King concern — Fishermen rally in support of king run conservation

By Patrice Kohl

Photos by Patrice Kohl, for the Redoubt Reporter. Kenai River Professional Guide Association President Dave Goggia speaks about the importance of all user groups doing their share to preserve king runs.

For the Redoubt Reporter

Urged to do more with less, salmon fishermen are buckling down. Like Americans that once rationed sugar and butter to support war efforts, fishermen are pulling nets and lures from the water to support conservation efforts. As of Monday, the late run of Kenai River king salmon looked like it might be headed for a fourth consecutive year of weak returns, following an already weak early run in June that included several restrictions on fishing.

At a Monday morning rally, sport anglers and fishing guides said they were particularly cognizant of the need for all fishing groups, including their own, to make sacrifices to allow adequate king salmon spawning.

“We’re going to err on the side of conservation in years of low abundance. And we’ll live with that, and that’s how it is,” said Kenai River Guide Association President Dave Goggia in a speech at the rally.

Long-term king fishery declines prompted more than 50 fishermen — mostly sport and guides — to gather outside the Alaska Department of Fish and Game office on Kalifornsky Beach Road in Soldotna. They asked that the department do more to protect the king fishery, whether through improved data-gathering or stronger restrictions.

While many of the fishermen questioned whether department restrictions fairly distributed the burden of conservation among fisheries groups, anger over allocation issues was tempered with a deeper concern for the well-being of the fishery.

“I hate to see king salmon fishing, which is so great here, start to dwindle,” said Rick Beckers, a local sport fisherman at the rally. “Then, before you know it, it will be done. It’ll be catch and release only.”

Faith in family — Special-needs baby in India already at home in Kenai couple’s hearts

By Jenny Neyman

Photo by Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter. Kenai’s Gozelski family — from left, John holding Ben, Anna and Amy, show a photo of 20-month-old Kitana, who they hope to adopt from India.

Redoubt Reporter

Of all the questions, details, adjustments and decisions needing to be sorted out for the arrival of the Gozelski family’s new daughter — and they are many to the point of seemingly infinite, big to the brink of panic, small to the realm of sometimes silly, and nitpicky past the edge of frustration — the truly significant ones are unequivocally settled.

While the international adoption process for the Kenai family to bring home 20-month old Kitana from an orphanage in India has been crawling slowly forward to its — hopefully near — conclusion for over a year now, John and Amy Gozelski have been keeping up a quicker pace, spinning with all that must be done, arranged and resolved: Which adoption program, and which country, and which child do they apply for? How do they come up with the at-minimum $21,000 in fees? What’s the extent of Kitana’s disabilities and how will they provide for her special needs? How will their other two kids adjust? Where will she sleep? Which of the three giant binders of paperwork is that one, particular form in? How much forewarning will they have to book tickets when they get the OK to go get her? Should they start cooking spicier meals now so they can stomach the food when they get to India?

And so on, and so forth. Another day, another detail, another eligibility requirement to pass, another cost to pay, another form to file, each detail leading to another needing to be ironed out. It’s enough to make even the most determined prospective adoptive parents question their resolve, except that Amy and John already have the biggest questions answered:

• They were meant to adopt Kitana.
• She will be every bit their child, so whatever physical limitation she has or challenges she brings will not limit them from loving her wholeheartedly and unendingly.
• Doing so is God’s will, and accepting that means having faith that God wouldn’t set forth such a task without providing for a path to follow.

Home sweet mobile home — Kasilof couple undertakes massive move

By Joseph Robertia

Photos by Joseph Robertia, Redoubt Reporter. The top two stories of Randy and Jane Adkins’ new home sits on a trailer of a contractor hired to move the home from a hill above the Tustumena Lodge in Kasilof to the couple’s land on Cohoe Loop Road.

