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Fish Factor: National grant gives big lift to deckhand apprenticeships program By LAINE WELCH - The clamor of “take me fishing” is taking on new meaning in Alaska.

Prospects for a deckhand apprenticeship program just got a big lift from a $142,000 national grant awarded to the Sitka-based Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA), and the group plans to get more boots on deck statewide. 

Deckhand apprenticeships are recommended as one way to attract younger entrants into an industry where the average fisherman’s age in Alaska is over 50. 

ALFA has been crafting a local deckhand training program since 2015, and the grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will be used to develop curricula and protocols for skippers and crew statewide, said ALFA outreach coordinator Alyssa Russell. 

Salmon troller Eric Jordan gets the credit for inspiring the program, Russell said, adding that he has taken out 25 greenhorns so far for short term crew jobs on his F/V I Gotta.

“Finding crew with some experience, who loves fishing in Alaska, is so critical to the future of our individual businesses in the industry as a whole,” Jordan said. “This program gives them the taste of it. Deckhands know they like it, and skippers can recommend them for future employment. It is a win-win for everyone.” 

ALFA took Jordan’s model and developed it into a more formal ALFA program, and “tried to rope in other skippers and deckhands,” Russell said.  “We want to give skippers the tools they need to mentor someone. For instance, safety procedures, crew contracts, and basic checklists of protocol for someone who has never been on a boat before.” 

Jordan said he has been inspired by the enthusiasm of budding fishermen is his many “experiential trolling” trips. 

He shared a quote from one: “Crewing was a dream come true. I had never been commercial fishing before; I had never even killed a fish. The days were filled with learning and fun. I learned how fishing works, the lifestyle about salmon and a lot more.”       

A report released this month called ‘Turning the Tide’ highlights the ‘graying of the fleet’ and recommends ways that a new generation of Alaska fishermen can enter the industry. The user-friendly study was compiled by Paula Cullenberg of Alaska Sea Grant, Rachel Donkersloot with Alaska Marine Conservation Council, and Courtney Carothers, Jesse Coleman, and Danielle Ringer of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. - More...
Friday PM - December 22, 2017

Among the students is Erik Pihl, a second-year medical student from Ketchikan. Erik attended Ketchikan High School, and double-majored in Mathematics and Biochemistry at Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA.

During a ceremony this week at UAA, the students were presented with personalized white coats that signal the end to their time studying basic science curriculum, and the beginning of their practical/clinical study in hospitals and clinics.

During the first 18-months of medical school – the Foundations Phase – students are learning about the molecular and cellular basis of disease, circulatory systems, anatomy, blood and cancer, and other basic science subjects. Additionally, through a new curriculum that launched in 2015, each student also spends time in a primary care clinic with a mentor from the very beginning of medical school. After completing Foundations they go on to the clinical phase of their education, completing required and elective clerkship rotations at clinics and hospitals throughout the WWAMI region.

“We are very fortunate to have such a high-quality medical school experience in Alaska,” said Jane Shelby, Ph.D., assistant dean for the Foundations Phase at UAA. - More...
Friday PM - December 22, 2017

Archaeology: Could ancient bones suggest Santa was real? - Was St Nicholas, the fourth century saint who inspired the iconography of Santa Claus, a legend or was he a real person?

New Oxford University research has revealed that bones long venerated as relics of the saint, do in fact date from the right historical period.

One of the most revered Orthodox Christian saints, the remains of St Nicholas have been held in the Basilica di San Nicola, Bari, Southern Puglia, since 1087, where they are buried in a crypt beneath a marble alter. Over the years relic fragments have been acquired by various churches around the world, calling into question how the bones can all be from the same person.

Using a micro-sample of bone fragment, Professor Tom Higham and Dr Georges Kazan, the Directors of the Oxford Relics Cluster at Keble College's Advanced Studies Centre, have for the first time tested one of these bones. The radio carbon dating results pinpoint the relic's age to the fourth century AD - the time that some historians allege that St Nicholas died (around 343 AD). The results suggest that the bones could in principle be authentic and belong to the saint. 

Professor Higham said: 'Many relics that we study turn out to date to a period somewhat later than the historic attestation would suggest. This bone fragment, in contrast, suggests that we could possibly be looking at remains from St Nicholas himself.' St Nicholas is thought to have lived in Myra, Asia Minor, which is now modern day Turkey. According to legend he was a wealthy man who was widely known for his generosity, a trait that inspired the legend of Father Christmas as a bringer of gifts on Christmas Day.

Believed to have been persecuted by the Emperor Diocletian, the saint died in Myra, where his remains became a focus of Christian devotion. His remains are said to have been taken away by a group of Italian merchants and transported to Bari, where the bulk of them sit to this day in the Basilica di San Nicola. - More...
Friday PM - December 22, 2017

JOHN L. MICEK: Christmas Traditions are the Best, Eh - This Monday before Christmas, and my daughter, her hair tied up snugly in a bun, plops herself down in the front seat of my car. And as I aim my trusty German import in the direction of her ballet school, she turns to me, her face aglow in the gray afternoon light, a plea in her eyes.

"Can you turn on your Christmas playlist, Daddy?" she asks.

"Of course," I tell her.

At a stop sign, I fiddle with my phone, tap the Spotify app, and a in a couple of seconds my 12-year-old and I are singing along at the top of our lungs to an absolute holiday classic:

"Fiiiiivvveeeee .... golden ... toookkssss ..." we bellow.

I'm talking about, of course, the Bob and Doug McKenzie version of "The 12 Days of Christmas."

This cheeseball piece of 1980s holiday brilliance foisted on the world by comics Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas never fails to reduce my child to a molten pile of giggles.

That cracked chestnut of a carol comes after Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas," but before the Bing Crosby/David Bowie version of "Peace on Earth/The Little Drummer Boy."  - More...
Friday PM - December 22, 2017

DANNY TYREE: Did The Pentagon Act Alone In Employing UFO Hunters? - When I was in sixth grade, my impassioned 4-H speech about the possibility of extraterrestrial visitors didn't even merit an Honorable Mention (my fifth-grade speech about our thumb-sucking cat had taken me all the way to the county level!); so I can empathize with those military intelligence officials who are being ridiculed for the existence of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification program.

Surely, you've heard about the New York Times investigation of the Pentagon's secret UFO research program, a classified operation which SUPPOSEDLY ended in 2012.

I can't really blame the Department of Defense for having wanted to explore unexplained aerial phenomena, whether the mysterious aircraft ultimately turned out to be little green men, Russian test pilots or quirky atmospheric conditions. The Pentagon was trying to be proactive and avoid wails of "Why didn't you warn us?" if disaster struck.

But they were realistic enough to cut their losses BEFORE they were faced with having to justify $800 military toilet seats in a universe in which SOME races teleport their waste products straight from their digestive organs into the heart of the sun. ("Zorg, you have a booger hanging from your - Ha ha! Guess it's halfway to a black hole by now.") - More...
Friday PM - December 22, 2017