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CLARION P E N I N S U L A
Sunday, November 11, 2018 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 49, Issue 36
In the news Anchorage psychologist sentenced in child porn case ANCHORAGE — Federal prosecutors say a 51-year-old Anchorage child psychologist has been sentenced to four years in federal prison in a child pornography case. Prosecutors say Russell Cherry also was sentenced Friday to 15 years of supervised release after he earlier pleaded guilty to one count of child pornography possession. According to prosecutors, Cherry used a file-sharing network in summer 2017 to download videos and images showing child sexual exploitation. Prosecutors say the FBI and Anchorage police executed a search warrant at Cherry’s home in August 2017 and found several images depicting child pornography on devices belonging to Cherry. According to prosecutors, Cherry at the time admitted searching for such images and downloading them for his own curiosity. Prosecutors say Cherry worked as a neuropsychologist treating children until his indictment in June.
Alaska Native summit to bring fluent speakers together ANCHORAGE — Organizers of an upcoming summit say it will bring together the last remaining speakers of three indigenous languages of southeast Alaska. Sealaska Heritage Institute officials say nearly 70 speakers of Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian are expected to attend the three-day event in Juneau that begins Nov. 13. Officials have counted 133 speakers of those languages who live in the region or who are affiliated it. Institute President Rosita Worl says the summit is among multiple language revitalization efforts by her organization. She says the event will celebrate those who have retained their languages. It follows a September action by Gov. Bill Walker, who declared an emergency for Alaska Native languages. The order was prompted by a report this year that warned the languages could become extinct by the century’s end. — Associated Press
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Kenai starts airport remodel By KAT SORENSEN Peninsula Clarion
The Kenai Municipal Airport remodel is underway. Construction began in midOctober, according to Kenai City Manager Paul Ostrander, and will modernize the terminal building, which was first constructed in 1966. “There’s only going to be a small amount of work done before winter comes,” Ostrander said Wednesday during a Kenai City Council meeting. Ostrander said that the real work probably won’t start until April or May of 2019. “So there’ll probably not be a lot to see until we get into spring of next year.” The remodel will bring changes throughout the airport, from the roof to the entryway, all aimed at enhancing the passenger experience and the movement of baggage and cargo. It is expected to be completed in December 2019. Kenai received a grant of $10.6 million from the Federal Aviation Agency in September to put toward the remodel. “These airport investments will create jobs in local communities, upgrade reliability and further improve safety of air travel for the flying public,”
4 chosen as Kenai Superior Court nominees By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
Travelers check baggage with airline Ravn Alaska at the Kenai Municipal Airport on May 31. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion file)
Secretary Elaine Chao of the U.S. Department of Transportation, the department overseeing the FAA, said in a September press release. The terminal has been renovated three times since it was built. It saw an expansion in 1983, the addition of the restaurant and lounge in 1988, and in
2004, the sidewalks, entryways and parking lots received work. This remodel will bring a fresh look to the airport, according to Ostrander. ”We’re going to be upgrading the entire facility,” he said. “It’s going to look much different than it did before. We’re really looking to modernize the
facility.” The council’s liaison to the Airport Commission, council member Jim Glendening, said that security issues at the airport may have to be addressed down the line. ”What is beginning to appear is more interest from TSA See AIR, page A2
The Alaska Judicial Council nominated four candidates for the Kenai Superior Court’s vacant seat. The governor will have 45 days to appoint Roberta Erwin, Jason Gist, Daniel Schally or Shawn Traini. Schalley also applied for and was a finalist for an opening on the Kenai Superior Court earlier this year. Erwin has lived in Alaska for 49 years. She graduated from the University of Puget Sound School of Law and has practiced law for more than 24 years. She is currently working in a private practice in Anchorage. Anchorage Assistant District Attorney Jason Gist has been living and practicing law in Alaska for 14 years. He is a graduate of the University of See COURT, page A2
Lawyer challenges Trump’s drilling ban reversal By MARK THIESSEN Associated Press
ANCHORAGE — President Donald Trump exceeded his power when he signed an executive order reversing a ban on offshore drilling in vast parts of the Arctic Ocean and dozens of underwater canyons in the Atlantic Ocean, an attorney argued in federal court on Friday. Erik Grafe, an Alaskabased attorney for the environmental group Earthjustice, said Trump acted without the authority of Congress or the Constitution when he reversed President Barack Obama’s drilling ban.
