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Honest
Tied
Film depicts Navy SEALs mission
Anglers hooked on function, art of tying
Arts & Entertainment/B-1
Tight Lines/A-10
CLARION
Sun, clouds 36/31 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2014 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 91
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Board OKs new buses
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 KAYLEE OSOWSKI Peninsula Clarion
In the news Agreement sets road map for gas pipeline project
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JUNEAU (AP) — A newly signed commercial agreement anticipates the state’s equity share in a major natural gas pipeline project will be about 20 to 25 percent. The agreement, signed by officials with the state, Alaska Gasline Development Corp., TransCanada Corp., and the North Slope’s three major players, BP, ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil Corp., spells out broad terms for a new direction in pursuing the long hoped-for gas line project. Gov. Sean Parnell outlined that direction — which includes plans to move away from terms of the 2007 Alaska Gasline Inducement Act, or AGIA — in a speech last week. On Wednesday, he hailed the agreement as a historic achievement. “Not only have all the necessary parties aligned around a single project, but we’re moving forward with a project that’s on Alaska’s terms and in Alaskans’ interests,” he said in a release. The agreement is subject to passage of legislation that would allow for contract terms and a confidential process by which the administration could participate in developing those terms. The agreement notes that any project-enabling contracts would be subject to legislative approval. According to the agreement, the parties anticipate a state interest share of approximately 20 percent to 25 percent.
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Business................ A-5 Nation/World.......... A-6 Sports.....................A-8 Tight Lines........... A-10 Arts........................ B-1 Classifieds............. B-3 Comics................... B-6 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
Ice carvings taking shape Scott Hanson carves a chunk of ice in front of the Joyce K. Carver Memorial Library Wednesday in Soldotna. The carving, an owl perched atop a book, is one of several to be done in Soldotna over the next few days as the city prepares for the Peninsula Winter Games, which take place Jan. 25. Photos by Rashah McChesney/ Peninsula Clarion
At its Monday night meeting the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education approved funds to purchase activity buses. The board unanimously allocated $687,080 to the student transportation fund for five new buses. The buses will be used for student activity transportation, not home-to-school transportation. Dave Jones, assistant superintendent, said some current activity buses have become aged, so new buses are needed. According to background information provided by the administration, leasing transportation can occasionally work, but due to the number of schools and activities requiring transportation at similar times, contracting transportation services is not always a viable option. KPBSD spokesperson Pegge Erkeneff said Nikiski High School, Kenai Central High School, Seward High School, Homer High School and Soldotna High School will get new buses. Jones said the cost for the new buses is based on quotes from vendors. The buses will have storage compartments below and separate from the seating area. The storage area underneath See BUS, page A-7
Kenai weighs in on Spur Highway fixes By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
City of Kenai officials reiemphasized their desire to see a 5.7-mile stretch of the Kenai Spur Highway expand to five lanes following an Alaska Department of Transportation report, but time remains for community input before a decision can be made. With $20 million dollars from a General Obligation Bond in hand, DOT presented six alternatives to improve the stretch of highway from Sport Lake Road to Swires Road with
estimated cost and crash reduction figures. Only three of the proposals fit into the available budget. The cost for two through lanes and a two-way left turn lane is $40.5 million. During the presentation, DOT engineer Carol Roadifer outlined the safety and traffic concerns under the roads present conditions. The six-mile stretch of the Spur Highway between Kenai and Soldotna sees a volume of 11,500 vehicles a day. In 20 years the volume is expected to increase to 16,500 vehicles per day, which would be deemed an unstable level of service.
According to a DOT study presented with data from 2005– 2009, 169 crashes were reported with one fatality on the stretch of highway. Moose collisions represented 53 percent of all accidents with 95 percent of those crashes occurring at night when darkness affects visibility. One alternative is to increase illumination with streetlights in the area, which would cost $9.5 million and reduce moose collisions by 30 percent, according to the study. Street resurfacing and adding left-turn pockets at six intersections would also fit within the budget.
While the city of Kenai is in favor of adding streetlights to reduce moose collisions, City Manager Rick Koch doesn’t believe three- and four-lane roads are viable options considering the traffic growth projected in the next 20 years. “Generally you would try to design something to meet the needs for a period of time,” Koch said. “The five-lane design provides a safe roadway that can best handle the anticipated traffic. We don’t have $40 million in the checkbook right now, but we have a good start to take care of initial safety issues
and build as much as we can.” The Kenai City Council adopted a resolution at their Dec. 18, 2013 meeting, which requested DOT design and construct a five-lane roadway from milepost 2.8 to 8.1. “My hope is the community will look at the resolution passed that articulates why the five-lane project is the best alternative,” Koch said. “I encourage citizens to comment to the DOT in support.” While the Kenai Peninsula Borough is working in coordination with DOT on the highway See SPUR, page A-7
EPA: Mining poses Low king run predicted for 2014 risks in Bristol Bay By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
JUNEAU — A government report indicates a large-scale copper and gold mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region could have devastating effects on the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery and adversely affect Alaska Natives, whose culture is built around salmon. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday released its final assessment of the impact of mining in the Bristol Bay region. Its findings are similar to those of an earlier draft report, concluding that, depending on the size of the mine, up to 94 miles of streams
would be destroyed in the mere build-out of the project, including losses of between 5 and 22 miles of streams known to provide salmon spawning and rearing habitat. Up to 5,350 acres of wetlands, ponds and lakes also would be lost due to the mine footprint. The report concludes that “large-scale mining in the Bristol Bay watershed poses significant near- and long-term risk to salmon, wildlife and Native Alaska cultures,” EPA regional administrator Dennis McLerran said in a conference call with reporters. The battle over the proposed Pebble Mine has been waged See PEBBLE, page A-7
By RASHAH McCHESNEY Peninsula Clarion
If the 2014 outlook for early and late run Kenai River king salmon is accurate, fewer than 2,500 early run king salmon will make it into the river to spawn. Alaska Department of Fish and Game managers called the number “well below average” according to two outlooks for Kenai River king salmon posted to the department’s website late Wednesday. The early run of king salmon, which runs through June 30, is projected to be the second lowest on record and just slightly above the 2013 early run of kings which was proC
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jected at about 2,150 fish. Given the low numbers, Jason Pawluk, Fish and Game assistant area management biologist in the sport fish division, said it would be “fair to assume” that the early run of kings would start with some sort of restriction. “It’s very similar to 2013,” Pawluk said. “We started the early run last year ... with a catch and release fishery and we went to closure on June 20.” In a catch-and-release fishery, king salmon mortality is typically calculated at about 8 percent of the fish caught, but the river has been closed to king salmon fishing in previous seasons when even catch-
and-release mortality was to high for managers to continue allowing fishing pressure on the stock. Pawluk did not say whether the early run king salmon fishery would be closed at the beginning of the season due to low numbers of fish, but he said Fish and Game managers would likely allow for some catch-and-release fishing leeway at the beginning of the season. “Here’s how we rationalize it,” he said. “There’s variability and error in calculations and ... there’s really not going to be much (fishing) effort.” A catch-and-release fishery gives managers time to See KINGS, page A-7