Clarise Larson

Students were evacuated from Harborview Elementary School Friday after the school received a bomb threat via phone call. 

The threat came in at just before noon, according to an update sent on the Juneau School District app. Juneau Police Department spokesperson Lt. Krag Campbell said Friday afternoon that the FBI assisted in the investigation and confirmed that the phone call was sent from a number connected to threats made to different schools across the state in recent months.

The update said students were briefly evacuated to the playground while police cleared the school. Classes were back to normal as of 1 p.m. A brief stay-put order was also put in place at the Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kalé High School, but has since ended.

District Superintendent Frank Hauser said in an interview Friday that the safety of students is the district’s top priority. 

“I just want to really appreciate the principal and the staff for acting so quickly and the Juneau Police Department for responding so quickly,” he said. “I’m saddened to think that there are individuals on the internet and out there that are propagating these messages and causing such disruptions in our schools.”

Campbell said the investigation is ongoing. 

“We take all these threats seriously and try to respond as soon as possible to determine if there is anything unsafe, or there’s any credibility to the threats,” he said. “The ultimate goal is to keep our residents and community members and our children safe.”

Mass threats to schools have been on the rise across the country. In September, several schools across the state received threats via email. A Peruvian man was later arrested for sending more than 150 bomb threats to U.S. schools, including in Alaska.

This story has been updated with additional information from the Juneau Police Department. 

An adult woman and two young children are in stable condition after they were hit by a truck while crossing the street on their way to Mendenhall River Community School.

It happened Thursday morning before sunrise. According to Juneau Police Department spokesperson Lt. Krag Campbell, the incident was an unfortunate accident. 

“It looks like the preliminary investigation doesn’t show that there was any violation on behalf of the driver,” he said in an interview Friday morning. 

The woman is 19, the children are 3 and 7. Campbell said their injuries were not life-threatening, but the 7-year-old was medevaced out of Juneau to receive further medical treatment in Seattle on Thursday. 

According to a GoFundMe created by the children’s aunt, the 7-year-old suffered a fracture in his right hip.  The post also identifies the 19-year-old as the children’s older cousin.

Campbell said the three were not crossing the street at a marked crosswalk. The male driver, who had two children in the truck with him, told police that he attempted to slam on his brakes to avoid hitting them as they crossed the street on Back Loop Road, but was unable to do so in time. 

Campbell said the driver has not been charged and it appears the person is not at fault. He urged residents who travel outside near roadways during dark hours to wear clothing or gear that is highly visible to drivers. 

“Whether it’s clothing or equipment you can wear, just so other people like drivers and vehicles can see you better,” he said. “It’s really important to pay attention to what’s going on outside of you and to be looking both ways before crossing the street. Do that in a well-lit area, ideally, in a marked crosswalk, and stop and make sure that drivers see you.”

The nearly 3,000 Juneau skiers who have already bought passes at Eaglecrest Ski Area will have to bear yet another delay to the mountain’s opening date.

Eaglecrest planned to open last Saturday. That was pushed back a week due to a lack of snow. Manager Dave Scanlan said on Thursday it’s still unclear when there will be enough snow to kick off the season.

“We’re still waiting on Mother Nature to give us temperatures for natural snow and also temperatures so we can get our snowmaking system going and get enough snow up and down to get the mountain open for the season,” he said. 

Scanlan said it’s not uncommon for November and December weather to be tricky to predict. He said this year’s warmer and wetter temperatures mean Eaglecrest hasn’t been able to supplement the lack of real snow with its 22 snowmaking machines. He said he’s still optimistic the weather will turn in the mountain’s favor soon enough. 

Last year the ski area partially opened on Dec. 3.

“It’s actually currently snowing at the mountain and the forecast is looking really good over the next couple of days,” he said. “We’re chomping at the bit as much as everyone else is and I definitely have a smile on my face as I look out my office window and see the snowflakes falling.”

Meteorologist Pete Boyd with the National Weather Service office in Juneau said people can expect a weekend snowfall heading to Juneau. But, after that, the weather appears to turn on the warm and wet side going into at least next week.

“Not really looking great for an immediate open at Eaglecrest,” he said.

Boyd said uncertain winter conditions are not atypical for Southeast Alaska, but it appears Juneau could have a lower amount of snow this year. He noted it’s an El Niño year, a natural climate pattern which at times can mean warmer than normal temperatures. 

“We’ve started seeing a lot warmer temperatures through the past few years. So is this normal for December? Not really. But it’s still within climatology,” he said. “And we’re not really seeing anything exceptional with the weather we’re seeing right now. It’s just on the warmer side.”

