Camp
Dual
Number of detained migrant teens grows
Nikiski tops Kenai on the mat
Nation/A5
Sports/A9
CLARION
Sleet 36/21 More weather on Page A2
P E N I N S U L A
Wednesday, November 28, 2018 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 49, Issue 51
In the news Probation officer charged with improper relationship ANCHORAGE — A probation officer has been charged with an improper relationship with a man under the supervision of the Alaska Department of Corrections. Anchorage television station KTVA reports 39-yearold Shamika Lawrence is charged with third-degree sexual assault, evidence tampering and coercion. All three charges are felonies. Lawrence could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Directory assistance does not list her number and online court documents do not list her attorney. Prosecutors with the Office of Special Prosecutions in charging documents say the offenses occurred from October 2017 through June. Prosecutors say Lawrence had a sexual relationship with a man in state custody. Corrections spokeswoman Megan Edge says the man is a sentenced offender serving time on an electronic monitor. Edge says Lawrence is on paid administrative leave.
Anchorage crews haul away junk from problem property ANCHORAGE — Anchorage crews have hauled away hundreds of thousands of pounds of junk from a property in Bear Valley as part of the city’s efforts of address neighborhood blight. Crews recently removed 343 tons of junk, five drums of liquid waste and 21 junk vehicles from the property over a week, the Anchorage Daily News reported Sunday. The land surrounding the ranch-style house is now clear, but junk had been piled high, blocking all visible paths to the building. The cleanup cost $84,000 and was the largest in the city’s history, said Jack Frost, chief code enforcement officer. The city is considering options like foreclosure to recoup expenses, he said. The cleanup comes more than a year after a group of residents pleaded with the Anchorage Assembly to take action about the property. Since the early 2000s, the city had fined the property on Francesca Drive more than $300,000 for operating an illegal junkyard. The owners challenged the fines, claiming they were excessive and unconstitutional. The case eventual reached the Alaska Supreme Court, which sided with the city. — Associated Press
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opens Soldotna looks to bond, sales Trial for 2nd tax to fund field house project suspect in killing of Palmer teen
By KAT SORENSEN Peninsula Clarion
Designs for a field house at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex are nearly complete. Now, the city of Soldotna is looking at how to fund the project. At Wednesday night’s council meeting, the Soldotna City Council will introduce legislation to ask the voters if the city should borrow $10 million in the form of a bond to build the field house and increase the sales tax by a half percent to cover the debt service on the 10-year bond. “It’s two parts that we see working together, if the public gives us the go-ahead,” said City Manager Stephanie Queen. “We borrow money and, simultaneously, add a sales tax to cover the cost of the debt over a 10-year period.” The city does have the money to fund the project reserved in the fund balance, Queen said, but the administration found it would be more financially pru-
A rendering of the proposed Soldotna Regional Sports Complex field house. The Soldotna City Council will introduce legislation Wednesday to ask the voters if the city should borrow $10 million in the form of a bond to build the field house. (City of Soldotna)
dent to pay for the project with a bond. “We have cash and we typically pay as we go for proj-
ects,” Queen said. “We have a debt because our cash is doing significant fund balance to put a really well in our investments good portion towards the proj- and interest rates are low. We ect, but we’re recommending See BOND, page A2
ANCHORAGE (AP) — The trial has started for an Alaska teenager charged in the killing of a 16-year-old boy who prosecutors say was ambushed by a group of “wannabe gang members.” Dominic Johnson, 18, is the second of four people to go on trial in the November 2016 death of David Grunwald, the Anchorage Daily News reported . A jury convicted Erick Almandinger, 18, earlier this year of first-degree murder, kidnapping and other counts in the death of Grunwald. Austin Barrett, 21, and Brad Renfro, 18, are scheduled to go to trial next year. Grunwald was hit with a pistol outside Almandinger’s See TEEN, page A3
Staying Students usher in merry holiday season with concerts, productions healthy
during the holidays
By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
