Alaska News

On March 15, volunteers with the Iditarod Trail Committee discovered a five-year-old husky had been buried and asphyxiated by drifting snow in Unalakleet.  Wednesday, ITC  released the results of an investigation into the death.

The dog, named Dorado, had been dropped at the Unalakleet checkpoint on March 11 by rookie musher Paige Drobny of Fairbanks.  But high winds and poor weather on March 14 grounded commercial airplanes and race personnel were unable to fly dropped dogs back to Anchorage.  More than 130 Iditarod race dogs were being cared for in Unalakleet, a regional hub along the Iditarod trail.

As the storm became more severe, volunteers moved just over 100 dogs inside.  Due to lack of space, they relocated roughly 30 to what they call “a more protected outdoor area.”  According to a press release, an Iditarod Trail Committee Volunteer Veterinarian checked on the dogs around 3:00 a.m.  At 8:30 a.m. another round of checks took place.  Eight dogs were found buried by drifted snow, including Drobny’s dog Dorado, who was found deceased.

Preliminary necropsy results indicate the dog died of asphyxiation.  Further results will be available within the next 30 days.

Mushers often drop dogs during the race to prevent injury, illness and sometimes even as part of their race strategy.  Dropped dogs are left in the care of volunteer race veterinarians at checkpoints.

Over the last week, Race Marshall Mark Nordman, head Veterinarian Stewart Nelson, as well as Paige Drobny and husband and fellow musher Cody Strathe and other Iditarod personnel have met for a series of discussions on how to improve care of and handling of dropped dogs.

In its press release, the ITC lists a number of mitigation measures to ensure better dog care in the future. The race will build dog boxes to house dogs in both the McGrath and Unalakleet checkpoints.  The organization will also arrange for more frequent flights out of checkpoints.  Veterinarians will also patrol dog lots where dropped dogs are staying more frequently in the future.

Race officials will continue to work with mushers and volunteers involved on dog care issues. In a post on her kennel’s website, musher Paige Drobny called the ITC’s announcement “positive change.”

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A Bethel man has pleaded guilty to fraudulently using the official letterhead for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The forgery was used in letters he mailed out to several local villages last spring.

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The Matanuska-Susitna Borough’ s unique economy is affecting many other areas of  the state.  That’s the word from a noted economist, who outlined his findings before the Borough Assembly on Tuesday.

Economist Neal Fried is calling it a “boom”.  Fried says the Borough’s growth is reflected in housing, schools — almost every area — except, paradoxically, in employment.

But Fried says local job growth is actually not a good indicator of the Mat Su area’s economy. Although about one thousand retail, health care and hospitality jobs were added over the past decade, the Borough’s jobs growth has been tied firmly to Anchorage. Fried says over 40 percent of workers living in Mat Su earn their paychecks elsewhere.

“Anchorage obviously is the biggest place that those earnings come from, but a big chunk comes from the North Slope Borough,” Fried said.

He says the Mat Su provides the second largest supply of labor to the North Slope after Anchorage.  What does this mean to the state? Fried is not sure. He says the Valley contributes to the state’s broader growth, but one of the areas that Mat Su differs from the rest of the state is in the jump in Valley school enrollment:

“It’s been very rapid here, very different story from what’s happening to elsewhere in the state. Same with population growth, you know, population’s been growing much faster. So, you know, if you need more infrastructure, whether it’s new roads, more schools, there’s probably more demand for that in a place that’s growing fast,” Fried said.

While school enrollment in other areas of the state peaked in 1999, and has since declined, Mat-Su schools grew 9 percent during the last five years. So building more schools and creating more infrastructure will cost the state but, Fried notes, Mat Su’s affordable housing benefits the state on the whole

“In some way, the Mat-Su Valley kind of exports housing. I know that sounds strange, but exports housing to the rest of the state, because a lot of the people who live here don’t work here. They work all over. They can live somewhere else. They don’t necessarily have to live here, but they choose to live here. So, in a sense, the Mat Su Valley is providing housing services to a significant slice of Alaska’s population, whether they work on the Slope, Anchorage, Red Dog, Bristol Bay or somewhere else,” Fried said. 

