Organizations representing Yukon River communities are drafting a letter to Gov. Mike Dunleavy seeking a fishery disaster declaration for this summer’s salmon season.

The pandemic has changed the face of schooling throughout the Lower Kuskokwim School District, and nowhere is this more evident than in school athletics. 

The Bethel City Election is on Oct. 6, but city voters can begin voting now. City Clerk Lori Strickler said that voting before the election is only one option. Others include voting by mail and online voting. Strickler said that those wanting to vote early can do so, with public health precautions, at city hall.

With remote learning, parents have to play a bigger role, and it’s difficult because what and how students learn now is different from when their parents were going to school. JROTC Instructor Sgt. Calvetti is on a team at the Bethel Regional High School trying to help parents and students.

In its Sept. 22 meeting, the Bethel City Council passed a number of budget modifications, ranging from hiring additional staff for the finance department to fixing issues with the YK Fitness Center. 

The city will spend $330,000 to help stabilize the finance department; most of that money will pay for the services of an outside accounting firm because the city is currently without a permanent finance director or acting finance director. 

Child care just got cheaper for Alaska Native families in communities served by the Association of Village Council Presidents. The program, using CARES Act funding, is paying for child care to all eligible essential workers, and there are no income requirements for eligibility. Carol Hunter, AVCP’s Child Care Coordinator, said that unlike the current program, there is no co-pay.

“Yes, that is correct,” Hunter said, “and we pay 100%, so the parents wouldn’t have to pay.”