Ketchikan: Local Soldier Returning Home After Tour of Duty In Iraq - Nearly 180 Soldiers with the Alaska Army National Guard are back in Alaska, after a successful six-month deployment to Iraq. The official ceremony to welcome them home and to honor their service in Iraq is set for Thursday, May 1 at Fort Richardson.

Among those returning with Bravo Company, 297th Support Battalion is SPC Christopher R. Stacy of Ketchikan. Born and raised in Ketchikan, Stacy is the son of John and Julia Guthrie of Ketchikan. SPC Stacy is expected to arrived in Ketchikan on May 2, 2008.

"We are excited to welcome home another successful Alaska Army National Guard unit," said Maj. Gen. Craig E. Campbell, adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard. "These Soldiers had the difficult and dangerous mission of providing convoy and route security, in addition to their other security forces duties; we are proud that they are returning home safe and victorious."

The Soldiers of the 297th Support Battalion were mobilized for active duty at the end of August 2007. They spent two months training at Fort Richardson in preparation for the deployment to Iraq.

"We executed our security mission effectively and efficiently while we were deployed to Iraq despite attempts by the enemy to counter our productiveness," said Capt. Joshua Shrader, commander of Bravo Company, 297th Support Battalion. "We encountered numerous IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and enemy fire while on missions, but our training, skill level and the caliber of our Soldiers were no match for the enemy; we are returning to Alaska with success and the knowledge that we helped keep U.S. and Coalition Forces safe while were there."

The unit was recognized for exceptional service while deployed. So far, unit members have received four Bronze Stars for Valor, 21 Bronze Stars for Service, two Army Commendation Medals for Valor, 62 Army Commendation Medals for Service, six Purple Hearts, 79 Army Achievement Medals for Service, 31 Combat Action Badges and four Combat Infantry Badges. - More...
Wednesday - April 30, 2008

Alaska: 2007 Softwood log exports from the West coast increase - A total of 879.9 million board feet of softwood logs was exported from Washington, Oregon, northern California, and Alaska in 2007. The 2007 volume was up 11.6 percent from the 2006 total of 788.4 million board feet, according to Debra Warren, an economist at the Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station.

"Some 546.8 million board feet or 62.1 percent of the west coast softwood log exports in 2007 went to Japan, 264.8 or 30.1 percent went to South Korea, 42.4 million board feet or 4.8 percent went to China, and 7.2 million board feet or 0.8 percent was exported to Taiwan," says Warren.

Warren is the author of "Production, Prices, Employment, and Trade in Northwest Forest Industries, All Quarters 2006" a publication produced by the PNW Research Station. This publication provides current information on lumber and plywood production and prices; employment in the forest industries; and international trade in logs, lumber, and plywood. It also provides volume and average prices of stumpage sold by public agencies. Data were retrieved from the U.S. International Trade Commission. - More...
Wednesday - April 30, 2008

National: Rebates, questions continue to flow TERESA F. LINDEMAN - Money has begun pouring out of the government's coffers and into American bank accounts -- 800,000 tax rebate deposits every day since Monday -- even as the questions from confused consumers continue.

Who will get rebates first? Will wives and husbands filing joint returns get separate checks? Will everyone get at least $600? Is it too late to ask for a check to be deposited directly into an account rather than sent by mail?

The quick answers for those particular questions: Check the IRS chart. No. No. Yes.

It probably also wouldn't hurt if people practiced patience. By Friday, the Internal Revenue Service should have shipped direct deposits to 7.7 million accounts. "The simpler returns are going out sooner," IRS spokesman Gregg Semanick said.

Work continues into next week with the first round of paper checks to be in the mail by May 9. "That is our main priority: getting the payments out," Semanick said.

By the end of the year, more than $110 billion should be distributed to 130 million households. Almost half of that money will be on its way by the end of May.

