Muldoon

by Channel 2 News staff Sunday, January 10, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- People watching the skies over Muldoon saw something unusual Sunday morning. Tower officials at Merrill Field say a bright object, caught on a Federal Aviation Administration weather webcam, fell from the sky east of Muldoon. Elmendorf Air Force Base and NORAD confirm it was a meteor, streaking through the sky and crashing into the Chugach Mountains. They say we're in the midst of a meteor shower -- the third one this week.

Anchorage fire crews fought flames in Muldoon Sunday night at a duplex off of Little Dipper Avenue. Strong winds were not helping out the firefighters. Twelve crews responded. Everyone inside made it out safely and no one was injured. The Anchorage Fire Department says most of the fire was in the attic and the roof, which collapsed. Crews tried to salvage what they could from the bottom floor of the duplex so it would not be damaged by water. "The roof is pretty much gone.

A female pedestrian was hit and killed by a van when she was walking northbound on ramp to Glenn Hwy Friday morning, according to the Anchorage Police Department. Police investigators were trying to figure out why a 45-year-old woman from Dillingham was in the middle of the Muldoon on-ramp to the highway. She was hit and killed by a van driven by 66-year-old Robert Kremer as he was headed to the Valley at around 5:30 a.m. after picking up friends from the airport. APD said Kremer had not been drinking and most likely won't be charged with anything.

Muldoon murder suspect, 25-year-old Lee Chee Chang, is under arrest. Anchorage Police say Chang turned himself in around 9:15 p.m. Wednesday night accompanied by his attorney, Rex Butler. "Obviously there was a manhunt for him," Butler said by phone late Wednesday. "Even though it was labeled as they wanted to talk to him as a person of interest. So it was incumbent upon him to turn himself in that would ensure his safety. He contacted us (Wednesday,) and we helped him make the arrangements to get into custody.

Three Anchorage KFC restaurants including two in Midtown and one in Muldoon closed late last month, according to a local franchisee of the national fried-chicken chain. An official with owner Wagstaff Atte Alaska Inc. confirmed that the restaurants -- a KFC at 4315 Old Seward Hwy. and a hybrid KFC/Long John Silver's location at 2514 E. Tudor Rd., as well as a KFC at 100 Muldoon Rd. -- were closed on Nov. 19, the Monday before Thanksgiving, affecting about 35 employees. A tall KFC road sign remained standing at the Old Seward Highway location behind a Holiday gas station Wednesday, but small panels with the name had been removed from a sign and a miniature steeple on top of the restaurant.

by Jackie Bartz Thursday, May 20, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The Army wants to resume year-round live-fire training at the Eagle River Flats, but its backup plan, a new range on the edge of town, has area residents up in arms. The Army suspended training at the Eagle River Flats several years ago after white phosphorus from the ammunition killed hundreds of waterfowl. The Environmental Protection Agency cleaned the area and training resumed during the winter months.

In Muldoon, the Anchorage Fire Department will celebrate Saturday afternoon the grand opening of its new fire station 6. The new station was “designed to be functional and low-cost to maintain, while complementing the neighboring Begich Middle School,” according to a media release from Mayor Sullivan's office. Fire Station 6 has 4 apparatus bays and 10 dorm rooms with private sleeping quarters for each firefighter with 13,900 square feet. The old station had less than 7000 square feet.

APD has reported a pedestrian fatality following an accident that occurred Thursday night at the Muldoon and East 20th intersection. The accident occurred around 11:15 p.m. when, witnesses say 57-year-old Stanley Maples was crossing the road and was struck by a car driven by Chakaphong Chantha, 22-years-old, of Anchorage. According to police, Maples was not in a crosswalk and was wearing dark clothing. Thirty minutes after being taken to a hospital, Maples died from his injuries.

Anchorage is now home to two Olive Garden Restaurants. The second Olive Garden Restaurant will open its doors to the public on October 29 at 11:00 a.m. The new Olive Garden is located in the Dimond Center where O'Brady's Burgers & Brew used to be. It is larger than the Muldoon location, seating 293 people at one time.   Contact Jessica Ridgway  

Anchorage Police say two people are seriously injured after an early morning shooting. Police say a homeowner in Muldoon called them about 12:30 a.m. The homeowner told police three men were trying to break into his trailer at 705 Muldoon and shots were exchanged with two people being hit. Police aren't saying who shot the guns or how many shots were fired. “Initial indications were there were at least some exchange of gun fire. It looks like there were at least two people injured as a result of the gun fire, but we're not absolutely certain who did that, but the homeowner engaged them to some extent.” Sgt Gerard Asselin said, “ A.P.D found one of the men who was hit outside the trailer a second man was found at a nearby Tesoro gas station on East 6 th Ave. and Muldoon.

