Slick, icy roads may have been to blame for a single car rollover at mile 1.5 of Nash Road a little after 6 p.m. Friday evening. Three people were inside the vehicle when it flipped over. The driver, a male, was standing outside when help arrived. An infant and female were inside, and the woman was trapped. The Bear Creek Volunteer Fire Department had to pull back the roof to extricate the woman. The family was taken to Seward Providence Hospital by ambulance. The woman was in stable condition, and a good outcome was expected, said BCVFD Chief Mark Beals. The other two were unhurt. The City Public Works Department brought over a sand truck to sand the road while the extrication was in process.

Local authorities also were called out to respond to another single car rollover with minor injuries at mile 11 of Seward Highway at 8:53 p.m. Sunday. Three people were in that rollover. Injuries described in the Seward Police Journal included a possible broken finger, and lacerations to a head and elbow. A private vehicle drove those injured to the Seward Providence Hospital, and the ambulance and fire department aid was cancelled.

There was also a chimney fire in Seward, several drunken bar fights and DUI-related calls. Two intoxicated men reported staggering down Fourth Avenue were arrested early Sunday morning after the bars closed at midnight Saturday, and cited for Criminal Mischief after breaking a window of The SeaBean, a popular downtown Seward coffee shop.

Location: Spring Creek Correctional

Type: Assault on a Peace Officer

On 10/24/2012 at approximately 0945 hours, Crown Point troopers
were notified of an officer-involved assault at Spring Creek Correctional
Facility. Investigation revealed that while a correctional officer was
working in an inmate housing area he was attacked by an inmate. During
the altercation two other inmates joined in on the assault. Following the
assault, two inmates and the corrections officer were transported to
hospitals for treatment of injuries received during the altercation.
The instigating inmate was not injured in the incident. Charges have
not been yet been filed as the case is under investigation.
Received Thursday, October 25, 2012 10:25 AM and posted Thursday, October 25, 2012 10:46 AM

PRESS RELEASE

The Seward Police Department will be hosting a Citizen’s Police Academy beginning in January 2013. The classes will be held one evening per week for approximately 10 weeks.

This will be a highly informative and interesting learning experience. The Citizen Police Academy will offer insights into the law enforcement profession here in Seward.

Prospective applicants must be at least 18 years of age, commit to attend 10 weekly sessions lasting 2-2.5 hours, sign any required waivers or agreements, and be subject to a criminal history and driver’s license background check.

There is no charge to attend this academy; however, the class size will be limited to the first 20 selected applicants.

We are currently accepting applications at this time.

Applications are available at the Seward Police Department.

Contact Sgt. Valadez at 224-3338 for more information.

Application deadline is December 7th, 2012.

By Heidi Zemach for SCN

Seward Police, and Kenai Peninsula Crime Stoppers, are actively seeking help in identifying, and bringing to justice a “Peeping Tom” who has been active throughout August in the Clearview neighborhood (Bear Drive, Resurrection Boulevard to Sweatman) and along Phoenix Avenue and Dora Way.

Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward to anyone who can provide information that leads to the arrest of the person who has been reported five times to police for residential burglaries, trespass and theft. Residents have on occasion observed a man peering through windows at night, and in one instance, a resident found him standing in their living room. He fled when they contacted him. The last related call reported to the police was last weekend.

But despite the calls, every one of which the police responded to, and increased patrols and investigation in the affected areas at night, the police have been unable to locate the individual, and they still only have a vague idea of what he looks like, said Seward Police Chief Tom Clemons. A tall, slender male is about the only description that the reports have had in common.

Residents should lock their doors and windows, and draw their blinds at night, he suggests. Peeping Tom cases, crimes of opportunity in which the victim does not know the perpetrator, are unfortunately the most difficult ones to prosecute, Clemons said. If anyone has information that could help, please step forward and share it with the Seward Police Department at 224-3338. “We need witnesses because we want to catch and prosecute this guy,” Clemons said.

He also disputes anonymous reports by residents on the Internet and social media claiming that the police already know who he is, and are deliberately not investigating or arresting him, perhaps due to his family name or social standing in the community.

“We don’t now who it is, but no matter who it is, we will file charges,” Clemons said.

Those wishing to do so anonymously, or with their names also can call Crime Stoppers at 283-TIPS or toll free at 1-800-478-HALT. Crime stoppers does not use Caller ID or recorded lines, and callers do not have to give their names.

