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Two Assembly
incumbents defeated in Juneau
Juneau voters tossed out two incumbent Assembly members as they cast ballots for
three seats in yesterday's election.
They also elected to new school board members and narrowly rejected a $15
Million bond proposition.
Planning Commission member Merrill Sanford, a retired fire chief, outpolled
incumbent Frankie Pillifant for the District 1 Assembly seat by about 500 votes.
Don Etheridge was the other incumbent to lose. He was outpolled by School Board
member Stan Ridgeway by nearly 800 votes in the District 2 race.
Etheridge was surprised by the outcome. He says he won't consider running again.
This was going to be his last term prior to his retirement.
Marc Wheeler won re-election to his areawide seat by a margin of nearly 800
votes. His opponent, Chuck Collins, was disappointed. Collins also lost to Jim
Powell last year and says he doesn't plan to run again.
Two elected to Juneau School Board,
another will be appointed
The top vote getter in the school board race was retired school administrator
Bob Van Slyke
Van Slyke gained 2,861 votes.
High school student Carl Brodersen claims the second seat up for grabs with
2,149 votes. There was a field of eight candidates for the two seats.
With Stan Ridgeway's election to the Assembly yesterday [Tuesday], the School
Board must now fill the vacancy his departure creates.
There were two School Board seats up for grabs on the ballot. They were claimed
by Bob Van Slyke and Carl Brodersen.
Julie Morris came in third in the field of eight and thinks she should be
appointed. She says she took the time and the money to become a candidate. She
thinks her appointment would be the right thing to do.
No word yet from School Board President Mary Becker on how the panel will
proceed. During an interview with KINY at election central last night, Ridgeway
agreed that Morris should be appointed.
A vacancy will also have to be filled on the Planning Commission with the
election of Merrill Sanford to the Assembly. Sica says the position would be
advertised for 30 days. The applications would be submitted to the Assembly
which makes the appointment.
Outstanding votes could swing vote on
Juneau bond
There were 1,074 ballots outstanding from Tuesday's election in Juneau that
could be thrown into the final count scheduled for Friday night.
Municipal Clerk Laurie Sica says 775 are questioned ballots. Absentees include
299 in-person ballots and 43 that are come in the mail. More may yet arrive in
the mail. Twenty six have been filed by fax machine.
There are also 39 special need ballots that were cast with the help of personal
representatives.
Right now the $15 Million bond proposition is being defeated by just 31 votes,
so that outcome could change. The second closest race is the 156 votes that
separates the second and third place school board candidates.
Election results will be certified by the Canvass Review Board next Tuesday
Unified Haines Borough conducts first
balloting
Haines residents marked the first election for the new Haines Borough, last
night, [Tuesday] by electing a mayor, a borough assembly and school board.
Forty percent of the borough's registered voters turned out yesterday.
In the race for Haines Borough Mayor, Mike Case received the most votes with
493. Jan Hill received 233 and Dave Black 150.
For Haines Assembly seat "A" Stephanie Scott was the top vote getter
with 510 votes.
Douglas Oleroud received the most votes for Assembly Seat "B" with
493.
The race Assembly for Seat "C" was a close one, with Richard
Kaloostian with 440 votes and Debra Schnabel with 428 votes.
For Assembly seat "D" Chip Lende took the seat with 425 votes.
Lucy Harrell was the top vote getter for Seat "E" with 437.
Jerry Lapp won Seat "F" with 519 votes.
Two of the seven school board seats were contested.
Judy Erekson outpolled Shirley Ward 434 to 404 in the Seat D race. For Seat
"E" Heather Lendee outpolled Scott Sunberg 536 to 318.
Also elected and running unopposed were Stacie Turner, Sarah Swinton, Brain
Clay, Gary Stigen, and Carol Kelly.
Jack and Gamble win Angoon council seats
The unofficial results of Angoon's Municipal election show Walter Jack, Sr., won
City Council Seat C with 114 votes. Daisy Meyers netted 53 votes.
Matilda Gamble received the most votes for City Council Seat D with 69. Alan
James received 53 votes, and Floyd M. Kookesh received 44 votes.
In the Angoon School Board Seat "A" race, Alvin Johnson was running
unopposed and received 116 votes
Hoonah elects mayor
The post of mayor was one of the offices on the Hoonah ballot.
Alf Windy Skaflestad was elected with 171 votes. Harry Sharclane received 139
and Albert W. Dick got 90 votes.
Dennis Gray was elected to the city council with 297 votes. Dave McLain received
227 and Johanna Dybdahl got 220.
Trailer accident slows morning traffic on
Egan Drive
An Alaska Marine Line truck lost its trailer before eight this morning just
beyond the Salmon Creek intersection in the outbound lane of Egan Drive.
We talked to Police Sergeant Ben Cornell from the scene. He said a fork lift was
called in to get the trailer off the roadway. The roadway reopened before nine
o'clock.
Cornell says it appears the accident was caused by a mechanical failure, but the
investigation is continuing. No one was injured in the incident.
The LeConte pinch hitting for Kennicott
The LeConte is making the run for the Kennicott on the Alaska Marine Highway
between Ketchikan and Prince Rupert.
The Kennicott was delayed Monday by heavy fog in Wrangell Narrows and further
delayed yesterday [Tuesday] in Ketchikan when it went an unscheduled repair.
That involved replacing bearings in one of its generators.
The Kennicott sailed northbound to Juneau and Haines at 3 yesterday (Tuesday)
afternoon about 12 hours behind its published schedule.
Its leaving Juneau this morning at nine and arrives in Haines at 1:30. It
departs Haines an hour and 15 minutes later and gets back to Juneau at 7:15. The
Kennecott will depart Juneau for Ketchikan at 8:30 this evening.
In the meantime, the Le Conte will make two round trips between Ketchikan and
Prince Rupert today through Friday.
Prescription drugs task force releases
report
A panel appointed by Governor Knowles to delve into the rising costs of
prescription drugs released its report today (Wednesday).
The group recommends Alaska begin subsidizing the cost of prescription drugs to
Medicaid recipients.
The 27-page report offers no estimate on the cost for such a program, but
encourages the Legislature to take up its recommendations.
The task force report says 34 other states offer pharmaceutical assistance to
the elderly and those with disabilities.
The panel's report says pharmaceutical costs rose 25 to 27 percent last year for
Alaskans receiving Medicaid. Much of the cost was attributed to shipping.
The report also says the state should look to private foundations for help and
use cost controls such as preferred drug lists and co-payments.
Anchorage Senator Bettye Davis has sponsored prescription drug legislation in
the past. Davis stressed that the task force report is just the beginning. She
says there's a lot of work to be done and most of it will have to be done by the
Legislature.
Davis says, in particular, she wants to address the problems faced by Alaska's
senior citizens. She says many are using money to purchase prescription drugs
that they should be using to buy food and other items they need.
Harbor question approved in Unalaska
Unalaska voters have passed an advisory measure to build a new boat harbor. The
measure was approved by a vote 320 to 147.
City officials have pushed for the new dock, saying it was needed to address a
shortage of local dock space. They hope it will help develop a local, small boat
fleet.
Unalaska is the home base for the Bering Sea fishing fleet, but most of the
fishermen are non-residents.
The proposed dock would go on a peninsula known as Little South America.
Opponents would rather see a different site developed or see existing dock space
expanded.
© Alaska Juneau Communications - KINY Radio News)