Dave Kiffer - Alaskan Poet, Historian, Humorist

  SOUTHEAST LOG 8-27-22 Oh no!!!!! PRINCE RUPERT - Liquor and cannabis stores throughout the province may soon have to "ration" liquor and cannabis because of a strike involving several distribution centers including a main one in Victoria. THE PRINCE RUPERT NORTHERN VIEW Landslides close dock indefinitely SKAGWAY - The Railroad dock has been closed for the rest of the season because of landslides. Officials say it will likely cost "millions" of dollars to make the dock useable by the cruise industry in coming years. THE SKAGWAY NEWS Village hit with violations PORT CLEMENTS - Officials at Worksafe BC have hit the village with at least 16 worker safety violations after a July inspection. The violations involved improper handling of chemicals, expired safety devices and improperly secured fire extinguishers and propane bottles. THE HAIDA GWAII OBSERVER Ferry traffic plummets HAINES - State ferry traffic has decreased dramatical...

  SOUTHEAST LOG 8-20-22 1,000 take part in Iron Man JUNEAU   - More than 1,000 athletes from 30 countries took part in last week's Iron Man Triathlon in   Juneau . Alex Whetman of Utah finished first in slightly more than 9 hours and 11 minutes. THE   JUNEAU   EMPIRE Fire crews save historic restaurant PRINCE RUPERT - Quick action by fire crews saved a century-old restaurant from burning down last week. Officials say that a kitchen fire at the West End Restaurant was knocked down in a matter of minutes, preventing it from spreading to the rest of the building on Third Avenue. THE PRINCE RUPERT NORTHERN VIEW Kirby resigns from assembly HAINES - Catie Kirby has resigned her seat on the borough assembly. That leaves three seats open for the October election. THE CHILKAT VALLEY NEWS Crime high on the islands MASSETT - The local RCMP detachment reports that the communities of Massett, Old Massett and Port Clements have the 12...

  SOUTHEAST LOG 8-13-22 Ukrainians arrive in Southeast JUNEAU - Iryna Hrynchenko and her son Ivan were welcomed to the community recently by the borough assembly. Meanwhile, four other Ukrainian nationals are staying at Ward Cove in Ketchikan. THE JUNEAU EMPIRE Boil water notice PRINCE RUPERT - Residents were on a boil water notice for several days last week. The notice was eventually downgraded to an advisory. THE PRINCE RUPERT NORTHERN VIEW Chilkoot tour limit cancelled HAINES - The borough assembly has lifted a four-year moratorium on new tours in the Chilkoot Cooridor. The Cooridor is a popular location on the Chilkoot River about 10 miles from Haines. Tours had been limited because of overcrowding. THE CHILKAT VALLEY NEWS Kitimat swimmer wins golds KITIMAT - Jacob Van Horne had a great week in the pool recently at the BC Summer Games. The 14-year-old member of the Kitimat Marlins won two gold medals (50-meter breaststroke and 100-mete...

  SOUTHEAST LOG 8-6 -22 Okey dokey! SITKA - A woman asked for a welfare check on her former husband, who was not answering her calls. He told police he was OK, just didn’t want to talk to her. THE DAILY SITKA SENTINEL They're back! PETERSBURG - The family at the center of the reality show "Alaskan Bush People" was recently in town looking to buy property, but their efforts were reportedly unsuccessful. In recent years, the Brown family also attempted to by property at Point Agassiz. KFSK - FM Fire likely human set TERRACE - A 40-acre wildfire between Terrace and Kitwanga along Highway 16 poses no threat to public safety, officials say. But, they say, the fire was likely human caused. THE TERRACE STANDARD Spruce the Moose on the loose! WRANGELL - Spruce the Moose is cutting quite a figure in downtown Wrangell. Sigrid Vanek's seven-foot-tall driftwood statue is in front of the Alaska Waters and 56 North storefront. THE WRANGELL SENTINEL Music fest returns...

  A LATE SUMMER POEM (Copyright 2022, by Dave Kiffer) ' Summer comes late And leaves early In these parts . The needles begin To break and fall Just after Solstice . The cold Autumn rains Find their way down In mid to late July . Dog Days elsewhere Are August temps At this latitude ' Yesterday I saw the summer geese Flying inexorably South

  PLANS FOR THE FALL? . (Copyright 2022, by Dave Kiffer) . An innocuous question She turned and asked, But it peeled several layers. . Yes, we always plan for the Fall Maybe travel, maybe a staycation On the couch with the TV. . Maybe some long delayed Housework or the burning Of papers long gone moot. . But also, now that I am old, Am I planning for the likely fall(s) My wobbly knees guarantee? . You know the ones, when you Start to slip, and several lives Pass as you go down. . Or maybe this is more general, Individual falls now lost in the flow, As society loses its shaky grip. . Here's hoping the personal one, The Fall that is my own impact, Comes long before that.

  POEM #418 SPOOKED . (Copyright 2022, by Dave Kiffer) . When we were in the woods, You always said to be careful, It was so easy to spook a deer. . Just a light brush against a branch, A cough not quite buried in a sleeve, A sudden shift of scent on the breeze. . I can see that in your eyes, The ones that are turned away From the wedding photographer. . Your face is neither happy or not. You would be, in many ways, Spooked, for the next sixty years.

  POEM #419 THE RAINS OF AUTUMN . (Copyright 2022, by Dave Kiffer) . Are often held as something sad. An ending, a dark cloud blotting Out the sun as the daylight lessens And we trudge, grudgingly, into The seasons where the only light On our faces is the indoor kind, With its imperfect warmth, It’s crackle of an incandescent sun. . But there is also a cleansing. And not just of the broken leaves Lying fallow in the driveways Or the fish melting in the streams. The merciful rains wash over us And all that is past is gone.

  Looking back at a long reign Amylon led city government For more than a quarter century In the world of municipal management former longtime Ketchikan city manager Karl Amylon was a unicorn. The International City/County Management Association estimates that the average city manager stays in one job for between three to five years. In more than 40 years as a municipal manager, Amylon basically only had two jobs. Amylon was fresh out of Bucknell University in 1978. when he was hired to be confidential assistant to the city manager of Watertown, New York, By 1982 he was the acting city manager and then became assistant city manager in January 1983. Eleven months later he was appointed full time Watertown city manager.  Watertown is about 160 miles north of Corning, New York, where Amylon grew up.  At the time, Amylon , 28, was one of the youngest municipal managers in the country. He would hold that job for the next 11 years befo...

  Doctor Mustard or Major Mustard? Pioneering doctor was a big name in 1920s Ketchikan Ketchikan has had many interesting medical professionals in the past century, but one of the most accomplished was Dr. John Mustard. Mustard traveled the world, studying in London and Vienna. He was the mayor of Nome during the Gold Rush. He was also a gentleman fox farmer. But he spent much of his medical career serving the residents of Ketchikan. This information on Mustard is from the files at the Tongass Historical Museum. John Howard Mustard was born in Brucefield, Ontario, Canada on July 19, 1869. He was one of 15 children. His parents had emigrated from Scotland. When he was six, the family moved to Abilene, Kansas. He would attend the University of Kansas and graduate in 1894. He moved to Chicago and graduated with a medical degree from Rush Medical College in 1901. He did his intern studies in Chicago and then went abroad, serving as an assistant s...