Developer David Hauck Photo by Marie L. Monyak

Ketchikan: Developer Shares Vision For Historical Waterfront Storage By MARIE L. MONYAK - It rapidly became apparent at the Greater Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce's luncheon last Wednesday that the expected presentation by David Hauck of Laguna Beach, California would be anything but usual judging by the size of the large crowd, the number of media present and the appearance of the City Mayor.

Once everyone was seated, Terry Wanzer, local restaurateur, hotelier and real estate broker approached the podium to talk a little about his feelings on Ketchikan past, present and future. "I came to Ketchikan in 1963 when Newtown had a multitude of businesses; two service companies, the Marine Bar, the Ford dealership, Hansen's, all kinds of transportation companies and City Float was packed with commercial boats," Wanzer stated.

"We now have an industry that is growing by leaps and bounds and we haven't kept up with it," Wanzer continued. "We have people that are looking at Ketchikan that agree there is a tremendous benefit to this town in what it has to offer with its scenic beauty, its people, its tremendous potential as far as living and doing business here.

"So, my guest came here and saw that vision and decided to invest in our community, he has made an offer and is in the process of working with Southeast Stevedoring and all the development that is going on in that area." - More...
Monday - March 20, 2006

Top Stories U.S. News U.S. Politics Alaska Ketchikan

National: No Civil War in Iraq Despite Terrorists' Desperate Efforts, Cheney Says; Bush, General Casey say victory in Iraq will make world safer By RALPH DANNHEISSER and PEGGY B. HU - Iraq has not fallen into civil war even though terrorists are doing their desperate best to foment one to thwart the nation's democratic development, Vice President Dick Cheney says.

Cheney was interviewed on CBS's Face the Nation March 19 on the third anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein from power.

The vice president quoted the terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, as having said two years ago that if Iraqis succeeded in achieving a democratic government, "he'd have to pack up his bags and go elsewhere."

"So what we've seen is a serious effort by them to foment civil war, but I don't think they've been successful," Cheney said. Rather, he said, his view is that the insurgents have "reached a stage of desperation."

Army General George Casey, the commander of multinational forces in Iraq, said in separate talk show appearances the same day that civil war in Iraq is neither imminent nor inevitable.

Although there have been instances of sectarian violence, Casey said on Fox News Sunday, "it's primarily focused in the center of the country around Baghdad."

He noted that in 15 of Iraq's 18 provinces "there are six or less incidents of violence a day," and not all of that violence is sectarian. - More...
Monday - March 20, 2006

National: Bush Administration Encouraged About India Civil Nuclear Deal; U.S. Congress considering legislation to allow deal to proceed By DAVID SHELBY - The Bush administration is encouraged by the initial response it has received from members of Congress on the proposed U.S.-India civil nuclear cooperation agreement, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns says.

The pact was signed by President Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during Bush's visit to India in early March.

Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives introduced legislation March 16 that would exempt India from certain restrictions on the export of U.S. nuclear technology. Both houses must pass this legislation, and the final bill must be signed by the president, before the deal can proceed. - More...
Monday - March 20, 2006

Alaska: Feds order BP to fix broken pipeline By WESLEY LOY - Federal pipeline safety officials have intervened in the Prudhoe Bay oil spill, ordering BP to take aggressive steps to ensure a major pipe that leaked more than 200,000 gallons of crude won't break down again.

Daren Beaudo, a spokesman for BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc., acknowledged the company received a letter from the Office of Pipeline Safety, an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The letter orders BP to take a series of actions, such as running an electronic device called a pig through the 3-mile pipeline to test for corrosion or other problems.

Beaudo said late Thursday that he was not at liberty to provide a copy of the letter. - More...
Monday - March 20, 2006

Operations Training Auxiliary photo courtesy Noreen Folkerts

Ketchikan: USCG Auxiliary Wants You! By MARIE L. MONYAK -The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary wants you, men and women alike! Do you believe in serving your community? Would you like to be actively involved in saving lives? Would you like to increase your personal skills, not just in boating but in leadership and administration?

