July 2010
Sonny Hoffman was a Bethel guy. His accidental death has left a vacant spot in the community that won't be filled. Sonny was a frequent visitor to ALO as a friend, neighbor, pilot, and client. His visits were always memorable. When he left, it was never certain what he had said, but it was clear that he was upbeat and friendly. Sonny died when the cat he was driving tipped and trapped him underneath. Sonny's most famous trait will be missed by everyone-Sonny had a big wave for everyone he met on the road, and as a long time truck driver in Bethel, he passed by a lot of folks. Happy trails, Sonny.
There was more bad news for Bethel and the Hoffman clan as Bev Hoffman was diagnosed with cancer. She is in Anchorage now for treatment with a positive prognosis. Bev resigned from the city council because of this development. ALO extends its best wishes to Bev, who was pictured on these pages last month as the officiant at Sarah and Ben's wedding. In a contest between Bev Hoffman and a few cancer cells, the smart money would be on Bev.
ALO sent representatives to the in the Portland area. Katie grew up in the neighborhood of ALO, and was the only girl in a gang of boys that marauded through the area. She has two notable achievements worth reporting. She is the only Bethel girl to ever win the state cross country title, and she is also the only Bethel girl to go to the prom with four different boys in four years-all of whom attended the wedding festivities and none of whom were the groom.
Legal work still got done. A local man settled his claim for an accident which happened on the ice road between Bethel and Kwethluk. He was hit broadside by a speeding truck on the narrow road as he attempted to climb the berm and avoid a collision. ALO's next trial will happen in Barrow. A elderly woman from back east sued our client, for injuries suffered at the new farthest north football field a couple of years ago. The lady, an avid football fan, chose to stand on the sideline and was hit by players that tumbled out of bounds, breaking her leg. Our client of course will argue that a football fan knows the risk of standing on the sideline. The trial starts Aug. 23, and will be the first visit to Barrow for ALO.
A friend named Dave Ashton mounts a trail camera at Long Pond Elk Farm every year. Two July pictures earned a spot on the news page. First a and second a rarely seen in Princeton. Black bears are slowly moving into the area, where they were never seen in the past 100 years at least.
June 2010
The biggest news of June actually includes the first part of July for those who actually keep track. Sarah and Ben got married one July 3rd in Bethel, (). A fairly large group of tourists flooded Bethel for the event, and apparently had a good time. The wedding itself was conducted in the rain, and the fiesta followed at Ed Lackey's shop which had a major transformation for the event. After watching Bethel's famous Fourth of July parade 17 of the group traveled by float plane to the Angstman cabin for a few days of fishing and food, prepared by long time family friend Don Lehmann, who excels in gourmet camp cooking. He even brought his
The wedding and party were classic Bethel events. The bride arrived by cab, accompanied by the only attendant, Mary the flower girl. The crowd on the river bank stood for the ceremony. The fiesta which followed was accomplished by a volunteer effort, headed by Cindy Andrechek and Christy Davis and aided by dozens. The bride and groom were registered at Cabelas. They had a two part honeymoon, first at the family cabin with 15 other people, and second on a Missouri River float, accompanied by several more friends.
The wedding's best line was uttered by Ben. During his toast at the fiesta he mentioned that he was trying to get Sarah to be more of a coffee drinker. He concluded his remarks by saying "When Sarah and I go to bed at night I get really excited," at which point he paused while the crowd hooted. He raised his hands to quiet the crowd and said "wait, let me finish" and then added. "I get excited thinking about waking up in the morning to have coffee with Sarah."
Of course the law office has to stay open no matter what is happening. The biggest news recently was a decision by the Alaska Supreme court on the case known around the office as the Hooper Bay fire case. It involves a suit against the Lower Yukon School District for a fire which destroyed the old school and numerous nearby homes. The fire was started by kids playing with matches under one of the school buildings. The school is blamed for not preventing the kids from playing under the school during the summer break. ALO represents the school.
Earlier, the local Superior Court threw out the suit saying the school had no legal duty to folks living nearby growing out of the facts of this case. The claimants asked for reconsideration of that decision, which was granted, and the court reversed itself. That reversal was challenged by the school, and a petition was filed with the Supreme Court. That court rarely intervenes in a suit before trial, which was scheduled for August. This time however, the Supreme Court ordered the lower court to consider a summary judgment motion filed by the school and previously rejected by the lower court.
The other big news for June is the departure of Matt Widmer after five years of excellent performance. Matt came to ALO right out of law school , and quickly displayed skills beyond those of many more experienced lawyers who have come and gone from the office in the past 30 plus years. He has the benefit of being smart, hard working and very honest. Many folks think most lawyers have all three traits, but those folks are mistaken. As a plus Matt has an excellent sense of humor, which comes in handy at ALO where a good laugh is favored.
Matt indicated his desire to become a judge early in his stay at ALO, and he still has that goal. He wants to broaden his experience to improve his chances of becoming a judge. He will move to the Office of Public Advocacy in Anchorage, where he will practice both criminal and civil law for indigent clients. He leaves a large void, one that will be filled by contract lawyers . The recent experience at ALO is that contract lawyers working outside of Bethel are a better option than attempting to attract another lawyer of Matt's skill level. Contract lawyers usually work from home, have lots of experience, and don't have a difficult adjustment period when moving to Bethel that many experience. Matt's departure will likely lead to some narrowing of focus for ALO, in that remaining staff members may not accept cases in a few areas of law that have been accepted in the past. The emphasis will still be on litigation, both civil and criminal.
June 2010
The biggest news of June actually includes the first part of July for those who actually keep track. Sarah and Ben got married one July 3rd in Bethel, (pictures on front page) A fairly large group of tourists flooded Bethel for the event, and apparently had a good time. The wedding itself was conducted in the rain, and the fiesta followed at Ed Lackey's shop which had a major transformation for the event. After watching Bethel's famous Fourth of July parade 17 of the group traveled by float plane to the Angstman cabin for a few days of fishing and food, prepared by long time family friend Don Lehmann, who excels in gourmet camp cooking. He even brought his chef jacket (underline jacket, link to picture)
The wedding and party were classic Bethel events. The bride arrived by cab, accompanied by the only attendant, Mary the flower girl. The crowd on the river bank stood for the ceremony. The fiesta which followed was accomplished by a volunteer effort, headed by Cindy Andrechek and Christy Davis and aided by dozens. The bride and groom were registered at Cabelas. They had a two part honeymoon, first at the family cabin with 15 other people, and second on a Missouri River float, accompanied by several more friends.
The weddings best line was uttered by Ben. During his toast at the fiesta he mentioned that he was trying to get Sarah to be more of a coffee drinker. He concluded his remarks by saying "When Sarah and I go to bed at night I get really excited," at which point he paused while the crowd hooted. He raised his hands to quiet the crowd and said "wait, let me finish" and then added. Ò" get excited thinking about waking up in the morning to have coffee with Sarah."
Of course the law office has to stay open no matter what is happening. The biggest news recently was a decision by the Alaska Supreme court on the case know around the office as the Hooper Bay fire case. It involves a suit against the Lower Yukon School District for a fire which destroyed the old school and numerous nearby homes. The fire was started by kids playing with matches under one of the school buildings. The school is blamed for not preventing the kids from playing under the school during the summer break. ALO represents the school.
