Ketchikan: Gravina Island Access Survey Final Report -- Prepared for: ADOT&PF by the McDowell Group. Document provided to SitNews by Malcolm A. Menzies, Southeast Regional Director DOT/PF Download the Gravina Island Access Survey Final Report- 27 pages pdf

Ketchikan: Hunt Photos Show Ketchikan in Pioneer Days By DAVE KIFFER - Of the handful of people who helped Ketchikan grow from a collection of beach shacks to a city in the early 1900s, one would be hard pressed to find a more crucial family than the Hunt family, which not only established one of the earliest businesses, but also documented the founding of Ketchikan with an extensive photo collection.

Many of those familiar photos of Ketchikan's early years are now on display at the Ketchikan museum through mid April. Harriet (Frost) Hunt and her daughter, Bertha Hunt Wells were two of the first female photographers in the Territory.

The Hunt family history was one of moving west in order to make a better life. Several economic slumps hit the country in the years following the Civil War and that led the Frosts and the Hunts to head west as well.

The Frost family had come out West by wagon train in the 1844, surviving robberies and Indian attacks to make it to the Oregon Territory and become one of the first families to inhabit what eventually became Washington state. Harriet Elizabeth Frost was born in Tumwater, Washington on January 2, 1865.

The Hunt family was originally from New York, but was living in Michigan at the time of Forest's birth in 1858. After Forest's father served in the Civil War, the family moved to Nebraska, where Forest Hunt graduated from school. He and his father ­ Miles Hunt - then headed to Puget Sound where they heard jobs were plentiful.

First, they tried logging in the Gig Harbor area. Then Forest got a job teaching school.

In her family journal, Bertha Hunt Wells noted that it was common in those days for teachers to "board" with local families.

"Dad soon found the home where he much preferred boarding (the Frost Home), as mother was a pretty, vivacious girl, with light brown hair, blue eyes and a baby complexion - and his favorite pupil," Hunt Wells wrote in 1965. "Dad laughingly told me that the mother of some of his other girl pupils talked about him saying that he had been seen kissing her. Being a hot headed young man, not yet 22 years old, (he) went up to their farm and (accused) her of slander. Her husband came in and asked what the trouble was and when Dad told him, the man looked at his wife and said 'old woman, you keep your mouth shut.' That settled it."

Wells also wrote that from her father's expression it was clear that the 'old woman's' gossip had at least a grain of truth to it.

Lizzie Frost and Forest Hunt were married on March 31, 1880 at her home. Forest was 22, Lizzie was 15. Shortly after, he quit teaching and opened a store.

The Hunts had five children; Elmer, Dale, Bertha, Elaine and Amy. Elmer died at age 9 in Washington and the 1890s proved hard for Forest's business efforts. A depression hit the country and his store was failing, primarily because the local banks were in trouble.

When news arrived of gold strikes in Alaska, he decided to go north to Wrangell. He arrived there in 1898 and sent for his family. Harriet immediately took over the operation of a small café, the Blue Front. She was very popular for her lemon pies, according to a 1932 article about her in Juneau's "The Stroller Weekly."

In the fall of 1899, Harriet and the children went back to Tacoma for the winter. It was then that Forest decided to relocate to the village of Ketchikan which was showing an increase in mining activity. The "boom" in mining on the Stikine River had ebbed, primarily because the Canadian government was blocking efforts to build a railway up the Stikine River valley.

Hunt moved to Ketchikan in March, 1900 and his family joined him in June. The Hunts immediately opened a small store and became active in community affairs.

Harriet founded the lyceum club which became the library board and would serve on it for the rest of her life. She would also found the women's Chamber of Commerce and be active in local lodges and other groups.

Forest was elected to the city council and would eventually serve as mayor and then be elected to the Territorial Legislature. He was president of the Senate for one term. In the mid 1920s, he would make headlines by calling Ketchikan "vice ridden" and "wicked" as he urged the federal government to help "clean up" the First City. - More...
Saturday - March 22, 2008

National: Only World War II was costlier than Iraq war By ZACHARY COILE - It was supposed to be a quick war and a cheap one. Five years later, 160,000 U.S. troops are still in Iraq. And the costs keep piling up -- $12 billion every month -- putting a strain on an already faltering economy.

