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Tulsequah
Mine developers drop road plan...now propose river barge
A Canadian based company trying to re-open the Tulsequah
Chief Mine has abandoned the road access plan and is now
proposing to use a barge to ship mineral concentrate,
equipment and supplies to and from the mine.
Redfern Resources Limited, a subsidiary of
Vancouver-based Redcorp Ventures, wants to reopen the
dormant mine located in British Colombia along the
Tulsequah River 13 miles upstream of the Taku River, 40
miles northeast of Juneau.
The Taku River crosses into Alaska from Canada and flows
into Taku Inlet 10 miles south of Juneau.
Redfern today (Monday) announced the results of a
feasibility study on the Tulsequah Chief mine.
The study recommends using the Taku River as the primary
access and transportation route, eliminating the need
for the construction of a 100 mile long access road from
Atlin, BC, and the trucking of mineral concentrates.
Under the proposed plan, an air cushion barge would be
towed by an amphibious tug, operating year-round on the
Taku River.
Juneau would be the shipping hub for equipment and
supplies.
When the mine is operating, an air cushion barge would
also be used to haul the mineral concentrate from the
mine to Juneau where it would be transferred to a
commercial ocean barge for shipment to Skagway.
From there it would be loaded onto a ship for transport
overseas.
Meanwhile ,the Tulsequah Chief Mine is the subject of a
lawsuit filed against the Canadian Federal government by
environmental groups.
The legal action is mounted by Sierra Legal on behalf of
the Transboundary Watershed Alliance.
The groups maintain that the Canadian federal government
did an inadequate job of protecting both wildlife and
wild salmon in its assessment of the mine.
Goldbelt
Declares Dividend for Shareholders
The Board of Directors of Goldbelt, Incorporated,
Juneau's Urban Village Native Corporation, has announced
it will pay a dividend to its shareholders.
The last
dividend was paid out in 1999.
At it's regular monthly Board meeting held on Saturday,
the Board approved a resolution to pay a dividend of
$1.25 per share to its 3200 shareholders.
For the shareholder who owns 100 shares, that amounts to
$125.
The dividend checks will be mailed out in early
February.
Goldbelt President and CEO J. Gary Droubay says that the
company's income has increased substantially in the last
two years from government contracts that its 8(a)
companies have with branches of the Federal Government.
In Juneau, Goldbelt owns and operates the Mt Roberts
Tram, the Goldbelt Hotel, Goldbelt Security Services,
and the Seadrome dock facility.
Governor's
jet back on eBay
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The state's controversial
corporate jet is slated to be posted back on Internet
auction site eBay this evening (Monday).
It's the fourth attempt to unload the Westwind Two,
which has sat virtually unused since former Governor
Frank Murkowski left office last month.
The third attempt ended Friday evening with the highest
bid at slightly more than one-point-seven million
dollars.
The offers are getting worse.
The second round of bidding ended earlier this month at
just over two million dollars. The state wants about
two-and-a-half million dollars for the jet.
The 23-year-old jet cost the state about two-point-seven
million dollars.
---
But Murkowski bought it against the wishes of many
political leaders, and it became a high-profile campaign
issue during his bid for a second term.
Governor Palin -- who trounced Murkowski in the primary
-- vowed never to use the jet, a promise she has kept.
Murkowski was the last to use the jet. Last month, in
the waning days of being in office, he flew to Texas.
Cruise
line pays large fine, restitution in whale's death
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Princess Cruise Lines was
sentenced today (Monday) for failing to operate one of
its ships in a slow, safe manner near Glacier Bay
National Park where a humpback whale was found dead of
massive skull fractures.
The body of the 45-foot, pregnant humpback whale was
found floating in Icy Strait near the mouth of Glacier
Bay in Southeast Alaska in mid-July 2001.
Humpback whales are an endangered species.
Princess has not acknowledged hitting the whale. But it
has agreed to pay a maximum 200-thousand-dollar fine,
plus 550-thousand dollars in restitution to the National
Park Foundation, with the funds specifically dedicated
to Glacier Bay National Park conservation efforts.
