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Vol. 50, Issue 12
In the news
FBI aids in probe of homicide recorded on video ANCHORAGE — The FBI is assisting police in Anchorage with the investigation of a homicide captured in photos and video on a camera memory card. FBI Special Agent Steve Forrest said the agency is helping investigate the death of Kathleen Henry, 30, whose remains were discovered Oct. 2 by a passerby along the highway south of Anchorage, television station KTVA reported. “I can’t discuss details of the case but can confirm the FBI has provided and continues to provide investigative and technical assistance to the Anchorage Police Department,” Forrest said by email. Brian Steven Smith, 48, faces charges of murder, sexual assault and evidence tampering, according to an indictment filed Monday. A court appearance was scheduled for Wednesday. His attorney, assistant public defender Daniel Lowery, said by email Tuesday he does not comment on pending cases. A woman called police Sept. 30 and said she had found a camera memory card on the ground containing evidence of a crime. The card was labeled, “Homicide at midtown Marriott.” Midtown is a section of Anchorage. Detectives reviewed the card and found 39 photos and 12 videos. The videos showed a man beating and strangling a woman, telling her to die and laughing. The woman attacked had dark hair and was described as “possibly Alaskan Native.” The man’s voice in the video had what sounded like an English accent. Detectives listening to the video remembered the voice from a previous investigation and linked it to Smith, an immigrant from South Africa. Investigators learned that Smith from Sept. 2-4 had stayed at TownePlace Suites by Marriott. Photos on the memory card showed a partial license plate on a black pickup, and detectives linked it to a 1999 Ford Ranger See news, Page A3
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Winners
Front-runner Democrats clash in Ohio
Nats sweep Cards for NL pennant
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Mixed bag 40/32 More weather, Page A2
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‘Health and well-being ... is our mission’ The state offers resources to patients with discontinued prescriptions. By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
State officials are working to provide resources to patients relying on medications prescribed by two medical providers — including a Soldotna doctor — recently arrested on narcotics charges. Alaska’s Chief Medical Officer Dr.
Anne Zink said in an Oct. 11 press release that the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services is working with local, state, tribal and federal partners to support affected patients, families and the medical community to address the physical and behavioral health of those who now have discontinued prescriptions. “The health and well-being of Alaskans is our mission,” she said. This includes supporting patients in chronic pain, providing information about pain
management, helping to prevent and treat opioid misuse and supporting the community through the transition in care delivery, the release said. “We’re aware of the concerns of both patients and providers and we’re working to address questions and issues as quickly as possible,” Zink said. Last week, special agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration arrested Soldotna doctor Lavern See health, Page A2
Inquiry intensifies Vivid details emerge on Ukraine as impeachment quickens
Paying a high price The opioid crisis cost the U.S. economy $631 billion from 2015 through last year — and it may keep getting more expensive, according to a study released Tuesday by the Society of Actuaries. The biggest driver of the cost is unrealized lifetime earnings of those who died from the drugs, followed by health care costs. — Associated Press
New cold case site is a ‘call to action’ By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
as “three amigos” tied to the White House took over U.S. foreign policy toward the Eastern European ally. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, despite intensifying calls from Trump and Republicans to hold a formal vote to authorize the impeachment inquiry, showed no indication she would do so. She said Congress will continue its investigation as part of the Constitution’s system of checks and balances of the executive. “This is not a game for us. This is deadly serious. We’re on a path that is taking us, a path to the truth,” Pelosi
A Cold Case Investigation Unit webpage is now online, and is intended to keep the public better informed of cold case and missing persons investigations. The webpage, dps.alaska.gov/ AST/ABI/ColdCase, was also established to encourage people to come forward and help solve longstanding cold cases, the Alaska Department of Public Safety said in an Oct. 15 press release. The department is encouraging relatives of missing persons to contact Alaska State Troopers with information or to provide DNA. “With the advancement of DNA technology, the CCIU and the Missing Persons Clearinghouse have solved homicides and missing persons cases by working with victims’ family members who’ve come forward to provide DNA,” the release said. The webpage lists the names, case numbers, locations and the report date for unresolved homicide case victims and those who have gone missing under undetermined causes, the release said. “In a sense, we’re offering this revamped webpage as a call to action,” Colonel Barry Wilson, Director of the Alaska State Troopers, said. “We’re hoping the public will be inspired to get involved and help put more of these cases to rest. Any new information, DNA as a family member or dental records which may be matched to newly or previously discovered remains that have gone