In the meantime, there are a couple of things that officials would like people to remember. First, the payment schedule is for those who filed early enough to have their tax returns processed by April 15. Those who didn't might get their money later than the scheduled dates. - More...
Wednesday - April 30, 2008

Tom Purcell: Gross National Happiness - Happiness is in the data. That doesn't bode well for folks on the political left.

As it goes, Arthur Brooks, a Syracuse University economics professor and author of the new book "Gross National Happiness," began mining happiness data back in his college days.

The prevailing wisdom then, Brooks told me, was that liberal folks were happier -- that conservatives were close-minded, rigid and therefore less capable of happiness.

But as he dug through the data, he found the opposite to be true: Conservative Americans are nearly twice as likely to report being "very happy" as are liberals. - More...
Wednesday - April 30, 2008

Bonnie Williams: Give yourself credit . . . or maybe not - Yet one more reason to avoid using credit cards: Some companies are upping interest rates, even for on-time paying customers, to in effect punish those with good credit to make up bank losses for bad.

Yep, the mortgage loans that ended up in foreclosure, adversely impacting the financial community in its bottom line, are affecting consumers who pay their mortgage bills, pay their credit cards bills or even some who are struggling with higher fuel and food costs, but still managing to honor their obligations. They are stretching their budgets with credit cards, digging themselves in deeper. And as we all know, most of the time a company will simply increase your credit limit, once you reach it, to allow even more debt and even more interest to accrue on that debt. - More...
Wednesday - April 30, 2008

Deroy Murdock: U.S. economy hungers for incentives - "Incentives matter."

That sentence encapsulates the free-market approach to economic growth. Unfortunately, these two words exceed the attention spans of easily distracted Washington politicians.

Rather than encourage work, savings, investment, and production, federal authorities treat America's current economic woes with a hyperactive parade of universal welfare checks (approved in February, yet still undelivered), corporate bailouts, currency debauchery, tax-hike threats, Congressional witch hunts against oil executives, innumerable earmarks, and a spending-growth curve as strong as an Olympic wrestler's back.

What this wheezing economy desperately needs is revitalized productive potential. Congress and the Bush Administration should implement these simple steps to return America to the road to prosperity:

-- Cut corporate tax rates from 35 percent to 25 percent, maximum. Among developed countries, only Japan has higher corporate rates. Lower business taxes will boost American competitiveness, turn pink slips into promotions, and make red ink black. - More...
Wednesday - April 30, 2008

Ketchikan Ketchikan Police Report (Updated) 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 April 2008 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 29 30       More Front Page Archives

City Council and Borough Assembly: Listen to the public By Charles Edwardson - To the citizens of Ketchikan, everyone including myself has the responsibility to vote in our public officials, and to run for public office if we think we can do a better job. - More...
Wednesday - April 30, 2008

RE: KPU SALE AND LIQUIDATION By Scott Willis - So who owns KPU?

The City Of Ketchikan dba Ketchikan Public Utilities. It is the City registered voters that can sell or stop the transfer of KPU Telephone in an election.

How much money are we talking about? - More...
Tuesday - April 29, 2008

Keep Asking Questions By Al Johnson - Ms. Dahl raised continued concerns regarding the mill site. As a wood burner, I too have taken to watching the clean up. - More...
Tuesday - April 29, 2008

Veneer Mill "Maintenance" By Jerilyn Lester - I agree, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. How long are we going to put up with the KGB being soft where this mess is concerned? Although this is the same bunch that gave our emergency money to a group of men headed up by a man that never makes things work. This man had a logging company in the area and it went belly up after it wouldn't support his big salary. Again the venture went belly up when the very large salaries of the executives could not be supported. - More...
Tuesday - April 29, 2008

HELP WANTED By Bill Gass - One of the recurring themes in this forum has been the lack of recreational opportunities for young people in Ketchikan. Next week over 200 kids ranging from age 5 to 18 begin play in Ketchikan Little League and we are in need of umpires. Requirements include decent vision, selective hearing and a thick skin. Baseball knowledge is a plus. Compensation consists of a burger, fries, cold beverage and a heartfelt thank you. - More...
Tuesday - April 29, 2008

