The Sheep Mountain 150 Sled Dog Race was held this past weekend. Jessica Hendricks of Two Rivers took first place while Talkeetna’s Gerry Sousa received an injury that forced him out of the race. Allen Moore of Two Rivers, Hans Gatt of Whitehorse and Jon Little of Kasilof all came in right behind Hendricks and within nine minutes of each other.

Gerry Sousa of Talkeetna scratched, along with Jayne Hempstead, Kathleen Fredrick and Mike Suprenant. Sousa said he got dragged by his team about 300 yards after they pulled the snow hook. Damage to his knee was great enough that he had to scratch. He said he is disappointed and thinks this year’s team is one of the strongest yet. He hopes to recover from his injury soon and plans on running the 2009 Iditarod.

Some of the top finishers of the Iditarod were also in the race, but finished further down. Jeff King came in fifth, Ken Anderson was 11th, Ally Zirkle was 12th and Dee Dee Jonrowe was 17th.

The race started Saturday with a 50 mile run to Eureka Lodge. Mushers had a 5 hour layover, then a 50 mile loop around the Lodge and then another 5 hour layover. Sunday mushers returned to Sheep Mountain Lodge.

Hendricks was Rookie of the Year in the 2003 Iditarod. She says she doesn’t have the money to compete in either the Quest or the Iditarod this year and will focus on mid distance races.

The Food Banks of Trapper Creek, Sunshine and Talkeetna ran short at Thanksgiving. It is projected another shortage will occur at Christmas, not only in the Upper Valley, but around Alaska.

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Residents of East Talkeetna and Talkeetna businesses received notice with their water and sewer bills this past month that arsenic levels are exceeding EPA levels. However, the levels are so close to the guidelines, officials say there should not be alarm. They are working on getting a filter for the system. (more…)

The Mat-Su Borough has 6 new ambulances which will be added to its fleet. The funding comes from both state and Borough funds. Area legislators were thanked by the Mat-Su Borough for their assistance in obtaining the new technology.

The ambulances cost roughly $140,000 each and will be stationed in Houston, Palmer, Sutton, Meadow Lakes and two in the Central Wasilla district.

The ambulances replace older units with high mileage and those with 2 wheel drive.

The fire chief of Meadow Lakes/Big Lake Fire Department, Bill Gamble, said the new state-of-the-art equipment shows support for the on-call responders, most who have other jobs elsewhere.

Nuggets host Wendy Battino speaks with local artist and homesteader Curt Wagner about his life and work in the northern Susitna Valley.

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(MP3, 30 min)

Residents of the Chase area say it’s a bit confusing to have 2 different organizations for the same area. The Chase Community Council is the organized council recognized by the Mat-Su Borough. The Clear Creek Chase Homeowners Association is an organization that includes not only residents but all property owners.

The Board of Directors newly-elected to the Clear Creek Chase HOA are Jeff Davis, Lee Hudson (Anchorage), Shawna Olson, Mike Sterling, Robert Sheldon (Anchorage), Don Tanner and Bev Tanner. There were about 2 dozen people in attendance at the meeting to vote.

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“Home for the Hostilities” is a show first produced in Minneapolis. The show will run for 9 nights in Talkeetna. Attendees get a ticket discount by bringing goods for the Food Bank.

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Along with several news organizations, National Public Radio (NPR) has announced cutbacks.

NPR has announced plans to reduce 7% of its workforce and cancel two shows — Day to Day and News & Notes.

There will be an elimination of 64 filled and 21 unfilled positions, many of which are associated with the two programs to be canceled.

According to NPR, neither program was attracting sufficient levels of audience or national underwriting necessary. Day to Day will continue to be broadcast until March 2009. KTNA currently plans to air the show it until it expires.

The Bachelor Society raised a record amount of money on Saturday which will go to help fund the Women and Children in Crisis, managed by the Sunshine Health Center.

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(MP3)