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CLARION
Sunny 67/51 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2014 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 277
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Oil tax critics vow to track results
Question Are you excited for back-to-school time? n Yes! n I am, but my kids aren’t as enthusiastic. n No, summer went by too fast. 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 DAN JOLING Associated Press
In the news Coast Guard opening seasonal base in Barrow
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KODIAK (AP) — The Coast Guard says it’s opening its seasonal forward operating location Thursday in Barrow. Two Jayhawk helicopter crews from Air Station Kodiak have been deployed with communication and ground support teams. The Coast Guard says the Barrow base will improve response times for search and rescue operations in the Arctic Ocean.
Head-on crash seriously injures California man HEALY (AP) — A 26-year-old California man was seriously injured when he was hit by a camper jack that flew through his sedan windshield during a head-on collision. Alaska State Troopers say Joshua Huerta of El Monte suffered life-threatening injuries Sunday. He was flown by helicopter to an Anchorage hospital after the crash on the Parks Highway just north of Healy. Troopers took a call on the crash just after 3 p.m. Troopers say Huerta was driving north as 66-year-old Glenn Williams of Kentucky was driving south in a pickup carrying a camper. Williams told troopers Huerta’s sedan attempted to pass another vehicle in Williams’ lane. Williams said he swerved but struck Huerta’s sedan at an angle head-on.
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Business................ A-5 Nation/World.......... A-6 Sports.....................A-9 Tight Lines........... A-10 Arts........................ B-1 Classifieds............. B-3 Comics................... B-8 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
Photo by Dan Balmer/Peninsula Clarion
Above, family members of Rebecca Adams gather Tuesday night for a candlelight vigil at the Kenai New Life Assembly of God Church in Kenai. Rebecca Adams, her children Jaracca and Michelle Hundley, and her boyfriend Brandon Jividen, have been missing since late May. Adams’ family held the vigil to remind people who go out hunting in the woods to be on the lookout for any clues that could lead to the missing family’s disappearance. From left are Dennis Gifford, Nova Gifford, Audre Gifford, Jeanine Adams and Pat Gifford. Below, Julia Selanoff (left) comforts Jeanine Adams after the vigil at the New Life Assembly of God Church in Kenai Tuesday night.
Holding vigil Family still hopes for clues to disappearance By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
Heartfelt emotions poured from friends and family at a candlelight vigil Tuesday night for the Kenai family of four who have not been seen or heard from all summer. About 40 people gathered at the Kenai New Life Assembly of God Church for comfort as family members of Rebecca Adams, 22, her daughters Michelle Hundley, 5, Jaracca Hundley, 3, and boyfriend Brandon Jividen, 37, shared stories and thanked people for their search efforts.
The family insisted they have not given up hope, but wanted to remind people as hunting season begins to be on the lookout for any clues that can help provide answers to their disappearance. The family was last seen May 23. While holding back tears and pausing to collect his thoughts, Dennis Gifford, Rebecca Adam’s uncle, thanked the Kenai Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, search-and-rescue teams and all the volunteers for the hours they dedicated to search the wooded area around See VIGIL, page A-7
ANCHORAGE — Early results indicate Alaska’s new petroleum-tax system will be spared an early death by referendum. If the vote holds up, opponents vowed Wednesday to track promises its supporters made and pounce if they prove to be false. Ballot Measure No. 1 proposed a repeal of Gov. Sean Parnell’s “More Alaska Production Act,” approved last year as Senate Bill 21 and in effect since Jan. 1. As of Wednesday, the repeal was failing by almost 6,800 votes out of 153,164 cast but too close to call. The Vote No on 1 campaign said the law would mean more jobs for Alaskans, more oil production, more money in the Alaska Permanent Fund and “more economic growth for everyone.” State Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, an opponent of the law, said one victory taken from the vote was the extraction of promises from the oil industry that were not made during the Senate Bill 21 debate in 2013. “If they live up to those promises, that’s a victory, that’s a great thing for all of us,” he said Wednesday. Meanwhile, an army of mobilized Alaskans who voted to repeal will be keeping close watch to see if the system not only stems the decline in Alaska oil but also increases production, Wielechowski said. “We’re in the process of gathering up all the statements that were made by the oil industry and by their supporters, and I hope they live up to them,” he said. Supporters hailed Parnell’s measure under the banner of See OIL TAX, page A-7
Murkowski: ‘Front-burner’ issues need attention By KAYLEE OSOWSKI Peninsula Clarion
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is visiting the central Kenai Peninsula this week in a public tour around the state. The Senator stopped by the joint Kenai and Soldotna Chambers of Commerce luncheon Wednesday to give an update on Washington, D.C., and expressed concerns about issues that need to be addressed. In a face-to-face with local media Wednesday morning, she said in Washington, lawmakers are looking at funding issues for the U.S Forest Service, which doesn’t have money to take preventative measures such as tree thinning. “How we are better prepared for the next inevitable fire season, I think is part of what we need to be thinking about.” The Senate next goes into a brief session on Sept. 8. With the end of the fiscal year approaching, funding and appropriations will be discussed. Following the Nov. 4 elec-
‘It’s been unfortunate because we’ve got a whole host of things that I think are front-burner issues.’ — Sen. Lisa Murkowski tion, Murkowski said what is taken up in the lame-duck session will likely be dependent on whether Democrats retain the majority or if Republicans take it. Congressional gridlock is causing frustration, Murkowski said, because there are heavy issues that need to be addressed. “It’s been unfortunate because we’ve got a whole host of things that I think are frontburner issues,” she said. … “We’ve got debt issues that we need to address. We’ve got an immigration situation. We have
a weak-kneed foreign policy approach and issues as they relate to what is going on overseas.” Murkowski said as a Republican senator in a Democratic administration, she is facing pressure to help move along backlogged approvals of nominees with ambassadors and the departments of the interior, energy and defense. However, she said Majority Leader Harry Reid, who sets the agenda, is trying to fill out the Department of Justice, which is slowing down progress in other departments. She also said part of the reason Alaska’s agenda is not being heard in the Senate is because the Majority Leader’s agenda doesn’t line up with resource development. “I need to have a Majority Leader that agrees that our nation’s economy is better, that the opportunities for Alaskans and all Americans are better Photo by Kaylee Osowski/Peninsula Clarion when we’re able to access our U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, gives an update on goresources in a responsible way,” ings-on in Washington, D.C., at a joint Kenai and Soldotna she said. Chambers of Commerce luncheon on Wednesday at the Kenai See ISSUES, page A-7 Visitor and Cultural Center. C
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