HEA Power Update – 7:04pm Friday

by Joe Gallagher

August 31, 7 pm – There is currently a power outage between Big Tutka Bay and McKeon Flats, impacting 20 HEA members. HEA crews will attempt to make repairs in the area on Saturday, weather permitting. There is a possibility that this outage could extend into Sunday due to conditions.  The communities of Nanwalek, Port Graham, and Seldovia are currently being served by the Willard Generation Plant in Seldovia.

Celebration of Life for Shannon

by Tiffany Haller

Alaska Communications, Summer of Heroes Honorees Includes Seldovia Summer Resident

by Annie Drury – For Alaska Communications

Alaska Communications announced the 2012 Summer of Heroes honorees yesterday at the Alaska State Fair. The Summer of Heroes program is a partnership between Alaska Communications and Boys & Girls Clubs – Alaska to honor Alaskan youth who are making a difference in their communities.  Each of the six heroes, five from the general program and one from the employee program, received a $1,500 scholarship.   This year’s recipients included Keefer Brown, a Wasilla youth who spends his summers in Seldovia.

Passionate about marine biology and paleontology, Keefer Brown hopes to someday follow in the steps of his hero, the famous aquatic explorer Jacque Cousteau, and learn how to protect the Alaska coastline.

Keefer first fell in love with Alaska’s harbor seals during an overnight school trip to the Alaska Sea Life Center (ASLC). There he learned about their playful nature and began to connect with these friendly sea creatures on a deeper level. Keefer decided to raise $50 so he could adopt and protect a harbor seal for the center’s SeaStar program.

All summer Keefer tirelessly hunted for shells and found objects along the Seldovia beaches near his grandparents’ cabin to decorate and sell beautiful candles.  Word spread of his efforts to help the seals, and soon his fundraising topped $2,300.  With this donation designated to support the sea animal rescue program, Keefer got to name the first seal pup born at the ASLC.

He dubbed her Kordelia, which means “jewel of the sea.”   These days Keefer continues to sell candles to raise money to support the ASLC’s rehabilitation and care of sea animals.  He is also a Boy Scout and participates on the Science Olympiad team at Deland Middle School.

Keefer observes that people are often surprised someone so young would be interested in protecting the marine environment, but volunteering in the community just makes sense to him. He doesn’t think of himself as a hero, and says he’s “doing what he can” and he “just wants to help.”

Arctic Winter Games Team Alaska Announces new Board Chair

by Kathleen Rehm

Anchorage – Arctic Winter Games Team Alaska welcomes Tim Dillon of Seldovia as the President of its Board of Directors.  Dillon has been a member of the Team Alaska Board of Directors since 2007.

Dillon is the City Manager of Seldovia, and brings over 3 decades of experience in the sports and entertainment field.  He served as General Manager at the 2006 Arctic Winter Games on the Kenai Peninsula, which is still considered one of the most successful events in the 30-year history of the games.

Born and raised in the New Jersey area with a Masters in Administration, Dillon came to Alaska in 1992, and held the role of Athletic Director and Vice Chancellor of UAA until 1999.  He has chaired or attended to over 14 different NCAA committees, including the NCAA council, and is the past President of the Pac West Conference.

Of the appointment, Lieutenant Governor Mead Treadwell states, “Tim Dillon has a demonstrated track record of building first class athletic teams and athletic events.  As Alaska is host of the next Arctic Winter Games, I am glad he’s on board.  To be sure, Alaska will have a tremendous showing as host and competitor.”

The Team Alaska board and staff welcome Tim Dillon, and look forward to progressively advancing state-wide and international athletics for Alaska’s youth.

About Arctic Winter Games Team Alaska:

Team Alaska was established in 1968 by the state as a nonprofit, statewide organization.  Team Alaska is responsible for organizing and selecting young athletes to compete in the Arctic Winter Games, a high-profile circumpolar sport competition for northern and arctic athletes.  More than 20 sporting events, traditional dance and music, make Arctic Winter Games a very important cultural event for young Alaskans. Hundreds of young athletes will represent Team Alaska at the 2014 games in Fairbanks Alaska.

Seldovia Will Meet as a Community for AMHS Conference Call

by Seldovia Chamber of Commerce

Ultimate Frisbee Clinic

by Damara Burnett

KPB Superintendent and Federal Program Director to Attend SBE Council Meeting

by Sunni Hilts

Comment Period Closing Soon for Proposed AMHS Schedule

by Jenny Chissus
The Alaska Marine Highway has published the proposed schedule for this next year.  We are so thankful to have the AMHS serve the community of Seldovia, and as Seldovians, we need to take advantage of the opportunity to be heard as they finalize their scheduling for the next season.  Your written comments need to be submitted before August 28, 2012.  They may be faxed to (907) 586-8365 or emailed to dot.amhs.comments@alaska.gov.

There will also be a teleconference (Dial in:  1-800-315-6338) on Tuesday, August 28, 2012 at 1:30pm for the Southwest and Southcentral schedules.

This schedule directly impacts the service to Seldovia as it is proposing to stop on the way to Kodiak as well as on the return from Kodiak.  Also, the Tustumena is going to be out of service for a very extended period of time.

Please click here to download the schedule for your review.

The other issue that directly impacts our community is how the schedule for the ferry affects our special activities and celebrations, i.e.: 4th of July, Summer

HEA Seldovia Community Meeting in September

by Joe Gallagher

A Successful Summer Lecture Series Comes to a Close

Reprinted with permission from the Seldovia Public Library, photo by Savannah Lewis

The second annual Summer Lecture Series co-sponsored by Seldovians for Science and the Seldovia Public Library has finished another successful season. We hope to continue to bring in scholars from a variety of disciplines to share their research and interests with us here in Seldovia.Last summer, we addressed the Big Bang, the age of the Earth, and Evolution. This summer we continued with the theme of directly addressing science denial.

In July, Ed Berg, retired Ecologist at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and instructor at Kenai Peninsula College talked about the effects of climate change