The company paid the money today.
The company pleaded guilty to knowingly failing to
operate the cruise ship at a slow, safe speed while near
two whales on July 12th, 2001.
The dead whale was found four days later near the area
where the Dawn Princess had been traveling.
Five
Finger Lighthouse to be depicted on postage stamp
The Juneau Lighthouse Association is planning a
fundraiser later this week in advance of Five Finger
Lighthouse making it on to a postage stamp.
The association's Jennifer Klein says they have received
the official word from the United States Postal Service.
She says they would like to arrange a celebration in
Juneau in conjunction with the local stamp club.
Five Finger will represent Alaska in a series of five
Pacific lighthouses. There will also be lighthouses from
Oregon, Washington, California, and Hawaii depicted in
the series.
Its expected out in June or July, although Klein says
they haven't been given the exact date yet.
She says they received an e-mail one day asking if they
could send a photo the lighthouse since the post office
was thinking of putting it on a stamp.
The promotion of a celebration to mark the event is one
of the areas for which they are fundraising.
They also need funds for operating expenses and to
continue matching a grant.
A Beer and BBQ fundraiser is planned Friday evening at
the Red Dog Saloon from 5 to 7 p.m. Tickets are $25.
There will be a silent auction and Klein says Taxi
Tokens will be available.
Communities
struggle to meet deadline for coastal plans
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Coastal communities may have more
time to revise their plans for managing development
along their coastlines.
A bill that extends the existing Alaska Coastal Zone
Management Program by six months moved out of the Senate
Resources Committee today (Monday).
The overhaul of the program started in 2003. Former
Governor Murkowski say overlapping authorities were
causing permitting delays in coastal development.
The revision took place over the protests of local
communities who said it gutted their role in approving
development projects.
The deadline has been extended two times already. State
officials say six months should be enough time for most
of the 28 communities in the program to finish their
plans.
Woman
arrested on felony theft charge
A former employee of the Association of Alaska School
Boards has been arrested and charged with felony theft.
Police were called by a woman late Friday afternoon to
report she suspected 52 year old Latonnie Jeane
Barlow of Juneau had stolen over $91,000 from the
association.
Lieutenant Kris Sell says Barlow was arrested shortly
after eight that evening.
Barlow was charged with theft in the first degree. The
class "B" felony is punishable by up to ten
years in jail and a fine of up to $100,000.
Child
molester who once lived in Juneau gets life in prison
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - A California man described as
one of the nation's most prolific child molesters has
been sentenced to 150 years in prison.
Dean Schwartzmiller has been convicted of sexual
assaults in several states over 30 years. Today's
(Mondays) sentence handed down in San Jose involves two
12-year-old boys.
The 64-year-old Schwartzmiller acted as his own attorney
during his October trial. He told jurors that he was
innocent and maligned by a society that doesn't accept
men who love boys.
Investigators found a memoir describing abuse, binders
full of child pornography and 15-hundred notebook pages
with lists and ratings of boys.
He has a record of arrests for child molestation in New
York, Idaho, Oregon, Arkansas and Washington.
He didn't register as a sex offender, so he didn't
appear in state databanks.
Schwartzmiller's criminal record appears to date back to
1970 when he was convicted in Juneau of lewd and
lascivious conduct with three teen boys.
Impound
lot appropriation highlights Assembly agenda
An appropriation ordinance calling for the purchase of a
city owned lot adjacent to the Lemon Creek Correctional
Center for use as an impound lot is before the Assembly
tonight.
The $470,000 would fund its design and construction and
replace the current lot on leased airport property.
City
Manager Rod Swope says there have been problems with
security there and the airport would like to use the
property for other purposes.
Swope says the Lemon Creek location is ideal since
there's built in security that will be provided by the
prison.
The project includes the construction of a bridge across
Lemon Creek to provide access to the impound lot. It
will also provide access to CBJ property.
Swope says
there's approximately 100,000 acres that contains gravel
material. In addition, he says there are good potential
uses for the property.
