Rock solid support — Community lends love, hope to cancer patients with Written in Stone

By Jenny Neyman

Photos by Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter. Meggean Bos, a volunteer at Central Peninsula Hospital, writes a message Saturday on the wall of a concrete vault that will hold the accelerator in the new radiation oncology clinic under construction at Central Peninsula Hospital.

Redoubt Reporter

Angela Beplat’s message is longer than her hair. The note is one of support for a friend fighting cancer, written Saturday on a wall of the concrete vault that will hold the radiation accelerator in the new oncology treatment clinic under construction at Central Peninsula Hospital:

“Dear Friend. Watching you fight this battle this last year has opened my eyes to the strength and endurance every cancer fighter needs to face this head-on. … Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to be your friend and learn alongside you — through your pain, suffering, pokes/prods/body/hair changes, but most of all seeing hope through your eyes has changed me forever! I love you and I will always be there for you.”

The hair she cut last year, also in support of her friend.

“My really close friend Casey has been fighting non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma for the last year and I shaved my head for her last April, and have just been with her on this whole journey. She’s my age — 34 with two young kids,” said Beplat.

When it comes to cancer, it is not unusual for friends, family, co-workers, community members and even complete strangers to do what they can to help.

Fundraisers are well supported, from impromptu spaghetti feeds to annual community events, like the summer’s Relay for Life or this month’s Way Out Women snowmachine ride. Knitters make hats and scarves for people losing their hair to chemotherapy. Volunteers and staff at the hospital make the oncology department feel more like family care than just cancer care.

The hospital’s administration and board of directors answered the community’s wish to have radiation therapy available on the central Kenai Peninsula, rather than patients having to travel to Anchorage or beyond for treatment. The Kenai Peninsula Borough committed $4.7 million for the construction of the new clinic.

Saturday, people braved icy roads and a damp walk in the chilly rain out to the construction site to contribute another measure of support by writing messages on the concrete walls of the vault. As construction progresses, the messages will be covered over and blocked from view. But through the Central Peninsula Hospital Foundation’s “Written in Stone” project, the messages will be recorded and printed in books that will be given to every patient receiving radiation treatment.

Some messages were spiritual, offering comfort in the assurance of God’s love:

“Never, ever, lose hope. To hope is to trust God. To trust God is to have faith. To have faith is to believe. To believe is to hope.”

Number of reasons for caution — Volunteers warn drivers with moose-vehicle collision signs

By Jenny Neyman

Photos by Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter. Tom Netschert updates a moose warning sign along Kalifornsky Beach Road in front of the Soldotna Sports Center on Saturday, with the assistance of Laurie and Terry Speakman.

Redoubt Reporter

Any motorists able to peel their eyes away from the icy, slushy mess area roads degenerated into during the weekend rainstorm might have noticed new numbers posted on the yellow “Moose on Road” caution signs Saturday. As of Jan. 1, 84 moose have been hit on roadways in Alaska.

The signs are placed at areas of high moose-crossing activity to warn drivers to be extra alert for the difficult-to-see hulks that might meander out in front of a vehicle. The central Kenai Peninsula annually contributes a sizable chunk to the statewide moose-vehicle collision statistics, and as such warrants nine signs at particularly dangerous spots:

Kalifornsky Beach Road in front of United Rentals and the Soldotna Sports Center.

• K-Beach at the Cook Inlet Aquaculture building.
• K-Beach a half-mile west of the intersection with Bridge Access Road.
• K-Beach at Mile 12 near the Marathon gas field.
• Sterling Highway at Tustumena Elementary School in Kasilof.
• Sterling Highway at Mile 113 at Blue Ribbon Estates.
• Sterling Highway near the Central Peninsula Landfill.
• Sterling Highway between Fred Meyer and St. Elias Brewing Co.
• Sterling Highway at Kenai Keys Road in Sterling.

