Ketchikan: 15th Annual KHRA Bike Show Fun For All Ages; Miller Wins Grand Prize, Harley-Davidson Street Bob By VALERIE HENDEL - On October 14th, the Plaza Mall in Ketchikan opened its doors to the 2006 15th Annual KHRA Bike Show. The Ketchikan Harley Rider's Association (KHRA) sponsors the event each year to help raise money for its charity fund.

Twenty-eight bikes were displayed throughout the mall and competed for recognition in various classes. On Saturday, Gene Beebe, Jim Amos, and Ken Arriola judged and awarded each class. - More...
Wednesday PM - October 18, 2006

Ketchikan: Schallerer's Shuttered: Ketchikan Photo Shop was nearly 80 years old. Feature story By DAVE KIFFER - One of longest lasting businesses in Ketchikan history is ending its run this winter according to current owner Joe Shinn, but at least there will be plenty of photographs to remember it by.

Schallerer's Shuttered: Ketchikan Photo Shop was nearly 80 years old. Current owner Joe Shinn in front of a portion of Schallerers antique camera collection - a collection that dates back to the very earliest Kodak brownies... Photograph by Ty Rettke©

Schallerer's Photo Shop has been a Ketchikan landmark for nearly 80 years but changes in the photo business combined with earlier changes in Ketchikan's downtown mean Schallerer's dark room light is going out for good.

In the last year, Schallerers had moved from Downtown to Ketchikan's West End.

"The reason for the West End move was to recapture local business, as the stigma of Downtown drove people away," said Schallerers manager Ty Rettke. "Constantly people were saying that if we weren't Downtown, they would shop with us as they 'never go Downtown.' Even in the Winter. Unfortunately, this was not the case, as we did not recapture much if any old business and we lost all the summertime processing."

Film processing had always been a major part of the business and that was already down dramatically in recent years because many customers had switched to digital cameras.

"Digital has had a large effect on roll counts, as has Wal Mart coming in," Rettke said. "During the summer we used to do (pre-digital and pre Wal Mart) 80-100 rolls of film a day. In the winter we still did 35-45 rolls, all local. We now average a dozen rolls a day. During the summer, while we were processing Downtown, the roll counts were down quite a bit as people are using more digital cameras and not printing as many pictures. So it was kind of a one-two punch." - More...
Wednesday PM - October 18, 2006

Alaska: Governor hopefuls spat - Trio trade jabs at Wasilla debate; Knowles, Halcro pick up endorsement By KYLE HOPKINS Anchorage Daily News www.adn.com    Top Stories U.S. News U.S. Politics Alaska Ketchikan

National: Iraq Study Group adviser: U.S. must weigh strategy change By JAMES STERNGOLD - With the violence in Iraq flaring dangerously, a national consensus is growing, even among senior Republicans, that the United States must consider a major change in strategy in the coming months.

But in a sign of the growing sense of urgency, a member of a high-powered government advisory body that is developing options to prevent Iraq's chaotic collapse warns that the United States could have just weeks, not months, to avoid an all-out civil war.

"There's a sense among many people now that things in Iraq are slipping fast and there isn't a lot of time to reverse them," said Larry Diamond, one of a panel of experts advising the Iraq Study Group, which is preparing a range of policy alternatives for President Bush.

"The civil war is already well along. We have no way of knowing if it's too late until we try a radically different course," said Diamond, an expert on building democracies who is at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and is a former adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq.

The co-chairman of the Iraq Study Group, former Secretary of State James Baker, has already made headlines by saying that "stay the course" is no longer a viable strategy and that some kind of change will be required. The study group's final report is not due until after the November elections, but Baker has insisted in several interviews over the past two weeks that the United States must place greater emphasis on diplomacy, including talks with avowed U.S. foes such as Syria and Iran, in an effort to stabilize Iraq. He has said the United States should place less emphasis on military force alone. - More...
Wednesday PM - October 18, 2006

National: Reports: Eat more fish By LEE BOWMAN - Although there are times when contamination should be a concern, the health benefits of regular fish consumption outweigh the risks, according to two new government-sponsored reports released Tuesday.

The reports, based on reviews of previous research, suggest that Americans generally would benefit from eating a little more fish, rather than less.

"Overall, for major health outcomes among adults, the benefits of eating fish greatly outweigh the risks. Somehow, this evidence has been lost on the public," said Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, an instructor in epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health and lead author of a review published Wednesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute sponsored that study.

