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CLARION P E N I N S U L A
NOVEMBER 9, 2014 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 45, Issue 34
2nd Kenai burglary suspect nabbed
Eager beavers burden ‘burbs By KELLY SULLIVAN Peninsula Clarion
This fall Soldotna mayor Nels Anderson realized he had a beaver problem. The home he shares with his wife Carla Anderson is located on the top of a steep hill that overlooks, and leads straight down to, the Kenai River. Trees grow at a slant down to the banks of the massive waterway. “I can tell you all I know is that my son went down and found that beavers were taking the trees off of our property,” Anderson said with a laugh. “They were using them to build their home in front of Kurt Olson’s house.” At first Anderson thought he was about to lose all of his trees. When he called the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to remove the animals, he was told that according to Soldotna’s city code, they were unable to trap the beavers within city limits. After a reinterpretation by City Manager Mark Dixson, the situation was sorted out. Animal Control Officer Marianne Clark said beavers rarely try to make their homes inside city limits. The beavers roaming around on the Andersons’ property were the third case she has been made aware of in her 13 years working for the city.
By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
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A second man was arrested for the alleged burglary of two Kenai businesses this fall. Jared Hart, 31, of Soldotna, was arrested Wednesday on two counts of burglary in the second-degree, two counts of theft in the second-degree and two counts of criminal mischief in the third-degree. The charges are in connection with the burglary of Lucky Diamond Pull Tabs on Sept. 10, and Kenai Moose Lodge on Oct. 20. All six charges are class C felonies and if convicted hold a maximum sentence of five years in prison and up to $50,000 fine for each count. Kenai Police Chief Gus Sandahl said Jared Hart is the brother of Jeremy Hart, 38, arrested on Oct. 28 for the burglaries of the Kenai Arby’s on Sept.1, Lucky Diamond Pull Tabs on Sept. 10, and Kenai Moose Lodge on Oct. 20. The value of stolen property and damage at all three businesses was estimated at more than $750, according to a police affidavit. Jared Hart was arrested at the Kenai Courthouse Wednes-
See BEAVER, page A-2
3 jailed for stealing from convict FBI says it impersonated AP reporter Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion
Top: Nels Anderson stands on his property on the bank of the Kenai River where beaver has recently taken up residence, Saturday in Soldotna. The beaver has destroyed several trees on his property and a neighboring property in the process of building a dam between the two. Anderson said he plans to have a trapper take care of the problem. Right: A beaver dam on the lower Kenai River has caused a headache for nearby neighbors.
Three people were arrested Oct. 31 at the Kenai Courthouse for the alleged burglary and theft of an incarcerated man’s possessions two weeks earlier. Alaska State Troopers with the property crime suppression unit arrested Anchorage resident Shawn Seaman, 29, and Kenai residents Travis Longbotham, 31, and Esperanza Torres, 22, each for burglary in the first degree and theft in the second degree of a man’s home in Kasilof. Burglary in the first degree is a class B felony and if convicted holds a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and up to $100,000 fine. Theft in the second degree is a class C felony and the maximum penalty is five years in jail and a fine of $50,000. Troopers responded to a report of attempted theft on Oct. 17 in Kasilof. The caller, Elizabeth Cruickshank, was watching Paul Robson’s property when Seaman and Torres attempted to take a vehicle from the home, according to a trooper affidavit. Robson, currently jailed at Wildwood Pretrial Facility, was arrested on Oct. 10 after the Drug Enforcement Unit, troopSee STOLEN, page A-2
The Kenai Police Department on Friday announced the five juvenile boys had escaped from the juvenile detention center after reports of a riot at the facility on Marathon road Three of the boys were found hiding in a dumpster in the Kenai Multipurpose facility parking lot at about 9:40 p.m. Friday evening — however two remained at-large until Saturday evening, according to a Kenai PD media release. Police released the names and photographs of the two missing 16-year-old boys and had two reported sightings of them in Nikiski, said Kenai Police Chief Gus Sandahl. “Kenai Police and Alaska State Troopers responded and apprehended them,” he said. Sandahl would not comment on where the boys were found, though one of them had ties in the area, according to police. Despite escaping the facility without shoes and remaining at-large for the day, Sandahl said neither of the two boys apprehended on Saturday needed medical treatment.
