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CLARION
Sunny 63/38 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
TUESDAY, JUNE 3, 2014 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 209
Question Should an open burning ban on the Kenai Peninsula be extended until the Funny River Horse Trail wildfire is completely extinguished? 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
Buccaneer files for bankruptcy Adverse ruling in dispute with CIRI cuts off company’s source of cash revenue By TIM BRADNER Morris News Service-Alaska Alaska Journal of Commerce
Clarion file photo
In this 2013 file photo, the Endeavour-Spirit of Independence jack-up rig sits at the Cosmopolitan site near Anchor Point. Buccaneer Energy, the company that brought the rig into the Cook Inlet, filed for bankruptcy Saturday in a south Texas court.
Buccaneer Energy, an independent Cook Inlet explorer with high hopes but skimpy resources, saw those hopes come crashing down May 31. The company filed for bankruptcy protection that day in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in south Texas. The company has been fighting a rear-guard action on finances almost since the time it arrived in Cook Inlet, bidding on lease sales and then bringing a jack-up rig to the Inlet from Asia with a Singapore company
and the State of Alaska as partners. Buccaneer had also become embroiled in a dispute with Cook Inlet Region Inc., which owns land adjacent to the state land on which Buccaneer’s producing Kenai Loop gas wells are located. Buccaneer previously had a lease on the CIRI land but the Anchorage-based Alaska Native corporation for Southcentral terminated the lease. Buccaneer sued, claiming the termination was improper, but lost in court. Meanwhile, CIRI filed a complaint with the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the state agency that
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Inside ‘We urge our Western partners to use their influence on Kiev.’ ... See page A-5
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Nation.................... A-5 World..................... A-6 Sports.....................A-8 Classifieds........... A-10 Comics................. A-13
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See COURT, page A-7
Human remains found by Funny River firefighters
In the news
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Volcano Observatory spokesmen say a low-level eruption of a volcano about 625 miles southwest of Anchorage is escalating, with pilots reporting that ash clouds are getting bigger. U.S. Geological Survey scientist John Power said Monday in a statement that pilots have recently reported ash clouds from the Pavlof Volcano rising to 22,000 feet above sea level. Scientist Robert McGinsey says the current eruption began Saturday and lava has reached the surface. Asked how long the eruption might last, he replied, “hours, days or weeks.” On Saturday, a pilot reported a gas and ash plume about 8,000 feet above sea level. McGinsey says aircraft flying below 25,000 feet should avoid the area. He says the ash cloud is currently a narrow plume streaming about 50 miles to the east. The 8,262-foot volcano is one of the state’s most active. An eruption last year prompted regional airlines to cancel flights to nearby communities.
regulates industry production practices, that Buccaneer’s Kenai Loop wells were draining gas from its lands. After two hearings and months of deliberations, the conservation commission decided May 22 to escrow all revenues from gas sales at Kenai Loop until it could sort out how the gas should be shared among Buccaneer, CIRI, the State of Alaska and the Mental Health Land Trust. The escrow account was to be created by June 1, and revenues to be deposited on the 10th day of each month until an allocation was determined under the commission order. Cut
By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
Photo by Dan Balmer/Peninsula Clarion
Mickinzie Ticknor from Soldotna wipes the soot off of firefighter Erin Kimsey’s face at the firefighter appreciation dinner Sunday at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex. Ticknor said she wants to be a firefigher when she gets older. Kimsey, a member of the Wolf Creek Hotshots from Glide, Oregon, said the support from the community has been amazing.
Grateful community serves firefighters By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
With her clothes dirty and soot on her face from another long day on the fire line, Erin Kimsey, a member of the Wolf Creek Hotshots from Glide, Oregon felt like a celebrity as she signed autographs for young admirers and took pictures with grateful families.
Funny River Horse Trail and Tyonek firefighters from all over Alaska, Canada and the western United States were the honored guests at an appreciation barbeque at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex Sunday. As each fire crew walked into the arena they were given a standing ovation from more than 1,000 thankful central Kenai Penin-
sula residents for saving their homes from the largest active wildfire in the nation. The barbecue ran from 6-8 p.m. A crew shift change occurred during the two-hour feast so the majority of the more than 700 firefighters assigned to the Funny River Horse Trail wildfire could attend and have dinner and mingle with the community. Sen.
Obama orders big pollution cuts — but timing uncertain By DINA CAPPIELLO and JOSH LEDERMAN Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Taking aim at global warming, President Barack Obama introduced a politically charged plan Monday to order big and lasting cuts in the pollution discharged by America’s power plants. But the plan, though ambitious in scope, wouldn’t be fully realized until long after Obama’s successor took office and would generate only modest progress worldwide. Obama’s proposal to force a
EPA asks Alaska to cut carbon emissions 26 percent By DAN JOLING Associated Press
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska state officials will study a federal plan to lower carbon pollutant emissions before weighing in on its effects, according to a Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner spokesman. The Obama administration on Monday unveiled an initiative aimed at cutting carbon dioxide emissions from U.S. power plants by 30 percent from 2005 levels. Emissions cuts vary by state. In Alaska, the plan calls for cut of carbon pollutants by nearly 26 percent over the See EPA, page A-7
See CUTS, page A-7
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Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, along with the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce organized the dinner. Micciche said he received $7,000 in donations from local companies for the event and had more than 50 volunteers and enough food to feed 1,500 people. Micciche said he probably talked to more than 250 fireSee MEAL, page A-7
Fire crews working the Funny River Horse Trail wildfire found human remains near Sterling Sunday. Alaska State Troopers said the remains appeared to have been there for several years. Troopers responded to the scene with assistance from the fire crew’s helicopter at about 6:30 p.m. Investigators photographed and collected the bones, but no identifying items could be located, according to a trooper dispatch Monday. Trooper spokesperson Megan Peters said the identity and gender of the remains are unknown and troopers are reviewing cases from the Missing Persons Clearing House database to pinpoint a timeline and area. “Missing persons cases can give us clues to who it was,” Peters said. “It will be hard to determine because the remains are several years old. Hopefully the person was reported missing otherwise we will have a mystery on our hands.” Troopers notified the State Medical Examiners Office of the discovery, but the remains have not yet arrived at the SME office in Anchorage, said state public health information ofSee BODY, page A-7
Waiting game Local funding for KPBSD on tap for borough assembly By KAYLEE OSOWSKI Peninsula Clarion
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is in the process of revising its budget due to state-level changes in funding. But more pieces of the financial puzzle needs to fall into place before final adjustments can be made. In April the KPBSD Board of Education passed a fiscal year 2015 budget, as required, knowing changes would likely be coming from the Alaska Legislature. With the state-level changes in House Bill 278 approved, the board is now waiting to see if changes will be made at the borough level. The required local contribution for FY15 is $23.6 million. See FUNDS, page A-7