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CLARION P E N I N S U L A
TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 2014 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 173
Question Do you think the borough assembly should reconsider assembly member compensation? 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.
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Senate passes education bill Conference committee to hammer out differences between Senate, House By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
JUNEAU — The Alaska Senate passed a broad-ranging education bill Monday, but the issue of how to address public education in the state — and funding, in particular — remained to be resolved in an extended legislative session. The House and Senate each appointed negotiators for a conference committee on the bill before adjourning Monday evening, guaranteeing at least one more day in Juneau.
Resolution on education was needed to close out the capital budget because additional funding could be attached to the budget. The House, which powered through bills over the last week or so in sessions sometimes lasting late in the day, had two Senate bills on its calendar Monday, including the budget and some concurrence votes. It considered amendments to the budget after gaveling in Monday afternoon. Sunday was supposed to be the end of the scheduled 90day session. But education be-
came a sticking point between the House and Senate in the waning days. While voters approved the 90-day limit — and many lawmakers in the past have been loath to violate that in the past — the constitution allows for up to 121 days. Lawmakers decided to just keep plowing ahead. The House and Senate each adjourned after 4 a.m. Monday. Some lawmakers were antsy AP Photo/Becky Bohrer to get their work done; Senate Majority Leader John Coghill, Sens. Lesil McGuire, left, and John Coghill, the majority leader, R-North Pole, said he hoped to speak with Senate President Charlie Huggins during a break in See BILL, page A-6 floor debate on an education bill on Monday in Juneau.
Agrium dropped from tax credit measure
In the news Coast Guard rescues 3 from ship south of Kodiak
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ANCHORAGE (AP) — The Coast Guard has hoisted three injured crewmen from a Liberian-flagged ship about 200 miles south of Kodiak. The men were injured when a large wave hit the 587-foot cargo ship Copacabana on Sunday. Coast Guard Petty Officer Shawn Eggert said Monday evening that two Jayhawk helicopter crews transported the men to Kodiak to meet commercial medical flight services, which flew the men to medical care in Anchorage. The ship was about 500 miles south of Kodiak when the wave hit. The men reportedly received multiple injuries, and a Coast Guard flight surgeon recommended they receive a higher level of care than was available on the ship. The ship was told to alter course toward Kodiak for a rendezvous. A flight surgeon and a health services technician trained in emergency care accompanied the helicopter crews to provide in-flight medical care.
Correction In the Connection inserted in Sunday’s Clarion, the meeting time for the Soldotna City Council was listed incorrectly. The Soldotna City Council meets at 6 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month. The Clarion regrets the error.
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Nation/World.......... A-5 Sports.....................A-7 Classifieds........... A-10 Comics................. A-12 Pet Tails............... A-13 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
By KAYLEE OSOWSKI Peninsula Clarion
Under the influence
Above and left, Trooper Ronnie Simons gives resident Zach Moore a fake sobriety test during a “Drunk Goggles” presentation Thursday at the KPC Residence Hall. The goggles simulate what it’s like to be inebriated.
Students get lesson on effects of alcohol By KELLY SULLIVAN Peninsula Clarion
Soles shoulder-width apart, the unyielding, uniformed frame of Alaska State Trooper Jason Woodruff stood before a silent group of Kenai Peninsula College residents. “Don’t ask any funny questions,” Woodruff said. “But we’ll answer you straight, we won’t blow smoke.”
To his right, pairs of plastic facial masks sat on a table. Each simulated varying degrees of what it’s like to be inebriated. Woodruff led the pilot program “Drunk Goggles,” an educational presentation. Fellow troopers Matt Wertanen and Ronnie Simons assisted Woodruff in the event Thursday in the KPC residence hall multipurpose room. The
Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion
See DRUNK, page A-6
Lawmakers approved tax credit bill for Alaska refineries during deliberations Sunday night, but excluded the Agrium Corp. fertilizer plant in Nikiski from the plan. House Bill 287 was originally introduced by Gov. Sean Parnell to aid in-state refineries. As passed, companies may receive 40 percent of “qualified infrastructure expenditures incurred” which includes “in-state purchase, installation or modification of tangible personal property for the in-state manufacture or in-state transport of refined petroleum products or petroleum-based feedstock.” House Speaker Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski, proposed an amendment to include Agrium during a Rules committee meeting on Wednesday by adding the words “hydrocarbon processing facility” as a part of qualified infrastructure. Agrium is considering reopening its Nikiski location, which stopped producing fertilizer and ammonia from natural gas in 2007. The restart is estimated to cost $200 million. Chenault said he’s “not real happy” that the bill passed without Agrium. “It maybe would have helped with bringing Agrium back,” Chenault said. … “We’re going to continue to work with Agrium to see if there’s something that, if we need to do it, that it helps them and brings back See AGRIUM, page A-6
Woman indicted for Resolution in gas dispute pending Kenai shooting incident mission chair Cathy Foerster 30 percent of the gas from the By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
A Sterling woman arrested in a shooting incident outside of the Kenai Walmart last November has been indicted on three felony charges. On Friday, a Kenai Grand Jury indicted Ashley Nelund, 28, for misconduct involving weapons in the second-degree, a class B felony, and two counts
of assault in the third-degree, a class C felony. Nelund was originally charged with attempted murder in the first-degree, first-degree attempted assault and seconddegree misconduct involving weapons after Kenai Police alleged she fired multiple gunshots at an occupied vehicle in the Walmart parking lot on Nov. 1, 2013. See INDICT, page A-6
By ELWOOD BREHMER Morris News Service-Alaska Alaska Journal of Commerce
A dispute between Buccaneer Energy, Cook Inlet Region Inc. and the State of Alaska over natural gas royalties from Kenai Peninsula wells could be resolved within a month, according to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. At a Monday hearing, comC
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said if the groups could not reach a settlement within 30 days the commission would act as an arbitrator and make a ruling. Cook Inlet Region Inc., or CIRI, claims that two Buccaneer wells — the KL 1-1 and KL 1-3 wells — on the company’s Kenai Loop pad have been draining gas from beneath a nearby CIRI-owned parcel and that it is entitled to
wells. Buccaneer does not dispute that the draining is occurring. None of the four Kenai Loop wells are on CIRI property, however, and while Buccaneer has lease agreements with the state and the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, the groups do not have a pooling agreement for the gas or subsequent royalties in See GAS, page A-6