Listen to the July 24 Craig Parks and Recreation report with Victoria Merritt, Dawn Sheets and guests.

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The Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District has a new superintendent. Kara Four Bear was hired earlier this year and started her role earlier this month. 

Four Bear comes to Ketchikan at a time when the district is facing financial turmoil and millions of dollars of debt. School starts in a little over a month, and staff and students will soon adjust to school consolidations and decreased staffing.

KRBD’s Sydney Dauphinais spoke with Four Bear earlier this week about her plans for leading the district. 

Sydney Dauphinais: Welcome in. I want to start off by having you introduce yourself, and can you tell us a little bit about your background?

Kara Four Bear: My name is Kara Four Bear, and I hail from the Dakotas of the Lower 48 or down south, as Ketchikan folks like to say. I’m a school administrator, of course. I started out as a kindergarten teacher in my early years, early childhood education as well, working with the FACE program, which is with three and four-year-old students, and I had some wonderful success with my teams in our elementary school in raising scores and helping our students to learn at the proficiency levels that they deserve to be learning at within our schools. So I thought, you know, I think I’d like to scale this up and make a difference in more kids’ lives, and so I decided then that I wanted to go into administration in education. I’ve worked my way up through assistant elementary school principal, middle school principal, and am now a superintendent, and have been for a few years now. So I do bring experience to Ketchikan, and most of my experience and success over my career has been with school turnaround models or school turnaround projects or initiatives. So by nature, I am drawn to schools with high areas of need for good purpose, and I am just motivated by having the opportunity to jump in and say, ‘Hey, let’s look at this a little differently. How can we build teams and move forward and make things better for our students and our schools and community?’

Dauphinais: I’m interested in hearing more about these school turnaround initiatives. Can you expand on that a little bit?

Four Bear: Sure. So, for instance, during my tenure as a middle school principal, I’d come into a middle school that had a huge number of at-risk students and the curriculum was very stagnant. It was kind of your basic ABCs and one, two, threes for that age level, and there was not a lot that was offered that was very inspiring or motivational or elevated. For instance, there’s a huge focus on discipline and [social emotional learning] because those were the needs for sure, but you have to motivate kids through education, and that just really wasn’t happening. And it wasn’t a matter of the staff not wanting that for the kids. It all really does go back to leadership and those accountability pieces, building systems with staff members, not for or against staff members, and really looking at the needs and the possibilities for student success. So we reinvented the wheel a little bit. We prioritized every teacher on board, every staff member within the building, including our paraprofessionals and our special education team members, and we formulated a core program that extended beyond English, mathematics, science, and social studies, and we included STEM education and social emotional education as part of our core curriculum. So every student got everything they needed tailored to their grade level and their need level as part of a multi-tiered systems of support framework. So it was very intricate, but very purposeful. Because we had everybody on board, they were a part of the design process for the system and the planning for it. It was easy for everyone to have a hand in pooling their strengths, like, ‘I can help out over here, I’m really great at that, this is my passion area, I’m a little weak over here, maybe you could pick up over there.’ It was really an all hands effort, and for the wonderful work that we did in supporting our students, we have become a less at-risk student population. 

Through our work, we were able to be recognized as a team by the governor of North Dakota for building leadership. We won a state award for that, and we were invited to participate in the governor’s K-20W workforce initiative that included industry leaders from across the state, government leaders, education leaders, and were able to provide input on what that system of growth looks like for North Dakota. But we were able to bring an emphasis specifically for our student population, and we actually were invited to collaborate with as part of a delegation from North Dakota. We were the only K-12 school invited to visit ANSEP in Anchorage. They were hosting a really cool conference where they had selected participants to attend and they had received a National Science Foundation grant. Their purpose was to educate other institutions and organizations about the success and growth plan and development of their programs for students at risk and at need, and to build pathways for careers and areas of interest, and just even success in finishing high school if that was their goal, or to go into vocational school, or the workforce, for instance. It was an amazing experience. 

