Courtesy of Kyra Meyer – Husky Running was in fine form on Saturday’s in-town meet! Delta came to run against us, and a smashing good time was had by all. For the boys, the top runners were – Gabe Haas (Delta), Dalen Beck (Valdez) and Ezra Belnap (Valdez). For girls, the Delta teams swept the top three with Lourdes Lester, Amelia Winter, and Amelia Warren. The Huskies run again Tuesday in GlenAllen!
(ANCHORAGE, Alaska) – The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) released its 2019-20 winter schedule today. Reservations are now available for booking at FerryAlaska.com, by calling the AMHS Reservations Center at 1-800-642-0066, or by visiting ferry terminals throughout the ferry system.
The AMHS winter schedule covers ferry travel from Oct. 1, 2019 to April 30, 2020.
When compiling the winter schedule, AMHS staff worked diligently to meet community needs as much as possible. The winter schedule is fiscally constrained and AMHS funding for the fiscal year 2020 was reduced by $43 million. This 31% budget reduction from previous fiscal years left little room for flexibility in the schedule.
In an effort to maximize revenue and create a more self-sustaining system, there are new features included with the 2019-20 winter schedule:
Passengers are encouraged to book early for the best fares.
Aurora-watchers gazing at spectacular displays over the Labor Day weekend may have been seeing more than the northern lights. They may have been dazzled by STEVE as well.
STEVE is short for the Strong Thermal Emissions Velocity Enhancement, a celestial phenomenon auroral researchers, citizen-scientists and photography enthusiasts first introduced to the world in 2016.
STEVE’s narrow ribbon of light, to the naked eye, looks strikingly similar to aurora. However, there are distinct differences. First, its pinkish mauve color is not aurora-like. In addition, the phenomenon is often associated with “picket fence” emissions, which look like green columns of light passing through the ribbons at lower altitudes. Lastly, STEVE appears in areas farther south than auroral lights typically do.
Scientists thought something didn’t add up.
This summer, researchers confirmed that STEVE is not aurora, but is instead a unique phenomenon. Their findings were published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
“The big thing is, we can clearly say now it’s not regular aurora,” said University of Alaska Fairbanks researcher Don Hampton, a co-author on the paper. “It’s a new phenomenon, that’s pretty exciting.”
The project, led by University of Calgary researcher D.M. Gillies, used a spectrograph to examine the light from the phenomenon and identify what kind of emissions it gives and in what patterns and wavelengths. Hampton and his colleagues designed and built the spectrograph at the UAF Geophysical Institute.
“We need to understand what the spectrum looks like and therefore understand the physics behind it,” Hampton said. A spectrum acts as a definitive identification, like a DNA test or chemical formula for light.
When the scientists looked at STEVE’s spectrum they saw something unique. Aurora has individual wavelengths and acts like a neon sign. In aurora, electrons from our magnetosphere fly down, bumping into atoms and molecules in our atmosphere, which excites them. Once the excited particles relax they emit photons, which can be seen as specific wavelengths of light. Depending on which colors you see, you know certain lights came from a nitrogen molecule and others came from oxygen.
“When we looked at the spectrum of STEVE, it had none of those distinct wavelengths,” Hampton said. “Instead, it’s a very broad band of light. So all wavelengths are basically equally as strong.”
This means that the light is not coming from atoms and molecules colliding in the atmosphere but from something very warm — maybe thousands of degrees warm.
“When you turn your electric stove on, those coils get red hot, right? If you look at it with a spectrograph, you would see broadband emissions,” Hampton said. “So this is like very, very warm atmosphere emissions of some sort.”
The research also concluded that the picket fence emissions are similar to a typical aurora structure. These are caused by the same kinds of particle precipitation usually seen with aurora.
Like auroras, STEVE’s appearances vary greatly, showing up anywhere from weeks to months apart.
Scientists have studied the hot particles associated with STEVE since the 1970s. However, they did not realize until recently that they produced a visible feature.
Confirming the existence of a celestial phenomenon is exciting, Hampton said. The next, and more difficult step, is finding out what causes it and how it affects us.
