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Task force
presents recommendations on downtown skateboarding
Downtown skate zones and a skater code of conduct are among the
recommendations of the Juneau Skateboard Task Force.
Task Force member Kevin Elliot, a senior at Juneau Douglas High School,
said the skating community is willing to accept the responsibility for use
of the Marine Park area.
Under the code of conduct, pedestrians have the right of way at all times.
Skaters will stay, a yet to be determined distance, from other park users.
Skaters will announce their wish to pass a pedestrian and pass on left
side.
The code also states that skaters must recognize that the average person
doesn't completely understand skating and might feel in danger even if it
might not be the case.
Plans call for including the conduct code in an ordinance with fines for
violations.
Pamphlets with the rules listed would be made available and the regular
skaters will teach the new skaters.
The current restrictions for skaters involve a no-skate zone around the
Fisherman's Memorial, in the parking garage, and outside the parking
garage, including the ADA ramp, whenever a ship is moored at the Steamship
Dock.
The task force is recommending that the newly constructed stairs of Marine
Park be off limits to skating any time there is a ship moored at the dock.
The rest of the park would remain an open skate area under the rules
established by the code of conduct.
When no ship is moored, skating would be permitted in the entire park
except for the Fisherman's
Memorial and inside the parking garage.
The task force is made of members of the skating community, cruise lines,
Docks and Harbors, the Assembly, Parks and Recreation, and the Southeast
Alaska Guidance Association.
Representatives of the group presented their recommendations to the
Assembly Monday evening.
Four of five school board members to be
sworn in
Four new members of the Juneau School Board will be sworn in tonight.
Andrea Story, Phyllis Carlson, Julie Morris and Rhonda Befort will take
the oath of office.
Alan Schorr won re-election over Bill Peters by one vote. However, a
recount is scheduled for tomorrow and it's possible the outcome of that
race could change.
Meanwhile, the board will meet for a work session at five this afternoon
to take up the Alyeska Central School's charter school proposal.
The board will decide if it wants to prepare a proposal for the district
to take on the school as part of the Juneau School District.
The charter school application will be up for a vote at the boards'
November 4th meeting.
The School Board meets tonight for its regular meeting at 6 o'clock in the
district offices on Glacier Avenue.
Recount sought in Mat Su mayor's race
The losing candidate in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough mayor's race will
seek a re-count. Incumbent Tim Anderson won by just six votes after a
count of two-thousand absentee and questioned ballots over the weekend.
His challenger, Charlie Fannon, is asking for a re-count.
Fund set up for boy killed in Monday's accident
A fund has been established to help pay the funeral expenses of ten year
old Skyler Lee Kim. He was struck and by a pick up truck at a Mendenhall
Valley intersection and died yesterday morning.
The account is at the First National Bank of Alaska. The account is in his
name and the name of his grandmother, Arlene Crumrine.
Fishing boat crew rescued near Ketchikan
The Coast Guard responded to a
boat in peril this morning in Southeast Alaska.
It was the fishing vessel Mother Lode anchored in Clarence Straight west
of Ketchikan, according to Petty Officer Todd Nussbaum.
A Coast Guard helicopter from Sitka hoisted the three crewmembers from the
vessel. He says they lost steering sometime overnight. They tried to use a
line to pull the rudder, but the line apparently got tangled in the
propeller. As a result, the boat was dead in the water.
Weather in the area overnight included seas to ten feet. The crew told the
Coast Guard that their anchor was having a tough time holding because of
the conditions.
Wind advisory now in effect for Juneau
The National Weather Service
cancelled the high wind warning for the Juneau area this morning in favor
of a wind advisory for later in the day.
Meteorologist Bob Shontz says it now appears the strongest winds will be
moving in during the mid to late afternoon period and continue into the
early evening. Southeast winds gusting to 50 miles per hour are expected
during that time.
A wind advisory calling for gusts to 50 is also in effect for Gustavus
this afternoon.
Alaska Air issues latest earnings report
Third quarter results bring good news
for Alaska Air Group.
Company official Jack Evans says the results showed a net income of $40.7
Million compared to $12.5 Million last year.
He says they hope to continue keeping their costs in check in order to
turn the corner on 12 month profitability.
For the nine months ending September 30th, net income was $29.6 Million.
That compares to a net loss of $75.5 Million during the same period last
year.
