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Ketchikan: Subsistence Violations, Other Charges Leveled Against Local Men - Six men face federal charges as a result of an investigation by U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement personel with the assistance of the Alaska State Troopers. The six men, three from Prince of Wales Island and three from Metlakatla, were charged with a total of 26 charges as a result of illegal deer harvesting on Tongass National Forest lands, Forest Service law enforcement officials have disclosed.

The incident that led to the charges occurred on October 3, 2007, when two vehicles were observed by a Forest Service law enforcement officer leaving a Forest Service road that was gated and locked, and closed to motorized vehicles. The lock to the road appeared to have been shot off, according to law enforcement officials for the Forest Service.

Of the 26 charges, 18 were federal subsistence violations, under Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations, part 242. The site of the majority of the infractions was specifically in the Indian Creek area on Prince of Wales Island, and Forest Service Road 2016000. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 20, 2007

Alaska: Fisherman saved after 10 hours in icy strait By MEGAN HOLLAND - The Pacific Lady had just been knocked over by a hurricane-like blast of wind in roaring seas. The vessel was on its side. Windows that should have displayed sky instead revealed ocean green. Water gushed into the wheelhouse through every opening, big and small.

Alan Ryden, fishing alone on the 42-foot boat, pulled his survival suit over a fleece jacket and had just enough time to call Mayday over the radio as the vessel went down.

As he fumbled out of the wheelhouse, struggling through the chaos of water and debris, Ryden said, he wondered if this was how it would end.

The Kodiak fisherman was a mile offshore from the Alaska Peninsula, 70 miles southwest of Kodiak Island in the Shelikof Strait. It was 2:30 p.m. Friday.

Nobody heard his Mayday, he would learn later.

Ryden, 47, floated for 10 hours and 14 miles, buoyed by a small personal flotation device amid 16-foot seas and 50-knot winds. The sun set and the moon rose as waves crashed over him. At one point, Ryden said in an interview, he shouted out over the clamor: "I'm not going to die out here."

Ryden recounted his experience by phone from on board the Heritage, a 70-foot-long fishing vessel that finally found and rescued him.

"The fact that he was in good shape was really remarkable," said a U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman, Petty Officer Sara Francis. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 20, 2007

National: Increased domestic production won't make US self-sufficient in natural gas - A new report by the Energy Forum at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy finds that the United States will continue to rely on imported natural gas even if areas that are currently restricted are opened up to drilling.

Natural gas is already an important fuel in the United States, representing 22 percent of total primary energy use in 2006. About 20 percent of that gas was imported, the vast majority from Canada. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports have risen from virtually zero in 1986 to just in excess of 0.5 trillion cubic feet (tcf), or 2.9 percent of total U.S. natural gas consumption in 2006. The United States imports LNG from a variety of countries, including Trinidad and Tobago, Egypt, Nigeria and Algeria.

According to the new study, under a business-as-usual scenario, where U.S. lands are not opened up for drilling, by 2030, U.S. consumers could be relying on liquefied natural gas imports for as much as 30 percent of total supply. This has strong implications for security of natural gas supply, as the United States becomes more reliant on liquefied natural gas from the Middle East and Africa. U.S. end-use natural gas demand is expected to climb to 23.9 (tcf) in 2015 and 26.9 tcf by 2025, up from 20.0 tcf in 2006, according to study forecasts. This represents a gain of about 1.3 percent per year.

"Studies of the market outlook show that our high cost domestic production will increasingly have to compete against a swath of more competitively priced imports," said Kenneth Medlock, fellow for energy studies at the Baker Institute and a key author of the study. "In the short term, the net impacts on U.S. supply security are not all that worrisome. But long term, as our demand grows, we will have to worry more about security of supply." - More...
Tuesday AM - November 20, 2007

Business - Economy: Is inflation coming back? By MIKE MEYERS - Has a generation of steady or falling prices come to an end?

The government reported last week that for October, the consumer price index rose over the past 12 months at a pace of 3.5 percent, reaching a 14-month high. A year ago, the comparable inflation barometer read 1.3 percent.

Some economists believe the tide has turned.

