News

The Dillingham City Council holds a workshop and passes an ordinance restricting travel to the community from 11:59 p.m. on April 6 to May 1. 

The City of Dillingham has restricted travel to the community for non-essential personnel, as have many communities around the region. Icicle Seafoods is the only processor operating in the Togiak sac roe herring fishery this spring. And educators around Bristol Bay are having to adjust their curriculums and tackle distance learning. 

Governor Mike Dunleavy mandated that schools remain closed until May 1 to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Teachers are changing their curriculums to accomadte at-home education.

The Dillingham City Council held a special meeting via teleconference on March 26. City council members and residents discussed travel restrictions and community preparedness in light of the coronavirus. 

Some businesses in Dillingham have shut down or made adjustments as local, state and federal mandates were passed down this month.

This week, we covered teleconferences from Dillingham to Bristol Bay Borough, as both local governments prepare for a potential spread of the coronavirus. No cases have been confirmed in Bristol Bay. Dillingham business owners shared how they are coping with closures and changes to operations. Villages around Bristol Bay are shutting down travel and school districts share updates to academic calendars. 

In a special meeting by the Bristol Bay Borough, assembly members declared a local emergency response to recieve funding from state and federal government. Community members phoned in to share thoughts about the upcoming salmon fish season.

Alethia Belleque has been studying abroad in Peru since August. She was planning to stay until June, but the coronavirus pandemic changed that. Peru shut its borders to commercial flights in and out of the country. Now, her family is trying to get her back to Alaska. 

With Head Start programs across the state shutting down, over 3,000 kids are not receiving any in class services. The Bristol Bay Native Association’s Head Start program is taking precautions due to concerns over the spread of coronavirus.