4th Annual Valdez SK8 Park Competition

Brad Christensen, a judge for the 4th Annual Valdez SK8 Park Competition, put on a nice display after the event last Saturday.
Valdez Star Photo

Dissention Dogs Drug Policy Revision for Schools

The Valdez Star: "Dissention Dogs Drug Policy Revision for Schools
By Julie M. Morgan
Star Reporter
SCHOOL BOARD-Opinions on the new drug testing policy presented by the Valdez School Board were met with more questions than answers Monday night as the public and school board members weighed in on the issues regarding the new policy.
The new policy, as written, states, �The school district reserves the right to report violations of the policy to law enforcement officials. When and whether to report a violation to law enforcement officials will be on a case-by-case basis.�
Board Member Dolores Gard suggested the use of tobacco by students is against the law and should be included in the policy.
'This gives me heart burn,� said Gard. 'Law enforcement needs to know when a law is being broken and a case-by-case will not work.'
Board President Duane Edelman said implementing a tobacco policy was going one step too far.
'I like it more relaxed,' Edelman said. 'A policy would be going about it in the wrong way.'
While tobacco is not specified in the policy, it is stated 'The intent of the Valdez City School District is to maintain a drug-free school environment so learning can take place: to educate students so they are aware of the issues and problems related to the abuse of drugs, alcohol and controlled substances.'
One of the few people attending the three- hour meeting spoke of her concerns with the policy to the board.
Parent Sheri Pierce suggested the addition of drug testing for students who participate in sports due to potential harm it could do to other students who travel and are in immediate contact with them.
President Edelman said drug testing student activities would be singling out a group of students and didn't agree with Ms. Pierce.
Ms. Pierce also addressed the board with her concern of singling out stude"

Port Authority Announces New Buyer for Natural Gas

Valdez Star Continued: "Port Authority Announces New Buyer for Natural Gas
By Lee Revis
Editor, Valdez Star
VALDEZ- The Alaska Gasline Port Authority announced last week they had found a new buyer who has agreed to buy natural gas via a pipeline from the North Slope to Valdez, but the group has declined to name the new source. Citing a fear of negative political pressure, members of the organization are remaining tight lipped about the new partner. Valdez Mayor Bert Cottle said �We signed confidentiality agreements.�
The struggling entity, comprised of representatives from Valdez, the Fairbanks North Star Borough and the North Slope Borough. The group is fighting to regain ground lost in May when the original buyer the group had contracted with, Sempra Energy, withdrew from the project citing a lack of support from Alaska state government, namely Governor Frank Murkowski, who has long touted a competing development plan that would build a pipeline from the oil fields of the North Slope through Canada, which, would ultimately end in the mid-west of the lower 48. The withdrawal letter from Sempra also cited the lack of interest from the major oil producers in the state, who are holding the leases on the oil wells where the natural gas is being pumped back into the ground for lack of development.
Despite the major setbacks the AGPA has regrouped and are still touting the viability of the project. �We are still a player,� said Cottle, �We just keep chugging along. People said we�d never get this far.�
While coyly evading questions about when the buyer would be announced, Cottle did relate that the AGPA has had meetings with Governor Murkowski regarding the all-Alaska Pipeline. The governor has long reported that he wanted to bring a deal before the legislature regarding the sale and development of the states abundant but stranded natural gas."

Valdez Star Continued

Valdez Star Continued: "Grand Jury Indicts Valdez Man in Forgery Case
By Lee Revis
Editor, Valdez Star
PALMER- A Grand Jury in Palmer returned a five count indictment against Jeffery �Todd� Kelly on July 13, after the state was challenged to prove there was enough evidence to support a complaint filed with the District Attorney�s office by Valdez Police late last spring alleging Kelly had committed forgery and criminal simulation. Originally charged with one count of Forgery in the Second Degree and one count of Criminal Simulation, both Class C felonies, Kelly is now charged with two counts of Forgery in the Second Degree, two counts of Felony Criminal Simulation and one count of Theft in the Second Degree. All five are Class C felonies.
Kelly plead Not Guilty to all five counts against him in front of Judge Dan Schally on July 18, 2005. Judge Schally accepted the plea which preserves Kelley�s right to a trial by jury. The case will next come up in court in this August.
Though the dates stated in the original complaint filed by the police department conflict with the dates of the indictments, it is alleged that Kelly went to the First National Bank of Alaska with a check made out for $9,960 last spring, telling the manager that is was for stocks he had sold and that the check was good because he had already cashed one for the same amount. The check was later determined to be counterfeit, at which time Kelly had allegedly spent approximately $6,365 of the funds deposited into his account.
It is also alleged that he had earlier tried to deposit a similar check into his account for the amount of $30,000, but he was told by bank personnel that the check would have to �be sent in for collection,� according to the police complaint.
The complaint also alleges that Kelly confessed to Investigator Dan Mott of the Valdez Police Department that he "

