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CLARION P E N I N S U L A
Sunday, December 23, 2018 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 49, Issue 72
In the news Refuge open for snowmachine use The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge is open to snowmachine use effective Friday, Dec. 21. Refuge Manager Andy Lorager announced on Thursday that all areas of the Refuge traditionally open to snowmachining are now open. Closed areas include Swan Lake and Swanson River Canoe Systems, all areas above timberline and areas within the Skilak Wildlife Recreation Area. This doesn’t include Hidden, Kelly, Petersen and Engineer lakes, which are open to provide snowmachine access for ice fishing if conditions allow. “The Refuge advises that snowmachine users exercise caution, especially on lakes, rivers and streams many of which are either not yet frozen or not sufficiently frozen to support a snowmachine,” the Refuge said in a release. “In addition, rocks and tree stumps can be hazardous in areas of less snow accumulation.” For more information, call the Refuge at 907-262-7021.
Authorities find body of missing snowmobiler ANCHORAGE — Authorities say they have found the body of a snowmobiler who had gone missing, the Anchorage Daily News reports. The body of Vanton Pettigen, 66, was discovered Saturday in Big Lake north of Anchorage, the Daily News says. On Friday, Anchorage television station KTUU reported the body of his wife, LaVerne Pettigen, 64, was found in Big Lake. Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said troopers used sonar and a remotely operated vehicle to find the woman, who went missing with her husband nearly a week ago. The couple had planned an afternoon ride Dec. 14 out of Big Lake. — Associated Press
Clouds 27/13 More weather on page A8
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Holidays bring out giving spirit By JOEY KLECKA Peninsula Clarion
Three years ago a fresh start and a new mental outlook led Soldotna’s Matt Brown to realize what was most important in life — helping others. After battling alcoholism and getting sober, Brown took on the task of giving to those who need it most by starting up his own charity, Kids Need Christmas. “I went to rehab for my alcohol problem, got sober and just celebrated three years,” Brown said in a recent interview. “This and the gym, those two things are what keeps me going. I’ve been lucky enough to be blessed with a great opportunity.” Brown’s efforts are one of many of the Kenai Peninsula’s successful endeavors during the season of giving. With just two days until Christmas, Brown and other programs, businesses and organizations around the central peninsula are wrapping up fundraising and charity efforts to make sure everyone can enjoy a happy holiday season. The Toys for Tots program, which has partnered with the
Kenai explores accelerated funding for bluff project By KAT SORENSEN Peninsula Clarion
Rows of toys ready to be claimed by needy families sit on the backroom shelves of the Kenai Salvation Army Family Services store. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
Salvation Army Church for the ninth straight year on the peninsula, has raised $1,700 for needy families with a total of 679 toys collected since Nov.
1, thanks to the help of 35 local host businesses, according to Kenai Chamber of Commerce President Johna Beech. But Brown, a snowmachine
drag racer who funds his racing team out of his own pocket, uses his racing sponsorship money to provide toys, clothSee GIVE, page A3
‘There’s something about snow’ Celebrating solstice at the refuge with a sunset walk By JEFF HELMINIAK Peninsula Clarion
The first few steps in snowshoes for Theo Carroll, 75, of Soldotna did not go well. Carroll was just steps out of the parking lot of the Environmental Education Center at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on Friday night when she got her refuge-issued snowshoes caught up in the plentiful powder and went down. “I was the first one to fall down,” said Carroll, who just as importantly popped right back up after a lesson from Ranger Michelle Ostrowski, an education specialist at the refuge. “You can’t shuffle along. You really have to lift up your feet.” By the end of the 1-mile walk to and from Headquarters Lake, though, Carroll had decided she needed a pair of snowshoes of her own. “I want to come again,” she said. “I want to walk the pe- John Loranger, Ruby Glaser, Linda Loranger and Alice Main snowshoe on Headquarters Lake rimeter of that lake.” during a winter solstice event at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on Friday. (Photo by Jeff See SNOW, page A7 Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai is looking to set a path to move forward with the long-awaited bluff erosion project. City Manager Paul Ostrander told the city council Wednesday that work on the project has been “pretty active over the last three weeks,” as Ostrander pursues accelerated funding for the project with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Ostrander said the city will draft a letter to the Alaska district of the Army Corps saying that the city of Kenai will fully fund the design phase of the bluff erosion project. “However, if the project goes through to construction, the design phase contribution that we made would be credited toward our ultimate cost share of 35 percent,” Ostrander said. “So, basically, we are spending money now and it will be credited so we spend less when we get to construction.” With this plan, Ostrander said Kenai’s bluff erosion process would take a good step forward following the Army Corps feasibility study, which was finalized in November. “There’s a lot of these feasibility reports done around the country and they’ll sit on the shelf for years, never getting the federal funding necessary to get to the design phase,” Ostrander said. “If we can get approval to actually work through the design phase, it gets us in front of all these other projects and positions us for federal funding for the construction part of it, so I think this is the right move.” The objective of the project, which has been in the works for more than 30 years, is to stall the 3-feet-per-year erosion on a 1-mile stretch of land starting from North Beach, past the senior center and ending where the original canneries were. The idea is to install a milelong rock berm, using anchor rocks that would halt the erosion of the ground beneath Old Town Kenai. Ostrander said following the letter stating the city’s inSee BLUFF, page A3
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Honey: The sweetest gift By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
It’s probably the sweetest gift there it. Honey has been a symbolic offering for thousands of years. In ancient Egypt, beekeepers would gather honey to prevent diseases and heal wounds. The Greeks gifted honey to their Gods as a sacrificial offering. Even in the Bible, the term “milk and honey” is described to the Israelites as the bounty of the promised land in Canaan, Exodus 3:8. The sweetness of honey has slipped into holiday traditions around the world. During the Jewish holiday of Rosh
See HONEY, page A7
In this photo taken Aug. 6, 2015, Sarah Souders replaces full frames with empty frames in her hives in Kenai. (Kelly Sullivan(/Peninsula Clarion)
University researchers analyze data from earthquake ANCHORAGE (AP) — Researchers at the University of Alaska Anchorage are expecting to gain a wealth of information from the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that rocked southcentral Alaska last month. Researchers are analyzing data captured during the powerful Nov. 30 quake, Anchorage television station KTUU reported. The information collected is important for improvements to building codes, according to the scientists. “This is actually a gold mine here for us to data mine,” said Zhaohui Joey Yang, a professor and chair of UAA’s Civil Engineering Department. “To learn from that, we can hope-
fully help to improve the building design codes to make our community even safer.” The earthquake damaged roads and structures, but it caused no widespread catastrophic damage. It has been followed by thousands of aftershocks. Data from the quake was collected from various areas including Anchorage, Eagle River and the MatanuskaSusitna Borough. Yang and a team funded by the National Science Foundation collected perishable geotechnical data from such sources as ground fissures, slope failures, fill around bridge abutments and building foundations.