewhere in between these two positions.

Like all of my colleagues, I lost my job the day the Trustees made the announcement. I was stunned by the news and deeply saddened. I worried about my students, my coworkers, and my livelihood. Some took it in stride while many others have struggled to move on. Many former employees remain unemployed, and many students have yet to return to school.

There is another part of me, upon reflection, that views the closure of Sheldon Jackson College as a necessary event. I will never accept the way in which it was closed, with virtually no notice or support for staff, faculty, and students. However, I am more and more convinced that Sheldon Jackson College had not been providing the educational experience students deserved. Despite the very best efforts of talented faculty, despite the promise of new programs and initiatives, Sheldon Jackson College failed to meet its commitment to those in its care. A college unable to insure that its employees will have work beyond the next day needs to close. A college unable to provide its students with fours years of quality education without interruption should not continue. At some point, Sheldon Jackson became that college.

There will never again be a Sheldon Jackson College at 801 Lincoln Street, but something will take its place. Due to the efforts of many dedicated members of our community, there may be a state-of-the-art childcare facility, community wellness center, fish hatchery and science center. These entities and others need our support as Trustees and their surrogates look to subdivide and sell off the campus. Much of the process is outside of our control, but we do have recourse through planning and zoning, historical preservation restrictions, city ordinances and citizen initiatives. The decisions being made about the future of the campus will impact our community tremendously.

College Trustees have given themselves until the end of this month to find a suitable buyer. After that, they have stated that they will begin the process of subdividing and selling parcels piece-meal. Is this what is best for this community? Let’s make the issue a matter of public debate.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

One Year After the Ax Fell

One week from today the 29th of June will be the 1st anniversary of the closing of SJ. I was recently asked by another former employee if I was over the closing yet. I had to truthfully answer that I was not and might not ever get over it. How about the rest of you out there? Past students, faculty and staff, how are you all doing one year after the ax fell? I know I’m interested in hearing and I bet others are too. Please post a comment on how things have turned out. Maybe you could list a few good things along with the bad.

Here is my list:

The Bad:

I miss the fine people from students to employees, but most especially all the wonderful volunteers.

I still feel the school could have been saved with proper management and I’m still heart sick that such a historic and important institution closed after 130 years of operations.

I worry what will happen to the historic buildings.

The Good:

I’ve had more time to spend with my family, most especially my grandsons.

I have not missed the middle of the night calls about something being broken.

I had lots of time to work on my house and to find out what partial retirement is all about.

I don’t wake up in the middle of the night worrying about what’s going to break next and I can tell you there has been a lot less stress in my life.

So, as much as I miss SJ maybe the good has out weighed the bad. How about you?

Monday, June 16, 2008

Good News from the SJ Hatchery

Below is a newsletter from Dan Goodness the SJ Hatchery Manager. If any of you reading this want to be added to Dan’s growing list of recipients to his e-newsletter please send him an e-mail. You will see his e-mail address listed at the end of his letter.

Thanks!


Good morning, everyone!

There's been lots of activity here since my last newsletter went out. Friday, May 23rd was indeed a special day. We began releasing the cohos from Pond 13 at around 2:00 PM, and KIFW was there broadcasting the event! Devin Reiter was lots of fun to work with, and we sincerely appreciate the efforts that Erin Long made to set this up. We also appreciate the contributions from local businesses to make this airtime possible. Over $1000 was raised to help in the effort. Lots of my Friends showed up for the event, and helped let these coho go. The next day was Saturday, the first day of the Sitka Salmon Derby. In the afternoon, we released the cohos in Pond 14, and at that point, all the Broodyear 2006 smolts were gone.

On June 1st, I was given an addendum to my contract, and so I'm once again employed this month! $15,000 had been transferred from the Friends of the Hatchery account to the SSSC near the first of May. Sufficient funds remained for operation in June, so the contract continues! In the meantime, the donation account continues to grow. Today, there is almost $3,000 in the Friends of the Hatchery account, available to the SSSC for operation in July.

On May 28th and 29th, the chinook fry that had been rearing in the Nursery Troughs were transferred outside, into Ponds #13 and #14. I want to thank Judy Lehmann and Jack Lorrigan for their help with this! These transfers made it possible for us to pond the coho fry into these same troughs. We now have around 150,000 coho fry, and they are around 0.4 grams. There are belt feeders set up, so they get to eat all day long. They are growing quickly, and looking great!

Before long, the chinook will be split into Ponds 9, 10, 11, and 12, giving them room to become smolts next spring.


A wonderful development here this summer is Americorps! I want to thank Faith Lee and Karen Martinsen, from the Southeast Alaska Career Center, for making this possible. These student volunteers will learn fish culture, and assist with the duties of the hatchery during the summer months. They are learning to be tour guides, answering most of the commonly-asked questions that our visitors have. Charity and Jessie are actually taking my course, entitled FISH 100, Hatchery Applications and Experiences, for 1 credit. I am so glad to be teaching students again, and having student help!!


