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Daily Sitka Sentinel from Sitka, Alaska • Page 1

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Sitka, Alaska
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Member of the Associated Press A I I Monday, March 4,1996 Auditors Give Sitka An Improved Rating Volume 58 No. 43 Sitka Alaska 500 By SHANNON HAUGLAND Sentinel Staff Writer The independent auditors of the city books praised the city finance department for the improvement in municipal accounting procedures since last year. The improvement, CPA Christine Harrington reported to the Assembly has allowed the auditors to issue an unqualified" report on the audit for fiscal year 1995. "That's good news for the city said City Controller Dave Wolff Wednesday. Harrington, a partner in the certified public accountant firm Shaffer Harrington, gave a report of her firm's audit Tuesday at the City and Borough Assembly meeting.

She told Assembly members her firm had been able to remove the qualification it had reported in its audits of the city books for several years because of the "significant progress" the city had made in inventorying its fixed assets. "The Assembly should recognize the financial department for its commitment to quality financial reporting," said Harrington in her presentation. "The individuals who should receive special recognition are Dave Wolff, the controller, and the former Finance Director Jay Sweeney." Documenting every fixed asset required the review of several vears' records, Wolff said. The 'most progress was made over the last two years, when the city made a commitment to accurate record-keeping of its inventory, and also implement a plan rpr recording assets in the future Wolff said. "It's nice to have (the fixed asset inventory), but that means we have to continue it.

We can't rest on our laurels," h.esaid. Hamngtpn-saidLanpther big step for the city: was the development of its first Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). "As you can see (the city) has achieved a higher level of reporting this year than'in the past," she said in reference to the report. The city's new Finance Director Paula Bush, who replaced Jay Sweeney recently, was equally pleased with the improvements. "It's great to come in and have that qualification removed and have a CAJFR process in she said.

For the past few years, the city has put a major effort into improving its financial reporting, which has included hiring new staff members in the department. Wolff explained that the city developed the CAFR not only with the hope of improving financial reporting, but with a goal of achieving a better bond rating. Sweeney had estimated that completing the CAFR would probably improve the city's bond rating, possibly resulting in a 1 to 1.5 percent decrease in the interest rate the city would pay on bonds, Wolff said. On a $22 million general obligation bond for the city, which Sitkans are scheduled to vote on April 29, that would translate into savings of an average of at least $110,000 per year over the life of the bond, he said. In Harrington's presentation to the city, she highlighted items from the fiscal year 1995 budget.

The unreserved fund balance for the general fund increased by $741,000 from 1994 to 1995, she said. The city's Permanent Fund increased by $1.3 million over the year Chum May Join Pinks in Schools KODIAK (AP) Alaska chum salmon soon may be following the path paved by pinks being converted into kid-friendly fish nuggets. The breaded salmon nuggets made it onto the nation's school lunch menus last year, but they were made only from Alaska pinks. The U.S. Department of Agriculture tried salmon nuggets made from chums last year, and reported little difference between the two.

The USDA has welcomed the idea of using chums for fish nuggets, the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation said. If all goes well, the agency's product specifications will be changed to allow the use of either Alaska pink or chum salmon for school lunches by the beginning of the next school year, officials said. to a total of $17.6 million. The city uses the income derived from Permanent Fund investments to help fund the city operating budget after a certain amount is added to the principal to "inflation-proof the fund. The city's long-term debt is on the decline, Harrington reported.

The amount the city owes on its bonds at the end of fiscal 1995 was $10.7 million, which is expected to be paid off by 2003. The CPA firm made several recommendations in its report on the internal control structure, but none was serious enough to cause the auditors to qualify their report. In her salute to the city financial department for the improvement in procedures, Harrington said: "A as (the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report) would have been impossible to produce in the past," she'said. Wolff said making the improvements required major revamping of everyone's jobs. "It was a decision to no longer accept the (philosophy) 'It's always been done this he said.

Harrington put in a pitch for the city to continue its investment in personnel to maintain the current improved procedures. "High-quality, reliable financial reporting such as the CAFR and the financial statements provided at each of the four quarterly budget reviews do not come without a large investment by the city and borough," she said "It requires hiring and retaining qualified individuals, providing them with the opportunity to improve their skills and knowledge through continuing education, and providing them with adequate staff to do their jobs." Among items the.auditgrs included in their report on the internal control" structure were recommendations for: a centralized purchasing procedure, which is required under the home rule charter. the development of an accounting manual, which has been an ongoing effort of the finance department. reconciliation on a monthly basis of the accrued annual leave and inventory system for water and electric funds. The finance department responded that it believes those tasks may be done less frequently.

segregation of duties for both harbor receivables and the electric department inventory. The finance department stated that it solved the first recommendation, and is investigating the benefits of the second. improvement in control over expenditures for federal and state grants. clarification of the city's investment policies for the Permanent Fund. improvement in the monitoring of the state of Alaska grant "sub-recipients." Forest Conference Brings Sides Closer Florence Schutte left, receives the Sitka Woman's Club Woman of 8 eSide Florence Schutte Wins Woman of the Year Title By Sentinel Staff Florence Schutte, a Sitka resident for nearly 50 years, has been named Sitka Woman's Club Woman of the Year.

