Daily Sitka Sentinel from Sitka, Alaska • Page 1

Member of the Associated Press DAILY I Wednesday, August 30,1989 Volume 51 No. 173 Sitka Alaska 35c Viewing Russian Past Soviet author and television star Vastly Peskov (second from left) jots down facts on the restoration of the Russian Bishop's House during a special tour given him and two young Soviet architects by the National Park Service Saturday. From left, Peskov's translator Andrei Klimenko, Peskov, Moscow architect Lydia Velitchkp, Leningrad architectural student Alexi Lachkevitch, and Sitka National Historical Park curator Cicely Muldoon. (Sentinel photo by Will Swagel) 2 Soviet Architects, TV Star Meet in Sitka By WILL SWAGEL Sentinel Staff Writer An award winning author who is also ajioted Soviet television personality yisited Sitka over the weekend conducting research for a new book. By coincidence, two young Soviet architects were passing through Sitka at the 'same time on a different mission.

was Vasily Peskov, regarded 3s "the Marlin Perkins of the Soviet Union'' because of the Russian TV program he 'The World of Animals." Zoologist R. Marlin Perkins, who died in 1986, was for many years famous as host of the popular American TV show "Wild Kingdom." One of the architects, Lydia Velitchko of Moscow, was asked by a Sentinel reporter if she had ever heard ofPeskov. "Of course I know who he is," she exclaimed. "I grew up watching his show every Sunday evening." Peskov joined Velitchko and another architect, Alexi Lachkevitch of Leningrad, for a private tour of the Russian Bishop's House Saturday morning conducted by Sitka National Historical Park officials. The Soviet architects questioned park service personnel about aspects of the intense $5 million, 15-year project, which was opened to the public last October.

Velitchko complimented Americans for going to such great lengths of preserve their heritage. While Russia was settled long before the United States was and has many more historic sites, only recently has the Soviet government put its full support behind preservation projects, she said. Many of Peskov's questions dealt with the experiences of Father Ivan Veniaminov, for whom the house was built by the Russian-American Company in 1842. Veniaminov was eventually named Metropolitan of Moscow, the head of the Orthodox Church, and became the church's first American saint. Peskov said there are monuments to Veniaminov in the Soviet Union, but Russians know relatively little about his years in Alaska.

Photographer Having Trouble Keeping Tlingit Hikers in View By Sentinel Staff' one has heard from the Tlingit expedition hiking across Baranof Island since Sunday night, but a close observer of the venture said today he assumes the hike is going as planned. Herbert Hope, Fred Hope, Harold Kitka arid anthropologist Tom Thornton set out Friday morning from the old Tlingit fort site at Sitka National Historical Park. They planned to follow what they say is the route across the island taken by their ancestors in a withdrawal following the 1804 battle With Russians. Garri Conslantine, who is making periodic contact with the hikers to document their journey on video tape, said today that he last saw the hikers Sunday night when they camped al the Nakwasina River. They had planned to set out over the island the next morning.

Constantine said he has been waiting for a chance to be flown over the route to film the group from the air, but has not been able to because of the low cloud ceiling. He said the hikers have a VHF radio they can use in the event of an emergency, but nobody has heard from them. "So we assume no news is good news," he said. Herbert Hope, who organized the expedition, said before leaving Friday that the hikers hoped to finish their trek in about a week, averaging seven miles a day. the stocky, middle-aged journalist stopped often to photograph artifacts illustrating the life of the churchman life in 19th Century Russian-: America.

Peskov said he was writing a book about Alaska focusing on the lives of famous Russians including Veni- aminov, Alexander Baranof, manager of the Russian-American Company and governor of Alaska, and Gregori Shelikof, the explorer and founder of the Russian-American Company who is known as "the' Russian Columbus." The book would be Peskov's 18th work on nature, travel and geography. "I write on the topics covered by National Geographic Magazine," Peskov said, through his American translator, Andrei Klimenko. Peskov also writes for Komosol- skaya Pravda, the largest newspaper in the Soviet Union, with a circulation of 17 million. Peskov said he was visiting Alaska for the third time and that his tour included historical sites in Kodiak and the Aleutian Islands and a visit to Prudhoe Bay. This trip was his eighth to the U.S.

since 1972, he said. The author said he was able to travel freely in the days before the present thawing of U.S.-Soviet relations because he wrote mainly about non-political subjects. Peskov's latest trip was part of an exchange of journalists between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, Klimenko said. But Peskov said he had not completely eschewed plitics in the past, writing "The Land Across the Sea," a book based on a series of Russian newspaper articles he wrote after visiting the U.S.