The United States has poured more than $500 billion into Iraq, mostly for military operations. But that figure is just a small piece of the much larger bill that taxpayers will pay in the future.

Because the money for the war is being borrowed, interest payments could add another $615 billion. A heavily depleted military will have to be rebuilt at a cost of $280 billion. Disability benefits and health care for Iraq war veterans, many of them severely injured, could add another half-trillion dollars over their lifetime.

Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz and Harvard University public-finance professor Laura Bilmes, both of whom served in the Clinton administration, have included those calculations in a new study of the war's long-term costs. Their estimate of the war's price tag: $3 trillion.

"We are a rich country, and we can, in some sense, afford it. It's not going to bankrupt us," said Stiglitz, a Columbia University professor, who published the findings in a new book, "The Three Trillion Dollar War." - More....
Saturday - March 22, 2008

Bill Steigerwald: Steve Forbes Says Stop the Dollar's Free Fall - Forbes magazine editor Steve Forbes failed to win the Republican presidential nomination in 1996 and 2000. And his pet big ideas -- a flat tax that would let citizens fill out their income taxes on a post card, individual health savings accounts and market-based Social Security reform -- remain unconsummated dreams of many conservative reformers.

But Forbes, 60, hasn't lost his optimism, his edge as a sharp economic prognosticator or his capitalist's disdain for dubious government fiscal and monetary policies -- even when Republicans are practicing them. Forbes writes editorials for each issue of Forbes magazine (circulation: 900,000) and appears often as a guest analyst on CNBC financial shows. I talked to the CEO of Forbes Inc. on Monday, March 10, by phone from New York City.

Q: The stock market seems to fall a percent and half a day. Oil prices just set a new record. The dollar is falling. Inflation is going up. The subprime troubles don't seem to end. What has suddenly happened to our economy?

A: What's happened is twofold. One is the weak dollar policy of the Federal Reserve and particularly the Bush administration. I'm a Republican, but I think they have made a grievous mistake here. When you debase your currency -- you print too many dollars -- strange and unpleasant things happen, such as soaring commodity prices. Since 2004 oil, copper, lumber, steel -- they've all gone up. The housing market, which was booming, went on steroids. The same thing with a lot of the hedge and equity funds. We're paying the price for that today. - More...
Saturday - March 22, 2008

Preston MacDougall: Chemical Eye on the Borderline - The Peach State is in a parched state and is trying to poach from my state. This is not a playground tongue-twister, but a developing news story involving the state legislatures of Georgia and Tennessee.

Unless you're watching The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, you don't normally associate state legislatures with playgrounds. But there's a gigantic water-fight going on right now between the States of Georgia and Tennessee. Instead of throwing water balloons, legislators are lobbing resolutions concerning the relative locations of the Tennessee River and the Georgia-Tennessee borderline. - More...
Saturday - March 22, 2008

Ketchikan Ketchikan Police Report AK Troopers Daily Dispatch Today's Forecast Satellite Today's Weather Images Marine Forecasts Ketchikan Weather Data Current AK Weather Map CLASSIFIEDS Publish ad Please select the proper category before posting. CLASSIFIEDS' CATEGORIES Announcements and       Help Wanted For Sale / Free Stuff Garage Sales Homes / Apts/ Property Pets Wanted Lost & Found Local Services Publish your ad Front Page Archives Feb. - March 2008 S M T W T F S           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 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21  22 More Front Page Archives

Behavioral Health Services By Camielle Call - I am the most recent director of Gateway Center for Human Services, having tendered my resignation on or about March 1 of this year. It is important for me to clarify some issues associated with this position and with recent SitNews letters and the Ketchikan Daily News of March 8 - 9. - More...
Saturday - March 22, 2008

Infestation of Local Faith Groups By George Miller - There a several local churches downtown who could be listed as part of the 'infestation of non-profits' -- at least in the eyes of those who might belittle faith along with everything else. It is a proven fact, practiced by even the faithless rich, that generosity brings financial health -- and that the opposite is also true. Those who support groups that are doing good for our community are doing themselves a favor. - More...
Saturday - March 22, 2008

