Iraq
MNF
Country recovers after Islamic State
Seattle tops Vikes, nears Wild Card
Nation/A5
Sports/A6
CLARION
Flurries 32/18 More weather on Page A2
P E N I N S U L A
Tuesday, December 11, 2018 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 49, Issue 62
In the news 2 men found dead in west Anchorage may have shot each other ANCHORAGE — Two men found dead on a west-side Anchorage street may have shot each other. Anchorage police Monday say their preliminary investigation found that the two men had met inside a truck Sunday afternoon to discuss the sale of a gun. Police say they apparently got into an argument and shot each other. Their names and ages have not been released. Police responding to shots fired around 5:10 p.m. found both men dead. One man was found inside a vehicle parked on west 29th Avenue and another was outside the vehicle. Officers stopped a vehicle on nearby Northern Lights Boulevard and questioned the driver. Police say he was not involved in the shooting and was released.
Dunleavy among new leaders to meet with Trump on Thursday ANCHORAGE — Officials in Gov. Dunleavy’s office say he will be meeting with President Donald Trump on Thursday. Officials said Monday that Dunleavy and 12 other newly elected governors and territorial governors will participate in the Washington, D.C., meeting. Dunleavy says in a statement that the meeting is the “first of many opportunities to work in concert with the President and federal officials on advancing my administration’s priorities, like bringing new jobs and investment to Alaska.”
Fairbanks police say officer stole money from lost wallet ANCHORAGE — Fairbanks police say an officer has resigned after admitting that he stole up to $80 from a lost wallet that was turned over to him. Police say Manuel Beza resigned on Friday. He could not be reached for comment Monday. Police spokeswoman Yumi McCulloch says the state Office of Special Prosecutions is reviewing the case Police say a local man who found the wallet Nov. 23 turned it over to Beza. The man told police the wallet contained about $120 when he gave it to Beza. The wallet owner later told the local man there was no cash in the wallet when it was retrieved. Police say Beza initially denied taking any money but later said he took between $60 and $80. — Associated Press
Index Opinion................... A4 Nation..................... A5 Sports......................A6 Classifieds.............. A7 Comics.................... A9 Pets....................... A10 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
$1 newsstands daily/$1.50 Sunday
Republican leaves GOP caucus Rep. Gary Knopp seeks bipartisan coalition to run House By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
JUNEAU — A Republican state lawmaker is seeking to create a bipartisan majority coalition in the House after leaving a fragile GOP caucus that he said was “doomed to fail.” The announcement by Kenai Rep. Gary Knopp is the latest twist in efforts to organize the House, with the new legislative session now just five weeks away. Knopp said Monday he wanted to start talks on possibly forming a bipartisan coalition, with leadership roles divided equally between Republican and Democratic law-
In this Jan. 16, 2017, file photo, then Rep.-elect Gary Knopp sits in his office at the Alaska Capitol in Juneau. (AP Photo/ Becky Bohrer, File)
makers. “This them-against- course,” he said. us stuff has just really run its Recent years have been
marked by sharp debate over how to address a state budget deficit and what size check Alaskans should get from the state oil-wealth fund. The future of the dividend check program is expected to be a big issue in the coming session. Knopp said he wasn’t sure whether a majority of some type would be in place in time for the start of session, Jan. 15. If a majority were not in place by then, it wouldn’t be the first time that has happened. In that case, Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer would serve as speaker or elect a pro tempore to hold technical sessions until the House elects a speaker, said See KNOPP, page A3
Work begins on recovery home for men By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
Jennifer Waller and a team of volunteers have begun the renovations to the Soldotna home that will be used as the men’s Freedom House location. Waller, the founder of Freedom House, a faith-based women’s recovery home, is determined to open the same kind of facility for area men struggling with addictions, and hopes to have it up and running in the next couple of months. “Opening in February would be my goal,” Waller said. “I would be happy with that.” To make men’s Freedom House a reality, Waller needed to secure her ideal location, which is the home at 167 Warehouse Drive in Soldotna. The site is close to emergency services and within walking distance of restaurants, coffee shops and other businesses along the Sterling Highway. Last month, Waller announced
Freedom House founder Jennifer Waller is photographed at the women’s recovery home in March 2018. Waller is hoping to open a men’s recovery facility in early 2019. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Freedom House was one step chase the home for the noncloser to securing the Soldot- profit. Since November, legal isna home after an anonymous elderly couple offered to pur- sues poked holes in the plan for
