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Squeek!
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Kids learn about mice, shrews, voles
Canada wins hockey gold
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CLARION
A few clouds 35/10 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 124
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
UA regents take no stand on Senate gun bill
Question How do you feel about the Board of Fisheries meeting for Upper Cook Inlet? n The board did a good job with a difficult issue. n The board’s process is good, but the results were disappointing. n The board’s process was ineffective. 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. Photos by Dan Balmer/Peninsula Clarion
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In the news Kodiak love locks disappear from bridge to island KODIAK — Kodiak residents are wondering what happened to their version of Paris love locks. Lovers who visit bridges in Paris and other cities write their names on padlocks, attach them to bridge fences and throw the keys into the water to symbolize eternal love. The Kodiak Daily Mirror reports a few dozen couples did the same on the Fred Zharoff Memorial Bridge connecting the city to Near Island but the locks disappeared last week. An Alaska Department of Transportation spokeswoman in December said the locks technically are considered vandalism but removing them was low on the department priority list. Spokesman Rob Greene says state workers didn’t rid the bridge of locks and wouldn’t it unless ordered to. He says city public works officials also deny removing the locks. — The Associated Press
Above: Racers take off at the 1st annual Fuzzy Predator 10K ski race at Tsalteshi Trails Sunday. Kent Peterson (front) won the race in 30:09. John-Mark Pothast (far left) finished second with a time of 31:10. Below: Eleven year-old Gavin Brennan skis to the finish line in the Fuzzy Predator 10K race Sunday at Tsalteshi Trails. Brennan said the race was hard on his legs, weary from skiing the day before, but was determined to finish and had a lot of fun.
Friendly competition
Skiers take on Fuzzy Predator 10K By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
Sunshine, clear blue skies and some freshly groomed snow delighted 16 skiers who participated in the Fuzzy Predator 10K ski race Sunday at Tsalteshi Trails. Eagles perched in the trees above got a bird’s eye view of skiers traversing through course trails named wolf, bear, wolverine, goat and coyote. While goats may be fuzzy, they are not predators, so that trail section was renamed ‘chupacabra’ to stay within the demographic theme, said race organizer Mike Crawford.
UAS hopes for CH2M Hill gives detail to role boost from dorm of VECO in port expansion
Juneau Empire
Opinion.................. A-4 Nation.................... A-6 World..................... A-7 Sports.....................A-8 Schools...................B-1 Classifieds............. B-3 Comics................... B-6
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See SKI, page A-10
See BILL, page A-10
By KATIE MORITZ Morris News Service-Alaska
Index
Originally, the race route was set to include fox and lynx trails but because of ice and a lack of snow they were cut out and replaced with the goat trail to bring the course to 10 kilometers, he said. “It is a daunting course with two big ridge climbs but people did great,” he said. Kent Peterson, crosscountry ski coach at Skyview High School, won the event in a brisk 30 minutes and nine seconds. John-Mark Pothast, a 14-year old eighth grader at Soldotna Middle School, came in second place, only one minute behind the win-
JUNEAU (AP) — University of Alaska officials have yet to respond to a Senate bill that would allow the legal concealed carry of firearms on University of Alaska campuses. Senate bill 176, sponsored by Sen. John Coghill, R-North Pole, would prohibit the university from enacting any firearms bans on its campuses with the exception of restricted areas where visitors are screened, the Fairbanks News Miner reported. Coghill has said the bill, brought to him by his intern, challenges the Board of Regents’ authority to set rules restricting legal carry. The bill says the state has the authority to regulate firearms and knives and unless specifically allowed by law, the regents cannot enforce policies regulating things like possession or use. SB176 says board policies can restrict shooting a firearm in places where people, property or animals are jeopardized and possession of firearms and knives in restricted access areas of university buildings. Coghill says the question is whether his proposal would encourage or mitigate those who want to be bad actors. He said he thinks it mitigates it. During the UA Board of Regents meet Thursday in Fairbanks, neither UA President Patrick Gamble nor Board chairwoman Patricia Jacobson took a stance on Coghill’s bill. Jacobson said the presence of guns might be illegal in certain areas of campus, such as daycare centers or areas where students younger than 18 are taught Jacobson noted campuses have a variety of areas regarding the legal status of carrying firearms, but did not say whether she felt Coghill’s bill identi-
JUNEAU — With a new 120-bed residence hall under construction, the University of Alaska Southeast hopes to attract and retain more traditional, full-time freshmen and boost its retention and graduation rates. Freshman retention at Juneau’s campus has lagged behind that of University of Alaska Fairbanks and University of Alaska Anchorage, said Joe Nelson, vice chancellor of enrollment management and student affairs. In fiscal year 2013, the three schools were closer together, but UAS still brought up the rear with about 60 percent of freshmen returning, according to UAS numbers. “For years it hovered around 50 percent,” Nelson said. When compared over the same time period, UAF was a
little ahead of UAS with about 65 percent retention, and UAA was in the lead with about 67 percent. The university has a total enrollment of almost 3,000 students, with 220 admitted for the spring 2014 semester. Nelson said the new residence hall should attract more students to the university, improving its on-time graduation rates by guaranteeing a place to live — something not to be taken lightly in Juneau. “Juneau is a tight housing market and housing is an issue, so it hindered our ability to recruit without having enough housing on campus,” he said. The new hall features suitestyle accommodations and will be able to house 120 freshmen, UAS project manager Nathan Leigh said. Located on campus next to the Noyes Pavilion, students will be close to their
BY ELWOOD BREHMER Morris News Service-Alaska Alaska Journal of Commerce
ANCHORAGE — A CH2M Hill spokesman issued a statement Feb. 18 in an effort to clarify confusion over the role of VECO Inc. in the Port of Anchorage expansion project. CH2M Hill purchased VECO Inc. in September 2007, and the Colorado-based engineering giant with nearly 3,000 employees in Alaska now has a contract pending with the Municipality of Anchorage to manage future construction at the stalled port project. Approval of the contract has twice been delayed by the Anchorage Assembly as members have expressed concern over a possible conflict of interest re-
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garding the municipality’s ongoing lawsuit against CH2M Hill regarding consulting work VECO Inc. performed on the sheet pile design used at the port. The municipality is also suing PND Engineers and former project manager Integrated Concepts and Research Corp. Assembly members have agreed to take up CH2M Hill’s contract bid Feb. 25. The municipal Bidding Review Board met Jan. 23 and unanimously approved the contract proposal and found no conflict of interest in regards to the pending litigation. In a statement provided to the Journal, CH2M Hill spokesman John Corsi wrote: “VECO was one of several sub-consultants engaged by (Open Cell Sheet Pile designer) PND (Engineers) in 2006
to complement their design team. VECO’s scope of work was to provide technical support to project scheduling and estimating, review of soil test data and properties provided by others and to conduct a single seismic stability analysis of an early OCSP concept design. VECO completed their scope of work in March 2007 and had no other participation in the subsequent design changes and completion of final design by PND, the engineer of record. “VECO also had no role in the oversight of the pile driving and other construction.” As part of its consultant work, a report prepared by VECO dated March 15, 2007, determined that the sheet pile design proposed at the time See PORT, page A-10