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The tugboat Powhatan remains underwater, surrounded by booms to contain the oil spill in April 2017. (Photo courtesy of SEAPRO)
A Sitka tugboat that sank at the Samson Tug & Barge dock four weeks ago remains underwater at Starrigavan Bay.
According to a situation report, issued by the state Thursday, initial estimates that the vessel contained 340 gallons of oil on board were incorrect.
Divers have found multiple spots where oil could have been released and have since sealed off those locations. The total amount of oil released from the Powhatan is unknown.
The Powhatan is currently surrounded by 1500 feet of containment boom, with sorbent materials inside, and the shore is lined with 1300 feet of deflection boom to protect Starrigavan Bay. Aerial images show decreased sheen within the containment boom and no additional oiling of the shoreline.
State and federal agencies are upholding their recommendation that harvesters do not gather shellfish from Starrigavan Beach at this time. The situation report also states that “there is the potential for [oil] exposure to marine wildlife; however no sea mammals have been observed by response teams or reported.”
Samson has developed a plan for wreck removal and pollution mitigation, which includes recovering fuel from the tug’s tank. So far, 4,335 gallons have been collected. The company also intends to bring a large crane from Seattle to lift the tugboat onto a barge. SEAPRO plans to have the Neka Bay – an Oil Spill Response Vessel (OSRV) with skimming capabilities – on scene during the wreck.
Samson’s plan is being reviewed by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, and the U.S. Coast Guard for final approval. The date for salvaging the Powhatan has not yet been set.
Defendant Reuben Yerkes sits by public defender Jude Pate in Sitka Superior Court on Monday. Judge David George advised Yerkes he had the right to trial within 120 days, Yerkes waived that right to examine the state’s evidence against him. (Photo by Robert Woolsey/KCAW)
A Sitka defendant formerly of Juneau pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder. His trial has been scheduled for January of next year.
The Sitka Superior Courtroom was standing room only, packed with friends of 28-year old Ali Clayton, who was killed early in the morning of May 6 in her apartment.
Her city hall co-worker and boyfriend of just two months, Reuben Yerkes, turned himself into the Sitka Police Department later the same morning, admitting to the crime.
Nevertheless, Yerkes wants to proceed to trial.
“We enter not guilty pleas to all three counts, and ask you to set dates for a jury trial,” said Sitka public defender Jude Pate, who is representing Yerkes.
Last week, a Juneau grand jury indicted Yerkes on one count of first degree murder, and two counts of second degree murder.
By default, the state has 120 days to try a defendant; Pate, however, asked for more time. The state is testing DNA and ballistics evidence collected at the crime scene, and the defense wants to obtain its own analysis after the state is finished. Juneau assistant district attorney Angie Kemp believed it would be a while.
“I would say realistically, including DNA testing in the time frame that we’re on, those items (would be available to the defense) in the early fall, late August,” Kemp said.
Judge David George set a trial date for Jan. 3.
Pate advised the court to set aside at least two full weeks to try the case.
Every couple hundred hours a team of Air Station technicians conduct a complete maintenance check on the Jayhawk helicopters. (Photo by Emily Russell/KCAW)
It’s been 40 years since the hangar doors opened at Air Station Sitka. Since 1977 Coast Guard helicopters have been flying all over Southeast Alaska for rescue missions and medevacs.
Lt. Ray Jamros is a helicopter pilot, who pulls double-duty as the Air Station’s communications and external affairs officer.
Up some stairs, the walls are lined with 8-by-11-inch frames.
“The whole hallway out here has plaques from different cases and awards the Air Station has received,” Jamros said.
The original Air Station in Southeast was on Annette Island, 25 miles south of Ketchikan. But Sitka was more centrally located, so the Coast Guard decided to relocate the the base in 1977.
Walking up to the operations center, Jamros points out the gift shop.
“We sell sweatshirts, T-shirts, patches, hats – just some Air Station memorabilia,” Jamros said.
The Coast Guard crew at Air Station — they’re seen as heroes in Sitka. But the operations center — it’s not what you’d expect. It looks like the inside of your average office building, but with a few more maps.
