Girdwood Food Pantry delivers in Uncertain Times
By Allison Sayer
TNews Staffwriter
The Girdwood Food Pantry’s volunteers provide meals for area residents facing food insecurity, working to find every corner where someone might be doing without. Food distribution days occur three days per month: the first Sunday and second and fourth Wednesday.
People come from Girdwood, Bird, Indian, Whittier, and occasionally Hope to pick up a box containing a week’s worth of groceries. Hot meals and community are provided every Sunday in partnership with other non-profits. The pantry served about 220 households per month in 2025. Last month, 351 individuals received food assistance.
For people who can’t come to distribution days, volunteers gothe extra mile. Senior or disabled households receive deliveries. Some Alyeska lifties and instructors, who may not be able to get off work on distribution days, receive boxes twice per month. Volunteers even make sure Girdwood school teachers and the school nurse have a stash of healthy snacks at hand. Girdwood Food Pantry Director Terry Sherwood, who is a volunteer, shared it takes six to eight volunteers to orchestrate each food distribution day.
“We expect our numbers to increase and our supply to decrease,” said Sherwood. Federal layoffs impacting the local community are just one of her concerns. The reduction in workforce in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP- what many people know as “food stamps”) could mean longer wait times for people to receive aid they qualify for.
Turnagain Community Services, the non-profit umbrella organization that includes the Girdwood Food Pantry and the Community Garden, fields requests for emergency cash assistance. Sherwood reported an uptick in requests for assistance with rent and utility bills during December, January, and February. The lack of snow during these months provided less work for short-term rental cleaners, food service workers, and others dependent on the visitor industry.
Federal chaos has made the mission more stressful than ever. On March 25, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) paused $500 million in funding from The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and cancelled $500 million in funding from the Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) program. This created distress for Sherwood, who felt compelled to come up with a game plan in case TEFAP food stopped coming.
The pantry receives at least one third, and sometimes up to one half of its food from TEFAP. The food is distributed to local pantries by the Food Bank of Alaska. The USDA has since walked back the funding freeze to TEFAP. Food Bank of Alaska CEO Cara Durr stated via email the Food Bank of Alaska recommends partners continue to distribute food as usual, but added it is important to continue to support the TEFAP program.
The Girdwood Food Pantry receives local support in addition to food from the federal government. Private donations fund approximately $1,500 per month in purchases from Charlie’s Produce and Costco. During the summer, the community garden has a dedicated plot for the pantry. Food is also donated directly through food drives and into a bear box located outside the pantry. Sherwood cited The Merc as a helpful partner as well. Staff make the effort to pull short-dated food before it expires so that it can be donated. They even brought over eggs recently, said Sherwood.
Read the entire store at the below link:
ttps://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/girdwood-food-pantry-delivers-in-uncertain-times
Avalanche Mitigation enters the Future
By Allison Sayer
Copper River Record
Most of us are familiar with the role of artillery in avalanche risk mitigation. Artillery is fired into avalanche start zones when the runout area is closed to the public, preventing future avalanches that could cause harm. According to Statewide Avalanche and Artillery Program Manager Timothy Glassett, these methods are set to change dramatically over the next two years.
The Alaska Department of Transportation (DOT) currently uses the M119 105 mm Howitzer for avalanche mitigation. According to Glassett, these Howitzers are antiquated to the point where it is hard to find parts. The United States Army still produces shells, but not the cannons that shoot them. Maintenance is difficult.
“The army doesn’t have another viable artillery system for us to use that’s as portable and efficient,” said Glassett. Therefore, the army has told current artillery users, “‘you need to start transitioning away from it.’”
Glassett said the replacement is going to be Remote Avalanche Control (RAC) systems.
RACs are fixed systems built into avalanche start zones that can be triggered remotely to drop an explosive or detonate gases into a tube. “The problem,” said Glassett, “is that each one costs at least $175-200K and is only good for that one location.”
DOT plans to install RACs, which are currently only being made by one company, in “high frequency/high risk paths.” A project is “in the works” for these systems to be placed first on the Seward Highway.
