DIVE PRACTICUM – Dive student Karson Winslow hands a discarded garden hose to SCUBA instructor Haleigh Damron, standing on the dock, at Crescent Harbor this afternoon. The University of Alaska Southeast Sitka Campus Dive Team is clearing trash from the harbor floor under floats 5, 6 and 7 as part of their instruction. Fourteen student divers are taking part this year. This is the fifth year the dive team has volunteered to clean up Sitka harbors. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
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Sentinel Staff Writer
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Sentinel Sports Editor
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Alaska Beacon
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Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
April 16
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By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
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Sentinel Staff Writer
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Alaska Beacon
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By JAMES BROOKS and
CLAIRE STREMPLE
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Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
April 15
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Chamber Speaker
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Sentinel Staff Writer
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Sentinel Staff Writer
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By YERETH ROSEN
Alaska Beacon
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Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
April 12
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By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
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Sentinel Staff Writer
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Daily Sitka Sentinel
Troopers Release ID’s Of Plane Crash Victims
By Sentinel Staff
Alaska State Troopers have identified the two men killed in the floatplane crash over the weekend as pilot Stonie Huffman, 45, of Sitka, and passenger James Ronge, 66, of California.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident, troopers said.
Troopers said the two men took off from Sitka in the Piper PA-18 Super Cub floatplane around 7:15 p.m. Saturday for a sightseeing flight to Katlian Bay and Olga Strait, and were scheduled to return after about 20 minutes. The Coast Guard was notified at 11:27 p.m. that night that the plane had not returned.
At 10:43 p.m. Sunday, at the end of an all-day search, a Coast Guard helicopter located the crashed plane where it lay partially submerged in the Katlian River. Huffman was found in the aircraft, and Ronge’s body the following day farther down the river in Katlian Bay, troopers said.
Troopers said the State Medical Examiner’s office has taken possession of the bodies.
Other agencies involved in the search were the Civil Air Patrol, the Alaska Air National Guard, the Forest Service, the U.S. Air Force, and Sitka Police and Fire departments.
Capt. Stephen White, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Juneau commander said in a statement: “Our rescue crews searched tirelessly for the men and the aircraft since receiving notification that it was overdue Saturday. It’s with heavy hearts that we found the men deceased, and our thoughts are with the families and friends of these individuals during this difficult time.”
Huffman was the owner of Frontier Charters on HPR in Sitka. He kept the plane at the city seaplane dock in the Sitka Channel.
Ronge’s hometown was not available.
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20 YEARS AGO
April 2004
Photo caption: Sitka High students in the guitar music class gather in the hall before the school’s spring concert. The concert was dedicated to music instructor Brad Howey, who taught more than 1,000 Sitka High students from 1993 to 2004. From left are Kristina Bidwell, Rachel Ulrich, Mitch Rusk, Nicholas Mitchell, Eris Weis and Joey Metz.
50 YEARS AGO
April 1974
The Fair Deal Association of Sealaska shareholders selected Nelson Frank as their candidate for the Sealaska Board of Directors at the ANB Hall Thursday.
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