C
M
Y
K
Future
Rout
Kids experience construction jobs
Spurs send Mavs packing
Schools/B-1
Sports/A-8
CLARION
A few clouds 60/40 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
MONDAY, MAY 5, 2014 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 184
Question What grade would you give the Legislature for this year’s session? nA nB nC nD nF 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.
In the news Motorcyclists killed on Alaska highway identified
C
M
Y
K
ANCHORAGE — Three motorcyclists killed in a crash on a key Alaska highway north of Anchorage have been identified. Alaska State Troopers spokesman Tim DeSpain says four motorcyclists struck a vehicle on the Glenn Highway that had been pushed into their lane Saturday night. Three were pronounced dead at the scene. Troopers identified them as 53-yearold James Carlyle and his 48-year-old wife, Sabrina Carlyle, both of Wasilla, and 63-year-old Elaine Loew of Anchorage. Loew’s husband is the fourth rider. DeSpain says the husband was taken to a hospital as a precaution but wasn’t injured. Troopers says the crash occurred when a Ford F-250 stopped to make a turn and was rear-ended by a Chevrolet van and pushed into the oncoming lane. All four oncoming motorcyclists then collided with the truck. No one else was seriously hurt. —The Associated Press
Inside ‘We’re angry that the separatists were set free and we demand that anyone who calls for the breakup of Ukraine be punished’ ... See page A-7
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Nation.................... A-6 World..................... A-7 Sports.....................A-8 Schools...................B-1 Classifieds............. B-4 Comics................... B-8 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Shrinking the funding gap KPBSD calculating how much district will get following session By KAYLEE OSOWSKI Peninsula Clarion
While the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District will see more money to help close its funding gap thanks to an increase in state appropriations, district administrators still have questions about funding and other aspects of House Bill 278 passed by lawmakers. The Legislature increased the Base Student Allocation — the per-student funding method — by $150 for fiscal year 2015 and by $50 for each of the following two years. It also allocated set dollar amounts to be distributed statewide as one-time funding. Districts will get nearly $43 million in FY15, $32.2 million the following year, and nearly $20 million in FY17. Of the $43 million, KPBSD is estimated to get nearly $3 million. “The amount from (the state) is going to close it further, but it’s not going to close it all the way,” Superintendent Steve Atwater said. He said services in the current budget will be maintained; the additional funds won’t lead to expansion of services. The KPBSD Board of Education passed a more than $161.2 million operating budget on April 14. When administrators first began working on the budget, they faced an $8.6 million deficit. “In November I didn’t anticipate receiving as much as we did in the end from the state,” Assistant Superintendent Dave
Jones said. Jones is working to recalculate state revenues with the new BSA levels. He said while the state makes calculations for the district, KPBSD also has to do its own calculations to make sure the figures agree. The district is also waiting on a dollar amount from the Kenai Peninsula Borough for how much it will contribute. The funding cap for the borough goes up when the state increases its contribution. Lawmakers also changed the funding calculation for local government contributions in the bill. Previously local contributions were figured only based on the basic need funding from the state, which is calculated using the BSA. The state’s annual one-time funding will now be included in the formula to calculate local governments’ minimum and maximum contribution levels. The borough budget will be introduced to the assembly Tuesday. “We do a revision to the (KPBSD) budget after the pieces fall into place,” Atwater said. In July the district will do its first budget revision with the new amounts. While the Legislature has approved the bill, Gov. Sean Parnell still has veto power. Charter schools saw support from the Legislature in the approved bill. KPBSD has four operating charter schools, which Jones said is one of the highest numbers of charters per See BILL, page A-10
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion
Sport show fishing
Joey VonHeeder, 7, fishes for a rainbow trout with his father Lucas VonHeeder Saturday during the Kenai Peninsula Sport, Rec and Trade Show at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna.
