Adelyn Baxter

Editor’s note: 360 North is under contract with Sealaska Heritage Institute to produce television and online video coverage of Celebration.

The newest megaship to ply Alaska waters arrived in Juneau for the first time on Tuesday.

The 4,000-passenger Norwegian Bliss was specially designed for sailing in Alaska and will be making weekly stops in Juneau through the season.

Complete with rooftop water slides, a go-kart track and up to 1,700 crew, the 1,000-foot vessel may be the largest cruise ship ever to call in Juneau.

This was the third Norwegian Cruise Line voyage for passengers Tonya and Anthony Biondo from Las Vegas.

They got going a bit late this morning. The ship was only scheduled to dock for a little over six hours.

“We shopped. If we had more time we would have gone and seen the glaciers,” Tonya Biondo said. “Not enough time.”

Brian Holst, executive director of the Juneau Economic Development Council,  said he’s heard concerns about the short port calls from some businesses.

“We encourage them to change the schedule for next year,” Holst said. “We have heard that concern and being the largest vessel here in Juneau visiting Alaska it would be better certainly for everyone involved if they could find a way to spend more time in our port.”

Holst said seeing ships like the Norwegian Bliss bode extremely well for the future of tourism in Alaska.

More than 1.1 million cruise ship passengers are projected to disembark in Juneau this year.

In the waters of Southeast, the members of the One Paddle Canoe Society will reach Juneau the same way their ancestors would have thousands of years ago.

On Tuesday, canoes representing six Southeast communities and Canada will arrive in Juneau. Their landing will kick off Celebration, a four-day gathering of Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian peoples.

Before they departed last week, a few local paddlers gathered at Auke Bay for last minute preparations. They piled bags of supplies into a long, white canoe covered in formline design with an eagle painted on the bow.

The Eagle canoe is manned by Alaska Native veterans. Aside from the desire to travel their ancestral waters, this group also paddles to raise awareness about the high rate of post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide among veterans.

Alaska has the highest concentration of veterans in the nation, and Alaska Natives make up a high number of them.

“Most every village you come into in Southeast Alaska, you’ll find a veteran,” said Dennis Jack.

He’s a combat veteran who served in Desert Storm and the Iraq War. He’s from Angoon, and two years ago, he decided to organize a veteran canoe for the first time.

“At that time we had seven veterans and this year we have over 22 that are participating,” Jack said.

According to a study released in 2016 by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the risk of suicide is 22 percent higher among veterans compared with the rest of the U.S. population.

Jack said the response after their first trip two years ago was extremely positive. The governor’s office and other state politicians reached out to ask how they could help. This year, Safeway and Fred Meyer offered support, as well as the Department of Veterans Affairs out of Anchorage and the National Guard in Juneau.

“Through the veteran canoe journey we’ve managed to get some help for a couple veterans that slipped through the cracks and they’re now getting help,” Jack said. “Even if we help just one person, it’s well worth the trip.”

Val Cooday is paddling for the first time. During the Vietnam War, Cooday served in the Women’s Army Corps out of Fort Sam Houston in Texas.

She’s originally from Petersburg and she’s witnessed the effects of PTSD firsthand.

“I had a daughter who went to Afghanistan twice. She came back, very extreme PTSD and it’s been a five-year struggle trying to keep her wanting to live, ” Cooday said.

Jack has his own reason for paddling.

“For me, I started out because my father was a World War II veteran,” he said. “He always wanted to be on a canoe trip, but with his age … I decided to do this in his name, in honor of my father.”

The canoes are due to arrive in Douglas Harbor between 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. There will be a welcome party waiting for them.

Editor’s note: 360 North is under contract with Sealaska Heritage Institute to produce television and online video coverage of Celebration.

Longtime Juneau Board of Education member Andi Story will run to represent the Mendenhall Valley in the Alaska State Legislature.

Story confirmed Thursday morning that she plans to run as a Democrat for House District 34. The incumbent, Rep. Justin Parish, is not running for re-election.