Other tools, such as drones, will be needed to supplement RACs. Glassett said DOT is currently “validating the operational use” of drones carrying explosives. This is something that cannot be done lightly; these tools are typically not available to civilians and require extensive permitting.
(The story reprinted from the Copper River Record with permission)
Read the entire story at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/avalanche-mitigation-enters-the-future
GBOS Candidates offer to serve Community
Voters to Choose Between Brett Wilbanks and Kellie Okenek by April 1 in Municipal Election.
By Brooks Chandler
TNews Contributor
Brett Wilbanks and Kellie Okenek are both offering to serve Girdwood as members of the Girdwood Board of Supervisors. TNews chatted with both in separate interviews recently. Their comments below have been edited for length and clarity.
How did you come to live in Girdwood?
BW- Out of college I ended up with the State of Alaska as an engineer working hydroelectric projects. I found myself wanting more out of skiing and I got interested in ski patrol. I started with National Ski patrol as a volunteer and I ended up doing 27 years here at Alyeska as an early volunteer and then as a part time pro patroller.
KO- I always knew I wanted to live in Alaska and live in a ski town. So I took a job in Prudhoe in 2005 and moved to Girdwood.
What inspired you to volunteer to serve on the Girdwood Board of Supervisors?
KO- I have lived here for over 20 years. I moved to Girdwood for the skiing and fell in love with Girdwood as a community. I have a passion for stewarding development and maintaining the quirky character and essence of the community.
BW- I have been co-chairing the Housing and Economic Development committee for almost 2 years now as a subcommittee of GBOS and it has led to some great discussions. I see GBOS as an opportunity to work towards local decisions and local input to local problems in the municipality. The challenge is for GBOS to engage with the municipality in ways that are new and Girdwood forward. That is what led me to look to spending some time trying to forward the community through GBOS.
What do you think are the most important issues for Girdwood?
BW- The latest includes what just happened with the Girdwood comprehensive plan amendments with the mitten and that amendment to what the community had come forward with in the Girdwood comprehensive plan. That’s one example I think of where the community’s interest may have taken a back seat to the municipality’s interest.
KO- Responsible development is the biggest issue. Frankly this means keeping the Assembly from bulldozing Girdwood as happened with Holtan Hills and the comprehensive plan. It also means Pomeroy participating in implementation of the comprehensive plan instead of doing its own plan without working with the community to maintain the character of Girdwood. Housing is a huge part of responsible development. Development needs to include housing for a diverse group of workers who live in Girdwood rather than just more dark homes.
Do you support Proposition 8 (the bond to pay for paving Timberline).
KO- Yes. Timberline is a maintenance nightmare. If there is one section of streets needing pavement this is it. I understand the concerns over safety but these can be managed. Paying for a capital project now will save future operational costs. But if Girdwood voters vote no I will respect that outcome.
BW- I would love to see infrastructure development in Girdwood. Missing from the conversation is the fact a major contributor to the municipal fuel tax is the Speedway. This municipality wide tax is used to improve municipal roads but it is only available to roads that are within the planning structure of the municipality road transportation planning group. Even though we may collect those taxes they do not directly contribute to our road infrastructure in the valley. A bigger conversation might be how being in the municipality could benefit us since one of the largest municipal gas tax contributors is right here in the valley.
Read the entire story at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/gbos-candidates-offer-to-serve-community
Mount Spurr: Preparation Can Ease the Pain
By Allison Sayer
TNews Staffwriter
On March 12, The Alaska Volcano Observatory announced “an eruption [of Mount Spurr] is likely, but not certain, to occur within the next few weeks or months. The most likely outcome of the current unrest is an explosive eruption (or eruptions) like those that occurred in 1953 and 1992. Those eruptions each lasted a few hours and produced ash clouds that were carried downwind for hundreds of miles and minor ashfall (up to about ¼ inch) on southcentral Alaska communities.”
Many simple, low cost preparedness tips are available from the Municipality of Anchorage Emergency Operations Center and ready.alaska.gov. The common advice from these and other sources is to have a mask handy, stock up on relevant air filters, and put some forethought into what would happen if you must shelter in place somewhere.