President Don Young By Peter Stanton - Browsing through the letters here I happened upon the idea that "What we need is someone like Don Young in the White House[.]" This idea truly struck me. It's amazing. A Don Young Presidency might be an unprecedented event in the history of these United States! - More...
Tuesday - April 29, 2008

Veneer Mill "Maintenance"? By Mary Lynne Dahl - Is this the "maintenance" that Jerry Jenkins claimed to be doing at the veneer mill site? It looks more like WWII to me! Buildings have been stripped of their valuable components and horrific piles of wasted lumber that could be given to the community for wood stoves are laying around, in addition to whatever else is in those piles. - More...
Sunday - April 27, 2008

Cha-Ching... By Jackie Williams - The KGB needs new offices, and this is a fact. The Reid Building is a health hazard, and this is a fact. We the citizens are going to pay for it, and this is a fact. - More...
Sunday - April 27, 2008

Gateway By Ruth Bullock - As a former employee of Gateway Center for Human Services, and a former Ketchikan resident, it saddens me to hear of Gateway's apparent disintegration. It has been a couple of years now since I worked there, and it sounds like things have changed in that time. But I would like to comment on some of what I was aware of during my employment at Gateway. - More...
Sunday - April 27, 2008

Getting rid of unwanted catalogs By MJ Cadle - I just want to share with everyone website I have found invaluable in the last few months in my efforts to cut down on the number of unwanted catalogs I receive. - More...
Sunday - April 27, 2008

The Right Wing Conspiracy By Joel Galli - I've come to realize that those on the right are, in fact, not stupid, as I previously believed. - More...
Sunday - April 27, 2008

KPU SALE AND LIQUIDATION By Pete Ellis - So who owns KPU? City residents? KPU rate payers? Local government bureaucracies? How much money are we talking about? -More...
Friday - April 25, 2008

Gateway By Elisa Rossi Max - After reading a recent article about Gateway Center for Human Services in which the clinicians were described as people not doing their job, I feel compelled to respond. I worked at Gateway from June 19, 2006 to April 4, 2008 as a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. During that period, I was on-call at least one week per month. The on-call days were not as the newspaper indicated ( a full eight hour shift ), but instead were full twenty-four hour shifts, beginning Friday at 5:00pm and ending the following Friday at 5:00 pm for a total of one hundred sixty eight hours. As clinical staff vanished, the on-call responsibilities increased. In March 2008, I was on-call for fifteen days or three hundred sixty hours due to clinician shortage! While on-call, I could be awakened in the middle of the night and required to go to the hospital to see a patient. I could not go out of cell phone range since I had to be able to receive calls and go to the hospital immediately. I could not go boating, fishing, or hiking if it meant going out of phone range. I could not relax when at a restaurant since I might have to leave suddenly. - More...
Friday - April 25, 2008

Gateway Board Plans Next Steps by Mike Youngblood - I read with disappointment and dismay the article in the April 16th Ketchikan Daily News concerning the status of and plans for Gateway Center for Human Services. I feel I must respond to some of the points noted in that article. - More...
Friday - April 25, 2008

Where are the energy answers By Mike Isaac - Thank you Mark Neckameyer for pointing out what everyone else in the TV and print media has not asked? What are their answers to the energy problems??? Not only is it affecting the price of food but the travel industry is starting to take a big hit with airlines workers getting laid off due to less people are traveling and rising fuel cost.The cruise ship and hotel industry is also taking a hit. With all that bad news I have heard very little about energy except for John McCain on Sean Hannity's show state that drilling in ANWR won't happen on his watch and the need to move away from oil and invest in things like solar and wind power. The other two people in the race have said little on this most important issue but are big on change - More...
Friday - April 25, 2008

RE: Bridge By Miles Kaste - Regarding Jerilyn Lester's letter, can you give us some details about the "bridge maybe two" that the "mainland is getting"? - More...
Friday - April 25, 2008

