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P E N I N S U L A
Friday-Saturday, December 28-29, 2018 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 49, Issue 76
In the news Magnitude 4.9 aftershock strikes near site of Alaska quake ANCHORAGE — A magnitude 4.9 aftershock has shaken an area of south central Alaska near where a powerful temblor jolted the region last month. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake occurred at 5:21 a.m. Thursday and was centered 10.5 miles northwest of Anchorage. The Alaska Earthquake Center tweets that the aftershock was closer to Anchorage than most others have been, which may explain why some people thought it was stronger than it actually was. On Nov. 30, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 7 miles north of Anchorage, damaging roads and structures Thousands of aftershocks have followed. The Anchorage Daily News reports preliminary assessments have found the big quake cause $76 million in damage.
Man held after using front-end loader to make get-away ANCHORAGE — Police have arrested a 42-year-old Anchorage man suspected of stealing a front-end loader and using it as his get-away vehicle after a burglary. Police say Brian Petross was held Wednesday on suspicion of vehicle theft, burglary, theft, reckless driving and criminal mischief. Online court documents do not list his attorney. A person walking a dog Wednesday morning reported a broken door at a westside hair salon. Officers determined someone drove a front-end loader to the salon, picked up a frozen planter, smashed the front door window, entered the business and stole numerous items. While responding to another burglary, officers spotted the front-end loader and conducted a traffic stop. They arrested Petross and determined he had stolen the heavy equipment Saturday from a secured lot on the city’s east side. — Associated Press
Index Opinion .................. A4 Nation .................... A5 Religion...................A6 World ..................... A7 Business .................A8 Sports .....................A9 Classifieds ........... A12 Comics................. A15
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Government shutdown continues; some local services affected By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
A partial government shutdown that could extend into next year has shuttered several federal operations on the peninsula, and left other government employees working without pay. Federal Aviation Administration employees, which include air traffic controllers and technicians at the Kenai airport, are still performing essential duties, but without pay, Greg Martin, a spokesperson with the FAA, said. Martin said FAA employees in Kenai, and around the nation, remain on the job to retain public safety. “There’s no operational impact for Kenai because air traffic controllers and technicians remain on the job,” Martin said. The shutdown started Saturday after President Donald Trump and lawmakers reached an impasse over the president’s demand for $5 billion to fund a border wall. Funding lapsed for nine Cabinet-level departments and dozens of agencies, including the departments of Homeland
Seafood industry faces more uncertainty By CRISTY FRY For the Homer News
A sign is posted outside the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center that lets residents know that due to the partial government shutdown, refuge employees and visitor services are unavailable and that visitors should enter the refuge at their own risk, on Thursday, in Soldotna. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Security, Transportation, Inte- working unpaid, while an ad- tial or otherwise exempted rior, Agriculture, State and Jus- ditional 380,000 have been fur- from their respective agency tice. Roughly 420,000 workers loughed. See GOV, page A16 Employees deemed essenwere deemed essential and are
As another year draws to a close, the seafood industry seems to be facing even more uncertainty than usual, with some groundfish stocks cratering, salmon runs behaving in historically strange ways, trade wars with China imposing some tariffs on a variety of products, and the state being on the forefront of climate change. The year started out with a Pacific cod quota cut of 80 percent in the Gulf of Alaska, an unexpected drop after a strong year class from 2012 suffered unusually high mortality due to a warm period from 2014 to 2016. Overall, GOA groundfish quotas dropped 21 percent. Bering Sea crabbers started the year with a 19.5 millionpound opilio quota that proved difficult for some boats, with scratchy fishing and bad weather that cost a few boats their windows. However, prices over $4 per pound for both bairdi See SEA, page A16
Environmental groups object to Prince of Wales timber sale By ALEX MCCARTHY Juneau Empire
Environmental organizations in the state and around the country are opposing a major timber sale on Prince of Wales Island. Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law organization, filed a formal objection to the Prince of Wales Landscape Level Analysis Project (POW LLA) on Dec. 21. It filed the opposition on behalf of nine conservation organizations, including Defenders of Wildlife, a national organization. Defenders of Wildlife filed an additional objection Thursday. The POW LLA project is being done through the U.S. Forest Service, which writes on its website that the project
