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P E N I N S U L A
Thursday, August 30, 2018 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 48, Issue 285
In the news Fourth suspect arrested in Anchorage attempted murder case ANCHORAGE (AP) — A fourth suspect has been arrested in an Anchorage assault in which a man suffered brain and skull injuries and was delivered to a hospital in an animal cage. Anchorage police say 25-year-old Rex Faumui (fahoo-MOO-ee) called dispatchers Tuesday night to turn himself in. He was arrested at the Anchorage Cemetery. Faumui is charged with attempted murder, kidnapping and assault in the August 2017 beating of 34-year-old Abshir Mohamed. Mohamed was stomped, beaten with a baseball bat and metal broom handle and stuffed into a dog kennel. Prosecutors say a fifth man was forced at gunpoint to drive him away. Police on Sunday arrested two brothers indicted in the case, 28-year-old Faamanu Vaifanua (fah-ah-MAH-noo vif-fan-OO-ah) and 29-yearold Macauther Vaifanua. Thirty-year-old Jeffrey Ahvan faces an October trial date in the case.
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State reverses Chuitna water reservation Since coal company withdrew, no justification for instream flow right, DNR says By ELIZABETH EARL Peninsula Clarion
A citizens’ group won’t receive a water reservation in a stream on the west side of Cook Inlet after all. Alaska Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Andy Mack issued a decision Tuesday denying an application from the Chuitna Citizens Coalition for an instream flow reservation — essentially, the right to a minimum amount of water in a stream — on a
tributary of the Chuitna River on the west side of Cook Inlet near Tyonek. The area became a political minefield for a number of years as PacRim Coal applied for permits to develop a coal seam beneath the Chuitna River, which sustains fish used for subsistence and commercial harvest in the area. In response to concerns about the mine’s effect on fish and the environment, the Chuitna Citizens Coalition — an activist group including Alaska Native residents of the neigh-
boring villages of Tyonek and Beluga — filed an application for the instream flow reservation on Middle Creek, a tributary of the Chuitna River, in 2009. The application wound its way through the regulatory process and court system for the next six years before the DNR granted a reservation in the lower reach of the creek in October 2015. Mack wrote in his decision that after PacRim announced its intention to stop seeking permits for the project in May
2017, he issued another decision remanding the matter for further consideration. In response to a request from the Chuitna Citizens Coalition, a court ordered the DNR to issue a final decision on the reservation by Aug. 28. There’s no longer any threat to the water now that the company has stopped seeking permits for the project, and without the risk to the water, there’s no reason for the reservation, he wrote in the decision. “Putting it into perspec-
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See RIVER, page A9
Military drills Northern Edge exercise scheduled for May 2019
Willow man charged with wife’s death along Petersville Road ANCHORAGE (AP) — A 59-year-old Willow man has been arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder and felony evidence tampering in the death of his wife. Alaska State Troopers on Wednesday arrested Michael Kilgo in the blunt force death of 56-year-old Hattie LabuffKilgo. He’s being held without bail. Online court documents do not list the case. Troopers were asked Monday morning to check on Labuff-Kilgo when she did not appear for work. Troopers learned she had traveled Saturday to Petersville. Troopers found her pickup on Petersville Road about 35 miles (56 kilometers) off the Parks Highway. Searchers Tuesday found her body 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) from the truck. Troopers say the state medical examiner determined she had suffered “blunt force with sharp force trauma.” Troopers arrested Michael Kilgo at noon Wednesday at his home.
tive with other DNR business, CCC’s application is to reserve a particular flow in a creek on which there currently are no competing uses of the water sought,” he wrote. “The water is in the stream and there are no current proposed water uses that threaten the resources. There would be no immediate practical benefit to CCC or the resources it seeks to protect by the issuance of a certificate of reservation.” DNR doesn’t have the full
Making the best of the sunshine Marketgoers were met with sunshine and clear skies on the last day of the Wednesday Market on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
KODIAK, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. military has scheduled its exercises in the Gulf of Alaska for the spring, despite calls for the trainings to be moved to the fall. The U.S. Pacific Command’s 2019 Northern Edge exercises, which involve participation from all military services and other agency partners, are planned for May 13-24, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reported Tuesday. The exercises that are held every other year are expected to involve more than 6,000 service members, 200 aircraft, and multiple Navy destroyers and Coast Guard cutters. The exercises allow the military to hone its current abilities and “test future applications of combat operations and weapons capabilities,” U.S. Air Force Sgt. See DRILL, page A9
Retired judge: Judicial candidates Nikiski man allegedly on ballots have been vetted shoots, castrates litical races, voters may go to who will be on the ballot in Noneighbor’s dog the polls not knowing anything vember. By ERIN THOMPSON Peninsula Clarion
Do your homework before voting no — that was the message a former judge gave members of the business community during a presentation Wednesday. At a joint Kenai and Soldotna chamber luncheon Wednesday, Senior Judge Elaine Andrews discussed Alaska’s merit-based judge selection system and emphasized the importance of informed voter deliberation on judge retention. Under Alaska’s constitution, judges are not chosen through contested elections, but are selected based on merit and retained based on performance, said Andrews, who retired after two decades on the Anchorage Superior Court. Because races aren’t contested and thus lack the signs, commercials and promotional material associated with po-
about the judges on the ballot. Voters who don’t recognize the names in front of them might be tempted to vote on a whim — or simply vote no, Andrews said. “I’m going to caution you not to do that,” Andrews said. “There’s a huge amount of resources spent to evaluate sitting judges.” Andrews said judges typically get at least 30 percent no votes — regardless of qualifications or performance. “So even if you’re truly the best judge in the state, you probably cannot get over about a 70 percent approval,” Andrews said. In 2018, 15 Alaska judges are up for retention, nine of whom are in the Third District — which includes Anchorage, Palmer and the Kenai Peninsula. Kenai District Court Judge Sharon Illsley is the local judge
Voters, who may have little to no knowledge of the other eight judges, should be prepared before casting a ballot, Susanne DiPietro, executive director of the Alaska Judicial Council. Made up of seven members — three lawyers, three members of the public and a chief justice, the Judicial Council recommends candidates for appointment and evaluates a judge’s performance ahead of elections. The council then provides a recommendation to retain the judge or not. In Alaska, District Court judges must go up for retention every four years, and Superior Court judges every six years. Court of Appeals judges must go up for retention every eight. Judges on the Supreme Court of Alaska face 10-year retention terms.
See JUDGE, page A9
By ERIN THOMPSON Peninsula Clarion
A Nikiski man was charged with animal cruelty for allegedly killing and mutilating his neighbor’s dog. Michael D. Ohms, 41, allegedly walked over to his neighbor’s home on Tuesday night, yelled “Snoopy” — the name of the man’s dog — and threw something into the man’s yard, according to an Alaska State Trooper affidavit filed with the court. The alleged victim initially believed Ohms was throwing meat for his dogs, but then realized the object was a pair of testicles, according to the trooper affidavit. The man noticed that fur on the object matched his dog’s fur, and then realized his mastiff Snoopy was missing, he told troopers. In July, the alleged victim was granted a protective order against Ohms that prohibits Ohms from communicating directly or indirectly with him, according to court files. Troopers investigating the incident interviewed Ohms at his home and noted that his clothes had dried blood on them and that he was slurring his speech, according to the affidavit. Ohms reportedly told troopers he shot Snoopy because he was “trying to hurt my cats,” but that his cats were too fast See DOG, page A9