Redoubt Reporter

When it comes to purchasing a home, many people look for a house and property that agrees with them, but for Kasilof newlyweds Jane and Randy Adkins, the house they wanted wasn’t where they owned land, so they moved their dream structure, all 25,000 square feet of it, and not by doing it one piece at a time.

“It went pretty darn smooth, all things considered,” said Jane Adkins.

They relocated the three-story structure that formerly stood on top of a tall hill behind the Tustumena Lodge, in Kasilof, roughly eight miles down Cohoe Loop Road late last month.

Married last June, Randy lived in a camper off of Cohoe Loop, while Jane lived in a barn in Soldotna. In starting a new life together, they wanted a new home — this home on the hill. Nailing down a price with the seller was the easy part, but the move was a long time coming, according to Jane Adkins, primarily because of how massive the structure would be to transport.

“It was probably last May we found out about it and started getting ready for it,” she said.

She and Randy, a carpenter by trade, liked the house and weighed the option of building one like it. However, the cost of building materials has skyrocketed in recent years, and they quickly realized it would cost significantly more to build than it would to try and move the existing house, particularly since the owner was eager to see it go and cut them a great deal.

“A lot of people wanted it, but were put off by the idea of how much would have to be done to move it,” Adkins said.

The move wasn’t going to be cheap. Jane said only three businesses in the state specialize in this kind of work, and the one they selected — Toney Hannah General Contracting —cost twice as much to move the house as it did to purchase it. Still, the price was thousands of dollars less than if they had built a new home.

“It was really intense. A lot of people told us it would fall apart, but it wasn’t that old and Randy looked it over and said it was a well-built house, so he was pretty confident we could do it,” Adkins said.

Alleged radio pirate arrested — Suspect fleeing police nearly hit woman in Homer Spit Run

By Naomi Klouda

Homer Tribune

The man charged with failing to stop at the direction of the Homer Police in the midst of the Homer Spit Run, where a runner’s life was endangered, was arrested last week at a Department of Motor Vehicles office in Anchorage

Larry C. Volz Jr., 55, is charged with two felony counts, one alleging his failure to stop at the direction of a peace officer and the second one charging felony assault for narrowly missing a pedestrian running in the dirt on Kachemak Drive. A third charge is a misdemeanor for reckless driving.

The Homer Spit Run Challenge was in full swing June 23, a race that attracts about 200 runners. Homer Police received a call from a Homer firefighter who identified a license plate he knew, alerting police to be on the lookout for the vehicle. The suspect vehicle, a 1994 Toyota SR5 pickup, was on the Homer Spit near the Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon.

Homer Police Chief Mark Robl said that officers wanted only to talk with Volz about the reason they were told to be on the lookout for his license plate: Volz was suspected of illegally tapping into FM radio frequencies to make broadcasts that were not permitted through the Federal Communications Commission.

“When we made the initial contact on the Spit, we were stopping him to talk to him and advise him of the complaint. We weren’t going to arrest him. There wasn’t anything at that point to charge him with,” Robl said. “But then he took off and fled at a high rate of speed.”

Tsunami debris surveys underway

By the Homer Tribune

The Marine Conservation Alliance Foundation released the results of their tsunami debris monitoring program July 3.  Further monitoring efforts are underway but additional funding is necessary to conduct cleanup activities.

Debris suspected to be from the tsunami was reported in Washington State in December 2011. In response, in January 2012, MCAF established a monitoring program to detect the presence of debris on Alaska’s shoreline and to test suspected pieces for radiation.  The program used experienced marine debris cleanup contactors in Sitka, Craig, Yakutat, and Kodiak.

As described in the newly released report, Results of the 2012 MCAF Japanese Tsunami Monitoring Program; buoys, large pieces of Styrofoam and liquid containers used for fuel were found along the shores. Experienced contactors recognized much of this was not typical debris. Near Sitka 1,600 pounds of mostly Styrofoam tsunami debris was identified from eight beaches. Styrofoam was also the biggest problem in Yakutat with 95 blocks and 52 floats identified. This was followed by the large black “oyster floats” (48 identified).