The numbers of cruise ship visitors is incredible! I want to thank everyone who has stopped by the Sage Building, to see the hatchery, and I am ever so grateful for the donations all of our visitors have left for us! The donation account continues to grow!


In addition, we received our Fish Resource Permit from Fish and Game, and so the Wetlab and Aquarium is now open to visitors! The Touch Tables are a real favorite. It's amazing to watch the barnacles feeding. There are lots of little creatures to see and enjoy, including a small octopus. The two large brown king crabs that Lila and I purchased last March are now in the 800 gallon tank, and they're doing just fine! Visitors are amazed at the size of these creatures.


On May 12th, there was a rupturing of the penstock, under Lincoln Street. I had to turn off the water to the adult raceways for these past several weeks. During the past 48 hours, the break was repaired, and the water is back on! I am adjusting the flows down the fish ladder, getting it just right, because we are expecting the first of the chinook to return soon. During this next week, I will once again string the corkline across the mouth of the fish ladder, designating a Broodstock Protection Zone. No sport fishing will be allowed on the freshwater side of this boundary.


By the middle of July, we should be seeing the return of the pinks and chums. It's going to be time to get the incubators set up, and prepare the spawning shed. There will soon be cost recovery harvesting of the early surplus. It's a busy and exciting time of the year, and Broodyear 2008 is upon us!

Once again, I want to thank all the volunteers who have helped me with the details of the hatchery, and I especially want to thank all the folks who have been instrumental in bringing the Wetlab and Aquarium to life again! Without the help of Steve Warren, Lynn Wilbur, Henry Larsen, Bob Reid, and many others, I don't think it could have happened. The whole community is getting involved, and assisting in many ways. Your donation dollars have kept the program running into June.

The City Assembly voted to award $10,000 to the Sitka Sound Science Center from the Salmon Enhancement portion of the Fish Box Tax. Thank you, Assembly, for acknowledging the contribution that the hatchery represents! It might be a small production facility, but it's a big training facility. I sincerely appreciate how you recognize this important fact.

The $250,000 from the State of Alaska should be available to the SSSC during August or September. With these funds, the SSSC can begin to operate the hatchery on something other than a "shoestring" budget. We will continue to collect donations throughout the summer, and I will always encourage everyone to come by and help in this effort to Save The Hatchery. This has become a great place to visit, and it's good for children. Education never stopped here, and I hope it never does.

Until next time,

Daniel F. Goodness, Manager
Sheldon Jackson Hatchery
834 Lincoln Street
Sitka, Alaska 99835

Office Phone: 907-747-3824
Home Phone: 907-747-3824
Email: daniel.goodness@gmail.com
Website: www.sjhatchery.org

"Education never stopped at the SJ Hatchery"

Sunday, June 8, 2008

SJ in the News

Here is a link to an Associated Press article about SJ. Religion in the news

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

SSSC Survives Governor's Veto

The Sitka Sound Science Center, formed upon SJ(C?)'s closure will receive $250,000.00 from the state of Alaska to further organizational objectives. Members include former SJ(C) faculty and staff including Keith Cox, Scott Harris, Kitty LaBounty, and Marissa Chelius.

Excellent news, and excellent work.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

SJ(C?) loses appeal to city regarding property taxes

According to a Sitka Sentinel article published Tuesday, May 7, The City Assembly upheld an earlier decision by the City Assessor to levy property taxes on SJ(C?) property, assessed at a value of $17 million.

Back in January, the Assembly determined that SJ(C?) was no longer an educational institution, which had been the basis for its exempt status. As a result, the Assessor determined that SJ(C?) owed taxes and the former college appealed. The amount owed this year is just over $100k.

The Sage / Hatchery facility remains exempt.

SJ(C?) can appeal in Superior Court.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Survey



A past donor of SJ passed this survey onto me today. I’m posting it here in hopes that many of you will print the survey, fill it out and send it to the UAA Address.

Click to enlarge.





E-Newsletter

Chilkat Services advertised that they would send out e-newsletters in April. Did anyone get one? I signed up but never received one in April, so I’m checking to see if one was sent out.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Commencement

This is surely a bittersweet time for many. Several former SJ(C?) students survived the closure of their college, and will graduate in the coming weeks. I am very proud of them, and humbled. These students were placed in the worst of circumstances and refused to be defined by them. SJ(C?) failed them, but they did not fail themselves.

I would encourage everyone to celebrate their success in Sitka, Juneau, Anchorage, and all points in between.

APU - Held April 26th.

