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Some rain 59/43 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
MONDAY, JUNE 9, 2014 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 214
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Soldotna overhauls elections code
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.
By KELLY SULLIVAN Peninsula Clarion
To place your vote and comment, visit our Web site at www. peninsulaclarion. com.
In the news Father killed in ATV rollover
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A 30-year old Kasilof man was killed after he rolled his all-terrain vehicle while riding with his 3-year-old son Friday night. Alaska State Troopers reported that Benjamin Kruse lost control of his ATV a little after 11:30 p.m. on Red Ribbon Road near Mile 113 of the Sterling Highway in Kasilof. The boy was uninjured in the accident. Kruse and his son weren’t wearing helmets, according to a troopers dispatch. Kruse was pronounced deceased on the scene. Alcohol is believed to be a factor in the collision, according to the report. Next of kin and the State Medical Examiner’s Office were notified. The investigation is ongoing. — Staff report
3 rescued from sinking vessel near Anchorage ANCHORAGE — The Coast Guard says three people were rescued from a sinking river boat in Cook Inlet near Anchorage. The Coast Guard says it received a report of the sinking vessel Saturday from the Alaska State Troopers and issued an urgent broadcast to mariners in the area. Vessels from the Army Corps of Engineers and the Anchorage Fire Department responded. The fire crews rescued the passengers and took their 16-foot vessel into tow. No injuries were reported, and the weather was reported to be calm. — The Associated Press
Photo by Dan Balmer/Peninsula Clarion
Oilers win opener
Peninsula Oilers starter Sean Mason delivers a pitch in the second inning of the Oilers season opener against the San Francisco Seals Sunday. The Oilers defeated the Seals 9-0. Read about the game on page A-7.
Changes coming to the fair By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
The Kenai Peninsula Fair has made some changes that will delight music and carnival enthusiasts. Brian White, an award winning country music artist from Oklahoma and the band Home
Free, a country vocal group that won this season’s “Sing Off” on NBC, will perform at the Ninilchick Fairgrounds Aug. 15-17. Lara McGinnis, the Executive Director of the Kenai Peninsula Fair, said this is the first year she attempted to bring in “big name music.” McGinnis, who has managed the fair for
10 years, said because their venue isn’t set up to charge for the show, they are an added value to the fairgoer. “We are thrilled to have both of these acts grace our main stage and perform for the entire Kenai Peninsula,” McGinnis said. “The (fair board) and I are passionate about making sure
our youth are exposed to every possible form of entertainment out there.” Another new attraction she said is the return of the carnival, something the Kenai Peninsula Fair has not had in more than 20 years. McGinnis said when she first approached the instate See FAIR, page A-16
The Soldotna Elections Code has received a total overhaul for the first time since 1987. The new code is in effect. Soldotna City Clerk Shellie Saner said it was time to make revisions. The project took approximately one month to complete, she said. The most significant change was the introduction of the option for electronic absentee voting, Saner said. “It’s another option for absentee voting,” Saner said. “In 1987 people weren’t really excited about electronic voting.” Shifting perceptions regarding the security of using electronic methods of ballot counting is partially why Saner decided to take a look at the entire code. The revisions also came out of a need to unify city regulations with the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s code, and the State of Alaska’s code, Saner said. Most of the work was cleaning up language and making small specifications, she said. It is the responsibility of the Clerk to revise the elections code, according Soldotna’s Municipal Code. Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly Clerk Johni Blankenship said the borough’s elections code has not had a major overhaul for 15 years. The potential for passing a vote-by-mail ordinance would be the biggest overhaul in quite some time, she said. Borough assembly member Dale Bagley said he expects See VOTE, page A-2
Fairbanks newest beach to open soon By TIM MOWRY Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
FAIRBANKS — Standing on Fairbanks’ newest — and only — beach one sunny day in late May, Steve Taylor could envision throngs of beach goers sunbathing, building sand castles and splashing around in the nearby lake. The only sign of traffic in the sand on this particular day,
however, were fresh goose tracks and droppings. “The geese are using it,” ‘I’m just itching to get it open but we said Taylor, a project coordina- have to make sure it’s ready.’ tor for the Fairbanks North Star — Steve Taylor, project coordinator for Borough parks and recreation Fairbanks North Star Borough department, pointing out the tracks. parks and recreation department But it won’t be long before people can walk barefoot on the new, sandy beach at Tanana News-Miner reported. struction, the borough is planLakes Recreation Area in south After almost seven years of ning to open the new 750-acre Fairbanks, the Fairbanks Daily planning and six years of con- recreation area at the end of
South Cushman Street in one week. The borough has set June 13 as the tentative opening date. “I’m just itching to get it open but we have to make sure it’s ready,” said Taylor, who ramrodded the project. The beach, which is 1,000 feet long and covers just more than 4.5 acres, was the last big project to be completed before See BEACH, page A-16
Hybrid trike provides mobility for any ability Index
By MELISSA GRIFFITHS Morris News Service-Alaska
Opinion.................. A-4 Nation.................... A-5 World..................... A-6 Sports.....................A-7 Classifieds........... A-10 Comics................. A-15
Juneau Empire
Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584. AP Photo/The Juneau Empire, Michael Penn
In this May 30 photo, Kellen Priest, right, and Abby Leatherman, both tour brokers for Gastineau Guiding, ride electric-powered tricycles downtown in Juneau. Bob Janes invented the Access Hybrid, a trike with an assistive electric motor, meant to provide all the fun of a bicycle and all the function of a traditional mobility device.
JUNEAU — Adventure runs in the Janes family, so when Bob Janes found his father’s age affected his ability to be active outdoors, something had to be done. So Bob invented the Access Hybrid, a trike with an assistive electric motor, meant to provide all the fun of a bicycle and all the function of a traditional mobility device. “My father, three years ago, at 89, was given a standard mobility scooter,” Bob said. “He didn’t feel like himself on it. He’d been active all his life.” Not a stranger to designing C
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new technology to meet his needs, Bob worked out a design for the Access Hybrid to give his father a way to be active despite his declining physical health. Bob said his father could barely walk 10 feet at that point, but when he tried out the Access Hybrid he could go for a couple miles. The Access Hybrid looks like a cross between a mobility scooter and a tricycle. It has a cushioned, stable seat; handle bars with a traditional gear shift and hand brake, but also a throttle lever for using the electric motor; slanted rear wheels for stability and an elongated head tube with a tight turning radius while the electric motor is in use and smaller front wheel; plus foot rests for when
the pedals are not in use. The rider sits in a comfortable, upright position, with pedals in front. The eight-speed allows for some breeze-through-your-hair higher speeds, and pedaling can recharge the electric motor for when the device is needed as a more traditional mobility scooter — it also plugs in for normal charging. Bob said the Access Hybrid gets 20 miles out of the motor before it needs to be recharged. While Bob came up with the idea for the Access Hybrid, it’s been a team effort. Working with him is engineer Mike Bly and welder Carlton Shorey. Bob’s son, Robie Janes, has See TRIKE, page A-3