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P E N I N S U L A
Friday-Saturday, June 13-14 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 218
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Soldotna passes FY15 budget
Question How do you deal with mosquitoes? n Bug dope, bug candles, bug coils n Lots of swatting n Just keep moving
By KELLY SULLIVAN Peninsula Clarion
n Live and let live n Stay inside and lock the windows 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. Photos by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion
In the news Faulty oil pump delays Alaska ferry’s return C
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KETCHIKAN — An Alaska state ferry out of service since last fall for an overhaul of its engines had its return voyage interrupted by oil pump issue. The Ketchikan Daily News reports the ferry Columbia was to have returned to service this week. But the ferry remains sidelined in Bellingham, Washington, waiting for a replacement for an engine oil pump to be shipped from Finland. The Alaska Department of Transportation now expects the 418-foot ferry to be back in service in Ketchikan next Wednesday. The ship has been at the Vigor Marine Yard in Portland, Oregon, since September, undergoing a nearly $30 million engine replacement project. The ship departed Portland last weekend en route to Ketchikan. However, on Tuesday, the oil pump issue surfaced. — The Associated Press
Inside ‘If public participation means anything, people should have the facts about what the government is doing to them.’ ... See page A-6
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Nation.................... A-6 World..................... A-8 Religion.................A-10 Sports.....................B-1 Recreation............. C-1 Classifieds............ C-3 Comics.................. C-9 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
Above: Bishop David Mahaffey finishes up the rear of a procession at the end of his blessing on a new outbuilding at the Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Church Thursday in Kenai. Below: Louise Coffey whispers to her son Aldric Coffey during a gathering at Fort Kenay after the blessing ceremony.
Newly blessed Kenai’s Russian Orthodox Church’s newest building gets consecrated By RASHAH MCCHESNEY Peninsula Clarion
Genevieve Coffey was not shy about meeting Alaska’s newest Orthodox Bishop David Mahaffey Thursday as members of Kenai’s Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Church gathered to
celebrate the blessing of a new building on the church’s property in Old Town Kenai. The small building houses the church’s gift shop, a muchneeded bathroom on the property and will hold a fire suppression system that will use mist instead of streams of water to put out potential fires in the
church — essential for protecting the historic building and the artifacts it houses. Coffey, 1, tugged at her deep brown and green head covering before toddling over to the
new bishop and briefly holding his hand during the ceremony. Then, with the typical toddler’s attention span she touched his See BLESS, page A-12
KPBSD early release days scheduled By KAYLEE OSOWSKI Peninsula Clarion
Early release days will continue this coming school year giving students a total of nine hours off from classroom time and teachers nine hours to work collaboratively. In the 2013-2014 school year, the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District imple-
mented six early release days for students. On those days, after students left, educators worked together to improve teaching strategies. The district administered an online survey in March to parents and certified staff members. More than 500 parents and nearly 400 staff members finished the survey. In the survey, staff rated
the effectiveness of the early release days. The average rating was 3.34 with 35 percent of staff reporting the days as effective and 24 percent rating them as somewhat effective. “That tells us that teachers are using the time wisely,” said Sean Dusek, assistant superintendant. Dusek said the district had
two reasons for implementing the minimum school days. He said research throughout the country shows that when teachers are given time to focus on teaching strategies that the positive impact on students is significant. The second reason was that teachers requested allocated time to collaborate. See EARLY, page A-12
Soldotna City Council unanimously passed the city’s fiscal year 2015 operating budget on Wednesday, after minimal debate. “We’re all on the same page,” City Manager Mark Dixson said. The biggest change in the budget for the next fiscal year is the increase in funding allocated for the Joyce K. Carver Memorial Library, which went up 36 percent from last year, Dixson said. The building expansion completed in January resulted in the need for an additional librarian and part-time library page; expenditures for travel and training, materials and supplies and office supplies were also increased. A 3.1 percent cost of living increase to the non-represented salary schedule, a 2.5 increase to the Public Service Employees Associated, and higher workers compensation rates resulted in an increase in projected expenses, Dixson said. While healthcare rates from the State of Alaska political subdivision increase 3.1 percent annually, the city’s total expenditures for healthcare decreased by $26,998 due to changes in individual employee coverage. Besides changes within its operating budget, Soldotna is revising how they are determine the 2015 capital budget, Dixson said. The operating and capital budgets are usually combined. The work session for the capital budget will take place before the June 25 Council meeting. The procedure is not uncommon, Dixson said. Capital Budget funds will go directly toward projects designed in the Envision Soldotna 2030, the city’s Comprehensive Plan, City Planner Stephanie Queen said. Currently $1.3 million has been set aside from the operating budget, for capital projects, Dixson said. That number is not necessarily what will be needed. The end result may be higher or lower, he said. Dixson said the reason is to focus on what needs to get done See BUDGET, page A-12
Guiding company Air fair ready for takeoff investigates fall By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
By EMILY RUSSO MILLER Morris News Service-Alaska Juneau Empire
A Juneau guiding company is investigating an incident where one of their clients was injured on a guided tour of the Mendenhall Glacier. A woman in her 30s fell while belaying down the glacier near the ice caves while on a tour with Above and Beyond Alaska. She injured her back, broke her ankle and had to be flown off the glacier by helicopter at about 12:30 p.m. Friday. Above and Beyond Alaska co-owner Sean Janes said he believes the incident was handled properly, but the company
is conducting an “in-house” investigation to ensure the accident could not have been prevented and that the response was up to par. The company is also in the process of submitting insurance claims. “We’ve investigating it as a company because it’s an incident we take seriously,” Janes said, adding, “As far as I can tell, we’ve done everything by the book.” The incident came to the attention of authorities because a third person observing from a distance thought they saw a woman fall in a crevasse on the glacier’s surface and called 911. The initial 911 call described the woman as an ice climber.
The skies above the Kenai Peninsula will be buzzing with planes Saturday with the return of the 14th annual Kenai Peninsula Air Fair. Pilots from all over Alaska have signed up to participate in the poker run with planes taking off and landing at eight participating airports within the borough for the chance to win prizes. The fair is not limited to pilots, Food, live music, vendors and five Alaska Wing Commemorative Air Force aircrafts will be on display and offer rides, said Kenai Municipal Airport Manager Mary Bondurant. “It is an opportunity for people to show off their air-
See FALL, page A-5 C
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Clarion file photo
More than a hundred people made their way to the Kenai Airport June 8, 2013 for the 13th annual Kenai Peninsula Air Fair and Fun Flight. This year’s air fair is Saturday.
crafts and for Kenai and Sol- pecting sunshine so it will dotna to open their airports be a good day to fly. Rain or to the public for a fun event,” See FAIR, page A-5 Bondurant said. “We are ex-