Though the wildfire near Alaska’s largest city was only 15 percent contained as of Saturday, fire officials have given a positive prognosis to the blaze. KTVA-TV reports that incident commander Tom Kurth on Saturday said favorable weather this week should not promote growth of the fire near Anchorage and parts of the fire could be considered confined, or unable to progress.
Associated Press
Police stop woman from driving husband’s body in “rolling wake”
A woman who drove her husband’s body on a days-long traveling wake in Alaska and used ice from canneries to keep him cold is not accused of breaking any laws.
Officers responded to a call last week to find the body of a 78-year-old man inside an aluminum transport casket.
Ketchikan Police Chief Alan Bengaard told the Ketchikan Daily News that the woman stopped at canneries for ice to put in the truck bed during the “rolling wake.”
The man had died of natural causes.
A mortuary took custody of the body after the authorities were called.
The family can make further arrangements.
Bengaard said hopefully the woman won’t take her husband back out on the road, but that he wasn’t aware of any laws she had broken.
Minor flooding feared on the Chena River
High water on the Chena River in Fairbanks has forced organizers to postpone or cancel planned races for both rubber ducks and humans.
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that the high water has forced Saturday’s Rubber Duckie Race and the Sunday Golden Days River Regatta to be postponed on week. Sunday’s Dawg Gone Canoe Race is canceled for the year.
The river events were scheduled as part of Fairbanks’ Gold Days celebration, a multi-day festival that honors the city’s gold rush past.
According to the National Weather Service, between 1 and 3 inches of rain fell over the Fairbanks region this week, causing the Chena River to rise to minor flood stages in Two Rivers and North Pole. Minor flooding is expected to continue in low-lying areas of Fairbanks as rain continues to fall.
Supreme Court strikes down abortion barrier
The Alaska Supreme Court has struck down a state law requiring parental notification of a minor seeking an abortion.
The court found the law, approved by voters in 2010, violates the state Constitution and cannot be enforced.
The law was challenged by Planned Parenthood of the Greater Northwest and others, who argued, among other things, that the law violates minors’ privacy rights and the due process rights of minors and abortion providers.
Christine Charbonneau, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands, hailed Friday’s decision. She says everyone wants teens to be safe but some live in dangerous homes and cannot go to their parents.
Justice Craig Stowers dissented.
One year later, owner reunited with pet snake
A Sitka woman has been reunited with her pet snake after it slithered out the door almost a year ago.
The Sitka Daily Sentinel reports that Lavender, a corn snake, was found Tuesday in a man’s yard and she was reunited with her owner Robin McNeilley after a picture of the snake ran in the newspaper.
Lavender escaped from her enclosure in August and wasn’t seen again until this week. The 20-inch snake survived Sitka’s winter, predators and even the lawnmower of the man who found her.
The man who found Lavender says her is happy the little snake made it home, but there was no picturesque reunion when McNeilley came to retrieve her.
Animal shelter puts out call for Pokemon Go dog walkers
An animal shelter in Juneau is calling on players of the smartphone game Pokemon Go to stop by and take a dog with them on their hunt for creatures around the city.
The Juneau Empire reports Gastineau Humane Society employees say it’s a good way for people to collect Pokemon while allowing the dogs to get exercise.
The shelter put out a call for volunteer Pokemon Go dog walkers in a Facebook post last week, but has yet to see any come in to walk a dog.
The six dogs that are up for adoption at the shelter are available for a walk Monday through Saturday. The outing can be a short walk near the shelter or people can venture out on a nearby trail.