Ketchikan: KGH Auxiliary Awards Over $50,000 in Grants to Hospital - The Ketchikan General Hospital Auxiliary awarded $52,268 to hospital projects at their annual luncheon Saturday, January 16. Since the Auxiliary began the grant program ten years ago, they have donated $316,695 to the hospital. The grants are from proceeds of the KGH Gift Shop.

The largest grant went to the New Beginnings Birthing Center. They received $13,650 for a new birthing bed. Several of the requests were for bariatric equipment to accommodate larger patients. Bariatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the causes, prevention, and treatment of obesity. A total of $13,800 was made available for a bariatric bed in the New Horizons Transitional Care Unit, a bariatric stretcher for the Emergency Department and two batiatric recliners for the patients admitted to the Medical/Surgical Department.

The Emergency Department also received $6,000 for four new wheelchairs and Medical/Surgical will get a venoscope for $195 and a neonatal transilluminator for $295. Both pieces of equipment help locate hard to find veins.

The Rehabilitation Department was awarded $2,340 for an Audiometer to test hearing. Respiratory Therapy received $4,988 for an Automatic Blood Pressure Monitor for use with treadmill testing. Home Health got $1,000 for Oximeters, which monitor oxygen saturation in a patient's blood. The Surgery Department will get $5000 for a Doppler machine used in cardiovascular procedures. The Ketchikan General Hospital Foundation was awarded $5,000 to their 2010 Gift of Healing project to create and equip a minimally invasive surgical suite. - More...
Thursday - January 21, 2010

Ketchikan: MAN TO SERVE 20 YEARS IN PRISON FOR CONSPIRING TO DISTRIBUTE METH IN KETCHIKAN - United States Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced that on Friday, January 15, 2010, Ramon L. Hueso, of Seattle, Washington, was sentenced to serve 20 years in federal prison for his participation in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Ketchikan, Alaska.

Assistant United States Attorney Aunnie Steward successfully tried the case against Hueso, age 27, before Chief United States District Court Judge Ralph R. Beistline.

According to Special Assistant United States Attorney Christine Thoreson, who handled the sentencing phase, the evidence presented at trial established that Hueso supplied methamphetamine to his accomplices for a period of at least two years - from sometime in 2007, to May 2008. Hueso, together with his accomplices, conspired to send approximately 22 ounces of methamphetamine to Ketchikan by courier to be sold on the streets of Ketchikan. The value of the methamphetamine in Ketchikan was approximately $56,000. - More...
Thursday - January 21, 2010

Ketchikan: Tongass Motor Vehicle Use Maps available now - Users of motor vehicles on the Tongass National Forest can stop by their local ranger district to pick up the current copy of the Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM), which is now available. There is a separate MVUM for each district or unit.

The maps were developed as a requirement of the 2005 Travel Management Rule to balance the care of national forest system land with public enjoyment of motorized vehicles. The maps identify and designate those roads, trails and areas that are open to motor vehicle use on the Tongass National Forest for each respective ranger district or unit. The maps also specify vehicle classes that may travel the roads and trails, and indicate seasonal restrictions.

Motor vehicle use off these designated routes and open areas is prohibited. Motor vehicles are defined as any self-propelled vehicle (other than a wheelchair), and include off-highway vehicles (OHVs), all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), all motorcycles, cars, trucks, sport utility vehicles and off-road vehicles such as 4-by-4 trucks or Jeeps. This prohibition does not affect the use of machines designed for use over snow, specifically snowmobiles.

The maps were developed as part of an open, public process. Tongass land managers worked with motorized sports enthusiasts, conservationists, state and local officials, tribal governments and others through a series of public meetings and comment periods to gain public input before making any decision on a particular road, trail or area. - More...
Thursday - January 21, 2010

Alaska: Federal Agency Interpretation Gives DOT&PF Ability to Revise Commercial Motor Vehicle Laws for Fishers - During a recent discussion with a federal agency, an agreement cleared the way for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) to revise certain commercial motor vehicle laws affecting commercial fishers operating vehicles under 26,000 pounds while hauling boats or equipment on public roads.