Heidi Zemach for SCN

Nine students from Seward High School have been caught smoking, or in possession of marijuana on school grounds or within the school’s Drug Free Zone. The first case involved four students, caught by local police during the early part of the second week of school, August 27-31st, said Seward Police Chief Tom Clemons. Then, another five students were caught by police in a separate incident later the same week. All of the cases were turned over to the Juvenile Justice Department for prosecution, and are no longer in the hands of local police department, he said.

Any specifics on the case, or on the punishment that these teens will receive by the courts, will not be made public as they are minors, and their court records will be sealed. But because of the location of the offense, these youngsters may have found themselves in much more trouble than they realized, Clemons explained.

While being in possession of up to an ounce of marijuana is generally legal in Alaska, the state’s laws regarding minors using drugs inside its Drug Free Zones are quite harsh. Drug Free Zone’s extend 500 feet beyond a school’s boundaries, and also applies to youth recreation centers and even school buses. A minor found in possession of drugs such as marijuana inside a drug-free zone doesn’t just face a misdemeanor charge, but the drug-free zone location can automatically bump the charge up to the felony level, according to SPD.

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District media spokesperson Pegge Erkeneff said the district follows all board of education policies. But she would not confirm that there were any suspensions of high school students in Seward due to federal FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) laws. Rather, she referred those interested in learning more about KPB Board Policy to research the matter themselves, especially BP5030, on School Discipline and Safety, which allows for the suspension of students in violation of various drug policy for up to 45 days.

The police participate in the DARE Program in the schools, and will offer the Junior Police Academy again this year. Despite threats of cutbacks, officer Alan Nichols is still working with students from inside the high school. The recent incidents of minors caught on minor drug charges aren’t anything new for Seward, Clemons said. What’s new however is the number of students involved, at school, within a single week.
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July 20, 2012

(ANCHORAGE, Alaska) – As of 4:30 p.m., the active search for the kidnapping/carjacking has been suspended. The Anchorage Police Department is continuing to investigate the case.

The Seward Highway from mile 69.5 to mile 73 is shut down due earlier this afternoon to an ongoing APD/AST investigation. APD asked for AST assistance following a kidnapping/carjacking, which took place in Anchorage. The victim was able to escape, however, the suspect is believed to be armed and at large in the area of the highway closure. We encourage individuals to stay out of the area if possible. The suspect is described as a white adult male, approximately 6-feet tall, about 40-years old with a shaved head. He was last seen wearing a black tank top, black pants and carrying a blue and white windbreaker. The suspect has a black and red tattoo on his left shoulder.

The highway was reopened to traffic by 3:30 p.m. Motorists are warned not to pick up hitchhikers in the Turnagain Arm area.

*Sent on behalf of Anchorage Police Department Public Information Officer Lt. Dave Parker. Contact APD for more information.

When a young Seward woman was being cuffed and arrested on a charge of Driving Under the Influence while stopped on Herman Leirer Road June 30, at approximately 2:30 a.m., her passenger, John Spiers, slipped over into the drivers’ seat, and made a getaway race down  Exit Glacier. The Seward Police called for assistance from state troopers in the area. He was later caught and transported to the Seward Community Jailhouse. It turns out Spiers had several reasons to try to evade the law, futile though the attempt was. Spiers, who was charged with DUI, DWLR, and vehicle theft, also had several warrants on him from Soldotna and Anchorage law enforcement including a couple of warrants for failure to appear on an original charge and making a false report, one that carried a $500 fine, another with a 10- day sentence, plus another driving with a revoked license charge.

Spiers was by no means the only person being stopped and caught driving with a revoked license, or DUI. The police Journals have been chock-filled with them lately, and that’s likely to continue this busy Independence Day period.

Police inform us that State Troopers are on temporary detail at the Breeze Inn to cover the July 4th festivities in Seward.

Troopers Press Release: Also, beware drivers, be law-abiding this Independence Day. Alaska State Troopers have stepped up their efforts. They will mostly be out on the roads enforcing traffic laws and responding to calls for service. Meanwhile, the Alaska Wildlife Troopers will focus on contacting people out hunting or fishing.
Regardless of what your ultimate plans are for the weekends or holiday on Wednesday, Troopers encourage you to always practice safe driving behaviors on the roads while traveling to and from your destination. AST believes highway traffic will be particularly heavy on the Seward Highway and Sterling Highway due to numerous events on the Kenai Peninsula, such as the Girdwood Forest Fair and Mount Marathon in Seward, and people heading to popular fishing spots. The Alaska Bureau of Highway Patrol will be conducting overtime patrols to keep the expected traffic influx moving safely up and down the highways. Troopers will be looking for aggressive, distracted and impaired driving. The enhanced enforcement starts this weekend and runs to July 8.
Troopers encourage people to make safety their number one priority. Driving with headlights on at all times is an effective way to ensure you are seen.  Headlight use is required when within safety corridors or where posted. Please move over for emergency vehicles during traffic stops and pull over to allow vehicles to pass when five or more are behind them while driving under the posted speed limit.

