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CLARION
A few clouds 36/18 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 45, Issue 24
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
High tunnels here to stay
Question Do you plan to vote in the Nov. 4 general election? n Yes, I will vote in person at my polling place; n I plan to or have already voted early/ absentee; n No.
Program proven on Peninsula
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.
By KELLY SULLIVAN Peninsula Clarion
Parnell said he has spent his career with a heart for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. He said he would never let a victim come to his office or have allegations come forward without moving to take action. Walker said when oil companies complained about pipeline taxation, Parnell “acted immediately” by firing the chairman of the board that reviews the tax value the trans-Alaska pipeline.
High tunnels are here to stay. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service announced last month the High Tunnel Cost Share grant program is no longer an interim practice. “The program has been tested and proven in the last four or five years,” said Meg Mueller, the NRCS Kenai district conservationist. “It is quite popular and proven useful.” Alaska ranks second in the nation in numbers of high tunnels, Mueller said. Missouri has more, but per capita Alaska is likely in first place, she said. In the central Kenai Peninsula area there are 79 high tunnels in use through the cost share program, and in Homer there are 161, Mueller said. Another 12 contracts have been approved, but not yet built, she said. In Alaska growers use high tunnels as a method for season extension and a way to cultivate produce that could not otherwise flourish in the harsh northern climate, Mueller said. “Production is so abundant and prolific, people tailor their seasons now,” Mueller said. “They don’t start as early and end as late because during the production season it is that much better.” High tunnels, also known as hoop houses, are hulking metal
See DEBATE, page A-7
See TUNNEL, page A-7
In the news Alaska LNG Project open house today
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The Alaska LNG Project has scheduled a series of open houses across Alaska to provide details about the multi-billion dollar project. The first meeting will be held tonight at Nikiski Middle-High School, 52275 Education Drive in Nikiski, from 6-9 p.m. Officials with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, will be attend the meetings as part of the federal agency’s process in preparing an environmental impact statement for the process, according to an Alaska LNG media release. FERC approval is required to construct and operate the planned gas treatment plant at the North Slope, 800-mile long pipeline, gas liquefaction plant and the LNG shipping terminal in Nikiski. — Staff report
Correction A story on Thursday’s Arts page contained an error. Donations for Tomoko Raften’s and Maria Allison’s recital were given to the Kenai Peninsula Orchestra. The Clarion regrets the error.
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Business................ A-5 Nation/World.......... A-6 Sports.....................A-8 Classifieds........... A-10 Comics................. A-14 Pet Tails............... A-15 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion
Friendly fire
Lance Corporal Jeff Melvin took on the job of catching the stuffed animals from attendees at the Friday Kenai Brown Bears Game during the sixth annual Toys for Tots fundraiser at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna.
Parnell, Walker spar at debate By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
JUNEAU — Gov. Sean Parnell and independent candidate Bill Walker traded barbs during a televised debate late Sunday, one of the last debates remaining before the Nov. 4 election. Walker sought to cast Parnell as slow to respond to allegations of sexual assault and other misconduct within the Alaska National Guard, a characterization that Parnell vigor-
ously disputed. Parnell, meanwhile, asked Walker what deal he cut with Democrats to have Bryon Mallott join Walker’s ticket. Walker said there was none. The National Guard scandal has cast a shadow over the race, with Parnell facing criticism over his response. He has said he responded to every allegation brought to him, including following up with Guard leadership on the handling of claims and having his chief of
staff take concerns to the FBI in 2010. Parnell has said he went to the National Guard Bureau in February when he received “concrete examples” of how the command structure was failing Guard members. Findings of the bureau’s Office of Complex Investigations led to a shake-up in Guard leadership and recommendations that Parnell said he is implementing to help restore confidence in the Guard. In the KTUU debate Sunday,
Visiting police chief offers support for legal pot By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
During his 20 years in law enforcement, Larry Kirk, police chief with Old Monroe, Missouri, had long been opposed to the legalization of marijuana. It wasn’t until he started to do research on the history of marijuana, he says, that he started to understand the cost and effect the war on drugs has had on the entire country. Kirk, a representative from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) spoke at a Kenai Rotary Club meeting Monday and shared information of marijuana legalization from a police perspective. Kirk is visiting the Kenai Peninsula this week to provide information to
voters prior to the vote on Ballot Measure 2, which would legalize the recreational use and sale of marijuana for adults 21 or older. “Look at any federal budget and see the poor returns as what we have seen with drug prohibition,” Kirk said. “Our government has spent trillions over the years and we haven’t seen any impact on demand. At some point you have to re-evaluate.” Kirk said that with the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s came an increase in crime in the black market violence. Today drug cartels and street gangs control the illegal market. Legalization of marijuana would take money out of the criminal aspect and the state would benefit from the sale economically,
he said. “Every dollar spent in the illegal market goes to street gangs and drug cartels,” he said. “Every dollar spent on marijuana bought legally in Colorado and Washington goes back into the state. Anytime you take something out of the illegal market the better.” Kirk addressed misinformation and myths that crime has risen in Colorado since marijuana was legalized in January. Using figures from the Colorado state website, Kirk said homicide is down 28 percent, sexual assault is down 10 percent, robbery down five percent and vehicle theft is down 25 percent this year. While the reduction in crime See LEGAL, page A-7
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Photo by Dan Balmer/Peninsula Clarion
Larry Kirk, with Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) speaks to members of the Kenai Rotary Club Monday at Don Jose’s Restaurant in Kenai. Kirk, a police chief with Old Monroe Police Department in Missouri, said the social impacts of marijuana arrests have negatively impacted every state in the country.