Earlier, the local Superior Court threw out the suit saying the school had no legal duty to folks living nearby growing out of the facts of this case. The claimants asked for reconsideration of that decision, which was granted, and the court reversed itself. That reversal was challenged by the school, and a petition was filed with the Supreme Court. That court rarely intervenes in a suit before trial, which was scheduled for August. This time however, the Supreme Court ordered the lower court to consider a summary judgment motion filed by the school and previously rejected by the lower court.
The big news for June is the departure of Matt Widmer after five years of excellent performance. Matt came to ALO right out of law school , and quickly displayed skills beyond those of many more experienced lawyers who have come and gone from the office in the past 30 plus years. He has the benefit of being smart, hard working and very honest. Many folks think most lawyers have all three traits, but those folks are mistaken. As a plus Matt has an excellent sense of humor, which comes in handy at ALO where a good laugh is favored.
Matt indicated his desire to become a judge early in his stay at ALO, and he still has that goal. He wants to broaden his experience to improve his chances of becoming a judge. He will move to the Office of Public Advocacy in Anchorage, where he will practice both criminal and civil law for indigent clients. He leaves a large void, one that will be filled by contract lawyers . The recent experience at ALO is that contract lawyers working outside of Bethel are a better option than attempting to attract another lawyer of Matt's skill level. Contract lawyers usually work from home, have lots of experience, and don't have a difficult adjustment period when moving to Bethel that many experience. Matt's departure will likely lead to some narrowing of focus for ALO, in that remaining staff members may not accept cases in a few areas of law that have been accepted in the past. The emphasis will still be on litigation, both civil and criminal
May 2010
May was split between Alaska and Minnesota, a schedule change required because of the upcoming wedding for Sarah and Ben. Final preparation for that event prevented a full month stay at the farm in June. Arriving earlier at the farm provided a look at more wildlife than normal, with reproduction in full swing upon arrival May 15th. Birds were the most obvious, raising a racket day and night in the numerous wetlands around the elk farm. Numbers of all birds were up, and the loudest were the sandhill cranes of course, followed by geese, pheasants, turkeys and ducks. Land animals were also abundant, mainly deer, new arrival of the spring.
Planting wildflowers has been a several year project at the elk farm. Most of the flowers bloom in June and July and are observed by only a few people who come and go from the farm. One early blooming plant is , which has taken over a portion of the yard at the cabin. Lupine are favored by deer, and they were regular visitors to this patch in the evenings.
Back in Bethel, John McDonald captured this His bird tours were sold out this year. See Kuskokwim Wilderness Adventures for more pictures from those trips.
LKSD Supt. Gary Baldwin had an important chore in May. He was asked to present the diplomas for the LKSD preschool, where granddaughter Mary attended. .
ALO resolved a few cases in May, including a Bethel car accident with minor injuries and an unusual case in Manakotak which involved a six year old boy who fell asleep in a school bus where he then spent the day in temps between 10 and 30 degrees until discovered in the afternoon by the bus driver. ALO also settled the second portion of a serious Anchorage case where a Grayling woman lost a finger in a traffic accident. The first part of the settlement against the liability insurer was insufficient to cover the woman's damages, so she was able to collect from the underinsured motorist coverage which her family carried on their own vehicle.
The booze issue in Bethel was recently the subject of an editorial in the Anchorage Daily News. The writer suggested Bethel should return to local option status in order to help the neighboring villages combat drinking. Myron couldn't resist the chance to send this letter to the editor. The comments section of the paper erupted. Many thought the letter seriously advocated for Anchorage to go dry, and responses were mostly irate. The comments sections of online publications are one of the most notable changes in news reporting brought on by the internet. Anonymous posters rant at almost every article, and juicy articles often generate hundreds of comments. The content is rarely worth reading, but the tone says a lot about the type of person who has the time to carry on such a dialogue.
Former ALO employee Jane Imholte practices law in Minneapolis. She paid a visit to the farm in June and sent along this article by email. That can't possibly be a crime.
The Kuskokwim 300 lost another one of its original racers when two time champion Jerry Austin died in June. The K300 webpage noted his passing with pictures from the past. Manager Casie Stockdale has been assembling historical information for the race on the website. One of the best old shots features race marshall Carl Kawagley pointing out a for photographer Jim Barker.
April 2010
Staci Gillilan dominated the April news, this time for her writing skills. She has provided two documents for consideration. The first is her letter of apology, which was required as a condition of her felony probation. It is , verbatim. It has been posted on the K300 website and Facebook site, and all but one person who has commented found it to be insufficient as an apology. One of the posters on Facebook, Arlee Taylor, had the following to say. "The truth of the tens of thousands taken will probably never be known and this is some sort of apology from a thief that has robbed any and everyone ever known at any turn? Was it written on toilet paper too?." Arlee's connection to this case will be discussed more fully below. If the probation officer agrees that this is not really an apology, it will be up to the judge to decide if she is in violation of her probation.
Staci's other attempt at writing isn't an apology either. is her petition against Arlee Taylor, filed in Bethel court as a public document. It is a further example of her inability to admit her errors. A bit of background is needed to fully appreciate this situation. Arlee Taylor was at one time the web designer for the Kuskokwim 300, identified as a friend of Staci from California who actually flew to Bethel to help with the 2008 race, just before Staci was fired. The race committee learned of serious issues with race finances in late February, the same week Staci flew to Anchorage for a school meeting over a long weekend. While she was there, her husband provided copies of the race financial records to the K300, and it was quickly learned that Staci had paid herself three extra paychecks during 2007, among numerous other suspicious entries. Arlee flew to Anchorage from California that weekend, and stated that he helped Staci put together another set of books that made an effort to conceal the extra payments. They also visited some K300 suppliers, paying overdue bills with cash, bills that Staci told the committee had already been paid. Apparently Arlee provided cash to pay those bills.
The weekend's activites were not limited to financial issues. Arlee filmed Staci in a bathtub, a video that he eventually placed on the internet, seen by countless folks in Bethel and beyond when news of it hit town. Two later, less racy postings of Staci also made YouTube and other sites. The petition above is Staci's response to the videos. She claims she was unconscious from the use of prescription drugs. Those who have seen the video and heard the audio can decide whether her words in this petition, signed under oath, are truthful. One astute observer questioned how an unconscious person could survive and escape a tub full of water. Denying the obvious is a skill Staci has perfected.
The Bethel crime scene provides lots of colorful stories like Staci's. of a search and rescue operation caused readers to wonder why the wilderness traveler didn't hide his cargo in a nearby snow bank. Maybe he had watched the movie Fargo and was worried about finding his treasure later on the barren tundra.