So within North Dakota, we brought back that knowledge, and our middle school, in cooperation with Valley State City University in North Dakota and the North Dakota Department of Education, we had developed together a program for Native students and specifically in middle school grades to begin to attend these summer camps and build connections between the school, the college system, and it still exists now. It’s called INSTEM, and it’s really cool. So even though I’ve moved on in my career, it’s really great to know that that program still exists and those opportunities still exist for those students.

Dauphinais: That’s great. So as many people know, it’s been a tumultuous couple of years in the district, and there were just a lot of cuts made and unfortunate layoffs. Do you have any plans to ensure that staff are feeling supported in this time of transition?

Four Bear: Yeah, absolutely. That is the highest priority right now. Our staff members are home. Those that are still employed, those that aren’t, unfortunately, are home as well. Some have had to make the difficult decision to leave the community, unfortunately, and that’s never a win for any community or school system. So it’s a very trying time, but we have to focus on this coming school year that starts July 1. That’s kind of the beginning of the fiscal year, and those numbers don’t matter to the families at home necessarily. But I want the community to be assured that those that are still on the job year round are focusing on those topics. We have our administrative team who are still out until August, and so we’re eager and excited. Of course, we have wonderful ideas, and we’re brainstorming as a central office administrative team, and planning for areas within the system. But once we get our administrators back into the fold, and our teacher leadership back into the fold, and our teachers back into the fold, then we’ll have a more collective plan on what that looks like and get things rolling. We have to focus on our students, and to do that, we have to take care of our staff members. So that is our highest priority.

Dauphinais: At a recent borough assembly meeting, during your Board of Education report, you said that bringing stability to students is your highest priority. I thought that was really interesting and I was hoping you could expand on that a little bit.

Four Bear: Sure. So, of course, when communities go through difficult times, whether it be an issue with the school district, or, say, the pulp mill shuts down, just for instance. Huge things in the region, in the city, in the state — students feel those impacts regardless if they’re directly affected or not. Because we’re adults, we talk. Students watch the news. They’ve got devices. They’re not oblivious to the world around them, and so the purpose of bringing stability to students within the school system is ensuring that they can show up without feeling apprehensive about coming to the building despite us as adults having apprehensions. Because when changes happen, it’s not easy for anybody at any given point in time. But we have to remain steadfast and work through those changes and be the stability that the kids need. That really starts with us as adults, and that’s really that portion of us coming together and having that plan to make sure that our staff members are supported. So when our kids come in, it should be super seamless. Yes, there’ll be a few more students in the classroom. Some of them will be in new buildings. Some staff members will be in new buildings. But it really is a new year, and we have to approach it that way with some optimism. 

We’ve got a plan in place for the fiscal issues. But with a focus being on the students, day one should be like any other day one for students and staff members alike. 

Dauphinais: What do you think has been working really well in the district that you’ve seen? 

Four Bear: Oh my goodness. So many things. I have to say, in my short time that I’ve been here so far, the community is just amazing. Outstanding. People on the street, even. The hellos, the waves, the nods, the courtesy. You see it in the community and it’s so very welcoming. 

In relation to the school itself, the transition after the consolidation, it was really all hands on deck. Staff were in, community members were in, community partnerships and organizations were in to help with that school consolidation piece. Due to the fact that it had to be completed in such a short amount of time, then that leaves the administrative piece of planning for the next school year. So it really left a lot of leeway and a lot of time, which is what we need. We need time so that we can get ahead of anything that we might anticipate or not anticipate.

Dauphinais: And what is something that you see that isn’t working, or maybe the first thing that you would like to address?

