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CLARION
Showers 62/50 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2014 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 282
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Police to get new rigs
Question Do you, or does someone in your family, hunt? 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.
Soldotna upgrading to all-wheel drive vehicles By KELLY SULLIVAN Peninsula Clarion
In the news Begich, Sullivan to debate
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JUNEAU (AP) — Democratic Sen. Mark Begich and Republican Dan Sullivan are set to debate for the first time since Sullivan won his party’s nomination. Begich and Sullivan are confirmed for the United for Liberty debate in Anchorage today. The Alaska Libertarian party said third-party candidates were invited but none responded. Libertarians have called the win by their nominee, Thom Walker, an anomaly. Walker is a political unknown who cut virtually no profile during the campaign. The party endorsed Mark Fish, who was in second place. The party, in a statement Monday, called Walker a “phantom candidate,” who switched his affiliation from Republican to Libertarian earlier this year. The party said its leaders have tried unsuccessfully to reach him since May. Walker hasn’t returned a call from The Associated Press.
Inside ‘Air power needs to be applied like a thunderstorm, not a drizzle,’ entailing ‘24-7 overwatch with force application on every move of ISIL personnel.’
Photos by Dan Balmer/Peninsula Clarion
Rep. Kurt Olson, R-Soldotna responds to a question from the audience at the State Legislature candidate forum Tuesday at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex. Olson is running for re-election for District 30. To the left is his challenger Shauna Thornton, a Democrat from Kenai. Rep. Mike Chenault, below, and Rocky Knudsen, bottom are running for the House District 29 seat.
Candidates for Alaska House discuss issues Five candidates running for Kenai Peninsula seats By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
Jobs for Alaskans, funding for education and improving health care were topics that resonated with five candidates vying for three seats in the state House of Representative as they discussed their legislative goals during a forum Tuesday in Soldotna. The five candidates running for Districts 29, 30 and 31 within the Kenai Peninsula answered questions in front of a packed audience at a joint Soldotna and Kenai Chambers of Commerce luncheon at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex. The two candidates running for District 29 are both Nikiski residents. House Speaker Mike Chenault, RNiksiki, was first elected to the house in 2000, while his challenger is Rocky Knudsen, a Democrat and a political newcomer. In District 30, Shauna Thornton, a Democrat from
Kenai, is the challenger against incumbent Rep. Kurt Olson, R-Soldotna, first elected to the house in 2004. Rep. Paul Seaton, R-Homer is running unopposed for District 31, a seat he has held since 2002. Knudsen, 60, said working as an electrician with IBEW for 38 years gives him the perspective of an Alaskan worker, a voice he hopes to represent in Juneau. He admitted the vast difference of experience between himself and his opponent. Chenault, 57, said experience comes if the commitment to help people is there. “I had zero experience when I took this office and gained it from the school of hard knocks, which I believe (Knudsen) comes from, by having fortitude to do what’s right for the constituents of my district,” Chenault said. Thornton, 51, a recent college graduate from the University of Alaska Anchorage said See HOUSE, page A-12
See CITY, page A-12
... See page A-6
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The city of Soldotna purchased two police interceptors for its fleet. The Ford Explorer Police Vehicles were purchased in alignment with a long-term plan to replace the Soldotna Police Department’s current rearwheel drive fleet with all-wheel drive vehicles. Kendall Ford in Wasilla was awarded the contract for about $55,000 total. The price was budgeted for the 2015 Fiscal Year Operating Budget, according to the resolution. The original timeline was to replace one of the cars this budget year, said City Manager Mark Dixson. However, the schedule was increased to two through the operating budget so the department could to upgrade its fleet faster. Soldotna municipal code requires the city to either enter a purchase contract through its own bid process or it may purchase through the State Contracts process available through the State of Alaska Department of General Services, Dixson said. The state process will locate the lowest bid 99 times out of 100, he said. The State of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, State Equipment Fleet website maintains a list of competitive prices for city vehicles, according to the resolution. Quotes were also received from local businesses, according to a memo from Soldotna Chief of Police Peter Mlynarik. “As a courtesy I requested a quote for the same vehicle with the same specifications for Stanley Ford, our local Ford dealer,” Mlynarik said. “Their quote came back as $33,270 each.” The vehicles scheduled to be replaced will be assessed and,
Seafood industry, delegation seek Russian import ban By MOLLY DISCHNER Morris News Service-Alaska Alaska Journal of Commerce
The United States seafood industry is pushing for Russia to end its import ban on food from several countries including the U.S., but if it doesn’t, a coalition of companies wants an import ban in response. Industry groups and seafood businesses have asked for a ban on Russian seafood, including Alaska General Seafoods, Aleutian Pribilof Islands Community Development Association, Alyeska Seafoods, Icicle Seafoods, North Pacific Seafoods, Ocean Beauty Seafoods, Peter Pan Seafoods, Trident Seafoods, UniSea, Wetward
Seafoods, and Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers. Russia is not allowing food imports, including seafood, in response to the economic sanctions other countries instituted after a Malaysian Airlines flight was downed over eastern Ukraine. That means Alaska has lost its second-largest salmon roe market, and also will result in additional Norwegian salmon on the global market, affecting salmon prices further. Russia is also a primary market for surimi, a product made from Alaska pollock. “We did not start this fight, and we hope the Russians will call off their embargo. But a U.S. ban will signal to President Putin that America will not sit
‘A U.S. ban will signal to President Putin that America will not sit idly by while Russia disregards international law and tries to coerce the world into ignoring its transgressions through retaliatory actions.’ — Terry Shaff, president and CEO, UniSea Inc. idly by while Russia disregards international law and tries to coerce the world into ignoring its transgressions through retaliatory actions,” said Terry Shaff, president and CEO of UniSea Inc., in a formal statement issued jointly by several C
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companies. Alaska’s congressional delegation sent a letter to the State Department Tuesday asking that the U.S. work to convince Russia to end its ban — and if that country does not do so, that the U.S. institute an import ban,
and coordinate with international allies on such an action. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich and Rep. Don Young are signing a joint letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. The delegation wrote: “We do not make this request lightly as there is significant seafood trade between the two countries, but in light of the direct impact on our constituents’ interests we believe it is necessary for the U.S. to respond quickly and emphatically. It was the Russian government that decided to use food, in addition to energy resources, as economic weapons, and inaction should See BAN, page A-5