SOURDOUGH JACK:

“Whenever I hear ‘mush,’ I think ‘mashed,’ and I want to eat some potatoes.”

The weather.

Today: Mostly clear.

Patchy freezing fog in

the morning. Highs

zero to 5 above,

except around 20 on

the hills. Tonight:

Mostly clear.

High today ............... -1

Low tonight ........... -16

WEATHER » A7

GOODMORNING

Classified » C1-6 | Comics » C8 | Dear Abby » C7 | Faith » B2 | Markets » D4 | Obituaries » A3 | Opinion » A6 INSIDE

• • •

• • •

GOP senators move Trump EPA pick ahead; billionaire urges rejection of DeVos. » A5Inside Today

Aurora forecast.

Auroral activity will be

active. Weather per-

mitting, active auroral

displays will be visible

overhead from Utqiag-

vik to Anchorage and

Juneau, and visible low

on the horizon from

King Salmon and Prince

Rupert.

This information is provided

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

COLLEGE HOOPSUAF beats Simon

Fraser in comeback

SPORTS

Page D1

One dollar newsminer.comFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2017

T H E V O I C E O F I N T E R I O R A L A S K A

Faculty weighs no-confidence vote for JohnsenBy Matt BuxtonMBUXTON

@NEWSMINER.COM

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Faculty Senate is considering a vote of no confidence in UA Presi-dent Jim Johnsen over his handling of the Strategic Pathways reorganization effort, similar to a measure approved by Anchorage’s Faculty Senate last month.

The Faculty Senate has two resolutions on

its agen-da Mon-d ay t h at e x p r e s s d i s a p -pointment in Strate-gic Path-ways deci-sion-mak-ing, focused in large part on a decision to head-quarter a unified School of Education at the Univer-sity of Alaska Southeast instead of UAF.

The first resolution is focused on the School of Education decision that was part of the Strategic Pathways process, which was launched last year as a response to ongoing bud-get pressures and sought to reorganize the universi-ty’s academic and admin-istrative programs.

Johnsen initially recom-mended a unified program be headquartered at UAF based on a report pro-duced by faculty and other

stakeholders, but reversed course after lobbying by Juneau legislators and the city of Juneau pledged a $1 million contribution to the school. The Board of Regents approved UAS to headquarter the program during a special meeting in December.

The resolution specifi-cally finds no faith in the decision-making.

UAF Faculty Senate President Orion Lawlor said there are parts of the

Strategic Pathway that have been beneficial, such as improved coordina-tion between campuses, but said faculty feel their input has been locked out of final decision-making. The UAF Faculty Senate is a 39-42 member body that provides input on every-thing including academic programs and university policies.

“We went into this December special meet-ing with the Board of

Regents thinking that it was going to be UAF, and without public testimony and only about 45 min-utes of public discussion at the board, it’s UAS all the sudden,” Lawlor said. “And everybody was sur-prised by that, including the chancellor and the provost and people who should be involved in that. The faculty was not happy about that.”

Fewer teachers/ students predicted in draft education budget By Amanda BohmanABOHMAN@NEWSMINER.COM

The proposed Fairbanks public education budget for the 2017-18 school year cuts the number of teachers and raises class sizes in the high-er grades but provides for all-day kindergarten at three more elementary schools.

The proposal also boosts the number of computers and tablets in the lower grades as the district pivots to personal-ized learning.

In a Feb. 1 letter to the school board, the superinten-dent and the chief financial officer characterized the plan as “the administration’s best effort to present a spending plan that addresses the sub-stantial budget challenges the district is facing, but also supports the community’s commitment to successful student learning, and demon-strates efficient and effective use of human and financial resources.”

Budget forums are planned

on these dates:• Feb. 15 at North Pole High School.• Feb. 22 at Ryan Middle School.• March 8 at University Park Elementary School.All forums start at 6 p.m.

