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Ketchikan: THAT UBIQUITOUS KETCHIKAN RAINBIRD and HOW HE CAME TO BE By LOUISE BRINCK HARRINGTON - Mitch Crawley and the First Bird: As you’d expect, the Rainbird was born in the rain.

It was during a typical Ketchikan downpour, which had already lasted for two weeks, that the first bird emerged from a small piece of wood in a downtown Ketchikan restaurant.

In 1937, the Blue Fox Café on Front Street was a warm, welcoming place, where customers could sit around and escape the continual sideways rain. A film photographer named Mitch Crawley chose the café as a place to hole up in a back booth, drink coffee, and whittle. Crawley was in town to film a movie called “Spawn of the North” for Paramount Pictures—a task which was, of course, impossible during the deluge.

Several Blue Fox regulars, also avoiding the rain, stood around and watched as Crawley whittled, creating a growing pile of shavings on the table. Many seemed interested in the process, but one in particular, high-school student Bill Race, stood and watched fascinated for hours.

Crawley’s finished product was a one-foot-tall, rough-hewn, sad-looking wooden bird. Young Bill Race, however, loved it and desperately wanted to carve one like it—one of his own.

About this time, the weather finally cleared and Crawley went back to movie-making. When the filming finished, Crawley and his crew began packing up and preparing to leave town. Now he had to decide what to do with his already well-known little bird.

During the weeks-long downpour he’d often stopped in at Hall’s Trading Post, located on the corner of Front and Mission Streets, where he liked the owner, Mrs. Hall.

Crawley made his decision.

Along with the little bird he gave Mrs. Hall a note that read: “Here is the Ketchikan Rainbird, trapped for Hall’s Trading Post during the last downpour by Mitch Crawley of Paramount Pictures.”

Before leaving Ketchikan, Crawley made one last stop at the Blue Fox Café, where he helped student Bill Race fulfill his dream of carving a rainbird.

According to Race’s brother, pharmacist Bob Race, Bill Race carved a beautiful bird that both he and his wife Maxine cherished. It lived for many years on the mantelpiece of their Juneau home. After Bill and Maxine Race passed away, however, their prized bird mysteriously disappeared. No one knows what happened to it.

Dwight Chase Creates Five-Foot-Tall Rainbird

Shortly after Mitch Crawley left town in 1937, Dwight Chase, who worked for the U.S. Lighthouse Service, stopped by Hall’s Trading Post and caught sight of Crawley’s bird perched on a shelf. Intrigued, Chase asked Mrs. Hall if she’d mind if he created a larger replica. She didn’t.

So Chase went beach-combing, searching for a perfect piece of driftwood. He then spent several weeks carving a wooden body and designing and attaching plywood wings and a beak. He found some old galvanized pipes that he used for legs, with the joints serving as knobby knees. He put canvas flippers on the bird’s feet, and added a couple of old door knobs for eyes.

This new bird grew to be five-feet-tall and found a home in Chase’s Pine Street yard.

What happened next is a little murky, but it was about this time that Chase’s friends, Bill Gabler and Harry Cowan, met the Rainbird. Gabler had moved to Ketchikan in 1933 to be the advertising manager for the Ketchikan Alaska Chronicle. He was also a writer and illustrator for the Alaska Sportsman Magazine, which was published in Ketchikan.

Harry Cowan at that time was the sporting goods manager at the Tongass Trading Company. Together, they sketched a picture.

This first sketch depicted Rainbird looking downcast and dejected, holding a dripping umbrella over his head. The sketch still exists today in the possession of Harry Cowan’s daughter, Rosemary Cowan Crowder.

With publication of the drawing, local folks began stopping by Dwight Chase’s yard to check out the funny-looking critter. For his part, Chase enjoyed entertaining visitors with continually embellished stories about the bird’s creation.

In 1938, however, Chase was transferred by the U.S. Lighthouse Service and had to sell off his belongings, including the five-foot-tall Rainbird. The lucky new owner was Dr. Art Wilson, Sr., who moved the bird to his yard at the top of Main Street.

Rainbird now attracted even more looky-loos, who climbed the steep Main Street hill to get a glimpse of him. There he stood with his head bowed, beak drooping, and feet planted in a pile of rocks on Dr. Wilson’s lawn.