On March 20, the Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) announced the Office of Emergency Management stepped up to a “Level Two activation status,” meaning “A situation or threat has developed that requires increased public information and has the potential for agencies to take coordinated action… Conditions are being monitored with information sharing networks activated.”
To stay informed about changes to the volcano’s status, you can sign up for email notifications from the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Locally, KEUL will broadcast emergency announcements if needed. KEUL is at 88.9 on the FM band, or can be streamed from the station’s website. Area residents can also text ANCHORAGE to 67283 for text alerts from the Municipality of Anchorage Office of Emergency Management or sign up online
According to Girdwood Town Manager for the Municipality of Anchorage Kyle Kelley, the Anchorage Emergency Operations Center would be the coordinating agency if there is an emergency related to a volcanic eruption. “They are experts in emergency response to events like this,” Kelley said via email, “We will work with Emergency Operations staff and the Girdwood Fire Department to provide local resources to Girdwood.”
Read the entire story at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/mount-spurr-preparation-can-ease-the-pain
Ski to Sea: Mountain Magic in Clay
By Allison Sayer
TNews Staffwriter
The Girdwood Center for Visual Arts (GCVA) is currently featuring “Ski to Sea,” an installation by ceramic artist and Girdwood local Barbara Lydon.
Large ceramic serving platters decorated with ocean and mountain scenes are interspersed with freeform sea stars and other animals. Lydon explained it was her intention to have the repeated shapes and symmetry of the platters bring “cohesiveness” to the viewer, but also have the creatures bring an element of “chaos.”
Lydon draws her inspiration from “The things that I love so much: working on Prince William Sound and living in this amazing place we live in.” She pointed out a detail of waves on one of the platters. “Waves don’t really look like that,” she said, “but I love taking these things that make me so happy and distilling them into bold lines, shapes and colors.”
Lydon explained the concave shape of the platters has both practical and artistic value. A large, flat slab would warp or crack, while the concave shape is more resilient. The shape also draws the eye in, adding depth to the scene.
Lydon throws the platters on a potter’s wheel using a form. She then waits till the clay dries to just the right consistency to draw lines on, going over the lines again and again to deepen them. Lydon prefers drawing on the clay when it is about the consistency of “cheese.”
The platters are fired twice- once before and once after being glazed. It takes patience to see a piece through all of these steps. Lydon explained it can’t be rushed. If a piece goes into the kiln too wet, for example, it can explode.
Sea stars of every imaginable color dot the walls. Each one has a name, like “Charlie,” or “Ellen.” Lydon explained this is because they are all unique. They each seem to have a personality.
Lydon studied art, art education, and art history in college. Her major creations then were wooden sculptures. It wasn’t until years later, when she signed up for a “random ceramics class at Colorado Mountain College” that she discovered working with clay. She remembers thinking, “This is it.” She continued, “It’s just so fun. You can do anything- be additive, subtractive… whatever you want.”
Read the entire story at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/ski-to-sea-montain-magic-in-clay
Assembly Changes Girdwood Plan to Allow Housing in Upper Meadows
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
For the Anchorage Assembly, a plan that could shape Girdwood's destiny faced two competing visions.
One, shaped by years of community consensus, favors keeping the valley's beloved rainforest, trails and areas like Stumpy's Trail protected as open space.
The other vision, promoted by the owners of Alyeska Resort, is to acquire more land for housing developments, to meet, as one Assembly member put it, the town's "dire need for housing."
In an 8-4 vote Tuesday, the Assembly gave the nod to the latter plan when it cleared a pathway for Pomeroy, a Canadian hotelier, to develop an enormous swath of old-growth forest in Girdwood's valley.
The controversial decision—to allow "mixed use" housing in undisturbed old-growth forest—comes on the heels of an Assembly vote last year approving a 60-acre subdivision in an ancient forest near Girdwood's school dubbed "Holtan Hills".