Any disturbance to our upper atmosphere, like aurora, can affect radio communications between Earth and spacecraft. STEVE is especially interesting because it is a large local energy input, but clearly not normal aurora.
“As a new phenomenon we want to understand not just why and how it is created, but also how does it affect our infrastructure,” Hampton said. “We don’t expect that if we understand how STEVE is created that we will cure cancer, or produce warp drive (though one never knows), but we do want to understand how one bit of the ionosphere works, and that may help overall knowledge as well as provide some practical understanding to reduce the impact on other aspects of our daily life.”
Learn more from NASA in this video:
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Courtesy of VHS Coaches
Reddington & ACS VolleyBall 8-29/30
Head Coach: Adam Sharrai
Assistant Coach: Katie Burns
Buc Volleyball headed to Reddington for the first time Thursday morning for afternoon games. The Bucs took Reddington in 3 straight games Thursday night playing pretty well all around and showing a relaxed rhythm as they communicated more effectively than in the previous weeks games. The Bucs serving and passing game was on along with a few kills finding the floor to reinforce their capacity to bring a team effort to the match and keep each other fighting. Nice job Bucs!
The Bucs had a different experience Friday with the ACS Lions as they struggled to communicate and find their rhythm after Savannah Cockerham lead it off with a 10 point serving lead at 12-2. The ACS Lions came back in that game to go up 1-0. More rough moments, tense playing, defense lapses, and broken communication lead to a 2nd game dropped to put ACS up 2-0. HOWEVER, the Bucs are tough, fight tough, regrouped, and supported each other to a 3rd game victory as they kept their composure and began breathing together again, playing their bases, and working as one. After cleaning up weaknesses in coverage and producing better defense they also took the next game grinding a win through to leave the match at 2-2. This brought on a 15 point game tie-breaker which did not disappoint both the ACS and Valdez Crowd. The set went back and forth, point for point, as the Bucs struggled to find the Floor and put their plays to end but they kept the pressure on and showed that they will never give up. After 4 lead changes from 13-13, and several tough rallies, the Bucs found themselves up by one 16-15 setting themselves up for the win by forcing a back-row attack the Lions were not able to capitalize on.
The Bucs showed what they are made of in sticking with it but unanimously agreed they are ready to strive for the game they know they all can and want play by honing their skills, raising their court awareness, and anticipating their opponents play presenting a failsafe defense! Great Job Bucs sticking together and forcing your competiveness to push you through to another victory. Keep working hard and make your season GREAT! Play your best next week against West-Valley Thursday night and also throughout their tournament Friday and Saturday. Find your game, play your game—Work Hard–GO BUCS!!!
Redington and ACS August 29-30, 2019
This past weekend the Buccaneers JV Volleyball Team traveled first to Wasilla to face the Redington Huskies on Thursday, and then followed up on a Friday evening match to face the ACS Lions. While the Bucs pulled out a victory in a 2-0 win against Redington, they lost their match 0-2 against ACS. In these two matches we faced some team communication challenges, movement on the court as the game transitioned from offense to defense, and connection with the ball. We are looking forward to tackling some of these challenges in practice this week and making adjustments before facing Eielson and Lathrop this coming weekend.
Bartlett State Preview 2019 The Buccaneers Cross-Country team braved the smoke to Anchorage. The worst smoke was in Eureka, but it diminished the closer to Anchorage we got. Mother Nature granted our wishes with overnight rains and a light drizzle to dampen the dust before the races began. The air was refreshing and the mountains were finally visible. We finally had most of the team and they were excited to run in their first official race of the season. This is the most important race aside from Regionals and State. The Bartlett State Preview gives the runners an idea of the course and their competition. A new course record was set at an astounding 15:07 by Dimond runner Santiago Prosser.
The course is 5 kilometers of rolling hills with a couple of straight stretches in between the two laps. Add a sprinkling of moose for extra excitement with over a hundred runners in each race and almost 300 runners in the Boys Junior Varsity Race.
Staying near the middle of the pack, Freshman Cole Wadsworth finished 174th with an impressive 21:59 time. Freshman Jason Smilie was exactly a minute behind Wadsworth and finished 213th at 22:59. Starting the season out strong, Junior Wyatt Mehlberg finished 274th at 27:31, setting a new personal record and beating his goal for the meet.