She was presented with a plaque and flowers Saturday at the club's meeting at the Pioneers Home manager's residence. The plaque states that Schutte won the calls her "tine fine woman." Schutte is a member of the Pioneers of Alaska Auxiliary 12, and has served as treasurer since 1981. She also is a member of the Sitka Community Hospital Auxiliary, Women of the Moose, Emblem Club and Sitka Woman's Club. She is a charter member of the Unitarian Fellowship, and has served for years on the Sitka Council on Alcoholism and Other Drug Abuse, She currently serves on the Swan Lake Senior Center advisory board, and took part in the "visioning process" initiated after the Alaska Pulp Corp mill closure in 1993. Her work as a volunteer, too, is outstanding, it was noted.

She visits with Pioneers Home residents, helping with parties and other entertainments there frequently. She hosts and funds an annual ice cream social for the residents and their guests. She is a designated "unofficial greeter" at the Senior Center, welcoming newcomers and greeting others. She offers transportation to and from meetings and other functions when the senior van isn't available. She is a strong supporter of the Sitka Teen Resource Center and its fund-raising activities.

Nearly every morning she patrols the Sandy Beach area, picking up litter in the parking lot and along Halibut Point Road from Sea Mart to the Channel Club an activity that has her the nickname "Bag Ladv of Halibut Point Road." Schutte is originally from Monticello, a farming community. In 1944 her parents, Ed and Florella Nelson, moved the family to the Seattle area. She met and married Wayne Phillips there, and they moved to Sitka to join the fishing fleet. Other members of her family, including her parents, soon came to Sitka, too. In 1959 she remarried, to Marv Schutte, who was in the construction business, working at APC.

They lived in the Pacific Northwest until 1972, when he again did work for APC He died in 1989. She worked for the school district for several years, retiring in 1988 from Mt. Edgecumbe Elementary School. By SCOTT SONNER Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) They're enemies. That hasn't changed and in some cases the enmity is worse than ever.

But a number of timber workers and environmental activists say they left an unprecedented national forest conference with a new appreciation for the other side's point of view. "It's so exciting to sit across the table from someone who thinks the opposite way I do. And we're smiling at each other. It's the human factor said Debbie Guard, a mill worker for James River Corp. in Camas, Wash Make no mistake, the 1,500 citizen delegates to the Seventh American Forest Congress, held Feb.

20-24, returned to their hometowns across the country with their convictions intact. They still disagree about how much of the nation's forests remain, on the ecological impacts, costs and benefits of logging, even on the definition of forest." "If any kindergarten class looked at our forests they would say too few are left, we need to save them," said Tim Hermach, executive director of the Native Forest Council in Eugene, Ore. "We look at the glass as half full The environmentalists see it half empty," said Bill Pickell, head of the Washington State Contract Loggers Association. Nevertheless, participants say the shared experience could eventually lead to a breakthrough in the long- running dispute over U.S. forest it is going to have long legs," said Tom Jorling, vice president for environmental affairs at International Paper Co.

in Purchase N.Y. "To me, one of the biggest outcomes is the bonding," said John Gordon, a lead organizer of the conference and former dean of the Yale School of Forestry- and Environmental Studies. "The congress only happens every 20 years or so and it's usually when there is a crisis. We are now in a crisis," said Forest Service Chief Jack Ward Thomas, formerly a wildlife biologist in La Grande, Ore. The first Forest Congress was held 1882.

In, 1905, Teddy Roosevelt called the second one, which led to creation of the national forest system The last was in 1976, but none before this was open to regular citizens, including environmental activists and mill workers. "The first six were mostly speeches. This one might produce something that historians can use to tell what life was really like," said Harold K. Steen, executive director of the Forest History Society in Durham, N.C. The stories were told by people like Mary Wesley of Vancouver, who started crying when she tried to explain what it felt like to be among more than 300 mill workers in her town losing their jobs at Boise Cascade Corp.

Brock Evans, vice president of the National Audubon Society, said the meeting was a milestone in the nearly 30 years he has been fighting to protect centuries-old forests in the Pacific Northwest. "We must acknowledge the pain of people in timber country. Whether we think we caused it or not, they think we did and they are hurting," Evans said. "They have to acknowledge our anguish, too. People are seeing places they love being destroyed forever," he said.

