Juneau Daily News Online

Monday,  February 11, 2002

Ice on cable causes wild ride on Eaglecrest lift
It was a wild ride for those on the Ptarmigan Lift at Eaglecrest yesterday morning.

Chairs were swinging wildly. A chair going up, hit one coming down and another hit a pole, according to an eyewitness account.

Ski Area Manager Paul Swanson blamed it on a thin coating of ice that encrusted the cable.

When that section of the cable came into contact with the bow wheel, it lost its friction, according to Swanson. He says that caused the cable to slow down while the bow wheel continued to operate at normal speed. The chairs started to bounce and swing, although there was no derailment.

Crews unloaded the lift. After checking the lift out, it was loaded again at a lower capacity until the ice melted off.

Swanson said this happened to him once before at another ski area, but adds that its very abnormal and very rare.

Knowles formally transmits tax bills to lawmakers
Governor Tony Knowles followed through on promises made in his State of the State Address last month and submitted legislation today calling for a state income tax and a cruise ship passenger head tax.

Knowles is proposing an income tax on Alaskans that would be 18 percent of the federal rate. He's also calling for a new cruise ship tax of 30 dollars per passenger.

Rather than introduce separate legislation, Knowles endorsed a plan by Anchorage Representative Lisa Murkowski to raise the alcohol tax to a dime a drink. The Governor's legislation raises about 400 (m) million dollars.

House State Affairs Committee Chair John Coghill says the Governor's proposals will be part of the mix when his panel starts conducting hearings next week on tax measures. The series of hearings expected to take two weeks is scheduled to begin next Tuesday, February 19th.

Appropriation measures highlight Juneau Assembly agenda
An ordinance up for action by the Juneau Assembly tonight appropriates federal funding of nearly $977,000 for modernizing police department equipment.

Some of the planned expenditures include the addition of a second 9-1-1 answering point at a fire station; teleconferencing equipment for video arraignment of prisoners between the Lemon Creek Correctional Facility and the Juneau Courthouse; computer system upgrades and refurbishment of the emergency communication system. No local match is required and the funds must be expended by the end of the year.

Another appropriation measure up for action calls for nearly $72,000 as partial funding for the Marine Park Traffic Circle Project.

A resolution on the agenda establishes an Ad Hoc Transit Advisory Committee to promote citizen participation in the design of the Downtown Transit Center and in preparation of a transit plan.

The Assembly will be asked to approve the contract for renovation of Bartlett Regional Hospital's Medical Arts Building. North Pacific Erectors is the low bidder at nearly $794,000.

Two ordinances up for introduction deal with Juneau's garbage bears. One amends current law to prohibit non-metal lids on dumpsters which have previously attracted bears. The other appropriates nearly $15,000 for a public education advertising campaign and bear trap construction materials.

Cocaine bust nets two arrests in Juneau
A man accused of distributing cocaine was arrested in Juneau last week. A release issued by State Troopers over the weekend disclosed that the bust came last Thursday after two search warrants were issued for a residence on Trafalgar Street in the Valley.

Arrested there was 21 year old Mark Nash of Juneau. He was charged with misconduct involving a controlled substance in the third degree for his alleged participation in the distribution of cocaine.

Another person, 21 year old Lesley Rostron of Haines, was also arrested for possession of cocaine. Other drugs and numerous smoking devices were found in the residence, according to State Troopers.

The bust was made by SEANET, the Southeast Alaska Narcotics Enforcement Team and SEACAD, the Southeast Alaska Cities against Drugs.

Woman's murder in Pilot Point under investigation
State Troopers are investigating a possible homicide in the village of Pilot Point in Southwest Alaska.

Troopers say 27-year-old Brenda Lee Kalmakoff was founded dead yesterday afternoon near the old airport. She was last seen at about 4 a-m yesterday morning.

Troopers are not saying how she died. Her body will be flown to Anchorage for an autopsy.

Craig murder case ends with killer drawing a half century in jail
A Craig man will serve 50 years in prison for killing another man with a splitting mall in September 2000.

Twenty-nine-year-old Clinton Baker was sentenced Friday to 75 years in prison with 25 years suspended. Baker in October pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for killing 46-year-old Michael Skrzynski.

Skrzynski was living with Baker and Baker's mother on a float house in Craig. Baker fled after the murder and was found four days later on a beach on Fish Egg Island just off Craig.

Craig is about 60 miles west of Ketchikan on the west side of Prince of Wales Island.

House approves flag resolution
The unanimous approval by the State House of a resolution calling on Congress to move to forbid the desecration of the U. S. flag was greeted by applause this morning from a group of veterans watching from the galleries.

House Joint Resolution was adopted 38 to zero and sent to the Senate.

Bills outlaw credit scoring in underwriting insurance
Bills introduced in the state legislature prohibit discrimination in insurance rates. Juneau Senator Kim Elton is the sponsor of the Senate measure. He says the legislation outlaws the use of credit scores in underwriting and rate setting for home and auto insurance.

He says credit scores have been used in Alaska since 1993. The industry claims there's a strong correlation between a consumer's credit score and the likelihood that the consumer will file a claim, but they won't explain why the correlation exists, according to Senator Elton.

Anchorage Representative Harry Crawford has introduced a like bill in the House.

