Peninsula Clarion, January 18, 2019 by Sound Publishing

No end

On ice

Federal workers file for unemployment

Brown Bears fall to Jr. Blues

Nation/A5

Sports/A7

CLARION

Mostly cloudy 22/7 More weather on Page A2

P E N I N S U L A

Friday-Saturday, January 18-19, 2019 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

Vol. 49, Issue 93

In the news Anchorage offers free bus rides for federal workers ANCHORAGE — The public transportation system in Alaska’s largest city is offering free bus rides for federal government workers during the ongoing government shutdown. Anchorage officials announced the offer Thursday, the 27th day of the federal government’s partial shutdown. About 800,000 federal workers across the country missed a paycheck last week because of the shutdown. Workers must show their federal government IDs when boarding regular buses or scheduling rides on smaller buses for seniors and people with disabilities. Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz says officials hope the offer will help at a time when federal workers “are paying a price” for the shutdown. Spokesman Bart Rudolph says fares for adults on regular buses are $2 for a single one-way trip, $5 a day for unlimited use or $60 monthly for unlimited use.

Mat-Su Borough’s emergency services director resigns PALMER — The top emergency official in the borough north of Alaska’s biggest city has resigned, claiming borough employees and assembly members undermined his actions. The Anchorage Daily News reports Otto Feather resigned earlier this month after serving as the director of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough emergency services department since January 2017. Borough Manager John Moosey accepted Feather’s resignation Tuesday. In his resignation letter, Feather makes references to “institutional parochialisms, selfishness and duplicity” and “unchecked sabotage” by borough employees and assembly members. He did not respond to the newspaper’s request for comment Wednesday. Feather faced criticism over a lack of public information following the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that rocked Anchorage and other parts of south-central Alaska on Nov. 30. Deputy emergency services director Ken Barkley was named the department’s interim director. — Associated Press

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State oil revenues expected to dip

SoHi shooting threat was Dunleavy administration plans leaner budget in face of volatile market false alarm administration is now using an

By KEVIN BAIRD Juneau Empire

New Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration is taking a more conservative approach to oil revenue forecasting to help avoid the creation of an oversized budget. New Department of Revenue Commissioner Bruce Tangeman delivered a presentation on revenue forecasting to the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday morning. The presentation highlighted the volatility in the oil market. At the beginning of October, the price of oil peaked at more than $75 per barrel, a four-year high. Tangeman said this was followed by “pretty large gyrations” in the market through the rest of October and November. Since then the market has

Sen. Bill Wielechowski, R-Anchorage, center, and Sen. Mike Shower, R-Wasilla, right, listen as members from the Department of Revenue give a state revenue forecast during a Senate Finance Committee meeting at the Capitol on Wednesday. (Michael Penn/Juneau Empire)

calmed, and as of Wednesday, is considered intermediate in the price of Brent Crude oil quality. Tangeman said these “wild was $61.33 per barrel. Brent Crude is an oil standard that swings” are why the Dunleavy

Kenaitze to host indigenous dance group Saturday night By KAT SORENSEN Peninsula Clarion

The Kenaitze Indian Tribe will welcome an internationally known indigenous dance group this Saturday as part of the Native Youth Olympics Invitational. At 7 p.m. Saturday night, the Renee C. Henderson Auditorium at Kenai Central High School will be filled with dance and more. Tickets will be sold at the door for $15 and will support the Kenaitze Indian Tribe’s Yaghjanen Youth Program. Yellow Bird Productions, a family dance company based in Arizona, specializes in cultural presentations celebrating the spirit of the American Indian while focusing on family strength. The performance will

Hoop Dances are the finale of every Yellow Bird performance. (Courtesy photo)

include traditional and contemDancers will be bringing porary dances and storytell- extra hoops to encourage audiing. The Kenai Central High ence participation. School drum line will also be “Whatever part of the world performing. The performance you’re from, you have culture, ends with hoop dancers. See DANCE, page A3

oil revenue forecasting model developed in the spring, which places oil prices around $64 and $65 a barrel for the next few years. The previous model placed oil at $75 per barrel in the current year with a slow trickle downward that leveled off at $70 a barrel in 2021. A more conservative forecast will make for conservative budgeting moving forward. In fact, oil revenues for the general fund are expected to dip in the coming fiscal year from $2.211 billion in the current year, to $1.688 billion or about $523 million or 23.6 percent. Oil revenues totaled $1.941 billion in fiscal 2018. “It does reflect how important it is to use a more conservative number,” Tangeman See OIL, page A2

By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion

After rumors of a possible school shooting at Soldotna High School spread via social media Wednesday night, the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District along with local law enforcement have found the threat to be unsubstantiated. At both Soldotna High School and Soldotna Prep School, however, there was an increased police presence Thursday. “Law enforcement confirmed that no verified threat has been substantiated, and the rumors seem to be just that, rumors,” the school district posted to their Facebook page. The district became aware See SOHI, page A2