Heidi Zemach for SCN

Spring Creek Superintendent Craig Turnbull Speaks at YOP graduation

Spring Creek Correctional Center, located near Fourth of July subdivision at the end of Nash Road in Seward, will continue to see some significant changes, particularly in the staffing of correctional officers and in its overall focus, beginning July 1st, the date of the new state budget fiscal year. As a result of the changes, Seward could see an influx of new workers and their families coming here to live, while also losing some families in the shuffle.

Spring Creek is Seward’s largest full-time employer, providing jobs for as many as 200 staff members. It has the capacity of holding over 500 male inmates, but is currently running about 37 beds below capacity, however, much to the state prison administration’s chagrin.

The prison has experienced some major changes over the last few years, such as loosing its furniture factory in March of 2010, and its Youth Offender Program Spring Creek School following graduation last month, in order to transfer to Anchorage, and the retirement of Assistant Superintendent Tom Reimer April 30, to name just a few.

Spring Creek Assistant Superintendent Tom Reimer retired April 30, 2012, after 27 years

The state correction’s department has “reshuffled the deck” at Spring Creek, and six of its 12 other prison facilities in order to be as efficient and lean as possible as it opens its newly-constructed $240 million Goose Creek facility located in the Mat-Su Borough, said Alaska Department of Corrections Commissioner Joe Schmidt.

The new staffing model, that took effect July 1, calls for an increase in the number of officers that work an eight-hour shift, and restructures the prisons’ staffing pattern at night. This shift gets rid of the one week on/one week off shifts for corrections officers that enabled many of them to live in Anchorage, and to commute to their jobs in Seward every other week. Just two years ago, as many as half of those correctional officers did so for a number of reasons: because their spouses already had jobs in their career fields, and could not find good jobs in Seward, or they had purchased homes elsewhere and did not want to move their families to Seward; or because they had difficulty affordable homes here, according to longtime prison Superintendent Craig Turnbull, who could not be reached for comment for this article. A result was that the prison experienced high turnover of new staff, and became known within the prison system statewide as a training facility for new corrections officers, who benefited from the expert tutelage of Turnbull, before transferring elsewhere. The officers that commuted often bunked together in cheap trailers, homes or shared rental accommodations while they were working.

Spring Creek Prison teachers Mary Alice and Gary Blount retire

“We knew this facility was going to be challenging because many people commute, and so we delayed the implementation until July 1, while we did the other ones in May,” said Schmidt, while visiting Seward recently. “There’s a bunch of folks that wanted to transfer to the valley from here, and those transfers are complete. Meanwhile we’re back-filling with people that we’re hiring to work eight-hour jobs. So those that are not fond of the eight-hour shift, will hopefully, in a relatively -short period of time, come to work knowing that it’s an eight-hour shift.” Some Seward families here also have chosen to move to the valley for new positions there.

Schmidt began his career in corrections 25 years ago, first working at a half-way house in Seward, and then at Spring Creek, while living in Anchorage. “I feel the pain, I know exactly what the correctional officers are thinking,” he said, “but I also know that even back then, people not living in the community was an issue. The community felt like they put the building up and it never really came to fruition as far as community development.”

On the other hand; “the state doesn’t build prisons to develop communities, or because it wants to,” he said, “It builds prisons because it has to.” And although, the administration didn’t change the shifts to force people to live in Seward, that may be one of the side effects of the new model, he said.

The fact that the prison provides a large stable, full-time work force benefits the Seward community in several ways, according to Alyssa Shanks, an Alaska economist for the Alaska Department of Labor. Good jobs brings stability that other businesses can rely on to keep people in the area, and provides a workforce with disposable income that will use their goods and services, she said. Local schools also can count on their children to attend, which helps with their staffing and budgeting. The city also receives utilities and taxes from the prison. A greater percentage of prison employees living here should likewise help bolster the local economy.

