Stuck in the middle — Fishing family’s income level leaves them uninsured

Photo by Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter. Jackie Tomrdle, of Kenai, holds baby Katella and almost 3-year-old Isabella in their home off Kalifornsky Beach Road on Friday. Isabella has severe allergies that can flare up at any time, leaving Jackie and her husband, Arvo, in a perpetual state of worry, since they can’t afford health insurance.

By Jenny Neyman

Redoubt Reporter

At first glance, Jackie Tomrdle’s family doesn’t appear to be in a dangerous financial situation. She, her husband, Arvo, and four kids live in a spacious home off Kalifornsky Beach Road with a well-kept yard and a well-fed dog. An SUV is parked out front. Inside, a flat-screen TV faces leather furniture in the living room.

Jackie works at a local gym and Arvo is a commercial gillnet fisherman in the Copper River and Prince William Sound in the summer, and works on the North Slope in the winter. Their income allows them a moderate, middle-class lifestyle, with the perks and comforts that brings — or so it seems, at least.

What their income does not allow is the ability to afford health insurance. Without it, they not only cannot afford to pay the full costs of doctors visits and prescriptions to treat 2-year-old Isabella’s severe allergies, they also can’t protect themselves against the very real possibility that their outwardly middle-class existence could be wiped out at any time by one serious medical situation.

“We just do what we can do,” Jackie Tomrdle said. “The biggest thing is the day-to-day stuff with children who have medical issues. But then there’s also the issue that if one of us gets hurt, we could lose everything. And that weighs heavily.”

The Tomrdles aren’t living in abject poverty, for which Jackie is grateful. But some aspects of life would be easier if they did fall into the guidelines for poverty. At least then she and her kids would qualify for Denali KidCare, the state-assistance medical program for children and mothers with low incomes.

Eligibility guidelines consider monthly income, and with Arvo’s seasonal work, the Tomrdles don’t qualify for state assistance, she said.

“Being a commercial fishing family, it really puts us in a hard position. In order to fish, you need to have time to fish and you need, not just time to actually fish, but time in preparation to get your boat ready and your gear ready and basic maintenance. … On paper, we look like we earn too much money,” Tomrdle said.

Bugging out — Exterminators prevent pests from eating history

Photo by Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter. Joe Kole, of Kenai Pest Raiders, explains the monitoring traps he brought to institute a pest-control monitoring program at the Kenai Visitors and Cultural Center on Sept. 1. The glue traps are placed in likely traffic corridors for insects and rodents. If something creeps or crawls over the trap, it gets stuck.

By Jenny Neyman

Redoubt Reporter

Joe Kole shone his flashlight down the length of the storage room Sept. 1, nosing its beam between cartons of historic Kenai artifacts, bouncing it off stuffed fish, weaving behind fur parkas and birch bark baskets, looking for the best place to lay traps for his quarry — bugs.

At the Kenai Visitors and Cultural Center, visitors of the human variety are welcomed by the thousand, invited in to see hide clothing, hand-sewn fur outerwear and feathered ceremonial raiments made by the area’s Native ancestors. The marmot standing bolt upright on a ledge rimming the main gallery ceiling, frozen in a perpetual state of alert. The flocks of birds perched perfectly still on the walls and ceiling ledge in the lobby.

To the center’s intended visitors, these and other displays represent a link to the history, culture and natural character of the area. To the unintended visitors Kole was looking for, however, the displays represent something else — lunch.

Temperature controls, security systems, “please don’t touch” signs and glass cases are meant to safeguard the sensitive art, artifacts and natural exhibits the center is tasked with maintaining and displaying. But they don’t offer much protection against threats of the small, skittery and creepy-crawly variety.

In a museum, insects and rodents can live up to their name as pests in a big way, unobtrusively causing irrevocable damage to fur, hides, bone, paper and other natural materials before anyone may even realize they’re there.

“People come in from all over the world, so who knows what’s walking into the building,” said Laura Forbes, director of programs and exhibits at the center. “Things can stow away in people’s cuffs and collars. It doesn’t take much to start a problem. And, we’re in Alaska. We have shrews and voles and all kinds of little critters that like to come inside in the winter and burrow in paper and all kinds of snuggly things.”