A second study, produced by the Institute of Medicine, was slightly more cautious. It supports government dietary advice that fish should be part of a healthy diet, but said that given the potential risks from exposure to contaminants, some limits are in order, particularly for women who are or may become pregnant or who are breastfeeding. - More...
Wednesday PM - October 18, 2006

National: Crackdown on nuke workers By FRANK MUNGER - It sounds like something from a movie sequel called "Cheech and Chong Visit the Atomic City": nuclear workers sleeping on the job, watching TV, playing cards and smoking dope.

As it turns out, they all were true.

The crackdown came last week at the Molten Salt Reactor, an old experimental reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Bechtel Jacobs Co., the Department of Energy's cleanup manager, and its subcontractors were preparing to remove tons of highly radioactive fuel salts stored there since the reactor was shut down in 1969.

According to Dennis Hill, a spokesman for Bechtel Jacobs, a visit to a break trailer outside the reactor confirmed that some workers were sleeping, playing cards and watching TV. Hill said the company called law-enforcement officials in Roane County, and a K-9 unit reportedly found indications that marijuana had been smoked in the trailer - even though none of the weed was actually found there.

During a tour of the parking lot, drug dogs "hit" on four different vehicles, one of which contained an unspecified amount of marijuana and residues associated with the smoke, Hill said. The owner of that vehicle, who worked for a Bechtel Jacobs subcontractor, was fired on the spot, he said. - More...
Wednesday PM - October 18, 2006

Health & Fitness: Silence is becoming extinct, and it's our loss By CYNTHA HUBERT - Stop what you're doing.

Be still, and listen carefully.

What do you hear?

Wherever you are, it's not likely to be the sound of silence.

Outside in our increasingly urban surroundings it's the drone of freeways, the grinding of construction trucks, the traffic helicopters in the sky.

In the office computers are beeping and cell phones are trilling. Having lunch at a restaurant? Not only is music blaring, but the TV in the corner is probably loudly tuned to ESPN. In the grocery store checkout line? A disembodied voice is telling you about a sale on toilet paper while a woman on a video screen is demonstrating how to make grilled salmon with mango salsa.

Argh!

Scientists have long documented the negative effects of loud, prolonged noise on hearing, but what about the ubiquitous sounds of everyday life? What effects do they have on us physically, psychologically, spiritually? - More...
Wednesday PM - October 18, 2006

Viewpoints Opinions/Letters Basic Rules Zero Tolerence and kids By Kathi Collum - Wednesday PM Local gas prices By Karen Ramsey - Wednesday PM Shame on Would-Be Thief By Jennifer Brewer - Wednesday PM Drinking & drug use by children By Amy Schmitt - Wednesday PM Tongass construction By Dan Hart - Wednesday PM Ketchikan Regional Youth Facility (The DH you may not know we have) By Dave Timmerman - Wednesday PM Lions By Ed Pero - Wednesday PM Adults think they know all the answers... But they don't. By Brigitte Mumma - Wednesday PM Irritating Cell Phones By Emanuel Molho - Wednesday PM Ketchikan's rehabilitation center By Bonnie Jean Abbott - Wednesday PM Now a Zero Tolerance Policy By Vicki Harsha - Tuesday AM Do what's right for people! By Mary Fay Hemli - Tuesday AM Zero Tolerance in Ketchikan By Vicki Harsha - Monday AM Long Island Herbicide spraying By Paula Peterson - Monday AM Open Letter to DOT: Make Safety a Priority By Kay Sims and Terry Wanzer - Monday AM And More... About White Cliff By Jackie Williams - Monday AM Ketchikan Detention Home By Aan Kadax Tseen - Monday AM So you want to use drugs? By Catlin Rettke - Monday AM Police, kids, underage drinking By Karen Hollywood - Thursday PM RE: Police and Law Enforcement in Ketchikan By Stacey Stone - Thursday PM Where's Tony ... part two? By Jeff Kemp - Thursday PM That time of Year. . . By Virginia E. Atkinson WARS and CONFLICTS - A Republican Legacy? By James Hanson - Thursday PM Taxed Out By Robert McRoberts - Thursday PM More Viewpoints/ Letters Publish A Letter Political Cartoonists Political Cartoons Ketchikan City Police Report AK Troopers Daily Dispatch Arts This Week Today's Forecast Ketchikan Weather Data Current AK Weather Map Classifieds Auto-post your ad in the proper category, or email your ad & photos to ads@sitnews.us  Classifieds: Categories Announcements For Sale / Free Stuff Garage Sales Homes / Apts/ Property Pets Wanted Lost & Found Local Services SitNews Archives October 2006 Click on the date to read the stories published on that day. S M T W T F S 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 31         More Front Page Archives

