Steve Fossman nailed eight 3 pointers to lead his Klukwan squad to a berth in the Masters bracket’s championship game with a 78-60 win against the Juneau Alliance on Thursday night at the Gold Medal Basketball Tournament.

Fossman finished with a game-high 26 points.

Klukwan took an early 12-2 lead and built it steadily during the game, but did not truly pull away until a 13-5 run gave them a 63-42 edge near the midway point of the second half. Ed Mercer scored 21 points and Doug Drazkowski added 15 – including three 3-pointers – to keep Juneau in the game.

Klukwan used stifling defense to open a big second-half lead, then held off a late rally to beat Kake 86-76 in ‘C’ bracket play Monday at the Gold Medal Basketball Tournament.

That defense prevented Kake from scoring a field goal in the first five minutes of the second frame, facilitating a 16-4 run that gave Klukwan a 61-46 edge. David Buss keyed that run by hitting three 3s. He would finish with 16 points.

Negotiations on a new contract between the Juneau School District and the Juneau Education Association have reached an impasse, and the sides will seek mediation, according to a release from the district.

The impasse was reached Saturday, the release states.

It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve had the opportunity to write a column. A planned trip to the Alaska Press Club convention in Anchorage a couple of weeks ago, along with what Hunter Thompson might call “bad craziness” last week kept me off the Empire’s editorial page, but I’m back in the weekly swing of things for the time being.

So, as is always the case when returning from vacation, it’s time to play a little bit of catch-up with what’s gone on lately, both around the office and in this space: