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P E N I N S U L A
MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 94
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Assembly to look at dispatch center staffing
Question Do you think building roundabouts is a good solution for traffic issues in the area? n Yes; or n No.
By KAYLEE OSOWSKI Peninsula Clarion
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.
In the news State population grows to more than 736,000
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JUNEAU — Alaska gained more than 26,000 residents between April 2010 and July 2013, bringing the total population to roughly 736,400. Estimates from the state labor department show 26 of Alaska’s 29 boroughs and census areas grew. State demographer Eddie Hunsinger says notable among the statistics was the municipality of Anchorage topping 300,000 residents. Anchorage also saw the largest population growth, adding more than 9,300 people. That was followed by the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Fairbanks North Star Borough, City and Borough of Juneau and Kenai Peninsula Borough. Among the areas that lost residents, the Bristol Bay Borough lost the most, more than 60 residents. The City and Borough of Yakutat lost 40 and the Denali Borough, just over 30. The department says Alaska’s overall growth outpaced that of the U.S. as a whole. — The Associated Press
Inside ‘No power in the country is worth losing at least one human life.’ ... See page A-7
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Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion
Check out the Soldotna Library At least 200 people crowded into the Joyce K. Carver Memorial Library Saturday for the institution’s official opening ceremony in Soldotna.
Kenai passes nine BOF proposals BY DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
The Kenai City Council passed nine resolutions from the Board of Fish Proposals at their Jan. 15 meeting, showing its dedication to the consideration of fish issues in the community. Following a Jan. 8 work session to review the more than 300 proposals from the 2014 Board of Fish, the council came
to a consensus on a list of proposals affecting residents of the City of Kenai. The Board of Fish meets Jan. 31 in Anchorage to discuss the Upper Cook Inlet Finfish. Among the nine resolutions, the City of Kenai opposed proposals 289, 103 and 138, while supported proposals 201, 229, 238, 270 and 286. Council member Tim Navarre voted no on all but three of the proposals. He said he did
not feel comfortable with the process of rushing to a decision without getting more information from the writer of each proposal. “It is a bad practice to vote without getting all the needed information,” Navarre said. “It could come back to bite you.” Proposal 289 would require that fish waste from the personal use fishery be ground up to three-quarters of an inch. Kenai Mayor Pat Porter said while she
could see why this would be a benefit, the concerns of cost and obligation to the city would outweigh the good. “While this utopian idea might sound good, the reality is it would most likely result in yet another burden from the state fishery for the city to fund and regulate, the resources for which are not available,” Porter said in a memorandum to the city council. See KENAI, page A-10
At its Tuesday night meeting, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly will hold a public hearing concerning staffing changes at the Soldotna Public Safety Communications Center. Ordinance 2013-19-25, introduced at the Jan. 7 meeting, essentially calls for upgrading a dispatch position, Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Mike Navarre said. If the assembly passes the ordinance, dispatch position will be eliminated and a borough shift supervisor position will be created. The reasons for the ordinance stem from the state’s previous commitment to fill two shift supervisor positions, but it has failed to fill one of those slot since March 2012. The proposed staffing change is necessary to ensure public safety needs are met, according to the ordinance. Navarre said vacancies in the state’s staffing have required borough employees to work overtime to fill the void. However, he said the overtime issue isn’t entirely the state’s fault. “Sometimes … when a position became vacant on the borough side, the state position would get hired by the borough and leave a vacant position on the state side,” Navarre said. “The result was that over time there was some real probSee 911, page A-10
Juneau transitional housing to open in March By KATIE MORITZ Morris News Service-Alaska Juneau Empire
JUNEAU — Juneauite Kara Nelson went through a lot after prison. Having spent almost three years in Hiland Mountain Correctional Center in Eagle River for drug offenses, she’s well acquainted with the feelings of remorse, guilt and worthlessness — accompanied by mountains of paperwork —
that await on the other side of a stint in the system. “It’s not even just society stigmatizing you as a felon — it’s yourself,” Nelson said. She was released in 2008 and relocated to Juneau to meet up with her family, who had moved from Ketchikan. And since 2010, she’s made it her goal to make sure every woman coming out of Alaska’s prison system has a second chance at a successful life — just like she
had. “There are so many pieces to put together,” Nelson said. “That’s what I love about Haven House. Ah, I love it. I love sharing my freedom with others.” Haven House Juneau is a faith-based nonprofit established in 2010 and co-directed by Nelson and Anne Flaherty. The organization’s goal is to provide transitional housing for women on the other side of
Alaska’s prison system. “We’re there to give hope to women and give them a chance to change their lives,” board President June Degnan said. The organization — led by a board of nine — had the enthusiasm, the research and the backers. But they were missing one thing: a house. That is, until Christmas when Nelson got the news that an anonymous donor had committed to purchasing a $380,000,
six-bedroom Mendenhall Valley home for the organization. Haven House had had its sights set on it for months. “It was like a Christmas present,” Nelson said. Nelson and Degnan received the keys to the house Monday afternoon. The two-level home has a covered deck, multiple fire places, large, open community spaces and many rooms, which will house up to nine See HOUSE, page A-10
Flu cases spike in Alaska; Number of Alutiiq speakers on the rise season hasn’t peaked ANCHORAGE (AP) — Cases of the flu spiked in Alaska at the end of December and into January with the state-recorded count triple the number at the beginning of the season, officials said. Despite the spike, health officials don’t think the season has peaked and are encouraging all people to get vaccinated. “We haven’t peaked, we don’t think,” Donna Fearey, state nurse epidemiologist, told the Anchorage Daily News. “We expect to see further increase in activity.” More than 680 Alaskans have been reported to have the flu since the infection popped
up, like clockwork, in October. Alaska is one of at least 35 states where widespread flu activity is reported, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control. This year the virulent H1N1 strain, or so-called swine flu, re-emerged as the culprit behind most flu cases nationwide. The two adult Alaskans who died from the flu at the end of December both had H1N1, state health officials said. H1N1 puts a younger spin on flu, infecting mostly the young and middle-aged. Unlike in the 2009 pandemic, this season’s flu vaccine does cover the strain.
“The scary thing about the flu is it’s the young, healthy athlete that can also get sick,” said Dr. Mary Ann Foland of Primary Care Associates, a family medicine group with associated urgent care clinics. Foland said she has seen a lull in flu cases over the past week and a peak back in midDecember. If the season’s flu behaves as it has in the past, she expects a second boost in February or April. People can suffer achy muscles, high fever and difficulty breathing for up to seven days, she said. Foland said she’s even seen some vaccinated patients infected See FLU, page A-10 C
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KODIAK (AP)— A revitalization project to increase the number of Alutiiq speakers in Kodiak is seeing dividends. Alutiiq Museum executive director Alisa Drabek says there are now 33 elders who speak Alutiiq as a first language and up to 13 who speak it as a second language, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reported. “We’re not growing as many young fluent speakers, babies and elementary students, yet, but we are growing the next teachers,” Drabek said. “We’re progressing.” Alutiiq was spoken for centuries in the Kodiak area until its decline began after Western contact. Drabek presented her findings recently during a meeting
to plan the next several years of Alutiiq language development. About 35 people attended, including eight town elders and others participating by teleconference from Anchorage. Part of the agenda was discussing future projects and goals. “I think it was a very positive planning session with a lot of great ideas and some of the challenges and growing pains,” Drabek said. “It’s wonderful to look at how far we’ve come in three years.” Among five objectives outlined were fluency acquisition, education, outreach and public awareness, targeted educational materials, strengthening the language movement for See ALUTIIQ, page A-10