A YEAR OF CHANGE

MAT-SU — From high-profile killings to school threats to political corruption, there was little slow about 2007 for Mat-Su Valley news. Looking back on the year that was, the Valley produced many memorable stores. Some uplifting, others not, but all information important for local readers to glean from their hometown newspaper.

In reviewing what made the news in 2007, it soon became apparent it would be impractical to rehash everything the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman brought to readers in its 156 editions over the past 12 months. Following, in no particular order, are synopses recapping 15 of the most memorable stories of 2007.

Kohring conviction

ANCHORAGE — A year of political upheaval for the Mat-Su Valley’s former seven-time state Rep. Vic Kohring came to a head Nov. 1 with his conviction on federal bribery, attempted extortion and conspiracy to commit extortion charges.

A jury deliberated for an afternoon and a morning following five days of testimony that he accepted money from former VECO Corp. oil executives in exchange for his support on legislation affecting the oil industry. Former VECO CEO Bill Allen, in a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, testified against Kohring, saying he gave the lawmaker about $2,600 total on several occasions. In return, Allen testified he expected Kohring’s loyalty. On video surveillance shown to the jury, Kohring can be clearly seen and heard asking Allen and former VECO vice president Rick Smith for a $17,000 load to pay off credit card debt. He argued a loan from the VECO executives would help protect his political reputation.

Kohring was arrested May 4 and resigned from office at a June 19 meeting of the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce.

Kohring did not testify on his own behalf at his trial, and his legal team maintained Kohring was a good guy, a small fish caught up in a large pond of corruption. He is scheduled for a Feb. 6 sentencing in Anchorage.

Machete attack

PALMER — The Mat-Su Valley and Anchorage were shocked the morning of Dec. 3 to learn one man was responsible for a string of brutal and violent attacks that left two people dead and three others seriously wounded over a 26-hour period.

Anchorage police arrested Christopher Erin Rogers Jr. after he shot a man while carjacking his vehicle. While in custody, Rogers, who goes by Erin, allegedly admitted a rampage that began in Palmer in the early morning the day before, Dec. 2. Rogers allegedly attacked his father, Christopher Erin Rogers Sr., and his father’s fiancé, Elann Moren, with a machete while they slept.

Rogers Sr. was killed and Moren seriously wounded before the family’s dog intervened and allowed Moren time to get away and call police, according to affidavits supporting charges against Erin Rogers. He then stole his father’s truck, which also had a .357-caliber magnum revolver in it, and drove to Anchorage.

Anchorage police report Rogers allegedly shot and killed 27-year-old Jason Wenger while he was warming up his car that morning, then later the evening of Dec. 2 he allegedly shot 33-year-old Elizabeth Rumsey in the back while she was jogging an Anchorage park. The next morning, he allegedly shot Tamas Deak, 43, and stole his Jeep.

When authorities finally caught up with Erin Rogers, he allegedly admitted to the attacks and told police he knew he would be arrested before long for the machete attacks and “just wanted to kill a few more people along he way.”

Between filings in Palmer and Anchorage courts, Erin Rogers faces 18 felony charges, including first-degree murder. He is set to begin trail in Palmer Feb. 11, and his next Anchorage court date is set for Jan. 23 for a pre-trial conference.

MEA’s power struggle

MAT-SU — For Matanuska Electric Association, 2007 unfolded like the transcript of a bad soap opera as it feuded with the Mat-Su Borough and some vocal member-owners over its plans to build a coal-fired electric generation plant.

The year began with MEA’s reluctance in releasing its Integrated Resource Plan, a document that outlines its options and plans to build 200 megawatts of electricity generation in the Valley by 2015. The plan called for two plants, a 100-megawatt gas-fired facility and 100-megawatt coal-fired operation. Its plans to build a coal plant in the Valley met with stiff opposition from several local organizations, including the Borough.

