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Taplin trial moved to Ketchikan
Pre-trial publicity prevented seating an impartial jury
The judge overseeing the trial of Joel Taplin has moved the proceeding from Juneau to Ketchikan. The 27 year old Taplin is on trial for manslaughter in connection with the death of Dick Carlson last July 21. The 59 year old biologist was killed when a car allegedly operated by Taplin struck him on Back Loop Road near the university campus. At the time of his arrest, police alleged Taplin was drunk. The school teacher from Massachusetts was attending the Bread Loaf School of Literature on the Auke Bay Campus at the time of the incident. Defense Attorney Tom Nave tells KINY News that Judge Patricia Collins (right) determined that pre-trial publicity prevented the selection of a jury in Juneau. Inaccuracies in published reports of the case were cited as a reason. Jury selection is now underway in Ketchikan.
The President of BP Alaska Exploration defended the charter agreement with the State of Alaska on its proposed merger with Arco during testimony in the state capital this morning. Richard Campbelltelling the Special Joint Committee on Mergers said the agreement will lead to lower costs and more investment, production, jobs and state revenue for a longer period of time. Antitrust experts hired by the Legislature told the committee yesterday that the revised deal struck between Governor Knowles and the company still would not restore the competition lost in the company's proposed takeover of Arco. Governor Knowles called on lawmakers
during his State of the State Address last week to support the deal.
Petroleum prices surged today to their highest levels since the Gulf War, raising concerns about worsening inflation and a possible threat to the economies of poor, oil-importing nations. Prices for US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude continued to rally, trading at $29.17 a barrel, up 32 cents.
The Juneau School Board denied both applications for a new charter school at last night's meeting. A motion to take up the applications died for lack of a second. There was no discussion. Representatives of both school groups say they were disappointed that the members of the school board offered no public explanation of their action. The applications were submitted by the Montessoriprogram and a group advocating a charter school focusing on Alaska Native studies with an emphasis on the Tlingit language. Board Member Carolyn Spalding (left) says a Montessori program already exists in the school district and thanks to a $400,000 grant provided by Sealaska, a Native Studies Tlingit language immersion program will get started next fall. Still in the planning stages, the program would be for children in kindergarten and first grade. Twenty students could enroll the first year, 40 the second year. Board President Stan Ridgeway cited the school districts' budget crunch as a reason the applications were denied.
The Alaska State Board of Education has approved a new Native language education endorsement program for public school teachers. Educators completing the program at the University of Alaska will be certified to teach in a second language classroom. Patrick Marlow, Alaska Native Language Center assistant professor, says the program places Native language education on equal footing with foreign language instruction. The program also will increase teacher sensitivity to bilingual and multi-cultural students, according to Marlow.
Juneau Police collared a suspected burglar overnight. The suspect was first noticed by police just before 1:00 this morning behind the Chevy dealership in the Lemon Creek area. An officer identified him at that time, according to Sergeant Tom Wanus, who said that same officer noticed a vehicle with property from Construction Machinery in it a short time later. The suspect, 23 year old Bill James, was found hiding in a nearby wooded area. He was arrested on charges of Burglary in the Second Degree. Other charges are pending. James was jailed at the Lemon Creek Correctional Center.
An autopsy has determined that a Ketchikan man, found dead Friday, died of a single gunshot wound to the head. Forty-eight-year-old Jose Mateu was found dead at his home after he failed to report for work. State Troopers are now investigating the case as a homicide.
Community Cable Access Juneau, a non-profit group, has formed to promote public access television in Juneau. Kim Metcalfe-Helmar, CCAJ board president, announced this week that the board of directors (right) has successfully worked with with General Communications, Inc. (GCI) to secure a public access time slot on cable channel 2. "GCI has agreed to set aside the hours of 5:00pm until 9:00pm daily for public access television production," Metcalfe-Helmar said. The CCAJ board consists of members of the community with interests in different areas of media and communications. Board members include Kim Metcalfe-Helmar, Tom Wagner, Cathy Carney, Bob Starbard, Cathy Munoz, Barbara Cadiente-Nelson, M’Iva Rickey, Mark Badger, and Milt Barker. Public access television has had some success in Juneau, according to Cathy Carney, CCAJ board member. "Tony Armlin of Ringer Graphics and Video introduced cable access television to Juneau when he broadcast assembly and school board meetings to the pubic," Carney said. Carney has worked with Armlin, producing "VladivosTalk," a program about the efforts of residents of Juneau and its sister city in Russia, Vladivostok. Armlin recently produced a series of candidate forums for the Juneau League of Women Voters, and has produced a series of interviews called "Chicken Ridge Chat" with Metcalfe-Helmar and her brother, Mac Metcalfe.
The director of the US Census Bureau, Kenneth Prewitt, will be in the western Alaska village of Unalakleet tomorrow to kick off the new census count. Lieutenant Governor Fran Ulmer is going along with Prewitt who will be among those knocking on doors in the Eskimo village of 800 on Norton sound. Prewitt explains Alaska is getting a head start on the census because its rural residents often go hunting and fishing in the spring and are difficult to find. Census officials in Anchorage also say transportation to the villages is difficult in spring as ice breaks up on the rivers. The Census Bureau is hoping for a better response from Alaskans than it got 10 years ago, when the state had the distinction of having the worst census form return rate in the nation. The census begins in most of the United States on April 1st.
The National Weather Service issued a "freezing precipitation advisory" for the Juneau and Douglas areas and other portions of the region this morning. Forecaster Brian Besnick says the light snow or freezing drizzle is expected to continue through 5:00pm.
The National Senior Service Corps in Juneau is recruiting peer counselors. Ellen Northup (left), an Older Worker Specialist for the Corps, said on KINY's Capital Chat this morning that eligible candidates can qualify for a stipend depending on their income. She says the stipend can amount to $200 for 20 hours a month. Six training sessions are planned for prospective counselors beginning on Friday, January 28. For more information on the program and the upcoming training call 790-3613. Northup will address the noontime luncheon meeting of the Mt. Juneau Chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons tomorrow at the Northern Light Church Fellowship Hall.
An initiative launched by the administration of Governor Tony Knowles and spearheaded by First Lady Susan Knowles gets underway this evening in Juneau. The Governor's "Millennium Lecture Series - A Conversation Among Alaskans" is part of the administration's Alaska 2000 Program, according to the First Lady. The kickoff lecture features the arts and cultures of Alaska. The speaker is William Strickland, Junior, who Knowles says has enjoyed incredible success in reaching at risk children through art. The program begins at 7:00pm at Centennial Hall.
By Kevin Reeves, Eagle Eye Journal
Welcome to the world of the Chilkat Snowburners, a cold-loving, thrill-seeking group of men and women in the Chilkat Valley whose one focal point of the year -- the Alcan 200 -- will give them the opportunity to go head-to-head with kindred spirits in the last road race in North America. With thehighway closed to regular traffic from 42 mile to Dezadeash, Yukon Territory, the racers will open ‘er up on Saturday, January 22nd, at 10:00am and push both themselves and their mechanical counterparts to the limit. Race Director Pete Lapham said that for the best overall time there will be prizes for the first three—$1,000, $500, and $250, respectively. The weekend starts off with the Calcutta Auction on Friday, January 21st where the drivers sign up for both the main race and the oval races. Saturday is the main race and on Sunday the oval races start at 1:00pm at 25-mile Haines Highway. For more information about signing up call 766-2503. (At right, the 1999 Alcan 200 oval races at 33 mile Haines Highway. Photo by Darlene Walton)
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