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P E N I N S U L A
Vol. 49, Issue 117
District begins search for new superintendent By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District has begun its search for a new superintendent. The current superintendent, Sean Dusek, tendered his resignation last month after serving as the district’s leader for nearly five years. Dusek will leave the district June 30. According to a press release from the district, a successful candidate for the position will have outstanding educational leadership and advocacy skills. “The board is especially interested in a leader with high integrity who has proven experience as an effective educational administrator and school system leader,” the release said. “The preferred candidate should have demonstrated expertise in school district finance and budget management, human resources and effective curriculum and instruction implementation.” The Association of Alaska School Boards is facilitating the search for a new superintendent, with applications due March 15, and a potential start date of July 1.
Friday-Saturday, February 15-16, 2019 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
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Early run kings catch restricted By KAT SORENSEN Peninsula Clarion
Anglers looking to catch king salmon this May will be facing restrictions on both the Kenai and Kasi-
lof Rivers, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The department announced Thursday that Kenai River early run king salmon will be catch and
release only. On the Kasilof River, anglers will only be able to retain one hatchery king salmon 20 inches or greater in length. The department said that the restrictions are being
implemented in hopes of protecting returning king salmon and ensuring fishing opportunities in the future. Restrictons in the Kenai See KINGS, page A2
By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
After 31 days, House speaker elected By KEVIN BAIRD Juneau Empire
Partisan politics be damned. The Alaska House chose a leader on Tuesday, after two more Republicans voted with the mostly Democratic House Coalition to elect Rep. Bryce Edgmon of Dillingham, as Speaker of the House. Edgmon changed his party from a Democrat to undeclared earlier this week. “To hell with politics. I’m going to do what is right for Alaska,” Rep. Jennifer Johnston, an Anchorage Republican, said moments before casting her vote for Edgmon. Rep. Chuck Kopp, R-Anchorage, also voted in favor of Edgmon. The tally was 21 ‘Yeas’ and 18 ‘Nays.’ Rep. Gary Knopp, R-Kenai, was absent. “This has been a long hard road for a lot of us,” Kopp said of the House organiza-
Speaker Pro Tempore Neal Foster, D-Nome, right, shakes hands with newly elected Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon, D-Dillingham, in the House on Thursday. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
tion process, prior to casting his vote. “I’m a proud supporter of Rep. Dave Talerico. I’ve voted for him four times on the floor to be Speaker of the House. He’s a good friend, spiritual mentor, he’s got a
great heart and he’s a great leader. My vote does not detract one iota from that.” Talerico, a Healy Republican, was tagged previously by House Republicans to be speaker shortly after the No-
vember election. However, Knopp announced in December he would only join a bipartisan majority coalition. By leaving the House Republican caucus, Knopp left See HOUSE, page A3
Experts: State could lose thousands of jobs Signer of Alaska Constitution, Jack Coghill, dies at 93 ANCHORAGE — One of the last remaining members of the Alaska constitutional convention has died. Former Lt. Gov. Jack Coghill died Wednesday in North Pole. He was 93. His son, state Sen. John Coghill, said in a statement that his father had the same passion for Alaska in his last days as he did throughout his life. John Bruce Coghill was born in Fairbanks in 1925 and raised in Nenana. His father, an immigrant from Scotland, started a trading post in Nenana in 1912. Jack and his wife, Frances, over the years owned a movie theater, roadhouse, and fuel distribution company in Nenana, a river community south of Fairbanks. He served as mayor of Nenana for 22 years and was elected to terms in the state House and Senate. — Associated Press
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Borough may swap roads with state
By ALEX MCCARTHY Juneau Empire
Job losses are on the horizon for Alaska if Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s budget proposal goes through, experts say, and it’s unclear how much — or little — economic impact research the Office of Management and Budget did prior to releasing the proposed budget. A 2016 study from the University of Alaska Anchorage Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) estimated that the state loses about 1,000 jobs for every $100 million that the state cuts in its budget. Dunleavy’s proposed budget includes $1.6 billion in cuts, which by the study’s findings would lead to about 16,000
Donna Arduin, Director of the Office of Budget and Management, left, and Lacey Sanders, Budget Director for OMB, present Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s state budget in front of the Senate Finance Committee at the Capitol on Thursday. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
jobs gone. One of the authors of that study, UAA Associate Professor of Economics Mouhcine Guettabi, said in a phone
interview Thursday that he estimates between 13,000 and 20,000 jobs could be lost in the span of a year if this budget proposal goes
