Ketchikan: Asset Builders of the Month: McPhersons' & Company - PATCHWorks has presented the October monthly "Asset Builder" award to Roy and Tina McPherson, Kim Kleinschmidt, Sayers McAlpin and all the other adult musician mentors who are providing support and guidance to many of Ketchikan's young musicians. - More...
Thursday - October 04, 2007

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Ketchikan: Alaska Weather A Mix During September; Ketchikan cooler than normal - Average September temperatures across Alaska were just below normal in Southeast, but transitioned to above normal for areas to the west. The strongest anomalies were recorded along the North Slope and West Coast, with monthly temperatures averaging more than 5 degrees Fahrenheit above normal.

The precipitation pattern across the state was more mixed, with wetter than normal conditions predominantly in the southern Interior and parts of the southern coast. Areas in the north and portions of the Panhandle were drier than normal. The autumnal equinox, or time of year when daylight and darkness are approximately 12 hours all across the globe, occurred on Sept. 23rd.

Ketchikan was one of the few places in which the average temperature was cooler than normal for September. Though not a strong departure, the temperature was less than a degree below normal at 52.3 degrees Fahrenheit. The average high was 58 degrees. The average low was 47 degrees. The highest and lowest temperatures for the month were 68 degrees Fahrenheit on Sept. 11 and 36 degrees Fahrenheit on the 28th. There were a total of 373 heating degree-days for the month, about 15 more than normal. Ketchikan had only
five dry days, with a total monthly precipitation of 9.97 inches. This was below normal by a little more than 2 inches. However, there were four days when the precipitation was more than 1 inch. - More...
Thursday - October 04, 2007

Alaska: Alaska's PFD Fraud Unit Delivers Results - Each year, the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend Division Fraud Unit investigates hundreds of applications based on information received from other government agencies and the public. "Fraud is an unfortunate, but inevitable, byproduct of this beneficial program for Alaskans. The PFD Fraud Unit works hard to uphold the integrity of the dividend program and to protect the interests of all Alaskans," said Patrick Galvin, Commissioner of Revenue.

Last year, PFD Fraud investigations resulted in eight criminal indictments, three in Federal court and five in State court. The PFD Division also imposed 36 civil actions resulting in five-year PFD forfeitures and fines ranging from $130 to $904. For 2006, $2.5 million dollars of dividend claims were denied or recovered through the division's fraud and audit program. Once fraudulently obtained dividends are recovered, they are deposited into the Dividend Fund and included in the next dividend payment. - More...
Thursday - October 04, 2007

Alaska: Chenega Rescues Mariner In Distress - The M/V Chenega, responding to a request for assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard, rescued a boater on Sunday who grounded his vessel on Lone Island in Prince William Sound due to poor weather. The Chenega received the radio report at about 1:40 p.m. on Sunday.

The Chenega was on its way to Cordova when it received the request from the Coast Guard. The Chenega proceeded to the scene and a fast rescue boat, manned by First Officer Dennis Gum and Able Seaman Clark Posey, was launched to pick up the boater. - More...
Thursday - October 04, 2007

Alaska: Alaska Boards of Fisheries and Game to Meet - The Alaska Boards of Fisheries and Game (Joint Board) will meet in Anchorage this week to consider changes to the local fish and game advisory committee system and to the state's "nonsubsistence" areas.

The meeting will take place at the Coast International Inn in Anchorage beginning at 1:00 p.m. Friday October 5 and continue through October 8. The Joint Board will take oral public testimony at this meeting. Anyone wanting to testify must sign-up by 3:00 p.m. Friday, October 5.

Fish and game advisory committees are grass roots groups that discuss fish and wildlife management and provide recommendations to the boards. There are 81 committees throughout the state, each with expertise in a particular local area. The Joint Board will consider proposals to combine or split committees and to change their guidelines. - More...
Thursday - October 04, 2007

Alaska: Nominations Sought for North Pacific Fishery Management Council - Alaska Governor Sarah Palin today announced that she is seeking applications from members of the public interested in serving on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. The NPFMC is responsible for managing federal fisheries inside the United States 200 mile zone.

An appointment will be made later this month to fill the remainder of the term of resigning council member Ed Rasmuson. The unexpired term runs from January 1, 2008, when Rasmuson's resignation becomes effective, through August 10, 2009. Interested parties should submit a resume and letter of interest showing that they are knowledgeable and experienced with regard to conservation and management, or the recreational or commercial harvest of the fishery resources of Alaska.

Ketchikan: ANB ANS Camp 14 Election Results - During a Sept 11, 2007 meeting, Alaska Native Brotherhood Alaska Native Sisterhood Camp 14 held its elections of officers.

Newly elected are: - More...
Thursday - October 04, 2007

Alaska Science: Bird Watchers in Alaska Can Help Track Impact of Climate Change - Bird watchers in Alaska can help chart the impact of global climate change on feeder birds-and have fun at the same time. Participants in Project FeederWatch, a citizen science project based at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, have already documented changes in the distribution and numbers of feeder birds over the 20-year history of the project. Anyone can contribute observations during the winter months. Combined with reports from across the state, the information can help reveal trends in bird populations that may be linked to climate change.

