Episodes
Affects of last week’s 7.9 earthquake felt around the country
How last week’s earthquake in Alaska made a wave of water in Death Valley
SCPR- Last Monday night, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck the Gulf of Alaska. Violent shaking was followed by a tsunami alert, but the seismic ripple that coursed across the Pacific was only eight inches high. But about 2,000 miles away, in the middle of Death Valley, there was a one foot wave in a small pool of water called Devil’s Hole.
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Alaska’s earthquake caused endangered desert pupfish to spawn
Smithsonian – Nevada’s endangered desert pupfish are spawning after Alaska’s earthquake sent waves reverberating around their watery home.
Alaska earthquake caused water levels to rise, fall in two Florida wells
TCPalm – Apparently, Tuesday’s 7.9-magnitude earthquake in the Gulf of Alaska caused water to rise and fall in a few wells in Florida, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
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VHS Weekend Wrap-Up – January 29, 2018
VHS Boys Basketball Wrap-Up – Coach Hinkle
January 25th: vs. Lathrop
The cold Interior weather had little effect on the VHS Boys, as they got off to a hot start against the 4A Lathrop Malemutes on Thursday – jumping out to an early 22-8 lead after the first quarter. The Buccaneers went on to outscore the Malemutes in every quarter, resulting in a 71-29 victory in which 11 of 12 Bucs contributed in the scoring column. Conversely, the suffocating Buccaneer defense held Lathrop to 32% shooting, with only five players scoring (none of which scored in double figures). The Bucs defense also forced the Malemutes into 26 turnovers and successfully took 3 charges (one each by Derek Berg, Tyler Mann, and Kyler LaBonte).
Offensively the Buccaneers were led by Bennett Hinkle with 26 points (11 of 13 shooting) and Logan Heckathorn who dropped in 13.
January 26th: vs. Eielson
The following night the boys continued their momentum, establishing a 19-11 lead after the first quarter and continuing to build on that throughout the game – ultimately resulting in a 70-48 victory. The Buccaneer’s offense was led by Logan Heckathorn with 26 points (on 11-of-16 shooting), Bennett Hinkle with 23 (include 4-of-6 behind the arc), and Jalen Freeman with 10.
Defensively, the Bucs created 19 turnovers while also drawing 4 offensive fouls (2 by Tyler Mann, and one each by Bennett Hinkle and Owen Chadwick).
January 27th: vs. Eielson
Winning on the road two nights in a row in the Aurora Conference is a tough task, as Saturday proved for the Buccaneer boys. The hostile crowd and a determined Ravens effort contributed to a 44-34 deficit for the Bucs heading into the 4th quarter. The Bucs rallied to outscore the Ravens 23-6 in the fourth quarter, en route to a 57-50 Aurora Conference victory.
The victory marked the 8th in a row for the Buccaneer boys, and also represented the 12th time of 13 games (including the last 8) in which the Bucs held opponent to 50 points or less (a pre-season goal of this years team).
Offensively, the Bucs were led by Logan Heckathorn with 18 points and Jalen Freeman with 17 points.
The victory extended the Bucs Aurora Conference record to 4-0 this year.
NOTES:
After several weekends on the road, the Bucs are looking forward to 3 straight weekends in front of the hometown crowd. This weekend will be a tough matchup against Aurora Conference foe Delta, as the Huskies are in town Friday and Saturday night. The following weekend is the 41st Valdez Elks Tournament, followed by a Friday/Saturday tilt the next weekend with Galena. Also, Saturday is Senior night and the boys program will be recognizing Tyler Mann, Kyle Sodergren, Derek Berg, and Aidan Hinkle.
We look forward to your support and attendance.
JV Boys Basketball – Coach Chadwick
On Thursday, we played Lathrop JV. We had them by 5 points at the half, but came out flat in the third quarter, falling behind by 5. With 4 minutes left in the 4th, we took the lead and held on for the win. The final score was 59-57. We shot well at 57% combined shooting percentage. Doug Cummings led the scoring with 18.
On Friday we played Eielson and won 57-45. This game showed great teamwork and ball movement and a distributed scoring performance. Doug Cummings led the way with 12 points.
On Saturday, we played Eielson again. The first half showed our greatest team defensive effort of the season to this point, holding Eielson to 13 points. A loss of focus and energy took it’s toll, however, and we gave up 19 and 23 points in the final two periods, respectively. The final score was 46-55.
Girls Varsity Basketball – Coach Fleming
Lathrop vs Valdez
Game one the Lady Bucs came out flat and with little energy and continued that momentum through the 3rd period. In the 4th period their energy showed up, unfortunately a bit too late. The team was led by Bobbi Mott’s 17 points and Ashley Ramoth’ s 12. Final score Lathrop 53 VHS 42.
Eielson vs Valdez game 1
Friday the Lady Bucs brought a completely different team to play. From the tip the Bucs settled into their defense and held Eielson to 3 points in the 1st. The Bucs never let up and played their game. Friday also saw Carlee Fleming return after missing 6 games with an injury. The team was again led by Bobbi Motts 22 points and 11 rebounds, Ashley Ramoth added 15 points and 6 steals and Carlee Fleming added 10 points off the bench in her return. Final 70-22
Eielson vs Valdez game 2
Saturday the Lady Bucs came out and played even strong defense than game one. From the tip the Bucs were in complete control going into halftime with a 47-6 lead. In the 2nd half the Bucs pulled back and sat in a zone defensively, offensively they spread the floor and passed the ball looking to let the clock run only scoring 13 points in the half. The team was again led in scoring by Bobbi Mott with 12, Sydney Johnson had a double double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, Jade Watts 10 points, Carlee Fleming 9 points and Ashley Ramoth 7 points. Final 60-19
Next weekend they face another conference opponent with the Delta Huskies.
Girls JV Basketball – Coach Fred Hill
North Pole & Hutchison scores
We had a fun trip and no injuries to our players. In the first game we came out sluggish and could not score. Players played much better in the next two games. We did a better job of scoring and our defense was much better as well. We are glad to be home and getting to play Delta next weekend.
Thursday 1/25JV girls vs. North Pole 31 – 46 (North Pole) High Score: Kyona Tudela w/12 pts.
Friday 1/26 JV girls vs. Hutchison 44-20 (Valdez) High Score: Marianne Prax w/10 pts.
Saturday 1/27 JV girls vs. Hutchison 56 23 (Valdez) High Score: Ally Seiber w/12 pts.
Nordic Skiing – Coaches Timi Miner & Mel Koontz
This weekend the Valdez Nordic Ski Team headed to Palmer in lieu of the Seward Invite
because of better ski conditions and longer distances for skiers to race.
On Friday, Palmer and Valdez faced off in 3-member relay teams. Government Peak
Recreational Area greeted us with clear, cool skies and a brisk wind that kept the spectators
moving to keep warm. Each team member skied a 2.7km lap. Valdez's Ben Swanson, Josten
Carlson and Palmer's Joseph Walling took first place with an overall time of 28:24. Carlson
started the team off and finished in 10:34. Swanson was in the middle and finished in 9:03.
Walling was the tail and carried the team to first by finish in 8:26. For the ladies, Tolgonai
Nasipbekova skied with Palmer's Ocean Tennant and Joseph Walling. Walling skied on two
teams to ensure even teams. He led the team, finishing in 8:25. Tennant was in the middle and
finished in 11:49. Nasipbekova carried the team home with a finish of 17:19. Rowan Miller was
auditioning for band this weekend and will join us at Regionals in Soldotna.
Saturday was a 10k Classic race for the boys and a 5K for the girls. The 10k skiers raced two
laps around the Matanuska and Susitina loops. Without the wind, 5 degrees felt much warmer
than the 12 degrees we had the day before. Nasipbekova finished 3rd out of 4 5km skiers with a
time of 31:48. Swanson took 2nd place for the 10km with a strong finish of 37:12. The leader,
Palmer's Kaj Taylor, finished in 35:32. Carlson finished the hilly and slow course in 47:59.
Next weekend will be the last Town Race hosted by the Nordic Ski team. All abilities are
welcomed to join us at Cato Bridge at 10:00 am. We will have some gear available for sale!
Then the ski team will finish up the season at Boroughs in SuValley before heading to Soldotna
for Regionals and State in Fairbanks.
School board goes back to the drawing board to find superintendent
The Valdez School Board hired a consulting firm that brought two finalists to Valdez the third week of January. Patrick Myers and Dr. Randy Corbett each spent a day in Valdez meeting with community members, staff and the School Board. At the conclusion of the interviews, the School Board offered the Superintendent position to Dr. Randy Trani of Corbett, Oregon and he declined.