Using hand-held Geiger counters, monitors found no radiation contamination. This is consistent with expectations since the Fukushima meltdown occurred after the water had receded.

The study found that much of the debris is Styrofoam, which greatly concerned Marine Debris Program Coordinator Dave Gaudet. “Just imagine Styrofoam in the storms this winter getting bashed against the rocks. Right now the pieces are big and can be picked up, but next year they’ll be broken to pieces and nearly impossible to remove.”

Watching out for history — Youth work crew helps restore one of oldest structures on peninsula

By Joseph Robertia

Photos by Joseph Robertia, Redoubt Reporter. The Watchman’s Cabin at the Kasilof Regional Historical Association’s museum grounds has had restoration work annually since being moved to the museum in 2009.

Redoubt Reporter

For some youths on summer vacation, constructive activities can be few and far between, particularly literal construction projects. But a small group of local teens worked hard recently to preserve a slice of history of the Kasilof area, and in learning about the past, they also developed skills that may one day help them in the future.

“All the kids are from the local area, so they were excited to be working on this project,” said Ciara Johnson, a Kenai National Wildlife Refuge leader for the Youth Conservation Corps, in regard to the efforts of the eight teens in YCC to restore the roofing tin on a portion of the Watchman’s Cabin, which now resides at the Kasilof Regional Historical Association’s museum grounds on Kalifornsky Beach Road.

Believed to be built sometime between 1882 and 1890, the Watchman’s Cabin is one of the oldest structures on the Kenai Peninsula, and originally stood just above shoreline on the north shore of the mouth of the Kasilof River.

In 2009, after many years of natural erosion and damage from vandalism, the cabin was moved to museum property in order to protect and preserve the structure for future generations. Restoration work has taken place on the cabin annually since the move.

“We’re putting the addition on like it originally was,” said Gary Titus, a historian for the refuge overseeing the work, in regard to a portion of the cabin built sometime later than the original structure was constructed.

“This originally had cannery tin, in pieces that were 14-by-20 inches, and they worked well. It was still good under that tin,” Titus said, but for the restoration they used newly made metal shingles fabricated at Alaska Steel, cut to be the same size as the originals.

Science of the Seasons: Feast your eyes on watermelon snow in alpine

By Dr. David Wartinbee, for the Redoubt Reporter

Photo courtesy of Dr. David Wartinbee. Chlamydomonas nivalis cells are shown at 400-times magnifications. These tiny alga cells, responsible for the phenomenon of “watermelon snow,” are only a couple times larger than human blood cells. While the alga cells are nontoxic, notice the amount of debris that has collected in areas where these cells are found in the snow, making ingesting watermelon snow inadvisable.

Years ago as a graduate student studying in the Beartooth Mountains of Wyoming, I first encountered what was called “watermelon snow.” Many of the snow piles above 10,000 feet had an unusual, reddish-pink color. When approaching them, there was an odor similar to a fresh watermelon, and when we tried tasting it, there was even a hint of watermelon taste. It wasn’t sweet like a flavored snow cone but, yet, a hint of watermelon was good enough to justify the name. Our professors told us there were algae in the snow, and since we were working on bugs, we considered it kind of an anomaly and let it go.

We are not the first to this occurrence. Supposedly there are reports of red-colored snow from the early Greeks. The red-colored algal cells causing the color were probably first seen in the early 1800s as microscopes were being refined.

Recently, while flying over the west side of Cook Inlet, I noticed snow piles with pink ridges and was reminded of the “watermelon snow” I had seen so many years ago. I decided it was time to look at the snow under a microscope and learn more about these algae. A friend mentioned that he has seen snow piles with distinct pink coloration in Hatcher Pass, so I made a special trip to gather some specimens.