Federal law requires states to ensure their state commercial motor vehicle laws are compatible with federal laws and to enforce these laws on persons engaged in "interstate" commerce, which could include the fishers.

DOT&PF and the State Attorney General's office discussed the matter with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). FMCSA agreed that the launching and hauling of boats and equipment in many instances is purely an "intrastate" operation of motor vehicles. This agreement gives DOT&PF the ability to not enforce certain federal commercial motor vehicle laws and to exempt, by regulation, fishers and vehicles under 26,000 pounds from several state commercial motor vehicle laws. - More...
Thursday - January 21, 2010

National: Ocean fish farming comes closer with new proposed rules By MICHAEL COLLINS - Five years after former President George W. Bush's administration first proposed allowing fish farming in federal waters, the Obama administration is set to come up with its own set of rules for offshore aquaculture, including deepwater fish farming.

The new rules, which are expected to spell out a permitting process for offshore aquaculture operations, could come as early as this summer, said Michael Rubino, manager of the aquaculture program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"We're looking at this whole question of aquaculture in federal waters -- how to go about it," Rubino said.

Meanwhile, California Rep. Lois Capps, D-Calif., has filed legislation that would establish a regulatory framework for aquaculture operations in federal waters, which begin three miles beyond the nation's shores.

Capps' proposal not only lays out the permitting process for offshore aquaculture facilities, but also contains environmental safeguards to see that any such projects pose minimal risk to ocean ecology -- a concern that derailed the Bush administration's efforts.

"It is important to take a strong public health standard approach and make sure we have food safety and environmental protection as a basis for any kind of aquaculture project that would come up," Capps said.

Ocean fish farming has long been seen by advocates as a way to guarantee a plentiful bounty of seafood even as a number of wild fish stocks decline. An estimated 80 percent of all edible seafood supplies in the United States is imported, and nearly half of all seafood is farmed, according to the San Diego-based Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute.

Right now, fish farming is limited to state waters, which begin at the shoreline and extend out for three miles.

In 2005, the Bush administration proposed allowing fish-farming operations up to 200 miles off the coast, which would have marked the first time such facilities would have been permitted in federal waters. - More...
Thursday - January 21, 2010

Health - Fitness: How weather affects our health By LEE BOWMAN - You don't have to have an arthritic knee or fair skin to know that the weather affects our health on a regular basis.

The science is fairly well established on links between extreme cold and heat and increased risks for heart disease, frostbite, heatstroke and infectious diseases like flu.

And the more direct effects of weather on injury are clear enough -- the hurricane-blown tree that falls on a car or drowning in a flash flood.

Deaths and injury less directly tied to a storm can be harder to categorize: the chain-saw accident that claims fingers weeks after a tornado, or carbon-monoxide poisoning from an improperly positioned generator.

Medical researchers are finding that weather conditions also have a more subtle, indirect impact on other illnesses, from asthma to ear infections to appendicitis. - More...
Thursday - January 21, 2010

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Why the highest bidder for pool ??? By Charles Edwardson - Headlines in Ketchikan on contract proposals are ever changing. This last one takes the cake though -- "Pool contract appeal nixed" should read "Borough picks highest bidder unless they are local". - More...
Thursday PM - January 21, 2010

Thank you By Judith Green - Thank you Gabreal Easterly for that beautiful tribute to your dad, Mark- and to the community to which you belong: Ketchikan. - More...
Thursday PM - January 21, 2010

Dogs, Environmentalists and Our Government By Robert McRoberts - Over the many years we have been stating our opinions on this site. I am glad so many smart people are not afraid to voice very important opinions without being scared that they may hurt someone's feelings. Some will! - More...
Thursday PM - January 21, 2010

