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Body of man found in Ketchikan
area...dive team searching for Angoon man
One search in Southeast Alaska was completed this morning, while
another continues.
In the completed case, the body of 22 year-old
Aaron Hope was found in the Ketchikan area.
A Coast Guard crew aboard a 47-foot
rescue boat located the body at about 8 o'clock this morning above
the tide line on Whisky Cove on Pennock Island.
The Coast Guard, along with the
State Troopers, retrieved the body and returned it to Ketchikan.
Hope left Pennock
Island between midnight and one a.m. Sunday headed for Bar Harbor. His 14-foot skiff was discovered on the beach in Whiskey Cove at
Noon Sunday.
The other case is in the Angoon area where the Coast Guard has
suspended its search for 36 year-old Kevin O'Brian of Angoon.
A Coast Guard helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Sitka searched
the area this morning with no sightings.
Members of the Sitka Fire Department dive team plan to continue
searching the area near the seaplane dock this evening.
O'Brian departed Killisnoo for Angoon in an 18-foot skiff was
reported missing to the Coast Guard by Angoon Search and Rescue at
6:18 p.m. Sunday.
His boat was found beached near the seaplane dock in Angoon according to Petty Officer Jeremy
Dawkins in the Coast Guard's Juneau Command Center.
A Trooper dispatch says O'Brian was
in the process of bringing his skiff from the ferry terminal in
Angoon to the boat harbor when he fell overboard.
Vatican dismisses priest
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The Catholic Diocese of Juneau says the Vatican has dismissed a priest investigated for allegedly sexually abusing a minor.
The diocese says Michael P. Nash has been dismissed from his clerical duties.
The dismissal stems from an investigation that began in late 2002, when former Juneau resident -- Joel Post of Duluth, Minnesota -- alleged that Nash sexually abused him when he was a child in the early 1980s.
After the allegations became public, a number of other men came forward and made similar claims.
Nash agreed last May to begin the process for his dismissal from the priesthood.
His dismissal became effective November 18th.
As part of the agreement, the
Bishop says Nash will receive receive retirement benefits when he
reaches 65.
The Diocese of Juneau also has agreed to pay Post more than 175-thousand dollars.
In addition, the Diocese has entered into an agreement with Post and his lawyer to provide financial and other material support to his defense against claims brought by Nash in a defamation lawsuit against Post.
Nash brought his lawsuit a short time after the settlement was reached on June 7, 2004. Bishop
Michael Warfel of the Diocese of Juneau says the legal action was filed without the church's knowledge.
The bishop wrote in a letter to parishioners that he deplored the lawsuit as "unjust" and tried to convince Nash, without success, to abandon the legal action.
In his letter, Warfel offered an apology for himself personally and on behalf of the entire Catholic Church of Southeast Alaska.
He wrote, "I acknowledge with tremendous sadness that we, as a Church, could have done more for the boys and young men who were so vulnerable at the time of their abuse by Mr. Nash, as well as the families who entrusted them to our care."
According to the letter, Bishop Warfel intends to travel around the Diocese in the coming weeks to seek out and meet with anyone who may have
been harmed by Nash's actions, and to offer help.
Juneau's first baby in the year
arrives early in morning
The first baby of the year in Juneau is named Joseph Wulfe (Wolf)
Zimbelman.
He was born to Lana and Garth Zimbelman at 3:32 early New Year's Day
morning.
He weighed in at 7 pounds, 7 ounces and is 20 inches long.
Joseph was delivered by C- section.
His dad says they picked Joseph because its a name they both liked.
Wulfe spelled W-U-L-F-E is the result of the German and Russian
heritage of his father's family.
Garth is a regulatory specialist with the Army Corps of Engineers
and Lana teaches pre-school.
Joseph is their first child.
There's been no word of a birth yet in 2006 from the Juneau Family
Birth Center.
PFD
application period for 2006 now underway
The application period for the 2006 Permanent Fund Dividend Program
opened at 12:01 this morning. (Monday)
The state expects to receive 635,000 applications this year. That
would be an increase of about five thousand.
And Paul Dick, Chief of Operations for the Permanent Fund Dividend
Division, expects more of them to be filed on-line.
They're anticipating 325,000 on-line applications compared to 211,000
last year.
He says they think two direct deposits, rather than one, as has been
the case in previous years, will help.
