October 1, 2019 Ketchikan Local Election This is the 17th year, SitNews has provided FREE unfiltered web exposure to all local Ketchikan candidates to tell the voters why we should elect you. Tell your possible future constituents about your background, work experience, qualifications for the position, etc. Please send a photo. Links to your contact and social media page accepted: Email to editor@sitnews.us Submit Your Statements By: 09/15/19 The sooner the better; absentee voters may vote as early as 15 days prior to the Borough election - absentee voting begins Sept. 16th. Last day to register to vote in the local election is September 1, 2019. Ketchikan Borough Mayor Candidates 3 Year Term, 1 Seat Open Rodney Dial Filed 08/05/19 Candidate's Statement 08/27/19 Sidney Hartley Filed 08/08/19 Candidate's Statement 08/31/19 Michelle O'Brien Filed 08/23/19 Candidate's Statement 09/03/19 Borough Assembly Candidates 3 Year Term, 2 Seats Open Austin Otos Filed 08/01/19 Candidate's Statement 08/28/19   David Landis Filed 08/01/19 Jeremy T. Bynum Filed 08/26/19 Candidate's Statement 09/08/19 Ketchikan School Board Candidates 3 Year Term, 2 Seats Open Bridget Mattson Filed 08/06/19 Candidate's Statement 09/05/19   Jordan Tabb Filed 08/20/19 Ketchikan School Board Candidates 1 Year Term, 1 Seat Open Leslie Becker Filed 08/15/19 Candidate's Statement 08/29/19 Hilary Kvasnikoff Filed 08/16/19 Candidate's Statement 08/27/19 Paul Robbins, Jr. Filed 08/16/19 Candidate's Statement 09/02/19   Kathleen Yarr Filed 08/23/19 Ketchikan City Council 3 Year Term, 2 Seats Open   Lew Williams III Filed 08/05/19   Judy Zenge Filed 08/05/19   Spencer Strassburg Filed 08/26/19 Ketchikan: Public Meetings Ketchikan: Upcoming Events Ketchikan: Announcements Ketchikan: Classifieds CLASSIFIEDS Publish Your Ad Click Here Historical Ketchikan June Allen Dave Kiffer Louise B. Harrington Ketchikan Weather Ketchikan's Forecast August Daily Records 2019 July: Daily Records 2019 Ketchikan July 2019 Data Ketchikan June 2019 Data Ketchikan May 2019 Data Ketchikan April 2019 Data Ketchikan March 2019 Data Ketchikan Feb. 2019 Data Ketchikan Jan. 2019 Data Nat Weather Service KTN Ketchikan Tides & Currents Sunrise - Sunset Ketchikan Search the News Ketchikan Alaska

Ketchikan: Alaska Department of Educ Releases 2019 Education Assessment Results; Significant Room for Growth Says Governor; Ketchikan Educ Assessment Results Show Loss in English Language Arts & Small Performance Gain in Mathematics By MARY KAUFFMAN - Statewide, district, school, and subgroup level results from the Performance Evaluation for Alaska’s Schools (PEAKS) assessment and the Alaska Science Assessment were released yesterday and are now available online. Statewide, school districts have until September 25, 2019 to distribute student-level reports to parents and educators.

Approximately 76,400 students participated in the spring 2019 administration of PEAKS and the Alaska Science Assessment. PEAKS and the Alaska Science Assessment are statewide summative assessments designed to provide important data for parents, educators, policy makers, communities, and businesses about how Alaska’s schools and districts are performing. This information informs school improvement efforts at the state and local levels, and helps ensure there is equity in education for all students. Assessments are one piece of the larger education system, and Alaska’s statewide summative assessments are one part of a balanced assessment system.

PEAKS assesses students in grades 3-9 on the state’s current English language arts and mathematics standards, adopted in 2012. PEAKS was first administered in spring 2017. The Alaska Science Assessment assesses students in grades 4, 8, and 10 on the state’s science standards. The spring 2019 administration assessed students on the now-former science standards, adopted in 2006. Starting in 2022, students will be assessed on Alaska’s revised science standards that were adopted in June 2019.

Students score on a scale that is divided into four levels of achievement: advanced, proficient, below proficient, and far below proficient.

“While I am pleased to see pockets of improvement from year to year, we must not be satisfied with our results. The 2019 PEAKS results show a large achievement gap still exists and the work to improve outcomes for all students must continue,” said Alaska Education Commissioner Dr. Michael Johnson.