A racer in the Fireweed 400

A racer in the Fireweed 400 shares the road with the usual road traffic in the race to Valdez last Saturday.

Briefcase Bomb at Airport Called a Dud

Briefcase Bomb at Airport Called a Dud
By Lee Revis Editor, Valdez Star
PIONEER FIELD- A bottle of Advil and a tube of toothpaste wrapped in plastic set off a chain of events in Valdez which closed the airport and saw the evacuation of nearby buildings, the deployment of the local bomb squad, the Civilian Air Patrol and the dispatch of a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter and a full scale emergency response from as far away as Cordova.
The scenario began late Thursday morning when Lt. Bill Comer of the Valdez Police Department says that within seconds of getting off the phone with the FBI with a warning to be extra vigilant after the tragic news of the bombings in London, the call came in to emergency dispatch that a briefcase had been left unattended on a bench outside of the airport. Prudence dictated a full scale emergency response, according to Comer, as after an hour and a half after the morning Era flight, no one had called lost and found looking for a lost briefcase and they had the area under surveillance for some time, in the hopes someone would come looking for the lost item.
So after notifying Alyeska Security and consulting with the ATF and FBI in Anchorage, a full fledged emergency response ensued, and an EOD, Emergency Ordnance Disposal team, set the perimeters for a worst case scenario. "We evacuated with the idea to take the briefcase," said Comer.
The bomb team, consisting of Officers Greg Hayden and Bart Hinkle, suited up to x-ray the errant briefcase. "Strangely enough, there were some wires," said Comer. There was also what he described as a "pliable type substance inside a plastic bag."
So while the x-ray did not discount the possibility of a bomb, the team decided to use their Disruptive Device, described as a type of water cannon that can render explosives inoperative. "They can do that remotely and safely," said Comer.
"There was no explosive device in there," said Valdez City Clerk Sheri Pierce. Instead, the squad found the Advil and toothpaste, along with some of the usual items typically found in the possessions of a traveler. Rather than call the operation overkill, Ms. Pierce described the scene being prudent rather than complacent. "It was a good test of the local resources," she said.
While the red faced traveler was later located, the name and location of the forgetful owner has not been identified as there was no crime committed.
While the Terror Threat Level in Alaska was not elevated after terrorists bombs exploded during the early morning commute in London that day, Lt. Comer says the feds in Anchorage had warned the local police to be extra vigilant in the area.

Humongous Halibut Sets Valdez Derby Record

Humongous Halibut Sets Valdez Derby Record
By Lee Revis Editor, Valdez Star
BOAT HARBOR- A huge crowd gathered on the floats at the small boat harbor last Thursday night after word spread quickly around town that the No Excuses, a local charter boat, was pulling into port with a 92 inch halibut on board. "We had no idea it was that big," a jubilant Dave Bruno said after the weigh in, which pegged the flat fish at 325.4 pounds.
Bruno, a Glennallen man who says he's been coming down to fish in Valdez for 20 years, says the rest of the fishing party and Captain Dave Bruss were just about ready to call it a day after a successful day of fishing aboard the "No Excuses", but at the last minute those who hadn't maxed out decided to use up the last four pieces of bait.
While a friend on board was trying to reel in a large fighter, which later weighed in at 192.2, Bruno also felt the tug of a big fish. "I must have dropped it (the baited hook) right on its head," he speculated of the record breaker.
He said he just let the fish play, while the crew of the boat wrestled to bring in the first fish, which put on an impressive fight, according to witnesses. So Bruno says he just hung on and kept a tight line until the first fish was safely aboard. "I never expected this," said Bruno, who says he's been going out with Captain Bruss for many years. While he says the landed the big one in about half an hour without too much of a fight, it did present challenges. "My arms were so full of knots," he said while smiling all the while.
This halibut may be a record breaker, but there is still plenty of time left to try to bring in a bigger fish according to the folks at the Valdez Halibut Derby. The $15,000 prize to for the largest fish caught by a derby ticket holder doesn't end until September 4 and there is still plenty of good fishing to be had until then.

