Photo of the Month Ketchikan: Town hall meeting looks at budget plans and taxes By MARIA DUDZAK, KRBD -Rep Dan Ortiz held a town hall meeting in Ketchikan Thursday night. Ortiz shared the details of a fiscal plan to address declining State revenue, and gathered input from constituents. - Listen to or read this KRBD story... www.krbd.org Ketchikan: Flight service announced for Ketchikan By Bevan Hamilton - Flight service between Prince Rupert and Ketchikan will soon be available, on the wings of Misty Fjords Air. - Read this BC Local News story... www.bclocalnews.com Ketchikan: Public Meetings Ketchikan: Upcoming Events Historical Ketchikan June Allen Dave Kiffer Louise B. Harrington Ketchikan Weather Ketchikan's Forecast Ketchikan's Historic Weather Nat Weather Service KTN Ketchikan Tides & Currents Search the News Ketchikan Alaska Sitnews RSS widget

Ketchikan: NEW KMC SURGERY CENTER NOW OPERATIONAL - Orthopedic Surgeon Steven Becker, MD, performed three surgical procedures yesterday (April 19). What makes this notable is that these were the first in the new surgical center at PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center.

New surgical center - operating room.
Photo courtesy Ketchikan Medical Center

After many years and much work, it was opening day for the new operating rooms; a time for celebration and gratitude to the community for their investment in the future.

“Something like this new surgery center does not happen without the vision and committed efforts of an entire community,” said Nancy Tieman, interim chief administrative officer. “The vision started with a few people who took a long-term view of the health needs of our community. That vision spread and took root and now our entire community, for generations to come, will enjoy the benefits!”

For now, the old operating room will remain functional as a back-up, should the need arise, but the surgical team and vendors recently tested all the new equipment and systems and verified that everything is fully operational.- More...
Friday PM - April 21, 2017

Fish Factor: “Graying of the Fleet”; Fisheries Trusts Aims To Reverse Trend By LAINE WELCH - Numerous studies over the past decade have highlighted Alaska’s “graying of the fleet” (the average age of permit holders is 50), and the lack of opportunities for younger people to launch a career in commercial fishing.

State data show that between 1975 and 2014, more than 2,300 limited entry permits (nearly 28 percent) migrated away from Alaska’s rural fishing communities to non-residents.

A new measure gaining steam in the Alaska legislature aims to reverse that trend by creating fisheries trusts in which communities could buy permits and lease them to fishermen who otherwise could not afford them. 

“It’s good to recognize the problem, but it’s even better to try and do something about it,” said Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (D-Sitka) sponsor of the legislation (HB 188).

Under the plan, regional trusts could buy or be gifted a maximum of 2.5 percent of the permits in any given fishery, and lease them for up to six years to fishermen who want to make the transition from deckhand to permit owners. The fishermen must then buy their own permits if they choose to continue in a fishery. The trusts would apply to all limited entry fisheries in Alaska.

At the outset, the trusts would be authorized in up to three Alaska regions that choose to opt in, and must be approved by two-thirds of any municipality. Board members would be recommended by cities and boroughs in each region and appointed by the governor. Unincorporated communities may also be included on the board. 

“Just as people often rent before buying a house, fisheries trusts offer an opportunity to run a boat and gain experience before making the six-figure decision to finance a permit and become an independent small business owner,” Kreiss-Tomkins said.

Interested stakeholders, which include Alaska Native groups, state agencies and fishing organizations from Southeast to Nome, have spent more than two and a half years developing the idea.

“We are continuing to craft and refine the model in terms of legality and policy,” Kreiss-Tomkins said, adding that the level of interest is very region specific. 

“Some are very bullish about the opportunity, some are not. That’s totally fine,” he said. “We expect some will watch and see how it goes, and then make a decision once they have more information.”

The measure is scheduled for hearings during the current extended legislative session although it is not expected to be put to a vote.

“We are taking it slow and steady,” Kreiss-Tomkins said. “In the interim, we are hoping to grow the conversation with fishing communities, economic development advocates and other stakeholders who would benefit from this tool in their tool box. Then we will be ready to revisit it next year.” - More...
Friday PM - April 21, 2017

The 2017 U.S. Coast Guard “Earth Day” Community Cleanup
2017 U.S. Coast Guard Ketchikan Earth Day Cleanup Volunteers
Photo courtesy Jerry Cegelske

Ketchikan: The 2017 U.S. Coast Guard “Earth Day” Community Cleanup - Thursday, twenty-one members of the U.S. Coast Guard volunteered to help make the community of Ketchikan a more beautiful place to live.  Cleanup work was done by the volunteers at Rotary Beach collecting the burned pallets and other abandoned material that has been dumpted there by irresponsible area users.  Work was also done on North Tongass where they cleaned up an old wood burning stove, a broken mirror, engine block, tires, oil cans, and other material people were "too lazy" to take to the landfill said KGB Code Enforcement Officer Jerry Cegelske.

Cegelske said the Coast Guard volunteers also cleaned the Whipple Spur and Whipple Creek Road of abandoned burned tires and rims, a burned couch and cushions, a motorcycle, auto parts, burned mattresses, and other material.