The acrimony came to a head in August when the Mat-Su Borough Assembly, in response to MEA’s plans to build a coal-fired plant, approved a new ordinance governing the construction of power generation plants in the Borough.

MEA has responded by approaching the Regulatory Commission of Alaska about railbelt utilities forming a larger power generation cooperative, a proposal the RCA is considering.

The most dramatic move, however, came late in 2007 when, following a year of controversy and debate over coal power generation, MEA’s board voted accept a recommendation from MEA General Manager Wayne Carmony to table the coal plant for at least five years. MEA is moving forward with its plan to build a gas-fired plant.

Following an at-times tumultuous year, 2008 will also begin with MEA out front of the news with its upcoming board elections.

Mat Maid dries up

MAT-SU — A 71-year Alaska dairy farming tradition came to an end in December with the closing of state-owned Matanuska Maid Dairy. The move was the culmination of more than six months of debate and political controversy that saw Gov. Sarah Palin dismiss the entire state Board of Agriculture and Conservation and a new private dairy operation scramble to take Mat Maid’s place.

The story first came to a head in June, when the state Creamery Board announced suddenly its decision to close the financially failing Mat Maid. The state took over operation of the former Matanuska Maid cooperative in the mid 1980s. The decision angered and dismayed the state’s few remaining dairy farmers, who would have nowhere to sell their milk if Mat Maid suddenly were to close.

Palin stepped in, sacked the entire Board of Agriculture and Conservation, which is also the Creamery Board, and charged the new members with trying to save the dairy. In the months that followed, Mat Maid continued to lose money and in September announced its plan to privatize the dairy and sell the operation. That also proved unsuccessful as the state received some interest but no bids to purchase the operation.

While Mat Maid stopped accepting local milk for good a week before Christmas, the extra time between the initial decision to close in June and December was enough for the Southcentral Dairy Venture cooperative to form. The Mat Maid logo and some of its equipment are being used by Southcentral, which continues to set up its Palmer operation. Until then, a deal has been reached with Northern Lights Dairy in Delta Junction to process as much milk from local producers as it can. Northern Lights Dairy expects to truck about 20,000 gallons of milk per month to match the amount of product it had been purchasing from local farmers through Mat Maid.

When operational, Southcentral Dairy Venture expects to process milk and milk products, including cheese.

Inaugural ball

WASILLA — Although she was sworn into office Dec. 6, 2006, Gov. Sarah Palin celebrated her election as the state’s top office with a gala Inaugural ball Jan. 27.

Palin, a former Wasilla mayor, has had an eventful first year as Alaska’s governor. She called a special session of the Legislature to repeal the Petroleum Profits Tax that she said had been “tainted by corruption” with the investigation and prosecution of several members of the Legislature. In a month-long session, lawmakers repealed the PPT and voted to approve Palin’s ACES plan, which calls for a higher tax on oil companies.

Having an inaugural ball in the Valley — at Raven Hall — put the area in the spotlight. Colleen Sullivan-Leonard, director of what was then the governor’s Mat-Su office, summed up the local sentiment: “Gov. Palin is our hometown gal.”

Trick’s on them

TALKEETNA — A pair of women and their boyfriends were arrested following a brazen armed robbery of a group of trick-or-treating elementary school students on Halloween.

Witnesses told authorities the robbers, who wore masks, pulled up in a truck, waved a gun (firing it once) and demanded their candy. While they may have stolen some treats, their boyfriends unknowingly set them up for a trick by calling them from jail.

Court records include affidavits about taped jailhouse phone calls made by the male suspects to the females, who were later arrested. The calls indicate Amber Martin, 20, and Kendra Butts, 18, and their boyfriends, Aaron Tolen and Michael Wilson, both 24, argued at a Talkeetna cabin that night after the women bragged about the robbery. That argument apparently sent the men out of the cabin. They were arrested while waiting for cheeseburgers at a Talkeetna lodge when a robbery victim spotted the license plate of their truck and troopers were called.

