1
By MATT BUXTON [email protected] Eielson Air Force Base’s F-16 Aggressor Squadron was back in the air Monday after being ground- ed for three months because of nationwide budget cuts. The fighter jets, along with a third of the Air Force’s combat fleet, had funding restored with $208 million of a $1.8 billion repro- gramming allocation authorized by Congress. The planes had been grounded in April. “Eielson’s restored flying hours allow our Aggressors to be in the air again,” stated Brig. Gen. Mark Kel- ly, 354th Fighter Wing commander, in a press release Monday. Kelly said the squadron will fly at a reduced rate but will focus on the upcoming Red Flag-Alaska training exercise slated for Aug. 8-23. Training cuts had come under fire from Alaska’s congressional delegation, particularly Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who criticized the sequestration for failing to give federal agencies and the military flexibility to decide where cuts are made. The change came after a request from the Air Force to reinstate criti- cal training and test operations for the combat fleet. Congress approved the request. The action restores flying hours only for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends Oct. 1. A similar maneuver would be required in By WESTON MORROW [email protected] Two departments at the University of Alaska Fairbanks will merge into one unit, the school announced Tuesday. The School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences will combine with the Cooperative Extension Service in com- ing months. The process should take about one year to complete, according to Provost Susan Henrichs. Extension is primarily responsible for research and distribution of information in a form that members of the public can use, Henrichs said. The two units were chosen to merge because they share several similar missions and programs. By MATT BUXTON [email protected] The Fairbanks North Star Borough closed its emergency animal shelter Tuesday night, a day after an evacuation watch was lifted from 16 Mile to 27 Mile Chena Hot Springs Road. More than 200 animals were sheltered at the temporary shelter set up at the Tanana Valley Fairgrounds when the Stuart Creek 2 Fire threatened homes in the Two Rivers and Pleasant Valley areas last week. Organizers said the shelter was the first-ever hosted by a municipality in Alaska. They declared it a success. As of Thursday afternoon, Animal Control Director Sandy Besser said most pets, sled dog teams and livestock had returned home. Fewer than 50 remaining cats, dogs and other animals were due to go home by 7 p.m. “All the sled dogs were gone before the weekend,” she said. “The bigger animals and livestock are all pretty much gone except for some reindeer. All the rest are inside cats and dogs. ... Probably less than 50.” Volunteers were available for pet owners who need extra assistance getting their pets home, she said. Photos by Sam Harrel/News-Miner Marjorie Casort goes to get more water as she waters her plot Tuesday at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Campus Community Garden. The garden is located in the right-of-way of Fairbanks Street where it once connected Geist Road with campus. Above: Alison Casort, 12, shows her harvest of squash. Casort plans to donate all that she reaps to the Fair- banks Community Food Bank. Left: Phil Jacobs waters his family’s plot Tuesday at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Campus Community Garden. The garden, in its second year, doubled in size from last year. It is governed by a board made up of three UAF students, one staff member and a member of the faculty. The UAF Office of Sustainabil- ity has helped the volunteer project get under way. 252-C Vol. CIX, No. 196 40 pages Classified ................... C2 Comics ...................... B4 Dear Abby .................. B3 Food ......................... C1 Interior/Alaska ............ B1 Nation/World ...............A5 Inside Sourdough Jack sez: “I like to think of strawberry-rhubarb pie as the apple pie of Alaska.” No Islamists included in Egypt’s new Cabinet. Page A5 Left out Obituaries ........................ B2 Opinion ............................ A4 Our Town ........................ A3 Sports ............................. D1 Stock Markets .................. D4 Weather ........................... A5 The voice of Interior Alaska since 1903 Seventy-five cents Wednesday, July 17, 2013 newsminer.com RECYCLED Recycled material is used in the making of our newsprint What to do with all that rhu(barb) FOOD, PAGE C1 Emergency pet shelter closes down GREEN SPACE Held animals threatened by Stuart Creek 2 Fire Please see SHELTER, Page A6 Eielson’s F-16s return to the air Governor to testify at F-16 hearings today and Thursday Staff Report [email protected] Gov. Sean Parnell will be in the Fairbanks area during the next two days to testify at Air Force hearings on the poten- tial impact of relocating Eielson Air Force Base’s F-16 Aggressor Squadron. Parnell will be joined by local leaders and Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan, who plan to voice concerns about the Air Force’s draft Environmental Impact Study that was released earlier this year. The first of the two hearings Please see PARNELL, Page A6 Squadron had been grounded for three months Please see F-16s, Page A6 UAF to merge departments Please see MERGER, Page A6 INSIDE For an update on the Stuart Creek 2 Fire, see Page B1. Close, but not quite enough Goldpanners stage rally, but lose to Oilers. SPORTS, PAGE D1