The pattern of labor and housing “exports ” from the Mat-Su has benefited Mat Su’s economy. Fried’s research shows that more earnings flow into the Mat Su than flow out, making it unlike any other part of the state.

“It’s very significant. You know, the last year I looked, 8 percent of the Valley residents work on the Slope, but almost $220 million flow in from payroll from the Slope.  And almost as much earnings come from Anchorage to Valley residents than earnings from Valley residents earning their wages right here in the Valley,” Fried said. 

Fried says these trends have been not changed for quite a while and are expected to continue. He says population growth is the most important indicator of the areas’s economy. Between 2000 and 2012, Mat Su population grew some 58 percent, compared with Anchorage growth of 15 percent and the state’s 17 percent. For more information on Mat Su’s economy, see Alaska Economic Trends for February.

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Leroy B. Dick, Jr., 42, in custody at the Dillingham airport. Dick is facing first degree murder charges for the killing of Manokotak VPSO Thomas Madole. Photo by Jason Sear, KDLG – Dillingham

A Village Public Safety Officer has been shot and killed in the community of Manokotak, about 25 miles southwest of Dillingham.

VPSO Thomas O. Madole, 54, is dead of an apparent gunshot wound.  The Alaska State Troopers arrested Leroy B. Dick, Jr., 42, of Manokotak.  Dick is being held at the Dillingham jail, facing charges of murder in the first degree.

The State Troopers in Dillingham took a report of shootings in Manokotak at about 4:00 p.m. Tuesday. Unable to get hold of VPSO Madole, the Troopers flew to the village an hour later. Madole was found dead outside a residence.

Few other details have been released. The State Troopers, along with the Alaska Bureau of Investigation, are continuing to investigate the scene.

“This is tremendously tragic,” said Colonel Keith Mallard, the Director of the Alaska State Troopers. “The relationship that we have with VPSO’s, we rely heavily on each other. What the VPSO brings to a community is continuity in the public safety. They are someone the community is able to build a relationship with and come to trust. Likewise, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do if we didn’t have the support of fine professionals like VPSO Madole.”

Village Public Safety Officers serve as first responders in communities typically without police or State Trooper detachments, and carry out their duties unarmed. Madole, one of two VPSO’s in the village, had been assigned to Manokotak since 2011.

“Tom was well respected within our community,” says Gayle Bartman, 24, who works at Manokotak Gas & Oil. “He was a very kind person, and would make twice-a-week visits at work just to talk, tell stories, and joke with us.”

Col. Mallard said the last time a VPSO was killed in the line of duty was in 1986. Ronald Zimin, 36, was shot and killed while responding to a domestic violence situation in the Bristol Bay borough.

“As soon as VPSO Madole’s body is removed from the scene, he will have a State Trooper or a VPSO with him up until the time of his burial,” said Col. Mallard. “Whether that’s in-state or out-of-state, we intend to stay with Tom until he’s put to rest.”

Madole is survived by a wife in Missouri, and a son in Bethel, Alaska.

The U.S. House Committee on Ethics is creating a subcommittee to investigate whether Congressman Don Young violated code of conduct. The subcommittee will probe Young’s expenses and travel costs.

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Legislation that would overhaul the state’s oil tax system has been moving its way through the Senate. Tuesday, the bill made it to the floor. While there wasn’t a formal debate on the bill, Democrats in the minority took advantage of the procedural motions to raise questions about how the changes would affect the state treasury.

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A healthcare organization with thousands of patients in Southeast Alaska expects a massive hit to its budget.

The head of the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, or SEARHC, says it’s the result of federal spending cuts known as sequestration.

