Where in the World is Dennis Zaki?
17 01 2009Thanks to outstanding fundraising efforts, our intrepid videographer, Dennis Zaki is packed up and ready to go to Emmonak to put the eyes of the wider community on Alaska’s rural energy crisis. He’s actually been packed up and ready to go for a couple days now. He’ll be flying in to Bethel, and traveling on from there. But the airport in Bethel has been closed due to inclement weather and blowing snow. He’s had two flights cancelled already…so he sits and waits for a third.
I got an email from him saying that he was currently waiting it out at Jay Hammond Airport. “Jay Hammond Airport?” I thought to myself. “Where is that?” I asked spouse. “Jay Hammond Airport? Hmmm. I don’t know….maybe Bethel?” Jay Hammond, for those of you who don’t know, was a bush pilot who became a well-loved governor of Alaska from 1974-1982.
I jotted a quick email to Dennis. “Where the hell is Jay Hammond Airport?” Send.
After Googling “Jay Hammond Airport”, I realized that all references to Jay Hammond Airport came from people making suggestions about what to rename the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, after Ted’s recent seven felony convictions. And yes, the appeal process looks to be far from over, but nonetheless many stand with chisels at the ready.
Sure enough, an almost immediate return email popped up in my box, “The soon to be renamed Ted Stevens Airport.”
Apparently, Dennis, like me, is someone who thinks that would be a swell idea.
I will keep you posted as I know more.
UPDATE – The flight to Bethel was cancelled again. He’s going to give it one more shot tomorrow, and if that doesn’t work, he’ll be flying straight to Emmonak on Monday. Keep your fingers crossed!
January 17th, 2009 at 6:41 PM
What worries me is whether anybody has made contact with Tucker? If Dennis Zak, who is so determined to get there, can’t get flown in – what about any oil shipments making it in? People were also making direct donations via telephone & credit cards, so presumably the Village had money to start ordering some fuel.
Per ADN: “And we want to know if the community itself — if anything fell between the cracks, between (the power-cost equalization subsidy program), energy rebate checks that were sent to each individual.”
I don’t even LIVE in your state, but even I heard about the early freeze blocking out the Villages’ oil shipment. Maybe someone ought to clue the Gov? Yeah, I know, she’s just trying to squirm out of responsibility for governing via Blackberry.
January 17th, 2009 at 7:01 PM
Kath the Scrappy from SeattleNo Gravatar (18:41:36) :
she’s just trying to squirm out of responsibility for governing via Blackberry.
————
Sarah’s not governing by anything much less by Blackberry.
Now, Obama, he’s governing by Blackberry. Thank God. Hope he makes them let him keep it.
January 17th, 2009 at 7:30 PM
Kath – yeah – I guess everytime you flushed……..you would think of Bush………
January 17th, 2009 at 8:37 PM
@ austintx
Giggle!
January 17th, 2009 at 9:18 PM
Kath, I think they have fuel at the village tank farm. It’s just that people don’t have the money to buy it.
If Jay Hammond was still gov (jeeze, what a lovely fantasy), this whole mess wouldn’t have happened in the first place. Jay would have known that the king run had failed. (Jay & Bella fished a setnet site out in Naknek.) And Jay would have listened to Walt Monegan in July and done something to head off the certain disaster.
Is Sarah asking what people blew their $1200 fuel checks on? They probably blew it on fuel.
Let’s see, at $7.50/gal, $1200 would buy 160 gallons. That’s enough to last maybe six or eight weeks, if you live in a poorly insulated plywood hooch, like many villagers do. We’re using a drum (55 gallons) a month in a well insulated basement in The Banana Belt of Alaska, where the climate is mild. (We can’t afford to heat the whole house, so we’re living in the basement.)
You mudpuppies are amazing. I’m very proud of you guys for stepping up to do the obvious thing — care for brothers and sisters who need a hand.
January 17th, 2009 at 9:26 PM
@ grewingk (21:18:51) :
Kath, I think they have fuel at the village tank farm. It’s just that people don’t have the money to buy it.
- – -
Thank you! I’ll sleep better tonight. Money’s not as useful if you can’t get the fuel on a cold night.
January 18th, 2009 at 3:16 AM
Mayfly – Hi – and greetings from the NE GA mountains! No, I learned about Emmonak from right here on the Mudflats.
January 18th, 2009 at 5:00 AM
When you’re finished renaming your airport, could you help us re-rename ours? Most DC residents still refuse to call it “Reagan” National Airport.
Thanks!
January 18th, 2009 at 5:40 AM
there are not enough eloquent word to describe Gov. Hammond. HONESTLY… I have never found a Alaskan politician with the level of honor and dignity of Jay.. Just talking about him gives me crocodile tears.. Once in a while someone with EXCEPTIONAL QUALITY”S comes along and JAY was one of them… Oh How I miss our beloved Jay Hammond.
He would have made one GREAT president..
January 18th, 2009 at 6:05 AM
I remember and liked Mr. Hammond very well AKM,,opppsss,just told my age,,:}
January 18th, 2009 at 12:15 PM
I understand the weather situation and the lack of roads…but why hasn’t there been more information coming out of Emmonak from phones, radios, emails and/or blogs?
Pictures from cell phones?
I understand the mail hasn’t arrived with checks and supplies, but have electronic donations been available for the residents yet?
What are the other communities that may be experiencing the same situation? Are there contact people there?
I’m curious as how we can have a video interview from a cell phone in Sudan, but it takes a week to get any information from a city in distress in the US.
January 20th, 2009 at 5:47 AM
Sad to hear that the people Emmonak are having so many financial troubles considering the 6 CDQ groups had revenues of around $160,000,000 last year. I don’t understand why a greater majority of Alaskans are not writing the uninformed Governor and our AK delegation to ask the the CDQ group in Norton Sound to start using the some of that money to provide for villagers. What’s going on in AK, Ted Stevens made sure that there were millions to support the West Coast of AK, so where’s the money going?