One of those maps shows just how much area Air Station Sitka covers.
“We cover all of Southeast Alaska,” Jamros said. “That includes everything from the Canadian border down south of Ketchikan by Prince Rupert all the way up to Yakutat in the north.”
That’s 12,000 miles of coastline
“So it’s a huge area,” Jamros said.
But many of the rescues happen pretty close to base.
A video from a rescue back in April shows one of the most recent rescues.
A 70-year-old man slipped and fell while out walking around the old WWII base. It’s less than a mile from the Air Station. The man was huddled on large, wet rocks. It was pouring rain.
An Air Station crew member in a bright orange dry suit helped the man into a wire basket and is then hoisted up safely into the helicopter.
That same day another Jayhawk was deployed on a rescue mission. This time it flew about 10 miles north of town, where a boat was taking on water.
Multiple missions are not unheard of here, which is why Air Station Sitka houses three Jayhawk helicopters.
Two of them are usually on standby, ready to fly at any moment, and one is here, in the hangar. Like your car, Jamros said, the helicopters need regular tune ups.
“You can see right now that the tail is totally off the helicopter,” Jamros explained. “Sometimes all the blades are off– it’ll look like there’s nothing on it. They tear everything apart, inspect all the parts and pieces and then put it back together.”
Michael Van Berkom is an avionics electrician. Every couple hundred hours he and a team of Air Station technicians strip the Jayhawks to the bone. (Photo by Emily Russell/KCAW)
And doing some of that meticulous work is avionics electrician Michael Van Berkom.
Every couple hundred hours Van Berkom and a team of Air Station technicians strip the Jayhawks to the bone.
“Everything from the most advanced automatic flight control system … to simple things like light bulbs and switches– we test it all to make sure it’s good to go,” Van Berkom said.
The helicopters average 100 missions a year, and the pilots here are always prepared to go out.
“(The) Air Station’s basic mission is readiness for search and rescue,” said Chip Lewin, Air Station Sitka’s commanding officer.
“We will always be saving lives,” Lewin said. “We will always be defending our homeland. We will always be protecting the environment and protecting our maritime trade regardless of what’s going on in the rest of the world.”
Like a lot of the other officers here, Lewin joined the Coast Guard to save lives. And he’s come to the right place. In its 40 years of operating, Air Station Sitka has saved over 2,000 of them.
Reuben Yerkes will be arraigned in Sitka Superior Court to answer the felony charges and enter a plea at 11 a.m. Friday.
The Juneau grand jury charged Yerkes, 39, with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder for allegedly killing Ali Clayton, 28, in her Sitka apartment early in the morning of Saturday, May 6.
The three different charges stem from causing the death of Clayton, and from Yerkes’ intent in the view of the grand jury.
In the two second-degree counts, the jury alleged that Yerkes intended to cause serious physical injury to another person “knowing that the conduct was substantially certain to cause death,” and that he engaged in conduct “under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to the value of human life.”
Yerkes could be sentenced to serve up to 99 years in prison if convicted.
Yerkes last appeared in court in Sitka on Wednesday afternoon, while attorneys for his defense and for the state outlined a proposed agreement over how evidence collected at the crime scene would be handled.
Public defender Jude Pate argued that Clayton’s body was released from the State Medical Examiner’s office before the defense had the opportunity to arrange an independent examination.
Prosecutor Angie Kemp, with the Juneau District Attorney’s office, agreed to hold off on any testing of blood or other evidence — which might be destroyed in the testing process — for 30 days, to give the defense adequate time to arrange its own testing.
Reuben Yerkes turned himself into the Sitka Police Department in the early morning of Saturday, May 6. He remains in custody in the Sitka Jail pending his arraignment.
Reuben Yerkes, age 39, is being held in custody at the Sitka Jail on $500,000 bail. He was arraigned on the murder charge during a teleconference at noon Friday. On-call weekend magistrate Elaine Jack of Angoon presided over the phone.
Sitka police found Yerkes in the lobby at 3:02 a.m., stating he had just killed his girlfriend and wanted to turn himself in.
Officers went to their shared residence on Davidoff Street. They found the victim deceased on the bed, with what appeared to be two gunshot wounds on the right side of her head. Detective Ryan Silva also observed two 9 mm shell casings and a plastic holster on the floor, as well as a 9 mm semi-automatic Glock pistol on the table next to the entry door.
The State Medical Examiner identified the victim as 28-year-old Ali Nicole Clayton of Sitka.
Yerkes is a municipal legal assistant with the City and Borough of Sitka.
Yerkes told police he had consumed a lot of alcohol that evening at friend’s residence, while at a party with Clayton. He said they argued as they were leaving and took a cab home, where the argument continued.
Yerkes reported that Clayton started hitting him on his face and neck. He admitted to knowing there was a handgun in the nightstand next to the bed and told police, “I shot her, man.” He reportedly grabbed the gun from the nightstand, pushed Clayton down, and shot her. Yerkes said they had been in a dating relationship for two months.
Sitka police are still investigating, receiving assistance from the Alaska State Troopers Bureau of Investigation Crime Scene Unit.
Yerkes’ case will be prosecuted further at a hearing on Tuesday. Superior Court Judge David George will preside.
In a comment on the Sitka Police Department’s Facebook page, Sitkans Against Family Violence wrote, “Our sincerest condolences go out to the family of the victim and to all who have been impacted by this tragedy.”
SAFV has additional advocates staffing the phone lines and invite anyone affected to reach out. They can be reached at 907-747-3370 or through their 24-hour crisis line at 1-800-478-6511. Additional resources can be found at their website: http://www.safv.org/.
Miss Alaska USA Alyssa London with Tlingit artist Preston Singletary, who designed killer whale formline art for her pageant evening gown. (Photo courtesy Alyssa London)
On May 14, Miss USA will be crowned and one of the hopeful contestants is 27-year-old Alyssa London from Southeast Alaska. She’s the first Tlingit woman to be crowned Miss Alaska USA.
The Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska is hosting a watch party for the Miss USA pageant.
She touched down in Las Vegas earlier this week to prepare for the beauty pageant. She’s become somewhat of a spokesperson for her culture and will showcase those roots in front of a television audience of millions.
Her evening gown for the Miss USA pageant is adorned with Tlingit designs.
“So when I walk on stage it will be a Tlingit robe with a killer whale, so Dakl’aweidí formline on the parts that tent out, as the Tlingit robe does,” London explained. “So I’m really excited for that moment and there’s been a lot of work that’s gone into that.”
The gown’s designer is Joey Galon and the Tlingit artist Preston Singletary is responsible for the killer whale art that adorns it.
London hand selected those two and said she’s been working for months for that moment. That work — it’s not over quite yet.
“So over the next couple of days I’ll go through rehearsals and training practices in order to make sure that I can effectively perform the gown in 20 seconds,” London said.
Showing off months of work in just a few short seconds is stressful. London said time management has been the most difficult part of her preparations.
“I’ve been on a time crunch this whole time and it’s been hard to rush everything,” said London.
London was crowned Miss Alaska USA in February, and she’s been working and traveling ever since.
“The last few months have been a journey hosting the Reservation Economic Summit for the National Congress of American Indians Economic Development Council,” London said. “I’ve gotten to go and meet with kids at the Alaska Native Medical Center. I’ve gotten to meet with our state senators in D.C.”
She’s been on the road a lot, but London has found a way to stay healthy. She’s proud of her body, posting photos and videos of herself on social media running on the treadmill or doing squats at the gym.
“I’m just trying to debunk the belief that beauty has to be this extreme fake quest,” London said. “I’m not even going to have fake nails. It’s just going to be me up there. I hope that (the judges) like that.”
If she wins, London would make history. She’d be the first winner from Alaska and the first with Native American or Alaska Native heritage. At stake is more than a crown, though. She’s got a message, too.
“I’m focusing on empowering women to design the life of their dreams through entrepreneurship, through getting their education because when you pursue your education it opens doors for all of the goals you have for yourself,” London said.
Alyssa London will take that message to the national stage at the Miss USA pageant Sunday, May 14.
