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P E N I N S U L A
Thursday, March 21, 2019 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 49, Issue 146
In the news Board nominee Shaw withdraws nomination JUNEAU — A former Ketchikan school board president has withdrawn his nomination for a state judicial conduct commission. Gov. Mike Dunleavy nominated Trevor Shaw for the Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct. Shaw faced questioning over his relationship to a former Ketchikan teacher accused of sexual abuse and a recall effort. Shaw said former teacher Doug Edwards was his childhood pastor and officiated his wedding but said he didn’t know about any allegations against Edwards until Edwards’ arrest. Edwards faces sentencing next month. Shaw resigned from the school board amid what he called a convoluted recall process. The Ketchikan Daily News reported the recall effort addressed his alleged treatment of a student representative who wanted to be heard regarding a board appointment. Shaw’s withdrawal was announced Wednesday. He didn’t immediately return a message.
Bail denied to man fighting extradition to Alaska AUBURN, Maine — A Maine judge denied a bail request Wednesday for a man who is wanted in Alaska for killing a woman more than two decades ago. Steven Downs, 44, of Auburn, Maine, is charged with the sexual assault and murder of 20-year-old Sophie Sergie at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1993, when Downs was a student and Sergie was a former student. The case went unsolved for years before DNA evidence led to Downs’ arrest in February. Since then, he has been held without bail on a fugitive from justice charge while he fights extradition to Alaska. Downs’ lawyer, James Howaniec, said his client “adamantly denies” any involvement in the crime, the Sun Journal reported. Assistant District Attorney Patricia Reynolds Regan argued that Downs wasn’t entitled to bail and that the judge should use his discretion to hold the local man until he is sent to Alaska. — Associated Press
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Hundreds rally for ferry system By MOLLIE BARNES Juneau Empire
Hundreds gathered outside the Alaska State Capitol on Wednesday shouting cries to “Save our state!” The Alaska Public Employees Association held a Save the Alaska Marine Highway System rally to protest the governor’s proposed plan to stop public funding for the ferry system in October. Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed budget would cut the ferry system’s funding by 75 percent in the next fiscal year, and he has commissioned another study to look into options for privatizing the service. “They might as well produce a bill that sends us back to territorial days because that’s what they’re trying to do,” said City and Borough of Juneau Assembly member Michelle Bonnet Hale. Several legislators and public officials spoke on the steps of the Capitol, leading chants and preaching the im-
Corps sees no reason to extend Pebble comment period By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
Irene Morris, with her sign, attends the Alaska Public Employees Association’s Save the Alaska Marine Highway System rally in front of the Capitol on Wednesday. (Michael Penn/Juneau Empire)
portance of the Alaska Marine Highway System. Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, took to the megaphone,
and told the crowd, “Our job is to get the message through loud and clear to the administration: We’re not giving up
our ferries.” Last week, a record number number of people testiSee FERRY, page A2
JUNEAU — An official with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Wednesday that the agency has not received any compelling reason to extend the 90-day comment period on a draft environmental review of a major mine project in southwest Alaska. Shane McCoy is project manager for the corps’ review of the Pebble Limited Partnership’s permit application. The Pebble partnership wants to develop a gold-andcopper mine near a major salmon fishery in Alaska’s
See CORPS, page A3
Henu court judge shares success stories By BRIAN MAZUREK Peninsula Clarion
At the Kenai Chamber of Commerce Luncheon on Wednesday, representatives from the Henu Community Wellness Court gave a presentation outlining their treatment and rehabilitation program. The presentation also featured testimony from one of the court’s graduates about the impact that Henu Community Wellness Court had on his recovery. Judge Susan Wells, a Kenaitze Tribal Court Judge, spoke about how the program was started and the inspiration behind it. A few years ago Wells went to Minnesota to attend a con-
Judge Susan Wells gives a presentation about the Henu Community Wellness Court during the Kenai Chamber of Commerce Luncheon at the Visitor’s Center in Kenai on Monday. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
ference with the National American Indian Court Judges Association, and while there she learned of a
Minnesota Superior Court judge who was struggling with high rates of recidivism in his community. He