Honey of a party — Eat Me Raw celebrates the season at annual honey extraction

Photo by Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter. Dan Skipwith, owner of Eat Me Raw Honey Company, inspects a tray of bee pollen collected from his hives at his family’s annual honey extraction party Sunday in Kasilof.

By Jenny Neyman

Redoubt Reporter

Off a bumpy, gravel road in Kasilof, tucked back a few turns from Johnson Lake, the first Sunday in September is known as the “extraction,” but the event is cause for a gathering. It’s the kind of bring-your-kids/guitar/favorite-side-dish/beer/homemade-wine party born of small-town, close-knit ties, thrown open in come-on-by hospitality.

For Dan Skipwith, owner of Eat Me Raw Honey Company, and his wife, Diane Taylor, Labor Day weekend signifies tapping the literally and figuratively sweet rewards of summer. Their annual honey extraction party is a time to collect the sticky-sweet goo from their beehives, and to celebrate the friendships they’ve cultivated in the 27 years they’ve been hosting the event.

“We’ve got three generations at this party now,” Skipwith said. “There are a lot of people here that have children that have had children.”

After hovering around the barbecue area for dinner, the crowd started meandering over to Skipwith’s shop for a demonstration and, more importantly, taste test of the extraction process.

The hives sit out front, in stacks of brightly painted boxes shaped like filing cabinets surrounded by wires of electric fencing.

It’s been a decent summer for honey production, Skipwith said. Some beekeepers have told him it’s been the best they’ve seen, but he expects that sentiment may in part be a response to lingering frustration over last year’s weather.

“It depends on the weather, it depends on the plants. In looking at things, I thought we were going to make more honey this year than we have, but we’ve made more than we did last year,” he said. “Last year sucked. It was the coldest summer on record. We didn’t have any fireweed.”

Steeped in sound — Coffee shop acoustic jam spices up Wednesday nights

Photos by Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter. The acoustic song circle at Funky Monkey in Kenai draws a regular crowd every Wednesday night. Lee Johnson plays bass while Mike Morgan leads the group on vocals.

By Jenny Neyman

Redoubt Reporter

At times, the music welling up from the overstuffed leather furniture, mingling with the clink of teaspoons against grapefruit-sized coffee cups and seeping out into the hallway of the Funky Monkey coffee shop in Kenai on Sept. 2 sounded rehearsed.

The musicians’ playing was steeped in their varying musical tastes, backgrounds and experience levels — with some adding a harmonizing chord here or a descant riff there; some fingerpicking in support of the melody, with others strumming along in rhythm to it.

But when a pivotal moment in the song came, they all met on the same downbeat, converging on a silent cue inherent in the music from whatever path they’d taken to get there.

“Everybody listens. Everybody knows to quiet down when it’s time to quiet down, or make noise when it’s time to make noise. That doesn’t always happen in a jam session,” said Mike Morgan, the “host” of the acoustic song circle, which meets at 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays at the Funky Monkey on the north end of Kenai.

The song circle is open to everyone, and though there are regulars, there’s a revolving cast of new and periodic faces, as well.

“Is anybody sitting here?” asked Jesse Tauriainen, of Kenai, approaching a vacant leather couch after pulling his guitar from its case.

“Not at all. We were waiting for you,” said Peggy Jones, of Kenai.

Song choice goes around the circle, with each player getting to pick what’s played next. There are some regular requests, but the repertoire changes every week, Morgan said, which makes it that much more impressive when the unpredictablility inherent in a jam session comes off sounding practiced.

“There were no segues in the leads, guys. That’s great. It’s like we planned it,” Morgan said, after finishing up The Beatles’ “Let It Be.”

But other moments do give away telltale signs of the group’s jam-session nature.

Art Seen: Harvesting support — Art auction offers roof-raising deals

"Fall," by George-Anne Phillips

By Zirrus VanDevere, for the Redoubt Reporter

The Peninsula Art Guild has been doing the Harvest Art Exhibit and Auction for 10 years. Originally, it was the brainchild of folks at the local Planned Parenthood office. They often received awesome artwork to auction off for their annual fundraiser and were wondering if there was a way to let the work have exhibit time before being whisked away by the highest bidder.

They teamed up with the art guild, which was willing to display the work for the month preceding the event. The combined effort was quite successful. When Planned Parenthood moved on to other strategies, they advised the guild to continue with the Harvest auction without them. It turned out to be good advice.