UAF » A7

SCHOOLS » A3

Trump pledges to end political limits on churches

WASHINGTON — Declar-ing that religious freedom is “under threat,” President Donald Trump vowed Thursday to repeal a rare-ly enforced IRS rule that says pastors who endorse candidates from the pulpit

risk losing their tax-ex-empt status.

“I will get rid of and totally destroy the John-son Amendment and allow our representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear of retribu-tion,” Trump said at the National Prayer Breakfast, a high-profile event bring-

ing together faith leaders, politicians and dignitaries.

Trump’s pledge was a nod to his evangelical Christian supporters, who helped power his White House win.

He has not detailed his plans for doing away with

President Donald Trump is introduced during the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday in Washington. AP PHOTO/EVAN VUCCI

By Catherine LuceyASSOCIATED PRESS

Johnsen

TRUMP » A5

Lucky numbers

Rookie Yukon Quest musher Jessie Royer, of Fairbanks, reacts to picking the No. 1 from a bunny boot during the 2017 Yukon Quest starting banquet Thursday. She’ll be the first musher out of the starting shoot when the race begins Saturday in Whitehorse.SAM FRIEDMAN / NEWS-MINER PHOTOS

One last hurrah, then a deep breath as Quest mushers draw the orderBy Sam FriedmanSFRIEDMAN

@NEWSMINER.COM

WHITEHORSE — The Yukon Quest starting banquet is an evenin-glong production, in part because it pays the bills for the mush-ers and for the race organization.

In their final formal public event before

they meet at the start l ine on Saturday, Yukon Quest mushers and their fans gath-ered in a hotel ball-room Thursday night in downtown White-horse.

There was chicken dinner, there was a bit of bawdy dancing and there was some dog mushing humor from a goldrush era-styled

Whitehorse troup.Then, one by one,

mushers took the stage to pull a slip of paper with a number out of a bunny boot. The number signified the order the mush-ers would leave the start line Saturday in Whitehorse. The cere-mony was a chance for the race organization to publicly thank the

businesses that spon-sored musher bibs and also for mush-ers to thank their sup-porters.

Late in the evening, after lots of thank-yous to Yukon Quest volunteers, dog han-dlers, spouses, dog food companies and wilderness outfitters,

QUEST » A7

A3Friday, February 3, 2017 Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

The Public Safety Report

is compiled from criminal

complaints iled in state and federal courts, as well as some

police blotter information, trooper

dispatches, ire department reports and interviews with public safety

oficials. Individuals named as arrested and/or charged with

crimes in this report are presumed

innocent until proved guilty in a

court of law.

AssaultLakesha R. Nunley, 28, of

Fairbanks, was charged with fourth-degree assault Jan. 23 after Alaska State Troop-ers responded to a report she was provoking people in her apartment throughout the day. According to charging documents, the caller said Nunley hit another man in the face and tried to prevent them from leaving.

The two men were stand-ing in the driveway when troopers arrived. One told

them Nunley had been yell-ing at them all day and hit him in the face after they argued about a backpack. The man’s upper right lip and cheek were swollen, according to the charges.

Nunley told troopers she and the man had argued off and on throughout the day about her husband’s vehicle. She said she saw the man with her husband’s back-pack and took it back from him but never hit him.

A third roommate told troopers Nunley gets into arguments with people in the house “damned near every day,” according to the charges. The woman said she had vid-eo footage of part of the alter-cation between Nunley and the man but did not see Nun-ley actually hit him.

The video showed Nun-ley yelling and screaming at both men as they were try-ing to leave the apartment. Nunley pursued the men up the stairs, stood in front of them and shoved one of them multiple times. The man tried to walk past her multiple times and Nun-ley pushed and forced him back toward the apartment,

according to the charges.

Burglary• Skyler S. Robinson, 25, of

Fairbanks, was charged with first-degree burglary and fourth-degree assault Jan. 23 after Alaska State Troop-ers responded to a report he tried to stab someone at a Lakeview Terrace home.

