Since the Alaska State Trooper outpost was removed from the Talkeetna area in 2015, residents in the Upper Valley have tried to get it back. Captain Kid Chan attended the Trapper Creek Community Council meeting this week to discuss possibilities. He says there are a number of issues preventing them from reestablishing an outpost here.
Chan says there are about 60 vacancies with nine in the Mat-Su area. Staffing for B Detachment, which covers an area the size of West Virginia, has a minimum of five Troopers on duty at a time. He says if there are additional Troopers on duty, they get sent to the Upper Valley.
Trapper Creek Community Council Chair Jason Kresge says their group is trying to offer possible solutions and ideas to help get Troopers stationed in the Upper Valley again. He notes the increased thefts and drug issues and the delayed time for Trooper response. He also spoke about the two women found murdered in Trapper Creek several years ago, whose deaths were eventually linked to a drug ring of about 50 individuals.
The community rallied following the deaths,with a strong push for reestablishing a Trooper Outpost in the Upper Valley. The funding made it through much of the session, but was ultimately cut in the final budget.
There was no shortage of available locations offered as possibilities. But Captain Chan says recruitment and retention of Troopers is a bigger issue. He says most of the new Troopers are out-of-state recruits and they leave after only a short time on the job.
Representative Kevin McCabe, who called into the meeting, says there were three amendments sent during this year’s legislative session, but none of them went through. He says he and others will continue to work on getting funding. McCabe and Captain Chan both say letters of support are welcome.
Chan recommends all the Upper Valley Community Councils work together to push for the Outpost.
