Seward Senior Center Hosted the Senior High School Breakfast Friday, for the first time in that longtime graduation tradition. The seniors are about to graduate next week, and have a number of events to attend before they do, including scholarship awards night, the senior barbecue and parade downtown, and finally graduation.

Retired teachers and proud grandmas dine with some of the graduating seniors. Heidi Zemach photo.

Some 42 will be graduating in the Class of 2013. In the second photo seniors, Joey, Jon, Brennen and Tyrone before they go into the first-period breakfast.

By Heidi Zemach for Seward City News

Second annual Seward Mariner’s Memorial service. Heidi Zemach photo.

Seward Mariner’s Memorial organizers held the second annual Memorial Service this weekend, Harbor Opening Weekend. They recently added five or six more plaques to the dozen or so that were already up at the new light-house style structure. The plaques are in memory of mariners who have died, but those memorialized don’t have to have died at sea, organizers said. They could be for anyone who had loved to fish or sail out of Seward, or they could be in any way related to the local boating or the fishing industry, including those who run charter companies, boat yard or cannery workers, or even waterfront restaurateurs.

The gathering was small, but the mood was somber and heartfelt, and some people’s emotions were still raw, such Lynn Moore’s, spoke about her husband Captain Harold Everett Moore, a successful commercial fisherman and crab high liner who died in October 2012 in a boating accident at 20 mile creek. Moore spent 30 years fishing from Seward and 18 in Cordova, but despite four decades of sometimes harrowing experiences commercial fishing, and flying across Alaska, in California and Florida, in the end the only loss of life he suffered while on the water was his own, Moore said.

Moore was the kind of old style fishing captain who could give a person a handshake and look them in the eye when making a deal, she said. He had no use for written contracts. And foremost in his mind was always his crew and the welfare of their families, she said.

He died October 8^th, 2012, while out hunting her moose permit to supply food for his extended family. He drowned trying to protect another crewmember as the boat spun around in a strong current, its prop tangled in a log jam. The rescue team recovered his body, tangled under the logjam, still wearing his Mustang survival suit, she said. “He was a captain to the end, he gave his life up to the crew.”

Lynn Moore, Fishing captain Harold Everett Moore’s widow. Heidi Zemach photo.

“They are always here,” Moore told the gathering. She often visits the memorial, and watches the fleet coming and going only to return home and realize later, as it sinks in, that they are missing one.

Others with new plaques, installed since last years’ memorial included John Augie August, Robert Miller, Johnathan B. Perry, and Captain Michael Thibault.

“Here’s to Sue (Kaanta), the only girl. We can’t forget her,” said another participant, as others nodded in agreement. Kaanta, who died after a long-fought battle with cancer, loved to spend her time out on her own private fishing boat.

Mark Chase sang Fiddlers Green, an old Irish sea shanty as others joined in on the chorus. Prayers were said, then Harbormaster Mack Funk rang the harbor bell once for each of the people memorialized, as their names were read out.

There also was a silent auction at the Breeze Inn bar nearby to raise money for the memorial. The money raised, along with a contribution from the Seward Community Foundation, will be used to fund the next phase of the project, a Compass-Rose star to extend outward in all directions from the memorial’s base, and circular landscaping with benches and plants, where people can sit and remember loved ones as they watch the ships enter and leave the small boat harbor.

Due to high winds, the boat parade and blessing of the fleet that was to have happened after the memorial service was cancelled.

Seward Senior Center Hosted the Senior High School Breakfast Friday, for the first time in that longtime graduation tradition. The seniors are about to graduate next week, and have a number of events to attend before they do, including scholarship awards night, the senior barbecue and parade downtown, and finally graduation. Some 42 will be graduating in the Class of 2013.

Retired teachers and proud grandmas dine with some of the graduating seniors. Heidi Zemach photo.

Here are Joey, John, Brennen and Tyrone, taken before going in to breakfast. Congratulations everybody.

May 18 & 19^th, 2013

8:30-10 am Sailors’ Breakfast, at Sailing Inc., open to public.

10am-2pm Sailors Swap Meet-sponsored by Kenai Fjords Yacht Club, Sailing Inc. in the parking lot.

11am-3pm Open House aboard Yachts-pick up boarding pass and list of open boats at Sailing Inc.

12pm-6pm Silent Auction at Breeze Inn to benefit Mariner’s Memorial

3pm Seward Mariner’s Memorial Plaque Installation Service

4pm Boat Parade and Blessing of the Fleet-boats sail from harbor along beachfront to sea life center and back.

7pm-11pm Harbor Plaza Dance at Chinook’s Restaurant with Live Music, Dancing, Prizes, No host bar. Proceeds benefit the Mariners’ Memorial. $10 at the door.

The photo below is of the USCG’s PFD Otter, Coast Guard Auxiliary’s Sue Lang, and Coast Guard Cutter Mustang’s Commanding Officer Lisa Motoi, and other personnel, on their way to a Seward Chamber of Commerce talk at the Breeze Inn on National Boating Safety Week, and related events at the harbor. The Coast Guard auxiliary will conduct vessel safety checks. Call or text sue at 907 491-9110 for an appointment.

PFD Otter with US Coast Guard Auxiliary’s Sue Lang and USCG personnel. Heidi Zemach photo.

School is almost out, and ’tis the season for field trips. Seward Elementary School’s classes of 62 Kindergartners hit the town today, visiting the bank, the Seward Fire Department, and other places with their teachers. They learned things they may never have learned despite living here. While at the fire station, they got a chance to get inside the fire trucks, try out the heavy fire hats, feel the suction coming from a tube used to suck out and contain the fire truck’s exhaust, and to hold the glowing traffic sticks, used to control traffic during fires or accidents.

Seward Fire Chief Dave Squires explains that these are not light-sabers, although they may be fun to use as such. Heidi Zemach photo.

Here, Mica Mahalak and Alyssa Lucas ham for the camera from within a fire truck.

