Episodes – Page 240 – KVAK is your hometown radio station for Valdez, Alaska.

Press Release: City Continues Response Following Cyber Attack

August 13, 2018 8:47 pm|

08/07/2018 8:00 a.m.

Valdez, AK – The City of Valdez continues recovery efforts after a ransomware cyber attack on its municipal information technology infrastructure in late July.

On July 27th, City personnel identified a computer virus in the City’s IT infrastructure. The virus, which appears to be a type of ransomware, effectively encrypted all electronic data stored on the City’s network. Hackers use ransomware to encrypt or lock data so it cannot be read or used. They then demand a ransom to provide tools to unlock the encryption. Standalone or cloud-based systems, including the City’s phone network, were unaffected by the malware.

“VPD’s criminal investigation into the ransomware attack on the City continues in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” said Bart Hinkle, Valdez police chief and operations section chief for the cyber incident response. “Due to the ongoing investigation, specific details cannot be released at this time. However, I want to assure the public that the integrity of our technology infrastructure and the preservation of data is a top priority. To date, there is no evidence to suggest any information has been taken from our system.”

Immediately following the attack, the City’s IT department worked quickly to isolate the City network from the internet as well as isolate internal connections between City servers and individual computers to prevent further infection. City personnel notified the FBI and enlisted help from several Alaska-based malware response and recovery industry specialists.

“We also reached out to other municipalities recently infected by similar viruses to determine best practices,” said Matt Osburn, City information technology director. “This approach has been mutually beneficial for recovery efforts and while proactively planning to rebuild our IT network in a way that prevents similar issues from occurring in the future.”

Valdez Mayor Pro Tempore, Dennis Fleming, declared a local government disaster on July 27th and extended the declaration on August 3rd to aid in procurement of necessary supplies and time sensitive assistance from recovery specialists. Valdez City Manager Elke Doom also implemented the Incident Command System to simultaneously deal with the cyber attack while also ensuring essential City operations continued to function.

“Our current response tactics fall under four key objectives,” said Elke Doom, who also serves as the incident commander for the cyber attack response. “The first objective was to ensure potentially infected systems were quarantined to prevent further contamination and preserve evidence. The other three objectives include the law enforcement criminal investigation, rebuilding our long term infrastructure, and continuity of City operations to ensure our residents and visitors experience as little impact from this event as possible.”

Members of the public should expect the following impacts to City services over at least the next couple of weeks:

• All City emergency services, including police, fire, and EMS, remain operational. No interruption of emergency services occurred due to the cyber attack.

• All City financial services are now fully operational. Cashier locations at City Hall, the Civic Center, the Animal Shelter, and other City facilities have been restored to include the ability to look-up citizen utility, property tax, and other accounts. UPDATE (0809018): The City Hall front office is the primary location for citizens wishing to look-up information about their utility or property tax accounts. Other City cashier locations do not provide this service. The harbor and port offices, which use a separate, maritime specific software program, are currently unable to look up harbor or port customer account information.

• All City departments continue to work with limited computer and data access. Many formerly electronic processes, such as building permitting or Council/Commission agenda packets, have moved into paper form for the near future. The City landline and cell phone systems were unaffected by the cyber attack and remain fully functional.

• Regular employee email remains unavailable. Due to the nature of the email server quarantine, those attempting to email City staff will not receive an error message or have their email “bounced back”. Primary contact method for City staff is by phone or fax. Citizens may access the City phone directory by visiting www.ci.valdez.ak.us or by calling the main City phone number at (907) 835-4313.

• The City website and other cloud-based programs were unaffected by the attack. However, the City meeting agendas webpage cannot be updated until at least next week. Please contact the City Clerk’s office @ (907) 834-3468 for the most up-to-date City Council and Commission meeting schedules.

• The Community Development Department is temporarily unable to offer GIS or electronic research assistance.

• Answers to inquiries regarding slip availability at the Valdez Boat Harbor may take longer than normal, as the process is temporarily being managed utilizing paper files instead of an electronic database. Additionally, July billing statements for harbor users will be delayed.

• Current Capital Facilities projects are underway and on schedule. Those responding to bid postings should pay close attention to submission instructions. In the near term, City project invoices should be hand delivered, sent by postal mail, or faxed to the Capital Facilities Department at (907) 835-5574.