According to Tamara Van Wyhe, Director of Innovation and Education Excellence, “The department is focusing our efforts and aligning our support to school districts on the five measurable goals in Alaska’s Education Challenge aimed at increasing student achievement, including the importance of reading proficiency in the early grades. Additionally, this fall we will be rolling out an enhanced online reporting system with school-level profiles to provide parents and the public with more information about our schools and the factors that affect student achievement. School improvement is a complicated endeavor, and DEED is committed to providing timely and relevant information, resources, and leadership to schools and districts across the state as they focus on continuous improvement and growth.”

“It will take the involvement of all Alaskans working together to ensure every student has an equitable opportunity to learn and succeed,” added Commissioner Johnson.

Today in a prepared statement Alaska Governor Michael Dunleavy commented on the assessment results. Governor Dunleavy said, “The results of the 2019 PEAKS assessment should remind all Alaskans that we have significant room for growth when it comes to improving our education system in Alaska. While some may wish to point fingers or make excuses, it is in our students’ best interest that we use these results as an opportunity to increase our sense of urgency and our commitment to better outcomes." 

Governor Dunleavy said, “My administration believes we should work towards the Alaska’s Education Challenge plan that focuses our efforts on measurable goals that will increase student performance, including all our children reading proficiently by the time they finish the third grade, that all children are proficient in Algebra by the time they finish the eighth grade, and we provide relevant hands-on education opportunities that can translate into good paying careers. Until we agree that we have performance issues – in many of our schools – in these basic educational benchmarks, we will continue to shortchange students and impact their futures."

“This is something we should all lock arms around so we may do what’s best for our kids. As my administration has stated in the past, we must also be willing to move beyond the idea that more money, without changes to the way we provide education, will produce different results,” said the governor.

Ketchikan School District Highlights:

With over 98% of Ketchikan School District students participating, the following performance evaluation results are reported by the Alaska Department of Education:

All Grades (3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th) Ketchikan English Language Arts Performance Evaluation shows loss in performance.

• 2019: 46.44% of Ketchikan students tested are Advanced/Proficient in English Language Arts
• 2018: 48.97% of Ketchikan tested are Advanced/Proficient in English Language Arts
• 2017: 43.61% of Ketchikan tested are Advanced/Proficient in English Language Arts
  
  
  
• 2019: 53.56% of Ketchikan students tested are Below/Far Below Proficient in English Language Arts
• 2018: 51.03% of Ketchikan students tested are Below/Far Below Proficient in English Language Arts
• 2017: 56.39% of Ketchikan students tested are Below/Far Below Proficient in English Language Arts

In the Ketchikan School District the Economically Disadvantage in all grades tested performed lower in English Language Arts at 67.98% Below/Far Below Proficient with 43.44% of Economically Advantaged students Below/Far Below Proficient.

All Grades Ketchikan Mathematics Perormance Evaluation 2019 shows small improvement:

• 2019: 43.73% of Ketchikan students tested are Advanced/Proficient in Mathematics
• 2018: 40.29% of Ketchikan students tested are Advanced/Proficient in Mathematics
• 2017: 34.65% of Ketchikan students tested are Advanced/Proficient in Mathematics
  
  
• 2019: 56.27% of Ketchikan students are Below/Far Below Proficient in Mathematics
  
• 2018: 59.71% of Ketchikan students were Below/Far Below Proficient in Mathematics
• 2017: 65.35% of Ketchikan students were Below/Far Below Proficient in Mathematics

In the Ketchikan School District 68.33% of Economically Disadvantaged in all grades tested were at Below/Far Below Proficiency in Mathematics with 47.81% of Economically Advantaged at Below/Far Below Proficiency in Math. - More...
Friday PM - September 06, 2019

Southeast Alaska: AMHS Ending Service to Prince Rupert; AMHS is unable to meet requirements for U.S. Customs in Prince Rupert; Prince Rupert Mayor: Time to resolve issue – The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) announced Wednesday it is ending service to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, effective Oct. 1, 2019.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is requiring AMHS to secure a Canadian law enforcement presence to protect CBP’s personnel in Prince Rupert while inspection tasks are performed. All avenues for local law enforcement were pursued, but AMHS was not able to secure the staff necessary to fulfill this requirement. The new requirement specifies a Canadian law enforcement presence with the ability to make arrests in Canada, which is not a duty that AMHS staff are able to perform.

