Lost Lake Tribune March 30th

Alaska's Mount Redoubt Doesn't Endanger Anchorage - Alaska's Mount Redoubt volcano erupted six times, sending an ash plume more than 9 miles into the air in the volcano's first emissions in nearly 20 years. Residents in the state's largest city were spared from falling ash, though fine gray dust fell Monday morning on small communities north of Anchorage. "It's coming down," Rita Jackson, 56, said Monday morning at a 24-hour grocery store in Willow, about 50 miles north of Anchorage. She slid her fingers across the hood of her car, through a dusting of ash. Ash from Alaska's volcanoes is like a rock fragment with jagged edges and has been used as an industrial abrasive. It can injure skin, eyes and breathing passages. The young, the elderly and people with respiratory problems are especially susceptible to ash-related health problems. Ash can also cause damage engines in planes, cars and other vehicles. Alaska Airlines on Monday canceled 19 flights because of the ash. In-state carrier Era Aviation canceled four, and Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage kept 60 planes, including fighter jets, cargo aircraft and a 747 commercial plane, in shelters. Five of 20 Alaska state senators were scheduled on the morning flight from Anchorage to Juneau, which was canceled. As a result, consideration of legislation, including a resolution accepting federal stimulus funds, was delayed. The first eruption, in a sparsely populated area across Cook Inlet from the Kenai Peninsula, occurred at 10:38 p.m. Sunday. The sixth happened happened at 7:41 p.m. Monday, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory. The wind took the ash cloud away from Anchorage, toward Willow and Talkeetna, near Mount McKinley, North America's largest mountain. There were reports of a quarter-inch of ash in Trapper Creek and up to a half-inch at a lakeside lodge near Skwentna. Dave Stricklan, a hydrometeorogical technician with the National Weather Service, expected very fine ash. "Just kind of a light dusting," he said. He said the significant amount of ash probably dropped immediately, right down the side of the volcano. "The heavier stuff drops out very quickly, and then the other stuff filters out. There's going to be a very fine amount of it that's going to be suspended in the atmosphere for quite some time," he said. "The finer ash is going to travel farther, and any ash can affect aviation safety." Jackson said she was taking a sip of coffee when she tasted something funny on her lips — ash. She was experiencing other affects, too. "My eyes are itching really bad," she said as she hurried to get out of the store and to her car. Jackson, who unexpectedly got the day off, left the grocery store to secure a motorcycle, snowmachine and vehicles under protective blue tarps at home. The 10,200-foot Redoubt Volcano, roughly 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, last erupted during a four-month period from 1989-90. In its last eruption, Redoubt sent ash 150 miles away into the path of a KLM jet and its four engines flamed out. The jet dropped more than 2 miles before the crew was able to restart all engines and land safely. The plane required $80 million in repairs. The volcano became restless earlier this year. The observatory had warned in late January that an eruption could occur at any time. Increased earthquake activity over the past 48 hours prompted scientists to raise the alert level for Mount Redoubt on Sunday. On Sunday morning, 40 to 50 earthquakes were being recorded every hour. A steam plume rising about 1,000 feet above the mountain peak was observed Saturday. Three seismometers on the mountain were damaged in the eruption but seven others remained in place, said observatory geophysicist John Power. The observatory planned a helicopter flight to the mountain Monday afternoon to sample ash, repair equipment and monitor flooding along the Drift River, which flows from a glacier of the same name. Power said the history of past eruptions of Redoubt indicate the volcano could erupt again in the next few days or weeks. "It's something we need to stay prepared for," he said. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,510100,00.html MICHIGAN STATE WILL GO TO THE FINAL FOUR AGAIN- Michigan State rose slowly Sunday, then raged like a great, green storm at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Spartans enveloped the NCAA Tournament's No. 1 overall seed in a second-half flurry that dispatched the Louisville Cardinals and won the Midwest Regional championship game. And as quickly as it arose, it was over, 64-52 Spartans. Except for the shouting. And the crying. And the hugging. "Final Four. Final Four. Final Four. Final Four," fans behind the Spartans bench chanted. Tough guy coach Tom Izzo dabbed at his tears. Magic Johnson, "Mr. Michigan State," moved onto the court and began clamping his homeboys in bear hugs, one after another. "Detroit, here we come," bellowed Izzo, who has the Spartans in the Final Four for the fifth time