 Contact 
Call 617-9696
Webmail
Letters
News Tips
Copyright Info
Archives
Quick News
Search
Alaska
Ketchikan
SE Alaska
Alaska News Links
Columns
- Articles
Dave Kiffer
Fish
Factor
Money Matters
Historical
Ketchikan
June Allen
Dave
Kiffer
Louise
B. Harrington
Ketchikan
Arts & Events
Ketchikan
Arts
Ketchikan
Museums
KTN Public
Library
Sports
Ketchikan Links
Public Records
FAA Accident Reports
NTSB
Accident Reports
Court Calendar
Court Records Search
Wanted:
Absconders
Sex Offender Reg.
Public Notices
Weather,
Webcams
Today's
Forecast
KTN
Weather Data
AK
Weather Map
AK Weathercams
AK Earthquakes
TV Guide
Ketchikan
Ketchikan
Phone Book
Yellow
Pages
White
Pages
Government
Links
Local Government
State & National
|
|
Thursday
March 13, 2014
|
There's No Place Like Home
Downtown Ketchikan as viewed from Deer Mountain
Front Page Photograph By CHARLES HABERBUSH ©2014
(Please respect the rights of photographers, never republish or copy
without permission and/or payment of required fees.)
Ketchikan: Search suspended for missing Ketchikan man - After searching 86 square miles of the Tongass Narrows for a total of 27 hours, the U.S. Coast Guard, Alaska State Troopers, Ketchikan Fire Department and volunteer search and rescue crews suspended the active search Wednesday afternoon for a 52-year-old Ketchikan resident missing from his drifting houseboat.
Coast Guard, Search & Rescue and Ketchikan Police during the search for the missing captain of the 40-foot houseboat, Diver III (pictued on right).
Photograph by JIM LEWIS ©2014
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the missing as we make this difficult decision," said Cmdr. Marc Burd, chief of response, Coast Guard Sector Juneau. "It was a superb response and search effort by all involved with an unfortunate outcome. I would like to personally thank all the volunteer search and rescue personnel in Ketchikan who helped us throughout the search."
John Anderson's 40-foot houseboat, Diver III, was first spotted Wednesday morning dragging anchor off Pennock Island and the Ketchikan Police Department notified the Coast Guard Sector Juneau command center that Anderson's houseboat was dangerously close to a break wall in Ketchikan. The USCG watchstanders directed the launch of the 47-foot Ketchikan Station Motor Life Boat crew to investigate.
The Coast Guard boarding team determined that Anderson's 40-foot houseboat, Diver III, had been recently occupied and began searching for Anderson in the water. Sector Juneau watchstanders directed a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew to launch and assist the Motor Life Boat crew in the search at sunrise Wednesday. Volunteer search and rescue personnel joined Coast Guard crews shortly thereafter. - More...
Thursday PM - March 13, 2014
Southeast Alaska: Wolf Season to Close in Unit 2 - Biologists with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game have announced the impending emergency closure of wolf hunting and trapping seasons in Game Management Unit (Unit) 2, which includes Prince of Wales and a series of small adjacent islands.
According the ADF&G, Unit 2 currently has a seasonal harvest limit of 60 wolves, which is 30% of the estimated fall wolf population. After several consecutive seasons of low wolf harvests in Unit 2, harvests reached high levels during the current and last year’s seasons. This increase is believed to have been due in part to mild winter weather that kept much of the Unit 2 road system snow-free and accessible to trappers and thereby facilitated high trapper participation and effort. With the harvest nearing 60, ADF&G biologists have been monitoring the harvest closely to ensure the Unit’s wolf population is managed for long-term sustainability.
An Emergency Order (01-01-14) has been issued by the Alaska Department of Fish & Game that closes the wolf trapping and hunting seasons in Unit 2 on Wednesday, March 19, 2014 at 11:59pm.
The U.S. Forest Services' Thorne Bay District Ranger, Rachelle Huddleston-Lorton and the Craig District Ranger, Matt Anderson, under authority delegated by the Federal Subsistence Board, are also closing the federal lands of Unit 2 to the harvest of wolf from 11:59 p.m., Wednesday, March 19, 2014 until 11:59 p.m., March 31, 2014. The same date the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is closing the state hunting and trapping seasons in Unit 2. - More...
Thursday PM - March 13, 2014
|
|
Ketchikan: Shifting to heating with renewable wood byproducts - Currently, Southeast Alaska consumes an estimated 22 million gallons of heating fuel annually, all of which is produced outside the region. And the U.S. Forest Service says Ketchikan is currently leading the state in the adoption of a cost-effective renewable wood byproducts energy resource.