Possibly Seward’s future fire fighters Alyssa Lucas and Mica Mahalak. Heidi Zemach photo.

By Heidi Zemach for SCN

Qutekcak Native Tribe held a bake sale and ivory carving class Friday March 20 to benefit the tribe’s elders program. The carving class was part of its series of ongoing traditional craft classes that also includes beading, and will grow this summer to include a traditional dogsled making class.

Leona Gottschalk shows some of the raw carving material students are using: fresh white walrus ivory (left) , and darker fossilized ivory (right)  Heidi Zemach photo.

Qutekcak provides cultural programs and social services that aid in the lives of Alaska’s first people in the Seward area. About a dozen people have participated in the carving class off and on, said Leona Gottschalk, a beading instructor who stood in Friday for their regular teacher, Julian Rentenaar. She showed us the pieces of white and brown walrus tusk or tooth ivory, and even browner fossilized ivory that class participants can carve, along with baleen. Both fresh and fossilized are about the same to carve, she said. Fresh walrus ivory, from the migrating walrus, is almost always bright white and can only be carved by a native Alaskan. Ancient fossilized walrus ivory, which can be brown, black, blue, or red, however, is dug up or found, and can be carved by non-natives.

The carvers use a desk-drill saw to cut the ivory, and Dremel drills with a variety of drill bits are used to shape and sand it. Then they sandpaper their item further to complete and polish the final product.  Popular items among class members are miniature mukluk-boot earrings, and ulu-shaped earrings, Gottschalk said.  James Wardlow, who recently started taking classes there, carved some muktuk (whale blubber)- style earrings, with the white ivory representing the layer of whale blubber, and the black baleen on top representing the whale’s skin layer. Muktuk is most often made from the skin and blubber of a Bowhead Whale although the beluga and narwhal are also used. Usually it’s eaten raw, but it is occasionally finely diced, breaded, deep fried, and served with soy sauce.

One of the student’s carved ulu earrings, still in progress. Heidi Zemach photo.

The principal idea for the classes are to get more prospective craftspeople qualified to receive Silver Hand Permits, which certify that the traditional arts and crafts they’re selling is authentic, and produced within the state by Alaska Natives. The official identifying symbol is a silver hand on a black oval background with the words “Authentic Native handicraft from Alaska.” The program is run by the Alaska State Council on the Arts Department of Education & Early Development.

All of Qutekcak’s craft classes are free, and open to everyone in the community, although they do take donations, said Melanee Stevens, the program youth manager. They are a great opportunity to learn a unique new skill from a group of talented experts who make a living from their craft.

Carving and beading workshops are Wednesdays, from 1:00-3:00 pm respectively, and there’s another carving class on Friday from 1:30-3:30 p.m. The dogsled class will held sometime during the summer. Stay tuned!

The Seward Bluegrass Camp For Kids, which will be held June 24-28, is looking for someone who knows how to call square dances who would be willing to volunteer. We would like to offer a community square dance during one evening of that week. We would supply the live band, and the dance call patterns. Unfortunately our caller Patty Hamre can not make it this year.

We also are looking for a sound system (speakers and microphones)  to borrow if for the staff concert at the Rez Arts, for the kid’s concert at the Lutheran Church, and possibly for the open mikes and square dance.

If you can help with either of these, please contact Heidi at 224-6473.

Or to sign up for the kids camp, or adult evening bluegrass workshop go to:    http://www.bluegrasscampsforkids.com/

The Seward/Bear Creek Flood Service Area board will hold a work session on the Seward Mapped Flood Data Area (SMFDA) and a Salmon Creek (SC16/17) mitigation project concept on Monday, May 20, 2013 at 6:00 pm, followed by the regular board meeting at 7:00 pm.  The meeting will be held at the KPB Seward Office in Sea View Plaza, 302 Railway Ave, Suite 122.

The meeting packet can be viewed on the website at:  http://www.sewardbearcreekfloodservicearea.org/ .

Also, today, May 15^th is Permitting & Agency Information Day,  11am-3pm at the Seward Community Library Museum.

Come learn more about the permits you may need to build, collect wood in the forest, about the type or quality of home or flood insurance available to you where you live according to the new flood maps, etc. It’s an all-agency event.

By Heidi Zemach for Seward City News

Harbormaster Mack Funk accepts proclamation for upcoming Harbor Opening Weekend, and related events. Heidi Zemach photo

The Seward City Council approved a number of resolutions without discussion or debate during a meeting of under an 90 minutes Monday, May 13^th. They unanimously accepted a number of resolutions on their consent agenda including a $24,000 grant, and appropriated a city 5% match of $1,200 to purchase new exercise equipment for the city volunteer fire department. The equipment will be placed in a 24-hour facility, available for emergency volunteer’s use. According to the resolution 2013-030, heart attacks are the leading killer of emergency responders for this physically and mentally demanding work.

A second resolution they passed will add an additional $71,000 to the existing $550,000 city contract with Harmon Construction Inc., which is constructing a vessel wash down pad at Seward Municipal Industrial Center, or SMIC.  The change order will enable Harmon to install a wash water holding tank that will allow the wash down pad to operate during light and moderate rain storms. The system it originally designed was inadequate for that, according to the project engineer, PND Engineers Inc. The wash down pad still has no source of heat provided to melt snow or ice, however.

A third resolution recommends that the Kenai Peninsula Borough approve the Seward Bear Creek Flood Service Area’s 2013 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan Update. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, requires all states to submit a hazard mitigation plan in order to be eligible for FEMA funding in disasters, and requires those plans to be updated regularly. They guide citizens and policy makers in mitigating potential natural hazard disasters, and ensure public awareness and involvement. The plan’s approval will be reintroduced in the assembly June 4^th with the city council’s recommendation. The assembly also has an ordinance to accept $1.3 million in federal and state reimbursement for last year’s Sept 12 flood damage.

