Ketchikan: Crash Victims Recovered & Identified By MARY KAUFFMAN - The names of the people who died in yesterday's plane crash in the Misty Fjords were released late Friday evening by the Alaska State Troopers. The victims have been tentatively identified as Hal Cheney, 71, and Mary Doucette, 59, both of Lodi, CA; Glenda Cambiaso, 31, and Hugo Cambiaso, 65, both of North Potomac, MD; June Kranenburg, 73, and Leonard Kranenburg, 63, both of Medford, OR; Margie Apodaca, 63, and Raymond Apodaca, 70, both of Sparks, NV; Pilot Bryan Krill, 64 of Hope, ID. All the victims appear to be United States citizens.

A Federal Aviation Administration weather camera shows heavily overcast and gray conditions Thursday afternoon in the Misty Fjords region of Alaska's Ketchikan Borough.
Federal Aviation Administration

Southeast Alaska: Alaska trollers outraged by low king salmon quota set by Pacific Salmon Commission; Quota of 237,000 Chinook salmon shows broken forecast system - Members of the Alaska Trollers Association are expressing outrage that the Pacific Salmon Commission (PSC) has capped Alaska’s harvest of king salmon this summer at 237,000 fish. With the summer troll season set to begin this week, trollers are caught in a technical dispute among commission members over how many king salmon are expected to return to spawn in rivers along the West Coast.

The Pacific Salmon Commission implements the U.S.- Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty, which governs how many king salmon can be caught by Canada and Alaska. It uses a model-based forecasting system to determine the abundance of fish each year, and based on that, it sets harvest quotas. The model, which generates an annual estimate of abundance, was developed by U.S. and Canadian scientists on the PSC’s Chinook Technical Committee. In recent years, these model estimates have varied widely, creating significant disruption for trollers and their markets.

The Alaska members of the Chinook Technical Committee roundly objected to this year’s estimate, which heightens Alaska fishermen’s concerns about the accuracy of the abundance- based system and the fact that they so often get shortchanged.

“This year’s quota shines a bright light on a treaty agreement that is not working for Southeast Chinook fishermen and communities. For over 30 years trollers have paid the price of habitat destruction in the Pacific Northwest. The stocks we’ve worked hard to rebuild are now returning in record numbers, yet Alaska is being held to a pitifully low quota that fails to recognize that abundance. Trollers are losing faith that they will ever see a fair shake in this process,” said Dale Kelley, executive director of the Alaska Trollers Association. - More...
Friday PM - June 26, 2015

Ketchikan: Ninth SoleStice a Sold Out Success - Dozens of pairs of shoes were bid on, bought, and brought home to closets across Ketchikan Saturday night. Along the way almost $43,000 was raised at the SoleStice, the annual shoe auction sponsored by the Ketchikan Medical Center Foundation.

Ty and Shelley Hewitt who got a Baby Box. Baby Boxes are ‘starter kits’ that include clothing, diapers and a mattress and are given to parents who complete a one-hour Infant Sleep Safety course in partnership with Ketchikan Public Health.
Photo courtesy PKMC

Proceeds this year will be used in New Beginnings Birthing Center for bili-blankets and Baby Boxes and for new beds in New Horizons Transitional Care Unit.

Bili-Blankets provide “blue light” treatment for babies born with Hyperbilirubinemia. Each year at KMC about 20 babies need this phototherapy which, untreated, can cause damage to the brain and other organs. Until now, the treatment required the newborn to return or remain in the hospital for a few days. Now babies who have ‘baby jaundice’ can go home to get better.

Baby Boxes are modeled on a Finnish initiative that gives new parents baby items in a box large enough to double as a newborn’s first crib. Finland has one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the world. These Baby Boxes are ‘starter kits’ that include clothing, diapers and a mattress and are given to parents who complete a one-hour Infant Sleep Safety course in partnership with Ketchikan Public Health. First Bank made a pre-SoleStice donation of $5000 to begin purchase of the Baby Boxes. - More...
Friday PM - June 26, 2015

Southeast Alaska: Tongass National Forest: Possessing fireworks penalty can be as high as $5,000 - As the Fourth of July holiday approaches, residents, visitors, and campers are reminded that all fireworks, including sparklers, are prohibited on the Tongass National Forest.

“People assume the restrictions apply just to developed recreations areas managed by the Forest Service, including campgrounds, picnic areas, and day use areas,” said Forest Fire Management Officer Tristan Fluharty, “but no fireworks or pyrotechnic device of any kind may be discharged anywhere within the National Forests, regardless of weather conditions or holidays. We do not want to spoil anyone’s holiday, but we want the holiday to be enjoyable and safe for all forest visitors.” - More...
Friday PM - June 26, 2015