State revives aerial wolf control program
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The state's aerial wolf control program was reinstated today (Thursday).

It was more than a week after a judge ruled program illegal.

The Superior Court ruling had said the state failed to follow its own rules when authorizing the program.

To revive the program, the state Board of Game filed rewritten regulations with the lieutenant governor's office for its five aerial wolf control areas.

Animal rights groups may return to court to argue that the process of rewriting the rules was illegal.

The aerial wolf control program is intended to boost moose and caribou populations in five areas of the state.

About 400 wolves have been killed so far under the program.

Pilot of Ketchikan plane was a retired Marine pilot
The man killed in the crash of a small jet in Ketchikan Wednesday afternoon was a retired Marine pilot.

According to the Associated Press a Ketchikan city official says the man is Stephen Freeman of California. A friend of Freeman's says Freeman was 32 years old, lived in San Diego, and was married with two young children.

He was still strapped to his seat about a hundred yards from where the Czech-made L-39 went down  at about 1 p.m. Wednesday.

Witnesses saw the pilot ejected at treetop level.  The pilot was the only on board the two-seater craft.  

The plane crashed into a mobile home park at the north end of town.

It hit a mobile home, triggering a fire, but no one was inside the trailer at the time.

Ketchikan Assistant City Manager David Martin says five people on the ground received minor injuries from flying debris.

Bob Kern of KFMJ Radio talked to Chris Coleman who was in a trailer in the court where the plane crashed. He says they heard two loud explosions and felt major concussions and ran outside.

That's when they saw the trailer that was on fire.  Coleman  said he pulled two kids from the trailer through a window one had kicked out.

The plane is reportedly owned by USA, Inc, a company located in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The company repossessed the plane and Freeman was flying it from Anchorage.

NTSB on scene investigation Ketchikan jet crash
NTSB Investigator Scott Erickson arrived in Ketchikan Wednesday night. 

Jim LaBelle is the regional director for the National Transportation Safety Board. He says they are just starting the on scene investigation.

He says Erickson has done a preliminary, on-site investigation. There's some concern with the safety of the wreckage. He says they're making sure the two ejection seats are de-armed and are safe before the investigation continues.

There's an indication the man's parachute did not deploy. LaBelle says that's preliminary information and  haven't had a chance to corroborate, but they are also hearing the same thing.

LaBelle says they understand the aircraft left Anchorage on Tuesday and flew to Sitka. Its believed the pilot was enroute to Seattle when the crash occurred.

Permanent Fund trustees consider investment in natural gas pipeline
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - State officials have asked Alaska Permanent fund trustees to consider investing in a possible North Slope natural gas pipeline.

Revenue Commissioner Bill Corbus says he wants Permanent Fund officials to become familiar with the ins and outs of the pipeline and whatever role they might play in financing it.

Corbus' request was first reported by The Alaska Budget Report, an independent newsletter covering state government.

Permanent Fund Executive Director Mike Burns recommended to trustees in a January 17 letter that the corporation find a financial adviser to evaluate a pipeline investment.

Governor Murkowski has proposed the state own up to 20 percent of a gas pipeline. The cost of the pipeline has been estimated between 20 billion and 25 billion dollars.
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That would put the state's share between 4 billion and 5 billion dollars.

Negotiations between the state and B-P, ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil on fiscal terms for building a pipeline have gone on for more than a year. A fiscal contract is an important step in making the pipeline a reality, but is just one of several steps.

2005 proves profitable for Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines reports it turned a profit in 2005.

It reported income of $84 point 5 Million.

That compares to a loss of $15 point 3 Million in 2004.

The company reported a $33 Million loss in the fourth quarter compared to $44 point 9 Million in the same quarter in 2004.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bill Ayer commented in a company release.

He says that sacrifices by their employees, strong revenue performance, and the benefit of their fuel hedging program enabled Alaska to be one of only a couple of major airlines to post a significant adjusted profit for 2005. 