Would you like to help reduce the number of boating accidents and fatalities right here in Ketchikan?

If you think you have to sign up for a tour of duty in the military, think again. The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is just that, an auxiliary. Defined in the dictionary as an aide, or to provide assistance, the Auxiliary is the non-military, uniformed, volunteer organization that takes pride in assisting the Coast Guard in a variety of ways.

Still don't think you qualify? If you have a skill, the Auxiliary will find a position for you. Do you have experience as a cook? Are you a teacher? Do you have experience in radio communications or in computer technology? What about operational and administrative skills?

Founded in 1939 by an Act of Congress, the Auxiliary is broken down into organizational units. Designated as District 17, the State of Alaska has 13 basic units known as Flotillas. Although Auxiliary members wear the Coast Guard uniform, they hold positions rather than rank. Each Auxiliary has a Flotilla Commander and in Ketchikan that position is held by local resident and Associate Pastor of the Clover Pass Church, Grant Smith, who also serves as the Volunteer Chaplain for the Coast Guard. - More...
Monday - March 20, 2006

"Trawler Tim" (the voice is Jeff Fitzwater of the First City Players) and Dawn Rauwolf Photograph by Marie L. Monyak

Ketchikan: A Children's Museum in Ketchikan? By MARIE L. MONYAK - The guest speaker at the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center's Friday Night Insight Program March 17th was Dawn Rauwolf who gave her charming and enthusiastic presentation, "A Children's Museum in Ketchikan?"

Introducing herself as a concerned citizen, Rauwolf explained how she came to Ketchikan twelve years ago at the age of 20, worked on a fishing boat, became friends with her boss, the captain, and that friendship led to the three adorable children whose picture flashed on the theatre's projection screen. - More...
Monday - March 20, 2006

Ketchikan: Charter Approved For Tongass School of Arts and Sciences - The Alaska State Board of Education, at its March 16th meeting, unanimously approved a five-year charter for the Tongass School of Arts and Sciences in Ketchikan beginning on July 1st, 2006. The State's approval is the final step in the school's charter renewal process which began last fall. The Ketchikan School Board previously approved the charter renewal at their December 14th, 2005 meeting.

State Board members applauded the school's performance noting that it is has achieved adequate yearly progress for the past two years. According to one board member, what made this accomplishment especially notable was the fact that the Tongass School has exceeded state standards while serving a diverse population of students. When asked how the school accomplished this, Academic Policy President John Hill responded "By doing our best". One Board member commented that they would have gladly approved the charter for more than the five years requested based on the school's performance. State Board President Richard Mauer said "You can consider that quite an 'atta boy'". - More...
Monday - March 20, 2006

Opinion Poll Web Polls Are Not Scientific Polls View Bond Poll Results Poll ended 03/14/06 Viewpoints Opinions/Letters Circling Around The Truth About the Port Bond By Marie L. Monyak - Monday am THOU SHALT STEAL By Alan Lidstone - Monday am Some make the right choices By Cynthia Grant - Monday am Support dock expansion By Shauna Lee - Sunday Support growth By Bill Ayers - Sunday Panhandlers By Jessica Mathews - Sunday ANWR By John S. Hutton - Saturday am Help stop pesticide spraying on Long Island By Robert Sanderson Jr. - Saturday am Loss of F/V Slayer and Crew By Richard Clark - Saturday am Imposing Democracy and Peace via Pre-Emptive Wars? By Stanley Arcieri - Saturday am Government Secrets By Virginia E. Atkinson - Saturday am Vote No on $38.5 million Port Revenue Bond By Don Hoff Jr. - Saturday am More Viewpoints/ Letters Publish A Letter Political Cartoonists Political Cartoons Ketchikan March 20, 2006 - 5:00 pm - Ketchikan Board of Equalization meeting - City Council Chambers - Agenda March 20, 2006 - 5:30 pm - Ketchikan Assembly Meeting - City Council Chambers - Agenda & Information Packets March 22, 2006 - 5:30 pm - Ketchikan Board of Equalization meeting - City Council Chambers - Agenda March Calendar Arts This Week Today's Forecast Ketchikan Weather Data Current AK Weather Map City Police Report AK Troopers Daily Dispatch Classifieds & Announcements March 2006 Click on the date to read the stories published on that day. S M T W T F S 26  27 28 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 29 30 31   Front Page Archives

