Festive holiday lights are on display throughout the Ketchikan community. These colorful gifts of lights are provided by families for the enjoyment of all. Carl Thompson has traveled the community during the month to capture these creative amd colorful light displays to share with the Sitnews readers.

Photo Gallery 13 - Dec. 24, 2003

Photo Gallery 12 - Dec. 24, 2003	Photo Gallery 11 - Dec. 22, 2003
Photo Gallery 10 - Dec. 20, 2003	Photo Gallery 9 - Dec. 19, 2003
Photo Gallery 8 - Dec. 15, 2003	Photo Gallery 7 - Dec. 15, 2003
Photo Gallery 6 - Dec. 13, 2003	Photo Gallery 5 - Dec. 11, 2003
Photo Gallery 4 - Dec. 10, 2003	Photo Gallery 3 - Dec. 10, 2003
Photo Gallery 2 - Dec. 07, 2003	Photo Gallery 1 - Dec. 04, 2003

NORAD Tracks Santa Click here to track Santa December 2003 Click on the date to read the stories & to view photos published on that day... S M T W T F S   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30  31       Today's Front Page Previous Stories & Photos

Alaska: FBI tries to track mystery travelers; Chartering flight to village near pipeline raises suspicions - Amid heightened security by police and military agencies in Alaska, a bulletin was posted on the state's Homeland Security Web site: The FBI was looking for a man who booked a flight Sunday to a remote village near the trans-Alaska oil pipeline. - Read this story...
Anchorage Daily News - Wednesday - December 24, 2003

Alaska: New terror warnings set Valdez residents on edge - Isolated and sparsely populated Alaska seemed far removed from terrorist threats until yesterday, when U.S. officials said al-Qaida operatives could target remote sites such as oil facilities in the state. - Read this story...
Seattle Times - Wednesday - December 24, 2003

Alaska: Decision opens up Tongass lands; Government saws 300,000 acres off roadless protection listing - Reversing a Clinton-era policy, the Bush administration opened 300,000 more acres of Alaska's Tongass National Forest on Tuesday to possible logging or other development. - Read this story...
Anchorage Daily News - Wednesday - December 24, 2003

Alaska: Alaska's Exports Continue Upward Trend; Seafood, Precious Metals Improvement Contribute to $106 Million Increase - Alaska's sales of goods to foreign countries continued their upward trend in the third quarter of 2003, posting an increase of $106 million to $2.2 billion, up 5 percent over the same period last year. - Read more...
Wednesday - December 24, 2003 - 1:00 am

Ketchikan: Decision Paves Way For Resumption of Some Wood Harvest From Tongass - The hope is that the ruling will also pave the way for a veneer plant in Ketchikan to reopen thereby restoring important jobs to Ketchikan's economy, said Sen. Lisa Murkowski. - Read more...
Wednesday - December 24, 2003 - 1:00 am

SE Alaska: Southeast Alaska timber industry celebrates logging decision - A decision by the Bush Administration to exempt prime timberland in the Tongass National Forest from Clinton-era logging protections was praised in Southeast Alaska on Tuesday. - Read this story...
Fairbanks Daily News Miner - link posted Wednesday - December 24, 2003

Ketchikan: Listen to this story... The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced that the Tongass National Forest would be exempt from the 2001 National Roadless Rule. As Deanna Garrison reports, the decision potentially opens up about 300,000 acres of national forest to logging in Southeast Alaska.
KRBD - Ketchikan Public Radio - link posted Wednesday - December 24, 2003

Alaska: Listen to this story... The Department of Homeland Security's decision to increase the country's alert status to high has affected airport security across the state. Deanna Garrison reports.
KRBD - Ketchikan Public Radio - link posted Wednesday - December 24, 2003

More Ketchikan News Stories
Today's State & Local News

Ketchikan: Part of Tongass National Forest Open to Logging; Governor Murkowski Welcomes Good News - The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today that it would not apply the roadless rule to the Tongass National Forest, completing the settlement of a court challenge to the roadless rule brought by the State of Alaska. . This decision maintains the balance for roadless area protection struck in the Tongass Land Management Plan, providing opportunities for sustainable economic development in Southeast Alaska while ensuring that the vast majority of the Tongass remains off limits to development. - Read more...
Tuesday - December 23, 2003 - 6:55 pm

Ketchikan: Greenpeace Blasts Decision to Exclude Tongass From Roadless Rule - In response to the Bush Administration announcement today that it would exclude the Tongass National Forest in Alaska from the landmark Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Greenpeace said this decision was made despite overwhelming public support for keeping the forest intact. In keeping with the Administration's practice of "stealth" policy moves, the change was made with little fanfare in the midst of the Christmas holidays to avoid public scrutiny said the Greenpeace organization in a news release. - Read more...
Tuesday - December 23, 2003 - 6:55 pm

Jacqueline Johnson, Executive Director of the National Congress of American Indians and Ed Thomas, President of Tlingit & Haida, Juneau... Photograph by Cheryl Haven

Ketchikan: KIC HOSTS SE TRIBAL LEADERS SUMMIT - Representatives of 13 Southeast Alaska Native Tribes attended a Southeast Alaska Tribal Leaders Summit on December 15th and 16th, 2003 in Ketchikan. According to information provided by the Ketchikan Indian Community, the primary focus of the conference was to develop an appropriate and unified response to U.S. Senator Stevens' increasing concern over the allocation of federal money among Alaskan tribes and villages. KIC President Stephanie Rainwater-Sande said she was thrilled with the turnout especially since exceptionally turbulent weather threatened travel plans throughout the region and people are usually so busy during the holiday season.

Jacqueline Johnson, Executive Director of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), was the keynote speaker on Tuesday morning. NCAI is a national organization based in Washington, D.C. that coordinates communications among all Tribal governments. Johnson told the group NCAI serves as a forum for consensus-based policy development among its membership of Tribal governments in the United States. Johnson, an Alaska Native with her roots in Juneau Alaska, has an especially keen understanding of the make up and challenges of Southeast Alaska Tribes. - Read more & view photographs...
Tuesday - December 23, 2003 - 12:45 am

Read Tuesday's Front Page Stories & View Photos...

A charming story is told of Pepita, a poor Mexican girl who had no gift to present the Christ Child at Christmas Eve Services. As Pepita walked slowly to the chapel with her cousin Pedro, her heart was filled with sadness rather than joy.

"I am sure, Pepita, that even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes," said Pedro consolingly.

Not knowing what else to do, Pepita knelt by the roadside and gathered a handful of common weeds, fashioning them into a small bouquet. Looking at the scraggly bunch of weeds, she felt more saddened and embarrassed than ever by the humbleness of her offering. She fought back a tear as she entered the small village chapel. - Read more...
Wednesday - December 24, 2003 - 1:00 pm

I picked out the tree alone this year, Elaine was at work and our daughters too involved in teen things. I placed it in its stand in the corner of our living room, enjoying the fresh pine scent that filled the warm room. The branches sprang open as I cut away the twine that had held them in a tightly wound cocoon, and I stepped back and admired this beautiful tree that had been grown and shaped just for us to enjoy this Christmas season, and to live in our Christmas memories for the rest of our lives. - Read more...
Monday - December 22, 2003

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