Ketchikan: Elizabeth Peratrovich Day: Honoring Our Youth By MARIE L. MONYAK - In 1988 the Alaska Legislature established February 16th as "Elizabeth Peratrovich Day" to commemorate the anniversary of the signing of the Anti-Discrimination Act. Every year Alaskans celebrate the day and remember Peratrovich's efforts to achieve equality and justice for all Alaskans of every race, creed and ethnic background.

Danielle Grams portrayed Elizabeth Peratrovich giving her remarkable 1945 statement to the Senate. Photograph by Marie L. Monyak

This past Saturday, the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood of Saxman and Ketchikan began their celebrations leading up to Elizabeth Peratrovich Day with a reception at the Plaza Mall.

Organizers Bill Bird and Janice Jackson served refreshments and answered questions in an effort to make the public aware of Elizabeth Peratrovich and of her great accomplishment in gaining equality for all races.

The next day, Sunday, a police escorted car parade traveled through town from Tatsuda's to WalMart and back to Safeway where participants were treated to a bar-b-que, all in an effort to not only celebrate a day so important to our Native peoples but to educate the public as well.

On Wednesday evening the 15th a celebration and presentation was held at the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center. This year's theme was "Honoring our Youth" and it was evident by the number of youth from Saxman and Ketchikan that performed.

The evening began with a processional of the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood from Camps #14 and #15 to the talented music of Fred John, CC Johnson, Amelia McAlpin and Ken Arriola. - More...
Thursday PM - February 16, 2006

Ketchikan: Board of Fisheries to Meet in Ketchikan February 20th - 26th - The Alaska Board of Fisheries will meet February 20 through 26, in Ketchikan to discuss Southeast and Yakutat groundfish, Dungeness crab, shrimp, miscellaneous shellfish fisheries, and other fisheries proposals.  The meeting will be held at the Ted Ferry Civic Center. 

The board will consider over 75 fisheries proposals.  Proposals have been submitted by state advisory committees, fishery organizations, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and the general public seeking adjustment to fisheries.  The board will also consider a proposal to open a state waters Pacific cod fishery in the Aleutian Islands area.  - More...
Thursday Pm - February 16, 2006

Students Campaign For Full Funding for University Rita D. Flagg of Ketchikan, Alaska Photograph by Matt Walker

Ketchikan - Statewide: Students Campaign For Full Funding for University - The "Full Funding Campaign" by the University of Alaska's Coalition of Student Leaders had over a thousand signature cards signed by registered voters from every campus across Alaska.

Rita D. Flagg said, "Amazingly, Ketchikan signed the most cards, beating Anchorage by 40 cards. Ketchikan had 357 cards while Anchorage had 317 cards." Flagg is the former President of United Students of UAS- Ketchikan and she served as the Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee in charge of the Legislative "Full Funding Campaign" conference which was created by the Coalition of Student Leaders. - More...
Thursday Pm - February 16, 2006

Alaska: Lawmakers Team Up to Maintain Safe Harbors - Sen. Bert Stedman (R ­ Sitka) and Rep. Bill Thomas (R ­ Haines) have introduced legislation in the Alaska House and Senate to establish a new Municipal Harbor Facility Grant Fund.

HB 478 and SB 291 create a program to achieve capital improvements for harbor facilities through a one-time 50/50 matching grant to municipalities. The program, administered by the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, will fund major maintenance and capital improvements of harbor facilities using a portion of the watercraft fuel tax.
 
