Community

A small group of Juneau citizens added their voice this weekend to the growing number of anti-war rallies being held around the country.

The march along Egan Drive to Marine Park attracted the horns of motorists, perhaps agreeing the U.S. should stay out of the Syrian war.

Organized by Juneau People for Peace and Justice, and Veterans for Peace, about 30 people rallied at the waterfront, drawing a few tourists who listened to the speeches and joined in the peace songs.

A young Muslim girl wearing  a traditional hijab, held a sign stating No More Vietnams, Iraqs, Afghanistans – and no Syria.   

Maha Abdulrazzaq  is an exchange student from Yemen.  She has been in Juneau just a month and is a junior at Thunder Mountain High School.

She said she’s glad to find the people she’s met so far do not fit the Middle East stereotype of Americans.

“I’m really happy that people here care about the Middle East, about Syria, about Muslim people, about the Arab people,” she said. “Many people in Yemen and the Middle East they think  that American people hate Arab and the Muslim people, but that’s not true.”

Abdulrazzaq is living with Suzanne Haight, who carried a War is Not the Answer sign.  Like most at Saturday’s gathering, Haight has been to other Juneau peace rallies.  But there have been few since Barack Obama was elected president.

President Obama’s threat of U.S.-led intervention into the Syrian civil war has invigorated the peace movement.  Before the talk of a diplomatic solution tabled the threat last week, it was clear most Americans opposed the prospect of another war, even if it was in response to Syria’s use of chemical weapons.

Alaska’s congressional delegation members have received thousands of constituent comments against involvement in Syria, and for the most part have listened.

The Juneau peace marchers acknowledged that.

“We’re not here just to demonstrate our opposition to bombing Syria, we’re here to thank a few people,” said Rich Moniak, who’s been actively demonstrating for peace since 2005.

“We’re here to thank Don Young for standing up against this action. We’re here to thank Mark Begich for putting enough conditions on what it would take for him to vote for an act of war. And even though Lisa Murkowski is on the fence, her hesitation also contributed to slowing down the war-making machine,” Moniak said.

Juneau Rep. Beth Kerttula has joined a number of capital city peace rallies over the years.  But this time, she admitted, the atrocity of chemical weapons caused her to pause before accepting an invitation to speak at the rally. Then she thought, “you have to be against aggression, you have to be against war, no matter why the cause.”

She quoted Mahatma Ghandi.

“‘What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism  or the holy name of liberty  and democracy.'”

Kerttula continued:  “That says it to me.  You know if we go and kill innocent people it’s not going to matter if we did it for the right cause.”

The United States and Russia on Saturday reached an agreement on a plan to remove or destroy Syrian chemical weapons.   But U.S. officials said the possibility of military force against Syria remains.

Well-known Juneau businessman Larry Spencer has died. He was 63.

A former president of the Downtown Business Association, Spencer is described as totally committed to the capital city.

He came to Juneau from Minnesota in the late 1970s and quickly became active in his adopted community.

Business partner Bruce Denton says the two first worked together on a townhouse project in West Juneau.  At that time Denton was looking for a business partner who could run his construction business while he was training and running the Iditarod Sled Dog Race.

They formed Senate Properties and their first project was the renovation of the old Senate Building in downtown Juneau.  They’d taken a big gamble on the building purchase, closing on it the day before a statewide 1982 capital move vote, which failed, sparing the capital city.

Denton says renovating the historical building was Spencer’s idea.

“It was his vision and I think it was really the beginning of the refurbishing or the gentrification of the historic district downtown,” he says.

Spencer also owned Spencer Realty, a real estate and property management company.

Over the years, Spencer and Denton collaborated on a number of projects in the Juneau area, from condominium developments to the first SEARHC Clinic buildings on Hospital Drive to several mini-storage projects.

“He was the developer and I was the builder,”  Denton says.

A lifelong Democrat, Spencer never ran for public office but was recruited in recent years by opposite political camps.  Denton says it was a testament to his ability to balance development and preservation.

“The preservationists and the developers were both recruiting him at the same time to run for the Assembly. And he would have been an incredibly good Assembly person because he just had a brilliant mind and could think really fast on his feet.”

He didn’t have to be in office to be active in his community.  Spencer worked on a number of major Juneau issues, including tourism management and legislative housing.