• The Port of Valdez is temporarily unable to register new users for access to the Valdez Container Terminal. All existing registered TWICs remain fully functional at the facility. UPDATE (0809018): Based on the download cycle for the port’s TWIC user database, TWICs registered prior to mid-June remain fully functional. Those registered after mid-June may experience difficulty utilizing their TWIC to access the VCT. Please contact the Port office at 835-4564 for additional information or to learn more about escort requirements for the federally regulated VCT facility.

• The Human Resources Department continues to accept either paper employment applications or online employment applications through www.NeoGov.com.

• With the exception of general limitations listed above, the following City services and facilities remain operational: All City emergency services, Valdez Animal Shelter, animal control, public works (streets, shop, water, sewer, baler, and landfill), permitting and licensing, Valdez Pioneer Field Airport, port and harbor facilities, Valdez Regional Jail, Valdez Swimming Pool, Ike Woodman Recreation Center, Valdez Consortium Library, Valdez Civic Center, and scheduled City events.

• Citizens or visitors with questions or concerns regarding access to City services during recovery from the cyber attack should contact the City Public Information Office for assistance at (907) 834-3468 or covaldezpio@gmail.com.

Posted 08/07/2018

Allie Ferko

City of Valdez Public Information Officer

Office (907) 834-3468

Cell (907) 202-0711

leslie-west-1st-place-winner-womens-derby-2018-2

The silver salmon were definitely in for Women’s Silver Salmon Derby day in Valdez

August 13, 2018 8:28 pm|

VALDEZ, Alaska – After a raucous evening at the Opening Event for the Valdez Women’s Silver Salmon Derby Friday night, anglers set out early Saturday morning in search of the salmon that would earn them the title of Queen at the Awards Ceremony Saturday night. Many anglers heading out past the narrows ended up doubling back and coming back to fish Port Valdez because the silver salmon are in and plentiful close to the harbor. Laura Saxe of Eagles Rest RV Park said she heard that someone even caught a silver salmon at Allison Point.

Leslie West of Provo, Utah had never fished for salmon in Valdez but she said she got the hang of trolling and was really excited to see such a big fish at the end of her line. West brought in a 16.48 pound silver salmon to win her 1^st place in the Women’s Silver Salmon Derby and put her into 3^rd place in the overall Silver Derbystandings. “I’ve never trolled before”, West said. “This was all new to me and a lot of fun. I was just so grateful we got it in. It was kind of hard netting and it was exciting there for a few minutes, but we got it in. Oh my gosh, what a feeling!”. West said she was fishing very shallow but most anglers had success fishing at depths of 40 to 70 feet. “They were jumping, they were on the surface. We could see them everywhere. We just trolled on through and I lucked into the one”, West said.

West wasn’t the only one who caught a big fish on Saturday. Eight-year-old Aksel Hutchison of Valdez caught a whopper of a fish. Hutchison’s fish weighed in at 17.28 pounds and puts him in the lead to win the $10,000 first place prize in the regular Valdez Silver Salmon Derby.

With silver salmon heavy in the narrows, fishing should be good from shore at Allison Point and in Port Valdez the final weeks of the derby. Most of those trolling on Saturday had success trolling at a depth of 40 to 70 feet. Hot spots this weekend were the Valdez Narrows, Shoup Bay, Gold Creek and just outside the Valdez Harbor. The silver derby and Valdez Halibut Derby end Sunday, September 2^nd at noon.

Patricia Johnson of Clovis, California is leading the Valdez Halibut Derby with a 285.8 pound halibut she caught July 26^th. Doug Cranor of Valdez is currently 2^nd place with a 239 pound halibut and Russell Young of Fairbanks is currently in 3^rd place overall with a 226 pound halibut.

Halibut Derby – Overall Leaders

1^st Patricia Johnson Clovis, CA 285.8 lbs. July 26 Harvester

2^nd Doug Cranor Valdez, AK 239.0 lbs. June 23 Redhead

3^rd Russell Young Fairbanks, AK 226.0 lbs. June 23 Dan Orion

Halibut Derby – Weekly Winners

1^st Kevin Ulrich Eagle River, AK 202.6 lbs. Aug 5 Dan Orion

2^nd Steve Hanna Emmett, ID 140.0 lbs. Aug 5 Sea Quester

Silver Derby – Overall Leaders

1^st Aksel Hutchinson Valdez, AK 15.62 lbs. Aug 11 Amanda Rose

2^nd Daniel Schneider Anchorage, AK 16.64 lbs. Aug 4 Sea Duck

3^rd Leslie West Provo, UT 16.48 lbs. Aug 11 Sea Duck

If you would like to be removed from Valdez Fish Derbies press release list, lease respond by e-mail and ask to “unsubscribe”