An ordinance up for action would allow for reduced
property tax assessments and tax refunds for property
losses as the result of a disaster, such as a
fire.
Swope says that issue came up because of the neighboring
house that was destroyed in the Holy Trinity Church
fire.
The owner wondered why he had to pay property tax for
the full year when his home was destroyed in March.
There's nothing in CBJ code that allows that to be done
now. But Swope says there's a state law that allows
local governments to make such adjustments.
In
addition to amending city code, the measure also
specifically gives the owner of the home adjacent to
Holy Trinity tax relief.
The ordinance also specifically gives the owner of the
home adjacent to Holy Trinity tax relief.
The CBJ clerk would be authorized to conduct elections
by mail under terms of a measure up for action tonight.
Other communities in Alaska and the State of Alaska have
used the by-mail election method with success, according
to CBJ Clerk Laurie Sica.
There's another appropriation ordinance that would
provide $15,000 in state money as partial funding for a
covered playground at Dzantik’i Heeni Middle School.
Swope says the money falls well short of being able to
fully fund the project but will get it started.
Two resolutions on the agenda take up Parks and
Recreation Advisory Committee recommendations for the
naming of two park areas.
One names the False Outer Point Beach access as the
"Paul Emerson Park."
Emerson, who died in June of 2004 at the age of 84, was
an avid hiker and trail conservationist.
The other
resolution names the former Tonsgard property adjacent
to the Boy Scout Trailhead the "Gelsinger Homestead
Park.
It would be named after Chester Gelsinger who donated
six acres of the property to the Forest Service
for public use when the road was extended to the area in
the 1930s.
The
Assembly meeting gets underway at 7 p.m. in Assembly
Chambers at City Hall.
Emergency
shelter bid award up for Assembly action
The Assembly tonight [Monday] is expected to award a bid
for the purchase of emergency shelters.
The shelters will be purchased with a Homeland Security
Department grant of $563,814. Staff is
recommending the bid go to Western Shelter Systems.
Michael Patterson, CBJ's Disaster Plan Manager,
says the comprehensive shelter systems will be utilized
throughout Southeast Alaska for emergency incident
disaster response.
He says it's an ongoing effort to strengthen Southeast
Alaska as a region and get inter-community cooperation.
The comprehensive shelter systems will be utilized
throughout Southeast Alaska for emergency incident
disaster response.
The shelters will be pre-staged in Juneau, Ketchikan,
Sitka, Haines/Skagway, Petersburg/ Wrangell, and Klawock
for use anywhere in Southeast.
The shelters can be used as an incident command center,
mass casualty triage, medical isolation or even health
and safety fairs.
The shelters could all be connected together in a single
56-bed hospital with isolation capabilities if needed.
Each shelter is self contained in regards to heating,
cooling, and electricity, can be moved anywhere in
Southeast Alaska by single-engine aircraft and set up by
four people without the use of specialized equipment or
tools.
The program is sponsored by the Southeast Alaska
Metropolitan Medical Response System Steering Committee.
Grant
submitted to replace Safety House
Capital City Fire Rescue is looking to replace the
Safety House built in the 1980s by fire department
volunteers.
The Safety House has been taken to area schools over the
years to teach students about fire danger in homes.
Fire Marshal Rich Etheridge said on Capital Chat this
morning that they submitted a grant for $85,000 to
replace the existing unit.
He says they'll find out if they get the grant within
the next six months.
The new house will include the latest technology, all
the latest "bells and whistles," according to
the fire marshal.
"Overly
ambitious" eagle the cause of power outage
There was a power outage from the Salmon Creek area on
out to the end of the road Sunday morning.
Gayle Wood of Alaska Electric Light and Power says the
power went out at 9:44 and was restored to all customers
at 10:28.
She says it was a transmission outage caused by an
"overly ambitious eagle", as she put it.
They determined that the eagle was carrying a deer head
found at the nearby landfill when it tried to clear
their transmission lines inside the utility's yard. It
landed in the middle of the transmission system.
