Commentary Dan K. Thomasson: The broomstick battalions - Whoever's idea it was for Donald Rumsfeld to conduct a question and answer session with troops waiting in Kuwait to deploy to Iraq probably should be sent along with them in a Humvee with armor scrounged from a landfill.... More... Tuesday - December 14, 2004 Howard Dean: Democratic Moral Values - Four years ago, the president won 49 percent of the vote. The Republican Party treated it like it was a mandate, and we let them get away with it. ... - More... Tuesday - December 14, 2004 Columnist Bob Ciminel: Pittsburgh's Inverted Mine Shaft - On September 27, 1926, the University of Pittsburgh broke ground for a new 42-story gothic skyscraper called the Cathedral of Learning. Locals referred to the building as the Inverted Mine Shaft. ... More... Tuesday - December 14, 2004 Viewpoints Opinions/Letters Give Loggerville A Break by Chuck Moon - Tuesday More Viewpoints/ Letters Publish A Letter December 2004 Click on the date for stories and photos published on that day... S M T W T F S 28  29 30 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   Front Page Archives

Ketchikan: Bob Ellis: Ketchikan Aviation Pioneer is on exhibit at the Tongass Historical Museum through December 31st. This historical exhibit features a collection of Ellis material from the Ketchikan Museums, the Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum, and photographs, memorabilia, and personal reminiscences from his family, friends, employees and associates. - Photo Essay....
Tuesday - December 14, 2004

Alaska: Alaska Scores 3 Out Of 10 In New Bioterror Preparedness Study - A report released Saturday by Trust for America's Health (TFAH) based in Washington, D.C. finds that after two years and nearly $2 billion of federal bioterrorism preparedness funding, states are only modestly better prepared to respond to health emergencies than they were prior to September 11, 2001.

The TFAH report, "Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health in the Age of Bioterrorism," examines how each state performs on 10 key indicators, which assess areas of improvement and areas of ongoing vulnerability in our nation's effort to prepare against bioterrorism and other large-scale health emergencies.

Alaska was one of twelve states and the District of Columbia to receive a score of three out of 10 possible indicators. A majority of states, 38, earned marks for only half (five) or fewer of the possible 10 indicators. Florida, Maryland and Tennessee scored the highest, with scores of seven out of 10. Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico and Wisconsin scored the lowest, meeting just two of the indicators. - More...
Tuesday - December 14, 2004

Science: International Study Shows Select Improvements in U.S. Math and Science Performance - The United States made some headway against international counterparts in the 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), which compares mathematics and science performance of fourth- and eighth-grade students.

The study results, released today in Boston and Washington, D.C., showed that the United States continues to score above the international average among TIMSS participants, but remains primarily in the middle of rankings among those nations that are most advanced or nations that have taken part in TIMSS consistently since the study's first assessment in 1995. Forty-six nations participated in the 2003 study. - More...
Tuesday - December 14, 2004

Governor Frank H. Murkowski said Alaska's needy seniors would receive a range of expanded services under his proposal to expand his SeniorCare program.

Alaska: Governor Proposes More Services for Seniors - Alaska's needy seniors would receive continued prescription drug benefits or cash support, expanded coverage of dental services, additional funds for General Relief Assistance and increased staffing at Adult Protective Services, under Governor Frank H. Murkowski's proposal to expand his SeniorCare program.

"Alaska's seniors testified to the Legislature that ending the SeniorCare program in 2006 would create a hardship," Murkowski said in announcing his package of legislative and budget proposals at the Anchorage Senior Center today. "We listened and we're responding. With these changes to SeniorCare, and the federal changes to Medicare, all Alaska seniors will have access to a prescription drug plan of one kind or another."- More...
Tuesday - December 14, 2004

Janet Hanna Photo courtesy KGH

Ketchikan: Hanna Named KGH's December Employee of the Month - Janet Hanna, RN, Certified Diabetes Educator, has been named Employee of the Month at Ketchikan General Hospital (KGH) by a committee of her peers.

Hanna began working for KGH in 1995 as a new graduate nurse on the night shift of the medical/surgical unit. Two years later the hospital, in need of someone with expertise in diabetes, sent her to Kenai for an intensive education course by the American Association of Diabetes Educators. Shortly after that she helped to organize a Community Diabetes Meeting to assess community needs and the potential for a community based Diabetes Education Program. In June 1997 a Monthly Diabetes Support Group was started and has continued to meet monthly to this date. Hanna has continued to receive further training in diabetes each year, and accepted the position of Diabetes Educator at KGH in November 2000.

In her position she provides Diabetes Self-Management Education to outpatients and inpatients, through one-on-one and group classes. She offers instruction on insulin pump therapy and insulin adjustment. She educates KGH staff, participates in health fairs, and travels to Wrangell and Craig to do clinics. She has also helped to organize the all-volunteer First City Feet Clinic. - More...
Tuesday - December 14, 2004