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Grand jury returns
indictment in 1988 Sitka cold case
A grand jury in Sitka returned an indictment Friday in the
disappearance of a Sitka man in 1988.
Jane Limm, also known as Jane Coville and Jane Reth, has been
charged with first-degree murder and tampering with physical
evidence in the case of her husband, Scott Coville, whose body has
never been found.
Coville disappeared in April 1988.
The cold case units in the Alaska State Troopers and the
Department of Law have been investigating the 22 year-old case.
Deputy attorney general Rick Svobodny says DNA forensic science
technology was instrumental in verifying what investigators
believe to be the exact location where Coville is alleged to have
been murdered.
Coville and Limm were married in Sitka in late 1987 and were
living together at the time of his disappearance.
The Superior Court in Sitka has issued a warrant for Limms
arrest.
An arraignment on the charges and the scheduling of a trial will
take place after Limm has been apprehended.
Up to 13 inches
of snow in forecast
A winter storm warning is in effect for Juneau through 3 Tuesday
morning.
The National Weather Service is calling for a total snow
accumulation of 6 to 13 inches with 4 to 10 today and up to three
more tonight.
The Juneau Forecast Office says the highest amounts will occur
north of the Mendenhall Valley.
An additional accumulation of up to 2 inches is forecast Tuesday.
Rain and snow are forecast from Tuesday through Saturday with rain
likely Sunday.
Police report on road conditions
Juneau Police report roads are terrible.
They report the weather contributed to an accident after 5 a.m.
between a car and road grader inbound on Egan Drive at Fred Meyer.
The driver of the car was taken to the hospital for evaluation,
according to Sergeant Paul Hatch.
Weather
changes operations of school buses and Capital Transit
Juneau school buses are using snow routes today.
The afternoon activities buses have been cancelled.
Impacted are the middle schools and Gastineau and Riverbend
Elementary Schools.
Capital Transit made the switch to winter routes this morning.
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The CBJ Harbor
Department is advising boat owners to check their vessels due to
the heavy snowfall.
The department advises checking moorage lines, bilge, and anything
that could give way.
Brief power
outage impacts about 11-hundred in Lemon Creek area
There was a blip in the power for some Alaska Electric, Light and
Power customers a few minutes after one this afternoon. (Monday
The utility's Gayle Wood says it was a re-closure action which she
says is an instantaneous fault on their system which could have
been related to today's heavy snowfall.
Because it's instantaneous, she says they never know for sure what
actually caused the outage.
She says about 11-hundred of their customers in the Lemon Creek
area were impacted.
Our studios at 3 and a half mile were also affected.
2 women jailed in
connection with knife point robbery
Two women were jailed on robbery charges by Juneau Police Sunday
night.
Police received the report just before 10 p.m. of the robbery in
the parking lot of the 7800 block of Glacier Hwy.
Two women told police that they had money and their purses taken
from them at knife point.
Responding officers saw a vehicle matching the description of the
vehicle used in the robbery turn onto Renninger Drive
Officers contacted the driver and two occupants in the vehicle who
were detained.
Further investigation revealed that the two passengers, Brenda
Gallant and Jennifer Blankenship were involved in the robbery.
They were charged with robbery in the first
degree, a Class A felony and jailed at the Lemon Creek
Correctional Center.
The driver of the vehicle was later released.
Police find fugitive from justice
during traffic stop
A man wanted on a weapons misconduct charge was arrested following
a traffic stop early this morning after being on the lam for
nearly two weeks.
Police stopped 39 year old Thomas Leigh-Kendall shortly after 3
a.m.
He was wanted in connection with a disturbance on the night of
December 30.
After arriving at his Gruening Park Apartment home, he became upset
that his television was missing and allegedly pulled out a handgun
and fired a round into a stereo owned by his roommate.
He fled before police arrived and was not found until this
morning.
Police say Leigh-Kendall is a convicted felon.
He was jailed at the Lemon Creek Correctional Center.
Stabbing
death of Juneau man may have been suicide
Juneau Police say the preliminary investigation into the stabbing
of a man Saturday morning indicates the wound may have been
self-inflicted.
An autopsy into the
death of 26 year Aaron Whicker is pending and the case remains
under investigation.
Police received
a 911 call from a residence in the 8800 block of Duran Street at
about 5:39 Saturday morning.
The caller said her son-in-law was hurt and bleeding, and needed
an ambulance.
When officers arrived on scene, they found
Whicker with stab wounds to his chest.
Whicker was transported to Bartlett Regional Hospital by ambulance
where he died from his injuries.