Erik Grafe, center, an attorney for Earthjustice, speaks to reporters following a hearing Friday in U.S. District Court in Anchorage. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Grafe, the lead attorney in dozen environmental groups, a lawsuit backed by nearly a contends the Outer Conti-
nental Shelf Lands Act only allows presidents to remove lands under consideration for development, not add them back in. Only Congress has that authority, he said. “President Trump has attempted unilaterally to undo protections that President Obama put in place. And our argument is that that action is unlawful because he lacks constitutional authority and he lacks authority from Congress,” Grafe told reporters outside the courtroom in U.S. District Court in Anchorage. Acting Assistant U.S. Attorney General Jeffrey Wood countered that Grafe and others were misinterpreting the
intent of the law, written in 1953. He said it is meant to be flexible and sensible and not intended to bind one president with decisions made by the previous one when determining offshore stewardship as needs and realities change over time. He said the plaintiffs were “simply wrong.” The U.S. Department of Justice declined to make Wood available for comment following the hearing. In the government’s response to the lawsuit, it said only allowing presidents to take land out of consideration for development “is one-way See DRILL, page A2
celebrates Startup Week kicks off Utqiagvik whaling season, By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
mourns whaling deaths
For the first time, Kenai and Soldotna will be participating in Startup Week, a national event that brings together local entrepreneurs. Pam Parker, owner of Everything Bagels in Soldotna, is coordinating the event. She said the event is intended to celebrate and encourage entrepreneurs and business owners. The events are for anyone at any stage in their business or potential business. “If you have an idea and you want to get your business on the ground, and you haven’t made too many moves on it, it’s a great week for you to get in, network, get ideas and (get) inspired to launch your business,” Parker said. “Or for someone like myself, we’re kind of a new business, it’s a good opportunity to get out and learn how to continue to grow.” The cities of Soldotna and Kenai, both Chambers of Commerce, the Kenai Young Professionals, numerous local businesses and the Kenai Pen-
UTQIAGVIK (AP) — People in the nation’s northernmost town are celebrating the end of a successful fall whaling season, but it also has been a time of mourning after the recent deaths of two whale hunters. The season wrapped up in Utqiagvik in late October, Alaska’s Energy Desk reported . Subsistence hunters in the town formerly known as Barrow brought in their full quota of 19 bowhead whales. The last whale was brought ashore by whaling captain Ross Wilhelm and his crew, with help from others. A few days later, Wilhelm and his wife hosted a gathering at their home to share the whale meat. In early October, whaling Capt. Roxy Oyagak Jr. and crew member Ron Kanayurak died when their boat capsized while they were towing a bowhead home. Their deaths are being reviewed by the Barrow Whaling Captains Association. At the recent gathering at the
Everything Bagels co-owner Pamela Parker is photographed Dec. 18. Parker is helping coordinate the Kenai/Soldotna Startup Week, a national event that celebrates and encourages entrepreneurs and business owners. (Photo by Erin Thompson/ Peninsula Clarion) .
insula Economic Development District are involved, with events happening in Kenai and Soldotna. Parker said there will two types of events. “We have the fun get-together kinds of events and then we have the more informational sessions, like our panel on financing,” Parker said. “It will be a chance for business owners to ask questions and learn a
little bit more about financing options.” Startup Week has been in Alaska for three years, starting in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau. This year, the event has expanded, and will be hosted in areas across the state, including Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Sitka, Homer, Bethel, Seward, Palmer and See WEEK, page A2
Wilhelm home, people joined hands to pray in Inupiaq and voice their gratitude for the bowhead. The prayer was broadcast over VHF radio. The broadcast also announced the whale meat was ready for serving. That prompted a stream of people who showed up at the home. “It’s just what puts us together, is the whale, the bowhead whale. Just gets us all together,” Wilhelm said. The deaths of his peers shook Wilhelm, he said. “I’d make myself look bad if I said it doesn’t scare me,” he said. But he added he’s not deterred from whaling. Many in town are mourning the deaths, but the dedication to continue whaling remains strong, according to whaling Capt. Crawford Patkotak. “For the most part our people are able to rebound and continue our life, our culture,” he said. “And knowing that Roxy and Ron would have it no other way, they would want us to continue our culture.”