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P E N I N S U L A
MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2014 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 100
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
3 things to watch in Alaska: gas line, pay, oil
Question Which team do you think will win the Super Bowl? n The Denver Broncos n The Seattle 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
On the web Photos by Kaylee Osowski/Peninsula Clarion
Beer and Bacon Festival goers choose from a selection of samples at the Kenai Peninsula Brewing and Tasting Society event on Saturday at the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska in Kenai.
Beer and bacon draw crowd C
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Brewing and Tasting Society holds first Beer and Bacon Festival By KAYLEE OSOWSKI Peninsula Clarion
Check out the Native Youth Olympics slideshow online at www. peninsulaclarion.com
In the news Rider flown out of Hatcher Pass ANCHORAGE — Officials say a 30-year-old injured snowmachine rider was injured in a collision and had to be flown out of Hatcher Pass Saturday. A spokeswoman for LifeMed Alaska says the backcountry crash was reported around noon. She did not know the circumstances or extent of the unidentified man’s injuries. The Anchorage Daily News reports the victim was taken to an Anchorage hospital and was reported in stable condition Saturday. —The Associated Press
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Nation/World.......... A-5 Sports.....................A-6 Schools...................B-1 Classifieds............. B-3 Comics................... B-6 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
Two things brought 100 Central Peninsula residents together Saturday evening — beer and bacon. The Kenai Peninsula Brewing and Tasting Society hosted its first Beer and Bacon Festival at the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska in Kenai this past weekend. “There’s nothing better than beer and bacon,” Soldotna resident James Whiting, who attended the event, said. Event goers voted to select
the best home brew as well as best appetizer and entrée at the novice and professional levels. Soldotna home brewer Josh Herald, who has brewed more than 50 different beers in seven years, brought his chocolate stout to the event. “I used to like drinking beer and decided I could make it better,” he said. Kenai resident Chris Zoda sampled Kenai River Brewing Company’s Morning Bacon brew garnished with bacon. “It’s really, really good,” he Cinnamon rolls were just one of the many different beer and said. bacon infused foods at the Beer and Bacon Festival on See FEST, page A-8 Saturday in Kenai.
JUNEAU — The Alaska Legislature starts its first full week of work of this session Monday, with lawmakers set to dig into details of plans to advance a natural gas pipeline project and salary increases for top officials. The fight over oil taxes also is expected to continue casting a shadow over discussion on issues such as state spending. The scheduled 90-day session is set to end April 20, Easter Sunday. Senate President Charlie Huggins told reporters last week he’d like to be done before then — and Good Friday — if possible. Here are three things to watch for this week:
Gas line
At least seven hearings are scheduled this week related to the major gas line project that Gov. Sean Parnell’s administration is proposing the state take an equity stake in. That doesn’t include a consultants’ overview of the liquefied natural gas business scheduled for Tuesday. The Senate Finance and House and Senate Resources committees are slated to hear presentations on the pipeline services agreement between the state and TransCanada Corp. and the commercial agreement involving them, BP, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil Corp., and the Alaska See STATE, page A-8
Gov. Parnell wants school choices expanded By MIKE COPPOCK Associated Press
JUNEAU — Staff members at Aquarian Charter School in Anchorage are ecstatic that their school was spotlighted by Gov. Sean Parnell in his recent State of the State address. The old green building hidden behind a strip mall at the corner of Anchorage’s Minnesota and Benson boulevards is busting at the seams with 378 students and fifteen teachers. Aquarian offers a program for students reaching their academic ability with emphasis on
the arts. There are 800 names of potential students on a waiting list this year who had hoped to get into its K-6 program. “It’s been that way for a number of years now,” says 34-year-old Principal Lucas Saltzman. “We already have hundreds asking to get in for next year.” Parnell said he wants to give parents more options for their children’s education than traditional public schools in the form of state assistance for charter schools, private schools and boarding schools. Alaska currently has 27 char-
ter schools across the state from Nome to Ketchikan and over 70 private schools handling anywhere from 5,639 to 11,000 students, depending on who is doing the counting. Alaska also has six boarding schools. The there are several distinctions between the three. Charter schools are public schools operating under the authority of both the local school board and the state school board. They receive their funding through the local school board. A charter school is created for focusing on a specific aspect of development such as
the arts or science as an example. Private schools in Alaska are usually religious-oriented and receive no state funding. Their sizes range from around 600 students enrolled at Anchorage’s Grace Christian School to 80 attending Holy Name Catholic School in Ketchikan. The Roman Catholic Church also maintains schools in Anchorage and Fairbanks. Anchorage Catholic schools have a population of 437 students across five schools, said Les Kramer, Director of Catholic Schools. Fairbanks’ Monroe
High School, a private Catholic school, has over 200 students. However, not all private schools are religiously affiliated. Alaska has six Montessori schools ranging from Anchorage to Douglas. While state funding per student for public education is $5,680, tuition for private schools may be higher or lower than state funding depending on location. For instance, Private School Review reports Alaska’s average tuition is $4,909 per student while Anchorage’s See CHOICE, page A-8
Murder suspect makes bail, victim’s family concerned By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
The family of Genghis Muskox, the victim in a Dec. 5, 2013 shooting in Cooper Landing, cannot fathom that Paul Vermillion, accused of Muskox’s murder, is out on bail less than two months later. Kenai Superior Court Judge Charles Huguelet granted Vermillion, 30, be released under the watch of a third party custodian on a $1 million cash performance bond on Jan. 22 at the Kenai Courthouse. Vermillion is charged with first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder and
one count of manslaughter. Vermillion, an Iraq War veteran, has pleaded not guilty and claimed self-defense in the killing of Muskox. Susan Muskat, the victim’s mother said she was disappointed to learn that Alaska State Law does not hold murder suspects without bail. Given the fact that Vermillion has suffered an injury in the war, she is concerned he will not be punished to the extend she feels he deserves. “I do have some compassion for him,” she said. “People should not be sent off and experience the horrors of war. There have been so many cases of soldiers coming back and committing violence. “
Muskat, who lives in Minnesota, said it was at a Jan. 15 bail hearing, which she attended telephonically, when she heard new details that her son was attacked with an ice pick during the night of the murder. “We were shocked to hear that,” she said. “Before we saw our son’s body we were warned in advance he suffered extraordinary trauma, but we didn’t know how he was attacked.” Muskox’s friend Jenna Miller also spoke at the bail hearing about a previous altercation between the two men where Vermillion allegedly threatened Muskox with a gun. Muskat said she wants people C
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to understand her son was not a violent person and never sought out conflict. “He went back in friendship,” she said. “He had no weapons and did not go to fight.” At the Jan. 15 hearing, the court approved Gregory Thompson as third party custodian, but postponed bail until a GPS tracking monitor could be obtained. The court approved Denali Electronic Monitoring Services out of Palmer to fit Vermillion with an ankle-bracelet. Denali EMS owner Heather Betts said they will be aware of Vermillion’s location at all times and would be alerted if he goes outside of his exclusion zone.
Thompson is a friend of the Vermillion family who lives in Houston in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. As custodian, he is to be the eyes and ears of the court and must ensure the defendant abides by all court-ordered conditions while in his supervision. Vermillion will be staying at Thompson’s house while awaiting trial. The court ordered Vermillion stay within the Wasilla area with the exception of traveling to the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and to Kenai for further court dates. Huguelet defined the exclusion area as north of Healy See BAIL, page A-8