Four Bear: Actually, that remains to be seen. I believe when somebody’s new coming into an organization and has a different perspective from being in it day to day, we can tend to just kind of melt into our system sometimes, and that’s not good or bad. That’s just human nature. But that fresh perspective coming in, I see opportunities for us to be more efficient in certain systems, and it’s just the way we get things done. Part of where we are, and why we are where we are, is because some of those systems weren’t administered well. That will change. We currently have a permanent human resources director. We now have a director of business and operations, and we have a superintendent. So I am 100% excited to have the full administrative team on board and ready to work. People are in their offices right now. Teachers are in their classrooms right now, on their own time even, and to see those things happening, it’s a true testament of the resolve and the purpose and dedication of the community members and our staff overall. It’s amazing. I really have no major complaints to say. There’s nothing we can’t work through. If we stumble across something, we’re going to make it better because that’s what we do.

Dauphinais: Do you have plans for how you’re going to approach community engagement, or maybe partnerships with community organizations?

Four Bear: I am a huge proponent of community partnerships. We can’t raise the child alone. You know, there’s the old adage: it takes a village to raise a child. It absolutely does. 

We hear how much is piled onto the teacher’s plate — and this is historically true over hundreds of years — it was just to teach math and reading at the beginning, and then here’s science, and it just built and built over the years. And teachers today, we are super resourceful. We’re super knowledgeable. We have wonderful training, and we are professionals. We just really need to focus on not only extending our partnerships to the families, but how do we work with our community partners? Especially when we’re so fiscally limited these next few years, we have to be more persistent, and resilient, and resourceful, and so that is a high priority as well. 

Coming up this year, we’re already meeting with several community leaders, part of organizations within and around Ketchikan, and getting on their radar, saying hello, learning about past projects that have happened, current projects, and then seeking out opportunities for us to build things so we can contribute to the success of our students. Specifically, right now, I think a high priority area will be that social emotional piece, and so I’ve got some great ideas, and so do our team members. It’s really just a matter of looking at the resources each entity has, and pooling together, and saying, ‘Let’s get this done,’ and finding creative ways to make things happen for our kids.

Dauphinais. Is there anything else that you would like to add that you think listeners should know?

Four Bear: I hope that our listeners understand that despite the current fiscal situation, we have a plan in place. Decisions were made by our assembly and our school board, and we’ve got a budget. And even though it did cost our community members and families some jobs, and everything else that entails when a loss is incurred to a family, that really sits at the heart of everything we do when we’re moving forward. It’s painful, but we have to recognize that we have to move forward at the same time. Know that everybody that is on board is still there. We’re there to move forward in a good way, in a positive way, and despite the mistakes of past administrations, this is not that administration. We’re currently very much open to transparency and working with the borough and getting things set right, things made right, things made just, because that’s what we owe our kids. That’s what we owe our taxpayers. You know, we have to do our jobs and we have to do our jobs well. And I’m thankful for the transparency piece. If anything, that’s a great motivator to want to do well for our school and community. But at the end of the day, we will need community support. You know, we are over that difficult transition. We’re moving forward. We’re climbing up the hill, and we’re really going to need the support of our community members, despite their thoughts on prior practices. We have the best of intentions. We have great experience, and we’re highly motivated. So, look for good things to be happening from us, and I hope everybody will be there to cheer us on.

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The pool at the Craig Recreation and Aquatic Center is a 25-yard, six lane competition pool. It’s the only one like it on Prince of Wales Island. Right now, the sides are lined with caution tape to keep people out.

It’s for safety reasons — the lamination at the bottom of the pool is busting open. Craig Aquatics Director Mandy Griffin says when the holes started emerging earlier this spring, it was unexpected. The morning lap swimmers were the first to notice.

“We had patrons in swimming, and we had one of our patrons go, ‘I think you guys have a hole in the bottom of your pool,’ and we’re like, ‘oh my goodness, yes, we do,'” she said.

Griffin said at the time, the first hole was around the size of a baseball. But by the end of the week, it was about two feet wide. More holes started popping up, erupting and gradually expanding. As of last week, there were a few more spots that she said are likely to burst soon.

 “It kind of volcanoes off the bottom,” she said. “It’s neat to watch, but not great for us.”

With recommendation from the Department of Environmental Conservation, the city voluntarily made the decision to close the pool for safety reasons.