UAS Sitka Commencement: Friday, May 2, 7:00PM - Sheet'ka Kwaán Naa Kahídi

UAS Juneau Commencement: Sunday, May 4, 2:00PM - UAS Recreation Center

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

PC (USA) continues Christmas Joy Offering for 2008

The General Assembly Council (GAC) of the Presbyterian Church (USA) recently decided to continue to provide SJ(C?) with funds from the Christmas Joy Offering at least until March 2009. The following stipulations were added:

A) Sheldon Jackson College continue to meet and follow the standards and criteria set by the General Assembly Council for the Historically Presbyterian Racial Ethnic Institutions, including having a GAC representative serve in an ex-officio capacity on the school’s board of trustees.

B) Sheldon Jackson College report to each GAC meeting on the school’s status, plans and
progress, including a current financial report.

C) That at the September 2008 GAC meeting, Sheldon Jackson College provide as detailed a report a possible on it’s strategic plans for its transition.

In addition, the continuation of the disbursements will be reviewed in March 2009.

SJ(C?) submitted the following report to the GAC regarding the former college's status. Interestingly, the report states that SJ(C?) has received a $1.5 million dollar grant from the Department of Commerce. Does anyone know if this is still on the table?

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

News Letter from Dan Goodness

Good morning, everyone!!

Much has happened here at the SJ Hatchery since the last newsletter went out, one month ago. Right after the week of Spring Break, the chums were ponded and transferred to a 20' X 40' netpen, since they had finally used up most of the yolk. At the last sampling, they were 0.65 grams per fish. The sunshine we have had for the past several days has begun to warm the water, and the fish are now eating furiously! As for the pinks, they also are eating "like pigs", and growing quickly now, almost as big as the chums. (Don't you just love the expression, "Eating like Pigs!!")

In addition, all the coho have hatched. It's an amazing sight to see 7,000 alevins wriggling in a Heath tray.

We have been feeding the Broodyear 2006 coho presmolts 3 times a week now, to get them to the 20 gram release size that we want. The chinook have smolted, and could be released anytime. But we will wait until May to release smolts.

In the past, during the late spring and summer, the Wetlab / Aquarium and the hatchery have been open to the public for tours, and outreach education. Large groups of local schoolchildren have come here for their final field trips each spring, and gazed into the touch tables, picking up and examining the starfish and other sea creatures on display. In addition, these kids have peered over the edge of the fiberglass Swede ponds, and watched the pink and chum salmon swim in circles, and eat the EWOS feed presented to them. In addition, during May, as the coho and chinook have reached their release size, visitors to Sitka, primarily from the cruise ships, have participated in the annual Releasing of the Smolts. I have begun to work on a tentative schedule for these events already.

Will things be normal this spring?? I hope so, and am doing what I can to make it so. I am attempting to get the collection permit from ADF&G current, so that we can collect marine animals again, for displaying this spring and summer in the Wetlab. I know how much it means, to so many people, to see the Sage Building "alive!" again. I want to help make things "normal" again, and I encourage anyone who wants to help me accomplish this to contact me. There's much to do now, to get things normal.

And then there was the meeting of April 1st and 2nd. The Final Report is attached. What an awesome event!! To be in that room, and sit among so many professionals, with such diversity of experience and background, and to listen to their expressions of support for the continuation of education and research; well, it was too good to be true, but it was true. I am so greatly encouraged, now that the meeting is over, to continue on with my quest to help "get things back to normal". Keeping this educational hatchery program going continues to be my ultimate goal.

Nothing is easy. It takes hard work to accomplish the near impossible. Having a Positive Mental Attitude makes the fight more endurable, if you will. It is now a matter of waiting, and planning, and hoping for the best to come about.

At this time, I want to thank the Sitka Sound Science Center for employing me for the past 4 months. Funding seems to have run out for continuing my contract. My last day with the SSSC is April 30th. At this time, I also want to thank the entities that provided monies to the SSSC to make my contract, and the continued operation of the hatchery, possible. NOAA Fisheries, the At-Sea Processors, and the Wells Fargo Friends of the Hatchery donation account funded the operation, making it possible for me to live, work, and stay in Sitka, employed in my chosen profession. All three of these funding sources were very key to "keeping the place going." At present, as you all now know, the SSSC is looking at other sources of funding. If $250,000 is awarded, wow, wouldn't that be something!!

What If the $250K doesn't happen? Well, my understanding is that the SSSC is working on other sources of funding besides the $250K. Let's all hope something wonderful happens.