the donation. Waller said her lawyers were concerned that if and when the anonymous donors entered a nursing or assisted living home, the state could potentially seize their assets, including the Soldotna home, to cover costs of care. Waller also noted she couldn’t give receipts to volunteers as a nonprofit if their building wasn’t also owned by a nonprofit. These legal hiccups didn’t stop Waller from making progress on the expansion of Freedom House. The anonymous donors offered Waller the $250,000 in the form of a low-interest loan with a low monthly payment, which gave Waller the ability to purchase the home and get to work with renovations. Waller said the renovations were estimated to cost around $200,000, but may now cost $250,000. “We’ve got a lot of work done already,” Waller said. See MEN, page A3
Trump scrambling to find new chief of staff By ZEKE MILLER, JILL COLVIN and JONATHAN LEMIRE Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is scrambling to find a new chief of staff after his first choice to replace John Kelly bailed at the last minute and several other potential successors signaled they weren’t interested in the job. Back to square one, Trump is mulling over a list of at
least four potential candidates after Nick Ayers, Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff, took himself out of the running Sunday and decided that he would instead be leaving the White House. The announcement surprised even senior staffers who believed that Ayers’ ascension was a done deal. Trump is now soliciting input on a list of candidates that is said to include Office of Management and Budget
Director Mick Mulvaney, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. And allies are pitching Trump on even more contenders. But as quickly as names were being floated, candidates appeared to be pulling themselves from consideration, underscoring the challenges of working for a mercurial president who has
acknowledged that he likes to surround himself with chaos and despises any suggestion he’s being managed. “In the best of times, it is relentless,” said Chris Whipple, an expert on chiefs of staff and author of “The Gatekeepers,” a book on the subject. “It’s 24/7. It’s thankless. You get all of the blame and none of the credit for everything that happens. And that’s in the best of times. We are See CHIEF, page A2
Soldotna to consider school zone cellphone ban By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
Soldotna City Council member Jordan Chilson is looking to amend the Soldotna Municipal Code to prohibit the use of handheld electronic devices, like cellphones, while driving in school zones and on school property. This year, the Alaska State Legislature passed House Bill 333, which gave cities the ability to regulate the use of cellphones while operating a motor vehicle in active school See CELL, page A3
Groups to sue over Atlantic offshore drilling tests By MEG KINNARD Associated Press
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Environmental groups plan to sue the Trump administration over offshore drilling tests, launching a legal fight against a proposal that has drawn bipartisan opposition along the Atlantic Coast, two people with direct knowledge of the pending litigation told The Associated Press on Monday. The lawsuit, which aims to stop the issuance of permits for the use of seismic air guns, will be filed by a coalition of environmental groups in federal court in South Carolina on Tuesday, according to the individuals. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly before the suit is filed. The Trump administration has authorized five such permits, which aim to find oil and gas formations deeply below the Atlantic Ocean floor, from Delaware to central Florida, an area where seismic surveys haven’t been conducted in decades. The blasts are conducted in preparation for potential offshore drilling, which the administration has proposed to expand from the Atlantic to the Arctic and Pacific oceans. The five-year plan would See DRILL, page A3
Anchorage museum to archive Ketchikan city social media memes on quake officials mull cruise passenger fee ruling
ANCHORAGE (AP) — The Anchorage Museum will include social media reactions to the powerful earthquake that rocked Alaska for its archived historical record. The collection will include viral memes and other Facebook and Twitter responses to the Nov. 30 quake that struck 7 miles north of Anchorage, Alaska Public Media reported. The magnitude 7.0 earthquake damaged roads and structures, but caused no widespread catastrophic damage. It has been fol-
See QUAKE, page A3
In this Nov. 30 file photo, workers inspect a road that collapsed during an earthquake in Anchorage. The Anchorage Museum will include social media reactions to the powerful earthquake that rocked Alaska for its archived historical record. (AP Photo/ Mike Dinneen, File)
KETCHIKAN (AP) — Ketchikan city officials are mulling the potential impacts of a federal court decision on the use of cruise ship passenger fees. U.S. District Court Judge H. Russel Holland last week ruled that while Juneau can keep collecting the fees, their use must constitute a service to the ship. The decision restricting use of the fees came in a lawsuit brought against Juneau by the cruise industry. Other communities, such as Ketchikan, have their own
passenger fees. There is also a state head tax. Juneau officials have not announced whether they’ll appeal. Ketchikan City Council members had wide-ranging reactions to the decision during a recent meeting, the Ketchikan Daily News reported. Reactions varied from wanting to talk with the industry to perhaps looking at whether to cap the number passengers who visit. Council member Janalee See CRUISE, page A3