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Trip
Hockey
Nikiski man tours country on bike
Brown Bears make roster changes
Recreation/C-1
Sports/B-1
CLARION
Cloudy 39/23 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
Friday-Saturday, October 24-25 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 45, Issue 21
Question Has your opinion of the candidates for U.S. Senate changed over the past few months? n Yes, I’ve learned more about their positions on issues important to me; n Yes, the steady stream of political ads has influenced my views; n No, I feel the same now as I did at the start of campaign season.
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Company probed for dumping in Nikiski DEC investigator says Baker Hughes waste disposal is not illegal but ‘bad practice’ By RASHAH McCHESNEY Peninsula Clarion
If it hadn’t have been for the legal bull moose walking through his property, Chuck Campbell may not have discovered the deepening piles of ashy cement powder coating the trees and running off into a gravel pit on his Nikiski property. “This just showed up here after (Sept. 20) because ... he came through here and walked through this and he was this deep,” Campbell said, lifting his hand about 3 feet above the frozen ground. “I went through here and I got him and hunted him and I’m like, ‘god almighty.’ This really got out of hand.”
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See WASTE, page A-12 Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion
Chuck Campbell gestures toward a large pile of a concrete mixture that has been leaking onto his property from a nearby Baker Hughes facility, Thursday in Nikiski.
In the news No sign of missing Kenai family C
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By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
Kenai Police reignited their search efforts this week for the Kenai missing family of four last seen in May. A search team was assembled and spent two days in the wooded area northeast of Wildwood Correctional Complex. Despite their efforts, Rebecca Adams, 23, Michelle Hundley, 6, Jaracca Hundley, 3, Brandon Jividen, 37, are still missing. According to the press release from the Kenai Police Department, the latest search is an attempt to evaluate a specific area more throughly, while taking advantage of fallen leaves due to the changing season. Various agencies including the FBI, Alaska State Troopers, Soldotna Police Department, Whittier Police Department, Adult Probation, Fish & Game and others have contributed resources to assist in the ground search. Police and other support vehicles that may have been seen in the area of Borgen Road or Inlet Woods Subdivision over the last few days were likely in support of those search activities. Reach Dan Balmer at daniel.balmer@peninsulaclarion.com
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Nation.................... A-6 World..................... A-8 Sports.....................B-1 Classifieds............ C-3 Comics.................. C-7
Newly-elected Navarre looks ahead School site councils name priorities By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
With the local election in the rear-view mirror, Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Mike Navarre is looking to continue the momentum his administration has made and asks residents to keep an open mind moving forward. Navarre, now in his third term as borough mayor and second consecutive, said the election ended up being a distraction that took away from daily operations. While the campaign process allowed him to hear from the community, he said it also took away time from his management responsibilities and access to department directors. Navarre said his focus in this term will be to tackle the contentious issues that face the borough, like health care, review of the current tax code and school district funding. Education takes up the largest portion of the borough general fund — about 66 percent. For the fiscal year 2015, the borough contributed $44 million to the school district. He said education is the biggest priority, responsibility and expenditure. The Alaska LNG Project is another
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion
area the borough needs to pay close attention to and prepare for the socioeconomic impacts and infrastructure needs. Gov. Sean Parnell appointed Navarre to the Municipal Advisory Gas Project Review Board in July. His role will be vital in the discussions of the possible changes in the tax
structuring and how it would impact the borough. Navarre said the administration would look at the tax code with an eye toward whether changes need to be made. When voters chose to increase the property tax exemption from $20,000 to $50,000, that had an impact on overall revenues and certain factors will affect what the budget will be, he said. “Our administration team will engage the businesses community and public in those discussions,” he said. “We will be deliberative to identify what changes we think make sense and communicate it.” In his time as mayor the accomplishment Navarre is most proud of is that the budget has run a surplus the last few years. Prior to his arrival the borough was seeing deficit spending, which dipped into the reserves, he said. By building the reserve fund along with the oil and gas tax base increase, the borough has built a surplus, which allows the opportunity to reduce taxes, he said. “We don’t spend every nickel that is budgeted,” he said. One of the first things Navarre did when he was elected mayor in 2011 was request $200,000 from the borough assembly for health care.
According to reports filed by troopers, Nikiski resident Don Matthews called troopers on June 9, 2013 and told them his Nikiski home had been burglarized. While Matthews was at work, thieves took several things including his his 2010 Ford pickup. They also took 13 guns, ammunition, food, a computer, a chainsaw, a log splitter and
The Kenai Peninsula Borough Board of Education began budget development this year by asking individual schools how they think the district can cut costs. The school board used the feedback to identify potential priorities, ways to reduce expenditures and increase revenues. Nine schools sent responses. Protecting the pupil teacher ratio was the highest reported priority. Raising borough funding and no decrease in wages or benefits were also high on the list. “For Kenai Central High School (and other high schools in the district), if the pupil teacher ratio is raised, then programs and diversity in the schedule are sure to suffer,” according to the Kenai Central High School’s site council report. Redoubt Elementary School suggested increasing the pupil teacher ratio to cut spending. Soldotna Prep agreed. “Ultimately the group could not find any clear cut area that needed additional funds or called for reductions,” according to the Soldotna Prep site council report.
See MANHUNT, page A-12
See PRIORITY, page A-11
See MAYOR, page A-11
Nikiski thief still missing after manhunt By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
A three-hour search for a wanted Nikiski man came up empty Wednesday night. Alaska State Troopers received a tip that Aaron James Duvall, 26, was located on Mile 2 of Island Lake Road. Troopers responded, set up a perimeter of the area and searched for Duvall from 7-10 p.m. but
Duvall escaped, said trooper spokesperson Beth Ipsen. The trooper K-9 dog Scout was also on scene but Duvall escaped, Ipsen said. Duvall has a $3,000 active warrant out for his arrest for a parole violation stemming from a 2013 offense. The warrant was issued on Sept. 5, according to court records. Duvall also has an outstanding misdemeanor theft charge
and missed a court date on Oct. 6 for a change of plea hearing. Kenai District Court Judge Sharon Illsley issued a summons for him. In 2013, Duvall, and four others, were arrested on theft and burglary charges. In January he pled guilty to felony burglary, vehicle and firearm theft charges. Duvall was sentenced to 36 months in jail with two years suspended.
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By KELLY SULLIVAN Peninsula Clarion