Smith sentenced to 85 years in prison
Ronald Smith, found guilty of murder for the second time for the January 2000 robbery that left Kenneth Ike Thomas dead, was sentenced Wednesday in Juneau Superior Court.

Judge Larry Weeks sentenced Smith to 50 years for murder in the second degree, 20 years for robbery in the first degree, and 15 years for assault in the first degree.

Alaska Senior Attorney Richard Svobodny says none of the time was suspended and all the prison time will run consecutively.

Svobodny says Judge Weeks essentially sentenced Smith to 85 years in prison.

Smith, 39, along with Rey Soto robbed and beat Thomas with a baseball bat and severely injured his brother, Alfred Torres.

The robbery netted Smith and Soto $30 dollars and six grams of marijuana.

Soto has already been convicted. As a result of a plea agreement Soto is serving 30 years in prison

The Alaska Court of Appeals overturned Smith's first conviction in December 2003 finding testimony about a shotgun Smith allegedly carried was not properly admitted.

Feds launch plan to cut recreational offerings at nation's largest forest
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Federal officials are working on a plan to trim costs of recreational cabins and other sites at the Tongass National Forest.

The U-S Forest Service launched the five-year plan to meet maintenance budget shortfalls at the 17 million Tongass -- the country's largest national forest.

Officials are looking at possible options, including shutting as many as 45 public-use cabins in the Southeast Alaska forest.

But officials stress the public will be involved in the process.

They're holding a series of community workshops to look for ideas that could lead to fewer closures.

Other possible options include enlisting volunteers to help with maintenance, increasing user fees and farming out some remote, low-use properties to community groups or commercial operators.

Opening arguments heard in matricide trial
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Opening arguments got underway Wednesday in the case of a Craig teenager accused of conspiring to kill her mother in 2004.

Seventeen-year-old Rachelle Waterman is charged with conspiring with 25-year-olds Brian Radel and Jason Arrant to kill her mother and make it look like a drunk-driving accident.

According to prosecutors, Rachelle Waterman asked Radel and Arrant to kill her mother then tried to create a false alibi for Arrant. She is charged with first-degree murder and six other charges.

Radel and Arrant pleaded guilty to first-degree murder last year and are expected to testify in the trial.

Defense attorney Steven Wells told jurors that Rachelle Waterman was a model student who rebelled like most teenagers do. He says Rachelle chafed at the restrictions her mother placed on her and said her life would be better if she didn't have those restrictions.

Wells says her big mistake was telling that to Arrant, who was obsessed with her and saw her mother as keeping them apart.

The trial is expected to last three weeks.

Man charged in Seward Highway fatal faces additional charges
DATELINE (AP) - Troopers say a Homer man charged in a fatal highway crash in September was arrested on a separate charge of driving impaired in November.

Twenty-year-old Nick Thurmond pleaded NOT guilty Monday to second-degree murder in the deaths September 25th of Lawrence and Sue Kosko of Monroeville, Pennsylvania.

Prosecutors say he was high on drugs when his pickup truck crossed the centerline of the Seward Highway near Girdwood and crashed into the Kosko's rental car.

Troopers waited for toxicology reports to return before charging him.

Troopers say that on November 14th, an officer stopped Thurmond near Ninilchik.

Troopers say his truck had been swerving and it slid into an oncoming lane.

Thurmond was charged with driving under the influence.
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Troopers say they recovered three drug pipes with marijuana and methamphetamine residue on them, plus a loaded handgun.

Thurmond is also charged with misconduct involving a controlled substance and weapons misconduct in the second incident.

Skiers flock to Eaglecrest
The Eaglecrest Ski Area in Juneau opened  at nine this  morning. (Thursday)

The ski area's Barbara Lindh estimated they had close to a thousand skiers there this morning.

The  Platter, Hooter, and Ptarmigan chair lifts are operating.  Some of the trails off of the Ptarmigan lift are closed for avalanche control and may open later in the day.

