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CLARION
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P E N I N S U L A
MONDAY, MAY 12, 2014 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 190
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Nonprofits seek borough funding
Question Where do you think Wildlife Troopers should deploy additional enforcement on the Kenai Peninsula? n Commercial fisheries n Personal-use fisheries n Sport fisheries 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 USDA awards $5.6M in energy grants C
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NOME (AP) — Several Western Alaska communities could see lower energy costs after federal grants have been distributed. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded $5.6 million for the communities, KNOM reported. The Yukon Delta community of Kipnuk will get the biggest chunk, nearly $3 million. Kipnuk Utility Manager Sam Carl says the money will go for three wind turbines and about 100 thermal stoves in the community about 100 miles southwest of Bethel. “In my area here our kilowatt hour is about $0.61,” said William Igkurak, who owns Chaninik Wind Group. The group is helping Kipnuk in the purchase of the stoves, which use wind power to heat large arrays of bricks. The stoves can provide heat for three or four days after being fully charged, which takes about one day. “Once you turn the stove on there’s enough stored energy to heat up (a room) in a matter of minutes,” Igkurak said. He estimates that could bring energy costs down to “about $0.10 per kilowatt hour.” Noatak, which is located nearly 600 miles north of Kipnuk, will get more than $350,000 to replace a diesel engine generator. The remaining funds will go to the Denali Commission for use in a several communities.
By KAYLEE OSOWSKI Peninsula Clarion
Photo by Dan Balmer/Peninsula Clarion
Bonfire gets out of control
Fire crews put out a grass fire in the backyard of a residence on Franke Road off of Poppy Ridge in Soldotna Sunday. Central Emergency Services received the call at about 4:30 p.m. and along with assistance from the Division of Forestry, the small fire was contained. Crews cleared the scene after one hour. The owner of the residence declined to comment. CES health and safety officer Brad Nelson said the family was having a bonfire and the fire spread to the grass.
CIA sends off 13 graduates By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
With his cap transformed into an airplane it seemed fitting Dartanian Aldridge led out the 13 graduates of Cook Inlet Academy during their ceremony Sunday. When reflecting on his time at CIA, a private Christian school he has attended since seventh grade, the jovial Aldridge said his senior year was phenomenal. “Holy fun is all I can say,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of great memories here. I am looking forward to see what the future brings.” Aldridge said his life goal is to become a pilot for the Alaska Wildlife Troopers. With the nine guys in blue
gowns and four ladies in white, the class of 2014 walked down to Pomp and Circumstance as parents, family and friends packed the school gymnasium on a sunny Mother’s Day. The intimate graduation ceremony included personalized tables for each individual that displayed a hand-made quilt and items like sports metals, a collection of Hardy Boys books, fishing poles, photo albums and guitars. Aldridge displayed his fourwheeler. CIA science teacher Kevin Leaf said the tables are a nice touch for every student to show a little about their history and fondest high school memories. “It is a great class we are See GRAD, page A-5
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KPTMC wants selfsustainability The Kenai Peninsula Tourism Marketing Council is scheduled to get $300,000 from the borough. Shanon Hamrick, KPTMC executive director, said the council, which works to promote tourism on the Kenai Peninsula, said it is requesting the same amount. However, it is looking to Photo by Dan Balmer/Peninsula Clarion become a self-sustaining nonTimothy Hills performs a drum solo during the Cook Inlet Acad- profit and if that happens, emy graduation ceremony Sunday. Hills is one of 13 graduates KPTMC would no longer rein CIA’s 2014 class. He plans to attend the University of Colo- quest general fund money, rado, Colorado Springs to pursue a degree in mechanical or See BUDGET, page A-10 electrical engineering.
Slain troopers Native craft co-op remembered opens in Juneau
Index
Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com
Four non-departmental organizations made pitches to the finance committee for funding allocations in the Kenai Peninsula Borough fiscal year 2015 annual budget. The draft budget currently calls for all four organizations to receive the same level of funding as they have for the past two years. Non-departmentals are organizations such as non-profits that do not fall under a borough department or activity. The borough assembly debated funding these organizations at a February meeting. Assembly members Kelly Wolf, Wayne Ogle and Charlie Pierce sponsored a resolution to put an advisory vote on the 2014 ballot asking voters if the assembly should continue funding the organizations. The resolution drew a large crowd and more than one hour and 30 minutes of public comment — most of which was against the resolution. Wolf and Pierce cast the only votes in favor of it, so the resolution failed.
AP Photo/The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Eric Engman
The Alaska State Trooper 21-Gun Salute Firing Party stands at attention during the playing of TAPS during the memorial service for Alaska State Trooper Sgt. Patrick “Scott” Johnson and Trooper Gabriel “Gabe” Rich at the Carlson Center, Saturday, May 10, 2014m in Fairbanks, Alaska. The tow were killed in the line of duty in the village of Tanana earlier this month.
FAIRBANKS (AP) — Law enforcement officers from as far away as Florida on Saturday mourned the loss of two Alaska state troopers killed earlier this month in a remote village while trying to make an arrest. A memorial for Sgt. Scott Johnson and Trooper Gabe Rich began with a procession and a drum cadence at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks. Col. James Cockrell, head of the Alaska State Troopers, said Johnson and Rich touched many lives during their careers, and their deaths will strengthen the bonds between officers. “This is a time to begin the healing process and come together as a community to provide strength to those who are still feeling the pain of their loss,” Cockrell said. “For in times like this, true Alaskans stand together.” The Anchorage Daily News said some 4,000 people attended the memorial. A Fairbanks grand jury on Thursday indicted Nathanial “Satch” Kangas, 20, on two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths May 1 of Johnson and Rich. The two were assigned to rural law enforcement in 23 remote communities and were occasionally featured on the National Geographic Channel show “Alaska State Troopers,” which shows officers patrolling the state’s wild terrain. Johnson and Rich had flown to Tanana, 130 See AST, page A-10 C
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By MARY CATHARINE MARTIN Capital City Weekly
JUNEAU — Less than a year after ending 38 ½ years in the prison system, Don Morgan is meditating, doing yoga and opening a co-op for Alaska Native arts in Juneau. Morgan sees the store, Native Craft Coop, as many things. It’s an opportunity for those who create Alaska Native arts to sell their creations at a price they set themselves, with 30 percent going toward the store. It’s an opportunity for artists to interact with customers in person, accepting commissions and using the store as a studio. It’s fundraising for future businesses that will introduce parolees and those who are simply having a hard time to yoga, meditation and the practice of taking one day at a time. It’s also a second chance for Morgan and some other artists. Carver John Evans, who
grew up in Ketchikan, is one of them. “People can change,” he said on a recent weekday, as he carved small, wooden crosses for an upcoming Christian retreat. “I’m proof of that.” For 13 years, Evans was an alcoholic, frequently homeless. He spent his days on the sidewalks of downtown Juneau asking for money, he said. On Sept. 1, he’ll have been sober for five full years - about as long as he’s been a fulltime carver. His work is featured prominently in the store, where he plans to be on a regular basis. Other artists whose work will be sold at the shop include wood and ivory carvers, weavers, jewelry makers, and portrait and bead artists, and others. Artists include Samuel Sheakley, Ray Peck, Barry Smith, JoAnn George, Misak, Herb Sheakley Jr., Lily Hudson, Shgen George, Evans, See ART, page A-10