August 2026
The August news comes to you at the completion of the fourth season at Tikchik Narrows lodge. The season was marked by a sold out lodge, outrageous gas prices, and outstanding fishing. One startling factor was the warm weather, which featured no freezing temperatures as of the closing date September 22. Those warm temperatures contributed to the lack of moose movement, meaning a couple of elders hunting out of the Angstman cabin managed to avoid capturing a moose which was a pleasant result.
One distressing fact-no grizzly bears were seen around the cabin, which is the first time that has ever happened. That is a direct result of the state program which has killed over 300 bears in that area, one of the dumbest wastes of money Alaska has ever accomplished. Shooting bears from a helicopter with high-capacity assault weapons is an image hard to square with meaningful wildlife management. It is like something out of the 19th century, except with modern equipment designed for war, The fools that advocate for this program should be publicly identified and shamed but they hide behind a cloak of bureaucracy, and are rarely called out. One can only hope that the upcoming election puts a stop to the slaughter.
Before You Judge
Speaking of elections, the upcoming midterms promise a lot of fireworks as control of Congress appears to be up for grabs. One race in Alaska is hotly contested, matching a woman from Bethel Mary Peltola against Dan Sullivan, the incumbent US Senator. ALO has special interest in that race, as one of those candidates is a current client of ALO. She is litigating a claim against the outfit that employed her husband when he died in a plane crash, on the theory that his employer failed to have mandatory worker’s comp insurance in place at the time of the accident, among other claims. You might question whether ALO is biased on behalf of that client, but Dan Sullivan earned a thumbs down long before the plane crash. He stands for most everything that ALO doesn’t, and his most recent unwavering support for Donald Trump seals the deal. The concern here is that someone will say don’t vote for Peltola because she hired Angstman, so maybe a look at recent lawyer hires might shed some light on the subject. Trump is President of the United States and here are some of his choices for his lawyer.
When you compare Peltola’s lawyer with that list, she comes out looking like a wise judge of legal talent. A recent New York Times smear piece on Peltola has raised questions about her office conduct. Many folks in government would not stand up well to the kind of scrutiny the Times employed against Peltola. At the top of that list is Trump, but the Times never goes deep on his former staff members. Peltola is likely to vote correctly in the Senate most of the time if elected. Sullivan will not.
Some would say this page is unfair to Trump. Others criticize him as well. For instance Vice President Vance. Here is his view of Trump.
Murder, Sentence, Sandwich
Speaking of criminals, a look back at a horrible Bethel case can sometimes be revealing. One such case was the murder charge against Jeff Hout. Hout was a Bethel construction worker of some skill, who came from a prominent family and was a strong performer on the high school basketball team. In fact, he played against Old Friendly Dog Farm in the Bethel city league. He became heavily involved in drugs and that led to a dark episode where he accused a fellow drug user of stealing some of his supply. To punish for that Hout strapped him to a large table saw and tortured him until he died. Hout was facing sentencing for that murder at the Bethel court. The hearing was scheduled for several hours and extended well past noon. At the hearing Hout appeared somewhat uninterested in the proceedings despite the fact he was looking at a very long period of incarceration. In fact, the judge sentenced Hout to more than 100 years in jail. As he was being taken back to jail at about 2 pm he responded to that massive jail sentence by asking his transport officer if he thought the jail would have saved any lunch for him. Hout later realized he had greater problems than lunch to worry about. Here is one of his efforts to shorten his time in jail.
Perhaps Hout should seek a pardon. One of America’s worst criminals recently got a pardon from Trump and his case is worth reviewing.
This cartoon captures the moment.
Mandatory Moose And The Great Outdoors
Mother Nature still provides some relief from this mess. This Mandatory Moose represents the one that got away during the recent moose hunt.
Sunsets at the cabin don’t always impress during the summer because of the long daylight but in September they reappear.
The last fish of the season at the lodge was this dandy rainbow trout caught and released by guide Will Paul while walking a nearby river.
These photos show part of Angstman clan at the cabin, and Jack with a nice fish he caught.
This rock was found on the beach and is called a hole rock, with magic powers if you believe the internet.
For years pumping the floats on an airplane was a manual task grumbled about by pilots everywhere. Now watch how it is done, 50 years too late.
The Education Deficit
Some say Warren Buffet is the best stock guru in America. Here he shows he has some other skills as well.
One of the top late night hosts ever also had some thoughts about Trump long before he was president.
Finally, some thoughts about education in Alaska. 50 years ago Alaska funded education well and the results were promising. Test scores were improving and well educated students were graduating from high school at a decent rate. Decades of slashed funding changed that picture. Teachers now are poorly paid, activities have been cut and budgets are strained. As an example a nearby school in Anchorage has a kindergarten class with 35 students for one teacher. It is no wonder that graduation rates are dropping, along with standardized test scores. Finding a high school kid with strong writing skills is a pleasant surprise these days. But somehow the state can still fund massive programs to aid development projects that benefit multinational corporations. No kid in a kindergarten class of 35 is getting a good start on an education. Such situations are common throughout the nation. But as long as that ballroom gets built everything will be great again.
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