The April news comes to you from ALO's Elk Farm branch, where as usual wildlife figures prominently in the daily office routine. Two to three walks every day produce countless sightings of the various critters on the farm, and with the three hour time difference, legal calls rarely start much before noon, leaving plenty of time for farm activities. At this time, the trees are leafed out, and the first baby geese have shown up in the ponds.
ALO scored a big win in Nome court recently when a Superior Court judge ruled in favor of clients from Nome who were sued because of their dog team kept several miles outside of Nome at their several acre home site. The law suit asked a court to order them to move the team, and a contentious hearing was held in January to provide the judge with evidence from which he could make his ruling. That thoughtful and well written decision is linked here
and is must reading for the many dog musher readers of this site. It carefully evaluates the evidence of noise and odor, and applies the rather stringent rules in place to guide courts in making these important decisions. At stake of course was not only the interests of the mushers involved in this suit, but also other mushers in similar situations around Alaska. This dog team was kept about 400 feet from the complaining neighbor, and there are countless teams in Alaska kept much closer to a neighbor, including the team in the front yard at ALO where the neighbors are less than 100 feet from the winter dog yard. Saints that they are, none of ALO's neighbors have ever complained, including Pat Hensch who lived there for many years. Some have even said they enjoyed watching the comings and goings of the dogs, but maybe they were just being neighborly.
The court's decision didn't end the lawsuit, but it appears the suit will now be voluntarily dropped by the plaintiff, because the chance of success going forward is not great. The next stage would be a trial, with a Nome jury deciding if the kennel owners should pay damages to the neighbor, a very difficult case to win in that venue. Nome, after all, is the end point of the Iditarod trail, and many folks in Nome are fond of dog racing. Here is the Nome radio report of the decision, which also aired on statewide APRN radio.
Break-up on the Kuskowkim River happened with barely a wimper it appears, which has become a normal event it seems. Andy helped organize the Break-up Bash, a riverbank party to celebrate the movement of the tripod that ends the break-up contest with a $10,000 purse. Gone are the days, it seems, when break-up was a dramatic event on the river, with huge chunks of crashing ice creating ice jams and flooding. Old time Bethel resident Betty Barton, now living in Denver, recalls the time when she lived in a quonset hut behind Kilbuck school during a flood in the mid 1970's. It seems the flood was in her living room and a certain neighbor showed up with a little boat and motor early in the morning to check on her. She and her roommates, one of which was Jay Livey, were sitting on the couch in water about a foot deep, wearing hip boots and sipping scotch (at about 9 am). They were offered a boat ride to escape their flooded house, and they accepted. But first, the neighbor thought it would be a good idea to return home for a movie camera, in order to film the rescue. According to Betty, the delay in the rescue allowed the water to rise another 6 inches. The film is in the archives at ALO in Bethel, but rest assured, it will make the monthly news soon.
In the world of politics a couple of items are worthy of the news. First Rush Limbaugh. Poor Rush is seeing stations drop his show regularly, and many who keep him are tied into long term contracts which they would love to break but can't. Rush made his deals when he was flying high, but he no longer appeals to a wide audience or to many advertisers. He himself noted the problem in a recent post on Facebook.
It isn't just the youngsters that have tuned him out. Older folks don't like his attacks on women and minorities, which have become more hateful of late. Rush is an entertainer who no longer entertains.
The other notable news in politics is Bernie Sanders' entry into the presidential race. He has almost no chance to win, but he is one of the few political figures that is able to address the problem of money in politics, and he does so with passion. Here is his message and it could not be more accurate.
All the BS promoted by politicians who are beholden to corporate interests has polluted our government, and there appears to be little chance of change. At least for a while the country will have a chance to hear some straight talk on what ails the government, and maybe a few will see the light.
A military training exercise called Jade Helm in the southwest has caused some to conjecture that it is an attempt by the US government to take over Texas, or at least force all Texans to turn over their guns. These three are worried about this covert operation, and it proves there is no reason ever to go to a Chuck Norris movie, visit Texas, or shop at a Walmart. Meanwhile the Texas governor is sending the National Guard to keep an eye on the US military.
This month's mandatory moose found some treats in the parking lot at Fred Meyers in Anchorage.
Sue took this photo in a British museum.
The carefully prepared exhibit was reportedly purchased by someone for about 2.5 million pounds. There are many artists in this particular field who have yet to cash in on their skill. One might practice law at ALO.
Finally this trail cam video captured an odd couple sharing their chow.