If developed as planned, the combined area, on both sides of Glacier Creek, would mean profound changes in the valley: massive clearcutting operations, trucks moving fill, home construction, and new infrastructure development.
Critics have long argued that planned housing will be too expensive for working families in Girdwood and new construction will likely end up as short-term-rentals or so-called "dark homes".
"In the two years I've been on this body, I don't think there has been anything I've contemplated as long or as deeply as this piece of this very detailed plan," said Zac Johnson, who represents Girdwood and South Anchorage on the Assembly, referring to the question of protecting or developing the area north of the Girdwood's airport.
(Photo: Equipment clears land for a new parking lot near Alyeska Hotel last fall. (Photo by Soren Wuerth)
Read the entire story at the link below:
Neighbors fear helicopters in backyards
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
When Camilla and Dave Seifert moved into their newly built Girdwood home in 1981, there was only one hangar alongside an airstrip, they could hear chum salmon spashing in the creek and there were no trees behind her house.
"Between 1980 and 1983 everything seemed to be built at the same time," Camilla said recently, referring to the neighborhood by her log home on Lake Tahoe Street.
Seifert pointed to a photo in a gallery of pictures lining a stair case.
"This one shows my daughter and Rosie Fletcher (who would become an Olympic snowboarder). They were best friends."
Two parka-clad children stand on an unfinished top floor of the Seifert cabin.
Beyond lies nothing but snowy mountains, Glacier Creek and a shed.
"The cottonwoods weren't even there," she said, looking out a back toward a stand of trees up to 70 feet high.
And the airport has since expanded.
Helicopter chatter is so loud, "when we're talking on the back deck, we need to stop talking," Seifert said.
Now, the Sieferts have learned the state transportation has leased a parcel behind her and her neighbor's houses Silverton Mountain Guides for its heliski operation.
The 55-year lease could mean "helicopter operations will be quite literally ten feet from our back doors," Seifert told the Girdwood Board of Superviors at its recent meeting.
According to the Seiferts and others, Parcel H was never meant to be developed.
Read the entire story at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/neighbors-fear-helicopters-in-backyards
Timberline Road and Drainage Improvement, Bond Proposition on Ballot
Commentary from Girdwood Board of Supervisors Briana Sullivan and Mike Edgington
Voters in Girdwood and across Anchorage will be receiving a Municipal ballot in the mail this week. This is an opportunity to elect members to the Assembly, School Board and Girdwood Board of Supervisors, but it also contains several propositions including approval to issue bonds for capital projects. One of these, Proposition 8, is for a bond to fund safety improvements to Timberline Road here in Girdwood.
What exactly is the Timberline Road Safety Project?
The Timberline Road project aims to enhance both the safety and accessibility for all road users in Girdwood, including pedestrians and cyclists. The initial section of Timberline Road to the junction with Vail Drive is one of the busiest sections of gravel road in South Central Alaska, and has to be frequently maintained due to traffic volume and road conditions.
The project will narrow and mark the vehicle lanes and broaden the shoulders, better accommodating pedestrians, cyclists, and other users, while still providing critical space for snow storage. Wider shoulders and clearer separation from vehicles will encourage alternative transportation and help promote a healthier community. Paving the vehicle lanes will control water runoff, improve drainage, and decrease potholes. This will reduce maintenance costs in the future by providing a stable foundation, making the road more durable.
The speed limit of 20mph will remain, but the project will examine enhancements to keep vehicles to safe speeds through this residential area such as additional signage, speed bumps, or other traffic calming measures.
Read the entire commentary at the link below:
(Girdwood Town Manager for the Municipality of Anchorage Kyle Kelley contributed information for this commentary)
Lack of snow prompts early start to official fire season in Alaska’s southern regions
By Yereth Rosen
Responding to the lack of snow across Southcentral Alaska and other regions, state officials on Thursday ordered an early start to the official fire season.
Instead of the usual start date of April 1, the fire season will be in effect as of March 17 in Southcentral Alaska, Southeast Alaska and much of Western Alaska, the Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection announced. That means that permits will be required for any burns conducted on state, municipal or private lands in the designated areas, which stretch from the Southeast Panhandle to the eastern Aleutians.