For four days, conference delegates debated forest policy at 150 tables cluttered with backpacks, brief cases, coffee thermoses, newspapers and the ever-present pictures of clear cuts. "There are three times as many people in that room as there are in my town on a good bingo night," said Mary Flanderka of Hewlitt, Wyo. "And there's probably more agreement over Seating assignments, 10 to a table, were drawn from a computer program intended to maximize diversity, from urban foresters and corporate executives, to university scientists and citi- zen activists. Teenagers, senior citizens and a woman with a 7-week-old baby were mere, dressed in everything from business suits and bolo ties to plaid shirts, suspenders and tie-dyed bandanas. Nadine Bailey told how she lost her ob a was forced to move away from Hayfork, because of gmg cutoacks on neighboring national forests.

"I'm a victim of the spotted owl years, said Bailey, who now works mber Produc ers Association SK- Michigan and Wisconsin in Rhmelander, Wis. "I thought long and hard over the idea of whether I wanted to take the time to come here. I'm so glad I came because I see so much hope," she said. Larry Mason said he lost his timber job Forks, because of Urging cutbacks and now is forestry degree at the University of Washington in Seattle. "For what seems like an eternity we have been locked in a bitter fight Continued from Page 8 'Perfect' Townsite Not Too Level Pink Salmon Season in SE Looking Uncertain By DBRK MILLER Associated Press Writer JUNEAU (AP) Commercial fishermen say they are facing a season of doubt, caused by a glut of pink salmon left over from last year and an uncertainty on whether processors will buy all the salmon the fleet catches.

"Everything's kind of fuzzy," said Kodiak seiner Bruce Schactler, who sat in on a meeting between fishermen and Gov. Tony Knowles on Friday. "From one side of the state to another, it's a lot of maybes." Some processors have told fishermen they will not be buying pink salmon this season. A Jan. 22 letter from Bill Gilbert, the plant manager at Norquest Seafoods Cordova plant, said the company has decided not to purchase pink salmon from seiners Phone calls to Norquest officials in Seattle and Cordova were not returned Friday.

Tyson Seafoods Group in Kodiak has also told fishermen it will not be buying pink salmon. Tyson's plant mainly concentrates on ground-fish processing, which will continue, said Dave Benson, Tyson's director of government affairs in Seattle. Only about 25 fishermen delivered pinks to the Kodiak plant last year. "It's indicative of the larger picture and that is the whole salmon crisis in Alaska," Benson said. "It's a tough year.

We're going to lose money on what we produced last year in Kodiak." Fishermen will also have fewer processors to work with this season. Plants have recently closed in Anchorage and Pelican, while others are having financial problems. Meanwhile, biologists are expecting a high return of pinks this season. Many processors, though, will continue to buy pinks. 1 Don Giles, Icicle Seafoods president in Seattle, said the processor has bought pink salmon in Alaska for three decades and that is not going to change.

"We will be buying in all the places we've bought in the past," Giles said. "The number one factor for us and our fleet is going to be quality and how do we maximize the situation to our best advantage." Art Scheunemann, executive director of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, said the agency is trying to find ways to move the pink salmon inventory into the market, including getting the federal government to declare it a surplus food so it can be sold to the military and schools. Scheunemann sat in on the fishermen's meeting with Knowles. One of the topics was improving quality, he said. "Quality is the overriding issue on everything we do," Scheunemann said.

Ted Achilles, president of the Prince William Sound Aquaculture Association in Cordova, said the association's hatcheries concentrate on pink salmon production. Achilles said it is too early to give up on the pink Continued on Page 8 EDITOR'S NOTE: The recent announcement of the closure of the cold storage plant at Pelican has cast a shadow over the future of the Lisians- ki Met community. In this series Sentinel columnist Bob DeArmond tells the story of this unique village from the perspective not only of the historian, but as a witness to its origins and early years. SOME MEMORIES of Part of a Series By BOB DeARMOND Kalle Raatikainen, a resident of Sitka, bought the boat PELICAN at a Marshal's sale in 1932 and he used her mainly for buying troll salmon on the fishing grounds and taking them to the processing plant, the Sitka Cold Storage. In 1933, his second year with the PELICAN, there was another trailers' strike, a long one.

The strike didn't end, in fact, until Sigmund Einstoss of the Atlantic Pacific Packing Company put together a trailers' cooperative, the Alaska Trailers Marketing Association. Most but not all of the fleet fishing out of Sitka signed up with the co-op. Fishing commenced on Monday, August 7, and I started work on the fish dock, for the co-op, the following day. In those years, before they began building dams on the Columbia and elsewhere, there were lots of king salmon, and that late in the season there were also lots of cohoes. Because nobody had been fishing them, the fish had apparently schooled up and packers and trailers were bringing in loads all week.

But Saturday was the big day. Commercial fishing on Sundays was forbidden in those years, Continued on Page 8 Two fish-buying scows were the first Pelican. (Robert DeArmond photo) 'buildings" in the new town of.

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About Daily Sitka Sentinel Archive

Pages Available:
66,045
Years Available:
1940-1997