According to charging documents, the alleged vic-tim told troopers he heard a vehicle pull up to his home and went into the living room to find a man — later identified as Robinson — standing in his home with a knife in his hand. Rob-inson put the knife away and the man pushed him out of the door. Robinson pushed against the door and knocked the man down. The two began to fight and Robinson bit the man on his arm. Robinson dropped the knife on the floor, retrieved it and fled the home, accord-ing to the charges.

Another man at the home positively identified Rob-inson and said they had lived together for the last six months. The man said

they recently had been mov-ing items out of their place and he had grabbed a tool-box belonging to a friend. The man said Robinson was there to recover the toolbox.

Robinson told troopers he was checking the Lakeview Terrace home for the miss-ing toolbox when the alleged victim started pushing him around. He said his knife fell out of his pocket during the struggle and he picked it up and left. Robinson’s nose was bleeding and he had a mark underneath his eye, according to the charges.

• An occupied York Avenue home was burglarized ear-ly Thursday morning while the residents were asleep, according to an Alaska State Trooper news release. The burglar or burglars entered an unlocked vehicle in the driveway and used the garage door opener to access the house. A cell phone, shoes, cash and the garage door opener were stolen. Evi-dence suggests at least one bedroom was entered while the occupant was sleeping, according to the release. An investigation is ongoing.Dorothy Chomicz

Sunday, February 5that

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For the 25th Annual Biz Bee Fundraiserbenefiting the Literacy Council of Alaska

Thursday, February 16, 20177:00p.m.•WestmarkFairbanksHotel

Drop off items at the Literacy Council at 517 Gaffney Road

Contact Paulette Rahm for moreinformation at 456-6212

paulette@literacycouncilofalaska.org

INTERIOR

Obituaries are provided as written by

the family of the deceased or by a funeral

home. Obituary submission guidelines and pricing information are available

online at www.newsminer.com/site/forms. Or call the News-Miner at 459-7572 for

assistance.

OBITUARYSamuel Lee Pitka

Our beloved father, grandfather, brother and friend went to be with the Lord Jan. 30, 2017, in Charlotte, North Carolina, after a sudden illness. Sam was born Dec. 30, 1954, to William Pitka Sr. and Lillian George Pitka. He was raised in Stevens Village on the Yukon River and lived a subsistence lifestyle growing up at fish camp with his dad in the summers. From a young age he would grab a gun and some shells and sneak off into the woods by him-self for days, living off the land.

Sam married Margaret Smoke in April 1981. They had two children, Alvin and Natalie. They raised their family in Stevens Village, where he built the family home. He raised his children to know God. He loved to trap and run his dog team. The kids would work in the dog yard and learned to run dogs from a young age. In the summer, they all would pack up and go to fish camp. The family would go on road trips up and down the highway so Sam could sing at church services in the different villages on the road system.

As years went by, Sam began to travel even farther to sing and min-ister. He went to Northern Europe several times, Greenland and all across the United States. Wherever he went, he would make friends and encourage people with his songs and stories. His heart was always for the people in the villages to be encouraged and to hear the word of God. Sam held a potlatch every Christmas at the Tribal Hall so the children and the elders could get a taste of the traditional celebration in the villages, and also to commemorate his late father’s birthday. He brought in too many moose to count for potlatches, and built caskets for people to put away their loved ones, and also sang at the funerals. Sam served as a board member for Dinyea Corporation of Stevens Village, was a Doyon shareholder and a co-founder of Golden Heart Ministries.

Sam is survived by his children, Natalie Pitka and Alvin Pitka; grandsons, Isaiah and Elias Pitka; and granddaughters, Ciara Pitka and Lilliana Bailey; sisters, Ann (Ron) Goessel and Evelyn Parks-Lundeen; brother, Don (Sylvia) Pitka Sr., and numerous nieces and nephews and extended family.

Sam was predeceased by his par-ents, William Pitka Sr. and Lillian George Pitka; brothers, Art, William Jr., Alvin and Wayne Pitka.

Sam’s funeral services will be at 1 p.m. — with a viewing at noon — Saturday, Feb. 4 in Fairbanks at the Tribal Hall. A potlatch will be after the service.