He said he tried, but couldn't interest a U.S. publisher in the book. "That was in the days American publishers didn't want to show that that kind of book could be published in the U.S.S.R.," he said, adding that some of the 30 articles were reprinted Judge Rules State Has Right To Change Job Classifications JUNEAU (AP) A judge says the state has authority to alter its union employees' job classifications without negotiating the changes. Superior Court Judge John Bosshard of Valdez ruled that the state acted properly when it changed its job-classification system in 1987 without negotiating with the Alaska Public Employees Association. Brosshard said the state may not need to negotiate with unions on issues other than wages and hours, fringe benefits and policies affecting the employees' working conditions.

The ruling was signed Aug. 18 and released Monday. Pianne Cprso, the state's senior negotiator, said Tuesday that the ruling could have broad effects on union negotiations. "We're pleased by the ruling, but not surprised. It could alter the state's bargaining position in the future, but we certainly can't say in what ways yet," she said.

George Matsen of the Alaska Slate Employees Association said union officials had not studied the ruling and could not comment on it. The Alaska State Employees Association took over representation of the largest group of unionized state employees in 1988 from the Alaska Public Employees Association. It joined in the lawsuit over the reclassifications. 8 Candidates Lined Up for Local Seats By Sentinel Staff One new candidate filed for Asem- bly and one for school board Tuesday, but the filing period for the Oct. 3 local election closed with only one candidate for mayor, Dan Keck.

Janet Eddy, an 18-year resident of Sitka, filed for Assembly, joining Valerie Nelson, Frank Richards and incumbent Tom Pratt in the race for two three-year terms. The other incumbent whose term expires this year, Alice Jphnstpne, did not file for reelection. Nina Bemhardt, a lifetime resident of Sitka, filed for school board. Others in the contest for the one three-year term to be filled are Ernestine Griffin and Sharron Lunas. Shirley McCoy, the incument, did not file for rejection.

Six propositions also will be on the ballot. in U.S. newspapers. In 1964, Peskov won the Lenin Prize, the Soviet Union's lop literary honor, for "Footsteps in the Dew," a book about the interaction between people and Peskov credited his great success to timing saying that the book was published during the beginning of the Soviet environmental movement, a movement which has grown much stronger today. "I was kind of a pioneer in that regard," he said.

Besides traveling to every continent in the world, including Antarctica, for his shows and books, Peskov said he has come to represent Soviet environmentalists at international conferences. One such conference was held in Boulder, in October 1988. It was organized by the publishers of Time Magazine and focused particularly on the greenhouse effect, climatic changes caused by air pollution. Peskov said many of the U.S.S.R.'s environmental problems stem from two periods of rapid industrialization, after the Bolshevik Revolution and during and after the Second World War. Striving to become a modern power after 1917 and trying to rebuild 'the country out of the rubble of World War II, the Soviet government's only thought was to rebuild quickly.

"No one thought about pollution in a factory that was built in a month," he said. But now, the air in many Soviet cities is bad and the Gorbachev government has begun to think about air and water quality at the same time that many factories are being asked to become more productive to raise the standard of living, Pesko said. He said it is nearly impossible to convince merchandise-starved Soviet consumers that they should endure further shortages while factories are equipped with pollution controls. In general, Soviets want more goods, he said, and are willing to pay any price either in rubles or air quality to get them. "(But) there is a big danger in this.

If everyone lived like America does, the soil would blow away," he said. "But if I said this in my country I would get stoned." Peskov said the challenge to American consumers will be to learn to accept less packaging, fewer disposable items and ownership of fewer unneeded items just because they can afford them. "America is such a rich country you can afford to throw things aside, but what will happen to the earth?" Peskov asked. Although he is a media star in his home country "any house that has a TV knows my face," Peskov said he had few accoutrements of success. "I don't have a house, 1 can't have a house.

I don't have a car, I don't need a car," he said. "I have no TV. But I have to read a lot a lot of specialty literature for research." But having no television is not such Continued on Page 6 Salmon Fishermen Net a Near-Record ANCHORAGE (AP) Fishermen have netted a near-record number of Alaska salmon this year despite the closure of some fishing grounds because of the nation's largest oil spill. The patch is estimated at 138 million salmon, the second-highest total on record. "It's been really Herman Savikko, information officer for the state Department of Fish and Game.

By year's end, the harvest is expected to top 140 million fish, a figure surpassed only by the 1985 catch of 146.7 million fish. State officials have not calculated the value of this year's catch. Last year's salmon harvest of 99.5 million was valued at a record $742 million. This year, fishermen already have caught 40 percent more salmon. But the value may not break last year's record because this summer's fish prices often averaged 30 to 50 percent less than last year, Savikko said.

