David Purdy

The five candidates for Juneau School Board fielded questions Thursday about their priorities, testing, teacher pay and the budget situation at a forum held by the Juneau Chamber of Commerce.

Most of the candidates expressed concern about college and career readiness, and all of them acknowledged the challenge of attracting teachers and compensating them enough given the high cost of living. Responsiveness to the community and transparency also seemed to be a priority for several candidates.

Jeff Redmond

Jeff Redmond is a long-time Alaska resident who moved to Juneau two years ago. He studies education and English at the University of Alaska Southeast and has a 3-year-old daughter.

He spoke about the importance of connecting the education system to the community and the need for transparency. For student assessments and evaluating teacher performance, he emphasized a balance between quantitative metrics and flexibility.

“I think teachers need enough space to be creative, and that constant analysis and assessment may detract from the magic of teaching,” he said.

He suggested curtailing charter school expansion as a possible cost-saving measure, but said he would consult with experts on further budget issues.

Andi Story

Andi Story has lived in Juneau for 28 years and is in her 12^th year on the Juneau School Board. She has three children who went through the school system.

She emphasized increasing the quality of instruction through continuing support of teachers with professional development.

“The number one in-school factor that increases student learning is the teachers’ skill set and their relationships with their students,” she said.

When asked about the fiscal situation, she emphasized ensuring adequate funding for the district, adding that administration costs had already been cut “down to bare bones.” She also suggested smaller class sizes for younger students and working with the community partnerships like reading tutors.

Josh Keaton

Josh Keaton has lived in Juneau for 15 years, where his two children attend Mendenhall River Community School.

He spoke about the importance of community responsiveness and transparency for the school board. He also favors qualitative over quantitative analysis of teacher performance.

Rather than just looking at a number, he suggested asking questions like, are “the students leaving the class excited about learning?”

He also suggested smaller kindergarten through second grade class sizes, programs for gifted students, college and career readiness as a priority, and encouraging learning at home. While he said he does not currently have a deep enough understanding of the budget to suggest specific cuts, he does advocate increasing funding for schools.

Jason Hart

Jason Hart has lived in Juneau for 17 years and has one child in fourth grade at Mendenhall River Community School.

One of his priorities is making the school board more available and responsive to the community.

“I’d like to bridge the gap between the community and the board,” he said.

He also mentioned the importance of pre-K and wants to restore funding for sports programs. He expressed skepticism about the reliance on test scores as the sole measure of student learning and feels they do not adequately account for individual learning styles.  While he did not offer any specific suggestions for the budget, he mentioned the importance of carefully allocating the money available.

Emil Mackey

Emil Mackey has a masters in education from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and a  doctorate in public policy. He has worked as a student affairs professional for the University of Alaska and the University of Arkansas. While he does not have children, he says if he does, he would enroll them in Juneau public schools.

When it comes to the budget, Mackey advocated increasing efficiency.

“We do not control our revenue sources, but we do control our expenditures,” he said.

His suggestions included possibly combining junior and senior high schools. He said that high school facilities are underutilized compared to overcrowded lower grades.

He favors exploring voluntary specific college and career tracks for students, community partnerships with the University of Alaska and local unions, and incentivizing retirement for more senior teachers, who earn more than newer teachers.

Election day is Oct. 6.

Almost 20 years ago, Alaska Glacier Seafoods opened up for business in Lemon Creek.

Co-owner Jim Erickson says they started small.

“We were sport fishing, and we started catching more fish than we could eat,” he says, recalling the loads of fish he hauled up the ramp from the docks in Auke Bay. “So, what’s the next logical step? Well, we should figure out how to sell this.”

The company has grown a lot since then. Ten years ago they moved into their current facility in Auke Bay. Erickson estimates they processed about 13 million pounds of seafood last year.

Transporting fresh seafood out of Juneau can be a logistical challenge. Live crab is especially difficult.