Numerous Cats Killed in Aleutian Trailer Fire

Numerous Cats Killed in Aleutian Trailer Fire
By Lee RevisEditor, Valdez Star
ALEUTIAN VILLAGE- What Valdez firefighters described as an extremely hot fire inside a small mobile home in Aleutian Village on the Richardson Highway Saturday turned deadly for 17 cats trapped inside the tightly shut trailer. "I just wish the cats hadn't been there," said a tear streaked Jeri Devens, owner of the small home and the cats.
Devastated and still in shock, Ms. Devens says she believes one cat, an orange tabby, may have survived the fire may be at large in the trailer park. Choking back tears, Ms. Devens stated that it was unclear how many cats ran out the front door after fire fighters tried to put out the fire, which was reportedly burning hot and fast inside the home, but had not spread outside the frame of the home. There were reports that up to three cats had run out the front door, but after counting the remains of all the cats on Monday, Ms. Devens said she was certain that 17 cats had perished, most probably from smoke inhalation.
Sifting through the remains of the fire, which was so hot it melted smoke detectors and plastic storage bins inside the home, Ms. Devens said she is not sure what she and her family are going to do next, as the shock of the loss is still fresh. "A lot of my grandma's stuff burned up," she said sadly, while trying to decide what is salvageable and what isn't. Plastics melted beyond recognition and water and smoke damaged clothing are all mixed together with other items which stored inside the trailer, where the family lived only part time, in between building a home they have been constructing for years at 19 Mile. While the cause of the fire is unknown, Ms. Devens said she believes the fire may have started in the kitchen, where her family had an old refrigerator hooked up to an extension cord. "I'm such a freak about fires," she said while lamenting that they had not unplugged the old appliance. She said fire was such a concern to her, that she often unplugged electrical appliances before leaving home, even small things like alarm clocks.
While Ms. Devens says the family counts its blessings that no people were hurt in the fire, the sheer number of cats killed is a nightmare that won't end soon and she wishes she'd been able to let the cats outside when they weren't home, but had not be able to do so for some time, due to problems with neighbors over the years. She says the cats, who were mostly well into their teens in age, came to live with her a number of years ago when a stray pregnant cat who lived under another trailer across the street had grown daughters who also started reproducing kittens, which soon numbered in the twenties. She says her family tamed the mostly feral animals and that they been spayed and neutered thanks to the efforts of the Valdez Animal Shelter years ago.
Ms. Devens, who was heading to work in Cordova at the time of the fire, says the family will be looking for another mobile home, possibly a "fixer upper", while they evaluate the damage to try to decide what to do next. She says she is trying to make three piles, "Save, maybe and junk it."

Look ma, no hands…Youngsters eagerly signed up for the pie eating contest during the Owen Meals Games held during the Fourth of July Block Party hosted by the city Monday. Kids had three minutes to see who could eat the most pie filling, without the use of their hands, in the fun filled event, which spectators seemed to enjoy as much as the contestants.
Valdez Star Photo

