Casey Kelly

Today was the first annual Dr. Walter Soboleff Day in Alaska, and dozens of the late Tlingit elder’s friends and relatives marked the occasion with a parade through downtown Juneau.

Soboleff’s oldest son, Sasha, says humility and inclusiveness are his dad’s lasting legacy. The Presbyterian minister opened his church to people of all races at a time when Juneau was segregated.

“This man worked well over a hundred years to do things for not only the people of Alaska, but for those who strove to better themselves to do what they need to do,” Sasha Soboleff says. “And what was key to his heart and key to his spirit was the service to his God and Jesus Christ.”

Former state Rep. Bill Thomas remembers hearing Soboleff’s sermons on the radio as a kid growing up in Haines.

“If we didn’t go to Sunday school and we missed church, we had to sit in front of the radio and listen to Rev. Soboleff on the radio,” he says.

Soboleff would’ve been 106 years old today. He died in 2011 at the age of 102.

He was involved with the Alaska Native Brotherhood throughout his life, including during the Native civil rights movement of the 1940s. Later in life he helped launch efforts to revitalize Native languages, as well as traditional art and spiritual practices.

Earlier this year, the Alaska Legislature made 20 indigenous languages official state languages. Soboleff’s daughter, Janet Burke, says that would have made her father proud.

“When we were children we never got to do things like this,” Burke says. “It wasn’t that we weren’t taught how to do this. But we didn’t do things publicly like we’re able to do now.”

Today’s informal parade included about 70 people making their way from Marine Park, through Juneau’s Willoughby District, and to the Salvation Army church.

Ed Thomas is the former president of the Tlingit & Haida Central Council. He says he got to know Soboleff through the Alaska Native Brotherhood.

“He is one of those that started off by writing down Tlingit values,” Thomas says. “So that people can have a starting point on what it meant, what our values meant.”

Thomas says those values include honoring your elders and having a sense of humor.

State lawmakers unanimously approved the bill making Nov. 14 Dr. Walter Soboleff Day. He joins other notable Alaskans like Elizabeth Peratrovich, Jay Hammond and Ted Stevens in having a day named for him.

The company that’s trying to reopen the Tulsequah Chief Mine at the Canadian headwaters of Taku River has apparently abandoned plans to build a road to the mine site.

Chieftain Metals announced last month that a forthcoming update to a 2012 feasibility study no longer includes the proposed 128 kilometer road from Atlin, British Columbia. Instead, the company is going back to a plan to barge supplies and concentrated minerals to and from the mine via the salmon-rich Taku, which flows out south of Juneau.

That has environmentalists and state lawmakers concerned. Chris Zimmer of Rivers Without Borders says both Chieftain and Tulsequah’s previous owner, Redfern Resources, have tried barging on the Taku, and it hasn’t worked.

“The Taku River is just not, it’s not the Mississippi, it’s not the Yukon,” Zimmer says. “It’s not a big, deep, easily navigated river. It’s shallow, it’s fast; it has ever-changing gravel bars and lots of log jams.”

The new plan is to use conventional barges, not the hover barge idea once floated by Redfern.

In its Oct. 20 press release, Chieftain notes that Cominco used barges during its operations at the Tulsequah before the mine closed in 1957. The company says barging would only occur five months of the year, and improvements are planned to protect the shore at the barge landing area.

But Zimmer says the risks of conventional barging are well documented.

“The potential for spills, you know, all the diesel fuel, all the cyanide and other mining chemicals are going to be going up river on these barges,” he says. “And also between May and September, that’s when the river is heavily used. You have an entire gillnet fleet out there.”

Zimmer says he’s surprised Chieftain is no longer pursuing a road to the Tulsequah, especially given past statements by company officials that ground access is critical to reopening the mine. Juneau state Sen. Dennis Egan feels the same way.

“I’m really concerned about Chieftain itself,” Egan says. “I just am concerned about assurances that were given to us earlier that never materialized.”

Egan says one of those assurances was that the company would restart a water treatment plant to mitigate small amounts of acid rock drainage that had been leeching into the Tulsequah River for decades.

“We had the head of Chieftain talking to us, and everything was rosy, and they were going to do this and going to do that for environmental controls – they didn’t do any of it,” Egan says.

In 2011, Juneau’s legislative delegation formed the Taku River Task Force in part to address concerns over the Tulsequah Mine. Egan hopes to convene the group to discuss this latest development.

The press release from Chieftain says the full mine feasibility study will be released in early December. Juneau state Rep. Cathy Muñoz shares the same reservations as Egan and Zimmer, but says it’s important to wait for the full report to be released.

“We have a vital commercial fishery that benefits from the five species of salmon that originate in the Taku watershed, and so, yes, it’s a great concern,” Muñoz says. “I do believe that we have a key role in this project, even though we’re a separate jurisdiction, a separate country.”

Chieftain Metals President and CEO Victor Wyprysky did not return messages left at his Toronto office. The company estimates the mine would have an 11 year lifespan, and produce about 47 million pounds of zinc annually. The Tulsequah also has copper and gold reserves.

Earlier this year the Taku River Tlingit First Nation sued to stop the project, arguing British Columbia officials failed to consult them before issuing an environmental permit.

More than 100 people attended a Southeast Alaska Native Veterans ceremony Tuesday, honoring Tlingit code talkers who served during World War II.

The families of five men received medals and Congressional certificates recognizing their service at a packed Veterans Day event at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall.

Tony Jacobs’ dad and uncle were among the soldiers who used the Tlingit language to relay important information during the war.

