|
 Juneau boy undergoes long awaited bone marrow transplant
There's good news to report on six year old Alex Cesar of Juneau from Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle.
The boy stricken by leukemia received a bone marrow transplant Monday night.
His aunt, Andrea Quinto says it ended at about two a.m. on Alaska Day. She says it took about 5 or six hours. Alex was playing video games with his cousin, Andrea's son, while it was going on.
He had two perfect matches. The one used in the transplant was from a 28 year old man.
She says the donor remains anonymous for a full year. So they don't know the donor's name or where he's from.
The donor sent Alex a gift and a card with a note.
Quinto says there's only a thirty percent chance of finding a match.
The boy's family organized a drive last summer for bone-marrow donors in several cities and villages in Southeast Alaska. More than a thousand people gave blood samples to be tested for genetic markers.
Alex will now remain in isolation for 30 days. He'll have to stay in the hospital for another two months after that period of time. He'll received outpatient care for another three months.
Quinto says people can stay abreast of his condition by going to
www.status.com
She says to click on "Visit patient" and enter the pass word again The pass word is "Cesar" then "Alex 99801."
Second Katrina family
arrives Wednesday, man shows up on his own
LaTroy and Donnyel Burras and their one month old daughter, Kayla arrive in their new home of Juneau tomorrow afternoon. (Wednesday)
The family chased out of New Orleans and a small town in Mississippi by Hurricane Katrina arrived on Alaska Airlines Flight 75.
They were in a hotel room in Longview, Texas, when they decided to relocate to Juneau with the help of Love Inc.
Their flight is scheduled to land at about two p.m. Wednesday.
A church family has donated a downtown apartment for their use.
The couple has a one month old baby girl, Kayla.
Timothy and Fritzie Williams and their two young boys arrived here first from Biloxi, Mississippi.
Eley says they're doing well and settling right in.
The coalition of 20 Juneau churches is also helping another person.
Eley says Todd Chandler showed up in Juneau on his own.
He already has a job and an apartment, but are providing assistance to him as he makes his transition.
Chandler, who lived in the French Quarter of New Orleans is working for the Gastineau Humane Society.
Anchorage police officer
arrested on child porn charges
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - A 12-year veteran of the Anchorage Police
Department was arraigned today on four felony counts involving child
pornography - becoming the second city police officer in the last
four months to face such charges.
Authorities say Officer Bryan Herrera admitted to owning hundreds of
photographs and videos of child pornography, including images stored
on the laptop computer in his patrol car.
Pictures and videos discovered in Herrera's home included children
as young as a year old performing sexual acts.
Investigators also found Herrera had set up a hidden camera in the
bedroom of a 16-year-old relative who was visiting the family.
Herrera was arrested today on three counts of possession of child
pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography.
Charging documents say police began investigating Herrera last week
off a tip from a daycare provider.
Police say the 42-year-old Herrera is being held on 100-thousand
dollar bail at the Anchorage Jail.
He is scheduled for a pre-indictment hearing on Thursday.
Herrera, a married father of four, had been assigned to the warrants
section as an adult prisoner transport officer. He has been placed
on paid administrative leave.
In June, police officer Sammy Cohen was charged with 21 counts in
connection with sexually abusing an underage girl and stashing child
pornography on his home computer.
New Juneau School Board meets tonight
The new Juneau School Board meets for the first time tonight. (Tuesday)
Sean O'Brien and Margo Waring were elected to the two seats up for grabs during the October 4th election.
After they are sworn in, officers will be elected and the member chosen as president will assign committee chairs.
Board President Mary Becker told us on election night that she is not campaigning for a fifth term a president.
Becker will be the president of the Association of Alaska School Boards next year, but says she would serve again as board president if requested by members. But, she adds, she's not campaigning for the job.
O'Brien and Waring are replacing Bob Van Slyke and Rhonda Befort on the panel. Van Slyke and Befort opted against re-election.
Tonight's board meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the high school library.
New Assembly meets next Monday
The new Assembly meets for the first time next week.
Its scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, October 24.
CBJ Clerk Laurie Sica says there will be a swearing in ceremony for new members and they'll be saying tanks to departing members.
Leaving will be Marc Wheeler and Stan Ridgeway.
Joining the body are Jonathan Anderson and Bob Doll.
Coming back for another term will be Merrill Sanford.
Alaska
governor fights National Park Service on Glacier Bay traffic
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The National Park Service says the number of
boats allowed to enter Glacier Bay next year will remain 139 while
more studies are done on the effects of the traffic on wildlife.
