No Holds Barred

Sheakley wins main event; spectator ends up in the ring throwing leather

By Courtney Nelson | FOR THE JUNEAU EMPIRE

Fans at Roughhouse boxing at Marlintini's Lounge were chanting "Hoonah" after the main event, which featured Hoonah's Elijah Sheakley, 31.

He brought his record to 8-2-0 with his win over Brian Lauth, 19, after three 90-second rounds.

Round one was even, then Sheakly poured it on in round two, delivering a huge right to Lauth's head before they both tired. Lauth found strength and finished the round punching out. In round three, Sheakley went after Lauth, who answered by racking up his own points. Sheakley tagged him with some heavy leather and Lauth was delivered a standing eight count.

"It was a good fight," said Lauth, who had the reach.

Sheakley's mom said in a post fight interview that she trained her son to be a fighter since he was little.

Sheakley squeaked the win away from Lauth despite a smoking habit.

"I smoke 20 cigarettes a day," Sheakley said after the bout.

In the semi-main event MMA bout Shaun Guthrie, 28, hailing from Ketchikan, defeated Klawock's Steven Roberts, 19, a student who likes to fight.

Guthrie dominated Roberts when their fight went to the mat. Roberts went for Guthrie's ankle to try and drop him every time. Guthrie countered to get him in a choke hold and ultimately won the bout by tiring him out.

In a heavyweight MMA fight, 222-pound Pat Willis, 20, a Gastineau Humane Society employee looking for fun and Christmas money, got his holiday wish with his win over Hawaii's 189-pound Kenneth Horton, 21, just over a minute into round one. After trading power on the mat, Willis who said he watched a lot of MMA in preparation for the fight, got Horton, a ten-year friend, into a guillotine and it was over.

"It was good to release a lot of pent up anger," said Willis who plans on fighting again.

Sitka's Selina Slack, 26, defeated her cousin, Mary Ferguson, 23, in an unconventional fight. Slack had an opponent back out at the last minute, so Ferguson, there to videotape, offered to fight her.

"I never trained to box but I have a punching bag at my house I work out on," said Ferguson who hung on all three rounds despite being a first-time fighter.

Ferguson threw some heavy leather, but Slack was more seasoned and out-tagged her cousin with body shots.

First-time fighter Ron Skoog, 25, defeated Logan Henkins, 27, in a bout that was called by split decision. Skoog had the reach but Henkins was more seasoned with a record of 2-4-0. Skoog was only in the ring three seconds when he knocked down Henkins, who was delivered a standing eight count.

Henkins fired some rocket punches, but Skoog managed to dodge them until Henkins found a sweet spot and dropped Skoog for a standing eight count. He still managed to grab the win.

Juneau's Michael Friedrichs, 20, defeated New Orleans' Tawn Green, 24, by a split decision. Friedrichs fought barefoot against the stocky Green, and all three rounds were very evenly matched. Friedrichs was quicker but Green ultimately landed more punches.

In another heavyweight MMA fight, Arizona's 220-pound Marques Jackson, 22, defeated 313-pound James "The Beast" Roberts, 24, from Klawock, to stay undefeated at 2-0-0. Roberts said he was going to work out more before attempting MMA again.

"I was barely hanging on," Roberts said about the third round when Jackson had him in a choke hold.

The next fights will be held Jan. 22nd.

Results from Roughhouse boxing at Marlintini's Lounge:

•Ron Skoog defeats Logan Henkins.

•Michael Friedrichs defeats Tawn Green.

•Pat Willis defeats Kenneth Horton.

•Marques Jackson defeats James "The Beast" Roberts.

•Selena Slack defeats Mary Ferguson.

•Shaun Guthrie defeats Steven Roberts.

•Elijah Sheakley defeats Brian Lauth.

•More photos on B8.

Tree tips: Trimming for the over-thinker

By Courtney Nelson | For the Juneau Empire

Artificial or real? Douglas or Spruce? Store-bought or self-cut? White lights or multi-colored?

Every year the choices grow when it comes to filling your home with holiday cheer. For the environmentally savvy, there now are greener choices you can make for tree decorating, such as LED lights and homemade organic cranberry and popcorn garlands that complete the circle of life when you then throw them on your lawn afterward for the eagles and ravens.

But let's start with the tree.

Artificial or real?

Christmas trees are biodegradable, and while they are growing they decrease carbon dioxide in the air and provide soil and water retention so they're probably more eco-friendly. They also smell good.

Pine scents are refreshing and uplifting, engaging our neglected olfactory glands. Magical memories of scampering out of bed in footed pajamas to see presents under the tree and a half-eaten cookie, can certainly lift one's spirits.

However, if the scent of pine sends you searching for an inhaler or reminds you of holiday family feuds, then artificial might be the way to go. Many fake trees contain lead, so make sure to read the labels. Artificial trees are less expensive, easier to store and mean you won't have to vacuum up pine needles. Just don't let your toddler teethe on the branches.

And some people choose to use a wreath for a pine sent and simply decorate a tree outside.

"I think to avoid house fires, people should decorate a tree in their yard then they won't have to cut one down," said Juneau's Tiffany Rutherford.

Making space

Christmas trees usually force us to do a little rearranging to make room. Moving furniture around, vacuuming in corners and changing things up can be very therapeutic for the psyche. We are making room for a tree, which symbolizes generosity and magic.

