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CLARION
Sunny 37/14 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 2014 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 151
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Inlet user groups testify
Question Do you feel the veterans memorial in Leif Hansen Memorial Park in Kenai is appropriate as is? 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. Suggested questions may be submitted online or e-mailed to news@peninsulaclarion.com.
Fishery management hearings continue in Juneau By RASHAH McCHESNEY Peninsula Clarion
In the news Erin Merryn in state supporting Erin’s Law
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JUNEAU (AP) — Erin Merryn will be in Anchorage and Juneau this week in support of “Erin’s Law,” an effort to prevent childhood sexual abuse. House Bill 233, sponsored by Rep. Geran Tarr, a Democrat from Anchorage, calls for school districts to develop age-appropriate sexual abuse and assault awareness and prevention education in grades kindergarten through 12. Merryn, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, has been leading a national campaign in giving children the tools to protect themselves from abuse and school staff and administrators the ability to recognize the signs of abuse. Last year, the Office of Children’s Services statistics show 2,296 allegations of child sexual abuse in Alaska. Eight states have already passed Erin’s Law. The bill goes before the House Education Committee on Friday.
Inside ‘I have had some concerns about a diminished level of defense spending by some of our partners in NATO.’ ... See page A-6
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Business................ A-5 Nation/World.......... A-6 Sports.....................A-8 Arts........................ B-1 Classifieds............. B-3 Comics................... B-6 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
Photos by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion
Joseph Garber, left, and his brother Zachary Garber, both of Kasilof, talk to a representative from Peak Oilfield Services Wednesday during the Kenai Peninsula Job Fair in Kenai.
Going to the fair Job center sees increased interest in annual area employment event By KAYLEE OSOWSKI Peninsula Clarion
Last year the Peninsula Job Fair saw about 600 attendees. On Wednesday just before 2 p.m. the fair at the Peninsula Job Center in Kenai was already nearing that number. With extended hours this year, job center employees expected to well exceed last year’s attendance. Jackie Garcia, job center business connections specialist, said in past the fair has ended at 4:30 p.m., but the center decided to run the fair until 6 p.m. so area residents who get off work at 5 p.m. can explore other local job and career options. Rachel O’Brien, employment specialist at the job center, said with fewer reportable unemployment insurance claims compared to last year, the high number
of job seekers this year may be due to the center’s early and active campaign efforts to promote the fair.
Students explore summer jobs, post-high school options This is also the second year the job center has partnered with the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District to bring juniors and seniors from Kenai Central, Nikiski Middle-High, Skyview, Soldotna and Kenai Alternative high schools to the fair. O’Brien said this year saw a 50 percent increase in student attendance. KPBSD counselor coordinator, Sara Moore, said the job center has worked with students to generate resume writing and interviewing skills and the fair ties all of the efforts together for students. Some students like Skyview Juniors See FAIR, page A-10
Nina Kovac talks to Charlie Breitenstein about the electrician apprentice program, the product of a partnership between the National Electrical Contractor’s Association and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, during the Kenai Peninsula Job Fair Wednesday.
Testimony continued Wednesday before the Senate Resources committee as representatives from several Upper Cook Inlet and statewide fishing-related organizations testified on perspectives and issues involved in areas fisheries. Committee chair, Sen. Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, said the meetings were for informational purposes only and allowed legislators to get a better idea of the utilization of Alaska’s salmon resources. Among the groups to testify Wednesday were commercial, sport, aquaculture and habitat conservation organizations — each with a unique perspective on what needed to be fixed with salmon management in the Cook Inlet. Jeff Fox, a retired Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist spoke on behalf of the United Cook Inlet Drift Association — though Fox said he was neither a commercial fisherman nor a member of the association, which represents commercial drift gillnet fishers. The UCIDA presentation focused initially on the value of the Cook Inlet commercial fisheries with statistics from a 2013 Northern Economics study. See FISH, page A-10
Airman touches down for hometown re-enlistment By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
A Kenai resident currently serving in the Alaska Air National Guard briefly returned home to give his family a rare opportunity to see him be sworn in for re-enlistment at the Kenai Municipal Airport Wednesday. Stepping out of a Pave Hawk helicopter, Senior Airman Duncan Harris, 25, from the 176th Wing, Search and Rescue Division, emerged from the belly of the bird and gave his mother, father and brother a hug.
Harris, a 2006 graduate of Kenai Central High School, has served three years in the Air National Guard, stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. Prior to joining the guard, he spent four years in active duty with the U.S. Air Force where he was stationed in Arizona. His mother Debbie Harris, a Kenai resident said it was a special moment to see her son step out of the helicopter. She said he just finished his engineering training working on helicopters and now he gets to fly in them.
Duncan Harris, of Kenai, is sworn in to the Alaska Air National Guard as a search and rescue airman with the 176th rescue wing Wednesday in Kenai.
“It is not everyday you get to see your son come down in a helicopter and witness the swearing in ceremony,” she said. “His ties to Kenai are strong and it is special to think he would put this together.” Harris’ father Dave and brother Derrek, a 2008 graduate of KCHS, also came for the brief ceremony on the airport apron, along with Kenai Mayor Pat Porter and airport manager Mary Bondurant. Porter greeted the seven airmen aboard the helicopter and thanked each one
Photo courtesy Debbie Harris
See GUARD, page A-10
Man arrested after disturbances, chase in Soldotna By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
Soldotna Police arrested a Fairbanks man after law enforcement allege he broke into a residence, assaulted three people, resisted arrest and tried to start a fire with a lighter while in Central Peninsula Hospital after being Tasered Tuesday evening. Jacob A. Brown, 31, is charged with first-degree arson and burglary, felony driving under the influence of
alcohol, failure to stop at the direction of a peace officer, driving while license revoked, failure to give immediate notice of an accident, three counts of assault in the fourth degree and resisting arrest. He was taken to Wildwood Pretrial Facility and is being held without bail. Police allege Brown had driven to a residence on Yupik Road and forced his way into the home, where he assaulted the homeowner and two females. The homeowner was
forced to strike Brown twice with a baseball bat to end the assault and make Brown leave the residence, according to the report. He fled the scene driving a red pickup when police received a 911 call about the disturbance at the residence on Yupik Road at 9:52 p.m. As Sgts. Duane Kant and Stace Escott were responding, they encountered the truck on Mount Redoubt Avenue, where they attempted to make a traffic stop, according to the C
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police report. The driver failed to stop and led police on a brief chase from the Sterling Highway onto the Kenai Spur Highway to the Frontage Road and onto Soldotna Avenue where the driver stopped at the Beluga Avenue intersection, according to the report. Brown exited the pickup and began to fight with officers. Police used a Taser to take the man into custody. According to the report, Brown was “highly intoxicated.” Paramedics from
Central Emergency Services took him to the emergency room at CPH for injuries he sustained. While in the emergency room, Brown used a cigarette lighter to set a blanket on fire, according to police. The fire was extinguished and no damage was reported. Police first received word that a red pickup had backed into a Dumpster, forcing it through a wooden barricade at an apartment complex on Sohi See ARREST, page A-10