On May 1st, it is my intention to unlock the gates to the hatchery grounds, and allow the public (this includes groups of schoolchildren!) to walk through the grounds, and see the fish. The SJ Hatchery grounds are becoming more and more like a park every day. There are benches to sit on, and the view is spectacular!! I have vowed to finish the broodyear, releasing pinks, chums, coho and chinook smolts, and I will do this, whatever it takes. I may be a volunteer on May 1st, but thanks to your donations, the hatchery program will not fail. There will be donation boxes at the entrances to the hatchery, once again giving visitors a chance to give to this most worthy cause. All donations will continue to go into the Friends of the Hatchery account. At present, the balance stands at $15,000!! $8,600 was transferred to the SSSC to assist them with funding the hatchery. One very large donation, for the amount of $10,000, was mailed directly to the bank. My understanding is that the donor wishes to remain anonymous, but the very generous donation is made "in memory of Molly Ahlgren".

What can I say? I am going to try to fulfill this person's wishes, and help make the Wetlab come "alive" again!

My very sincere thanks to everyone who has donated their time, and/or their dollars, and/or loaned equipment, and/or offered support, in one way or another. This group, the Friends, are very important to us. The entire City of Sitka has given so much, and I hope you can help me spread the word how grateful Lila and I are for your involvement.

Daniel F. Goodness, Manager
Sheldon Jackson Hatchery
834 Lincoln Street
Sitka, Alaska 99835

Office Phone: 907-747-3824
Home Phone: 907-747-3824
Email: daniel.goodness@gmail.com

SJ Hatchery Collaboration Metting

Sheldon Jackson Hatchery Collaboration Meeting
April 1-2, 2008 Final Report

Purpose: The University of Alaska Southeast Ketchikan campus organized and sponsored a collaborative meeting in Sitka on April 1 – 2, 2008 to explore potential future operation and functions of the Sheldon Jackson Hatchery facility.
The desired outcome of the day and a half meeting was to offer a thorough assessment of legitimate capacities, resources and interest(s) of participating organizations in SJ Hatchery operation, use & management.
Attendees: Representatives from a wide variety of agencies and organizations were present at the meeting. Please see Appendix A for attendance roster details.
Assessment of Capacities:
The group reviewed past capacity and was given a tour of the hatchery. The possibilities for the facility were discussed at length, both in small break out groups and as a whole. The general consensus was that the facility would be most effective as:
Education/Training facility
Production facility
Research facility
Within each of the three major categories, a wider variety of options were expressed for potential income, use, and staffing of the facility in best case scenarios. Appendix B outlines the full list of potential uses.
Assessment of Resources:
Financial
The issue of financial resources was a critical discussion during the entire meeting. Currently, the Sitka Sound Science Center (SSSC) organization has a short-term contract from Chilkat Services to run the hatchery. Chilkat Services represents Alaska Growth Capital (AGC is the primary debtor owned money by SJ College) and is coordinating the management of SJ assets and real property. SSSC, in turn, has contracted with Dan Goodness, former SJ hatchery manager, to maintain the current hatchery stock and manage the hatchery. All other uses, including the touch tanks/aquarium have ceased to operate.
The SSSC is a new 501(c)3 with a board of seven directors. Keith Cox, former SJ Science faculty chair, is acting SSSC Executive Director and is working for NOAA as a researcher. SSSC does not have a business plan developed for the continued operation of the hatchery. Currently, the board is limited in resources. There is some hope for funding from the State, but short-term stop-gap funding is scheduled to run out April 30, 2008.
One primary issue limiting the SSSC ability to seek funding sources is the continued uncertainty of Sheldon Jackson College debt, attachment of this debt to the hatchery and surrounding grounds and the commitment by the Board of Trustees to retain the hatchery and surrounding property.
Through the meeting process, Chilkat Services assured the group there is no intention of selling the hatchery or surrounding property. In addition, both the President of Sheldon Jackson

David Dobler and Board of Trustee Gary Paxton reasserted the college’s intention to keep the hatchery and facilitate uses of it that best suit the community.
With that noted, financial resources are critical to the continuation of the hatchery. Long-term areas of potential revenue included:
· Increase the number of Deep Creek Chum salmon on the permit as a way to increase revenue (10 million chum?) – can increase SJ revenue to about $150K/year, increase commercial harvest, increase NSRAA cost recovery – about 6 years to see return
· Make full use of the building to generate revenue – touch tanks, classes, services, gift shop, use of building as part of overall business plan
· Assess viability of a shellfish nursery – is the industry willing to pay?
· Fish Tag Lottery as fund raiser
· Consider membership fees in SSSC
· Power generation as a possible income source
· Assess costs associated with different species of salmon, raise the number of fish needed to maintain broodstock
· How to get return from sport fishermen – they contribute $30 million year to local economy but no contribution to the SJ Hatchery or NSRAA
· Contact State Revolving Loan Fund Program – request extension on outstanding debt (about $180K) and/or ask for additional loan.
· Consider an Economic Development Loan from City or asking for some of the head tax or fish box tax income
· Pursue state and federal requests
· Follow up on EDA $$ and pursue match for it (Alaska Growth Capital loan for match as a way to increase their assets?)
Management
Management of the hatchery was discussed at length. In addition to the hatchery, the Sage Building itself presents management challenges including, but not limited to, maintenance and repair, heating, public access and classroom rental or other usage.
The SSSC was seen as the de facto organization to continue management of the facility. The board needs some assistance, but in general, it was perceived by the group that the SSSC’s mission best matched that of the hatchery’s purpose. The permit for the hatchery remains with Sheldon Jackson College, but management can be delegated to anyone Sheldon Jackson deems appropriate.
The bigger issue is establishment of a long-term lease with Chilkat Services for the hatchery, Sage Building and surrounding property. Currently there is a 90-day lease with Chilkat Services. Key issues to resolve for management success included:
Long term lease with Chilkat for building/grounds/hatchery use
Long term commitment for Chum production with NSRAA
Strengthened SSSC organizational structure
Business plan for financial success
Seasoned management team to manage facility/grounds/hatchery

