Empire Archives is a series printed every Saturday featuring a short compilation of headline stories in the Juneau Empire from archived editions in 1984, 1994 and 2004.
This week in 1984, the 32-year-old Columbian national convicted of setting the $1.5-million blaze at Juneau’s historic Baranof Hotel was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison. Juneau Superior Court Judge Rodger Pegues handed down the sentence, which will keep Eduardo Herman Ortiz behind bars for at least 13½ years. Juneau District Attorney Richard Svobodny said he expects deportation proceedings to be started against Ortiz while he is in prison so he will be ordered out of the country as soon as he is released. Svobodny asked Pegues to allow the confidential pre-sentence report on Ortiz to be released to the federal Immigration and Naturalization Service for the deportation hearings, a request Pegues took under advisement. It is customary for a foreigner to be deported after a second felony conviction. Ortiz was previously convicted of burglary in California. A Juneau Superior Court jury in August convicted Ortiz of trying to burn the hotel just minutes after he was fired from his job a a waiter at the Latchstring restaurant.
Original Story: “Baranof arsonist sentenced to 15 years in jail,” by Christopher Jarvis. 11/2/1984.
This week in 1994, Wrangell is facing a tough, bitter winter because of next month’s planned closing of the Alaska Pulp Corp. sawmill, the town’s largest employer. The corporation announced this week that it will close the Wrangell sawmill indefinitely and is distributing severance pay to its 225 employees. Efforts to sell the mill to Sealaska Corp. earlier this year have failed because of concerns over the timber supply from the Tongass National Forest. Last month, Alaska Pulp said the sawmill would have a temporary winter closure beginning Nov. 15. But the company says now it is uncertain when — or whether — the sawmill would reopen after the November closure, according to The Associated Press.
Today the timber industry remains a shadow of its former peak in Southeast Alaska, although Sealaska and other Alaska Native entities are earning money in the carbon credits market by leaving forest in the Tongass unharvested. In addition, a tree cutting in Wrangell put the community in the national spotlight in October as this year’s U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree was selected from U.S. National Forest land nearby.
Original Story: “Wrangell rocked by mill decision,” by Dirk Miller. 10/27/1994.
This week in 2004, Eaglecrest Ski Area has only 2 inches of snow, but its new manager, Kirk Duncan, is busy thinking of ways to draw more people this season. One strategy is package deals. In one package, a first-timer can take three ski or snowboard lessons for $99. That includes lift tickets and rentals. After completing the lessons, the person can buy a season pass at half the price. “The purpose is that at the end of that period everyone will be more comfortable at the lower part of the mountain,” Duncan, 54, said. “Hopefully, by the end of the season, they will get comfortable with the whole mountain.” Duncan and Jeffra Clough, Eaglecrest’s marketing director, also will work with local accommodations and bed-and-breakfasts around Southeast Alaska to develop a ski package. “Juneau is a shopping hub for surrounding communities,” said Clough, who has worked for Eaglecrest for 13 years. “We want to make them realize we also have Eaglecrest here. It’s a great asset to the community.” Since Eaglecrest was established 28 years ago, it has run at a deficit. The city normally gives Eaglecrest between $325,000 and $350,000 a year to balance its books.
Today Eaglecrest is struggling with aging equipment, staffing shortages and financial restraints — yet in the process of a major transition to a year-round resort with a gondola as the foundational element. Duncan has returned as a consultant for the ski area following the forced resignation of General Manager Dave Scanlan in June.
Original Story: “Eaglecrest offers skiers, boarders new packages,” by I-Chun Che. 11/1/2004.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
