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P E N I N S U L A
Vol. 49, Issue 9
In the news ConocoPhillips heralds first oil at Alaska petroleum reserve ANCHORAGE (AP) — ConocoPhillips Alaska has reached a milestone at the first drill site on federal leases within the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The company announced Tuesday that it has produced its oil at the Greater Mooses Tooth No. 1 drill site. Production began Friday. The site is a satellite of the Alpine Field. Oil will be processed through existing facilities at Alpine. Construction at the site began in 2017 and at its peak over two winters created 700 jobs, according to ConocoPhillips Alaska. The site has a nearly 12acre drilling pad. Production plans call for nine initial wells with capacity for 33 wells. Peak gross production is estimated at 25,000 to 30,000 barrels of oil per day. The company estimates construction and drilling expenses at about $725 million.
Boaters find dead bear cubs tied to weight in Alaska waters ANCHORAGE (AP) — Two men boating in Prince William Sound in southern Alaska found a pair of dead bear cubs tied to a concrete weight. Peter Montesano and Paul Wunnicke saw something strange floating in Squaw Bay while on their boating trip Saturday, the Anchorage Daily News reported Sunday. Montesano, an Anchorage physician, moved his Sea Dory boat closer to the floating mass, seeing something furry. “And then we said, wait a second — those are two pairs of hind legs,” Montesano said. The men found two dead black bear cubs each tied by the neck to a weight made out of a milk jug filled with concrete. One of the bears had a bullet hole in a leg, they said. The carcasses seemed somewhat fresh. They hadn’t been heavily picked at by birds or scavengers. “They didn’t look bloated; they weren’t all ballooned up,” Montesano said. The site seemed to be evidence of an intentional effort to dispose of the carcasses, Montesano said. Bear cubs are illegal to kill in Alaska in most circumstances. They took several photos of the scene, but didn’t bring See CUBS, page A13
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Wednesday, October 10, 2018 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
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Borough loses invocation lawsuit Superior Court rules policy violates the Alaska Constitution By MEGAN PACER Homer News
The Alaska Superior Court has ruled against the Kenai Peninsula Borough in a fight over its controversial invocation policy, finding that the policy violates the Alaska Constitution. In Hunt et al. v. Kenai Peninsula Borough, the Superior Court has ruled that the borough’s invocation policy violates the establishment clause, which refers to the mandate in the Constitution banning the government from establishing an official religion or favoring one religion or belief over another. The borough had claimed that a resolution passed by the borough assembly — which allows a chaplain serving the military, law enforcement agencies, fire departments, hospitals or other similar organizations to give invocations before Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meetings, as well as people Members of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly hold a religious invocation during Tuesday night’s assembly meeting in Soldotna. The invocation was held after the Alaska Superior Court ruled the ritual violated the Alaska Constitution. (Photo by See COURT, page A13 Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Election Language takes center stage at Indigenous Peoples Day celebration results certified
By ALEX MCCARTHY Juneau Empire
Even as the son of a Tlingit icon, Walter Soboleff Jr. felt invisible at times as a teenager. As he performed in the dance group Yees Ku Oo at Monday’s Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration, Soboleff Jr. was far from invisible, as he announced the group’s entrance by loudly declaring, “Cast your eyes this way” in both Tlingit and English. Having this day officially recognized by the state for the past two years, he and others said Monday, has shined a light on Alaska Native cultures and languages. “Just by having an event like this, it’s heartwarming,” Soboleff Jr. said. “Just to say, ‘Hey, these people are here too.’” Prior to Monday’s celebration at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall in Juneau, Soboleff said that he still doesn’t know as much of the Tlingit language as he would like to. He’s not alone, as the numbers of fluent Alaska Native speakers are The Yees Ku Oo Dancers perform on stage during Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations at dwindling. See DAY, page A13
the Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall on Monday, Oct. 8, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
Official election results from the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s municipal election were certified at Tuesday’s Borough Assembly meeting. There were no new upsets or victories on the central peninsula. With the influx of absentee ballots, however, some numbers changed. For Proposition 1, on the K-Selo bonds, slightly more votes came in for support of the bonds, but not enough to swing the vote. As it stands, 58 percent of voters did not support the proposition, which would have authorized $5.4 million in borough funds to help build a school in the village of Kachemak Selo. Kenai City Council results were close, but the 125 absentee ballots from Kenai didn’t change the final outcome. The council’s two elected members are Robert Peterkin II and Bob Molloy. Greg Madden officially holds nearly 50 percent of the vote in the four-way District 5 school board race.
Nikiski Pool closed due to failed septic system NTSB finds cause of deadly By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
helicopter crash near Skagway
The Associated Press
The Nikiski Pool is closed until further notice due to a failing septic system. It could be awhile before programs and open swim are up and running again. Rachel Parra, recreation director for the North Peninsula Recreation Service Area, said she is working to get the pool back open as soon as possible. Right now, the Nikiski Pool is only open for showers, use of the fitness room and courts. Open swim, lap swim, hot tub, waterslide and swimming les- Landon Lightfoot jumps into the Nikiski pool during a training sons are canceled. The pool’s scenario, June 30, 2014, at the Nikiski Pool. (Photo by Kelly See POOL, page A13 Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion)
ANCHORAGE — A deadly helicopter crash in southeast Alaska was caused by the pilot’s choice to fly in poor weather and “self-induced pressure to complete the flight,” according to a federal investigative report. The National Transportation Safety Board has released its final report on the June 2016 crash near Skagway that killed 66-year-old Christopher Maggio, a longtime pilot for Temsco Helicopter Inc. Maggio had left a dogsledding camp on Denver Gla-
cier before he crashed into a mountainside about 2 miles northeast of the camp. The crash happened on the sixth of seven planned flights. Windy, foggy and snowy conditions canceled flights that morning, but weathered cleared enough that evening for Maggio to determined it was safe to fly, according to the report. The pilot experienced “a little bit” of icing on the third flight after two rounds of dropping off mushers and dogs at the Alaska Icefield Expeditions camp. The report by investigator See CRASH, page A13