ALO tried major case before a jury in April. A family from Crooked Creek, the first of many to contact ALO through its website a few years back, finally had its day in court against Hageland, a local air carrier. It was alleged that a Hageland pilot tried to start a Cessna 207 while a teenage girl was still loading bags on a four wheeler near the front of the plane. The jury found that the prop struck her on the top of the head, causing a wound about 3 ½ inches long and deep enough so that witnesses could see her skull. The pilot at first admitted he struck her with the prop as he was starting the engine, but later wrote a second statement questioning whether that happened. He did so at the suggestion of Ron Burkevich, Hageland's safety director who suggested they keep the first statement in the company because it didn't sound too good for the pilot or the company. Based on that, the jury found that punitive damages should be awarded for the attempt to cover up the incident. After the verdict and before a second trial to determine punitive damages, the parties reached a confidential settlement. This case represented the most heavily defended case that ALO has ever experienced. Spending money to scare off folks with a valid claim is a tactic often used, but it doesn't always work. This time the defense spent a ton of money defending and still lost.
Steve Bush, who helped build the cabin which now houses ALO, passed away in April. Steve took part in the first Kuskokwim 300 and later ran the Iditarod. He and his family lived in Aniak for many years before moving to Montana. You can read more about that first K300 on the race website, where Manager Casie Stockdale has scanned in a batch of articles. Old timers in Bethel will remember the strong staff of local writers we had in Bethel back then, and the difference in news coverage between then and now is astounding.
March 2010
The big news of March was the end of the Kuskokwim 300 theft case. Former manager Staci Gillilan pled guilty to felony theft and was sentenced to two years probation and restitution in the amount of $7,500 to the race and $1,000 to a trust from which she also stole money. She must also write a letter of apology. Her sentencing ended a two year ordeal where she twice previously agreed to a plea deal and then backed out. Her guilty plea comes after two very public declarations of innocence. She had a long interview with KYUK radio which allowed her the opportunity to dazzle listeners with her account of being victimized by the race, and she also paid for a full page ad in a local newspaper to further the charade. Staci reportedly requested an opportunity to testify in front of the grand jury, but at the last minute she had a scheduling conflict which prevented her from appearing. She also ducked a couple of meetings with the 300 board at the end of her employment where tough questions would have been asked.
Her crime consisted of stealing about $6,000 of cash which was generated at the K300 rippie booth, and about $3600 in payroll checks which she wrote herself and a $250 reimbursement she took for merchandise that was actually paid for by someone else. Those amounts were easy to trace. Some of the cash actually ended up in her personal account, some deposited by her husband. When given the opportunity, neither Staci nor her husband could account for the cash deposits in their personal accounts. Other cash she handled for the race was not possible to trace, as it came in from merchandise sales and gate receipts. It is known that when she was fired the race was $30,000 in debt, despite normal revenues and expenses that had in previous years resulted in about a break even status each year.
There was also an allegation made that Staci stole from a trust fund which she administered. Her bills to that trust were greatly in excess of the bills for several other people who did the same job before and after her. The final element of her case involved money from elementary school kids who paid $20 each for a yearbook which Staci was supposed to handle. Some of that money ended up in Staci's account as well, but the school believes she paid back those sums after being told to do so. No yearbook was ever produced. That issue might never have surfaced, but did so after the 300 started getting calls about Staci's misdeeds after she was fired.
During this saga, ALO learned a lot about Staci Gillilan. Her ability to look directly at a group of people and lie is astounding. That is so even when the truth is obvious and she has been confronted with it. She is so convincing that it took a long time for some Bethel folks to realize how badly she was misleading them. This case, and some other personal issues that became very public in the past two years, have changed all that. The 300 will await its apology letter and money, in hopes that the Staci Gillilan era will finally be in the rear view mirror.
Other legal news was mixed at ALO. Two settlements were reached, one involving a serious car crash in Anchorage where an elderly Grayling woman lost a finger among other injuries. That case settled for policy limits, and will involve further litigation of underinsured motorist coverage which often kicks in to assist an injured person when the initial insurance coverage is not enough to fully compensate. The other case involved a village woman who wrecked her snow machine and was injured when she hit an obstruction on the trail in her village that had been left by a construction crew.
ALO had a traffic trial in March which resulted in a very small split verdict (liability for both plaintiff and defendant) In that trial, a driver rear ended a Bethel police car which was making an illegal turn into the exit at the YKHC administration building. The poor result was apparently a consequence of a juror fooling the court by suggesting that her friendship with the driver of the police vehicle would not be a factor if she was chosen as a juror. According to other jurors, that was not the way it worked, and the juror was a strong advocate for the city's position which overcame several other jurors.
An earlier report mentioned the success of Bethel wrestler Randy Hanson. Randy has since signed as a recruit to wrestle at the University of Minnesota. He was even mentioned in the sports column of Sid Hartman, who has been writing for the Minneapolis paper for about 70 years. The Gopher wrestlers are often among the best in the nation, and their coach is infamous as a stern taskmaster. ALO has a Gopher insignia on its front window, so it will come as no surprise to Randy when Bethel refugees show up at his wrestling matches.
Finally, two local youngsters did very well in the Iditarod. Mike Williams Jr and Pete Kaiser both finished in the money and among the top rookies. Pete started with and finished with one, Lucy who is a favorite around ALO.
February 2010
February was a short month, but long on stuff worthy of the ALO website news. Let's start with office news. Three civil cases were settled, the most significant of which was a claim against a local store for a broken leg. A Bethel man fell on a mound of ice at the base of the front steps of a local store, as he departed with a large box. He suffered a badly broken leg for which he was compensated. The second case involved a home fire in Shaktoolik. A family lost all of its belongings and settled its claim against the local Housing Authority. The third settlement involved a group of passengers on a commuter flight to a village on the Yukon River. During the flight, the pilot's door popped open and couldn't be closed. For the duration of the flight, two of the passengers struggled to keep the door partially closed while the pilot flew the plane, creating a panic situation for the passengers.
Dog season continued in February, but the big local event wasn't a race, it was Pete Kaiser's fund raiser. Pete is a young man who has grown up taking part in various Kuskokwim 300 race events, and this year has decided to tackle the Iditarod. The Angstmans are helping to sponsor him, with money and two good dogs. A large crowd showed up at his fund raiser to help with sponsorship. The race starts March 6th in Anchorage, and this article describes the event pretty well.
Speaking of Iditarod, one of Andy's Iditarod dogs died in February. Rudy was a favorite at the Dog Farm, mainly because of his goofy attitude, but also for his ability to keep going when common sense suggested he shouldn't be able to. Rudy had arthritis for the last few years of his life, and had discomfort in his ankles whenever he ran. Several race vets noticed the problem, and suggested he be dropped during a race. He never was, and in fact was always among the most eager to go when the rest stop was over. He led Sarah, Andy and Myron out of Tuluksak on their K300 races, the last one two years ago at age 10. At age 9 he made it all the way to Nome with a gait Andy described as lumbering. Dogs like Rudy are remembered fondly at Old Friendly Dog Farm. Happy Trails.
Minnesota Public Radio did a recent feature on Baldwin Township which had an article about Long Pond Elk Farm. Featured in the photo is the backside of neighbor Dave Price.
ALO webmaster Rich Gannon recently designed another Bethel website, this time for Kuskokwim Wilderness Adventures. Rich lives near Cut Bank, Montana, and the local paper there provides and
Finally, the death of Elya Evan was noted in February. Elya was part of the colorful Stony River Evan family with many connections to the Angstman family. Elya's older brothers Evan and Wassillie helped build the log building which was the Angstman home for many years and is now ALO. Myron went on a number of hunting trips with Evan before he drowned in the Kuskokwim River. Elya helped build the Angstman cabin pictured on the front page of this website. He amazed his co-workers with his outdoor skills and strength. At one point he climbed a sheer rock wall near the cabin just to show that he still could. tending a fire on the beach. The stories of the Evan family would be a big chapter in any book about the Kuskokwim.
