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P E N I N S U L A
Thursday, January 3, 2019 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 49, Issue 80
In the news Man wounded in New Year’s Day early morning shooting ANCHORAGE — A man was wounded in an early morning shooting at an Anchorage bar on New Year’s Day. Anchorage police say patrol officers at 3:10 a.m. Tuesday were called to a disturbance downtown at the Ultra Lounge & Grill. While on the way, dispatchers received reports of shots fired. Police found multiple people had been involved in a large fight. They found a man shot one in the upper body. Police say the wound did not appear to be life-threatening. The man was transported to a hospital.
Southwest Alaska man charged with assault in stabbing ANCHORAGE — A man suspected of stabbing a member of his household in a southwest Alaska village has been charged with felony assault. Alaska State Troopers say 23-year-old John Thompson was arrested Monday morning. Troopers did not release the name, age or gender of the victim. The person was medically evacuated from St. Mary’s for treatment. Troopers transported Thompson to Yukon Kuskokwim Correctional Facility in Bethel.
Alaska woman sentenced to probation for Medicaid fraud FAIRBANKS — A former personal care attendant in Alaska has been sentenced to three years of probation for fraudulently billing more than $50,000 to Medicaid. The Fairbanks Daily NewsMiner reports 57-year-old Sirje Kulakevich was sentenced last week in Fairbanks Superior Court after pleading guilty to one count of felony medical assistance fraud. Kulakevich was employed with Alaska Home Care in Delta Junction from 2010 to 2016. According to court documents, she took lengthy absences from work but was still paid after submitting time sheets and notes on the conditions of her clients. Kulakevich was ordered to pay back the money and perform 72 hours of community service. A judge could sentence her to up to 18 months in prison if she fails to meet the conditions of her probation. — Associated Press
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Soldotna train car eatery opens doors Federal
shutdown affects fisheries
By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
Soldotna’s newest restaurant, Addie Camp Train Car Eatery and Wine Bar, is having its grand opening today. Local cookbook author Maya Wilson is the restaurant’s chef. Elements from her popular cookbook, Alaska from Scratch, can be seen throughout the menu, whether it’s the black cod, udon noodle soup or the butterscotch bread pudding. Wilson said she wanted to develop all-new recipes for the restaurant, but wanted to give a nod to fans of her cookbook. “There are a couple of familiar things for fans of mine,” Wilson said. “I do adapt them a bit and make them a little chef-ier, a little more upscale from the cookbook, even if they are basically drawn from there.” For diners who are new to See RAIL, page A8
By CRISTY FRY For the Homer News
Addie Camp Train Car Eatery and Wine Bar, part building part train car, with railroad inspiration throughout the decor, is photographed on Monday, in Soldotna. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/ Peninsula Clarion)
A journey told through ice ‘Panta Rhei’ photo exhibition opens at Kenai Fine Arts Center By BRIAN MAZUREK Peninsula Clarion
The Kenai Fine Arts Center is kicking off the new year with a photography show that features the work of local artists Ben Boettger and Elizabeth Earl. The show is titled “Panta Rhei” and features a photo series of six different glaciers on the Kenai Peninsula. The upcoming photography exhibit will have the photos arranged by glacier and takes the viewer on a comprehensive tour of all the glacial fields in the area. Boettger and Earl’s images emphasize both the scale and the movement of these natural wonders. Their photos are intended to give anyone who views them the realization that these glaciers truly are constantly on the move. The title of the show is Greek in origin and roughly translates to “everything flows.” Boettger had the idea for the title while he and Earl were exploring and working
An image from the upcoming photography show by artist Elizabeth Earl features Byron Glacier in Chugach National Forest in August 2018. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Courtesy of Elizabeth Earl)
on the project. Earl remarked that studying the glaciers up close allowed them to really take note of the evidence of
movement in the landscape. in the 1950s, the Portage GlaAt a glance, these behemoths cier was practically adjacent seem to be at a standstill. to the highway on the way to See RHEI, page A2 Some locals will recall that
Coast Guard, Homer celebrate 50 years By MCKIBBEN JACKINSKY For the Homer News
If you look way back in Homer’s history, back to last century, back before statehood, back all the way to November 1948, you’d see the 269foot U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Northwind sail into Kachemak Bay. Its mission was to provide health care, provisioning, justice and personal transport services to Alaska’s remote communities, according to Darrell van Ness, curator of the Coast Guard Museum Northwest in Seattle. That visit marked the start of Homer’s connection with the U.S. Coast Guard, a relationship founded 50 years ago with the arrival on Jan. 5, 1969, of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Ironwood, the first ship to be homeported in Homer. This year, Homer celebrates the silver anniversary of the Coast
er, a civil trial was conducted Guard in Homer. The Northwind served as a aboard ship, Judge Kehoe prefloating court. While in HomSee COAST, page A8
See FISH, page A3
Security concerns prompt closing of dividend applications By DAN JOLING Associated Press
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Roanoke Island is moored at the Homer Harbor on June 2, 2015, in Homer. Commissioned in 1992, the 110-foot Island class cutter was decommissioned that month. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
While federal fisheries are expected to open on time despite the ongoing partial shutdown of the government, there will be effects on fisheries in Alaska. National Marine Fisheries Services offices have few people available to answer phones and questions, and while their enforcement arm is open for business, their research arm is shut down. The move throws a serious wrench into ongoing studies, which require regular data collection, and hampers data collection for determining future quotas. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries website that deals with renewing permits has a notice banner alerting users that the site will not be updated, but notes that “NOAA websites and social media channels necessary to protect lives and property will be maintained,” including marine weather forecasting. No new permits will be issued during the shutdown. The federal fisheries are highly regulated and require frequent inspections of equipment such as scales and monitoring equipment that tracks vessel locations as well as type and number of fish. Those inspections are not happening until the stalemate in Washington, D.C., is resolved, and boats cannot legally fish without them. KTOO Public Media reports that the shutdown would only have to affect a small number of Bering Sea boats for the economic impact to be substantial — a single fishing trip for a large factory trawler can be worth millions of dollars. While most of the Bering Sea cod fleet had their inspections done before the shutdown, the pollock season that begins Jan. 20 could be affected if it lingers. And one vessel, the 180foot Baranof, has more than two dozen crew members who flew out to Dutch Harbor for the winter fishing season. They had planned to start fishing for red crab on Jan. 1, but are unable to leave the dock without having an electronic
ANCHORAGE — Alaska revenue officials shut down online applications for annual oil wealth checks after personal information of other users popped up on applicants’ computer screens. The private information from other applicants included names, addresses and Social Security numbers. The Alaska Department of Revenue shut down the application process Tuesday, the day it opened for 2019 checks. Revenue Commissioner Bruce Tangeman said Wednesday he is apologizing for the problem every chance
he gets. “The permanent fund dividend is a big deal in Alaska,” he said. “It means a lot to people, and we are very sorry that we’re going through this right now and putting them through this right now.” The Alaska Permanent Fund was created by a vote of residents in 1976 when a flood of money for state coffers from oil development was on the horizon. The goal was a fund that would be out of reach for day-to-day government spending that would generate income in future years, according to the fund website. State leaders also wanted See PFD, page A2