State Briefs
Juneau postal worker put on Cipro as precautionary measure
JUNEAU - A doctor has put a Juneau postal worker on Cipro as a precaution against anthrax after the woman sought medical help last week for a rash on her nose.
However, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service in Anchorage emphasized there is no reason to believe the employee came in contact with the deadly bacteria.
"She had not reported any suspicious packages to us or any suspicious powder. There are no known cases of anthrax in the state of Alaska," said Connie Lightner, human resources manager for the postal service. But "the doctor put her on medication as a precaution."
The woman's doctor decided not to test for anthrax and the postal service is satisfied with the physician's decision, Lightner said, noting the office also will not take any special precautions in response to the incident.
"She had not been exposed to her knowledge to any situations that would cause any alarm," Lightner said. "The doctor didn't ask for her to be tested. That's her doctor's decision."
Lightner declined to identify the employee or the doctor. A spokesman for the governor said it is the first case to his knowledge of an Alaska doctor prescribing Cipro as a precaution against anthrax. Spokesman Bob King did not question the doctor's decision not to test the rash for the bacteria.
"If the doctor did not suspect anthrax or have any reason to believe there was a public health threat, I can't second-guess his decision," King said.
Five arrested after crime spree
ANCHORAGE - Five people, including two teen-agers, were in custody today after being arrested for robbing a 13-year-old girl and driving a stolen pickup truck in Anchorage on Thursday.
The girl told police she was walking with a friend outside a store at an East Anchorage mall when a young woman hit her in the face and demanded her purse. Police said three others approached during the strong-arm robbery and then the four jumped into a green truck driven by a fifth person.
Officers caught up with the truck 20 minutes later, police said.
Arrested were Jeannine Robinson, 20, who is accused of hitting the 13-year-old; Michael Apudala, 20; and Francisco Calvo, 20. A 15-year-old girl and 16-year-old boy also were arrested.
Police said the five might have been on a crime spree. A few purses were seen inside the stolen pickup, and earlier Thursday a gas station reported that a green pickup drove off without paying, police said.
Police said they also planned to ask the five about a series of burglaries Wednesday night.
Three arrested in drug sweep
ANCHORAGE - An interagency narcotics team arrested three Wasilla men and is seeking charges against other suspects in a major marijuana sweep this month, Alaska State Troopers said.
Arrested were Aaron Trenton, 30; Edward Butler, 43; and Mark Carter, 44. Each was charged with four felony drug violations. Charges are being requested against 19 others, troopers said.
Trooper investigators, assisted by officers of Cordova, Valdez and Palmer police departments, visited 21 suspected drug houses in the Mat-Su Borough, authorities said.