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Contractors describe work they did Is the bailout needed? Many economists say 'no'
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on Stevens' home meeting

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By Richard Mauer and Erika Bolstad | McClatchy Newspapers want to
WASHINGTON -- Tradesmen who renovated Sen. Ted Stevens' home in Alaska McCain reverses course, decides to debate tonight
in 2000 testified Friday about their work, as prosecutors began building a case after all
that the Alaska Republican never paid a prominent oil services company for
Election officials telling college students they can't
electrical and carpentry work on the so-called "chalet."
vote
In the second day of testimony, a series of electricians and carpenters
described in detail how they jacked up the home in Girdwood, Alaska, and RECENT WORLD HEADLINES
installed a lower story, and redid all of the electrical wiring. In some cases,
employees for Veco Corp. -- whose executives were for years the leading U.S., Pakistani forces exchange fire along the Afghan
campaign contributors to many Alaska political candidates, including Stevens -- border
spent hundreds of hours devoted to work on the senator's home. Where Obama and McCain stand on key foreign
policy issues
Stevens faces seven felony counts of lying on his Senate financial-disclosure
forms. The 84-year-old senator is accused of accepting more than $250,000 in Why shouldn't Ukraine join NATO? They may not
gifts from the now-defunct oilfield services company and its former chief want to
executive officer, Bill Allen. Among the gifts he's accused of accepting are Venezuela's Chavez sees America as a 'sinking ship'
renovations to his Girdwood home that lifted it from its foundation and added a
lower story, doubling it in size. Latin Americans at U.N. slam U.S. priorities in credit
crisis
Some Veco employees spent months at the Stevens home, according to » More World headlines
testimony. Beginning in October 2000, Roy Dettmer of Littleton, Colo., spent
four months working six days a week, 10 hours a day, installing electric service
in the new sections of the house and rewiring much of the old. RECENT NATIONAL HEADLINES
Despite economic downturn, customers still love their
Every morning, he'd drive to the Port of Anchorage, where he was assigned to
work, sign in using his badge, then drive 45 miles to Girdwood. In the evening, spas
he would have to "badge out" again back at the port before he could go to his Thrift stores desperate for donations; sales increase
hotel. Dettmer's pay at Veco at the time was between $27 and $29 an hour, Tempers fraying in Charlotte as gasoline shortage
plus overtime. Working a schedule of six weeks on, two off, Dettmer said he
persists
spent about 400 hours on the project.
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Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Bottini of Anchorage walked Dettmer through his Lance Armstrong says he'll ride in Amgen Tour of
tasks. The service entrance had been at the rear of the original house, but that
California
was now 15 feet in the air. Dettmer moved it to the other side of the house in
the new garage Veco built, requiring all the old circuits to be extended. That » More Nation headlines
doubled the electrical capacity from 100 amps to 200 amps. That meant the
generator that had been installed by Veco only the year before had to be
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rewired and moved as well.
Contractors describe work they did on Stevens' home
Veco bought the material from an Anchorage supplier, Dettmer said. The new Proposed financial bailout puts all other legislation on
kitchen built by Veco on the second floor also had to be wired.
back burner
Dettmer said he never met Stevens, but Catherine Stevens, the senator's wife, GOP's bailout problem: Its senators just can't agree
came around once. The Veco supervisor, Rocky Williams, introduced him. Valley colleges could get new funding from farm bill

"We said 'Hi,' and that was it," Dettmer said. Congress ends ban on offshore drilling, but fight's not
over
Doug Alke, a Veco electrician, described installing a backup generator at the » More Washington headlines
residence in the fall of 1999, the year before the renovations that doubled the
Stevens home in size.
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Alke estimated that he spent an estimated 20 to 24 hours on the job, including
Just how important are those monologues trashing
coming back a few days after he and another Veco worker installed the
generator to check on whether it was cutting on automatically each week to McCain?
recharge the batteries. McCain reverses course, decides to debate tonight
after all
The journeyman electrician, who was paid about $19.50 an hour at the time,
said he filled out an "overhead number" on his timesheet, a code that described McCain reverses course, heads to Mississippi for
which client the work should be billed to. The number for the Stevens job wasn't debate
for a specific client like other jobs were, Alke said. Instead, it was an internal S.C. voters full of questions heading into first debate
code used for what he assumed were accounting purposes, he said.
Alaska AG suing to kill subpoenas in 'troopergate'
Catherine Stevens stopped by once to bring workers muffins, said another » More Election 2008 headlines
contractor, Mike Luther, a carpenter with Christensen Builders of Anchorage.
He also saw Sen. Stevens once, saying he was friendly and "talked to advertisement
everyone."
TODAY'S FEATURED CARTOON
On his way out of the courtroom Friday, Luther waved to Stevens as he walked
past the senator at the defense table.

Friday, both prosecutors and Stevens' attorneys also made sure to familiarize
the jury with some terms that are second-nature to Alaskans, especially those
who work on the North Slope oilfields. One of Stevens' lawyers, Robert Cary,
asked Alke what was a "hitch" on the North Slope.

"A 'hitch' is just a rotation," Alke said. "It's slang. Six weeks on, two weeks off."

Alaska might be a very distant place for many of the jurors, but Gov. Sarah
Palin's vice presidential candidacy has made it more familiar than it once was. » More Cartoons
When Alke told the jury he was from her hometown of Wasilla, a murmur of
recognition shot through the courtroom.

S ff
McClatchy Washington Bureau | 09/26/2008 | Co... http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/... 9/26/2008 15:19

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