The state forester “has determined that weather conditions including warm temperatures and low snowpack across specific areas of Alaska raise the risk of wildland fire ahead of the statutorily designated fire season,” the order said.
The order follows a forecast issued on Monday by the National Interagency Fire Center that warned of “the potential for a busy start to the fire season across much of southern Alaska.”
Alaska’s official fire season start date of April 1 was set in 2006, after the record-high fire season of 2004 and a near-record season the following year. Up to then, the start date was May 1.
As Alaska has warmed over the past four decades, the state’s annual wildfire season has been stretched over a longer period, according to scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Big fire seasons have also become more frequent over the past decades.
The early start to the official fire season does not affect Interior and northern Alaska, which have plenty of snowpack for now. The very large wildfires that are common in places like Interior Alaska generally start with lightning strikes that start around midsummer.
Read the entire story here:
Above Photo: The ground at Anchorage’s Earthquake Park, at the edge of Cook Inlet, is almost entirely snow-free on March 6, 2025. Downtown Anchorage is in the background. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
(Article courtesy of Alaska Beacon by Creative Commons)
Assembly again punts decision on Comp Plan
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
Following nearly two hours of testimony Tuesday night, the Anchorage Assembly chose to once again postpone a decision on adopting Girdwood's comprehensive plan.
Some members said they didn't know enough about changes Anchorage's planning department wants to make on the plan.
"The information is just too much to consume tonight," Assembly Chair Chris Constant said.
Twenty or so people spoke against changes recommended by the planning department, particularly its desire to include housing designations in areas set aside as "open space" in the plan.
The two biggest points of contention are amendments for a strip of housing near Virgin Creek and a change of public land north of the airport from open space to "mixed use" housing that would allow Alyeska Resort owner Pomeroy to build 365 housing units.
Many said that area, called "the mitten" by planners, is essential to the recreational character of the community. The area is home to undisturbed wetlands, primitive and groomed trails, and a stand of ancient trees known as the Enchanted Forest.
"Developing that fragile ecosystem is something you can't reverse over time," said Liam Coyle, who lives in a tiny home in Girdwood.
The planning department sent a memo to Imagine!Girdwood, a local group overseeing the update of the 30-year-old plan, recommending five changes. Two—housing along Virgin Creek and developing the mitten—were unequivocally dismissed by the group.
The department's idea for a 500-foot strip along Virgin Creek, which Imagine!Girdwood chair Mike Edgington said would result in up to 30 single-family homes—drew resounding opposition.
The area contains among the largest old-growth trees in Girdwood, said Brenden Raymond-Yakoubian. Developing housing along a corridor, he said, would "cut down the bulk of the forest."
Read the entire story at the link below:https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/assembly-again-punts-decision-on-comp-plan
Former Resort Owner gives $1 Million to Childcare Center
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
In an emotional speech during a fundraising gala Friday night, former Alyeska Resort owner John Byrne III announced he is donating $1 million to the Girdwood Workforce Childcare Project for the new childcare center building for Little Bears Playhouse.
In the tearful address, Byrne suggested the new child care center—to be built on Alyeska-owned land near its hotel—be named after legendary volunteer and Girdwood, Inc. founder Diana Stone Livingston who sat before him in the hushed crowd.
The Little Bears Playhouse daycare center is currently housed in a six-decade-old building near the fire station and has capacity for 27 children.
Read the entire story at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/former-resort-owner-gives-1-million-to-childcare-center
Girdwood Comp Plan final vote likely Tuesday
Assembly to Decide on Future of Wild, Public Lands in Girdwood. Final Vote On Comp Plan Likely Tuesday, Following Public Testimony
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
The Anchorage Assembly may make its final ruling Tuesday night on a sweeping plan that charts the course of land use in the valley for years to come.
At stake are two wild areas that Girdwood's community wants to protect as open space but that Anchorage's planning department has targeted for housing.
