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P E N I N S U L A
Tuesday, September 11, 2018 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 48, Issue 295
In the news Hunters unearth massive mammoth tusk in Arctic ANCHORAGE (AP) — A pair of duck hunters in northwest Alaska stumbled upon a 177-pound woolly mammoth tusk sticking out of the ground. Justin Schultze and Brandon Nayokpuk spotted what they initially thought was a shiny log while hunting earlier this month near the village of Shishmaref on the Chukchi Sea coast, the Anchorage Daily News reported Saturday. Schultze and his cousin dug with their hands for about a half-hour to free the item from the clay-like soil, finding a curved 12-foot tusk. They loaded the tusk onto a skiff to lug home, later weighing it on a meat scale. Since bringing the tusk home, about half the village of 600 people has visited his house in recent days, Schultze said. The tusk’s surface is mostly smooth, like polished amber, he said. The tusk’s center is encircled with dark ribbons, and the tip appears gray and dull. Schultze has already sold the tusk to an Anchorage man, fetching a nice price after splitting the money with Nayokpuk, he said. Shishmaref, like other villages in the Arctic, has seen the effects of climate change. Stable sea ice has become less frequent, and coastal roads have become vulnerable to storms with surging waves. An unexpected effect is that artifacts are being unveiled by erosion. Area residents have found mammoth bones and teeth, and a larger tusk was discovered a couple of years ago, Schultze said.
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LNG project advances as Alaska, ExxonMobil forge agreement on pricing By DAN JOLING Associated Press
ANCHORAGE — A second major oil company has agreed to key terms for the sale of Alaska North Slope natural gas to a state-sanctioned corporation that seeks to build a $34 billion liquefied natural gas project, including an 800-
mile pipeline to move gas to an ocean port. The Alaska Gasline Development Corp. announced Monday that ExxonMobil has committed to a price and volume basis for the sale of natural gas from fields at Prudhoe Bay and Point Thompson along the state’s north coast. The development cor-
poration reached a parallel agreement with BP in May. Negotiations continue with ConocoPhillips. All three producers are envisioned to be part of the project. Andy Mack, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, said the commitment of gas is a milestone but just one of many steps
necessary in the undertaking of such a huge project. “BP in May, and now ExxonMobil today, are saying as clear as one can say at this point, that we’re on board with the project, the project structure,” Mack said at a press briefing. Lieza Wilcox, a development corporation vice president, said knowing what the
project would be paying for natural gas is crucial. “It’s very important as an early step for financing and for looking for investment into the next stage of the project,” she said. Prudhoe Bay and Point Thompson are anchor fields for the project and hold 30 trillion See LNG, page A6
Alaska Airlines workers ask for better wages By ALEX MCCARTHY Juneau Empire
Carlos Rivera has been with Alaska Airlines for 10 years as a ramp service agent, but he still doesn’t make enough to take his children on vacation this summer. “What’s the point if we can fly for free down to Disney but I can’t afford a bed and breakfast or a hotel to take the kids?” Rivera asked. Rivera was one of about two dozen Alaska Airlines employees who stood in front of the Juneau International Airport on Monday morning and demonstrated their desire for better pay, benefits and long-term job security. Rivera wore a neongreen “Show Us The Money” shirt. Others wore shirts that read, “United, We Bargain. Divided, We Beg.” Alaska Airlines and the International Association of Machinists (IAM) & Aerospace Workers Local 2202 union are currently in negotiations, the protesters explained, and they believe this is the time to make their voices heard. According to the website for IAM District 142, Alaska Airlines was ne-
Mary Ann Breffeilh, a 20-year-employee of Alaska Airlines, joins other employees and members of the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers Local 2202 to hold a protest on pay raises in front of the Juneau International Airport on Monday. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
gotiating with unions in midAugust and will again be in negotiations in Seattle starting this Tuesday. Alaska Airlines spokesperson Marilyn Romano provided
a statement from the company to the Empire about the negotiations. “Alaska Airlines is currently in the process of negotiating two labor agreements with
IAM,” the statement read. “Our philosophy is to pay our employees fair, competitive wages and offer quality of life benefits that include health insurance, 401k contributions and flight
benefits. As a rule, we do not elaborate on specifics during union negotiations.” At Juneau’s airport Monday, Ramp Service Agent John Walters carried a sign that simply said, “Job Security.” Walters has been there for more than 19 years, but said he doesn’t have a long-term contract and lives with that anxiety of not knowing whether he’ll still have his job in a year or two. “That’s one of the main things,” Walters said. “Our jobs aren’t guaranteed. We live contract to contract.” Many of the ramp service agents (the people who guide the planes in and unload the planes) and the counter service agents (the people who check you in when you arrive for your flight) have to work second jobs to support their families. Mary Ann Breffeilh, who has worked as a counter service agent for 20 years, said she’s fortunate because it’s just her and her husband, but she sees her friends and co-workers working multiple jobs and long days. She waved a sign at cars that arrived at the airport, lookSee AIR, page A6
Family business: Brothers’ Cafe opens at Kenai airport By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
Correction The Wednesday, Sept. 5 article “Begich refuses to withdraw” incorrectly stated that independent Shawn Butler, winner of the House District 29 Democratic primary, had withdrawn from the general election. He did not withdraw. Butler remains on the ballot and will face Republican Ben Carpenter. The Clarion regrets the error.