in the past 11 years. Holy homecoming. Of the 16 players on the MSU roster, nine are Michigan residents. Kalin Lucas, successor to Magic and Mateen Cleaves, point guards who led the Spartans to the 1979 and 2000 national championships, is from Sterling Heights. His home is a 10-minute drive from Ford Field, where the Spartans (30-6) will meet West Regional champion Connecticut (31-4) on Saturday in a national semifinal. "Yeah," Lucas said with a quiet smile, "it's a home game." The last team to play in the Final Four in its home state was Duke, a title-game loser to Arkansas in Charlotte, N.C., in 1994. Bosnian center Goran Suton was the Spartans' offense during the first half. He scored 17 of their first 25 points and finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and the regional's Most Outstanding Player Award, if reluctantly. "I was a little tentative . . . especially the first five minutes," Suton said. "Coach pulled me aside and told me to shoot the ball or he was going to take me out. I had no choice but to shoot." With Suton flashing open and bombing from the high post, the Spartans led 30-27 at halftime. Then everything fell into place. Trailing 34-32, Michigan State hit six consecutive shots, the last three by sophomore Durrell Summers. The 14-3 run put the Spartans in charge at 46-37, and they would boss the boards and dominate both ends of the court while charging to a 64-47 advantage. Perhaps two-thirds of the crowd of 36,084, the fourth largest to see a regional final, was pulling for Louisville (31-6). As Cardinals fans began pouring toward the exits, the aisles looked like so many red rivers. Louisville's 13-game winning streak was dead. "It was a grind-'em game," said Cardinals coach Rick Pitino, his team a regional final loser for the second consecutive season. "They're probably a little bit better at that style.Indeed. Michigan State is 16-0 when it permits fewer than 60 points. Louisville is 0-5 when it scores fewer than 60. The Cardinals managed 103 during a 39-point blowout of Arizona in their Friday semifinal. On Sunday, the Spartans controlled the game and its tempo. They committed only 12 turnovers, none in the backcourt against the Cardinals' withering full-court press. They limited Louisville to 38 percent shooting, took the boards 37-29, and grabbed 11 offensive rebounds during the second half. Cardinals forward Earl Clark scored 19 points, but three other starters -- forward Terrence Williams, center Samardo Samuels and guard Andre McGee -- totaled five points on 1-for-14 shooting. Spartans guard Travis Walton, the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year, was the primary defender on Williams, an All-Big East player whose five points were eight shy of his average. Lucas finished with 10 points, Summers with 12 off the bench, including the final seven in the run that put Michigan State in charge. "Durrell grew up today. He became a man," said Walton, a senior who helped keep alive Izzo's record of getting each of his four-year players to the Final Four. Like Izzo said: Detroit, here they come. MICHIGAN ST. (30-6) -- Morgan 0-2 0-0 0, Roe 1-1 0-0 2, Suton 7-15 2-4 19, Lucas 3-7 2-3 10, Walton 3-8 2-2 8, Ibok 0-0 0-0 0, Allen 1-5 0-0 2, Thornton 0-0 0-0 0, Summers 4-6 2-2 12, Dahlman 0-0 0-0 0, Green 3-6 0-0 6, Crandell 0-0 0-0 0, Lucious 1-1 0-0 3, Herzog 0-0 0-0 0, Gray 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 24-52 8-11 64. LOUISVILLE (31-6) -- Williams 1-7 3-4 5, Clark 8-17 1-4 19, Samuels 0-6 0-0 0, McGee 0-1 0-0 0, Smith 3-5 1-2 8, Knowles 4-7 1-2 11, Sosa 1-1 2-2 5, Delk 0-1 0-0 0, Swopshire 0-0 0-0 0, Jennings 1-2 2-4 4. Totals 18-47 10-18 52. Halftime--Michigan St. 30-27. 3-Point goals--Michigan St. 8-16 (Suton 3-5, Summers 2-3, Lucas 2-4, Lucious 1-1, Morgan 0-1, Allen 0-2), Louisville 6-16 (Knowles 2-3, Clark 2-5, Sosa 1-1, Smith 1-2, Delk 0-1, McGee 0-1, Williams 0-3). Fouled out--None. Rebounds--Michigan St. 37 (Green, Suton 10), Louisville 29 (Samuels 7). Assists--Michigan St. 19 (Lucas 5), Louisville 12 (Williams 4). Total fouls--Michigan St. 22, Louisville 15. A-36,084. http://www.indystar.com/article/20090330/SPORTS/903300358 Editorial. Congratulations to Michigan State, Villanova, Connecticut and North Carolina for reaching the 2009 Final Four in Detroit! These teams have been good all year and deserve the recognition. They have played hard and will certainly provide Detroit with some much needed entertainment. By the way, President Obama just turned down bailouts to Chrysler and GM. Finally he is getting his act together! Thank you President Obama and don't forget that bailouts are for nobody and spending Trillions is for Gordon Brown! Back to subject, many would like to see Tom Izzo take the Kentucky Wildcats head coach job. However I disagree, I think that Jay Wright would be the Wright man for the SEC team to take as their next coach. As far as Billy Gillespie goes, I'm sure there's some team in the Summit league that needs a coach. This is the opinion of editor Benjamin Fugate benfugate2005@yahoo.com