Sam will be laid to rest in a co- service with his cousin, Leah Okpe-lauk, in Stevens Village on Monday, Feb. 6, with a graveside service, with a potlatch afterward. Sam finally is riding with the Lord on the horse he always sang about.Please visit www.legacy.com/obituaries/newsminer to sign an online guest book.

Pitka

PUBLIC SAFETY REPORT

The $245 million bud-get plan is $3.7 million, or 1.6 percent, larger than the current budget and makes some assumptions about state and local funding that are tenuous.

The plan assumes the gov-ernor’s full request for edu-cation spending survives in the Legislature, which will again be dealing with a pro-jected massive budget short-fall. The plan also relies on a $1.1 million increase in funding from the borough — another big unknown.

The Fairbanks North Star Borough School Dis-trict noted those uncertain-ties in a news release Thurs-day, and top officials with the administration identi-fied the state’s financial cri-sis as the greatest challenge faced by the district.

The Legislature is not expected to finalize the state budget until April at the ear-liest. The Borough Assembly typically approves its annual spending plan in early May.

“The district faces several unresolved issues that could impact the budget,” the school district news release stated.

The administration is call-ing for cuts to 18 teaching positions through attrition and predicts 121 fewer stu-dents will enroll next year.

District officials don’t fore-see any layoffs under the proposal, according to Lisa Pearce, chief financial officer.

Class sizes would be raised slightly in the middle and high schools. For grades sev-en and eight, average class sizes would increase by one and a half students to 28 per class. At the high schools, the increase would be two by students, bringing that class-size average up to 30.5.

Al l -day k indergar ten would expand to the three elementary schools in North Pole.

The plan calls for hiring more support staff, name-ly kindergarten aides and tutors for students learning the English language.

The proposal is subject to approval by the Board of Education, which takes its

first look at the budget on Monday at a 6:30 p.m. work session. Public com-ment will not be taken at that time, but the meeting is open to the public.

The school district has posted the budget propos-al on its website along with a comment form. Three budget forums are planned starting Feb. 15 at North Pole High School. On Feb. 22, a budget forum will take place at Ryan Mid-dle School. The last budget forum is planned for March 8 at University Park Ele-mentary School. All forums start at 6 p.m.

School district spokes-woman Sharice Walker said the forums will be an oppor-tunity for people to ask ques-tions and discuss the budget with school district officials.

Here are some other bud-get highlights:

• Schools in Two Rivers and Salcha would get princi-pals again.

• Ful l - t ime secretar-ies would be reinstated at Hunter and Nordale ele-mentary schools.

• Some administrative

departments at the district headquarters, including communications and the printing shop, are being restructured and combined.

• The school district is planning to spend less on printing to go paperless.

• The number of aides helping with interventions for elementary students hav-ing trouble with reading and writing would be reduced, transferring those responsi-bilities to teachers.

• Every elementary stu-dent would have access to a computer or tablet under the spending plan, which boosts technology spending by about 10 percent.

• The plan would elimi-nate seven “drug prevention specialists” in the middle and high schools but add seven “intervention room aides” in their place.

• The district is looking at adding four social workers and an Alaska Native Edu-cation teacher aide.

• The budget eliminates one custodial position. Contact staff writer Amanda

Bohman at 459-7587. Follow her on Twitter: @FDNMborough.

SCHOOLSContinued from A1

Alaska rejects marijuana consumption at retail pot stores

JUNEA — Marijuana reg-ulators in Alaska narrowly rejected a proposal Thurs-day that would have made the state the first in the nation to allow marijuana consumers to use the pot they buy at the retail stores selling it.

In a 3-2 vote, the Alaska

Marijuana Control board decided not to allow it, frus-trating industry officials and business owners who vowed to continue to press for some sort of allowable marijuana use at retail shops.

The proposed new rules would have let people buy marijuana products in autho-rized stores and go into sepa-rate store areas to partake.