through as is. “These are immediate losses that take into account not just government losses, but also losses because people are no longer eating out, no longer spending money. It’s what’s referred to as indirect or induced (impacts), meaning you actually follow the money downstream and look at how that reduction in spending by both businesses and individuals actually affects the statewide economy.” During a Senate Finance Committee meeting Thursday, senators peppered OMB Director Donna Arduin with questions about the proposal and its impacts to communities. They got very few answers, as Arduin deflected many pointed questions from See JOBS, page A2
An ordinance authorizing the borough to enter into an agreement with the state Department of Transportation, allowing for the sale and exchange of certain public roads will be introduced at Tuesday’s Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting. In an October letter from peninsula district superintendent for the state Department of Transportation, Carl High wrote borough roads director, Dil Uhlin, a proposal to trade ownership and maintenance of nine state-maintained roads for the boroughowned Escape Route, a dirt back road running between Nikiski and Kenai. “In an attempt to find logical efficiencies that would benefit both the Kenai Peninsula Borough and that State of Alaska DOT, we would like to propose trading ownership and maintenance of the roads listed below,” the letter read. State roads on the list for trade include sections of Secret Road, Longmere Way, Lakeshore Drive, Murray Lane, Marhenke Street, Dolores Drive, Cohoe Beach Road, Pollard Loop and Alta Loop. Total mileage for the state-maintained roads is 4.7 miles, while the Escape Route is about 4.6 miles in length. All of the roads are paved except Cohoe Beach Road, Pollard Loop Road and Alta Loop, according to the October letter. If the agreement is approved, the borough would take over the maintenance, ownership and control of the state roads listed, giving up their responsibility for the Escape Route. The state-maintained roads potentially being taken over by the borough are short segments of road contiguous to boroughmaintained roads, according to a Feb. 7 memo from Uhlin to the assembly.
Kodiak police arrest chiropractor appointed to state board KODIAK (AP) — A Kodiak chiropractor appointed last month to the Alaska Workers' Compensation Board by Gov. Mike Dunleavy has been charged with multiple felonies. Christopher Twiford, 45, was arraigned Tuesday on three counts of felony assault, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reported . He's also charged with misdemeanor counts of assault and possession of a weapon while intoxicated. Online court records do
not list Twiford's attorney. Messages left Thursday at Twiford's practice were not immediately returned. The Kodiak city jail lists Twiford as free on bail as of Wednesday. Dunleavy appointed Twiford to join the Workers' Compensation Board on Jan. 25. The three-year appointment was to take effect March 1. The board reviews labor regulations and resolves disputed benefits claims. Dunleavy spokesman Matt Shuckerow did
not immediately return an email requesting comment Thursday. The criminal complaint stemmed from the report of a doctor. A physician called Kodiak police on Feb. 3 to report that a patient's injuries were likely caused by an assault, including strangulation. Police contacted the patient. She showed investigators a bruise on her head that she said was caused when Twiford hit her in the head with a pet food dish, knock-
ing her to the floor. She told police that when she tried to stand, Twiford hit her again and pushed her back down. He retrieved a revolver and pointed at her chest, the woman told police. When Twiford put the gun down, she said, a scuffle began. She said Twiford tried to strangle her, climbed on top of her, put all his weight on her chest and made it difficult for her to breathe. She said she bit him on the chest. The woman said Twiford
had been drinking continuously over 24 hours and that she had consumed shots also. She was diagnosed afterward with a concussion. Officers photographed bruises on her arms, shoulders, back and head. The woman told police that Twiford in November had pointed a gun at her face after an argument and threatened to shoot her if she dated someone else. Twiford's bail was set at $3,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 21.
Three people charged with assaulting man 2 years ago By BRIAN MAZUREK Peninsula Clarion
Three people from Kenai have been charged with assaulting and injuring a man trying to break up a fight two years ago, according to an affidavit filed by the Kenai Police Department on Feb. 9.
Ryan Huerta, 20, Elijah Trevino, 20, and Austin Cronce, 20, allegedly assaulted and injured a man who was attempting to break up a fight between two other people. According to the affidavit, Kenai police officers got a call about a fight taking place on Nov. 10, 2017. After po-
lice responded to the scene, witnesses told the officers that a fight had broken out between two men and a third had stepped in to intervene. While the man was attempting to break up the fight, Huerta, Trevino and Cronce allegedly approached him from behind
and began punching, kicking, and kneeing him in the face. The man suffered a severe fracture to his right cheekbone and had to undergo reconstructive surgery, according to medical records mentioned in the affidavit. Trevino and Cronce were both charged with two
counts of first-degree assault, a class A felony, two counts of second-degree assault, a class B felony, and one count of third-degree assault, a class C felony. Huerta was charged with three counts of first-degree assault, one count of seconddegree assault, and one count of third-degree assault.