The Ketchikan Federal building receives bulk pellet delivery from Tongass Forest Enterprises.
Photo credit: Larry Jackson, Tongass Forest Enterprises.
One of the priorities of the Tongass National Forest is to promote economic development and address climate change by shifting the energy economies of Southeast communities from heating with fossil fuels to heating with regionally sourced renewable energy, specifically biomass energy in the form of wood pellets. Biomass is biologically derived renewable material. The woody biomass found in abundance in Southeast Alaska represents a significant energy resource for local communities such as Ketchikan.
The future of timber management on the Tongass is in young growth forestry. Wood byproducts from restoration and young growth management could be utilized as an energy resource, displacing fossil fuel and reducing energy costs.
One of the projects that has been using wood byproducts is the U.S. General Services Administration’s Ketchikan Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse. As part of the agency’s Green Proving Ground program, GSA replaced the building’s outdated, inefficient 1964 steam heating system withan energy efficient hydronic heating system that includes one biomass boiler and one high-efficiency oil-fired boiler that will serve as a back-up. GSA has been running both the high-efficiency oil and biomass boiler to test the efficiency and effectiveness of biomass to heat the federal office building, and use that information to improve the efficiency of all GSA-managed facilities. GSA expects to reduce fuel oil consumption at the building by approximately 50 percent annually. The Ketchikan Federal Building, the first United States federal building to have a biomass boiler installed,historically burned up to 9,000 gallons of fuel oil each year. Jim Langlois, GSA Property Manager, estimates the federal cost of pellets currently equates to federal oil cost at $2.15 per gallon. A report on the efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and operational functionality of the Ketchikan biomass boiler will be finalized this year. - More...
Thursday PM - March 13, 2014 |
|
Alaska: Alaska had its own T-Rex, scientists find By NED ROZELL - Seventy million years ago, the baddest predator on top of the world was a pygmy tyrannosaur about half the size of Tyrannosaurus rex. The creature became known to the world in mid-March 2014, when Texas-based dinosaur hunters Tony Fiorillo and Ron Tykoski unveiled it in a scientific journal.
An artist’s rendition of the top dinosaur discovered on Alaska’s North Slope, Nanuqsaurus hoglundi.
Artwork by Karen Carr
Nanuqsaurus hoglundi was named for the polar bears that walk the sea ice not far from where its bones turned to stone and for a donor to the Perot Museum of Nature & Science in Dallas. Fiorillo and Tykoski named the dinosaur. Fiorillo is curator of earth sciences at the museum and a frequent visitor to Alaska. Tykoski is the fossil preparator at the museum.
Like the polar bear, Nanuqsaurus was in its day the dominant meat-eater of the far north. The prehistoric North Slope was a green plain spilling beneath the baby Brooks Range with a climate that could have been something between Portland and Calgary today. Fiorillo calls this the “ancient greenhouse Arctic.” Roaming that land of ferns and small trees were at least four other meat-eating dinosaurs and four plant eaters.
His 2006 discovery of Pachyrhinosaurus perotorum, a four-ton plant-eater with a massive shielded head and a horned beak, led Fiorillo to Nanuqsaurus.
On a rocky hillside above the Colville River, Fiorillo and his colleagues were clearing surface rocks from what they suspected was a Pachyrhinosaurus skull turned to stone. Before they chucked the basketball-size rocks, Fiorillo spotted broken dinosaur bones poking from a few. He set them aside. - More...
Thursday PM - March 13, 2014
|
|
Viewpoints
Commentary
Opinions/Letters
Basic
Rules &
Freedom of Speech
Questions, please contact
the editor at editor@sitnews.us or call 617-9696
Sitnews reserves the right to edit.
 Our Local Governments Deserve More Respect By Bill Walker -
I am often asked how I differ from Governor Parnell. One significant difference is how we view local governments. Over the past six years, a pattern has developed with Parnell disrespecting our local governments. Here are a few examples. - More...
Friday AM - March 14, 2014
SB 182: PUBLIC EMPLOYEE SALARY DIFFERENTIALS By Mary Dahel - I am writing in opposition to SB 182. To me this topic does not belong in legislative discussions nor in state statutes. It is a contract topic and the State DOA has a very capable full time staff devoted to negotiating contracts. - More...
Friday AM - March 14, 2014
Rep. Munoz does not represent constituents by voting Yes on SB 49 By Nancy Courtney -
Last week Rep. Munoz was the pivotal Yes vote on Senate Bill 49, the bill that attempts to establish a medical definition in state law for publicly funded abortions. - More...
