Iditarod Dog-Slaying Accident 'Tip of Iceberg' in Substance Abuse Issues in Rural Alaska

While a senior at Andrew K. Demoski School in Nulato, Alaska, Arnold Demoski helped raise $20,000 for a class trip to Cleveland, Ohio. Upon graduation from high school, he was a Doyon scholarship recipient.

He became natural resources coordinator for the Nulato Tribal Council, represented the council at meetings of the Western Interior Alaska Subsistence Regional Advisory Council, and served on the Middle Yukon River Advisory Committee, which advises the Alaska Department of Fish and Game on issues related to game, trapping, and fishing issues on the state and federal levels.

But as he walked a good road toward being a leader in his community, alcohol shadowed him like a storm cloud. According to the Alaska Courts database, Demoski pleaded guilty or no contest in 2008 and 2009 to minor consuming/possessing alcohol; fourth-degree assault and minor consuming/possessing alcohol; furnishing alcohol to a minor; and criminal trespass.

Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/03/15/iditarod-dog-slaying-accident-tip-iceberg-substance-abuse-issues-rural-alaska-163754