Christian Coalition Tries Polling Judge Candidates Police Blotter ANCHORAGE (AP) The Christian Coalition regularly asks politicians' to' fill out election questionnaires to gauge their position on conservative issues important to them. So, uX group thought, now that a seat is available on the Alaska Supreme Court, why not poll the candidates for that position, too? The group last month sent a list of half a dozen questions to all five people who've asked to be considered for the high'court, seeking their positions on, hom*osexual relationships, the death penalty and abortion. "We wanted to have some kind of understanding of where they stood," coalition director Grant Walker said. None of the candidates answered the survey, although two candidates, Superior Court 0 Judge Dana Fabe and attorney Donna Willard, sent letters explaining- why they declined to answer. As the group learned, judges and judicial "candidates are supposed to keep their persona! opinions on such matters to themselves.
It says so in the Code of Judicial Conduct: "A candidate, including an incumbent judge, for a-judicial office should not announce his views on disputed legal or political The idea, said Maria Greenstein, director; of the Judicial Conduct Commission, is to preserve the appearance of judges' impartiality on matters that may come before them. "Cases are decided on the law," Greenstein said. "The role of judges is to interpret the law, not make law." the law requires that the judges make decisions that are in conflict with, their personal views, she Greenstein sent a letter to the Christian Coalition explaining why judges and judicial applicants are not able to respond. Five people have applied for the Court spot now held by 'Chief Daniel Moore, who is -retiring. Along with Fabe and Willard, the candidates are Alaska Court of Appeals Judge Alex Bryner, Superior Court Judge Bev Cutler of Palmer and Anchorage Superior Court Judge Karen Hunt.
The Judicial Council, a citizens commission established by the state Constitution, will hold a public hearing on the candidates Jan. 7, then select two or more nominees to send to Gov. Tony Knowles. Knowles will have 45 days to make an appointment from the council's list. Members of the Christian Coalition are disappointed they couldn't get the judicial candidates to answer their questions.
Walker, the coalition's director, said that even though judges make decisions based on the law, their personal philosophies must influence their decisions, perhaps in subtle ways. "They have opportunity to find law to back up how they feel," he said. The coalition two weeks ago sent out a revised survey containing three questions: What is the source of your moral values? Which nonprofit organizations and candidates have you made contributions to? With whom do you confer when you have moral questions? Greenstein said she didn't think answering those questions would violate the judicial code. But, she said, the questions about morals are "incredibly personal" and perhaps irrelevant to a person's qualifications to serve oh the Supreme Court. "Moral values are personal values," she said.
"Judges are trained to not allow their personal opinions to color their legal opinions." So far, Walker said, none of the candidates have responded to the latest survey. SHOP LOCALLY SUPPORT YOUR NEIGHBORS AND YOUR COMMUNITY A WINTER SOLSTICE READING WITH ALASKAN WRITER NANCY LORD THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 7:30 PM PIONEER HOME CHAPEL $5.00 DONATION SUGGESTED FOR THE ISLAND INSTITUTE pcMod hy Alaska St.itf ouncil on the A NEA 8 tliv foundation. CITY BOROUGH OF SITKA LEGAL NOTICE FOR PUBLIC AUCTION The following vehicles will be disposed of at the city landfill on or about the 26th day of December, 1995, if not claimed by the owner. If you are the owner, of any'of the below mentioned vehicles, you must show proof of ownership to the Sitka Police Department. If you have any questions please call the Sitka Police Department at 747-3245.
VEHICLE LIC. YEAR: MAKE: CNR100 1984 ISU CHD481 1979 CHEVY CAM 6840BR 1977 GMCPK 22Q5BK 1977 FORDPK 1862BG 1979 FORD TK CFR830 1985 FORDTEM. 1756BV 1980 FORDPK CTK407 1983 CHEVY CAM BAY198 1981 HONDA CIV 4235CS 1974 CHEVY PK Published: December 8,15,20,22,1995 The following calls were logged by Sitka police by 8 a.m. today: Dec. 19 A resident surrendered a cat to the shelter.
Officers are investigating a report that'a storage shed was burglarized. The animal control officer impounded two dogs left at the shelter. Police impounded a skiff which the owner failed to register. The skiff, which was painted with shark jaws on the bow," will be released after the owner pays the impound and pumping fees. A man said the side mirror had been knocked off his vehicle.
A witness saw a woman driving away from In Court Daniel R. Bowlin, 29, was sentenced to 30 days in jail, with 27 suspended, and fined $500, with $250 suspended for driving while intoxicated. pleaded no contest to the charge and was found the court. His driver's license will be revoked for 90 days. He will be on probation for one year.
He was ordered to report to the Sitka Council on Alcoholism and Other Drug Abuse, and attend Alcohol Information School. Emergency Calls At 1:27 p.m. Tuesday an ambulance was sent to 1212 Halibut Point Road to assist a resident. At 2:28 p.m. Tuesday an ambulance was sent to Sheldon Jackson College and a patient was taken to Sitka Community Hospital.