They found tossed away golf clubs, plastic drums and buckets, bottles, insulation, table legs, and other material on Revilla Road and additional material on Brown Mountain Road.  - More...
Friday PM - April 21, 2017

Ketchikan: Celebrate Earth Day Saturday Across Alaska - Alaskans are encouraged to celebrate Earth Day on Saturday by working to safeguard achievements in protecting the natural environment of Alaska. Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970 and events are planned for communities across the state, including Ketchikan, Homer, Fairbanks,Palmer, Anchorage, Juneau, Dillingham,and Seward.

The March for Science is a celebration of science.  It's not only about scientists and politicians; it is about the very real role that science plays in each of our lives and the need to respect and encourage research that gives us insight into the world.  

“In these turbulent times it’s more important than ever to look beyond ourselves and focus on the health of our environment, which is under threat from pollution, over-development, and global climate change,” said House Resources Committee Co-chair Rep. Andy Josephson (D-Anchorage). “Earth Day is a yearly reminder that environmental change is occurring in Alaska and impacting things like the timing of salmon runs, the migration patterns of caribou, and the strength and frequency of severe weather.” - More...
Friday PM - April 21, 2017

Southeast Alaska: Heat Pump Expo Event Planned for Prince of Wales Island - Mark your calendars for Saturday May 6th, from 10 am until the afternoon, and plan to be at the Craig High School for an exciting event promoting air source heat pumps as a clean, energy-efficient technology for your home or business.

Southeast Conference, USDA Rural Development, and others will be hosting a special “Heat Pump Expo” for Prince of Wales Island. This consumer-centric event is designed to provide Prince of Wales families and businesses with information on how to use energy-efficient air source heat pumps to provide an affordable, environmentally sustainable source of electricity generated at local hydroelectric projects. The event will include installers, financial institutions offering loans, and agencies in a “business expo” style format, providing a “one stop shop” for consumer info on heat pumps. Additionally, the event will feature an educational webinar featuring information from installation and utility professionals, which will be simulcast from Prince of Wales, Kodiak, Anchorage, and Kotzebue. - More...
Friday PM - April 21, 2017

Alaska Science: Tundra swans take two distinct paths to Alaska By NED ROZELL - Skiing to work over a persistent spring snowpack, I looked up to see a large white bird flapping gracefully over the spruce tops. A few gentle honks confirmed it was a tundra swan.

After a long winter when all the large birds were black, it was good to see one of the frontrunners of the billions now winging to Alaska.

Tundra swans can live to be older than 20. Perhaps this bird, about 15 pounds with a wingspan of almost six feet, had passed over the lowlands north of the University of Alaska Fairbanks many times. The swan was probably headed to northwest Alaska or the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.

That’s according to a biologist who was part of a team that captured and released more than 500 tundra swans in 2007 and 2008. The birds were temporarily flightless as they shed old feathers and grew new ones in their favorite Alaska breeding areas: Cold Bay, King Salmon, the Yukon and Kuskokwim river deltas, Kotzebue Sound and the Colville River delta.

Craig Ely of the U.S. Geological Survey Science Center in Anchorage handled many of those swans and helped to implant satellite transmitters in the abdomens of 50 birds. Those transmitters lasted for a few years, enabling scientists to confirm a split in Alaska tundra swan populations.

Swans that spend their summers in tundra lakes north of the Brooks Range are East Coast birds in the winter, settling in Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina.

Swans that breed south of the Brooks Range in the wetlands of western Alaska are West Coast birds in the winter, feeding in farm fields of Washington, Oregon and the Central Valley of California.

Though the East Coast and West Coast swans migrate wingtip to wingtip and pause in similar barley fields and lakes in Saskatchewan, the birds almost never follow their neighbors to a new place. - More...
Friday PM - April 21, 2017

COLUMNS - COMMENTARY

MICHAEL REAGAN: A Subject the Media Should Cover - - Sometime this month I hope our rabid anti-Trump media find a little time to cover a subject that has been very important to me since I was eight - child sexual abuse.

Child abuse of all kinds is an epidemic here and around the world.

In 2015 about 700,000 American children were victims of neglect or physical or sexual abuse. How many more cases were never reported to authorities is unknown.

Neglect accounted for 75 percent of victims, most of whom were under a year old. About 17 percent suffered physical abuse and 8.4 percent suffered sexual abuse. Some kids were abused in multiple ways.

The long-term affects of abuse on children are well known. Abused children are more likely to end up arrested as juveniles and adults, more likely to commit violence crime and more likely to end up in prison and develop psychological disorders.

Child sexual abuse isn't something that affects just poor kids or is committed by a few "celebrity" predators like Jerry Sandusky, the convicted serial rapist, child molester and retired Penn State football coach.

American boys and girls of all ages, races, ethnicities and economic backgrounds are vulnerable. According to the experts, one of every three girls and one in five boys will be sexually abused before they reach 18.

These innocents won't be victimized by random strangers. Sixty-eight percent will be molested by a family member and 90 percent of victims know their abuser in some way.

So it's not just the parish priest, the gym teacher or the odd guy down at the end of the street we need to watch.

More than likely, it's Uncle Charlie. And whether it's in the family, in the church or in the school, it most likely will be the abuser who is believed and protected, not the child. - More...
Friday PM - April 21, 2017