Alaska Digest, 1/31/11

You Alway Shoot The One You Love Dept.:

A birthday party in Nenana turned ugly late Saturday after two sisters began fighting, one fled to the bathroom, and the other then shot through the bathroom door, Alaska State Troopers said.

Sisters Jean Tritt, 52, and Marion Peter, 51, were celebrating the birthday of Tritt's young child, and both women had been drinking, troopers said.

Anyone surprised by that last statement? Anyone? Bueller?

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Sometimes Good Guys (and Gals) Finish First Dept.:

Entering her 33rd year as a musher, DeeDee Jonrowe has a long and storied career with many accomplishments: three runner-up Iditarod finishes in the '90s, a Copper Basin 300 victory in 2001, and, perhaps her biggest wins, returning to the trails after a near- fatal car crash in 1996 and beating breast cancer in 2002. Jonrowe can add a Tustumena 200 title to her resume after crossing the finish line with her full team at Tustumena Lodge with a time of 27 hours, 7 minutes to best a 14-team field.

DeeDee's a perennial favorite, always racing in pink. Good on you, ma'am.

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Life Is Good Dept.:

When comedian and singer Rodney Carrington visited Fairbanks, he took a short trip on a dogsled with musher Mike King of Salcha.

Carrington enjoyed himself that day in late November and told King he wanted to buy some food for the musher's dogs as a tip, King tells KUAC-FM. 
King was thinking small, but Carrington was thinking big. 

The comedian arranged to have 165 bags of dog food, weighing more than 6,600 pounds, given to King, enough to feed his 60-dog kennel for months. Another member of Carrington's entourage donated an additional 600 pounds of food.

 Read more at the link.

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Something's Falling But It's Not The Sky Dept.: 

Four skiers have been rescued after being caught up in an avalanche Saturday in mountains south of Anchorage, state troopers said.

~ snip ~

The injuries involved broken bones and hypothermia, said trooper spokeswoman Beth Ipsen.

Besides the troopers, agencies that responded include state wildlife troopers, the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group and the Nordic Ski Patrol. Two LifeMed helicopters were staged in the lodge parking lot, and the troopers' Helo 1, with four mountain rescue group members, were staged on the lake.

Lucky folks.

Read more at the links.