For many drivers, the large, yellow, “Give Moose a Break” signs listing the current number of collisions are a good general reminder to increase attentiveness. For Laurie Speakman, with the Alaska Moose Federation, the numbers call to mind much more specific instances of the dangers posed by moose on roads.

As of Saturday, 17 moose had been killed on the central Kenai Peninsula, Speakman said. In Alaska, when a moose is hit and killed as a result of a vehicle collision, the meat is available for salvage by individuals, families and nonprofit organizations registering with the Alaska State Troopers. That used to mean a come-get-your-moose call could come anytime — day, night or weekend, summer afternoon or minus 30 winter night — to whomever was next on the road-kill salvage list.

The recipient would have to go butcher and remove the carcass then and there, wherever the moose was hit. At times this created safety hazards for the salvagers and drivers, especially at night and in poor visibility and driving conditions, sometimes requiring troopers to stay on the scene after dealing with the collision.

Dog owners snap over traps — Conflict brews in recreation areas of Cooper Landing

By Joseph Robertia

Redoubt Reporter

As Cooper Landing musher Robert Bear headed up to a major mid-distance sled dog race in the Interior last weekend, he did so without two of his best dogs. Back at home were his two leads, sitting out this race, and others to come, due to injuries sustained after being caught in the bone-crushing clamp of a leg-hold trap early last month.

“One of the dogs lost its front right leg and the other part of its front paw,” Bear said.

This is the second time in two years he’s had a dog caught in a trap, although he was able to quickly release the dog the last time, he said. This time, however, was not so fortunate.

He was hooking up for a training run off of Snug Harbor Road. The dogs were amped to go, Bear explained, and as he was attaching dogs to the lines as quickly as he could, it wasn’t quick enough for one of the dogs just behind the leaders. It chewed through the mainline and set the two leaders free.

“They took off sprinting,” he said. “I immediately went out looking for them, and nothing. I continued looking for them for 48 hours before I finally heard one of them howl as I was going by.”

Bear followed the sound a short distance through the forest and found the two dogs, cold, dehydrated and hungry, but alive. They were clamped in side-by-side traps.

“This was less than 50 feet from the road and between the senior center and the Girl Scout camp. Baited with meat and feathers, so I think any loose dog could have been caught in them,” he said.

Equally concerning to Bear is that, while trapping season for many species opened Nov. 10, lynx season wasn’t set to begin until Jan. 1. Bear’s dogs were caught Dec 13. From the trappers he’s described the setup to, it seemed the traps was either legally targeting coyote or illegally targeting lynx.

Despite the accident, Bear said that he’s not against trappers or responsible trapping.

“I use ruffs and other fur for mushing, so I’m not anti-trapping,” he said, “but I do want to create an awareness of the dangers within our community. It’s not safe right now. We can’t hardly recreate on trails they call multiuse, because once those traps are set, they kind of become single-use in the mind of most dog owners.”

Ken and Kate Green, of Cooper Landing, have had their Labradors caught on multiple occasions, as well.

“Since trapping in this area is a significant problem for hikers, skiers and dog walkers, it would be very nice to get the word out. We have had our dogs caught in foothold traps and snares over the past three years. All traps were within 25 to 50 feet of the lake or roads and, to the best of our knowledge, unmarked,” Kate said.

Her husband, Ken, remembers each of the events clearly, since he was with their dogs. The first time was while recreating with his three Labradors — two of the younger ones off-leash — at a popular picnic site referred to by the locals as Five-Mile Beach or Waikiki.

“About 20 feet from Snug Harbor Road — up the embankment, on the beach just at tree line — the loose puppy got caught in a snap trap — jaws, but without teeth. Other than the howling and whining, she was unhurt. I released her easily enough. The trap was rusted, the bait seemed to have long deteriorated, and the only marking was a small piece of surveyor’s tape, which was faded. The trap appeared to have been there for some time,” he said.

