KBBI - Homer

More details are emerging in a three-year-old homicide case that lead to charges against a 55-year-old Homer man.

Homer police arrested Lee John Henry, 55, of Homer on Oct. 16 in the 2013 death of Mark Matthews. He was taken into custody at an address on Pioneer Avenue, near the Grog Shop.

Because it was an active investigation, Homer police have released only limited information about the case until recently.

On July 28, 2014, two people walking along the Poopdeck Trail found Matthews’ body just after 10 p.m.

Matthews’ death was ruled a homicide after an autopsy by the State Medical Examiner Office, but details of the case remained confidential.

Matthews was beaten to death, Homer Police Sgt. Lary Kuhns said. “It was blunt force trauma to the head and face.”

The actual location of the death was not the Poopdeck Trail, but the nearby Boystown Trail.

Kuhns said this was a deliberate tactic used in the investigation.

“My suggestion was I don’t think we should tell anyone the exact location where this occurred because that’s the location only known to the person or persons involved,” Kuhns said. “Of course the idea there is that anybody who had relevant information would say, it didn’t happen on the Poopdeck Trail, it happened on this other trail.”

The case has remained open for the last three years, while Homer police conducted their investigation.

In September, an unnamed person contacted Kuhns with information about Matthews’ murder.

“Somebody with information came forward and asked to speak with me,” he said.

Henry later confessed to the murder in a phone call to Homer police.

Police were aware that Henry had been in contact with Matthews on the evening of the homicide.

A cab driver witnessed the pair arguing near a park bench on Poopdeck Street about a half-hour before the death.

Kuhns said this piece of information helped police determine when the death occurred.

“He really helped as far as establishing a timeline,” Kuhns said. “With just seeing the argument and then how much longer it was from that time to the time he saw or heard police sirens. We were able to capture a 20- to 30-minute window of time as it when it would have happened.”

Henry was arraigned on Oct. 17 in Homer Courthouse on a charge of first-degree murder.

Judge Margaret Murphy appointed a public defender, but did not set bail.

He was transferred to Wildwood Correctional Complex, Kenai.

The case will go before a grand jury in Kenai Superior Court on Oct. 19, to decide whether there is enough evidence to formally press charges against the defendant.

The proceedings are not open to the public.

Henry faces up to 99 years in prison if convicted.

Homer Police arrested a man in connection with a three-year-old murder case Oct. 16.

Lee John Henry, 55, has been charged with murdering Mark Matthews on July 28, 2013 near the Poopdeck Trail.

Henry was arraigned on Oct. 17 in Homer Courthouse for first-degree murder.

Judge Margaret Murphy appointed him a public defender, but did not set bail.

According to a news release, the Homer police arrested Henry on Oct. 16 on Pioneer Avenue.

He was reportedly taken into custody without incident.

Henry will face 30 to 99 years in prison and up to a $500,000 fine if convicted.

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly passed a resolution on Oct. 11, revising its policy on the invocation that begins each meeting.

The new policy places restrictions on who is allowed to give the invocation.

Under the newly approved resolution, the borough clerk will maintain a list of qualifying religious organizations.

Only people or associations on this list will be allowed to give the invocation that begins each Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting.

The Assembly was deeply divided over the proposed resolution, which was approved in a 6-3 vote.

Assembly Member Stan Welles supported the resolution. By definition, an invocation is always a Christian prayer, Welles argued.

“Invocation directly points toward prayer and prayer points to our Lord God, who is our creator. And there is only one,” Welles said.

But South Peninsula representative Willy Dunne said it is not the Borough’s place to decide which religious organizations can provide the invocation.

“I think our responsibility here is to carry out the business of the Borough, not debate which religion is appropriate and which one isn’t,” Dunne said.

The controversy over the Borough Assembly invocation began this summer when it was given by Iris Fontana, a member of the Satanic Temple.

Fontana, who attended the Oct. 11 Borough Assembly meeting, said the Assembly should not restrict who can give the invocation.

“A strict policy that focuses on who is allowed to give an invocation is a blatant attempt at discrimination,” she said.

The Assembly also heard testimony from other members of the public. The overwhelming majority did not support the proposed invocation policy.

Soldotna resident Carrie Henson argued the United States was built on religious freedom.

“America has never been a Christian nation. We are a free nation,” Henson said.

Bruce Wall of Soldotna said he had planned to give an invocation at an upcoming Borough Assembly meeting.

Under the new resolution, he will not be allowed to do so.

“Because I support my ex-wife’s right to living in a same-gender relationship, I’m no longer allowed to fully participate in my church. So I’m not affiliated with a religious organization and this resolution would prevent me from offering invocations here,” Wall said.

Judith Jenkinson of Kasilof chided the Assembly for what she said was a restriction of free speech.

“You are not being very open,” Jenkinson said. “I am so embarrassed to recognize you sitting there, in your religious, pious position.”

Under the new policy, only pre-approved religious organizations will be allowed to give the meeting invocation.