January 2010
January is race month in Bethel, and cold temperatures with strong north winds prevailed for most of the month. The wind chills bottomed out at about -65, and that happened Saturday morning on the weekend of the Kuskokwim 300. Myron was racing the Bogus Creek 150 at that time, and he encountered enough problems to withdraw from the race after about 60 miles. The other team from Old Friendly Dog Farm, raced by Mike Parker, took second in that race, winning over $5,000 in the largest payday in years for OFDF.
Two weeks later , her first wins ever as a dog racer. The first win was in the delayed Holiday Classic, a 50 mile race which followed part of the K300 trail. She won that event with a time of 4:12. The next day, the Bethel sprint club sponsored a race over the same trail, and Casie won again with exactly the same team, in the same time. For full results, check k300.org, or become a friend of Kuskokwim 300 on facebook. A good photo spread of all the races can be found on Ian Foulds Flickr page.
ALO resolved two cases in January. One involved a man who suffered a broken finger at the Bethel jail which healed poorly and will likely have to be amputated. The complaint against the jail alleged poor medical care for missing the break in the finger until it started healing. The other settlement involved a potential appeal by a Bethel man who was on the losing end of a recent jury trial. ALO's client sought payment of legal fees from the opponent, which is allowed under Alaska law. The opponent elected to pay a portion of ALO's fees, and agreed to drop any appeal, to end the case.
Another legal case resolved, this one not directly involving ALO. The case against former K300 race manager Staci Gillilan finally moved toward completion as she entered a guilty plea to a felony theft charge. She agreed to pay restitution in an amount yet to be determined to the K300, in addition to any amounts owed to Kilbuck school yearbook purchasers who paid money to her three years ago and also to a trust fund were Gillilan was paid to assist a young girl who was deemed unable to manage her own money. The case against Gillilan dragged on for almost two years before the plea. Sentencing is set for March. Meanwhile she is employed as a legal assistant at the law firm representing her, Power Brown. Some callers to ALO have recognized a form of symmetry in that situation.
Dean Painter of Nulato came to the Dog Farm to help with racing during January and someone dug up a clipping from December of 1978 which tells an interesting story about dog training on the Kuskokwim. a Minnesota weekly paper from Myron's home town. Dean's first name is obviously reported incorrectly, but the rest of the story is fairly accurate.
December 2009
December was a busy month at ALO, with a civil trial in Dillingham, and a couple of settlements. The Dillingham trial was a business dispute concerning the operation of a remote fishing lodge near Togiak. A former owner and the current owner could not agree on the terms of their deal, and a Dillingham judge and jury were asked to sort it out. ALO represents the current owner, and the jury sided with him on most of the issues. Two of the most important issues are still to be decided by the judge.
Meanwhile Matt settled two traffic accident cases in Bethel, both involving ALO clients who were injured in fender benders. A major case involving a death in Mountain Village was also settled. In that case, ALO represented a young man who was convicted of homicide for a shooting in that village. While working on that case, it became apparent that before the shooting, the defendant and his friend had traveled up the Yukon River and purchased a huge amount of liquor at the two package stores operated in the Galena and Nulato area. Neither purchase was legal, in that ALO's client was underage, and the other purchaser had an ID which showed he lived in a dry village. Together, the two men bought more than 80 bottles of hard liquor and the younger man was highly intoxicated when the shooting happened. The murder victim's family contacted ALO and wanted to sue the two liquor stores for their role in the shooting. That case was referred to another law firm which filed suit. ALO's client was brought into the suit as well. One of the liquor stores settled the claim against it recently, and the other store has defaulted, meaning there was no attempt to defend. ALO's client received a settlement for legal fees.
A recent obituary in the Anchorage paper brought back memories of former ALO client Fred Hess. Fred was a traveling handy man and electrician, who worked in western Alaska for many years. He would travel by snow machine or boat and often would stay in a village for weeks or months after his work was finished. On one such trip, Fred boated into Kuskokwim Bay enroute to Quinhagak on the coast. He had a wooden boat, some gear and no radio. Near the mouth of the Kanektok River, Fred's engine quit. To his north and east there was coastline, but to the south and west was the Bering Sea. The wind and current pushed him west. He drifted for days, out of sight of land much of the time. He had meager supplies which were not going to last very long. Fred knew the country well enough to know that he was in big trouble. After a few days of drifting, he saw land ahead. He could see that his current path would either take him to the very southern tip of the landmass, or else he would miss by a bit. He had a paddle on board so he worked hard to move into a position to make land. As he neared the shore, he could see he was going to make it, but the new problem was heavy breakers on a beach that had some boulders. Fred secured his gas can to his body with either tape or rope both for floatation and for fire starter, and stored his matches in a jar inside his coat. The surf busted his boat but he made it to shore. He used driftwood and the remains of his boat to start a fire. He had beached on the southern tip of Nunavak Island, around the first of October. The nearest village was on the far north shore of the island, and there are few visitors. He kept his fire going and waited. After a few days, a US government plane happened by on a late trip to pick up supplies on the island, which was a wildlife refuge. They spotted him and he was rescued. It was their last flight of the season. No one even knew Fred was missing, because no one knew where he was supposed to be. Fred responded to his ordeal with a sort of a shrug, not thinking it was any big deal. The details of the story are recited here from memory, and readers who have more details of the story to report are encouraged to contact ALO.
December was quite the month for weather on the Delta. JoeJoe Prince takes lots of pictures around Bethel and he that deserves publication. Check out JoeJoe's facebook page for dozens of pictures of the area. The month brought two record setting warm days in the mid 40s, which ruined trail conditions for dog training and other winter sports. The records weren't just broken, they were shattered by about 6 or 7 degrees each day. And of course the records were previously set within the past few years. All time record high temps happen often in Bethel, new lows almost never. For much of December, there was no snow at all.
The ALO Christmas party offered a new twist this year. It was catered by Ben and Sarah. The menu was Indian food, and the reviews were spectacular. It wasn't the only gala event for Ben and Sarah last month. They also attended a wedding in San Francisco, which made the internet. Ben's cousin was the groom, and to best appreciate the situation, Google the name Marissa Mayer, who was the bride. Ben was a groomsman, and had several events where urban attire was needed. Ben of course suffers from afashionosis, an affliction common to men living in rural Alaska. It requires serious searching for something suitable to wear when going to events in the big city. Ben was hard pressed enough to visit ALO for possible loaner attire. Several jackets hang in the hallway, ready for court use. Those items didn't fit, so he settled for a sport coat from Lucas Salzbrun. (his only one, purchased by his mother, used once) Ben's relatives who attended the San Francisco wedding will have a chance to compare that event with the upcoming Ben and Sarah wedding on Mission Road in Bethel.
