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The National Audubon Society’s 119th Christmas Bird Count will be conducted between the dates of Dec. 14, 2018 and January 5, 2019. The Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is a long-standing program of the National Audubon Society. Since the count began over a century ago, Audubon Society has relied on the dedication and commitment of volunteers to conduct its early winter bird census across the U.S., Canada and many countries in the Western Hemisphere. Each count takes place in an established 15-mile wide diameter circle and is organized by a count c...
In October 1999 my husband Gary and I moved from Palmer to Slana, which was at that time one of the few places left on Alaska's road system still without commercial power. Residents ran their own generator, or did without electricity. This was not a completely new situation for us. Twenty-five years prior, while living on Chena Hot Springs Road out of Fairbanks, we learned it would take $10,000 to bring power to our property. After living there for a year and half, we moved to California. For...
You're never too old to sit in Santa's lap. It's true. One year I was in Nordstrom admiring their stunning Santa Claus when a woman next to me confessed she still visits Santa every year. There is something about a Santa Claus that pulls on your heartstrings no matter how old you are. I look back at one photo of me sitting in Santa's lap and I have a look of total adoration. This is perhaps one reason my life companion is a hippie version of Santa. And still, a man with a white beard and long...
If you've ever listened to the lyrics to the tune 'Wabash Cannonball,' you'll get a sense of train travel's intrinsic hold upon us: "Listen to the jingle, the rumble and the roar As she glides along the woodland o'er the hills and by the shore" Getting around Alaska by train is not just for summer tourists; it's also a winter mode of transportation that allows for access to and from some of our most treasured destinations, minus the crowds. Come winter, the Alaska Railroad modifies its...
In Fairbanks, the North Star Council on Aging’s new Aging and Disability Center (ADRC) is going “full blast,” said Beth Grey, program coordinator for senior services. “We just opened October 1,” Grey said. “We weren’t supposed to open until January 1, but with the new regulations we opened early. We call it a soft opening phase, but it doesn’t feel like that.” There should be an open house in January, Grey said, once the program gets solidly on its feet. For the last 10 years, Fairbanks was served out of the Soldotna ADRC office, Grey said. Add...
November is our final month of health fairs for fall 2018, with several events held around the state. Remember that the events offer free health screenings, health and safety education, plus 11 affordable, comprehensive and private blood tests (starting at $20). These tests can help you learn about your overall health and detect potential problems early, when treatment or changes in personal habits can be the most effective. Try to take time out of your busy schedule and take advantage of our team of medical and non-medical professionals when...
The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following peer support meetings in November. This month’s training focus is “Holidays or Holy Cow Days? Destressing the Holiday Season”. Nov. 6, Caregiver support meeting at Sterling Senior Center, 1 p.m. Nov. 13, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. Nov. 20, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Senior Center, 1 p.m. Nov. 27, open house and workshop at Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program office in Soldotna, Blazy Mall, Suite #209, 11 a.m. to 2...
President Richard Nixon signed the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act on Nov. 16, 1973, but many people had been working for years to lay the foundation for building that line long before it was approved. Throughout the 1960s, experts believed that the North Slope held commercially viable amounts of oil. And when found, they also knew that getting it to market would be a challenge as there was no road to Alaska's north country. The only way into the North Slope was by air or sea. The oil in...
Staff from Alaska’s Social Security office will be available for questions via videoconferencing at the following locations and times in November: Kodiak Job Center, on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month (Nov. 13 and 27), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (Nov. 7 and 21), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (Nov. 1, 8, 15, 29), noon to 3 p.m. Social Security provides toll-free telephone service to all of Alaska. Residents in Alaska’s Southeast communities can call the...
Sometimes when we talk about a particular subject a lot, we take it for granted that people know certain background facts. I realized this recently when I was talking about the high cost of probate (a subject I mention pretty regularly) and was asked whether it was in fact true that, as this person had heard, probate costs could run several thousand dollars. Several thousand dollars? That’s if you’re lucky. Probate costs money. A lot of money. In many states, the key players – attorneys and e...
The month of October is a really busy time for Alaska Health Fair, with events in many locations around the state. Our events offer free health screenings, health and safety education (for all ages), plus 11 affordable, comprehensive and private blood tests (starting at $20 and are only offered to those ages 18+). These tests can help you learn about your overall health and detect potential problems early, when treatment or changes in personal habits can be most effective. Take note that our most popular test is the Chemistry/Hematology...
The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following peer support meetings in October. This month’s training focus “Awakening the Five Senses of Persons Living with Dementia.” Oct. 2, Caregiver support meeting at Sterling Senior Center, 1 p.m. Oct. 9, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. Oct. 16, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Senior Center, 1 p.m. Oct. 23, open house and workshop at Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program office in Soldotna, Blazy Mall, Suite #209, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m....
One of the best things about Alaska is its ease with intergenerational relations. It's not unusual to see a 90-year-old walking along a beach with their 10-year-old friend, or generations still living under the same roof. And it is especially important here where Alaska Native languages and cultures can sometimes be undercut by modern life. First Alaskans Institute will address this at its annual Elders and Youth Conference, October 14 through 17 in Anchorage. This year's theme, Na Ganiyaatgm,...
