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By Sam Friedman [email protected] Alaska prosecutors have received a six-month extension to respond to the new evidence in the 1997 Fairbanks killing of John Hartman. This fall, advocates for the so-called “Fairbanks Four,” the four men convict- ed of killing 15-year-old John Hartman on a Fairbanks street corner, launched a legal challenge on the convictions. The legal challenge involves an alter- nate theory of the killing that identifies five alternate suspects and includes an affidavit by William Z. Holmes, a for- mer Lathrop student who said he was driving a car that carried the killers. In the weeks since the court filing, the Alaska Department of Law has asked for more time to consider the new evidence and file its response. Bill Oberly, the attorney with the Alaska Innocence Project who filed the legal challenges, has asked the court to move swiftly, arguing delays could mean extra jail time for George Frese, Kevin Pease, Marvin Roberts and Eugene Vent, who are all in custo- dy in Alaska. But the Fairbanks judge assigned to the case has given prosecutors their extension. An order distributed to par- ties in the case Thursday gives Alaska Assistant Attorney General Adrienne Bachman until May 15 to file her response. In his order, Superior Court Judge Paul Lyle scheduled an initial court hearing for Jan. 16. 75 cents SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2013 newsminer.com THE VOICE OF INTERIOR ALASKA SINCE 1903 SOURDOUGH JACK: “My thoughts go out to those affected by the Newtown tragedy.” The weather. Snow’s likely today. High today ............. -10 Low tonight ........... -17 WEATHER » A9 GOOD MORNING Classified » B7 | Comics » B6 | Dear Abby » B5 | Markets » A8 | Nation » A3 | Obituaries » A5 | Opinion » A6 | Weather » A9 INSIDE • • • • • • • • • EPA pushes back final impact report on the proposed Pebble Mine until early next year. » A4 Inside Today HEADED TO STATE Eielson wrestler makes state finals. SPORTS Page B1 • • • Aurora forecast. Auroral activity will be moderate. Weather permitting, moderate displays will be visible overhead from Barrow to Talkeetna. This information is provid- ed by aurora forecasters at the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. For more infor- mation about the aurora, visit http://www.gi.alaska. edu/AuroraForecast SKATING TO THE TOP Ice Dogs back in first in division. SPORTS Page B1 A MATTER OF SECURITY Mandela interpreter who stood on stage with world leaders reportedly faced murder charge. WORLD Page A9 Prosecutors get more time to respond to new evidence in the case Hartman review extension granted REVIEW » A7 Parnell talks budget By Matt Buxton MBUXTON@NEWSMINER. COM A day after he released a trimmed-down state bud- get, Gov. Sean Parnell vis- ited Fairbanks to make the case for his $12.4 billion capital and operating bud- gets. Speaking to Interior Republicans at the West- mark Hotel during the group’s regular Friday luncheon, Parnell said his budget, and a number of its programs, set up the state for a prosperous future. He focused mostly on his proposal to move $3 billion from the state’s constitu- tional budget reserves to begin paying for the future shortfall in the state’s retirement program, which is estimated to be more than $10 billion. The spending, he said, would allow the state to reduce its future payments into the retirement system, which will range from $700 million to more than $1 bil- lion per year, to just $500 million per year. Gov. speaks at luncheon in Fairbanks Above: People browse the work of Yumi Kawaguchi during the annual University of Alaska Fairbanks Art Department Student Pottery and Print Sale on Friday upstairs in the Fine Arts Complex. Right: Kirsten Olson, a Master of Fine Arts student in ceramics, shapes a mug while giving pottery demonstrations. ERIC ENGMAN/ NEWS-MINER ALL EYES ON ART PARNELL » A7 Man with history of assault gets 5 years for beating By Sam Friedman [email protected] A Fairbanks man with a lengthy criminal history was given a five-year sentence Friday morning for sub- jecting his girlfriend to an hours-long beating last fall. Mark Leroux, 43, was jailed in October 2012 on charges that included fel- ony assault and kidnap- ping after his girlfriend of about three weeks escaped from a South Fairbanks home where Leroux had been beating and choking her. She didn’t have shoes or a jacket when she ran away and got the help of a bystander at the 23rd Ave- nue Holiday gas station. BEATING » A7 After Sandy Hook shooting, schools work to boost security WASHINGTON — On the day of the attack at Sandy Hook Elementa- ry School, there were fewer police in Montgomery County, Md., schools and Fairfax County, Va., had not updated 10 decades-old, open-classroom schools that lacked individual locking doors. Virginia lawmakers had not mandated two lockdown drills a year, and Mary- land had not allocated $25 million for school safety improvements. The indelible horror of the massacre at the Newtown, Conn., school on Dec. 14, 2012, changed all of that. The trag- edy that left 20 children and six school staff dead one year ago also left its mark on how schools think about the way they protect students. School leaders across the country have wondered how to tighten up. Lawmakers have deliber- ated. Parents have weighed in. Experts say that schools remain among the safest settings for children and warn against costly or fear-driven changes that are often ineffective. In Connecticut, a recent report could not pinpoint a motive for the rampage by Adam Lanza, 20, who shot through a window near a locked school entrance just after 9:30 on a Friday morning. In the Washington region, school leaders have ramped up security. Many have fast-tracked building improve- ments, such as electronic access con- trols. Some have staged more drills or collaborated with local law enforce- ment. Prince William County has funded an additional 15 “school resource officers” — uniformed, armed police — so that one will be stationed in every county middle school and high school. “No level of security can ever 100 per- cent prevent school shootings, but this is probably the best thing we can do in a relatively short period of time,” said Corey Stewart, chairman of the county’s board of supervisors, who had sought to cut such positions to save money but shifted course after Newtown. Prince George’s County, Md., has undertaken one of the region’s more extensive efforts to boost security with a $7.5 million project to install electron- ically controlled entrances, panic but- tons and cameras at all of its schools. It also mandated system-wide lockdown drills and steered funding toward fenc- ing around portable classroom trailers. By Donna St. George THE WASHINGTON POST One year later » Newtown, Conn., hopes to mark anniversary of trag- edy with private services. » A7 SECURITY » A7
