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Saturday
February 22, 2014
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Ward Cove: Truck Fire
Friday at approximately 6 PM, a utility truck headed toward Ketchikan burst into flames in the Ward Cove area very close to the North Tongass Fire Department station. The cause of the fire is unknown; however, there were reports that the truck was smoking as it traveled the highway prior to being engulfed in flames. Traffic was haulted in both directions for approximately 45 minutes while the North Tongass Volunteer Fire Department extinguished the blaze. No injuries were reported.
Front Page Photograph By KAREN HORN ©2014
(Please respect the rights of photographers, never republish or copy
without permission and/or payment of required fees.)
Ketchikan: Station Ketchikan, Taylor named USCG 17th District Enlisted Petty Officer of the Year - The Coast Guard 17th District 2013 Enlisted Petty Officer of the Year is Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher Taylor, a Melrose, Fla., native serving as the engineering petty officer at Station Ketchikan, Alaska.
Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher Taylor the USCG's 17th District 2013 Enlisted Petty Officer of the Year
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Shawn Eggert.
Taylor’s nomination came as a result of his outstanding work maintaining Station Ketchikan’s 47- and 25-foot smallboats and the time he has devoted to his shipmates and the community of Ketchikan.
“Petty Officer Taylor flawlessly manages his duties as the engineering petty officer,” said Senior Chief Petty Officer Kevinn Smith, commanding officer, Station Ketchikan. “His work ensures Station Ketchikan has top performing assets able to respond to mariners in distress and he is fully engaged in the mentorship and care for his subordinates, better preparing the next generation of petty officers for leading in the Coast Guard."
Besides serving as co-chair of the Leadership Diversity Advisory Committee for all Ketchikan units, Taylor personally mentored 40 of his shipmates in physical fitness as Station Ketchikan’s unit health promotion coordinator, managed a five-day training period for 22 students of the Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps and served as an active member of the Coast Guard Enlisted Association. However, Taylor’s time wasn’t solely devoted to aiding his shipmates. - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014
Ketchikan: KVB Announces 2013 Annual Awards Winners - The Ketchikan Visitors Bureau presented its four standing awards and honored a longtime board member during its annual banquet on Friday, February 21, 2014.
Len Laurance, a founding member of the Ketchikan Visitors Bureau and board member since incorporation in 1976 was recognized for 36 years of service to the organization. Laurance has served as board chair and marketing chair numerous times and has been awarded the KVB’s Golden Totem Award and is the only KVB member to have earned Lifetime membership status. Laurance also helped to establish the Southeast Alaska Tourism Council to promote the Inside Passage region of Alaska, and is a past chair and lifetime member of the Alaska Visitors Association, the predecessor to today’s Alaska Travel Industry Association.
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Laurance was recognized during the evening by U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich, Alaska State Commissioner of Community, Commerce and Economic Development Susan Bell, Borough Mayor Dave Kiffer and former City Mayor Bob Weinstein.
The KVB’s standing awards and winners for 2013 include:
The Rainbird Award - “presented to the outstanding individual, group or business who has volunteered their time and talents to further the efforts of the Ketchikan Visitors Bureau and the visitor industry in Ketchikan” was presented to Steve Corporon.
Corporon was recognized for his assistance throughout the planning and execution of the B1-2 rehabilitation, particularly in light of the removal and replacement of the KVB’s building and construction of the new visitor center. Corporon also works cooperatively with the KVB to help promote the area, distributing visitor guides at the Seattle Boat Show (several ports and harbors departments share a booth at the event each year). The award was presented to him by past KVB board chair, Joey Wharton.
The Spirit of Alaska Award - “presented to the individual or organization who by their actions, embody the traits of friendliness and service to visitors for which Ketchikan is known” was awarded to Shirley McDonald. McDonald has dual roles, she is employed as a barista and snack bar attendant by the Airport Lounge and Snack Bar and the Ketchikan International Airport as a ferry toll collector.
The Heart of the Community Award - “recognizes the efforts of an individual or organization within the tourism industry in appreciation of their financial or fundraising support on behalf of local residents or organizations in need”. This year’s winner was Anderes Oil for their generous support to youth programs as well as countless donations to other local organizations over the years. Rick Erickson of Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska announced the win. - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014
Alaska: NOAA tightens halibut bycatch limits for Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries - NOAA Fisheries is implementing a plan to tighten limits on the amount of halibut bycatch that could be caught in the commercial groundfish fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska.