The Junior Varsity girls ran against almost 200 other runners. Freshman Angelina Grande held strong in the middle of the pack and finished 93rd at 25:43. Grande’s goal was to finish in the first half, great job Angie! Senior Chloe Miller joined us for her first race of the season and finished 114th at 26:43.
For the Varsity Girls, Senior Sophia Palomar came in first at 75th out of 103 at 24:58, almost making her goal of 24:30. Over a minute behind Palomar, Senior Katelyn Wadsworth showed of her sprinting skills at the finish placing 84th and finishing at 26:04. From Japan, Sophomore Momoka Ishikawa was hot on Wadsworth’s heels and finished 85th at 26:21.
Finally, the Varsity Boys showed their team spirit by challenging each other across the finish line. In a final sprint to the finished, Senior Kalin Woods squeezed past Sophomore Jin Shiozaki from Japan and they finished 78th and 79th with Woods finished at 19:49 and Shiozaki at 19:50. Senior Rafael Alfaro was hot on their tracks and pushed through low backpain to finish 80th at 19:56. Sophomore William Benes has been extremely motivated this season and his progress shows by finishing 86th at 20:26, shaving about 4:00 from his time last year.
The team is motivated to work harder and to shave minutes off of their time. Next stop is Palmer for another hilly, challenging course. Coach Koontz is blown away by the dedication of these amazing athletes and sees great potential for state.
JV Boys out of 288
174 C. Wadsworth 21:59
213 J. Smilie 22:59
274 W. Mehlberg 27:31
JV Girls out of 188
93 A. Grande 25:43
114 C. Miller 26:36
Varsity Girls out of 103
75 S. Palomar 24:58
84 K. Wadsworth 26:04
85 M. Ishikawa 26:21
Varsity Boys out of 121
78 K. Woods 19:49
79 J. Shiozaki 19:50
80 R. Alfaro 19:56
86 W. Benes 20:26
Valdez Buccaneers vs. Monroe Rams (Non-Conference Game)
We traveled to Monroe on Friday for a non-conference exhibition game as our regularly scheduled game was cancelled with Nikiski.
The first quarter was hard fought. We were able to compete well on both sides of the ball, and scored an early touchdown with Jona Turner carrying it over a block by Logan Anderson and Moe Morgan. However, a few miscues on defense allowed big plays to score, and the game quickly got out of hand. Our offense was unable to stay on the field for sustained drives with multiple fumbles, contributing to Monroe scoring on defense 3 times and 1 time on an untouched kickoff return. Despite the lopsided score of 62-7, we believe we can match up well with Monroe when we play them again in 4 weeks. However, we will have to be much more disciplined in our effort to be successful.
This week we take on the Eielson Ravens at our home field on Saturday. Eielson is unbeaten so far this year, and ranked #1 in the state Division III rankings. We certainly will have to bring our A game this week to compete with a tough Eielson squad.
I am very excited to report that our Buccaneer Swim Team had the strongest start to the season then we have ever had in the last 8 swim seasons. The boy’s team placed second overall beating North Pole, Lathrop, & Ben Eielson High Schools. The entire team placed 3rd overall beating Lathrop & Ben Eielson High Schools.
Our swimmers swam with a great deal of intensity and were able to grab a number of top 3 finishes. These swims were:
Isaiah Silveira was the only swimmer to win both of his races placing 1st in both the 200 & 100 Yard Freestyle. I would like to recognize Isaiah as the Bucs Swimming athlete of the week for his incredible swims.
Please be sure to wish you Buccaneer Swimmers good luck as they travel this weekend to Unalaska!
Saturday, Sept 7th – 11am at Civic Center
Join friends for a Celebration of Life and a tribute for everything Doug did for the City of Valdez and his life. There will be BBQ following the celebration. Bring a dish to share. There will be an event to honor Doug July 4th, 2020 and to dedicate a scholarship in his name. Contact Doug Johnson at 831-0484.