Ellamar Slimed by Fish Filth from Floating Processors

Ellamar Slimed by Fish Filth from Floating Processors
By Lee Revis
Editor, Valdez Star
ELLAMAR- Calling it an unfortunate accident of tides and hot weather, residents of the sleepy little settlement of Ellamar, two miles away from the Village of Tattilek, were disgusted and outraged last week when the shores of the seaside settlement, which is the front yard for many homes, was polluted by discharged fish waste from two mammoth floating fish processors that were operating off the shore, according to residents. "It smelled like someone dropped a honey bucket all over the place," said year round resident Moi Lindenau, after suffering through the stench on Monday and Tuesday of last week.
The slime, which by itself is unsightly but only mildly fishy in smell when discharged, turns into a strong foul odor when it cooks in the sunlight, which was out in force last week. "It lays there and putrefies," said Dave Linenau, who made several visits via skiff to at least one of the ships, trying to find a remedy to the problem. "It attracts a lot of bears."
At last report, the processors had moved off to the shores of Naked Island, which attracts visitors, but is not a residential area. "They're fisherman, that's the smell of money," said Chris Saal, a seasonal resident who has operated a lodge in Ellamar since 1974. "These guys aren't doing anything illegal," he said but added, "They should go where there's no people."
The large at sea processors, which essentially operate as floating offshore fish processing factories, are permitted to discharge fish waste by the EPA, which regulates the industry. These ships have to be at least a mile off shore and operate in waters well over 225 feet in depth according to Sharmon Stambaugh, the Manger of Industrial Waste for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. "We did get some Coast Guard photos," she said, and an investigation is underway to determine if the terms of the permits were violated by any of the vessels operating in the area.
Lindenau says personnel on the ships volunteered to try to clean up the shore lines, and lengthened the discharge hoses used to send the waste out to sea before they moved away from the shores.

Valdez Appeals Ruling on Taps Valuation

Valdez Appeals Ruling on Taps Valuation
(AP) The City of Valdez joined forces with the Fairbanks North Star Borough and North Slope Borough a week ago Monday and filed a lawsuit in Superior Court challenging the $3 billion valuation of the Trans Alaska Pipeline and its related properties.
"It's a disagreement about statutory interpretation of replacement costs," Fairbanks borough attorney Rene Broker told the press.
Earlier this year, the state petroleum property assessor dropped the value of the pipeline and its associated properties from $3.017 billion to $3 billion. The three municipalities appealed that decision with the assessor's office and lost. They then went to the State Assessment Review Board to seek a reversal.
The board issued a decision that upheld the state petroleum assessor's ruling.
Part of the assessment was determining how much it would cost to replace the pipeline.
The municipalities based their current appeal on three points that the review board failed to rule on, according to the court documents.
First, they said, the Alaska Department of Revenue wrongly interpreted state law by excluding the cost of construction of a replacement pipeline from the pipeline's replacement cost analysis.
The municipalities also said the revenue department didn't include taxes that would be paid during construction of a replacement pipeline. And the department didn't include the costs of roads and bridges that would have to be built for a replacement pipeline.
Excluding some expenses in the replacement cost analysis affected the resulting pipeline assessment, the appeal stated.

Hopes for Promised Fast Ferry Dockings Fading Away

Hopes for Promised Fast Ferry Dockings Fading Away
By Lee Revis Editor, Valdez Star
VALDEZ- Officials for the state ferry system have cut the price of trips in Prince William Sound aboard the state ferry M/V Aurora in half in an effort to appease angry travelers and city governments, who are livid over the delays in service of new fast ferry the M/V Chenega, which was supposed to be home ported in Cordova. Robin Taylor, the Deputy Commissioner at DOT in charge of marine travel, made the announcement telephonically during an appearance on the popular KCHU radio call in talk show "Coffee Break" last Thursday as hopes for the long awaited dockings for the new ferry appeared to sail away into the sunset, possibly forever.
The high speed vessel, built at a cost of $34 million, was already months late in arriving to the state, causing headaches for some businesses in the tourist trade, particularly in Cordova, which suffered a second hard blow when the state announced it was pulling the Chenega from its scheduled winter jaunts across the Sound to test how it would perform in Southeast, specifically, between Ketchikan and Petersberg. To add to the list of delays, the Chenega is now mired down with labor problems, most notably, the lack of a crew.
The state, which started negotiations with the three maritime unions representing ferry workers, are at a standstill and the M/V Chenega is currently idly docked in Juneau. Negotiations were stalled as of Monday of this week, and the state is currently trying to recruit personnel to man the ferry outside of the unions.
In the meantime, many businesses in Cordova are claiming a massive loss of tourist dollars amid claims of mass cancellations of reservations for lodging in Cordova when it was announced the Chenega would miss its July 1 debut in Prince William Sound.
The City of Valdez, which hosts a brand new ferry dock and building erected specifically for the high speed ferry, is not optimistic about the ferry ever seeing service in Prince William Sound despite assurances from officials in Juneau that it will. A memo to the City Council from Interim City Manager Nancy Peterson dated late June of this year states, "…it is a reasonable assumption that the vessel will not be returned."
The M/V Chenega was originally slated to be home ported in Cordova and would service Valdez and Whittier starting May of this year. The new vessel is purported to be twice as fast as the older ferries in service on the Alaska Marine Highway, which would allow the ferry to run only 12 hours a day, and cut the travel time between Cordova and Valdez in half, allowing for a more tourist friendly schedule. "The general sentiment here is that we pretty much feel we have been betrayed," said Cordova Mayor Tim Joyce.

