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Zesty
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U.S. side battles Belgium in Brazil
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CLARION
Partly sunny 69/47 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 234
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Safe Route plan set for action
Question Do you think municipal officials should be exempt from state financial disclosure rules in favor of local ordinances? n Yes 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.
By KELLY SULLIVAN Peninsula Clarion
to find evidence of radioactive contamination in U.S. food supplies at levels that would be a public health issues, according to a March update on the organization’s website. In addition, recent tests of Alaska’s seafood have shown that it is safe to consume, according to a joint Friday media release issued by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and Department of Health and Social Services.
After two years of development, Soldotna’s Safe Routes to School Walk Zone Inventory and Recommendations plan is finalized and ready for implementation. Developing Soldotna’s Safe Routes plan began in 2012 after the city received a $65,600 federal grant through the Alaska State Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. The program aims to develop a better understanding of the local attitudes about how children are getting to school, specifically elementary and middle school students, said Director of Economic Development and Planning Stephanie Queen. Recommendations focused on the half-mile radius around a school, called the “Walk Zone,” according to the report. “In my experience it went exceedingly well,” said Queen. “Public involvement, and our relationship with the consultant resulted in this planning document which we’re already beginning to implement.” The city, along with the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District and the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, contracted PDC Inc. Engineers to develop the final report. Each recommendation was identified as a “Priority 1,” “Priority 2” or “Priority 3” level project. Projects identified as “Priority 1” require execution within
See TEST, page A-14
See SAFE, page A-14
In the news Early run of Kenai king salmon makes escapement goal
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With several days of dwindling counts of king salmon passing the DIDSON sonar on the Kenai River, the chances that the run of fish would reach its escapement goal were looking grim. However, on the last day of counting on Monday, 183 fish passed the sonar putting the season total at 5,311 or 12 fish above the lower bound of the river’s escapement goal. Monday’s count was the highest in ten days, according to Fish and Game data. In late February managers closed the early run of king salmon on the Kenai River to sportfishing as they projected 2,230 fish to return — well below the optimum escapement goal range of 5,3009,000 fish. — Rashah McChesney
Fairbanks, Juneau set rainfall records ANCHORAGE (AP) — Fairbanks and Juneau might be more than 600 miles apart, but they had something in common last month. Both cities set records for the most rainfall in the month of June. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports a late Monday evening rainstorm was enough to set the record. Fairbanks officially had 3.56 inches in June, beating the mark of 3.55 inches in 1949. The Juneau Empire says 7.48 inches of rain was recorded as of Sunday. The easily bested the previous monthly record of 6.69 inches of rain that fell in June 2012.
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Court reports......... A-5 Nation.................... A-8 World................... A-10 Sports...................A-12 Food...................... B-1 Classifieds............. B-3 Comics................... B-8 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion
Lazy day on the river
Four anglers and a dog spent a leisurely morning fishing during the opening day of king salmon fishing on the Kenai River near Poacher’s Cove in Soldotna Tuesday. Alaska Department of Fish and Game managers said guided and unguided anglers reported slow fishing. Area management biologist Robert Begich wrote in an email that there were fewer than 100 boats with actively fishing anglers on them in the entire area open to king salmon fishing on the Kenai River. Bait is prohibited for the late run of Kenai River king salmon and anglers are restricted to fishing downstream of the mouth of Slikok Creek to the mouth of the Kenai River.
Inletkeeper tests for radiation Organization looks to crowdsourcing to fund project By RASHAH McCHESNEY Peninsula Clarion
In an effort to answer lingering questions about the effects of Japan’s failed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, a nonprofit organization has launched a crowdsourced funding project to test water in the lower Cook Inlet for radiation. Cook Inletkeeper, a nonprofit environmental advocacy organization, launched
a CrowdRise project to raise $3,000 for the testing efforts primarily to allay fears that local water and seafood could be contaminated, said Cook Inletkeeper executive director Bob Shavelson. So far, the organization has raised about $600 toward its goal, via the online funding website. “We’ve gotten a lot of calls and we’re very concerned about a lot of hyperbole and misinformation on the internet,” Shavel-
son said. The false information could be damaging to the fishing industry in Alaska both for consumers and producers. “We recognize how important safe seafood and clean water are to Alaskans, not only for personal consumption, but also marketability,” Shavelson said. The Federal Food and Drug Administration, which is responsible for monitoring the nation’s food supply, has yet
Ranger rescues dog from cliff By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
JUNEAU — A ranger at Kenai Fjords National Park in Alaska plucked a dog off a cliff ledge near Exit Glacier. Sadie was brought down in the backpack of ranger John Anderson on Monday. “I could tell when he had lassoed the dog because the crowd kind of, yay, applauded,” chief ranger Mark Thompson, who helped in the rescue, said Tuesday. The park’s chief of interpre-
tation, Kristy Sholly, said she didn’t know how long the dog had been there, and it blended in with the rocks. Sadie was probably a bit dehydrated, and she was coaxed into the backpack after refusing to walk on her own, Sholly said. Thompson said the dog was pretty worn out, and he and Anderson took care so as to not spook her. Park officials began hearing reports late last week of a dog in the area, on the glacier and along the Resurrection River
near Seward, Alaska. But Sholly said rangers weren’t able to find it. Anderson had to be lowered by rope Monday to rescue the dog from the ledge. Sadie was on a trial adoption when she apparently started roaming the park, Sholly said. Sadie was being cared for back at the local shelter, and there was some interest from local residents in adopting the dog, she said. AP Photo/National Park Service, Mark Thompson Sholly did not know what Kenai Fjords National Park Ranger John Anderson is shown kind of dog Sadie is, but de- with Sadie after her rescue from a ledge near a glacier on Monscribed her as “poodle-ly.” day at Kenai Fjords National Park.
Soldotna woman charged after crash in stolen truck By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
A Soldotna woman, who is alleged to have crashed a stolen truck and who Alaska State Troopers say attempted to bring drugs into Wildwood Pretrial Facility on June 18, was indicted on three felony charges in Kenai Superior Court Tuesday. At her arraignment Tuesday, Jessica Rodman, 32, pleaded not guilty to vehicle theft in the
first-degree, misconduct involving a controlled substance in the fourth-degree and promoting contraband in the first-degree. All three are Class C felonies and if convicted, Rodman could serve a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of $50,000 for each charge. On June 18, troopers responded to a report of a single vehicle rollover at mile 106 of the Sterling Highway at about 7 a.m. and found Rodman, who crawled out the window
of a white 1996 Toyota T100 pickup. After an eyewitness said Rodman was the only person in the vehicle, which conflicted with her claim she was hitchhiking, Rodman said she took the truck from a house in Kasilof, according to an affidavit filed by Trooper Ryan Tennis. Rodman told troopers she got into a verbal altercation at a party and walked a mile away and jumped into an unlocked truck to sleep. A short C
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time later, she took the truck with the intention of leaving it in town. Rodman told troopers she didn’t know how she lost control and crashed, according to the report. In the affidavit, Tennis wrote that Rodman admitted using methamphetamine in a prior contact with her a couple days earlier. A broken glass pipe was found in the driver side of the truck. Rodman admitted the pipe was hers, but denied there were drugs in the
vehicle and passed a field sobriety test. The owner of the vehicle, Peggy Svrcek told Tennis she last saw her truck in the driveway at 4 a.m. and had left it unlocked with the keys under the seat. Svrcek said she didn’t know Rodman. Damage to the vehicle was estimated at $1,500-$2,000, according to the report. Rodman was searched and arrested and taken to Wildwood See CRASH, page A-14