Race for new library/museum like a Mt. Marathon climb

Important part of the trail coming up at Tuesday’s meeting…
By Mary Tougas, Co-Vice Chair of the Seward Community Library Museum (SCLM) Building Committee
Next weekend thousands of people will pour into Seward looking for a July 4 experience that they cannot find anywhere else in Alaska. In the 83 years people have been running and [...]

Alaska Railroad clarifies herbicide permit misconceptions

By Tom Brooks, Alaska Railroad Chief Engineer
There has been a lot of hyperbole about the Alaska Railroad Corporation’s (ARRC’s) proposed application of the weed killer glyphosate in areas between Seward and Indian. A few points of clarification are in order.
First, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) permit stipulates that no herbicide will be applied [...]

Seeing Red: Sockeye run disappoints

By Heidi Zemach for Seward City News
There’s been steady combat fishing for sockeye at the mouth of the Resurrection River. Saturday, a beautiful sunny day, was the busiest day yet at “Mount Alice Beach,” a prime spot locally known as the “Five Dollar Hole” for the five dollar per-person fee charged by Tim McDonald, a [...]

Man On A Mission

Heidi Zemach for Seward City News
Standing on the street across from the Seward Post Office for several hours a day wearing a hand-painted sandwich board sign, John Cote looks pretty desperate. But his situation isn’t quite as desperate as it seems. Cote, (pronounced Ko-Tay), a nine-year Seward resident, former Seward Middle School Principal, and longtime [...]

Seward Remapping – Interactive Parcel Viewer

The Borough has set up a webpage for citizens both inside and outside City Limits to view if their property is ‘in’ or ‘out’ of the proposed floodplain updates to the FEMA Floodplain Maps (FIRMS). Everyone should pay special attention to the updates to these maps.
http://mapserver.borough.kenai.ak.us/sewardflood/
FEMA will be coming to Seward to [...]

Seward: A great place to raise kids, but a hard place to survive

By Heidi Zemach for Seward City News
Seward is a beautiful, safe place to raise children, with a comparatively high quality of life. But if you look closely at what’s happening with the population, business and the economy —you find some disturbing trends. A new $35,000 private economic development study prepared for the Seward Chamber of [...]

Jr Achievement Highlighted in Seward Schools

Junior Achievement (JA) programs are coordinated within local schools and among teachers who care to host a community volunteer in their classroom. The curriculum spans over 5-8 sessions and instructs students about how money and businesses work in our cities, country and across International borders. JA has been conducted in various Seward classrooms from 3rd [...]

Seward Economic Development Assessment is out

And gives top billing to SCN;
“All respondents use the Seward City News as their major source for community issues, services, and programs.” !
Seward Economic Development Assessment 2010-05-19 DRAFT.pdf (602kb)

First Cruise Ship Marks another Tourist Season

(By Heidi Zemach for Seward City News)
Under gloomy weather, and intermittent rain, the summer tourist season in Seward officially began Sunday with the arrival of the first massive cruise ship, the Ryndam Holland America. It was transporting about 1200 passengers to Vancouver, with stopovers in Haines, Juneau, and Ketchikan.
This summer 57 ships will dock in [...]

Will We Have a Homer-Like Spit?

By Heidi Zemach for Seward City News

The city-owned South Harbor fill area and breakwater is wasted space, an untapped gravel eyesore just waiting to be put to better use in the summertime. Most summers, the area fills with cars and boat trailers, parked by visiting tourists and locals fishing or putting their boats in for [...]

Seward’s Main Job Generator Isn’t Tourism—it’s Prison

(By Heidi Zemach for Seward City News)
One of Seward’s top employers, possibly the top employer, is one you never see unless you work or have business there. Spring Creek Correctional Center is nestled in the mountains at Fourth of July subdivision, just north of Seward Marine Industrial Center. The state prison facility is out of sight, [...]

Flood Board Meeting Civil But Emotional

By Heidi Zemach for Seward City News

(Photo: DNR’s Christina Nahorney, Scott Ogen, Mayor Carey, DNR’s Clark Cox)

Property owners from the Seward/Bear Creek Flood Service area sparred with Department of Natural Resources representatives and Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Dave Carey Monday April 19. The evening question-and-answer session highlighted the SBCFSA board meeting at SeaView Plaza. Although [...]

School District funding level concerns Seward rep

(By Heidi Zemach for Seward City News)
Sue McClure, who is serving her first term on the assembly as Seward’s representative, found Tuesday night’s meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly, in which funding for the school district budget was discussed, both disheartening, and fascinating. As a retired career teacher herself, McClure came to the meeting [...]

Gravel, Navigability and YOUR Land

(Private opinion by Randy Stauffer – not intended to represent the SBCFSA Board)
Recently many land owners in the Seward area received a mailed notice from State of Alaska, Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR) asking for public comment concerning a proposed negotiated material sale contract with the Kenai Peninsula Borough for flood control on Salmon Creek. [...]

Furniture Industry Nixed at Spring Creek Correctional Center

(By Heidi Zemach for Seward City News)
Doing time has just got a little gloomier for some 17-18 inmates at the Spring Creek Correctional Center, and Seward has lost some pretty skilled craftsmen in the bargain. Alaska Department of Corrections Commissioner Joe Schmidt has ordered closed three industrial programs designed to rehabilitate inmates including the furniture [...]

Longtime resident contributes to library museum project

The donation of a Seward resident combined with a proactive gift from the Seward Community Foundation has added $1,000 toward Seward’s library/museum project.
Wishing to make a meaningful donation to the benefit of Seward, longtime resident Emma “Dolly” Dieter contacted the Alaska Community Foundation, who referred the matter to their local affiliate, the Seward Community Foundation. [...]

City Council Report: Council to use Eminent Domain Powers, adopt Camera Surveillance Policy

(By Heidi Zemach for Seward City News)
The City of Seward is ready to take by Eminent Domain property along the Seward Highway deemed necessary for the construction of a flood prevention levee. The project was one of several that resulted from a flood mitigation task force, developed at the request of FEMA following major flooding [...]

Recycling- Alaska Waste and You

I don’t know about you but ever since I arrived in Seward, nearly 8 months ago, I’ve had more questions than answers about the recycling program here in Seward.

Why does the can at the visitor center disappear and reappear after long periods of time?
Is Seward recycling glass?
Why doesn’t Seward recycle tin?
Is there a possibility for [...]

Ship Schedule

The Chamber has published the 2010 Cruise Ship Schedule for the Port of Seward. Available for download on our membership page, the schedule reflects 53 total calls, with 8 eight of those being Ports of Call. In terms of ship capacity, based on published passenger capacity, we appear to have lost a potential 31,718 visitors [...]

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