Columnists Howard Dean: The Future Of Public Education - Thirty-five years ago I spent three months as a student teacher at a middle school in New Haven, Conn. I learned many valuable lessons, including that teaching is very rewarding and much more challenging than most people think. I believe with adequate community support that public education is still the best way to a better future. - More... Tuesday- November 16, 2004 Jacqueline Marcell: Long-Term Care Insurance - You'll Probably Need It! - When I suddenly had to become a fulltime caregiver to my elderly parents, both with health problems and starting to develop dementia (namely Alzheimer's), I had never even heard of Long-Term Care Insurance... More... Viewpoints Opinions/Letters Candy-Flavored Cigarettes Irresponsibly Marketed for the Holidays by Matthew L. Myers - Tuesday I Was Wrong About Tom Hanks by Bob Ciminel - Tuesday Powell by Jared Fields - Tuesday Viewpoints/ Letters Publish A Letter November 2004 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          Today's Front Page Front Page Archives

At the Incorporation of the City of Ketchikan back in the summer of 1900, the little town on Tongass Narrows was powered largely by optimism and resolve. The Alaska Gold Rush of '98 had focused the eyes of the world on the nation's Last Frontier. The courageous and confident were among those who "rushed" north to participate not just in the search for gold but in the founding of a great new American territory. Ketchikan's pioneer founders moved quickly to develop such modern amenities as electric lights and indoor plumbing.

In the meantime, kerosene lanterns, either carried or hung on nails outside Ketchikan's rows of side-by-side businesses, shed a shiny orange glow on docks or on the narrow and slippery Front Street boardwalks after dark. Wood and/or coal was used for cooking and heating for stoves in businesses, cabins and even in tents! Alcohol and camaraderie helped to warm the rows of waterfront saloons. Privies over tidewater and primitive honey buckets sufficed for sanitation. With reeking stables for dray horses and waterfront fish offal at low tides, brand new Ketchikan was grateful for windy weather to blow the stench away.

Fresh water was in Ketchikan Creek or "where you found it" in 1900. In a bow to cleanliness, a hand-laundry business for the more fastidious was perched by a creek coursing down the steep hillside above where today's Red Men hall is located on Main Street. Famous pioneer photographer Harriet Hunt had to carry buckets of water from a creek to her second-story Front Street home in order to develop her photographs. Volunteer firemen, without pump or equipment, could at first only form a bucket brigade. - Read the rest of this story by June Allen....
Tuesday - November 16, 2004

Alaska: Young Named "2004 Trendsetter" - Hanley Wood's Public Works Magazine named Alaska Congressman Don Young the "2004 Trendsetter" in their November issue. This cover story will feature Congressman Young as one of fifty most influential, high impact people in the public works business.

The 2004 trendsetters list includes those who have defined policy, brought their community or an issue into spotlight, or set the standard within the public works industry. Those on the list are leading the way among today's public works officials. Trendsetters could be a single person or an entire organization, nominated by their peers, or selected by the editors. - More...
Tuessday - November 16, 2004