Sue Lang. of the USCG Auxillary, invited folks to don their life-jackets, and visit the new coast guard facility in honor of boating safety week. She thanked the many agencies that help promote boater safety. Heidi Zemach photo

Finally, the council passed a resolution accepting a $3,000 grant from Kenai Mountains Turnagain Arm Corridor Communities Association to hire a museum assistant to help scan and upload over 300 local historic photos into the statewide historic photo database, and to add ’64 Earthquake-related material to the UAA Consortium Library Archives in time for the 50^th anniversary of the event.

Under New Business, the council approved two ordinances for introduction. They will have public hearings, and will be up for final approval at the next meeting. One ordinance establishes electronic notification of wait list customers at the Small Boat Harbor. The other revises the city code to eliminate quarterly moorage rates at the harbor.

In Unfinished Business, the council held three public hearings on proposed changes to the International Mechanical Code, International Building Code, and adopting the 2012 IBC, and amending the 2012 edition of the International Fire Code, amending a chapter of its Health and Safety code. No one came forward to testify. After some discussion, the council rejected the new IBC code and revisions by a 3-2 vote, however. Councilmembers Bob Valdatta, Christy Terry and Mayor David Seaward voted in favor of the ordinance, while Vanta Shafer and Marianna Keil voted against it. Vice Mayor Jean Bardarson, whose husband, a contractor who converts steel shipping containers into temporary living structures, abstained from the discussion and vote for conflict of interest reasons. The vote means that the city will continue to operate under the 2006 building code that allows temporary structures to be approved for 180 days, with extensions possible if granted by the building inspector. The building inspector also must abide by the recently adopted 2009 state building code changes. The council will likely wait until the state adopts its own
version of the 2012 IBC before adopting its own version of the building code.

The International Mechanical Code and International Fire Code revisions were amended, but their approval was postponed to allow additional public hearings during the May 28^th council meeting.

SPD Lieutenant Tiner invites the public to participate in the Olympic Torch Run, and to honor corrections/peace officers week. Heidi Zemach photo.

The mayor issued five city proclamations including the U.S. Coast Guard’s safety week and life-jacket safety day this Friday, the Harbor Opening Weekend, May 18-19, the Seward Mariner’s Memorial dedication and blessing of the fleet, Seward’s Military Appreciation Week May 15-31^st, National Peace Officer’s week, and the Special Olympics Torch Run/Terry Pollard Exit Glacier race on Saturday morning.

By Heidi Zemach for SCN

New library file photo by Heidi Zemach

The Seward City Council has begun to talk about its upcoming budget needs in advance of more focused budget discussions that will begin in September. It has already had two preliminary work sessions. The first one focused on the Public Works Department’s plans and needs for Water and Sewer infrastructure projects. The second work session, held last week, focused on how to pay for the new library/museum bond in the coming years.

The bond debt is $3.4 million, payable over 25 years at 3.99% interest.  The bond payments pay the interest only for all of next year, FY2014, at around $159,400, then payments increase to $244,400 per year as they pay off both the principal and interest.  The remaining two-thirds of the library museum building project was funded through grants and donations.

The library is part of the city’s General Fund, with its capital and operating costs paid from tax and revenue sharing, not from user-generated revenues such as through the sale of goods and services.

The five options that the council discussed with staff and the public began with the idea of doing nothing and hoping that increased tax revenues would be enough to cover the new debt payments. This would require a 5.9 percent increase in taxable sales. Sales tax income has been steadily increasing in recent years. The second option was to reduce funding to other General Fund uses by about $250,000. The third option was to increase the sales tax from 4% to 4.25% based on 2013 projected sales, which would take some changes in business software, and trying to explain that to a public that voted against a sales tax increase in an advisory vote two years ago. Fourth, increasing property tax from 3.12 mills to 3.89 mills to generate additional $249,600, a 24% increase of the City rate, or a 9.5% increase of the aggregate City/KPB/SBCFSA rate, totaling 8.89 mills. Fifth and last, a combination of the above options.

The sales tax versus property tax idea was debated exhaustively during bi-annual budget debates two years ago under the city administration of then City Manager Phillip Oates. Property taxes weren’t viewed as fair by some because of the small number of city property owners relative to city residents of the area who used the library. Sales tax increases were rejected at the time by a majority of voters who said they felt squeezed by increases in city fees, and prices for goods generally. They also rejected Oates’ proposal for a seasonal summer sales tax increase and winter season decrease, although most of that increase would be borne by visitors to Seward. Local hoteliers said tourists frequently complained about our sales tax, and additional hotel head taxes, and would not want an additional burden. The borough said calculating the special tax would be cost-prohibitive, and that the city would have to reimburse them for their new software. A proposed “sin” tax on alcohol and tobacco also was defeated in a citizen’s advisory vote.

At the recent work session, Mayor David Seaward said he would support a property tax increase or a withdrawal from the general fund, such as from the motor pool fund to finance the library museum bond.

“People are extremely optimistic about the direction we’re headed (with increased business and thus sales taxes),” and would like to see the bond payment taken from the general fund, said Councilwoman Vanta Shafer.

“Which leads to the discussion of which fund?” said City Manager Jim Hunt.

Assistant Manager Ron Long said the increase in taxable sales that the city experienced in the last quarter had been spent by council to restore some programs that had been facing cuts, and also were used for discretionary spending such as trips and travel, and by the city paying resident bill payer’s credit-card fees.

“Ask the nonprofits to chip in, it’s about time they step up to the plate guys,” said Councilman Bob Valdatta.

New museum’s display case of find handmade Native-Alaska baskets. Heidi Zemach photo.

Keith Campbell, who chairs the Seward Community Library Museum board, said he continues to believe that a sales tax increase would be the most fair for all, especially for elderly people like him, whose real property taxes are exempt. It also includes a broader population of those who live outside of the city limits, but who also use the library museum.  The majority of voters who approved an earlier ballot measure asking whether the city should fund the building project with a General Obligation Bond, was good enough for the council to justify a sales tax increase to pay for it, he said.

