Ketchikan: North Tongass Volunteer Fire Department Evaluated For Fire Service Rating - If you were driving by the old pulp mill site last Saturday morning (April 4th) you might have wondered what was going on. Fire engines and water tankers were lined up waiting for their turn for action. Since its inception in March 2003 by a vote of the North Tongass residents, North Tongass Volunteer Fire Department (NTVFD) has been working toward this day said Fire Chief Dave Hull. "On this day NTVFD was evaluated by the Insurance Services Office (ISO) to see how our firefighting capabilities matched up to their standards and other fire departments in the nation," said Hull.

The Insurance Services Office is headquartered in Jersey City, NJ. ISO's Public Protection Classification (PPCTM) Service gauges the capacity of the local fire department to respond if flames engulf a home or commercial property. ISO collects information on a community's public fire protection and analyzes the data using their Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS). Then they assign a Public Protection Classification from 1 to 10. Class 1 generally represents superior property fire protection, and Class 10 indicates that the area's fire-suppression program doesn't meet ISO's minimum criteria. This classification number is used by many insurance companies to base their insurance rates on.

Under ISO ratings, the North Tongass area is rated as a Class 9 for every structure within five driving miles of a fire station and a Class 10 beyond that. Currently 99% of the structures are within five driving miles of one of two fire stations located in the north end. - More...
Wednesday - April 08, 2009

Alaska: Revenue Commissioner Responds to CBR Investment Controversy - Tuesday Department of Revenue Commissioner Pat Galvin responded to press reports regarding investment decisions the department has made regarding the Constitutional Budget Reserve (CBR) Fund. The controversy arises from the desire of the Legislature and the Department of Revenue to see greater investment returns on the portion of the CBR that is not expected to be needed for five years. This more aggressively invested account is called the "CBR sub-account".

With regard to the process of how investment decisions transpired for the CBR, Commissioner Galvin stated that such decisions are made with direction from the legislature, and no decision was made without prior notice to the legislature

Last year the legislature included intent language in the budget directing DOR to invest the $2.6 billion of new CBR funds in a manner maximizing long-term earnings. In other words, between the two CBR accounts, the legislature wanted DOR to put the funds into the sub-account. Subsequently, the department went to the legislature seeking an increase in the appropriation from the CBR to cover the fees needed to manage both CBR accounts. In the explanation for the budget amendment, the department disclosed that it intended to transfer a total of $4.1 billion into the sub-account.

"Contrary to the press reports, I don't believe any legislator is questioning my authority to make the transfer of funds from the main account into the sub-account." Galvin said. "Some are merely trying to avoid responsibility for that decision. That is a critical distinction. An unauthorized transfer would be extremely serious. This, however, is merely an exercise in political blame-shifting." - More...
Wednesday - April 08, 2009

Alaska: REDOUBTS' LIGHTNING JACKPOT HIT By THOMAS GUENGERICH - New Mexico Tech lightning researchers hit the jackpot last week, when, for the first time ever, they began recording data from a volcanic eruption right from the start.

Largely funded through the National Science Foundation, the New Mexico Tech volcanic lightning studies aim to advance the understanding of electrical activity during an eruption.

"What's really exciting is that we got the Lightning Mapping Array set up before the initial eruption," doctoral student Sonja Behnke said. "We're getting data from the beginning of the eruptive phase of the volcano. We're seeing everything from the beginning to the end."

When Alaska's Redoubt Volcano started rumbling in January, a team of Tech researchers hurried to south central Alaska to deploy a series of radio sensors. When the volcano began erupting overnight on March 22 and 23, the array of stations started returning clear and dramatic information about the electricity created within volcanic plumes and the resulting lightning.

"We're getting all the data we hoped to get and a lot more," principal investigator Dr. Ron Thomas said. "Absolutely, the quality and quantity of the data will allow us to better understand the electrical charge structure inside a volcanic plume. That should help us understand how the plume is becoming electrified and how that evolves over time." - More...
Wednesday - April 08, 2009

Alaska: DOT&PF reminds motorists to remove studded tires - The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) reminds motorists the studded tire season is about to end, and they should remove their studded tires by the legal deadline.

"The use of studded tires is a major factor in the deterioration of our highways, and their use must be strictly enforced to the legal season," said DOT&PF Commissioner Leo von Scheben.