reached out to his local tribal court judge on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation and they formed an informal partnership where they would hear cases together. Not long after, Wells said that recidivism for both Natives and non-Natives in the community dropped significantly. After hearing that story, Wells thought to herself, “If that can happen in Minnesota, I know Alaska can do it better.” Wells eventually helped form the Henu Community Wellness Court, which was organized about two years ago as a collaboration between the Kenaitze Indian Tribe and the Alaska State Court System. Henu is a Dena’ina word
meaning “hard work,” and Wells said that the program — while intensive at times — is meant to transform lives. The Henu Court is designed for people with a history of nonviolent criminal offenses that are tied to substance abuse. Shera Burg, project coordinator for the court, says that they mainly look for people who have families and children and people who are facing long jail sentences or felony convictions. For example, the Henu Court can serve as a diversion program for those with felony DUI convictions to make it possible to get their driver’s license back after it has been revoked. Violent ofSee HENU, page A2
Wild and Scenic Film Festival returns to Kenai By JOEY KLECKA Peninsula Clarion
The Kenai Watershed Forum will be treating ticket holders to dinner and a show Saturday evening at Snug Harbor Seafoods, where it hopes a series of nationally
acclaimed films will inspire the audience. The Wild and Scenic Film Festival — “Where Activism Gets Inspired” — is an environmental- and adventurethemed film festival that takes place at locales across the country.
A Kenai Peninsula festival event, hosted by the Kenai Watershed Forum, will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday night at Snug Harbor Seafoods and feature 12 different films. Tami Murray, Watershed development direc-
tor, referred to the event as a “friend-raiser.” “There were hundreds (of films) to choose from, and all will be outdoor environmental movies,” Murray said. The Kenai Watershed Forum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving a
healthy watershed of streams and rivers surrounding the Kenai and Soldotna communities. Saturday’s event will help raise funds for the organization’s educational programs. Murray said the ticket includes food and a brew from See WILD page A2
Peninsula residents question Pebble reps By MEGAN PACER Homer News
Questions and accusations flew during a community meeting Tuesday hosted by Pebble Limited Partnership at Land’s
End Resort in Homer. A Homer Police officer stood at the doorway of the conference room. The Partnership sent Vice President of Public Affairs Mike Heatwole and Vice President of Permitting James
Fueg to speak with residents of Anchor Point and Homer in two separate meetings. The gatherings were to brief people not only on the permitting and environmental impact statement progress of the proposed
Pebble Mine, but to go over activities in the proposed project that would impact the two local communities. But the crowd at Tuesday’s meeting was more concerned with details of the proj-
ect, the EIS process and what the potential fallout from the mine could mean for water and salmon in the state. Heatwole and Fueg presented the history of the Pebble See REPS, page A3
Deadline extended for ferry study Preliminary results show By MOLLIE BARNES Juneau Empire
The Department of Transportation and Public Facilities has extended the deadline for applications for consultants to come in and study the ferry system. Government officials previously called the period an “aggressive” timeline, one which proved to be a bit too fast after the department received only one application in the short 10-day period
from March 1 to March 11. “DOT&PF heard from interested parties, e.g., economists, legislators and the general public, that a longer time frame and larger budget were required. Based on this feedback, the timeline has been extended and the budget is increased,” said Aurah Landau, a DOT&PF public information officer in an email. Based on new feedback, the timeline was extended with a deadline of April 2 for
proposals and the budget was increased to a quarter million dollars. The final Alaska Marine Highway System report will be due to DOT&PF on October 15, 2019, according to Landau. The budget maximum is $250,000. The target date for implementation of changes to AMHS remains the end of June 2020. Landau said the department never made a final determination on awarding the See STUDY, page A3
Seward opting in to PERA By KAT SORENSEN Peninsula Clarion
The city of Seward narrowly approved the Public Employment Relations Act (PERA) at the polls on Tuesday, but absentee and questioned ballots could change the results. Preliminary results show 129 votes in favor of PERA to 107 “no” votes. With 47 absentee and five questioned
ballots, results won’t be official until the canvass board meets on Thursday in the council chambers. Currently, the Seward City Council has control over the city’s labor policy, including employee organizing activity. If the election results hold, an ordinance exempting Seward from PERA would be repealed and the See PERA, page A3