Looking for a way to get in the holiday spirit? Schools across the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District are gearing up for their annual winter music concerts and productions. Soldotna Montessori Charter School — Dec. 3, 6:30 p.m., Winter Concert Grades K-6, Soldotna High Auditorium; Dec. 18, 6 p.m., Band & Choir Concert, Soldotna Elementary Gym Aurora Borealis Charter School — Dec. 4, 6 p.m., Christmas Concert, Kenai Central High School Auditorium Nikiski Middle-High School — Dec. 4, 7 p.m., Auditorium West Homer Elementary School — Dec. 4, 12:30 p.m., Christmas Program, Homer High Mariner Theater Soldotna Elementary School — Dec. 4, 6:30 p.m., Christmas Concert, Soldotna High Auditorium; Dec. 18, 6 p.m., Band & Choir Concert, Soldotna Elementary Gym Nikiski North Star Elementary School — Dec. 6, 6 p.m., Kindergarten Winter Con-
By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
Kenai Central High School choir teacher Simon Nissen leads the school’s choir during their annual holiday concert on Dec. 17, 2017 in Kenai Central High School’s Renee C. Henderson Auditorium. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)
cert, Nikiski North Star Gym; Dec. 6, 6:45 p.m., Concert, and Modern Band Winter Concert, Nikiski North Star Gym; Dec. 11, 6 p.m., Christmas Concert Grades 1-2, Nikiski MiddleHigh School Auditorium Sterling Elementary School — Dec. 6, 6 p.m., Win-
ter Concert Grades K-3; Dec. 11, 6 p.m., Winter Concert Grades 4-6, and band Redoubt Elementary School — Dec. 6, 6 p.m., Winter Concert Grades 1-2-3, Soldotna High Auditorium; Dec. 11, 6:00 p.m., Winter Band Concert, Redoubt Gym
Kenai Middle School — Dec. 6, 7 p.m., Winter Choir Concert, Kenai Central High School Auditorium; Dec. 11, 7 p.m., Dessert Auction and Holiday Concert featuring the Kenai Middle School Concert & Intermediate Band, Kenai
See MERRY, page A2
The holidays are a time to spend with family, enjoy the company of friends and to be grateful. Get-togethers, traveling, lack of exercise and indulgent eating creates more opportunities for exposure to germs and illness, Leslie Felts, Kenai Public Health nurse manager, said. “People are getting together, traveling and not eating and exercising like they normally do,” Felts said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a series of tips to help Americans stay healthy over the holidays. The CDC advises people to wash your hands often, which Felts said is very simple, but very effective. Staying warm is important, the CDC said cold temperatures can cause serious health problems, especially in infants and older adults. Felts said to wear a coat whenever you’re going outside. “It’s easy to run out and get a little cold and wet in between your car and the store,” Felts said. See HEALTH, page A2
Appeals court ruling mixed on New trial date set Alaska campaign finance laws for man convicted By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
JUNEAU — A divided federal appeals court panel ruled Tuesday that Alaska’s cap on total contributions that candidates can receive from nonresidents is unconstitutional. However, the three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld other campaign contribution limits that it said were tailored to prevent corruption or the appearance of corruption.
The case brought by three individuals and an Alaska Republican Party district challenged elements of state campaign finance law. An attorney for the plaintiffs did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Attorney General Jahna Lindemuth, in a statement, expressed disappointment that the court struck down limits on nonresident contributions but said she was pleased with the rest of the ruling. Her agency said it was reviewing the decision and evaluating next steps.
The appeals court panel sided with a lower court in upholding limits on contributions made by individuals to candidates and to groups that are not political parties. They also upheld limits on the total amount a political party can give municipal candidates. The judges split on nonresident contributions. The majority found the aggregate limit on what candidates can get from nonresidents violates the First Amendment. The panel reversed the lower court on that See COURT, page A2
in Coast Guard killings KODIAK (AP) — A new trial date has been set for an Alaska man convicted in the 2012 killings of two co-workers at a Coast Guard communications station in Alaska. James Wells is scheduled for trial April 29 in Anchorage, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reported Tuesday. The retrial has been rescheduled several times. The new date comes nearly a year after a federal appeals court concluded Wells did not
receive a fair trial. The threejudge panel reversed Wells’ conviction on murder and weapons charges and ordered a new trial. The judges also said the case should be reassigned, citing comments the judge made at Wells’ sentencing. Wells was convicted in 2014 in the shooting deaths of Coast Guardsmen Petty Officer 1st Class James Hopkins See GUARD, page A3