By Kris CappsKCAPPS@NEWSMINER.COM

Think of Bob Groseclose and Bar-bara Schuhmann as Superman and Wonder Woman.

These two Fairbanksans were hon-ored Wednesday night at the Distin-guished Citizens Award Banquet, put on by the Midnight Sun Council of Boy Scouts America.

Friends and family told the pair’s story with humor, affection and in true Fairbanks style, some good-na-tured ribbing. Hence, the Superman/

Wonder Woman tag.From the stories told, the duo

might deserve those nicknames.U.S. District Court Judge Ralph

Beistline shared memories of grow-ing up with Groseclose in Fairbanks.

“We first met in the third grade,” he said. “Nordale Elementary School.

“We stood out,” he said. “Out of the entire class, we were the only two selected to take part in remedial reading.”

“He’s Superman,” Beistline said of Groseclose, who is an extreme ath-lete. “He climbed tall mountains, including McKinley. He was the Ice Man of Alaska. He survived remedial

reading to become a lawyer.”“And the greatest proof of his

supernatural powers, the one thing that gave it away, was Bob married Wonder Woman,” Beistline said.

“They are good and decent people and clearly ‘distinguished citizens,’” Beistline said. “This is an honor well deserved.”

Bill and Cindy Wright provided a special rendition of “Anything Bob Can Do, Barb Can Do Better” from the classic musical show “Annie Get Your Gun.”

The couple even poked fun at themselves in a video/slide show put together by their family. They chron-

icled their lives growing up and then together.

The couple has lived and worked in Fairbanks together for more than 30 years. They raised two daughters, Jane and Kathryn, and contribut-ed their talents and efforts to many community programs.

When Groseclose attended the 1964 National Scout Jamboree in Valley Forge, it launched his quest for adventure. After the tragic loss of his entire family, in a car crash and a plane crash, he takes nothing for granted and lives every day to the fullest, his wife said.

It is apparent she does the same, giving her energy to the community and the programs she believes in.

“This couple, with different last names, is a gift to the Interior of Alas-ka,” wrote U.S. Rep. Don Young, in a special tribute.

75 cents THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013 newsminer.com

T H E V O I C E O F I N T E R I O R A L A S K A S I N C E 1 9 0 3

SOURDOUGH JACK:

“I have a bit of a game problem. Mine’s of the wild animal variety, though.”

The weather.Sunny but colder.

High today ...............-8Low tonight .......... -26

WEATHER » A9

GOODMORNING

Classified » B8 | Comics » B6 | Dear Abby » B5 | Markets » A8 | Obituaries » A7 | Opinion » A6 | Weather » A9 | World » B7 INSIDE

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Former militia leader Schaeffer Cox says mental illness claim was sentencing ploy. » A4Inside Today

WINDY CITYFairbanks sees high winds Wednesday; more on the way.

ALASKAPage A2

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Aurora forecast.Auroral activity will be low. Weather permit-ting, low displays will be visible overhead from Barrow to Fairbanks.

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

GAMING ADDICTIONSouth Korea considers bill labeling online gaming an anti-social addiction like gambling, drugs and alcohol.

WORLDPage B7

COMING TO TOWNUAF awarded 2015 NCAA Rifle Championships.

SPORTSPage B1

Trapper, wife rescued near Cantwell

By Tim MowryTMOWRY@NEWSMINER.COM

A Cantwell trapper and his wife were rescued separately off the Dena-li Highway early Wednesday after the husband failed to return from check-ing his trapline near 105 Mile and his wife went for help.

Alaska Wildlife Trooper James Elli-son and volunteer rescuers from Can-twell found Vivian Mayo, 57, almost three hours after a family member reported she and her husband, Scott Mayo, 47, overdue. The temperature was 20 degrees below zero, and Vivian Mayo had severe hypothermia when Ellison found her about a mile from

a cabin the couple uses near 105 Mile Denali Highway, according to a troop-er report.

Vivian Mayo had burned her snow-machine in an attempt to keep warm, trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters said. The woman told troopers she went to get help after her husband didn’t return from checking his trapline for two days and her snowma-chine broke down.

Vivian Mayo was in need of immedi-ate medical attention. Ellison activat-ed his personal locater beacon about 1

a.m. to alert the Rescue Coordination Center in Anchorage.

Ellison then took Mayo back to the cabin with some volunteer rescu-ers from Cantwell and continued his search for Scott Mayo.

At 2:45 a.m., Ellison reported that he believed he had found Scott Mayo’s trail. He gave the trail coordinates to RCC personnel in a C-130 aircraft and a Pavehawk helicopter before continu-ing his search.

Woman was looking for overdue husband when her snowmachine broke down

RESCUE » A7

Couple honored for their contributions to community during banquet

Distinguished duo

Robert Groseclose and his wife, Barbara Schuhmann, socialize as the couple is honored at the Midnight Sun Council Boy Scouts of America Distinguished Citizens Award Banquet on Wednesday evening at the Westmark Hotel. ERIC ENGMAN/NEWS-MINER

They are good and decent people and clearly ‘distinguished citizens.’ This is an honor well deserved.”U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Beistline

“

DISTINGUISHED » A5

No charges filed in missing dog caseBy Sam FriedmanSFRIEDMAN@NEWSMINER.COM

A Salcha woman who want-ed her neighbor investigated for stealing her prize-winning Rottweiler instead got a public chiding from the Alaska State Troopers for letting her dog roam.

Donna Thompson, of Sal-cha, has been looking for Cyrus, her 18-month-old dog, since Nov. 22, when Cyrus apparently smelled her neigh-bor’s dog, who was in heat, and wandered some 200 feet away across the property line.

After a day of searching for Cyrus, Thompson said, she learned from the Fairbanks North Star Animal Control on Nov. 23 that her neighbor had

filed a complaint about the dog coming onto her property. An animal control employee told her that the neighbor had

possession of the dog but had released him, Thompson said.

Salcha resident Donna Thompson’s dog, Cyrus, has been missing since Nov. 22. PHOTO COURTESY DONNA THOMPSON

DOG » A5

Forum seeks solutions to mental health failingsBy Jeff RichardsonJRICHARDSON@NEWSMINER.

COM

There was a steady theme at Wednesday night’s forum on Interior mental health issues: The current system is a mess.

More than 100 health-care professionals, clients and elected officials packed the Fairbanks North Star Borough assembly chambers, looking for solutions to a system they say is failing one of the area’s most vulnerable popula-tions. Overwhelming bureau-cracy, inadequate housing and a lack of funding are among the issues that have left many

patients without care, speak-ers said.

“Fairbanks doesn’t have a comprehensive mental health system right now,” said Jean-nette Grasto, the president for NAMI of Fairbanks, a mental health advocacy organization.

The forum was the latest attempt to find a way to revive the local health-care system, which has suffered a series of major blows in recent months.

The umbrella organization for many programs, Fair-banks Community Behavioral Health Center, folded and filed for bankruptcy in September.

FORUM » A9