Juneau Daily News Online

Wednesday,  January 16, 2002

Body of Skagway Air pilot recovered
A recovery team has made it to the crash site of a Skagway Air Cherokee Six near Haines and retrieved the pilot's body. That word coming from State Troopers early this afternoon.

The recovery team left for the crash site three miles east of Haines in a boat at 7:30 this morning. They climbed about 200 feet up a mountainside to the wreckage and brought the body back to Haines.

State Troopers says the body will be flow to Anchorage for an autopsy to confirm positive identification. He was identified by Skagway Air yesterday as 39 year old Joel Mathis of Skagway.

Recovery efforts were hampered yesterday afternoon by bad weather, poor visibility and the difficult terrain. National Transportation Safety Board Investigator Scott Erickson says he's awaiting for an assessment from the recovery team on whether its possible to conduct an investigation at the rugged site, before deciding to travel to Juneau.

The plane took off at 8:15 a.m. yesterday for the short flight between Skagway and Haines. A signal from the distress beacon was picked up at 8:22 by the Juneau Flight Service Station. The crash site is about three miles directly east of Haines about 200 feet up a mountainside.

Preliminary budget work on tap tonight by Assembly Finance
The Assembly Finance Committee hears preliminary projections on the city's next two year budget cycle this evening. Committee Chair Jim Powell says they will hear staff reports on department budget costs and revenue projections.

The committee will also take a look at implementing a "missions and measures" budgeting process at the local level, similar to the legislature.

The panel will consider a resolution establishing an ad-hoc committee to study the feasibility of holding the 2006 Arctic Winter Games in Juneau.

The committee meets from 5 until 7 in the Assembly Chambers.

Chase of prisoner ends at A-E-L & P building
For most of us police chases are restricted to our television viewing, but employees in the Alaska Electric, Light and Power building in the Lemon Creek area got to see something of the real thing yesterday afternoon.

Sergeant David Campell says police received a call at about 1 p.m. from the State Probation Office requesting assistance with 21 year old William Ratliff.

He escaped from authorities as he was being remanded from the Glacier Manor Halfway House to the Lemon Creek Correctional Center on a probation violation. Arriving officers spotted Ratliff running across Glacier Highway toward Tonsgard Court. At that point he ran into the A-E-L and P building. Workers directed police to the second floor where he was found and placed under arrest.

Utility employees said the man was bleeding when he entered the building as the result of a run in with a barbed wire fence as he was trying to elude police.

Ratliff was charged with Resisting Arrest and Criminal Mischief and successful transported to Lemon Creek where he was jailed.

Community Schools exploring free or lower bus fare for youth
Free or reduced city bus fares for youth in Juneau is now being explored by the Community Schools Advisory Council as a way to increase their participation in activities being provided for them.

Community Schools Supervisor Joyce Kitka was among the guests on KINY's Capital Chat this morning. She says the committee is looking for funding sources to help offset the cost. The bus fare for youth is currently one dollar for each trip. Kitka says they are researching Juneau's bus fares for youth and how they compare to other locations. For example, they found out that the monthly bus fare in Juneau is $18 compared to $10 in Anchorage.

Board member Jim Douglas said the bus fare is a barrier to getting youth participation in programs. Elizabeth Williams, the Director of the Boys and Girls Club in Juneau, is not opposed to a reduced, rather than free fare. She would like to see it be free eventually, but is willing to start with a reduced fare in order to see how it works.

Kitka says they have sent a survey to organizations serving youth to see if they would be interested in helping to subsidize bus fares for youth.

She they'll share their research with the Assembly at its January 28th meeting. She feels Assembly deliberations on the matter will come down to a philosophical view on how taxpayer's dollars are spent.

State of State and veto override session scheduled this evening
Governor Knowles delivers his last State of the State Address tonight. He's expected to call on lawmakers to approve a long-range fiscal plan that would impose 400 million in new taxes each year for three years.

The governor is asking for 179-point-nine million in new spending in this year's budget. Knowles says all of it is essential to state government. Senate President Rick Halford says he objects to raising state spending when the state faces a billion-dollar deficit.

In the meantime, Halford says lawmakers will conduct a veto override session prior to the Governor's speech. He expects lawmakers will take up as many as a half dozen bills that were rejected by Knowles following adjournment of last year's session.

The joint session will convene at six and the Governor will begin his address an hour later.

King citation adopted by State Senate
During its session this morning, the State Senate approved a citation commemorating Martin Luther King, Junior Day.

The birthday of the civil rights leader was yesterday. The national holiday will be observed Monday.

Anchorage Senator Bettye Davis thanked lawmakers during her comments and said she would deliver the citation to the ceremonies honoring Doctor King that will take place this weekend in Anchorage.

Planning Commission to take up Fred Meyer proposal for gas station
Juneau's Fred Meyer store expects to begin selling gasoline this summer. The company has already added gas stations to its stores in Fairbanks, Kenai and Anchorage. The Juneau Planning Commission has set a hearing date for January 22nd on the proposal.

University Fairbanks campus gains accreditation renewal
The University of Alaska Fairbanks has been reaccredited by the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges. The re-accreditation is the final step in a lengthy review process that began more than two years ago.

Jets scrambled in Portland, Oregon, in response to threat
The pilot of a small plane who reportedly made a threat has been questioned by a terrorism task force in Portland, Oregon.

An area airport worker says the man threatened to fly into ``one of the tallest buildings'' in the city before taking off yesterday afternoon. The reported threat resulted in two F-15 fighter jets scrambling to patrol the skies over downtown Portland. The jets were in the air for nearly 90 minutes but did not find the plane.

The F-A-A says the pilot is being questioned, but officials haven't released his name. It's not clear why it took so long for authorities to locate the vintage plane. They say it's so old, it might not even have a radio.

The small airport where the plane took off from is uncontrolled, and the pilot wasn't required to file a flight plan if he didn't plan to fly into airspace with heavy traffic.

Gray whale birth rate reported down
Gray whales migrating south along the California coast have fewer calves in tow this year. Biologists estimate that only 260 calves were born last year to the 26,000 whales that migrate between the Bering Strait and Mexico's Baja Peninsula.

Grant money available for Cooper Valley communities
The Copper Valley Resource Conservation and Development Agency is getting a 110-thousand-dollar grant from the Department of Agriculture. The federal grant is for resource and economic development in the region.

The money is intended to help the 22 communities in the Copper River valley with planning to manage and control growth. It also is intended to find and access drinking water, and plan for waste management.

                                                          ©  Alaska Juneau Communications - KINY Radio News)