Alaska Beat

AK Beat: Greasy bear leads to citation on JBER

Greasy bear leads to JBER citation: A Wasilla man faces a minor bear-feeding citation this week after a bear got into used cooking grease he intended to use as biodiesel fuel, stored at Little Dipper RV Storage on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in July. A storage lot manager called base operations staff July 29 when she found the bear had dug a hole under the lot's fence to get to the cooking oil, and a game warden discovered about a dozen containers "chewed up, smashed and drug throughout" the area, according to the citation against Justin Farr. When the warden called Farr to have him clean up the mess so the bear would not return, Farr complained and asked to talk to the warden's manager. The manager came and explained why Farr was getting a citation, filed in federal court Wednesday.

Bad month to be a bear in Seward: October started off badly for the bears of Seward, Alaska, a small community on a big bay about 100 miles south of Anchorage, the largest city in the state. A bear that started smashing cars outside Spring Creek Correctional Center, most likely in a search for food, was shot by Seward police on Oct. 6, according to the Seward City News. The paper reported the staff at the state's maximum-security prison believed it to be a frequent visitor they had named "Clyde,'' but police later came to a different conclusion. "They now suspect that the bear they shot may have been a female because they have received reports of three lone cubs in the area, too young to be on their own,'' the newspaper said. Three days later, with authorities still wondering about what to do with those cubs, a young black bear wandered into town and a policeman tried to scare it with what is called a "cracker shell.'' That projectile is supposed to hit the ground near a bear, make a big bang, and scare the animal away. But this cracker shell, the paper reported, hit the bear in the stomach from a distance of eight feet, penetrated the animals body cavity, went through its diaphragm, clipped its lungs and exploded. That bear was a confirmed kill. The other bear is also believed to have died.

Interior warms, Anchorage soaks: Fairbanks is in for some relatively warm and windy weather this week, the National Weather Service wrote on its Facebook page. Temperatures 10 to 15 degrees above the seasonal normal are forecast, making the Interior city in for temperatures around 45 to 50 degrees Wednesday. Wind advisories on the Parks and Richardson Highways are in effect with gusts up to 65 mph through the passes of the Alaska Range. Meanwhile, Anchorage is in for rain all week. Wet weather is forecast through Sunday in Alaska's largest city. So far, no snow is in the forecast.

Police report hit-and-run death: Anchorage police said a 36-year-old man was killed after what appears to be a hit-and-run collision on the Old Seward Highway in Anchorage early Wednesday. Around 3 a.m. police received reports of a body lying in the northbound lanes of the Old Seward near 69th Avenue. Police did not release the man's name as they were still notifying his next of kin. Police spokeswoman Jennifer Castro would not say if the man was believed to be an Anchorage resident or how long police think his body had been in the roadway. Castro asked that anyone with information on the man's death call police at 786-8900.

Supporting art for Shishmaref children: John Gourley, of the Alaska rock group Portugal. The Man, is selling T-shirts to help support the children of Shishmaref, near the Bering Strait. According to the band member's website, the fund-raiser was established after Gourley visited the tiny Alaska town and learned about the people's connection to art and their struggle to get supplies to the isolated community. The Alaska rock star is selling 200 shirts and all of the proceeds will go toward buying art supplies to ship to the local elementary school.

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