Vehicles driving on roads south of 60 degrees latitude have until Wednesday, April 15 before they must be removed. Meanwhile, vehicles driving on roads north of the 60 degrees north latitude have until May 1. - More...
Wednesday - April 08, 2009

Ketchikan: Sourdough Stampede Runners Triumphed - Runners triumphed despite strong winds in Saturday's Sourdough Stampede. Fifty five runners and walkers participated in Ketchikan Running Club's first event of the season. Caleb Hedin was the first miler to cross the finish line in 6:22. Second place went to Mark Felarca in 6:46 followed by Ken Teune 6:48. Rique Hill won the woman's mile in 7:39. Second place woman was Mary Keele in 8:73 and third place was Charley Edwardson in 8:48.

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The 5K racers faced the wind for their entire event. Dan Patten won with a time of 20:22 followed by Greg Singstad 21:30 and Eric Collins 22:28. Leigh Woodward won the woman's 5K in 26:16 followed by Laura Kinunen at 27:21 and Angela Salazar 29:29.

Race director Fred Jorgensen said the highlight was the fast and strong young runners. Jorgensen said; "Not only do we have some quick high school and junior high athletes but we have great younger runners. Eight year old Liam Kiffer completed both the mile and the 5K. 5 year old Morgan Elerding ran the mile in 9:06. Gavin Salazar, Courteny Kemble, Shakim Baver and Axec Simmons all received youth awards in the one mile event. - More...
Wednesday - April 08, 2009

Ketchikan: St. Joseph Hospital Earns Top Awards - St. Joseph Hospital in Bellingham, a partner with Ketchikan General Hospital in the PeaceHealth system, is the only hospital in Washington state to earn both the 2009 Patient Safety Award and the 2009 Patient Experience Award from HealthGrades, the nation's leading independent healthcare ratings organization.

St. Joseph is among the top five percent in the nation for patient experience, the only hospital in Washington State to achieve this ranking. St. Joseph Hospital is also ranked in the nation's top five percent for patient safety.

"Our vision is to provide safe, evidence-based compassionate care - every time, every touch," said Nancy J. Steiger, CEO and Chief Mission Officer. "These two national awards show that we are living up to our vision and even more important, that our patients are safe and feel well cared for here." - More...
Wednesday - April 08, 2009

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It's More Than Just The Head Tax By Shauna Lee - I have read all the letters recently regarding the head tax, and whether it has an effect on a ships decisions to re-locate their vessels to other ports. I believe that people are missing the larger picture on issues that face the cruise industry. - More...
Monday - April 06, 2009

On track for a greener, cleaner, and brighter future in Southeast Alaska By Lindsey Ketchel - The recent sunshine is just one thing for Southeast Alaskans to smile about. In the past few weeks, both the Alaska Legislature and U.S. Congress have taken bipartisan actions that will boost the Southeast Alaska economy and steer our region towards a greener, cleaner, brighter and more sustainable future. - More...
Monday - April 06, 2009

ANCSA PROMISES By Diane Hoisington - I was born, and lived in Southeast Alaska. My parents, were also born, and lived in Southeast Alaska. Now both my mother and father are both gone. Let's admit. there comes a time (the last 38 years have been a long time) to end the wait for the Southeast Alaskan Settlements Act which was promised to the Alaska Natives. - More...
Monday - April 06, 2009

Timber Industry Retooling By Evan Hjerpe - Sen. Murkowski's press release advocating her Southeast Alaska Timber Industry Retooling and Restructuring Act ( Murkowski Proposes Southeast Initiative to Aid Regional Economy, 4/2) misrepresents many facts, leaving me concerned that her bill may miss the mark. The Murkowski press release incorrectly attributes the decline of the timber industry in Southeast Alaska to a litany of federal forest policy changes. In fact, the decline of the timber industry is due to a number of market-driven factors and a long history of unsustainable high-grading of the biggest and best trees. The timber industry in Southeast Alaska has always been affected by inherent competitive disadvantages. Because of rugged terrain and distance from markets, logging, manufacturing, and transportation costs have always been high. Southeast Alaska's forests are also dominated by tree species with lower value in timber markets, which means higher lumber production and processing costs. These factors, and the collapse of the lumber export market to Japan in the 1980s, have caused the decline of Southeast Alaska's timber industry. - More...
Monday - April 06, 2009

Response to Mr. Currall By Dan Ortiz - I do indeed stand corrected in the light of the U.S. Justice Department's decision to remove the judgement against former Senator Ted Stevens. An independent jury did find our former longtime and effective Senator guilty of all charges against him, but evidently with faulty presented evidence. Being that the Justice Department was being headed by a President Bush appointee and going on the assumption that their duties require them to act in a non-partisan manner regardless, I had no reason to believe that justice was not done at the time. However it's apparent, that wasn't the case. - More...
Monday - April 06, 2009