Board member Mark Springer, who was among

those who voted to reject the measure, suggested moving slowly on the issue, citing uncertainty with how President Donald Trump’s administration might view marijuana.

Pot remains illegal at the federal level but recreational marijuana has been legal-ized in eight states and the District of Columbia.

“We don’t want to be wav-ing a red flag in front of

federal law enforcement, at least not now,” Springer said.

Another board member, Loren Jones, said the panel received many public com-ments opposed to onsite use. He has been concerned about how the rule would jibe with community ordi-nances calling for smoke-free workplaces.

The board had been mull-ing the idea of onsite use since late 2015.

By Becky Bohrer and Mark ThiessenASSOCIATED PRESS

A5Friday, February 3, 2017 Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

CITY OF FAIRBANKS

Public Notice

F17515936

A REGULAR MEETING of the FAIRBANKS CITY COUNCIL

will be held at 7:00 p.m., Monday, February 6, 2017, following a 6:00 p.m.WORK SESSION for a Fairbanks Diversity Council Report, in City CouncilChambers at City Hall, 800 Cushman Street, Fairbanks, AK.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

None

NEW BUSINESS:

Resolution 4780 – Authorizing the City of Fairbanks to Apply forFunds from the Alaska Division of Homeland Security for the FFY2017 StateHomeland Security Program.

Ordinance 6041 – Amending Fairbanks General Code Sections2-260 and 2-261 Regarding the Authorized Index Language and AssetAllocations in the City Permanent Fund Investment Policy.

Ordinance 6042 – Modifying the Annual General Fund Transferfrom the Permanent Fund.

EXECUTIVE SESSION:

-AFL-CIO Labor Negotiations-Potential Litigation/Liability Regarding Randall Aragon Investigation

A FULL AGENDA is posted at City Hall and on the City website at www.fairbanksalaska.us. The public may address the Council during Citizens’Comments on matters not set for Public Hearing.

Detailed Information and copies of agenda documents may be obtained at the Office of

the City Clerk, 800 Cushman Street (phone: 459-6702). Notice of Council ACTION is

available at City Hall and on the City web site following the meeting. Council Meetings

are aired live on KFBX AM 970 and via audio streaming from the City’s website. Inquiries

concerning ADA compliance or accommodations should be directed to the City Clerk or

ADA Coordinator.

D. Danyielle Snider, CMC, City Clerk

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Businesses, corporations and organizations of all kinds areinvited to enter a team of three spellers in this good old-fash-ioned spelling showdown. It’s a fun-filled evening forspellers and spectators alike. Collaboration is allowed andspellers take turns, so no one gets too embarrassed. Allproceeds raised go to the Literacy Council of Alaska.Registration fee is $350, a tax-deductible donation to theLiteracy Council. Sign your team up now for this just-forfunspelling bee — a good time for a great cause — buthurry, spaces are limited.

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Silent Auction! “Bee” sure to stop by Literacy Council of Alaska’s

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NATION

Philanthropist urges rejection of DeVos ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Bil-lionaire philanthro-pist and public educa-tion backer Eli Broad is urging senators to vote against President Donald Trump’s pick for education secre-tary, Betsy DeVos, say-ing she is “unprepared and unqualified for the position.”

Broad writes in a letter to senators that if DeVos were con-firmed, “much of the good work that has been accomplished to improve public educa-tion for all of Ameri-ca’s children could be undone.”

Broad says the coun-try needs an education secretary “who believes in public education and the need to keep public schools public.”

DeVos is a major advocate of school choice programs, and Democrats and labor unions have protest-ed her candidac y. Broad has given mil-lions toward programs

aimed at improv-ing pub-lic edu-cation.

T h e nomina-t ion o f D e V o s is on thin ice after two Republican senators vowed to vote against her.

DeVos, a billionaire R e p u b l i c a n d o n o r who spent more than two decades promot-ing charter schools, has emerged as one of Trump’s most contro-versial Cabinet picks facing fierce opposi-tion from Democrats, teachers unions and civil rights activists. With Sen. Susan Col-lins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alas-ka in opposition, the n o m i n a t i o n c o u l d die if DeVos loses the support of one more Republican — and all Democrats vote against her.

