Ketchikan: Ketchikan Disability Advocates and Supporters Honored - The Ketchikan disability community gathered with family, friends, and supporters on Friday, January 15, to honor advocates for disability issues and businesses that support employment of people with disabilities while enjoying keynote speakers Jessi Chapman and Jos Govaars, Sr.

"People who experience a brain injury are still your loved one, neighbor, or friend. They may not talk the same or respond exactly the same, but we are still the person you knew before," Chapman told the audience.

Three awards were presented during the evening, and First Bank representatives made a surprise donation of $10,000 to expand Southeast Alaska Independent Living's (SAIL) HomeMAP program to Ketchikan. The HomeMAP program in Juneau has helped many senior citizens live independently in their homes, by installing grab bars or widening doorways where needed.

For the Jerry Kainulainen Disability Advocate of the Year award, Bess Clark, Community Connections Executive Director, was chosen by last year's award winners for her efforts beyond the scope of her work to advocate for independence for people with disabilities. Community members Ed Zastrow and Rebecca Valentine were also nominated for the award for their advocacy efforts during the past year.

Last year's winners also chose Shaub-Ellison Tire Company as Disability-Friendly Employer of the Year in memory of Alice Rocke for their efforts to create a natural support system for a new employee, relying on job coaches to assist him in learning new skills. Ketchikan Pioneer Home, Ketchikan General Hospital, and the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show were also nominated for the award. - More...
Monday - January 25, 2010

Ketchikan: Boat Saved by Neighbors; Call reported smoke and flames seen on boat in harbor. - The Ketchikan Fire Department responded to a report of a boat fire on float 8 Bar Harbor, behind Bar Harbor Restaurant on Saturday. The commercial fishing vessel "Sable" had heavy smoke venting from the open cabin door and also from a starboard window on the rear of the cabin. The City of Ketchikan Harbor Master, bystanders, and other neighboring boat owners used dry chemical extinguishers and a garden hose to control the fire before KFD personnel arrived. The fire department responded to the call at 3:52 PM.

According to information provided by Ketchikan Fire Department Chief Jim Hill, cause of the fire was electrical shore power supply wiring behind the stove appears to have burned through the wire insulation. Fire vented up through a 4-inch diameter hole in the shelf above the wiring and melted a plexiglas window.

The boat owner, Mr. Tom Carruth, stated he had just been down to the boat earlier in the day to plug in a heat lamp in the foc'sle area while he already had a small portable heater turned on under the galley table said Hill. Hill said both the heat lamp and heater were found not to be involved as a heat source contributing to the cause of the fire however the additional electrical load on the shore power connector may have caused overheating of the electrical wiring on the vessel side of shore power connection.

The approximate value of his boat is $100,000. Estimated damage to vessel is $10,000 said Hill. Damage to vessel is limited primarily to smoke damage to the cabin area interior, some charring behind oil stove, melted plexiglas window, as well as radios and other electronics said Hill. - More...
Monday - January 25, 2010

Ketchikan: Teens, the "iron man posse", and rescuers meet on Deer Mountain - Teens, the "iron man posse", and rescuers had what might be described as a fortunate chance meeting on Deer Mountain Saturday. The chance meeting came about as eleven teens were hiking up Deer Mountain.

The teens were headed for the summit or cabin - although they were reportedly not sure how to get to either. Michael K. Schuler and Kathy Holcomb, both members of Ketchikan Mountain rescue, talked the young people in to turning around due to dangerous ice and snow conditions on the mountain and their lack of food, water, light sources, and clothing.

Schuler said, the young hikers happily posed for a photograph after several other hikers from the fireworks team - better known as Ken Arriola's "iron man posse"- had donated all non-essential food and water to the young people. The teens were then sent on their way back down to Ketchikan with the understanding that they were to stay together as a group, and not take any shortcuts. - More....
Monday - January 25, 2010

Fish Factor: Fish Bills; IFQ survey; and Seafood indicators By LAINE WELCH - As the Alaska legislature gets underway, two fish bills held over from last year are poised to pass early in the session.

One, introduced by Rep. Bryce Edgmon of Dillingham, would expand loan terms by the Division of Investments revolving loan fund to let fishermen borrow money to make upgrades for more fuel efficient engines.