CEO Charles Clement says his organization is bracing for a $3.5 million budget cut over the next six months.

“There is no possible way for SEARHC to absorb this amount of reduction,” he said.

Clement says the reduced funding is because of sequestration, which went into effect on March 1 when Congress could not reach an agreement on the nation’s budget. SEARHC receives a large percentage of its funding from the federal government.

Clement writes that he’s traveling this week to meet with the Indian Health Service and other tribal health organizations about sequestration. And he says SEARHC executives are working with the board of directors to figure out what to do.

“What I can tell you,” Clement writes in an email, “is that budget changes of this magnitude are beyond my authority to decide.”

He says nothing has been decided so far, but that difficult decisions are on the way.

SEARHC is Southeast Alaska’s largest private employer. It provides health services to Alaska Natives and other beneficiaries at its hospital campus in Sitka and through providers in Juneau. It also works in smaller communities throughout the panhandle.

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The state Board of Fisheries started its meeting in Anchorage Tuesday.   Board members heard Alaska Fish and Game staff reports, as well as one from the Upper Cook Inlet Task Force.  The task force was formed last year to consider options in making changes to how late run Kenai River king salmon are managed.  Changes in those rules would influence Upper Cook Inlet salmon fishing regulations. Fish Board members Tom Klubertson and Vince Webster co- chaired the task force.  Klubertson told the Board poor Chinook runs last year forced fisheries managers to severely curtail all types of fisheries to try to make Chinook escapement goals.

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The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has a new proposal for defining handicrafts made out of sea otter pelts. The agency sets rules for hunting of sea otters and other protected marine mammals.

Its rules allow coastal Natives to hunt otters for traditional and subsistence use. And it permits pelts to be sold to non-Natives after they’re significantly altered.

But part of the rules are hard to decipher. And different interpretations have led to citations, fines and other legal action.

Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl is part of a region-wide effort to expand the otter business.

“Our desire is to move away from the vague language that we’ve had that has resulted in some consternation with the hunters and with the craftspeople in not knowing what’s legally acceptable,” she says.

The Fish & Wildlife Service has released new wording and is taking comments through May 17th.

It defines “substantially altered” as weaving, carving, sewing, lacing, beading, drawing, painting and some other methods.

Fish and Wildlife’s Bruce Woods says artisans can make mittens, hats, gloves, purses and scarves. But it prohibits some larger items.

“If someone simply drew a picture on the back of a tanned sea otter hide and attempted to sell that as significantly altered, someone who was running a souvenir factory conceivably could buy those hides and turn them into a whole series of little otter dolls and sell them in competition (with) people who are doing the work as a handicraft,” Woods says.

Woods says Native craftspeople could work in cooperatives or other groups. But they could not use extensive mechanization or divide tasks in anything like an assembly line.

He says the new rules include input from hunters and other groups.

“So the service has been meeting with some handicrafter groups and other interested parties in an attempt to refine that definition and sort of take some of the angst out of the community of crafters who may not be certain that what they’re manufacturing is legal,” he says.

Some craftspeople are not happy with the proposed rules.

Worl says crafters worked with the Indigenous People’s Council for Marine Mammals and other organizations to come up with their own, more flexible proposal. But that’s not the Fish and Wildlife Service draft.

“All of us are busy studying it right now, but there’s a lot of unhappiness that it came out of the blue. So it’s like we’re back to the drawing board,” Worl says. (Hear a report from the last round of otter handicraft proposals.)

The heritage institute is training tribal members to sew otter pelts to help build a cottage industry, especially in economically depressed villages.

Worl says the workshops have waiting lists and more are planned.

The effort comes as hunters, lawmakers and scientists debate the impacts of rapid otter population growth in Southeast and some other parts of the state. Bills in the House and Senatewould subsidize hunting with a $100-per-pelt bounty.

