AMHS' Vessels Mantanuska and Columbia File Photo by Carl Thompson    Viewpoints Opinions/Letters My disgust in the Legislature by Samuel Bergeron - Ketchikan - 06/27/04 Real Facts About the Bridge by Rick Grams - Ketchikan - 06/27/04 The Proposed Bridge To Gravina by Don Hoff Jr - Hixson, TN - 06/26/04 Swede Risland by Jane Davidson Malik - Alexandria, VA - 06/26/04 Swede by Ken Crevier - USA - 06/26/04 Planning A Prosperous Long-term Future by Gov. Frank Murkowski - AK - 06/26/04 Re: Unresponsive to Concerns by Dave Kiffer - Ketchikan - 06/26/04 Alaska's Cigarette Tax Increase is a Victory for Kids and Taxpayers by William V. Corr - DC -06/26/04 Re: Fairness or a Vacation? We need both! by Brandi Conway - Ketchikan - 06/26/04 Read More Viewpoints Publish A Letter June 2004 Click on the date to read the stories & to view photos published on that day... S M T W T F S   31 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       Front Page Archives                  Alaska: AMHS Incorporates National Maritime Security Plan; Increases In Port, Harbor & Vessel Security Will Be Noticeable - The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) is responding to new federal regulations requiring increased port, harbor and vessel security. U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announced Monday that some 3,200 port facilities, 9,500 vessels and 40 off-shore oil and natural gas rigs must comply with new requirements under the Maritime Transportation Security Act and the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code by the July 1, 2004 deadline. - Read more... Saturday - June 26, 2004 Alaska: Governor Murkowski Signs 17 Bills - On Friday, the Office of the Governor announced that Governor Frank Murkowski has signed into law 17 bills, passed during the regular session of the Legislature that adjourned in May. - Read more... Saturday - June 26, 2004 Ketchikan: Kern Graduates From DeVry University - Michael Kern of Ketchikan, graduated from DeVry University in Addison, Illinois, on June 21, 2004. Kern received his Bachelor of Science degree in Electronic Engineering. He is the son of Bob and Louise Kern, of Ketchikan. - Read more... Saturday - June 26, 2004 Ketchikan: Alaska Seafood companies need 600 workers immediately for salmon processing jobs - Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development officials report 600 workers are needed as soon as possible to fill seafood processing jobs in 15 locations around the state. Of those needed, 120 seafood workers are needed in Ketchikan, Alaska. Hundreds of additional workers will be needed statewide throughout the peak commercial fishing season. - Read more... Saturday - June 26, 2004

Rats and birds clash on volcanic island Biologist Ian Jones of Memorial University in Newfoundland places a rattrap on Kiska island in the Aleutians. Jones is studying interactions between one of the world's great seabird colonies and rats that prey on the birds. Story & photo by Ned Rozell Alaska: Rats and birds clash on volcanic island - Ian Jones smeared Jif peanut butter on the trigger plate of a rattrap, set the spring, and placed the trap under a rotting timber carried to this remote island 60 years earlier by Japanese soldiers. "There's fresh sign here," he said, sweeping away rye grass to expose dirt pressed down by the passage of many tiny feet. He hoped to catch a few rats and take tissue samples as part of a mission to learn as much as possible about how rats are affecting seabirds in the Aleutians. - Read more... Saturday - June 26, 2004 Science: How Fireworks Work: The "Bang!" Behind the Beauty - They inspire awe and admiration. They create fear and excitement. Fireworks light up the night sky on Independence Day and have become as much a part of the July 4 ritual as American flags and cookouts. But behind the scenes, causing those dazzling explosions, is a combination of oxygen, metals and a whole lot of innovation. - Read more... Saturday - June 26, 2004 Columnist Fish or Cut Bait by Bob Ciminel: The Little Church in the Valley - The Talona Valley in northern Georgia would not make anyone's Top 10 list of scenic wonders, nor would you expect to see a Travel Channel special about such an unremarked place. As for tourist amenities, the Fall Festival at nearby Talking Rock and the Talona Creek Campground are about all the valley has to offer. A lightly used rail line runs down the valley. The weekly, but unpredictable, log train from Blue Ridge raises the ambient noise level for a short time, but everything soon returns to normal, with Talona Creek bubbling over the rocks and an occasional mooing cow. - Read more... Saturday - June 26, 2004

The June Allen Column is made possible in part by these sponsors. Cick on each name to visit each web site. June Allen Column Remembering 'Swede' Risland (1915-1991);The town's most memorable logger - People still remember Swede Risland and chuckle when telling stories about him or about his incredible generosity. In his prime he made big money in the woods and all his life he gave it away as easily as he made it! The old logger was no fashion plate and in his later years he had to coax his battered old smoking and coughing yellow pickup all the way up Main Street until it gratefully reached the summit and rolled down Grant Street toward the tunnel - its cargo of salvaged miscellany rattling as it slid forward to clatter against the cab. Swede loved to clean out and organize long-neglected old warehouses and storage sheds and found many a rusty but still-good treasure waiting to be shared and recycled. - Read the rest of this story by June Allen... Saturday - June 19, 2004 Alaska's Deepwater Highway; A part of Alaska history Ketchikan's American Legionnaires; Here's to 'the boys' of Post #3 - Ketchikan's Cruise Ship Industry; A light-hearted look at its origins Ketchikan's First City Players; Did you hear that applause? A biography of Alaska's herring: A little fish of huge importance... Read more stories by June Allen...

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