Every student who enters the Galena City School District gets a personal laptop to take home. As the value of the computer depreciates over the four-year stint in high school, the student can earn credit toward its purchase with good attendance, community service and strong academics. That's why the school district has worked to form partnerships with both local and national businesses. The student with the highest grade in the class will earn an all-expenses paid trip to Japan to train in Suzuki's factory. He solicited General Motors to help provide equipment and training to produce certified auto mechanics.
Partnerships seem to be the way business is done in Galena, whether in education or the environment.
The Louden Tribal Council, which serves more than 500 Koyukukon Athabascans in Galena, has formed a revolutionary partnership with the military and various environmental groups to clean up pollution without litigation. Much of the pollution came from Galena Air Station, an Air Force base constructed in 1939 but now essentially inactive. The base also served as a refeuling stop for military aircraft that jockeyed with Russian fighter planes patrolling northern air space during the Cold War. The importance of the tribe working with other bodies responsible for the pollution is that, as Sweetsir said, the people of Galena are responsible too. We have a passion for it.