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P E N I N S U L A
Wednesday, September 26, 2018 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 48, Issue 308
In the news Kodiak votes down soil contamination site KODIAK — Some Kodiak residents will no longer have to worry about a contaminated soil remediation site coming to their neighborhood. The Planning and Zoning Commission last week voted against granting a permit that would have established the site in the Dark Lake neighborhood, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reported Monday. The Kodiak Island Borough Engineering and Facilities Department discovered the contaminated soil in the spring while doing work at Kodiak Middle School. The first choice was to move the soil to the landfill, but a permitting issue got in the way. The Dark Lake site was a “last resort choice” that came out of necessity, said Daniel McKenna-Foster of Kodiak Island Borough’s Community Planning Department. The proposed site would have used a bioremediation process in which stored contaminated soil is periodically turned over or tilled to aerate the mixture until contaminants are removed. A Community Planning Department document states that remediation at the proposed site “would not be harmful to the public health, safety, convenience or comfort” and that the movement of the soil was necessary “for the safety of Middle School students.” The site was previously used for this exact purpose between 2010 and 2012, when contaminated soil was discovered at Kodiak High School. Residents expressed concern over possible effects on property prices. Many of the residents suggested that the landfill is the most suitable spot for any kind of remediation and that the borough should focus its efforts on fixing the permitting issues there. Members of the Planning and Zoning Commission appeared to agree with the residents, before unanimously voting to deny the permit. “This is not a good location,” said commission chair Scott Arndt. There is reason to believe that the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly will seek out other options rather than appeal the Planning and Zoning Commission’s decision. The question of where to establish the remediation site still remains.
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Soldotna introduces resolution Russians abandon opposing ‘Stand for Salmon’ plans By KAT SORENSEN Peninsula Clarion
The Soldotna City Council will introduce a resolution at tonight’s meeting that would express the council’s opposition to the “Stand for Salmon” initiative. The resolution, prepared at the request of Councilmember Lisa Parker, would oppose Alaska Ballot Measure 1, known as the Stand for Salmon initiative, and instead support a legislative approach to developing salmon habitat regulations. According to the city’s attorney, Brooks Chandler, and Andrew Sayers-Fay, director of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation’s Water Division, if Ballot Measure 1 is passed, the city of Soldotna would have to obtain a fish habitat protection permit from Alaska De-
to export Alaska bison
Signs opposing and supporting the “Stand for Salmon” ballot initiative are photographed on Tuesday in Kenai in this combined photo. (Photos by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion and Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
partment of Fish and Game to continue operating the city’s waste water treatment plant on top of the permit already requested through the Alaska Pollutant Discharge Elimina-
tion System. “It is possible this was not the initiative sponsors’ intent,” wrote City Manager Stephanie Queen in a letter attached to the resolution.
“However the rules and regulations required to implement the Act have not yet been written or defined by ADF&G, therefore the full See STAND, page A2
Bike fix-it station installed in Soldotna By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
Soldotna Parks and Recreation Department set up a bike fix-it station on Monday in front of the Soldotna Sports Center. BIK&S, AK, which stands for Biking in Kenai and Soldotna, helped install the fix-it station along the Unity Trail using scrap metal, bike tools donated by Beemuns Bike and Ski Loft and a pump donated by Cook Inletkeeper. Joel Todd, assistant director for Soldotna Parks and Recreation Department said the advocacy group, BIK&S, AK, has been working with the Parks and Recreation Departments in Kenai and Soldotna on several bike-related projects this summer, including a fix-it station in Kenai, which was installed by a Kenai Central High School student at Beaver Creek Park just last month. BIK&S, AK is a community-led advocacy group that promotes safe bike travel between the cities of Kenai and
Soldotna. “This group envisions bikefriendly communities where bicycling is a convenient, routine, safe, and healthy transportation option that contributes to the high quality of life for Kenai Peninsula residents and visitors,” a press release sent by Soldotna Parks and Recreation stated. Both stations include a bike stand, screwdrivers, Allen wrenches, tire levers, box wrenches and a pump. Todd said the station includes all the tools necessary to perform basic bike repairs and maintenance, from changing a flat to adjusting brakes and derailleurs. BIK&S, AK is currently working toward the submission of two Bicycle Friendly Community applications with The League of American Bicyclists. It involves an extensive analysis of current bike-friendly resources in both Soldotna and Kenai. The results will be used to improve biking conditions in the community.