He loved the arts and was a founder of Perseverance Theatre, serving on the Board of Directors for years.

Spencer died late Thursday at his home in Juneau, surrounded by his family.  He was diagnosed with brain cancer about five years ago.  After he underwent surgery in 2008, Juneau Rotary clubs and local businesses collected baseball caps to send to him as he went through therapy.

He is survived by his wife Carola, daughter Sophie and son Logan.

 

It’s football season in Alaska.

The sport continues to gain popularity in the 49th state, where the first official high school football championship game was played less than 25 years ago.

But in Alaska and nationally concerns over football’s safety have grown, and more and more parents are refusing to let their children play youth football because of the risk of injury. Football officials at all levels have responded by trying to make the game safer.

KTOO’s Casey Kelly recently talked to coaches and players with the Juneau Youth Football League to find out how they are approaching the problem.

Juneau’s Dimond Park Field House is swarming with nearly 150 six- to 14-year-old football players wearing their brightly colored team jerseys. They run around on the turf, tossing footballs, and, of course, trying to tackle each other. That is, until a coach summons them to the middle of the field, where he introduces former NFL Quarterback Jake “The Snake” Plummer.

“You guys like to play football, right?” Plummer asks.

“Yes!” the kids yell back.

Plummer: “You want to play for a long time?”

Kids: “Yes.”

“All right,” says Plummer. “Then the key tonight is to listen up and to pay attention when your coaches go through these drills.”

At 6’2″ and 215 pounds, Plummer still looks fit enough to play, even though he took his last snap for the Denver Broncos in 2006. After he became a coach, he says he realized young players today are not being taught proper techniques. Specifically, too many players are learning the wrong way to tackle.

“Don’t use that helmet as a weapon,” Plummer says. “That thing is there to protect you. That’s like a shield, that’s not your sword. That’s a shield that will protect your head from getting injured.”

Plummer is now an ambassador for USA Football, the official youth development organization of the NFL and its players association. Juneau Youth Football League Director of Coaching Brandon Mahle says JYFL became a full-fledged member of USA Football this year to take advantage of its certified training programs.

“You get online, usafootball.com, and they have certifications from tackling to flag football,” Mahle says. “They complete their certifications, give them to me, and then they’re eligible to coach for the season.”

During his visit to Juneau, Plummer led a clinic on Heads Up tackling, which teaches players to keep the crown of the helmet up and their eyes on the player they’re trying to take down. The idea is to limit injuries, like concussions or stingers, which is basically a pinched nerve in the neck.

Mahle says JYFL coaches have also gone to a limited tackling policy in practices. He says many NFL and college teams have similar policies.

“They have found that you can go what’s called ‘thud level,’ which is hit to contact without taking kids to the ground,” Mahle says. “That you can achieve the same level at practice as you could hitting to take kids to the ground. And you have much less injuries in the process.”

Juneau youth football coach Krag Campbell says some parents are skeptical of limited or Heads Up tackling practices. But overall he thinks it’s a positive step.

“You see some people going against it, because they were always taught hit low, hit low, this diving tackle,” says Campbell. “So, it’s trying to change that perception. And it just takes time. And I really see the biggest benefit we’re going to see is the younger kids growing up.”

Mike Carriker’s son Noah plays for the Seahawks of the Cubs Division. As a parent, he applauds the new emphasis on safety.

“I was really hesitant – didn’t want him involved, worried about injuries,” Carriker says. “But he was persistent. And that last month it was every day: ‘Daddy can I play? Daddy can I play?’ So we gave in. But knowing that they were doing a lot to prepare kids and have them do things right to try and prevent injury was kind of one of the things that helped us make a decision.”

Heads Up tackling is on full display at a recent game between the Senior Division Hawkeyes and Red Raiders. Hawkeyes quarterback/running back Liam Van Sickle says he’s never had a concussion, and he hopes Heads Up tackling means he never will.

“I think it’s just as effective and it’s a lot safer,” Van Sickle says. “I’ve had people on my team get like stingers and stuff. I think this is a good way to help prevent that.”

Most importantly, Van Sickle says the new focus on safety won’t change the way he plays:

“I like to lower my shoulder and stuff and this way I won’t lower it into their helmet. It will be a nice clean hit.”

Jeremy Hsieh contributed to this report.

Juneau’s peace groups are re-mobilizing to protest the possible U.S.-led intervention in the war in Syria.