Palin and White Cliff By Chas Edwardson - I literally (no joke) laughed out loud all by myself drinking coffee in my kitchen at 5am after reading the "Palin opens new White cliff School article " (Ketchikan Daily news article dated March 31 2009). I waited to write this comment until today April 2 2009 to see if it was as funny as the first time I read it --"it was". - More...
Monday - April 06, 2009

Re: UAS library movies questioned By Donita O'Dell - I am a full-time student at UAS, and although I also work full-time and therefore do not get to participate in any day-time recreational activities on campus, I have a hard time understanding Mr. Warner's concern about brown-bag lunch movies once in a while. The truth is that most students could use more breaks from the never-ending cycle of studying, researching, writing, and tests -- not a moratorium on the occasional fun activity. The library is the perfect location on a very small campus for just such an activity. And, should a student need peace and quiet to study at that particular time, the Learning Center offers just such an environment a mere five steps from the Library. - More...
Monday - April 06, 2009

Outrageous spending By Jon Boyd - Obama keeps throwing our money away. Who does he think he is? America is in a recession. We need to be saving money, not spending it. - More...
Monday - April 06, 2009

Shouldn't Alaskans get deals too? By Kimberly Morton - It's been a while since we have taken a vacation off of the rock. I always seem to browse the internet to find a special that Alaska Air might have, sometimes the extra few dollars saved on a ticket can mean a nice break away from island life. - More...
Monday - April 06, 2009

Head Tax By Suzan Thompson - Mr. Edwardson is correct in his assessment that Alaska's $50 head tax is being used by some of the cruise lines as an excuse to pull a few ships from the Alaska run in the next year or two, and that it has little meaning for the average tourist. Try checking out www.cruisecritic.com. Click on Boards, and then under Ports of Call, click on Alaska. On about page 6, there are two threads dealing with this topic. Nearly all of the cruisers who responded to this topic clearly stated that a fifty-dollar tax had absolutely no effect on their decision to cruise or not cruise to Alaska. Several of them said they had no idea there even was a $50 tax. They are far more concerned about the rising cost of the airfare to get to their embarkation points in Seattle and Vancouver than they are about this fee. - More...
Thursday - April 02, 2009

Tour Ship Head Tax By Lloyd B Ruaro - I have worked for Holland America corporate office for 5 years. I believe that they are bluffing that a head tax deters people from booking a cruise to our great state. - More...
Thursday - April 02, 2009

Head Tax By Susan Hoyt - Silly people. Do you possibly think that maybe the cruise ships are pulling out because there is a decline in the amount of people traveling these days?(Due to the economy ) - More...
Thursday - April 02, 2009

Shotgun Approach To Economy--The Budget By Donald A. Moskowitz - The Obama Administration is throwing many hundreds of billions of dollars at a multitude of programs, hoping for economic success. It appears the thrust of the policies encompass Rahm Emanuel's philosophy of "not letting a crisis go to waste". - More...
Thursday - April 02, 2009

U.S. Drops Case Against Former Sen. Stevens By Nathaniel Currall - Mr. Ortiz may wish to reconsider his lesson to the community of Ketchikan about politics, law and "Loyalty" in light of recent events. - More..
Thursday - April 02, 2009

WE ARE THE GOVERNMENT By Jacquie Meck - Gosh, I guess some people realize that WE ARE THE GOVERNMENT. We own it we pay for it .... out of every paycheck we make, and here in Ketchikan pretty much every service and product we buy and use. - More...
Thursday - April 02, 2009

Re: The Mayor Responds By Ken Bylund - Thank you for your response to Mr. Dial's, Questions for the Mayor, and clarification as to where you stand on these issues. I'm certain that everyone in this Borough would like to have that new library, a new heated swimming pool, and performing arts center [aka tourist restrooms], and skateboard park... etc., we really do. We want our citizens to enjoy all the pleasures of a prosperous and vibrant city/state. - More...
Tuesday - March 31, 2009

Ketchikan "Tea Party"? By Eileen Small - I have been hearing that many communities across the USA are planning "tea parties" to protest government spending, etc on "Tax Day" (April 15). - More...
Tuesday - March 31, 2009