"I think the 25 years of disinflation we've enjoyed since the early 1980s is over," said Dan Laufenberg, chief economist at Ameriprise Financial Inc. in Minneapolis. "The best we can hope for is a period of relatively stable inflation."

Some economists see two possible outcomes for prices: one in which businesses pass along their higher costs to consumers, and one in which they have to eat those costs, depressing profits throughout 2008.

In either scenario, inflation would become a headline issue. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 20, 2007

Ketchikan: Arts This Week - This week in Ketchikan the Winter Arts Faire will be held Friday, November 23rd from 1-7pm and Saturday, November 24th, 10-5pm. Get your Holiday shopping done at over 60 booths offering hand-made fine arts and crafts (while munching on homemade goodies!) The Faire will be at the Ted Ferry Civic Center, come out and join the festivities! Don't forget to pick up your copy of Inside Passages hot off the presses!

Yarn Bee at the Library. People who create with yarn are invited to a monthly "Yarn Bee" the last Sunday of the month (November 25th) from 1-3pm. Each session will begin with a short presentation about new knitting, crochet and craft books at the library then participants will be free to socialize and work on their projects. Refreshments will be served. Call 225-0370 for more information.

Speakeasy: A Monthly Event at Parnassus Books. This is an opportunity to read aloud your own work, or a passage, poem or story written by your favorite author. This month features Faith Duncan. Join us at Parnassus the last Friday night of each month at 7pm (Friday, November 30th) for music by the Rainy Day Recorders. Readings will begin at 7:30pm, refreshments will be served. Sponsored by University of Alaska Southeast and Parnassus Books. Contact Rod Landis at 228-4547 or Maggie Freitag at 225-7690 for more information.

"Nobody is Perfect, Sweet William." Have you ever wondered how the fanciful melodrama the "Fish Pirate's Daughter" got started? Find out on Friday, November 30th at the Discovery Center. John Shay has been involved since the beginning (45 years ago!) and will share the history of Ketchikan's most famous hometown production. For more information, call 228-6220.

Within the Ice Now Showing. FINAL WEEK! The Mainstay Gallery is hosting a show of new work by Michael Francis Kelly, an artist from Juneau who creates compelling black and white photographs of ice formations. Come see prints as well as books of other exhibitions, a really amazing body of work! Show runs through November 30th. Call 225-2211 for more information.

Ongoing attractions:

Storyhour at the Library continues regularly throughout the year on Thursday and Friday at 10:30am. After some playtime, the librarian reads stories, sings songs, does finger plays and shows a short film beginning around 10:40 am. Different story themes each week! This program is appropriate for infants through pre-school age children. Please note that there will be no Storyhour on Tuesdays until further notice. Call 225-0370 for more information.

Speakeasy: A Monthly Event at Parnassus Books. This is an opportunity to read aloud your own work, or a passage, poem or story written by your favorite author. Join us at Parnassus the last Friday night of each month at 7pm for music by the Rainy Day Recorders. Readings will begin at 7:30pm, refreshments will be served. Sponsored by University of Alaska Southeast and Parnassus Books. Contact Rod Landis at 228-4547 or Maggie Freitag at 225-7690 for more information. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 19, 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 November 2007 S M T W T F S 28 29 30 31 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

Four-wheelers By Craig Moen - "Can you drive your 4-wheeler or snowmachine on the streets?" was one of the questions I asked before accepting a job offer in Ketchikan. In small towns in the Arctic, those are basic transportation. No significant roads, plus you need them to haul wood and hunt. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 20, 2007

Local Artists By Linda Williams - I'm writing this letter to inform some of you, because you may not be aware that a local group of artists are debuting their album at Videl. The name of the group is Southside Totems, and the name of the album is Mass Destruction. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 20, 2007

Four-wheeler Damage By Dave Person - Anyone wanting to understand why many people dislike 4-wheelers and their riders should go take a look at the lawn in front of North Point Higgins School. On Saturday night some moron drove a 4-wheeler past the barriers and tore up the lawn riding his machine up and down the hill. What a thoughtless dope! - More...
Monday AM - November 19, 2007

A simple request By Pamela Helgesen -  I have a daughter in Schonebar Middle School. I am writing to you about a concern I have about the MRSA at our schools. I understand hand washing is very important and is a very good idea. - More...
Monday AM - November 19, 2007

Scam By Linda C. Ibarra - I am always entering sweepstakes sponsored by Publishers Clearing House and Readers Digest. This is the second time I've received a scam check. - More...
Monday AM - November 19, 2007

Alaskans deserve TRUTH about Senator Ted Stevens By Bob Thorstenson, Jr. - And they surely won't find the truth in the sham website that the Alaska Democratic Party put together.