No damage
was done to the system, but she says the eagle met
its demise.
Wood says a customer called early on which allowed them
to pinpoint the location of the problem. The caller told
the utility that a loud boom was heard in the area.
Services
Tuesday for Casper soldier killed in Iraq
CASPER, Wyo. (AP) - Services have been scheduled for
tomorrow (Tuesday) morning for a Casper, Wyoming,
paratrooper who was killed two weeks ago in Iraq.
Specialist Jason J. Corbett was on patrol on January
15th in Karmah when the unit came under small-arms fire.
He died from his injuries.
Corbett was assigned to the 4th Airborne Brigade Combat
Team, 25th Infantry Division, at Alaska's Fort
Richardson.
He graduated from Casper's Kelly Walsh High School in
2001, and his mother says he was proud to serve his
country in the Army.
Governor Dave Freudenthal (FREE'-den-thawl) is scheduled
to attend the funeral at First Christian Church in
Casper.
New JPD
assistant chief sworn in
Juneau's new assistant police chief was sworn in during
a ceremony this ( Monday) morning.
Page W. Decker was hired to replace Tom Porter who
retired late last year.
Decker started his career in policing in 1970 with the
City of Scottsdale, Arizona. He worked there for 26
years rising to the rank of captain.
He became the police chief in Ashland, Wisconsin in
1996.
Decker most recently worked with the Arizona Department
of Transportation.
He's a 1994 graduate of the Northwestern University
School of Police Staff and Command and holds a BA degree
from the University of Phoenix.
Another
fake police officer arrested in Anchorage
For the second time in a week, Anchorage Police arrested
a man accused of committing a crime while pretending to
be a cop.
41-year old Robert I. Hoffman is charged with robbery,
assault, and impersonating an officer.
Police say he accompanied his niece, 26-year old Tacie
Hoffman, on Wednesday morning when she went to pay back
a debt she owed to some acquaintances.
The victims say Tacie Hoffman paid back the money, but
that the man who was with her forced them at gunpoint to
get on the floor. He claimed to be a police officer, but
refused to show a badge.
As the man attempted to handcuff the couple, the male
victim fought him and tumbled down a flight of stairs,
resulting in minor injuries.
Tacie Hoffman allegedly stole the victim's purse and ran
away. Police have a warrant for her arrest.
Robert Hoffman was arrested on Friday.
A few days earlier, anchorage police arrested a man
charged with sexually assaulting several women that he
lured into his car disguised as a cop.
(KENI - Anchorage)
Good Samaritans
scare off pair trying to grab teen
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Alaska State Troopers say some
good Samaritans scared off two men who tried to grab a
teenage girl in Wasilla.
Troopers say the 17-year-old girl was walking on Old
Matanuska Road on Friday night when the men approached
her in a dirty, older, white extended-cab pickup truck.
According to troopers, another vehicle arrived and
scared the men away.
The people in the vehicle then took the girl to safety.
(Anchorage Daily News)
Boy's death
revives questions about young snowmachine drivers
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Joshua Smith was eight years
old when he crashed while driving an adult-sized
snowmachine earlier this month at Lake Louise.
The accident occurred January 14. The little boy died
the next day.
There are no state laws prohibiting children from
driving snowmachines.
Five years ago, legislators exempted four-wheelers and
snowmachines from a law requiring drivers of any
motorized vehicle to be at least 16 years old.
Martha Moore at the Alaska Trauma Registry says between
1999 and 2003, children up to age 15 sustained an
average of 22 snowmachine-related injuries a year.
Nearly 14 percent of the injuries occurred in the
Matanuska-Susitna area, making the rate of injuries to
youths there 38 percent higher than the statewide rate.
(Anchorage Daily News)
Scandinavian
consortium agrees to pursue possible gas pipeline
OSLO, Norway (AP) - A Scandinavian consortium has agreed
to pursue a project to build a 500-mile pipeline to
bring North Sea natural gas to eastern Norway, Sweden
and Denmark.