Governor Frank Murkowski criticized the decision not to boost the
number of cruise ships in Alaska's second most popular tourist
destination. He says he will ask Interior Secretary Gail Norton to
overturn the decision when he meets with her next month.
Marcia Blaszak (BLAY'zak), the National Park Service regional
director for Alaska, says she shares Murkowski's goal of increasing
the number of visitors to the area. But, she says, it must be done
responsibly and using the best science available.
Blaszak says the park should still see a 16 percent tourist increase
next year. That's because 12 smaller boats will be replaced by
cruise ships. And in 2007, 14 more boats will be allowed in Glacier
Bay.
Murkowski says that's not enough, and not soon enough. He wants two
a day, or 184 boats for the entire season, plus he wants state-run
ferries to be allowed to cruise the bay.
Murkowski says the Park Service has been studying the issue for 20
years and that scientific evidence shows the park can handle an
increase in traffic.
New mixing zone regulations proposed
The State Department of Environmental Conservation is starting over on mixing zone rules.
There was a public outcry over last year's proposal to lift the ban on flushings from mines, power companies and seafood processing or sewer treatment plants into rivers and streams where fish spawn.
Deputy Commissioner Dan Easton says they're convinced that a new regulation will be better public policy.
Under the new proposal, the
industry could seek exemptions to the rule.
The new mixing zone plan is available for public comment through December 19th.
Senate committee to consider ANWR bill, filibuster question
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) - A U-S Senate committee will consider language designed to bypass a Senate filibuster of oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Critics say the language before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee tomorrow (Wednesday) improperly nullifies laws designed to protect the refuge.
Drilling supporters say the provisions are standard procedure and necessary.
The committee released its draft proposal Friday. It would authorize the secretary of the Interior to sell oil leases on A-N-W-R's one-point-five (M) million-acre coastal plain.
The committee is expected to forward some version of the language to the Senate Budget Committee, to be included in a ``reconciliation'' bill.
Such are intended to reconcile existing federal laws with requirements of the federal budget outline approved by Congress last spring.
The budget calls for two-and-a-half (B) billion dollars in federal revenue from A-N-W-R leasing. Current law, passed in 1980, prohibits any sales.
Reconciliation bills are not subject to filibuster and may pass the Senate on a simple majority vote.
---
Information from: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner,
http://www.newsminer.com
Tillery to head up State Law Department's Civil Division
Craig Tillery is the new Deputy Attorney General for the State of Alaska overseeing the civil division.
Tillery has worked for the Department of Law for 17 years and most recently served as the statewide section chief of the environmental section.
He replaces Scott
Nordstrand who was appointed by the Governor as commissioner of the Department of Administration.
Rural prosecution team to be formed by state with federal grant
The state Department of Law will use funds awarded in a federal grant to fund a rural prosecution team.
Department official Mark Morones says the funding will allow the state to attack alcohol-induced crimes before and after the fact by helping the rural offices
He says alcohol is a root cause of many violent crimes in rural Alaska.
In 1997, 100 percent of defendants committing homicides in Western Alaska had consumed alcohol.
Alcohol was also a factor in 66 percent of felony assaults, 62 percent of misdemeanor assaults, 54 percent of sexual assaults, 48 percent of offenses against minors, and 21 percent of sexual abuse cases involving minors.
The two million dollar grant was awarded by the Department of Justice and will fund the rural prosecution team for three years.
Morones says the team will consist of three prosecutors, one victim-witness paralegal, and one law office assistant.
Tlingit Haida to pursue resolution on federal funding at AFN
Tlingit Haida Central Council President Ed Thomas is attending the Alaska Federation of Natives Conference in Fairbanks.
Thomas says they will seek a resolution to be sent to Alaska Senator Ted Stevens that seeks to reserve funding for human services programs.
Thomas says they're concerned about talk in Congress of a recessions bill that would sweep out all unspent balances in major agencies.
While they don't have a big problem with that, Thomas says they want to make sure they don't get hit hard by major budget reductions later on.
The convention started Monday with mainly ceremonial events. The business part of the convention begins tomorrow. (Wednesday)
Injured fisherman transported to Anchorage
The Coast Guard picked up an injured fishermen from the Excellence in the Bering Sea yesterday afternoon. (Monday).
Petty Officer Doug Green in the Juneau Command Center says a helicopter hoisted the 30 year old woman aboard and took her to St. George where she was transferred to a C-130 which took her to Anchorage.
The C-130 accompanied the helicopter to the area about 140 miles north, northwest of St. Paul Island. The hoist operation was in doubt for awhile due to inclement weather in the area.
The Coast Guard initially said the woman's feet were severed when she got stuck in an auger. It amended that statement later to say her feet were partially severed.
