Outdoors

The Auke Bay loading facility will be getting a new Sealift.

The Juneau Assembly approved the purchase earlier this week.

The self-propelled hydraulic lift — with shipping, set up and training — will cost about 530-thousand dollars. It’s paid for by a federal TIGER grant, which requires that purchases be made in the U.S. The 45-ton KMI SEA-Lift is made in Bellingham, Washington.

CBJ Port Engineer Gary Gillette says the self-propelled boatlift will be safer for operators, more efficient at handling a variety of vessels and will put less stress on boat hulls.

He says it lifts the boat with a pneumatic tube that runs the full length of the boat, exerting even pressure on the hull.

“It’s much more maneuverable. We plan to use it at the Auke Bay loading facility where space is important,” Gillette told the Assembly. “The other lifts require bars that slide out from underneath, which essentially takes up six feet next to the boat that has to be left open. This one can move it in within inches.”

Gillette says the lift is the most cost-effective method for lifting boats, because it doesn’t require expensive infrastructure.

Master Gardener Ed Buyarski has some ideas for selecting and storing bulbs for eventual planting this fall.

The new general manager of Eaglecrest Ski Area may be the second hired, but he was as well liked by the Eaglecrest Board of Directors as Ray Gardner, who is unable to take the job due to a family emergency.

Matt Lillard will be on the job by November. Rosemarie Alexander met Lillard in July when the finalists for the post were in town.

Master Gardener Ed Buyarski has some ideas for harvesting potatoes and prevent potato scab.

The Juneau Douglas Crimson Bears varsity football team is piling up the scores this season – and leaving most competitors scoreless.

That was the case again Friday when the Bears beat the Colony Knights 65 to zero. With a total of 219 points this season, the Crimson Bears have allowed just two touchdowns in four games. (Palmer scored 13 points two weeks ago. No other teams have scored against them. )

On Friday, Colony finished with just 29 yards of offense, while the Bears rushed for 387 yards and had 134 yards in passing.

The Bears also were penalized 14 times, something Head Coach Rich Sjoross calls “fixable:”

“Some of that stuff is from being aggressive, and you want the kids to be aggressive,” Sjooss says. “We have the ability to overcome some of those, we just can’t have too many of them, or else it’s going to come back and bite us at some point, and I think they understand that.”

Despite the penalties, the offense and defense were working well together, as they have all season.

Juneau is ranked the top team in the Railbelt Conference. The Bears next game is in Wasilla. We’ll have a preview later this week.

Tired of the August rain? Well, August is over and the first day of September gave us a day to dry out before the heavy rains of the fall begin.

According to the National Weather Service, Juneau got nearly five inches more rain than usual for the month of August. And the daily high temperature was about five degrees below normal. National Weather Service meteorologist Rick Fritsch has the data.