"Changes in temperatures are greatest near the poles, so Alaska is feeling the effects of climate change more rapidly than the rest of the United States," said ornithologist and project leader David Bonter. "Temperature changes will certainly influence the distribution and abundance of birds across the state." Bonter said that some species may already be lingering in Alaska in the winter when they should be migrating to points south. One FeederWatcher in Homer recorded Cedar Waxwings and a Lincoln's Sparrow last winter, and a Mourning Dove visited a FeederWatch site in Wrangell. These species are typically found to the south of those locations in winter. Although individual birds are often found in unexpected locations, milder winter temperatures may allow these lost individuals to survive. Over time, shifts in the distributions of birds may result. - More...
Thursday - October 04, 2007

Alaska Science: Glaciers no obstacle for Copper River and Northwestern Railway By Ned Rozell - Home of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, Alaska has been the setting for a few epic engineering battles rendered against nature. The Million Dollar Bridge, standing almost intact on the lower Copper River, is a reminder of another improbable Alaska construction project.

Completed in 1910, the Million Dollar Bridge was the crux of the Copper River and Northwestern Railway, built to carry copper ore 196 miles from Kennicott to Cordova. Along that route were some of the greatest obstacles Alaska offers-steep canyons, rivers, hurricane-force winds, mosquitoes, and dozens of glaciers.

A fortune in high-grade copper locked deep in the Wrangell Mountains inspired Outside investors, including the Guggenheim family and J.P. Morgan, to risk building a railway from an ice-free port on Alaska's Southcentral coast to the rich copper deposits at Kennicott. In 1906, planners recommended four possible routes to the copper-including two from Valdez to the Copper River via 2,000-foot passes-but railroad builders chose a route from Cordova that would follow the Copper River north to Chitina, then continue 60 miles to Kennicott.

Glaciers stuck out their tongues in defiance along the entire route, but the pull of financial gain and human ingenuity overcame them. In one case, workers laid tracks across the debris-covered ice of Allen Glacier for five-and-one-half miles, according to my two sources for this column: the books, The Copper Spike by Lone E. Janson, and Iron Rails to Alaskan Copper, by Alfred Quinn.

Two of the largest obstacles on the route were Miles and Childs glaciers, both of which calve icebergs into the Copper River from opposite banks. Erastus Hawkins, the engineer in charge of the railroad project, and Michael Heney, the construction contractor, preferred to run the railroad alongside the Copper River, but the Miles and Childs glaciers sprawl over both shorelines at a pinch-point about 15 miles from the river's mouth. Not listening to other engineers who thought the problem was insurmountable, Hawkins designed a 1,550-foot steel bridge to span the Copper River at a river bend between the two glaciers.

Geologists had found that the glaciers had fused during the past several centuries, and the leader of a U.S. Army expedition up the Copper River in 1885 reported that the nose of Miles Glacier was then about 120 yards from the site of the bridge. By 1908, both glaciers had receded to provide a gap of about three miles..- More...
Thursday - October 04, 2007

Ketchikan Ketchikan Police Report 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 October 2007 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       September 2007 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             More Front Page Archives

Advisors stand behind ACES plan By Pat Galvin, Tom Irwin and Marty Rutherford - As advisors to Governor Palin on oil and gas issues, we are proud to stand behind the ACES Plan. We look forward to working with the legislature to provide the details of our team's analysis and to cooperatively develop the best production tax system for Alaska. - More...
Thursday PM - October 04, 2007

They WILL come! By Davey Lopes - Mr. Barry makes some valid points. And his idea is a perfect start. But let me touch on a couple of his comments. - More...
Thursday PM - October 04, 2007

Thank You Ketchikan! By Ginny Clay - I just wanted to thank everyone for their overwhelming support! Also thank you to my co-runners. Good luck Dave in your endeavors and Mike I can't wait to get to work! - More...
Thursday PM - October 04, 2007

YO-YO Philosophy By Meagan Foster - You're On Your Own, kids, elders, and working Alaskans. Reading Dan Fagan's column (or as much as I could stand) this Sunday reminded me of a Mike Doogan column at the end of this year's legislative session about the "right wing's" new "You're On Your Own" agenda. As a Legislative staff member, I repeatedly heard certain Legislators tell people in need (of health care, job training, education, or community revenue sharing) "you are on your own." However, when I heard some of these same people bragging about the size of the capital budget they secured for their district I was appalled. We live in a state where some key legislators are anxious to allow BP to write off their costs to replace corroded pipe, but that refuse to provide healthcare to children of working parents, because that would create a culture of dependence. - More...
Wednesday AM - October 03, 2007

Jewelry store initiative By Terry Pyles - I loved the opinion by Ken Bylund! It mirrors my own and I'm partial to his Dockside Gallery statement. - More...
Wednesday AM - October 03, 2007

"ENDANGERED HERRING"? Why Now, And Why Only Lynn Canal? By Andy Rauwolf, John Harrington, Snapper Carson - We find it quite interesting that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has recently considered listing the Lynn Canal herring stocks as either threatened or endangered. NMFS has maintained a laboratory in Juneau for about 3/4 of a century and has conducted extensive research on the once huge Lynn Canal herring stock as well as many other herring populations throughout S.E. Alaska. In 1982, after 5 years of intense herring sac roe fishing, then Governor Sheffield was persuaded to override an order by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) for an emergency closure of the Lynn Canal herring fishery and open the fishery. This last thrust depleted the herring stocks to a level which could no longer sustain the population of whales, sea lions, and salmon that had thrived on it, causing its collapse. - More...
Monday PM - October 01, 2007

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Mike Painter 1,518
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Sam Bergeron 629
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Robert Brown 155

Ginny Clay 1,958
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