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P E N I N S U L A
Friday-Saturday, September 7-8, 2018 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 48, Issue 292
In the news Iditarod gains new sponsor after others leave ANCHORAGE — Organizers of Alaska’s 1,000-mile Iditarod say an Anchorage business has become a sponsor of the famed sled dog race. The addition of Anchorage Distillery follows a challenging time for race officials who have faced the loss of major sponsors, financial hardships and the first-ever dog doping scandal. In June, the maker of Jack Daniel’s whiskey said it was dropping its long-running sponsorship. The race lost Wells Fargo bank as a major sponsor last year. Race organizers have blamed pressure from animal rights activists, who have long criticized the Iditarod as running the dogs to death. Anchorage Distillery CEO Bob Klein said the loss of sponsors gave his company the opportunity to join the race. He says the company is proud to be part of an “incredibly Alaskan” event.
Not guilty plea entered for woman accused of killing daughters FAIRBANKS — A not guilty plea has been entered for a woman charged with killing her two infant daughters years apart, with the second child’s death occurring shortly after authorities say the mother searched the internet for “best ways to suffocate” and “ways to kill human with no proof.” Stephany Lafountain of Fairbanks is charged with murder in the deaths of a 4-month-old girl in 2015 and a 13-month-old girl last November. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports her public defender entered the plea on her behalf Wednesday and asked that she now be known legally as Stephany Bilecki, her maiden name. Police reopened the first daughter’s death after investigating the second death in November. Fairbanks police say they found similarities in the two cases. A grand jury indicted her last week. — Associated Press
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In response to ACLU suit, state Kenai gives OK to small political signs works to thwart cyber attacks
By JAMES BROOKS Juneau Empire
The Alaska Department of Transportation and the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union appear to have reached partial agreement on the issue of campaign signs along state roads. The ACLU, in conjunction with a political group supporting the election of Mike Dunleavy as governor, has sued the state to partially overturn a 1998 voter-approved ban on billboards. This summer, the state has removed some political signs that violate that ban, and the ACLU claims the state is enforcing the law unequally by removing political signs but not commercial signs. Under state law, any sign visible from a state road and within 660 feet of that road is illegal unless attached to a building. In court filings, the state says it will ignore small signs that violate the law, as long as those signs are on private property. To date, the state said, it has not removed any signs from private property, only from the public right of way.
By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
torneys from both the state and ACLU presented oral arguments in front of Anchorage Superior Court Judge Herman Walker Jr.
Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel announced at Wednesday’s, Kenai City Council meeting that the city is taking preventive steps to avoid a cyber attack. Cities across Alaska, including Wasilla and Valdez, have experienced cyber attacks that knocked city services offline. The malware at the Matanuska-Susitna Borough was launched on its May 3 and was discovered July 23. The borough’s entire network, 150 servers, 500 workstations and computers had to be rebuilt and restored. Borough services are slowly coming back online, according to an Aug. 30 update from the Mat-Su Borough. Gabriel said he made the Kenai IT department aware of the issue.
See SIGNS, page A8
See CYBER, page A8
A collection of signs confiscated in Juneau is seen at an Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities facility on July 24, 2018, in this image provided by the DOT. (Courtesy photo)
“The state agrees … that while this case is pending, it must allow small, temporary political signs to be posted on private property,” state attorneys wrote.
The ACLU has requested an immediate injunction to keep the state from removing political signs, and the ACLU is pursues a broader attack on the state law. On Thursday, at-
Freedom House looks to create a recovery home for men struggling with addiction By ERIN THOMPSON Peninsula Clarion
When Jennifer Waller launched Freedom House, she had $800, a dream of creating a safe space for women recovering from addiction and a lot of prayers. A year and a half later, the faith-based women’s recovery home has raised half a million dollars, helped a number of women successfully transition from addiction to sobriety, and Waller has her eyes set on another project. This time, she has prayers, a $100 and a whole community behind her. Last week, dozens of people filed into an empty retail space in downtown Soldotna to inspect the site of a potential sober-living home that would offer men the same faith-based recovery services Freedom House currently offers to women. “My vision from the beginning was always a brothersister house,” Waller told the crowd Thursday night.
Freedom House founder Jennifer Waller, left, discusses her vision to create a men’s recovery home similar to sober-living women’s facility during a community open house on Thursday, Aug. 30. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Nestled between Soldotna Emergency Services and Wells Fargo, within walking distance of the restaurants, coffee shops and businesses lining the Ster-
ling Highway, the potential home site would provide a central location for men trying to get their lives back on track, Waller said.
Waller said she had been waiting for the right time to launch the men’s project and had recently been given the green light by the Freedom
House board to see if the community would support the project. She said she only began advertising the open house a few days before the event. “We only gave them three days, because the board on Sunday said we want to see if the community is behind this or not. So I sent out emails, put it on Facebook and I’m beyond blessed by the turnout,” she said. Despite the short notice, about 50 people attended the event. “I’m so encouraged, so excited,” Waller said. “It was way more than we thought.” During a night of song and prayers, current and former residents of Freedom House shared their recovery experiences. “I’ve been grateful from the time that I’ve been at Freedom House because I’ve learned a lot about myself and about this community,” Jules Stepanoff said. Stepanoff, who had been See HOME, page A8
Farm tour kicks off Harvest Moon local food week By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
To kick off the Harvest Moon Local Food Week, the Kenai Soil and Water Conservation District will be putting on a local farm tour and wine tasting event. The event — the first of its kind — will tour three local farms, including Lancashire Farms, Ridgeway Farm and Alaska Berries. Heidi Chay, district manager for Kenai Soil and Water Conservation District, helped organize the event. “What makes this event new and different is the fact we are
visiting three unique local farms, then ending with a wine tasting,” Chay said. “We’re giving people an inside look at three farms that are tackling the challenges of growing in this challenging climate in different ways… It should make for a very varied and interesting outing for folks.” A motorcoach will be carrying passengers from one farm to the next. Local food expert Janice Chumley will be the acting tour guide. “We partnered with (Chumley), a local expert on local farms, who is also very entertaining and knowledgeable,”
Chay said. Chay said the tour is a part of the growing industry of agricultural tourism. “This tour is to showcase small farms and to build on the idea that we have a thriving visitor industry here,” Chay said. The farms were chosen for the tour in part because of their accessibility and proximity to one another, and to provide examples of all the different facets of small-scale agriculture that are present in the area. Lancashire Farms is a multigeneration farm with homestead history. They raise sheep
Amy Olson invites you to taste the new award winning wines with a visit to Alaska Berries.
for fiber and meat, lambs for high tunnel to grow vegetables. Ridgeway Farms uses many the 4-H program, eggs, chickSee FOOD, page A8 en and use a geodesic-shaped