So far, Juneau Deputy Mayor Jerry Nankervis has announced he will run as a Republican, and city Assembly member Rob Edwardson also intends to run as an independent.

Parish endorsed his former chief of staff, Edwardson, for the job when he announced he would not seek re-election.

Story has served five terms on the school board since first winning a seat in 2003. She’s also on the board of the Alaska Association of School Boards and served as president in 2016.

At a campaign event outside the Mendenhall Valley Public Library on Thursday, Story spoke about the need for a strong fiscal plan from the Legislature.

She said her years of community involvement and as an education advocate at the statewide level have helped her become a good listener and learner.

“I really think I have a lot of connections up at the Capitol building, and a lot of connections statewide and I know that’s going to be really important for getting things done,” Story said after addressing supporters. 

She also wants to see education take a higher priority, especially when it comes to increasing the amount of per-student funding schools receive.

“Education is a key issue for Alaska,” she said. “It’s a key issue if you’re in business, it’s a key issue if you want to innovate, it’s a key issue for our communities.”

Edwardson will face Story in the Democratic primary. He said Thursday he welcomes the competition.

“People should have a choice and hopefully it’ll expand the discussions over subjects that might not have been covered before,” Edwardson said. 

State primaries are Aug. 21. The general election is Nov. 6.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Edwardson is running as a Democrat. In fact, he is running in the Democratic primary as an independent. 

Jeremy Hsieh contributed to this report. 

David Means may be a man of few words, but he is a font of information.

He’s also the man who has kept Juneau’s schools running for more than a decade.

“I am basically a quiet, introverted numbers guy,” he said during an interview in his district office.

After 13 years with the Juneau School District, Means will step down at the end of June as director of administrative services.

That title doesn’t begin to sum up everything Means does within the school district.

First and foremost, he manages the budget. For most people, that would be enough.

“He also takes care of all the facilities,” said Superintendent Mark Miller. “So any roof that leaks is under him. He also takes care of custodial. He’s also the guy for transportation. He also does food services.”

Add managing IT, community schools and RALLY, and you’ve basically got a sense of the scope of Means’ job.

“And so his 40-hour (a week job) is probably closer to 60, 65,” Miller said. “It’s a big job.”

And Means is good at it. Celebrated, even. For the last seven years, his budgets have earned the district an international professional organization’s meritorious budget award. The distinction recognizes excellence in budget presentation and development.

In 2011, Means was named the School Business Official of the Year by the Alaska Association of School Business Officials.

“If someone really wanted to know about Juneau School District, the only document they’d really need to read is that budget book, because it covers everything,” said Miller. “And most of it doesn’t have to do with dollars.”

That wasn’t always the case. Means said there was a time when the district’s budget was dense and didn’t clearly communicate to the public where their tax dollars were being spent.

So Means set about fixing it.

“I think that one of our functions here in administration is to be able to communicate our institution, what’s going on here, out to the public,” he said.

Still, budgeting is no easy task, and it has only gotten harder amid state budget cuts in recent years.

When Miller arrived in Juneau to take the helm four years ago, Means approached him about trying a different strategy to the annual process. They decided to implement zero-base budgeting, where you start at $0 and build up, rather than cutting from the overall budget.

Miller believes it made a big difference in the tenor of the district’s budgeting process.

“Instead of arguing very negatively that, ‘Don’t cut this,’ you try to argue positively, ‘Please add this back in,’” Miller said. “I know it’s a glass half-full, half-empty kind of discussion, but it really makes a difference in the tone of the discussions that occur.”

Means came to Juneau after 23 years with the Ketchikan School District. He had a background in finance, and his mother was a school teacher for many years in Eugene, Oregon, where he grew up.

If he had to give one piece of advice to his successor, district Finance Officer Sarah Jahn, it would be this:

“Don’t panic. From time to time there’s going to be some news that’s going to — ‘Oh my goodness, what am I going to do?’ Sometimes there are resources that you gotta think about. Well, can I talk to the superintendent? Can I talk to colleagues across the state? Maybe she calls me, occasionally, I don’t know.”