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A fish processing vessel went aground near the Ouzinkie on Friday. The 169-foot “Pacific Producer,” out of Seattle, hit bottom between Kodiak and Spruce Island with sixteen aboard. Ten were rescued and taken to Kodiak, while the rest hope to re-float the vessel at high tide.

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Preparations are officially underway for the Kulluk drill rig’s trip to Asia.

Early Tuesday morning, three tugboats maneuvered the Shell rig out of its berth in Unalaska and onto the deck of the Xiang Rui Kou heavy lift vessel. More than a dozen residents headed down to the beach along Captains Bay Road to watch the operation.

Before crews got started, marine pilot Carter Whalen said they would have a hard time moving the Kulluk because of its domed shape.

“With three different tugs pulling on it with lines, it has a tendency to spin one way or the other. And once it starts spinning, it’s hard to stop it from spinning,” Whalen says. “It slides transversely through the water. It’s kind of a balancing act, rather than having to use a lot of power. It’s kind of a finesse.”

When reached this afternoon aboard the Kulluk, Whalen said the tow was going smoothly. Engineers fit the Kulluk into place on the deck of the Xiang Rui Kou, without the help of divers or remotely operated underwater vehicles. Once the Kulluk was properly positioned, the lift vessel emptied its ballast tanks and rose up from the water, taking the oil rig with it.

“Then there will be a four or five day process, once she’s floated, where they will secure and weld and reinforce the Kulluk into position before they cross the Pacific,” Whalen says.

The vessels are expected to leave Unalaska toward the end of the week. They’re bound for Asia, where the Kulluk will undergo repairs on damage sustained when the rig ran aground near Kodiak in January.

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An orphaned three-month old polar bear cub found near Point Lay is getting a temporary home at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage.

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Northern Dynasty Minerals has responded to the allegations made earlier this week by U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell that the company was misleading federal officials. In a written statement issued Tuesday Northern Dynasty Minerals President and CEO claimed that Senator Cantwell’s concerns have no basis in fact.

Cantwell claims that Northern Dynasty Minerals has made contradictory statements to the EPA, the Securities and Exchange Commission and investors about the EPA’s draft Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment and a potential mine plan. Ron Thiessen admits that the EPA may have used some of the information presented in the companies “Preliminary Economic Assessment” to create their mining scenario. But he says it’s the EPA alone that is responsible for designing and then assessing the effects of the hypothetical mine in the draft Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment”. Thiessen goes onto says that to suggest that Northern Dynasty is responsible for the EPA’s hypothetical project, which was evaluated in the draft watershed document, when the company had not involvement with the report is wrong.

In the news release Northern Dynasty Minerals noted that the companies Preliminary Economic Assessment presented a potential mine development scenario at Pebble but it did not include all the mine design information and mitigating measures that Northern Dynasty claims would have allowed the EPA to do a detailed assessment. The company claims the Preliminary Economic Assessment was intended to broadly evaluate the economics of a Pebble Mine project but did not included detailed engineering and other data. Thiessen asserts that Northern Dynasty’s filings with the SEC are legal and meet all of the required standards for those filing.

In the hours after the Cantwell letter to the SEC chairman was released several organizations involved with the Pebble Mine issued released statements. The Bristol Bay Native Corporation issued a statement expressing appreciation for Senator Cantwell’s attention to the proposed Pebble Mine. BBNC has take a position in opposition to the Pebble Mine and is calling for the EPA to step in and prevent the mine from moving forward to development. Northern Dynasty Minerals is based in Vancouver and its principal asset is the 50-percent stake in the Pebble Limited Partnership. That partnership is looking at developing a large gold and copper mine just north of Iliamna Lake.

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The U.S. House Ethics Committee has unanimously voted to create a subcommittee investigating whether Congressman Don Young violated official code of conduct.

The Committee was conducting its own investigation of Congressman Young, based on previous work from the 111th and 112th Congresses, when it received a referral from the Department of Justice.