At 2:58 p.m. Tuesday an ambulance was sent to Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital and a patient was taken to Sitka Community Hospital. The patient was taken back to Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital an hour later.
At 8:41 p.m. Tuesday an ambulance was sent to 1867 Halibut Point Road and a patient was taken to Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital. At 11:10 p.m. Tuesday an ambulance was sent to the Coast Guard Air Station Sitka and a patient from Craig was taken to Sitka Community Hospital.
LEGALNOTICE The municipal offices and facilities will be closing at noon on Friday, December 22,1995. Colleen Pellet, Municipal Clerk Published: December 20,1995 PUBLIC NOTICE The'Port and Harbors Commission, work session, will meet on Wednesday, at 7:00 p.m. in the Centennial Building. One the agenda: Title 13. The public is invited.
Published: Dec. 20,22,26,1995 the scene and reported it to police. When police called the woman, she admitted she thought she had struck -the mirror. She was given the victim's phone number and said she would pay for the mirror replacement or repair. A school aide reported she saw a man walking into the Baranof Elementary School building at 4:52 p.m.
He ran away when she tried to talk to him and she was concerned he was still in the building. She described him as 5 feet, 8 inches, with "puffy" hair. A juvenile was caught vandalizing a phone kiosk. Charges are pending. Police talked to a woman who had been arguing loudly with her sister.
She said everything was fine because her sister, who was intoxicated, had just left in a taxi. Police checked on the children inside the residence. Police told a boy who was riding an all-terrain vehicle to stay on his own property. The boy said he had' not gone off his property, as a complainant had contended. A man told police that an object had hit his vehicle in the Sealing Cove parking lot.
Police saw a scratch in the windshield and dust-like particles which appeared to be imbedded in the hood. Neither officers nor the man could determine the source, but the man said he would provide a damage estimate to police. Dec. 20 Officers arrested a woman for driving while intoxicated when she went to the police department to pick up a friend who had been arrested an hour before for driving while intoxicated. A resident asked police to help find a 15-year-old girl who had not returned home by 4:36 a.m.
Sitka Police Michael Rex McKee, 32, was charged with driving while intoxicated. Leslie M. Chambers, 46, was charged with driving while intoxicated, disorderly conduct and refusing to submit to a breath test. Richard E. Didrickson, 18, was arrested on a minor offense bench warrant.
Daily Sitka Sentinel, Sitka, Alaska, Wednesday, December 20,1995, Page 5 State Settles Harassment Suit Against Corrections ANCHORAGE (AP) The state has settled a sexual harassment lawsuit against the Department of Corrections and retired Palmer prison superintendent Art Schmidt. The state agreed on Nov. 30 to pay $75,000 to Tarie Lacher, a clerk who said Schmidt made lewd comments about her while on the job. As part of the settlement, Lacher agreed to leave her job with the corrections department. Lacher had filed the lawsuit in February.
She claimed Schmidt had a series of affairs with women who worked for him and had paid them overtime for hours they never worked. Lacher also said Schmidt had made advances toward her, brushing close to her as she put files away and making comments about her body. Schmidt retired from his job in the prison system in May, moving to Chehalis where he now runs the juvenile penitentiary Green Hills School. Schmidt says he never had a romantic relationship with a female employee and he denied making advances to Lacher or harassing her in any way. "I'm glad it's over," he said of the lawsuit.
"I don't want to discuss it and I don't want to hear about it again." Assistant attorney general David jones represented the state in the case. Jones stressed that, despite the settlement, neither Schmidt nor the state prison system had accepted any legal liability. Jones said Lacher's case was "baseless" and said the settlement represented a compromise. "To us, a big part of the settlement was that Ms. Lacher gave up her job." Lacher's attorney, Verne Rupright, said Lacher spent part of 1994, after complaining to her supervisors about her working conditions to no avail.
She eventually returned to work, though not at the Palmer prison. Instead, she took a job at Palmer's adult probation office. Jones said Lacher's continued presence in the prison system presented difficulties for the corrections department. "When someone has filed a complaint of this nature, you have to that person with kid gloves," he said. "Anything that happens to that person could be claimed as having been retaliation.
As a practical matter, it's very difficult." The corrections department is also facing another sexual harassment lawsuit filed in March by three female employees at the Lemon Creek prison in Juneau. The women say two of their colleagues repeatedly groped them over a period of years and senior corrections officials failed to respond to their complaints. Corrections Commissioner Pugh, who was named as a defendant in both lawsuits, says the working atmosphere in her department has improved since the launch of a new sexual harassment policy in July. The department established a new committee to help educate employees on their rights and to tell them how to pursue official complaints. "People understand that we have zero tolerance," said Pugh.