The department has been recruiting for both for the Goose Creek, and Spring Creek facilities together, and has completed the first few rounds of recruitments, Schmidt said. But as of last week, he could not yet say how many permanent jobs had been filled at Spring Creek. He just hopes it will all happen soon, and to everyone’s satisfaction.

June 2012 Grads March In

Meanwhile, Spring Creek Youth Offenders Program, a part of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District just graduated its last six students from the unique prison high school, and closed its doors after 13 years, having graduated a grand total of 200 young offenders aged 22 and younger either with high school diplomas or GEDs. That program, born and developed in Seward, will be transfered to the Anchorage Correctional Complex, a pre-trial facility where as many as 30-32 students can attend the school at one time. Longtime Seward teaching-couple Mary Alice and Gary Blount retired, after 11 years at the Spring Creek school, and teacher Jennifer Swander, will mover over to Seward High School to teach English.

The transfer to Anchorage helps bring the Seward facility back to its original mission as a closed, maximum-security prison, rather than one in which young offenders, including some who have not yet been tried or sentenced, live in 60-men dorm facilities with empty beds that must nevertheless be paid for, a situation that the prison system can ill afford, Schmidt said. The Anchorage facility has dorms of all sizes, that can accommodate the number of student inmates attending the school at any given time, thus allowing more beds to be used. Also, in the Anchorage facility, the YOP participants will no longer have to spend as much as their time mingling with the more hardened, older prison population, with the exception of those in the medical unit.

Goose Creek, has successfully opened its doors to the first 30 inmates, and with the exception of some broken pipes that had to be fixed, is working out well, Schmidt said. Within 11 months, the new prison is expected to house more than minimum security 1,000 prisoners, including some 600 inmates who have been housed out of state in Hudson Colorado, at Alaska taxpayer’s expense. By September of 2013, the number will rise to about 1,450, nearing the facility’s capacity. Spring Creek, in turn, will receive the state’s maximum-security inmates, returning the prison to the type of facility for which it was originally intended.

Seward Police officers responding to a report of an alarm at the Post Office late Sunday night, June 3rd, entered the building and arrested a man and a juvenile for multiple counts of burglary and attempted theft.  The males, who were caught in the act of trying to steal packages, were identified as 18 year old, Steven Faigle and a 15 year old accomplice. Faigle was taken to the Seward Community Jail where he was booked and incarcerated.  The 15 year old was taken to Seward Police Department and was later released to his parents.  The police investigation revealed that approximately 20 pieces of mail had been “compromised,” which means opened or emptied, according to Lieutenant Louis Tiner.  But all of the mail has been accounted for,  according to the Seward Postmaster. The U.S. Postal Inspectors Service in Anchorage was contacted and an investigator arrived in Seward early Monday morning. The compromised mail was seized by the inspector and taken to Anchorage for forensic processing, and will later be returned to the addressees.  The Seward Police Department and the Postal Service are working together to complete the investigation.

By Heidi Zemach for SCN

Human remains were discovered near Preacher’s Pond behind the Knots So Fast Feed Store, at milepost 3.5 of the Seward Highway a little after noon Monday May 11. Police notified the Alaska State Troopers, who came and collected them, and sent them to the state medical examiners office for identification. They are still investigating.

That’s what the troopers confirm.

However, the initial daily journal report, filed by Seward Police, said a cell phone and clothing also were reported found in the area, but this was not confirmed by the Troopers. Nor could the following rumors circulating among area residents be confirmed:

That the body was male, that it had apparently been there for quite some time, perhaps seven or eight months, and that he was not someone from the Seward area.

(updated Sunday May 13: The body found last Monday near Preacher’s Pond has been identified as Clifton Hayes Jr, 38, of Seward, according to Alaska State Troopers’ spokesperson.)

Public Service Announcement:
From The Seward Police Department
Sgt Doreen Valadez

On April 15th, 2012, the Alaska State Legislature voted to criminalize synthetic cathinones in Alaska. The Senate bill makes it illegal to sell, distribute, manufacture, or possess synthetic cathinones; generally marketed as “Bath Salts” and known to produce a high similar to methamphetamine, ecstasy, or cocaine. They’re known by a variety of names, including “Red Dove,” “Blue Silk,” “Zoom,” “Bloom,” “Cloud Nine,” “Ocean Snow,” “Lunar Wave,” “Vanilla Sky,” “Ivory Wave,” “White Lightning,” “Scarface” “Purple Wave,” “Blizzard,” “Star Dust,” “Lovey Dovey,” “Snow Leopard,” “Aura,” “Hurricane Charlie,” and “Meow-Meow.” They’re sold mostly on the internet, and on the street, but can also be found in discount tobacco outlets, gas stations, pawnshops, and tattoo parlors, among other locations. These products are usually encountered as highly pure white or brown powders. While they have become popular under the guise of selling as “bath salts”, they are sometimes sold as other products such as insect repellant, or plant food with names like “Bonsai Grow” among others. The various brands are sold in 50-milligram to 500-milligram packets. Prices range from $25 to $50 per 50-milligram packet.

