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P E N I N S U L A
Monday, September 24, 2018 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 48, Issue 306
In the news Ketchikan City Council bans eagle feeding KETCHIKAN — The Ketchikan City Council passed in second reading an ordinance banning intentionally feeding wild eagles within city limits. The Ketchikan Daily News reports the ordinance, passed on Thursday, also prohibits property owners from allowing other people to feed eagles on their property. Violations are punishable by fines of up to $500. Council Member Mark Flora says he supports an ordinance because he believes feeding eagles poses a risk to public safety and could lead to habituation. Council Member Julie Isom says though she doesn’t support eagle feeding, an ordinance would waste police resources. The ordinance stems from complaints this summer about Sourdough Tours feeding eagles at its West End property, a practice which allegedly attracted eagles and caused a nuisance. The ordinance is set to go into effect after a 30-day waiting period.
Number of humanbear conflicts growing across state ANCHORAGE — Wildlife experts are calling this summer one of the busiest years of bear encounters they have seen. The Anchorage Daily News reports biologists believe that poor berry crops and struggling salmon are motivating the hungry bears to wander away from the woods and go into towns. Recent incidents include a black bear taking over the Juneau arboretum and another bruin that shut down a fishcleaning facility. They also say a rise in young black bear numbers may also be contributing to the growing human-bear conflicts. Humans also add to the problem by failing to secure trash or having chicken coops without bear-halting electric fences. Community leaders are considering pursuing new rules requiring better trash management given the increased potential for confrontations. — Associated Press
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Community rallies around Nikiski firefighter By JOEY KLECKA Peninsula Clarion
Nikiski firefighter Levi Doss may still be battling cancer, but his family and friends have shown that he has already come out a winner. An 11-year-veteran of the Nikiski Fire Department who was forced to medically retire earlier this year, Doss has received thousands of dollars in donations from a GoFundMe account set up by his fellow firefighters. In the first week of the page’s existence, the effort reached a quarter of its $100,000 goal. As of Saturday, 131 contributors have raised nearly $27,000 for the Doss family. “I wouldn’t wish this tumor on anyone,” wrote Doss in an email. “But I am glad to have known it. It has made so many positive changes in our lives. Completely outweighs the negatives.” Jessica Smith and Harrison Deveer, two of the key organizers of the fundraising effort
and GoFundMe page who have known Doss for about a decade, said the drive to help the family stems from the compassion and generosity the family has shared with the community for years. Tera Doss said fire chief James Baisden also played a big role in the fundraising effort. Deveer described the family as very humble people who deserve the help. “Levi is one of those guys that’s unique and you just kind of fall in love with,” he said. “He’s one of the most amazing people I’ve worked with. He’s had a huge impact on this place on people.” “He was a huge part of why I fell in love with the department,” Smith added. “He’s just an amazing person who would do anything for anybody.” Smith said she wants to run the fundraising effort as long as people are willing to support the family. She said any interested party wishing to help can donate at any Wells Fargo location by contributing to the Levi Doss donation
Nikiski firefighter Levi Doss reveals a smile while recovering from brain surgery in Anchorage in 2016. (Photo provided by Tera Doss)
fund. Smith said the station is also looking at hosting a fundraising event this winter, possibly in December, which would include a dinner and an auction.
A captain and paramedic to help wipe out the cancer. with the NFD, Dos is currently Doss wrote that during this receiving treatment in Tijuana, difficult journey, he has been Mexico, and has previously buoyed by two things — the received radiation and chemoSee DOSS, page A2 therapy in Seattle, Washington,
Walker vows fix for sex crime ‘loophole’ Alaska By JAMES BROOKS Juneau Empire
Gov. Bill Walker is responding to public outrage over the recent sentencing of an Anchorage man by vowing to “fix a loophole” in Alaska’s criminal law. Late Friday, Walker pledged to propose changes to state statutes governing sex crimes. The move comes two days after Justin Schneider, 34, walked out of an Anchorage courtroom with no jail time following a plea deal. The issue was first
reported by KTVA-TV. Last year, Schneider was charged with attacking and strangling an Anchorage woman unconscious after an assault in broad daylight. After the assault, he masturbated on her, spraying his semen across her body, before offering her a tissue and leaving. The tissue was collected as evidence, and the woman promptly reported the crime, which was witnessed by a bystander. Schneider faced four felony charges and one misdemeanor, but under a deal with prosecu-
tors, he pleaded guilty to only one felony assault charge in exchange for having all the other charges dropped. He was sentenced to two years in prison with one suspended, but because he received credit for time served while wearing an ankle monitor and living under house arrest, he left the courthouse with no additional time to serve. In addition, Schneider is not required to register as a sex offender. That conclusion outraged Anchorage residents, who