The first direct deposit on October 4 is for those who file on-line
in January.
The second direct deposit will be October 19th. That will be for
those who filed on-line after January or used a paper application.
As an inducement to file on the line, the date for mailing checks
has been pushed back to mid-November. Checks were sent out October
26th last year. That's bout three weeks earlier than is planned this
year.
Provisions have been made for those who still want to file a paper
application with booklets going out in the mail Tuesday to every
household and post office in Alaska.
For those filing on-line, who also want to provide an electronic
signature, its necessary to register on "My Alaska".
The state program can be found on the division's web site at www.pfd.state.ak.us
After completing the registration, the application is filed. At the
end of that process Dick says people are asked to provide their
password which is their electronic signature.
Those filing on line, who choose not to do an electronic signature,
are asked to mail in the signature page.
Permanent Fund Dividend Division offices in Juneau, Anchorage and
Fairbanks are staffed today (Monday) to answer questions and help
Alaskans file their 2006 application.
Lawmakers gear up for 2006
legislative session
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The next legislative session in Juneau begins
January 9th.
Many in the legislature are still shaking off the last session, with
its contentious ending that centered on rising retirement costs and
changes to workers' compensation laws.
Those issues -- with the state budget caught in the middle --
created a rift not just between parties but between Republican
majority leaders in the House and Senate.
The 2006 legislative sessions has something added -- spending a more
than one (B) billion dollar surplus.
There's also the possibility of landing a fiscal contract for a 20
(B) billion dollar North Slope natural gas pipeline, which would
fill the state's coffers for decades.
Besides the governor's race, all the House seats and half of the
Senate's will be up for grabs in November.
Man arrested for felony drunk driving after leading Juneau Police on chase
Juneau Police spent part of New Year's morning chasing down a drunk driver.
It started at about 2:50 when an officer tried to stop a suspected drunk driver on Glacier Highway near the Frontier Suites Hotel in the Valley.
Sergeant Kris Sell says the driver, 31 year old Christopher J. Davidson of Juneau, led officers on a vehicle and then foot pursuit before he was taken into custody.
While trying to elude officers, Davidson was speeding, running stop
signs and a red light, slid
sideways, and drove partially off the road.
Officers followed him from the area of the skateboard park, to Del Rae,
to the Safeway store, and ultimately to Mall Road.
Davidson and his passenger, a 26 year old local man, jumped out of
the car and ran from the vehicle after being boxed in behind the Valley Tesoro gas station.
Officers chased Davidson through the area of the James Place Apartments to James Boulevard where he was taken into the custody. The other man, who was not identified, was contacted a short time later in the area of Cinema Drive
Davidson was charged with failure to stop at the direction of a peace officer. He was also charged with felony driving while intoxicated and felony refusal to provide a breath sample.
Those charges are felonies since Davidson has two prior DWI convictions since 2000.
He was also charged with driving while having a revoked license and reckless endangerment for endangering the
life of his passenger, who was not identified.
Davidson was jailed at the Lemon Creek Correctional Center.
His arrest was the only drunk driving arrest made by
the police department's beefed up New Years patrols.
Iditarod champion Susan
Butcher being treated for leukemia
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Iditarod champion Susan Butcher has been
discharged from the Seattle hospital where she is being treated for
leukemia.
Butcher and her family are staying at a friend's home in Seattle,
but hope to be able to make it back to Alaska for awhile.
Butcher will have to return to the University of Washington Medical
Center in about a month to get another round of chemotherapy.
Butcher found out on Friday that she is responding well to a first
round of chemotherapy. After a second round, she will need a bone
marrow transplant, if a donor can be found.
More than 12-hundred Alaskans responded to an appeal on Friday and
took part in a blood and bone marrow drive to help Butcher or
someone else in need of a bone marrow transplant.
Man charged with stealing
excavator
WASILLA, Alaska (AP) - Alaska State Troopers say they received a
report that an excavator had been stolen.
Forty-five-year-old Waymon Price of Big Lake reported the theft to
troopers.
An investigation revealed that John Comoza was in possession of the
excavator, but he refused to disclose its whereabouts.
A search warrant was obtained for Comoza's property, where troopers
say a stolen truck and over 300 marijuana plants were found.
