On Target: Commissioned DPS keep their skills sharp
 The smell of gun powder lingered on the Birchwood Public Shooting Range while ping and pop noises blasted every couple seconds as handfuls of Alaska State Troopers set out to re-qualify on all the firearms they carry while on duty. Whenever it is time to qualify, commissioned members of the Department of Public Safety have to shoot regardless of mother nature's mood. They are not cut any breaks even if the mercury dips well into the negatives and the wind causes the most sturdy of men to sway. Troopers were extremely lucky to be out on a sunny, 60-some degree day.
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10-69 for Joel
Joel Shelton had wanted to be a police officer for several years, but after a chance meeting with an Alaska State Trooper, his dream got a little more specific. "He wanted to be a state trooper more than anything," said his father, Willy Shelton. On March 23, Joel got his wish when Palmer Trooper Ron Hayes swore the 6-year-old in as an honorary trooper and told him to have the courage for the task at hand - to beat leukemia. Joel also was given a replica of a trooper uniform complete with the vest, a Stetson with a plastic trooper badge, small pants with the yellow and red piping up the sides and a black duty belt. Hayes took Joel's struggle to heart because it's a scenario he knows all too well. Hayes' last chemotherapy treatment to fight cancer ended three years ago on June 1.
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