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P E N I N S U L A
Tuesday, February 26, 2019 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 49, Issue 126
In the news Soldotna special election absentee ballots now open Soldotna residents can start voting on whether or not Soldotna should borrow $10 million in a bond for a field house. Absentee ballots for the special election are now available at Soldotna City Hall and can be cast in person until the special election. The question will officially be put in front of voters on March 5. Voters may submit their ballot by electronic transmission until March 4. The total cost of the project is estimated at $11.8 million dollars. If the bond is approved, $10 million will be financed through debt of a general obligation bond, with the remaining covered by private funders, donations, grants or, if needed, funds previously authorized by the city council. The city would take on a 10-year bond with an interest rate between 3 and 3.5 percent. It would be paid off in 10 years with 10 annual payments. The half-percent yearround sales tax increase would cover that debt, increasing the tax from 3 percent to 3.5 percent. — Kat Sorensen
Coast Guard dismisses 4 in Kodiak for illicit drug activity KODIAK (AP) — Four Coast Guardsmen investigated for illicit drug activity in Kodiak have been kicked out of the service. The Kodiak Daily Mirror reports two people were dismissed from the main base and two from Air Station Kodiak. Lt. Cmdr. Raymond Reichl says the four are subject to non-judicial punishment but not military criminal charges. Reichl did not release names of the four or give details of their alleged activities. The agency in October launched an internal investigation into drug activity and it continues. Some under investigation were removed from regular duties. Regular duties could include standing on security watches, performing work aboard aircraft or cutters and conducting pollution response investigations. Reichl last week said personnel cleared of wrongdoing have been returned to “duty status.”
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Residents crowd town hall By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
Hundreds of peninsula residents squeezed into the Kenai Peninsula Borough Betty J. Glick Assembly Chambers to attend a town hall with Sen. Peter Micciche, R-Kenai/Soldotna, and Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski. Many residents spoke against the governor’s proposed cuts to education, while some residents supported the administration’s plan to reduce government spending. The event was standing room only and Micciche said he was surprised by the turnout and would encourage a bigger venue for the next town hall. Before the lawmakers took questions from residents, Micciche discussed legislation he was working on, including a progress report on a bill he introduced, which closes the “Schnei-
By KAT SORENSEN Peninsula Clarion
Many residents voiced their support for education funding at the Kenai Peninsula Borough Betty J. Glick Assembly Chambers where a town hall with Sen. Peter Micciche, R-Kenai/Soldotna, and Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, took place Saturday in Soldotna. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
der loopholes” that were found in a case where an Anchorage man served no
jail time after strangling and masturbating on a woman.
Micciche also encouraged residents to take a See TOWN, page A2
House creates 1st Tribal Affairs committee By KEVIN BAIRD Juneau Empire
The Alaska House of Representatives created its first ever Special Committee on Tribal Affairs. The House passed a resolution 37-1 to create the committee Monday morning, with Rep. David Eastman, R-Wasilla, carrying the dissenting vote. Creating this Special Committee on Tribal Affairs was a longtime goal of Rep. Bryce Edgmon, iDillingham, who is the first Alaska Native Speaker of the House. “We’ve never had a committee to deal solely with tribal issues in the Legis-
Swordwielding man allegedly threatens woman in Seward
Rep. Tiffany Zulkosky, D-Bethel, speaks on the House floor. (Photo courtesy ι Brian Hild)
lature,” Edgmon said in a written statement. “This is not just about tribal compacting; it is about basic and
critical issues like health, children’s services, law enforcement, economic development, and other needs
that can be met at the village level.” Freshman Rep. Tiffany Zulkosky, D-Bethel, will chair the committee. “Alaska tribes have been working to improve the health and welfare of their communities since well before statehood,” Zulkosky said in an email to the Empire. “As in any other government-to-government relationship, local knowledge strengthens and improves outcomes, allowing our systems to deliver the most efficient and effective services across Alaska. As a result, the federal government, tribes and the state have all benefited.” See HOUSE, page A3
Police traced a latenight 911 call to a house in Seward on Saturday, where they found a 50-year-old Anchorage man wielding a sword and threatening to kill a seriously injured woman, according to a dispatch from Alaska State Troopers. Just after midnight on Saturday, the Public Safety Communication Center in Soldotna received a 911 open line call where dispatchers heard “a physical disturbance and screaming” in the background. The call was traced to a residence in Seward. The Seward Police Department and Seward-based Alaska State Troopers responded. According to the dispatch, Timothy Elve had reportedly smoked methamphetamine and physically assaulted a family member, causing her serious physical injury. Elve had retrieved a sword and threatened to kill the family member with it, the dispatch said. When the troopers arrived, Elve dropped the sword and was arrested without incident, according to the dispatch. He was charged with first-degree assault, second-degree assault, third-degree assault, criminal trespass and criminal mischief.
Peninsula Hospital CEOs update Borough Assembly By BRIAN MAZUREK Peninsula Clarion
The CEOs of Central and South Peninsula Hospitals presented updates on Feb. 19 to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on the financial statuses of the two hospitals, as well as the current status of the Master Fa-
cility Planning for the South Peninsula Hospital. Central Peninsula Hospital • Rick Davis, CEO of Central Peninsula Hospital, gave a report on the first half of the hospital’s Fiscal Year 2019 compared to the same period of FY 2018. The following data was taken from
Davis’s presentation. • Net revenue was $84 million, an increase of $4 million from the previous year. • Gross revenue was $180 million, an 8 percent increase from the previous year. • Net income was $6 million, a $1 million decrease
from the previous year. • The cost of charity care was $2 million while bad debt totaled $3.1 million, and Davis said that these numbers are on track to total $10.6 million by the end of the year. Charity care is defined as medical service provided to a patient who has demonstrated the inability
to pay, while bad debt is the total of uncompensated services where a patient was unwilling to settle a health-care claim regardless of financial status. • There was a total of $5.3 million in uncompensated care provided by the hospital. See CEOS, page A3
Bill would give new power to gov’s office By KEVIN BAIRD Juneau Empire
The Office of Management and Budget would have unprecedented power under Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed budget bill. It would give OMB Director Donna Arduin the ability to transfer funds within a department.
The OMB is part of the governor’s office. However, the Legislative Affairs’ non-partisan Legal Services team issued an opinion on the matter, calling this proposal “almost certainly” an “unlawful delegation” of power. The language in question appears at the top of each de-
partmental section in Sponsor Substitute Senate Bill 20, the governor’s budget bill. “At the discretion of the Office of Management and Budget, funding may be transferred between all appropriations in the Department,” SSSB 20 says under each departmental section. If the language were to
pass, according to the Legal Services opinion, “even if the legislature made an appropriation to a specific program or for a specific purpose within a department, OMB could transfer some or all funds from that appropriation to another program or purpose within that same department.” The opinion concludes,
saying, “In sum, a court is unlikely to find that the proposed language in SSSB 20 is constitutional or permissible under (Alaska Statute), since the broad authority granted to OMB appears to essentially override most of the legislature’s power to appropriate.” Sen. Bill Wielechowski, See BILL, page A2
AG says only 10 percent of work Soldotna man tracks down his own stolen vehicle related to controversial issues By MOLLIE BARNES Juneau Empire
Kevin Clarkson, Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s Attorney General designee, drew fire from supporters and opponents alike at a hearing with the House Judiciary committee on Monday. He said only 10 percent of his work has been re-
lated to controversial social cases. His work on cases involving social issues has drawn attention, with some gay rights and abortion rights advocates raising concerns against him at the hearing. “I feel my family has been personally hurt by Clarkson’s discriminatory efforts,” said Lin Davis, a
retired state worker who testified in Juneau. She said she wasn’t allowed to add her wife to her health insurance plan. “I haven’t seen anything from Mr. Clarkson that gives me hope that he would support our efforts to have equal protection,” she said. “I would strongly
See AG, page A3
By BRIAN MAZUREK Peninsula Clarion
A Soldotna man has been charged with stealing another man’s car, according to a complaint filed at the Kenai Courthouse on Sunday. Patrick A. Rascon, 27, allegedly stole a man’s GMC Sierra and damaged
the interior in the process, according to the complaint. The owner of the vehicle called Soldotna Police on Feb. 24 to report that he had identified his stolen vehicle in the Safeway parking lot. The vehicle owner confronted the man driving the stolen vehicle, and the driver drove away See THEFT, page A3