Finally, what Christmas season is complete without the Nutcracker? ALO medical consultant Don Lehmann takes part in Sitka's production of the Nutcracker every year. The director takes certain liberties with the script, and Don usually ends up with a character somewhat modified from the original. Don is a dancer of sorts,
November 2009
Sue and Myron returned to Bethel for Thanksgiving, and were welcomed by a dose of winter. Early cold weather and snow got dog training underway with a bang, and resulted in a three hour run Thanksgiving day. Casie and Mike Parker handled training in October and November, and the dogs are shiny and fast. A busy winter of racing is planned. .
Debbie Fairbanks has always maintained that there is frequent drama in the Angstman family. November's dramatic story happened during deer season in Minnesota. Hunters on our farm noticed a pile of trash in a remote corner of the property which Myron checked out a few days later. Approaching the trash, which was about a mile from the nearest road, a piece of plastic tarp could be seen sticking up a couple feet from the ground. Closer inspection revealed a couple of blankets inside the plastic, all wrapped with strapping tape. The entire package was about 2 feet by 3 feet. A couple of aluminum cans were discarded nearby. The plastic wrapping was somewhat obscured by grass and weeds. All looked routine until the package was kicked, and a bone popped out. More kicks produced more bones. The bones were clearly not deer or elk, but brief inspection could not eliminate the possibility they were from a human, especially considering the circumstances.
Sue was consulted, and of course, emails to Alaska followed. Debbie was convinced that human remains had been discovered. After some debate, the police were called. A long golf cart ride allowed the county cop to inspect the scene. He needed back up, and another cop was called. Finally an investigator with suit and tie was summoned (think CSI) The final decision: pig bones. No one, including the cops, could guess why anyone would go to the trouble of packaging pig bones and carrying them to such a remote location.
Another animal suffered a similar fate on the elk farm. A coyote managed to enter the elk pen, where the cows promptly stomped it to death. The elk are very fussy about predator visits. Henry the dog once escaped death by an inch or two when a cow stomped his head, knocking him out. Several elk have shown a desire to stomp Tanner, who races around the outside of the pen taunting them. An occasional Canadian honker gets stomped, just for practice.
A common complaint at ALO is the bad press the Bethel area receives in statewide press, and even national publications. It is commonly believed that Bethel is an awful place. Frequently Anchorage folks impolitely inquire of Bethel folks how anyone could stand to live in such a place. A reasonable response to such a question is "How could anyone stand to marry your mother?" Occasionally a local story comes along that challenges the notion that Bethel is such an awful place. Rick and Kathy Hanson, long time members of the OFDF softball team, have managed to raise a couple of lively kids in Bethel. .
Andy got a chance to hone his skill as a play by play announcer recently during the Alaska Shootout. He called the men's championship game for the UAA radio station which can be heard online. He will continue to call games throughout the winter. Of course he got his start doing radio for Bethel basketball on KYUK and later hosted a call-in variety show along with Colin McDonald and others. Finally, some office news.
Matt settled a car accident claim for a Bethel woman who was injured in a cab crash. He also secured a dismissal of a felony assault charge from the village of Koliginek, filed in the Dillingham court.
October 2009
Minnesota weather was rude to the Angstmans upon their arrival in Princeton Oct 1st. Cold wet weather was common all month, a significant change from the warm dry fall weather that is typical for the recent past. Because much of the farm activity is outdoors, the weather stalled some of the fun that takes place at Long Pond Elk Farm. All was not lost, however. Webmaster Rich Gannon brought his family to the farm via the Amtrak which stops at the Gannon hometown of Cutbank, Montana, and also stops at St. Cloud, 30 miles from Princeton. Never mind that arrival time is about 5:30 a.m. As usual. Jen documented the Former ALO employee Jane Imholte and her escort John spent one of those days with us on the farm, and tried her hand at
Wildlife is always the focus of the farm stay, and this year the highlight was a flock of trumpeter swans that staged on Long Pond, right in front of the cabin for a couple of weeks. The flock numbered as many as 30, with 17 present most days. Trumpeters were market hunted to extinction in Minnesota, but were reintroduced recently and are doing well. They certainly dress up a pond. A great horned owl made several appearances, and deer and pheasants were abundant. The farm has numerous walking trails, and when the weather cooperates, it is a daily event.
On the way to Minnesota, the Angstmans spent a short time in Anchorage and met up with Bob and Mary Reardon, who had just left their Takotna cabin on the way back to Great Falls. Mary had entertained her twin grandkids at the cabin and introduced them to the joys of a Leaving Alaska was a little more hectic than usual. Minnesota visitor Dave Price traveled with Myron and Andy by float plane from Bethel to Anchorage, and the flight had to be moved up a day because of an approaching storm. In a hurry to close up the cabin. Myron left behind his hearing aids. The cabin was sealed up with plywood over the doors and windows for bear protection, and the float plane season was about over, so there was not much chance to get them until ski plane season. But former Bethelite Sue Flensburg from Dillingham saved the day by making a float plane trip to the cabin on a beautiful fall day and sent them to Minnesota. Andy made use of the float plane in Anchorage to obtain a float rating to go along with his wheel rating earned over the summer.
Speaking of Dillingham, Matt secured a not guilty verdict from a jury in Dillingham on a drunk driving and refusal case. Such cases are hard to win as there are not many excuses for refusing a breath test. Matt runs the office in October and November, and he had his hands full for a few days with employee illnesses, but the addition of legal intern Mike Eshleman has helped greatly. Mike comes from Ohio, where he is a licensed lawyer.
Three civil settlements were obtained, one involving a wrongful death case for a Bethel man who died from a heart attack after using a powerful pain medication which was later found to increase the risk of heart attack. Another case involved a Kotzebue lady who injured her knee in a fall on the icy court house steps, where she worked. Finally ALO settled a case for a Bethel woman who was unhappy with her previous lawyers, switched to ALO and got a settlement within a month.
Two motions for new trial were filed in the double wrongful death case involving a Bethel tug boat owner represented by ALO (reported earlier). The judge wasted little time in rejecting the motions, noting that there was ample evidence to support the jury's verdict. Some cases seem to last forever, and this case might be one of them. An appeal has been promised by the losing parties.
September 2009
September's report comes from the elk farm, where cool rainy weather greeted Sue and Myron in the first week of October. September was typically hectic, with out of state visitors, family outings, winter preparations, cabin work, and a hurried get away to Minnesota. That trip, which started with a float plane ride to Anchorage, had to be advanced one day because of approaching bad weather. Myron, Andy and Dave Price beat the weather by a few hours and had a gorgeous flight through the Alaska Range to Lake Hood. The plane stayed there for Andy to obtain his float rating during October to go along with his wheel rating which he got earlier in the summer.
The cabin got sealed up for the year but not before a number of September visits. One trip involved Zach Fairbanks doing a bit of painting and while he was there the bears were thick. One morning he left the cabin at dawn and paddled the canoe a few hundred yards up the bay where he bumped into seven bears at one time. That was the most in one sighting, but there were numerous sightings of three or four at a time. Sue stayed at the cabin alone for two days with numerous bears near by, thus earning the name Grizzly Lady from her friends in Bethel. It was determined that Tanner, in addition to his skill as a pheasant dog, also has talent as a fish retriever. On one occasion, he fetched seven dead salmon and stacked them on the beach quite proudly. He also tried to catch live ones along shore, without any luck so far.