###

Valdez Women’s Silver Salmon Derby 2018 – TOP 50

1^st	Leslie West	Provo, UT	16.48 lbs.
2^nd	Karen Moore	Anchorage, AK	15.36 lbs.
3^rd	Crista Anderson	Valdez, AK	15.08 lbs.
4^th	Carrie Mercier	Valdez, AK	15.06 lbs.
5^th	Angie Morris	Valdez, AK	14.82 lbs.
6^th	Kate Foster	Valdez, AK	14.76 lbs.
7^th	Jenny Smith	Valdez, AK	14.68 lbs.
8^th	Lori Day	Valdez, AK	14.58 lbs.
9^th	Rowena Palomar	Valdez, AK	14.48 lbs.
10^th	Julie Mason	Valdez, AK	14.44 lbs.
11^th	Nicole Wattengel	Copper Center, AK	14.32 lbs.
12^th	Jennifer Forster	Wasilla, AK	13.98 lbs.
13^th	Elizabeth Stroup	Melbourne, FL	13.88 lbs.
14^th	Trish Kindt	Pierre, SD	13.68 lbs.
15^th	Hope Roberts	Valdez, AK	13.62 lbs.
16^th	Natalie Chamberlin	Fairbanks, AK	13.58 lbs.
17^th	Sarah Kupczyk	Valdez, AK	13.56 lbs.
18^th	Dorothy Cook	Jber, AK	13.54 lbs.
19^th	Becky Dalks	Palmer, AK	13.44 lbs.
20^th	Viki Kaas	Anchorage, AK	13.40 lbs.
21^st	Adiana Clark	North Pole, AK	13.36 lbs.
22^nd	Dezirae Wiley	Valdez, AK	13.30 lbs.
23^rd	Marilou Wolterman	North Pole, AK	13.18 lbs.
24^th	Phimchanok Boswell	Valdez, AK	13.14 lbs.
25^th	Robin Tate Lesher	Seabeck, WA	13.12 lbs.
26^th	Chris Harris	Glennallen, AK	13.04 lbs.
27^th	Kyra Meyer	Valdez, AK	13.02 lbs.
28^th	Germaine Eames	Anchorage, AK	13.00 lbs.
29^th	Christina Cordes	Palmer, AK	13.00 lbs.
30^th	Thale Steenhoven	Salcha, AK	13.00 lbs.
31^st	Amanda Godin	Valdez, AK	12.94 lbs.
32^nd	Dani Walters	Valdez, AK	12.90 lbs.
33^rd	Rene Kappel	Fairbanks, AK	12.88 lbs.
34^th	Lisa Cronk	Valdez, AK	12.84 lbs.
35^th	Lillian Demoski	Wasilla, AK	12.82 lbs.
36^th	Nikcol Fischer	Fairbanks, AK	12.80 lbs.
37^th	Paula Rothenbuhler	Salcha, AK	12.72 lbs.
38^th	Rachelle Jeppsen	Ester, AK	12.72 lbs.
39^th	G.S. Richmand	San Ramon, CA	12.68 lbs.
40^th	Leslie Bauman	Valdez, AK	12.66 lbs.
41^st	Thitinan Dykstal	Anchorage, AK	12.60 lbs.
42^nd	Kaylee MacDonald

…

[Message clipped] View entire message

Kara Lee Merrell Obituary

August 13, 2018 8:08 pm|

Kara Lee Merrell, 57, passed away at home on August 7, 2018 in Anchorage, Alaska. Kara was born on May 23, 1961 in Seattle, Washington. She attended Trinity College in Washington DC, was a member of Phi Beta Kappa Scholar Society and graduated Summa Cum Laude. She received her Bachelor of Arts Degrees in International Relations and International Economics.

Kara moved to Alaska in November of 1985 and lived in Juneau, Ketchikan, and Valdez and most recently in Anchorage. She worked for Shearson Lehman Brothers in Juneau from 1985 -1990, Diversified Investments in Ketchikan from 1994-1997 and the State of Alaska in Anchorage from 2008 -2018.

She was a member of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Valdez, was on the board from the American Cancer Society and on the Board of Directors for the Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation in Anchorage. Kara enjoyed mothering, reading, quilting and outdoor activities.

“Kara’s remembered for her big, caring heart, her quick wit and warm smile. She immediately put people at ease. She was truly an awesome and inspiring lady that taught by example in its simplest sense. Rest in Peace our sweet, sweet angel.”