Downs and ups — Father, son mountain bikers racing ahead in sport standings

Photos courtesy of Shawn Schooley. Jacob Schooley competes in the Far North BMX races in Fairbanks in August. Schooley, competing for the first time at the intermediate level after winning the race at the beginner level the two previous years, finished in second place by only a few inches.

Story by Clark Fair

Redoubt Reporter

Fortunately for the father-son racing duo of Shawn and Jacob Schooley, competing at the national downhill mountain bike races earlier this summer was a case of what goes down must come up.

Although both riders had unfortunate falls at the Grandby, Colo., event in July, they both came away thrilled by the experience, both were elevated to No. 1 status in their sport in the state of Alaska, and Shawn nabbed two more sponsors to help keep him in a sport that demands skill and expensive equipment.

At nationals, Shawn’s fall came on one of the practice-race days leading to the finals.

On the first day of practice, the 35-year-old Expert Class racer said, “I got my suspension dialed in,” meaning that he was figuring out the obstacle-laced mountain course and exactly how he was going to attack it for maximum efficiency. He was memorizing every nuance of the trail that featured boulders and logs, single and double jumps, and sharp turns, in addition to a steep descent down a forested hillside.

At the end of that first day, he said his times were comparable to those of the top-10 racers, but on the next day of practice, his racing ended abruptly.

Racers are sent down the course on regular timed intervals, and on a sharp turn the racer just before him had apparently dislodged a small boulder, causing it to roll down into Shawn’s path and under his front tire.

Science of the Seasons: Muddying the waters — Tannins, lignins add odd coloring to unmarred, glacial blue lakes

Photo courtesy of David Wartinbee. Impounded water from a boggy area enters Tustumena Lake. At first glance, it looks like a huge oil spill but is only water full of tannins and lignins.

By David Wartinbee, for the Redoubt Reporter

This past weekend I was flying over Tustumena Lake and I marveled at the beautiful milky color of the water. That cloudiness comes from the finely ground rock particles, called glacial flour, that remain suspended in the lake water.

Tustumena Glacier provides a fair amount of water for the lake, and also creates much of the ultrafine powder as the ice and embedded rocks slowly grind against underlying sedimentary rock surfaces. If you take a tall, clear tube filled with Tustumena Lake water and let it sit motionless for a couple months, the water will become clear and a fine layer of sediments will appear on the bottom of the tube. Shake it up and it turns milky again.

In several places there are streams and impounded waters flowing into the milky-colored lake water. Several of these water sources look frighteningly like dark oil spills polluting the lake. What is so striking is the contrasting color of tea-colored water mixing with the milky-white lake water. What’s going on here?

Many of the natural streams surrounding Tustumena Lake are called brown-water streams by ecologists. They can have brown or reddish water that is transparent but dark. The coloration comes from tannins and lignins dissolved in the water. The tea-colored analogy is appropriate, since much of the color of tea, and even much of the taste, comes from tannins dissolved in the hot water brew.

Tannins and lignins are polyphenol compounds with highly variable chemical formulations. They are formed by plants and are common in bark, leaves and seeds. They are particularly difficult to break down, and only a few bacteria and fungi can actually do it. When plant materials are being decomposed, the very last things to be broken down are the tannins and lignins.

Old Duck Hunter’s Club: Celebrate hunting, fishing by passing interest on to kids

By Steve Meyer, for the Redoubt Reporter

September in Alaska is more like October in other states, at least as far as hunters are concerned. Most all of the hunting seasons are open and hunters are relieved to finally be back in the field doing what they love most.

Given the short seasons and seemingly minimal time hunters have to pursue their activity, it is not surprising that National Hunting and Fishing Day, Sept. 26 this year, goes largely unnoticed in Alaska. Nevertheless, it is an important day that recognizes the contributions that individuals who hunt and fish make to the community, environment and fish and wildlife they pursue.

According to the National Hunting and Fishing Day Web site, http://www.nhfday.org, hunters and fishermen contribute an astonishing amount to this country’s economy.  Every 30 minutes, hunters and fishermen pay $100,000 in excise taxes on equipment they purchase. That amounts to over $1.75 billion per year, which goes directly toward fish and wildlife habitat. Nationwide, hunting and fishing adds $208 million to the economy every single day.