The city owned ski area will also be open this Friday through Monday.

The ski area's goal for the tubing hill  is to have it open next weekend, a  week from Saturday.

Tourist complaints among Docks and Harbors agenda items
 The Docks and Harbors Board holds its regularly scheduled meeting tonight. [Thursday]

Items up for action include proposed amendments to the waterfront sales permit program regulations to address tour complaints.

Port Director John Stone says it's largely in response to complaints that are sent to the Juneau Convention and Visitor's Bureau every summer from cruise passengers.

The passengers complain that the tour they thought they were buying, is not the tour they ended up with.

Stone says the complaint usually centers on getting dropped off at a location, for example the Glacier, and then not having a way to get back to town.

Stone says there's been an increasing number of those kinds of situations.

He say the proposed regulation amendment would give city officials the ability to investigate those complaints and if, necessary, take enforcement actions including removing an operators permit.

That's the old ferry office downtown.

The proposed amendment will be out for public comment for one month.

Also on tonight's agenda is a request to the Assembly to appropriate 50,000 dollars of Port Maintenance Funds to remodel the cruise ship terminal visitor center.  that's the old ferry office downtown.

Additional space would be used by the U. S.  Customs Service and reconfiguring the Juneau Convection and Visitors Bureau space.

Stone says over the last two years, the Customs Service has been required to do more work with the large cruise ship vessels that arrive in Juneau from foreign ports.

The Marine Engineers Beneficial Association employee labor contact goes before the board for ratification tonight.

The contract will also have to be approved by the Assembly.

Stone says it essentially mirrors the contract that the Assembly agreed to for most of the CBJ employees earlier in the year.

The meeting begins at 7p.m. in Assembly Chambers at City Hall.

Playground design day is today
The design plans for a new playground on sixth-tenths of an acre at Twin Lakes are starting to take shape.

A designer from New York based Leathers Associates, John Dean, will be in Juneau  today (Thursday) to meet with several of the schools to get some of the design ideas from the kids. His company has designed playgrounds all over the country, including Haines and Girdwood.

Becky Iverson is one of the organizers of Project Playground.

She says Dean won't be able to visit all the schools in one day so in the  morning he's going to meet with a group of parents from Project Playground's Steering Committee to train them as apprentice designers.  They will then go out to the schools that Dean is not able to visit to gather ideas.

The group will meet late  today and combine the ideas. During a  celebration this evening at Harborview Elementary School, the consultant will unveil the proposed design plan.

Iverson says the plan is not set in stone. It could be adjusted to accommodate Juneau's weather.

Project Playground is in the process of raising the $200,000 needed to building the new playground.

Iverson says Leathers Associates has designed playgrounds all over the country, including Haines and Girdwood.

The public is invited to the design unveiling  which is scheduled at 6-30 this  evening at Harborview.

Project Playground is in the process of raising the $200,000 needed to building the new playground.

Iverson says they hope to build the new Twin Lakes playground this fall or next spring.

Sell and Wilson promoted to lieutenants by Juneau Police
Juneau Police Department Sergeants Troy Wilson and Kris Sell will be officially promoted to Lieutenant at a ceremony scheduled for Friday.

Captain Tom Porter says Sergeant Sell's promotion will mark a first for the department. She's the first woman to rise to the rank of lieutenant in the departments' history.

Sell joined the Juneau Police Department in August of 1997. She's currently assigned as a patrol team supervisor. Previous assignments include Patrol Division.

After completing a police management course in Texas, Sell will be assigned to the Operations Division.

Wilson joined the Juneau Police Department in September of 1994.

He's currently assigned as the Supervisor for the Investigations Unit. Previous assignments include the Patrol Division and the Community Services Unit.

Wilson will assume command of the Public Safety Communications Unit following completion of a police management course in Texas.

Friday's ceremony will be held in the training room at police headquarters at 2 p.m.

The public is invited to attend.