Her identity has not been released.
The vessel radioed for help a few minutes before ten Sunday night when it was 265 miles north northwest of St Paul Island
Records indicate the Excellence is homeported in Anchorage.
Second plaintiff joins sex abuse lawsuit against priest
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - An attorney for a Catholic priest accused of sexual abuse says his client is innocent.
The woman has joined a lawsuit that was filed in August against the Reverend Richard McCaffrey.
The woman -- identified in court papers as June Doe Two -- says McCaffrey molested her in Hooper Bay in the early 1980s, starting when she was ten years old.
The amended lawsuit, which was filed Friday in Bethel, names McCaffrey, the Catholic Bishop of Northern Alaska and the Society of Jesus, Oregon Province.
McCaffrey -- who is living in Spokane, Washington -- says he hasn't seen the lawsuit.
His Fairbanks attorney, John
Franich, says his office has not been served with even the original lawsuit. He says McCaffrey has never had any inappropriate sexual contact with any of his parishioners.
The priest, now 62, had been pastor of Immaculate Conception parish in Fairbanks since 1998 and had worked in a number of Alaska parishes since the early 1970s.
He was removed from ministerial duties in the Fairbanks diocese while church officials looked into allegations reported earlier this year to Alaska State Troopers, who could not pursue an investigation because the statute of limitations had passed.
Diocese officials say they have not seen the lawsuit and can't comment.
Anchorage attorney Ken
Roosa, who is representing the plaintiffs, says he has 120 days to serve defendants from the time a lawsuit is filed. He plans to serve the complaint next week.
Flu shot availability outlined in Juneau at this time
Flu shots are available in Juneau now. But there are restrictions yet on who can get them through the Juneau Public Health Center.
The nurse manager there, Kate Slotnick, says they are initially focusing on high risk groups. So she says they're asking people to call the Public Health Center after October 24th to find out what the availability is there at that time.
High risk groups include people over 65; residents of long term care facilities; children ages 6 months to 23 months; health care workers who give direct patient care; and anyone who lives with a child younger than six months.
Slotnick says the reason for that is that children under six months can't be vaccinated against the flu, so the only way to protect them is to protect the people who are living with them.
Also included are those individuals under 65 who have underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk for flu complications. Those conditions include heart disease, asthma, diabetes, and other chronic ailments.
Slotnick says the high risk group was expanded this year to include anyone who is pregnant.
Several public clinics are planned. Slotnick says Fred Meyer is offering flu shots by appointment. They're just doing high risk individuals until October 24th.
Costco has a clinic planned October 29 and another at Safeway is scheduled for November 19th.
She says about 4,000 doses have been sent from the state program to private providers in Juneau. Many local providers also order from private distributors.
Slotnick says she's heard nothing different than the early predictions that everyone who wants a flu shot this year should be able to get one.
Marine Highway to drop fares about a third for winter travel
The Alaska Marine Highway announces a thirty percent winter discount for round trip travel.
The discount applies to passenger and vehicles fares and state rooms.
John Manly of the State Department of Transportation and Public Facilities says it will be in effect from November 1st through March 31st.
It gets even better if you're the driver under the driver goes free discount. That discount went into effect October 1st and ends April 30th.
There's already a 50 percent discount for seniors over 65 who travel between Alaska ports.
There's already a 50 percent discount for seniors over 65 who travel between Alaska ports.
Manly suggests they check with reservations or check on the Marine Highway's web site to determine how they may qualify for a further discount with this latest program.
Troopers charge woman in traffic accident that killed toddler
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Alaska State Troopers say a Fairbanks woman has been charged with manslaughter for causing a traffic accident that killed her son.
Twenty-three-year-old Milissa Delia also was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, assault and endangering the welfare of a child.
Troopers say Delia was behind the wheel of a 2003 pickup Thursday on the Alaska Highway near Dot Lake and lost control.
The truck left the road and rolled several times.
Troopers say it traveled about 500 feet before slamming into a telephone pole.
Delia's son -- 22-month-old Brandon Duncan -- died in the crash.
Delia and 19-year-old Racheal Hayton of Fairbanks were seriously injured.
Troopers say they found open and empty beer cans in the truck.
Delia was arrested yesterday (Monday) as she was being released from Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.
Her bail was set at 250-thousand dollars
(Anchorage Daily News)
Van collides with truck off Seward; eight treated
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Anchorage police say eight people received medical attention last night (Monday) when a van exiting off the Seward Highway collided with a pickup truck.
Police Lieutenant Nancy Reeder says the most severe injury was a broken arm.