Equal Access Denied Sport Fishermen and Subsistence Users. By Lloyd Gossman - Equal Access to Fishery Resources is being denied to Alaska's Sport Fisherman and Subsistence users. An Alaska Board of Fish (BOF) recent poor decision in restarting a Summer Dungeness Crab fishery that had been closed for nearly 25 years demonstrates the need for change in many of the processes by which we manage our resources. Commercial fishing Dungeness crab in the summer when they are molting, reproducing, and of low quality has wasted millions of pounds of the resource and is damaging the resource forever. This is not a sustained yield method of management. - More...
Tuesday PM - January 19, 2010

Health Committee By Norman Arriola - We are sorry our decision to limit Organized Village of Saxman (OVS) participation in the health committee to one person has offended you. Ketchikan Indian Community (KIC) is required by law to follow the KIC Charter and Constitution and KIC Tribal Council decisions must comply with these documents. In this case we realized the past makeup of the health committee did not comply with the intent of our governing documents and needed to be changed to ensure the make up of the KIC health committee more correctly represented the KIC membership. - More...
Tuesday PM - January 19, 2010

Remembering Mark Easterly By Gabreal Easterly - This isn't your normal complaint letter so it may not be of interest. This is to publicly thank my Father Mark Easterly for all the things he did for our family, his friends and Southeast Aviation. Dad worked a lot. In the mornings when I would hear the shower turn on at 5:00 a.m I knew this was the time to jump out of bed and grab a towel for him. I would sit on the toilet and we would talk about where he was going to fly BW (Bravo Whiskey) that day. Dad would say "Oh probably MET, Hollis, Thorn Bay, Craig, KCC, Waterfall, Misty, MET, Misty, and MET again." This was a typical day back in the incredibly busy logging days and I knew that when Dad got home I'd be fast asleep cause they flew from day break till dark in those days. But looking back now it was the most wonderful time I can ever remember for Ketchikan. Everyone had a job and all employers were looking for more good hard workers. This is what Alaska was built on, if you were a hard worker you could show up on a Sunday and be working full time on Monday morning. - More...
Tuesday PM - January 19, 2010

RE: Payback By Jim Rasmussen - Senator Begich's letter to Mr. Rauwolf must have been a mass-mailing since I received it too. I also had e-mailed the Senator a few days earlier and assumed the letter was a response to that. The disconnect from constituents and reality is truly astounding. - More...
Tuesday PM - January 19, 2010

Plea for Volunteers for Ketchikan Little League By Dave Timmerman - Hello everyone. It is with much hope that I write this letter. There has been very much talk within our community lately concerning how we can help our local youth. There are lots of avenues that we can take to actually lend that helping hand. The organization I represent is Ketchikan Little League. - More...
Tuesday PM - January 19, 2010

Dogs Without Borders By Ken Lewis - I was absolutely furious with Mr. Border's mud slinging. - More...
Tuesday PM - January 19, 2010

RE: My Dog's Life By John Warnock - Lighten up people, Mr. Border's letter is a spoof!! - More...
Tuesday PM - January 19, 2010

Open Letter to Sen. Begich: PAY BACK By Andy Rauwolf - Dear Senator Begich, Thank you for your letter explaining your vote for health care reform. A few weeks ago, I contacted your office expressing concerns that the House plan did not include any regulations for tort reform. Shortly thereafter, you appeared on national television and stated that "tort reform was tried and had failed in Alaska, and doctors had actually left the state because of tort reform." Which study came up with those statistics, and who funded the study? By then, you surely knew that since Texas instituted tort reforms, hospitals there reported 70% fewer lawsuits, doctors averaged a 21% reduction in premiums, Texas added 1,887 new physicians specifically as a result of lawsuit reform, billions of dollars were cut from defensive medicine spending, and 430,000 additional Texans have health insurance today as a direct result of liability reforms, all at no cost to Texan taxpayers! - More...
Friday - January 15, 2010