D e m o c r a t s h a v e vigorously opposed DeVos.

GOP senators move EPA nominee ahead as Democrats boycott vote

WASHINGTON — Repub-licans suspended Senate committee rules Thurs-day to muscle President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency toward confirmation after Demo-crats boycotted a vote.

It was the latest sign of political hostilities on Capitol Hill as Senate Democrats used parlia-mentary procedure to delay votes on some of Trump’s Cabinet nom-inees and Republicans used their slim Senate majority to advance and approve them.

Also Thursday, two Senate committees voted along party lines to send Trump’s nominee to lead the White House bud-get office, South Carolina GOP Rep. Mick Mul-vaney, to the full Senate for a vote.

As the scheduled meet-ing to discuss EPA nomi-nee Scott Pruitt was gav-eled to order, the seats reserved for the 10 Dem-

ocrats on t h e S e n -ate Envi-r o n m e n t and Pub-lic Works Committee were empty for the sec-ond consec-utive day. Committee rules required that at least two members of the minority party be present for a vote to be held.

The 11 Republicans vot-ed unanimously to tempo-rarily suspend those rules and then voted again to advance the nomination of Pruitt, the state attor-ney general of Oklahoma.

Committee chairman John Barrasso accused the Democrats of engaging in delay and obstruction.

“It is unprecedented for the minority to delay an EPA administrator for an incoming president to this extent,” Barrasso said. The Wyoming Republi-can then echoed President Barack Obama’s famous 2009 statement to GOP leaders that “elections have consequences.”

“The people spoke and

now it is time to set up a functioning govern-ment,” Barrasso said of the November election. “That includes a function-ing EPA.”

Despite the rhetoric from committee Repub-licans, the Democrats appeared to have bor-rowed directly from their opponents’ playbook.

In 2013, GOP mem-bers of the same commit-tee boycotted a similar committee meeting on Gina McCarthy, Obama’s then-nominee for EPA administrator. McCarthy was eventually approved by the Senate, serving in the post until Trump’s inauguration last month.

Barrasso has said that is not an “apples-to-apples” comparison since Obama was not then a new, first-term president building out his team.

Democratic members of the committee said this week the boycott was nec-essary because Pruitt has refused to fully respond to requests for additional information.

Democrats did attend meetings of the Senate

budget and homeland security committees Thursday as Republi-cans voted to approve Mulvaney, Trump’s nom-inee to lead the White House Budget Office, for a vote by the full Senate. The move came over the opposition of Democrats who warn of his support for cutting rising costs of Medicare and increasing the age for claiming Social Security benefits.

Mulvaney was among tea party lawmakers who backed a government shutdown in 2013 in an attempt to block the Affordable Care Act from taking place.

Although Pruitt’s nom-ination to lead EPA has been praised by the fossil fuel industry, environ-mental groups said his confirmation would be a disaster.

“During the campaign, President Trump pledged to dismantle the EPA,” said Ken Cook, presi-dent of the Environmen-tal Working Group. “In Scott Pruitt, he found just the man to carry out his vision.”

Seats on the Democratic side of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing room are empty Thursday on Capitol Hill in Washington, during a boycott to thwart the confirmation vote on Environmental Protection Agency Administrator-designate Scott Pruitt.AP PHOTO/J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE

DeVos

Pruitt

the rule, which he has previously promised to rescind. Named after then-Sen. Lyndon Johnson, the regulation has been in place since 1954 for tax- exempt charities, includ-ing churches, though it is very rare for a church to actually be penalized.

Abolishing the amend-ment would require action by Congress, though Trump could direct the IRS to disregard the rule. The tax code does allow a wide range of political activity by houses of wor-ship, including speaking out on social issues and organizing congregants to vote. But churches cannot endorse a candidate or engage in partisan advo-cacy.