DOJ conducted its own investigation into Congressman Young before.

The subcommittee will examine Congressman Young’s travel expenses and costs.

The Ethics Committee is not releasing anymore public information yet, and does not have a time frame for the investigation.

A spokesman from Representative Young’s office responded to emailed questions with “no comment.”

The U.S. House Ethics Committee has unanimously voted to create a subcommittee investigating
whether Congressman Don Young violated official code of conduct.

APRN’s Peter Granitz reports.

XXXX

The Committee was conducting its own investigation of Congressman Young … based on previous work
from the 111th and 112th Congresses, when it received a referral from the Department of Justice.

DOJ conducted its own investigation into Congressman Young before.

The subcommittee will examine Congressman Young’s travel expenses and costs.

The Ethics Committee is not releasing anymore public information yet, and does not have a timeframe
for the investigation.

A spokesman from Representative Young’s office responded to emailed questions with “no comment.”

The Anchorage School Board said good bye to Jim Browder and swore in a new Superintendent at their meeting Monday night. KSKA’s Daysha Eaton was there and has this story.

Ed Graff was officially made Superintendent of the Anchorage School District at the March 18th meeting of the School Board. Photo from ASD.

The Anchorage School Board voted unanimously to amend Jim Browder’s contract for serving as Superintendent, allowing him to leave the district in June. Browder said he regretted having to ask the board to let him go early and he said a thank you.
“I want to especially thank the staff, the teachers, the principals in the community for the support and the understanding as I’ve been going through this. This is a really good district. And it’s poised to continue that as we move forward. I’m proud of our numerous accomplishments and I’m proud that the staff has supported and helped us push forward the things that are important to students achievement.”

In February, Browder told the board that he might need to leave the district to be closer to his daughter and grandson who he says are experiencing medical issues. Earlier this month, he was one of three finalists for a job in Des Moines, Iowa, but he didn’t get the job. Last week ASD announced he would retire from the district, just 8 months into his 3-year contract. The board released him from his original contract which would have required 120 days rather than 90 days notice. Browder’s will get his salary and benefits until his end date. In addition he will not have repay his moving expenses of up to $10,000. He will not receive a severance package. He will not be evaluated because of his early departure. Chief Academic Officer Ed Graff was sworn in to take Browder’s place. Graff was named as the new superintendent on March 14th, the same day that it was announced that Browder would retire. He acknowledged the magnitude of his new job and said he hoped to bring balance to the district.

“The roll that I will play and believe that I have an obligation to do is to insure that we focus on all of our students collectively and still meet their needs of everyone individually. And I think that’s a balance that’s challenging but I think that it’s one that we deserve to give to our students and to our community members and to our parents.”

Jim Browder served as Superintendent of the Anchorage School District for less than one year. Screenshot from DMPStv.

Graff has been with the district for more than 20 years, working as substitute teacher, an elementary school classroom teacher, and as a principal. Browder and Graff will work alongside each other during the three-month transition. Browder’s last day with the district is scheduled to be June 14th. If he needs to leave earlier, due to family medical needs, a ‘Emergency Termination’ clause in his new contract allows him to do so without penalty.

Amended Contract for Jim Browder (PDF)

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Governor Sean Parnell’s oil tax overhaul is poised for debate Tuesday on the Senate floor. For weeks committees have been reviewing the bill and making changes to it and this is the first time it will appear before the full Senate.

The Governor has made it a priority to overhaul the tax structure by getting rid of a measure that raises the state’s share when the price per barrel is high. Critics say the legislation could cost the state billions, but Parnell says it’s necessary to get more oil flowing through the pipeline.

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U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced on Friday, a buildup at the missile-defense base at Fort Greely in response to threats by North Korea. The announcement has generated cautious enthusiasm about an economic boost in the Delta Junction area.

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A member of the U.S. Senate is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate one of the companies looking at developing a massive gold and copper mine in the Bristol Bay region.