Manufacturers of this substance have been able to avoid prosecution by putting “Not For Human Consumption” on the packaging. However, some of these make little effort to conceal what they really are, with one brand having a picture of Al Pacino’s ‘Scarface’ on its packaging.

Symptoms can include paranoia, delusions, hallucinations, suicidal behavior, and violence. The American Association of Poison Control Centers said from 2011 to 2012, there has been a 1300% increase in “bath salt” related calls to poison centers nationwide.

Alaska Senate Bill 140 makes the manufacture, distribution, sale, and possession of 500 milligrams or more of synthetic cathinones, a Class C felony. Possession of less than 500 milligrams would be a Class A misdemeanor.

For further information, search “Bath Salts”, MDPV (Methylenedioxypyrovalerone), and Mephedrone.

By Heidi Zemach for SCN

Mark Your Calendars. Sea View Community Services Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Program is sponsoring a public noon rally, march and potluck in Seward Thursday, March 29th to show support for the victims of sexual assault, rape and domestic violence in Alaska. Last year more than 100 people attended a similar “Choose Respect” event. The march was lead by various Seward religious leaders of various denominations, community health service providers, and Spring Creek Correctional Center leadership and correctional officers.

Unfortunately, domestic violence a fact of life in Alaska. In 2011, SeaView’s DVSA program, which also offers help to people in Moose Pass, Hope and Cooper Landing, had 65 open domestic violence files. So far this year eight new cases have been opened, or re-opened.

“I think that the biggest problem here in Seward is the lack of awareness and education surrounding domestic violence, but I also think it is the same problem across the state,” said Nora Hartmann, SeaView’s new DVSA coordinator. “There’s a misnomer that domestic violence is caused by drug or alcohol abuse, or socio-economic status, or employment levels. The reality is that domestic violence is a form of power and control, and that’s what the perpetrators of domestic violence seek to gain.”

(2011 Choose Respect March file photo)

9hearly 60 percent of Alaska women have been either sexually assaulted or have experienced physical violence in their lifetime. Ten percent of the rape victims seen by STAR in Anchorage are men, and 30 percent of the children seen at the child advocacy centers are boys. Alaska State Troopers responded to nearly 5,000 reports of sexual abuse of minors in the past decade. They responded to, or investigated 35,800 domestic violence calls. A child was present in 43 percent of the assaults reported. From 2006-2009, Alaska’s rate of forcible rape was 2.6 times higher than the national average.

In 2011, Seward Police hosted a Citizen’s Police Academy to educate the public in more depth about typical local crimes, and the way police are trained to handle these calls. There has been a sea change in the way in which police in Alaska deal with domestic violence emergency 911 calls over the past few decades. That, after police finally realized that that not taking swift, definitive action leads to an escalation of violence, and potentially gets the victim killed, said SPD Sergeant Doreen Valadez. Currently in Alaska, pressing charges is no longer the victim’s choice. That decision is left to the District Attorney.

Valadez remembers the past, when police used to arrive at a residence following an emergency 911 call, and often ended up leaving without making an arrest. At the time, both the woman and the man were typically questioned in the same room as the police asked the victim whether she wanted to press charges. The man was often right there, giving her the evil eye, and she’d often tell police everything was actually fine, so they would have to leave, Valadez said.

Now, Alaska enforcement officers are required to investigate every reported incident of domestic violence, and must make an arrest if there is evidence that a crime has occurred. That is, provided that the perpetrator has been identified and can be located within 12 hours of the incident.

When Seward Police arrive, they physically separate the two parties involved, and talk to each party individually while they try to determine the primary aggressor, and whether there is probable cause to make an arrest, explained SPD Officer Nick Degnan. Before they leave, they give the victim a booklet informing them of their rights, and stressing that police officers and the court system are there to help them, and that the abuse is not their fault. Officers also must read portions of the booklet aloud, and give the victim contact information about the local domestic violence program, and of the relevant services available to them.

