Santa, soldiers bring joy to beleaguered Alaska village

MARK THIESSEN Associated Press NAPAKIAK, Alaska (AP) — A school employee wearing a traditional pink Alaska Native smock called a kuspuk breezed through the hubbub in the cafeteria adorned with murals of purely Alaska scenes, zigzagging through children clutching presents and past uniformed soldiers wearing Santa caps. "Napakiak is happy today," she proclaimed to principal Sally Benedict. That's a rare emotion of late for the 300 or so residents of this western Alaska community. "We're falling into the Kuskokwim River," Benedict explains, because of erosion that is forcing everyone to move their town farther inland. But for one day this month, the Alaska National Guard gave folks a reason to smile, thanks to its "Operation Santa Claus" program, which featured the jolly old elf himse