Juneau residents have until Christmas to send in comments about the potential environmental impacts of a proposed municipal compost facility. They’re outlined in an environmental assessment released in late November. 

The 30-day public comment period is open through Dec. 25 and is one of the first steps needed for the city to move the project forward. The facility is initially being funded by federal dollars. Last December, $2.5 million for its design and construction was earmarked in the $1.7 trillion spending bill passed by Congress. 

The facility has a long way to go before construction begins. It’s estimated it won’t open to the public until 2027 at the earliest and could cost upwards of $7 million, according to Dianna Robinson, an environmental project specialist for the city’s Engineering and Public Works Department. 

Robinson said once up and running though, it could divert 22% of the annual waste stream from Juneau’s only landfill. That’s needed – the privately owned Capitol Disposal Landfill in the Lemon Creek area is only expected to last around 20 more years.

“The Assembly’s goal is to divert as much from the landfill, both for the environmental impacts but also to extend the life of our landfill,” she said. 

The two to five-acre facility is proposed at the former Lemon Creek gravel pit. According to the environmental assessment released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, no significant environmental impacts are anticipated.

Juneau resident Lisa Daugherty is the owner of Juneau Composts. It’s a privately owned compost facility she’s run for the past seven years. The business has been leasing CBJ land in Lemon Creek for its efforts since 2019. It’s a short walk away from the proposed site.

Daugherty has expressed concerns about what the new facility will mean for her business and fears it could put her out of work. Recently, she created a petition asking the city to put out a request for proposals and ideally chose her to collaborate with on the design and construction process. So far it has gained 670 signatures. 

However, the city plans to wait until the project is complete before finding a partner. Daugherty said that’s far too late. 

“I can’t continue to operate my business in this unknown if someone else is gonna get that contract in a few years,” she said. “It puts me in this space where I can’t continue to invest in my business unless I know if I’m that partner or not.”

Robinson said the city is aware of Daugherty’s concerns, however, she said it is too early in the process to begin seeking out a private business to contract with. 

“We’re very confident that we’re going to be contracting it out to a private entity to run, just like we do with our recycling and our household hazardous waste,” she said. “But really, right now, what it boils down to is that we’re just nowhere near ready for something like that.”

Phoebe Vanselow and Van Swanson sat in the waiting area at Ron’s Apothecary Shoppe Tuesday morning, waiting to get their flu vaccines.

The day before, they learned that the shop — which has been their primary pharmacy for decades — was closing its doors on Wednesday after nearly 50 years of service.

“We’re really sad it’s closing,” Swanson said. “We came here all the time.”

The pair are from Gustavus. They moved to Juneau two years ago. They said even in Gustavus, their family was ordering their prescriptions from Ron’s because of its quick service. They said its closure will be “a big loss” for rural communities in Southeast Alaska.

“The service that Ron’s has provided for smaller communities that are relying on things coming in the mail and air taxis is huge, and I don’t know how other pharmacies are going to pick that up,” Vanselow said.

Scott Watts co-owns the shop with his wife. They’ve run it since 2001, taking it over from Ron Sedgwick, the shop’s namesake and original owner. He opened the pharmacy in the late 1970s, near the airport, though it later moved to the Mendenhall Mall.

The Watts decided to shut down so they could retire. They started looking for a potential buyer before the pandemic but never found one.

Watts said he enjoyed running Ron’s because it gave him the freedom to provide more personalized care. But he said the biggest issue the industry faces today is dwindling insurance reimbursements for prescription drugs. As prescription prices continue to rise across the country, pharmacies – especially independent ones – are making less profit.

“The majority of our prescriptions are covered by insurance payments, and those are take-it-or-leave-it contracts,” he said. “And it’s getting very, very tight. It’s hard to pay the salaries, keep the lights on and do everything that we want to do.”

Tuesday morning saw a steady flow of customers to the pharmacy’s counter. Watts said the days leading up to the closure have been busy and bittersweet.

“The end result of retiring sounds great, but closing the store is very, very difficult,” he said.

Watts said the shop’s 10 employees are headed to the pharmacy at Safeway, along with many of the store’s customers. Vanselow and Swanson said Tuesday they aren’t sure what pharmacy they will use after Ron’s closes.

“I heard a bunch of these people are going to Safeway, so probably Safeway,” Swanson said.

Watts said he’s grateful for the support the store has received throughout the years. He said he and his wife plan to stay in Juneau and enjoy their retirement.

“It is truly wonderful and it has been great for us – I just can’t say enough about this community and people,” he said.