Last spring, CBP began requiring a Canadian law enforcement presence in Prince Rupert. AMHS was granted a waiver through Sept. 30. Over the summer, AMHS worked with the City of Prince Rupert and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to meet this requirement, but neither of these entities have staff available to perform the duties necessary to comply with the new requirement.

Statement Regarding the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS):

Prince Rupert City Mayor Lee Brain released a prepared statement Thursday regarding this announcement by the Alaska Marine Highway System.

Mayor Brain stated:

"The current situation with the Alaska Marine Highway System is unfortunately complex. There are multiple jurisdictions in which this issue overlaps. 

I'm heading up to Juneau, Alaska the week of Sep 16 to meet with top Alaskan officials in the Department of Transportation and the Governor's office. A variety of solutions have been identified that could see a permanent resolution to this issue, and we have been collaborating with various different organizations and institutions that are involved with this matter. 

As this is a multi-jurisdiction, multi-stakeholder problem that spans two different countries, I can't fully speak to exactly what those potential solutions are as they are still in exploration and evolution. 

However, for clarity's sake, the issues as I can see them are as follows: - More...
Friday PM - September 06, 2019

Alaska: Cold Case Arrest Made Regarding Shelley Connolly Murder; Oregon man charged after DNA links him to killing and sex assault 41 years ago – The Alaska State Troopers made an arrest in connection to the 1978 murder and sexual assault of 16-year-old Shelley Connolly. On September 3, 2019, 62-year-old Donald F. McQuade of Gresham, OR, was taken into custody and charged with murder in the first degree and murder in the second degree.

A little more than four decades ago, a Trooper was flagged down after the body of a 16-year-old girl was found down an embankment near Beluga Point next to the Seward Highway south of Anchorage. The Trooper secured the scene and called in investigators with the Criminal Investigation Bureau, now known as the Alaska Bureau of Investigation.

The state medical examiner at the time determined the manner of death was homicide and the victim had also been sexually assaulted. Troopers identified the girl as Shelley Connolly, of Anchorage, when family called to report her missing after news of the murder was recounted in the local media. What Troopers did not know was the identity of the person who killed her. The case, despite the persistence of many investigators, eventually went cold.

In 1997, with the advent of forensic DNA technology, the Alaska Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory at the request of the Cold Case Unit (CCU), developed a DNA profile of an unknown male from biological evidence collected at the autopsy.  In 2003, the unidentified suspect DNA profile was uploaded into CODIS. No match was ever generated from CODIS. In early 2019, the unknown suspect DNA profile from Shelley’s case was submitted to Parabon Nanolabs in the hopes of determining the suspect’s identity. Based on information discovered by Parabon utilizing genetic genealogy, CCU and partnering agencies identified Donald McQuade as a potential suspect.  Subsequent DNA testing confirmed that McQuade, who was 21 at the time of Shelley’s murder, matched the suspect DNA profile. Investigation also verified McQuade lived in Alaska in 1978.

“Investigators have spent years analyzing this case looking for a viable lead. I have an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction that all that work has paid off,” said Inv. Randy McPherron, Alaska State Troopers Cold Case Investigator. “More than anything, I am relieved to be able to provide Shelley’s friends and family a sense of justice and the knowledge that Shelley was more than a name on an unsolved homicide sitting in a filing cabinet somewhere. Every single victim matters to us.” - More...
Friday PM - September 06, 2019

New viruses discovered in endangered wild Pacific salmon populations; Three new viruses -
including one from a group of viruses never before shown to infect fish
Chinook salmon found dead at British Columbia spawning grounds.
Photo Credit: Kristi Miller-Saunders, Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Fisheries: New viruses discovered in endangered wild Pacific salmon populations; Three new viruses - including one from a group of viruses never before shown to infect fish - Three new viruses - including one from a group of viruses never before shown to infect fish - have been discovered in endangered Chinook and sockeye salmon populations.

While the impact of the viruses on salmon health isn't yet known, all three are related to viruses that cause serious disease in other species.