Friday AM - March 14, 2014
Bonds By Michael McColley -
I am writing this letter to all who voted for the three major bonds which now the City and the Ketchikan Borough are scrambling to find ways to pay for. 1. the new swimming pool. 2. the new library 3. the new hospital project 4. new fire stations -- and raising water, sewer & property assessments I think we should have taken one project at a time. Because personally I feel the people of Ketchikan have been getting all their taxes and assessments raised to pay for these bonds. - More...
Friday AM - March 14, 2014
RE: Ketchikan Government Parties Down By Mike Ellis -
I assume Mr. Dial was traveling at State expense when he took the opportunity to bash the Ketchikan community's annual lobbying trip & his reporting was not factual. - More...
Friday AM - March 14, 2014
Re: Ketchikan Government Parties By Vanessa Nowland -
I'm in full agreement with you Mr. Dial. Enough is enough... - More...
Tuesday AM - March 14, 2014
RE: Ketchikan Legislative party By Rodney Dial -
In response to Mayor Kiffer's letter regarding the Ketchikan Legislative party. It always amazes me how our local elected officials find the need to spin everything. Mr. Mayor you’re trying to spin throwing a massive party in Juneau after the public has endured years of tax and utility increases… amazing! A few questions please Mr. Mayor. - More...
Tuesday AM - March 11, 2014
Money down the drain. The city's leaders won't listen. By Ed Plute -
I want to thank everyone who attended the water meeting Wednesday. I believe the meeting was a great success. But to my point, now we find out that the City's water system wiith chlorine and UV are installed backwards. The chlorine is first in the water treatment and the UV last. So when the water goes through the chlorine first then to the UV, the UV kills the chlorine, and does not decontaminate the water properly. The system is backwards. And that is according to Bob Bowcock. We paid millions of dollars for the system and they cannot even get it right. When will our city leaders listen to us? - More...
Tuesday AM - March 11, 2014
Ketchikan Visitors Bureau By Shirley McDonald -
I recently wrote a post to my facebook page and now wish to utilize SitNews to thank KVB for their nomination, let alone voting me with the Alaska Spirit Award. I didn't even know this went on even!!! Completely surprised .... shocked ..... you name it ... I felt it. Mainly wondering of all the customer services folks we have in our area, how could I be the recipient!!!!???? - More...
Tuesday AM - March 11, 2014
FISHERMEN, DON’T FORGET SCHEDULE J By David G. Hanger - I am prompted to jot this “heads up” memo by a prominent local fisherman who insists that Schedule J is not being used on many fishing returns prepared here in town. It is an easy mistake for even a licensed pro to make because the conditions common to use of the form do not occur all the time. While I am somewhat skeptical of my fisherman’s observation, it would be too costly to ignore. - More....
Tuesday AM - March 11, 2014
Facts of the Matter By Rob Holston -
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Thank you “Declaration of Independence.” - More...
Tuesday AM - March 11, 2014
Thank you SS Sound By Shirley McDonald -
I just wanted to give an ENORMOUS shout out to SS Sound. Yesterday morning I fell outside their business. I went to their office and they rushed n scurried, as I was bleeding quite a bit. I had literally landed on my face and had bit clear thru my upper lip and knocked out 1 front tooth and loosening the other. They not only let me use their restroom to clean up as best I could, they ALSO TOOK ME TO THE ER on top of everything else!!! - More...
Tuesday AM - March 11, 2014
Campus gun bill By John Suter -
In the news is “ Campus gun bill before committee”. There is nothing more important in the world than for a student to get an A in their class. An armed student is in a much better position to negotiate with the teacher to get an A in class than an unarmed student. - More...
Tuesday AM - March 11, 2014
What are those yahoos in Juneau up to now? By Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkin -
Considering that we're 46+ days into the legislative session, it's a fair question. Like a good story, most legislative sessions have a narrative. Last session's narrative was simple and wholesome: the passage of a multi-billion dollar tax cut for oil companies. And by golly, we got the job done with SB 21, which passed the Senate 11-9, and fulfilled its unfortunate destiny by a vote of 27-12 on the floor of the House of Representatives at 2:07 a.m. in the wee hours of April 14, 2013. (I was among the dozen dissenters.) - More...
Tuesday AM - March 11, 2014
Webmail your letter or
Email Your Letter To: editor@sitnews.us
|
Articles &
photographs that appear in SitNews may be protected by copyright
and may not be reprinted or redistributed without written permission
from and payment of required fees to the proper sources.
|
|
Weekly Specials |
|
|
|