The Assembly will decide the fate of nearly 100 acres of old-growth forested land between Glacier Creek and the Alyeska Resort that the resort's owner, Pomeroy, has included in its development plans.
"This is the last public hearing and I expect them to make a decision," said Mike Edgington, the chair of Imagine!Girdwood, an organization formed to guide a 30-year-old plan through a public process that, organizers say, had contributions from 900 Girdwood residents.
Edgington predicts there will be three versions of plan on the table for discussion by the Assembly Tuesday night: a version with changes by the muni's planning department, an "S" version that sustains Girdwood's original plan calling for open space in the contested areas, and, possibly a new "S1" version that could "narrow down" housing allotments.
The planning department and Pomeroy won a vote from an advisory panel last summer that allows for the Canadian company to develop housing and other amenities in an area designated for "open space" and trails.
Testimony so far has been almost universal in support of a land plan that includes open space and housing near pre-existing development.
Earlier this year, representatives from the muni's planning department met with Imagine!Girdwood's board to recommend five changes including eliminating size allowances for vegetative buffer strips called for in Girdwood's plan, some technical changes in parcel sizes, and adding a 500-foot strip of housing on the western edge of Alyeska Basin of up to 30 lots, Edgington said.
The planning department also continued to take issue with the Girdwood Plan's allocation of remote and wild public land—called "the mitten" for its shape on a map"—as open space and recommended its designation as mixed use allowing Pomeroy to build 365 housing units.
Planners said in a memo to Imagine!Girdwood that Pomeroy's housing would address a "severe housing shortage".
"The shortage has been described as 'crises' that forces locals out," the memo states.
Yet, in order to build enough housing in Girdwood that will yield year-round occupancy, the community would have to add 2,000 residences over the next decade, Edgington said, since 85 percent of homes being built are so-called "dark homes".
Read the entire story at the link below:
"We have loads of housing. It's just that most of it is empty," he said.
There will likely be a final vote on the comprehensive plan Tuesday and it is the public's last chance to give testimony, Edgington said.
"This is like a battle, an important battle. It may be a decisive battle. But it's not the final battle," he said. "But I don't like war analogies."
Testimony on the Assembly's can be given in writing, in person or over the phone. In order to give testimony via a phone, a form needs to be completed by 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24.
Read the entire story at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/girdwood-comp-plan-final-vote-likely-tuesday
Girdwood resident comments on Eaton Fire response
FOLLOW UP COMMENTARY PROVIDES HIS OPINION ON CHILDHOOD HOME
By John Gallup
Girdwood Resident
As of the week ending Feb. 14, some amazing progress has been made on the long process of rebuilding Altadena, Calif.
Through cooperation of FEMA, State of California, Los Angeles County, and the Army Corps of engineers, Phase 1, the removal and sorting of hazardous waste is almost complete, and Phase 2, the removal of debris has begun, at no cost to homeowners!
This is on a first apply first served basis, so it will be slow at first, but as it scales up it will involve 1500 trucks. This is huge, remember the fire itself was only 6 weeks ago.
Property owners can opt out and do their own removal if the want, but few have so far.
Also, if a property owner wants to rebuild the exact same house they had, only with non-flammable exteriors, they can get a building permit based on their original plans, short cutting a long and expensive process.
The only downside is that the already overcrowded 210 freeway will have to carry all those debris loads east to their final resting place in Duarte, a few miles to the east.
Read the entire commentary at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/girdwood-resident-comments-on-eaton-fire-response
Federal firings hit U.S. Forest Service in Alaska, with at least 30 jobs cut on Thursday
By Corinne Smith
At least 30 federal workers with the U.S. Forest Service in Alaska have been terminated immediately, as of Thursday, according to the National Federation of Federal Employees union.
“We got word yesterday that there were going to be 3,400 terminations of probationary employees within the U.S. Forest Service nationwide, and those terminations started at midnight,” said Matt Brossard, a national business representative with NFFE, speaking Friday at 10 a.m.