Petition to the MIC Council to apply Due Process By Steven G. Booth - A Petition to the MIC Council to apply Due Process states: We, the undersigned Members of the Metlakatla Indian Community (MIC), do hereby in signing this petition affirm that every Member should have a basic right to due process of MIC laws and procedures when faced with charges against us in MIC remedial forums. When MIC Council violated Mayor John A. Scudero, Jr. s due process rights on February 6, 2008, the Council set (or continued to set) a precedent for the type of treatment any Member can expect at all MIC remedial forums, including tribal government. - More...
Saturday - March 22, 2008

Non-Profits By Debra Pomeroy-Dundas - In response to Jay Jones' letter, I also have to protest with Ms. Antonsen! Not only is this non-profit agency, Community Connections, an asset to Ketchikan and the many people they help, they are part of the out lined communities, providing respite care and PCA services! They also employee people in other communities. - More...
Saturday - March 22, 2008

The Bridge By Forrest Mackie - I had a thought outside the box! I heard it said once that it would be cheaper to build an airport on this side that we could drive to than build a bridge. - More...
Saturday - March 22, 2008

Stimulus Loan By Judith Green - Thank you, RK Rice, for your thoughts about the Stimulus Loan which is being offered to citizens by our Federal Government. - More...
Saturday - March 22, 2008

Bridge, No Bridge By Dan Williams - This was quite entertaining reading about the bridges here in Alaska. Now it is quite OLD. People, the bridge is not going to happen, Governor Palin axed that idea. The bridge is old news. Some complain about the ferry to the airport and having to wait, and then brining in the emergency vehicles having to wait. This I know for fact that the ferry will break the schedule for emergency vehicles. - More...
Wednesday - March 19, 2008

Proposal to relocate the Ketchikan Borough Offices to the Plaza By Robert Nedzwecky, Jerry Pierce, Dave Filyaw - We are writing to express our support of Ketchikan Plaza LLC's proposal to relocate the Ketchikan Borough Offices to the Plaza for the following reasons: - More...
Wednesday - March 19, 2008

Non-profits By Beth Antonsen - Jay Jones' letter caught my attention because it brought up the revolving door at Gateway Human Services. Having worked at Gateway I felt I should respond and did. When I got to the end of Jones' letter I was taken aback by his statement about downtown Ketchikan being infested with non-profits. The main non-profits that I know about downtown are Community Connections and the Arts Council. I must protest his lumping those beloved agencies in with rats and roaches. - More...
Wednesday - March 19, 2008

Why you love Alaska! By Maria Hite - Hi! My name is Maria Hite. I am in the 7th grade at Queen of Peace School in Mishawaka, Indiana. I am doing a report on a state. I chose Alaska. - More...
Wednesday - March 19, 2008

Gateway Human Services' Revolving Door By Beth Antonsen - There has been a huge turnover in directors at Ketchikan Gateway Human Services and the services there are very important. There are several unsung heroes at Gateway and for the most part it is a tough job working there. Dealing with people and their plethora of problems can be very draining. I am speaking as an 8 year employee at Gateway. My job was phased out 6 years ago. The rewards where getting to help people and see them achieve positive goals in their lives. - More...
Monday PM - March 17, 2008

STIMULUS LOAN By R.K. Rice - Our household has received our first application for our "stimulus payment" from the IRS. This year the federal deficit is projected to be only $163 billion. So far this decade the total deficit is over 1 trillion dollars. That is money that we borrow from various lenders around the world and largely the Chinese. The taxpayers pay the interest on these loans. As we are currently in a deficit spending year, this means we must borrow the $180 billion or so that the federal government is sending out to placate the US taxpayers. - More...
Monday PM - March 17, 2008

Kink Arm Bridge By Jerilyn Lester - Your loyalty is admirable for someone here for such a short time. What do you think a bridge to and across the two islands next to Ketchikan would do? It would allow us to get to and from our airport without having to wait for the ferry; it would allow us to access land and development on Gravina Island and Pennock Island as well. I do know that some think we don't need to develop that land and some think the only reason for this bridge is to make sure that the former Governor can get to his land, but 30 years ago we were promised the bridge to allow us to get to our airport, Ketchikan International Airport, to be more precise. - More...
Monday PM - March 17, 2007