Tongass federal court hearings set this week in Juneau
U. S District Court Judge James Singleton plans hearings in Juneau this week in advance of making a decision on a permanent injunction on logging in the Tongass National Forest.

Among other things, the Sierra Club charges in its lawsuit claims the Forest Service did not adequately evaluate roadless areas in the Southeast forest when it revised the Tongass Land Management Plan in 1997.

The judge issued a temporary injunction last Spring that lasted 53 days. Wrangell Representative Peggy Wilson said during today House Floor session that the court order virtually shut down the forest products industry.

She said the timber harvest in the Tongass last year was the lowest since 1942. And Wilson added that the prospect of a permanent injunction, as the result of this week's hearings are very real and will have a devastating effect on the fragile timber industry.

Chugach Forest plan held up
A congressional audit has delayed the release of the final Chugach National Forest management plan. The plan was expected to be rolled out last month. Federal officials now say it won't be released until at least March.

The plan will govern management of the Chugach for at least the next decade, regulating everything from where snowmachines can go to which lands can be developed. The draft management plan had called for setting aside nearly a third of the forest as wilderness, including much of the Copper River delta.

The Alaska congressional delegation has questioned whether the Forest Service can legally recommend that more land be set aside as wilderness. Senators Frank Murkowski and Ted Stevens and Congressman Dong Young say that violates the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act which put a limit on additional wilderness status for Alaska lands.

Three rescued after boat sinks near Kodiak
A U-S Coast Guard helicopter rescued three fishermen Saturday after their boat hit a rock and sank in the Gulf of Alaska.

Officials say the crew members were not injured. They told the Coast Guard that the boat hit a rock in bad weather and sank.

It took about a half hour for the Coast Guard to rescue the men after receiving the mayday call. The rescuers found the fishermen, who had donned survival suits and jumped from the sinking vessel, in the water and in the surf. They were lifted by basket to the helicopter. They were flown to Kodiak where they declined medical attention.

Quake recorded on Alaska Peninsula
A light earthquake struck this morning in the Alaska Peninsula area.

The Alaska Earthquake Information Center says the quake occurred at 10-18 a-m and had a preliminary magnitude of four-point-four. It was centered 62 miles southwest of Sand Point and was about six miles deep.

There have been no reports of injury or damage or reports that the earthquake was felt.

Yukon Quest officials report dog death
A dog has died on the Yukon Quest trail. Colorado musher Bill Pinkham lost his dog, Friendly, last night. The team was coming down Eagle Summit outside Central when Pinkham lost control of his sled and the dog became tangled in a line.

Meanwhile, Tok musher Peter Butteri is the first to reach the Circle checkpoint in the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race. The 40-year-old musher pulled into Circle 11-55 this morning. Other top mushers are closing in on the Circle checkpoint.

Alaskans compete at Olympic Games
Rachel Steer of Anchorage finished in 31st place today in the women's 15-kilometer biathlon event.

Steer finished the course with a time of 51 minutes 50 seconds and received two penalties. While Steer finished deep in the pack, she was first among the three Americans competing in the race.

Anchorage ski jumper Alan Alborn tied for eleventh place yesterday in the normal-hill ski jump.

Anchorage Police assisting at Olympics
Three Anchorage Police Department officers are helping insure safety at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Officers Bob Glen, Slav Markiewicz and Ken Cole are spending February in Salt Lake City. The officers are part of a team of more than two-thousand officers pulled from across the nation to provide security at the world games.

The Olympics opened on Friday. About 310 million dollars will be spent on security for the 25-hundred athletes from 84 nations and territories, as well as an estimated two million spectators and visitors.

Child Passenger Safety week noted by members of Safe Kids on Capital Chat
Members of the Safe Kid's Coalition were guests on KINY's Capital Chat this morning in connection with Child Passenger Safety week going on this week.

Karen Lawfer is the coalition's coordinator. She says a chief problem now is the correct installation of car seats. Another problem, according to Lawfer, is educating parents on the need to use booster seats after their children outgrow car seats.

Its recommended kids who are less than 80 pounds and 4 feet - 9 inches use the booster seat. Lawfer was joined on program by Tonya Richards. She said a recent nationwide study concluded kids who need to use the seats can be up to 11 eleven years old, and sometimes 12.

Lawfer says there is help in town. The Juneau Public Health Center will do car seat inspections and help install them free of charge. The number of arrange an appointment is 465-3353.

UAS professor to participate in forum on Holocaust
A University of Alaska Southeast Professor has been selected to participate in a forum in Washington, D.C.

That word from Chancellor John Pugh during his weekly program on KINY this morning. He said History Professor Robin Walls is one 20 professors nationwide who will participate in the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies. Walls teaches a course on the Holocaust.

Meanwhile, Pugh participated in Saturday's Polar Bear Plunge on the Auke Lake Campus. He says 41 faculty and students and about a dozen public members made the jump in to Auke Lake.

Seals topic of free lecture tonight
"Diving for Dinner" is the topic of a free lecture tonight at Centennial Hall.

University of Alaska Southeast assistant professor of biological science, Dr. Jennifer Burns, says she will describe the seals' tricks and strategies for finding food.

Her multimedia presentation will include slides of seals and sea lions and describe how they survive in Alaska's waters. The presentation is free and starts at 7 p.m. at Centennial Hall.

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