-Staff Report
See THEFT, page A-2
By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
Police find 5 missing juvenile offenders
CHRIS GRYGIEL Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) — The FBI’s creation of a fake news story and impersonation of an Associated Press reporter during a criminal investigation undermine media credibility, blur the lines between law enforcement and the press and raise questions about whether the agency followed its own guidelines, free press advocates say. In a letter to The New York Times on Thursday, FBI Director James Comey said an agent “portrayed himself as an employee of The Associated Press” in 2007 to help catch a 15-year-old suspect accused of making bomb threats at a high school near Olympia, Washington. It was publicized last week that the FBI forged an AP story during its investigation, but Comey’s letter revealed the agency went further and had an agent pretend to be a reporter for the wire service. Comey said the agent posing as an AP reporter asked the suspect to review a fake AP article about threats and cyberattacks directed at the school, “to be sure that the anonymous suspect was portrayed fairly.” The bogus article contained a software tool that could verify Internet addresses. The suspect
clicked on a link, revealing his computer’s location and Internet address, which helped agents confirm his identity. “That technique was proper and appropriate under Justice Department and FBI guidelines at the time. Today, the use of such an unusual technique would probably require higherlevel approvals than in 2007, but it would still be lawful and, in a rare case, appropriate,” Comey wrote. Kathleen Carroll, executive editor of the AP, said the FBI’s actions were “unacceptable.” “This latest revelation of how the FBI misappropriated the trusted name of The Associated Press doubles our con-
cern and outrage, expressed earlier to Attorney General Eric Holder, about how the agency’s unacceptable tactics undermine AP and the vital distinction between the government and the press,” Carroll said in a statement. In a letter to the Justice Department last week, the AP requested Holder’s word that the DOJ would never again misrepresent itself as the AP and asked for policies to ensure the DOJ does not further impersonate news organizations. On Friday the Committee to Protect Journalists said in a statement it was “deeply concerned” by the FBI’s actions and called for a review of poli-
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Chenault named House Speaker Nikiski man’s 4th term makes him the longestserving in the position
cies. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, in its own letter on Thursday to Comey and Holder, asked the agency for full disclosure about the incident. “The utilization of news media as a cover for delivery of electronic surveillance software is unacceptable,” the letter said. “This practice endangers the media’s credibility and creates the appearance that it is not independent of the government. It undermines media organizations’ ability to independently report on law enforcement.” The letter from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press also said the FBI’s actions in the Washington state case appear to violate Department of Justice standards because there was not adequate review or disclosure about the ruse to the judge approving the warrant and FBI counsel. “The failure to comply with the FBI and Attorney General’s own requirements regarding news media impersonation is inexcusable,” said the letter, which was co-signed by than two dozen organizations, including The New York Times Company, the Gannett Co., The Washington Post, The McClatchy Company and the
It has been a week of success for Mike Chenault. First, the longtime state representative beat a fellow Nikiski man, Rocky Knudsen, for the right to represent House District 29; then he was reelected by his own party to be the Speaker of the House for a fourth term. Chenault holds the state’s record for the most consecutive terms as Speaker of the House. Still, he’s humble about the position and joked that he’s not speaker of the house in his own home. “I’m not even the rules chairman or the finance guy at my house,” he said with a laugh. Chenault said he was not challenged for the seat this year, though there had been rumors that someone else from the within the Republican party would run. “I think that I have the ability to get things done, I’m forceful when I need to be, but I’m
See FBI, page A-2
See SPEAKER, page A-2
By RASHAH MCCHESNEY Peninsula Clarion