PALMER -- Proposed budget cuts in the Division of Juvenile Justice could shut down the Mat-Su Youth Facility as an overnight detention center, officials said Tuesday. Some services would continue to be available, though 13 staff members would potentially be laid off, said Bob Fedoroff, superintendent at McLaughlin Youth Facilities, who oversees the Mat-Su detention center. "The House Finance Committee is asking that we reduce our [division's] budget by about $1 million," Fedoroff said. "We are looking at reducing operations at the Mat-Su Youth Facility, which is a 24-hour detention center and a probation night school. That would eliminate all but a community [daytime] detention program." [continues 713 words]
Editor's note: This story is a compilation of several interviews over a four-month stretch between Frontiersman reporter Naomi Klouda and Robert Norris. It is the second of several articles which will explore how some Alaskan residents end up behind bars, what happens while they serve out their sentences, and options they are presented to assist with their rehabilitation. The week starts off first thing Monday morning with a court date. After five months in jail, 18-year-old Robert Norris is about to hear his sentence. [continues 1397 words]
The state dismissed charges against a Wasilla man arrested for growing marijuana after a Palmer Superior Court judge ruled that drug enforcement officers trespassed in order to smell the marijuana and subsequently get a search warrant. Four charges of misconduct involving a controlled substance in the case involving James H. McDermott, 35, of Wasilla, were dropped Monday. On Sept. 9, 1999, McDermott was arrested after drug enforcement officers obtained information about his alleged marijuana-growing operation by "smelling the pot" while standing in a vacant, privately owned lot next door. [continues 462 words]