Kara is survived by her husband Geoff Merrell, daughter Olivia Merrell and son Luc Merrell of Anchorage; parents Astri and Jerry Summer; and her siblings Gus Mouton of Seattle, Jeffrey Summer of Poughkeepsie, New York, Mike Summer of Shoreline, Washington and Teani Graver of Everett, Washington. Kara was preceded in death by her father Lee Moulton. Services were held on Sunday, August 12at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church.

VHS Weekend Wrap-Up – Aug 13, 2018

August 13, 2018 8:01 pm|

Varsity Volleyball at Palmer Jamboree: (Adam Sharrai)

Friday, August 10: Played 6 games – 5 wins, 1 loss

Valdez vs Wasilla 25-22 win

Valdez vs Houston 25-20 win

Valdez vs Colony 25-16 win

Valdez vs Grace 25-18 win

Valdez vs Palmer 25-27 loss

Valdez vs ACS 25-15 win

Saturday, August 11: Played 4 games – 2 wins, 2 losses

Valdez vs Wasilla 18-25 loss

Valdez vs Grace 27-25 win

Valdez vs ACS 15-25 loss

Game for 3rd: Valdez vs Houston 25-13 win

Valdez was 3rd, Colony was 2nd, and Wasilla was 1st.

The girls played well for first games of the season and looking forward to continued improvement.

JV Volleyball at Colony Jamboree: (Katie Burns)

After seven practices together the Junior Varsity volleyball team embarked on their inaugural competition for the 2018 school year at the Colony High School Jamboree. Within one day these athletes played three round robin sets and competed in four matches. They earned the victory over Grace, Houston, and Redington, but faced tough loses against Colony and Palmer. They took third place overall in the competition.

This Next Weekend:

Football goes to Nikiiski for first game at 2:00 pm

Varsity Volleyball to Chugiak Invite

Cross Country Running to North Pole Invite at Chena Lakes

Swimming to Colony Invite

City Council passes first reading of ordinance to limit bar opening and closure times

August 13, 2018 7:53 am|

The Valdez City Council passed the first reading of an ordinance to shorten the time establishments can sell alcoholic beverages in the City of Valdez. The current ordinance allows for the sale of alcoholic beverages limits the sale between the hours of 5am to 8am. The proposed municipal ordinance change will limit the sale of alcoholic beverages between the hours of 2am and 8am.City Councilman Chris Moulton said “I think we are not solving any problems with this ordinance. We are just shifting problems to a different time”. A committee of Valdez citizens, working with bar owners and the Valdez Police Department proposed the ordinance change and there was public comment in support of the ordinance. Despite concerns from a few Council members that the ordinance would not have a big impact, the ordinance passed. There will be a 2^nd reading of the ordinance at the next scheduled Council meeting August 21^st. There was discussion of a possible work session on the topic prior to the meeting, but the time and date of that meeting was unclear.

VCS Preschool is accepting applications

August 9, 2018 8:01 pm|

Women’s Silver Salmon Derby is this weekend in Valdez

August 6, 2018 5:17 pm|

VALDEZ, Alaska – Anglers will hit the waters of Port Valdez and Prince William Sound Saturday during the Valdez Women’s Silver Salmon Derby. Saturday evening the winners will be announced, starting with 50 th place and working up to the crowning of the Queen of the Silver Salmon Sisterhood. There will be prizes for the Top 50 fish as well as cash and prizes for the top three biggest fish. The woman who catches the largest silver will be awarded a tiara and signature Women’s Derby pink bathrobe. The theme of this year’s Women’s Derby is “Circus”.

Registration for the Women’s Derby started August 4 th at the Prospector and will continue through Saturday, August 11th at noon. Friday night Valdez Fish Derbies hosts an opening celebration with door prizes, a costume contest, and games. The waters of Prince William Sound will be full of boats and anglers on Saturday hoping to catch a big one and get to the weigh in station before it closes at 6pm. The Women’s Silver Salmon Derby closing awards ceremony is Saturday night. Last year Chinda Heston of Valdez, Alaska won the Derby and was crowned Queen of the Silver Salmon Sisterhood with a 14.88 pound silver salmon. The biggest silver salmon caught in the Women’s Derby was an 18.84 pound silver caught by Betty Valdes of Eagle River in 2010.

CLICK HERE to visit the Women’s Derby registration page at www.valdezfishderbies.com .