Some moose hunting took place, without success, but Ben and Sarah managed to get a caribou. September fishing was excellent with lake trout and dolly varden the main focus. During one trip across Chauekuktuli, it was learned that the lake is at least 800 feet deep. The fall colors were glorious this year because of an early light frost followed by fairly warm weather for several weeks. An interesting online article about the Wood-Tikchik State Park will give a reader more insight into this area.
Web designer Rich Gannon had an interesting September outing worth noting. He and his family were hiking in Glacier National Park when a bighorn sheep approached on the same trail. It got fairly Rich did a new website for his cousin and former Bethel guy Don Rearden. Don is a writer, among other skills. One of his early non-fiction pieces involved a memorable night at Slate Lake near the Angstman cabin site east of Bethel.
Legal stuff managed to get done as well. Two civil cases settled, one involving the loss of two teeth by a grade school student in Dillingham which resulted in a settlement with the school district. The other was a wrongful death case which involved a car accident near Princeton, Minnesota which produced a settlement for the surviving family. Numerous criminal cases were resolved, including one in Fairbanks involving a professional football player charged with theft of gift cards from a local store. He received a sentence which will allow him to clear his record if he completes his probationary period without additional problems. Matt obtained dismissal of a felony charge in Dillingham, and obtained a reduction of several felony charges to a misdemeanor for a Manakotak man.
Finally, does anyone see the humor in this video clip?
August 2009
Last month'ss news of the wrongful death trial of two intoxicated men generated more response than normal for ALO. Every response questioned how such a case made its way to the point where a jury had to sit for two and a half weeks to make its decision. In fact, the case was one that probably should never have been filed. At least one local attorney refused to take the case, noting the intoxication of the drowned men and the fact there was no evidence of how they ended up in the river. A summary judgment motion was filed, asking the court to find there was insufficient evidence to go forward with the trial, but that motion was denied. It takes very little evidence to survive summary judgment, but of course ALO believes that motion was incorrectly decided. Regardless, such a case is expensive to litigate, and hard to win for the families of the deceased.
Another trial happened a couple of weeks after the boat case, this time involving a car accident with peculiar facts. This time Power Brown represented a cab driver who claimed he was injured when an ALO client backed into his cab in a housing parking lot. ALO's client claimed she looked behind her as she backed out of her parking spot next to her house. The cab was making a delivery of a person to the house next door, and for unexplained reasons ended up stopping at the wrong place just as the parked truck started backing. The resulting impact created a dent a few inches wide in the fender of the cab, about an inch deep. The driver said the impact caused neck and shoulder pain and headaches, which resulted in about $2500 worth of chiropractic care. ALO challenged several parts of the case, including whether or not the cab intentionally pulled behind the backing vehicle, whether there was enough impact to cause any injury, and whether the chiropractic care was needed or properly priced. The jury found there was negligence, but that the negligence was not a factor in any injury suffered by the cab driver. ALO called this a phony case, and apparently the jury agreed.
ALO also settled some civil cases in August, including a case involving a serious hand injury on a boat docking at Dutch Harbor. In that case, the seaman settled an earlier claim against the boat owner, and this time settled the remaining claim against the dock owner. The seaman lost part of his hand in the accident, when the boat hit the dock while parking because of a broken pier. Another settlement involved a broken ankle suffered at the entrance to a Bethel apartment building, and a third settlement involved a head on car crash on the lake road near Dillingham. In that case, a woman visiting from out of state suffered a head injury when another driver pulled across the road to make a turn directly into the path of her car.
With all that legal activity, there was still time for fun. Pike fishing has been an Angstman family activity for many years. This including Myron's Dad (the youngest) in about 1910 with a stringer of pike from Sandy Lake near the Angstman farm. In 1950, in central Minnesota. in 1990 on the Innoko River north of Bethel. Finally, Ben, Andy and Myron took advantage of good August weather to visit the Innoko on a work day and came away with in three hours of fishing in one spot. The location of that spot remains a family secret. The invention of the trail camera, which snaps photos of wildlife at remote locations, is one of the best ideas yet for people who love to view animals. John McDonald of Bethel uses his on the Kisaralik River near his family's fish camp. who wandered by. A trail camera on the elk farm in Minnesota.
Here is a,
July 2009
This month’s news is a bit late because of a long trial which started in July and spilled over to August. The trial involved wrongful death claims against ALO client Faulkner Walsh Constructors and the City of Bethel, represented by Bill Ingaldson. Bill is a Minnesota native with whom ALO has tried three cases in the past couple of years.
After two and one half weeks of trial, the jury voted 12-0 against the families who were seeking damages for the deaths. The deceased, Nick Kameroff, Sr. of Aniak and Roy Wolkoff, Sr. from the Kodiak area, were employees of FW, and drowned in the Kuskokwim river in front of Bethel after an evening of drinking. They were found with a high level of alcohol in their blood, and were reported to be fairly drunk to very drunk by witnesses who saw them that night. They were dropped near the tugboat Warhorse at about 11:30 pm by a cab driver, who last saw them approaching the seawall where the boat was moored. They were found a few days later by search and rescue volunteers who dragged the river near where they were last seen.
The plaintiffs were represented by Power Brown of Bethel, who claimed FW should pay because of the lack of a proper means to get on and off the boat. The City of Bethel was blamed for having a poorly maintained seawall. After a few hours of deliberation, the jury rejected those claims.
Alcohol was the main focus of the trial. The families argued the men were not that drunk, but early on they agreed they would accept their share of the blame for the deaths. With little evidence to show how the men actually fell in the water, the plaintiffs had a tough case from the start.
Trying a case with Bill Ingaldson is always a treat. He carries with him through trial a sense of humor which makes an otherwise stressful period of time much more pleasant. He also has a court room style which nicely contrasts with that of ALO, and is quick minded during trial, which is an essential tool for anyone hoping to win.
Winning a major piece of litigation gives everyone involved a big boost. Unfortunately, other jury trials are set for the near future so little time is allowed to relax after this verdict. During trial ALO expressed its understanding of the families’ desire to blame someone else for the death of their husbands and fathers. But it was also mentioned that bringing suit against others when it is obvious that booze was the cause of the deaths is not fair. Apparently the jury agreed.
June 2009
June was spent mostly at the elk farm in Minnesota. A side trip to watch the Minnesota Twins play the Cubs at Wrigley Field was highly entertaining. Minnesota fans numbered about 4-5,000 and were louder than the Cub fans in attendance. A vendor said he had never seen that happen before at Wrigley. A chance to see Joe Mauer, on his way to becoming the greatest catcher ever, was worth the seven hour drive. When he homered it was even better.
Another ball game, this time at the Metrodome in Minneapolis had special significance as well. In what was likely the Angstman’s last trip to the Dome, second row seats behind the dugout allowed a chance to overhear conversation at the open end of the dugout where players wait to enter the on deck circle. The Twins move to a new outdoor stadium next year.
Baseball has a long history in the Angstman family. Jacob and Emma Angstman moved to what is now Long Pond Elk Farm in 1904 by horse and wagon, arriving with all their equipment, livestock and household goods, along with 13 children. There were 11 boys, and they soon established a baseball team that played some of their games in the pasture behind the barn. This after a July 4th game in Orrock near Princeton. In later years, the brothers recalled that they never lost a game, but upon cross examination revealed that they actually might not have won a game. The team picture dates from 1913.