In a written statement to the School Board, Trani explained why he chose not to accept the position, “ Valdez is my dream job and the vote of confidence you all granted me is humbling. I have never struggled so mightily with a decision. It was a big ask for me to have my lovely daughter consider moving for her junior year to a new school in a new state. Ultimately, she couldn’t make the move and still I considered long and hard making the move without her. In the end I went back to one of my mantras that guides my work as an educator, one I think I shared with some of you, that says “We each only get to raise our kids once, and each kid only has one shot at each grade level…it is our job to make each year the best we can give them.” In this case my job as a father is trumping my job as an educator. I only get one chance to raise Aurora and as much as I want to come to Valdez and help support the kids there my first commitment is to her”.
School Board President Joe Prax commented, “The board is disappointed in this decision as we were excited by the possibility of having Mr. Trani lead the schools in a positive direction and build upon our strong position. However we understand the decision and respect it”. Prax said, “Valdez City Schools are in a perfect position for growth for the future and we will continue to look for the candidate who best fits the school’s needs”. He said the board will work with consultant Tom Jacobson to re-open the position and re-start the hiring process. The board will meet in a work session this week to discuss the parameters of the next search process.
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VHS Weekend Wrap-Up – January 22, 2018
Nordic Ski – Coaches Timi Miner & Mel Koontz
The Valdez High School Nordic Team hosted another town race on Saturday, January 20th. The race included both skate and classic techniques in a variety of distances. Eric Auten came in first overall, skiing a 10k classic in 31.32.
Buc’s senior Ben Swanson came in second with a time of 35.43 for a 10k classic. Senior Josten Carlson also skied the 10k classic with a finish of 41.49. Junior Rowan Miller skied a 7.5k classic and finished in 40.16. Senior Tolgonia Nasipbekova completed a 4k classic ski in 34.35. Ben Stolen finished the 10k classic race in 43.09.
Sarah Histand led the way for the skate ski race, finishing the 10k route in third place overall with a time of 37.03. Josh Miller completed the 7k skate route in 40.40.
Thank you everyone for supporting the Nordic Ski Team. A special thanks to Marcie Robertson for putting in the extra hours to groom our trails and to Mark Provost for keeping the team snowing when conditions were less than desirable. Come join the team February 3rd for our next last Town Race.
Boys Varsity Basketball – Coach Todd Wegner
12th Annual Dean Cummings Tournament Wrap-Up
This weekend marked the 12th Annual Dean Cummings basketball tournament, held @ Delta High School, and was also the 3rd consecutive year that the VHS boys have participated in the tournament. This year the boys bracket included teams from 2A, 3A, and 4A from various parts of Alaska. The 8-team field consisted of: Delta (3A), Eagle River (4A), Homer (3A), Valdez (3A), Nome (3A), Glennallen (2A), Hutchison (3A), and Galena (3A).
Photo courtesy Dan Heckathorn
Thursday: vs. Glennallen
The Buccaneers came out on Thursday morning (1030 am) with an intensity and efficiency that the Panthers were unable to match, establishing a 40-14 lead at half time. Each Buccaneer on the roster logged several minutes of playing time and contributed statistically in the 70-31 victory.
The Buccaneers had four players in double-digit scoring (Isaac Watson and Bennett Hinkle with 13, Jalen Freeman with 11, and Tyler Mann with 10). The team shot 60% (6-for-10) from behind the 3-point arc and forced the Panthers into 21 turnovers while committing just 6 themselves.
Friday: vs Eagle River
The Buccaneers jumped out to an early lead on Friday vs. Eagle River, leading 14-4 after the first quarter. Eagle River used a bank-in 3-pointer at the buzzer to close the gap to 30-21 at half-time.
The game was physical from the onset and continued that way in the second half. Each team found itself with personnel in foul trouble. All told, there were 36 fouls called in the game and 41 free throws attempted.
The Buccaneers again forced 22 turnovers, but committed 21 themselves.
Bennett Hinkle dropped in 22 points, while Jalen Freeman contributed 14 and Logan Heckathorn chipped in 9 as the Buccaneers beat Eagle River 55-48.
Saturday: vs. Delta
Saturday night’s title game pitted Valdez against the home-town hosts Delta Huskies. The Aurora Conference matchup was played in front of a raucous and near-capacity crowd.
