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Search suspended for two
men missing in Juneau waters
The search has been suspended for the two men missing since Saturday when their
26 foot cabin cruiser, the Julie K, was found capsized near Horse Island in Stephens
Passage.
Coast Guard Chief Roger Wetherell says the search has been
suspended pending further developments He says there were no signs of the men found
during searching Saturday and Sunday.
They are identified as James Mitlika of Eagle River and Nick Mayer of
Juneau, both 30 years-old. Mitlika resided in Juneau before moving to Eagle River.
The
Coast Guard conducted searches of the area Sunday with two helicopters and the small boat from Station Juneau.
State Troopers also launched a boat and put search dogs on Horse and Colt Islands to search
beaches.
Four good Samaritan vessels, including a skiff operated by the person who reported the capsized boat, participated in the search.
The Coast Guard
was notified at about 4 p-m Saturday that the vessel overturned off of Horse Island. Witnesses saw one person hanging on to the vessel, but didn't find anyone when they went out to investigate.
The
Coast Guard sent out a 47-foot boat and a helicopter and found the cabin cruiser at about 8:30 that evening using vision goggles.
A search of the vessel at low tide found many personal effects, one float coat, a mustang suit, multiple personal flotation devices, but no visual distress signals.
The bodies of two deceased dogs were found trapped in the boat's cabin.
Wetherell
says it was their understanding that the men were retrieving crab pots
in the area. Initial reports indicated that may have been on a hunting
trip.
State Trooper
arrested after allegedly assaulting his wife
An Alaska State Trooper has been arrested and charged with assaulting his
wife.
27 year-old Travis Hedlund, a Trooper with the Alaska Bureau of Wildlife
Enforcement in Soldotna, was arrested Saturday without incident
according to the Troopers.
Hedlund is charged with Domestic Violence assault in the 4th degree.
He's lodged at Wildwood Pre-Trial facility with no bail.
Hedlund has been a trooper since March, 2000 and has been stationed in
Ketchikan and Soldotna as both a patrol and Wildlife Enforcement officer.
According to the Trooper's investigation, Hedlund was off duty when the
alleged assault took place.
In addition to the ongoing criminal investigation into the assault, the
Troopers will be conducting an administrative investigation into the
incident.
Troopers say, pending further investigation, Hedlund has been removed from
enforcement duties and his ID, badge and gun have been taken from him.
Burglar ran down after spotted in Juneau department store
Juneau Police made an arrest Sunday in connection with a burglary at Rayco Sales.
The burglary was reported Saturday morning.
Firearms were taken from the store on Old Dairy Road the previous night. As a result of the investigation, Sergeant Kevin Siska says an arrest warrant was issued charging 28 year old Charles A. High, Junior, with burglary in the first degree.
The suspect was spotted at about Noon Sunday by an off duty police officer inside the Fred Meyer store.
Officers responded and contacted High inside the store and told
him he was under arrest. He began to struggle and ran from the officers. They chased him through the store and into the parking lot where he was located hiding under a vehicle.
Subsequent investigation led to the recovery of several weapons.
High was jailed at the Lemon Creek Correctional Center on the arrest warrant and on the additional charges of escape in the second degree and resisting arrest.
Sergeant Siska says the investigation is continuing and further charges are pending.
Man arrested on robbery charges
in Anchorage
ANCHORAGE (AP) - A 44-year-old man is in custody today (Monday), accused of robbing an East Anchorage convenience store.
Police arrested Nicholas Rastopsoff early Sunday morning shortly after the Holiday store was robbed at gunpoint. Rastopsoff is charged with robbery, assault, resisting arrest and weapons misconduct.
According to police, a man entered the store at about 1-40 a-m Sunday and held a gun to the clerk's head, demanding that the clerk open the cash drawer. The robber then turned around and began scooping up several packs of cigarettes.
While his back was turned, a customer came into the store. Police say the robber turned around and held the gun to the customer's face, ordering him to turn over his money.
The robber then dashed out and managed to run a quarter of a mile before officers caught up with him. The man complied when officers ordered him to get down on his knees, then reached for something in his waistband.
Police say it was a loaded gun. Police say an officer tackled
Rastopsoff, knocking the gun from his hand.
Cash and cigarettes were recovered from the scene.
Rastopsoff is being held on 50-thousand dollars bail.
Capitol building project in line for fund transfer by Assembly
The Juneau Assembly
tonight will address the need for additional funds to support the work of the capitol building planning project.
CBJ Manager Rod Swope says the proposal calls for transferring $100,000 of
area wide sales tax funds from the Downtown Capital Parking capital improvement project.
An appropriation ordinance up for action earmarks $100,000 for the reconstruction of the Wharf to replace rotting timbers.
The measure also expands the project to include reconstruction of portions of the concrete sidewalk plaza at the Columbia lot near the Tram and the asphalt sidewalk leading to the Intermediate Vessel Float.
There are uneven walking surfaces in those areas now. The work also deals with the Americans with Disability Act and involves building a ramp to the Wharf to lessen the grade of the decline just south of the parking garage.
The financing of the work requires a transfer of over $69,000 from the People's Wharf Visitor Center Sidewalk Improvement Capital project.
A resolution on the agenda calls for senior citizens who are at least 65 years old to ride Capital Transit buses for free. Swope guesses there will be between 75 to 100 seniors who will benefit by the move.
There are two other resolutions on the agenda.
One authorizes Swope to submit an application to the state for a federal grant to evaluate the downtown Juneau historic district. The other adopts the "All Hazards Mitigation Plan" for the city and borough.