Interest(s):
The overall interest of participating organizations was strengthened over the course of the day and a half of meetings. The group generally agreed that major players including Sheldon Jackson, Chilkat Services, NSRAA, SSSC, and the community of Sitka were committed to keeping the hatchery operational and the Sage Building a functioning educational/training facility for fisheries/mariculture/aquaculture interests.
The group agreed that through concerted effort, the SSSC could forge partnerships with other organizations to provide a variety of services/functions/components to keep the hatchery functioning.
Some of these organizations included:
· Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG)
· National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
· City & Borough of Sitka
· University of Alaska
· Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association
· Education Consortium of Sitka
· Other non-profit organizations in Sitka
· High Schools in Sitka/Region
· Alaska Native Tribal Organizations
· Commercial/Sport Fishing Organizations
A full list of organizations and suggested partnership components are listed in Appendix C.
Recommendations & Next Steps:
At the conclusion of the meeting, the group agreed that with a determined effort on the part of the SSSC board of directors, the future of the Sheldon Jackson Hatchery has promise. To that end, the group offered a list of specific tasks, both short and long term, for SSSC to be successful in its endeavor to keep the hatchery producing. Recommendations were made by participants with 20 plus years of fisheries management, state agency management, educational and research experience with the goal for SSSC to be successful.
Immediate Short Term Steps:
1. Clarify Roles: Can Chilkat Services make a long term (10 years +) lease to SSSC? Is there any problem with SJ giving SSSC long term management authority to operate the hatchery/facility? (Gary Paxton, Keith Cox, Russ Thorpe will clarify and investigate that and have that information available to Board of Trustees meeting on May 1).
2. Board of SSSC meets on April 7th. At that time, SSSC should vote to add and diversify its board membership through recruitment of new members immediately. (Keith, Kitty)
The following individuals volunteered to join the board: Steve Reifenstuhl, NSRAA; Gary Paxton, Sitka Economic Dev Assoc; Bill Smoker, UAF Fisheries, UAF; Karen Schmitt, UAS Dean of School of Management and School of Career Education.
John Stein, City of Sitka was volunteered. Other names suggested included: Seafood Processors – Rick; Sitka Tribe – Director; Educational Consortium of Sitka – Karen; a tourism/charter representative. Commercial fishing rep – Eric Jordan? Cruise Ship rep? Recommended Ex-Officio members include: NOAA – Doug Mecum and Doug DeMaster should be recruited; Chilkat Services, Russ Thorpe; ADF&G; USFS; National Park Service.
3. Create a short needs statement & facility development proposal describing the management approach planned by the SSSC to make the hatchery a sustaining facility/resource for the City/Borough. (Keith, Dave and others)
4. A press release/media kit will be developed by UAS Ketchikan for SSSC use outlining the meeting and plans to move forward. SSSC will send out the information to the media before the May 1 Sheldon Jackson Board of Trustees meeting. (Cathy LeCompte, UAS Ketchikan Campus Director will have this developed, Keith will send it out).
5. The SSSC should ask the City of Sitka for financial assistance – particularly for these next few months. Provide the Council members with the short proposal mentioned above. (Russ will check on timeline to approach City; Gary and Keith will work on how/when to approach them).
Recommended Long Term Steps:
Develop a 10-year business plan for the hatchery, Sage Building and surrounding grounds. Contact UA Marine Advisory Program Business Specialist Glenn Haight for help with Business Plan development or ask Rasmuson for Tier 1 grant to develop Business Plan.
Make sure any outstanding debt is understood by all parties, how each is affected and how debt will be dealt with long term.
SSSC should pursue Board of Director training, possibly from the Foracker Group.
SSSC should hire a strong executive director/business manager/coordinator with proven experience and skills in creating partnerships and raising funds.
The SSSC should remain autonomous from Sheldon Jackson College/Foundation so they are able to apply for funding and build a program without concern by funders that SJ’s issues will be part of the SSSC.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Sitka Sound Science Center to receive $250,000.00

The state legislature has approved a bill to provide the Sitka Sound Science Center with $250k to continue hatchery operations and grow the organization. The Sitka Sentinel reported on the story, and I'm in the process of posting it here.