The officers also must inform the victim that they may request that the officers help them get an emergency protection order, obtain their personal belongings, and locate and take them to a safe place such as a shelter, or home of a friend or household member. The officer also will help them, or their children obtain needed medical treatment.  Seward has some temporary safe houses, but if DV victims need longer-term battered-women shelters, they can be transported to shelters outside of town, Valadez said.

Many people are unaware that under state statue, domestic violence isn’t limited to what happens in a marriage, but can also include current or former roommates; current or former lovers; and family members out to their fourth cousins, she said. DV crimes also can include assault, burglary, criminal trespass, arson, terrorist threatening, violating a restraining order, or even harassment.

Perpetrators arrested by police are not eligible for release or bail until they can go before a judge, which often is the next day if the incident is reported after the judges’ regular daily working hours. The conditions of their release on bail will typically include prohibiting weapons, drinking, or contact with their alleged victims.  Most DV cases are resolved without going to trial. If convicted of an A-Misdemeanor, a DV perpetrator could face up to one year of jail time, and the conviction may also result in fines, community service, or an anger management class.

The state has enacted a host of new laws related to domestic violence, harassment, and lawmakers are considering strengthening laws on things such as sexual trafficking, what constitutes a right to self-defense, and use of porn sites.

Random news drawn from recent police journals:
For SCN by Heidi Zemach

An inmate hanged himself March 12th at Spring Creek Correctional Center. Joshua M Wagner, DOB 8/7/77, a long term prisoner with a long term to serve, his release date was March of 2047, was found by correctional officers at 6:20 p.m. during a check. He was alone in his cell. He was taken to the Providence Hospital, where he was declared dead. (CORRECTION: Wagner is not to be confused with another prisoner named Joshua D Wagner, 35, currently in prison in Anchorage, accused of the death of Norman “George Dennis in East Anchorage last year. SCN sincerely apologizes for the error)

James W. Keehn, 49, known as a cook at local Seward establishments, was found deceased in his apartment Monday morning by fellow workers who had gone to check on him after he didn’t show up at work. His cause of death appears to have been from natural causes.
Someone on the 400 block of 4th Avenue reported to police the theft of 10 gallons of fuel from their fuel tank next to their house. Police who responded say they were unable to find any identifiable footprints. With regular unleaded gas costing in excess of four and a half bucks in town, it’s not surprising that people may be feeling desperate enough to siphon off their own neighbor’s fuel. But still, doesn’t it remind you of tales from the Depression days when people resorted to stealing fuel with funnels from vehicles? The 1930′s Depression days that is?

Three different people called police Saturday afternoon and reported hearing possible gunshots. Each person thought it was coming from a different area. Nothing consequential came of those reports.

A vehicle rolled over this weekend at the first curve of Nash Road, causing unknown injuries. At about the same time, troopers were responding to another vehicle rollover at Seward Highway mile 9. Also, Seward road crews were busy clearing “slides” or small avalanches across Lowell Point road.

Another driver reported that a gray Silverado extended cab pickup truck, and had been tailgating him driving Southbound from mile 17 to mile 7 of the Seward Highway, flashing his high beams and acting in a threatening manner. Then finally it passed him doing 80 mph. I’ll admit that much the same happened to me yesterday evening, just outside of town. I’ll take some of the credit, because I was driving rather slowly, but the truck’s passenger had no need to give me the finger. Road rage has no place in this small town.

A Bear Lake resident reported that the roof of his garage collapsed. He was concerned about the power lines and electric box on the side of the garage.

Also this week emergency personnel responded to a call when someone’s fuel-powered heater outlet was blocked, causing concerns about noxious fumes and possible carbon monoxide poisoning. They checked out the heating system, and aired out the house before advising the folks it was clear to go back inside.

A moose was hit and killed by a train on the tracks at the corner of Moat Way and Salmon Creek Road. She was just one of many moose that met similar fates this winter. But her death was sad to me as she was my neighbor. If she was the same moose as the one I have been seeing, I have watched her walking around the Camelot Subdivision all winter with her calf, except the past month or so, when her calf seems to have disappeared. I have seen her on, or near the tracks, at the corner of Nash Road, and several times have avoided her and the calf when they suddenly appeared in front of my car out of the blue. I wish them both well in the animal afterlife. They are out of their hardship of surviving the winter traveling through this deep snow, where the only place to have a break is on the cleared roads or trails, or the railroad tracks. R.I.P.  (Photo: the moose climbs up slope toward the railroad tracks at Nash Road/Seward Highway.)