Tom Tougas, a local businessman, encouraged a combination of doing nothing and reducing the general fund. “I expect the sales tax bill to go up significantly this year,” he said. The North Dock and hospital (original building) bonds will be paid off this year, he said. Meanwhile, the one-percent sales tax for hospitals will continue to provide funds toward future hospital improvements. Although he believed the sales tax versus property tax increase debate as a waste of time, he did favor the seasonal sales tax concept as some 65-75% of our sales tax is paid by visitors.

Library Director Patricia Linville said the council should not think they could fund the bond by instituting library fees for users, because revenues would be minimal, even if the city charged $25 for a library card like the Loussac Library in Anchorage does. Her review of library patron’s addresses found that there were 5,504 card holding households living in Seward, 175 in Moose Pass, and 300 in areas outside of town, she said. These would only bring in about $11,250 in revenues to the library, she said.

Seward can expect to receive ten times as much money from the museum as they do from the library, Tougas said. But the Seward Historic Society currently averages only about $20,000 in visitor-income per year. While visitor numbers are expected to increase with the museum’s new location, and the entrance fee has increased to $5, the hours that the museum is open may not be as high as previous years due to staffing limitations. The historic society does plan to staff the museum with volunteers on tourist-season Sundays, when the library is closed, as those are on large cruise ship/tourist days. Kerry Martin, of the historic society, warned not to count on the earthquake documentary fee to support the new building. It is dedicated to the library association for books and programs, he said.

By Heidi Zemach for SCN

Cruise ship passengers in Alaska Railroad depot 2012l. Heidi Zemach file photo

Celebrity Cruises has confirmed that during its last sailing to Seward Friday, May 10th, the Celebrity Millennium cruise ship experienced “an elevated number of people with a gastrointestinal illness.”  Over the course of the sailing, 164 of its 1,963 passengers and 30 of its 935 crew members experienced the illness, thought to be norovirus.  Those affected by the short-lived stomach illness responded well to over-the-counter medication being administered onboard the ship, said Cynthia Martinez the director of Global Corporate Communications for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

“At Celebrity Cruises we have high health standards for all our guests and crew,” she said.  “During the sailing, we conduct enhanced cleaning onboard the ship, to help prevent the spread of the illness. Additionally, when Celebrity Millennium arrived to Seward, Alaska, on Friday, May 10, we conducted an extensive and thorough sanitizing onboard the ship and within the cruise terminal, to help prevent any illness from affecting the subsequent sailing.”

The State of Alaska Section of Epidemiology division received an email from the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) vessel sanitation program three days earlier notifying them of the matter because more than three percent of its crew and passengers were affected by gastrointestinal symptoms, said the division’s information officer Greg Wilkinson.  The email said that the CDC would respond to the ship. Guests and crew on the Millennium, as on all cruise ships embarking passengers here, received a letter at boarding that asked if they had experienced any gastrointestinal symptoms within the last three days. Those who answer that they have are checked out by medical personnel, and some, deemed infectious, are not allowed to board. Similarly, if guests said they were uncomfortable taking their cruise, for reasons related to personal health or otherwise, cruise ship staff assist them in rescheduling their sailing for another time.

Celebrity Millennium departed Shanghai (Baoshan), China, on Thursday, April 25, and made port calls to Jeju Island, South Korea; Kobe and Toyko (Yokohama), Japan and Petropavlovsk, Russia, before arriving to Seward, Alaska, on Friday, May 10. Then it headed to ports in southeast Alaska.

Cruise Ship train arrives at terminal. Heidi Zemach 2012 file photo.

According to health experts, each year as many as 300 million people worldwide are affected by Norovirus.  Only the common cold is more prevalent. The virus is a bad gastrointestinal flu that can knock you out for about two or three days. While it’s very common in the general population, in a confined environment, such as on board a ship, it can spread rapidly, usually by people touching surfaces such as door handles and railings. All of the cruise ships stress frequent daily hand-washing and sanitizing, and the crew uses a potent virus killer to treat all surfaces and to clean the cabins daily. In the case of an outbreak, it is also used to clean all of the coaches too.

Last year, passenger’s aboard the Dawn Princess, a Princess Cruise ship, experienced elevated numbers of people with norovirus. When the ship arrived in Seward, however, only six passengers and three crew members were deemed infectious and were confined to their staterooms.

Friday’s ship was the first of many that will be coming to Seward this summer, and kicked off the official start of what many local entrepreneurs expect will be a busy 2013 tourist season here. Many of the passengers were loaded onto tour buses and spent the day sightseeing in Anchorage, while others took local day-cruises aboard Major Marine Tours and Kenai Fjords Tours. Still others wandered around town, visiting the shops and restaurants and Alaska SeaLife Center.  The next cruise ship scheduled in Seward is Holland America’s Zaandam, Sunday, May 19^th.

Seward Museum welcomes folks to come in and sit and chat, and share some history. Heidi Zemach photo.

The Seward Community Library Museum has two events this Saturday May, 11th. Everyone is invited to attend the new mural’s dedication and the museum’s grand opening. The mural dedication is at 12:30pm, followed by the museum grand opening ceremony at 1:00pm. Admission to the museum is free following the ribbon cutting ceremony. The library will open at 2pm following the museum’s grand opening.

The mural, Seward’s largest ever, was created by Nichole Feemster, and was painted and prepared by a large group of dedicated community volunteers. It was recently hung on the building’s south face, and provides a great deal more color and storytelling mystique to the building’s already fascinating shifting-color tiled exterior.

This pioneer’s bedroom scene is also on display in the new Seward Museum. Heidi Zemach photo.