Governor Palin could veto the bill, so let's let her know we support the funding.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

E-newsletter

Chilkat Service has announced that they will publish an e-newsletter starting in April. You can subscribe to this newsletter by sending an e-mail to: Chilkat.services@yahoo.com. According to the announcement in the Daily Sitka Sentinel they are doing this to keep the community aware and involved with the progression of the SJ Campus operations.

One remianing legal challenge

With the recent agreement with Alaska Growth Capital, SJ(C?) avoided a lawsuit regarding liens placed on campus property as part of a loan package back in 2006. The agreement also provided long overdue severance and annual leave payments to former employees, most likely ensuring no legal challenges on that end.

At least one legal challenge remains. Traveler's Insurance had filed a lawsuit back in November alleging that SJ(C?) is responsible for any charges against a surety bond purchased by the College as part of an agreement with Alaska Post Secondary.

On March 10, 2008 an attorney for Traveler's issued a lis pendens, or intent to sue.

Earlier blog posts about the issue can be found here.

Friday, March 21, 2008

SJ Hatchery Update

There is some good news from the SJ Hatchery. Below is a letter from Dan Goodness. I think we would all have to agree that Dan has gone above and beyond the call of duty to save the hatchery. He is to be commended for his hard work to save the hatchery. I think we would also all agree that the Hatchery is an important thing for this community. If you see Dan please be sure to thank him and Lila for all they have done.

Be sure to check out the new website for the hatchery at this link: http://www.sjhatchery.org/

Dan's Letter:

Good morning, everyone!

It's been an exciting week for me here at the Sage Building this week. Several College students spent the week of Spring Break volunteering at the SJ Hatchery, and boy did we get lots done! I especially want to thank Jennie Smith and her daughter Kat for all their help (Jennie flew up from Oregon to be a part of the team). Thanks also to Victoria and Paul, two more students attending UAS in Juneau, for their assistance in coded wire tagging of chinook, and other projects. Polly, Jack, Lila, Jan and Kathy also did their part in making the week special. Lila fixed a big lunch for everyone on the tagging team on Wednesday. My very sincere thanks to everyone who helped. We have clipped and tagged over 22,000 chinook, and so the tagging of Broodyear 2006 coho and chinook is complete.

Also this week, the Broodyear 2006 coho and chinook in circular ponds began getting a small amount of saltwater mixed in with the fresh. This helps prepare them for life at sea. These fish will be released during May this spring. Ther coho were sampled during the week, and a plan is now in place to spread them out amongst the available ponds to give them more room for the next two months.

A very special gift this week came from Mim McConnell, who is a very talented graphic arts designer, web designer and photographer. She had heard about the "plight" of the SJ Hatchery Program, and offered to create a website for us. She asked me to write the text, and provide photos for this project. I want to thank James Shewmake and Sitka Tribe of Alaska for their movie clips which have been incorporated on this site, and Don Shawler for the use of one of his photos. I have collected digital photos for several years now, primarily of my students, but also of my volunteers, working and learning in the hatchery. Mim, your work is exceptional, and I cannot thank you enough for this generous donation of time! The new website is up and running now, and can be viewed at http://www.sjhatchery.org/. You can see Mim McConnell's works, and business contact information by going to http://www.sheltercovepublishing.com/.

In addition, 650,000 pink salmon have been ponded and transferred into a 20' X 40' netpen, and are being fed daily. The water has been cold (around 3.0 degrees C.) so the chums are developing slowly. But they will be ponded soon, as will the rest of the pinks. The coho eggs have been picked and seeded, and will hatch soon.

In my last newsletter I referred to a meeting to take place in Sitka near the first of April, 2008. This meeting will include people from the University of Alaska Southeast, NOAA Fisheries, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, representatives of PNP hatcheries in Southeast Alaska (this includes me) as well as the Sitka Sound Science Center, and possibly representatives of other educational entities. I don't have an agenda quite yet, but the meeting is planned to go for a day and a half, and I hope to give everyone an extensive tour of the Sage Building, Wetlab, classrooms, and hatchery. We are preparing for everyone's arrival, getting the building and hatchery grounds "shipshape" for this special event. In my next newsletter, I hope to give everyone a summary of this get together. But for now, let me say that I sincerely believe everyone present will come to realize the enormous value of this educational hatchery and aquarium, housed in a historic building, located in a very special spot in Sitka. More news to come.