The Anchorage Police Department has identified the officers involved in the Saturday morning shooting in Muldoon and has released the names after three days in accordance to police policy. APD says senior patrol officer Eric Nowak, who has served for eight years, and senior patrol officer Julnudda Jackson, who has served for five and half years, were the officers who fired their service weapons. The most recent officer involved shooting happened on the corner of East 4th Ave. and State St. when a stolen pickup truck rammed a police car. Police shot the truck during the incident, but released few details on the specifics saying the the investigation by the Office of Special Prosecutions and Appeals remained ongoing.

Two Anchorage police officers fired their guns after a stolen pickup truck rammed a police car Saturday morning in Muldoon and three suspects were arrested without injuries. Ryan Robert Portlock, 26, was charged with second degree theft, first degree vehicle theft, first degree attempted vehicle theft, unlawful possession, and third degree criminal mischief. Cory Michael Wolf, 26, and Amber Jobell Myers, 29, were each charged with criminal mischief in the fifth degree.   Shortly after 10:00 a.m. Saturday, police dispatch received a report of people doing drugs in a vehicle near 4 th Avenue and State Street.

Anchorage firefighters responded to a couple of home fires Saturday morning in the Russian Jack and Muldoon areas. The fires were unrelated and happened at separate times, according to the Anchorage Fire Department. Firefighters received calls from the first blaze around 8:30 a.m. at a trailer near Hoyt Street in the Russian Jack neighborhood. The blaze left five people homeless and firefighters suspect flammable material may have been too close to a heater. “Luckily these people were awake,” said AFD Capt.

Anchorage firefighters say an apartment fire early Monday morning -- the second recently involving a vacant building in a two-block area of Muldoon -- is considered suspicious and under investigation. Nearly a dozen fire crews responded to the fire at 8201 Duben Ave. after a 911 call at 2:14 a.m. according to AFD spokesperson Al Tamagni. Brian Balega, a fire investigator with the department, says none of the usual causes of residential fires in occupied buildings were present during Monday's blaze.

  Anchorage firefighters responded to a Muldoon trailer fire Friday evening, that claimed the life of an elderly man and critically injured another person. AFD dispatchers confirmed that units were headed to a trailer in the Rangeview trailer park, at 705 Muldoon Rd., after reports of the fire came in shortly after 6 p.m. AFD said firefighters arrived to find the trailer fully engulfed. Two people were taken to the hospital where one later died, according to spokesman Al Tamagni.

A woman suffered a minor foot injury in a Muldoon head-on collision Friday morning, according to Anchorage police. APD spokesperson Dani Myren says police responded to the crash, at Northern Lights Boulevard and Muldoon Road, after receiving a call at 7:39 a.m. The collision, between a blue sport-utility vehicle and a dark-colored, four-door Subaru, didn't cause any road closures. Contact Jessica Ridgway    

Anchorage police say a 23-year-old man was arrested on drunk-driving and assault charges Tuesday after his pickup truck launched into rush-hour traffic on the curve between Tudor Road and Muldoon Road, injuring two other drivers. APD spokesperson Dani Myren says Anthony Rue faces one count of operating under the influence and two counts of felony assault in the three-vehicle crash, which happened at about 8:40 a.m. Tuesday. The incident began when Rue's 2004 Ford truck, headed north on Muldoon between Scenic View Drive and East 36th Avenue, hit the center median.

Anchorage police arrested three people in two separate robberies Tuesday morning, including one incident that ended with a car chase along Muldoon Road. APD spokesperson Lt. Dave Parker says the Muldoon case began shortly before 10:30 a.m. in the Tikahtnu Commons Best Buy at 1200 Muldoon Rd., when 28-year-old Megan Allen and Joseph Wingate, 50, were looking at Kindle Fire tablets and Allen put four of the devices into her oversized red purse. “When confronted by store employees, Wingate headed for an exit and Allen told the employees that she had pepper spray which she would use on them and a gun,” Parker wrote in a Tuesday statement on the cases.

Three Anchorage KFC restaurants including two in Midtown and one in Muldoon closed late last month, according to a local franchisee of the national fried-chicken chain. An official with owner Wagstaff Atte Alaska Inc. confirmed that the restaurants -- a KFC at 4315 Old Seward Hwy. and a hybrid KFC/Long John Silver's location at 2514 E. Tudor Rd., as well as a KFC at 100 Muldoon Rd. -- were closed on Nov. 19, the Monday before Thanksgiving, affecting about 35 employees. A tall KFC road sign remained standing at the Old Seward Highway location behind a Holiday gas station Wednesday, but small panels with the name had been removed from a sign and a miniature steeple on top of the restaurant.

A Wednesday morning crash has closed the inbound lanes of the Glenn Highway near Muldoon Road, according to the Anchorage Police Department. Lt. Dave Parker, APD Public Information Officer, said that the collision happened after 10 a.m. and it involved at least 2 vehicles. Police are on scene responding on the crash and no initial word on the condition of the drivers. If you have pictures or video, then email news_desk@ktuu.com . This is a developing story. Please check KTUU.com and the Channel 2 newscasts for updates.