Moss covers old growth trees along Auke Lake on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)
is to improve ecosystem health tives in order to provide ecoin the Craig and Thorne Bay nomic development.” Ranger Districts while “meetEnvironmental groups have ing multiple resource objec- opposed this project, asserting
that it paves the way for the logging of old-growth forest and road-building throughout the region. The Earthjustice objection called the proposal “the largest logging project in the entire country in more than a generation.” The proposal could allow up to 235 million board feet of old-growth forest to be harvested over 15 years, Defenders of Wildlife said in a press release Thursday. The public comment period is currently open but closes Monday, Dec. 31. People can comment by emailing Project Manager Delilah Brigham at dbrigham@ fs.fed.us. Forest Service officials were not available to speak Thursday, as emails and calls went unreturned and the voice-
mail greeting at the Tongass National Forest headquarters stated that the office was closed due to the current government shutdown. The writers of the Earthjustice objection asserted that the Forest Service is not telling members of the public enough details about the project, including where the project area is or when the 15-year project timeframe is taking place. The project page on the Forest Service website doesn’t mention the word “timber” once, for example. The objection also claims this project will help improve the Prince of Wales forest ecosystem, but does not appear to be willing to fund aspects of the project about restoring habitat. See SALE, page A16
Senator: Big issues in Legislature will be PFD, budget cuts By MICHAEL ARMSTRONG Homer News
Heading into his 19th year as a state senator, Sen. Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, has some advice for Homer’s newest legislator, Rep.-elect Sarah Vance. She’s the third Homer representative he will work
with after Rep. Drew Scalzi and Rep. Paul Seaton, who Vance defeated to win election to District 31. “It’s probably good to be quiet for awhile, just to figure out the lay of the land and how things work,” Stevens said. “… Make sure what’s going on and then take advice
from your senator, too.” Stevens, 77, met with Homer News staff last Thursday on a trip to Homer. He had planned to visit earlier, but had to cancel because his flight couldn’t make it into Homer. Stevens also met with the Homer Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center, the
Juneau Native Corp. selected for $6.1 billion Army contract BY BEN HOHENSTATT Juneau Empire
Goldbelt Inc. was selected as one of eight companies to perform work with the U.S. Army under a contract that could be worth as much as $6.1 billion over 10 years, the for-profit Alaska Native urban corporation headquartered in Juneau announced Thursday. Goldbelt Glacier Health Services, a subsidiary of Goldbelt Inc., was selected for the Human Resources Solutions-
Personnel Lifecycle Support contract to provide human resources services to the Army, and other Goldbelt companies will work as subcontractors. Goldbelt Inc. CEO and President Chuck Wimberly said in a Thursday interview it’s likely the contract reaches its ceiling for value and length. “The government and the Army have the opportunity to cancel the contract on a 30-day notice,” Wimberly said. “The likelihood of the government canceling that is fairly low. We
live with that option to cancel without cause. At the end of the day, I think this is an effort by the army to streamline the services they need for human resources.” The human resources services include: access card issuance, benefit paperwork processing, hiring civilian support staff and more. The new contract is not affected by the ongoing government shutdown. “The Department of Defense See CORP., page A16
North Pacific Fisheries Association, local school principals, and the Homer City Council, and stopped by an open house at the Legislative Information Office. When he heads to Juneau on Jan. 15, Stevens will be working with new Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a slightly differ-
ent Senate, and a House still unorganized as a seat that Republican Bart LeBon of Fairbanks won by one vote faces a challenge in the Alaska Supreme Court. Rep. Gary Knopp, R-Soldotna, also has said he won’t join a potential 21-member Republican See ISSUES, page A3
Business owner finds burglary suspect after police leave FAIRBANKS (AP) — Persistence paid off for the owner of a Fairbanks car dealership after police investigated a suspected burglary in progress but departed without finding a suspect. Lane Nichols, owner of Gene’s Chrysler, and his son continued the search Monday night in the dealership’s storage yard and found a man hiding in an SUV, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported. ‘You know, you can only be violated so many times, and I was just so happy that we got one of the bad guys,” Nichols said. “He was dressed for Arc-
tic weather and he systematically went through (the) entire lot. The video is actually pretty informative.” The 29-year-old suspect faces misdemeanor theft and trespassing charges. Security cameras sent an alert to the dealership manager at 10 p.m. Monday and captured footage of a man rummaging through vehicles. Nichols met police at the business. They searched the car the suspect was last seen entering but could not find him. The officers left but Nichols and his son decided to keep See SUSPECT, page A2