Our donation account, the "Friends of the Hatchery", at Wells Fargo Bank, in Sitka, Alaska, has raised over $10,000! The donation containers Lila and I placed around town have produced many hundreds of dollars. I don't know everyone who has donated. I wish I could thank each and every one of these folks for their gifts. But the containers and their contents show me that the entire City of Sitka is behind us in our struggle to keep the hatchery alive!!

If you have questions or comments about the hatchery, feel free to email me. Have a great day.

Daniel F. Goodness, Manager
Sheldon Jackson College Hatchery
801 Lincoln Street
Sitka, Alaska 99835

Office Phone: 907-747-3824
Home Phone: 907-747-3824
Email: daniel.goodness@gmail.com

Thursday, March 20, 2008

A Question from Kansas

Kansas Volunteer posted this question in the comments section:

"The director of news services of PCUSA, who is a board member, says the college is preserving its core property so the college can resume as soon as finances are in place. This blog and comments do not seem to agree with that statement. Who are we to believe?"

I attempt an answer below:

I don't doubt that board members would choose to resume operations if finances were in place. What would that require?

1. Debt Free. The College would have to be debt free in order to move forward. Currently, outstanding debt is somewhere between 6 and 10 million dollars. The current plan is to sell property, even the core campus possibly, in order to pay this off.
2. Working Capital. The College would need at least 10 to 20 million to open shop once again. New hires, student recruitment, and additional costs must be paid up front. Serious physical plant issues would need to be addressed. Deferred maintenance is estimated at 20-60 million.
3. Accreditation, licensure, and financial aid. The College's accreditation is scheduled to end in March of 2009, when the teachout plan ends. Authorization to operate in Alaska was revoked in September 2007. The Dept. of Ed. pulled authorization to disburse financial aid back in July.
4. Trust. Who will work at the College, and who will attend? The reputation of the school is worse now than prior to closure.

From my perspective, these challenges are far above the capacity of the current board to effectively meet. It may also be that the board member referenced made this statement prior to the most recent news regarding Alaska Growth.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Alaska Growth & SJ(C?) come to terms

Alaska Growth Capital and SJ(C?) have apparently reached a deal regarding payback of a loan made by AGC to SJ(C?) in 2006 fpr $4.5 million. Raven Radio is working on a story. What I've learned so far is that the agreement involves AGC managing the former college's debt, including faculty and staff severance, IRS liens, and possibly city utility back payments. In return SJ(C?) gives AGC the authority to manage the sale of properties to pay back the debt.

The core campus, including the Sage building, is supposedly not on the table. Hames may be off as well, but I'm waiting for confirmation.

Bottom Line: Faculty and Staff, many still unemployed, can breathe a little easier.

Please notify me if you do not receive payment by the end of the week.

Final Pay and Severance Pay

It looks like SJ somehow pulled together the money to pay former employees. Yesterday several final paychecks were mailed out to laid off employees. Keep your eyes on your incoming mail to see if you get the same nice surprise that I got.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

File a Wage Claim Today

This week I spoke with folks at the Department of Labor and Governor Palin's office. It is their recommendation that we file wage claims immediately. The form can be found here.

Don't wait. I think folks at Wage and Hour are ready to act.

Friday, February 29, 2008

Alaska Growth Capital removes lis pendens

It appears that SJ(C?) may have come to agreement with Alaska Growth Capital (AGC) over a dispute regarding property liens in conjunction with AGC's $4.5 million loan. On February 25th, AGC attorneys removed their original intent to sue. Also named in the original suit was PC USA and the City of Sitka.

Friday, February 22, 2008

More SJC News

I noted this morning that KTUU TV in Anchorage has done a news story on SJC. Go to the link below and then read the story and/ or click on the video links in the upper left hand corner.
KTUU TV NEWS

There should be another video added to this news site tonight too.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

A strange series of events

Tuesday, February 19th - I call the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities to inquire about SJ(C?)'s accreditation. I am told that the Commission met in January about the issue, but that I need to ask SJ President David Dober about the meeting. I look on the NWCCU website, and SJ(C?) is listed as accredited - show cause, a status that the College has held for quite some time.

Wednesday, February 20th - The NWCCU website is updated (just the Alaska page), and SJ(C?)'s status is changed to....

Thursday, February 21st - I visit the NWCCU website and discover this. Holy Sh*%! I say, "How did this happen?"

The NWCCU defines accredited status as this:

"An affiliate status indicating that an institution meets the Commission's established standards of educational quality and effectiveness. Accredited status indicates that the institution: 1) has clearly defined and appropriate educational objectives; 2) operates under conditions by which achievement of those educational objectives can reasonably be expected; 3) is substantially accomplishing its educational objectives; and 4) is organized, staffed, and supported to warrant confidence that it will continue to achieve its educational objectives in the foreseeable future."