Ketchikan: Arts This Week - This week in Ketchikan the Torch Nights Performing Arts Series presents Cheryl Wheeler in concert. Singer/songwriter Cheryl Wheeler graces the Kayhi stage in the first of many fine performances of the 2006-2007 Torch Nights season. A brilliant and hilarious storyteller, Wheeler invites the audience of all ages to find their own lives reflected in the sweet spaces of her songs. She will be performing Sunday, October 22, 2006 at 7:30pm in the Kayhi Auditorium. Call 225-2211 for more information and/or to purchase a season ticket. Tickets will be available in October at TBC, Soho Coho, Madison Hardware, McPherson music and the Arts Council. Visit Cheryl's website at www.cherylwheeler.com

The Monthly Grind brings live local talent to the stage again on Saturday, October 21, 2006 at 7pm at the Saxman Tribal House. Coffee, dessert and fabulous entertainment all for just $5 for adults, and $1 for kids, buy a ticket, bring a homemade dessert and get a refund.

Friday Night Insight Programs at the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center every Friday from 5-7pm. October 20: "American's Rain Forest: A distance Learning Adventure" Brooke Hunt and her former 6th grade students will put on an encore presentation from 2005.

Friends Craft Night: Help make quilted stars to benefit the new library building fund from 6:00-7:30pm, Tuesday, October 24. All supplies are provided and no experience is necessary. Call 225-3331 for more information.

Intergenerational Activities with the Pioneers Home and Boys and Girls Club. These monthly intergenerational activities take place on the 3rd Saturday of each month from 1-3pm at the Pioneers Home. This month's theme is Harvest Month, and seniors and youth are invited to decorate bird houses and play bingo with Pioneer Home seniors and Boys and Girls Club youth on Saturday, October 21. All are welcome! Please call Gretchen at 617-4685 with questions.

Workshops & Classes:

Jewelry making workshop with Tina Mander! Local jewelry maker Tina Mander will hold a silver jewelry making workshop on Saturday, November 11 from 1:30pm - 3pm at Alaska Rose in the Plaza. She would love to share her passion for silver crafting with artists of all ages and abilities. To register call 247-4759, $25 fee includes all materials and supplies.

Bigfoot Pottery Studio is Moving to the old Physical Graffiti building, downstairs. Classes and the studios will be available again in November. Call Erik at 617-2378 for more information. Check here for class availability then, too.

Classes at the Totem Heritage Center: Register for fall classes at the Heritage Center online, by phone, mail or in person, Monday - Friday, 8am - 5pm 225-5900.Classes offered -- Fall: Cedar Bark Weaving Intermediate & Advanced with Diane Douglas-Willard, Carver's Toolmaking & NWC Project Design with Steve Brown, Beginning Cedar Bark Weaving with Holly Churchill, Drawing for Carvers with Donald Varnell. Spring: Mixed Level Ravens tail weaving with Evelyn Vanderhoop, Intro to NWC Carving with Fred Trout, Coiled Basketry with Carol Douglas, Mold Making for Carvers with Steven Jackson, Cedar Bark Weaving Intermediate & Advanced with Diane Douglas-Willard, Doll Making: NWC Form with Mary Anne Frank.....

Ongoing attractions:

Something Interesting to Look At features the works of Joe Piston at the Mainstay Gallery at 716 Totem Way. Joe works with brightly colored acrylics on large canvasses that are sure to catch the eye of gallery patrons and his work will be on display through Friday, October 27, 2006. The Mainstay Gallery is sponsored by the Ketchikan Area Arts and Humanities Council, 225-2211.

Metlakatla: Vintage Photographs is on display now through November 19, 2006 at the Tongass Historical Museum, 629 Dock Street. This exhibit features more than 100 images detailing the history and peoples of Metlakatla from 1887 to the 1920s. The museum is open Wednesday - Friday from 1-5, on Saturdays from 10 - 5, and Sundays from 1 - 4. Call the Museum for more info at 225-5600. - More...
Wednesday - October 18, 2006