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CLARION P E N I N S U L A
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 292
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Flint Hills closure makes for higherpriced asphalt
Question Who is your preferred candidate for governor? n Sean Parnell (Republican) n Byron Mallott (Democrat) n Bill Walker (Non-affiliated) n J.R. Myers (Alaska Constitution) n Carolyn F. Clift (Libertarian) 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 ELWOOD BREHMER Morris News Service-Alaska Alaska Journal of Commerce
Photos by Dan Balmer/Peninsula Clarion
Above: Sharon Ehasz from Anchorage petals down Gas Well Road Sunday on the bike leg of the Tri-the-Kenai triathlon. Ehasz, who is competing in her first triathlon, placed seventh in the female sprint division with a time of 1:12:58. Below: Kristy Berington (right) and Anna Berington near the finish line for the Tri-the-Kenai triathlon Sunday at Skyview Middle School. Kristy Berington, of Kasilof, finished just ahead of her sister Anna Berington, of Aniak. Both competed in the intermediate race which included a 1,000 meter swim, 20 mile bike and 10k trail run.
Athletes Tri-the-Kenai
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By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
$1.4 million granted to northern lights project FAIRBANKS — A $1.4 million grant has been given to a project developing educational material on the aurora borealis that showcases the Inupiat language and culture. The Fairbanks Daily News Miner reports the U.S. Department of Education grant is spread over three years. The project is led by an outreach team at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute. The group will be tasked with producing a northern lights video, a museum exhibit on Inupiat cultural connections to the earth and sky and instructional kits. The material will provide material to 19 rural communities and more than 1,600 students.
Inside ‘Living along the border has made us so resilient.’ ... See page A-5
As soon as Sharon Ehasz ran down the final hill coming out of Tsalteshi Trails, her two young sons stood and cheered her all the way to the finish line. With a smile of relief Sharon Ehasz, of Anchorage, received high fives and hugs after completing her first triathlon. While she is an avid runner, the combination of swimming, biking and running turned out to be an incredible challenge, she said.
About 10 minutes later, husband Bobby Ehasz, who encouraged her to do the race, crossed the finish line to the same fanfare. “The biggest thing is it’s important for our kids to see us do this,” Sharon Ehasz said. “Exercise can be fun and rewarding, not just something mom and dad say you have to do. It’s better than sitting around watching TV.” Under sunny skies, more than 200 athletes competed in the fifth annual Tri-the-Kenai race Sunday at Skyview Middle School. Youth racers kicked off the day at 8 a.m. and See RACE, page A-10
Ketchikan says no to legalizing pot KETCHIKAN (AP) — The Ketchikan City Council has voted against supporting the legalization of recreational marijuana. Council members voted on Thursday to approve a resolution opposing the general election ballot proposition that would legalize marijuana in Alaska. The resolution urged voters to reject Ballot Proposition 2, the Ketchikan Daily News reports. The resolution said legalizing recreational marijuana would create public health haz-
ards such as explosions from people making concentrates, or driving under the influence of pot. The City Council considered the resolution at the request of Rene Schofield, who is involved with the Substance Abuse Task Force and owns Tongass Substance Screening. The resolution wasn’t considered alone, but rather it was part of handful of other decisions in the council’s consent agenda, which was approved as a whole. Some residents voiced oppo-
sition to the resolution. Eric Muench criticized the decision to put it into the consent agenda. Not voting on the resolution separately suggested “there could not possibly be any other view to consider,” Muench said, adding that it was an “arrogant assumption.” Of the resolution itself, he said the City Council should “leave it alone.” Marijuana use is common and “minimally harmful,” Muench said. City Council members DeAnn Karlson and KJ Harris
both said they were undecided about the proposition. “I’m not saying yea or nay, I just understand how people don’t want to say anything aloud about how they feel one way or another,” Harris said. “That’s kind of where I’m sitting on that thing right now. I’m 51-49; I haven’t made up my mind yet.” Karlson said she had mixed feelings about the proposition. “I’ve seen firsthand where it’s a gateway drug for young people to move on to bigger, See POT, page A-10
As paving season peaks, getting asphalt to construction sites across Alaska has become more complicated and expensive since Flint Hills Resources closed its North Pole oil refinery. The real price of asphalt oil has spiked about 20 percent over last year — about $150 per ton — for construction projects in Fairbanks and more remote locations, Exclusive Paving General Manager Travis Cline said. The reason for the cost increase is asphalt oil used for state Transportation Department Northern Region projects must now be trucked up from Tesoro’s Nikiski refinery. Tracked bi-weekly by DOT, the base, or “rack” price of asphalt oil is actually less than last year. Through Sept. 4 the rack price was $600 per ton and had been steady since June 20, as opposed to $619 per ton for the 2013 paving season. While work on road projects occurs all summer long, most paving is done in late summer and early fall. “Those numbers, that they use for that index, that is what they get direct from the manufacturer,” Cline said. “That price doesn’t take into account the trucking. That’s why when it finally gets to our jobs here in Northern Region it’s quite a bit more expensive.” DOT Northern Region Construction Engineer Frank Ganley said the state was initially hearing that asphalt was running about $100 more per ton than was projected in many of the contracts it has with construction companies, but added that the $150 figure is reasonable as well. “A lot of that information we just don’t have yet from our contractors,” Ganley said. Contracts for this summer’s projects were bid and awarded last winter and early spring, prior to when Flint Hills announced it would close its See PRICE, page A-2
Sterling Highway erosion project slated for spring Index Opinion.................. A-4 Nation.................... A-5 World..................... A-6 Sports.....................A-7 Schools...................B-1 Classifieds............. B-4 Comics................... B-8 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
By KAYLEE OSOWSKI Peninsula Clarion
Due to some extra paperwork, construction on a Sterling Highway erosion mitigation project was delayed to next construction season. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities had planned to begin work at Milepost 153.3 of the Sterling Highway as early as spring 2014, Jill Reese, DOT&PF spokesperson, said in a Clarion interview last November. Shannon McCarthy, DOT&PF spokesperson, said additional paperwork regarding a separate utility agreement due to electrical lines in the project zone and submitting the project for federal funding pushed the project back. The department now expects to put the project out for bid this month to begin work in the spring of 2015, McCarthy said. The department ini-
tiated the Sterling Highway Erosion Response Project Milepost 150-157 in 2010. The project involves five construction steps — vegetation removal, soil removal to 8 feet below the original surface, riprap — large rock — placement, embankment construction and revegetation. McCarthy said the department plans to complete the project in the 2015 construction season. The project is expected to cost just under $5 million; however, the final price tag will depend on bid estimates, she said. State and federal dollars are funding the project, which includes land-purchasing costs. Groundwater is the culprit in creating the large crater-like feature on the bluff side of the road at Milepost 153.3. The water runs under the highway and down the bluff into the Cook Photo courtesy of the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Inlet. The edge of the bluff encroaches on the Sterling Highway at Milepost 153.3 “(The project) should solve the between Happy Valley and Anchor Point. The edge is within about 50 feet of See DELAY, page A-10 the highway. Y
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