The new museum retains much of its original old flavor, with an oriental rug, the same welcoming wooden table and chairs for people to gather around, and it offers the same collection of historical artifacts. But it is arranged in such a way, progressing from one segment or  theme to another, with good lighting to allow people to view the displays in a new, more comprehensive light, with help from some handsome new showcases on platforms built just for the new building. I guarantee you will notice things that you have not seen before, even though they were there all along! The historical society members will volunteer to keep the museum open on Sundays during the busy summertime when the library is closed. Folks are saying that with the museum, the 1964 Earthquake documentary showing, and library all in the same location, there should be more visitor traffic, and more money and attention generated to Seward’s historical treasures.

By Heidi Zemach for SCN

The Bear Creek Volunteer Fire Department is hosting a Ground Breaking on Saturday May 11, at 1:30 for the new fire-station multi-use building, with an open house and hot-dog roast to follow. March Creek is the Contractor. The contract was formally approved by the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly at its Tuesday, May 7^th meeting. Six contractors bid on the project, but March Creek was the lowest bidder at $4,501,123.00, and is a contractor well known for the quality of its work, said BCFVD Fire Chief Mark Beals.  For the past couple of weeks, workers have been clearing the site adjacent to the existing fire station of trees and snow, and generally preparing for the site to be ready for them to begin construction this month.

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Capital Project will oversee the project. The project is to be substantially completed by early 2014, with additional ground work to be finished in the spring of next year.

Bear Creek Volunteer Fire Department with their newest truck. Photo from BCVFD website

“The Bear Creek Fire Service Area Board of Directors and the Bear Creek Volunteers Fire and EMS, Inc. are looking forward to the new facility which will improve facilities for training, and a layout and design that will improve response and safety at the new station,” Beals said. “We wish to thank the community,
borough and our legislative representatives for their support of this project.”

Come out an celebrate with the volunteer fire department and Bear Creek community this important new project that has taken so long to bring to fruition.

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meets May 6th in Seward. Heidi Zemach photo

Heidi Zemach for Seward City News

The KPBSD Board of Education’s meeting at the Seward High School Monday night was an eventful, at times dramatic and emotional affair, probably better attended than most board meetings in the district’s larger communities are, said one board member during a much-needed break. Another board member, Liz Downing, from Homer joked that Seward is “the new Homer,” leading some in the audience to wonder if that was meant as an insult or a compliment.

The biggest piece of news for Seward was the board’s decision to delay the Seward Middle School configuration proposal to include the sixth grade in the middle school, in order to allow more time for study, discussion, and planning. The board directed the administration to make its recommendation to school board by October of 2013. That timeline was met with some disappointment by those in the audience who had hoped that the move could occur by the coming fall, rather than more than a year from now. The school went from offering eight to only four elective offerings this year due to lower enrollment numbers, and the public had been told there would probably be fewer or possibly no electives offered next year if the status quo were maintained—except for those that could be included within regular classes, such Art, Music, or the new Lego-Robotics.

There were a great many comments by members of the public about the proposed sixth-grade move. Six parents who spoke out were clearly in favor of the move to the middle school, two spoke in more general terms, one hoping that a more beneficial funding formula could be enacted for helping to staff the smallest district schools, and another thanking the KPBSD administrators for allowing SMS Principal Jason Bickling to continue on as principal of the Moose Pass School next year.

Maya Moriarty, Site Council member, speaks to board of education. Heidi Zemach photo

Maya Moriarty, a site-based council member  who had enjoyed a very “enriched” educational environment growing up, said her daughter had started to cry when she explained what she would lose if they didn’t move the sixth grade up. But she calmed down a little, when her mother told her that KPBSD Superintendent Steve Atwater had given the school an additional half a (FTE) position, Moriarty said.

Prior to the general meeting, the board also held a late-afternoon work session to discuss the process by which the principals and site council had reached their recommendation to approve the move. Another work session also took place on several proposed policy revisions to the site-council boards district-wide. It included a revised proposal initiated by local District 6 school board representative Lynn Hohl to have individual site councils decide whether principals/administrators should be able to vote on their own advisory boards. Earlier, she had proposed that the principals not be allowed to vote, as they do in Seward. The revisions were removed from consideration on the meeting agenda, however, when they felt more discussion was needed.

Seward teacher, union and NEA rep Mark Fraad speaks to board of education. Heidi Zemach photo.

One longtime elementary school PE teacher, Mark Fraad, who is also the Region Three National Education Association representative, gave a speech critical of the way his own community and leadership had handled the decision-making process on the proposed middle school reconfiguration. It echoed some of the issues presented to the site council and board earlier by the one dissenting Seward site-council member Amy Hankins, who was absent from Monday’s meeting. Fraad said the process was flawed, that the decision was fast-tracked, and that the public had received misinformation. He also said that those who had expressed differing views on the decision had felt “threatened, intimidated, publically shunned,” and that friendships had been damaged.  As a solution, he proposed that the board revisit the decision with help of an independent third-party mediator. The most important thing a teacher can teacher their children is to speak out for what they believe in.

Six other speakers who addressed the topic disputed Fraad’s statement, and of that of others who felt that the process had been unfair. Parents on the site-based council, such as Mica Van Buskirk and Moriarty again repeated that the only dissenting vote was by a single site-council member. Van Buskirk called Fraad’s statements “blown out of proportion,” and said she had not personally heard of any threats or intimidation, and that to her knowledge no friendships were lost. Moriarty returned to the podium to second those sentiments, and ended her comments by leaving the board, whose decision it would be, with a reading of the Serenity Prayer.

Seward-based board member Lynn Hohl said she really hoped that the board would look into its funding formula for smaller schools. It’s that formula, that bases staffing of schools on student enrollment numbers, that is perhaps most responsible for the loss of staffing and electives that created the reason for the sixth-grade move proposal.

Several speakers praised the two principal’s accomplishments during the meeting, especially the efforts and good intentions of Jason Bickling, who they said has done an outstanding job with the school during his three years as the Seward Middle School principal.  Earlier, Bickling had given an impressive presentation about the new focus of the middle school and its teachers to make learning more relevant. They had built a successful online learning environment, with blogs for each class, had worked to enhance student’s leadership skills, their teamwork, and moral character, had invited expert speakers to enrich their classroom learning experience, and had tried to get the students out into the community more with field trips and service projects. The new debate club also came forward to demonstrate their speaking skills.

