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P E N I N S U L A
Friday-Saturday, December 14-15, 2018 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 49, Issue 65
In the news Anchorage man charged with assault in shooting of woman ANCHORAGE — Anchorage police have arrested a 33-year-old man suspected of shooting a woman at an east-side home. Tristan Grant is charged with felony assault, weapons misconduct and violation of conditions of release in the shooting Wednesday. Police say the woman was Grant's girlfriend. Police say she suffered nonlife-threatening injuries and was taken to a hospital. Police at 3:10 a.m. Wednesday took a call of a shooting in the 200 block of east 12th Avenue. The woman had gunshot wounds to her lower body. Detectives determined Grant had fired the shots and fled. After obtaining a warrant, they found Grant on Wednesday afternoon on Karluk Street less than a mile east of the shooting scene. Online court documents do not list his attorney. He was scheduled for arraignment Thursday.
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FY2018 borough deficit nearly $4 million less than estimate By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
The borough had nearly $4 million less in deficit spending than projected, according to Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce, who was speaking at a Dec. 5 Joint Chamber Luncheon at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center. At the beginning of fiscal year 2018, which goes from June of 2017 to June 30, 2018, the borough estimated they would spend $4,152,291 more than they earned. Pierce said updated reports from fiscal year 2018 show the borough only spent $434,028 during that year. The borough managed to spend less from a combina-
Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce gives a borough update at a joint Soldotna and Kenai Chamber of Commerce luncheon event on Dec. 5 at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/ Peninsula Clarion)
tion of federal money, state “There were a lot of unanmoney and budget tightening ticipated gifts,” Pierce said at on the local level. the chamber luncheon. “We
can’t take credit for all of it.” The largest reduction of the deficit came in the form of $3.1 million in federal PILT money, or payments in lieu of taxes. PILT money is what the federal government pays as their contribution to area federal lands. “It’s essentially a property tax,” Pierce said Tuesday. An additional $1.2 million was saved through expenditure tightening and project fund rollovers. Pierce said the borough put a hold on everything and looked at every expense to help cut back costs. He said some of those savings came after borough employees retired, and their positions did not get replaced. See SPEND, page A3
Southwest Alaska man charged with using ulu in stabbing NUNAPITCHUK — A southwest Alaska village man suspected of stabbing another person with an ulu has been charged with felony assault. Alaska State Troopers say 21-year-old Dale Sallison of Nunapitchuk stabbed one family member, choked another and assaulted a third. He’s charged with four counts of assault and criminal mischief and is being held without bail. An ulu is a knife with a curved blade that’s traditionally used for cutting and scraping fish or game animals. Troopers say Sallison used the ulu to stab a family member in the shoulder. Troopers say alcohol was a factor in the case. Online court records do not list Sallison’s attorney. Nunapitchuk is a village of 620 people about 22 miles northwest of Bethel. — Associated Press
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President Donald J. Trump, joined by Vice President Mike Pence, participates in a discussion with Governors-Elect on Thursday in the Cabinet Room of the White House. (Official White House Photo | Joyce N. Boghosian)
Dunleavy meets with Trump ALEX MCCUMBERS For the Juneau Empire
Not even two weeks into his time as governor, Gov. Mike Dunleavy was representing the state on a national stage Thursday.
Along with 12 other newly elected state and territorial governors, Dunleavy sat down with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday morning. Dunleavy talked to Trump about a “wide range” of Alaskarelated issues, according to a
press release from the Dunleavy administration. Dunleavy referred to Trump as a “strong partner” who has a solid knowledge of Alaska’s value to the nation. “The President understands that Alaska is America’s natural
Petroleum reserve lease sale draws modest interest ANCHORAGE (AP) — A federal sale of oil leases in the National Petroleum ReserveAlaska has again drawn a modest response. The Bureau of Land Management on Wednesday received 16 bids on 16 tracts covering 272 square miles, the Alaska Journal of Commerce reported . The BLM had offered 254 tracts on more than 4,375 square miles. Federal officials said the modest bidding could be attributed to the lack of access to the most prospective areas. BLM received seven bids in a 2017 lease sale.
Environmental groups oppose expanded drilling in the reserve west of Prudhoe Bay. They say oil development will imperil caribou herds, polar bears and ecologically significant wetlands used for breeding by migratory waterfowl from around the world. The bids ranged from $57,000 to $216,000 per lease and took in $1.13 million. Half will go to the state of Alaska through revenue sharing. Most leases sold are near areas that ConocoPhillips is exploring and developing. Assistant Interior Secretary Joe Balash in a call with reporters said the 2018 results
were encouraging. The lack of bidding, he said, compared with more active bidding on nearby state lands, underscores the need to review the land-use plan of the reserve. The petroleum reserve was created in 1923 by President Warren Harding as the Naval Petroleum Reserve and set aside as an emergency oil supply for the Navy. It covers 35,625 square miles, about the size of Indiana. Congress in 1976 renamed the reserve and transferred administration to the Interior Department. Former Interior Secretary See LEASE, page A2
resource warehouse,” Dunleavy said in the release. “Our state’s vast reserves of energy and minerals can power the nation’s economy, creating new jobs, prosperity for Alaskan families and, new revenue at the state and
See MEET, page A3
Soldotna to vote on bond proposal for field house By KAT SORENSEN Peninsula Clarion
Soldotna will hold a special election on March 9, 2019, to ask the voters if the city should borrow $10 million in the form of a bond and increase the sales tax by a half percent to build a field house. At their meeting Wednesday night, the Soldotna City Council passed a collection of ordinances and resolutions to approve the March 2019 special election where Soldotna residents will decide if the city should borrow $10 million for the field house. The total cost of the project is estimated at $11.8 million dollars. If the bond was 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 10year 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 sales tax increase would cover that debt, increasing the tax from 3 percent to 3.5 percent. The city could cover the cost of the field house with the city’s fund balance, but City Manager Stephanie Queen explained that wouldn’t be financially prudent. “In our long-term investment account, we’re earning about 6 percent and that’s projected to continue into the future,” Queen said. “Our longterm investment will continue to return above 6 percent, so by borrowing this money we’ll leave the cash that have invested and earning.” Some council members expressed concern with a special election, specifically related to the additional costs a special election would incur, but Queen said the March 2019 election leads to an ideal time line for the field house’s construction. See VOTE, page A3
State investigates North Slope oil worker death ANCHORAGE (AP) — The employee of a Hilcorp Alaska drilling contractor who died last week was struck by heavy drilling pipe at Milne Point on the North Slope, state officials said. The state Occupational Safety and Health office is investigating the death, and the companies are conducting internal probes, the Anchorage Daily News reported this week. The worker employed by contractor Kuukpik Drilling died early Friday. His name hasn’t been released. The companies are cooperating with authorities, said Kenny Overvold, general manager of Kuukpik Drilling. “At this point we don’t have
anything new to release,” Overvold said. Hillcorp and Kuukpik Drilling have declined to provide additional information while the death is under investigation. An investigator with the Alaska Occupational Safety and Health office has visited the worksite, said Claire Pywell of the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The death appears to have occurred as workers were laying pipe, said Hollis French, chairman of the state Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. He said he spoke last week with a Hilcorp official who characterized death as resulting from a See DEATH, page A3