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P E N I N S U L A
Thursday, August 9, 2018 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 48, Issue 268
In the news Anchorage airport sees air cargo traffic increase this year ANCHORAGE — Officials say air cargo traffic at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport has increased during the first half of this year. KTVA-TV reports data from the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities shows air tonnage increased by 5.2 percent to more than 1.34 million metric tons from January to June. According to the data, more than 150 wide-body freighter aircraft pass through the airport each day, ranking it among the busiest cargo airports in the world. Airport manager Jim Szczesniak says the airport is in a strategic location, giving air cargo operators the ability to fly fully-loaded aircraft between the U.S., Asia, Europe and Latin America. The airport’s cargo network is also strengthened by a provision allowing airlines to transfer cargo like they would passengers who make connecting flights.
Power outages threaten subsistence harvests in Tuluksak BETHEL — An ongoing power outage in the community of Tuluksak in western Alaska has caused some residents to lose their summer subsistence harvest. The lack of electricity in the community on the lower Kuskokwim River means freezers storing the salmon harvests are largely not functioning, KYUK-AM reported Friday. Resident Angela Alexie said power has been out for about a week, and it was also out for a week in July. Some homes in Tuluksak have installed generators to adapt to the frequent multiday outages. Alexie said she got a generator about two years ago after losing her fall and winter subsistence catch to an outage, but it can only power a few small appliances and not her freezer. “I had to take some of my fish out and take it over to my parents’ freezer before I lost everything,” Alexie said. Alexie has lost about a quarter of her subsistence fish, which is shared among her parents and sisters. Alexie is hoping for a strong silver salmon run to help replace the lost catch, but the August weather is not expected to be as favorable as it was during the earlier harvest. The Tuluksak Native Community operates the power plant and expects repair parts to reach Alaska this week.
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Supreme Court approves Stand for Salmon initiative for November ballot By James Brooks Juneau Empire
The Alaska Supreme Court on Wednesday approved the Stand for Salmon ballot initiative for November’s statewide election, but not before deleting some provisions that violate the Alaska Constitution. The decision marks only the second time in state history that the Supreme Court has used its power to delete portions of a ballot initiative in order to certify the rest. “We conclude that the initiative would encroach on the discretion over allocation decisions delegated to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game by the legislature, and that the initiative as written therefore effects an unconstitutional appropriation,” the judges wrote in their ruling, “But we conclude that the problematic sections may be severed from the remainder of the initiative.”
Supporters of the proposed Ballot Measure 1 — commonly known as the Stand for Salmon initiative — march in the Soldotna Progress Days Parade on Saturday, July 28 in Soldotna. Some of the initiative, which would tighten the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s permitting for construction in potential salmon habitat, will be on the Nov. 6 general election ballot after the Alaska Supreme Court issued a decision Wednesday ruling that parts of the original initiative would make unconstitutional resources appropriations and should be stricken out. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion).
Supreme Court judge Daniel Winfree offered a partial dissent, disagreeing with how much should have been deleted by the court.The ruling is the latest success for ballot measure proponents, who have been consistently opposed by the State of Alaska and a multimillion-dollar ‘vote no’ effort. Since the measure was suggested in May 2017, state attorneys have raised objections to its scope, which they view as overly broad and a violation of the Alaska Constitution. The Constitution allows ballot measures, but it prohibits those measures from making appropriations of money or resources. After an abortive first attempt, backers withdrew their measure and rewrote it. Despite that, the Alaska Department of Law said it was unconstitutional, and Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott refused to certify it for the ballot. See SALMON, page A9
Borough considers buying land for new Soldotna Central Emergency Services station By ELIZABETH EARL Peninsula Clarion
Central Emergency Services is moving forward with plans to purchase land for a new central fire station in Soldotna. The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly introduced an ordinance Tuesday night that would purchase property on the corner of East Redoubt Avenue and Homestead Lane — across the street from the Petco store in Soldotna — for the new station for about $1.5 million. The assembly is scheduled to consider the ordinance in a public hearing at its Sept. 4 meeting. A site selection committee with members from the Kenai Peninsula Borough, the Central Emergency Service Area and the city of Soldotna identified the site as the best for the new station, which would replace the current Station 1 on Binkley Street across from Safeway. The proposed purchase involves two different property owners — Stanley and Sons, LLC and Soldier Creek Corp.,
