Online Observer Archives | Page 71 of 82

Long time volunteer retires from board

September 23, 2013September 19, 2013 by Amanda Johnson

Marilyn Heddell has announced her resignation from the council’s board of directors. Heddell represented Whittier on the board since 1996. Heddell held several positions during her 17 years on the council. She was first elected as member-at-large on the council’s executive committee in 1996. She served as secretary from 1997 to 2001, spent two years serving as vice-president in 2003 and 2004, again elected as secretary from 2004 to 2008, and was elected to the position of treasurer in 2012 and 2013.

Heddell was an active member of the council’s finance committee. This committee helps the board to oversee the council’s financial affairs and ensure a balanced budget each year.

Heddell and her husband, Pete, owned and ran a gift shop in Whittier from 1988 until their recent retirement. Pete is a member of the council’s Port Operations and Vessel Traffic System committee. This summer, they bought a 50 foot Delta yacht and plan to begin exploring the San Juan Islands and Canadian waters.

“Thanks to staff, board, ex-officio and volunteers for the support of this fine organization,” Heddell said in her resignation letter to the board. “It was a tremendous privilege and honor to serve as the Whittier representative on the RCAC board all these years. I will cherish the memories.”

Whittier’s city council has appointed Andrea Korbe to replace Heddell. Korbe will be seated at the council’s meeting in Seward on September 19.

John Kennish: Chair of science committee long interested in effects of toxins on environment and health

January 27, 2017September 19, 2013 by Amanda Johnson

Volunteer Spotlight:

John Kennish, chair of the council’s Scientific Advisory Committee, also known as SAC, found his life’s calling early.

“I knew I’d be a chemist in the 11th grade when my teacher told us how scientists first figured out the composition of water,” Kennish said. “What excited me was how you could take indirect evidence and use your own sense of logic to draw conclusions about what was really occurring.”

“I thought that was awesome.”

Council staff witness lingering Exxon Valdez oil

September 23, 2013September 19, 2013 by Amanda Johnson

Council staff visited Eleanor Island in central Prince William Sound this past August to look for residual oil from 1989’s Exxon Valdez oil spill. While several staff experienced the Exxon Valdez spill first-hand, many had never seen the oil other than in photographs and in small sample jars collected each year and displayed in our offices.

The group was accompanied by David Janka, owner of Auklet Charters. Each year, Janka visits several beaches in the Sound where oil can still be found. He documents the locations and collects samples which he shares with the council.
This area of Prince William Sound was hardest hit with oil.

Alicia Zorzetto, who joined council staff in January, says she remembers the spill only vaguely, as she was 6 years old at the time. The images of the dead animals on TV were memorable because they were scary for a young kid. Later, her environmental politics classes in college discussed the spill through an historical lens.

“It’s one thing to study in a classroom, and then to come here and see and imagine what the fishermen and the locals had to go through, it’s like looking into a little part of our dark history,” said Zorzetto.

The experience was a reminder that the council’s mission to promote environmentally safe transportation of oil in Prince William Sound is an important one.

“We live with oil, we need oil, and we appreciate our oil industry and all it does for our state,” said Mark Swanson, the council’s executive director, “but we really have to be mindful that a lot of protection is required to make sure we don’t have another spill because the consequences just don’t go away.”

Janka shows Steve Rothchild, the council's administrative deputy director, where to look for oily sheen, evidence of oil in the sediment below waterline. Photo by Lisa Matlock. — Janka shows Steve Rothchild, the council’s administrative deputy director, where to look for oily sheen, evidence of oil in the sediment below waterline. Photo by Lisa Matlock.

Janka and Gregory Dixon, financial manager for the council, start digging in the new location farther up the beach. Photo by Alicia Zorzetto.

Jars of oil were collected for display in council offices and at outreach events. Photo by Serena Lopez.

Barb Penrose, administrative assistant for the council, cleans off a jar of collected oil. Photo by Tom Kuckertz.

Alicia Zorzetto fills a jar with Exxon Valdez oil. Photo by Jeremy Robida.

Oil lingers just a foot under the surface of the beach in some places. The oily water in this photo was just a few feet from the water's edge at low tide. Photo by Amanda Johnson. — Oil lingers just a foot under the surface of the beach in some places. The oily water in this photo was just a few feet from the water’s edge at low tide. Photo by Amanda Johnson.

At a location farther up the beach, thicker oil seeps out of the sediment. Photo by Amanda Johnson.

Carey takes industry preparedness position with Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation

September 23, 2013September 19, 2013 by Amanda Johnson

Anna Carey, project manager assistant for the council, has taken a position with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. She will replace Vince Kelly.

Her new position, titled “Environmental Program Specialist III,” is in the department’s Industry Preparedness Program’s Marine Vessels section. She will be working with oil spill contingency plans, and says she hopes her duties at the new job will keep her in contact with the council.

“We look forward to continuing to work with her in support of our mission in her new capacity,” said Mark Swanson, executive director for the council.

Carey joined the council in May of 2011. She provided support to project managers and the council’s Terminal Operations and Environmental Monitoring, Port Operations and Vessel Traffic System, Legislative Affairs, Board Governance and Long Range Planning committee volunteers and their projects. She also managed several projects including the review of fire protection assets at the Valdez Marine Terminal.

Carey helped monitor Port Valdez for invasive species such as tunicates and European green crab. The council is concerned that these two species, among others, could arrive in oil tanker’s ballast water, which is discharged into Prince William Sound before loading North Slope crude at the Alyeska terminal in Valdez. Invasions like this can harm valuable native species such as salmon.

Carey also helped with outreach and education presentations in the Valdez schools and for several youth education programs during summer months.

Her last day with the council was September 13. The council is currently in the hiring process to fill the vacancy.