Green wasn’t sure if the trap was deliberately deserted or just forgotten about by whoever set it, but either way he said it shouldn’t have been left behind since it could only have made the intended species unduly suffer since no one ever came to check it, but also because it could have caught a nontarget animal or even a small child recreating in the area.

The second time one of Green’s dogs was caught, he said it was again at a common recreation site for Copper Landing residents. This time it was along the shore of Kenai Lake.

“I was walking the same three dogs the next early spring, this time along the Quartz Creek side. The road ends at a small turnaround and a path leads to the beach which is wide and walkable at that time of year,” he said. “I noticed a DVD disc hanging on a branch just off the beach, and figured that some kids were playing around. When I came across another in another tree, I realized what they were.”

Old Duck Hunter: Beware the trap of inattention

By Steve Meyer, for the Redoubt Reporter

If you hunt upland birds with dogs, take dogs with you on outdoor adventures or have a family dog that runs the neighborhood, then Nov. 10 is a date you want to remember. This marks the opening of trapping season for most furbearers on the Kenai Peninsula. Thus, the presence of snares, foothold and conibear traps in the field.

Dogs, being what they are, will find trap sets quicker than their wild canine counterparts, since pet dogs are not nearly as survival oriented.

Being a trapper, a hunter who hunts with dogs, and a dog lover, this subject is fairly dear to me. I have friends who have lost dogs in snares near their homes and others who have lost dogs in the wilderness. Most of the losses can be avoided with a little forethought and care to beloved canine pets.

I don’t know any trappers who want anything to do with catching someone’s dog. Most trappers are responsible and don’t set snares or kill-type traps near areas of human habitation. But as in practically any activity nowadays, there are some exceptions.

This isn’t in any way intended to tell pet owners how to deal with their pets, only a fair notice in case someone isn’t aware of the dangers inherent with a dog running loose without supervision this time of year.

If there are snares or traps in the area, there is a good chance your dog will find them and possibly get caught in them. Most trappers use some sort of bait or attractant for coyotes, wolves, wolverines or lynx. The attractant that draws these animals also will draw your canine companion.

Outdoor treks this time of year can also land you in areas where trappers are plying their trade. On the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge there are regulations that prohibit trappers from using traps larger than No. 1, which is a fairly small trap, within a mile of a road or a trailhead.

Common Ground: No contest — Laundry vs. anything outside

By Christine Cunningham, for the Redoubt Reporter

Photo courtesy of Christine Cunningham. Lake trout lie hidden in Hidden Lake —especially on windy winter days.

The day my fishing partner decided that enough time had gone by that we needed to go ice fishing happened to be on a day in which the wind was blowing about 45 mph and the temperature had risen to negative 20 degrees.

My personal views on ice fishing held that fish don’t much like the wind. I don’t know what goes on underwater in a wind, but based on the attention that gets paid to my lure by fish, my guess is that they are hanging on to a reed by their lips waiting out an underwater storm. But since fishing is better than ironing my clothes or washing my dishes, I decided to go anyway.

The road to Hidden Lake wasn’t all that bad. As long as we kept the speed of the vehicle to less than 10 mph and stayed in the middle of the road, there was every chance we’d make it to the lake.

The chances weren’t as good on making it back. But, those were the odds that we were willing to take in order to catch a lake trout and avoid domestic chores. When my life flashes before my eyes, as it did on the last downhill curve in the road to the lake, I certainly don’t want to have any images of myself ironing clothes. I’m just not that good at it.

From the parking lot it was clear to us that it wouldn’t be a good idea to drive out on the lake. Freeze and thaw conditions had created about a foot of overflow. We loaded up our sled with the barest of essentials. The hand auger, the ice scoop, our fishing rods, our spare fishing rods, tackle boxes, two camp chairs, my portable ice shanty, my propane heater, several extra cans of propane, a Thermos of coffee, a bottle of blackberry brandy, and, in my case, a book on the life and legend of Crazy Horse, who defeated Custer in the Battle of Little Bighorn.