both based in Anchorage — and would need a realignment of Homestead Lane, which runs toward the Kenai River from Redoubt Avenue, according to a memo sent to the assembly from Land Management Officer Marcus Mueller and CES Chief Roy Browning. The funding for the purchase itself would come through a loan from the Land Trust Investment Fund, they wrote in the memo. That fund doesn’t technically exist yet — the assembly is also considering an ordinance to establish the Land Trust Investment Fund, also scheduled for hearing on Sept. 4. The investment fund, if established, would be partly invested in an endowment-type fund to generate enough money to pay for the borough’s land management department and to provide some additional funds to the borough’s general fund, with a number of parameters set on it, according to a memo sent to the assembly from Mueller, Finance Director Brandi Harbaugh and Land Trust Project
This concept drawing shows the proposed new location for Central Emergency Services’ Station 1 on East Redoubt Road in Soldotna, Alaska. Central Emergency Services, the main emergency medical and fire service provider for the central Kenai Peninsula communities of Sterling, Kasilof, Kalifornsky, Soldotna and Funny River, is exploring options to move its central station from its current home on Binkley Street near the intersection with the Sterling Highway to provide more room and an updated facility. (Courtesy the Kenai Peninsula Borough)
Lead Larry Semmens. CES’s project planning, facility in the memo. “Securing the “The acquisition of a proj- design, and pursuit of funding,” site in advance of CES’ capital See CES, page A9 ect site is an important step for Mueller and Browning wrote
Soldotna to host annual beer festival Saturday By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
The eighth-annual Kenai Peninsula Beer Festival will celebrate community and locally crafted brewing this Saturday. More than 25 breweries, distributors, wineries and a cidery will gather for a night of tasting, fundraising, music and food. The festival will kick off at 5 p.m. with a one-hour connoisseur event offering unlimited
tastings, including specialty beers provided by breweries, to those who purchase VIP tickets. The connoisseur hour is limited to 200 tickets, which allow patrons early entry to the festival. The event for general admission begins at 6 p.m. and includes a commemorative glass, eight 4-ounce sample tokens and live music. Additional drink tokens can be purchased at the event. When the festival kicked off in 2011, only a handful of breweries were involved, and it
was hosted at a smaller venue. This year, the festival will reach a record number of participating breweries, cideries, wineries and distributors, Matthew Pyhala, the festival coordinator, said. “This year we have new breweries that haven’t participated before, a lot of them are because they are brand new,” he said. Headlining the evening is Colorado-based rock and country band Great American Taxi, followed by a few local bands,
Pyhala said. Attendees will have nine different food vendors to choose from, some of which are also brand new to the festival. The festival is the main fundraiser for the Soldotna Rotary Club, and all of the proceeds going towards local projects, Pyhala said. “(The festival) came out of a brainstorming session of fundraising ideas that were a little out of the box,” Pyhala said. According to the festival’s website, proceeds in the past
have gone to help the Soldotna Rotary Club in setting up a RAFT Fund, which pays for travel to and from local hospitals for those who don’t have transportation. Last year, the festival had between 1,000 and 1,200 attendees. Pyhala expects a similar turnout. Tickets can be purchased at St. Elias Brewing, Kassik’s Brewery, Kenai River Brewing Co. and at the door. VIP tickets are $50. General admission tickets are $30.
Report: Opioids have killed hundreds in Alaska since 2010 By ERIN THOMPSON Peninsula Clarion
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The rate of Alaskans who died from opioid overdoses increased 77 percent over the last decade, with the highest overall rate of deaths reported in the last year, according to a report issued this week by the Alaska
Department of Health and Social Services. The Health Impacts of Opioid Misuse in Alaska report found that 623 people died from opioid overdoses between 2010 and 2017, with a 661 total opioid-related deaths. The highest rate of opioidrelated death was reported in
2017 — with 108 total deaths and 100 overdose deaths. In 2010, 55 people died from opioid overdoses. Opioids, which dampen pain receptors and increase pleasure by releasing dopamine into the body, were involved in more than 42,000 U.S. deaths in 2016, according to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those deaths, 40 percent involved a prescription drug, the CDC reports. Released Wednesday, the DHSS report looked the use of heroin, natural or semi-synthetic opioids — such as morphine, codeine, hydromorphone, oxycodone and hydrocone — and
synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, carfentanil, tramadol, propoxyphene and mepederine. Methadone was included in its own category. While overall rates of death from opioid overdose increased significantly between 2010 and See OPIOID, page A9