The riches of this year's catch have been unevenly distributed. The almost 11 million gallons of oil spilled by the tanker Exxon Valdcz in Prince William Sound closed some fishing grounds and idled the fleets that normally work them. Those fishermen have turned to Exxon Corp. to claim damages. But some shore-based set- nellers have had the season of a lifetime.

The summer's harvest is paced by a near-record haul of 57 million salmon in Southeast Alaska, more than four times the number of fish caught by Aug. 30 of last year. Bristol Bay also was a major surprise. Biologists predicted a harvest of roughly 16 million high-value sockeye, but more than 27 million fish were caught. Even in Prince William Sound, fishermen and hatcheries are pulling in a respectable harvest, Savikko said.

Roughly 23 million salmon have been caught in the sound in a season where some fishing grounds were off limits due to the March 24 oil spill. That is far short of a record harvest of more than 40 million fish predicted in preseason estimates, but nearly double Continued on Page 6 Grand Jury Looks into Response to Oil Spill ANCHORAGE (AP) A federal grand jury in Anchorage is investigating possible criminal charges against Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. arising from the nation's worst oil spill. In a required filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Atlantic Richfield Co. reported its subsidiary, ARCO Pipeline, has been subpoenaed for records of ARCO's "review and evaluation of Alyeska's oil spill equipment, personnel, capabilities and contingency plans." ARCO Pipeline owns about 21 percent of Alyeska, the company that operates the trans-Alaska oil pipeline and Uie tanker terminal in Valdez on behalf of eight major North Slope oil producers.

Alyeska was responsible for the first response to the March 24 grounding of the Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound. The company has been criticized harshly by the slate for its inadequate handling of the 11-mill- ion-galion spill. ARCO also reported that Alyeska has received two subpoenas. Rumors of a grand jury investigation have been circulating since the tanker shredded its hull on Bligh Reef but the Aug. 11 SEC filing by ARCO was the first confirmation that a probe actually is under way.

The FBI has acknowledged only that it is looking into the possibility that federal laws may have been violated. The slate briefly investigated both Exxon and Alyeska, but dropped the matter several months ago, saying federal laws carried stiffer penalties. Chuck Lontor, head of the FBI in Alaska, refused again Tuesday to talk about the investigation. "I can appreciate your frustration," said Lontor. "It is just policy that we do not talk about a grand jury.

"We will investigate until we believe all leads have been exhausted," Lontor said when asked how long the probe might continue. "I can't say that will be a week from now or a month from now." National Guard Given New Command, Duties By Sentinel Staff The local National Guard unit has been given a change in both its command and its mission, Capt. Victor Van Horn, 36, is the new commander of Company 6th Battalion (Light), 297th Infantry. With Sitka as its headquarters, the company also includes Guardsmen from Hoonah, Kake, Angoon, Yakutat and Valdez. Van Horn succeeds Maj.

John Scoblic, formerly of Petersburg and now of Ketchikan. Van Horn, a math teacher at Blatchley Middle School, entered the Army Reserves in 1980 and has been in the Alaska Army National Guard since 1980. In another change, 1st Sgt. Michael Malone has assumed the top full-time administrative position at the local armory. There are five full-time personnel.

Previously, Malone was battalion operations sergeant in Juneau. He succeeds Master Sgt. Terry Scott, who in turn took over Malone's job in Juneau. Malone, 43, has been in the National Guard since 1965. He joined the Alaska Army National Guard in 1970.

Previously, the local unit was part of the 4th Battalion. Although the change has already gone into effect, the 6th Battalion activation ceremony is set for Sept. 9 in Juneau. As part of the 6th Battalion, local Guardsmen are a round-out battalion to the 1st Brigade, 6th Infantry Division (Light) at Fort Richardson, which is available for deployment anywhere in the world. Van Horn said the Sitka-based unit presently has 60 members, and is now undertaking a major recruiting drive.

The unit aims to add at least another 75 members. With the change, local Guardsmen will get new weapons, vehicles, electronic equipment and cold weather clothing. "We have a lot of training opportunities that were not available before," said Van Horn, noting the unit may train as far away as Hawaii and Australia or Japan. Van Horn and his wife, Kathleen, have three children: Victor 11; Justin, and Christine, 4. Malone and his wife Mariann have two sons: Patrick, 10; and Timothy, 7.

Capt. Victor Van Horn 1st Sgt. Michael Malone.