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Halibut
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Countdown is on in Homer tournament
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CLARION
Showers 62/49 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2014 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 283
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Final tally: Voters say no on tax repeal
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.
By DAN JOLING Associated Press
In the news Union votes to end strike against Enstar
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ANCHORAGE (AP) — Employees of Enstar Natural Gas Co. will end their strike. The attorney for the union representing plumbers and steamfitters told KTVA that dozens of employees voted to stop the strike without getting a new contract. The company would have to accept the offer of employees returning to work on Friday. More than 100 workers across southcentral Alaska went on strike Aug. 11. The strike came after union members claim Enstar was attempting to cut health benefits and pension plans. Union officials say the strike didn’t have the effect they wanted, so employees decided to return to the workplace, where they will continue to negotiate for a new contract.
Hilcorp plans live fire training Hilcorp Alaska, LLC will be conducting a live fire training exercise at the Swanson River facility today and Sept. 4 from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. According to the company, this type of training is essential to providing the community with well-trained responders. Smoke and flames may be visible from time to time. Precautions have been taken for the safety of surrounding properties. For additional information contact John Coston at 907776-6726. — Staff report
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Business................ A-5 Nation/World.......... A-6 Sports.....................A-8 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.
Clarion file photo
Members and staff of the Alaska Board of Fisheries meet in Soldotna Feb. 16, 1999. The 1999 meeting was the last time the full board met on the central Kenai Peninsula to address Upper Cook Inlet fisheries.
An invitation to the board
Measure urges fish board to meet on Kenai Peninsula By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
Municipalities across the Kenai Peninsula are slated to consider asking the Alaska Board of Fisheries hold the 2017 Upper Cook Inlet Finfish meetings on the Kenai Peninsula. Joint Resolution No. 1 is expected to come before the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly and the Kenai, Soldotna, Homer, Seldovia and Seward city councils by Sept. 10. Kenai City Manager Rick Koch, who attended the 2014 fish board meetings in Anchorage, said he invited the board to return to the Kenai Peninsula since many of the management issues pertain to area fishermen. “It would make sense since 80 percent of the discussions are peninsula based,”
‘Peninsula residents are involved from every facet whether they are sport fishermen, setnetters or drifters.’ — Kenai City Manager Rick Koch he said. “Peninsula residents are involved from every facet whether they are sport fishermen, setnetters or drifters.” According to the joint resolution, “Holding the meeting on the Kenai Peninsula would show local residents, businesses and communities that the Board of Fisheries listens, cares about and under-
stands the local impacts of its decisions.” The resolution will come before the borough assembly at its Sept. 2 meeting and Kenai on Sept. 3. The Soldotna City Council did not get the resolution on its Wednesday agenda and City Clerk Shellie Saner said she could not confirm if it would be on the next meeting agenda. A location for the 2017 Upper Cook Inlet finfish meetings will be announced after a work session on October 15-17 in Juneau, said Alaska Board of Fisheries Executive Director Glenn Haight. The board addresses Upper Cook Inlet issues every three years. Testimony will not be heard at the work sessions, but people are encouraged to submit written comments online and have until Oct. 1 for the board’s consideration, Haight said. See BOARD, page A-7
ANCHORAGE — Alaska voters have retained a new petroleum production tax system that offers hope of increased investment and jobs but drew criticism as a giveaway to already profitable oil companies. The state Division of Elections counted 17,721 absentee and early votes Tuesday, giving repeal opponents the victory. The “no” side increased its lead from 6,880 to 8,443 votes. The unofficial overall count was 90,150 to 81,707, giving the no side a 52.5 percent edge. “The results confirm that voters decided to give the oil tax structure a chance to work,” said Willis Lyford, spokesman for the Vote No on 1 campaign. Gov. Sean Parnell’s “More Alaska Production Act” took effect Jan. 1. It replaced the system championed by former Gov. Sarah Palin, “Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share,” or ACES, which gave tax credits for investment but contained a progressive surcharge that took a larger tax bite from company profits when oil prices increased. Oil companies lobbied for See OIL TAX, page A-7
Traffic camera installed at Soldotna intersection By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
Soldotna residents may have noticed a new camera hanging from the traffic light at the intersection of the Sterling Highway and Binkley Street. Alaska Department of Transportation spokesperson Jill Reese said the pan-tilt-zoom camera is to monitor traffic flow to evaluate and improve light timing plans. Reese said the camera is one of 11 on the Kenai Peninsula
and 20 in the Mat-Su Valley. In 2011, DOT first installed the remote traffic-viewing camera at the Kenai Spur Highway and Bridge Access Road. “Their locations were selected based on their ability to help us time traffic signals, the availability of communications and maintenance needs,” Reese wrote in an email. “Because of limited funding, if an intersection could be observed from an adjacent (pan-tilt-zoom), those intersections may not have had one installed.”