Read the entire story at the below link:
Alaska Senate approve 18-year-old alcohol servers, plus 16-year-old restaurant workers
By James Brooks
Alaskans as young as 16 will be allowed to work in restaurants, and those as young as 18 will be allowed to serve alcohol if a bill passed Monday by the Alaska Senate becomes law.
Senate Bill 15, which passed on a 19-0 vote, advances to the state House for consideration.
The bill is almost identical to House Bill 189, which the Legislature passed last year but Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed it. In his veto message, the governor noted that the House passed it after the midnight deadline on the last day of the session.
HB 189 was sponsored by Rep. Jesse Sumner, R-Wasilla, who did not seek reelection last year. Sen. Kelly Merrick, R-Eagle River, reintroduced the bill at the start of this session, and it moved quickly through the Senate, becoming the first bill the Senate passed this year.
“Alaskan businesses are asking for relief when it comes to workforce shortages. Many establishments were in support of this bill and they wanted it to get through the Legislature as quickly as possible,” she said.
Restaurant and tourist businesses typically staff up during the summer with out-of-state labor or foreign seasonal workers, she said. If SB 15 becomes law, it would allow businesses to hire younger Alaskans instead, Merrick said.
Read the entire story at the link below:
Late January Avalanches were close calls
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
We all live at the mercy of Mother Nature, as on-going ecological catastrophes attest.
For people living below the shadow of a mountain, in the path of an avalanche, the reverberations of this reckoning become particularly poignant.
Centuries ago, the Incas brought young women to the peaks of mountains in sacrifice. They revered the mountain deity "Apus", protector of land and animals. In the Peruvian highlands, folklore still has locals crafting gifts for mountain spirits.
In Nepal prayer flags flutter along ancient trails and pilgrims chant the words, om mani padme hum.
For Norwegians, the Bergrisi, or "mountain giant", guards craggy peaks and could command or prevent an avalanche.
In Chinese mythology, mountains were said to hold up the sky.
Two Girdwood avalanches, one in upper Crow Creek and another on Mt. Alyeska came so close to disaster, it was as if an Apus or Bergrisi had been summoned.
Though the slides were considerable in both locations, no one was hurt and property escaped damage.
An avalanche that shed from Ragged Bowl above a small community along upper Crow Creek Road during a late January evening passed beside one cabin, went over the top of a vacant garage and stopped short of several homes.
Avalanche forecasters had warned of "high" danger during a turbulent storm that brought wind, rain and a half dozen feet of snow in places.
During the storm, one resident thought he'd heard something, an earthquake he thought, but outside he couldn't see much beyond a white-flurried gale.
When another local woke up the next day, he saw the avalanche beside, beneath and above his home. The avalanche sailed over the top of a vacant steel and concrete garage (designed for such events) loading the roof with feet of snow, branches and debris and came to a stop just before a house.
In the end, only an abandoned car and fish smoker were damaged.
Read the entire story at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/late-january-avalanches-were-close-calls
Community comes out to support Challenge at Annual Gala
By Allison Sayer
TNews Staffwriter
On February 1, Challenge Alaska welcomed about 680 guests and 40 volunteers to their annual fundraising gala at the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage. The theme was “Wild West,” and attendees dressed in their best cowboy attire.
Challenge is well known in Girdwood for its adaptive ski and snowboard program. They also offer opportunities for intellectually or physically disabled Alaskans to master archery, cross country skiing, water sports, hockey, tennis, mountain biking, and many other sports.
Ski racer Anna Boltz, who has spina bifida, captivated the crowd with her keynote address. She described her journey from being strapped into a tiny sit-ski at the age of two to racing at the national level now at age 18.
Through her experiences at Challenge, Anna has found community, independence, and focus. “This is what I want to do with my life,” she said, “I want to train. I want to race. And I want to be around these people.”
“I don’t feel like I have a disability when I ski,” she said, “I feel free… I can be a teenager and go out and ski with my friends… I can go wherever I want on the mountain.”
Anna has formed lifelong relationships with her fellow racers and coaches. She credited Performance Director Jeremy “Jaha” Anderson with helping her push the limits of her comfort zone, even recounting a crash right underneath the chairlift that resulted in a bloody nose but no other injuries.