Another bill, introduced by Rep. John Harris of Valdez, would increase the amount that an injured fisherman could get for medical payments from $2,500 to $10,000 from the Fishermen's Fund, the first increase in 40 years. The Fishermen's Fund was created before statehood, and is totally self supporting from a portion of the fees paid for crew licenses. The Fund is designed to help fishermen who are not covered by workman's compensation other benefits for wage earners.

Other holdover fish bills might not fare so well, cautioned Bob Tkacz of Juneau, who has been covering legislative fishery issues for 15 years.

A few months ago Rep. Bill Stoltze of Chugiak, co-chair of the House Finance Committee, warned that he would not move any commercial fishing bills this year.

"That kind of throws a monkey wrench into things when one of the top committee co-chairs says he's not going to move any of your bills out of his committee," Tkacz said in a phone interview. - More...
Monday - January 25, 2010

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City Council Spending By Tiffany Cook - This year the Ketchikan City Council made tough choices about reducing funding for non-profit organizations. Tough times call for tough choices, and I think the Council did the best they could, but the loss of those funds hurt the organizations who saw their funding reduced. - More...
Monday PM - January 25, 2010

More Laughs and Jokes from City Hall By Robert D. Warner - This is amazing; jokes like this could only happen in Ketchikan. Less than a week after the Borough Assembly rejected a proposal to ask voters to approve a local tax on tobacco, the Ketchikan City Council decided to revive this topic for a second time. At least one member of the council placed some sugar coating on the issue by suggesting that revenues collected from this new tax could be dedicated to funding non profit organizations. Could this be an open invitation to increase public funding to special interest groups? - More...
Monday PM - January 25, 2010

Less Safe on Obama's Watch By Donald A. Moskowitz - As a former naval intelligence officer on a high level staff (Top Secret Cryptographic clearance), I agree with President Obama that the breach of security associated with the Detroit-bound airliner is "totally unacceptable". The warning signs were there, but the intelligence community failed to recognize, analyze and disseminate the information. This is the same type of failure which led to the 9/11 attacks and the Ft. Hood massacre. - More...
Monday PM - January 25, 2010

Thank you Gabe! By Shauna Lee - I just wanted to say thank you to Gabe Easterly for his amazing letter about his father, Mark. It is so nice to read a letter that is a tribute to a great man who was so loved - and who loved so well while he walked this earth. He left behind an amazing legacy in both Gabe and Nate and his wife, Jamie, is one of the most amazing human beings I have ever known. - More...
Monday PM - January 25, 2010

Re: Highest Bidder By John Morris - Regarding Mr. Edwardson's letter about contracting out to the highest bidder, it seems to me that the Ketchikan Gateway Borough is not the only local government to have contract disputes. - More...
Monday PM - January 25, 2010

Low bidder on pool By Charles Edwardson - When the city or borough looks for bids on many local jobs they have to pay for out of the budget we provide with taxes, they look for the low bidder, and claim procurement dictates low bidder wins. But on large capitol projects that the borough or city looks to acquire a bid for with money provided with bond issues and "play money", also ultimately provided with payment by (us) taxpayers, the low bid requirement seems to be manipulated some how, I.E. value engineering (Schoenbar), experience ratings (Schoenbar), references (Veneer Mill), job history (Third Ave by-pass), best in the business (ULTRA VIOLET WATER TREATMENT PLANT), blah, blah, blah. Anyone can write a good resume. - More...
Monday PM - January 25, 2010

Enviromentalists By James Schenk - I guess the pains of the past, cloud the view of the future sometimes. Personally I don't get my feelings hurt easy, ignorance and violence seem to be the law of the land once again. I wish some of you had paid attention to your environment over the last 50 years as I have. If you have been in the forest recently you have been doing things right as you have left no trace, as is the law, being that as it may what I mean is I doubt you spend very much time in the real forest at all. - More...
Monday PM - January 25, 2010

Dog's life By Doug Barry - With all the creature comforts of a king, makes me wonder who's smarter, Borders' dog or the dog's servant. - More...
Monday PM - January 25, 2010

Why the highest bidder for pool ??? By Charles Edwardson - Headlines in Ketchikan on contract proposals are ever changing. This last one takes the cake though -- "Pool contract appeal nixed" should read "Borough picks highest bidder unless they are local". - More...
Thursday PM - January 21, 2010