According to the resolution, the Borough president will determine the “authenticity” of religious organizations based on criteria used by the Internal Revenue Service for awarding 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.

Joshua Decker, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska, says the Borough’s revised invocation policy may violate constitutional rights.

“It seems like Tuesday’s ordinance was designed to exclude religious minorities and atheists from offering invocations and this is constitutionally suspect,” Decker said. “Once government invites prayer into the public sphere, it must be open to everyone.”

The new invocation policy will go into effect immediately.

The next Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting will be held on Oct. 25.

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly passed a resolution on Oct. 11, revising its policy on the invocation, or prayer, that begins each Assembly meeting.

Under the new policy, the borough clerk will maintain a list of the qualifying religious associations that have submitted requests to deliver the invocation. Only persons or organizations appearing on this list will be allowed to give the invocation.

Borough Assembly President Blaine Gilman and Assembly Member Dale Bagley co-sponsored the resolution.

The controversy over the Borough Assembly invocation began this summer when the invocation was given by a member of the Satanic Temple.

Homer will soon join the list of U.S. cities making the switch to LED lights.

On Oct. 10, the Homer City Council passed an ordinance authorizing the installation of new LED lights on seven high mast poles around the Homer Harbor.

Originally, the Port and Harbor Department had planned to install LEDs on a single pole as a test project.

The City Council voted down that ordinance in favor of an expanded project that will install lights on all seven poles.

The price tag for the project is estimated to cost $180,000.

Though the LED lights are expensive, Homer port director Bryan Hawkins said they are worth the investment.

“We think we’re using about $66,000 worth of electricity last year,” Hawkins said. “These lights will use half that much. So we’ll save $33,000 just in energy savings alone. We’ll pay ourselves back for the investment in four years.”

That’s not counting lower maintenance costs, Hawkins said.

Traditional high pressure sodium bulbs, like the ones currently used in the Homer Harbor, must be replaced every two to five years.

Based on current estimates, the lifespan of an LED light bulb is about 15 to 20 years.

Besides the cost savings, Hawkins said the brighter LED bulbs will help improve security in the harbor.

“What we’re actually doing is we’re watching over hundreds of millions of dollars in public and private property,” Hawkins said.

The ordinance approving the LED light project passed unanimously at the Homer City Council Meeting on Oct. 10.

At least one outside group thinks Homer should proceed cautiously.

Pete Strasser works with the International Dark-Sky Association, a non-profit based in Arizona.

He’s watched communities across the country make the move to LEDs.

In foggy coastal environments, the glare from high brightness LEDs can be a major issue, Strasser said.

“One of the problems that people discover, usually to their chagrin, is that high brightness white LEDs and fog or haze or snow puts out a tremendous amount of glare,” Strasser said.

Because LEDs produce much more light than older technologies, light pollution is also a big concern.

“The nighttime environment has never had the amount of light that’s going to be thrown at it ever before,” Strasser said.

To help avoid these issues, Homer Port and Harbor has proposed putting a shield around the new LEDs to direct light toward the ground. The shield looks like a baseball cap brim.

Strasser said a light shield alone won’t fix the glare issue.

One option to reduce glare is to select LED lights with an amber-colored coating.

“That is the perfect locale for amber LEDs. That would essentially be like putting out fog lights to illuminate the area instead of a high brightness white,” Strasser said. “If they put in high brightness white LEDs on those high masts, the glare would be unbelievable.”

The Port and Harbor Department has not yet made a decision about what type of LED lights will be installed.

Now that the City Council has approved the ordinance, City Manager Katie Koester will issue a formal request for proposals from interested companies.

The installation of the new LED lights in the Homer Harbor could begin as early as spring 2017.

A family of three stranded overnight in Kachemak Bay State Park were rescued this week.

Two hikers, Slobodan and Nevenka Kitanovski, along with their 2-year-old son, were hiking near Halibut Cove on Oct. 12.

The family was visiting from Wasilla and staying in one of the “Halibut Cove Lagoon” cabins managed by the park.

Kachemak Bay State Park district ranger Jason Okuly said the family hiked about nine miles along Moose Valley Trail before realizing they were in trouble.

“They got up towards the junction of the North Poot Peak Trail and the South Poot Peak Trail around dark,” Okuly said. “So once they were up there they started realizing that they were pretty far from getting back to the cabin.”

They contacted Soldotna Police by cell phone, who were able to notify Alaska State Park Rangers.

Fortunately, the family was wearing proper clothing and was able to build a fire.

“Ultimately the troopers made the assessment that they would be able to spend the night. They’d be cold, but they wouldn’t be in any type of peril,” Okuly said.

Park rangers advised the hikers to stay where they were until the following morning.

“They were fairly confident come daybreak they’d be able to get back on the trail, so we advised them to hike back the way they came and that we’d hike up in the morning and meet them,” Okuly said.

Alaska State Park Rangers hiked along Moose Valley Trail to locate the hikers the next day.

The family was found just before noon.

No injuries were reported.

This is the first search-and-rescue in Kachemak Bay State Park this year.