Every day the state troopers post a roundup of what they’ve been working on, and every once in a while you’ll see a bunch of rural reports appear at once. Here’s the summary that appeared over the last couple days, including:
-- a pair of sexual assaults in the Nome area
-- an attempted suicide
-- a homebrew party in Gambell
-- a report of slashed four-wheeler tires

Location: White Mountain
Case number: 09-17787
Type: SAR
Text: On 3/4/09, Unalakleet AST received a report of overdue hunters
out of the village of White Mountain. Due to a blizzard, searchers were not sent out until 3/5. On 3/5, the hunters, Robert Fagundes, age 55 of White Mountain, Dan Musich, age 55 and James Musich, age 18 both of Wasilla returned to White Mountain on their own, having made their own shelter during the storm. They were cold and wet, but unhurt.

The view from Kotzebue:

(Thanks to Cathy at her blog "Keeping it real at 66 Degrees North Latitude" for the photos.)

Alaska's congressional delegation looks to be declaring a win in the battle to keep bypass mail rates from skyrocketing in May.

The Postal Service has agreed to a change that would see costs increase 12 to 17 percent instead of the previously expected 40 percent. At least that's according to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Sen. Mark Begich and Rep. Don Young, who just issued the following news release:

We'll know more soon.

PRESS RELEASE:
Alaskan Delegation Works With USPS;
Reaches Agreement On Future Of Bypass Mail Program
Washington, D.C. – Alaska’s Congressional Delegation is pleased to announce that an agreement has been reached with the Postmaster General over bypass mail rates. Included in an 84 page report from the Postal Regulatory Commission is the acknowledgment that the Alaska Congressional Delegation has expressed concern with the pending rate increase. In response, “the Postal Service indicates that it is working with shippers and air carriers in Alaska to change and simplify the acceptance of bypass mail.” The Alaskan Congressional Delegation requested that mail be charged at a maximum of the 70 lb rate, and this is what has been delivered by the Postmaster General.

I’m still getting your e-mails about the horrors of trying to get packages shipped to and from the Bush.

A lot of readers resort to making up street addresses just to convince shippers to put something in the mail. Here are some more of your stories:

You just have to play the game when you're out in the bush, give them what they want. It's actually a lot of fun making up addresses, and a lot easier than trying to explain that you live "on a boardwalk" or "on a trail 150 yards Northwest from the school." I've lived at 110 Bayview Drive in Goodnews Bay, 2002 Tundra Terrace in Atmautluak, and 505 Berlin Way in Kasigluk. Naturally the postmaster would know how to get the mail to me (it started back in the days prior to PO Boxes when everyone was at "General Delivery," which only added to the joy of the phonecall to the lower 48). Few bureaucrats in the lower 48 have any desire to learn about our unique circumstances, so why bother?

Troopers say 41-year-old Lori "Sue" Johnson tried to fly hydrocodone and oxycodone from Merrill Field to Tatitlek earlier this month and have issued a warrant for her arrest.

Here's the news release:

On 3-2-09, Investigators with the Alaska Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Enforcement contacted Lori "Sue" Johnson, 41, of Tatitlek.

The Chevak boys basketball team huddles after a practice at Bartlett High on Sunday. (Daily News photo/Bill Roth)

The 1A & 2A state basketball tournaments start today here in Anchorage, and it was clear the teams were in town over the weekend, hitting the mall before the games begin. Looked like the whole Minto Lakers squad was waiting for a haircut at Great Clips yesterday. We've got a story in today's paper about the Chevak teams -- both the boys and girls qualified for state -- and the loss of girls coach Lena Ferguson.

Photo courtesy of Krystiana Mark / ADN reader submission

"We have had lots of snow this year. there was actually a fox on the roof of this house, but missed taking his picture."

A Barrow Superior Court judge sentenced Guy M. Yazzie Jr., 38, to 10 years in prison on second-degree rape charges for an assault on a woman in 2006, according to the state prosecutor on the case.

The victim suffers from a disability that makes communication difficult, said Assistant Attorney General Robin Koutchak, but testified against her attacker in a November trial.

“The courage that this Inupiat woman showed in coming forward and following through, you know, by testifying at grand jury and testifying at trial is going to ensure that this man will not victimize any other women in the future, at least for the next 10 years," Koutchak said.

These hunting shots come courtesy of John Chase, of Kotzebue, and his blog: "Eskimo Power."