One risk is that if someone were to get their hair or toe caught in one of the holes, the weight of the water could entrap someone. Additionally, the quartz plaster coating that’s bursting from the bottom is similar to glass. Griffin says even though you can’t see them, there are particles everywhere, and it’s shedding more and more over time. If that quartz plaster gets into someone’s eyes or someone accidentally swallows it, Griffin says there’s no telling what the effects of that would be.

The city is still determining exactly how this happened. The city council voted earlier this spring to hire a company to conduct a structural engineering inspection of the site to better understand the scope of the problem. That was completed in early June, and found extensive cracking, leaking, and movement beneath the pool structure. The company said deep foundation stabilization efforts will likely be part of any repairs or reconstruction.

They also identified that one big concern with draining the pool is the millions of pounds of hydrostatic pressure that would cause. That means if the water is drained too fast, there’s a risk of the pool popping off the foundation.

“Could we have just come in and re-plastered this? Absolutely,” Griffin said. “Would it have held? Probably not. We would be looking at spending a substantial amount of money to re-plaster for it to happen again in two, three, four, five, years down the road, if that. So yeah, it’s all about long-term solutions right now.”

Last week, the council voted to approve a peer review of that analysis — or to hire someone to double check the company’s work before moving forward with any big decisions. Any actions must be approved by the city council. 

There are multiple ways to go about repairs: one option is to install a stainless steel system to the existing pool structure. Griffin estimates that could “easily” be kept under $4 million. Another option is to demolish the pool and rebuild it from scratch — which she estimates would cost more than $20 million. 

Some council members, like Michael Kampnich, have expressed that complete demolition and a $20 million price tag is unrealistic. 

“If we get into having to fund a major renovation of the whole pool, that’s not going to happen out of our pocket,” Kampnich said at a recent city council meeting. “That’s only going to happen through a federal grant or a state grant, and we’re in some really lean times, both at state and federal levels. So I don’t see that happening.”

Griffin said she is currently looking into outside funding and grant opportunities.

Regardless of which method the council decides to move forward with, there are additional hurdles that come with being in a remote location. Getting materials and labor out to the island can take a lot of time.

City administrator Morris Ververs said the city is also exploring options to open portions of the pool away from the damaged areas and conducting some short-term repair that would safe for public use.

“We take seriously the importance of the pool to the community, but we also have a duty to the community that we move forward soberly, and city resources are used as efficiently as possible,” Ververs said in an email to KRBD.

In the meantime, the recreation staff is making do with what they have. The fitness center, hot tub, sauna and kiddie pool are still open. A smaller above-ground pool is set up as a stopgap. There are harnesses available to help people to swim in place, kind of like a water treadmill. They are hoping to get a larger above ground pool donated soon, too.

But even with these measures, Griffin says they’ve lost a lot of use at the pool. 

“You know, we’ve got to get this facility back open,” she said. “Our community depends on it.”

The aquatic center has had to cancel swim lessons, movie nights and aqua fit programming. Griffin says she’s concerned how the community, and especially the youth, will fare when the rainy season starts. But she’s worked with facility reworks and rebuilds before, and says she’s optimistic the pool will get up and running.

The post City of Craig evaluates how to repair and reopen community pool appeared first on KRBD.

There’s a new way to give back to Ketchikan’s unhoused population. The Ketchikan Indian Community, or KIC, rolled out a new program this month where people can pay for and assemble care packages to those in need. 

Emily Edenshaw is the tribe’s administrator and CEO. To her knowledge, there’s no other program like it in Alaska. She says that the initiative is aimed at tourists

“We often invite tourists to our homelands, but there’s really a need for service tourism,” Edenshaw said. “You have the second largest tribe in Alaska that’s really tried to innovatively create an experience for our tourists to leave a community in a better place than they found it.” 

Care packages are $25 and include necessities like toothpaste, deodorant, socks, and sanitary products. People who purchase the care packages can also leave a handwritten note. Edenshaw said each dollar raised from the program will go to support the tribe’s permanent supportive housing project, a 28-unit housing complex for seniors set to open next month. 