Bikers get blessed for safe riding season By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
A convoy of motorcycles pulled into the Nikiski Church of the Nazarene parking lot Sunday and before long more than 40 bikes parked in front with their chrome accents gleaming in the sun and the sound of muffled engines in the air. Riders from all over the Kenai Peninsula gathered for a bike blessing at the church. The annual ceremony is held on the Photo by Dan Balmer/Peninsula Clarion first Sunday in May to usher More than 40 motorcycle enthusiasts gathered at the Nikiski in safe travel this summer on Church of the Nazarene in Nikiski for a biker blessing Sunday.
Alaskan roadways. News of three motorcyclists killed in an accident on the Glenn Highway Saturday in Palmer weighed heavily on Nikiski resident Scott Hamann’s mind as he said a few words during the morning service. According to an Alaska State Troopers report, the accident occurred when a vehicle stopped to make a turn but was rear-ended by another vehicle and pushed into the oncoming lane where four motorcyclists then collided with it. Three of the four were pronounced dead
on scene while the other rider was hospitalized. “I’m sure when they woke up yesterday morning they were not thinking it would be their last day on earth,” he said. “It serves as a somber reminder to make every day count and cherish your loved ones.” Church of the Nazarene pastor Jason Evoy said bike blessing is his favorite Sunday of the year because regardless of faith everyone present shared the sanctity of humanity. Bikers clad in black leather See BIKE, page A-10
Tustumena departs Ketchikan after overhaul By SCOTT BOWLEN Ketchikan Daily News
KETCHIKAN — A remarkable vessel in Alaska maritime history — some say legendary —was hunkered down at the Ketchikan Shipyard recently for an annual overhaul. The Alaska Marine Highway System ferry Tustumena has served nearly a half-century in Alaska’s roughest waters, earning the nickname “Trusty Tusty” as it continues to be a welcome sight in its ports of call at Homer, Kodiak, Seldovia and on out the Aleutian Chain. “I admire it greatly,” said Capt. William Hopkins of Ketchikan, a now-retired AMHS ferry captain
who served aboard the Tustumena in several capacities over the years, beginning in 1973. “I believe it is an historic ship. ... I also call it the Legendary Tustumena, as it certainly is a legend in the area that it operates.” One of its two current skippers, Capt. Keith Austin, provided a tour of the ferry to the Daily News as the overhaul work was being completed by Vigor Alaska and Tustumena crews. For Southeast Alaskans familiar with the state’s mainline ferries such as the Malaspina and the smaller LeConte, the Tustumena is at once recognizable as an AMHS ferry — but it’s noticeably different. The unique “king post” struc-
ture rising above the aft portion of the ferry is an obvious external cue. Inside, the Tustumena seems more compact, its passageways narrower, and its construction stronger than most of its fleetmates. It feels stout, and it should. The Tustumena is as an openocean ship, a designation it shares with just one other AMHS ferry, the Kennicott. Built in 1963 in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., the Tustumena was the state ferry system’s fourth vessel and was designed specifically with Southwest Alaska in mind. Not only did the ship need to be strong because of that region’s demanding waterways and weather, it would have to acC
M
commodate a variety of docking situations that are quite unlike the standard ferry terminal ramps in Southeast Alaska. “When you’re out there (in Southwest Alaska), you’re tying up to cannery and city-owned docks,” Hopkins said. “They don’t have bridge ramps like we have in Southeast.” The Tustumena’s ability to load and unload vehicles at almost any dock is due to its vehicle elevator system. The aforementioned king-post structure is involved with raising and lowering vehicles by elevator between the dock and ferry’s car-deck level. A transfer bridge allows vehicles to move between the dock and the ferry’s elevator sys-
tem, which can handle two cars or one van at a time. Austin said the Tustumena’s offload and load process can take more than two hours, compared to as little as one-half hour at a Southeast Alaska terminal. The current Tustumena is a longer ship than when it was first built. Its hull was lengthened by 56 feet in 1969 to provide better handling in rough waters, according to AMHS information. Later, its superstructure was stretched forward by 22 feet. The vessel expansions added vehicle and stateroom capacity, in addition to an enclosed sundeck, bow thrusters and larger See TUSTY, page A-10