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Friday
May 30, 2014
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Ward Lake: Beavers
Front Page Photo By SUSAN HOYT ©2014
(Please respect the rights of photographers, never republish or copy
without permission and/or payment of required fees.)
Ketchikan: Ketchikan's Industrious Citizen: John Collinson Barber By LOUISE BRINCK HARRINGTON - Back in 1900, shortly after Ketchikan was incorporated as a city, the place was a mess. It may have earned the new title of “Incorporated City,” but it certainly did not look like one.
Citizens Light, Power & Water Co. Office and Sales Building (Still stands today as Ketchikan City Hall)
Appraisement, Citizens Light, Power & Water Co. Author: General Appraisal Company Donor: City of Ketchikan,
THS 72.4.7.2
It looked more like a frontier outpost with a few wooden saloons and store buildings and scattered shacks. Muddy footpaths barely wide enough for a handcart or wheelbarrow ran here and there against a backdrop of newly-cut stumps and towering trees. A ramshackle cannery emitted a smoky haze that drifted over the harbor and waterfront.
In those early days most people hauled their water from Ketchikan Creek, using buckets. You can imagine the problem with this, especially in late summer and fall when the salmon spawned and died along the creek banks. And then there was the problem of fire prevention—or lack thereof. With wooden structures heated with wood- or coal-burning stoves and lit by sooty oil lamps, residents lived in constant fear of fire.
Into this mess stepped a man named John Collinson Barber, who had come to Alaska from the Black Hills of South Dakota. He’d graduated from college with a degree in civil engineering in 1895 and then put his education to work at Lead, South Dakota doing something he loved—surveying mines and promoting the mining industry.
While living in South Dakota, Barber met and married his wife Nellie and in 1900 the couple traveled to Juneau, where he worked as a mining surveyor. In 1903 he was offered a job as manager of the Golden Fleece Mine at Dolomi on Prince of Wales Island. He accepted the position but due to previous debts and court cases filed by creditors, the mine failed. The Barbers moved to nearby Ketchikan, which was fast becoming the hub of the mining industry in southern southeast Alaska.
The rapidly-growing town needed utilities, especially water, power and light—and the sooner the better! Several local citizens, including Barber, organized and incorporated a company called the Citizens Light, Power & Water Company (CLP&WCo). In December of 1903 the new company bought out another small utility, thereby acquiring water rights on Ketchikan Creek, some primitive equipment, flumes and pipelines.
From this small but auspicious start CLP&WCo charged ahead and began building a dam on the creek about a mile from tide water. But a competing utility from Juneau had other ideas, such as gaining water and power rights for themselves. The Juneau interests filed an injunction, which stopped all work and development on the creek. This infuriated not only Citizens Light, Power & Water but all Ketchikan residents, who had to go without power for months while the senseless legal case dragged on!
When the case finally went to trial and was settled in favor of Citizens, the company resumed work on the dam, built a nearby power house with a water wheel and a 60 KW generator, and installed water mains from the power house to the town center. - More...
Friday PM - May 30, 2014
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Fish Factor: Frankenfish & citizens' right to know By LAINE WELCH - If genetically modified salmon gets a green light by the federal government, it will be labeled as such if U.S. Senators on both sides of the aisle have their way. The Senate Appropriations Committee last week passed the bipartisan Murkowski-Begich amendment requiring that consumers be advised of what they are buying.
During testimony, Senator Murkowski questioned if the so called Frankenfish can even be called a real salmon.
“This takes a transgenic Atlantic salmon egg, which has genes from an ocean pout that is somewhat akin to an eel, and it combines with the genes of a Chinook salmon. I have questioned time and time again, why we would want to be messing with Mother Nature like this,” Murkowski said. “We are trying to invent a species that would grow quicker to out-compete our wild stocks. This experiment puts at risk the health of our fisheries not only in Alaska, but throughout the Pacific Northwest.”
“We’re not talking about GM corn or something else that is grown. We are talking about a species that moves, migrates, and breeds,” the Senator stressed. “This is an experiment that if it went wrong could be devastating to the wild, healthy stocks that our farmers of the sea depend upon.”
The “AquaAdvantage” Frankenfish, created by a company called AquaBounty based in the US and Panama, has been vying for Food & Drug Administration approval for two decades. The company has spent nearly $80 million on what would be the first genetically engineered animal ever to be approved for human consumption. Because the gene tweaking is considered a “veterinary procedure,” the fish will not be required to use any labeling identifying it as a man-made product.
