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Indulge
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Serve up pudding, GMO-free
Kardinals host Seahawks cagers
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Sports/A-10
CLARION
Partly sunny 30/18 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2014 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 84
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
New rules OK’d
Question Do you think the Legislature will have a productive session this year? n Yes n No To place your vote and comment, visit our Web site at www. peninsulaclarion. com. Results and selected comments will be posted each Tuesday in the Clarion, and a new question will be asked. Suggested questions may be submitted online or e-mailed to news@peninsulaclarion.com.
State adopts regulations for abortion payments By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
In the news CES battles residential blaze
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A Soldotna home suffered heavy smoke damage following an early morning fire Tuesday. When Central Emergency Services responded to the West Riverview Avenue house fire shortly after 4:15 a.m., the attached garage had visible flames and the fire was starting to spread to the multi-story home, according to a CES press release. The two residents were alerted by smoke detectors and evacuated the house before CES arrived and no one was injured, Brad Nelson, CES health and safety officer, said. After knocking down the fire in the garage, crews discovered the fire had spread to the attic of the garage and house. Responders were able to access the attic and extinguish the blaze, according to the release. The fire and smoke heavily damaged the garage, and it is a total loss, Nelson said. Along with smoke damage the first floor of the home suffered moderate heat damage, but the house is structurally savable, Nelson said. The basement saw minor smoke and heat damage. Property loss is estimated between $75,000 and $100,000. Nelson said CES is confident the fire started in the garage, but the cause is under investigation. — Kaylee Osowski
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Alaska.................... A-5 Nation.................... A-6 World..................... A-8 Sports...................A-10 Food...................... B-1 Classifieds............. B-3 Comics................... B-6
Photos by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion
Above, several thousand dipnetters converge on the mouth of the Kenai River to catch a share of the late run of sockeye salmon headed into the river July 20, 2013 in Kenai. The city of Kenai has released its report on the annual fishery. Below, variations on signs warning visitors that they cannot park or trespass on land near Cannery Road are liberally spread throughout the neighborhood where access to the south beach of the Kenai River causes consternation for area residents, shown Tuesday.
Kenai presents dipnet report Residents ask for more enforcement in fishery By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
For the past three years, Kenai resident Bruce Friend has had a front row seat to the frenzy of the Kenai River dipnet fishery and what he sees appalls him. Friend lives off of Old Cannery Road at the mouth of the river and likened the crowds to a gold rush with a greedy mentality to catch all the fish they can and not bother cleaning up the waste. With thousands of people spread out miles on the beach, access to facilities proved inconvenient in the south beach area. “My property was used as an outhouse for one month of the year,” Friend said. “I am embarrassed for these people and ask for help. The fishery is out of control.” The City of Kenai presented its report on the 2013 dipnet fishery season to the public on Monday and while findings showed vast improvements were made in beach cleanup and fewer citations issued,
To subscribe, call 283-3584.
— Bruce Friend, Kenai the problem of catching violators who go over the harvest limit still remains. A parade of concerned citizens spoke on what issues need to be addressed as the city begins planning for the 2014 dipnet fishery season, which runs from July 10-31. Complaints centered on the city’s handling of parking, boating safety and an emphasis in increased enforcement in the south beach area. “As a sportsman I am embarrassed by See DIPNET, page A-14
See RULES, page A-14
First baby of 2014 arrives early at CPH By KAYLEE OSOWSKI Peninsula Clarion
Jessie Huett’s due date was today — Jan. 8 — but apparently her baby didn’t want to wait that long. Instead, Calliope Isolde Huett decided to vie for the title of Central Peninsula Hospital’s first baby of 2014. Jessie Huett’s labor began at the couple’s Dawson Circle Road home outside of Kenai at about 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 1. She and her husband Robbie Huett didn’t realize they might have the first baby of the New Year until they were on their way to the hospital. When the couple got to CPH, Jessie
Huett said the nurses were excited and told them the hospital hadn’t delivered the first baby of the year yet. More than 24 hours after her labor started, Jessie Huett gave birth to a 5-pound, 8-ounce, 19-inch long baby girl at 10:42 p.m. on Jan. 2. The Huetts had a list of names, Jessie Huett said, and chose Calliope — Calli for short. “We try to be pretty unique,” Robbie Huett said about the name. CPH spokesperson, Camille Sorensen, said over the weekend the hospital had a “full house” of babies. Women’s Way Midwifery in Soldotna saw its first
Jessie Huett holds daughter Calliope, Central Peninsula Hosptial’s first baby of the New Year born on Jan. 2. Calliope was delivered a week before her due date. Photo by Kaylee Osowski/ Peninsula Clarion
See BABY, page A-14
Energy authority wants more time for dam filing By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com
‘As a sportsman I am embarrassed by what people do. The limits are way too high, nobody needs 150 fish.’
JUNEAU — State regulations take effect next month further defining what constitutes a “medically necessary” abortion for purposes of receiving Medicaid funding. Notice was sent to the state health department Tuesday that the regulations had been filed by Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell last week. The new rules, blasted by critics as unconstitutional and an unnecessary government intrusion, are scheduled to take effect Feb. 2. The new certificate to request Medicaid funds features two boxes. Under the first, a provider would have to certify the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest or the abortion was performed to save the woman’s life. The so-called Hyde Amendment, attached to congressional spending bills, allows for federal funds to be used for this option. Under the second, a provider would have to indicate an abortion was medically necessary to avoid a threat of serious risk to the woman’s physical health from continuation of her pregnancy due to “impairment of a major bodily function.” Attached is a list of 23 such impairments, including eclampsia, congestive heart failure, coma and a psychiatric disorder that places a woman in “imminent
JUNEAU — The Alaska Energy Authority has requested more time to give federal regulators a progress report on the massive proposed Susitna-Watana dam project, citing funding concerns. Authority spokeswoman Emily Ford said Tuesday that the $10 million proposed by Gov. Sean Parnell for next year’s budget is not enough to
complete the work AEA had hoped to perform this year. AEA had wanted $110 million to complete its initial study report and prepare its license application for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission during the upcoming fiscal year. While the Legislature might provide more funding, Ford said AEA will have to reprioritize its project plans based on available funds and Parnell’s budget proposal. The new legislative session begins later this
month and is scheduled to end in April. Parnell told reporters last month he wanted to see greater progress on land access agreements. Without major progress on those agreements, he said he wouldn’t be able to ask the Legislature for the kind of money AEA wants. Parnell spokeswoman Sharon Leighow said by email Monday that there is sufficient funding available for AEA to advance the licensing effort C
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while the land access issues are negotiated. Ford said progress on the agreements may be slower than some expected, but progress is being made. Village corporation landowners plan to meet perhaps as early as this week to work on ironing out details, though the process could take some time to complete, said Debra Call, a spokeswoman for Tyonek Native Corp., one of the landowner interests. She also said
she believed progress was being made. Call said she spoke for Tyonek alone, not the other village corporations involved. AEA faces a Feb. 3 deadline to file with FERC an initial study report, which Ford described as a progress report. AEA has proposed filing a draft by then and a final report in June. If that timeline slips, the timeline for making an application would slip, too, from the end of 2015 to 2016, Ford said. See TIME, page A-14