Nautilus Foods Stops Fish Processing in Valdez

Nautilus Foods Stops Fish Processing in Valdez
By Lee Revis
Editor, Valdez Star
VALDEZ- The Valdez City Council extended the leases of city land that are currently held by Seahawk, the now defunct seafood processor on North Harbor Drive but failed to even discuss the approval of a request to allow a sub-lease of the land to Nautilus Foods, which had hoped to move their primary fish processing operations to the idle plant.
"We will move our jobs and operations to Seward," an abject and angry Tom Waterer, owner of Nautilus Foods, said after the council's failure to act. Claiming that without the sublease, where the dorms and a dock access are located, there is no way to effectively house workers to run the plant or offload fish from fishing tenders. "It tears my heart out to do this," he bemoaned. "We lost it because of the city."
Waterer claims that he had projections of processing over a million pounds of pink salmon over the next few weeks, as fisherman take advantage of what could be a record run of pink salmon in Valdez this year.
According to Waterer, Nautilus was poised to pay out close to two million dollars in labor alone this year. "The issue is we would have handled 10 million fish off of this run alone," he said.
As of Tuesday morning of this week, Waterer says the company had moved out 25 workers to Seward and are bringing in another 25 to the plant there, Polar Seafoods, which will process fish for Nautilus. "We're working there as we speak," he said.
Waterer spent much of last spring working on a deal to purchase the Seahawk plant from his former rival, Terry Bertoson, which would allow Nautilus to continue its processing operations in Valdez after the lease of the plant on the city dock expires in the spring of 2007. The deal quickly ran into trouble when Fire Chief George Keeney red tagged parts of the plant's ammonia and drainage systems. Then the city met in several Executive Sessions to discuss the possible purchase of the Seahawk Plant, which they eventually declined to do.
With Waterer pulling out the lion's share of his operation, he is leaving two employees in town to oversee issues with the Nautilus Plant located on the City Dock, Valdez is down to only one seafood processor, Peter Pan.
The city and Waterer have been butting heads for most of the 22 years that Waterer has leased the building on the City Dock. Numerous lawsuits, threats and bad blood have played out in the public forum on numerous issues between the two.
In the last 22 years, Waterer says he has paid out over $20 million in salaries, and many more millions in fish purchases, fuel, housing and incidental expenses, all in the short fish season in Valdez.

