Ketchikan Arts & Entertainment Column: Fjord of Dreams By SHARON ALLEN - "If you build it, they will come. . . Field of Dreams, 1989."

But, it isn't a field; it's a Fjord, and it's never been a case of "if . . ," they've always come, and for most, it's the dream of a lifetime.

The Fjord referred to is Misty Fjords. The western boundary is located approximately twenty-two miles east of Ketchikan, Alaska and about 680 air miles from Seattle. It has an average rainfall of 162 inches per year, which makes the name "Misty" quite fitting. But don't let the rain stop you from coming to visit this monumental attraction. Although a clear day is beautiful in Misty Fjords, any extra condensation in the air just creates even more white tendrils dangling across the rugged landscape and only adds to the ambiance.

Wild and remote, the Fjords can only be reached by floatplane or boat. Alaska Cruises, like some other tours, offers a cruise of the area. However, unlike any of the other tour operators, Alaska Cruises has been locally owned and operated in Ketchikan for over twenty years. They offer a six and one-half hour cruise to and from Misty and are well-known for their high standards in customer care and have an excellent safety record. Their promise is to make this adventure a memory of a lifetime for you. There's no rush-pushing there and push-rushing back with no time to enjoy the scenery or to shut down the engine for a minute should an orca suddenly breach close by. Additionally, the boat is well-maintained, the crew friendly and knowledgeable, the food excellent and unobstructed viewing is provided on two spacious levels with wraparound windows. - More...
Thursday - June 23, 2005

National: Women abandoning Bush, GOP, group says By MARGARET TALEV - Women helped President Bush win re-election last year, but a national survey finds many have turned against him and the Republican Party - more so than men voters - as they have grown displeased with the war in Iraq, plans to change Social Security, and what they see as inappropriate political intervention in personal or family decisions.

"The gender gap is back, and it is healthy," said Ellen Malcolm, president of EMILY's List. The group, which raises money to elect Democratic women who support abortion rights, released its findings Wednesday based on a survey of more than 2,000 women conducted last month by Democratic pollsters. "We see the erosion that has now been appearing in many polls for the Republicans is almost solely attributable to the shift of women voters." - More...
Thursday - June 23, 2005

'Deer' Front Page Photo by Harry Martin Jr.

National: Congress urged to end airline pension holiday By MARY DEIBEL - Congress shouldn't extend its holiday for catch-up contributions for underfunded airline pensions in hopes that it will prevent other carriers from following United Airlines' record pension default, the head of the federal agency that insures pensions said Wednesday.

"The airline industry has received substantial relief from its pension-funding obligations from Congress in 2004 and 2005," Bradley Belt, head of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., told lawmakers.

That relief didn't stop United from shedding its $9.8 billion pension liability in bankruptcy court and US Airways another $3 billion, Belt said. - More...
Thursday - June 23, 2005

Ann Fama Photo courtesy KGH

Ketchikan: Fama Named KGH Employee of the Month - Ann Fama, Registered Nurse in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), has been named Ketchikan General Hospital (KGH) Employee of the Month by a committee of her peers. Fama has been a KGH nurse for the past 20 years of a 26-year nursing career.

With a Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Marquette University School of Nursing, Fama has filled many roles at KGH. In addition to regular staffing of the ICU, she works as a charge nurse, a staff educator and a mentor of newer nurses. Fama also staffs the chemotherapy unit, and is certified in Critical Care Nursing. - More...
Thursday - June 23, 2005

Alaska: GINA collaboration to boost response to summer fires - The Geographic Information Network of Alaska (GINA) has provided the first Alaska Landsat 5 emergency response scene to the Alaska Fire Service. GINA ordered the scene early June 22, 2005 and was able to have it available for fire personnel later that afternoon.

Tom Heinrichs, GINA technical services manager, said the scene was passed to the Alaska Fire Service mappers shortly after receiving it. The scene was to be used for a briefing map to be flown to the fire late yesterday. - More...
Thursday - June 23, 2005

Winning the top prize this year is twelve-year old Ketchikan Little Sister, Courtney Enright. Courtney was photographed as she received Alaska Air tickets from Deanna Kenyon. Photo courtesy BBBS

Ketchikan: Little Sister Wins Top Fundraising Prize in Southeast Alaska - Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Southeast Alaska announced the results of its high fundraiser contest today from this year's Bowl For Kids' Sake, held in Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka, Hoonah, and Skagway. The prizes are based on the amount of pledges collected by May 31.

"We're delighted to award these high fundraiser prizes," said BBBS Executive Director, Marc Wheeler. "We're also grateful to the businesses who donate these prizes for those folks who made the extra effort raising money for Big Brothers Big Sisters.'

Winning the top prize this year is twelve-year old Ketchikan Little Sister, Courtney Enright, with $1,465. In second place is Keith Perkins, from USDA Rural Development in Sitka, with $946. Joe Everhart, of Wells Fargo in Juneau, won the third place prize with $750 collected. Tom Walls, also of Wells Fargo in Juneau came in fourth with $630 collected. These top fundraisers will have their choice of two west-coast round-trip tickets on Alaska Airlines (including Mexico), a Caribbean Cruise for two on Royal Caribbean, fine jewelry from Fire and Ice in Juneau, and an Alaska rail adventure, courtesy of the Alaska Railroad and Alaska Airlines. - More...
Thursday - June 23, 2005

Black-capped chickadee

Science: Chickadees' alarm calls carry information about size, threat of predators - There's more than meets the human ear when the black-capped chickadee lets its flock mates know a predator is lurking about by giving out its familiar "chick-a-dee-dee-dee" call.

