Transportation

Bob Pickrell moved to Ketchikan a few years before the ferry system started up.

But once it began, it became a part of his life, as a writer, newspaperman, timber advocate and political leader.

He remembers what travel was like before the ferries arrived.

“The only mode of transportation into Ketchikan was landing on Annette Island, which is 25 miles away on an Indian reservation, getting into either a Grumman Goose or a PBY, to fly over and land on the water in Ketchikan, which scared the heck out of a lot of people when they saw the water cascading beside their window,” he says.

The Ketchikan resident was interviewed by 360 North TV during the Malaspina’s 50th anniversary sailing.

Pickrell was a leader in Wally Hickel’s 1990 campaign for governor.

He remembers being among those chartering the ferry Columbia so he could bring supporters to the inaugural ball in Juneau.

“We lined up about 200 people in Ketchikan, Wrangell and Petersburg and the boat was ours for four days. We took off with the big band, this was the big jazz band, Glenn Miller-type music, traveling up with us at the inaugural ball.”

Pickrell says it was a comfortable arrangement, until it came time for the formal celebration.

“We moored at the dock and the boat went up and down but the dock didn’t. So just about the time we were supposed to go to the inaugural ball, if you weren’t aboard ship, forget it because you couldn’t get back … by reasons of tide,” he says.

“So, our tuxes and everything remained on board. And we red-rubber-booted to the inaugural ball. And in Alaska nobody cares.”

Pickrell, now 83, ran a monthly regional newspaper with a section called “Ferry Tales.” One of his favorites came from a purser – he can’t remember the ship – watching a passenger behaving oddly.

“It was a particularly hot day and these ships are warm. The purser was watching this guy with a black garbage bag. He was near the doorway and he’d watch this guy run outside and then he’d run back inside. And then a little while later he’d run outside again with this black garbage sack and he’d run back in. (The purser) finally figured out he was filling it up with air, trying to make his stateroom cooler — and that’s a true story,” he says.

Bob Pickrellc is a retired Ketchikan newspaperman, timber advocate and political leader. He spoke with Kelli Burkinshaw of 360 north on board the 50th anniversary sailing of the Malaspina.

Hear more interviews:

John Kanarr: Three decades on the ferry.

John Kanarr didn’t know how his life would change when he took a job on the ferry Taku.

The able-bodied seaman was working on tugs in Puget Sound, but looking for something better.

“I got a phone call from the union hall one day. And he says, ‘Hey … I’ve got a job for you up in Alaska.’ He says, ‘Come to the union hall and we’ll talk it over.’ ”

“So I hopped into the pickup, and up to Seattle I went from Tacoma. And when I came back that afternoon, I had an airplane ticket for Pan Am the next morning … to go to work at 1 o’clock the next afternoon on the MV Taku. “

“So I went from here to there. And I’m still there.”

Karaar was interviewed by Kelli Burkinshaw of 360 North TV during an anniversary sailing of the ferry Malaspina. (See clips from a 50th anniversary documentary series.)

The marine highway system was part of Kanarr’s life for nearly 35 years. It’s where he met the woman he would wed.

“My wife likes to say this, that the Alaska State Ferry Systemwas the original Love Boat,” he says.

He says lots of other crew members also met their spouses there, even what he calls the “bachelor skippers.”

“The socializing while you were on board the ships was a lot closer than where you work or in your community in a lot of cases. Because you have one common thing together, because you’re on the ferry to start with. And you’re all going in the same direction.”

And it wasn’t just people.

Kanarr tells a story from the ‘60s, before the days of security checks and guarded loading ramps.

He says sometimes, while sailing north, a cocker spaniel would get on board in Wrangell and get off in Petersburg.

“And at first we though it must be with one of the passengers, taking the dog ashore, walking him and bringing him back.”

He watched as the dog came and went, sometimes sailing north from Wrangell, sometimes south from Petersburg.

“I told the terminal agent in Wrangell and he says, ‘Yeh, he’s doing that all the time.” I say, ‘What’s the deal?’ He says, ‘He must have a girlfriend up there.’ ”

Kanaar started with the ferry in 1963. And after three decades, he started making plans to retire.

But then, he got to talking with a young deckhand who was new to the job.

“Finally he says, ‘You know, you worked with my dad. And I says, ‘Really? Who is you dad?’ “

“A few days later we got to talking again and he says, ‘You worked for my grandfather.’ And I says ‘I did what?’ And he says, ‘Yeh, my dad was telling me that you worked for his dad when he went to work for the ferry system back in 1963.’ ”

“And it made me a little unsettled. So I’m thinking, ‘I’ve been here for 34 years. I was going to work 35. But maybe I should just quit now and go out on top of the pile.’ “

And he did.

The Juneau International Airport Board of Directors will give preference to local candidates in its search for a new Airport Manager.

Chairman Jerry Godkin says the board talked about the hiring process at its monthly meeting Wednesday night.

“The board discussed its desire to hire locally first. Go out, check around town, see if there’s any local applicants that could manage the airport,” Godkin said. “And secondly, if there wasn’t enough locally, then we could look statewide.”

Godkin says the board hopes that limiting the search will save money and attract candidates already familiar with the Capital City.

Board member Mal Menzies was appointed to chair a manager search subcommittee that also includes Joe Heueisen and Ron Swanson.

