It’s free
Goals
Wanted: Someone to take over newspaper
Brown Bears test win streak vs. Ice Dogs
News / A2
Sports / A9
40/34 More weather, Page A2
W of 1 inner Awa0* 201 Exc rds fo 8 e r Rep llence i o n rt * Ala ska P i n g ! res
CLARION P E N I N S U L A
Vol. 50, Issue 43
In the news
Woman on trial charged with stealing evidence — her own gun FAIRBANKS — A woman on trial for pulling out a loaded pistol inside an Alaska bar last year faces new charges after authorities say she stole the gun from an evidence box inside the courtroom. Tiffany Flenaugh, 29, was jailed Tuesday on new charges of felony theft, possessing a firearm in a courthouse, evidence tampering and violating conditions of release, the Fairbanks Daily NewsMiner reported. She is represented by the Alaska Public Defender’s Office, which declined comment Wednesday. Flenaugh was arrested on Oct. 21, 2018, at a downtown Fairbanks bar and charged with assault, weapons misconduct and resisting arrest. A bartender concluded she was intoxicated and refused to serve her. Prosecutors say she pulled out a .45-caliber handgun, waived it around, fought with three bouncers and fought with police officers who responded. At the trial Tuesday, Flenaugh’s unloaded pistol had been introduced as evidence and secured with a zip tie, Alaska State Trooper Sgt. Chuck Inderrieden said. The gun was in an evidence box near the judge’s bench. During a break in the jury trial, only Flenaugh, a prosecutor and a clerk were in the courtroom. Witnesses say Flenaugh approached the evidence box and reached for it until the assistant district attorney told her to stop. Flenaugh left the courtroom and walked outside. Police say she carried out the gun and hid it in snow. Meanwhile, the prosecutor and the clerk looked in the evidence box and discovered that the gun was missing. They alerted judicial services officers, who called police. Police arrested Flenaugh as she tried to re-enter the courthouse.
Railroad begins quake repairs ANCHORAGE — The Alaska Railroad has launched repairs for an See news, Page A3
Index Local . . . . . . . . . . A3 Opinion . . . . . . . . A4 Nation . . . . . . . . . A6 World . . . . . . . . . A6 Arts . . . . . . . . . . A7 Sports . . . . . . . . . A9 Classifieds . . . . . . A11 TV Guide . . . . . . . A12 Comics . . . . . . . . A13 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
Rain
s Clu
Thursday, November 21, 2019 • Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
b
$1 newsstands daily/$1.50 Sunday
Key witness: Trump directed quid pro quo By Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jalonick and Eric Tucker Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Ambassador Gordon Sondland declared to impeachment investigators Wednesday that President Donald Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani explicitly sought a “quid pro quo” with Ukraine, leveraging an Oval Office visit for political investigations of Democrats. But he also came to believe the trade involved much more. Besides the U.S. offer of a coveted meeting at the White House, Sondland testified it was his understanding the president was holding up nearly $400 million in military aid, which Ukraine badly needed with an aggressive Russia on its border, in exchange for the country’s announcement of the investigations. Sondland conceded that Trump never told him directly the security assistance was blocked for the probes, a gap in his account that Republicans and the White House seized on as evidence the president did nothing wrong. But the ambassador said his dealings with Giuliani, as well as administration officials, left him with the clear understanding of what was at stake. “Was there a ‘quid pro quo?’” Sondland asked. “With regard to the requested White House call and White House meeting, the answer is yes.” The rest, he said, was obvious: “Two plus two equals four.” Later Wednesday, another witness undercut a main Republican
Andrew Harnik / Associated Press
Ambassador Gordon Sondland, U.S. Ambassador to the European Union, appears Wednesday before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill during a public impeachment hearing of President Donald Trump’s efforts to tie U.S. aid for Ukraine to investigations of his political opponents.