See inquiry, Page A14
See site, Page A3
Andrew Harnik / Associated Press
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks at a news conference Tuesday on Capitol Hill about the House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
By Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jalonick and Laurie Kellman Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The impeachment inquiry is revealing vivid new details about the high-level unease over President Donald Trump’s actions toward Ukraine, and those of his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, as the swift-moving probe by House Democrats showed no signs Tuesday of easing. The testimony from the witnesses, mainly officials from the State Department and other foreign
policy posts, is largely corroborating the account of the government whistleblower whose complaint first sparked the impeachment inquiry, according to lawmakers attending the closed-door interviews. One witness, former White House aide Fiona Hill, testified that national security adviser John Bolton was so alarmed by Giuliani’s back-channel activities in Ukraine that he described him as a “hand grenade who is going to blow everybody up.” Another, career State Department official George Kent, testified Tuesday he was told by administration officials to “lay low” on Ukraine
Federal effort to amend Roadless Rule draws fire By Peter Segall Juneau Empire
The U.S. Forest Service announced Tuesday it is looking to exempt the Tongass National Forest from the 2001 “Roadless Rule,” prompting outcry from local conservationists who say the land should remain protected from development. “Obviously we’re profoundly disappointed,” said Meredith Trainor, executive director at the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, said in an interview. “We’re ready to fight for the people of Southeast Alaska.” The Roadless Rule prohibits road construction or reconstruction and timber harvest on 58.5 million ares of National Forest System lands, according to the Forest Service. The Forest Service is now seeking public comment on alternatives to the Roadless Rule for a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS). The service has presented a range
of alternatives to the rule, many of which would allow timber harvest of old-growth forest. The service’s preferred alternative would remove 9.2 million acres of Tongass National Forest. Additionally it would convert 165,000 old-growth acres and 20,000 younggrowth acres previously designated as unsuitable for timber harvest to suitable land, according to a press release from the Forest Service. Trainor said that the decision to undo the Roadless Rule was less about economics and more about politics. “I think it’s a lot about people like Sen. (Lisa) Murkowski (R-Alaska) getting stuck on what Southeast Alaska’s economy could and should look like,” Trainor said. President Donald Trump’s administration signaled its intention to remove the Roadless Rule in August when the president instructed Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to exempt the Tongass, the Washington
Post reported at the time. The Post reported that decision came following a meeting the president had with Gov. Mike Dunleavy aboard Air Force One in February. Dunleavy sent President Trump a letter on March 1, asking the president to exempt the Tongass. “Today’s announcement on the Roadless Rule is further proof that Alaska’s economic outlook is looking brighter every day,” Dunleavy said in a press release. “The ill-advised 2001 Roadless Rule shut down the timber industry in Southeast Alaska, wiping out jobs and economic opportunity for thousands of Alaskans. I thank the Forest Service for listening to Alaskans wishes by taking the first step to rebuilding an entire industry, putting Alaskans back to work, and diversifying Alaska’s economy.” In a joint statement, all three of Alaska’s delegates to Congress, Murkowski, Sen. Dan Sullivan and Rep. Don Young, all Republicans, lauded the move.
“I’m very pleased the administration has listened to Alaskans and is proposing a full exemption from the Roadless Rule as its preferred alternative,” Murkowski said in a statement. “This is important for a wide array of local stakeholders as we seek to create sustainable economies in Southeast Alaska.” But Trainor and others pointed out that timber currently accounts for less than 1% of Southeast Alaska’s economy. According to Southeast Conference, the regional development organization, the timber industry declined by 5% in 2018. In the statement, Sullivan said the Roadless Rule inhibits the construction of critical projects other than timber harvest that would provide and economic boost to the region. “The Roadless Rule hinders our ability to responsibly harvest timber, develop minerals, connect communities, or build energy projects to See roadless, Page A16