Murkowski pointed out that more than 1.5 million people have written in opposition to FDA approval and 65 supermarkets (including Safeway, Kroger, Whole Foods, Trader Joes and Target) have pledged not to carry it. Salmon farmers also are distancing themselves from Frankenfish; both the International Salmon Farmers Association and the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance have issued statements in opposition to GM salmon.
AquaBounty CEO Ronald Stotish called critics of the fish “bullies” and “terrorists” in a Bloomberg BusinessWeek article last week.
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Senator Murkowski said, “We are not doing anything more than telling the FDA if you move forward with a wrongheaded decision to allow for the first time ever this genetically engineered salmon for human consumption, at a bare minimum you’ve got to stick a label on it that says so.” Senator Jeff Merkly, a Democrat from Oregon, agreed.
“Whether we look at this from the viewpoint of a citizen’s right to know what they’re buying, or we look at it from the viewpoint of ensuring a healthy industry that’s so important to our states, this amendment is absolutely 100 percent right on,” Merkly said. “And if you buy salmon, you should buy 100 percent salmon.”
Senator Barbara Mikulski, a Democrat from Maryland and chair of the
Appropriations Committee, added: “If something is a GMO food, we ought to know what it is. I don’t want to eat a Dolly-burger and I don’t want to eat a Frankenfish.”
A voice vote on the Murkowski-Begich amendment passed with only one dissenter. It now goes to the Senate floor as part of the agriculture spending bill. - More...
Friday PM - May 30, 2014
Ketchikan: Man arrested for multiple child sexual offenses - Officers of the Ketchikan Police Department served an arrest warrant this morning on 43 year old Jonathan Hayward for alledged sexual offenses committed in Juneau and Ketchikan. Hayward is being held on $200,000 bond and is charged with five counts of Sexual Abuse of a Minor in the First Degree, an unclassified felony, for crimes against a now seven year old girl. According to information provided by the Juneau Police Department, the offenses took place over about two years starting when the girl was just five years old. Hayward was additionally charged with four counts of Unlawful Exploitation of a Minor, a class B felony, and ten counts of possession of child pornography, a class C felony.
This investigation involves multiple electronic devices that are being analyzed with assistance from officers involved in the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. JPD has one detective that works with that task force and he coordinates with other task force members to conduct searches of various devices. Additional charges are anticipated as those searches are continuing in Anchorage.
This case was brought to the attention of the Juneau Police Department (JPD) in April of 2014 after the young girl made a spontaneous disclosure in front of a medical provider who was providing care for the young girl’s babysitter. The medical provider made a complaint to the Office of Children’s Services, who notified law enforcement. During the investigation the girl told a child interviewer that she did tell an adult about the abuse before she made the disclosure in the medical office but that adult did not take action and the abuse continued. - More...
Friday PM - May 20, 2014
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Questions, please contact
the editor at editor@sitnews.us or call 617-9696
Sitnews reserves the right to edit.
 RE: Kayhi Sports Schedules By Ken Lewis - In response to Burt Hooton's letter: I like it. But can't have an much of an opinion about some of it. So I will talk about the baseball part. In 1991 local Little League went from a pennant race format, 1st half winner plays 2nd half winner best of three games. To what we see today, an all teams welcome tourney to determine a regular season champ. I hated the new format when it was changed, and it seems to have been promoted to the HS level, as a way to determine the best team. I don't blame coaches or players because of this All welcome format. But Please understand this about a SE tourney, just because it looks good for basketball don't make it right for baseball. Five guys start a hoop game, the center does not have to rest his arm the next night. Therefore that center plays every game all season long. That's great for the player. - More...
Tuesday - May 20, 2014
Legalize Marijuana By Anthony M. Johnson - I am writing this letter in response to Ms. Abbott. I’m also a lifelong Ketchikan resident raising children in this fine rainy town. I’m completely in support of legalizing Marijuana. I don’t smoke it, however for my children’s sake I do support the legalization of it, please read on… - More...
Tuesday - May 20, 2014
No smoking in restaurants - yes!! By Cherry Rice - Yep, I'm one of those ex-smokers who can't stand the smell of cigarette smoke. I am thrilled to hear of restaurants banning smoking! - More...
