A move to a new house highlighted a busy July. That move started with a bang as an extraordinary event interrupted the first trip to move items into the house. A loud boom seemed to erupt from the back of the house a few minutes after the first boxes were moved from the garage inside. Moving to the garage to see what was amiss, a naked man ran by the open garage door. Further inspection showed that he had left his clothes in the street, and they were partially melted. A neighbor reported the naked man had been in the nearby electrical relay station, which has a high fence around it. Apparently he had scaled the fence and got on top of the equipment, and suffered an electrical jolt that caused the loud boom, knocked out power in downtown Anchorage for three hours, and seriously injured him. There was little follow-up news on the incident, but it was reported the next day that he was in serious condition at a local hospital. Since then, the neighborhood has been very quiet, especially considering the close proximity to downtown Anchorage.
ALO News
The new house has an office included, and it seems appropriate to use it from time to time. A major case settled in July, involving child sex abuse in a Mat-Su Valley elementary school. A longtime teacher was indicted for many felony counts which was widely reported some time ago, and numerous civil cases have been filed against the school. ALO is involved in more than one of those claims, but only one has settled. Stay tuned.
It is apparent that legal news from the past is a popular topic on ALO news, based on feedback received from readers. One case from the early 80’s had a moment to remember. ALO represented a young man from a nearby village who was seriously injured at the main hotel in Bethel, the Kuskokwim Inn. It seems the injured man rented a room for himself and friends to use for a weekend party, something not allowed in their village. It was well known that such activities were common at the hotel, and it was also well known that the hotel had no security, but instead relied on the Bethel police for security. Basically when a party got out of hand, the police were called and arrests were usually made on flimsy charges for folks who were simply intoxicated in a rented room, but making too much noise. ALO’s client was taken into custody even though he had done nothing but host a party in his paid for room. While the police were removing him in handcuffs, he tripped on the steps leading up from his first floor room to the main lobby. He fell backwards, and told the officers he couldn’t get up so they lifted him by the handcuffs which were locked behind his back, and dragged him to the police truck. Upon arrival at the station the cops realized the man was paralyzed.
The lawsuit blamed both the hotel and the police. The claim against the hotel was based on their policy of using police to provide security and asking them to arrest paying guests for drinking in their rooms. During the case, a deposition of the hotel manager was conducted at the hotel, coincidentally in a room at the base of the stairs where the fall happened. The line of questioning of the manager got around to the issue of how often the police were called upon to provide security at the hotel. When asked how many incidents involving drinking resulted in calls to the police, the manager assured the prying lawyer that such events were rare indeed. At that very moment there was some loud shouting heard in the hallway outside the deposition room followed by a large thud on the door, loud enough to cause a quick break in the deposition to see what happened. When the door was opened, a rather drunk fellow was laying against the door on the floor, having been deposited there by another drunk man standing over him. The police were summoned, and both were carted away in handcuffs. The deposition resumed with several questions about what has just transpired. The manager’s testimony softened a bit, and he admitted there were many such incidents. A few weeks later the case settled for a large sum of money. The stairway is still there, although the Kuskokwim Inn no longer is called by that name with new owners. As for the manager, he left town soon after this time when it was discovered he was not very trustworthy handling other people’s money.
Speaking of long ago, this ancient article showed up while cleaning out files in Bethel - "Kusko 300 favorite cares for his friends in harness." It is doubtful the front page photo helped sell more papers that day. To be fair, that photo came at the end of a three day race with no sleep.
Full Anchorage Daily News article - "Kusko 300 favorite cares for his friends in harness."
Mandatory Moose, Bears & Other Critters
Here is a very wet Mandatory Moose for July.
There is a reason the moose is wet. Statewide there has been an abundance of rain this year and thus few wildfires. That’s in sharp contrast to many areas in the rest of the US, including Minnesota where lack of rainfall is a major problem. Year after year the heat and drought reminds most folks that global warming is happening faster than predicted. Many former climate deniers have changed their tune, most notably big business leaders who see the potential costs to their business when the full effects of climate change kick in. It is always interesting to hear folks finally acknowledge the fact of global warming but then suggest that the change is cyclical, and nothing to be alarmed about. It is cyclical, but this cycle is happening at a far faster rate than previous warming trends, leaving less chance for living things to adapt. And cycles are not to be ignored because past cycles have resulted in mass extinctions. Humans can’t survive without adequate water or at sustained 130 degree temperatures. Both those things are happening now and will be a major factor in where people live in coming years. Oh, by the way, July was the hottest month ever recorded on Earth.
There are other critters to post for July. Skip Ackerson in Minnesota had a visit from a large black bear that waved to the camera and smiled.
This guy thought he would have some fun with a bison.
Who did you pull for in that video?? And how about this turtle? [Family Finds Their Missing Turtle In The Storage Room 30 Years After She Vanished]
A quick trip to Minnesota for a family gathering allowed a chance to mount some trail cams which revealed an abundance of big bucks on the farm. Here are some of them. Look closely at the foggy photo.
There are two grizzly bear stories worthy of mention from July. First, a former Bethel person well known to ALO had an encounter with a grizzly bear that resulted in an unexpected night in the woods. Here is the account of that event as reported by KYUK - "Bethel Woman Survives 2 Nights Outside After Being Charged By Bears". And an event in Nome got even more coverage. An elderly gold miner related his tale of an incident involving a bear and the national press jumped on it. The best coverage came from The Nome Nugget newspaper - "Grizzly-Sized Tale Intrigues Audiences Around The World." Count ALO among the doubters. The one question that hasn’t been answered is why the miner didn’t shoot the bear. It was reportedly at point blank range several times and in attack mode. He said he used up his ammo, and it makes no sense that at some point a frightened person would continue firing warning shots instead of shooting the bear. The bacon in the cooler is the clincher. Bears can smell food for miles, even in containers. That cooler would have been shredded by any bear in the area.
Bears are not always scary. Here is a video from the Angstman boat taken in July.
Cartoons!
LaMont Albertson leads off the cartoon section again, and there are two Covid cartoons as well.
Here is a brief follow-up on that last cartoon. About 20 percent of Americans believe the government is using the Covid vaccine to implant microchips in the recipients. Is there a future for a country with that level of senseless distrust? And because of that, there are a lot of unvaccinated people, creating a situation where mostly unvaccinated people are filling hospitals and morgues. This chart reveals that a tiny percentage of people getting Covid, going to the hospital and dying have been vaccinated, meaning the vast majority in those categories are unvaccinated.
Meanwhile over 600,00 have died, and the US life expectancy has dropped about 1 1/2 years in the past year.
And finally this classic for sale item in a Bethel photo posted by Bill Eggiman. Look closely, especially at the new tires and paint.
