Delta Junction guys help move a building at Mentasta Village some years ago.  Photo Charlie Atwell.

Sunset at the Will Memorial near Ft. Greely. 
 Photo courtesy Kay Eaton.

A new computer virus called "Bubbleboy" has surfaced on the Internet.  It is especially dangerous because it is not necessary even to open an e-mail attachment for the virus to run.

In the past, experts have advised caution in opening e-mail attachments.  This new virus can cause problems merely by opening an e-mail message.....but apparently only for users of certain software systems.  The virus apparently works only on IBM compatible machines, and only machines that use Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express, and then only with certain software configurations.  

MSNBC News reported that "The virus only affects Microsoft Outlook users with Internet Explorer 5.0, and only if Windows Scripting Host is installed (standard in Windows 98 and Windows 2000 installations)."

A "patch" is available from Microsoft that will eliminate this vulnerability.  

Thanks to Fern Harkness who originally pointed out the new virus.  

David Johnson -- November 11, 1999

Delta Deep Freeze Classic Now In Play

Delta Junction may not be THE coldest place in North America -- Snag, Yukon holds that dubious distinction -- but it gets PLENTY cold in this little town at the end of the Alaska Highway.

In fact, when the wind is not blowing, Delta Junction can be one of the coldest places in the Interior during the winter. When the wind IS blowing, which seems pretty often, it just FEELS like the coldest place in Alaska.

To turn the cold into a bit of a game, the Delta Chamber of Commerce came up with the Delta Deep Freeze Classic back in1996. It’s like the Nenana Ice Classic, but the action happens smack in the middle of the deep cold of winter.

While the game is popular in Delta (the winner gets half the pot!), anyone over 21 can participate. Deep Freeze Classic tickets cost two dollars. The tickets are available at several merchants in Delta and Fairbanks. With the ticket in hand, you just write the date and time between December 1, 1999 and February 29, 2000 that you will believe will be the coldest winter moment in Delta Junction. You then drop the ticket in an official Deep Freeze Classic can not later than November 15.

If you cannot get to a Deep Freeze Classic can and would like to enter, call the Delta Chamber of Commerce at 907-895-5068. The Chamber staff will help you obtain however many tickets you would like.

Deep Freeze cans are located in Fairbanks at Dateline Copies, Garden Island Party Store, Gary’s Jewelers, Gavora Liquor Store, the Oaken Keg (College Rd store), Shopper’s Forum Liquor, and Thrifty Liquor. In Delta, the cans are at the Buffalo Center Diner, Acacia Floral, Alaska 7 Motel, Alaskan Steakhouse and Motel, Buffalo Center Diner, Debbie’s Wonderful Pull Tabs, Delta Meat and Sausage, Delta Texaco, Diehl’s Shopping C enter, Golden Valley Electric Association, Granite View Sports and Gifts, Help Secretarial, Jack’s Liquor, Mt. Hayes Inc. Realtors, Video Unlimited, and Wild Alaska.net.

The Delta Junction Visitor Center is outfitted with a computerized weather system that records the temperature every minute of every hour of every day from December 1 through February 29. A lighted sign in the Delta Visitor Center window displays the current temperature up to the minute. You can follow the plummeting mercury in Delta on the Delta News Web, or look for periodic updates in the newspaper.

At the end of the winter, the coldest temperature is matched with the closest entry ticket. The Deep Freeze Classic is in its fourth year. Previous coldest dates and winner's purses are: 1996/97 -- minus 55.4 F on January 7, 1997 at 10:09 AM ($2064), 1997/98 -- minus 51.6 F on January 4, 1998 at 6:12 PM ($3035), and 1998/99 -- minus 57.4 F on February 3, 1999 at 9:24 PM ($3150)

This picture is from Sevenmile Lake on the Denali Hwy. Ready-to-spawn Lake trout from Sevenmile Lake are captured every other year and their eggs used to supplement the fish-stocking program. The eggs are incubated at the State Hatchery at Fort Richardson. They are raised there to about 4 inches in length and brought back to the Interior to stock into lakes. For example, lake trout are stocked in Chet, Crystal, Four Mile, Ghost, Nickel, Paul's and Rapid Lake near Delta Junction.

This is a renewable source since eggs are taken from live fish. 80,000 eggs this year were taken from about 90 females. The process involves introducing slight air pressure into the lake trout's abdomen via a hypodermic needle (attached by hose to an O2 tank), resulting in a quick extraction of the eggs through the vent. These egg-takes have been done since 1991. 

Sampling for lake trout in Fielding Lake started in 1998 to determine the population over a three-year period. Each fish sampled is given a small identification tag near the dorsal fin. These tagged fish examined repeatedly over the three years will give us an estimate of population size. 

Duane Petty (l.) and Fred Wood ice fishing at Quart Lake in late winter, 1998.  Ice fishermen should always check ice thickness before venturing out.  See another picture below.  Photo courtesy of Mike Rawalt.  November 22, 1999

Brian, Leo, Danielle and Brittany Palmer ice fishing on Quartz Lake.  Photo courtesy of Mike Rawalt.

Family Thanksgiving Dinner

Delta Christian Center is inviting the Delta/Greely community to a family dinner at 3 PM on Thanksgiving Day. A short play and other activities will follow the meal.

"The only thing you need to bring is an appetite," said senior pastor Curtis Taylor. "We will have turkey and all the trimmings, vegetables, and dessert."

"It’s going to be a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, just like mom used to make."

Pastor Taylor said everyone is welcome: singles with or without kids, couples…."everyone!"

"We’ve been working on a short play called "Daddy’s Song," he said. "After the play we’ll have some family skits, singing and other fun."

Delta Christian Center is located at 4-1/2 mile Jack Warren Road. "We can even pick people up who don’t have transportation," Pastor Taylor said. The church telephone is 895-4531.

David Johnson - November 22, 1999

The National Institute of Standards and Technology and the US Naval Observatory have teamed up to establish a new website that should help dispel problems about what time it REALLY is.  The website has a digital type clock that gives the official US Government time for all American time zones.

If your browser displays Java objects, this website will show a digital clock that keeps ticking the time....supposedly accurate to within a little more than a second.  If you cannot use Java, there is a non-animated version.

We have included a permanent link on this page just above community news.

David Johnson -- November 11, 1999