In addition to cost management efforts, other factors for the third
quarter results, according to Evans, were stronger loads at both Alaska
and Horizon Air and the government's temporary wavier of security fees.
Valdez man charged in murder of mother
A 31-year-old Valdez man is charged with first-degree murder in his
mother's death. Valdez police say Daniel Nichols was indicted by a grand
jury Monday.
Nichols' mother, Dixie Nichols, was found dead October 15th in a
campground near the Valdez airport a few hours after she was reported
missing by her family.
Lieutenant Bill Comer says the state medical examiner's office
determined the 58-year-old woman died by asphyxiation.
Comer says the younger Nichols was arrested the same day on a weapons
misconduct charge for being a felon in possession of a weapon. Comer
declines to discuss a motive.
Nichols is scheduled for arraignment tomorrow (Wednesday).
Alaska State Troopers assisted in the investigation at the request of
Valdez police.
Arson charges lodged against boys in
separate cases
A 13 year old Kotlik boy was arrested earlier this month after he
allegedly tried to burn down the village school and assaulted the
principal.
State Troopers say the fire alarms went off at the school when the boy
started a chair on fire. He lit a separate fire outside the school. He hit
the principal in the face with a book and committed other acts of
vandalism inside the school.
He was charged with attempted arson, criminal mischief, assault,
harassment and disorderly conduct.
He was transported and lodged at the Bethel Youth Facility. Troopers said
today that the incident occurred October 8th.
In another case, from October 13th in the Bethel area, a 12 year old
Mountain Village boy allegedly set fire to a 1980 Jeep.
The village public safety officer organized volunteers to stop the flames
from spreading across dry grass to nearby homes.
The jeep was completely destroyed. The boy was charged with arson and
criminal mischief.
Alaska cited in national story on
qualified teachers
Alaska is mentioned prominently in a national story about the government
analyzing data from states on the numbers of highly qualified teachers
they have.
According to new federal standards, all teachers who want to be considered
``highly qualified'' must either hold a bachelor's degree in the subject
taught, or pass tests showing full knowledge of the topic.
But national comparisons are imperfect because states set their own
standards for licensing and subject mastery by veteran teachers.
For example, teachers in many rural districts in Alaska teach several
subjects and don't have degrees in all of them. So only 16 percent of
Alaska's classes show up on paper as being taught by highly qualified
instructors. That's the lowest percentage in the country.
Wisconsin reports that almost 99 percent of classes had top teachers, and
eleven other states report totals of at least 95 percent.
By the end of the 2005-2006 school year, every teacher of a so-called core
class must be ``highly qualified.''
Medal of Honor recipient to address Eagle
Scouts in Juneau
A recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor will be the guest speaker
at the Fifth Annual Eagle Scout Honors Banquet Friday night.
The banquet sponsored by the Southeast Alaska Area Council of the Boy
Scouts of America will honor nine members of the 2003 class of Eagle
Scouts from Juneau and other communities in the region.
Major Drew Dix lives now in Fairbanks and New Mexico.
He was the first enlisted member of the U. S. Army Special Forces to be
awarded the medal of honor. It was for his actions in a 56 hour battle in
Vietnam at the end of January and the first of February in 1968.
He said on KINY's Capital Chat this morning that he was once asked why his
small unit of less than 20 was so successful against an enemy force of
600. He said he told them, "I guess we had more to shoot at." In
the process they were able to rescue a number of American and allied
civilians.
He said he didn't hesitate at the opportunity to speak at the banquet
since scouting was an important part of his life.
Dix achieved the scout's "Life Award", which is just below Eagle
Scout, when he joined the Army at the age of seventeen.
He's authored a book about the battle for which he was awarded the Medal
of Honor. Its entitled "The Rescue of River City" and is
available at local book stores.
The banquet begins at 6:30 Friday night at Centennial Hall. Tickets are
$30 per person and are available at Hearthside Books or through the Boy
Scout office at 789-8440.
Rash of vehicle vandalism cases reported
in Anchorage
Anchorage police say at least 50 vehicles were vandalized over the weekend
in the city's Rogers Park area.
Police official Marlene Lammers says the vandalism occurred between Friday
night and Saturday morning.
According to Lammers, police have heard from at least 50 victims.
Most of the vehicles had rear or side windows smashed out by a B-B gun.
Tires also were slashed on some automobiles.
No arrests have been made.
(Copyright ©2003
Alaska Juneau Communications - KINY Radio News) |