The cost of the camera is $3,000 to install. Reese said cameras are also planned for the Sterling Highway and Birch Street intersection and Kalifornsky Beach Road and Gas Well Road. The cameras will be installed in any new signal locations, she said. The cameras came as a result of increased summer-time traffic on the Kenai Peninsula, Reese said. The Sterling Highway sees 18,740 cars a day drive through the Binkley Street intersection,
while Binkley Street traffic has about 5,820 daily cars, according to statistics from DOT. By comparison, the Kenai Spur Highway averages 12,000 to 14,000 drivers a day, Reese said. The camera is not connected to any recording technology because it would require too much data to store, she said. The radar system in the camera senses the presence of oncoming vehicles and initiates the proper sequence intended to reduce traffic con-
gestion. On the Kenai Peninsula the 11 camera locations are: Kenai Spur Highway and Willow Street; Main Street; Bridge Access; Airport Way; Marathon Road; and Park Street; and the Sterling Highway and Kalifornsky Beach Road; Kobuk Street; Binkley Street; Kenai Spur Highway; and Lake Street in Homer. Reach Dan Balmer at daniel.balmer@peninsulaclarion. com.
School bus rear-ended Complaints filed with APOC on Kalifornsky Beach Staff report
Central Emergency Services responders transported two people to Central Peninsula Hospital with non-life threatening injuries following a collision involving two vehicles and a school bus Wednesday afternoon. The accident occurred at about 2:45 p.m. on Kalifornsky Beach Road and Even Lane. CES Health and Safety Officer Brad Nelson said the two injured people had been in an SUV involved in the crash. A pickup with a single occupant was also involved. Megan Peters, Alaska State Troopers spokesperson, said it appears that one of the vehicles
rear-ended the other vehicle, which then rear-ended the school bus. Nelson said about 29 kids were riding the bus at the time of the accident. He is unsure if the bus was stopped to drop off students at the time of the accident. Crews briefly shutdown the highway to clear the scene and prepare patients for transport. Peters said troopers were still on scene at 3:25 p.m. Nelson said there was debris on the road and the pickup and SUV looked like they would need to be towed away due to damages. The bus appeared drivable, but he was unsure if it continued on its route or what school it was from.
over Kenai River Classic gifts By MOLLY DISCHNER Morris News Service-Alaska/ Alaska Joural of Commerce
Complaints have been filed against three state officials for taking gifts for themselves or their families in relation to an annual Kenai River fishing event. The complaints filed against Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources Ed Fogels and Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Cora Campbell assert that they did not declare their participation in the Kenai River C
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Classic, nor the gifts they received at the event, on public disclosure forms. A similar complaint was filed against Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell for not declaring his daughter’s participation or gifts. The Kenai River Classic is an annual invitational fishing event held to raise money for the Kenai River Sportfishing Association’s work in habitat restoration, and fisheries education, management and research. According to KRSA’s website, the event has raised more than $14 million during the past 20 years. The complaints were filed
with the Alaska Public Offices Commission, or APOC, Aug. 25, and published on the commission’s website Aug. 27. Once APOC notifies each of the officials about the complaint, they have 15 days to respond with any proof and supporting documents explaining their response, according to APOC documents detailing the process. The complaint against Campbell asserts that she failed to report attending the event or accepting numerous gifts in 2011. KRSA estimated the value See CLASSIC, page A-7