Huh?

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Should the Church continue to finance SJ(C?)?

That very question is being asked by the General Assembly Council of the Presbyterian Church (USA). According to a Church News Service release on February 15th, a delegation will visit Sitka to determine whether or not the Church should continue to provide SJ(C?) with a share of the proceeds from the Christmas Joy Offering.

Of note: Beneva Bibbs (SJ Board Member) states in the letter that SJ(C?) has retained accreditation. Interesting.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

SJ(C?) to Reopen!


After what we all agree has been a very difficult seven months, it appears that Sheldon Jackson College is making a comeback. Don’t believe me? Just read the following from a recent fundraising letter from SJ President David Dobler and Board President Shirley Holloway:

“The Board of Trustees has embarked upon a program of deliberate liquidation of all but the core campus of Sheldon Jackson College in order to retire the long term debt and to fund the refashioning of the school’s programs to meet the current a future needs of Alaska communities and students.” (emphasis mine)

In several past statements, the “current and future needs of Alaska” included the hatchery, which, according to Dobler, “we will continue operation of the hatchery as the linchpin of our future as an institution.” (Presbyterian News Service, September 20, 2007)

Has anyone notified Dan Goodness, who has to fund the operation by setting donation cans out around town?

Earlier the letter states that the Board voted to suspend operations for one year, but fails to mention that in subsequent statements, the Board has clearly stated that the closure is far more permanent that this.

“It is safe to say that Sheldon Jackson College will not reopen as a college in the near future,” said board of trustees chair Shirley J. Holloway. (Presbyterian News Service, September 20, 2007)

The letter also fails to notify potential donors that the College has lost its authorization to operate in Alaska, and the ability to award federal financial aid. And what of accreditation? The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities met in January to discuss this very thing. I’ve got a call in to find out.

This letter strikes me as extremely naïve at best, and misleading at worst. My favorite part of letter: “Last year the accumulated debts of the College made it impossible to continue “business as usual”.

It appears that “business as usual” is alive and well.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Friends of the Hatchery

As many of you know some dedicated folks are working very hard to keep the old SJC Hatchery alive. This is a reminder that donations to the Friends of the Hatchery can be made by dropping in or mailing in a check to:

Friends of the Hatchery
Wells Fargo Bank, Sitka Branch
300 Lincoln Street
Sitka, Alaska 99835

I also noted that there are donation cans around town a various business. I saw one today at Murray Pacific. Drop your loose change into the can next time you see one of these cans. Every little bit helps!

Thanks!

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

No Longer for Sale?

The link to the Century 21web listing of SJ (C?) property has been pulled that is why the web link below is not working. Rumors are flying right and left as to why the listing were pulled, but it is not Chris’s or my place to post rumors on this site. Feel free to speculate.

Friday, February 1, 2008

SJ(C?) for sale

Century 21 has listed nearly all SJ(C?) residences. Finally a solution to the affordable housing crisis. Except for the staff and faculty living there now.

Raven Radio reports on SJ(C?) Activity Meeting

Here is the story about Tuesday night's meeting on Raven Radio.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Sitka Retreat Center

At tonight’s Sheldon Jackson’s Facilities Big Picture Meeting, I announced that there is interest in starting a Sitka Retreat Center. I said I would post an e-mail address on how to contact me if you want more information or you want to be involved. Here it is: sjcwatch@gmail.com


In the near future I will start putting together a web site totally dedicated to the Sitka Retreat Center. For now this blog will have to function as the area to gather ideas and to share thoughts. I would encourage anyone who wants to post whatever they want to on the idea of a Retreat Center. However, I will delete any anonymous post. Sorry, I feel if you won’t post your name then your opinion should not count.

Please also watch for future post on this subject.

One more note; Chris will post an update on what happened at tonight’s meeting. I will just say that there was a lot of positive things said and it looks like there could be some positive things come from a lot of dedicated folks who are working hard to preserve parts of SJ. I assume there will also be a radio piece on Raven Radio so I’d assume that will be posted too. Meanwhile don’t forget you can go on Raven Radio’s web site for news on SJ and other Sitka news at this address: http://www.ravenradio.org/.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Sheldon Jackson Activities Meeting

A public meeting will be held Tuesday, January 29th, 7:00PM Centennial Hall, in order to update the public on the current activities of organizations involved with SJ(C?), including Hames Wellness Center, SJ Childcare, Library, and others. It may also serve as an opportunity to hear from and ask questions of Dr. Dobler and others.

Hope to see you there.

Friday, January 4, 2008

Sheldon Jackson Closure Big News

Each January the Sitka Daily Sentinel publishes a year-end feature of big news events. This year, the loss of Sheldon Jackson College topped the list as the biggest story of 2007. You're telling me.