A more recent ball team photo is from the Bethel Fourth of July tourney where the won the championship. Missing from the photo is part time player Myron, who spent the holiday at the family lake cabin.
The Kuskowkim River float by Ben, Casie and Jane was successful. Ben submitted photo evidence of the wonderful . The floaters missed seeing this river scene however. A plane crashed at an upriver strip, and the owner decided to for the trip back to Aniak for repairs.
An Angstman family gathering in Fresno featured hot weather. The invitation mentioned semi-formal attire, which posed a problem for some family members who are formally challenged. Here’s how the up in 110 degree temps.
Of course, the law office has to remain open to fund these adventures. ALO settled a claim brought by three members of a Bristol Bay family that was involved in an auto accident in Anchorage. The family agreed to split $90,000. Much of June was spent preparing for a trial which starts in late July involving the death of two men who drowned in the Kuskokwim. Both were drinking, but blame the city for having an unsafe dock and the boat owner for having an unsafe boat.
May 2009
Angstman Law Office south is active for the month of June on the elk farm in Minnesota. Of course, the fax machine doesn’t work, and there are printer problems as well. Tech support for Hewlett Packard is in India, and they want slightly more than the value of a new printer to discuss, in broken English, the problem with the current machine. Having tech support overseas is excellent strategy, because it prevents irate customers from invading the office with their broken machines.
Back when the technology was working better in May, ALO settled an airplane crash case out of Aniak. Three clients were passengers on an aircraft that lost power shortly after takeoff and landed roughly on a Kuskokwim River sandbar. One lady broke a finger, the other two were bumped and bruised in the landing. They shared a $60,000 settlement.
A Teller client settled a claim against the Federal government for medical malpractice after she had a growth removed from her arm. The doctor cut in the wrong place, requiring a second operation. The case settled for an undisclosed amount. Sometimes one party or the other requests the amount of a settlement be kept confidential. ALO honors those requests. When it is a mandatory term of the settlement, failure to comply could result in further litigation.
ALO helped another client who was unhappy with the work of a previous attorney. A claim was filed with the Alaska Bar Association to seek return of a portion of the fees paid in a criminal case. The attorney agreed to return half of the fee before the case was heard by the Bar. Fee arbitration is a service available to any person who feels an Alaska attorney did not charge the proper fee in a case. It is free of charge, and can be done over the phone. The claimant need not have an attorney help with the arbitration, but may use one if desired.
Pictures of the Bethel flood were posted on this site earlier. This year’s flood was fairly high but Bethel dodged a bullet when the ice failed to jam below town. The water was running very high during May because of a large snow fall in the upriver drainages and a late rapid thaw. Some Kuskokwim villages were hit hard, including Aniak and Akiak, when the ice jammed near those villages. Bethel was poised for one of its worst floods but the ice flowed fairly smoothly from Bethel on down.
Ben Kuntz, Jane Imholte and Casie Stockdale decided to float the river from McGrath to Bethel shortly after the flood receded. Their trip should end June 8th or 9th. Ben and Casie are well known to readers of this page, and Jane is a former attorney at ALO now working in Minneapolis. Watch this site for photos soon, with stories next month.
Myron and Sue are off to Chicago with former Bethel residents Dan and Sharon Boyette this week to watch the Minnesota Twins play the Cubs at Wrigley Field. On their return, there is a stop planned at Madison, Wisconsin to visit former ALO attorney Cathy Connolly and Rich Trotto. Rich is famous in Bethel for many things, and this story explains why. When their daughter Nina was a baby, Rich was left in charge one day when Nina needed some medicine applied every few hours by syringe. Most old time Bethelites remember Rich as a recreational dog musher. Of course he kept the usual dog medications around the house. When Cathy returned home to check on her daughter, she inquired about the medication. Rich proudly declared he had administered the dosage on schedule. It was time for another dose, so Cathy gathered the medicine and the syringe, but there was something wrong—the syringe was the wrong color. Rich had used the wrong syringe---the one he normally used to administer wormer to his dogs. It still had the residue of several previous wormings stuck to the plastic sides. To his credit, Rich reported his error to his buddies. One follow up report to that story, Nina now attends Whitman College in Washington State and has never had a worm infection.
April 2009
Property loss settlements dominated the news at ALO in April. The biggest such claim was a vehicle accident in Aniak, where a small truck driven by a drunk driver slammed into a parked fuel truck containing close to 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel. No one was injured in the crash. The driver’s insurance paid an amount calculated to be the fair market value of the fuel truck plus freight, because the truck was totaled. ALO’s client pointed out that the truck was about 15 years old with a total of less than 3,000 miles, driven about once or twice a week for a mile or two. With good up-keep, the fuel truck would likely last for a very long time and was worth more than most 15 year old trucks. It was also argued that the replacement truck would not have increased value in Aniak because there was no chance of reselling such a vehicle in a small bush town. The case was settled a few weeks before trial for $90,000, the original demand.
Two other cases also settled, one a residential fire case in Shaktoolik against the local electric utility for $20,000, leaving intact a companion case against the regional housing authority. The other settlement involved damage to a rental unit in Togiak for which a contractor paid $15,000.
April was one of the biggest months in a long time for newly opened files at ALO. It was also the month when ALO dropped all newspaper advertising in Bethel. This was done because of the ever escalating ad wars in this community. Of course, attorney ads are controversial, after being forbidden for many years nationwide. Now such ads are allowed in Alaska, but with some regulation by the Bar Association. It is clear that large colorful ads attract business, especially for a firm that might not get business any other way. But ALO seems to get enough business without such ads, and prefers to have clients who select their attorney based on past performance rather than color photos. Grant Fairbanks has frequently offered to prepare an appropriate ALO ad, which would spoof the local ads he reads every week. Maybe one of Grant’s ads will appear on this webpage someday.
There were two correct guesses in last month’s trivia quiz. Dean Painter was the training partner. Rich Gannon and Bob Rearden guessed right, but of course there was a juicy hint in the story. Three upriver guys helped out during that first Iditarod year, and all three are still around. In addition to Dean, James Nicholas and Nathan Underwood helped train and feed dogs at times.
The pictures of the successful ski trip to the mountains were posted earlier, and as a result of that trip a major expedition by dogs is planned for next March. ALO is seeking volunteer snow machine drivers to break trail and already Greg Ponsness has expressed interest. He is married to ALO employee Amy, and is an avid outdoorsman. His biggest claim to fame, though, is his connection to a company which was featured on the TV show Dirtiest Jobs. His parents run Forked Tree Ranch in Idaho. They recently visited ALO and identified website forkedtreeranch.com where the viewer learns that money can be made selling maggots.
Finally, marathon runners often speak of “hitting the wall” at about the 22 mile mark in a race. This dog video reveals that it can happen in a much shorter race.
