Daily Sitka Sentinel from Sitka, Alaska • Page 1

Member of the Associated Press A I i WEEKEND EDITION Friday, April 24,1992 Volume 54 No. 80 Sitka Alaska 50c Troopers Face Cuts in Proposed State Budget JUNEAU (AP) About 32 Alaska State Troopers would lose their jobs under a state spending plan under consideration in the Senate, the state's public safety chief said. The cuts, passed by the House and now before the Senate Finance Committee, would affect trooper activity across Alaska, said Public Safety Commissioner Richard Burton. "If I have to have less people, I'm going to put them where there's no organized government," Burton said recently. "To provide around-the-clock, municipal-level police not going to be able to perform that any longer," he said.

Wasilla and the Hillside area of Anchorage dp not provide their own police service and may be affected by the cuts. In troopers would stop patrolling roads, answering routine po- lice'calls and investigating all but the most serious crimes, Burton said. A trooper office would remain in Juneau and serve as headquarters for the Southeast detachment. Juneau troopers would continue to coordinate search-and-rescue efforts, conduct criminal investigations and supervise the region's village public safety officers. They also would handle court security and prisoner transport, and provide routine police services to small communities such as Pelican and Tenakee Springs.

Col. John Murphy, statewide trooper director, said layoff decisions will be made after the final budget is written. Burton said the cuts are required because Gov. Walter J. nickel's budget reduced his department's spending request by $5 million for next year.

The House then took out an additional $1.5 million, leaving $87,6 million in state money for next year. The Senate still needs to approve the budget before it goes to the governor's desk, but Burton said he expects no extra money. This year's budget already is running about $500,000 short because of several unusually expensive investigations and search-and-rescue efforts, he said. Without extra staff to patrol trooper territory; the Juneau Police Department would be stretched thin by the Mike Gelston said. Gelston said one option would be to refuse to take over the trooper territory, since state law requires troopers to provide police services where there are none.

Biit House Bill 350, introduced at Hickel's request, would effectively eliminate that requirement. The bill, however, is stuck in the House Judiciary Committee, where no hearing has been scheduled despite a request from the governor almost three weeks ago. Sitka Hospital Board Adopts Spending Man Russian Easter By SHANNON HAUGLAND Sentinel Staff Writer The Sitka Community Hospital Board voted 4-2 Thursday in favor of a $5348306 budget for hospital operation in fiscal 1993, up from this year's $4,833,110. The Assembly will make the final decision on tfee hospital Once again a $150,000 contribution firom the to revenue from user fees, but a $302,424 balance is projected for the end of fiscal 1993. The net income for fiscal 1992, which ends June 30, is estimated to come in at $373,617 ahead of its budget Earlier a net loss of $1,811 had been anticipated, said hospital administrator Ray Hawks.

Hawks said today that the hospital still has its "three worst months" ahead. He added that although there may be a positive balance at the end of the year, it shouldn't be regarded as profit, since the city general fund provides $150,000 and pays the bond debt The board wanted to emphasize in their budget proposal to the Assembly that, although a 4.5 percent increase in salaries and benefits is included in the budget it is not necessarily the board's recommendation. Board members said they want to leave that item for the Assembly to decide. increase in the budget is a $92,250 expenditure for recruitment up from $7,900 in fiscal 1992- i Hawks said; today that the administration wants to keep this expense in the budget in case the hospital board decides tojpay to recruit-a-physician for the community. Views oTfrospital-board members vary greatly 6n the physician recruitment issue.

Some members firmly believe that Sitka heeds physician and if the other doctors can't or won't pay for recruiting, the hospital should take an active role. Others say the marketplace will correct the situation: if the financial situation in Sitka is attractive enough, doctors will come to Sitka. The issue will be discussed at a special board meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Li budget the hospital is anticipating higher revenues because of a nine-month old program of clinics presented by visiting specialists, and from user fees for the CAT scanner that is to be purchased.

Board President Norman Richards, and members Stephen Brenner, Mary Anne Kaelke and Lois Jund voted to recommend the budget to the Assembly. Continued on Page 12 His Grace Bishop Gregory and members of St Michael's Cathedral prepare the church this morning for observance of "Russian Easter." The Orthodox Church follows the Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian and will celebrate Easter this coming Sunday. Last Sunday, which was Easter for other Christian faiths, was Palm Sunday for the Orthodox, and today is Holy Friday. (Sentinel photo by James Poulson) in Called Cosily, Political By ROS ANNE AGANO Associated Press Writer ANCHORAGE (AP) Reorganh zation to streamline the Division of Family and Youth Services was politically motivated and failed to save or improve service, ah ombudsman report said Thursday. Acting on complaints that ex-direc- tor Mike Price undertook reorganization last year based on faulty data, assistant ombudsman Diane Shriner said Thursday the claim was justified.