Tom Karlsten and his winning Silver Salmon
VALDEZ, Alaska – Tom Karlsten of St. Cloud Florida has been fishing Valdez with his wife Jane for many years, but this year they had to try some unconventional ideas to get the big silver salmon. Jane Karlsten said she prefers trolling for silvers because she loves to watch the shoreline but on August 19th the fish weren’t biting so they anchored up and dropped a line. “I always thought that jigging was not that productive,” said Jane Karlsten. “I was wrong.” The Karlstens first came to Valdez in the summer of 2011 and they knew they had to keep coming back. “If we were youngsters, we would be living here,” commented Jane Karlsten. Karlsten’s 15.32 pound silver salmon held onto the lead through the end of the Silver Salmon Derby. Karlsten and his wife not only take home the $10,000 first place prize, but Jane also won the $500 Captain’s prize. Tom Karlsten credits his wife for putting him on the fish.
Pravat Phumin of Valdez took 2nd place in the Silver Salmon Derby with a 14.68 pound silver he caught on August 13th aboard the Seagull II. Phumin’s 2nd place silver netted him $3,000 in cash. Frieda Wiley, who holds the distinction of catching the largest halibut on record in the Valdez Halibut Derby, won 3rd place in the Silver Salmon Derby this year with a 14.48 pound silver she caught August 28th aboard the Orion. Wiley’s catch was worth $1,500 cash. In 2017 Wiley reeled in a 374.0 pound halibut to win 1st place in the Valdez Halibut Derby.
Christine Ives and her winning Halibut
In the Valdez Halibut Derby, it was Christine Ives of Fairbanks who held on to win the derby. Ives caught a 285.6 pound halibut on June 6th aboard the Nunatak. Ives said that she had never been halibut fishing before and had to be talked into buying a Valdez Halibut Derby ticket. Ives was surprised at the notoriety she received as the leader of the derby. “I’ve had people stop me around Fairbanks and be like ‘hey you’re the girl that caught that halibut’ and I was like ‘Holy Cow! I can’t believe you know about that’”.
Christopher Barnes of Moorehead, Minnesota captured 2nd place in the halibut derby with a 225.6 pound halibut caught on June 24th aboard the Sea Quester. Joshua Curry of Valdez won 3rd place in the halibut derby with a 213.4 pound halibut he caught on July 21st aboard the Mistress.
Christine Ive’s winning Halibut was caught aboard the Nunatak and the captain of that boat, Dave West, won the $500 Captains prize and the ticket seller’s prize of $500. In the Silver Salmon Derby, it was Jane Karlsten that won the Captain’s Prize. The seller of the winning Silver Salmon Derby ticket was Dixie Shipman. She won a $500 ticket seller’s prize. The winner of Big Prize Friday was John McCay of Valdez with a 12.46 pound silver. Next year’s dates, as well as pictures and information about the 2019 winners, can be found at www.valdezfishderbies.com.
Halibut Derby – Overall Leaders
1st Christine Ives Fairbanks, AK 285.6 lbs. June 6 Nunatak
2nd Christopher Barnes Moorhead, MN 225.6 lbs. June 24 Sea Quester
3rd Joshua Curry Valdez, AK 213.4 lbs. July 21 Mistress
Halibut Derby – Weekly Winners
1st Andrea Brenney Cedar, MN 174.0 lbs. Aug 27 The Reflection
2nd Brendan McCabe Valdez, AK 165.0 lbs. Aug 28 The Refraction
Silver Derby – Overall Leaders
1st Tom Karlsten St. Cloud, FL 15.32 lbs. Aug 19 Long Shot
2nd Pravat Phumin Valdez, AK 14.68 lbs. Aug 13 Seagull 2
3rd Frieda Wiley Valdez, AK 14.48 lbs. Aug 28 Orion
For more information on the Valdez Derbies, visit: www.valdezfishderbies.com
KODIAK, Alaska — A Coast Guard member assigned to the Coast Guard Cutter Chandeleur was found deceased inside his home in Valdez, Alaska, on Saturday.
Deceased is Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Frankie Lopez, a 23-year-old male from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Lopez was discovered by Valdez police officers late Saturday evening, who pronounced the individual deceased.