Tuesday - May 20, 2014
Ostracize Bigots By Donald A. Moskowitz - The despicable remarks by Robert Copeland, a police commissioner, Wolfeboro, NH; Donald Sterling, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers; Kanye West, singer; Louis Farrakhan, spokesman for Nation of Islam; Clevin Bundy, Nevada rancher; and Glenn Miller, Kansas killer and Ku Klux Klan member; show there are still ignorant radicals in this country. - More...
Tuesday - May 20, 2014
University of Alaska Board of Regents Should Halt Southeast Timber Sale By Rebecca Knight - Two timber sales scheduled by the University of Alaska near the southeast island communities of Petersburg and Kupreanof are stirring up controversy and local opposition. The sales, known as the South Mitkof and Wrangell Narrows East timber sales could log up to 17 ½ million board feet of mostly old growth trees on 1,066 acres. That's roughly the size of over 800 football fields. - More...
Saturday - May 17, 2014
Kayhi Sports Schedules By Burt Hooton - How extremely disappointing it is to see that there are three varsity sports HOME games being played at the same time Friday night. What a terrible situation for the fans, parents and players of these games. - More...
Saturday - May 17, 2014
RE: Biggest Economic Punch, Commercial or Recreational Fishing? By Doug Burkman - Did not the author leave out the impact on the resource, which is the biggest $ return per pound of fish? Commercial or Recreational? How about in terms of recreation hours per pound of fish? I, personally, would rather catch my own fish for consumption? I would rather not buy my salmon or any other wild fish in a store. Maybe there are some that would think driving to the store to buy fish would be recreation. - More...
Saturday - May 17, 2014
Shooting farmers? By A. M. Johnson - The following inquiry was submitted to all three of our Congressional members. A response was requested via Representative Young's site and an expectation of a response from both Senator Murkowski and Begich is in order. Hearing none in a reasonable period of time will have that fact submitted to the voting public via your fine publication.- More...
Saturday - May 17, 2014
Marijuana Legal? By Bonnie J Abbott Allen - I am writing to reply to some of the letters SitNews has received from Ketchikan residents who believe marijuana is OK and should be legalized! - More...
Saturday - May 17, 2014
Consequences of Marijuana Abuse By Marvin Seibert - I would recommend people read what the National Institute on Drug Abuse has to say about the effects and addiction to Marijuana. - More...
Saturday - May 17, 2014
Smoking Bans By Bill Kerschner - I am a longtime Republican Conservative and a business owner. I recently vacationed in the beautiful State of Alaska and hope to visit again. I strongly support Smoking Bans, especially for restaurants and other work places. - More...
Saturday - May 17, 2014
Inflation, wage slavery, greediness By Lois Morgan - You go David Hanger. Your thoughts and figures need to be read by every working stiff, and by every ethical voter. - More...
Saturday - May 17, 2014
THE TIME VALUE OF MONEY, Or How the Rich Are Destroying the American Middle Class By David G. Hanger - For the past several months I have conducted a simple, one-question test that I have presented to dozens of local individuals, all but two of whom answered extremely inaccurately. What this test has demonstrated is a clear disconnect that most of you have in understanding the value of money. The consequences of this lack of cognition are fundamental and quite serious. - More...
Tuesday PM - May 13, 2014
AN OPEN LETTER TO CITY COUNCIL By Teri J. Wilson - I am sick to death of anti-smoking laws, expecially those making smokers unwelcome. In Ketchikan, I am now recduced to eaing at Cape Fox, since all other restaurants have chosen to go non-smoking. Since these business owners have chosen this, as is their right, it's entirely up to them, and no doubt is a boon for the non-smokers. I, however, also choose not to patronioze a place that makes me unwelcome, that is MY RIGHT.. - More...
Tuesday PM - May 13, 2014
Ferry Fare for Lituya By Norma Lankerd - This letter is in regards to the ferry Lituya that runs between Metlakatla (Annette Bay) and Ketchikan on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. I know when they put in the road the plans were to make trips 3 to 4 times a day (7 days a week) so people from here can seek employment in Ketchikan and travel back to Metlakala at the end of the day. - More...
Tuesday PM - May 13, 2014
FACT: Marijuana does cause violence! By Marvin Seibert - I have seen comments that Marijuana does not cause violence. Just look to Denver Colorado where it is not legal. One example is the Headline Denver man accused of killing wife after eating marijuana candy formally charged with murder The last I checked killing your wife is an act of violence. - More...
Tuesday PM - May 13, 2014
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