Troopers say Comoza was arrested Sunday at Anchorage
International Airport as he was attempting to leave the state. He is
charged with theft, vehicle theft, and three counts of misconduct
involving a controlled substance.
Bail was set at 35-thousand dollars.
Baby's death reported in Haines
Haines Police notified State Troopers Saturday afternoon of an infant that was not breathing.
Troopers responded and arrived on scene with the Haines Emergency Medical Services.
The baby was transported to the Haines SEARHC Clinic where it was pronounced deceased.
The State Medical Examiner's Office has requested an autopsy.
No other details are available at this report.
Army to begin fence construction at Fort Richardson
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The Army says it will build a fence along the border of Fort Richardson with Eagle River and Anchorage's Muldoon neighborhood.
The construction is to start next month.
The barrier will NOT be the eight-foot-high chain link fence topped by barbed wire that the Army had considered in 2003.
That concept was met with strong resistance by East Anchorage residents who use the wooded area for walking, biking and skiing.
The fence instead will be a 40-inch tall pipe-rail fence with gaps about every quarter mile.
One of the main functions of the 25-mile fence will be to alert civilians that they've crossed onto Army land.
Fort Richardson covers about 62-thousand acres around the eastern and northern rim of the Anchorage Bowl.
To accompany the fence, Fort Richardson has established a phone-in system for people to call to find out whether a particular area is available for public use at any time.
(Anchorage Daily News)
Rescue group called out to
aid overdue hikers
BUTTE, Alaska (AP) - A rescue group was called out to help two
people overdue from a walk near Knik Glacier in Butte.
Alaska State Troopers say they received on Saturday of two people
from Hawaii who had not returned from their hike.
An investigation revealed that the two people from Honolulu had left
their rental car at the end of Buckshot Lane to walk toward the
glacier, and not returned to their vehicle.
They could not be located in the area and were not dressed
appropriately for the weather.
Troopers sent out a helicopter. The Alaska Mountain Rescue Group
also responded.
The two walked to a nearby residence and were provided
transportation back to their vehicle.
Troopers say they were wet and cold, but otherwise uninjured.
Temperatures and precipitation in Juneau above normal in December
December in Juneau was very warm and wet.
Meteorologist Nathan Foster in the Juneau Forecast Office says temperatures were about five degrees above average.
He says it was the warmest December since 1999.
The forecaster says precipitation was also about average. There
were six point 74 inches which was about an inch and a third above normal.
Snowfall was below average. Only four point six inches
were recorded at the airport. That's compared to the normal of more than 20 inches.
An analysis of Juneau's weather in 2005 is pending.
Alaska Guardsmen help train Afghan National Army
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The Alaska National Guard, along with U-S paratroopers, are conducting operations in Afghanistan.
Officials at Fort Richardson say the soldiers are working to find and demolish caves where terrorists tend to hide after crossing the border from Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The soldiers did not find any terrorists in the caves, but used explosive to destroy the caves and prevent terrorists from using them in the future.
Officials say the Army also is training Afghanistan soldiers combat skills.
Elmendorf crew takes part in special assignment
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Crews from Elmendorf Air Force Base took part in a special assignment this weekend.
Members of the 517th Airlift Squadron completed another mission they won't forget -- flying a very sick infant from Iraq for medical treatment in America.
The baby, whose name is
``Noor'', was born with a life-threatening birth defect.
The 3-month-old infant was flown to Atlanta yesterday (Saturday) at the urging of U-S soldiers who found her during a raid.
The child has spina bifida -- a serious birth defect where the spinal column is exposed.
Doctors are uncertain at this time how much they can do for the baby.
(Anchorage Daily News)
U-S coffee chain prevails
BEIJING (AP) - Starbucks apparently doesn't think imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Not, at least, when it comes to business.
A Chinese court has sided with the American coffee house chain in its moniker battle with a Shanghai rival, Xingbake
(shing bah kuh) Cafe Corporation. Xing means star, and bake (bah kuh) sounds like bucks.
The Shanghai court says the Chinese firm engaged in what it calls ``illegitimate competition'' by using the name and imitating the design of Starbucks cafes. It's been ordered to pay Starbucks the equivalent of 62-thousand dollars.
Starbucks opened its first cafe in China in 1999. It has since added outlets in Beijing's imperial palace and even at the Great Wall.
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