Lloyd Mayer, a law pro-fessor at the University of Notre Dame, said an IRS move could prompt lawsuits, if the rule was repealed for churches but not other charities.

Mayer also noted that a full repeal of the rule could open up churches to the possibility of spending their resources to openly try to influence elections — and for donors to get tax breaks for political contri-butions.

While some conser-vative Christians would like to see the rule abol-ished, others, especially the younger generation, support a clear separa-tion of church and politi-cal endorsements. Many liberal churches are also active on policy issues, and could potentially get

more involved in partisan politics.

Mayer noted that for some religious leaders, the IRS rule has given them a way to avoid political pres-sure for an endorsement.

“Now a church that wants to say no has an easy answer, it’s illegal,” Mayer said.

Repeal does not appear to have widespread pub-lic support. Eight in 10 Americans said it was inappropriate for pastors to endorse a candidate in church in a poll released last September by Lifeway Research, a religious sur-vey firm based in Nash-ville.

For many religious con-servatives, a more press-ing issue they hope he will address is protection for faith-based charities, schools and ministries who object to same-sex marriage and abortion.

The president made no mention at the prayer breakfast of other steps he may take, saying only that religious freedom is a “sacred right.”

Kelly Shackelford, head of First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit legal group that specializes in religious freedom cases said that “there’s a number of things he laid out that we expect we’ll eventually see action on.”

Trump also defended his recent executive order on immigration, decrying “generous” immigration policies and arguing that there are people who seek to enter the country “for the purpose of spreading violence or oppressing oth-er people based upon their faith.” He also pledged to

take more immigration action in the name of reli-gious liberty.

“In the coming days we will develop a system to help ensure that those admitted into our country fully embrace our values of religious and person-al liberty and that they reject any form of oppres-sion and discrimination,” Trump said.

Religious conserva-tives, who saw a series of defeats on same-sex marriage, abortion and other issues under former President Barack Obama, have been bolstered by Trump’s win. In a letter last year to Roman Cath-olics, Trump pledged, “I will defend your religious liberties and the right to fully and freely practice your religion, as individ-uals, business owners and academic institutions.”

Trump’s Supreme Court pick this week was also considered a positive sign for conservatives.

A favorite of conser-vatives, Neil Gorsuch serves on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where he sided with Hob-by Lobby and the Little Sisters of the Poor when they mounted religious objections to the Obama administration’s require-ment that employers pro-vide health insurance that includes contraceptives.

During his remarks, Trump also took a dig at Arnold Schwarzeneg-ger, the new host of “The Apprentice,” the reality TV show Trump previous-ly headlined. Trump said that since Schwarzeneg-ger took over, the show’s ratings have been down, and he asked the audi-ence to “pray for Arnold.”

TRUMPContinued from A1

By Michael Biesecker and Andrew TaylorASSOCIATED PRESS

A7Friday, February 3, 2017 Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

The School of Educa-tion resolution suggests a handful of improvements to better include faculty on decisions, including a more thorough impact anal-ysis to be published two weeks before the Board of Regents makes a decision.

Lawlor described the resolutions as the “good cop” measure in “good cop/bad cop” approach.

The second resolution is the “bad cop,” its sights squarely on the leadership of Johnsen, citing quick changes of course that had not been adequately explained and left the fac-ulty in the dark.

“Some of the president’s decisions on Strategic Pathways have blindsid-ed affected faculty and administrative leader-ship at our campuses, the very people who should be the most involved in the decision-making pro-cess,” according to the resolution.

Lawlor said the resolu-tion is a way for the faculty to say, “Good golly, we’re really frustrated with this.”

UA spokeswoman Rob-bie Graham offered a statement, saying Johnsen respected the input and is working to improve trans-parency of the decisions. The Strategic Pathways process has been acceler-ated by increased cuts in state funding, and Gra-ham said the administra-tion is learning from the first phase.