ENVIRONMENTALISTS, GIVE US A BREAK By Charles Edwardson - I live in Alaska and love southeast. I have lived in the Tongass National Forest all of my life. My mother is Haida and our family is from Hydaburg. I am 1/2 Alaskan native and the other half a native of Alaska (there is a slight difference). I have four daughters and a beautiful wife who was also born and raised here. We graduated from Ketchikan High School together, got together, and have built our life here in southeast. I own five or six acres on Prince of Wales Island and fished of the west coast of Prince of Wales Island for many years, and worked in the timber industry at the Ketchikan pulp mill in the off season and also the canneries around town prior to fishing. I now teach at the University of Alaska and run my own construction company in Ketchikan. - More...
Thursday PM - January 14, 2010

Enough is Enough By Rob Holston - I just returned home from the Enough is Enough meeting at the Ted Ferry Civic Center. An estimated 300 people were in attendance. Hats off to Cathy, Zig and the other organizers and participants. The only downer was finding out at the end that the city had NOT donated the Ted Ferry Civic Center for this important event. - More...
Thursday PM - January 14, 2010

"Enough is Enough" Meeting By Carol Baines - I wasn't at the "Enough is Enough" meeting Tuesday night regarding the high suicide rate and other problems in Ketchikan. - More..
Thursday PM - January 14, 2010

Expand your horizons By Roberta Shields - Now, now Ms Richardson aren't you being "judgmental" regarding Mr. Borders and his hyperbole about his dog being a democrat. His thoughts on the subject were actually quite amusing and by the tone of your response must have hit a sensitive nerve. - More...
Thursday PM - January 14, 2010

Republicrats By Chris Barry - Just a reminder to all those republicrats out there, if you claim to be a democrat, then no matter what you say, you accept what the elected democrats are doing 100%. The same goes for Republicans. If you claim allegiance with a particular party, then you allow yourself to be lumped in with them and their political views. - More...
Thursday PM - January 14, 2010

Democrats By Don Borders - I could tell by the tone of Lou Ann Richardson's voice, written in her viewpoint reply, she was hurt when she "picked up" the brush and "painted on" her democratic shoes, she must have felt much pain when finished. I had tears of joy and then pain for her streaming down my face as I read her painfully emotional rebuttal. - More...
Thursday PM - January 14, 2010

RE: Democrats By Stacey Stone - At first I was interested in what Ms. Richardson had to say about how she is hard-working and a democrat. - More...
Thursday PM - January 14, 2010

National Mentoring Month By Joann Flora - January is National Mentoring Month. This is a great time to look around and assess the needs for youth mentoring in our community. Kids need an average of five positive adult role models while they are growing up if they are to be prepared for adulthood. - More...
Tuesday - January 12, 2010

Democrats By Lou Ann Richardson - Wow, doesn't Mr. Borders paint all Democrats with an overwhelmingly broad brush. I guess in his world, if you're not like him, you're a dog. Mr. Borders, your dog isn't a Democrat, he's a dog. But, if in your world all Democrats are basically lazy, free-loading dogs, it indicates to we lifelong hardworking Democrats that you have little else in your life that's truly meaningful and helpful and instead, adhere to hateful, incendiary rantings and arrogant bigotry. - More...
Tuesday - January 12, 2010

Audit/Investigation Needed at Public Library By Robert D. Warner - Recent letters to SITNEWS describe waste and careless spending of $1.4 million dollars for planning and blueprints by the public library. One letter called this spending "obscene." Isn't it time for the Mayor and City Council to launch a complete investigation as to why and how this money was squandered? Today, we do not even have funding to provide essential safety and security in our local high school. - More...
Friday - January 08, 2010

$$$$ if Kpu sells ????? By Brad Cota - Do the residents of Ketchikan get a dividend from the sale of KPU telephone? As a public utility, I do believe the owners are the residents of the city of Ketchikan. We're voting to sell or not to sell, but we're not voting on what happens to the money? Does anybody know where the money is going? - More...
Friday - January 08, 2010