The fishery management plan amendment, “Amendment 95,” is intended to minimize halibut bycatch in the GOA groundfish fisheries to the extent practicable while preserving the potential for the full harvest of groundfish in the Gulf of Alaska.
Halibut bycatch refers to halibut that is caught by vessels targeting groundfish. Groundfish includes species such as pollock, Pacific cod, rockfish, and various flatfish species. NOAA Fisheries annually sets limits to minimize halibut bycatch in Federal groundfish fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska, and those limits are divided annually and seasonally among different groundfish sectors. If a sector reaches its halibut bycatch limit before it catches the amount of groundfish available for it to harvest, vessels participating in the sector must stop fishing for groundfish. - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 1014 |
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Alaska: No Cause Identified for 2011 Northern Pinnipeds Unusual Mortality Event - NOAA Fisheries announced recently that no specific cause has yet been found for the elevated numbers of sick or dead seals with skin lesions discovered in the Arctic and Bering Strait regions of Alaska in mid-July of 2011
A diseased seal with lesions and hair loss.
Photo: B. Sinnok, NOAA Fisheries
Beginning mid-July 2011, elevated numbers of sick or dead seals with skin lesions started being discovered in the Arctic and Bering Strait regions of Alaska. The North Slope Borough Division of Wildlife Management first began to notice sick seals while conducting ice seal satellite telemetry studies during routine research in July and August 2011. Hunters also began to report unusual symptoms they were observing in seals during harvests. Although abnormal hair loss (known as alopecia) had been under investigation in ringed seals for several years, hunters and researchers started seeing seals with more severe signs of illness, as well as dead seals. - More...Saturday PM - February 22, 2014
Diseased seals--primarily ringed seals—exhibited hair loss, delayed molting, and skin ulcers. Some of these seals also exhibited lethargy and labored breathing. Similar cases in ringed seals were also reported from Canada and Russia. In addition, there have been some reports of skin lesions in Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) in Alaska, with some associated mortality. Spotted seals and bearded seals were also affected. There were reports of pinnipeds with similar symptoms in Canada, Russia, and Japan.
By December 2011, there were more than 100 cases of affected pinnipeds in Alaska’s Arctic region. Due to the unusual number of marine mammals discovered with similar symptoms across a wide geographic area, and after consultation with the Working Group on Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Events, NOAA and USFWS announced the declaration of an Unusual Mortality Event on Tuesday, December 20, 2011. The declaration triggered a focused, expert investigation into the cause of the disease. An investigation team was established involving national and international specialists from numerous agencies, laboratories, and institutions, and including Tribal leaders, hunters, scientists, veterinarians, wildlife biologists, and disease diagnosticians from Alaska and beyond.- More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014 |
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 RE: Rezoning By George Lybrand -
With Reference to Marty West’s Letter of 2/12/14: Ms. Marty, as you know, the City of Ketchikan opposed this rezone by a letter to the Ketchikan Gateway Borough Planning Department dated 2/3/14. What I found odd about this is that City had no opposition to rezoning the adjacent Copper Ridge property which increased assessments value from $.25/sf to $35.00/sf. Now its not OK to rezone this property and do the same thing? - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014
Council Ignores Important Information on Chloramine By Amanda Mitchell - As many of you have already signed our informal petition to stop the planned use of chloramine, it is important to inform you that our City Council is not interested in listening to us. They mocked concern and put our future into the hands of a corporation, CH2M Hill, that has clung onto outdated information. According to our Ketchikan Daily Newspaper, Olsen said no one ever spoke out on this issue. I know personally that this is not so and many of you did speak out, but were completely ignored and told misleading information. - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014
Adding Chloramine to Ketchikan's Water By Betty Constuble -
Our city fathers have made a terrible choice in deciding to add chloramine to our drinking water. This is dangerous. It causes health problems and property damage. It will harm our fish as it goes into our ocean. People taking chemotherapy or with HIV are told not to drink this but to take the cholamine out of the water first. But it is nearly impossible to remove it. What are these people going to do? - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014