Once the sled was hooked up to my fishing partner, we began the long walk to our favorite spot. Luckily, the wind was at our back and so my added weight in the sled was of little inconvenience.

Science of the Seasons: Arctic sea ice is nice for many mammals

By Dr. David Wartinbee, for the Redoubt Reporter

My first introduction to seals came on a grainy, black-and-white TV when trained seals performed on some variety show. They were a strange animal when first seen, since they didn’t look anything like the all familiar dogs, cats, horses or cows. They were awkward on land and I never got to see their graceful swimming motions until underwater cameras became popular. It took many trips to Alaska and several years as a volunteer at the Alaska SeaLife Center before I really had any understanding about these amazing creatures.

However, many Alaskans learn the ways of seals as they grow up because seals are a normal part of the rural subsistence lifestyle. Seals are hunted on a regular basis in many Native communities as a nutrient-rich food source. Seals are not only hunted for their meat. Seal oil, which is rendered from seal blubber, can be used as an additive to other traditional foods, for waterproofing skin boats or as a traditional fuel for oil lamps. Additionally, seal furs are treasured for garments like boots, hats, gloves and coats.

Along Alaska’s north and western coasts, two of the most commonly hunted seals are the bearded and ringed seals. These are commonly referred to as ice seals because they spend most of their time on or around ice. These seals mate, give birth, raise their young, and rest on or under Arctic sea ice. Only rarely do these seals actually come to shore.

Soberg-ing responsibility — Roads foreman oversees big task of building peninsula’s highways

Editor’s Note: This is the first of a multipart story concerning the life and accomplishments of Ralph Soberg, a foreman for the Alaska Road Commission who was in charge of the construction of the Sterling Highway from its junction with the Seward Highway near Tern Lake to its terminus in Homer. This week, Part One introduces Soberg and provides an overview of some early stages in the highway construction. 

By Clark Fair

Photos courtesy of Hardscratch Press. Above and below are images from the dedication of the Sterling Highway at the Soldotna bridge in 1949.

Redoubt Reporter

“Doc” Macdonald earned his nickname because he had studied dentistry before turning to roadbuilding. He was known to the men of the Alaska Road Commission as a capable worker willing to tackle any job. After a tragic incident during the 1948 construction of the original Kenai River bridge in Soldotna, Macdonald also became known as the only casualty incurred during the building of the Sterling Highway.

“Doc was the first and only man I ever witnessed lost on a bridge site,” said Ralph Soberg, foreman for the highway-building project and a veteran of 26 years of building roads and bridges throughout Alaska.

Soberg, writing about the incident in his memoir, “Bridging Alaska,” said that Macdonald had been jarred off his perch — where he was standing atop a piece of steel and holding onto a cable while attempting to help fit a second piece of steel into place. While wearing a belt weighted with bolts and tools, he plummeted into water about 10 feet deep.

“I yelled for someone to get the boat out, and a couple of fellows did, rushing out as fast as they could with a pike pole,” said Soberg, who had also been on the bridge and had attempted unsuccessfully to reach out and grab Macdonald as he fell. “Doc came up just once. I yelled at him to drop his tool belt, and all he said was, ‘I can’t.’ Back down he went. He never came up again.

“The boat got over to him just as he went under. I could see from up above that the crook in the pike pole just missed his neck when they tried to hook on to him. Soon he went down so far I couldn’t see him anymore. We looked for him for three days. … The third day we did hook on to Doc and bring him up.”

The incident temporarily stymied production on the bridge, as a number of the construction crewmembers were reluctant to climb out again over the cold river, but after two days Soberg, who was also grieving, convinced the men that the work had to continue.

Soberg had met Macdonald when they had worked together for the ARC in the Interior in the early 1940s. Macdonald had once helped Soberg with a toothache.