The deceased was then transported to Valdez and will be sent to a medical examiner’s office in Anchorage.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our shipmate,” said Lt. Timothy Cassel, commanding officer, Coast Guard Cutter Chandeleur. “Our hearts go out to Frankie’s family, loved ones and friends during this difficult time. We are working to provide the proper counseling and support to our shipmates and family members of the deceased.”
The cause of the incident is currently under investigation.
Next of kin notifications have been made.
-USCG-
Christine Ives, 1st overall for Valdez Halibut Derby
VALDEZ, Alaska – Tom Karlsten of St. Cloud Florida has been fishing Valdez with his wife Jane for many years, but this year they had to try some unconventional ideas to get the big silver salmon. Jane Karlsten said she prefers trolling for silvers because she loves to watch the shoreline but on August 19th the fish weren’t biting so they anchored up and dropped a line. “I always thought that jigging was not that productive,” said Jane Karlsten. “I was wrong.” The Karlstens first came to Valdez in the summer of 2011 and they knew they had to keep coming back. “If we were youngsters, we would be living here,” commented Jane Karlsten. Karlsten’s 15.32 pound silver salmon held onto the lead through the end of the Silver Salmon Derby. Karlsten and his wife not only take home the $10,000 first place prize, but Jane also won the $500 Captain’s prize. Tom Karlsten credits his wife for putting him on the fish.
Pravat Phumin of Valdez took 2nd place in the Silver Salmon Derby with a 14.68 pound silver he caught on August 13th aboard the Seagull II. Phumin’s 2nd place silver netted him $3,000 in cash. Frieda Wiley, who holds the distinction of catching the largest halibut on record in the Valdez Halibut Derby, won 3rd place in the Silver Salmon Derby this year with a 14.48 pound silver she caught August 28th aboard the Orion. Wiley’s catch was worth $1,500 cash. In 2017 Wiley reeled in a 374.0 pound halibut to win 1st place in the Valdez Halibut Derby.
In the Valdez Halibut Derby, it was Christine Ives of Fairbanks who held on to win the derby. Ives caught a 285.6 pound halibut on June 6th aboard the Nunatak. Ives said that she had never been halibut fishing before and had to be talked into buying a Valdez Halibut Derby ticket. Ives was surprised at the notoriety she received as the leader of the derby. “I’ve had people stop me around Fairbanks and be like ‘hey you’re the girl that caught that halibut’ and I was like ‘Holy Cow! I can’t believe you know about that’”.
Christopher Barnes of Moorehead, Minnesota captured 2nd place in the halibut derby with a 225.6 pound halibut caught on June 24th aboard the Sea Quester. Joshua Curry of Valdez won 3rd place in the halibut derby with a 213.4 pound halibut he caught on July 21st aboard the Mistress.
Christine Ive’s winning Halibut was caught aboard the Nunatak and the captain of that boat, Dave West, won the $500 Captains prize and the ticket seller’s prize of $500. In the Silver Salmon Derby, it was Jane Karlsten that won the Captain’s Prize. The seller of the winning Silver Salmon Derby ticket was Dixie Shipman. She won a $500 ticket seller’s prize. The winner of Big Prize Friday was John McCay of Valdez with a 12.46 pound silver. Next year’s dates, as well as pictures and information about the 2019 winners, can be found at www.valdezfishderbies.com.
Halibut Derby – Overall Leaders
1st Christine Ives Fairbanks, AK 285.6 lbs. June 6 Nunatak
2nd Christopher Barnes Moorhead, MN 225.6 lbs. June 24 Sea Quester
3rd Joshua Curry Valdez, AK 213.4 lbs. July 21 Mistress
Halibut Derby – Weekly Winners
1st Andrea Brenney Cedar, MN 174.0 lbs. Aug 27 The Reflection
2nd Brendan McCabe Valdez, AK 165.0 lbs. Aug 28 The Refraction
Silver Derby – Overall Leaders
1st Tom Karlsten St. Cloud, FL 15.32 lbs. Aug 19 Long Shot
2nd Pravat Phumin Valdez, AK 14.68 lbs. Aug 13 Seagull 2
3rd Frieda Wiley Valdez, AK 14.48 lbs. Aug 28 Orion
For more information on the Valdez Derbies, visit: www.valdezfishderbies.com
