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Vol. 49, Issue 277
In the news
Men charged after fatal overdose ANCHORAGE — Two men have been arrested in connection with two overdoses, including a fatality, involving counterfeit pills that may have been contaminated with fentanyl, a report said. Jeremy Krone, 37, and Michael Gundersen, 44, were charged with manslaughter, The Anchorage Daily News reported Wednesday. Raylene Kochuten, 26, of King Cove, died Sept. 1 of a suspected drug overdose after being found in a shed in Sand Point on Popof Island, police said. The previous day a man was found responsive with signs of a drug overdose in Sand Point and flown off the island for medical treatment, authorities said. The two overdoses were related and the pills may still be circulating in the community, police said in a statement. “The drugs taken were small blue 30 milligram counterfeit Oxycodone Hydrochloride pills,” police said. “Some of these pills may be contaminated by Fentanyl and are extremely dangerous.”
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Soldotna annexation input sought
The city is holding a public hearing at 2 p.m. Saturday at Soldotna High School. By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
Residents will have an opportunity to share their thoughts and provide feedback on the city of Soldotna’s controversial petition to annex almost 4 square smiles adjacent to city boundaries. The city is holding a public hearing at 2 p.m., Saturday at Soldotna High School. The petition, exceeding 300 pages, has been online for 30 days and residents, especially in impacted areas, are encouraged to provide Soldotna City Council feedback. “I think it’s a really
important opportunity for people, especially people who will be impacted, to participate,” Soldotna City Manager Stephanie Queen said. “I do hope if there are people in the areas being considered that they come and take the opportunity and speak directly to the council, because I know the council wants that feedback. They want to understand all of the issues so they can make the best decision.” In June 2018, the Soldotna City Council passed a resolution to start drafting a petition to annex seven areas adjacent See annex, Page A2
Victoria Petersen / Peninsula Clarion
A message opposing annexation is visible on an electronic sign at Lucky Raven Tobacco, located inside one of the proposed areas for annexation near Soldotna on Thursday.
Swan Lake Fire switches crews The Northern Rockies Type II team will assume command of the fire Tuesday morning.
Kwethluk and utility to build battery system BETHEL — An Alaska community is partnering with an electric utility to build a battery storage system to be used during power outages, a report said. The project involving Kwethluk and the Nuvista Light and Electric Cooperative could help end the small city’s reliance on diesel fuel, Alaska’s Energy Desk reported Tuesday. Kwethluk and the electric cooperative received $477,050 from the U.S. Department of Energy to build a 675 kilowatthour, lithium-ion battery. Kwethluk was required to match 50% of the funds, officials said. Kwethluk is a largely Yupik community with more than 700 residents who live a subsistence lifestyle 12 miles east of Bethel on the Kwethluk River. A battery of that size could light every home for an hour during peak demand or maintain critical buildings including the health clinic and community hall for more than two hours, officials said. — Associated Press
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By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
sexual assault kits from nearly 50 police agencies in Alaska that had never been submitted to the Crime Lab for DNA analysis. These kits were collected from investigations spanning three decades. Between 2016 and 2017, the Department of Public Safety was awarded $1.5 million in federal SAKI funds from the Bureau of Justice Assistance to analyze these untested kits. “This case demonstrates why SAKI is so important,”
The Great Basin Incident Management Team will be concluding their management of the Swan Lake Fire early next week. Fire managers have made the decision in cooperation with local agency administrators to transition fire management to the Type II Northern Rockies Team 4, according to the latest update from the incident management team. “We are already in communication with the incoming incident management team, sharing information with them,” Incident Commander Marty Adell said in Thursday’s update. “Many firefighters, air resources and equipment will remain through the transition and will continue to work with the new team. Our team is committed to ensuring that the new team will be successful.” Type II incident management teams have similar capabilities to Type I teams, but typically work with a smaller number of personnel. Adell said at the Cooper Landing community meeting last Tuesday that he anticipates between 400 to 500 personnel to be part of the Type II team. The Type I team currently monitoring the fire has been working with about 700 personnel. Public information officer Tim Jones said on Thursday that fire crews from the Type I team have finished establishing most of the planned containment lines and structure protection measures for the perimeter of the Swan Lake Fire. The focus of the Type II team will be to actively maintain
See Assault, Page A3
See fire, Page A3
Mark Thiessen / associated press
Vic Fischer (left), Meda DeWitt (center) and Aaron Welterlen, leaders of an effort to recall Gov. Mike Dunleavy, await paperwork at the Alaska Division of Elections office in Anchorage on Thursday. Recall organizers say they submitted 49,006 signatures in an attempt to force the recall election of the first-term governor.
Recall Dunleavy campaign submits 49,000 signatures to elections office By Becky Bohrer Associated Press
JUNEAU — Supporters of an effort to recall Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy submitted signatures to a state elections office Thursday, an early step in their push. The Recall Dunleavy group said it collected 49,006 signatures since launching Aug. 1, more than the 28,501 needed as part of the initial phase of the recall effort. The group has said it gathered
additional signatures, in part, to compensate for any that might be disqualified. Supporters gathered in Anchorage in the parking lot of Cook Inlet Region Inc., an Alaska Native corporation whose board of directors has endorsed the recall effort, before marching to a nearby elections office to drop off boxes of signatures. Afterward, they sang the Alaska state song. Vic Fischer, the last surviving delegate to the Alaska
constitutional Convention, called the effort a “phenomenal outpouring of citizenship,” with Alaskans coming together “to get rid of this dark cloud that has descended over Alaska.” A message seeking comment was sent to Dunleavy spokesman Matt Shuckerow. The Republican Dunleavy took office in December. Shuckerow has said Dunleavy was elected as an “agent of change” and
that the administration was “focused on empowering Alaskans” through the agenda on which Dunleavy ran. He cited public safety, addressing the budget and a payout to residents from the state’s oil-wealth fund in line with a longstanding calculation that has not been followed since 2016 as the state has dealt with a budget deficit. Public anger over See recall, Page A3
Sterling man arrested in 2001 sex assault case By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
A man wanted for a sexual assault that occurred near Sterling 18 years ago is being extradited to Alaska after authorities said they matched his DNA to a sexual assault kit from the case. Carmen Daniel Perzechino Jr., 57, was indicted on March 13 of this year by a Kenai grand jury on two counts of first-degree sexual assault and one count of kidnapping for crimes allegedly committed on Jan. 20, 2001. Perzechino is
accused of raping a woman in his van and threatening to kill her, according to an affidavit filed March 8, 2019 at the Kenai Courthouse. The victim allegedly escaped after jumping out of Perzechino’s van while on the Sterling Highway. At the time of the initial investigation, State Troopers attempted to locate a suspect or vehicle matching the description provided by the victim but were unsuccessful, and the case was closed in January of 2002. The recent indictment came after the case’s sexual
assault kit was tested as part of the State Troopers Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI), according to a Thursday release from the Alaska Department of Public Safety. Authorities said DNA in the kit matched a known DNA profile for Perzechino in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) — a national database of DNA profiles from known individuals and unknown suspects. This is the first arrest resulting from SAKI investigations. In 2017, a statewide inventory found more than 3,000