Steve Ferris and the Rainbird Soda Fountain

In 1941 Steve Ferris, owner of the Rainbird Soda Fountain on Front Street, observing the attention garnered by Dr. Wilson’s Rainbird, concluded that he needed his own bird to help promote his business. Ferris commissioned artist Gabler to carve a bird that could be permanently displayed in the restaurant. - More...
Tuesday AM - March 17, 2020

Alaska:Governor Dunleavy Issues Statement on Two Positive COVID-19 Cases in Fairbanks Area - Monday evening the Governor’s Office was informed of two presumptive positive cases of the virus that causes COVID-19 from two patients from the Fairbanks area. Both individuals are stable and do not require hospitalization. At this time these cases do not seem to be from community to community spread because both of these individuals had been traveling in the lower 48.

“I want to commend Fairbanks Memorial Hospital for its response to these two cases,” said Governor Dunleavy. “The preparation and training staff members have done not only in the recent weeks, but over the years has prepared them for today. We knew there would be cases in Alaska and over time we are expecting more cases.”

“Even as we expect more cases in Alaska, we must remember each case is a person diagnosed with COVID-19,” said Dr. Anne Zink. “Now and in the coming months we must always show compassion for the patients, but also the staff and the community. As we do this we must also remember the guidance we share with you in hopes of preventing and slowing the spread of this pandemic across our state.” - More...
Tuesday AM - March 17, 2020

Ketchikan: Local Disaster Emergency Declared; Ketchikan Area Facility Operations Update; No Cases in Ketchikan - Monday afternoon the Ketchikan Emergency Operations Center (EOC) moved to a Level 2 Activation and the EOC has formed a Unified Command System and has set up the section leadership to be able to operate promptly and efficiently for coordinated communications, preparedness, and response. 

In accordance with the recommendations of the Ketchikan EOC, the City and Borough Mayors have declared a disaster emergency in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough, City of Ketchikan, and City of Saxman. A copy of the Declaration of Disaster Emergency is attached. 

The Ketchikan Borough Assembly will be convening in an emergency meeting at 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17, 2020, in the Borough Assembly Chambers at White Cliff, 1900 First Avenue. 

The purpose of the meeting is to: ratify the declaration of disaster emergency; consider an emergency ordinance suspending certain provisions of borough code during the disaster emergency; consider a letter to the Congressional Delegation urging suspension of the Jones Act; and other topics related to the disaster emergency. 

The public is invited to attend, however the White Cliff Building is closed to for all other public access. The public is encouraged to access the meeting via the live feed on KPU, GCI, or online (click here). Citizens may submit public comments to be read into the record to boroclerk@kgbak.us.

Ketchikan City and Ketchikan Borough Facility Updates

At 5:00 Monday afternoon the City of Ketchikan, City of Saxman, and Ketchikan Borough administrative facilities will be closed to physical public access until further notice. In addition to the facilities previously closed on March 13 and March 15, 2020, the City and Borough facilities that are now closed to the public include:

• Borough White Cliff Building, 1900 First Avenue; Taxes and Billing Information 228-6620
• Borough Pat Wise Animal Shelter, 1111 Stedman St, 228-6660
• City Hall, 334 Front Street; Customer Service 225-3111
• City of Ketchikan Ports and Harbors, 2933 Tongass Avenue, 228-5632
• All KPU Offices, including KPU Customer Service in the Plaza, 2417 Tongass Avenue; 228-5474
• Ketchikan City Fire Station #1, 70 Bawden Street, 225-9616
• Ketchikan City Fire Station #2, 3352 Tongass Avenue, 247-9616 
• Saxman City Hall and Community Center, 2841 South Tongass Hwy, 225-4166

Ketchikan City and Borough administrative offices will continue to operate under normal business hours and staff will be available to assist citizens via online and telephonic services. The closure of facilities is meant to minimize interaction of the public in order to reduce the potential spread of the COVID-19 virus.

While there remain to be no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ketchikan, these precautions are taken to prevent a potential spread. 

The Ketchikan City and Borough encourage online and telephonic payment methods, as well as conducting business and communications via email and telephone.

Ketchikan city services can be accessed by visiting the City of Ketchikan’s website at www.ktn-ak.us or call 907.225.3111.

Ketchikan Borough services can be accessed by visiting Ketchikan Gateway Borough’s website at www.kgbak.us or call 907.228.6605. 