Douglas Fir, Pine, Spruce ...

If you go for a fresh tree, the Douglas fir is known for its strong fragrance and needle retention, while spruce tips tend to fall off and others have especially sharp needles. Ask questions before you buy or cut.

But once you pick a tree, it's all about fresh water. Cut off an inch from the bottom right before you bring it inside for maximum water absorption. Add a little sugar to the base, mist the tree periodically and try to place it away from heat sources.

Safety

Toddlers and cats may be small, but they can take a tree down with one yank. To avoid this, make sure to get the right size base and don't move the tree once it has been secured in the stand. Secure the tree discreetly with fishing line or a festive garland attached to a secure object in the room for even more stability.

An inner glow

Put on some festive holiday music to soften the nightmare of untangling your lights from the year before. Now your blank tree canvas is ready to paint with your personality and your story.

The lights should go on first, then the tree topper, followed by garlands and then finally the ornaments.

LED lights are 80 percent more efficient than regular lights, so they are another eco-friendly choice. One hundred lights per foot of tree is ideal, and pick one type and use it for the whole tree.

Zig-zag the lights in and out of the branches to create depth so it will create a glow from the inside out. Have the lights lit so you can track your progress and avoid dark patches. Place the topper first to avoid the ladder scene where someone topples over onto a decorated tree filled with glass balls while placing an angel.

Garlands

Ribbon, tinsel, beads, popcorn, berries or any glittery material adds to the magic of a tree. If you make popcorn garlands, make sure they are stale before you thread them with a needle, and the cranberries should be frozen.

Traditional style says to swag the garland on alternating branches or doubling and tripling them up with different colors. Don't be limited to what has been done before; forge a new Christmas tradition for yourself. I have a friend who made wish lists on a string from magazine cut-outs. Another used Mardi Gras beads for sparkle and fake flowers another year.

Decorating

While decorating your tree, hang heavy ornaments first on inner sturdy branches and then fill in with smaller ones.

Telling family stories about the origins of your handmade ornaments, ones bought on vacation and others with special meanings can be priceless.

Sometimes less is more when it comes to decorating, and the tree comes to life with the spirit of the season.

Juneau resident Kay Redlinger Knapp had such a tree.

"We went up to a cabin one year to ski over Christmas and couldn't imagine lugging a tree along," she said. "But you got to have the pine smell. So we lopped a chunk off a tree and called it our 'Christmas branch,' stuck it in a can and loaded the poor thing with decorations, including lights and a star made of tinfoil. Best tree ever."

• Courtney Nelson can be reached at nelsonfamily@acsalaska.net.

Upcoming attractions at the Nickelodeon

Theater adds live music and Saturday matinees to its offerings

By Courtney Nelson | For the Juneau Empire

The Gold Town Nickelodeon is branching out.

Beginning this month, Juneau's art-house movie theater, under the new ownership of Mark Ridgway, will feature kids cinema treasures and live music. It will continue the evening showings of independent, foreign and documentary newly-released films for which it is known, offering the kids movies as 1 p.m. matinees.

"Kids and adults of all ages are invited," said Colette Costa, who is running the films.

And on Monday, Dec. 7 the Nickelodeon will present its first concert, music duo Lindy and Kris Eli Jones. The couple, who live in Haines, describe their music as acoustic Americana; their all-original music is played on guitar and stand-up bass. Both Joneses are honored to be the first live music act to grace the intimate 70-person occupancy theater.

"Mark Ridgway is really making it into a small venue and we are totally psyched to be the first group to play there," said Kris Jones in a phone interview from Haines. "We're really excited about the direction the theater is going."

Kris Jones came to Juneau about 10 years ago during Folk Festival knowing only one person: Lindy. She showed him around and they eventually started dating and are now married. They have a CD, recorded in one morning after heavy snowfall led to their house collapsing and they needed to raise money for repairs. They sold over 800 copies - and fixed their house.

The duo sing about topics like traveling and being away from loved ones; Kris Jones spent 10 seasons (May through July) as a bird field biologist after graduating from the University of Missoula. His jobs with the Forest Service, The Nature Conservancy and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service required him to go to remote places like west Montana and the deserts of west Texas and count how many different bird songs he could hear. Working in what he called "wide open spaces" gave him solitude and the chance to reflect, which ultimately led to his own song writing.

"I worked in the middle of nowhere and the solitude helped things become clear. I call it dirt-road music," said Jones.

After their concert at the Nickelodeon, the couple is heading to the hill county outside Austin, Texas. Kris Jones said he's looking forward to hanging out with and being inspired by the many songwriters who gather in Texas dance halls and honky tonks.

The Jones' concert begins at 6:30 p.m Monday and will go for about two hours. Admission is $10.

Over the weekend and throughout the month the theater will be showing kids Christmas specials for viewers of all ages. The Friday midnight movie is a double Christmas feature of "A Charlie Brown Christmas", and "Scrooged." Saturday's matinees will be a double header of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" followed by "The Muppet Christmas Carol." The following Saturday, Dec. 12, they will have a showing of "A Year Without Santa Claus" and "Rudolph."

Saturday, Dec. 19, they will run "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," and "A Christmas Story." Slated for the weekend after Christmas is "Miracle on 34th Street," and "Frosty the Snowman."