A new fix-it bike station set up on Monday by the Soldotna Parks and Recreation Department and bike advocacy group, BIK&S, AK, is photographed on Tuesday in Soldotna. The fix-it station features a bike stand, tools and a tire pump. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Todd said he hopes other “We’re looking at the bigger people and businesses take an picture of bikes in our commuinterest in creating a friendlier See BIKE, page A13 bike community.
FAIRBANKS (AP) — A Russian bio-engineering experiment has abandoned plans to export 12 Alaska bison because of difficulty finding a company capable of making the journey. The animals from Stevens Village Bison Farm, about 100 miles southwest of Fairbanks, Alaska, spent the spring and summer seasons in quarantine, costing the Pleistocene Park $1,500 a week, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported . The Pleistocene Park is an attempt to test a hypothesis that restoring the Arctic to the more than 10,000-year-old mammoth steppe ecosystem can slow the acceleration of global warming. Restoring the mammoth steppe landscape involves importing lots of large mammals to a 6.3-square-mile enclosure. Park logistics man Luke Griswold-Tergis worked to persuade air cargo companies in Russia, Alaska and Canada to consider flying the bison. Each potential company ended up backing out because of issues including visas and mechanical problems. “We had no viable way of getting them to Russia. We tried everything and were planning on giving up several times and there’d be some new glimmer of hope and we’d decide to pursue it,” Griswold-Tergis said. “At some point, you’ve got to quit.” The Pleistocene Park raised more than $175,000 from donors through a Kickstarter.com campaign and a more recent Indiegogo.com campaign. Expenses this spring and summer from keeping the bison in quarantine and paying to fly in See BISON, page A2
No jail time in assault case spurs push to oust judge By DAN JOLING Associated Press
ANCHORAGE — A man drove an Alaska Native woman to a dark street, said he would kill her and choked her until she blacked out. He then masturbated on her face. Originally charged with kidnapping, 34-year-old Justin Schneider pleaded guilty to a single count of felony assault in a deal with prosecutors and was sentenced last week to two years in prison with one year suspended. Having already spent a year in home confinement, he stepped out of the courtroom with no more time to serve. The case has stirred outrage, with victims’ advocates pointing to it as another example of a lenient sentence for a crime against women amid the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct. The judge said he thought the sentence was too light but deferred to prosecutors on what could be proven at trial.
Advocates are pushing to oust Superior Court Judge Michael Corey in November when he faces a vote to keep him on the bench, months after a successful recall of a California judge who sentenced former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner to six months in prison for sexual assault. Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, an independent facing re-election, vows to change state law that does not classify Schneider’s actions as a sex crime. “The punishment in this case in no way matched the severity of the crime,” Walker said in a statement. “We must fix this problem immediately, and we will.” Walker plans to announce proposed legislation this week that will make a conviction for unwanted contact with semen a sex offense carrying prison time of two to 12 years and mandated registration as a sex offender. The case comes in a state with some of the highest sexual assault and domestic violence
In this Aug. 17, 2017, photo Eagle River resident Justin Schneider appears in Anchorage district court. The Alaska Department of Law stood by a judge’s sentence that calls for no jail time for Schneider who authorities say offered a woman a ride and choked her until she was unconscious. Schneider, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of felony assault in the case. A kidnapping charge was dropped as part of the plea deal. (Kirsten Swann/Anchorage Daily News via AP)
rates in the nation. The victim was an Alaska Native woman, a group that faces the highest sexual assault rate in Alaska at 42 percent. The Associated Press recently reported how Native American women face dis-
proportionate levels of violent crime. The woman, identified in court documents by her initials, L.K., told an Anchorage detective on Aug. 8, 2017, that she was standing outside a gas sta-
tion early in the afternoon, looking for a ride to her boyfriend’s home. Schneider rolled up in an SUV. He pretended he knew her and offered her a ride. Schneider, who worked as an air traffic controller until his arrest, headed toward the airport instead, claiming he needed to pick up items from another vehicle. He stopped on a dead-end street, parked near a car and asked the woman to step out so he could load the truck. That’s when the 6-foot-4 (193-centimeter) man attacked. L.K. awoke to find Schneider standing over her, zipping up his pants. When he drove off, the woman recorded his license plate, called 911 and went to a hospital. The detective who interviewed L.K. described her as so traumatized, she could hardly speak. She later picked out Schneider in a photo lineup. “It’s absolutely appalling that See JUDGE, page A13