Poisoning Ketchikan's well By James Schenk -
What follows is my informed Opinion, thank you for reading further. Several years ago a friend of mine from Ketchikan who works for the Alaska Ferries, informed me of a plan to change the water system in Ketchikan. The problem was not as the old problem that existed with our current water system, a known carcinogen inside the infrastructure installed years ago. No this was a new problem indeed. - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014
RE: It snows in Alaska By Laura (Attwood) Random -
I read Mary Hemli's letter to the editor regarding the bus not going to Ketchikan Medical Center during a recent snowfall and am certainly offended by her attack on the drivers of the Ketchikan Bus. "We have to quit hiring people who have no idea how to drive in the snow" is offensive and rude. - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014
RE: Postal Service By Marlene Steiner -
I just got a letter in the mail today that came from a local. It was sent out on the 14th of this month and today is the 19th. I looked at the Meter Post Mark and it was from 99801 which is Juneau not Ketchikan and taking 5 days to get to me. - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014
NO WONDER By David G. Hanger -
When exactly did you take Darrell Issa’s kool-aid, Mr. Haberman? I am sure most folks see clearly your kamikaze flame-out in attempting to justify a policy you put in place that even as you wrote was being ripped apart by your superiors, i.e. Senator Begich, et al. How many have gone further in their analysis of what you have written, I cannot say, but what you have written convinces me you should be fired because you are obviously not the person for this job. - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014
Circumventing Congress and The Constitution By Donald A. Moskowitz - Presidents have abused their powers by circumventing Congress with executive orders, which could be unconstitutional in many cases. - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014
Cannery work remembered By Arnold C Anderson -
Many years ago in 1948 I went to Ketchikan Alaska to work in the Ketchikan Packing Company. I was a college kid out of work and had gone up there at my own expense. It was a time when fish traps were allowed for their last year. The traps were used everyday except Sunday. It was amazing how many fish were caught and were brought in by fish trap tenders. - More...
Tuesday PM - February 18, 2014
Blocked? By Mamie Alexander - I am trying to find out how a private company can place equipment in a State Correctional Institution and charge people subscription fees to receive phone calls from inmates. This happened to me in the recent past. I was told the company had set up their equipment in the facility and in order to receive calls we had to subscribe to their services. I would like to know what has happened to this company, is it still there selling subscriptions and is this why the phones are blocked? Is it legal? 0 More...
Tuesday PM - February 18, 2014
Legalizing Cannabis By Alan R.(Rudy) McGillvray -
To all my fellow Alaskans, cannabis consumers or not, yes, horrors of horrors, Rudy smokes and otherwise consumes cannabis? Yes I do, and as such, I have no problem with it other than staying flush with enough cash to maintain my level of consumption, which amounts to 4 grams a month (maybe 8 grams) and it lasts about 3 days. But, that is NOT why I decided to write this. - More...
Tuesday PM - February 18, 2014
18 Trillion Debt By A.M. Johnson -
A lesson in politics: Senator "Murky" Murkowski is about fooling low information voters once again. The Ketchikan Daily News on 2/14/14 reports a Juneau source reporting Senator Murkowski voted against raising the nation debt limit yet again and again. In the reporting the Senator is quoted "Raising the debt limits is an abdication of Congress in addressing the national debt." Well, we have national debt now at 18 Trillion dollars ($18,000,000,000,000,000,000). - More...
Tuesday PM - February 18, 2014
It snows in Alaska! By Mary E Hemli -
This last week we have had snow in Ketchikan. It is good for our water shed. On Tuesday there was a message up by the front of the Hospital saying the city bus could not make it up the hill so people would have to walk down to Tongass to catch the bus. I am 66 years old and have to be at the Hospital for some antibiotic infusion. I could not walk down to Tongass to catch the bus, what are we doing hiring from Georgia and Virginia? I have never seen the bus not go to the hospital It is a Hospital and the people there are usually sick. I have live here 30 years and this has never happened. - More....
Tuesday PM - February 18, 2014
RE: Explanation please! By Gina Palmer -
After reading the letter from Kaisa Polanska, I thought I would write and enlighten her as to why KTB has not responded to her "right to know' why the artistic director was let go. - More...
Tuesday PM - February 18, 2014
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