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Thaw Fairbanks home owners struggle with permafrost Alaska/A7
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Football Soldotna moves to state finals Sports/B1
CLARION P E N I N S U L A
Vol. 49, Issue 6
Sunday, November 7, 2018 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
$1 newsstands daily/$1.50 Sunday
Anchorage police say 1 dead in dispute between neighbors
Kavanaugh sworn to high court
ANCHORAGE — Anchorage police are investigating a shooting at a home that left one man dead and another questioned by authorities. Police spokesman MJ Thim says the Hoyt Street shooting Thursday evening resulted from a dispute between two neighbors. He says one of the men was shot in the upper body. The man shot was declared dead at the scene. The names of the two men were not immediately released. Thim says the shooter was questioned by police and released with no charges filed. Thim says self-defense has not been ruled out. No others are being sought by police.
In show of opposition, Murkowski votes ‘present’
August marijuana tax revenue hits $1.5 million JUNEAU — Monthly marijuana tax revenue in Alaska hit $1.5 million in August, another new high. The state says the only time this year that tax revenue was below $1 million was in February. Cultivators pay the tax, imposed when marijuana is sold or transferred from a licensed grow facility to a retail marijuana shop or product manufacturing facility. Alaska’s Department of Revenue says about $15.8 million has been collected since October 2016, when the first legal sales began. Alaskans in 2014 voted to legalize the so-called recreational use of marijuana. State law calls for half of the tax revenue to go toward programs aimed at reducing repeat criminal offenders. Legislation passed earlier this year calls for an additional 25 percent to go toward a marijuana education and treatment program. — The Associated Press
Index Opinion.......................... A4 Nation............................ A5 Alaska .......................... A7 Sports............................ B1 Community.................... C1 Dear Abby...................... C2 Crossword...................... C2 Horoscope..................... C2 Classifieds.................... C3 TV.................................. C5 Mini Page....................... C6 Homes & Health............ D1
By ALAN FRAM, LISA MASCARO and MATTHEW DALY Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Brett Kavanaugh was sworn in Saturday night as the 114th justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, after a wrenching debate over sexual misconduct and judicial temperament that shattered the Senate, captivated the nation and ushered in an acrimonious new level of polarization — now encroaching on the court that the 53-year-old judge may well swing rightward for decades to come. Even as Kavanaugh took his oath of office in a quiet private ceremony, not long after the narrowest Senate confirmation in nearly a century and a half, protesters chanted outside the court building across the street from the Capitol. The climactic 50-48 roll call capped a fight that seized the national conversation after claims emerged that he had sexually assaulted women three decades ago — allegations he emphatically denied. Those accusations transformed the clash from a routine struggle over judicial ideology into an angry jumble of questions about victims’ rights, the presumption of innocence and personal attacks on nominees. His confirmation provides a defining accomplishment for
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President Donald Trump and the Republican Party, which found a unifying force in the cause of putting a new conservative ma-
jority on the court. Before the sexual accusations grabbed the Senate’s and the nation’s attention, Democrats had argued that
Kavanaugh’s rulings and writ- rights and a president’s right to ings as an appeals court judge bat away legal probes. had raised serious concerns Trump, flying to Kansas for a See COURT, page A2 about his views on abortion
Historic Kenai chapel gets face-lift By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
The Saint Nicholas Memorial Chapel, one of the most recognized Kenai landmarks, is about to receive some muchneeded repairs. Sunlight shines through holes in the roof and walls of the small, iconic chapel in Kenai’s Old Town. The hand-hewn logs, the once vibrant blue dome and the gold cross on top of the chapel have seen better days. The chapel has received two grants to help renovate the chapel, which is a National Historic Landmark. Last year, the chapel received a $13,000 donation grant from the Fellowship of Orthodox Christians in America. Earlier last week, the Alaska Historical Commission awarded a $14,964 grant to the chapel. Dorothy Gray is the treasurer of the nonprofit group Russian
Orthodox Sacred Sites in Alaska, the secretary and treasurer for Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Church in Kenai and a lifelong member of the church. She said the grants will kick-start the chapel’s restoration efforts. “We are so excited,” Gray said. “Now we can begin work on the chapel, which is greatly in need of repair.” Gray said the chapel is not only very special for orthodox Christians in Kenai, but to others who visit Kenai in the summertime. “We get hundreds of people every day in the summer that visit here,” Gray said. The city of Kenai also recognizes the significance of the chapel, as its image appears on street signs, in the chamber of commerce logo and even on the city seal. See CHAPEL, page A2
The St. Nicholas Memorial Chapel sits on the bluff in Old Town, Kenai overlooking Cook Inlet on Thursday, in Kenai. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikiski high schooler’s nonprofit looks to expand By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
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Retired Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, right, administers the Judicial Oath to Judge Brett Kavanaugh in the Justices’ Conference Room of the Supreme Court Building. Ashley Kavanaugh holds the Bible. At left are their daughters, Margaret, background, and Liza. (Fred Schilling/Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via AP)
The Nikiski Children’s Fund, a nonprofit set up by Nikiski High School student Carlee Rizzo, is looking to expand its reach to Homer, Kenai, Soldotna and Seward. Rizzo said the fund has done a lot of good for the Nikiski School, and could have potential in other peninsula schools. “It would be nice if other schools had this opportunity,” Rizzo said. In 2015, Rizzo began the project when she was a fresh-
man in high school, and saw that many of her peers could use a helping hand. Both of Rizzo’s parents are teachers, and are among the first in schools to recognize when students are struggling, she said. “I just saw all these kids with holes in their shoes, or holes in their backpacks,” Rizzo said. “As I got older, one of my friends was living in their car with no money for food. I’m not someone who can just stand by.” Rizzo coordinates public events, like concerts and an annual softball game between the
Nikiski fire department and the Alaska State Troopers, to raise money. The money raised is then made available for teachers to use when they see students who might need help. The fund has generated $8,000 in the last three years to support the nonprofit’s donations, and an additional $8,000 to provide an annual scholarship. Rizzo said the fund helps pay for anything a kid might need, like the electric bills of Silas Firth and Michael Miller help shoot a promo video about families who need assistance, the Nikiski Children’s Fund with the founder, Carlee Rizzo, in See FUND, page A2 this undated photo. (Photo courtesy of Joseph Rizzo).