Ties
Running
Better Native relations sought by the military
Homer grad to do Boston with Team Papi
News / A15
Sports / A8
44/30 More weather, Page A2
W of 1 inner Awa0* 201 Exc rds fo 8 e r Rep llence i o n rt * Ala ska P i n g ! res
CLARION P E N I N S U L A
Vol. 50, Issue 19
Optimistic
s Clu
Friday, October 25, 2019 • Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
b
$1 newsstands daily/$1.50 Sunday
Homicide probe findings sent to District Attorney By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
Nearly two months after a Seward man was found dead, Seward Police have forwarded the findings from their homicide investigation to the Kenai District Attorney’s Office for review. The disappearance of Preston Atwood, 21, was ruled a homicide by police on Sept. 19, about three weeks after he was first reported missing on Aug. 28. The missing persons bulletin indicated that
Atwood had last been seen on Aug. 25 at Fourth of July Beach and again on Aug. 27 near the entrance to First Lake Park. Atwood was reportedly using crutches on Aug. 25 but was not during the Aug. 27 sighting. Seward Police Chief Tom Clemons did not comment on where the body was found or whether any suspects were interviewed as part of the investigation. When asked about the length of time between the body being located and the findings being sent
to the DA’s office, Clemons said that both the limited resources of the department and his intention to “protect the integrity” of everyone involved were factors in the duration of the investigation. “This is a small community, and (Atwood’s) family are friends of mine,” Clemons said. “I’ve been doing this for almost 50 years, and one thing I know is that you can’t rush these things. When you rush, you make mistakes.” Clemons told the Clarion on Thursday that the entire police
force, himself included, were involved in locating the body and conducting the investigation, but only one officer was responsible for compiling the findings from the investigation and preparing it for the DA’s office. The Seward Police Department has a total of 10 officers on staff, Clemons said. In Alaska, a defendant’s right to a speedy trial requires that their case be tried within 120 days of an arrest being made or charges being filed. Clemons said that his department
Anchorage will still host 2020 fisheries meeting
In the news
Ferry to be mothballed JUNEAU, Alaska — A state ferry will be put into storage in Ketchikan because there’s no money to repair it. The Alaska Marine Highway System announced Thursday that the Malaspina will be placed in “unmanned, long-term layup status” Jan. 10. The Malaspina will end revenue service Dec. 2 when it reaches Ketchikan. The 56-year-old Malaspina is a 408-foot mainline ferry. The Malaspina this winter was scheduled for overhaul but a preliminary investigation revealed the need for extensive steel replacement. Ferry officials say the estimated $16 million repair cost exceeds the available budget. Ferry officials say there will be no impact on the system schedule. They also say no long-term decisions have been regarding the Malaspina’s future.
Passenger dies when SUV flips JUNEAU, Alaska — A passenger in a sport utility vehicle died when it flipped and landed in a Juneau ditch filled with water. Juneau police say the 47-year-old man was trapped in part of the SUV that was submerged. He died inside the SUV. Names of the passenger and the 30-year-old driver were not immediately released. Police shortly before 2 a.m. Thursday took a call on the crash on the Glacier Highway and found the small SUV on its roof in 3 feet of water. Police say the driver had been at an Auke Bay liquor establishment and had picked up the passenger to give him a ride. Police obtained a search warrant to sample the driver’s blood alcohol content. The driver was See news, Page A15
Index Local . . . . . . . . . . A3 Opinion . . . . . . . . A4 Nation . . . . . . . . . A5 World . . . . . . . . . A6 Religion . . . . . . . . A7 Sports . . . . . . . . . A8 Classifieds . . . . . . A11 TV Guide . . . . . . . A13 Comics . . . . . . . . A14 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
wanted to ensure the case was fully put together without being under any time constraints, which is why no suspects have yet been arrested in relation to the case. Clemons said he was satisfied with the investigation his officers conducted and “felt good” about the case moving forward. The onus is now on the District Attorney to decide whether to press charges. Kenai District Attorney Scot Leaders did not respond to a phone call from the Clarion requesting comment on the case.