Index Opinion .................. A4 Nation .................... A5 Sports .....................A7 Classifieds ............. A8 Comics................. A10
Brothers’ Cafe is the newest tenant inside the Kenai Municipal Airport restaurant space. The business venture reunited two brothers, Jim and Lyndell Hamilton, after more than 40 years apart. The cafe offers a full coffee bar, breakfast, lunch and dinner, and features recipes from the Hamiltons’ mother’s home cooking. Jim and Lyndell Hamilton are the youngest of 11 children. Food was their family’s way of showing people they cared for them, Jim Hamilton said, and it’s something they hope to share with the community of Kenai. “We shared our food,” Jim Hamilton said. “We were poor, so food was important. That stuck in all of us kids, especially in my brother and I. The
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menu is all about comfort food. It’s what we grew up on and we feel that is kind of missing around here.” Jim Hamilton is already familiar with the Kenai Airport. He works as the executive director for the Kenai Airportbased missionary aviation nonprofit, Arctic Barnabas. He’s also a pastor and business and marketing consultant. He’s lived in Kenai three separate times, and for more than a year he’s been looking for a spot to open a small cafe where his family could share their love of comfort food. He convinced his brother, Lyndell Hamilton — who has been working in the food industry and as a chef for over for years — to move to
Jim and Lyndell Hamilton are the co-owners of Kenai’s newest airport cafe, on Monday in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai from Texas. Double O previously occupied the space for two years and left earlier this summer. The Clarion previously reported
that owner Tammy Olson said Double O made nearly three times as much money working in their food truck as they did at their airport location.
See CAFE, page A6
Bethel seeks to remove ‘Lousetown’ nickname from code By RACHEL D’ORO Associated Press
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The city of Kenai put a request out for restaurant proposals in June of this year, but changed the terms of the space’s leasing agreement. Instead of offering a bid for annual rent, applicants offer a bid based on 10 percent of their gross monthly receipts. The Hamiltons’ parent company, Situal, LLC submitted the only response, offering the minimum for both rates, the Clarion previously reported. Fewer people are traveling through the Kenai Municipal Airport. The terminal’s annual passenger boardings have been falling since 2014, when 100,929 people boarded there. In 2017, 93,844 people boarded, according to historical data included in the city of Kenai’s proposal. Receipts of the restaurant have also declined be-
ANCHORAGE — A section of a small town in western Alaska has long been known as “Lousetown,” which some residents find insulting to the Alaska Natives who live there. But in Bethel, it’s not just an unpleasant nickname with connotations of parasitic lice. It’s in the municipal code.
Now an effort is underway to officially change the code and rename the area East Avenue, for the road traversing that part of the community of about 6,000. A final vote is set to take place Tuesday at the Bethel City Council meeting. “I never did like it to be called Lousetown, but it sort of stuck,” said 79-year-old Bea Kristovich, who lived there in her youth. Kristovich, who
is part Yup’ik Eskimo, agrees with other locals that the area should be called one of various Yup’ik names. The issue emerged when City Council member Thor Williams introduced a proposal to change the code to require visible addresses on buildings throughout the city, including Lousetown. “It’s a very bad term,” Williams said. “And it’s a very bad
reference to a part of our community.” Williams didn’t know when or why the area got its name, which is a common reference to it even though there are no signs in town with the name Lousetown. No one else seems to know the origin of the nickname either. Some longtime locals say it’s always been known by that name, while others, such as traditional
chief Louie Andrew, say it began only a few decades ago. Either way, Andrew would be happy to see the end of Lousetown as a name of the area he calls home. “It’s offensive and demeaning,” he said. The word louse refers to unpleasant or contemptible people. But it’s also the plural for lice — the parasitic insect See CODE, page A6