Executive Director J. Nathan “Nate” Boltz, who is Anna’s father, described Challenge’s vision during his words: “When the mission is complete, Alaskans of all abilities will have equal access to sports, recreation, and community.”
Read the entire story at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/community-comes-out-to-support-challenge-at-annual-gala
Girdwood Art Institute offers Fine Arts Camps
By Tommy O’Malley
TNews Contributor
Through careful financial management and with support from the Girdwood community, the Girdwood Fine Arts Camp has been able to offer Art Technique Classes through the fall and winter for school children through adults.
Arts Camp has been offering these art classes tuition free.
The classes have included portrait drawing and painting; Finger painting for adults, Stained glass; and PLAYDOH, (not Plato) for adults; making ROBOTS using Artistic Intelligence; PLAYDOH and Hey Clay for children; and Ice sculpture for children and adults.
All together there have been nine classes offered with 148 students participating.
Coming up are Printmaking and Collage for school children and teens, Batik style Silk scarf making, Wire Jewelry, Encaustic landscape painting, Tye Dye and Watercolor painting with more to come.
Read the entire story at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/girdwood-art-institute-offers-fine-arts-camps
Commentary: Dark against an Oven of Yellow Fire—My Home of 41 Years
By John Gallup
TNews Contributor
I was just another college grad at loose ends.
I didn't have any idea what I wanted to do, and my supervising professor at college said, "If I were you, I'd go to Alaska."
It seemed like a good idea at the time, so here I am, 52 years later.
This story is about where I was born and spent the first 23 years of my life: Altadena, California.
Set up against the San Gabriel Mountains on sloping ground, Altadena was laid out on a basic grid pattern when old haciendas were broken up and Pasadena became built-out and expanded north.
It is divided almost exactly in half by north/south Lake Avenue. East of Lake was more upper-middle class, larger homes and lots, and it was here that Dr. Gallup moved into 1560 Homewood Drive on my sixth birthday in April 1955. I was enrolled in Noyes Elementary school.
The house at 1560 was huge by our standards, it was called a "New Orleans Colonial" and had wide balconies on three sides. In the backyard was a formal garden with a rectangular fish pond which was quickly emptied of its fish and became our summer swimming hole. To the west, down a steep slope, was well over an acre of raw scrubland which we called "The Jungle" and where four young boys could dig for buried treasure and build forts.
Fifteen-sixty was at the end of a cul-de-sac, so the street also was our playground and our football and baseball field. The Baby Boom provided us with lots of other kids to play and make mischief with.
We all had bikes, and our mother would greet us as we came home from school, saying, "I don't want to see you or hear you until dinner." Which was just fine with us. We pedaled off into the afternoon smog in search of adventure.
Elementary school, junior high, high school, then off to college. College was only about a 20 minute drive away, so I was back home a lot, usually with my hand out for spending money.
Read the entire story at the link below:
Look Up to the New Moon Night Sky to see the Old Wanderers
By John Gallup
TNews Contrbutor
Ancient civilizations spent a lot of their evenings looking up and telling stories about what they observed.
They noticed that almost all the bright things they saw in the night sky moved very slowly westward with each passing night and returned to the same place in the heavens at about the same season of every year.
However, five of the brightest objects didn’t follow this pattern. They behaved oddly, wandering back and forth against the slow-moving background.
The ancient Greeks called them “planets,” which is Greek for “wanderers.” They seemed to confine their wandering to a narrow strip in the sky, the same stripe that the Moon and Sun moved through.
Three of them moved east across the night sky against the background, but all three stopped moving east and moved back to the west for a period of time, stopped again, then resumed their easterly course.
The other two were stranger yet. They would bob up in the morning or evening sky, rise to a point, then fall back down to disappear from where they rose, only to reappear in the morning sky, rise to about the same angle from the horizon, then turn around and head back down.
Read the entire story at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/look-up-to-the-new-moon-night-sky-to-see-the-old-wanderers