Often times the winner of the Women’s Derby breaks into the Regular Silver Salmon Derby standings. To compete in the Women’s Derby, ladies must buy a Silver Salmon Derby daily or season ticket so they are eligible to win the $10,000 first place prize in the regular derby if they catch a big one that holds on to the end of the derby. Currently, the largest Silver Salmon in the regular derby is a 16.64 pound silver caught by Daniel Schneider on August 4 th . The largest silver salmon caught in the Women’s Derby was an 18.84 pound silver caught by Betty Valdes of Eagle River in 2010.

In the Valdez Halibut Derby, Patricia Johnson of Clovis, California holds first place with a 285.6 pound halibut she caught on July 26 aboard the Harvester. Second place overall in the Valdez Halibut Derby is Doug Cranor of Valdez with a 239.0 pound halibut he caught on June 23 rd aboard the Redhead. Holding on to third place is Russell Young of Fairbanks with a 226.0 pound Halibut he caught on June 23 rd aboard the Dan Orion.

Halibut Derby – Overall Leaders

1 st Patricia Johnson Clovis, CA 285.8 lbs. July 26 Harvester

2 nd Doug Cranor Valdez, AK 239.0 lbs. June 23 Redhead

3 rd Russell Young Fairbanks, AK 226.0 lbs. June 23 Dan Orion

Halibut Derby – Weekly Winners

1 st Kyle Lucey Wasilla, AK 95.8 lbs. July 30 Jaime Lynn

2 nd Martin Mykkanen Andogh, MN 87.4 lbs. July 30 Halibut Grove

Silver Derby – Overall Leaders

1 st Daniel Schneider Anchorage, AK 16.64 lbs. Aug 4 Sea Duck

2 nd Tom Karlsten St. Cloud, FL 16.40 lbs. Aug 4 Long Shot

3 rd Darlene Juve Decorah, IA 14.98 lbs. July 24 Orion

Valdez High School 2018-2019 Sports Season off to an exciting start

August 6, 2018 4:19 pm|

Currently Valdez High School has 4 sports up and running: Football, Cross Country Running, Volleyball and Swimming. We have 70 student athletes hard at work before the 2018-19 school year even begins (23 participants in Football, 5 in Cross Country Running, 26 in Volleyball, and 16 in Swimming).

We would like to thank all the parents for begin so patient in ASAA’s implementation of the Arbiterathlete online registration system. It has been a learning experience for all of us, as we transition to the paperless system of signing all the necessary forms online for athletic participation!

Football (Coach Lee Chadwick):

We took 21 football players to Houston High School this weekend, and participated in a football jamboree. The teams included Houston, Redington, Seward, Nikiski, Colony JV, and us. We played 10 plays offense and 10 plays defense against each team, for 100 total plays, which is about equivalent to 1 game. It was a great learning experience for our young team, as coaches were able to be on the field instructing during game play. It was also helpful to see some of our upcoming opponents. As we measured our progress, we saw some great gains made over the last two weeks. As always, it also revealed several weaknesses we can work on to improve. Primarily, we had a number of young players that are beginning their first year of football that were able to experience the speed that things happen on a varsity football field.

We felt good about our ability to score, scoring touchdowns against many of our opponents. We also were able to contain a couple of the teams from scoring while learning a new defensive scheme. With five opponents, we saw several formations and types of play, and began to learn to quickly adjust as needed to be effective. We look forward to our first official game in two weeksat Nikiski.

Next Weekend (Aug. 10 & 11): Varsity Volleyball at Palmer Jamboree and JV Volleyball at Colony Jamboree. Football, Cross Country Running, and Swimming have an open weekend.

City working to redesign and rebuild City’s data network

August 6, 2018 4:14 pm|

The City’s data network was hit last week with a ransom ware attack. Tuesday, the Council will be voting to transfer money to the Information Services Department for contractual services related to getting network rebuilt.

On July 27th, the City made the announcement that a computer virus was detected in the City’s computer infrastructure. All city computers and servers were then shut down in order to prevent further compromise.

Read original Press Release HERE

tba-theater-held-a-youth-theater-camp-in-valdez-4

TBA Theater Youth Camp

August 6, 2018 4:08 pm|

TBA Theater held a youth theater camp in Valdez for kids age eight to eighteen. After two weeks of training and rehearsals, the kids put on two plays at the Civic Center. Here are sone pictures from Charlotte’s Web and Dr. Forteans Klondike Gold Wild Alaska Show.