C
M
Y
K
Favorite
Switch
Actor remembered with sublime dish
Edwards to join Joe Gibbs Racing
Food/B-1
Sports/A-10
CLARION
A few showers 66/47 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2014 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 276
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.
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Measure 1 too close to call No vote on oil tax referendum takes slight election night lead By DAN JOLING Associated Press
ANCHORAGE — Voters rejecting a referendum to repeal Alaska’s revised oil tax system were prevailing with a narrow lead in late returns Tuesday night but the outcome remained too close to call.
“We knew this would be very tight,” said former state Rep. Andrew Halcro, president of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, who appeared in debates urging Alaskans to vote no on Ballot Measure No. 1. Polling from both camps showed a close race and the outcome would depend on which side turned out its voters,
he said. The revised tax system was approved last year the urging of Gov. Sean Parnell. Senate Bill 21 narrowly passed the state Senate with the promise that it would attract investment for new wells and put more oil in the transAlaska pipeline. Critics called it a giveaway that
awarded tax breaks to already profitable oil companies with no guarantee they will invest in Alaska. Parnell’s measure replaced a tax system championed by Parnell’s predecessor, Sarah Palin. Known as “Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share,” or ACES, the Palin law
Sullivan leads in GOP Senate race
Elections 2014 Alaska Primary Election
By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
Kenai Peninsula races Unofficial results
C
House District 29 Mike Chenault (R)....2,615 votes Rocky Knudsen (D)........... 789 M
Y
K
House District 30 Kurt Olson (R)................ 2,712 Shauna Thornton (D)......... 672 House District 31 Paul Seaton (R).............. 2,441 Senate District O Peter Micciche (R).......... 5,273 Senate District P Robert Henrichs (D)...... 1,780 Gary Stevens (R)............ 3,932
In the news Magnitude 4 earthquake in Cook Inlet region ANCHORAGE (AP) — A magnitude 4 earthquake was recorded at 2:11 a.m. Tuesday in the Cook Inlet region of Alaska. The Alaska Earthquake Information Center in Fairbanks says it was centered near the Iliamna volcano, which is 34 miles southwest of the Redoubt volcano, 137 miles southwest of Anchorage and 60 miles west of Homer. There are no reports the quake was felt.
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Alaska.................... A-5 Nation.................... A-6 World..................... A-8 Sports...................A-10 Food...................... B-1 Classifieds............. B-3 Comics................... B-7 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
See OIL TAX, page A-14
Photo by Dan Balmer/Peninsula Clarion
Seventh-grader Dylan Donham puts on his new sweatshirt during the first day of school at Skyview Middle School Tuesday. More than 400 students and 50 staff members were given sweatshirts thanks to donations from the community. Students at Soldotna High School also received sweatshirts to start the year. Find more images from the first day of school at www. peninsulaclarion.com.
Starting out together By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
The 400 students at Skyview Middle School in Soldotna received a gift from community donors intended to ease the transition of life in a new school Tuesday morning.
Each student was given a gray sweatshirt that reads Skyview Middle School with the logo of a panther, the school mascot. Likewise, at Soldotna Prep and Soldotna High School, every student received a Soldotna Stars sweatshirt. The list of community
donors for the 500 Skyview Panthers sweatshirts and 500 Soldotna Stars sweatshirts is printed on the back. With the reconfiguration of two Soldotna high schools into one, many familiar faces are in new places. The building that housed Soldotna
Middle School has become Soldotna Prep while seventhand eighth-grades have moved to the former Skyview High School building. Skyview Middle School Principal Sarge Truesdell said with so many kids coming See SCHOOL, page A-14
ANCHORAGE — A tea party attempt to overcome a mainstream Republican appeared to be coming up short in Alaska as former state Attorney General Dan Sullivan took a primary lead in the fight to be the GOP candidate to take on U.S. Sen. Mark Begich in the fall. Sullivan entered the primary the presumed front-runner, with the backing of national GOP powerbrokers and a huge cash advantage over his rivals. Sullivan held an edge Tuesday night over tea party favorite Joe Miller, who made a late push reminiscent to his 2010 primary upset of U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, meanwhile, was in third. With 67 percent of precincts reporting, Sullivan led with 40 percent of the vote to Miller’s 32 percent. Treadwell collected 25 percent of Republican ballots. The Republicans were vying to face Begich, who won his primary easily after facing no real threat. The Alaska GOP Senate race mirrors national trends, with tea party conservatives trying to knock out mainstream Republicans. See SENATE, page A-5
Peninsula voters weigh in By KAYLEE OSOWSKI, DAN BALMER and KELLY SULLIVAN Peninsula Clarion
As central Kenai Peninsula voters took to the polls for the primary election Tuesday, many said they were driven by the interest in having a say on the result of Ballot Measure No. 1. A yes vote on the referendum would repeal Senate Bill 21, which was passed by lawmakers in 2013, replacing Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share
or ACES oil tax structure and a no vote would let SB 21 stand. Tuesday night, the measure was too close to call. “(Measure No. 1) is really the only thing that matters today,” said Allen Thomas, who voted in Kenai. Larry Davis said while some aspects of ACES needed to be tweaked, he was voting yes because he doesn’t “like to be cheated” and writing a “blank check” to the oil companies with SB 21 is not OK.
He said he thought the issue would likely increase voter turn out. “The oil companies’ spending (on the campaign) is galvanizing people to vote against the oil companies,” he said. Susan Smalley, who was manning the poll at the Kenai Senior Center, said the workers saw a steady flow of voters through the morning. She said Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion the warm sunny day brought voters in via motorcycles and Willie Porter takes his ballot from volunteer Dolores Wik, at the See VOTE, page A-14 Nikiski Recreation Center Tuesday in Nikiski.
Gardens at Soldotna Creek Park vandalized By KELLY SULLIVAN Peninsula Clarion
Gaping holes now take the place of 43 blossoming plants in the flower beds in Pioneer Garden and Purple Heart Memorial Garden of Soldotna Creek Park. Early Monday morning, the horticulturist for Soldotna’s
Parks and Recreation department, Donna Melvin, came to set up the park’s sprinkler system and discovered plants had been removed from the beds at the entrance of the park and near the playground. She said she isn’t sure when exactly the plants were stolen, but the theft likely occurred over the weekend.
“It’s unreal,” Melvin said. “You put so much into it, it feels kind of defeating.” The plants were pulled perfectly from the ground, “root ball and all,” she said. Recently transplanted lilies, towering purple delphinium and red poppies had been ripped from the ground, she said. Someone knew what they C
M
Y
K
were doing, Melvin said. The majority of flowers taken were purple and pink colored, but some were orange as well, she said. “They really went shopping around,” Parks and Recreation Department Director Andrew Carmichael said. “The situation was very disheartening.” A report has been filed with
the Soldotna Police department about the theft, which totals about $1,000 in expenses, from weeding and nurturing to materials and plants, Carmichael said. Carmichael said he is unsure if there will be any replanting, or if the spots will remain open. See GARDEN, page A-14