The driver of the minivan was 52-year-old Estra
Bensussen.
Police say Bensussen was cited for making an illegal right turn as she came off the highway on the 74th Avenue ramp.
The van carried three children.
The pickup truck slammed into the minivan and its driver suffered a broken arm.
Three teenage passengers were inside.
All eight people were treated at an Anchorage hospital.
(Anchorage Daily News)
Alaska antigun control law set to go into effect this week
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - A new antigun control law goes into effect in Alaska tomorrow (Wednesday).
It means handgun owners won't need permits to carry concealed weapons in the seven Alaska cities where they're still required. There also will be no more restrictions on keeping a firearm in a vehicle.
The new law will essentially bar municipalities from passing gun laws that are more restrictive than state law.
The National Rifle Association, which helped write the legislation, calls it state pre-emption, and Alaska will be the 44th state to have such a law on its books.
What the N-R-A wants to do is prevent cities from passing more restrictive laws in the future.
But Alaska police chiefs worry about no longer being able to enforce laws banning guns from public buildings, such as city halls
Thieves target Anchorage parking meters
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Someone in Anchorage has taken a dislike to the city's downtown parking meters.
Anchorage police say vandals have smashed and looted more than 35 parking meters in the last several weeks.
Replacing them will cost the city more than 35-thousand dollars.
Police say vandals ram a truck or car into parking meter poles, knock the tops off, then try to crack them open for the ten to 25 dollars in change inside.
Anchorage Parking Authority head Kevin Kinney says single meters cost the city about 500 dollars to replace and double-headed meters cost about 800 dollars.
Kinney says the thieves are not getting away with much money.
Most of the meters are found with intact coin boxes. But Kinney says they're damaging the meters beyond repair, possibly with a pry bar, trying to get money out.
(Anchorage Daily News)
Two indicted in shooting death of Anchorage teen
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Anchorage officials say a grand jury has indicted two teens in connection with the shooting death of 16-year old Desmond Brooks.
The Anchorage teen died early last week after he was shot at a party in an East Anchorage trailer home.
Court documents say 17-year-old Brandon Hill was indicted for manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.
Officials say Hill is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday.
The documents say 19-year-old Steven Peldo was indicted for third degree weapons misconduct and tampering with physical evidence.
The documents say Peldo knowingly gave or sold a firearm to someone who was substantially impaired by an intoxicating liquor.
The teens were drinking at Peldo's mobile home in Mayflower Circle Park when the incident occurred.
Alaska Day observed today, 50th
statehood birthday bash in planning stages
Today's Alaska Day. It's the day the U-S flag was hoisted at Sitka completing the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867.
State and city offices are closed.
But Juneau school students are in classes today. They had Friday off for an in-service
day.
And classes at the University of Alaska Southeast are scheduled as normal.
Federal offices are open today. Those workers were off last week for the Columbus Day holiday.
Meanwhile, the State of Alaska turns 50 years old on January 3rd, 2009.
The Alaska Statehood Celebration Commission is already at work planning the birthday bash.
Former State House Speaker Gail Phillips, who chairs the commission, says it will be a statewide effort.
She says they will be meeting continually with people around the state to set up celebrations in every community.
Phillips says there will be events planned throughout 2008 which lead to that date, the 50th anniversary of statehood.
The commission is an eight member panel which includes four public members and four lawmakers.
First Alaska Territorial Guard Day
observed today
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The state
today (Tuesday) will honor the 65-hundred Alaska Territorial Guard members who served when Japan invaded Alaska during World War Two.
Legislation for the first official Alaska Territorial Guard Day was sponsored by Republican Senator Charlie Huggins, who represents Rural Mat-Su and Chugiak.
He says Alaskans should have the chance to honor the Guard for their bravery and sense of duty.
The state says the guard was formed in 1942 and consisted mostly of Alaska Natives.
The Guard quickly became invaluable to the U-S Army as scouts and guides along the states rugged and extensive coastline.
Huggins says 300 Alaska Territorial Guard members are still alive.
Nebraska town to hire first woman manager to replace Alaska-bound official
ALLIANCE, Neb. (AP) - Alliance, Nebraska, will have its first woman city manager starting next month.
The Alliance City Council offered the position to Pamela Caskie of Ambridge, Pennsylvania, to replace the old manager, who took a job in Alaska.
The panel is expected to take action on her preliminary written acceptance at its meeting Thursday.
Caskie is scheduled to take over on November first.
She was previously a town manager in Brandon, Vermont, and replaces Wally Baird, who left in June to become city manager in Bethel.
(thanks KCOW Radio, Alliance)
|