Seward High School Principal Trevan Walker also gave a presentation on his vision for an improved “Hybrid High School.” Currently, data show that at any given time of the school day, only 120-150 of the school’s 178 enrolled students are sitting in front of a teacher. With 16-33 percent of students not in a traditional class, but instead taking online or distance education classes, community college classes, or graduating early, why not do away with the traditional bell schedule and truly embrace the 21^st century, with all its alternative education possibilities, and become a hybrid high school?, Walker said. He proposed merging distance learning with greater opportunities for those students to regularly meet with their online teachers, and creating a college student-union mezzanine on the upper level of the school, where students with laptops can study at booths or tables in a supervised environment while others are working in more traditional classrooms. Increasing numbers of teachers have already begun embracing non-traditional, online forms of teaching and self- learning, embracing the new paradigm shift in education, he said.

On another matter parents Erin Knotek and Julie Lindquist, and Josephine Braun, a high school student, spoke out against revisions by the Kenai Peninsula School Activities Association (KPSAA) regarding borough athletic competitions. These revisions would make attendance at the borough competitions mandatory for all district Track and Field and Cross Country teams. All said they trust their own coaches to decide what is best for their teams, and said that not all coaches felt it best to have their teams compete against teams from schools in larger divisions, which has sometimes proven unfair to the students involved.

Terri Tidwell, head custodian at Skyview High School, also spoke passionately about all of the unrecognized support employees including the custodians, aides, food-service providers and secretaries, who work so hard behind the scenes to keep the borough schools functioning. The district has received the resignations of many dedicated support staff this year, she said, many with two or three decades of work put into their schools, and totaling 400 years of experience, Tidwell said. Among them was Susan St. Amand, with 30 years of food-service for the Seward Schools.

Myla Liljemark, BP 2013 Teacher of Excellence. KPBSD photo credit.

Myla Liljemark, who teaches social studies at Seward Middle School, was among seven Kenai Peninsula Borough teachers honored May 1^st as 2013 BP Teachers of Excellence. The annual BP awards event was held at the Soldotna Senior Center, and Janet Weiss, President of BP in Alaska, presented the awards with Dr. Steve Atwater, KPBSD superintendent. Other teachers honored included Donna Austin, Chapman Elementary School (Anchor Point), Sue Biggs, Redoubt Elementary School (Soldotna), Lyn Maslow, West Homer Elementary School, Renee Merkes, Soldotna High School, Rob Sparks, Skyview High School (Soldotna), and Greg Zorbas, Kenai Central High School.

Rob Sparks, Skyview High School, was named the 2013 Kenai Peninsula BP Teacher of the Year.

“Through promoting self-awareness, student success, and international mindedness, students in Mrs. Liljemark’s class are provided a student-centered learning environment where they are the drivers of their education, KPBSD communications director writes Pegge Erkeneff in a district release. “Lilejemark believes the internationally-minded focus is key to helping students see themes of social studies played out around the world. She often brings in guest speakers from organizations such as the local historical society, National Park Service, or a Native tribe to bring real-life perspective to what’s being studied.”

“I am inspired when my students critically question history, current events, and perspectives of people they encounter in their everyday lives.  It is through these questions that evidence of thought, wonder, and independent thinking are exposed,” Lilejemark said.

Dr. Steve Atwater, superintendent (left), Ms. Liljemark, and Janet Weiss, President of BP in Alaska (right).

“A goal that I have for my class, is to nurture globally competent students. These are students that understand the historic and contemporary relationships between regions, countries, and peoples of the world. These are students that understand and tolerate others within a world where international connections are the norm. Through global competency, I hope students develop an understanding of who they are as an individual, and the role they play within their society and the world.” – Myla Liljemark

“My recent certificate in International Baccalaureate plays an important role in how I scaffold and plan for my class. It really is the backbone to how I structure learning in my classroom.”

“Myla Liljemark is deserving of this recognition,” said Jason Bickling, Seward Middle School Principal. “This last year she was International Baccalaureate Certified for Social Studies. She constantly searches for ways to better engage students into what is going on in the world and to understand their part in it.” “Students enjoy the minds, hands, and eyes-on activities that are a staple in her classroom. She is self-critical and reflective of her lessons and how they can be improved–then implements those changes. She takes risks regularly in her teaching and pushes the envelope in her pursuit of student engagement and learning. On top of social studies, she also teaches health, yearbook, and an enrichment history day course. She is an asset to Seward Middle School and enriches student lives on a daily basis.”

“The annual BP Teacher of Excellence Award is our chance to stop and recognize a few of our district’s excellent teachers,” said Dr. Steve Atwater, superintendent. “I know that each of the seven teachers is an excellent representation of our staff as a whole.”

Bailey Lespron and Nick Zweifel, gladiators, perform their fight scene at the Colosseum.

By Heidi Zemach for SCN

Last night the Seward High School Drama production, ‘A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Colosseum,” a comedy in two acts opened to a full house at Seward High Auditorium. If you missed it, there’s another chance to see it tonight, Wednesday May 8^th at 7:00 p.m., or Thursday, May 9^th, at 5:30 p.m.

Set in ancient Roman times, the play has all the usual hilarity people have come to expect from SHS plays, the jokes, visual comedy, unusual music, romance, dance scenes and fight scenes. It has a cast of 33 enthusiastic young actors and actresses, and all did a beautiful job with their given roles.