"I haven't seen any sexual discrimination tions in quite a while." Stedman Insurance will be closed- Dec 24,26 Jan12 Kodiak Gunman Sentenced on First-Degree Murder Charge INVITATION TO BID CENTENNIAL BUILDING MISCELLANEOUS PROJECTS 1995 The City and Borough of Sitka will receive bids until 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, January 16,1996, at the office of the Municipal Clerk, 100 Lincoln Street, Sitka, Alaska 99835, where the bids will be publicly opened. This project consists of providing all labor and equipment and materials necessary to remodel the kitchen scullery, placement or a window wall dividing the exhibit area and corridor, and several ADA improvements. Plans and specifications are available free of charge at the office of the Director of Public Works, 100 Lincoln Street, Sitka, Alaska. A bid bond in the amount of 5 percent of the total bid price must accompany each bid.
The bid bond may be in the form of a certified check made payable to the City and Borough of Sitka or a bid bond issued by a surety licensed to do business in Alaska. A pre-bid conference is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. Friday, January 5,1996, at the Centennial located at 330 Harbor Drive. Attendance at the conference is mandatory in order to bid on the project. The City and Borough of Sitka reserves the right to reject any and all bids and to informalities.
CITY AND BOROUGH OF SITKA BY: Larry Harmon, Director of Public Works Published: December 20,22,29,1995, and January 3,1996 KODIAK (AP) A state judge has sentenced 34-year-old Donald foTj first-degree, murder, calling him'a man''- who emboldened himself with guns. Superior Court Judge Mark Rowland sentenced Seek to serve a minimum of 22 years, saying Seek' was a dangerous person and a pobr candidate for reform. "I don't know" whether he's sorry for what he's done or not," Rowland said. Authorities said Seek was a bootlegger in Old Harbor when he shot and killed Timothy Christiansen, one of his customers, on Feb. 15.
Steve.Wallace, Kodiak district attorney, told Rowland at the sentencing Friday that Seek was a "obsessed" with guns, saying he would shoot anyone who crossed him. Chnstiansen had gone to Seek's home and took a seat in a chair when he was shot once through the heart with a Magnum revolver. Wallace said Seek then cut the chair to remove the bullet and dumped the Aquatic Aerobics Session Slated The "Aquatic Aerobics" class will Blatchley pool from 5 to 6 p.m. each Monday, Wednesday and Friday through March 11. Fees for the course are $70 plus a $30 pool fee.
Seniors, age 60 and older, cari" take the course tuition free, depending upon space availability. For registration information call the University of Alaska Southeast, Sitka Campus, at 747-6653. For information on the course call Mollie Kabler at 747-5819. ACAD 1 System To be Off-Line The University of Alaska Southeast, Sitka Campus, announces that ACAD 1, which gives students access to the University Electronic Mail and Internet computer systems, will be off-line from noon Dec. 20 through 6 p.m.
on Dec. 22. The university also reminds Sitkans that the Sitka Campus and computer lab will be closed from Dec. 23-Jan. 2.
All offices and the lab will reopen at 8 a.m. on Jan. 3, Notice of Public Meeting STATE OF ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES ADVISORY BOARD ON ALCOHOLISM AND DRUG ABUSE January Baranof Hotel, Juneau, Alaska 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. The Planning Committee of the Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse will be conducting a meeting on January the Legislative Committee and Ad Hoc By-Laws Committee of the Board will meet on January 17,1996. For additional information please call 1 -800-420-8920.
Special accommodations can be made for the deaf and hearing impaired participants, if you require the services of a person with sign language skills, please communicate with the Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. TDD phone contact is 465-3196. Publish: December 20,21,1995 body outside in the trash. "This was not a remorseful killing," Wallace said. "Seek thought he was going to get away with it." taking his opportunity'to address the court, spoke less than 30 seconds and in a barely audible voice, apologized to his victim's family and his own relatives.
Florence Pestrikoff, the victim's mother, lectured Seek. "We are known by our actions," she said. "You went into a town that treated you good and you did this." Rowland, who could have imposed a maximum 99-year term, said that despite a lengthy misdemeanor and drunken driving Seek was not a worst offender who deserved the longest sentence. Rowland said the mixture of drugs, alcohol and firearms along with a minor or imagined insult had provoked the killing. "This crime is so common that it might almost be labeled an 'Alaskan Rowland said.
Coast Guard Medevacs Man A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka helicopter Tuesday medevacked a Craig man who was diagnosed with acute pneumonia, Gerald Black, 63, was taken to the Klawock airport then flown to Sitka, where an awaiting ambulance transported him to Sitka Community Hospital. He was reported this morning in stable condition at the hospital. Sitkan Recovers From Surgery Sal Cucchiari, a longtime Sitka businessman, is recovering from triple bypass surgery in a Seattle hospital and would appreciate hearing from friends. The surgery was Friday, and he is expected to be in the hospital through the holidays. His address is: University of Washington Hospital, Wing 5 NE, 1959 NE Pacific Seattle, 98195.
Sitka Hospital Discharged Tuesday from Sitka Community Hospital was Benjamin Kondro. Congratulations Congratulations are extended to the following persons listed on the Sitka High School Team calendar. Glenn Anderson, Jody Bass, Debi Lahmeyer, Tammy O'Neill, Marni Jenny and Sean McMullin are listed with birthdays for today. Also today, Shelly and Teague Widmier are listed with an anniversary. CERTIFICATES OF TASTE.
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