Ketchikan: Assets necessary for children to thrive By MARIE L. MONYAK - The Greater Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce luncheon this past Wednesday provided those in attendance with not just one but two presentations. The invited guest speaker was Karen Eakes, long time Ketchikan resident and Executive Director of PATCHWorks. The First City Players also provided the Chamber members and their guests with a short preview of their upcoming musical comedy "Chaps."

Karen Eakes, Executive Director of PATCHWorks Photograph by Marie L. Monyak

"Someone might be thinking, why would you have an organization like PATCHWorks come in," Blaine Ashcraft, Chamber Business Manager asked. "Our children are our future business community so that's something to keep in mind about which direction we want to go."

Executive Director of PATCHWorks, Karen Eakes has lived in Ketchikan for 39 years and spent 22 of those as a teacher. She got involved in PATCHWorks while in graduate school.

Eakes began her presentation by distributing a publication entitled "Building a future for our community" which contained an abundance of information regarding our local youth and the assets necessary for every child to thrive. Additional information was included from the Search Institute which provided the statistical information used in the presentation.

For years the community has heard the name PATCHWorks and seen their announcements in the local newspapers which refer to assets, yet there are still many who are not aware of who the organization is and their purpose.

PATCHWorks is simply a Planned Approach to Community Health. When it began in Ketchikan in 1977, the organization adopted Search Institutes developmental asset framework and is dedicated to promoting youth in a positive way and spreading the asset message.

This research based framework lists developmental assets that assist our youth in becoming healthy, responsible, well adjusted adults. It has been proven through research that the more assets children have the more likely they are to make healthy, positive choices in their lives and avoid high risk behavior.

Eakes explained, "There is a direct correlation between high risk behaviors and thriving behaviors to the number of assets that kids report having in their lives versus the likelihood to exhibit thriving or high risk behavior." - More...
Saturday - March 04, 2006

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International: Bush, Pakistan's Musharraf Outline Bright Future for Alliance - President Bush concluded his travel to South Asia "with gratitude for what we've accomplished, and with optimism for what we will yet accomplish" in remarks directed at President Pervez Musharraf and the Pakistani people.

Speaking at a state dinner in Islamabad, Pakistan, March 4, Bush thanked Pakistan's president for his hospitality and said, "Pakistan's efforts to enhance peace and security have earned the respect and the admiration of the American people." - More...
Saturday - March 04, 2006

International: Bush, Pakistan's Musharraf Recap Democratic, Economic Progress By MELODY MERIN - U.S. President Bush and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf expressed their commitment to ongoing mutual support and partnership between the United States and Pakistan in a March 4 press conference in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Musharraf said that he and President Bush had revived and strengthened the relationship between the two nations. "We have laid the foundations of a very strong, sustainable, broad-based and long-term relationship between Pakistan and United States," he said. - More...
Saturday - March 04, 2006

International: Violence Will Not Stop Iraq's Democratic Process, Rumsfeld Says - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says individuals who are fomenting violence in Iraq are doing so "to stop the formation of a new government," but they will not succeed.

When innocent civilians are killed by violence it is always stunning, shocking and heartbreaking, but the secretary said the reality is that Iraq has been "a violent part of the world for a good long time, and what we're seeing there now is a conscious effort by the terrorists and the insurgents to incite civil war and sectarian violence." - More...
Saturday - March 04, 2006

National: Pollsters react to Bush's bad numbers By MICHAEL MALIK - February was not a good month for President Bush. Reminders of Hurricane Katrina, dissension by congressional Republicans and a bloody month in Iraq contributed to a new series of low poll numbers.

Bush can not reverse a slump in his approval rating with a tour around the country or a national address, said Democratic pollster Mark Mellman, president of the Mellman Group.