The Buccaneers entered the game with an emphasis on defense, and used it to get off to an early 18-11 first quarter start. Delta sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer to close the half-time gap to 31-26.
The Buccaneers continued their stellar defense in the 3rd quarter and dominated the Huskies, outscoring them 24-3 to take a commanding 55-29 lead into the 4th quarter and then, ultimately, a 65-40 victory.
Each Buccaneer on the roster played in the championship game. The Buccaneers held the Huskies to 15-for 50 (30 %)shooting, including 5 of 23 (21 %) from behind the arc and forced 20 turnovers. Micah Helkenn was high-scorer for the Delta Huskies with 10 points, well below his season scoring average. He was held scoreless the second half.
Bennett Hinkle led the Buccaneers with 22 points, while Logan Heckathorn poured in 16 (including 4-of-4 shooting behind the arc), and Jalen Freeman contributed 15. Isaac Watson grabbed 10 rebounds in the contest, and Valdez outrebounded the Huskies 36-25. The Bucs also drew 4 charging fouls against the Huskies.
Summary:
The weekend marked a successful one for the entire team, as they played cohesive and united basketball while also meeting some team goals. Specifically, the team strives to hold opponents to under 50 points a game. (Valdez opponents averaged 39.6 points a game during the Dean Cummings Tournament)
Additionally, this is the first championship in the 8-team bracket format that the boys have won in the Coach Wegner-era.
Individual awards were evaluated by a panel of tournament personnel and announced after the championship game. In addition to the all-tournament team, there was a tournament MVP and a best-defensive player award issues.
Logan Heckathorn was named to the All-Tournament team, Jalen Freeman was named Defensive Player of the Tournament, and Bennett Hinkle was named Tournament MVP.
The Dean Cummings Tournament touts itself as more than just a basketball tournament, and includes an annual semi-formal dinner on the Friday night of the tournament. During this gathering the coaches and athletes are honored, as is the namesake of the tournament (Dean Cummings) for his contribution to Delta-area sports. Unique to the Dean Cummings tournament is the annual keynote speaker. This year, Coach Wegner was given the honor to serve in that role.
The Valdez High School boys basketball program represented the City of Valdez, VHS, their parents, and themselves well throughout the weekend. Certainly on the court with their performance, but even more importantly with their off-court behavior. Multiple times each day the coaching staff was approached by other coaches, random Delta residents, by-standers, or tournament personnel and complimented on how they enjoyed the Valdez Buccaneer’s work ethic, teamwork, politeness, and public demeanor. THAT is the rewarding part of coaching. Good job, boys.
Girls Varsity Basketball – Doug Fleming
Game 1 the Lady Bucs began the 1st quarter strong and ready to play taking a 15-7 lead. Once the 2nd quarter started Glennallen came out to play. At the half it was all tied up at 21. After half the girls came out and settled down for a 54-43 pint win. Valdez was led by Bobbi Mott with 18 points and 8 rebounds, Ashley Ramoth played a strong game coming in with 17 points. Sydney Johnson had a great game on the boards pulling down 16 boards.
Game 2 was played against an Aurora conference competitor Galena Hawks. The Lady Bucs wanted to come out and make a statement against the Hawks, from the tip to the final buzzer the Hawks knew Valdez came to play. The Bucs jumped into their full court press from the tip and stayed in it for the rest of the game. This and the Bucs size caused problems for the Hawks. The ladies showed patience and poise at both ends of the floor in the win. The team again was lead in scoring by Bobbi Mott with 25 points as well as pulling down 9 rebounds. Sydney Johnson had another huge game on the boards pulling down 16 rebounds as well as scoring 14 points. Defensively Ashley Ramoth and Jade Watts combined for 11 steals.
Championship Game was played against the Nome Nanooks. The lady Bucs again played a great game defensively against the Nanooks, but this time we played man to man something that we do not do all the time. Offensively the Bucs were led by Bobbi Mott 17, 12 of those coming off of 3 pointers. Sydney Johnson had 9 points and 14 rebounds and Ally Seiber had 9 points as well and 7 rebounds.
Dean Cummings Tournament Champions
Bobbi Mott Tournament MVP
Ashley Ramoth Tournament Defensive MVP
Sydney Johnson All Tournament
Ally Seiber 2nd in the 3 point contest
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