Officers interviewed relatives, two adults and one child, who were
at the residence.
A friend who was at the residence was also interviewed. An
autopsy is pending and the case remains under investigation.
School arson cases remain under
investigation
Juneau Police continue to investigate an attempted arson on the
grounds of Thunder Mountain High School.
School administrators called police last Friday morning reporting
it appeared somebody had tried to light a fire inside several
garbage cans placed on the school grounds outside the building.
A police officer and the CBJ Fire Marshal responded and located
two, crude, home-made incendiary devices in two garbage cans.
According to police the devices had what appeared to be fuses that
had been lit, however they did not burn as intended and failed to
ignite the garbage inside the cans.
No property was damaged.
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A Police School Resources Officer was contacted by a Juneau
Douglas High School teacher late Friday afternoon concerning a
suspicious item left in a second floor classroom.
A large plastic bottle with an unknown liquid was secured by the
officer.
The teacher told the officer a student who had been in possession
of the bottle in the classroom had made suspicious statements
about it before leaving the bottle behind.
The bottle was examined and seized into evidence by the
department's Explosives Ordinance Disposal Team.
A 14 year old student has been identified as a person of interest
in the case, according to police.
Police have not disclosed what was in the bottle.
They say the case does not appear related to the Thunder Mountain
High School case.
Anyone with information on these cases is asked to contact police
or call Crime Line at 586-4243.
Police get help
with officer shot investigation
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) The Anchorage Police Department is
getting help with its investigation into the shooting of a police
officer.
Investigators are getting assistance from Alaska State Troopers,
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Seattle Police Department
and other agencies.
Police believe 47-year-old Jason Allen was shot early Saturday
because he is a police officer. He was sitting in his parked
patrol car in a residential neighborhood working on an unrelated
case when a dark-colored car pulled up next to him.
Police say the passenger fired, striking Allen as many as five
times in his arms and torso.
The officer was wearing a bulletproof vest. He is expected to
recover.
No arrests have been made. Police are urging anyone with
information to come forward.
Fort Richardson soldier killed in
combat
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) The U.S. Department of Defense
announced that a soldier assigned to Fort Richardson has been
killed in Afghanistan.
The department said Monday that Sgt. 1st Class Jason Hickman of
Kingsport, Tenn., died Jan. 7 when enemy forces attacked his unit
with an improvised explosive device and small arms fire.
The 35-year-old Hickman was a combat engineer assigned to A
Company, Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team
(Airborne), 25th Infantry Division.
Anchorage television station KTUU reports that Hickman joined the
Army in April 1999. He served in an engineer battalion at Fort
Bragg, N.C., in a recruiting battalion in Wisconsin and in Iraq
before arriving in Alaska in May 2008.
Sen. Murkowski
visits Afghanistan, Pakistan
WASHINGTON (AP) Sen. Lisa Murkowski's office says she met with
leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan as well as U.S. military
commanders while traveling with a congressional delegation.
The weekend meetings updated lawmakers on political, economic and
military issues in the region.
The itinerary included a meeting Saturday with Afghan President
Hamid Karzai in Kabul.
The delegation was led by Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell
of Kentucky.
Palin signs
deal with Fox
Sarah Palin is back in the media business -- as a contributor to
Fox News.
The New York Times reports that the former governor signed a
multi-year deal to appear on the cable channel on a regular basis.
A network official says it may take the form of Palin hosting a
program that appears periodically, but not every week.
Palin has a degree in communications and worked as a sportscaster
before entering politics.
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http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/11/sarah-palin-to-contribute-to-fox-news/
Assembly to hear presentations on
census and advisory committee for new Dimond Park pool
The Assembly will take up two information items at tonight's
(Monday) work session.
The first is the upcoming 2010 census.
A representative from the U. S. Census Bureau will brief the
Assembly on the preparations for counting the residents of Juneau.
City Manager Rod Swope says the other item is a presentation from
supporters of the new Dimond Park swimming pool.
Swope says the group would like to form an advisory committee and
have some kind of oversight role in the management of the pool to
ensure that it's operated efficiently and with as little subsidy
as possible.
The Assembly work session begins at 6 tonight at City Hall.
Navy hearing in Juneau tonight
The U.S. Navy is conducting a public hearing in Juneau tonight
(Monday) regarding proposed training events scheduled for the Gulf
of Alaska for a draft Environmental Impact Statement.
The Navy already conducts exercises in the Gulf but would like to
increase the number and variety of the training according to
Sheila Murray with Navy Region Northwest.