“Strategic Pathways is a dynamic planning pro-cess brought on by two powerful forces: large unmet needs for high-er education in Alaska and dramatic cuts to the university’s budget,” she said. “The process has been effective at gener-ating options, and we’re learning and improving as we go.”

She noted that the sec-ond phase of the Strategic Pathways process, which recently launched, was improved based on input and lessons learned from

the first phase. She noted that more time for the sec-ond phase will allow more extensive input.

“With this extended timeline, it’s clear that we are pursuing a more focused and deliberative approach to reviewing options and soliciting input from the affected programs as well as from faculty and university gov-ernance,” she said.

Lawlor said he believes the process can be sal-vaged through better com-munication and suggested he preferred the resolution that focused on the short-comings of the School of Education decision.

“It’s sending a message and the hope is the pres-ident and the Board of Regents bring us in more on the decision-making process,” he said. “It’s in everybody’s best interest to work together and we can collaboratively make decisions that everybody can live with.”Contact staff writer Matt Buxton

at 459-7544. Follow him on Twitter: @FDNMpolitics.

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NATION

UAFContinued from A1

race newcomer Jessie Royer took the stage in a purple Montana hoodie and matching “girls with guns” ballcap.

“I was just saying I don’t mind being in the front, so No. 1,” she said as the crowd applauded.

Ordinarily the starting position is difficult for rookie mushers because it likely involves being passed by numerous more-experienced teams. But Royer isn’t a typical rookie: The 40-year-old has mushed for 25 years and has completed the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race three times, includ-ing a third-place finish in 2015. In Fairbanks, she spends summers demon-strating sled dogs for Riv-erboat Discovery guests.

The three-minute differ-ence between each start-ing musher is corrected for at the dog teams’ first rest stops.

T his year, musher

No. 7 also drew lots of applause at the banquet: Ester musher Paige Drob-ny.

“This is sort of an iron-ic number for me today. We have two vehicles —two trucks — and they’re both in the shop, so we borrowed a truck and it’s broken down outside of Whitehorse right now,” she said. “So lucky No. 7 is for my dog team, not for my trucks. But the dogs are doing great.”

Indeed, Drobny is fresh from a second-place fin-ish in the Copper Basin 300. Her strong show-ing came after her truck broke down on the way to starting line in Glen-nallen.

Compounding the iro-ny, her team’s sponsors include the Fairbanks Lithia Chevy Buick GMC dealership. But Drobny gave the business a sin-cere “thank you” despite her recent troubles.

“These guys have actu-ally pushed other people out of the shop so our trucks get in there, to

try to get them ready on time,” she said. “There’s just no way to get parts up to Fairbanks quick-ly. They have just moved mountains for us, and unfortunately beyond mountains are other mountains.”

Led by Royer, the 21 mushers are sched-uled to leave Whitehorse on Saturday. If this year is similar to other recent years, the first teams are expected to arrive on the Chena River in Fairbanks by about Feb. 13.Staff writer Sam Friedman is covering the 2017 Yukon Quest

from Whitehorse to Fairbanks. Follow him on Twitter: @FDNMquest.

Yukon Quest starting order for Saturday

1. Jessie Royer2. Yuka Honda3. Ben Good4. Rob Cooke5. Sébastien Dos San-tos Borges6. Jason Campeau7. Paige Drobny8. Allen Moore9. Hugh Neff10. Gaetan Pierrard11. Laura Neese12. Ed Stielstra13. Dave Dalton14. Brent Sass15. Ryne Olson16. Brian Wilmshurst17. Hank DeBruin18. Ed Hopkins19. Katherine Keith20. Matt Hall21. Torsten Kohnert

QUESTContinued from A1

Left: Rookie musher Ben Good, of North Pole, picks No. 3 from the bunny boot.

Below: Members of the Frantic Follies Vaudeville Revue perform a song during the 2017 Yukon Quest starting banquet on Thursday. The thousand-mile race begins Saturday in Whitehorse. SAM FRIEDMAN/NEWS-

MINER PHOTOS

Whitehorse singer Hank Karr performs his song “After Yukon” during the banquet.