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P E N I N S U L A
Vol. 50, Issue 14
In the news
Man in strangling video charged in 2nd death By Becky Bohrer and Mark Thiessen Associated Press
ANCHORAGE — A man accused of killing a woman who was seen strangled in videos on a digital memory card was charged Thursday with the death of another woman, authorities in Alaska said. Brian Steven Smith acknowledged to detectives that he was the man in the images and videos recovered from the card, according to a document filed by the state Department of Law. Smith, 48, also said he shot another woman and told police where he disposed of her body, the document states. Anchorage police identified that woman as Veronica Abouchuk. Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll told reporters Abouchuk’s family reported her missing in February, but he said she had last been seen by them in July 2018. A grand jury indicted Smith on Thursday on murder and evidence tampering charges in the death of Abouchuk. According to the bail memo, Alaska State Troopers earlier this year recovered a skull with a gunshot wound in an area near the location Smith later provided. It was identified as Abouchuk. Smith previously pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, sexual assault and tampering in the death of 30-year-old Kathleen Henry. According to police and court documents, a memory card found on the ground in Anchorage contained videos showing her being strangled and pictures of her lying face down in the back of a truck. Smith’s attorney, Dan Lowery, an assistant public defender, has said he does not comment on pending cases. The Department of Law has asked that bond be set at $2 million. The department said Smith poses a “significant public safety risk” and it considers him a flight risk. Smith came to Alaska from South Africa about five years ago and became a naturalized U.S. citizen last month, according to the bail memo.
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HEA begins repairs to fire-damaged power line By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
Homer Electric Association is working to restore the transmission line damaged by the Swan Lake Fire. The transmission line delivers electricity from the Bradley Lake Dam near Homer to electric utilities north of the Kenai Peninsula. With the help of Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and fire personnel, HEA has begun initial work to clear fire damaged trees and debris around the transmission line, according to a Wednesday
HEA press release. Damage extends from Sterling to the Quartz Creek Substation near Cooper Landing. A preliminary assessment of the damaged area shows fire damage to structures supporting the line in wetlands along the north side of the Sterling Highway Watson Lake to Milepost 62.5, near Lower Jean Lake. The segment of the line along the south side of the Sterling Highway from Milepost 62.5 to 58 are in areas of heavy fire-damaged timber and steep terrain.
On Tuesday, crews began using specialized tools and mechanical equipment to open access along this portion of the line. “Recognizing the importance of this line to electric consumers throughout the “Railbelt” from Seward to Fairbanks, HEA has begun the next phase for returning the line to service,” the Wednesday release said. “The initial phase, now completed, involved several assessments via helicopter, and, where possible, road observations. See HEA, Page A2
Courtesy photo
HEA Land Management Officer Cody Neuendorf and Mike Hill, Kenai Wildlife Refuge assistant fire management officer, brief a clearing contractor on fire-related hazards at the “S/Q Line” Right of Way in this undated photo.
Tourism funds go before borough By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
Defend the Sacred Alaska
Protesters raise their fists during Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s speech at the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention on Thursday.
Dunleavy draws protest at AFN meeting By Ben Hohenstatt Juneau Empire
A commitment to a more collaborative budget-making process and protecting the program that subsidizes power costs in rural Alaska were maybe the second and third most memorable parts of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s Thursday morning speech. Protests and subsequent rebukes from Alaska Native leaders made an impression during the governor’s address to the Alaska
Federation of Natives annual convention. While addressing the Alaska Federation of Natives, audible protests and drumming could be heard competing with Dunleavy’s words in the live broadcasts, and social media posts indicated many in attendance stood with their fists held in the air. Defend the Sacred Alaska, a movement meant to assert indigenous rights to public office holders, said in an email members of the
movement unfurled a banner reading, “Recall is #GoodGovernment #TriballyLed #DefendTheSacredAK.” “Good Government, Alaskan Driven” is the theme of this year’s AFN convention. Defend the Sacred Alaska contacts did not immediately return calls seeking comment. Dunleavy did not personally address the protesters, which included Grammy Award-winners Portugal. The Man, but AFN co-chair Will Mayo cut into the governor’s
speech to ask the crowd to quiet down. “I can’t agree with this,” Mayo said. “We have different views, we may approach things differently, but we have a man here who is in a seat of authority, and there are ways that we can express our differences.” Mayo encouraged those in attendance to express themselves by voting or in ways that don’t drown out the governor’s message. See AFN, Page A3
Borough seeks state’s help with flooding issues By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
A resolution requesting that Gov. Mike Dunleavy support funding for watershed issues in the Seward area will be introduced at Tuesday’s Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting. The communities of Seward, Bear Creek and
Lowell Point are at risk from flooding, coastal storm surge, ground failure, sedimentation transport and coastal and riverine erosion, and have experienced major coastal storm surge and river flood events seven times in the last 18 years, the resolution said. Several of these events have caused damages to the Seward
Highway, Seward Airport, Lowell Point Road, Nash Road and the Alaska Railroad, according to the resolution. If mitigation efforts aren’t addressed, additional storm events could cause further damage to infrastructure and property. The resolution calls on the governor to support state funding for the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers to address watershed issues in Seward, to support approval of a service area-wide sediment management plan for the removal of stream bed material in Seward watersheds and to support the development of a statewide sediment management grant program See water, Page A2
Murkowski bill tackles rural domestic violence By Peter Segall Juneau Empire
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, announced the introduction of legislation Thursday meant to address domestic violence in rural Alaska. The Alaska Tribal Public Safety Empowerment Act would expand
the jurisdiction of the 2013 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) on a pilot basis for five years, according to the text of the bill. A press release from Murkowski’s office said VAWA “provided that tribes have the power to prosecute certain non-Natives who violate qualifying protection orders or commit domestic
or dating violence against Indian victims in Indian country.” But that act was limited to crimes committed within the jurisdiction of a tribe’s territory, which left Alaska Native women unable to obtain domestic violence protective orders, according to the release. By comparison, the
Empowerment Act would expand jurisdiction to Alaska Native communities to be able to address what Richard Peterson, president of Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, called a “jurisdictional vacuum.” “The Alaska Tribal Public See bill, Page A3
An ordinance appropriating $150,00 for the tourism marketing council will be introduced at Tuesday’s Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting. Since the 1990s, the Kenai Peninsula Tourism Marketing Council — a nonprofit aimed at promoting the Kenai Peninsula as a “world class visitor destination” — has been funded by the borough. In June, however, the organization was defunded when Mayor Charlie Pierce vetoed $100,000 from its budget. An Oct. 10 memo to the assembly from assembly member Brent Hibbert, the ordinance’s sponsor, said tourism is an important component of the borough’s economy, and that the borough is in competition with other communities throughout the state for tourism dollars. Hibbert’s ordinance would appropriate $150,000 from borough general fund balance to the tourism council for the purpose of promoting tourism in areas of the borough, outside of the cities. The Kenai Peninsula Tourism Marketing Council submitted a grant application to the borough in February for $100,000. Hibbert’s ordinance would allow the council an opportunity to update its grant application to include an outline of proposed projects. If the ordinance passes, the council would have 45 days to send in an updated application, which would be presented to borough administration. In his proposed FY 2020 budget, Pierce zeroed out the $100,000 marketing council funds provided in years past. The assembly amended the $100,000 back into the budget, before they passed it in May. The mayor vetoed the $100,000 June 18, and the assembly failed to override. In FY 2019, the borough provided the council with $100,000. In the FY 2018 budget, the borough supported the council with $305,980 in funds, and $340,00 in FY 2017. A public hearing of the ordinance will be held at the Nov. 5 assembly meeting.