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P E N I N S U L A
Friday-Saturday, January 11-12, 2019 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 49, Issue 87
In the news 2 drivers die in east Anchorage head-on collision ANCHORAGE — Two drivers died in Anchorage in a head-on collision on the city's east side. Three cars were involved in the crash Wednesday night on Tudor Road. Police say a driver in a Jeep traveling east shortly before 9:30 p.m. sideswiped a sedan near Baxter Road and continued east. Occupants of the sedan suffered what police say are minor, non-life-threatening injuries. The Jeep then drove through a turn-only lane into oncoming traffic and struck a small car head-on. Emergency responders pronounced both drivers dead at the scene. Neither vehicle carried passengers. The crash is under investigation. Police have not released names of the people killed.
Bethel to apply for transit grant despite deadline passing BETHEL — Officials in a western Alaska city have been given the go-ahead to apply for a state public transit grant despite missing the deadline. The Bethel City Council voted Tuesday to apply for the $300,000 grant after residents warned that the city’s bus service would stop in June 2020 if action is not taken, KYUKAM reported . The grant application was due to the state Department of Transportation on Dec. 17. The grant requires a city match of $80,000. The state grant would fund a new bus, a full-time transit manager, and a part-time and full-time driver. Tundra Women’s Coalition Executive Director Eileen Arnold urged the council to apply, saying the bus system is vital for people who cannot afford a cab or cannot walk long distances in subzero temperatures. “As the executive director of TWC, we are huge users of the bus system, perhaps the largest one,” Arnold said. “It’s really important for the people who are in our shelter.” Bethel resident Susan Charles said she has taken the bus since it started operating in Bethel. Continuing to fund the system makes sense, she said. “We need to get to work, and go home for lunch, and whatever we need to do -- go shopping, go to the post office -- and the bus system provides that for us here in Bethel,” Charles said. — Associated Press
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Shutdown drags on, workers to go unpaid
Kenai man convicted of Businesses reach out to affected workers, senators address Alaskans threatening to this difficult period, so they kill Superior don’t face long term financial repercussions,” President and Court judge As 800,000 federal employCEO of Credit Union 1 James By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
ees face a payless payday Friday, and the president comes closer to declaring a national emergency in order to fund a southern border wall, some Alaska businesses have stepped up to help those who face financial hardship. Alaska Credit Union 1 released a statement saying affected federal workers can reach out to their bank to request due date extensions on loans, consolidate their loans or even skip a monthly payment. ENSTAR Natural Gas Company is encouraging impacted federal employees who need assistance with their gas bills to contact their customer ser-
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Rural Development office in Kenai, Alaska remains closed during the partial government shutdown on Thursday. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/ Peninsula Clarion)
vice support at 907-27-5551 or “We’ve put in place a variemail them at cs@enstarnatu- ety of safety measures for our ralgas.com. members to help them through
Wileman said in the release. Some 420,000 federal employees whose work is declared essential are working without pay, including the FBI, TSA and other federal law enforcement officers. Some staff at the State and Homeland Security departments are also working without compensation. An additional 380,000 are staying home without pay. The Senate has approved a bill to provide back pay to federal workers. The House must vote on it. Trump said this week that federal workers will “get their money.” Government contractors, who have been placed
See PAID, page A3
By BRIAN MAZUREK Peninsula Clarion
A Kenai man has been convicted of threatening to kill an Alaska Superior Court Judge, according a release sent Thursday from U.S. Attorney Brian D. Schroder’s office. During a 2010 hearing, Steven Bachmeier threatened to “carve the flesh” from the judge’s children, after the judge refused Bachmeier’s request to withdraw a guilty plea in a felony criminal case. The judge was later assigned to a 2017 case involving BachSee THREAT, page A2
Industry forum highlights local economic opportunities By MEGAN PACER Homer News
Industries both giant and small were given a spotlight at this year’s Industry Outlook Forum, put on by the Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District and held in Homer this week for the first time in at least five years. Everyone from small business owners who started in their own homes to representatives of Alaska’s major oil and gas industry updated forum participants about their status and future plans Wednesday at Christian Community Church. With the forum being held in Homer, local business owners, entrepreneurs and industry representatives were given a platform and were able to share with the greater Kenai Peninsula community the challenges and economic successes of doing business in the Kachemak Bay area. Small business The day started out with an uplifting story of a couple from Homer who were able to turn their dream into a reality with help from KPEDD, and who in only a year are already starting to outgrow their operation. Casey and Britni Siekaniec own Alaska Salt Co., a family business in Homer that sells special-