Ketchikan Mental Health Services By Carol Alley - Our silence as a community regarding the lack of adequate mental health and substance abuse services is deafening. Those most in need likely lack the ability to voice this concern for themselves. Those providing services in our community, and the ancillary staff working with them, find themselves overworked and under-appreciated. - More...
Saturday PM - March 15, 2008

Why is there high a turnover for Director at Gateway Human Services? By Jay Jones - Hey "Fourth Estate", why is there such a high turnover for Director at Gateway Human Services. As taxpayers, we are the bosses, we ought to know the facts. And what has been the average weekly client count at the city-run treatment center since the first of the year? And what do they pay a counselor with a bachelor's degree? I guess if I want questions asked or answered I'll have to ask the City Manager or City Council myself. - More...
Saturday PM - March 15, 2008

Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad & HB 320 By Jerry L. Kiffer - The search and rescue community received some good news this week with the passage of HB 320 through the State House the bill has been sent on to the Senate for their approval.. For those who may be unfamiliar with this legislation HB 320 will fill a dire need to support our search and rescue volunteers if they are injured during the training missions necessary to participate in search and rescue activity. As with much of the State the volunteer professionals working for the Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad are not paid for their service, nor are they compensated for their participation in training missions to keep their skills honed. - More...
Saturday PM - March 15, 2008

Thank You Tom Fisher By Shaun Haseltine - Thank you to Mr. Fisher, I was glad and surprised to see a Ketchikan resident say publicly that the commercial fishing industry is alive and very much healthy. - More...
Saturday PM - March 15, 2008

Kink Arm Bridge By Ken Hudson - I don't know about Ketchikan but I do know about Anchorage and the Mat-Su Borough. Both of these areas are still growing even in a slowing economy, few areas still are. A bridge across the Knik Arm would open up new land to relieve Anchorages land shortage, stimulate the economy in the area and provide an alternate route to the Mat-Su. - More...
Saturday PM - March 15, 2008

Medical delivery systems By Mark Neckameyer - I respect Joel Galli's intelligent comparison of Medical systems in the USA and in Germany but Joe, have you been in or done business in Germany lately? Until very recently I was there every three months. Their tax rate is HUGE. The sales tax (VAT) is 19%. The price of gasoline is double our high price and most of that is tax. Income taxes are much higher and are more pervasive. I believe you pay a tax on each and every TV you have in your home for instance. The cost of manufacturing anything in Germany is so much higher than about anywhere else that even the highly intelligent and educated people of that much smaller nation, are suffering economically and their factory jobs are leaving for China and points east even faster than ours. - More...
Saturday PM - March 15, 2008

In Praise of Nazi Medical Economics? By Bob Harmon - I can't believe I just read Mr. Galli's story praising the way Germans save money to provide for better citizen medical care. Mr. Galli even mentions the 1930s in his letter. I am just a retired High School teacher but the way I remember it is the Germans gassed and cooked all or most of their disabled, retarded and even Gay citizens along with millions of Jews and Gypsies and Slavs and others. Maybe they have racially purified their genetics now so they can spend less on medicine? Sitnews is to be applauded for putting something like this out so we can all see how some people feel about sensitive issues. - More...
Saturday PM - March 15, 2008

Veneer Mill Shut Down By Mary Lynn Dahl - The veneer mill operated by Renaissance Ketchikan Group, LLC, a corporation owned by Jerry Jenkins, is now delinquent on more than $100,000 in property taxes. Tax delinquency normally results in foreclosure, unless all back taxes and penalties are paid. That seems unlikely, since the mill has shut down several times and is currently shut down yet again. Most of the mill employees have been laid off, unfortunately. - More...
Wednesday AM - March 12, 2008

Community's Youth By Judith Green - In response to these notes about Our Community's Youth, let us not forget that there are other activities besides sports that attract our youth, from preschool through high school years; and even continue on through adult years. That would be the Arts; my specialty being M U S I C. - More...
Wednesday AM - March 12, 2008

Clean Elections Works By Eric Ehst - The letter published Thursday attacking the working of the Clean Elections system of public campaign financing in Arizona does not present a true picture of the results. The referenced report from which the examples are taken uses cherry picked and distorted data to support a preordained and biased conclusion. - More...
Wednesday AM - March 12, 2008

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