The care packages can be purchased at KIC’s newly opened gift shop at the corner of Dock and Main Streets downtown. That space was once home to the tribe’s seasonal warming shelter, which closed in the spring. The tribe will open another temporary warming shelter in the fall, although they haven’t determined a location yet. 

Edenshaw said the new care package program is a way to carry on the legacy of the former warming shelter space. She said a little bit of support can go a long way. 

“For those who might be wanting to do this, make it a family affair,” Edenshaw said. “Use this as an opportunity to instill the value of giving back to your children. Bring your families by the gift shop and use it as an educational opportunity while also making an impact in people’s lives.” 

Edenshaw said visitors to the tribe’s gift shop will see information about the new program as soon as they walk through the door. She hopes to inform the cruise lines of the program so that more tourists can participate in it. 

Hunter Morrison is a Report for America corps member for KRBD. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution.

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The Fish Creek bear viewing area in Hyder is closed after a dike broke during a glacial outburst flood early Thursday morning. The flood took out a section of around 100 feet in the middle of the viewing platform. No visitors were at the site. 

Ketchikan Misty Fjords District Ranger Cathy Tighe says the Forest Service is still assessing the scope of the damage. Hyder is located on the U.S.- British Columbia border and is only accessible by road through Canada. Tighe says that because of the remote location, it can take time to get the right staff out there. They plan on sending an engineer, hydrologist and fish biologist to the area throughout this week. The Forest Service will then evaluate repairs after completing a full assessment of the site. 

According to a release from the National Weather Service, the crest of the Salmon River on Thursday was similar to an outburst flooding event last year. 

It’s the start of what would typically be the prime viewing season at the Fish Creek Wildlife Observation site, which averages at around 9,800 visitors between mid-July and September. The Forest Service plans to provide full refunds to visitors who pre-paid for passes to the site.

The wildlife viewing area and the parking lot are closed for safety indefinitely. Forest Service staff ask the public to avoid the area until repairs can be made. 

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Learn more about a Tweens Tie Dye event, Free Style Book Club, Cedar Print Craftivity and more. Also, there is no library Move’n’Groove or Storytime next week. Amie Toepfer discusses this and much more.

Here is a link to the library’s website.

Here is a link to the library’s Facebook page.

Hunter Morrison is a Report for America corps member for KRBD. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution.

The post Ketchikan Public Library Report appeared first on KRBD.

It’s the time of year where many people in Southeast Alaska are itching to spend time outdoors — and the sunny weather marks the busy season for the U.S. Forest Service. 

Last week, KRBD spoke with Cathy Tighe, the Ketchikan Misty Fjords District Ranger for the Tongass National Forest, about trail maintenance, new cabins, and planning for the rest of the summer. 

Sydney Dauphinais: I want to start by asking about something we reported on just a couple weeks ago. There’s a new Forest Service cabin just outside of Ketchikan. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Cathy Tighe: Sure. We just built the S’igeidí Aas Hídi cabin, which means Beaver House. It was named by a local Tlingit elder. It is at Ward Lake in what used to be campsite one. So just as you pull into the campground, it sits there along the creek and that day use parking for Frog Pond. It is a two-story cabin, 20’ by 20’, and it is available for reservation on recreation.gov. Currently, it is booked out through September. There’s just a handful of dates in September, and then it starts to open up in October, November, and December a little bit more.

Dauphinais: Yeah, that is something that I think people have been really excited about. So I know as part of the South Revilla project, which is a proposed timber project just east of Ketchikan, it includes other features that you’ve said will help meet a multiple use mandate as an agency. That includes another cabin. Can you tell me a little bit about that project and where it’s at right now?