Jahn already experienced one of those scenarios recently when the school district had to scramble to find a new food service provider for the next school year.

“It’s been kind of crazy, but it’s a good kind of crazy because I’m learning new things,” she said. “It gets me excited about the job.”

Looking back on his time with the district, Means says he appreciates all of the colleagues and school board members he has worked with over the years. He considers himself lucky to have worked in a community like Juneau.

“The community support here is just great and tremendous and we’re very thankful for that community support and we see that support through the parents in action with the district, with schools, for the support from our assembly members,” Means said. “Our community values education quite a bit.”

As for retirement, Means is going to take some time to travel with his wife and get some work done around the house.

He’s also looking forward to spending time with his granddaughter and his many dogs.

On Sunday, more than 300 seniors received diplomas from Juneau’s three high schools.

The day was spent celebrating graduates’ accomplishments and the bright futures lying ahead of them. At the ceremony for Juneau’s smallest high school, Yaaḵoosgé Daakahídi, speakers celebrated the kids who almost didn’t make it.

There was a time when 18-year-old Kiana Christopherson wasn’t sure she was going to graduate high school.

Her anxiety and learning disabilities made participating in class a challenge. During her first semester of freshman year at Juneau-Douglas High School, she was already cutting class and watching her grades slip.

She ended up at the district’s alternative high school, Yaaḵoosgé Daakahídi. It still wasn’t easy, and there were times when she stopped showing up.

It took some time for her to decide that she was willing to work for graduation. Once she did, her teachers were there to help her.

“With the help of all my teachers I was able to get the work that I had missed done and I was able to catch up on all my credits. With the help of them, I was able to succeed in graduating this year.”

On Sunday, Christopherson walked across the stage and received her diploma in front of her mother and sister, who flew up from Seattle.

Now she looks forward to finding a career in either cosmetology or child care. She credits the staff and teachers of Yaaḵoosgé and her peers with helping her get to this point.

“Our school is pretty much a big, giant family,” she said. “We all care for each other, we all stick up for each other and we’re always there for one another.”

Thirty-three Yaaḵoosgé seniors got their diplomas on Sunday. Their friends and family crowded into Centennial Hall to celebrate an accomplishment that many of them thought they might never reach.

“Getting your high school diploma is really an important milestone, and we want to make sure all of our Juneau kids get a diploma,” said principal Kriston Garot.

Garot has worked with many students like Christopherson, who struggled with things happening outside school.

“I’m just proud to work in a school where that’s really an important thing, is to help kids who wouldn’t otherwise get one, that we’re there to help them and support them along the way,” Garot said/

And it’s not just Juneau students benefiting from Yaaḵoosgé’s approach. Eighteen-year-old Byron Dock came to Juneau in December from the village of Kipnuk, out near Bethel.

He came to finish his education after repeated setbacks back home. When he first arrived, he wasn’t sure he would make it.

“You know, I had trouble back home but I decided to come here to another place and find my full potential,” Dock said.

During the ceremony, he sang a traditional song in Yup’ik to celebrate his and his fellow graduates’ accomplishment. Although his family couldn’t be there to see him graduate, he knows they’re proud of the hard work he put in over the last few months.

“My plans are to sign up for (a) job course, or either go home and help out my family and keep my culture alive. So that’s one thing I’m looking forward to.”

Everyone has to complete the same number of credits and meet the same basic standards to graduate at Yaaḵoosgé. When they arrive, they’re assigned a staff adviser who works with them every step of the way. Many of them teared up during the ceremony as they praised each graduate individually before handing them their diploma.

Like Christopherson, Garot also described the school as a big family — dysfunctional at times, but always supportive.

“You might do something that doesn’t make us happy all the time, but we care about you and that doesn’t mean we forget about you,” Garot said. “So we start fresh tomorrow and work toward that final goal.”

Also on Sunday, 135 seniors graduated at Juneau-Douglas High School. At Thunder Mountain, 160 students received their diplomas.