This weekend, a police officer was harmed while making an arrest.
Officer Patrick Bliss sustained minor injuries while apprehending Andrew Philemonof, 28. Philemonof allegedly attacked Bliss and two other officers with a knife around 2am on Saturday, after being confronted about urinating in public while inebriated.
“He became a little bit aggressive and refused to put down his bottle of beer,” says Sgt. Mike Holman with the Unalaska Department of Public Safety. “During the arrest, he had a knife in his hand and struggled with the officers – he told the officers that he intended to cut them. He also kicked two different officers in the head.”
It’s been over a hundred days since Matt Rutherford walked on dry land, and with any luck, it’ll be another 200 before he actually gets to. The 30-year-old Marylander is in the process of sailing around the North and South American continents. If he makes it, he’ll be the first person to do the 23,000-mile trip alone and without stopping.
For the most part, car thefts in Unalaska occur when someone gets into the wrong pick-up truck at the grocery store without realizing it. Not so this week. Over the course of 24 hours, two different men were arrested for stealing vehicles on the island while driving under the influence.
Governor Sean Parnell announced this year’s Permanent Fund Dividend this morning, and it comes out to $1,174. Payouts will occur on October 6th.
PFDs are based on the Alaska Permanent Fund’s average performance over five years. They’ve been on a decline since 2008, when a record amount of $2069 was paid out. Last year, the dividend was $1,281. The year before that, it was $1305.
The number of PFD applicants rose this year by 1 percent. About 676,000 Alaskans applied for the dividend, and so far, 628,000 of those applications have been approved. The total amount of money being paid out is about $760 million.
For the past few years, the City of Unalaska has been in a struggle with the Environmental Protection Agency over wastewater treatment. In June, the EPA filed a lawsuit for upward of $150 million against the city alleging that Unalaska had exceeded its wastewater discharge limits, with both the city and the State of Alaska pointing out that Unalaska’s Clean Water Act permit contained errors.
For about five years, scientists have been working on Aleutian Island Regional Marine Research Plan that takes into account the input of people who live and work in the region. Last weekend, one of the scientists behind the plan traveled to Unalaska to see what locals had to say about what issues should be studied out here.
A 6.1-magnitude earthquake was felt on Shemya just after 10am on Wednesday. Its epicenter was about 60 miles from the small Air Force base and about 20 from the unpopulated island of Attu. There have been no reports of injuries or damage.
The Aleutian Chain has seen a good deal of seismic activity in recent months. A 7.1-magnitude quake hit the central Aleutians in June, followed by a 6.8-magnitude aftershock in September. But according to seismologist Natasha Rupert with the Alaska Earthquake Information Center, today’s quake likely isn’t a related event.
After a spirited discussion, city council approved an ordinance that amends the budget in a variety of ways.
That ordinance allows the Department of Public Safety to accept drug forfeiture money and the Unalaska Public Library to receive a $15,000 Rasmuson grant to expand their collection. Additionally, the ordinance increased the Ballyhoo Road and Drainage project budget and transferred out $750,000 from two separate funds for its development. It also included one $59 housekeeping item involving the Carl E. Moses Small Boat Harbor Project. None of these components of the ordinance were controversial.