“The Tlingit Indians had their own Tlingit names for various places around Southeast,” Jacobs said. “And that’s what they were used for is to let the ship’s captain or quartermasters know where they were located secretly actually, where enemy forces would not be able to ID their location.”

Jacobs said he was overcome with emotion at the recognition for his father and uncle. He said he served in the Navy himself during 1970s, and would recommend military service to anyone.

“You get benefits – health benefits, education benefits – and you get to see the country and/or the world,” Jacobs said.

Tlingit code talkers Mark Jacobs Sr., Harvey Jacobs, Jeff David, Richard Bean Sr. and George Lewis were all posthumously honored by Congress last year.

Gov. Sean Parnell and first lady Sandy Parnell were among those attending a separate Veterans Day ceremony.

The governor sat in the audience, but did not speak during the event, organized by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Taku Post 5559.

Coast Guard Commander Matt Fay was the featured speaker. He acknowledged the many sacrifices veterans have already made for their country, while urging them to give a little more by inspiring others to serve.

“As you spend time with your families today, over the holidays, I ask that you share some things about your service,” Fay said. “I also ask that you consider other means of preserving your story.”

Fay is staff judge advocate with the Coast Guard’s District 17 headquarters in Juneau. He encouraged veterans to participate in the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project.

The VFW event was held at Centennial Hall at the traditional time when Veterans Day ceremonies take place – the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. That’s the date and time an armistice went into effect between the Allies and Germany in 1918, ending World War I.

Juneau police are investigating the death of a 63-year-old man, whose body was found near Twin Lakes Park.

Just after 11 a.m. Sunday, someone called police to say a man was lying down in a ditch across the street from the park. Emergency medical personnel and Rainforest Recovery responded and found Gregory Dockery in a pool of water.

Police say Dockery did not suffer any apparent injuries. An autopsy has been requested.

According to police, Dockery apparently moved between a number of communities, including Juneau and St. Petersburg, Fl.

Juneau Republican Cathy Muñoz opted not to seek a leadership position in the Alaska House Majority last week. Instead, she’ll keep her seat on the House Finance Committee when the Alaska Legislature convenes in January.

Meanwhile, Juneau Sen. Dennis Egan will go from the Republican-led Senate Majority caucus to the small Democratic minority.

On election night, Muñoz said some people were asking her to run for Speaker of the House or co-chair of the Finance Committee.

After giving it some thought, she decided not to seek either seat. Muñoz supported Nikiski Rep. Mike Chenault’s return to the Speaker’s chair, saying he’s done a good job leading the Republican majority and working across the aisle with House Democrats. She also decided now would not be a good time to help lead the Finance Committee.

“I thought about running for the co-chair,” Muñoz says. “But, you know, I decided that given the difficulties of this budget that it wasn’t the right time. I think it’s better for me to be focused on a couple of the large budgets that affect our region.”

For the past two years, Muñoz has been the only representative from Southeast Alaska on the Finance Committee. She oversaw the University of Alaska and Department of Environmental Conservation budgets as chair of two subcommittees. In the next legislature, Muñoz is aiming to oversee either the Administration, Transportation, Commerce or University budgets.

“Transportation is important of course with the (Alaska) Marine Highway System, and you know, a lot of transportation projects in Southeast,” she says. “And the Administration Department, there are many state positions in Juneau of course in that department, and it’s a very large budget. So I think, you know, that would also have real benefit if I were in a position to manage that budget.”

Muñoz won re-election last week, defeating Democrat George McGuan in House District 34.

Her counterpart in the House Democratic caucus, Juneau Rep. Sam Kito III, is waiting to find out the results of two close races before he gets his committee assignments. Democrat Matt Claman of Anchorage and Independent Dan Ortiz of Ketchikan could join the House Minority, if they maintain leads over Republicans Anand Dubey and Chere Klein.

“At this point with the Democratic organization, we have 11 solid Democrats, and that gives us a certain number of committee assignments,” Kito says. “If we get to 12 members in our caucus, we get to the point where we get more seats on seven-member committees, and at this point it’s premature to speculate on who might be on what committees.”

Kito was appointed to his seat last session, after then-Minority Leader Beth Kerttula resigned to accept a job out of state. He says he opted not to seek a leadership position in the minority, deferring to more senior members.

Kito easily beat Republican Peter Dukowitz in House District 33.

Juneau Sen. Dennis Egan will caucus with fellow Democrats during the next legislature, after spending the last two sessions with the Republican-led Senate Majority.

Egan was not invited to the new majority’s organization meeting last week.

The move means he won’t chair any committees in the upcoming legislature. Egan had chaired the Senate Transportation Committee and was a member of the Legislative Council. He’ll now be just a member of the Transportation Committee. He also stays on the Legislative Council, a joint House and Senate panel that conducts the legislature’s administrative business.

Egan could not be reached for comment. He defeated Republican Tom Williams in Senate District Q.

The stolen firearms include a pink .22 caliber “My First Rifle,” a .22 caliber Ruger rifle with a camouflage stock and a Mossberg .22 rifle, as well as two handguns – a semi-automatic .22 caliber Taurus and a semi-automatic Ruger .45.

The case is the Juneau Crime Line “Crime of the Week.” In a news release, Lt. Kris Sell says the storage unit on Jordan Avenue appears to have been burglarized around 6 p.m. on Halloween. The thief or thieves caused at least $1,100 damage to the storage facility.

Anyone with information is encouraged to report it using juneaucrimeline.com, or call 586-0600.