Almanac: Tinkering with life in Hope — Mathison brothers cobble together rough-hewn life in the backcountry

By Clark Fair

Photo courtesy of Bob Mathison’s granddaughter, Laurel Downing Bill, author of the critically acclaimed Aunt Phil’s Trunk Alaska history series, http://www.auntphilstrunk.com. Bob and Charlie Mathison walk down the street in Seward circa the 1920-30s.

Redoubt Reporter

Improvisation was a way of life for the Mathison brothers.

The younger sons of Scottish-born Robert Burns and Lavinia Clark Mathison, Robert Lewis (Bob) and Charles (Charlie) grew up around a remote Alaska lumber mill and then involved themselves in the hardscrabble careers of gold mining, fur trapping and supply ferrying in and around the community of Hope throughout the first half of the 20th century. In these venues, they frequently had to make do with whatever was available to get the job done.

Among the displays of their inventiveness and determination were gold-mining and supply-hauling methods, clever barging systems and the first “skimobile” ever developed to work a trapline in Alaska.

Born in Texas late in the 1800s, Bob and Charlie moved to Alaska with their mother, older brother, John, and sickly sister, Bessie, to join their father in the gold rush town of Hope in 1899. The elder Robert was running a prosperous sawmill up on Bear Creek, just outside of Hope. Soon, John, who was 18 at the time of the move, became his assistant and, according to several reports, the financial brains of

Photo courtesy of Laurel Downing Bill. Robert Burns Mathison, originally from Scotland (his father was gardener to poet Robert Burns, hence his name) arrived in Hope in 1896 via Texas. He helped build the schoolhouse in Hope, where his sons, Bob and Charles, attended school.

the operation.

John and his father also moved successfully into the creation of a “major” store on Main Street in Hope and into mining ventures on gold-rich Resurrection Creek, pulling thousands of dollars of profits out of gravels that other miners had claimed were no good, according to Mary Barry in her comprehensive, “A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula.”

But the Mathison luck soured away from the mines and the mill.

The elder Robert traveled back to Texas in 1913 and apparently never returned to Alaska, according to Hope historian Diane Olthuis. In 1915, John became ill with appendicitis and died in an Anchorage hospital. Bessie died in 1920 at the age of 35, and the family store burned down in the early 1920s.

Fashionable Fido — Photographer takes artistic approach to new Iditarod book

By Joseph Robertia

Photo courtesy of Albert Lewis. Albert Lewis is a fashion photographer by trade and decided to photograph the dogs artistically, rather than in the more typical action shots. Seen here is Butterscotch, one of Colleen Robertia’s sled dogs.

Redoubt Reporter

When it comes to books on the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, there are volumes focusing on the adventure stories of mushers, but there are few publications with the canine athletes as the center of attention, and even fewer focusing on their unique and individual appearances.

“I love dogs and I love photography, so I said to myself, ‘I have to do something with this,’” said Albert Lewis, an Anchorage-based photographer who has spent the summer so far shooting images of sled dogs for his upcoming coffee-table book of photography, “Born to Run — Athletes of the Iditarod.”

The dogs of several Kenai Peninsula mushers are featured in the book, including Anna and Kristy Berington, Paul Gebhardt, Dean Osmar, Colleen Robertia and Mitch Seavey. Roughly 100 dogs’ images from roughly 30 kennels will be selected for the final 208-page book, which goes to print later this month.

Lewis’ background is in fashion photography, and has included more than 20 years serving in various roles, including photographer, art director, creative director and designer for the likes of Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Target and the outdoor equipment titan The North Face.

He is new to the world of four-legged fashion models, but said it was his naivety with The Last Great Race that was the impetus for this project. He moved to Alaska from Lake Tahoe, Calif., about three years ago, but the 2012 Iditarod was the first time he had witnessed the race.

“That’s where it started,” Lewis said. “I wanted to go check it out, to see if they hurt the dogs like so many people assume. My misconception couldn’t have been more wrong.”