Ann McFeatters: Bush foreign policy relies on situational ethics - President Bush's new, 19,322-word national security report is a stunning document that parents should not permit their children to read.

It does not square with what schoolchildren learn about the principles for which this country has stood.

Here are a few examples:

- "Under long-standing principles of self defense, we do not rule out the use of force before attacks occur - even if uncertainty remains as to the time and place of the enemy's attack." This is a restatement of Bush's remarkable and central doctrine of preemption - this country now chooses to go to war against countries suspected of plotting to do us harm, even if the threat is not imminent, even if facts aren't known or clear. - More...
Monday - March 20, 2006

Dan K. Thomasson: Same scenario, different war - Where is Robert McNamara when we need him? You know that former Defense secretary who always gave us hope by seeing light at the end of the tunnel, the man who paralyzed the Ford Motor Co. and then the nation. But we all know he is still around his old Georgetown haunts rewriting history, isn't he?

At least that's what They want us to think. In reality there is mounting evidence that he is holding down his old desk at the Pentagon disguised as someone who calls himself Donald Rumsfeld.

That has to be the only explanation for the sort of Vietnam-like decision-making that not only went on in the early days of the current Iraqi conflict and "pacification" effort but also seems to be continuing. It is the strategy stubbornly defended by the secretary of Defense and his president despite a growing chorus of refutation from those on the scene. - More...
Monday - March 20, 2006

Marsha Mercer: What politics could learn from basketball - The sport I follow most is politics, particularly the tournament that determines who lives in the White House every four years.

Many people dread the quadrennial presidential rite: all those nasty ads, trees sacrificed for campaign mailings, dinners interrupted by phone bank calls. Voters despair of choosing the lesser of two evils.

So I can't help feeling a twinge of envy about the way March Madness grabs ordinarily sane people by the back of the neck and shakes them like rag dolls.

No election, not even for president, drives people happily crazy. During March Madness, people argue about rankings, slip away to study statistics and pick their brackets, then duck work to spend hours watching the contests. - More...
Monday - March 20, 2006

Dale McFeatters: Security is more than pre-emptive strikes - By law, the president is supposed to present a revised National Security Strategy annually. Since the last time was 2002, the timing of this latest assessment is significant.

Clearly, President Bush meant to turn up the heat on Iran at a crucial point when that nation is considering whether to proceed with a nuclear weapons program. "We face no greater challenge from a single country than from Iran," he said.

This was far stronger language than he used for the six other "despotic systems" he singled out - North Korea, Syria, Cuba, Zimbabwe, Belarus and Burma. - More...
Monday - March 20, 2006

John Hall: Censure, an opening move - Sen. Russ Feingold's call for the censure of President Bush is a serious proposal from a serious man. But it comes dripping with political spin because no such process is prescribed in the Constitution.

The last time a presidential censure was discussed, President Clinton was in trouble in the Monica Lewinsky scandal. It was offered first as an alternative to impeachment in the House and then in the Senate as a compromise to sweep the whole mess off the table.

Both the Senate and the House refused to adopt censure because it was just a word with no meaning in law and carried no penalty. Both houses decided to take the course of impeachment and conviction or nothing at all. Eventually the House voted for impeachment and the Senate voted against conviction. - More..
Monday - March 20, 2006