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CLARION P E N I N S U L A
Sunday, April 7, 2019 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 49, Issue 160
A feast for the eyes
In the news
Magnitude 4.7 earthquake hits near Southwest island AIAKTALIK — The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude 4.7 earthquake hit an area near an island in Southwest Alaska. The agency says the earthquake struck a spot 26 miles southwest of Aiaktalik island at 7 p.m. Saturday. The earthquake had a depth of 13 miles. The National Weather Service says there is no tsunami risk from the earthquake.
Human remains found at remote spot in Big Lake ANCHORAGE — Alaska State Troopers say human remains have been found at a remote spot in Big Lake. Troopers say positive identification of the remains was not possible because of their exposure to the elements. Troopers responded to the scene Wednesday night. The remains have been sent to the state medical examiner’s office.
Ketchikan beaches fail water quality standards KETCHIKAN — Many beaches around Ketchikan have failed to meet Alaska water quality standards for recreation and consumption. The Ketchikan Daily News reported on Friday that reports from beaches in the area over the last couple of years show the elevated presence of fecal coliform and enterococci bacteria. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation monitored the water quality at 11 beaches around Ketchikan in 2017 and 13 beaches in 2018. A report on the findings was released on Feb. 12. Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Water officials say the causes of the elevated levels of bacteria are still being assessed and will be a part of a more comprehensive report from the department later this spring.
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Show featuring local student art celebrates 30 years
School board chooses interim superintendent
By JOEY KLECKA Peninsula Clarion
By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
For 30 years, art students from the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District have been setting the table and the community has feasted. The annual Visual Feast art show, featuring dozens of pieces from schools in the borough, is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2019, and kicked off a month of displays with a reception Thursday evening at the Kenai Fine Arts Center. Hosted by the Art Guild, Visual Feast combines middle school and high school displays in a variety of formats and mediums — from twoand three-dimensional works to watercolor, photography and ceramic sculpture. Soldotna High School art teacher Chris Jenness is helping to organize the show and said the event is a perfect opportunity for kids to not only show
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education has chosen John O’Brien to be the interim superintendent of schools. The pick comes as a surprise since O’Brien wasn’t included in the district’s published superintendent candidate list. Only two candidates John Pothast and Dr. Christine Ermold, who also work for the district, were slated for board interviews. After five hours of executive session, school board president Penny Vadla offered O’Brien, the current assistant superintendent of instruction, an interim position and to negotiate a contract. Communications liaison for the district, Pegge Erkeneff, said more information will be coming out in the near future. O’Brien will be taking over for Sean Dusek, who resigned earlier this year.
Art pieces are on display at the Kenai Fine Arts Center during Thursday’s opening reception of the 30th anniversary Visual Feast art show. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
off their work, but also to have a look at what others produce from their own inspiration. “It’s a chance for them to step out of their art room and see the variety that is on display,” Jen-
ness said. “And we do see a level of quality here that is phenomenal.” Jenness said that district-funded art programs on the central peninsula have helped keep the creativity flowing and keep
art classes in school. “That value in the arts allows us to keep doing this,” Jenness said. One of the longesttenured art teachers in the district Andrea Eggleston See FEAST, page A2
60 years on, peninsula Girl Scouts are going strong By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
Girl Scouts of all ages gathered for a reunion tea party last Sunday to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the central peninsula’s first troop. Rosemary Pilatti of Nikiski has been a Girl Scout since the 1960s, when she was 7 and growing up in the Midwest. Now a retired music teacher, she spends her time volunteering for the organization. In January, Pilatti and other scout leaders began realizing the peninsula’s Girl Scout troops were reaching their 60th anniversary this year. Pilatti said she thought it would See SCOUT page A7
A local Girl Scout Troop poses for a photo at the Girl Scouts 60th anniversary Reunion Tea, Sunday, in Kenai. (Photo courtesy of Rosemary Pilatti)
Goose arrival breaks record FAIRBANKS (AP) — The official arrival of the first Canada goose this year in Fairbanks was 3:51 p.m. on March 30. That is the earliest date for the arrival of the first goose, breaking the previous record of April 2, set in 2010, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported on Friday. But the record comes See GOOSE, page A3
Lawmaker wants more info on Dunleavy nominee By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
JUNEAU — An Alaska lawmaker said Friday that he wants to hear more about why Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s pick to lead the state Department of Public Safety left former Gov. Bill Walk-
er’s administration. Rep. Zack Fields said the House State Affairs Committee, which he co-chairs, has yet to hear from former Walker chief of staff Scott Kendall about Amanda Price, whom Dunleavy tapped to be Public Safety commissioner. Price was an
adviser to Walker and for a period worked with Kendall. Fields said he’s weighing options, including a subpoena, to get Kendall to testify. Price is among the Dunleavy appointees whose position is subject to legislative confirmation. The
Legislature has yet to meet in joint session to vote on his picks. Kendall, in a letter to Fields, said he would testify without a subpoena if Price waived confidentiality. Kendall wrote that the Department of Law concluded information about
Price’s employment isn’t specifically covered by the state personnel act because of the type of position she held but he said “out of an abundance of caution” he was treating his experience and knowledge about Price as though it were. See INFO, page A2
—Associated Press
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Board suspends agency director over rifle sticker complaint By MARK THIESSEN Associated Press
ANCHORAGE — The executive director of the Alaska human rights commission has been suspended for 15 working days without pay for complaining on social media about a “Black Rifles Matter” sticker she believed to be racist on a vehicle in the commission’s Anchorage parking lot. Commission members voted 5-2 Friday to suspend Marti Buscaglia, effective Monday. She must
send an apology letter to the truck’s owner, Brent Linegar, after the commission chairman, Brandon Nakasato, approves the wording. Buscaglia, a former newspaper publisher in Alaska and Minnesota, declined comment in an email to The Associated Press. In a Facebook message to The Associated Press, Linegar called her suspension “a slap on the wrist.” Last month, Buscaglia saw the sticker on Linegar’s vehicle and posted
a photo of it on the commission’s Facebook page asking, “In what world is this OK?” Linegar, who has a plumbing and heating business, has said the truck was his and that his company was doing repairs at the building that day. He has said that he understood the stickers to be about gun safety and “Second Amendment awareness.” In his statement to the AP, Linegar said Buscaglia should never have made those comments See RIFLE, page A3
Man found guilty in fatal shooting of Fairbanks officer FAIRBANKS — A jury has found a 31-yearold man guilty in the fatal shooting of a Fairbanks police officer. Anthony Jenkins-Alexie was convicted Thursday of first- and second-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder in the death of Sgt. Allen Brandt, the Fairbanks Daily NewsMiner reported . Authorities say JenkinsAlexie shot Brandt early on Oct. 16, 2016, when the officer responded to reports of shots fired near a hotel. Brandt died 12 days later after surgery to remove shrapnel that penetrated an
eye during the shooting. The prosecutor argued Jenkins-Alexie planned the attack as revenge for a friend who was previously shot by police. Jenkins-Alexie’s attorney contended Jenkins was too intoxicated the night of the shooting to form intent to kill Brandt. The jury began deliberations Wednesday after six days of testimony. Besides the murder charges, Jenkins-Alexie also was convicted of assault, vehicle theft, weapons misconduct and tampering with physical See FATAL, page A3