Dave Bendinger, KDLG - Dillingham
AVCP Requests Mulchatna Caribou Hunting Restrictions
A request by the Bethel-based Association of Village Council Presidents would see hunting of Mulchatna Caribou in Bristol Bay and the Kuskokwim closed to all but federally-qualified users living in those areas from now until July 1 of next year.
Attorney General Pulls Back On Plea Agreements
Attorney General Michael Geraghty is pulling back on state prosecutors’ ability to enter into plea agreements in some of the most serious criminal cases.
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Progess In Plugging Lone Star Leaks, No Sheen Seen Tuesday
Port side vents reported plugged; now divers are turning their attention to the Lone Star's starboard side, currently buried in the mud. There was no fuel sheen spotted around the Lone Star during Tuesday’s overflight by federal and state officials. Divers are working to seal fuel vents on the starboard side which is buried in the mud. Despite the progress, the fishery remains closed.
Igushik Fishery Remains Closed
In another, earlier tender grounding in Southwest Alaska, Magone Marine divers contracted by the US Coast Guard have been working to seal off fuel vents on the tender Lone Star, which sank near the mouth of the Igushik River in Bristol Bay a week ago Sunday.
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Oil Sheen From Sunken Tender Closes Igushik River Fishery Again
Bristol Bay fishermen at the mouth of the Igushik River were shut down again this afternoon, following reports of oil in their nets. An aerial survey flown earlier today observed a mile and a half long sheen of oil coming from the sunken tender Lone Star.
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Igushik Fishermen Told to Pull in Nets After Tender Goes Down
After the 78’ tender Lonestar went down Sunday morning, fishermen at the mouth of the Igushik River were told to pull in their nets. Igushik fishermen are predominantly from the village of Manokotak. The three-week season provides the sole income for many of them and the closure came just as the fishing was getting good.
Igushik River Sockeye Fishery Reopens After ‘Lone Star’ Sinking
The sinking of the tender "Lone Star" in the mouth of the Igushik River could not have happened at a worse time to close a fishery due to a fuel spill. It was right at the peak of the Sockeye Salmon run. The fishery was closed and then opened again.
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Chignik Lagoon Hopes To Break Ground On Hydro Project
The village of Chignik Lagoon on the Alaska Peninsula, with a year round population of around 70, hopes to break ground this season on a small, long-awaited hydroelectric project. For a price tag of about 2.5 million dollars, the simple system may produce as much power as the village typically needs. This is one of several alternative energy projects the Lake and Peninsula Borough has undertaken in an effort to lower costs and ease off of fossil fuels in its villages.
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2013 Togiak Herring Closes After Near Record Season
As of 12:00 p.m. Tuesday, the 2013 Togiak commercial sac roe herring fishery has closed. Fishing through tough weather over the weekend, the gillnet fleet scraped by with a couple hundred tons landed each day, and on Monday the buyers announced they were done buying for the season.
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Dillingham Volunteer Monitors For Invasive Beetles
Some invasive species of bark beetles, if they make it to Alaska, could pose a serious threat to our trees and forests. In ten years of surveys, none have been detected, but state and federal forestry officials are coming to rely on volunteers to help monitor for them across the state. KDLG’s Dave Bendinger reports on one such volunteer who’s keeping an eye out the beetles around Dillingham.
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BBNC, Millrock Agree to Mineral Exploration on BBNC Land
The Bristol Bay Native Corporation and the mineral exploration company Millrock Resources made an agreement to explore for gold, copper, and molybdenum prospects on BBNC land near the Chigniks.
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Oxycodone Pills Seized at Anchorage Airport
State narcotics officials say unsuspecting travelers are being used as drug mules to carry illegal pills to rural Alaska. Earlier this month, authorities intercepted a package of oxycodone pills at the Anchorage airport. They were inside a bag a traveler agreed to take to Dillingham for another woman.
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CONFESSED: Leroy Dick Tells Judge He Killed VPSO Madole
At a first felony appearance before the magistrate at the Dillingham courthouse Wednesday morning, Leroy B. Dick, Jr, 42, of Manokotak, initially refused legal counsel, telling the judge: "To be honest, I could say I'm guilty of the crime."
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VPSO Thomas Madole Killed in Manokotak
A Village Public Safety Officer has been shot and killed in the community of Manokotak, about 25 miles southwest of Dillingham. VPSO Thomas O. Madole, 54, is dead of an apparent gunshot wound. The Alaska State Troopers arrested Leroy B. Dick, Jr., 42, of Manokotak. Dick is being held at the Dillingham jail, facing charges of murder in the first degree.
Dillingham Couple Builds World’s Most Air-Tight Home
On Wednesday, March 6, Tom Marsik and Kristin Donaldson of Dillingham had their home on Gauthier Way tested for air tightness. A conventional blower door test was used, which is common practice for energy audits. But Wednesday's was no ordinary test; it was actually an attempt to secure an official world record for "Tightest Residential Building."
Feds Begin Investigation of Dillingham-Area Plane Crash
Over the weekend, federal investigators were at the crash site of the ACE Air Cargo plane that went down in the Muklung Hills Friday morning, killing the pilot and co-pilot.
Plane Crashes Near Dillingham
A plane crashed Friday morning in the Muklung Hills, roughly 20 miles northeast of Dillingham, but by 6pm Friday, authorities had not been able to reach the crash site.
Dillingham Couple Attempts To Set World Record
A Dillingham couple attempted to set a new world record yesterday. They believe they have built the most air-tight house on the planet. KDLG’s Dave Bendinger stopped by as they prepared to test that theory.
EPA’s Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment Goes Back To The Drawing Board
The EPA has taken their Bristol Bay watershed assessment back to the drawing board for revisions. When finished, the assessment could become a basis for the EPA to veto the proposed Pebble mine, but a final version of the controversial study now won’t likely be completed until the end of the year.
Charges Against Former BBNC Board Member Dropped
The State of Alaska’s sexual assault case against former-Bristol Bay Native Corporation Board Member Sergie Chukwak has been dismissed.