Those phone calls also revealed the couples were allegedly involved in a string of burglaries in the area as well. On the tapes, one of the men urges Butts to burn a truck stored in the Alaska State Troopers’ impound lot.

Bailey honored

MAT-SU — Maurice Bailey was recognized on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, for his work on behalf of the state’s military veterans with the Governor’s Veterans Advocacy Award.

Bailey is president and one of the founders of Veterans Aviation Outreach, a nonprofit organization that provides help, support and fellowship for Alaska veterans, even in remote areas. Support can range from simple advice about how to apply for Veterans Administration benefits to organizing a construction crew to build a cabin. Wherever there are veterans in need, the VAO will respond, Bailey said.

Although pleased and proud, Bailey admitted to feeling humbled for being honored simply for doing the right thing.

“I didn’t believe it,” he said about learning he would receive recognition from the governor. “I thought I was going about doing what I was doing and never thought about getting an award. We didn’t set out and plan [Veterans Aviation Outreach], it just came about. We started doing it because it was the right thing to do.”

VAO responds to communities throughout Alaska, large and small, and contact veterans about their specific needs, Bailey said. In some cases, it’s helping veterans properly fill out paperwork to access the benefits they’ve already earned with their military service. In other cases it’s providing solutions for everyday life challenges. If veterans in an outlying area have trouble making a Veterans Administration appointment, funeral or health care checkup, VAO will fly them from their rural areas to urban centers.

Bailey’s efforts and service “epitomizes the spirit of Alaska,” Gov. Sarah Palin said. “His can-do attitude is helping those who have given the most to our country. I am very proud of what he does for our veterans community and I am proud to give him this award.”

Council calls for probe

WASILLA — How city staff and administration have handled a proposed retail development has prompted city council to commission an independent investigation.

Council voted in December to ask for bids to conduct a probe into how the city has handled the proposed Creekside retail development by Meritage Development Corp. Bringing the situation to a head were public documents and correspondence among the mayor, city officials and business owners who wouldn’t sell their land to make way for the Meritage’s preferred access route. An Aug. 24 letter to those property owners signed by Mayor Dianne M. Keller indirectly threatens the city could take their land if they didn’t sell. That has since been reversed.

Keller insists neither she nor the city have done anything wrong or unethical and have followed established city policy. Some council members have questions and want an unbiased assessment and recommendations.

The closing date for interested parties to bid for the job is Feb. 11.

Valley youth wins bee

PALMER — Forrest Lamb, an eighth-grader at Academy Charter School, in February won the state spelling bee and a trip to the national spelling bee in Washington, D.C., when he correctly spelled “vituperative” and “artesian.”

He wasn’t sure which was the official winning word, but he spelled them both correctly and said winning the state contest was a combination of luck and studying. Spelling is easy, he said after his win, it’s the waiting that’s a killer. He was No. 138, which meant he had to sit and wait while 137 other student spelled before him.

“When I’m spelling the words, I’m less nervous,” he said. “I know what I’m up against.”

out with cottonwood,

in with target

WASILLA — Out with Cottonwood Creek Mall, in with Target.

Retailers in the 20-year-old Cottonwood Creek Mall had about a month following their busy holiday season before learning in late January they had to be out by April 20. The reason, they learned later, was to make way for a new Target store to anchor the prime corner retail lot at the intersection of the Parks and Palmer-Wasilla highways.

The announcement that Target would be coming to Wasilla was made as a side comment at a city planning commission meeting.

“The developers said, ‘Oh, by the way, our main tenant is Target,’” said Alvah Clark Buswell, a city planning commissioner.

Su Valley school burns

TALKEETNA — While many children may daydream about the school burning down, when it really happened to students at Su Valley Jr./Sr. High School, they were among the first to chip in and help.

The school burned to its foundation June 5, leaving the Upper Susitna area and about 185 students without a school. In the months following the fire, a temporary campus has been created using portable classrooms at the Upper Susitna Senior Center. The community has also been gathering with Mat-Su Borough and school officials, and an architect to come up with a design of the new school.

