Juneau Daily News Online

Friday,  January 18, 2002

No one injured in trailer home fire
Capital City Fire and Rescue were called to a trailer fire in Switzer Creek early Friday afternoon. Captain Beth Weldon says when they arrived on scene at trailer 115, there was heavy smoke showing and fire was coming out of the kitchen window. Firefighters encountered heavy flames in the kitchen area which they knocked down. Weldon says there was heavy smoke damage throughout the structure. The trailer is considered a total loss. No one was injured in the blaze. The fire originated in the kitchen and cause of the fire is under investigation.

Heliport study undergoes second public hearing
Testimony at last night's public hearing on the city's Alternative Heliport Study generally fell along the lines of "not in my neighborhood."

The study's top recommendation north of town is an area beyond Montana Creek. South of town is Dupont. And a third alternative is an area near Sheep Creek.

Becky Carson, who lives near Fritz Cove, told the Assembly Planning and Policy Committee that moving noise from one neighborhood to another is no solution to the problem. Thane Road resident Laura Smoker says creating heliports in the preferred alternatives still leaves local residents affected by noise levels or other impacts in terms of development and changes to road and recreation uses.

Bob Englebrecht operates Northstar Trekking, the smallest of the area's helicopter companies. He told the committee that the concept of one or two satellite heliports has merit and suggested that the small rock dump and the airport be considered as alternatives.

In his opinion, the Montana Creek site development and access has cost problems associated with it. He said the site also faces operational and logistical challenges.

Englebrecht said Dupont is going to take a great deal of time and money to develop and cited residents concerns about extending Thane Road and the impact of increased traffic.

And he said the Sheep Creek site could be operational relatively quickly, but a major problem is that it's not beyond all the residential areas.

The deadline for submitting comments on the city's Alternative Heliport Study is January 25th.

December records lowest unemployment for month
Alaska's unemployment went up slightly last month, but the rate was the lowest ever for a December, according to Alaska Labor Department Economist Dan Robinson.

It stood at 5 point 8 percent. That's higher than the 5 point 6 recorded in November, but lower than last year's 6 point 1 percent. Robinson credits a slight increase in the number of jobs with no corresponding layoffs. Eighteen thousand, 649 Alaskans were unemployed last month.

Juneau's rate was 4 point 7 percent in December, up from 4 point three percent in November and the 4 point 6 recorded last year. Robinson says its an expected seasonal increase. He says 772 Capital City residents were unemployed last month.

The Skagway, Angoon and Hoonah census area had a big jump from 10 point 8 percent in November to 12 point 1 percent last month. That's up from 11 point 9 percent in December 2000.

There was also a big jump in Haines with the rate jumping from November's 10 point 6 to 12 point 3 in December, up from the previous year's 11 point 5 percent.

The Prince of Wales Island rate jumped from 8 percent in November to 12 point 2 percent last month. The rate in December 2000 was 11 point 8 percent.

Fishing boat sinks near Kodiak
Three men are safe after their commercial fishing boat sank near Kodiak. Coast Guard officials say the 52-foot Meridian began taking on water at about 3-30 yesterday afternoon. They were rescued by another fishing boat in the area. No one was injured.

A Coast Guard helicopter arrived on the scene shortly after 4 p-m. The helicopter crew reported seeing a light fuel sheen on the water where the boat sank, between Marmot and Afognak bays.

The Meridian was participating in the crab fishery. The cause of the sinking is under investigation by the Coast Guard.

Disabled crabber towed from ice sheet in Bering Sea
The Coast Guard Cutter Mellon responded to the disabled crabber Aleutian Rover. It was drifting in the Bering Sea dangerously close to the ice sheet. Petty Officer Douglas Green in the Juneau Command Center says they determined the vessel was about 20 miles away from the ice. The cutter took the boat in tow and was relieved by a commercial tug out of Dutch Harbor this morning.

Registration up at UAS
Preliminary registration numbers for the Spring Semester at the Auke Lake campus of the University of Alaska Southeast are in, according to school official Scott Foster. He says that after the end of the fourth day of classes, full-time enrollment is up about three percent over last year. There are 553 full-time students now compared to 527 at the same time last year.

There's also a slight increase over part-time students this year. There is 1,297 currently compared to 1,263 last year.

Smooth operations reported at airports despite new screening rules
New baggage screening rules that went into effect today apparently aren't hampering operations at Juneau's Airport.

Patty DeLaBruere of the Airport Manager's Office says she checked with Alaska Airlines' officials who said the process was going smoothly. But she says the airline recommends passengers check-in two hours in advance. She said lines were no longer than normal.

And its pretty much business as usual today for travelers at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.
Apparently travelers anticipated long delays and arrived early at Anchorage's airport. That caused a bit of a backup at the security gate early this morning. But travelers were reporting no delays by mid-morning.

The new screening rules require all bags to either be checked for explosives or linked to a passenger who has actually boarded the plane.

Canada receives filing for gas line from North Slope
A Houston-based company has applied to Canadian authorities for approval of its proposal to ship North Slope natural gas along a northern route that bypasses Interior Alaska. Arctic Resources Company, through its Canadian affiliate, filed a ``preliminary information package'' with the National Energy Board of Canada on Wednesday.

Alaska gets "C" on number of felons with guns
A report from a gun safety group says more than a hundred Alaska felons managed to acquire handguns in violation of federal law. But some law enforcement officials say the report may overstate the problem in Alaska.

The Americans for Gun Safety Foundation, says almost 10-thousand people around the country who should have been barred from buying guns were able to do so because of gaps in automation of criminal records.

The group says 173 Alaska felons were able to buy guns. The group says Alaska is doing better than most states. Alaska got a grade of 'C', while 22 states got failing grades.

But Ken Bischoff of the Alaska Department of Public Safety says those numbers are overstated. And Donald Gillispie, resident agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in Alaska says many Alaskans initially flagged for wrongly purchasing guns have had their convictions set aside under state law, restoring their right to own a gun.

Book tour fostering understanding of Middle Eastern cultures ends tonight
A book tour and a week of raising awareness of Middle Eastern cultures concludes Friday with a dinner and dance.

Bonnie Toland, who grew up in Juneau and now lives in Boston, has written a manuscript entitled "Come and See That I am Beautiful." It's a collection of children's sayings and photographs of the West Bank, Gaza, Egypt and Israel. She said they thought that through the book and tonight's event people could learn about who Palestinians are as people.

Lina Haramy is from Jerusalem and is attending University in Virginia. She's making outreach trips as part of her masters thesis. Tonight she'll be teaching Arabic, preparing Palestinian cuisine and leading dancing to Palestinian music.

Tonight's dinner starts a 6 o'clock at McPhetres Hall. Tickets for are $10 for adults and $5 for students and covers the cost of food and the women's plane tickets.

Night skiing starts at Eaglecrest
Juneau's Eaglecrest Ski area begins night skiing this evening. Lighted trails accessed by the Hooter chair lift and the Platter beginner's area will be available for skiing and snowboarding from 4 until 9. The tubing area will also be open tonight and from 10 to 4 tomorrow and Sunday.

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