The Tripod Falls, Again

Ice Moves in the Nenana Ice Classic

By Rachel D'oro Associated Press Writer
Published: Apr 24, 2004

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Mother Nature picked the winning numbers for the 88th Nenana Ice Classic on Saturday, melting the ice on the Tanana River enough to move it downstream.

Organizers of the popular yearly game of chance said there were six correct guesses for the winning time of 2:16 p.m. Each $2.50 ticket is worth a sixth of $301,000 jackpot - $50,166.66, or $36,120 once federal taxes are taken out.

A tripod erected on the ice is connected by wire to a clock on shore to detect the ice movement in Nenana, a community of 500 about 55 miles south of Fairbanks.

Organizers did not release the names of winners, but said they bought tickets in Anchorage, Juneau, North Pole and the Fairbanks area.

The jackpot, determined by the number of tickets sold, has reached $300,000 for the last several years. At least 50 percent of gross ticket sales is placed in the jackpot, with the rest going to expenses and to charities or nonprofit organizations in Nenana.

Last year, a pool of 19 winners shared a $301,000 jackpot when the ice went out at 6:22 p.m. on April 29.

The earliest the ice has gone out is April 20, in 1940 and 1998. The latest is May 20, 1964.

AP-ES-04-24-04 2215EDT

Ummm...Wouldn't this be characterized as torture?

"Only after such time as Padilla has perceived that help is not on the way can the United States reasonably expect to obtain all possible intelligence information from Padilla," from a declaration by the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Vice Adm. Lowell E. Jacoby, stating that Mr. Padilla was unlikely to cooperate if he thought a lawyer was trying to free him.
Read the New York Times story on Jose Padilla (remember him? The "dirty bomb" guy?)American Terror Suspect's Path From Streets to Pentagon Brig and form your own conclusions.

Mystery of Marshall crucifix is an article of faith

By Jeffrey Hope
KTUU-TV
Updated: 4:46 a.m. ET April 23, 2004

April 21 - Some say it's a spiritual awakening. Others are calling it a miracle. Ever since an Easter vigil service, things haven't been quite the same in the small Yup'ik village of Marshall. Whatever happened, a statue of the crucified Christ is changing lives.

Marshall, a village of a few hundred year-round residents, sits on a quiet slough of the Yukon River. There are no roads to get to it. The few trucks in town came here by barge. One store serves the entire village, and there are two churches -- a Russian Orthodox church and a Catholic church. That's where things haven't been quite the same since Easter.

"Some people think this is a miracle, which is good," says Angelina Coffee, a Eucharistic minister.

Miracle or not, the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church has become as busy as a post office. A crucifix of Jesus has always been respected, but now it's the talk of the village.

Church members say it started during an Easter vigil service. Someone thought they saw the painted blood on the statue turn to real blood. Most missed it, but, after the service, church members crowded around the crucifix. Even longtime members agreed it looked different.(more)

The Marshall, Alaska Crucifix

Photo courtesy of Sophie Jacob. It was taken on a Sony MVC-CD400 on April 21, 2004 in the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Marshall, Alaska.

I've got GMail

Suckers.