Lie to me, or don’t — Men need to learn the honey-dos, don’ts of bending the truth to wives

Hunting, Fishing and Other Grounds for Divorce, by Jacki Michels

I don’t know why, but it seems that s-o-m-e husbands are hard-wired to lie. Shame on you men who are right now shaking your head and feeling superior because you didn’t actually lie about buying that new blowtorch — or whatever it is you happened to forget to mention — and covertly stashed the receipt in the woodstove.

Why lie? It’s not like we wives will not eventually notice the large item that is lurking under that really big tarp that was oh-so-casually tossed over whatever that large mass is in the garage, and eventually — oh, eventually — you will have to fess up.

Could it be that there is actually guilt involved? I think it is more likely that they dread the inevitable: The truth. Because for the next several long minutes he will be reminded, many redundant times over, about the fact that, “We were on a budget!” Which will be followed up by, “You froth at the mouth when I buy groceries and generic deodorant, and you — YOU! Well! You melt the credit card with a blowtorch! Bet you didn’t even get a coupon for it, did ya?”

He will most likely make excuses, but omission of the truth is lying without actually putting any effort in it, aka — lazy lying. Other men take the understated approach to their tale-telling. This is a naughty little habit that goes something like this:

Wife: “Holy dead, decaying cow! What’s that smell?”

Then, looking cross and suspicious, she adds, “Did you fart?”

To which he pinches his thumb and pointer fingers together as he admits to letting a “little one.” There is also the boldfaced lies, the blaming lie and the famous, “I forgot,” which is another subject altogether, unless he is lying and betting that copping to forgetting is safer than the truth — which, by definition, is actually lying.

Plugged In: Be aware the power, pitfalls of street photography

Redoubt Reporter Summer photo contest

It’s time for the third Redoubt Reporter, reader-submitted photo contest.

Photos will be judged and winners selected by a three-member panel. After each contest closes, we’ll publish and discuss some of our favorites in the Redoubt Reporter, space permitting. Some of the selected photographers will be invited to frame and hang their photos at a Redoubt Reporter June 2013 group photo show scheduled at the Sterling Highway Kaladi Brothers coffee shop.

The deadline to enter is 11:59 p.m. Aug. 31, 2012. All submissions must be in high-quality digital format. Submit no more than five JPEG images by email to redoubtreporterphotos@gmail.com.

Entry rules:

1. Our theme is “Summer on the Kenai” and submissions must fit this theme. Summer is always interesting here in Alaska, with a vast number of photos taken. We encourage you to submit photos of what you observed over the summer. As always, we prefer photos that are fresh and unique. Frequently photographed subjects, like combat fishing, should be avoided.

2. Entrants must be amateur photographers who are residents of the central Kenai Peninsula.

3. Photographs can be of any subject fitting the theme but must have been taken of the Kenai Peninsula on or after June 1, 2012.

4. If you submit photographs in which people are recognizable, you must also provide us with their permission for us to publish any such photographs.

5. Please do not submit portrait photos. Do not submit photographs whose content would not be appropriate for publication in a family newspaper. Do not submit photos of illegal subject matter. All such photos will be deleted immediately without notice to you and at the sole discretion of the editor.

6. Photographers must include their name, telephone number, email address, town of residency and each photo’s date, location and description of subject matter.

7. Submitted JPEG images should be of the best possible technical quality. Good technique and technical quality are important, but originality, creativity, interesting subject matter, artistic merit and good composition are even more important.

8. By submitting photos, you agree to our publication of them in the Redoubt Reporter newspaper and on our website. The Redoubt Reporter will have the right of first publication of your photos. However, you will retain the copyright for all other purposes and your name will be listed if we publish any of your photos.

9. Our decisions about what’s published or selected for exhibition are final and are admittedly subjective. Space is limited, and the judging panel and editor reserve the right to choose photos at their discretion.

10. Retain your original digital files of all submitted images. We are not responsible for preserving copies of your digital images.