Casey (left) and Britni (right) Siekaniec, owners and operators of Alaska Salt Co., tell the story of their business during the annual Industry Outlook Forum on Wednesday, in Homer. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)
ized cooking salts and salt-based cosmetics on the lower peninsula. The Siekaniecs got a loan from KPEDD to remodel the lower level of their duplex into
an industrial kitchen and office for their business. The couple made their first official sale in the spring of 2017, and by the end of 2018 no longer have the
operational capacity to keep up with demand for their products, which are sold through their website and at select locations around the Homer area. Alaska Salt Co. was stationed in a small shop at the base of the Homer Spit during summer of 2018, but has bigger plans going forward. The Siekaniecs announced they are under contract for a storefront building on the Homer Spit, previously occupied by Lucky Pierre Charters. This new location will fit perfectly with the company’s popular product, Spit Salt. Homer area residents know very well that the reference is, but one audience members questioned whether the Siekaniecs had considered the reaction the name would get from outsiders. Britni Siekaniec said the name is actually a good marketing tool on its own, because people who don’t know what the Homer Spit is are automatically intrigued by the thought of Spit Salt. Along with the Siekaniecs, local Homer business owners Rachel Lord, of Alaska Stems, and Eric Engebretsen, of Bayweld Boats, got to share their experiences, ups and downs, and insights from small scale economics. Engebretsen emphasized the careful balance that’s needed
when integrating new technologies into a small business, so that time and money isn’t wasted. Lord highlighted the flower industry, and in particular the peony industry, on the peninsula as a productive market. Engebretsen said there’s opportunity and a market in the boating sector for others to follow in his company’s footsteps. He mentioned that Bayweld Boats also benefits from the training programs on the peninsula at Kenai Peninsula College’s campuses in Soldotna and Homer and AVTEC in Seward, which funnel young workers into the marine trades. Natural resources There to balance the small business, outdoors and agricultural sectors were the big money makers. Representatives from Hilcorp, the Alaska Gasline Development Corp., Alaska Oil and Gas Association and Pebble Partnership updated the crowd on their current projects, future plans and the challenges they face in the state. AGDC Marketing Manager Kathy Dunn spoke about the much-debated Alaska LNG Project, and also a secondary project called the Alaska Stand Alone Pipeline, which she said is more See FORUM, page A2
Soldotna postpones vote on school zone cellphone ban By KAT SORENSEN Peninsula Clarion
Soldotna City Council has postponed voting on an ordinance that would to prohibit the use of hand-held electronic devices, like cellphones, while driving in school zones and on
school property. This year, the Alaska State Legislature passed House Bill 333, which gave cities the ability to regulate the use of cellphones while operating a motor vehicle in active school zones and on school property. At a previous council meeting, Sol-
dotna City Council member Jordan Chilson introduced an ordinance to do just that. Chilson said during Wednesday’s council meeting that he had asked school principals throughout Soldotna to see if cellphone usage while driving was an issue and found that
Health care, hair cuts and more By BRIAN MAZUREK Peninsula Clarion
For people who experience homelessness, a lack of access to essential services is one of the toughest challenges they face. In a community-led effort to overcome this challenge, the eighth annual Project Homeless Connect will take place on Jan. 23 at the Soldotna Sports Center. This event is organized by the Kenai Peninsula Continuum of Care and run entirely by dedicated volunteers around the peninsula. Every year, Project Homeless Connect consolidates a wide variety of services and supplies See HOME, page A3
there is concern at the elementary schools. Principals are seeing parents using cellphones when they get in line at school to pick up children, Chilson said. “They’re looking down at their phone but they’re not always looking up when they’re
See CELL, page A3
Alaska Gasline Development Corp. board elects leadership By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
Aleea Faulkner, 12, shares socks with mom Wausaumoutouikwe Sandman-Shelifoe on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018, during Project Homeless Connect at the Soldotna Sports Complex. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
pulling forward. … They’ve had a lot of parents getting into near accidents and nearly hitting kids. Thankfully that hasn’t happened yet, but there is a definite risk there from what I’ve been able to gather,” he said.
The Alaska Gasline Development Corporation Board of Directors elected new leadership at Thursday’s board of directors meeting. Doug Smith was elected as board chair, Dan Coffey was elected for vice chair and Warren Christian was selected as secretary and treasurer. Joe Dubler was named interim president for the board. Dubler held senior leadership positions for the corporation between 2010 and 2016, serving as vice president of
commercial operations and chief financial officer. Dubler is replacing the former president of the board, Keith Meyer. “Joe has the right experience to advance AGDC’s mission of commercializing Alaska’s vast but stranded North Slope gas supply for the benefit of all Alaskans, including access to affordable, cleaner, reliable energy and new revenue to fuel Alaska’s future,” board chair Doug Smith said in a press release about the leadership change.