Fort Richardson is now home to a new detachment
FORT RICHARDSON, Alaska (AP) - Fort Richardson is now home to a new detachment.

Twenty-three soldiers arrived in December from Korea to begin duties as a parachute rigging company unit. The unit will support U-S Army Alaska's three brigades.

The remaining soldiers in the 77-person detachment will be reporting from other locations within the next several months.

The new unit specializes in rigging personnel and equipment for transport on aircraft, or for dropping it from aircraft by parachute.

The unit will provide rigging support for the entire theater of operations in the Pacific.

New Mat-Su medical center slated to open Friday
WASILLA, Alaska (AP) - The Matanuska-Susitna Borough is getting a new hospital.

The Mat-Su Regional Medical Center is slated to open Friday. It replaces the 54-year-old Valley Hospital in Palmer.

The more than 100 (M) million dollar hospital features potentially lifesaving medical services, such as the new cardiac catheter laboratory to unblock clogged arteries.

The best that the old Valley Hospital could do was to offer heart attack victims an anti-clotting drug and a quick trip to Anchorage.

By this fall, the Anchorage Radiation Therapy Center plans to open a branch in the medical building next to the hospital. That will relieve cancer patients of the burden of driving to Anchorage for treatment.

Four drop from field of Iditarod
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The field for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is shrinking slightly.

Four mushers on Monday withdrew from the race from Anchorage to Nome.

That leaves a field of 94 with less than 40 days remaining until the start.

The race begins March 4.

Two Alaskans dropped out. One is Dean Osmar of Clam Gulch, the 19-84 champion.

The other is Frank Sihler of Wasilla, who finished 39th in 2004.

Wisconsin musher Ben Stamm and Italian Dodo Perri also withdrew.

Mushers have until noon Friday to withdraw and receive their full 15-hundred dollar refund.
(Anchorage Daily News)

Ryznar joins Gomez on NHL's New Jersey Devils
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - There's another Alaskan in the National Hockey League.

Jason Ryznar of Anchorage was called up to the big leagues Monday by the New Jersey Devils, the same team that employs fellow Anchorage skater Scott Gomez.

Ryznar made his N-H-L debut Tuesday night.

The 22-year-old left wing played 12 shifts in a 4-0 road win against the New York Islanders.

Ryznar had been playing in New York for the Albany River Rats of the American Hockey League.

Ryznar skated for Service High School and the Alaska All Stars Competition program.

He spent two seasons in U-S-A Hockey's National Team Development Program based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

He played four seasons at the University of Michigan.
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The Devils selected the six-foot-three, 210-pounder in the third round of the 2002 draft.

Ryznar says his call-up was a surprise because he never skated in pre-season games with the Devils and has never even practiced with them.

In 41 games with Albany, Ryznar scored four goals and 14 assists.

The Devils called him up to fill in for veteran wing Grant Marshall, who has a pinched nerve in his neck.
(Anchorage Daily News) 

Super gamble on T-shirts pays off
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The Seattle Seahawks dominance of the Carolina Panthers last Sunday helped make a gamble pay off for a company with Alaska ties.

Polar Graphics USA -- which has roots in Anchorage -- prints shirts for National Football League supplier Reebok.

During Sunday's playoff game, Gordon Godfred watched the Seahawks take a 20-point lead, then gave the word to start printing Super Bowl T-shirts.

He says drivers from the company's Kent, Washington plant rushed five-thousand commemorative shirts to the stadium by the end of the game and they quickly sold out.

Polar Graphics is a division of Anchorage-based Arctic Circle Enterprises.

The company was started by Godfred's father in Spenard in 19-53.

Godfred expanded to Kent eight years ago.
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He says his business would have eaten a big loss on its stocks of extra ink and packaging if Seattle had lost the game.

Godfred says orders continue to be brisk and will stay busy if the Seahawks win the Super Bowl a week from Sunday.

Godfred says Reebok has told him to prepare to print up to a half-million shirts.
(Anchorage Daily News)