Plan for proceeding on new high school design to be pitched to Assembly
The Juneau School Board and Assembly gather in a joint meeting beginning at Noon tomorrow (Tuesday) to discuss the design contract for the new high school at Dimond Park.
School District Superintendent Peggy Cowan says their recommendation is to proceed with the current design team.
She says city and school district staff prepared a detailed analysis of the savings that could be achieved by continuing with this team rather than opening it to competitive bid.
The project team, a group of Assembly and School Board members, and the entire School Board have signed off on the recommendation.
The Noon time meeting
Tuesday is in Assembly Chambers at City Hall.
Weyhrauch reaps key committee chair assignment in new GOP majority
The reconfigured House Majority has led to a bonanza of assignments for Juneau Valley Representative Bruce Weyhrauch. He'll chair the House Ways and Means Committee now while maintaining his seat on Finance.
The GOP majority met in Anchorage Friday.
Weyhrauch will also serve on the Legislative Council and be the ranking member on the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee.
Weyhrauch replaces Anchorage
Representative Mike Hawker as Ways and Means Chair. Hawker was one of those leading the effort to form a coalition.
Eagle River Representative Pete Kott, who was picked as speaker in the breakaway, but doomed coalition, did not participate in Friday's meeting.
Leak from propane tank causes evacuation of homes
A propane leak led to an evacuation of homes near Skater's Cabin in the area of Slim Williams Way in the Valley
Saturday evening.
Jason Talber of Capital City Fire Rescue says they were notified at about 6 p.m.
They leaned that a person was filling the empty tank with water and caused the odorous gas to be released.
As a precaution, several homes were evacuated. Several people were complaining of feeling ill. They were checked at the scene by Capital City Fire Rescue and referred to the hospital.
The tank was capped and the odor dissipated. Talber says the odorant does not does not pose a serious health threat with the amount released.
The fire department was on standby under the odor was clear.
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation was notified.
Cable TV goes out
Juneau's cable television went down Sunday morning at about ten o'clock.
It was restored about an hour later.
The cause of the areawide failure is not known at this report.
Light earthquakes hit
Kodiak region
KODIAK (AP) - Three light earthquakes rippled through the same Kodiak region
this morning and Sunday night.
The Alaska Earthquake Information Center says the latest quake had a preliminary
magnitude of four-point-one and was centered 70 miles south of Old Harbor.
It occurred at 4-36 this morning (Monday).
A quake with a preliminary magnitude of three-point-six occurred at 11-20
last night 71 miles from Old Harbor.
Another quake occurred at 7-44 p-m yesterday. It had a preliminary magnitude
of four-point-zero and was centered 72 miles south of Old Harbor.
There are no reports of injury or damage from any of the quakes.
Anchorage airport bomb sniffing dogs
pass evaluation
ANCHORAGE (AP) - The police canine unit at Ted Steven Anchorage
International Airport has passed its yearly federal evaluation.
Airport officials say the three dogs were tested by evaluators from the
Transportation Security Administration's national explosives canine team.
According to officials, success of the canine unit relies on the cooperation
of airport tenants for training and evaluations.
The certified unit includes canine officers Rick and Dasty, which joined
airport police in 2002.
Goro joined the force last summer.
New report documents orca eating
habits
ANCHORAGE (AP) - A new report explores the unexpected diet of a Prince
William Sound killer whale whose remains were found washed up on shore in
2003.
The orca had last eaten - among other things - at least five sea otters,
seabird feathers, seaweed and about nine pounds of rocks.
Scientists say a diet of otters or birds would be highly unusual behavior
for the Sound's marine mammal-eating killer whales.
Through 20 years of study, the whales have been seen pursuing much larger
harbor seals and Dall's porpoises.
They were not thought to be consumers of smaller prey, partly because that
would offer so little nutritional payoff for ten-ton predators.
Scientists speculate that this could be the behavior of a lone animal as an
alternative to starvation.
Court: Anchorage police
should have given unpaid leave
ANCHORAGE (AP) - The state Supreme Court says the city of Anchorage must pay
a former police officer more than 600-thousand dollars for violating her
rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
The ruling upholds a 2002 decision by a Superior Court judge in the case of
Theresa Gregg.
Gregg resigned from the Anchorage Police Department in 1997 after she was
refused unpaid leave to deal with a pregnancy, injuries from a car crash and
marital problems.
In 2002, a judge decided that the department was required to give Gregg time
off.
The city appealed the decision and last week the Alaska Supreme Court upheld
the judge's decision.
City Attorney Fred Boness said the city lost the case but it has been
remanded to trial court to consider some details about damages and interest
calculations.
Hazardous waste program to return to Southeast
JUNEAU (AP) - A popular hazardous waste program is returning to Southeast Alaska.
Until earlier this year, the
Hamblen traveled the state ferry system picking up household hazardous waste from Ketchikan to Valdez.
Then the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation moved the lab-equipped van to Anchorage, saying funding priority needed to be shifted to illegal dumps.
Then the nonprofit Southeast Conference negotiated with the state and will get the Hazmobile back in February.
Central Florida tops Top of the World Classic
FAIRBANKS (AP) - Central Florida is this year's winner of the Top of the World Classic.
Reserve forward Joshua Peppers scored all 12 of his points in the final stretch of championship game last night (Sunday) to lead Central Florida to a 62-58 victory over New Mexico State in Fairbanks.
The Knights kicked off the weekend tournament with a victory over host Alaska Fairbanks.
In last night's game, Central Florida led 23-19 at the half but New Mexico State rallied to tie the score and grabbed the lead briefly.
But the Knights quickly bounced back to preserve the victory.
Copyright ©2004 Alaska Juneau Communications - KINY Radio)
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