Minnesota weather was rude to the Angstmans upon their arrival in Princeton Oct 1st. Cold wet weather was common all month, a significant change from the warm dry fall weather that is typical for the recent past. Because much of the farm activity is outdoors, the weather stalled some of the fun that takes place at Long Pond Elk Farm. All was not lost, however. Webmaster Rich Gannon brought his family to the farm via the Amtrak which stops at the Gannon hometown of Cutbank, Montana, and also stops at St. Cloud, 30 miles from Princeton. Never mind that arrival time is about 5:30 a.m. As usual. Jen documented the Former ALO employee Jane Imholte and her escort John spent one of those days with us on the farm, and tried her hand at
Wildlife is always the focus of the farm stay, and this year the highlight was a flock of trumpeter swans that staged on Long Pond, right in front of the cabin for a couple of weeks. The flock numbered as many as 30, with 17 present most days. Trumpeters were market hunted to extinction in Minnesota, but were reintroduced recently and are doing well. They certainly dress up a pond.
A great horned owl made several appearances, and deer and pheasants were abundant.
The farm has numerous walking trails, and when the weather cooperates, it is a daily event.
On the way to Minnesota, the Angstmans spent a short time in Anchorage and met up with Bob and Mary Reardon, who had just left their Takotna cabin on the way back to Great Falls. Mary had entertained her twin grandkids at the cabin and introduced them to the joys of a Leaving Alaska was a little more hectic than usual. Minnesota visitor Dave Price traveled with Myron and Andy by float plane from Bethel to Anchorage, and the flight had to be moved up a day because of an approaching storm. In a hurry to close up the cabin. Myron left behind his hearing aids. The cabin was sealed up with plywood over the doors and windows for bear protection, and the float plane season was about over, so there was not much chance to get them until ski plane season. But former Bethelite Sue Flensburg from Dillingham saved the day by making a float plane trip to the cabin on a beautiful fall day and sent them to Minnesota. Andy made use of the float plane in Anchorage to obtain a float rating to go along with his wheel rating earned over the summer.
Speaking of Dillingham, Matt secured a not guilty verdict from a jury in Dillingham on a drunk driving and refusal case. Such cases are hard to win as there are not many excuses for refusing a breath test. Matt runs the office in October and November, and he had his hands full for a few days with employee illnesses, but the addition of legal intern Mike Eshleman has helped greatly. Mike comes from Ohio, where he is a licensed lawyer.
Three civil settlements were obtained, one involving a wrongful death case for a Bethel man who died from a heart attack after using a powerful pain medication which was later found to increase the risk of heart attack. Another case involved a Kotzebue lady who injured her knee in a fall on the icy court house steps, where she worked. Finally ALO settled a case for a Bethel woman who was unhappy with her previous lawyers, switched to ALO and got a settlement within a month.
Two motions for new trial were filed in the double wrongful death case involving a Bethel tug boat owner represented by ALO (reported earlier). The judge wasted little time in rejecting the motions, noting that there was ample evidence to support the jury's verdict. Some cases seem to last forever, and this case might be one of them. An appeal has been promised by the losing parties.