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