Tighe: Yeah, so that is the South Revillagigedo Timber Sale EIS. That’s an environmental impact statement. It’s located along both the Shelter Cove and Shoal Cove road systems. That project is intended to do multiple resources, as you mentioned, and take place over an approximately 15 year time frame. That includes not only proposed timber harvest of both old growth and young growth, but it also includes stream restoration, culvert replacement for fisheries enhancement, and a lot of recreation developments. And one of those would be another cabin, very similar to what’s at Ward Lake. It would be out at Saddle Lake, right along the main road system.

Dauphinais: So I know this is a big time of year for trail maintenance and improvement. Can you tell me a little bit about what that’s been looking like? What have you guys been working on?

Tighe: This summer, the Ketchikan district has been working on several of the local trails as well as a couple of the wilderness trails. We did a project in May with the American Hiking Society. It was a group of volunteers that came up to work on the first section of the Deer Mountain Trail with us. So they planned basically a working vacation and came up to work alongside of our crews and improved a little bit of the lower section of the trail, replacing some gravel and logs along the side to hold that gravel in place. Eventually, we are working towards getting all the way up to that first overlook initially, and then hopefully later on, doing some other work. But we’ve also been out doing a little bit of work on the Nooya and Punchbowl trails out in Misty Fjords Wilderness, and then we are in the middle of planning some work on Dude Mountain Trail. Our emphasis will be that top section that needs a lot of work in the subalpine and alpine, but we are also going to propose some work on the lower section, just in case some additional funds come in.

Dauphinais: So, what does that trail restoration look like? Is it kind of the same process for a lot of these trails? 

Tighe: Yeah. So, a lot of the work is just replacing in kind or replacing gravel that has washed away, or adding new ditch relief where we’re noticing that water is either eroding or not crossing properly — and then for sure, like brushing alongside the trail to make it so you don’t feel closed in while you’re hiking it. So a lot of it has to do with that.

Dauphinais: With these trails, do people typically reach out to you saying that there is restoration or improvements needed, or what is that monitoring like?

Tighe: People are free to call our office and let us know because there are so many trails across the district that we can’t get to all of them right away. So sometimes we don’t even realize there’s a problem. Other times we do sort of outlook planning for future years, where we are trying to decide which trails need the most work. Some of that depends on how long it’s been since we’ve maintained it. If we’ve discovered issues, or just sort of a regular trying to visit all of them over a series of time. 

Dauphinais: Are there projects or events that you are looking forward to that maybe haven’t started yet? I guess we’re still pretty early in the summer.

Tighe: We are still pretty early in the summer. In June, we did Kids Fishing Day at City Park, and we also did a National Trails Day event. And then in September, we actually are looking forward to hosting Public Lands Day. So we don’t have the date set yet, but very soon we’re going to be picking that. It’ll be mid to late September. We’re going to work on the roadside picnic sites out at Ward Lake, as we advertise that, we would love for volunteers to come out. That’s what that day is all about: contributing back to your public lands.

Dauphinais: Will that be advertised like on Facebook? How can people volunteer, and what’s the best way to get in touch?

Tighe: Yeah, so people can either reach out to our main office at 907-225-2148 or we probably will be posting once we have dates set for all of the public lands events across the Tongass. Those will get published on our Facebook site for the Tongass.

Dauphinais: Anything else you’d like to add?

Tighe: I am just excited to have this opportunity to talk about what we are working on, and if people have ideas, please reach out. We’re always open to volunteers, even if it’s just for a couple of hours, or if you want to participate in a longer-term project.

The post Here’s what the Ketchikan Misty Fjords Ranger District has planned for the summer appeared first on KRBD.

On a busy Tuesday evening at Ketchikan’s Rotary Beach, several dozen people sitting atop pieces of driftwood or standing in the sand watched as Jordan Rykert, a man with long, blonde hair and a beige baseball cap, marched to the shoreline holding a stone. The fishing guide from California stretched out his arm, pointed to the sky, and let it rip.

His rock bounced across the glimmering water over a dozen times, helping to make him the winner of Ketchikan’s first annual rock skipping competition. Rykert, who’s regularly skipped rocks since the age of 12, said he’s been dreaming about this moment his entire life. He heard about the event through a friend. 

