Rosemarie Alexander

One of Southeast Alaska’s lifelong art enthusiasts has passed away. Barbara Kalen suffered a heart attack at her Skagway home Tuesday night. She was 86 years old.

Kalen was born in Skagway and spent all of her life there, save for one year of high school in California, vacations to the lower 48, and international trips to Iceland, the Galapagos and the Panama Canal. She helped reforest an area in Iceland from lodge pole pine seeds she collected in Skagway,

In the late 1980s, she took over management of Dedman’s Photo, which her mother had started in the early 1920s. She was the registered historian for the Klondike highway project, and a decades-long news stringer for publications in Fairbanks, Juneau, Whitehorse and Anchorage.

Kalen was a photographer, writer, musician, storyteller, gardener, and local legend. She’s well remembered for her dedication to the arts — music, in particular. She tried not to miss an Alaska Folk Festival and participated in numerous Juneau Lyric Opera festivals as well as other music events in the capital city.

Kalen founded the Skagway Arts Council in 1974 and was director until three years ago. About five years ago, she received an award from the Alaska State Legislature for her work in the arts.

Kalen also was fiercely interested in politics. She remained a staunch opponent to a road between Juneau and Skagway.

Memorial services are tentatively planned for next June, when more family and friends are in Skagway.

Holy Trinity Episcopal Church and McPhetres Hall publically celebrated the new facility last Sunday. Amanda Compton joined the approximately 150 to 200 community members who attended the event.

An Arkansas judge is considering motions to hold separate trials for three Arkansas teenagers charged with second degree murder and violent group activity in connection with the death of Kevin Thornton, of Juneau.

In motions filed in Hot Spring County Circuit Court Wednesday, the teens’ attorneys say a joint trial would violate their rights of due process and a fair trial.

Richard Shelby Whybark and Timothy Tyler Norwood, 17, and 16-year-old Clinton Lavon Ross – all of Malvern, Arkansas — have been charged in a single case in adult criminal court.

If they are tried together, according to the motions, one would be forced to testify against the other.

The court also has been asked to order a mental examination for Ross, the youngest of the trio. A motion was filed yesterday (Wednesday) stating an evaluation is necessary to determine if Ross has the capacity to “appreciate the criminality of his conduct at the time of the alleged offense.”

In charging documents filed with the court, the boys told Hot Spring County Sheriff’s investigators they had been drinking beer at a nearby river then drove along Traskwood Road where they saw Thornton walking with 20-year-old Jerry Haines of Malvern.

The charges indicate that Ross got out of the truck, took a swing at Haines then chased him, but stopped.

Norwood is alleged to have hit Thornton on the side of his face. He fell to the ground and appeared to be having a seizure. Whybark is alleged to have kicked and hit Thornton, then drag him into the ditch.

The charging documents indicate that each teen waived his rights with a parent present and provided signed statements about the incident to investigators.

Late last week, defense attorneys filed motions to suppress those statements. They also petitioned the court to dismiss the case or transfer it to juvenile court.
Those motions were heard by Judge Phillip Shirron on Monday. He has not yet ruled. No date has been set to hear the motion to separate the case and try each teen individually.

Thornton was allegedly beaten on July 20th while he and Haines were walking along Traskwood Road. The 19-year-old Thornton died of his injuries on July 27th. Sheriff’s investigators have called it “completely random violence.” Thornton, a 2010 graduate of Thunder Mountain High School, had been visiting friends in Arkansas.

Most Alaskans are $1,174 richer today (Thursday).

Permanent Fund Dividends are now in the bank accounts of 535,000 Alaskans, who checked the “direct deposit” box on their 2011 PFD application. Ninety-three-thousand paper checks also go in the U.S. mail today.

The total 2011 distribution is more than $760.22-million, distributed among 647,549 eligible Alaskans. Statutes require a year residency in Alaska to be eligible, with the intent to remain in the state indefinitely at the time of the dividend application.

According to the state Revenue Department, 676,000 Alaskans applied for this year’s dividend, a one percent increase over 2010. Hundreds of PFD applications are still pending, and they will be paid when the applicants are determined to be eligible.

This is the 30th Permanent Fund Dividend. The first check was $1,000 in 1982. The Revenue Department estimates $19-billion dollars have been paid out to Alaskans since then. That includes the 2008 Resource Rebate of $1,200.

Alaska’s Director of State and Federal Relations in Washington, D.C. is resigning.

After more than 40 years as the lead advocate for the state, John Katz says it’s time to leave the nation’s capital.

Early in his career Katz worked for the late Senator Ted Stevens and in 1979 became the first special counsel to the governor, working on the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.

Since then he has worked for eight Alaska governors in Washington and received several awards for his service.

In a letter to Governor Sean Parnell, the 68-year-old Katz says he wants to spend more time in Alaska and with his family.

He also says he’s become increasingly discouraged by what he sees as the “polarization and deterioration of the public policy process at the federal level.”

Katz says it is the worst he has seen in his 43 years in Washington.

In statements from Alaska’s congressional delegation, all have high praise for him.

Senator Mark Begich calls Katz the true definition of a dedicated public servant, who has fought for Alaskans on every “hot button” issue. Begich says he will miss Katz calm demeanor.

Senator Lisa Murkowski says his resignation is a “shock to the system of Alaska.”

Murkowski says she cannot disagree with his frustration with the “paralysis and partisan hostility that has taken over Washington, DC.”

Murkowski says Katz lived a “bipartisan life” as he served governors from “across the political spectrum.”

Representative Don Young says Katz “never let ideology get in the way of his mission, which was to serve the state of Alaska.”

Katz resignation is effective at the end of the year. Parnell will choose his replacement.

Three Arkansas teens accused of the murder of Kevin Thornton of Juneau say their cases should be dismissed. The motion will be heard by a judge today.

Timothy Tyler Norwood, 16, Clinton Lavon Ross, 16, and Richard Shelby Wybark, 17, are charged with second-degree murder and an aggravating count of violent group activity.

Their case has been filed in Hot Spring County Circuit Court and they are to be tried as adults.

The 19-year-old Thornton was visiting in the Malvern, Arkansas area in July when he was attacked while walking along a road with a friend. He died from his injuries July 27 in a Little Rock hospital. Hot Spring County Sheriff’s investigators called it a random assault.

Four boys were initially arrested in the case. Charges have been dropped against a 14-year-old.

In motions filed with the court late last week, attorneys for each of the three defendants argue the murder charges were incorrectly filed in criminal court.

They say the Arkansas law allowing a juvenile to be charged in adult criminal court is unconstitutional as well as cruel and unusual punishment, because the juvenile charged with a capital murder can be subject to a life sentence without parole.

The motions ask the judge to dismiss the case, or failing that, transfer the case to juvenile court.

Motions also were filed Thursday to suppress statements made by each boy to law enforcement officials. Attorneys argue the teens were not adequately advised of their rights when they were taken into custody.

A grand jury indictment indicates all three boys waived their rights in writing with a parent present and were interviewed by a Hot Spring County sheriff’s investigator.