Thank you! By Stephanie Sherva - I want to say thank you to the Walmart employees that spent Earth Day cleaning the road along mile 4 on North Tongass highway. - More...
Friday - April 25, 2008

Thank you Schoenbar students! By Courtney Watts - I'd like to thank all the Schoenbar students who helped clean up the garbage from around the school, fields, city park, Park Avenue, bike path, and along the creek. Your hard work on Earth Day really improved the appearance and health of our area. We can now take pride in our beautiful town especially along Ketchikan Creek. - More...
Friday - April 25, 2008

Special Meetings??? By Robert D. Warner - Have any of you folks been noticing how many "Special Meetings" have been called recently by the Ketchikan City Council and the Gateway Borough Assembly? It is my understanding that these "Special Meetings" are held on the public dime and taxpayers pick up the tab. - More...
Wednesday - April 23, 2008

Bridge By Jerilyn Lester - Regarding Stephanie Scott's letter, here is a really good reason. When the Airport was built on Gravina Island instead of Revillagagedo Island we were promised a bridge to get there and that was 30 years ago. The money was here for the bridge until the down-southers and some from up here got wind of it and the earmarks were taken off and Palin took it and spent 199 million before the ink was dry to take the earmarks off. How about the fact that the remaining 34 million was spent on the mainland and didn't even fill a pothole here. - More...
Wednesday - April 23, 2008

I agree By Patsy Stokkeland - I agree 100% with Ken Lewis only I would have put that news in big bold letters and published said perps Picture on the front page. You better wake up and realize that people who do these things usually escalate to something worse as time goes by and I sure as heck don't want this person around my grand children, or my animals. - More...
Wednesday - April 23, 2008

Why won't candidates debate energy issues? By Mark Neckameyer - Seems like every day crude oil prices hit another record. Every day airfares go up due to fuel costs along with the price of everything that has to be shipped. Food prices are soaring as grains are being used to make ethanol ... A lot of good that seems to do ... And there is no end in sight. The bad actors in the Middle East and in Venezuela control crude oil supplies and cutting consumption here in the US won't help as demand is growing so fast in Russia, India and especially China. Combined, the puplulations of those nations are eight or nine times our population and they are busily industrializing and buying cars. For all the talk the presidential candidates hammer away on in ads and debates, with all their arcane, indistinguishable plans for problems like health care, they don't touch the oil crisis except to somehow blame the current administration. The solution to all this seems so simple too. - More...
Wednesday - April 23, 2008

Shoencliff #2 By Charles Edwardson - Whoever coined that phrase should be commended for their astute observations. Most of us can just about bet a six-pack that this coined phrase will come true. The public expressed much of this same doubtful sentiment with the other, less than successful endeavors the borough has undertaken in the past six or seven years. The public expresses their concerns and the assembly just goes about their business any way regardless of public opinion. Their record should speak for itself. - More...
Monday PM - April 21, 2008

Knowledge Is A Good Thing By Terri-Lee Gould - I have to disagree with Mr. Johnson and Ms. Ortiz about the Ketchikan Daily News story printed earlier last week on the front page of said newspaper. In my opinion the Daily News provided a valuable community service by alerting the community about this dangerous person. - More...
Monday - April 21, 2008

Empathy and a referral is in order By Cecelia Johnson - In regard to the offensive "front page article" in KTN Daily News. Although offensive, more importantly, is getting proper help for this individual who has been identified as having a medical problem in the weekend newspaper. - More..
Monday - April 21, 2008

Thank You By Melissa Jourdain - I just wanted to thank your for publishing such a beautiful article about the four men who lost their lives in the helicopter crash on Tuesday, April 15th. Michael Seward was part of our family; he was my husband Darin's best friend of nearly 30 years and Michael was a part of every milestone in our lives. - More...
Monday - April 21, 2008

