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Mixed bag 63/50 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
Friday-Saturday, August 15-16 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 272
Question Have you ever taken a class at Kenai Peninsula College? n Yes n No To place your vote and comment, visit our Web site at www. peninsulaclarion. com.
Oilers face tough decisions
Organization coping with dwindling revenue stream By JEFF HELMINIAK Peninsula Clarion
The Peninsula Oilers board of directors and concerned community members are set to begin a major fundraising push that will determine not only the fate of the 2015 season, but the future of
the organization itself. Wednesday night at Coral Seymour Memorial Park, a perfectly cut and lush field looked more than ready to take on a 42nd season of Oilers baseball, a pursuit of a fourth National Baseball Congress World Series title and an attempt to add to the 118 major league alumni listed on
the grandstand. Inside the clubhouse, though, the scene was less idyllic. A meeting of the Oilers fundraising committee, open to the public, drew about 15 people seeking to battle the serious short-term and long-term financial problems faced by the organization.
In the news
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FAIRBANKS (AP) — Authorities rescued three men making a pilgrimage to an abandoned bus in the Alaska wilderness made famous by the book and film “Into the Wild.” Three hikers, two from Wisconsin and third with no known address, needed help last week after one of them tripped and hurt himself with an ax, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported. They ran into trouble Aug. 6 on the Stampede Trail just north of the entrance to Denali National Park and Preserve, about 180 miles north of Anchorage. The Tri-Valley Volunteer Fire Department responded and gave the three hikers a ride on all-terrain vehicles, the Alaska State Troopers announced Wednesday on their website. Matthew Peot, 29, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Thomas Young, 45, of Horicon, Wisconsin; and Kenneth Young, whose age and hometown wasn’t listed, were trying to get to the dilapidated bus, but the Teklanika River was too high, troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said in an email to The Associated Press. They camped for a few days, waiting to see if the river would get low enough to cross, but the ax injury ended the quest, Peters wrote.
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See OILERS, page A-14
By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is in the process of revising its Emergency Action Plan and is working with local law enforcement to implement new lockdown guidelines in the event of an armed intruder. Since 2007, the KPBSD had used the same lockdown procedure for “Active Shooter Situations,” which called for a school to lock its doors and have staff and students hide and wait for help to arrive. Based on recent studies from the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau
of Investigation, which have reviewed past school shootings, there is more than one response to a lockdown, said KPBSD Assistant Superintendent Dave Jones. “New guidelines recognize that one response to a lockdown doesn’t fit all situations,” Jones said. “As a situation develops, it is possible that students and staff will need to use multiple options to get to safety.” On May 8, KPBSD issued a lockdown for Nikiski North Star Elementary and MiddleHigh Schools as a precautionary measure while Alaska State Troopers searched for See SAFE, page A-13
Guilty plea entered in shooting case By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Nation.................... A-6 World..................... A-8 Religion................ A-11 Sports.....................B-1 Recreation............ C-1 Classifieds............ C-3 Comics................ C-12
After the meeting, Michael Tice, president of the board, was asked if desperate is the right word to characterize the Oilers at this point. In the meeting, Tice said the Oilers need to raise about $170,000 to get through next season.
District changes lockdown policy
Hikers rescued amid ‘Into the Wild’ bus pilgrimage
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Silver lining
Photo by Kaylee Osowski/Peninsula Clarion
Logan Dawson, 9, waits in the fillet line with his silver salmon at the end of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Kenai Peninsula and the Kenai River Foundation’s Take Our Kids Fishing event on Thursday at Centennial Park in Soldotna.
A woman originally charged with attempted murder in a shooting outside of the Kenai Walmart last November pleaded guilty to two Class B felonies and a Class A misdemeanor Thursday in Kenai Superior Court. Ashley Nelund, 28, of Sterling, pleaded guilty to misconduct involving weapons in the second-degree, assault in the fourth-degree and attempted misconduct involving a controlled substance in the seconddegree. Superior Court Judge Charles Huguelet accepted the guilty plea. Sentencing will take place Nov. 25 at 3:30 p.m. Each Class B Felony carries with it a maximum of 10 years
in jail and a $100,000 fine, Huguelet said. The maximum jail time for the assault charge is one year. Nelund’s defense attorney Dina Cale said in court an agreement was reached with the District Attorney’s office to reduce two counts of assault in the third-degree, a Class C Felony, to fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor. The first two charges stem from an incident on Nov. 1, 2013 after Kenai Police allege she fired multiple shots at an occupied vehicle in the Walmart parking lot. According to the affidavit, Kenai Police responded to the parking lot at about 7:10 p.m. after the suspect had fled the scene in a red 2005 Ford Focus. See PLEA, page A-13
Wolf offers voters a choice in lt. governor race By KAYLEE OSOWSKI Peninsula Clarion
Local elected official Kelly Wolf, RKenai, is running for Lt. Governor. Wolf said he decided to run to give voters a choice and because too much of state representation comes from Anchorage and the Matanuska Valley.
“I believe in the electoral process and that the people should have a choice,” he said. Wolf, 52, currently represents the Kalifornsky District for the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly and was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives in 2002, serving one term. “The Lt. Governor is a representative Paid Advertisement
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of the people and I’ve always … tried to honor and respect that my voice is a representation of what the people want,” he said. In the primary election on Tuesday, Wolf and Dan Sullivan, R-Anchorage, current Anchorage mayor, will appear on the Republican ballot. Hollis French and Bob Williams are running as Demo-
crats, and Andrew Lee is running for the Libertarian party. Wolf said he didn’t think he would be elected to House of Representatives in 2002 and isn’t fully confident of his chances in being elected as Lt. Governor. But said he has counted only 11 See WOLF, page A-14