Produced by Mark Teckenbrock and Ronn Hemstock and directed by Dan Marshall, the play differs from the rest in that it features the amazing new “Lazy Susan” style revolving stage set, which allows three different scene set changes to occur in mere moments. The photo you see is one of the sets built with steps and a platform that allows a multi-story approach. The iron skeletal set frame was welded in the shop in pieces by Hemstock’s welding students. Then it was brought into the theater and assembled onto a center pin spindle, mounted in the middle of the stage. The idea was Teckenbrock’s, and Hemstock was able to help him make it a reality. The theater design class then created and painted the sets and added backdrops. The revolving set can be easily screwed apart into its main components and stored flat until it needs to be reassembled for the next play or event, which should only take a few hours.

CHC board members Jean Bardarson, Marianna Keil and Richard Cruse. Also City Manager Jim Hunt (left) and Susan St. Armand, second from right. Heidi Zemach photo

Heidi Zemach for SCN

What if they held a town hall meeting and nobody came? Well in a town as small and busy as Seward it’s not unusual, but it’s still disappointing to those who put it on. Saturday afternoon’s Town Hall meeting on the Community Health Center’s Access Point grant application, organized by the Community Health Center Board of Directors, drew only four members of the public plus two local reporters, Seward City Manager Jim Hunt, and Kenai Peninsula Borough Representative Sue McClure. Even the board itself was short-staffed. Board Chair Patty Beals, and fellow board members Richard Cruse, Shane Hand, Jean Bardarson and Marianna Keil attended however, along with Anchorage consultant Suzanne Neimi. Board vice-chair Maya Moriarty, Mike Craytor, Lois Daubney, Kris Erchinger, Nicky Thompson and Dave Paperman all missed it.

But that’s what we reporters are for. So here’s the information you missed, and might be interested to learn.

CHC consultant Suzanne Neimi gives a presentation at Town Hall at the community library museum. Heidi Zemach photo.

Suzanne Neimi, the CHC consultant hired to do the job, recently submitted an application for Seward to be awarded Federally Qualified Health Center (FCHC) status from the federal government, which would enable its local board to own and run a FQHC here in this community. This time around, Chugachmiut Health Services Inc., did not submit an application.

The new clinic would be run from inside Providence Seward Health Center, our hospital, but would not be affiliated with Providence. It would replace the existing clinic, and enable Providence managers to focus on providing emergency care, which it does best, as well as operating Seward Mountain Haven, the long-term elder care facility.

One of the misperceptions people seem to have is that a CHC clinic would be for low income people only, or those without insurance, board members said. That’s not true, Neimi said. It would be a normal community clinic, available for everyone, including those with private insurance, those without insurance or underinsured, and folks on Medicare and Medicaid. The clinic will bill patient’s insurance companies, and collect patient co-pays just like normal clinics do. CHCs are required to be self-sustaining, so they actually need that mix of clients to assure their success. What they do offer, however, is a sliding fee scale, dependent upon a client’s family income and insurance.  The federal government helps subsidize the clinic for those clients who are unable to pay.

CHCs also must be open at times when most people can come in, including evening and weekend hours. CHCs are not-for-profit entities, so any profit that they make must be put back into operations. They must offer comprehensive care, and monitor care for those with chronic conditions. They will call clients and remind them when it’s time to return for a follow up exam, for example, or when another lab test is needed.

What about the other health care providers already practicing in the area? Well, another requirement is that CHCs not compete with, but make effort to cooperate with businesses in the community such as those who provide dental or eye-care services, and mental health or drug-treatment services. How it works is that the community health center, through its board, or the administrator, will contract with those other businesses, and refer patients to them for those services. Thus, the federal reimbursements available for Medicare or Medicaid, or uninsured patients who attend the CHC clinic will also go to pay for care provided at local dentists, or other providers with whom they contract, who might otherwise not have accepted those clients.

CHCs were created in 1965 during President Johnson’s War on Poverty, and have been seen a safety-net to serve medically underserved communities. The entire Kenai Peninsula Borough is considered medically underserved. In urban areas, CHCs were seen as an economic development solution. The most amazing thing about them, Neimi said, is their staying power, and the fact that they continue to grow regardless of which political party is in power.  The CHC’s greatest growth in fact (in terms of dollars, and numbers of clinics opened), was under President George W. Bush.

Once a certain community receives CHC status, the federal grant-program will assist that community in renewing their status annually, and it’s very hard to be removed from the program and defunded, Neimi said. What CHC administrators do need to do, however, is provide plenty of data regularly on how the program is working, and how well the population, and local clients are being served. The downside is those reporting requirements make the clinics administrative top-heavy, she said.  CHC’s have been especially attractive to young prospective nurses and physicians by paying off the student debts of their employees.

The CHC board should know by September whether FQHC status has been awarded to Seward, whereupon the City-CHC entity would begin receiving up to $625,000 in yearly grant payments to operate the clinic. The community would then have just 120 days to establish the center, hire an executive director and staff, and begin providing services. That process should not be too difficult as Seward already has a clinic, although it will have to be equipped.

Meanwhile, there are many questions that the city, and the CHC board will have to address. Key among them, which they have already begun to discuss, is whether or not future CHC clinic employees would be hired as city staff, and entitled to city worker’s health insurance and retirement plans. Without a well-established, long-term insurance history to become part of, prospective employees may be reluctant to join, based on her experience with startup CHCs, Neimi told the City Council at a work session prior to submitting the application.

Board members, and the few who showed up Saturday were disappointed that so few members of the public attended a forum to educate them on what may soon become an important, wholly community-driven entity. They were tasked with informing their friends and neighbors, and writing articles explaining the CHC concept in the local media to garner more interest and understanding.

Hopefully, this article helps begin that conversation.

Turn your FM radio dial to 91.7 these days and you’ll hear some interesting old ragtime, Dixieland, big band, swing, and variety of other music predating the 1960s, along with local weather, and international news. Seward’s own new community radio station KIBH-91.7 FM, with help from local radio techie and broadcaster Wolfgang Kurtz, started broadcasting from an antenna atop a building on Fourth Avenue in downtown Seward Tuesday, via a 100 watt low-power transmitter with a license assigned to Kenai Educational Media Inc. Kurtz’s low-power transmitter will be moved to another, much more powerful 1000 watt transmitter, and placed on a tall tower located on Kurtz’s father’s hillside property in the Camelot Subdivision, and will broadcast over FM and AM. Its signal will eventually be carried clear out in Moose Pass and beyond via antennae on buildings or towers established along the Seward highway, Kurtz said.

