City of Ouzinkie hosts dedication ceremony for ANTHC-constructed dam
September 11, 2015Categories: Healthy Homes and Communities
On Thursday, September 3, ANTHC Environmental Health and Engineering and the City of Ouzinkie held a dedication ceremony for the Kelly Larson Memorial Dam. During the ceremony, a plaque was unveiled honoring Kelly Larson, an ANTHC Senior Project Manager who passed away in 2012 and led the charge in delivering clean and reliable drinking water to the Spruce Island community. The $2.3 million project replaced a deteriorating wooden dam, constructed in 1986, with a new, state-of-the art concrete faced rock-fill facility built to withstand magnitude 8.8 earthquakes and major floods while efficiently providing affordable hydroelectric power to residents. The dam also impounds the primary water supply for the community. Community residents and several dignitaries attended the event including State Senator Gary Stevens, Ouzinkie Mayor Dan Clarion, and ANTHC’s administration and project team of Shauna Hegna, Steve Weaver, Mike Black and Joe Hess. During the ceremony, Mayor Clarion expressed gratitude on behalf of the community for the energetic efforts of Larson and ANTHC to bring a new clinic, water treatment plant and the extension of piped water to the community. Clarion reminded attendees that Larson not only helped bring these important improvements to the community, but was also a friend to many Ouzinkie residents. “Kelly will be remembered by those who worked with him and for what he accomplished for Kodiak Island and Ouzinkie,” Clarion said. “For those that come afterwards, a plaque that bears his name and lists some of his accomplishments will serve as a tribute at the new dam site.” At the dedication, ANTHC presented the Mayor with a rendering of the dam prepared by ANTHC’s computer-aided drafting department followed by reading a message from Larson’s mother to the community. State Senator Stevens, who was instrumental in securing State funding for the Ouzinkie Dam, expressed his gratitude for the successful effort made by the entire ANTHC team in bringing a secure water source and an important source of electric power as well.