Thank you By Judith Green - Thank you Gabreal Easterly for that beautiful tribute to your dad, Mark- and to the community to which you belong: Ketchikan. - More...
Thursday PM - January 21, 2010

Dogs, Environmentalists and Our Government By Robert McRoberts - Over the many years we have been stating our opinions on this site. I am glad so many smart people are not afraid to voice very important opinions without being scared that they may hurt someone's feelings. Some will! - More...
Thursday PM - January 21, 2010

Equal Access Denied Sport Fishermen and Subsistence Users. By Lloyd Gossman - Equal Access to Fishery Resources is being denied to Alaska's Sport Fisherman and Subsistence users. An Alaska Board of Fish (BOF) recent poor decision in restarting a Summer Dungeness Crab fishery that had been closed for nearly 25 years demonstrates the need for change in many of the processes by which we manage our resources. Commercial fishing Dungeness crab in the summer when they are molting, reproducing, and of low quality has wasted millions of pounds of the resource and is damaging the resource forever. This is not a sustained yield method of management. - More...
Tuesday PM - January 19, 2010

Health Committee By Norman Arriola - We are sorry our decision to limit Organized Village of Saxman (OVS) participation in the health committee to one person has offended you. Ketchikan Indian Community (KIC) is required by law to follow the KIC Charter and Constitution and KIC Tribal Council decisions must comply with these documents. In this case we realized the past makeup of the health committee did not comply with the intent of our governing documents and needed to be changed to ensure the make up of the KIC health committee more correctly represented the KIC membership. - More...
Tuesday PM - January 19, 2010

Remembering Mark Easterly By Gabreal Easterly - This isn't your normal complaint letter so it may not be of interest. This is to publicly thank my Father Mark Easterly for all the things he did for our family, his friends and Southeast Aviation. Dad worked a lot. In the mornings when I would hear the shower turn on at 5:00 a.m I knew this was the time to jump out of bed and grab a towel for him. I would sit on the toilet and we would talk about where he was going to fly BW (Bravo Whiskey) that day. Dad would say "Oh probably MET, Hollis, Thorn Bay, Craig, KCC, Waterfall, Misty, MET, Misty, and MET again." This was a typical day back in the incredibly busy logging days and I knew that when Dad got home I'd be fast asleep cause they flew from day break till dark in those days. But looking back now it was the most wonderful time I can ever remember for Ketchikan. Everyone had a job and all employers were looking for more good hard workers. This is what Alaska was built on, if you were a hard worker you could show up on a Sunday and be working full time on Monday morning. - More...
Tuesday PM - January 19, 2010

RE: Payback By Jim Rasmussen - Senator Begich's letter to Mr. Rauwolf must have been a mass-mailing since I received it too. I also had e-mailed the Senator a few days earlier and assumed the letter was a response to that. The disconnect from constituents and reality is truly astounding. - More...
Tuesday PM - January 19, 2010

Plea for Volunteers for Ketchikan Little League By Dave Timmerman - Hello everyone. It is with much hope that I write this letter. There has been very much talk within our community lately concerning how we can help our local youth. There are lots of avenues that we can take to actually lend that helping hand. The organization I represent is Ketchikan Little League. - More...
Tuesday PM - January 19, 2010

Dogs Without Borders By Ken Lewis - I was absolutely furious with Mr. Border's mud slinging. - More...
Tuesday PM - January 19, 2010

RE: My Dog's Life By John Warnock - Lighten up people, Mr. Border's letter is a spoof!! - More...
Tuesday PM - January 19, 2010

Open Letter to Sen. Begich: PAY BACK By Andy Rauwolf - Dear Senator Begich, Thank you for your letter explaining your vote for health care reform. A few weeks ago, I contacted your office expressing concerns that the House plan did not include any regulations for tort reform. Shortly thereafter, you appeared on national television and stated that "tort reform was tried and had failed in Alaska, and doctors had actually left the state because of tort reform." Which study came up with those statistics, and who funded the study? By then, you surely knew that since Texas instituted tort reforms, hospitals there reported 70% fewer lawsuits, doctors averaged a 21% reduction in premiums, Texas added 1,887 new physicians specifically as a result of lawsuit reform, billions of dollars were cut from defensive medicine spending, and 430,000 additional Texans have health insurance today as a direct result of liability reforms, all at no cost to Texan taxpayers! - More...
Friday - January 15, 2010

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