"The DFYS reorganization was ill-conceived and poorly, implemented," the ombudsman report says. It claimed restructuring wasted public money, removed 10,000 hours in agency could have spent with clients, arid circumvented the public employee merit system. The system, outlined in the state constitution, is aimed at protecting state workers from politically motivated hiring and firing. The ombudsman says Price's plan hurt DFYS'integrity. "The perception that individuals acted ouf of self-interest, self-protec- with disregard for good management has damaged the agency's credibility -with its employees the report said.

The ,31 -page study says Price claimed reorganization would improve DFYS by reducing the number of mid-level managers and using a of about $600,000 to hire more social workers to aid troubled families and; young people. Shriner said, however, that DFYS wound up adding three administrators cutting seven social workers, a youth counselor and one. juvenile probation officer. Deborah Wing, who took over as DFYS director in April after Price resigned in January after 10 months on the job, said Thursday that Price's reorganization plans were already in place. a recommendations would be a "springboard" for reviews and planning, Wing said.

"I don't even want to assume how other people will respond" (to the findings), she.said. to. springboard for what needs to be done, now and in the future." Recommendations include: reviewing hires, made or approved by Price; reconsidering DFYS tasks in a top-tp-bottom review that asks whether the agency or any public agency should do what DFYS does; working with an advisory group of consumers and other interested par- Ombudsman proposed legislation iip a review process whenever state agencies within the executive branch consider reorganization. Legislation is aimed at ensuring workers do not become political targets. In an eight-page reply Thursday, Price attacked the report as being in- Continued on Page 12 Forest Service Denies Appeals Figures Workshops Lead to Healing, Celebration By HEATHER MacLEAN Sentinel Staff Writer Nick Lindoff knew there was something wrong in his life because he didn't care much whether he lived or died, but he didn't know where his intense-problems stemmed from or how to begin to solve them.

He stopped drinking, but even as a recovering alcoholic he found his life did not improve. With sobriety he was still despondent, trying to deal with emotions he had ignored for the better part of his adult life by maintaining a drunken state. il was at the point where my life didn't matter," Lindoff, said. "I didn't care. My life was bankrupt.

I was emotionally bankrupt, even though I wasn't drinking." He found answers last January Sealaska Exec Mallott Announces Retirement JUNEAU (AP) Byron Mallott, president and chief executive officer of Sealasfca Corp. since 1982, said Thursday that he will retire July 1 to go into his own consulting business. The Native regional corporation said in a news release that a replace-, meat is expected to be named from among the company's shareholders before July. The board of directors has asked Mallott to stay with the company for several months after leaving the presidency to help with the transition, Chairwoman Marlene Johnson said. Mallott, 49, said he plans to remain in Juneau.

He said he will set up an office to provide business and public policy consulting and lobbying services. He also plans to fish commercially during the summer. His departure comes after a year of turmoil among the corporation's shareholders, including an unsuccessful effort to recall the board and a thwarted takeover attempt by another Native corporation, Klukwan Inc. Sealaska spokesman Mike Invin said the problems had nothing to do with Mallott' departure. In fact, they kept him in the job longer than he had planned, Irwin said.

"He had wanted to leave last year, but because of everything going on he felt compelled to stay to make sure everything was on an even keel upon his departure." Mallott said in the news release that it is the ideal time for him to leave, with ihe company financially healthy and planning to enter a new era of diversification. "If you don't own the company, 10 years is plenty for a CEO," he said. Sealaska is the largest and one of the most profitable of the regional corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of when he attended a three-part workshop designed to help Native people and others understand where their lives went wrong and what they need to make their lives more worthwhile. Thirty Southeast residents from four communities took part in the Sitka workshop, which was put on by Ru- ralCAP. Lindoff was one of five Sitkans who completed the program and told their stories to about 75 people gathered for a "Celebration in the Family Spirit" at the Sitka ANB Hall Thursday night.

"My alcoholism had taken its toll," Lindoff told the group. "I wanted to know what was wrong with me." Laura Castaneda, a RuralCAP facilitator and coordinator of the Southeast project, said the workshop taught the participants to confront pent-up feelings that made them miserable and begin to "heal themselves." It is impossible for healing to begin, she noted, if the roots of the problem are ignored. The participants went through 165 hours of training while "beginning to start a journey of healing for themselves. That's a lot of work a lot of laughing, a lot of crying and a lot of joy," Castaneda said. Twenty-one people completed the program and 10 were certified as trainers.