She says training would increase from current levels to support
fleet exercises and a second carrier strike group exercise.
The training will include use of the mid-frequency active sonar,
introduction of new weapons to the fleet and the use of a portable
undersea tracking range.
A public meeting with Navy officials is scheduled in Juneau for
Monday, January 11th at the Arts and Cultural Center.
The presentation and comment session begins at 7 p.m.
The deadline for public comment is January 25th.
The draft EIS is available and comments can also be submitted
online at www.GulfofAlaskaNavyEIS.com
Missile
defense chief in Alaska
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) The director of the Missile Defense
Agency is in Alaska to inspect facilities, including the
ground-based interceptor system at Fort Greeley.
Lt. Gen. Patrick J. O'Reiley is scheduled to deliver a speech on
ballistic missiles in Anchorage.
The event at noon tomorrow at the Dena'ina Center is sponsored by
Commonwealth North, a public policy education group.
(Anchorage Daily News)
Lack of
snow hampers Alaska wolf control
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) The state's aerial predator control
program has gotten off to a slow start this winter because of snow
a lack of it.
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that only two wolves have
been killed in the five areas where the Department of Fish and
Game has issued permits to pilot-gunner teams.
Pilots are required to retrieve any wolves that are shot, but
there isn't enough snow for them to land.
The lack of fresh snow also makes it difficult to locate wolf
tracks.
The program is part of the state's effort to increase moose and
caribou herds for hunting.
(Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)
Former
Soldotna player sought in robbery
SOLDOTNA, Alaska (AP) Police say a former Soldotna High School
football star is wanted on five felony charges alleging he faked a
knifepoint robbery involving a drug deal in which he posed as a
victim.
Soldotna police say 19-year-old Anthony Griglione is wanted on a
warrant for felony robbery, assault and drug charges in the Dec.
29 incident.
A court affidavit alleges he orchestrated a fake robbery in which
he paid a teenager to steal his money at knifepoint during a deal
for prescription drugs.
Griglione was a running back and linebacker with a 3.7 grade point
average his senior year. He was named the 2008-09 Gatorade Alaska
football player of the year and helped Soldotna to a third
consecutive small-schools state title.
After graduation, he went on to play for Northern State University
in Aberdeen, S.D.
(Anchorage Daily News)
No foul
play suspected in death of Upper Kalskag man
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) Alaska State Troopers say there was no
sign of a crime in the death of a 65-year-old Upper Kalskag man
whose body was found Sunday outdoors.
Troopers say alcohol was involved in the death of Steve Alexie.
The Anchorage Daily News reports he worked for many years as an
administrator for the community of about 200 people, 100 miles
northeast of Bethel on the Kuskokwim River.
(Anchorage Daily News)
Wasilla
girl missing, parents calling for help finding her
WASILLA, Alaska (AP) The parents of a 16-year-old Wasilla girl
have asked the public for help locating their daughter.
Pearl Lyle was picked up in car last Tuesday and hasn't been heard
from since.
Anyone with information should call the Alaska State Troopers.
Suicide prevention summit
underway in Anchorage
A three day statewide suicide prevention summit this week in
Anchorage aims to identify gaps in the suicide prevention network
and ways to fix them.
Concerned citizens and involved agencies from around the state
will work together at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium
in Anchorage, under the summit theme, "Your Life Has Value to
Me."
Kate Burkhart is executive director of the Advisory Board on
Alcoholism and Drug Abuse and the Alaska Mental Health Board.
She says it's a partnership between the state funded prevention
programs through state and federal grants and the tribal health
system.
Burkhart says bringing the two communities together will help them
find ways to collaborate on suicide prevention efforts.
Alaska has one of the highest suicide rates in the nation.
Alaska's overall suicide rate is 22 suicides per 100,000
residents, accounting for two-thirds of all violent deaths.
Regional rates vary widely; the rate in the Northwest Arctic
Borough was five times that in Southeast between 1998 and 2007.
Eagle
spotted in Kenai Peninsula with small trap dangling from talon
KENAI, Alaska (AP) Biologists from the Kenai National Wildlife
Refuge are keeping an eye out for an eagle seen with a trap
dangling from a talon.
The adult eagle has been spotted several times in the Soldotna and
Sterling areas.
Liz Jozwiak, a biologist at the refuge, says that other than the
trap, the eagle appears healthy.
Jozwiak says it would be difficult to catch the bird while it's
flying strong, but she adds that "sometimes they get these
things off on their own."
Under the Bald Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty
Act, if an eagle or other migratory bird -- such as an owl -- is
lured into a trap with exposed baits, and the bird dies, the
trapper is liable for federal prosecution.
Idaho biologists
recovering from helicopter crash
LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) An official with the Idaho Department of
Fish and Game says two biologists and a pilot injured in a
helicopter crash in northern Idaho on Friday are being treated at
a Montana hospital.
Jim Unsworth is deputy director of the agency and says the three
are in good spirits and a full recovery is expected.
He says biologists George Pauley of Kamiah and Craig White of
Boise, Idaho, have rib and back injuries, and that pilot Rick
Swisher of Fairbanks, Alaska, has arm and back injuries.
He says it's unclear what caused the crash on the North Fork of
the Clearwater River.
The biologists were attempting to dart wolves, elk and moose from
the helicopter to put on radio collars as part of a research
project on wolf predation.
(Lewiston Tribune, http://www.lmtribune.com
)
Broadcasters continue
consolidation talks
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) Representatives of Alaska's three
largest public broadcasters are continuing to discuss entering
into a formal partnership.
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that administrators are
meeting in Anchorage on Monday to discuss consolidation plans.
The general managers from KUAC in Fairbanks, Alaska Public
Telecommunications Inc. in Anchorage and KTOO in Juneau are
seeking ways to share administrative costs and work together to
provide new content.
Another meeting is set for Jan. 20.
The consolidation talks are the latest development in a process
that began last summer.
(Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)
Justice
Dept. orders new crackdown on tribal crime
DEVLIN BARRETT - Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) The Justice Department is ordering prosecutors
in 33 states to step up efforts to combat crime on Indian
reservations, particularly offenses against women and children.
Attorney General Eric Holder was announcing the effort after his
deputy, David Ogden, sent a memo instructing those federal
prosecutors to do more to fight tribal crime.
The memo says 47 new prosecutors and FBI personnel will be
assigned to this work.
On tribal lands, federal officials are usually responsible for
prosecuting serious crimes.
While the nationwide crime rate is falling, statistics show
American Indians are victims of violent crime at more than twice
the national rate and some tribes have murder rates against
women ten times greater than the national average.
Bethel's
Territorial Guard statue finds a home
BETHEL, Alaska (AP) A bronze statue representing the Eskimo
soldiers who guarded Alaska during World War II has found a
temporary home at Bethel's cultural center.
The life-size memorial depicts an Alaska Territorial Guardsman in
skin boots and a traditional parka, stepping forward while
clutching an M-14 rifle.
The statue arrived last fall, one of eight designed for
communities around the state.
A dispute, however, emerged about where to place the 400-pound
statue.
Vietnam veteran Buck Bukowksi says it's as if Santa Claus dropped
off a big present, but didn't say which kid it belongs to.
(The Tundra Drums)
Ex-Seahawks coach says he was stunned by firing
TIM BOOTH - AP Sports Writer
SEATTLE (AP) Former Seahawks coach Jim Mora says he was
stunned when Seattle CEO Tod Leiweke informed him the team was
making a change at head coach after one season.
In his first extended comments about his firing last week, Mora
said on KJR-AM Monday that he's not sure if the firing has sunk in
yet. He says most of his concern is centered on his family and his
coaching staff.
In early December, Leiweke gave Mora a vote of confidence that
he'd get a second season.
But on Friday morning, Mora says Leiweke came into his office and
told Mora that owner Paul Allen "wants to make a
change."
Seattle announced the hiring of Pete Carroll as its new head coach
today. (Monday)
Crimson
Bears men's hockey team sweeps Homer at home
The Juneau Douglas High School Crimson Bears hockey defeated the
Homer Mariners 2 to 1 Saturday night to complete a two game sweep.
Friday's
score at Treadwell Arena was 6 to 1.
The
Crimson Bears at back in action again when they play Bartlett of
Anchorage at 6:30 Thursday evening.
Crimson Bears men's
basketball team win Fairbanks tournament.
The men's basketball team at Juneau Douglas High School
won top honors at the Golden Heart Invitational
Tournament in Fairbanks.
They
nailed down first place with a 73 to 54 win over Point Hope
Saturday night.
The Crimson Bears defeated Lathrop of Fairbanks 40 to 27 Friday
night.
Falcons'
hoops action
The men's basketball
team at Thunder Mountain High School split with Ketchikan this
weekend.
The Falcons lost
Saturday night's game 73 to 53 after winning Friday's contest 50
to 40.
The Falcon Ladies
dropped a pair to Sitka. Saturday's score was 46 to
18. Friday's tally was 48 to 23.
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