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Editorial
Hockey
EPA may have overstepped
Dallas player collapses on ice
Opinion/A-4
Sports A/6
CLARION
Snow and Rain 40/26 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 2014 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 137
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
NSA to keep files, judge orders
Question Will the EPA’s move to preemptively block the Pebble Mine discourage other industrial development in the state?: n Yes; or n No 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.
Iditarod 2014 Peninsula mushers’ progress as of 10:30 p.m. Monday:
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4. Mitch Seavey, Sterling, out of White Mountain M 36. Paul Gebhardt, K Kasilof, out of Unalakleet 37. Kristy Berington, Kasilof, out of Unalakleet 39. Travis Beals, Seward, out of Unalakleet 41. Anna Berington, M Kasilof, out of UnalakK leet 43. Danny Seavey, Seward, in Unalakleet 51. Monica Zappa, Kasilof, in Nulato Find more Iditarod coverage on Page A-6.
Inside ‘Rescuing children has always been a political issue for Democrats, but they aren’t being rescued’ ... See page A-4
‘Even a successful professional can also be a sexual predator’ ... See page A-5
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Nation.................... A-5 World..................... A-5 Sports.....................A-6 Classifieds............. A-9 Comics................. A-12 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion
Slip and slide
Kory Duperron, 11, laughs with Rocky Sherbahn, 10, after the two slipped on a patch of ice Monday in Kenai.
Students DARE to ‘just say no’ By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
Sixty-six Kenai students from Mountain View Elementary School received diplomas which confirmed their commitment to “just say no” to drugs, cigarettes and alcohol. Fifth-grade students from Martine Dikes, Renee Christensen and Rebecca Walker’s class at Mountain View graduated from the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program Thursday at a ceremony in the Kenai school gym. DARE instructor Alex Prins, an officer with the Kenai Police Department, said the purpose of the program is to help kids develop live skills and decision making through lessons that arise in daily situations. The 10week course not only teaches kids the dangers of drugs, but also teaches kids how to make good decisions, he said. “Our society needs people that know how to make better decisions,” he said. “Being able to work with the school district and share teaching tools with the kids, it’s a great place to
Photo by Dan Balmer/Peninsula Clarion
Catherine Kaminski, right, performs a skit Thursday during graduation from the DARE program at Mountain View Elementary. The two were among 66 graduates from the 10-week program.
start.” Kenai Police Chief Gus Sandahl said fifth-grade students on the verge of entering middle school are at the age when peer
pressure plays a ‘significant role’ in their lives. Since the course is taught once a week, for one hour a day, in each fifthgrade class, he said it is impor-
tant that the parents continue to DARE message at home. The Kenai Police Department has been involved with teaching the DARE program within the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District for more than 20 years, Sandahl said. Next month, Kenai Police Officer Paul Cushman will begin teaching DARE to fifth-graders at Kaleidoscope School of Arts & Sciences with their graduation set for May, he said. Prins said the Kenai Elks Lodge has been a major supporter of the program and would not be possible without their contributions. The support of the teachers and school staff for allowing him the time to come in has been tremendous, he said. Dikes, a fifth-grade teacher at Mountain View, said the DARE program has great potential to make a positive impact for the entire community. She said the school is working on getting the kids to understand how to problem solve and DARE helps with that. “The kids are at an age with See DARE, page A-8
AP Photo/The Fayetteville Observer, James Robinson
Reworked permit bill up for debate BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
JUNEAU — A bill that stalled in the Senate last year over concerns it limited public involvement in permitting decisions resurfaced Monday. But critics say the reworked version of HB77 being considered by the Senate Resources Committee doesn’t go far enough in addressing those concerns. Two of the more controversial pieces of that bill dealt with general permits and who could apply for water reservations to guarantee certain levels of flow in a river or stream for things like fish and habitat protection. The draft removed language that critics said gave the Natural Resources commissioner too much power in granting general permits.
In this Tuesday March 4, file photo, Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair leaves the courthouse with his lawyers Richard Scheff, left, and Ellen C. Brotman, following a day of motions at Fort Bragg, N.C.
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It also called for public comment on proposed general permits found unlikely to cause “significant or irreparable harm” to state land or resources. Under the proposal, a decision to issue a general permit could be appealed, but once the appeal period has ended and a permit is issued, the permit could not be appealed based on subsequent activities that adhere to terms of the permit. Wyn Menefee, chief of operations for the state Division of Mining, Land and Water, has said the type of activities that would fall under that category are fairly small, such as boat storage on a river or See HB77, page A-8
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge in San Francisco stopped the destruction Monday of millions of telephone records collected by the National Security Agency more than five years ago. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White, who is overseeing an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit against the agency, issued a nationwide order Monday to safeguard evidence until March 19, when he will hold a hearing on extending the deadline further. The secret federal court that approved the agency’s surveillance has required that documents be purged after five years for privacy reasons. On Friday, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court denied the federal government’s request to keep the records for the sake of pending lawsuits. The NSA, which has acknowledged obtaining phone numbers and other information on all U.S. calls, was prepared on Tuesday to destroy all records collected more than five years ago, according to court documents. White said he was enforcing an order he had issued in an earlier NSA surveillance case that halted evidence from being destroyed. He wrote that “the Court would be unable to afford effective relief once the records are destroyed” and before he decided if their collection was legal. The plaintiffs in the lawsuits include civil rights, environmental and religious groups as well as gun organizations and marijuana advocates. The NSA started collecting domestic phone call records in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Since 2006, the agency has obtained warrants from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
Sexual assault trial dealt blow Military could be improperly prosecuting trial MICHAEL BIESECKER Associated Press
FORT BRAGG, N.C. — The sexual assault case against an Army general was thrown into jeopardy Monday when the judge said the military may have improperly pressed ahead with a trial to send a message C
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about its determination to curb rape and other widespread misconduct. Judge Col. James Pohl refused to dismiss the charges against Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair but offered the defense another chance to plea-bargain the case with a set of military officials not previously in-
volved with the matter. The twist comes with the Pentagon under heavy pressure from Congress and beyond to combat rape and other sex crimes in the military. Late Monday, the Senate unanimously approved a bill making big changes in the military jusSee TRIAL, page A-8