Northern Dynasty Minerals is one half of the Pebble Limited Partnership along with the giant mining company Anglo-American. The Partnership is looking at developing the massive Pebble Mine that would be located just north of Iliamna Lake. On Monday U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell from Washington sent a letter to the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission asking for an investigation into what the Senator claims is contradictory information provided by Northern Dynasty Minerals to federal officials regarding building the Pebble Mine.

At issue is a document called the “Wardrop Report” that Northern Dynasty Minerals submitted to the SEC in February of 2011. That same report was also used by the EPA to prepare the draft “Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment”. In her letter, Senator Cantwell claims that Northern Dynasty Minerals informed both the SEC and investors that the proposed Pebble Mine design and specifications are feasible and permittable in a press release issued in 2011. Cantwell claims that more recently, in August of last year, Northern Dynasty Minerals referred to the “Wardrop Report” as a “fantasy proposal” in the company’s public testimony to the EPA. In her letter Cantwell claims that the contradictory use of the “Wardrop Report” is extremely concerning as it is unclear whether Northern Dynasty Minerals is misleading investors by attracting investment for a fantasy proposal or it is intentionally providing fraudulent testimony to the EPA.

Senator Cantwell is paying attention to the issue because the salmon resource in Bristol Bay supports a massive commercial fishery that is closely tied to Washington State. That’s because many of the major seafood processors that operate in Bristol Bay are based in Washington including Peter Pan, Ocean Beauty, AGS, Icicle, and North Pacific Seafood’s. Additionally nearly 1-thousand Washington State residents hold commercial fishing permits in Bristol Bay. Senator Cantwell wrapped up her letter by urging the SEC to launch an investigation. Northern Dynasty acquired the mining claims that encompass the Pebble Deposit back in 2001 and they entered into a 50-50 partnership with mining giant Anglo-American in 2007. The deposit is thought to contain over 50-billion pounds of copper and around 67-million ounces of gold.     However, some estimates greatly increase those numbers. No matter what estimate you use the Pebble Deposit is considered one of the largest deposits of its type on earth and any development of that deposit would have a positive impact on the economy of the Iliamna region. However, many Native, fishing, and environmental groups believe a mine of the size needed to develop the deposit would pose risks to the surrounding natural environment and could be especially harmful to the Bristol Bay region’s world famous and one of a kind salmon resource.

Efforts to get a comment from the Pebble Limited Partnership about the Cantwell letter and the call for a SEC investigation have so far been unsuccessful.

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Shell’s Kulluk drill rig is almost ready to leave Alaska waters.

The heavy lift vessel that will take the damaged oil rig to Asia for repairs arrived in Unalaska on Sunday afternoon. The Xiang Rui Kou was escorted to its anchorage in Captains Bay by three tugs.

The Kulluk has been in Unalaska for about two weeks, waiting for the 700-foot heavy lift ship to sail in from China. Marine pilot Carter Whalen says it will take about seven hours to load the Kulluk onto the Xiang Rui Kou this Tuesday. The lift vessel will fill its ballast tanks and sink below the Kulluk so cranes can lift the rig onto the Xiang Rui Kou’s deck.

After that, Whalen says work crews will spend a few days securing the Kulluk. The vessels are expected to leave Unalaska toward the end of the week.

Shell spokesman Curtis Smith says the company doesn’t have any comment on the operation at this time.

Congressman Don Young has passed two milestones this month. Saturday he surpassed the late Senator Ted Stevens for amount of years in federal elected office.

And earlier this month, he marked his 40th year since being first elected, in a special election in 1973.

In the November 1972 election, Representative Young lost to incumbent Nick Begich, who had died in a plane crash. Begich’s son Mark is now U.S. Senator.

APRN’s Washington correspondent Peter Granitz caught up with Representative Young this morning. They started by discussing what’s changed in Washington during his four decades in federal office.

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