Alcohol

A Palmer man last seen early Wednesday was found dead of apparent exposure in a wooded area later that evening, in what local police say may be an alcohol-involved incident. Palmer Police Cmdr. Lance Ketterling says William B. Oryall, 21, was last seen alive at about 3 a.m. Wednesday. He was reported missing by friends at about 6:15 p.m., and police launched a search in conjunction with concerned citizens and search and rescue volunteers. Oryall's body was found at 9:56 p.m., near the intersection of South Valley Way and East Cottonwood Avenue.

by The Associated Press Friday, April 23, 2010 BARROW, Alaska -- North Slope Borough authorities say officers caught a 23-year-old woman trying to import alcohol and marijuana into the village of Nuiqsut. According to a borough press release, officers in Prudhoe Bay received a report of a vehicle trying to enter the village with suspicious package under the spare tire. The borough says Laura Skin consented to a search of the vehicle and an officer found alcohol with an estimated street value of $1,100 and marijuana with a street value of $5,480.

Alaska State Troopers are investigating a weekend shooting in Grayling that caused an Anvik man to be medevaced to Anchorage, calling alcohol a “significant contributing factor” but not immediately identifying any suspects. According to a Monday AST dispatch, Bethel troopers learned about the shooting at 7:10 a.m. Saturday, accompanying a medevac flight to Grayling to investigate while a village public safety officer also headed to the village from Anvik. Responders learned that Chaz Walker, 19, was shot at about 6:30 a.m. in a local residence, where at least two adults and their small children were also present.

by Channel 2 News staff Sunday, January 31, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The Anchorage Police Department has released statistics about local traffic fatalities in the last 30 years. From 1980 to 2009, APD has investigated 589 fatal collisions, in which 637 people were killed. Police say alcohol was a factor in about 56 percent of the collisions. Five percent involved drug use, and nearly 11 percent involved both drugs and alcohol. In the five-year period from January 2005 to December 2009, APD has made more than 10,000 arrests for driving while intoxicated.

by Jason Lamb Monday, May 3, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Voters in the rural hub of Bethel will decide Tuesday on the future of alcohol in town. Many think the state should stay out of local liquor regulations, but others say the town needs the state laws. The vote is all about Bethel's participation in the state's local option program, which sets restrictions on how much alcohol people can fly in. Last year the town decided to no longer participate in the local option laws, lifting regulations limiting the amount of liquor residents can fly in. Tuesday the town heads to the polls to decide whether to reinstate those restrictions and go back to local option laws.

by Jason Lamb Tuesday, March 2, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Two big alcohol issues headlined a busy night at the Anchorage Assembly Tuesday. Dozens of people wanted Assembly members to know what they thought about regulating alcohol dependent housing and requiring ID checks at liquor stores. The Assembly approved new rules for alcohol dependent housing or the so-called "housing first" program for alcoholics. It includes mandatory distances from schools and public parks, but it wasn't the only alcohol related issue the Assembly took up. First was a proposal to require everyone buying alcohol at a package liquor store to show ID in an effort to stop those barred from buying any from getting away with it. Some of those who testified spoke out against the idea that liquor stores can check all IDs voluntarily.

After being shot and killed by an Anchorage police officer in Mountain View almost six weeks ago, toxicology reports show Shane Tasi was under the influence of alcohol and synthetic drugs. The report shows Tasi, 26, also had a blood-alcohol content in his system that was twice the 0.08 percent legal limit to operate a motor vehicle when he approached Officer Boaz Gionson with a 39-inch broken broom handle on June 9. Police say the combination of the marijuana and synthetic drug, which could be either Spice or K2, along with the alcohol explains a lot about Tasi's violent behavior that night.

Local police departments, Alaska State Troopers and U.S. Postal Inspectors are all part of a joint effort across Alaska to crack down on the illegal importation and sale of alcohol. Bootleggers most frequently smuggle alcohol into dry or damp communities through the postal service and airlines and law enforcement across the state frequently make busts.

Students of Chugiak High School simulated a fatal alcohol-related wreck as part of the “Every 15 Minutes” program on Wednesday. The program was created to alert teens of the startling statistic that every fifteen minutes, someone in the United States is killed in an alcohol-related collision. “Every 15 Minutes” features a two-day “hands on” simulation of the procedures that follow a fatal auto incident due to alcohol. The students used face paint and fake blood to allow their peers to see a more realistic tragedy.

Editor's Note: Video scenes of teenagers drinking alcohol are dramatizations. No alcohol was actually consumed. The teens volunteered their efforts to help promote awareness about underage drinking. When it comes to alcohol, Bethel is a community on a see-saw. Last October, voters decided to go wet. Tuesday they weighed in yet again on a measure to ban bars and liquor stores. The Rural Alaska community has a painful relationship with alcohol. Teen suicides are often attributed to alcohol and children as young as 10 are getting drunk.

Local police departments, Alaska State Troopers and U.S. Postal Inspectors are all part of a joint effort across Alaska to crack down on the illegal importation and sale of alcohol. Bootleggers most frequently smuggle alcohol into dry or damp communities through the postal service and airlines and law enforcement across the state frequently make busts.

The body of a Russian Mission snowmachiner missing for a week was found near Bethel Wednesday, with Alaska State Troopers saying alcohol is believed to have been a factor in his death. According to a Thursday AST dispatch, troopers were notified at about 7 p.m. Wednesday that Bethel Search and Rescue volunteers had found 32-year-old Harvey Pitka's body. The discovery was made about six and a half miles south of where Pitka's abandoned snowmachine had been found Monday, on the Woodcutters Trail about 30 miles northwest of Bethel.

A Palmer man last seen early Wednesday was found dead of apparent exposure in a wooded area later that evening, in what local police say may be an alcohol-involved incident. Palmer Police Cmdr. Lance Ketterling says William B. Oryall, 21, was last seen alive at about 3 a.m. Wednesday. He was reported missing by friends at about 6:15 p.m., and police launched a search in conjunction with concerned citizens and search and rescue volunteers. Oryall's body was found at 9:56 p.m., near the intersection of South Valley Way and East Cottonwood Avenue.

An Anchorage Assembly work session on Friday focused on what can be done about "bar break" downtown. Depending on the day of the week, patrons exit the bars when they shut down at 2:30 or 3 in the morning, and they end up on the street in a highly condensed crowd. Some Anchorage residents say that's a major source of danger in the city, and they would like to lessen the amount of intoxicated people on the street together. Assemblyman Patrick Flynn proposed moving the last call for alcohol an hour earlier, and letting patrons filter out until the current closing time, rather than kicking everyone out at once.

Alaska State Troopers are investigating a weekend shooting in Grayling that caused an Anvik man to be medevaced to Anchorage, calling alcohol a “significant contributing factor” but not immediately identifying any suspects. According to a Monday AST dispatch, Bethel troopers learned about the shooting at 7:10 a.m. Saturday, accompanying a medevac flight to Grayling to investigate while a village public safety officer also headed to the village from Anvik. Responders learned that Chaz Walker, 19, was shot at about 6:30 a.m. in a local residence, where at least two adults and their small children were also present.

When Karluk Manor opened its doors on December 8 th last year, some of the new tenants, who had spent years on the streets of Anchorage homeless, wondered if they were in a dream.  The shiny floors and the newly furnished kitchenettes welcomed them. Out of a waiting list of 150 residents, 46 were chosen. They were considered among the most hard core of Anchorage's street alcoholics, known by police and others who work with this population as “frequent flyers,” because they spend many nights in hospital emergency rooms or at the sleep off center.  Here at Karluk Manor, which is operated by RurAL CAP, they would be allowed to drink alcohol, in hopes that a warm and safe place to stay, would stabilize them and help them drink less.  For some like Ed, who wants to be identified only by his first name, this has been the case.   Ed says homelessness was a cycle that spurred him to drink more, so that he could get picked up by the Community Service Patrol, especially on cold nights.

Alcohol treatment and homeless experts in Anchorage say there's a segment of the homeless population that's growing more troubled and harder to help, because the people in this group almost always have  a combination of  brain damage from chronic alcoholism and mental illness.  They say that while social service agencies recognize this, the general public doesn't.  That's why many parishioners at the Holy Family Cathedral in downtown Anchorage were...

According to a new report from McDowell Group, an Alaska research and consulting firm, alcohol and drug abuse took a heavy toll on Alaska's economy in 2010. The report was funded by the Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, Alaska Mental Health Board, and the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority. The total estimated costs for 2010 attributed to alcohol and drug abuse was $1.2 billion. Costs by category include: $673.2 million in productivity losses $50.5 million in traffic crash costs $217.7 million in criminal justice and protective services $237.3 million in health care $13.2 million in public assistance and social services "This report puts the devastating impact of substance abuse on our state into concrete terms," said Kate Burkhart, executive director of the Alaska Mental Health Board and Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse.

A man who was found unconscious without breathing or a pulse after a Barrow crash Monday was resuscitated and is being treated in Anchorage, according to a Tuesday statement from North Slope Borough police. The crash, at the intersection of Karluk and C Streets, was reported by a Detective Sergeant Sundai, who noticed that one of the drivers -- 21-year-old Michael Toovak -- was unresponsive. Officers, along with a man named Peter Williams, immediately began CPR; Toovak's normal breathing and heartbeat resumed shortly thereafter.

After being shot and killed by an Anchorage police officer in Mountain View almost six weeks ago, toxicology reports show Shane Tasi was under the influence of alcohol and synthetic drugs. The report shows Tasi, 26, also had a blood-alcohol content in his system that was twice the 0.08 percent legal limit to operate a motor vehicle when he approached Officer Boaz Gionson with a 39-inch broken broom handle on June 9. Police say the combination of the marijuana and synthetic drug, which could be either Spice or K2, along with the alcohol explains a lot about Tasi's violent behavior that night.