“I always wondered why there wasn’t a rock skipping Olympics,” Rykert said. “I feel like that should be like an Olympian thing. Like we should be – the world needs a rock skipping Olympics, which maybe there is one. I don’t know.” 

While it’s no Olympic sport, rock skipping can be traced as far back as ancient Greece. Today, there are numerous rock skipping competitions around the world, from Pennsylvania to Scotland. 

Ketchikan contest organizer Mackie Stuart said he’s thought about it for a few years. And his friends, who also enjoy rock skipping, helped bring the idea to fruition in just a few days. Stuart said it was largely advertised on social media. 

“Oh, I’m bad at it, but I enjoy doing it,” Stuart said. “I don’t know. It’s something about throwing things into the water, makes you feel good.”

Nearly 25 people competed in the inaugural three-round competition – all of varying rock skipping abilities and experience. Some participants’ stones immediately plummeted to the seabed. Others glided across the water, like a bird in the sky. A volunteer stood along the shore with a clicker to count the number of skips. 

And the rules of Ketchikan’s contest were simple. Participants had to find their rocks on the island. And they couldn’t be tampered with. Participants paid $5 to compete, and the winner took all. 

Rykert, who won a whopping $115 and a handmade cairn trophy, said the best skipping rocks are flat. But the best technique in how you throw that rock can vary from person to person. 

“You got to find your style, find your rock, and believe in yourself,” said Maya Chari, who placed second in the competition.

Chari said getting a rock to skip well depends on how hard you throw and spin it. And she said playing an instrument, like a steel pan, can put you at an advantage. That’s because it requires wrist flicking. 

Chari, an avid backpacker, said she always collects rocks to skip along the way. And she never shares them, because she knew this moment was coming. She encourages everyone, especially the youth, to compete in rock skipping contests, even if they think they’re bad at it. 

“And honestly, if your parents don’t want you to skip rocks, do it behind their back anyways, because it’s worth it,” Chari said.

Numerous rock skipping competitors said the activity is linked to health benefits. It’s peaceful, it’s meditative, and it gets you out in nature. Chari even said, “a rock skip a day keeps the doctor away.” 

Rykert, who plans to spend part of his winnings on beer for Chari, said he struggled finding the right rock for the contest. And he was late to the event. But participating ultimately paid off. 

He said rock skipping is good for the soul. 

“At the end of the day, it’s all about the fun and the joy, and you got to start somewhere,” Rykert said. “You know, the first time you ever tried walking, you probably were pretty bad at it. So, the first time you’re going to try skipping a rock, you got to think about the technique and really focus on that.” 

Stuart, the event organizer, said Ketchikan’s rock skipping competition will be held every year. He may even move it to the winter because he said that could be more fun. 

Hunter Morrison is a Report for America corps member for KRBD. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution.

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All passengers aboard a whale-watching vessel are safe after the Coast Guard says it beached itself on Annette Island, south of Ketchikan. 

The Coast Guard received a Mayday call at around 9 a.m. Thursday morning from the 51-foot Eagle One Express, which was taking on water near Nichols Passage. Two Coast Guard response boats and four good Samaritan vessels arrived on the scene about 15 minutes later to find the vessel had beached itself. 

All 36 passengers were brought back to Ketchikan with no reported injuries. The vessel was refloated and is being towed to Ketchikan. 

The Coast Guard says there are no reports of pollution. The cause of the incident is still under investigation. 

Eagle One Enterprises, the company that owns the vessel, could not immediately be reached for comment.

This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.

Hunter Morrison is a Report for America corps member for KRBD. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution.

The post All passengers safe after whale-watching vessel takes on water near Ketchikan appeared first on KRBD.

Here is a link to the Arts Council website.

KAAHC Facebook Page.

Phone: 907-225-2211

Hunter Morrison is a Report for America corps member for KRBD. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution. 

The post Arts Council Report appeared first on KRBD.