After news of gold found in the Klondike spread during the summer of 1897, many people in the Lower 48 left their jobs and families to head north to search for their fortunes. And soon a hoax, perpetuated by promoters looking to profit off of the stampede, would eventually birth one of Alaska's most picturesque little towns. 1897-1898 headlines rang out with "Gold in Alaska. Valdez Trail – Best Trail!" But the reported pre-existing trail turned out to be a glacier that was twice as long and s...
With the cost of solar panels having dropped from about seven dollars to a single dollar for an (uninstalled) watt, for many, solar has become a cost effective consideration —even in Alaska. The resulting cost savings of installing solar as your primary energy source varies widely on conditions and location throughout the state. And the telltale sign as to whether it is worth the investment, or will, in other words yield a quick ‘pay back’ time, is dependent largely on how much you now pay for a kilowatt of electricity, which you would be su...
A growing number of grandparents are taking care of grandchildren due to the opioid abuse crisis that has swept the nation, as well as other circumstances. Of the 65 million grandparents in the United States in 2012, 7 million, or 10 percent, lived with at least one grandchild, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And the numbers are growing. Assisting families Other factors— illness, death, loss of employment — also threatens the fabric of a family. “We actually supported a grandfather whose wife had to go to the hospital and who had a brother...
The Alaska Training Cooperative presents “Traditional Health Based Practices: Behavioral Health Continuing Education,” a foundational course on traditional lifestyles and health practices of people living in Alaska prior to western contact. Eight-hour class sessions are offered from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 28, Nov. 9, Dec. 7, Feb. 8 and Mar. 8 in Fairbanks and other sites throughout the state via live, interactive, web-based delivery using Zoom. Trainees will be introduced to beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge of health promotion and mai...
September is jam-packed with lots of great health fair choices in your local community. Alaska Health Fair events offer free health screenings, health and safety education, plus 11 affordable, comprehensive and private blood tests (starting at $20). These tests can help you learn about your overall health and detect potential problems early, when treatment or changes in personal habits can be most effective. Alaska Health Fairs will be held at the following locations and times during September. For more information, call 907-278-0234...
The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following peer support meetings in August. This month’s focus is part two of “Designing a Supportive Dementia Care Environment,” with showings from a training DVD by dementia expert Teepa Snow. Sept. 4, Caregiver support meeting at Sterling Senior Center, 1 p.m. Sept. 11, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. Sept. 18, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Senior Center, 1 p.m. Sept. 25, open house and workshop at Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Suppo...
One evening last winter while searching my TV recordings for a certain movie I wanted to watch, the words "Bus Life Ever" caught my eye. Curious, I clicked to learn more and soon was intrigued. It was a show out of Denver, Colorado, from the Home Improvement channel featuring three bus rebuilds. For the first one, the guy was going to raise the roof with a budget of $45,000 to $55,000. The second project was to remove the complete interior and start from scratch with a budget of $100,000 to $150...
U.S. Revenue Cutter Service captains saw a need for supplemental food for Alaska's Native people in the Last Frontier during the late 1880s, as whale and seal populations had diminished. And since marine mammals were among the Natives' primary food sources, the captains became concerned for the well being of Natives living in Bering Sea villages. Capt. Michael A. Healy remembered seeing something in 1881 that might answer the problem of sustaining Alaska's Native people. While serving as...
Alaskans annually play a waiting game with winter. The frenzied pace of summer begins to slow around mid-August as kids and grandkids return to school, daylight wanes, and weather patterns become a bit more unpredictable. But should this stop you from exploring the 49th state? Never. Autumn's shift merely indicates an entirely new season of travel, especially in Alaska's Interior region, where crowds thin noticeably after Labor Day. Fairbanks plays hub to the greater Interior that includes...
The Alaska Commission on Aging (ACoA) will conduct a Rural Outreach Meeting in Nome, September 12-15, 2018, for purposes of learning about elder-senior needs in Norton Sound. This meeting will include a visit to Shishmaref to meet with elders/seniors and agencies serving seniors as well as in Nome. In addition to ACoA’s board meeting and agency visits, the focus will be to gather input from seniors and their families, providers, and other public members about what is working well in Nome for older adults and what needs improvement with r...
The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following peer support meetings in August. This month’s focus is “Designing a Supportive Dementia Care Environment,” with showings from a training DVD by dementia expert Teepa Snow. Aug. 7, Caregiver support meeting at Sterling Senior Center, 1 p.m. Aug. 14, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. Aug. 15, Caregiver support meeting at Anchor Point Senior Center, hosted by Paula Koch, 3 p.m. Aug. 21, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Senior Center, 1 p.m....
My first experience at the Alaska State Fair in Palmer was back in the mid-1960s as part of a group of young 4-H girls from Glennallen. A couple mothers drove us in to Palmer to see our projects on display and pick them up the next day when the fair was over. I was too young to know how sleeping arrangements were made for the group, but I do remember we all spent the night at Janet Kincaid's home. Current owner of the Valley Hotel and Café and the Colony House Inn, Janet was in the hospitality...