The Norwegian company, Gassco A-S made the announcement
today (Monday).
The state-owned gas transport company says it has signed
agreements with 16 companies to join a project for the
possible one-point-14 billion dollar pipeline.
Norway is the world's third largest natural gas
exporter, but its vast fields are all off its western
coast.
The pipeline would bring gas to the east of the country,
as well as western Sweden and Denmark.
A final decision on the pipeline is expected in 2009,
which could lead to flows starting in 2012.
Crimson Bears
men and women sweep competition
The Juneau Douglas Crimson Bears' men swept the number
one ranked Dimond Lynx basketball team over the
weekend.
The Bears
escaped with a narrow 59 to 57 victory Saturday.
Friday's score was 56 to 45.
The Lady
Bears' hoops squad defeated the Service Cougars
twice this weekend. Saturday's score was 51 to 43.
That followed Friday night's 45 to 33 victory.
The men
are in the Fairbanks area this week. They
play West Valley Thursday; North Pole Friday; and
Lathrop Saturday.
The women
participate in the Dimond Tournament in Anchorage
Thursday through Saturday.
Georgia
governor to testify on child health insurance
ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia governor Sonny Perdue will travel
to Washington later this week to tell Congress about a
shortfall in federal funding for children's health
insurance.
The shortfall is affecting 17 states, including Alaska.
Perdue says a glitch in the funding formula has meant
that the states are running out of money while one
billion dollars in state Children's Health Insurance
Program money remains unspent.
That is enough to cover the shortfalls in all 17 states,
he said.
Perdue will testify before the U-S Senate Finance
Committee on Thursday.
Indian
tribes oppose NIGC bid to change some gaming machines
ATMORE, Ala. (AP) - The National Indian Gaming
Commission is proposing to change electronic gaming
rules.
And Indian tribal leaders in at least 10 states fear the
move could cause hundreds of millions of losses in
annual revenues and hundreds of jobs.
With advances in technology, the N-I-G-C says the line
between Class Two games, such as bingo, and Class Three
games, such as Vegas-style slot machines, has blurred.
The commission, joined by the Justice Department, has
proposed new standards for Class Two games that are
widely used in Indian gaming centers.
Tribal leaders contend the change would cause bingo
games to be less entertaining because they'd be played
at half the current pace.
Tribes without a viable alternative to Class Two
machines would have to adopt lower revenue-generating
machines that comply with the proposed changes.
These tribes include all of those with Class Two
machines in Alabama, Alaska, Minnesota, Montana,
Nebraska, New York, Texas, South Dakota, Washington and
Wisconsin, and the one tribe with Class II-only facility
in California.
N-I-G-C official Shawn Pensoneau said he did not have a
date for a final ruling on the proposed change.
Wyoming
committee clears anti-hazing bill
Cheyenne, Wyo. (AP) - Alaska would be among just five
states without a hazing law if lawmakers in Wyoming pass
a bill that would prohibit hazing by organizations in
schools and at college.
The bill could clear Wyoming's state house this week and
head to the senate.
The bill passed second reading in the House on Friday.
Under the bill, hazing that doesn't cause serious
injuries would be misdemeanor punishable by up to six
months in prison and a 750-dollar fine.
Hazing causing serious injury or death would be a felony
punishable by up to ten years in prison and a
ten-thousand-dollar fine.
Beside Alaska and Wyoming, states without a hazing law
are Hawaii, South Dakota, Montana and New Mexico.
U.N.
agency: World tourism sets record in 2006
MADRID, Spain (AP) - Despite fears of terrorism, bird
flu and rising oil prices, the U-N's tourism watchdog
says world tourism set a record last year.
The World Tourism Organization says a total of 842
million international tourist arrivals were recorded, an
increase of about four-and-a-half percent.
Africa posted the biggest growth rate at more than eight
percent, in part because of its natural resources and
the impression that it's not as likely to be attacked by
terrorists.
The region with the weakest growth was the Americas,
with just two percent. The agency said that was due
mainly to stagnation in arrivals in North America.
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