Parents Grade Schools in Survey of Educational Climate

Parents Grade Schools in Survey of Educational Climate
By Lee Revis
Editor, Valdez Star
SCHOOL BOARD- The tables were turned this week when local schools received report cards and grades from Valdez parents on their opinions of how the schools are doing.
Gilson Junior High was the clear cut winner, earning a grade of 3.55, putting it in the range of an A-, when the numbers were tallied on questions ranging from what grade overall parents would give a school and to whether or not they agreed or disagreed with a wide variety of questions, including whether or not their child enjoys attending the school.
Hermon Hutchens Elementary came in with a high mark of B+ while Valdez High School only rated a C+ in they eyes of parents. However, when asked to specifically grade the schools performance, 13% of Valdez High parents handed out an A, while over half gave the school a B and 18% gave a C. Parents at the elementary school were very positive with 45% giving the school an A and another 43% graded the school with a B. No school was rated an F by any of the respondents.
Parents were given a specific survey for each school in which they have a student enrolled and parents living in separate households were each sent surveys. Parents were asked to read a statement, then say if they Strongly Agreed, Agreed, Disagreed or Strongly Disagreed with the statement. Some questions allowed for open ended answers, which have not yet been released by Administration. While some questions were the same for all three schools, many were geared particularly towards a specific school.
Hermon Hutchens had the highest rating, 3.6, of parents who feel their child enjoys attending school there, while Gilson was a close second with a score of 3.5, with 4 being the highest rating possible for any category. Valdez High suffered in this category, receiving only a 2.9. All three scored high in the helpfulness of the office staff and low in whether or not the school building and grounds are attractive and well maintained.
The elementary and junior high were both rated 3.4 in the perceived quality and professionalism of the teachers, but once again, Valdez High lagged behind the other two schools with a combined parental score of 3.1.
Overall, parents of Hermon Hutchens students rated the elementary school with a high score of 3.6, with most parents agreeing or agreeing strongly that their child or children enjoy attending the school, the office staff is courteous and helpful and that as parents, they felt comfortable visiting the school and getting involved in the school. The lowest overall score, 3.0,. meant fewer parents strongly agreed that the services provided by the counseling program adequately met student needs. The school also received a 3.1 in the categories student discipline and the adequacy of programs meeting the requirements of special needs students.
Gilson Junior High's parents gave the office staff a generous 3.7, the highest average score in any category for any of the schools. The smallest school in the district, it also received high marks for parental involvement and extracurricular activities. Its lowest mark, a 2.8, was for the statement: Teachers let me know how I can help my child at home.
Valdez High School, the second largest in the district, scored their highest grades in professionalism of teachers, preparing students for continuing education after high school and for providing students "the necessary skills for students entering the work force after high school". The school scored the lowest parental grades, a 2.5 average, on student discipline and teachers letting parents know how to help their kids at home.
According to Art Nash, an analyst from Fairbanks hired to compile the grades of the survey, the purpose of the survey was an attempt to gather information from parents on how well they believe the school or schools are doing in meeting the educational needs of their children. However, he noted that there was a relatively low return rate of surveys from parents. Valdez High, with a student body of 273 at the time of the survey, only had a return rate of 22%. Gilson Junior High had a school population of 137 and a return rate of 29%, as did Hermon Hutchens. The elementary school had a total of 405 students at the time surveys were mailed home to parents.

College Announces Short List of Presidential Candidates

College Announces Short List of Presidential Candidates
By Lee Revis
Editor, Valdez Star
PWSCC- The anticipation is over for a community anxiously awaiting word on the names of the final candidates to fill the vacancy of the presidency at Prince William Sound Community College when search committee member Janice Johnson made the announcement that Drs. Ralph Ford, John Garmon and Bruce Kinghorn are the three candidates on the short list of candidates to fill the seat left behind by Dr. Jody McDowell.
The three names were posted on the college website Monday with the message that the public will have opportunities to give the search committee feedback on the three candidates by filling out a form that will be available at a reception hosted by the college at the Whitney Museum on the night of July 6 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Call 834-1645 to reserve your place at the event. The form can also be downloaded at the college website but must be submitted back to the college at the president's office or faxed to 834-1611 by Friday, July 8. Written feedback submitted by the public will be considered by the search committee when they meet on July 11 to finish the hiring process.
Dr. Ralph Ford, the current Dean of Enrollment Management and an adjunct psychology instructor at Odessa College located in Odessa Texas has made the short list of candidates.
As dean of a school with approximately 10,000 full and part time students encompassing an area of around 34,000 square miles, Dr. Ford claims experience in designing unique programs to accommodate the needs unique to local communities.
Dr. John Garmon, whose last post was President of Vista Community College in Berkeley, California is a final candidate for the presidency of Prince William Sound Community College.
In his letter of interest to the search committee, Garmon stated "In addition to keeping myself strong as a teacher by always teaching at least one course each semester, while serving as a full-time administrator, I have been a strong supporter of faculty professional development, seeking funds for faculty travel, research and development."
Dr. Bruce Kinghorn, the third candidate to make it to the interview stage for the college presidency, is currently Instructional Dean at American River College in Sacramento, California.
During his long educational career Kinghorn says that the management and leadership responsibilities that he'd accepted outside of academia provide a perspective and depth to the presidency that would not be filled by a person whose sole focus has been education.