“We’re probably the largest shipper of live king crab in the state of Alaska”, he says. “We actually charter Alaska Airlines 737s from Kodiak straight to Seattle. All the crab rides first class.”

He says Alaska’s reputation for sustainable seafood has helped them grow.

“Alaska is really a showcase for the rest of the world in sustainability,” he says. “That’s important to people around the world.”

The company has taken their own steps towards sustainability, aiming for full utilization of their product. Meat left along the backbone after filleting a salmon is now scraped off for use in products like salmon burgers. Other fish parts that were once discarded are now ground up for pet food.

Erickson takes pride in the business he helped build. “At the end of the day, you’re producing somebody’s dinner, somewhere in the world, and that means a lot to us and we take that seriously.”

Dozens of firefighters stood by their trucks watching flames engulf a UAS building just off Mendenhall Loop Road. Bystanders gathered and firefighters took selfies in front of the fire.

The fire was part of a Capital City Fire/Rescue training exercise on July 25. Although they practice regularly at a training facility, firefighters were glad to hone their skills in more realistic scenarios.

“A lot of it is trying to put all the pieces together,” said Fire Chief Richard Etheridge. “They’re taking all the small skills, the one-person things, trying to put it together and orchestrate it so everything happens in time and in the right sequence.”

With limited experience in real-world emergencies, combining these skills can be critical.

“There’s never enough training,” said Assistant Chief Ed Quinto. “Especially when your life and other people’s lives depend on it.”

After running a series of drills like fire suppression, ventilation, and victim rescue, firefighters withdrew and let the flames take over the building.

And as for the property owners, “It saves them some disposal costs,” said Etheridge. “Because it is quite expensive to put a building in a landfill. … It’s kind of good for everybody.”

Watch it on Vimeo

Every year, the senior citizens living at the Juneau Pioneer Home throw a “senior prom.”

Cindy Athearn has worked and volunteered at the Juneau Pioneer Home for over 20 years. She enjoys seeing the whole community come together for the event. “Everybody gets involved — families, staff. It’s a wonderful, magical time,” she says.

Resident Ruth Dawson also enjoys the opportunity to connect with others. “It’s a way to get to know each other and just to get to get closer to each other.”

The event is a lot of fun, but there’s also a deeper purpose according to Juneau Pioneer Home Administrator Gina Del Rosario. “Each day, we strive to celebrate life, and this is one way of celebrating life within this community is to enliven it with special events like this one,” she said. “It fits very well with the mission of the Alaska Pioneer Home: ‘providing a home and a community celebrating life through its final breath’.”

Girls on the Run of Greater Alaska held their spring 5K run on May 16 at Sandy Beach in Juneau, marking the end of the 12-week program.

Corey Murphy is a coach for Girls on the Run, and says it’s about a lot more than running. “Every lesson we have, we run – but we also do a different activity. We talk about self image, and we talk about bullying, and we talk about positive talk, and making friends,” she says.

“The running part doesn’t focus on being athletic or competitive, it focuses on accomplishment,” said program coordinator Julie Walker. “I think that that’s one thing that really makes this program stand out.”

Rachel Wintz is also a program coordinator. She sees a lot of progress in the girls who participate.

“It’s just great to see the girls grow and change throughout the program,” she says. “It’s amazing to see the transformations throughout the season.”

The first Girls on the Run council in the state began in Juneau, and is in the process of expanding across Alaska.

“We’re really excited to move forward and inspire girls across the state,” says Walker.

Girls on the Run of Greater Alaska held their spring 5K run Saturday at Sandy Beach in Juneau. The 12-week program combines running with important life lessons for the girls.

“It’s not just a running program and it’s not just a socially emotional curriculum, either. It combines the two,” says program coordinator Julie Walker. “The running part doesn’t focus on being athletic or competitive — it focuses on accomplishment.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the name and web site of the Girls on the Run council serving Juneau.