Menzies planned to meet with acting airport manager Patty DeLaBruere and officials with the city’s Human Resources department on Thursday. He says the subcommittee will likely hold its first meeting next week, and hopefully wrap up its work within a month.

“We have a really great acting airport manager right now. She’s fulfilled that position several times over the last 10 to 15 years, and we have every confidence in her,” Menzies said. “But we would like to have a permanent airport manager on board sometime within a month to three months from now.”

Menzies says the board would like to see DeLaBruere apply for the top job. But he noted that she seems happy in her role as deputy manager. DeLaBruere says she’s not sure yet whether she’ll apply.

Current Airport Manager Jeannie Johnson announced her retirement last week. Officially, her last day is May 15th, but she’s on-leave, which is why DeLaBruere has already taken over as acting manager.

Godkin says DeLaBruere has been given two short term goals: Fill any vacant positions and keep on top of any funding the airport receives from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Juneau International Airport is owned by the City and Borough of Juneau. It’s board of directors is appointed by the CBJ Assembly.

Transportation Security Administration officials at Juneau International Airport found a flare in the carry-on bag of an Alaska Airlines passenger bound for Sitka Monday afternoon.

The incident prompted TSA to send out a press release to local media with a reminder to passengers to check their bags prior to arriving at the airport security checkpoint.

“Anytime someone brings a prohibited item to the checkpoint, our officers need to stop the screening process, they need to pull that bag, they need to figure out what’s in it, and that slows down the entire screening process,” says TSA Northwest Region Spokeswoman Lorie Dankers.

Dankers could not say how long of a delay was created by this case.

As to why it prompted a news release, she says the agency wanted to remind passengers for efficiency sake as the summer travel season gets underway.

Dankers says the female passenger was briefly detained and questioned by Juneau Police, then allowed to continue her travel to Sitka, without the flare.

The list of items prohibited from aircraft is posted on TSA’s website.

Three people were reported on board a light plane that crashed Sunday evening at the Juneau International Airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration’s preliminary accident and incident report identifies two passengers as accompanying the pilot of the M-5 Maule when it crashed on take-off before 7:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Airport acting manager Patty deLaBreure says the single-engine private aircraft seems to have lost control on Runway 26. It went down the embankment on the south side of the runway, past the floatplane pond access road, and it came to rest on the pond bank.

Capital City Fire and Rescue dispatched crews and vehicles for the emergency, but recalled them to the station after determining that there were no injuries that required treatment or transportation to Bartlett Regional Hospital.

“The aircraft stopped just short of going into the floatpond. There was no fire (and there) did not appear to be leaking fuel at the time,” said CCFR’s Captain Roy Johnston.

He said they stabilized the aircraft and turned it over to airfield maintenence.

Since the aircraft came to rest off of the runway, deLaBreure says they’re not aware of the incident prompting any delays in departures or arrivals of other aircraft.

The aircraft has been removed from the area.

The FAA is investigating the incident.

According to the FAA database of civilian aircraft, the certificate of operation for the aircraft, tail number N-378X, has been terminated. Michael Whisenant of Juneau has an application pending as registered owner of the aircraft.

Juneau International Airport Manager Jeannie Johnson is retiring.

Johnson’s last day is May 15, but she is currently on leave and Deputy Manager Patty DeLabruere has already taken over as acting manager.

Airport Board Chairman Jerry Godkin said it could be four to six months before a new manager is hired.

Johnson has put her stamp on the airport terminal remodel,  runway safety project, and funding for snow removal equipment and facility.

Godkin said Johnson’s strength as a manager has been dealing with the federal government, since federal dollars make up the largest portion of funding for airport construction projects.

“Ninety-six percent plus of airport funding comes from the federal government. The other small percentage is from the city of Juneau, the municipality,” Godkin said. “So we’ll be looking for someone that has those skills.”

He said the Airport Board will begin the hiring process at its monthly meeting on May 8^th, when members will go into executive session to discuss advertising the job and the type of manager to lead the airport.

Alaska Airlines is the airport’s largest tenant. Godkin said the board also will look for a manager with good people skills on both the corporate and personal level.

“You’ve got to have good skills in dealing with the tenants, i.e., the Ward Airs, Wings of Alaska, Alaska Airlines, all of those things.  We’ve got a wide range of employees at the airport, so having good people skills is a big thing,” he said.  “And keeping good relations up with not only the feds, keeping good relations up with the state of Alaska, and downtown at the city assembly level.”

Juneau International Airport is owned and operated by the City and Borough of Juneau.

In a news release, Johnson said she will miss being part of the CBJ team. She was not available for an interview.

Meanwhile, the Juneau Police Department is recruiting for five new officers to take over public safety at the airport.

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration is requiring airports the size of Juneau and larger to have a police force, according to Acting Manager deLaBruere.  Airport public safety in Juneau has been handled by Goldbelt Security.

“If you go around the Lower 48 and even Fairbanks and Anchorage, they  have their own police department already.  So Juneau is kind of in this boat by themselves where they were still under an old waiver and still allowed to have armed guard security,” deLaBruere said.

She said funding for the new positions will come from the airport operations and maintenance budget, comprised of user fees that are set by regulation, such as airport concession fees, landing fees, tenant rentals, and fuel flowage fees.

She says JPD will take over public safety on October 1^st.

The addition of five officers to JPD’s staff will be the largest expansion of the department since 1986.  JPD is also hiring to fill two existing vacancies.