JUNEAU DAILY NEWS MINUTE
Monday, February 10, 1997 (c) Alaska Juneau Communications
*A 13-year-old girl reported to the Juneau Police that she had
been sexually assaulted. Following an intensive investigation,
officers contacted the suspect at a Lawson Creek residence.
During the questioning, officers determined that evidence was
about to be tampered with, and after executing a search warrant,
arrested one of the three occupants, 33-year-old William L.
Hanson. Hanson was charged with sexual assault in the first
degree and tampering with evidence, both charges are felonies.
Hanson was lodged at Lemon Creek Correctional Facility after
forensic processing at Bartlett Regional Hospital.
*Juneau Police also arrested a 36-year-old man on second degree
theft charges yesterday, after receiving a call from Western Auto
that two individuals had walked out of the store with two boxes
of 9mm (millimeter)ammunition without paying for it. Officers
tracked the two to a trailer in Switzer Village, where they
questioned them. During the questioning officers noticed a 9mm
handgun that matched the description of one stolen from a North
Douglas home in 1992. Arrested was Javier Sernas (haav-E-aye
SERN-nas). Sernas was taken to Lemon Creek, and a woman at the
residence was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration officials
and also lodged at Lemon Creek. The investigation is
continuing.
*About 25 gallons of home heating oil leaked into the Mendenhall
Wetlands State Game Reserve Saturday night, after 500 spilled
when a wooden crib supporting three tanks collapsed. The spill
occurred at a Mendenhall Peninsula Road house after a fuel
delivery. A spokeswoman with the state Department of
Conservation, Marti Early, says that the Department of Fish and
Game, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Coast Guard, and
DEC were inspecting the area to determine the best way to clean
up the area. The homeowner is in the hospital, and his son has
arranged for a private contractor to clean up the spill.
*Comments made last week by School Board members David Reaume and
Alan Schorr have angered many students, parents and other board
members. The two had said that some students were unsalvageable,
and money shouldn't be spent on an additional administrator at
the alternative high school. Schorr has explained that he thinks
the money would be better spent on primary grades, helping
students before they get to the point of dropping out. Reaume
says he is standing by his comments and he thinks a better plan
of attack is some sort of a vocational program.
*The State Class 4A Men's Basketball Champion Crimson Bears
returned home this afternoon to a crowd of about 60 screaming
fans, after spending the night in Sitka due to local fog. The
Crimson Bears won the title after defeating the Colony Knights 67
to 59 Saturday night. This marks the first time in 15 years that
the state championship title has belonged to J-D High.