Ketchikan City and Borough Service Updates During Pandemic

In an effort to facilitate working from home, KPU customers will be provided an increased internet speed, and has announced that there will be NO charge for overages on any internet plan for residential or business. Additionally, the City of Ketchikan is suspending parking permit requirements. 

To assist elderly patrons, the Ketchikan Borough has announced that the yellow tax exempt senior cards do not expire until further notice, and seniors may give their card to any person to assist them with shopping so that elders may more effectively self-quarantine. - More...
Tuesday AM - March 17, 2020

Alaska: Bill requiring coverage of telehealth services signed into law - Monday Governor Dunleavy in his Anchorage Office signed two pieces of timely legislation to help Alaska’s COVID-19 response and preparedness.

House Bill 29 requires health care insurers to provide coverage for telehealth benefits and can reduce consumer and insurer costs. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDC and the Alaska Chief Medical Officer have encouraged those with flu-like symptoms to utilize telehealth benefits before overloading the healthcare system, especially emergency rooms.

Rep. Ivy Spohnholz (D-Anchorage) sponsored House Bill 29, which passed the Legislature with overwhelming support. 

Access to telehealth is an important tool for healthcare workers to respond effectively to the new coronavirus, COVID-19, as it allows Alaskans to access initial screenings and routine healthcare without a risk of being exposed to the disease which was recently declared a global pandemic.

“Expanded access to telehealth makes us more prepared to deal with COVID-19,” Representative Spohnholz said. “House Bill 29’s rapid progression through the legislative process proves that Democrats and Republicans – in the House, Senate, and governor’s administration, can and will work together to pass the kind of reforms we need in the coming months.”

While Alaska is already at the forefront of providing telehealth services in urban, rural, aging, and underserved communities across our state, these successes are largely limited to people insured through Medicaid and the Tribal health system. - More...
Tuesday AM - March 17, 2020  

Alaska: AK House Speaker: ‘We must not lose sight of tremendous negative economic effects of COVID-19’ - The State of Alaska is grappling with the public health effects of the new coronavirus COVID-19, with a statewide school closure in effect this month and actions by local governments and community organizations to limit the spread of the disease by reducing large group gatherings.

While these steps are necessary to protect the health of Alaskans continues, they come at a real cost to our state’s economy.

House Speaker Bryce Edgmon (I-Dillingham) on Monday sent a letter to Gov. Mike Dunleavy urging collaboration between the Legislature and the executive branch to turn attention to the drastic effects the global pandemic is having on our state’s economy.

“We must not lose sight of the tremendous negative economic impacts of the many necessary public health actions made at the local, state, and federal level,” Speaker Edgmon wrote. “Individuals and businesses are suffering, and the effects will compound every day that our economy remains at a standstill.”

Specifically, the speaker urged a review of the following economic and public health proposals: - More...
Tuesday PM - March 17, 2020

Analysis: On the front lines of developing a test for the coronavirus By DAVID PRIDE - “That escalated quickly!” is a common trope used in popular culture to describe when a situation gets out of hand before you’ve even had a chance to think about it. We don’t often use this trope in medicine, but I can think of nothing better to describe what has been going on in the U.S. with the coronavirus outbreak.

I am a physician scientist who practices infectious disease medicine and runs a research laboratory that specializes in viruses. I spend much of my time directing a clinical microbiology laboratory for a large academic medical center. If you’ve ever had a doctor tell you that they are going to test you for a virus, it’s teams like mine that develop and run that test.

When I first heard about the coronavirus outbreak in China, I had no idea I would soon be on the front lines of dealing with this outbreak.

Let me start by describing exactly what this virus is. It’s a novel virus from the coronavirus family and is spread by respiratory droplets (like when you sneeze) and contact with contaminated surfaces. The “common cold” is usually caused by rhinoviruses, but there are four coronaviruses that also cause colds.

The SARS outbreak of 2003 resulted in 774 deaths and the MERS outbreak of 2012 resulted in 858 deaths; both were caused by novel coronaviruses. The ease of spread of this new virus – called SARS-CoV-2 – has led to its rapid emergence across the globe, with more than 5,000 deaths and counting. Although there are drugs in development and testing phases, there are no drugs currently available that are proven effective against severe coronavirus illnesses.

