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P E N I N S U L A
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2014 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 132
School district adopts 6-year capital plan
Question Is this breakup? n Yes, it sure feels like spring. n No, winter still has a ways to go. 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
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education unanimously approved a six-year plan for improvement projects for fiscal years 2015 to 2021 at its Monday night meeting. The district will submit the plan to the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development in late August to seek funding for various maintenance and capital projects. Projects on the wish list for fiscal year 2015 in order of priority include: n Kenai Middle School asbestos removal and office remodel priced at $7.5 million; n Homer High School re-
Iditarod 2014 Peninsula mushers’ progress as of 9:45 p.m. Tuesday:
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By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
He’s got next
Above: Jacob Bisset waits to play Tuesday during a city league seven-team single elimination tournament at the Kenai Recreation Center in Kenai. Bisset’s team, Super Friends, was up next. Left: Jason Daniels takes a shot during the tournament. Photos by Rashah McChesney/ Peninsula Clarion
Find more Iditarod coverage on Page A-10.
Committee advances bill rejecting pay raises JUNEAU (AP) — The House Finance Committee has advanced a bill that would reject pay raises for the governor, lieutenant governor and main department heads. SB125 was moved from committee without objection Tuesday. The bill would reject pay raises that were recommended by the State Officers Compensation Commission as a way for those offices to catch up with pay increases for other executive-branch employees.
Opinion.................. A-4 Nation.................... A-6 World..................... A-8 Sports...................A-10 Food...................... B-1 Classifieds............. B-3 Comics................... B-6 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
See SCHOOL, page A-12
JUNEAU — President Barack Obama has proposed cutting the funding for the federal coordinator’s office for Alaska gas line projects. Federal coordinator Larry Persily said Tuesday that it’s not just a matter of money but also of the office’s authority. The office was created as part of a 2004 law aimed at helping advance an Alaska gas pipeline project that would serve North American markets. The project has shifted focus in recent years, and the state Legislature
is currently weighing whether the state should pursue an equity stake in a liquefied natural gas project that would be capable of overseas exports. Persily said his office provides a service in educating the public and policymakers on how liquefied natural gas projects work. He said he doesn’t lobby or advocate, just provides information. He recently testified before the Legislature’s Senate Finance Committee, which is considering a bill aimed at advancing the Alaska project into a stage of preliminary engineering and See CUT, page A-12
Students located after leaving school campus By RASHAH McCHESNEY Peninsula Clarion
School officials at Tustumena Elementary called state troopers after two students were reported missing from their classroom. District spokesperson Pegge Erkeneff called the incident a “serious student discipline situation,” and said no one was in any danger. The school district did not issue an alert or media re-
lease during the three hours the two were missing, though Erkeneff made a Facebook post later in the evening on the district’s Facebook page announcing that the two had been located. In response to a comment from a parent, Erkeneff wrote that no alert was issued as KPBSD was following the lead from law enforcement. “This post was simply proactive in case rumors spread; we wanted everyone to know
the students were safe.” The two students did not return to their classroom and would be disciplined according to Kenai Peninsula Board of Education policy governing truancy, Erkeneff said. Those discipline regulations include parental/guardian notification, in-house suspensions, community service, suspension or referral to the juvenile justice system for chronic cases, according to board policy.
When the two were reported missing, Tustumena staff did a sweep of the building and paged them to the front office before calling troopers. Tustumena Elementary school principal Doug Hayman did not want to comment on how the school handled the incident. He sent an email through Erkeneff. “Because this involved law enforcement and minors, please call our district office for details. Thank you,” he
wrote. “It was immediately determined it wasn’t an abduction,” Erkeneff said. Staff determined this by watching surveillance video and finding footprints in the snow, she said. “They were just wandering around being kids,” she said. Reach Rashah McChesney at rashah.mcchesney@peninsulaclarion.com.
Man arraigned on rape charges Begich rebuts By Dan Balmer Peninsula Clarion
Index
roof with a $5.6 million price tag; n Kachemak Selo new school construction with a cost of $16 million; n Homer High fire alarm upgrade at $275,000; n Chapman Elementary School window and siding replacement priced at $500,000. The next million dollar projects don’t make the list until 2019 with Ninilchik, Seward and Skyview High Schools’ tracks listed at $4 million and a $2 million turf field for Seward High School. The following year sees a $1 million parking and traffic upgrade for Mountain View Elementary and $16.5 million for phase three of a district-wide re-roofing project.
Federal pipeline office funding cut
6. Mitch Seavey, Sterling, out of McGrath 10. Paul Gebhardt, Kasilof, in McGrath M 32. Travis Beals, K Seward, in Nikolai 36. Kristy Berington, Kasilof, in Nikolai 38. Anna Berington, Kasilof, in Nikolai 44. Danny Seavey, Seward, out of Rohn 53. Monica Zappa, Kasilof, out of Rohn Gus Guenther, Clam Gulch, in Rohn, scratched
In the news
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
A Soldotna man already facing attempted sexual assault and burglary charges in connection with a December home invasion and attack on a 23-year-old woman in her home last December has been indicted on new charges of kidnapping and sexual assault in connection with a November rape of an 18-year-old Soldotna woman. Shane D. Heiman, 39, was arraigned in Kenai Superior Court Tuesday. A Grand Jury added five more charges Friday after investigators said DNA evidence matched Heiman to the November sexual assault. Heiman was indicted Tues-
carbon tax claim
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion
Shane D. Heiman, 39, was arraigned in Kenai Superior Court Tuesday on further charges stemming from November and December sexual assaults of two Soldotna women.
day on one count of kidnap- count of sexual assault in the ping, one count of sexual as- second-degree, assault in the sault in the first-degree, one See CHARGES, page A-12 C
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JUNEAU (AP) — U.S. Sen. Mark Begich’s campaign is running radio ads taking aim at Charles Koch and David Koch, the billionaire backers of the conservative group Americans for Prosperity. The group, in an ad that began running last month, said Begich is on record supporting a carbon tax and urging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to make it a priority. That claim stemmed from a 2010 letter Begich signed with 11 other senators. The letter, which revolved around energy policy, included a line that read: “First, we
believe the scale of this challenge dictates the need for a comprehensive solution that includes making polluters pay through a price on greenhouse gas emissions.” Americans for Prosperity, in announcing the ad buy, included a link to the letter with that sentence underlined. Begich told reporters Monday that he does not support a carbon tax and did not agree with everything in the letter. He said his intent in signing was to make sure the Senate did not lose the discussion on climate change See BEGICH, page A-12