By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
called off the ground and local search for Murnane. Murnane, 38, has been missing from her Main Street home since last Thursday. Police have not given up trying to locate the Homer woman, but have shifted their focus from a local to a statewide search. Based on ground and air searches, and scent tracking by search and rescue dogs, police have ruled out that Murnane is still in the Homer area and have expanded the search. “Our current belief is she was picked up sometime Thursday
Anchorage will be the location for the Alaska Board of Fisheries 2020 Upper Cook Inlet Finfish meeting. The Board of Fisheries voted on the location site at the end of their two-day work session in Anchorage, Thursday. The vote was 4-3 in favor of locating the regulatory meeting in Anchorage in 2020. Board members Märit Carlson-Van Dort, Gerad Godfrey and Fritz Johnson opposed having the meeting in Anchorage. Johnson said it’s been long overdue that the meeting be held in Kenai. The meeting has never been held in the Matanuska Susitna Borough and was last held on the Kenai Peninsula in 1999. In an unexpected vote in January, the Alaska Board of Fisheries decided to move the 2020 regulatory meeting from the Kenai Peninsula to Anchorage. The meeting was originally going to be held in Anchorage, but a March 2018 vote moved the 2020 meeting to the Kenai-Soldotna area, and established a policy that rotated the Upper Cook Inlet Finfish meetings between Anchorage,
See missing, Page A2
See meeting, Page A15
Michael Armstrong / Homer News
Casey Fetterhoff (left), with the Homer Volunteer Fire Department, leads a search Sunday off Main Street and Pioneer Avenue for Anesha “Duffy” Murnane, a Homer woman missing since Oct. 17.
Where is Anesha Murnane? Homer woman remains missing; search widens. By Michael Armstrong Homer News
In the ongoing effort to find missing Homer woman Anesha “Duffy” Murnane, Homer Police on Wednesday released a security camera image showing her leaving her Main Street apartment at 12:13 p.m. last Thursday, Oct. 17. Police said they believe Murnane was heading on foot to an appointment at an East End Road address.
In a Facebook post, police asked anyone with home security cameras, RING cameras, game cameras or other devices to check for images between 12:13 to 12:50 p.m. on Oct. 17 that might have shown her walking along Lee Drive, Herndon Drive, lower Svedlund Street, lower Kachemak Way, East Fairview Avenue, and Pioneer Avenue to Lake Street. Police have canvassed the area, but a more specific time of when Murnane might have been in the area could help people narrow searches on security cameras. On Monday afternoon, and after consulting with family, Homer Police
Debussy Trio to make Soldotna appearance By Joey Klecka Peninsula Clarion
In exploring the classical music scene for artists to bring to the peninsula, the Performing Arts Society in Soldotna was searching for a wide variety of talent to showcase. The organization found it, with a series of concerts planned this winter, beginning Saturday night with the Debussy Trio. Hosted by the Performing Arts
Society, the concert begins 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26 at Christ Lutheran Church in Soldotna, and general admission is $20, while students get in for $10. The concert kicks off a series of four winter concerts on the peninsula that feature everything from classical to jazz to modern interpretations of alternative jazz. Performing Arts Society president Barb Christian said that was the goal of the concert series when the organization was constructing the
schedule last year. “We try to bring unusual talent, international talent and people who have performed or won contests,” Christian said. “We try to bring a variety of things. That way we’re offering different types of concerts.” Christian said the Debussy Trio features three talented artists, highlighted by a rare appearance by world-renowned harpist Marcia Dickstein. “Our big excitement is that we will
have a harpist as part of the trio, and we’ve never had a concert featuring a harpist before,” she said. “They are all exceedingly good musicians, though, and I think our audience will be very pleased by it.” Dickstein is artistic director and founder of the Debussy Trio, which is playing its 30th year and also includes Angela Wiegand on flute and Andrew Duckles on viola. The See trio, Page A3
Attorney: Trump calendar helps prove groping claim By Jennifer Peltz Associated Press
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump’s private calendar helps support a former “Apprentice” contestant’s claim that he subjected her to unwanted kissing and groping, her lawyer said in a court filing Thursday. The calendar records, filed in Summer Zervos’ defamation lawsuit, show Trump was scheduled to be at
the Beverly Hills Hotel in California on Dec. 21, 2007, in the timeframe when she claims Trump made unwanted advances at that hotel. She said he kissed and groped her, despite her objections, at what she thought would be a professional dinner, and then invited her to meet him at his nearby golf course the next morning. The calendar records show he was scheduled there the morning after his arrival at the hotel. Trump’s calendar doesn’t include
anything about a meeting with Zervos. But her lawyer, Mariann Wang, wrote that the documents “strongly corroborate” Zervos’ account — and indicate that Trump was lying in a 2016 statement that said he “never met her at a hotel.” Trump lawyer Marc Kasowitz said Thursday that Zervos’ claims are “entirely meritless and not corroborated by any documents.” Zervos, a California restaurateur who was on “The Apprentice”
in 2006, was among more than a dozen women who came forward during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign with allegations of sexual misconduct. Both she and Trump are Republicans. He called the women “liars” trying to harm him with “100 percent fabricated” stories, and he retweeted a message specifically calling Zervos’ claims “a hoax.” He also issued a See claim, Page A15