March 2009
A late winter kept the dog season alive into April once again this year. Old Friendly Dog Farm raced in numerous events, winning the Aniak 150 with Dean Painter on the sled and finishing second in two shorter races in Bethel with Casie Stockdale driving. She also got third, five seconds out of second, in a 120 mile race in Akiak. But dogs are not just for racing. The favorite pictures of the month come from recreational mushing, featuring Mary,
There were other outdoor adventures as well. Tomas Israelsson and Eric Whitney attempted a trip to the Angstman cabin 100 miles east, Tomas on skis and Eric with a snow machine. The route took them through Heart Lake pass, and a descent of Milk Creek, always considered an obstacle to winter travel. They made it through, just barely according to Tomas, and could not have made it back with a snow machine because of the steep down grades they would have encountered going the other direction. A daring supply drop was accomplished at about the halfway point when it was determined that Eric forgot his sleeping pad and pillow. Casie Stockdale took some photos of the airplane trip, one showing their camp (). The pair carried a tracking device which was activated each evening to send an email to various folks watching the progress. Here is a link to their location at the cabin via their tracking device on Google Maps.
All play and no work doesn’t pay for dog food or airplane gas , however, so legal work had to continue. Matt obtained a dismissal of a Dillingham criminal case involving possession of a controlled substance. Matt argued that there was insufficient evidence presented in front of the grand jury to support the indictment. The Dillingham judge agreed, and issue this order, which is highly unusual. (Download .pdf Order)
Bethel historical trivia has been featured on these pages in the past with good response. This question comes from Dec. 1st, 1978. On that day Myron Angstman and a partner were training a team of dogs for the 1979 Iditarod north of Bethel near the Gweek River. It was a late winter with travel on the river not starting until mid-November with little snow. The team of dogs was turned into a slough off the Kuskokwim, following a faint snow machine track. At one point, the track turned up a steep bank, but the team stayed on the ice. A little further down the slough the ice starting buckling. Both riders bailed off the sled and crawled back toward safer ice. Just then a plane flew by and spotted the two crawlers on the ice, and circled twice. Thinking rescue was soon to happen, the crawlers waited on the ice. As dusk descended, the sound of an approaching helicopter encouraged the pair. It took a while for the chopper to find the spot, but the troopers eventually rescued both and soon the statewide newspapers and Alaska magazine carried the story. Who was the partner?
February 2009
A recent jury verdict tops the February news. Of course it wouldn’t be on top if our side had lost. This case involved two falls in the Pilot Station native store. We represented the store, and Michele Power represented the plaintiffs, all members of the Greene family from Pilot Station. Charlie Greene, who has weighed around 275-280 for the past several years claims he fell once on a wet floor and once on a few plastic straps that were on the floor of the store room. In the first fall, in 2006, he said he injured his right knee and in the second fall his left knee. His medical records proved to be his undoing. They showed no reference to any fall in the store, and showed that he complained of left knee pain from 2006 which he twice blamed on falls while playing basketball, which he continued to play after being advised not to. He even argued with his physical therapist about whether he had been treated for his left or right knee for the past year, when all records said left knee.
At trial evidence revealed that the Greene family had three other recent lawsuits, including two that were falls, one of which was another claim against the Native store for injuries suffered by a seven year old who fell and bruised his leg. Mrs. Greene said the bruise lasted two days. Greene testified at his deposition that he gained 50 pounds as a result of the falls, which was disproved by his records. He also admitted earlier that he saw both the wet floor and the plastic straps before he fell. In short it was the type of case that gives trial lawyers a bad name.
This was the first trial where Myron opposed his former employee of ten years who left in 2005 without notice, taking many files with her. Winning is always better than losing, but some wins are better than others.
ALO also settled a claim against a local air carrier. It was an unusual case involving no accident or physical injuries. Three ladies from a Yukon River village were flying to Bethel on a small plane which took off normally. Shortly after it became apparent to them that there was a problem. The airplane could not climb, and instead kept creeping closer and closer to the ground. All three could see the pilot attempting to adjust the controls to gain altitude, but they estimated they were clearing the tundra by about 10 feet for several minutes. The ladies assumed the crash position, and all thought they would surely die if they lost any more altitude. After many minutes, the problem was resolved and the flight continued without incident. In Alaska, extreme fright created by a life threatening incident is sufficient to create a legal claim, if a reasonable person would have that reaction. Here, there was little doubt that the passengers were justified in their belief that they were about to crash and die, and they were able to settle their cases for $12,500 each without filing a law suit.
Alaska weather has been stormy, resulting in deep snow and bad flying conditions. The Old Friendly dog team was headed to Unalakleet to defend its title won last vear by Dean Painter, but had to turn back twice for weather. Lucky thing too, because since that time (10 days ago) no light plane flights have been possible back to Bethel.
Two pictures make the cut for this month’s news page. Bethel’s Jeremiah Klejka used two dogs from OFDF to compete in the Junior Iditarod last week. He finished ninth as a rookie. This shot shows him shortly after the start near Willow. The other picture taken by Don Rearden, who commutes from his home high on the Anchorage hillside to UAA every day. He says there were four lynx along the road but he only got three in this photo.
January 2009
January is Kuskokwim 300 month at ALO. This year that had added significance as Myron was co-race manager along with other duties involving the race (board member, racer, fan, host, etc). Weather played a typical role this year, forcing two delays in the race start because of thawing conditions. A freak wind hit during one of the delays, and the committee scrambled to find a decent route. The race happened, and the two ALO teams, raced by Myron and Casie Stockdale, both finished the Bogus creek 150. These pictures reveal that old guys look better before racing all night than they do after. See k300.org for details.
More racing happens in February and March. Be sure to keep an eye on Bethel’s Pete Kaiser in upcoming races. The 21 year old son of ALO friends Ron and Janet Kaiser finished a strong 5th in the 300 and won rookie of the year, and followed that up with a 4th place finish in the Tustumena 200. Old Friendly Dog farm is helping Pete with some loaner dogs for racing, so his success brings added excitement to ALO.
ALO was involved in a major civil case in Anchorage which included sex and drugs. It concluded recently after many years of litigation, but the results are confidential.
ALO handled its first medical marijuana case recently in Dillingham. A middle aged man from that town was convicted of a felony for possession of a significant quantity of pot plants. He tried to represent himself, with poor background help from a person who was not a lawyer. Even though the man was entitled to a medical marijuana card for a chronic illness, he had never obtained one until after he was busted. He presented the card at his sentencing, and ALO argued for a suspended imposition of sentence which would allow the man to keep a clean record without any jail time. The judge agreed and the case ended well.
Another major case, this one involving the massive Hooper Bay fire, also resolved. Judge Leonard Devaney issued the attached summary judgment opinion. Download that document here. . ALO represent the Lower Yukon School District. LYSD was sued after the school burned in an incident where children started a fire under the school while playing with matches. Many nearby houses also burned, and those folks blamed the school for not taking steps to prevent the kids from playing under the school. The fire was started in the wee hours, during the summer when school was not in session. The plaintiffs have requested reconsideration of the order ending the case.
A quick trip to wine country in late January went less smooth than hoped. Flight snafus on both ends of the trip made for a lot of airport time, but still 70 degree temps in Sonoma, California were a nice break from the below zero temps common this winter in Bethel. No wonder Jack London retreated there during his breaks from the Klondike gold fields. His former farm, now a park, made for a great afternoon tour.