The five local trainers, she said, can now help others go through Trainers," were completed in about three months and during that time the participants learned a lot about themselves, Castaneda said. "They walked this journey with us, and it was not an easy one," she said. "They grabbed the bull by the horns and they went for iL I'm so proud of them." Castaneda said the five trainers will be speaking in the community through Sitka Tribe of Alaska and SCAODA. They are qualified to help others, she said, because they learned to help themselves and they have suffered a Iot "I know the seed has been planted and you will continue to do what you can," she told the five trainers. "I think you're going to see these people all over.

Pm really excited about it." Tom Young told the audience that the workshop was so intense that at times he didn't think he could continue. It is extremely difficult, he said, to deal with emotions and hurt that have been buried for years. "A couple of times I thought I was going to get up and walk out," he said. He spoke about traditional Native family life and noted that normally people work together to help one another. When alcohol and drags become a problem, though, the-family breaks down.

"It just throws everything off balance," he noted. "Get into that rut By SCOTT SONNER Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) Notes from a private Forest Service meeting show the agency is exaggerating the impact of citizen appeals on the logging of national forests, an environmental leader charged Friday. But. a Forest Service spokesman said timber-sale appeals are a costly roadblock to harvests even though they directly affect only 10 percent of the agency's timber sales nationally. He also said the notes were being misinterpreted.

Frances Hunt, a forester and lobbyist for the National Wildlife Federation, provided a copy of the typed meeting notes to The Associated Press on condition the author not be identified. Hunt said the internal document "casts light on the agency's ill-conceived, timber-driven" proposal to eliminate administrative appeals of individual timber sales on national forests. "You have too many people in the Forest Service and far too many people in the Agriculture Department who think logging is the Forest Service's No. 1 job," she said Friday. Hunt said the meeting was attended by Dave Unger, associate deputy Forest Service chief; Dave Hessel, the agency's timber-management director, Reed and Dick Fitzgerald, timber-management officers; and Jim Perry, legal counsel for the Agriculture Department, Forest Service spokesman Denver James confirmed the meeting took place Dec.

10-12 at Charlotte, N.C., but said he could not say for certain who attended. In addition to comments on the appeals, the notes quoted Hessel as saying, "Literally thousands of letters are written to the Forest Service- referring to the 'mismanagement of the national Fisher said that was not a significant concern. "We receive thousands of letters on everything," he said. According to the notes, Unger explained that Forest Service Chief Dale Robertson hopes to free up more timber for logging with "dramatic Continued on Page 12 Herring Roe Pound Fishery At Hoonah Sound Going Well JT.V,I ui IIWTT, uuicis gu uuuugu mvrC, ne noted, tiet into 1971. Its major holdings are in timber, the healing process and help them and and it brings everything down minerals and securitifVQ their families minerals and securities.

Mallott also sits on the board of Alaska Air Group, parent company of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Airlines. He is a former chairman and member of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. board of trustees. their families learn to lead better lives. They are Tom Young, Jennifer Young, Ruth Carpenter, Judy Lindoff and Nick Lindoff.

The three stages of the program, In the Spirit of the "Adult Roots and Wings" and "Training of Young and his wife Jennifer Young both participated and said it helped them understand themselves better. Jennifer Young said her grandparents and her parents were alcoholics, By WILL SWAGEL Sentinel Staff Writer The Hoonah Sound roe-on-kelp- in-pounds fishery is well under way, an Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist said today. Bill Davidson, Sitka's assistant Alaska Department of Fish and Game area biologist, said about 115 pounds, or floating enclosures, are spread out in an area about the size of Jamestown Bay, and about 90 of them now contain fish. Some 120 fishermen have been given permits for the fishery. Each fishermen this year has been allotted 2,500 pounds of herring and 240 blades of kelp to produce their product.

and that caused a lot of pain in her Like sac roe, roe on kelp is a highly Continued on Page 12 prized and priced delicacy in Japan. Last year, the product fetched fishermen $7 to $8 per pound on average, with the highest quality product bringing fishermen $14 a pound, Davidson said. The best product has roe coaled evenly on both sides of the kelp fronds. He said the fishery is expected to produce about $210,000 of product The roe-on-kelp-in-pounds fishery differs sharply from the sac roe seine fishery Sitka residents are used to seeing off their shores. In the pound fish- cry, permittees construct 20-foot- square enclosures, usually using polystyrene blocks covered with plywood.

A net is hung from the enclosure, and blades of microcystis kelp are hung from the top to float in the water, Continued on Page 12.