Recently, the school board finalized a $17.9 million estimate with its insurance company to replace the school with another 50,000-square-foot building. The district would have to find funding for other amenities, like a hockey rink.

Construction is expected to break ground in May or June, with the new Su Valley Jr./Sr. High School campus planned to be open for the 2009-2010 school year.

Dentist drills

cabbage contest

PALMER — Steve Hubacek has developed a big head.

That was the lead to the Sept. 2 edition of the Frontiersman announcing the Wasilla dentist was the 2007 champion of the Alaska State Fair’s Giant Cabbage Weigh-Off at the fairgrounds in Palmer. He shredded the competition with his 87.7-pound cabbage. It was his second year in the contest. He placed third in 2006.

A close second was 2006 champion and perennial giant vegetable competitor Scott Robb, whose entry weighted in at 87 pounds.

The fair also saw a world-record 105.9-pound kale grown by North Pole resident Dave Iles. He shattered the previous record of 58.6 pounds, which he also held. Ron Castor of Palmer brought in a state-record 7.572-pound parsnip.

School threats

MAT-SU — A rash of school threats marred the first semester of the 2007-2008 school year. At Colony High School, two teens were identified as suspects for making terroristic threats against other students and/or the school.

Following an October incident of threatening graffiti that said a shooting was going to happen at the school was found on a bathroom wall, a 16-year-old CHS student was arrested for allegedly making threatening and violent statements to another student in an Internet chat room. Threats on the bathroom walls at the school happened again and 14-year-old student was charged as a suspect in making the bathroom threats.

The 14-year-old was identified through handwriting samples the school gathered from all students. The manner of the sampling, where students were deceived initially about why they had to submit the samples, generated controversy. Some students and community members were angry that students were deceived, while others felt their rights were violated. David Blurton, a professor of justice at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, said the tactic likely wasn’t a violation of constitutional rights.

As some Colony students were protesting the writing samples, a 10-year-old Meadow Lakes Elementary School girl was suspended for allegedly writing threatening statements on a stall in a school bathroom. Also, Houston Middle School received a bomb threat Dec. 11.

Butte remembers Carter

BUTTE — This Valley community and the area’s emergency services providers were out in force to honor the memory of one of their own. Cameron Carter, 24, was one of three crew members and a patient aboard a LifeGuard Alaska air ambulance Dec. 3 when it lost contact in the Prince William Sound area transporting the patient to an Anchorage hospital. Carter was an emergency responder on the helicopter, but began his training as a teenage volunteer in Butte.

A week-long search found the body of one crewmember, 47-year-old flight nurse John Stumpff of Sterling, and some debris from the craft. The bodies of Carter, pilot Lance Brabham, 42, and patient Gayle McDowell were not found.

Shaken baby

PALMER — A Wasilla man was arrested in November and charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter after the death of his 6-month-old daughter Kaydence. Burton Grant Naczi, 22, allegedly confessed to investigators he lied when he told his baby’s mother the child had been injured when he tripped and the infant fell down some stairs.

In a sworn affidavit, an Alaska State Trooper investigator says Naczi said he caused the child’s injuries “by shaking and throwing her onto a couch. Burton Naczi state that after he shook [Kaydence] she became limp and unresponsive.”

Although afraid for the girl’s health, Naczi did not seek medical attention, the affidavit says. Instead, he allegedly partially covered her with a blanket before her mother arrived to pick the baby up. Upon discovering the injuries, the 19-year-old mother rushed Kaydence to the hospital. Although airlifted to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, her injuries were too severe and she died the next day. Troopers report Kaydence had extensive bruising to her knees, arms, chest, ribs and face, and a CAT scan revealed hemorrhages in the eyes and brain.

Naczi has been charged with second-degree murder with extreme indifference and felony manslaughter. Trial is set for Feb. 11 in Palmer.