“We had no medical benefits or sick leave in those days,” Soberg said, “and I didn’t want to spend the money to go clear to Anchorage or Fairbanks to see a dentist, so Doc said he’d take care of it for me. He had a foot-operated dentist’s drill … and he got some gold dust from someplace. He ground the tooth down — I took a drink of whiskey once in a while when the pain got too bad — and after several sessions, by golly, he got a crown fixed up and fastened on my tooth. It held for years before it had to be replaced.”

Art Seen: ‘Up and Coming’ — Developing local artists hone skills, perspectives

By Zirrus VanDevere, for the Redoubt Reporter

“Filling” by Claire Rowley is on display along with work by Ben Hastins and Joel Isaak at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center through Feb. 15.

I was given the opportunity to present an exhibit of my own choosing recently at the  Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center, and was thrilled to invite three young artists who I’ve been watching for some time now. These three, Claire Rowley, Ben Hastings and Joel Isaak, stand out as artists who are producing consistently, exploring their respective mediums bravely, and presenting work that is able to really speak to others, both aesthetically and conceptually.

In “The Russians,” Claire Rowley has drawn and watercolored on vellum sandwiched with Plexiglas so that the effect has depth and added structure. Four male figures smile out at us or look on with a sort of happy indifference. The stenciling behind calls forth the feeling of both old wallpaper and jungle forests.

She has repeated some motifs in her “tribe” imagery — the folded arms and cozy groupings of its members giving a very intimate sense of the subjects while also suggesting the universality of the groups that define us.

In “Filling,” the subject appears to be the artist herself, holding her hands out both receptively and in a gesture that reads as “it is what it is.” In the background we see writing that declares, “That which fills your heart, fills your life,” and the subject’s heart is in fact in the very center of the frame, causing us to get only a glimpse of her neck and chin, rather than her whole portrait.

Night lights looking up in January

By Andy Veh, for the Redoubt Reporter

The starry sky is now at its best with the most prominent stars being easily visible high in the south — blue Rigel and red Betelgeuse in Orion, Sirius beneath it, Procyon to its left, Pollux and Castor higher up, Capella almost in the zenith, and Aldebaran and the Pleiades completing the splendor.

The Big Dipper starts out close on the northern horizon but Cassiopeia, Perseus and Andromeda are close to the zenith. In the west, Cygnus and Pegasus are about to set, while bright Vega, being circumpolar in Alaska, stays close to the horizon. Leo’s Regulus rises in the evening, trailing Gemini and Cancer low in the east.

Of the planets at night, only Jupiter is visible, next to Taurus’ red giant Aldebaran and with the star cluster Pleiades nearby. It appears all night long, moving from southeast to the northwest throughout the night, setting just prior to dawn.

Plugged In: Pocket quality with travel-sized cameras

By Joe Kashi, for the Redoubt Reporter

Informed opinion was virtually unanimous in 2011 that so-called “premium compact” cameras were, at best, a dying breed. Perhaps 2012’s second-greatest surprise was the dramatic resurgence of these deluxe small-sensor cameras.

The biggest surprise, of course, was the large number of “affordable” new full-frame cameras that bring prolevel image quality to the table for under two kilobucks. So much for “informed” opinion.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve had several readers ask for our recommendation of the best premium compact cameras for extended travel later this winter. At the same time, these readers were looking for a durable and capable all-in-one camera that would stand them in good stead for years.

Making a single specific recommendation is a tall order because so many excellent new models have recently come on the market. During the latter part of 2012, every major camera manufacturer introduced new premium compact models, all of which mount zoom lenses with large apertures as fast as f/1.4 to f/1.8. Without exception, these are excellent cameras for serious travel photography. Realistically, you can’t go wrong with any of the cameras that we’ll discuss this week. Except as noted, these cameras cost between $250 and $600, with most in the $400 to $500 range. That’s not exactly cheap but is generally affordable.