My Dog's life By Don Borders - My dog sleeps about 20 hours a day. He has his food prepared for him. He can eat whenever he wants, 24/7/365. His meals are provided at no cost to him. He visits the doctor once a year for his checkup, and again during the year if any medical needs arise. For this he pays nothing, and nothing is required of him. He lives in a nice neighborhood in a house that is much larger than he needs, but he is not required to do any upkeep. If he makes a mess, someone else cleans it up. He has his choice of luxurious places to sleep. He receives these accommodations absolutely free. He is living like a king, and has absolutely no expenses whatsoever. All of his costs are picked up by others who go out and earn a living every day. I was just thinking about all this, and suddenly it hit me like a brick in the head; Holy Cow, my dog is a democrat! - More...
Friday - January 08, 2010

KPU Sale By John A. Beck - I am responding to the letter by Mr. Edwardson. The sale of KPU Telephone is a much discussed item around our breakroom table. My personal view, and I have stated this in front of the City Council, is how can a resident of the City vote on a sale if the price and the buyer is not disclosed. Let me sell your house but the price will surprize you. The whole thing stinks. - More...
Wednesday - January 06, 2010

Fine qualities, yet NOT SUBJECT TO CONSIDERATION By Jose Garcia - The purpose of this letter is to react on how the HR Manager of the Ketchikan Borough composes letters to job applicants. It appeared to be vague and rather not within the norms of an equal rating good ethics, much more coming from the government employee as such. - More...
Wednesday - January 06, 2010

High school cop By Robert McRoberts - We've got to make up our mind about this. I've heard people say just having the cop car parked outside the school is a deterrent. I feel the students are use to the cop and they know how to avoid the cop now. What I would like to see is what has been accomplished by having a cop at the high school for the last few years. How much drugs have been confiscated and have the people that supplied the drugs been caught? This is where I feel we are wasting money if nothing is done. If we're not going to make life a living hell for the cooks and the dealers that supply the kids, we are wasting our time. - More...
Wednesday - January 06, 2010

Make a difference, Healthy Living! By Terri Bermudez - Recently I did a PSA radio ad, what I feel is a honest attempt to reach out to an addict, or someone who may still be suffering with Meth addiction. I learned the hard way, and believe me it does not need to end up like my situation did. Long story short, I was BAD. I sold drugs in this little town to SUPPORT MY METH habit. - More...
Wednesday - January 06, 2010

Evan Bolling's Rants By Richard Easbey - Time to get a new schtick Mr. Bolling. - More...
Wednesday - January 06, 2010

RE: Obamas Czars (Ooooh Please) By Bill Nelson - When I was in Biology class, Evan, we respected our teachers, classmates and the learning institution enough that we were not disruptive or trying to draw attention to ourselves. We were there to learn, Evan, can you say the same? - More...
Wednesday - January 06, 2010

Officer in our Schools - SAFETY FIRST By Roberta "Bobbie" McCreary - Thank you Chas for speaking out about our responsibility to support measures that protect our youth... we DO need to make our community safe for our youth and we DO need to take our community's rep down a few points (quite a few actually). What about our rep as the community in the US that has highest per capita prescriptions for the drug OxyContin? How do we stack up with meth labs, domestic violence, drop outs? Not so good, I'm told. - More...
Monday PM - January 04, 2010

RE: Obama Czars (Ooooh Please) By Evan Bolling - When I was in biology class, we would have "periodic" lab hours (lame pun, I know). I strolled into class one day, rather groggy but was immediately stimulated by the congested smell of formaldehyde, latex and VERY raw pork. "Heck Yes! We are going to be dissecting pig fetuses today!" I said out-loud. We picked and pried at all the little parts inside, and that is exactly what Al Johnson's article "Obama Czars" is in desperate need of, a painstaking dissection. - More...
Monday PM - January 04, 2010

Be a part of the Solution By Diana Chaudhary - You are right Teri J. Wilson.... there are a lot of serious problems in our community and it sounds like you have ideas on how to solve them. I would urge you and everyone else with concerns and ideas to come to the Community Conversation on January 12th to participate in a discussion that will address not only problems, but also what is currently being done or needs to be done to help solve those problems. - More...
Monday PM - January 04, 2010

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