Annette Shacklett, the Seward Phoenix Log Publisher is the current corporate board president for Kenai Educational Media, and Jeff Hetrick is its vice president. The KIBH-FM board has been holding monthly planning meetings to discuss operations, and they are always looking for more people to volunteer, Kurtz said.

Doug Grant, of Grant Electronics, runs his own small AM station. He’s helping KIBH-FM by offering his music, programming, and temporary office space. Heidi Zemach photo.

For now, Doug Grant, of Grant Electronics, who donated temporary office space for the new radio station he runs inside his shop, has been programming the radio station’s content. For the past two years he’s already been broadcasting his own AM Radio station, Grant Electronics Radio, inside his own shop and immediate surroundings with the music he enjoys. So that’s what has been aired at first on KIBH, along with news and local weather.  Grant also has donated his office space to the new radio station until the board can find another permanent office downtown.

Kurtz, the editor of the Seward Phoenix Log, has set up several commercial radio stations across Alaska, and more recently a low-broadcast commercial radio and Pacifica Radio-affiliate station behind Becky Dunn’s feed store a few miles outside of town. He dismantled that station following last year’s flood, but hopes to get the new station it has evolved into going and licensed as a National Public Radio-affiliate so that it can offer NPR programming blocks well known to NPR listeners such as Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and more. Kurtz said the advisory board also would like the station to become affiliated with Alaska Public Radio Network which brings programs like Talk of Alaska, Kids These Days, and the Alaska News Nightly, with reporters spread out across the state. Those shows would be interspersed with locally-produced music and public affairs programs, weather, and live coverage of local events and emergency broadcasts, depending upon volunteer’s time, money and interest. The board of directors will choose the station’s direction and programming content, and volunteers will take on the responsibility—and fun—of fundraising and making the station theirs, with programming of their own.

KIBH-FM can be a small, entirely automated operation with all of the music of all genres that Kurtz already has access to, or it can be whatever the community wants to make it become, he said. He’s hoping it will offer as much local content and information as possible, as that’s what Seward is lacking right now, Kurtz said.

By Heidi Zemach for Seward City News

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Board of Education will meet in Seward High School Monday, May 6th at 7:00 p.m., and will also hold a variety of work sessions during the afternoon. The board only meets here once a year, and several items deal with local education concerns and issues, including the status of the proposed move of sixth grade to Seward Middle School.

Seward Middle School. Heidi Zemach file photo.

Over the last six months, the Seward Schools’ three principals and Seward Site Council have been discussing the pros and cons of reconfiguring the Seward Middle School to include 6th grade. The principals held a community meeting and issued a community survey on the subject to gather public input. In March, following the survey, which showed strong support for the proposal by participants compared to other proposals, the Seward Site Council voted to recommend that the Seward Middle School be reconfigured to grades 6-8.

One site council member had abstained however, and another member, Amy Hankins, who felt pressured to vote in favor of the move, later rescinded her vote and sent the board and site-council a detailed letter explaining her concerns and stating that the entire process had been unfair. One of her concerns was that the three principals were active and voting members of the site council, and that she felt it represented a conflict of interest for principals to be advising themselves. Another concern was that some people who took the online survey, including some teachers said privately that they felt that the way the questions were phrased would reveal their identity, so they did not feel free to participate, or to answer them honestly. The dire scenarios described in the public survey were not entirely accurate, either, Hankins said. For example one scenario describing the status quo said that without an additional grade added, the middle school would be able to provide no electives to students next year, although it was later learned that the administration was, in fact planning to offer a new Lego-Robotics elective.

Principal Jason Bickling discusses moving 6th grade to Seward Middle. (Heidi Zemach photo)

Also, despite low student numbers, the district has awarded the middle school an additional half-time position (rather than take one away) in order to enable Principal Jason Bickling to continue acting as principal for the Moose Pass School, and allowing another teacher to teach the classes he would have had to teach with the loss of that position. Seward High School and Middle School Science teacher Carlyn Nichols will move to the middle school half time, and Connections (home school) program half time, and  the high school will replace her position with a new full-time science teacher. The high school had been lending the middle school Nichols’ services part time, said SHS Principal Trevan Walker.

The district will hold a 4:30 p.m. work session Monday to offer the Seward Principals an opportunity to review the process followed leading up to the site council vote, and to provide the board a chance to ask questions, or provide comment. The KPBSD administration is withholding its own recommendation on the proposed middle school reconfiguration until October. This will give the schools more time to plan, and would allow for more public discussion.

There also will be a work session Monday to consider revisions to the site-based council bylaws. One of the proposed revisions, made initially by Seward area schools representative Lynn Hohl was that the principals be non-voting members of the site councils. A survey of all district site councils found them to be split evenly over this revision, however. Hohl then offered new wording leaving it up to the individual councils to determine their own voting status. That change will be presented for final consideration and approval at the May 6 board meeting.

There also will be a public hearing at 6:30 on proposed Kenai Peninsula School Activities Association (KPSAA) revisions to borough competitions that affect local sports activities. They will be considered formally at the June 3 school board meeting. The new language says: Borough tournaments will be held in cross-country running, Nordic skiing and track and field. Borough Tournaments were developed for the benefit of student athletes and the schools involved. Schools with teams in these three sports shall participate in the Borough meets.

During the 7:00 pm regular meeting, both Seward high school and middle school principals will discuss “accountability” at their schools, and there will be a presentation on the new Seward School Yard Habitat program.
The public is invited to attend these meetings, and will have the opportunity to share their opinions.