argument — that there could be no quid pro quo because Ukraine didn’t realize the money was being held up. The Defense Department’s Laura Cooper testified that Ukrainian officials started asking about it on July 25, which was the day of Trump’s phone call with the country’s new president when Trump first asked for “a favor.” Her staff received an email, Cooper said, from a Ukrainian Embassy contact asking “what was going on
with Ukraine’s security assistance.” She said she could not say for sure that Ukraine was aware the aid was being withheld but “it’s the recollection of my staff that they likely knew.” Sondland, the ambassador to the European Union and a major donor to Trump’s inauguration, was the most highly anticipated witness in the House’s impeachment inquiry into the 45th president of the United States. In often stunning testimony, he
Hospital celebrates opening of new wing, expanded services By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
Kenai Peninsula residents will no longer be forced to travel to Anchorage for heart disease diagnosis and treatment. Central Peninsula Hospital in Soldotna held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday to celebrate the completion of their newest wing, which features a brand new cardiac catheterization lab as well as expanded facilities for respiratory care and obstetrics. “We’re excited about this new addition,” Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce said during the ribbon-cutting. “To each of the employees here today: smile and feel good about what you do.” The construction of the new wing has been ongoing for the past year, and hospital CEO Rick Davis said that it was the result of a nearly decadelong effort to upgrade the obstetrics and gynecology department. “We’ve been trying to figure out how to expand our OB department since I got here eight and a half years ago,” Davis said. “Finally about a year and a half ago we decided to combine the two projects into one and that’s really when it started making sense. So this is the end result of that.”
Peninsula Clarion
Winter may have arrived on the Kenai Peninsula this month, but hazards from the Swan Lake Fire are still prevalent near burned areas. In the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, several trails, cabins, campgrounds and roads are still closed due to the fire — which ignited north of Sterling in June and burned more than 160,000 acres of forest before it
See witness, Page A14
Aerial search made for missing woman By Michael Armstrong Homer News
trees to fall,” Loranger said. Jean Lake Campground, Lower Ohmer Lake Campground and Engineer Lake Campground are closed, a Nov. 13 Emergency Closure Order from the refuge said. Kenai River Trail, Hideout Trail, the Seven Lakes Trail east of Kelly Lake and west of Engineer Lake, Marsh Lake Trail, Skyline Trail, Fuller Lakes Trail are Surprise Creek Trail
Homer Police and family and friends of Anesha “Duffy” Murnane have not let up the search for the 38-year-old woman who went missing in downtown Homer on Oct. 17. Almost 35 days after she was last seen in a security camera image taken from outside her Main Street home, police have not come up with any solid leads into Murnane’s disappearance. Murnane’s family has added a $10,000 reward offered through Crimestoppers for any information leading to Murnane’s return. Anonymous tips can be given to Crimestoppers by calling 907-2838477. Information on the case is at the Peninsula Crime Stoppers page at www.peninsulacrimestoppers. com. From noon to 4 p.m. this Saturday, a candlelight vigil will be held at WKFL Park for Murnane to show support to her parents, Sara and Ed Berg, and family, and to raise awareness about her disappearance. Murnane’s family has a Facebook page, Bring Duffy Home, and a Go Fund Me account to raise money to assist the search. On Nov. 12, FBI agents using a high-powered video camera flew in a fixed-wing plane over downtown Homer from Soundview Avenue to Homer High School. The flight resulted in a 90-minute video, said Homer Police Lt. Ryan Browning, the lead investigator in the search for Murnane. Police saw a flash of blue — the color of the coat Murnane is believed to have worn when she went missing — near South Peninsula Hospital. “It looked like a person,” Browning said. Police flew over the area on Nov. 13 with aerial drones and then a
See Fire, Page A3
See missing, Page A3
Brian Mazurek / Peninsula Clarion
Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce (left) and Central Peninsula Hospital CEO Rick Davis cut the ribbon leading to the new wing of the hospital in Soldotna.
The new obstetrics department will be located on the second floor of the new wing. Construction is still ongoing for that portion and is expected to be completed by January of 2020. The obstetrics department is currently located in a part of the hospital that Davis said is about 50 years old. “It needed more than just a facelift,” Davis said of the department.
In the meantime, the cardiac catheterization lab will allow hospital staff to begin performing diagnostic and treatment procedures for issues related to heart disease. Cardiac catheterization is used, for example, to measure blood pressure, identify blocked arteries and install stents, See hospital, Page A3
Trails, campgrounds, cabins and a road still remain closed in wake of fire By Victoria Petersen
painted a picture of a Ukraine pressure campaign that was prompted by Trump himself, orchestrated by Giuliani and well known to other senior officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Sondland said he raised his concerns about a quid pro quo for military aid with Vice President Mike Pence — a conversation a Pence adviser vigorously denied.
was contained this fall. Andy Loranger, manager of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, said burned areas in the refuge are closed to the public. He said residents should exercise caution when they venture into the refuge. Heated ash pits are still prevalent, but are slowly decreasing as winter settles in. Snag hazards, when burned trees fall over, can happen without warning, he said. “It doesn’t take much for burned