I am a current member of the Alaska Fisheries Marketing Board. We meet again in Anchorage on December 19th. I have counted at least 2 dozen inferences, untruths and intentional lies on the Alaska Democratic Party's website regarding our board and it's operations. The AFMB was put together with Saltonstahl-Kennedy funds that were supposed to be in a dedicated marketing account. - More...
Friday AM - November 16, 2007

Healthy Tradition By Jackie Williams - Many thanks go out to the organizations, businesses and volunteers that brought about the annual Ketchikan Community Health Fair. The call went out in our community for another entity to organize and manage the Health Fair: Tongass Substance Screening (TSS) stepped up to fill the need. - More...
Friday AM - November 16, 2007

Made in China By Carol Clark - I'm so tired of everything made in China or any other country. We in America can make all of the products that they make. I' tired of seeing our money go there and leaving our people out of work. - More...
Friday AM - November 16, 2007

Kayhi choir students By Char White - Kayhi music teacher Trina Elliott is having a busy year. She just returned from Craig where she accompanied 9 of her choir students who were selected to participate in the annual SE Honor Festival. This week Ms. Elliott will accompany 6 students as they participate in the All State Honor Choir in Anchorage from Nov 15-17. Seniors Coleman Alguire, Forrest Allred, Samantha MacNeith and April Souza along with Juniors Victoria Clary and Elliott Jacksch will join over 200 students from around the State Of Alaska for this event. These outstanding musicians were selected from approximately 1000 students who submitted audition tapes. - More...
Wednesday AM - November 14, 2007

Mr. Pork Barrel By Charlotte Tanner - The fact that Ms.Meredith M. Kenny, Communications Director, Office of Rep. Don Young, has been ordered to write this blurb touting the merits of Don(Mr. Pork Barrel) Young, gives me great hope that Mr. Young is actually afraid for his job. I fervently hope he does lose it! - More...
Wednesday AM - November 14, 2007

Year round business in Ketchikan By Marie-Jeanne Cadle - I just returned from a pleasant weekend in Sitka. One of the most enjoyable things about my trip was the many stores and galleries open and catering to locals even in the winter. Sitka's year round population is about 4000 people less then Ketchikan yet it manages to maintain a vibrant downtown core with a much larger variety of stores catering to the local population than we have here in Ketchikan. Yet we have more people. - More...
Monday AM - November 12, 2007

Setting the Record Straight By Meredith M. Kenny - Alaskan Congressman Don Young has proudly served his constituents in the great state of Alaska for the last 35 years. As Alaskans had honored him with seniority in the U.S. House of Representatives, from 2001 to 2007 he was given the privilege of serving the American people as the Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. In doing so, he became responsible for taking the lead in penning the comprehensive Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act ­ A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). - More...
Monday AM - November 12, 2007

Stop the blame game By Michelle Fry - This is in response to "If you really want to save the bears" by Denise Jausoro. While I do understand and sympathize with your situation I have to side with the bear on this one. - More...
Monday AM - November 12, 2007

Airport By Rebecca L. Simpson - Recently family members/friends had to spend the night here in Ketchikan because of mechanical problems with Alaska Airlines. - More...
Monday AM - November 12, 2007

Never Give Up By Ryan Arata - I was diagnosed with ALS at the Duke University in Durham, NC about November 2005. My progression seems to be slower than some others. - More...
Monday AM - November 12, 2007

Almost done kickin' tires on a new oil tax By Sen. Kim Elton - Here we are, approaching the end of this special session, almost ready to drive a late model '07 off the lot after trading in our low-value '06 PPT Cruiser. - More...
Monday AM - November 12, 2007

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