"We were surprised to find viruses which had never before been shown to infect fish," said Gideon Mordecai, researcher at UBC's department of earth, ocean and atmospheric sciences. "Although there's no risk to humans, one of the viruses is evolutionarily related to respiratory coronaviruses, and is localized to the gills. That suggests it has a similar infection strategy to its distant relatives that infect mammals."

UBC and Fisheries and Oceans Canada researchers used DNA sequencing followed by tests specific to each virus to screen more than 6,000 salmon from along the B.C. coast, including wild, hatchery and aquaculture fish.

"We found the new viruses widely distributed in dead and dying farmed salmon and in wild salmon," said UBC virologist Curtis Suttle. "It emphasizes the potential role that viral disease may play in the population dynamics of wild fish stocks, and the threat that these viruses may pose to aquaculture."

One new virus, detected more commonly in salmon hatcheries, infected more than 15 per cent of all hatchery Chinook tested. - More....
Friday PM - September 06, 2019

It’s not aurora, it’s STEVE
By FRITZ FREUDENBERGER
The Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement, visible as a pink band rising from the lower left to upper right of this photograph, appears with the Milky Way over Childs Lake, Manitoba, Canada. Scientists have recently confirmed STEVE is a unique phenomenon and not a kind of aurora, as previously thought. The picture is a composite of 11 images stitched together.
Image courtesy of Krista Trinder and NASA

STEVE is short for the Strong Thermal Emissions Velocity Enhancement, a celestial phenomenon auroral researchers, citizen-scientists and photography enthusiasts first introduced to the world in 2016.

STEVE’s narrow ribbon of light, to the naked eye, looks strikingly similar to aurora. However, there are distinct differences. First, its pinkish mauve color is not aurora-like. In addition, the phenomenon is often associated with “picket fence” emissions, which look like green columns of light passing through the ribbons at lower altitudes. Lastly, STEVE appears in areas farther south than auroral lights typically do.

Scientists thought something didn’t add up.

This summer, researchers confirmed that STEVE is not aurora, but is instead a unique phenomenon. Their findings were published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

“The big thing is, we can clearly say now it’s not regular aurora,” said University of Alaska Fairbanks researcher Don Hampton, a co-author on the paper. “It’s a new phenomenon, that’s pretty exciting.”

The project, led by University of Calgary researcher D.M. Gillies, used a spectrograph to examine the light from the phenomenon and identify what kind of emissions it gives and in what patterns and wavelengths. Hampton and his colleagues designed and built the spectrograph at the UAF Geophysical Institute.

“We need to understand what the spectrum looks like and therefore understand the physics behind it,” Hampton said. A spectrum acts as a definitive identification, like a DNA test or chemical formula for light. - More...
Friday PM - September 06, 2019

RICH MANIERI: Gun Control Won't Solve Our Violence Problem - You probably haven't heard about this because no shots were fired.

A 15-year-old boy showed up Aug. 28 at Great Crossing High School in Scott County, Kentucky, with a handgun. It was fully loaded.

Another student saw the firearm and notified the principal. Police responded and found the gun in the boy's waistband. He was taken into custody.

We don't know why the teenager took a weapon to school or what he planned to do with it. But we can assume that when someone carries a loaded handgun into a school, he intends to use it.

By now, we've all heard about the Aug. 31 shooting in West Texas, where a lone gunman opened fire on police during a traffic stop and proceed to fire from his vehicle as he drove down the highway. Seven were killed, 22 were injured. The killer had apparently been fired from his trucking job a few hours before the rampage.

We don't know much about the shooter other than he was a 36-year-old male.

The Kentucky story quickly disappeared from the headlines. But the demagoguery that followed the Texas shooting lingered.

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke got of a lot of attention after appearing on CNN and, for some reason, dropping the f-word on live television.

"This is f----d up," he said. He used the expletive more than once. Now, his campaign is selling t-shirts featuring the phrase for $30 a pop.

The default solution for O'Rourke and the other 375 Democrats running for president is more gun control - more "comprehensive" background checks, gun buyback programs, banning AR 15s, and so on.

The Texas shooter failed a background check. He bought his gun via private sale. And if you believe a gun buyback (a.k.a. confiscation) program is going to work, consider that criminals tend to shy away from participating in initiatives that make being a criminal more difficult. - More...
Friday PM - September 06, 2019

Political Cartoon: Bernie Panders
By Rick McKee ©2019, Counterpoint
Distributed to paid subscribers for publication by Cagle Cartoons, Inc.