The troopers just announced they've graduated nine village public safety officers and a village police officer today in Sitka:

Graduation day: Department of Public Safety photo
From left to right, VPSO David Slwooko, VPSO Clifford Moses, VPSO Winfred Olanna Jr, VPSO Harley Huntington, VPSO Gerald Otto, Department of Public Safety Commissioner Joseph Masters, VPSO Dorothy Alexie, VPSO Chad Hand, VPSO David Eneyuk, VPSO Glenn Farmer and St. Mary’s Village Police Officer Curtis Francis.

Here's the list of graduates, their nonprofit corporations, and the villages they'll be working in:

NOTE: I just added some other people's shipping stories to the bottom of this post.

The Seattle Times describes the nightmare of a Nome mother trying to get Microsoft to acknowledge that she can, in fact, receive shipping.

At issue: Trying to get the company to replace her son's broken Xbox 360 after it died from the infamous "red ring of death." (I just had to do the same thing this winter.)

From the Times:

"Here comes the apparent insurmountable obstacle that's facing Microsoft," Galleher (the mother) wrote. She explained Nome's post-office-box-only practice for postal mail. To which, she was told the service center can't send to post-office boxes.

A busted sprinkler pipe flooded the city hall in Barrow recently, and Mayor Pro Tem Bob Harcharek got word this week that it’ll cost $350,000 to $410,000 to repair all the damage.

“Every office in the city building except for my office, the recreation office and the council chambers were basically totally destroyed,” Harcharek said.

The place was a mess:

Gross. (City of Barrow photo)

(City of Barrow photo)

He thinks fixing the building will cost even more than insurers are estimating, when you throw in the cost of replacing computers, phones and furniture.

This photo released by the Alaska State Troopers shows Sgt. Derek Degraaf dumping out illegal alcohol seized from bootlegging busts in Alaska that is no longer needed for evidence at the Alaska State Troopers crime lab in Anchorage, May 29, 2007. (AP Photo/Alaska State Troopers)

Remember back in February when Attorney General Talis Colberg quit, and Gov. Sarah Palin held a press conference with a corps of her commissioners?

One thing she talked about that didn’t get much attention at the time was how she supports reducing the amount of alcohol you can import into Alaska’s “damp” communities.

Well, there are two bills in the Legislature this year that would do just that. Each would basically cut the amount of booze you can order into a damp village by half, though they do it in different ways.

The one that’s made it the farthest is Senate Bill 85. It keeps the amount of alcohol you can order the same – but makes you spread the order out over two months instead of one month.

At a hearing in February, Bethel residents warned that the proposed rules would bring a backlash from damp communities. The liquor limits would raise the value of bootlegged alcohol and encourage people to drink cheaper alcohol aternatives like Lysol and Listerine, said Dave Trantham. He said people are saying they are being treated like children and second-class citizens, according to meeting minutes.

Palin said at the press conference that reducing the amount of alcohol flowing into local option communities “would help a damp community actually be damp and not wet.”

Williams. (Daily News/Marc Lester photo)

UPDATE: Daily News reporter Kevin Klott caught up with Akiak musher Mike Williams late yesterday just before Williams departed from his mandatory 24-hour layover.

They talked on the northern bank of the Takotna River as snowflakes fell from a partly cloudy sky.

Williams is carrying the mementos of Anchorage Dr. Roger Gollub in a Ziploc bag that rides in the front of his sled. To recap: Williams mushes to promote sobriety, and Gollub was killed in a collision with a snowmobile while mushing near Kotzebue. Troopers say the snowmachine driver, who has been charged with murder, had been drinking.

Here's what Williams had to say:

-- "I heard about the accident. It was a horrible accident. Roger loved the Iditarod so much. He was a huge supporter of the race."

-- "His wife, Diane, and some doctors got together and thought about what we should do in terms of upping my message of sobriety. There are so many accidents when people are under the influence of alcohol."

-- "All six of my brothers died from accidental deaths and suicide. I’m the only one standing. That is why I started to mush for sobriety to continue my healing process. I’m still grieving. Running the Iditarod is my healing process."

-- "When the diphtheria was run, why did the dogs make it to Nome? To save lives. The Alaska Native people have been hit hard. We need to turn that around. There have been millions (of dollars) thrown at the problem, but they don’t seem to be working."

The Golden Heart Conference -- including Fort Yukon, Minto, Tanana, Nulato and the Yukon-Koyukuk School District– held their regional basketball tournament over the weekend in Fairbanks. Here are a few shots from the tourney, plus the homecoming to Fort Yukon:

(All photos by Melinda Peter)

Jump ball in the championship game. (No. 34 is Senior Shawn Peter.)

The Fort Yukon boys fell 43-38 to the Minto Lakers despite a third-quarter Eagles rally, according to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. The News-Miner story even has a pic of nearly this same moment, from another angle.

The homecoming caravan ...