"He needs to change reality," Mellman said. "This is not a public relations problem. This is a reality problem. Real world events are cutting strongly against him right now." - More...
Saturday - March 04, 2006

National: What you see on Katrina video depends on your view of Bush By MARC SANDALOW - The video of top aides warning President Bush of a looming catastrophe in New Orleans a full day before Hurricane Katrina hit is likely to play a prominent role in the story of the Bush presidency.

The subject of this particular meeting happened to be a natural disaster, but to many Americans, it might as easily have been Iraq, national security or the economy.

Critics see a president ignoring warning signs, displaying no inquisitiveness and expressing unfounded confidence in his administration's capabilities, with disastrous consequences. - More...
Saturday - March 04, 2006

National: Enzymes emerge to speed ethanol production By LANCE GAY - A half century ago, it was a curiosity - a rapacious fungus that rapidly ate through the fabrics of tents, uniforms or just about anything else the U.S. Army sent to the island of Guam.

Today the fungus that caused that notorious jungle rot - Trichoderma reesei - is in the forefront of research into rapid-acting enzymes that the Bush administration hopes will build a new ethanol industry. - More...
Saturday - March 04, 2006

Opinion Poll Web Polls Are Not Scientific Polls On April 11th city voters will have an opportunity to vote on the City of Ketchikan's $38.5 million port improvement bond. How would you vote? View Poll Stats Viewpoints Opinions/Letters New After School Policy By Connor Pihl - Saturday PM What lessons will they learn? By David Hull - Saturday PM What message are we sending to our student athletes? By Matt Olsen - Saturday PM Ugliest Photo Contest! By Robert D. Warner - Saturday PM It does take a village By Tonia J. Nebl - Saturday PM Veil of secrecy By Mary Lynne Dahl - Saturday PM Bond poll: Why I voted NO! By Jim Dornblaser - Saturday PM BRAVO KAYHI TEACHERS! By Lynne Miller - Saturday PM Emerald Bay By Evening Star Grutter - Saturday PM Spraying of Long Island By Jean Bland - Saturday PM Pro dock expansion By Tom Ferry - Saturday PM Desecration Bridge By Don Hoff Jr. - Saturday PM Allegations of Misconduct: Rumors vs Facts By Steve Corporon - Thursday PM Allegations of Misconduct By Debra Azure - Thursday PM We apologize for any misunderstanding By Dennis Pope - Thursday PM WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE PERMANENT FUND!!! By Rudy McGillvray - Thursday PM Hanging out after school By Daphne Schnur - Thursday PM Support music education By Rob Holston - Thursday PM Alaska Marble By Sandy DeShaw - Thursday PM Port Bond By Steve Ripley - Thursday PM Musical education program close to dwindling away By Brian K. Schum - Wednesday PM Lack of respect and trust shown to students By Teri Matiashowski - Wednesday PM First Concern By Taylor McDonald - Wednesday PM Lazy People By Jerry Cegelske - Wednesday PM LET KIDS STAY IN SCHOOL AFTER HOURS By Kevin Mackey - Wednesday PM Bond Poll By Tom Ferry - Wednesday PM Secret investments of public money By Charlotte Tanner - Wednesday PM Wiretapping is nothing new. By Virginia E. Atkinson - Wednesday PM More Viewpoints/ Letters Publish A Letter Political Cartoonists Political Cartoons Ketchikan March 06, 2006 - Monday - 5:30 pm - Ketchikan Borough Assembly Meeting - City Council Chambers Agenda & Information Packets March 09, 2006 - Thursday - 5:30 - 7:30 pm - Planning for the Newtown Area. Everyone in Ketchikan is welcome. Ketchikan Historical Assoc. Flyer March Calendar Today's Forecast Ketchikan Weather Data Current AK Weather Map City Police Report AK Troopers Daily Dispatch Classifieds & Announcements Feb. - March 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 01 02 03 04 Front Page Archives

National: Fighting with a spouse may be harmful to your heart By LEE BOWMAN - Women are more likely to experience hardening of heart arteries when they and their husbands show hostility during marital fights, while men's arteries take more of a hit when they or their wives tried to be dominant in an argument, a new study finds.