On Saturday, Veterans for Peace and Juneau People for Peace and Justice will lead a march and rally against a possible military strike.

With public opinion running strongly against U.S. involvement in Syria, the peace movement is gaining traction again across the country.

Rich Moniak is helping organize Juneau’s march.

“The peace movement’s been pretty silent since 2008. I think there’s some people that are very disappointed in our president in this move to use military force against Syria, so we’ll see some re-mobilization of the peace groups,” Moniak says.

He says a recent meeting of Juneau People for Peace and Justice – very active during the Iraq war – is seeing new faces.

“We put out a call letter to the small group of regulars we have and we had about 19 people show up,” he says. “You know we’ve been working with four or five core people for a long, long time.”

The mic will be open Saturday for people to express their views on Syria, including the latest proposal for a diplomatic solution to the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

Moniak hopes the message will be heard in Washington and the need to demonstrate the desire for peace doesn’t end when the rally is over.

“You have to have numbers out there. You know if we’re standing on the street, five or six of us, nobody pays attention. If all of a sudden those numbers jump to 50 or 60, it’s still a demonstration, it’s not a lot of people, but I think the people in congress know that most people don’t want to do this,” Moniak says.

In light of the latest proposal for a diplomatic solution to the use of chemical weapons in Syria, the peace event is dubbed Better than Bombs – the power of diplomacy.

Marchers will begin at the Alaska Department of Labor parking lot at 1 p.m. and go to Marine Park for the rally.

Airport officials, emergency responders and volunteer victims will be acting out a fake airplane crash at Juneau International Airport on Saturday.

Deputy Airport Manager Marc Cheatham says the Federal Aviation Administration requires airports the size of Juneau’s to conduct a live emergency drill once every three years.

“So if we actually do have an accident here, one, we’re ready and prepared, and two, we can identify flaws through the drills to mitigate them if something really does happen,” Cheatham says.

This year’s scenario is the crash of an Alaska Airlines 737 south of the airport in the Mendenhall Wetlands. Cheatham says volunteer victims will de-plane a fake fuselage, and first responders will try to rescue them using the Emergency Vehicle Access Road, or Airport Dike Trail. Firefighters may also put out a small fire.

So, if you see emergency vehicles in and around the airport tomorrow, Cheatham says don’t panic.

“We are going to have signage out there letting people that come and go at the airport that there is a live drill here, and the general public, please don’t be alarmed,” he says.

The Emergency Vehicle Access Road will be closed for the drill starting at 6 p.m. Friday. It will reopen Saturday afternoon around 5:00.

Cheatham says the airport also holds annual table top emergency exercises in addition to the tri-annual live drill.

Former Juneau resident and attorney Bill Council has died.

Council passed away Sunday in Anchorage at the age of 69.  He had been struggling with Parkinson’s disease.

He is survived by his wife Fran Ulmer and two children, Amy and Louis.

Council was born and raised in North Carolina and got his law degree from University of North Carolina Law School at Chapel Hill in 1969.  He practiced law in New York City before taking a job as an assistant district attorney for the state of Alaska in 1971.

He was a public defender in Ketchikan then moved to Juneau in 1975 to work in the civil litigation section of the Alaska Attorney General’s office. He was the state’s chief civil litigator  during the Hammond Administration.

In 1980, Council started his own law firm and for the next 25 years practiced with other Juneau lawyers, including Walter “Bud” Carpeneti, Vance Sanders, David Crosby and others.

Sanders says Bill Council’s brief writing and analytical ability were “absolutely amazing.”

Sanders describes Council as a “lawyer’s lawyer” and a mentor to many in Alaska’s legal community.

“Young lawyers would call him and ask him how to put together a case; if they were getting ready for trial (they’d ask) how to do this, that, or the other.  He was just incredibly approachable, and loved the law and loved to share his knowledge. That’s what I mean by lawyer’s lawyer.  He was just an amazingly gifted lawyer.”

Council was on the Alaska Judicial Council as well as local boards.  He was an avid tennis player and boater.

Council and Ulmer moved to Anchorage when she was named director of the Institute of Social and Economic Research in 2004. Ulmer also served as Juneau mayor, represented the capital city in the Alaska Legislature, was lieutenant governor in the Knowles’ administration, and is currently chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission.