Cordova

A plane crash in Cordova Friday morning ended up with minor injuries and what the National Guard says is an example of everything going right after a crash. Troopers say the Supercub had been traveling with a Taylorcraft sightseeing when the Supercub tried to land on the beach at Okalee Spit, about 50 miles southeast of Cordova when the wing clipped the beach, and the plane crashed. The National Guard says two people were aboard the plane, the pilot, 27-year-old William Bredin and 21-year-old Lisa Yates, both of Anchorage.

Cordova residents woke up Wednesday to rain that had turned a lot of the city's heavy snowfall snow into slush, causing several inches of water to accumulate on the roads. Temperatures reached into the upper 30s, prompting fears of an avalanche on the Copper River Highway. The state Department of Transportation shut down the highway Tuesday night, but by mid-morning Wednesday traffic was allowed back through with an escort. "The avalanche shoot has filled up with snow," said Cordova Public Information Officer Tim Joyce.

Residents in Cordova will soon have an impressive place to gather for meetings and city events with its new city center. The building will house city offices, a museum, the library, and it will also have space for performances in its location along 1st Street in downtown Cordova. The city has planned the center for more than a decade, but it was only in the past few years that the city was able to come up with the money. “This stems out of the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the city of Cordova was very negatively affected by that and this is a goal to sort of help the community rebuild part of that economic base that we lost in that oil spill,” Cordova City Manager, Mark Lynch said.

During the next several days millions of shorebirds will migrate north, with hundreds of thousands stopping in Cordova to eat and rest. The annual tradition has evolved into the Copper River Delta Shorebird Festival, which started in 1990 -- with this year's event beginning Thursday. It's described as a “boutique” festival because only about 100 to 200 additional people will fly or take a ferry to the small city. Most will be birders or photographers. A majority of the shorebirds that fly into Cordova to eat along Hartney Bay are Dunlins, black oystercatchers, greater yellowlegs and Wilson's snipe.

The Anchorage Police Department said the Eddie Dean Trammell, the Cordova Center escapee, was arrested Tuesday night. Lt. Dave Parker, APD Public Information Officer, said the 50-year-old Trammell, an unsentenced felon, was found around 9:30 p.m. in the area of 72nd Avenue and Obrien Street in south Anchorage. Police released a photo of Trammell on July 21st - a day after an alleged kidnapping and carjacking of 18-year-old Devin Walsh, of South Anchorage , that shutdown the Seward Highway while APD searched for a suspect.

by Ted Land Sunday, March 22, 2009 CORDOVA, Alaska -- There are two types of fishermen in Cordova: Those who appreciate the attention and want the world to hear their story and the challenges they still face, and those who would rather forget. "Angry, hurt, visually distressed -- a lot of people just can't even talk about it now," said Rochelle Van Den Broeck, executive director of Cordova District Fishermen United. Twenty years after the Exxon Valdez run aground on Bligh reef, this mining settlement turned fishing town is in some ways still trying to recover.

by Jason Lamb Wednesday, May 12, 2010 CORDOVA, Alaska -- A salmon fishing frenzy began Thursday in the Copper River Delta as the first salmon of the season return to Alaska's waters. The opener draws hundreds of fishermen to the town of Cordova every year. Fishermen spent all day Wednesday getting ready. On all of their minds is the dismal salmon season from last year. They're hoping for better results this time around. Thursday, Pip Fillingham will get to do what he loves.

The first commercial opener on the Copper River resulted in a good catch for fishermen brave enough to face strong winds, rain and fifteen foot swells. Processors took in more than seventy five thousand sockeye salmon or about half of last year's catch on the first day of the season, according to Fish and Game. Shortly after arriving at processors in Cordova, the salmon were boxed and sent out for a global market eager to serve up the wild Alaska fish. On Friday, Copper River seafoods delivered fresh salmon to several stores including Costco, Sam's Club and Fred Meyer as well as several restaurants in town.

Several months after its sale, the Cordova Times newspaper, according to locals, is thriving. Last year it was one of several publications that Calista, an Alaska native corporation, decided to shed from its portfolio of assets. The local news business was "not supportive of the company's long-term financial interests," a press release read at the time. A lot of people in small Alaska towns like Cordova wondered where they'd get their fix of local stories, photos, and gossip.

Cordova City officials say since record breaking snow has now turned into heavy rain, flooding and avalanches are now their major concern as a state of emergency continued in the Prince William Sound community Sunday. More than 70 Alaska National Guardsmen arrived in Cordova Sunday evening. It is the first time in a "long time" where the state emergency operation center has requested the National Guard to assist a community in a disaster, said Maj. Gen. Thomas Katkus at a press briefing Sunday.