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Juneau Daily News Online

Friday, January 15, 1999  © Alaska Juneau Communications - KINY Radio News

Shake-up at Personnel Division
  Director retires, manager resigns
State Personnel Director Bev Reaume has retired and one of her top aides has resigned. Administration Commissioner Bob Poe says Elaine Williams, the division's Employee Acquisition Manager, was the subject of an ethics investigation. The probe concluded that public funds were used to help a professional association which was not work related. Poe says Williams reimbursed the state and resigned. Our sources indicated the matter was also the subject of an investigation by the Attorney General. When asked if Reaume was scrutinized in that investigation, the Commissioner said any decisions relating to the director were a matter of personnel records which are confidential. He called the ethics investigation an open matter which is available to the public. Reaume informed Poe following her return from vacation in recent days that she planned to retire and move to Washington with her husband, Juneau School Board member David Reaume. Poe will now start the process of finding a new personnel director. The most recent developments verify a story ran by News of the North last month indicating Reaume would resign her position.

Another move bill is filed A second legislator wants to stay closer to home for legislative sessions, and he's filed a bill that would let him do that. Republican Representative Joe Green of Anchorage (right) pre-filed a bill that would move the Legislature to the state's largest city starting in two years. Republican Representative Vic Kohring of Wasilla has filed an almost identical bill. His measure specifically calls for convening the legislature in the new state office building in Anchorage while Green's simply designates Alaska's largest city.

Mesdag arraigned, pleads not guilty
Gilles Mesdag entered a plea of not guilty to sexual assault during his arraignment in Juneau Superior Court this morning. The 47 year old fire department lieutenant was placed under arrest by police on December 26th. That came after a relative of the victim reported that the alleged assault occurred within a couple of days before Christmas. Juneau District Attorney Rick Svobodny said Judge Larry Weeks set trial for April 5.

Firefighters meeting termed "positive"
Juneau firefighters want a five-year master plan for Capital City Fire and Rescue. That was the number one priority to come out of last night's brainstorming session of fire department volunteers and paid staff. More than 50 firefighters and paid staff gathered at Centennial Hall for the three hour meeting. In addition to the master plan, dispatching was another major concern. There were complaints that the current system is too slow. The concerns were the subject of an Assembly meeting in November. Volunteers were seeking input then into the city's plan to consolidate the department. Last night's meeting was the result, and it showed more common concerns than differences among the five districts, their volunteers and career staff. City manager Dave Palmer, who called the meeting "positive," says the goals are common policies and standards throughout the department. The firefighters came up with 15 goals for the department and came away from the meeting with the general sense that their concerns were heard. As one volunteer said, this was communication from the bottom-up for a change, not the top down.

Worms invade local subdivision
Hundreds of what are described as small, brown worms showed up this week in the front yards of residences in Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority's subdivision in the Thunder Mountain area. The authority's fiscal officer, Ed Phillips, says they are now trying to determine if the worms pose a health threat and what, if anything, should be done about them. Jim Douglas of the Cooperative Extension Service said the pest is the larval stage of an insect that was probably blown in to the subdivision by recent storm winds. He has sent samples to Oregon State University and the Forest Service lab in Anchorage for identification and expects results within two weeks.

GPS paying off for airline
Alaska Airlines' use of the Global Positioning Navigation System to enhance air travel to Alaska's Capital City is starting to pay off. That comment from Alaska's Vice President of Flight Operations Mike Swanigan (right) on KINY's Capital Chat today. He said more flights than they ever thought possible got into Juneau over the holidays during marginal weather. He said there only four of their fleet of thirty-seven 737-400's that still need to be equipped with the new technology. Three more 737-400's that will be delivered soon and the new generation 737-700's scheduled for delivery later this year from Boeing will also be G-P-S equipped. The other part of the equation is pilot training, according to Swanigan. Sixty percent of the 252 captains and 48 percent of the 235 first officers are checked out on the new gear so far. Forty eight new captains and the same number of first officers will be added this year. He says they're able to train 36 pilots or 18 crews each month.

Jobless rate hit record low last year
Alaska's unemployment rate in 1998 smashed the previous record low by nearly a full percentage point. The rate for the year stood at 5-point-8 percent. The previous record low was 6- point-7 percent established in 1989. The rate for last month was 5-point-9 percent, up from November's 5-point-4 percent, but it still made December the twelfth consecutive month of record low unemployment. Juneau's rate held steady at 5-point-2- percent. Over eight hundred Juneau residents were unemployed last month compared to just over 11-hundred in December of '97. The unemployment rate for the Haines Borough climbed four percent to 12-point-2 percent in December. But that's down from the 13-point-9 percent recorded in December of 1997. The rate for the area including Skagway, Hoonah and Angoon increased one percent to 6-point-5 percent which is lower than the December '97 rate of 9-point-9 percent. Full text of press release and table of regions available here.

Oates takes command of Guard
Former Alaska Command Chief of Staff Colonel Phil Oates took over as the head of Alaska's National Guard and Commissioner of Military and Veterans Affairs during a change of command ceremony at Fort Richardson yesterday. He replaces Major General Jake Lestenkoff who retired.

Mecum named fisheries chief
Doug Mecum is the new director of the Fish and Game Department's commercial fisheries division. The 15 year department employee served as regional management coordinator for Southeast until his promotion to deputy director last month. He's also been serving as acting director since then and named by the Governor as the permanent director yesterday to take the place of Bob Clasby who retired.

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