The small songbirds, which are common throughout much of North America, use that signature call in a wide variety of social interactions including warning of predators. And it turns out that those alarms are far more subtle and information-packed than scientists previously imagined. Writing in the current issue of the journal Science, researchers report that chickadees use one of the most sophisticated signaling systems discovered among animals. The calls warn other chickadees not only if a predator is moving rapidly, but also transmit information on the degree of threat posed by stationary predators of different sizes. - More...
Thursday - June 23, 2005

Viewpoints Opinions/Letters Helping Iraq By Rick Grams - Thursday Can't wait to visit your corner of the world! By Bill Nelson - Thursday WHY? By Jerry Cegelske - Thursday Surrounded by danger By Sheldon Skillie - Thursday Gravina Bridge By Barry Trudeau - Thursday Is the US Flag the American Koran? By Stanley Arcieri - Thursday Regardless who's in charge By Kent Milaeger - Thursday Click Click By Joe Branco - Thursday Question every Alaskan forced to confront By Steve Conn - Thursday More Viewpoints/ Letters Publish A Letter Retire No More By: Jeff Parker Florida Today Political Cartoonists Note: Roger Maynard, Ketchikan Editorial Cartoonist will not be updating his website for awhile. Ketchikan Calendar, Meetings, Events Today's Forecast City Police Report 06/23/05 AK Troopers Daily Dispatch Classifieds & Announcements June 2005 Click on the date for stories and photos published on that day... S M T W T F S        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

Michael Reagan: Durbanism At Work - Those Americans who are Vietnam veterans could never understand why it was that when they came home after honorably - and courageously - fighting in that war they were spat upon, ridiculed, and ostracized by their fellow Americans.

We are now seeing a replay of what Americans at home were going through at the time when we had leaders in Congress and prominent people in all walks of life who spread false rumors about our soldiers and what they were doing in the blood-drenched rice paddies of Vietnam. - More...
Thursday - June 23, 2005

Dan K. Thomasson: Bringing home the bacon - The part-time job of the nation's lawmakers is to argue over what might or might not be good for America. Their full-time job is to make sure that however they decide those questions, it helps them win re-election. The most efficient way of ensuring their political future is to line the clouds over their home states with silver and to make sure their constituents are well-fed on pork. - More...
Thursday - June 23, 2005

Ann McFeatters: Senators demand hard answers on Iraq - When the white-maned lion of the Senate engaged the steely-eyed defense chief in verbal combat over the war in Iraq this past week, Americans saw the terms of our dilemma in sharp relief.

Usually, hearings on Capitol Hill are decorous and, not infrequently, boring. Not this one before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Everyone in the room tensed as Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., glared at Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. "Mr. Secretary," he said, "this war has been seriously and grossly mismanaged." He called it a "quagmire." He said, "Our troops are dying, and there is no end in sight." - More...
Thursday - June 23, 2005

Deroy Murdock: Americans focus on Guantanamo, ignore mosque bombings - For all the grief America is suffering over Guantanamo, U.S. soldiers there might as well have flushed 1,001 Korans down 1,001 toilets - live on Al-Jazeera TV.

Newsweek's May 15 retraction of its false and deadly Koran-in-the-can story has worked as well as a severed brake line in slowing calls by Democrats (and some wobbly Republicans) to padlock the terrorist detention facility. - More...
Thursday - JUne 23, 2005

Michael Fumento: In man vs. microbe, germs will lose - The number of writers forecasting humanity's downfall before an onslaught of "supergerms" is countless. Most notorious is Newsday's Laurie Garrett, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1996 for her hysterical writing on Ebola virus - which kills fewer people yearly than malaria kills every two hours and tuberculosis kills each hour. She also gave us two hysterical but best-selling and prize-winning (or shall we say, "THEREFORE best-selling and prize-winning") books on the imminent victory of microbe over man.

But it was always predictable (and in my case, predicted) that she would be wrong for one simple reason: Germs don't have intelligence and we do. - More...
Thursday - June 23, 2005

Dale McFeatters: Flag stands for the right to burn it - The House, as it is periodically wont to do, this week approved by a comfortable 286 to 130 margin a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow Congress to outlaw flag burning as a form of political protest.

Let's hope that's as far as this attempt to put limits on a certain kind of speech gets. Ask yourself: To what urgent and pressing national problem is this constitutional amendment a solution?

There is none. There is no epidemic of flag burning in this country. Incidents of flag burning are scattered, infrequent and inevitably associated with political protest. The language of the amendment specifies "desecration" but it is not aimed at ignoble uses of the flag as articles of clothing or sales promotion tools or even, metaphorically, for a member of Congress to wrap himself in. - More...
Thursday - June 23, 2005