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Hunting
Kicks
SoHi senior takes a bear with a bow
Kenai Central takes on Homer in soccer
Recreation/C-1
Sports/B-1
CLARION
Sunny 67/40 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
Friday-Saturday, MAy 16-17 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 194
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Question Should the Kenai Peninsula Borough collect a bed tax to fund tourism promotion efforts? 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 emailed to news@peninsulaclarion.com.
In the news Construction begins on Marathon Road
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The Kenai Peninsula Borough on Wednesday announced limited access to Marathon Road for the next two weeks as workers improve drainage and repair potholes. Signs will be in place on the road restricting access to emergency and construction traffic. Property owners along the road must access it from the North end though emergency traffic can approach from both ends of the road. Construction will also restrict access to Escape Route Road which will be closed to everyone except property owners and emergency traffic. No other commuter traffic will be allowed access according to a borough media release. — Staff Report
Inside ‘Living can sometimes take more courage than dying.’ ... See page A-4
‘This is the true legacy of Sept. 11.’ ... See page A-6
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Nation.................... A-6 World..................... A-7 Sports.....................B-1 Classifieds............ C-3 Comics................. C-11
Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion
Miss Independent Jordan Ruffner, 9, pilots a raft down the Kasilof River on Sunday near the outlet of Tustumena Lake. While her family followed in two inflatables close behind, Ruffner spent a lot of time paddling ahead of the group and then turning around and going back to wait for them before taking off again.
‘Kitchen-table’ voting proposed Council By KAYLEE OSOWSKI Peninsula Clarion
This year’s October election could see more Kenai Peninsula Borough residents casting votes from their kitchen tables. An ordinance requiring borough elections be held by mail is up for introduction at Tuesday’s assembly meeting. Assembly member Bill Smith sponsored the ordinance, which proposes that instating vote-by-mail precincts borough-wide would be more
efficient, convenient, save money and could increase voter turn out. “We’re hoping that we’ll get some good results if we go to vote by mail and make it easier for people and have better voter turn out,” Smith said. The ordinance calls for ballots to be mailed to each registered voter in the precinct 15 days before the election. Ballots must be postmarked on or before midnight of Election Day and received by the following Tuesday. Return
envelopes addressed to the borough clerk’s office will be provided. The ordinance also allows for ballots to be deposited at a designated deposit site. If the assembly passes the ordinance as is, precinct polling places would be eliminated. However, voters would still be able to vote in person at absentee voting sites. Absentee voters can apply and vote in person at the borough clerk’s office at the George A. Navarre Administration Building in Soldotna,
the Kenai Peninsula Borough Annex office in Homer or the nearest city clerk’s office beginning 15 days before Election Day. Of the 28 precincts within the borough, six are absenteeby-mail only and four of those have absentee voting stations on Election Day. Current absentee-by-mail return envelopes have prepaid postage. Smith said the borough hires more than 120 election workers and changing over See KPB, page A-10
Fast-food protests spread overseas CANDICE CHOI AP Food Industry Writer
NEW YORK — Labor organizers turned up the pressure on McDonald’s and other fast-food chains to raise worker pay on Thursday, with plans to stage actions in more than 30 countries. The demonstrations build on a campaign by unions to bring attention to the plight of lowwage workers and get the public behind the idea of a $15-anhour wage. Industry groups say such pay hikes would hurt their ability to create jobs and note that many of the participants are not workers. The protests are being backed by the Service Employees International Union and began in New York City in late 2012. Since then, organizers have steadily ramped up
AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon
A protester dressed as Ronald McDonald participates in a rally to demand higher wages for fast-food workers outside a McDonald’s restaurant Thursday in Seoul, South Korea.
actions to keep the issue in the spotlight. In March, for instance, lawsuits filed in three states accused
McDonald’s of denying breaks and engaging in other practices that deprive employees of their rightful pay. Workers were re-
ferred to lawyers by union organizers, who announced protests over “wage theft” the following week. Organizers say workers went on strike in 150 U.S. cities on Thursday, including 20 at a restaurant in St. Louis that had to temporarily close as a result. In Denmark, McDonald’s worker Louise Marie Rantzau said a collective agreement with McDonald’s in the country prevents workers from protesting the chain. Rantzau, who earns about $21 an hour under the agreement, said she and others planned to demonstrate outside Burger King or other restaurants and post photos on social media. Images on social media showed workers demonstrating in places including Dublin and Sao Paulo, Brazil. See FOOD, page A-10
Arguments continue in trial on same-sex ban ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Supreme Court is considering whether the partner of a woman killed in 2011 is entitled to survivor benefits from the woman’s employer, given the state’s constitutional
ban on same-sex marriage. State law allows for widows or widowers to receive survivor benefits if their husband or wife dies in a work-related injury; children are also eligible but if there are no children and is
no surviving spouse, benefits can go to other specified family members. Same-sex couples do not receive such benefits because they are not allowed to marry in the state. The high court heard oral arC
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guments Tuesday. Deborah Harris’ long-term partner Kerry Fadely was shot to death at the Millennium Hotel in Anchorage. Lamda Legal staff attorney Peter Renn, who See BAN, page A-10
funds SoHi track project By KELLY SULLIVAN Peninsula Clarion
The City of Soldotna will direct $150,000 toward the Soldotna High School Track and Field project. City Manager Mark Dixson received a formal letter from Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Mike Navarre requesting assistance in closing a funding gap for the project’s final costs. The request became necessary when final bids from the construction companies were received. See TRACK, page A-10
Copper River salmon season opens VALDEZ, Alaska (AP) — The first opening for the Copper River commercial salmon season has taken place in Alaska’s Prince William Sound. Valdez radio station KCHU reports the season See FISH, page A-10