More individuals hunt than play tennis or ski, and they spend more time doing it. Anglers spend $1.1 billion annually on bait, twice as much as is spent by skiers — $615 million — on their equipment. Hunters with archery equipment spend $674 million annually just on bows and arrows. All told, hunting and fishing brings $176 billion into the United States a year.

In Alaska, the most recent figures show hunters and fishermen put $1.8 million into the state economy every day. According to 2007 statistics, the number of individuals hunting or fishing in Alaska was 149,000, ranking Alaska No. 42 nationwide. Expenditures by those individuals was $662 million, ranking Alaska No. 35 in the nation. The economics of sportfishing on the Kenai Peninsula are obvious from the sheer level of activity we experience here in the summer. Statewide, 8,000 jobs are directly supported by the sportfishing industry.

Stubs Office Supply shelves hopes of finding buyer for family owned store

Photo by Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter. The Morrison family, from left, Paula, Judy Consiel, Viola and C.R. “Stub”, is retiring, closing Stubs Office Supply store in Soldotna by the end of the year. The store has been for sale, but hasn’t attracted a buyer.

By Jenny Neyman

Redoubt Reporter

As many a savvy small business owner and office worker on the central Kenai Peninsula knows, if you need an item and can’t find it in the office supply aisle, try Stubs. If it’s not already housed within the pink and gray building, decorated with murals of Alaska wildlife, store owners will know where to find it.

But after 25 years of keeping people in paper clips, ledger paper, ink cartridges and all manner of other organizational paraphernalia, the Stubs Office Supply known for its willingness to custom order, has given up trying to order itself a buyer. The store will close by the end of the year.

“We’re retiring,” said Judy Consiel, co-owner of Stubs Office Supply on the Kenai Spur Highway in Soldotna. “My husband retired seven years ago. He has been very patient, but he’s getting tired of waiting.”

Consiel’s family bought the office supply store in 1975 from Roger and Barbara Thorsen. It was originally housed in the smaller pink and gray building adjacent to the current store, with one bare, hanging light bulb and merchandise stuffed into milk crates. Consiel’s parents, C.R. (Clarence Roy) “Stub” and Viola Morrison bought the store as an investment, and to set their son, Harold, up in a business venture. Harold was just returning from service in the Coast Guard.

The family moved to the area from Oregon in 1967. Stub Morrison worked in the oilfield, and did sheet metal and duct work for construction projects around town — including Central Peninsula Hospital, the Borough Building, several schools and industrial plants in Nikiski. Viola was one of the first employees at the newly built hospital, first at the switchboard and then in purchasing, but she left the hospital to help run the store.

Harold was killed in a plane crash in December 1975, and the Morrisons sold the store to Yukon Office in 1979, though they retained ownership of the building. The store changed hands to Corporate Express, and when its lease on the building was set to expire in 1988, the company decided it would consolidate its Soldotna and Kenai locations into one store in the Red Diamond Center on Kalifornsky Beach Road.

With their building about to become vacant, the Morrisons decided to take over the business again in October 1988. Corporate Express changed its mind about consolidating, and instead opened a store in Soldotna in what is now The Salvation Army building on the Kenai Spur Highway. Eventually, both that store and the one in Kenai closed, leaving just Stubs as the only strictly office supply store on the central Kenai Peninsula.

What Stubs may have lacked in stock — there’s only so much room for erasable wall calendars, letter trays and staples, after all — the family made up for in special orders.

“We did mail-out service, all over the state. They can’t seem to get Anchorage to do it, so we did. There are going to be a lot of unhappy people (when we close),” Viola said.

Plugged In: Going pro? Focus on new full-frame camera deals

By Joseph Kashi, for the Redoubt Reporter

Nearly 200 new digital cameras have been recently announced in time for the Christmas conspicuous consumption season. That’s probably enough to help you forget that we’ve been in a serious global recession.

Most are shiny me-too clones and knockoffs that frequently don’t improve upon last year’s models, but are more expensive without any discernible improvement in image quality.

Some are genuinely interesting, innovative or unusually good deals.

Over the next several weeks, we’ll look at new cameras that stand out because of their good value or very high quality.

This week, we’ll start with the top of the line, full-frame digital cameras, and over the next few weeks, compare them with less-expensive models from the same manufacturers to see what gives you the best image quality, most convenient usability and best value.