"As a commercial fisherman I know how important harbors are to the towns in my district.  These harbors are the center of business for most of the towns in my district and they need repairs because the state ignored them for years. This is a very reasonable way for the state and local governments to get these facilities into better working condition," said Rep. Thomas. - More...
Thursday PM - February 16, 2006

AVO and Coast Guard personnel hoist a seismometer package into the water off the coast of Mt. Augustine, visible in background. Picture Date: February 08, 2006 12:44:00 - Photograph by Michael West Image courtesy of the Alaska Volcano Observatory / University of Alaska Fairbanks, Geophysical Institute

Alaska: Coast Guard and Science Team Partner to Collect Alaska Volcano Data - M1 Peter Loreaux could taste the salt in the air as the crew readied the cutter to get underway on an early February morning. The familiar calls of the gulls at the dock greeted them. The scientists hovered around the stern as the crates containing the Ocean Bottom Seismometers (OBS) were lowered to the deck from the dock using the ship's crane.

All the cargo loaded and the crew outfitted in mustang suits to combat the cold, the Coast Guard cutter Roanoke Island cast off lines and maneuvered out of the Homer small boat harbor through the difficult "S" turn. The sun was just beginning peak the snowcapped mountains and cast rays across the water.

The Roanoke Island's white hull sliced through the water as it was piloted around the end of the Homer spit and into Kachemak Bay under blue skies. The transit across Cook Inlet to Augustine Island would take three and a half hours at a distance of 60 nautical miles in good weather. - More...
Thursday PM - February 16, 2006

Viewpoints Opinions/Letters One if by land, Two if by Sea!! By A.M.Johnson - Thursday PM Eulachon Fishery By George Jackson - Thursday PM A Father's Respect By Rick Grams - Thursday PM Legislation Makes Ethics Process Work By Sen. Ralph Seekins - Thursday PM The Cheney Feeding Frenzy By Bob Cinimel - Thursday PM Laws Can Shield Seniors From Fraud by Rep. Tom Anderson - Thursday PM Gravina Island By Bill Thomas Sr. - Thursday PM Dream or Nightmare? Ketchikan's Bridge to Nowhere By Robert D. Warner - Thursday PM Head in the clouds... By Patrick Branco - Thursday PM In answer to Don Hoff Jr. By Martha J. Gallagher - Thursday PM Kayhi's athletic program By Brad Groghan - Tuesday PM The news from the Muslim world really is scary By Bob Condor - Tuesday PM Isn't that just typical? By Darlene Guzman - Tuesday PM Ooligan By Bill Thomas Sr. - Tuesday PM Free Library Services? By Robert D. Warner - Tuesday PM Best reason to start buckling up By John Maki - Tuesday PM "Thanks" By Jerry Cegelske - Tuesday PM Honoring Our Youth at Elizabeth Peratrovich Celebration By Janice Jackson - Tuesday PM My First Day in Ketchikan By Alan Rudolf McGillvray - Tuesday PM RE: CALLING ALL SEATTLE MARINER BASEBALL FANS By Debbie Otte - Tuesday PM RIDICULOUS bridges By Charlotte Tanner - Tuesday PM Thanks for leaving the porch light on! By Scott Davis - Monday PM A Bridge to Possibilities By Patrick Branco - Monday PM Unleashed! By Pamela Lind - Monday PM Islamists don't understand us ... At all! By Mark Neckameyer - Monday PM Reuniting Communities By Irene Dundas - Monday PM Better ways to spend our transportation dollars By Emily Ferry - Monday PM Gas Prices? By Chuck Moon - Monday PM CALLING ALL SEATTLE MARINER BASEBALL FANS By Carolyn Wilsie - Monday PM Alaska to the rescue! By Bob Harmon - Monday PM What is the cost to our freedom? By Jay Jones - Monday PM My condolences By Susan Smith - Monday PM More Viewpoints/ Letters Publish A Letter Political Cartoonists Political Cartoons Ketchikan February 16, 2006, 7:00 pm - Ketchikan City Council Regular Meeting - City Council Chambers Agenda & Information Packets For more upcoming meetings and events, check the February Calendar February Calendar Today's Forecast Ketchikan Weather Data New Current AK Weather Map City Police Report AK Troopers Daily Dispatch Classifieds & Announcements February 2006 Click on the date to read the stories published on that day. S M T W T F S    30 31 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28         Front Page Archives

National: Rumsfeld Says More Money Needed To Fund Afghan, Iraq Missions - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told members of Congress February 16 that the administration would submit a same-day request for $65.3 billion dollars in supplemental funding to support the ongoing war against terrorism.