Bestiality By Teri Holderman - I want to say how appalled and embarrassed I am. The decision to publish the article on bestiality on the front page of the paper was an extreme lack in judgment. - More...
Monday - April 21, 2008

Don't need to air such dirty laundry By Michael Patrick Moyer - Give us a break! I don't care how much anyone thinks it's needed that we publicize decadent behavior in order to alert others to its existence. When I went to pick up my daughters from ballet they immediately asked me if I had read the paper that day. How much crap are you willing to print in order to sell a paper? - More...
Monday - April 21, 2008

Real ID Act By Frank W. Turney - When it comes the the Senate Bill (202) not to fund any money towards the so-called Real ID Act of 2005 in Congress with no debate on our 4th amendment rights and HJR19 resolution that passed the house 33-1 and SB 202 17-3, the real KUDOS goes to the Ron Paul Coalition, Fairbanks/Northpole and Delta. They really made the difference. Over 98 percent of testimony, e-mails, phone calls POM came from Fairbanks. - More...
Monday - April 21, 2008

New attitude and positive philosophy needed By Billy Johnson - Instead of building million dollar soccer fields and dreams of moving to lower level competition . . . . maybe it's time to bring in a younger, more hungry coaching staff and philosophy to the Kayhi soccer program. - More...
Thursday PM - April 17, 2008

Schoencliff Debacle #2 By Jackie Williams - Once again, we are being offered the Schoencliff Center, or that is my opinion after reading the Introduction in the proposal from Dawson Construction to remodel the more than 75-year-old building. The mention of tenants; of other groups or agencies that have invested much time and energy, sounds just like Schoencliff Center. The collection of property tax that makes it seem like KGB will have an offset in costs, I believe will be paid by the KGB through rental fees - More...
Thursday PM - April 17, 2008

Covenant Players By George R. Pasley - A small troupe from Covenant Players has been in Ketchikan this week and will be performing at the Presbyterian Church on Sunday. - More...
Thursday PM - April 17, 2008

Attitude makes a big difference By Jerry Cegelske - "Attitude Makes The Difference!" I recently read a bumper sticker on the side of a van that had that statement on it. - More...
Thursday PM - April 17, 2008

Shocking News By Ken Lewis - Being 8-year college credits short of having a Masters Degree in aberrant behavior will not prevent me from chiming in on the recent front page article regarding animal husbandry? Or what ever higher educated folks call it! - More...
Thursday PM - April 17, 2008

Bestiality By A. M. Johnson - How often would it be that Al Johnson would agree with Ms. Ortiz (Ketchikan Daily News, Lt to the editor-Bestiality 4/16/08)? My wife and I too, were dumbfounded that a family newspaper would print tabloid crap at best, on not only the front page, but continue the detail for several columns on interior pages. This from a paper that proclaims anonymity for local police reports involving charges far less than those on this case. Yet here every available detail including the perp's name on such a distasteful subject. - More...
Thursday PM - April 17, 2008

Gravina Island Bridge By Stephanie Scott - I travel to Ketchikan from time to time, so I was surprised to hear Mayor Weinstein complain on the radio recently about how difficult it is for elders and those with physical disabilities (he mentioned crutches ) to get to and from the airport in Ketchikan. I am surprised that he doesn't know that you can drive your car to the airport on Gravina Island, or that you can be picked up and driven - thus avoiding lugging luggage and oneself up or down all those airport ramps and steps. Ketchikan has good cab, bus, and airport shuttle service. It has an excellent airport ferry. It has a superb water taxi. Gosh, if you are a passenger, and if you do not live on one of those Ketchikan "roads" that are really walkways, you can actually board a vehicle at your home and stay seated until it's time to step into the lobby of the airport. - More...
Thursday PM - April 17, 2008

Thank You By Shannon Nelson - I would also like to thank Angie Olson for the Easter Egg Hunt at Ward Lake. I am sorry I missed it but saw the pictures and I am looking forward to next year's hunt with my grandson. -- More...
Thursday PM - April 17, 2008

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