promptly began a campaign to vote Judge Michael Corey — who oversaw the case — out of office. The situation was aggravated when Anchorage Assistant District Attorney Andrew Grannik said at the sentencing, “I would like the gentleman to be on notice that that is his one pass — it’s not really a pass — but given the conduct, one might consider that it is.” On Friday morning, the Alaska Department of Law issued a lengthy statement ex-
See LAW, page A5
Legislators decline vote on per-diem pay By JAMES BROOKS Juneau Empire
Alaska lawmakers are considering a proposal to reduce their per-diem expense payments, but they are not likely to vote on the proposal before the Nov. 6 general election. On Friday morning, the Legislative Council — a joint House-Senate body that makes decisions for lawmakers while the Legislature is out of session — declined to vote upon a plan that would reduce per diem from the $302 perday federal rate. While the council has a meeting scheduled in October, that is expected to deal with only a single matter and not include the per-diem discussion, which will wait until
November, said Rep. David Guttenberg, D-Fairbanks and chairman of the Legislative Council. Guttenberg said by phone after the meeting that political considerations had nothing to do with the delay. Lawmakers simply ran out of time, he said. Legislative offices close at noon on Fridays because of cost-cutting measures. “There’s always a question of the political motive, but all of the proposals were to lower the per diem. There was nothing that was going to accept the federal per diem,” he said. “Politically, it would have been advantageous to get to it.” Rep. Charisse Millett, RAnchorage, is also a member of the Legislative Council.
Alaska lawmakers meet Friday in Fairbanks during a regularly scheduled meeting of the Legislative Council. (Courtesy photo)
“I do not believe anything Rep. Guttenberg is doing is politically motivated at all,” she said. Under the Legislature’s travel and per diem policy, lawmakers receive compen-
sation for expenses every day they are away from home during legislative sessions. The only exception, instituted earlier this year, is for lawmakers who live within 50 miles See PAY, page A5
Juneau’s syringe exchange may shut down By ALEX MCCARTHY Juneau Empire
More than 100 people regularly use the syringe exchange at the Alaskan Aids Assistance Association (Four A’s) office in downtown Juneau, but due to the lack of funding, the program could fold at the end of the year. Four A’s Southeast Advisory Board members Claire Geldhof and Melissa Griffiths prepared safe injection kits Friday after-
noon as they explained that in just a few months, this service might be gone from Juneau. Syringe exchanges are in place all over the country, seeking to cut down on the amount of communicable diseases — including HIV and Hepatitis C — that can result in reusing and sharing needles. Four A’s Executive Director Heather Davis explained in an interview Friday that federal funding for syringe exchanges and other HIV prevention pro-
grams is shifting toward places where more people are affected by the disease, notably the U.S. Southeast. As a result, Alaska (which Davis said is defined as “a low-incident” HIV area) is getting less funding. That’s having a major effect on both offices — in Anchorage and Juneau — and Griffiths said the Juneau office will shut down at the end of the calendar year unless they’re able to raise the money to stay open until the end of the fiscal year
next June. They’ve set the goal of $15,000, and are more than halfway there now. Griffiths and her co-board members have taken a crowdfunding approach, and have raised just over $8,000 as of Friday. The online fundraiser can be found at https://app.mobilecause.com/vf/SEServices. “I think it’s important for people to know that you don’t have to make a big donation to make a difference,” Griffiths, See SYRINGE, page A5
Native nonprofit acquires bison herd KODIAK (AP) — An Alaska Native nonprofit recently acquired a herd of bison as part of its grand plan for economic development. The Old Harbor Alliance — a nonprofit organization made up of local Old Harbor residents, members of the Alutiiq Tribe of Old Harbor and shareholders and descendants of the Old Harbor Native Corporation — acquired the bison for the Sitkalidak Island Bison Herd project, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reported . “We’re a fishing community,” said Melissa Berns, a board member of the Old Harbor Alliance. “We’re not ranchers.” “But, we’re learning,” she added. The project is part of a larger five-pronged endeavor that includes an airport extension, the construction of a small boat harbor and a new city dock. The next step is a planned hydroelectric dam. The idea is to decrease, and eventually try to reverse, outmigration by creating economic opportunities for the community. “Our mission is . to build a strong community for all generations,” Berns said. “We left it broad so we can address all those social and economic and cultural needs of the community.” All of the rural communities across the Kodiak archipelago have experienced a drop in population, but Old Harbor is one of the few that’s managed to take measures to address it. The bison herd is a way of improving food security, by providing the community with a readily accessible supply of meat, which Berns described as “wonderful, lean and healthy.” “It’s not only food security . as that herd grows it could be jobs and revenue,” said Old Harbor Alliance President Cynthia Berns. “There’s a lot of dif-
See BISON, page A5