For the most part, public health officials don’t know who in the U.S. has it because there isn’t a method to test most of the population for it. If you don’t know who has a disease, it’s impossible to predict its spread, how many people will get it, or how many people may die from it. Testing in the U.S. must be expanded, which a number of companies are working on, to reveal the scope of the problem. - More...
Tuesday AM - March 17, 2020

Analysis: Fear can spread from person to person faster than the coronavirus – but there are ways to slow it down By JACEK DEBIEC - As cases of COVID-19 proliferate, there’s a pandemic of fear unfolding alongside the pandemic of the coronavirus.

Media announce mass cancellations of public events “over coronavirus fears.” TV stations show images of “coronavirus panic shopping.” Magazines discuss attacks against Asians sparked by “racist coronavirus fears.”

Due to the global reach and instantaneous nature of modern media, fear contagion spreads faster than the dangerous yet invisible virus. Watching or hearing someone else who’s scared causes you to be frightened, too, without necessarily even knowing what caused the other person’s fear.

As a psychiatrist and researcher studying the brain mechanisms of social regulation of emotions, I frequently see in clinical and experimental settings how powerful fear contagion can be.

Fear contagion is an evolutionarily old phenomenon that researchers observe in many animal species. It can serve a valuable survival function.

Imagine a herd of antelopes pasturing in the sunny African savanna. Suddenly, one senses a stalking lion. The antelope momentarily freezes. Then it quickly sets off an alarm call and runs away from the predator. In the blink of an eye, other antelopes follow.

Brains are hardwired to respond to threats in the environment. Sight, smell or sound cues that signal the presence of the predator automatically triggered the first antelope’s survival responses: first immobility, then escape.

The amygdala, a structure buried deep within the side of the head in the brain’s temporal lobe, is key for responding to threats. It receives sensory information and quickly detects stimuli associated with danger.

Then the amygdala forwards the signal to other brain areas, including the hypothalamus and brain stem areas, to further coordinate specific defense responses.

These outcomes are commonly known as fright, freeze, flight or fight. We human beings share these automatic, unconscious behaviors with other animal species. - More...
Tuesday AM - March 17, 2020

PETER FUNT: APOCALYPSE WHEN? - Two or three times a year, falling trees knock out power at my home, in a heavily wooded section of Central California. When outages stretch over several days food in our refrigerator goes bad, cell phones run down, and flashlight batteries fail. Sometimes roads are impassible and my wife and I are stuck in our chilly, candlelit house.

Big deal? Nope. But if I project that scenario over several months and add to it a raft of deeper concerns related to widespread illness, a picture forms that novelists and late-night radio hosts have been painting for years. Is that how things will look if the COVID-19 outbreak affects, say, 70 percent of the population and remains unchecked?

My office is closed and most of my colleagues are taking meetings only via Skype. I’m writing at the kitchen table, just a few feet from a well-stocked fridge, with music provided by Google Home. It’s quieter than usual since the high school down the street is shuttered. Mail arrived on schedule and newspapers were in the driveway. The TV works fine and on it President Trump said, “Relax. We’re doing great. It will all pass.”

However, I did notice that toilet paper is sold out all over town. When I checked Amazon I was surprised to find that it, too, was, uh, wiped out – except for one offer of four rolls for $72. Minor inconveniences are how it starts, almost laughably at first, until things turn serious. - More...
Tuesday AM - March 17, 2020

TOM PURCELL: LEARNING FROM MY AUNT’S POLIO EXPERIENCE - My Aunt Cecelia was just beginning the eighth grade when it happened.

In late spring 1951, she came home from school with a high temperature, feeling very ill. The next morning, her legs gave out as she tried to get out of bed. By that evening, she was so weak she could barely move.

She’d contracted polio.

In the 1940s and 1950s, polio infected thousands of children annually. In 1952 alone, nearly 60,000 were infected, leaving thousands paralyzed and more than 3,000 dead.

No one knew how polio was spread. Fear of the unknown ran rampant – with good reason.

The day Cecelia was struck, the ambulance driver wouldn’t take her to the hospital for fear other patients might become infected. Cecelia’s home and family were quarantined for 14 days, polio’s lifespan. - More...
Tuesday AM - March 17, 2020

Political Cartoon: The Art of Social Distancing
By Dave Whamond ©2020, Canada, PoliticalCartoons.com
Distributed to paid subscribers for publication by Cagle Cartoons, Inc.