Space company plans satellite launch from Kodiak KODIAK (AP) — An Arizona-based space technology company is planning to launch a microsatellite later this year at the spaceport on Alaska’s Kodiak Island. Vector Launch Inc. announced last week the plan to use its Vector-R launch device at the Pacific Spaceport Complex to deploy a satellite for the Dutch company Hiber, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reported Wednesday. The company based in Tucson, Arizona, aims to conduct a launch of its vehicle at the Alaska spaceport before using it to send up the Hiber satellite, said Shaun Coleman, Vector’s chief marketing officer. He did not provide a date for the launch. “Exact scheduling is dependent upon many factors including but not limited to scheduling constraints of the facility, (Federal Aviation Administration) licensing and the time of integra-

tion of their satellite with our vehicle,” Coleman said. Hiber already has two microsatellites in orbit as part of its project that aims to provide connectivity to parts of the world lacking a network. “There are many risk factors that inherently come with launching satellites, but Vector’s dedicated launch model significantly reduces that risk for satellite operators,” said Robert Cleave, Vector’s chief revenue officer. “Vector is thrilled to have Hiber as one of our first payload customers. We are honored to be selected to launch this important mission.” The company conducted testing in Kodiak throughout 2018, said Craig Campbell, CEO of Alaska Aerospace Corporation. Vector filed a launch permit for the Vector-R in November, submitting dates for a possible launch that ranged from October 2018 to April 2019.

Mayor addresses snow plowing concerns at borough meeting By BRIAN MAZUREK Peninsula Clarion

Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce defended the maintenance efforts of the Road Service Area at the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting on Jan. 9, where the often-contentious topic of snow plowing

was discussed. “Whatever happened to the day and time where you chained up?” he said. Many peninsula residents have submitted their concerns over the winter months about how quickly — or slowly — their neighborhoods get plowed and sanded after a snowfall.

While addressing these concerns to Pierce, Assembly President Wayne Ogle brought up an emotionally charged, handwritten letter given to the assembly. According to Ogle, it described how a state trooper was unable to make it up a hill while responding to a call because the roads had not been

Alaska House elects temporary speaker, swears in new member By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press

JUNEAU — The Alaska House elected a temporary speaker and swore in its newest member Thursday, steps legislative leaders saw as significant amid ongoing efforts to organize a majority. It was not clear how close the sides were to organizing and electing a permanent speaker, though lawmakers said efforts would continue. Democratic Rep. Neal Foster of Nome was elected temporary speaker, 35-4, after the nomination of Big Lake Republican Rep. Mark Neuman failed. Both Foster and Rep. Dave Talerico, a Republican leader from Healy, chalked up Fos-

Democratic Alaska state Rep. Neal Foster, left, smiles after being elected temporary speaker of the House, Thursday, in Juneau. The House has yet to organize a majority and elect a permanent speaker. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

ter’s win to lawmakers wantFoster swore in Jackson to ing to avoid a drawn-out fight the Eagle River-area seat vafor the spot and to get Repub- cated by Republican Nancy lican Sharon Jackson sworn Dahlstrom, who was elected See HOUSE, page A2 in.

adequately sanded. Pierce said he recognized that there are concerns and said that the borough is maintaining the roads to the best of its ability. “The truth of the matter is you can never get there quick enough,” Pierce said. The Road Service Area responds to every

call that they receive, Pierce said. He also praised recently appointed RSA Director Dil Uhlin for his hard work and responsiveness with the community. The mayor went on to say that while the contractors and service providers are doing

See PLOW, page A2

Postal Service cancels test mail program for North Slope ANCHORAGE (AP) — The U.S. Postal Service scrapped a pilot program aimed at finding cheaper ways to deliver goods and mail to northern Alaska communities. The service had partnered with Lynden Transport Inc. to use multiple forms of transportation to make bypass mail and non-priority mail deliveries to the North Slope hubs of Deadhorse and Utqiagvik, the Alaska Journal of Commerce reported this week. The Postal Service had planned to launch the program Tuesday and operate it for a year. It’s unclear why the pilot program was canceled. Postal Service Alaska spokesman Brian Sperry said the program has been withdrawn and is no longer being pursued. He could not elabo-

rate on the reasons why, he said. A spokesman for Lynden Transport did not respond to questions about the program. Lynden Transport had aimed to deliver mail for the program at the same frequency, but it would have used tractor-trailers during winter, marine landing craft in summer and aircraft during the spring and fall shoulder seasons, Jodi McDermott, a commercial air network manager for the service, wrote in a December letter to Northern Air Cargo leadership. The company had planned to try to supply as good or better on-time service with the multiple forms of transportation compared to the air service primarily used today, ac-

See POST, page A3