Tour ship head tax By Chas Edwardson - I doubt very highly that a fifty dollar head tax was a big factor in Princess Cruise's visitations or lack of. And now that they have made this public announcement about this (devastating tax), other cruise lines will make this claim to reinforce Princess' claims in an effort to put that fifty bucks back in their pockets. - More...
Tuesday - March 31, 2009

Big numbers By Mike Sallee - OK, I won't argue with Mr. McGillvray, but for the edification of the rest of those perusing this column, in America a billion is 1 followed by nine zeros, a trillion is 1 followed by twelve zeros. - More...
Tuesday - March 31, 2009

The Mayor Responds By Dave Kiffer - Dear Rodney, Thank you for writing and expressing your concerns.

As you noted, I can't answer all of your questions but I will try to respond to the ones that I can. - More...
Monday - March 30, 2009

Mr. Dial's letter and a few of my own thoughts. By Derek Andrews - I think I have found the person I will write-in for mayor at the next election, if he is not going to run. Library project is wasteful in these economic times and that art should be funded by the private sector. The role of government should be to minimize expenses and focus those resources they do use to the greater good of the populous. - More...
Monday - March 30, 2009

RE: Time for some climate realism By J.A. Rasmussen - Kudo's to Rep. Gato for publishing his opinion about man-made global warming. - More...
Monday - March 30, 2009

NIGHTCRAWLERS By David G. Hanger - Escalation is wise only when you know you have a winning hand, so let this serve as warning to you AMHS employees who have been spying for your tax-cheating guru, Martin A. Kapp, that not only are you playing a very bad hand, you are also playing a very dumb one. If you want my address so you can get Marty Kapp to jump all over me with his threats of lawsuits, etc., rather than crawling around in the night and getting it wrong, you could simply ask. But no, just like your guru, you crawl around in the mud and hide from the light. - More...
Monday - March 30, 2009

RE: Cruise Ship Head Tax By Dustin Hofeling - In the words of Chris Barry: "Silly people." Now you see what happens when taxes are increased. The cruise ships are pulling vessels. - More...
Monday - March 30, 2009

Problem Bus Driver By Bryan Oftedahl - This is for the fellow customers of Ketchikan's public transit system. Is it really just me or is there one bus driver in particular who never seems to care about us? I have seen this bus driver fly right past bus stops with people waiting to get on and out of the rain yet he doesn't even flinch. I've been on the Blue Line while he skips going up to Wal-Mart so I have to wait while he goes out to Totem Bight then get dropped off on Shoreline Dr. (so long as he doesn 't skip that one too) and walk through the freezing snow to get to Wal-Mart. I've sat on Green Line and witnessed him go right past three people standing at the Baranof/ Tower Rd. stop. One day a woman came running up to the bus when he was waiting to pull back into traffic from the Plaza stop and she knocked and I mentioned that somebody was knocking on the door but ignored me and the woman, he refused to sacrifice a couple of seconds to open the door. - More...
Monday - March 30, 2009

UAS Library Movies Questioned By Robert D. Warner - Recently I have noticed that the UAS Ketchikan Library is offering a series of "brown bag lunch" movies. The movies are scheduled from noon to 1:15 p.m. in the library.- More...
Monday - March 30, 2009

Administration's Shotgun Approach To Economy - Part 1 of 3-The Stimulus By Donald A. Moskowitz - The recently enacted $787 billion economic stimulus plan designed to create jobs includes about $300 billion in tax cuts for individuals and businesses, which will not create jobs because companies are not hiring and consumers are saving their money, not making purchases they can postpone. The Commerce Department recently reported a U.S. savings rate of 5%, which is the highest since 1995. - More...
Monday - March 30, 2009

Up to here with...well I simply can't say. By Marina Keirn - In response to the "dog poop" concern: I too am disgusted with the various "piles" deposited around town. - More...
Monday - March 30, 2009

Dog Droppings By Hal Smith - Thanks Carrie Mueller, someone is finally saying something about the dog poop on the sidewalks by the Mary Frances Building. - More...
Monday - March 30, 2009

Re: A Trillion dollars By Rudy McGillvray - Dear Ken, and everyone else who doesn't know that a trillion dollars is not what you think it is. - More...
Monday - March 30, 2009

Re: Thanks to Young Democrats By A. M. Johnson - My error, without the Mark Steyn column involved, my letter to the Editor regarding thanks to young Democrats for their assumption of future fiscal indebtedness was left off or out of my post.  - More...
Monday - March 30, 2009

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