Rumsfeld said that most of the new money is needed to finance military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, including training and equipping security forces in both countries; repairing or replacing the equipment experiencing heavy use by the U.S. military; and developing technologies to defeat the deadly, improvised bombs that have killed and maimed civilians and troops in the Middle East and South Asia.

Rumsfeld told the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee that the cost of fuel, meeting payroll expenses, inflation and buying new equipment all contribute to the need for supplemental funds. Military operations in Iraq are costing the United States around $5.9 billion a month and another $1.9 billion for Afghanistan, he said. But, he said, the money being spent to establish Iraqi and Afghan security forces is "a good investment." - More...
Thursday PM - February 16, 2006

National: On good behavior, Moussaoui returns to court for jury selection By GREG GORDON - With a chastened Zacarias Moussaoui back in the courtroom and sitting silently, a federal judge questioned two dozen prospective jurors Wednesday and found 15 qualified to decide whether the confessed al Qaeda conspirator should live or die.

As one-on-one questioning began, prosecutors and defense lawyers in the first U.S. criminal prosecution stemming from the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks zeroed in on influencing the selection of jurors they calculate are most likely to swing in their direction in a death penalty case.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema banned Moussaoui from the courtroom during jury selection, which is expected to take more than a week, after he refused her orders to end courtroom outbursts in which he has blasted his attorneys and America's justice system. She relegated him to watching the proceedings over closed-circuit television in a jail cell, but reinstated him overnight without public explanation, presumably after he communicated a promise to control his behavior. - More...
Thursday PM - February 16, 2006

National: Dems, GOP give tax cuts political twist By CAROLYN LOCHHEAD - A clash over the domestic crown jewel of the Bush presidency - the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, with looming expiration dates - has emerged as a central theme of the Democrats' campaign to retake control of Congress this November.

Children, widows, the elderly, farmers, veterans, students, working mothers - every vulnerable group short of puppies - is to be sacrificed at the altar of the Bush tax cuts that benefit America's richest citizens, Democrats claim.

"Democrats will fight the president's anti-widow and anti-children agenda," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said. - More...
Thursday PM - February 16, 2006

National: Congress considers expanding Trail of Tears By RICHARD POWELSON - The National Park Service Thursday endorsed a proposed study of adding perhaps 2,000 miles of land and water routes to the current Trail of Tears National Historic Trail through nine states.

The agency already works to preserve 2,200 miles of federally designated trails to educate the country about the tragic relocation of 16,000 Cherokee Indians from homes mostly in Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia. They were forced in the winter of 1838-39 to march about 800 miles to newly designated Indian Territory in what became Oklahoma, and more than 4,000 reportedly died.

"The Department (of the Interior) recognizes the importance of telling the complete story of the Trail of Tears," John Parsons, associate regional director of the Park Service, told the Senate Subcommittee on National Parks.

Chief Chadwick Smith of The Cherokee Nation welcomed the progress on the legislation, although it was the first action since some legislators filed a bill last June.

"We've already been waiting nearly 170 years," Smith said when asked if he thought Congress was moving fast enough to include all trails used in the historic forced march. - More...
Thursday PM - February 16, 2006

National: Federal Reserve Head Not Concerned over China U.S. Debt Holdings - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke played down fears expressed by U.S. lawmakers that China might shake the U.S. economy by selling significant chunks of the U.S. debt it holds.

In his first appearance before the Senate as the head of the U.S. central bank, Bernanke was pressed by Banking Committee members on the question of the U.S. economy's vulnerability to changes in China's U.S.-dollar denominated assets. - More...
Thursday PM - February 16, 2006