Ketchikan Creek: Great Blue Heron
Front Page Photo By JIM LEWIS

Ketchikan: Little Bear tiptoes through the turnips By MARY KAUFFMAN - Shoppers at Tatsuda's IGA grocery store on Saturday evening had an unexpected adventure of the wild-kind when a small black bear nonchalantly followed a shopper through the automatic doors and proceeded to the produce section walking past the cashiers. It was surreal said one of the employees.

Little Bear tiptoes through Tatsuda's produce
Photo courtesy Joe Stollar
From Joe Stollar's video

Produce Manager Danny Hernandez said the little critter stood on his hind feet and proceeded to climb onto the produce display paying no attention to Hernandez's efforts to shoo the bear away.

The little bear made a brief walk along the produce display and became world famous through a video made by Manager Joe Stollar which appeared on CNN, Good Morning America and Fox News. Stollar's video uploaded to You-Tube went viral in a matter of hours.

The little bear's visit was short and it did not demonstrate any interest in grazing and appeared more interested in finding an exit, which Ketchikan Police and retired Ketchikan Firefighter Ken Holmes were willing to provide.

According to Holmes, on arrival police officers were expecting to find a large bear and were equipped and ready; however, they were surprised to discover the small cub. Ex-firefighter Ken Holmes offered to capture the bear and remove it from the store. With the assistance of the Ketchikan Police Officers, Holmes was able to isolate the bear at the end of the produce display and grab it by the neck -- a familiar move also used by mother bears.

The little bear was exited through a side-door and returned to the forested hill behind Tatsuda's where it was believed the mother bear may be hiding and in watch for her cub. Homes said once the cub was release, the little bear ran up the hill into the woods.

There was a concern as to where the mother bear might be thoroughout the event, but she was not reportedly sighted around the grocery store at any time. A call to the local Fish & Game Department regarding the cub was not returned.

Holmes estimated the weight of the bear to be between 25-30 pounds. Biologists report in their research that at the time of birth, a cub will usually weigh between six to twelve ounces. By the age of 4 months, a black bear cub may weigh about 10 pounds and by six months, a bear cub will weigh between 40-60 pounds. However, there is some disagreement in cub weights and ages in the available research. According to a study completed by Viriginia Tech conducted to obtain growth data on cubs, a six month old cub would weigh approximately 27- 35 pounds. - More...
Thursday PM- October 20, 2011

Alaska Science: Alaska Buildings Without Us By NED ROZELL - In Alan Weisman’s book, “The World Without Us,” the author ponders “a world from which we all suddenly vanished. Tomorrow.”

A concrete foundation is all that remains of Shaktoolik’s old school, abandoned after the village moved to a new site about 70 years ago.
Photo by Aaron Cooke

In his great thought experiment, Weisman travels around the world to explore that question, revealing that cockroaches and bedbugs would not fare well without our sloppiness and warmth, and that Theodore Roosevelt’s granite face will stare down from Mount Rushmore for the next 7.2 million years.

Weisman devotes a chapter to buildings, going into detail on their natural, gradual destruction. It all begins with water, Weisman writes, quoting a farmer who said a sure way to destroy a barn is to cut an 18-inch hole in its roof.

Posed with the question of the fate of Alaska structures without us, researchers with the Cold Climate Housing Research Center in Fairbanks agreed that the liquid stuff of life is the most powerful agent of demise.

“All it takes is water draining into the building for the failures to start,” said product testing director Colin Craven, who noted the spectacular, gradual death of a neglected Fairbanks hotel, accompanied by “amazing blooms of mold and moss.”

“The water and air carry all the destruction potential we need by bringing microorganisms, by causing dissolution of minerals and corrosion,” he said. “Of course, humans usually accelerate the process, as abandoned mines and military facilities get vandalized quickly before the elements have their chance. Without that, it would be a lot slower and more interesting.”

The research center’s Ilya Benesch has witnessed the slower and more interesting fade of a mining building in Poorman, Alaska, which benefitted from a still-intact tin roof. Built in the early 1900s, the structure, about 70 miles south of Ruby, was still in decent shape about 75 years later. - More...
Thursday PM - October 20, 2011

Obituary: Carroll G. Fader - Carroll George Fader, former long-time Ketchikan resident, Alaska legislator, educator and business owner, passed away peacefully after a long, courageous battle with cancer on October 14th at Sitka Community Hospital in Sitka, Alaska.  He was 88.

Carroll George Fader

Carroll was born May 5, 1923, in Seattle, Washington, the son of George J. and Vivian Fader.  He attended local schools in the Seattle area. 

Carroll enlisted in the United States Coast Guard in 1942 and was called to active duty during World War II on February 21, 1943.  After completing boot camp in St. Augustine, FL. and Savannah, GA., Carroll went on to complete quartermaster training in Manhattan Beach, NY, port duties in South Carolina, California and Washington.  Carroll was stationed on the U.S.S. Carson City (PF-50) and the Columbia Lightship #93.  During his time on the Carson City he participated in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater, worked New Guinea area, Philippine Liberation and ultimately weather patrol in the North Pacific. Carroll received an honorable discharge from the US Coast Guard on May 18, 1946.

Carroll’s long passion and career in education and public service began after receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Arts in 1950, a Bachelor of Education in 1951 and a Masters of Education in 1958; all from Washington State University. 

Moving his young family from Pullman, Washington to Ketchikan in 1951, Carroll’s career in education began teaching industrial arts in the Old Main School. Carroll touched many with his passion and tireless advocacy for vocational education in the State of Alaska.  Carroll spoke proudly of the time when he applied to the Federal government and was awarded a $300,000 grant.  The grant was used to develop the Ketchikan Sea Ed project, a maritime and fisheries program for high school students.  Many of his students went on to careers with the U.S. Navy, Alaska Marine Highway, Alaska Sea Pilot’s Association, airline captains, air taxi operators and local business owners. - More...
Thursday PM - October 20, 2011

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