Psychologists at the University of Utah set up arguments between 150 volunteer married couples, mostly in their 60s, and then did a CT scan of their coronary arteries to look for signs of calcification, a hardening and narrowing of arteries that can put people at risk for a heart attack. - More...
Saturday - March 04, 2006

Ketchikan: Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Display in Ketchikan - "In celebration of the 2006 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, the Discovery Center Staff has put together a small interpretive display about the trail and the race," said Brian Short Information Receptionist at the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center. "In addition to providing some interesting facts about the trail and race, we will also be providing updated standings each day until the winner is decided," he said.

In case you didn't know, the ceremonial start of the race was today (Saturday, March 4th), and the official start of the 2006 Iditarod will be tomorrow in Willow, AK. A winner should be
determined anywhere from 9-10 days later. - More....
Saturday - March 04, 2006

Washington Calling: Ports deal ... ANWR ... New ID cards for feds ... Impeachment move By LANCE GAY - The White House expects the uprising against the ports deal to subside over the next month, as a new review is undertaken of the planned takeover of some U.S. port operations by a United Arab Emirates-owned company, and there's time for administration aides to tell lawmakers about the help Dubai is offering the United States in the war on terrorism.

But House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., isn't buying the administration line, and vows the fight has just begun.

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Stop the Alaska lands fights, say congressional moderates.

Rep. Nancy Johnson, R-Conn., is urging the House leadership to drop plans to add a provision to a budget bill that would open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. Congress rejected the idea last year, and it's only going to provoke unnecessary controversy, she says in a letter to House leaders, co-signed by 24 other Republicans.

But Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, veteran of the 20-year-old fight to explore for oil along Alaska's coastline, says he's not giving up the battle that he maintains he's almost won.

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All federal employees are to be fitted out with new fraud-proof identification cards by October. The National Institute of Standards and Technology says a pilot project with Pentagon employees shows that the cards encrypted with biometric data work as intended, and now is looking for contractors to do the work. - More...
Saturday - March 04, 2006

The week in review By THOMAS HARGROVE - Katrina videotapes prompt new debate on leadership

Videos of top-level teleconferencing between federal and state officials released Wednesday showed that President Bush and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff were warned a day before Hurricane Katrina struck that there were "very, very grave concerns" that the levees protecting New Orleans might not contain the flood waters. And Michael Brown, the disgraced now-former Federal Emergency Management Agency chief, is showing warning of insufficient disaster teams "to respond to a catastrophe within a catastrophe" at the Superdome. The footage raised new questions by Democrats about Bush's claim that no one had foreseen the failure of the levees. "It looks like everybody was fully aware," said New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.

Iraqi death toll after mosque bombing at least 500

Security forces in Baghdad banned truck and auto traffic during Friday prayers in hopes of calming Shiite-Sunni violence following the Feb. 22 bombing of the golden-domed Shiite shrine in Samarra. Although the casualty count has been in dispute, at least 500 people have died nationwide as Iraq teeters on the brink of civil war. The lull during the Moslem Sabbath came after at least 58 people perished Thursday, including 19 fatalities when gunmen attacked a power station where Shiite brick-factory workers slept. U.S. forces detained 61 suspected insurgents northeast of Fallujah.

White House starts second review of port deal

Heading off a likely revolt by Capitol Hill Republicans, the White House announced Monday that it would order a second review of possible security risks over a United Arab Emirates company assuming control of shipping operations at six major U.S. ports. Later that day a Senate committee released documents showing that the U.S. Coast Guard cautioned President Bush that it could not confirm whether Dubai-owned DP World might support terrorist operations. "There are many intelligence gaps," a Coast Guard report warned. Complicating the issue, it was revealed later in the week that another Dubai-owned company was trying to buy a British firm with plants in Georgia and Connecticut that manufacture parts for engines for military aircraft and tanks. - More...
Saturday - March 04, 2006