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CLARION
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P E N I N S U L A
TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2014 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 89
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
3,300 sign up for health plans
Question Do you think building roundabouts is a good solution for traffic issues in the area? n Yes; or 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.
By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
Photo by Dan Balmer/Peninsula Clarion
In the news Official: Hearings not required on tax referendum
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JUNEAU (AP) — The lieutenant governor’s office is not planning public hearings on a referendum to repeal Alaska’s new oil tax because such measures do not fall under a law requiring hearings for ballot initiatives, his spokeswoman said. Some lawmakers have talked about possible legislation to include referenda under the law involving initiatives, but “at this point, that is not part of our obligation,” Michelle Toohey, a spokeswoman for Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, said in an interview last week. A state law passed in 2010 requires the lieutenant governor or a designee to hold at least two public hearings in each of the state’s four judicial districts on initiatives slated to appear on the ballot. The hearings must include testimony by a supporter and an opponent. The first hearings under the law were held in 2012 on a ballot measure that would have re-established a coastal management program. The measure failed. The proposed repeal of the new oil tax law has qualified for the August primary ballot along with at least one initiative that would require legislative approval for a large-scale, metallic sulfide mining operation within the watershed of the Bristol Bay Fisheries Reserve and would almost certainly have bearing on the proposed Pebble Mine project.
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Nation/World.......... A-5 Sports.....................A-6 Classifieds............. A-9 Comics................. A-12 Pet Tails............... A-13
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The new visitor center is under construction at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge headquarters area in Soldotna. Concrete walls and steel framing has gone up and the $6 million project is on schedule to be completed by the end of September. Renovation of the original visitor center to offices will bring the total cost to $10 million.
Visitor center taking shape Progress continues on Kenai National Wildlife Refuge project By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
Despite an interruption from nature, construction for the new $6 million Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center in Soldotna is on schedule with the completion date set for the end of September. A bald eagle nesting in the project area halted construction on the building for 45 days late last spring. Jason Hayes, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service project manager, said when the nest was abandoned in early June, refuge biologist Todd Eskelin gave the OK for work to continue. “It was a judgment call to shut down or get a permit to
Graphic courtesy: CTA Architects & Engineers
An artist’s rendering of the planned Kenai Wildlife Refuge visitor center designed by CTA Architects & Engineers.
continue,” Hayes said. “The refuge made the right call.” The site of the new visitor center, located next to the current center on Ski Hill Road, is within the 2 million-acre
Kenai Wildlife Refuge. Bald eagles are protected by the Bald Eagle Protection Act of 1940, which prohibits anyone from interfering with the eagle’s lifestyle without ob-
taining a permit issued by the Department of the Interior. Hayes said the delay cut into ground clearing prep work, which couldn’t be done until the ground thawed in June and threatened the foundation-pouring schedule with winter looming. He said they were fortunate the late arrival of winter allowed the construction crew to finish its last pour just before Thanksgiving when temperatures got down to 20 degrees. “It’s amazing how it ended up working out,” he said. “The eagles nesting didn’t impact our schedule after all.” After a two-week holiday hiatus, construction resumed See REFUGE, page A-8
JUNEAU — More than 3,300 Alaskans signed up for private health insurance during the first three months of the online marketplace, with the vast majority — 83 percent — receiving federal help in paying their premiums, government figures released Monday show. The number of sign-ups as of Dec. 28 is up sharply from the end of November, when fewer than 400 Alaskans had selected plans. Nationwide, enrollment through Dec. 28 was nearly 2.2 million. That figure includes enrollment through state-run insurance exchanges. Alaska is one of 36 states that has relied on a federally run website to provide access to individuals to shop for insurance to help meet requirements of the federal health care law. While the site is working better now, it was plagued with problems after its Oct. 1 launch. About 50 Alaskans had signed up during the first month. Individuals who wanted coverage beginning Jan. 1 faced a December enrollment deadline. The open enrollment period is currently scheduled to run through March. Figures released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Monday provided greater detail on who is See HEALTH, page A-8
Soldotna trails plan allows for new ideas By KAYLEE OSOWSKI Peninsula Clarion
After about a year of working on the City of Soldotna Recreation and Trails Master Plan, Casey Planning and Design has completed the document made up of more than 70 pages of assessments, survey results, recommendations and implementation plans. The Soldotna City Council at its Wednesday meeting adopted the plan, which will provide the city with a framework of projects and priorities resi-
dents would like to see realized in Soldotna. “It’s really exciting,” said Nancy Casey of Casey Planning and Design. The plan was close to 95 percent complete in July and the Soldotna Parks and Recreation Advisory Board reviewed the plans to bring it up to the 100 percent completion mark. “(The board) really dove into it and took it seriously,” she said. Even though the plan is complete, Andrew Carmichael, parks and recreation director,
‘It’s dynamic. Some people could say (the plan is) vague, and in some cases it will be, but that allows for … great (ideas).’ — Andrew Carmichael, Soldotna Parks and Recreation director said it allows for opportunities that “pop up” to be added to the plan. “It’s dynamic,” he said. “Some people could say (the plan is) vague, and in some cas-
es it will be, but that allows for … great (ideas).” He said the “spirit” of the plan is to get residents outside and active. Through the community
outreach phase of the plan Carmichael said the community completed about 1,000 surveys about what people would like to see developed in Soldotna’s recreation. In addition to the surveys, the department held public meetings to gather input and Casey went to meetings of various organizations to hear their ideas. “I think I was pleasantly surprised in the community support and enthusiasm that we saw everywhere we turned,” Casey said. … “Everyone saw See TRAILS, page A-8
Homer robbery suspect arrested By MICHAEL ARMSTRONG Morris News Service-Alaska Homer News
Combining some old-fashioned detective work with modern cell-phone records tracing, Homer Police at about 8 p.m. Friday arrested a Homer man they said robbed at gunpoint the Grog Shop on Dec. 26. Michael R. McClendon, 29, was taken without incident near his Main Street home. He’s charged with first-degree robbery, third-degree assault, theft of a firearm, first-degree misconduct involving weapons for felon in possession of a firearm,
and tampering with physical evidence. “The police did a great job,” said Grog Shop owner Mel Strydom. “They really worked hard at it from the beginning. Their perseverance paid off. I hope it’s a deterrent for people trying this again.” In an affidavit filed by Homer Police Sgt. Lary Kuhns, police said a masked man robbed the Grog Shop at 10:48 p.m. Dec. 26, firing a shot with a weapon into the floor when the clerk didn’t move fast enough, and took $1,100 in cash. The clerk was not physically injured. The robber then ran out of the store. Police
identified the suspect as being a man between 6 feet and 6-feet 2-inches. Police later got a break when they compared a 911 call made about 5 minutes before the robbery with audio and video recordings made at the Grog Shop. According to dispatch records, a man made a 911 call the same night saying he ran off the road near Mile 2 East End Road and that his girlfriend needed an ambulance. The man said his cell phone was dying. Police and Homer Volunteer Image courtesy Homer Police Fire Department medics went to the scene but could not find a This image taken by security cameras at the Grog Shop in car crash. Police also contacted Homer shows the robber entering the store on Dec. 26 carrying See ARREST, page A-8 what appears to be a Snakecharmer .410-caliber shotgun. C
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