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CLARION
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P E N I N S U L A
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2014 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 45, Issue 36
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
State to begin ballot count
Question Are you ready for some snow? n Yes, winter is no fun without it. n No, I’m enjoying this mild weather. 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 MARK THIESSEN Associated Press
ANCHORAGE — Alaska will begin counting more than 53,000 absentee and questioned ballots on Tuesday in an effort to resolve the state’s unsettled contests for the Senate and for governor. Democratic Sen. Mark Begich trailed Republican challenger Dan Sullivan by about 8,100 votes after Election Night. Begich is banking on the uncounted votes after waging an aggressive ground game in rural Alaska. The outcome of the new round of vote-counting won’t change the balance of the Senate. Republicans gained seven seats in last week’s election, more than enough to grab the Senate majority for the remainder of President Barack Obama’s presidency. The limbo between Election Night and the outcome of the new count created a vacuum the candidates’ spokesmen sought to fill. “Every Alaskan deserves to have their vote counted, and past experience indicates that counting these votes will favor Begich and draw this race closer,” Begich’s spokesman, Max Croes, said in an email Monday to The Associated Press.
In the news Michigan man’s WWII dog tag found in Nome
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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A man searching for sea glass along a western Alaska beach has discovered a Michigan soldier’s World War II dog tag. Mario Gandolfo said he found the dog tag in Nome, Alaska, on Nov. 4 and wanted to return the 70-year-old artifact to its original owner’s family, WOOD-TV reported. The tag belonged to Earl L. Vogelar of Grand Rapids. “I was hoping to get this to this man’s family by Veterans Day, which is just around the corner,” Gandolfo said. “I want to get this back to his immediate family — his cousin, his grandson, possibly his son, someone who is of his blood where this rightfully belongs.” Social media and the television station helped connected Gandolfo with Vogelar’s grandson Dustin Vogelar. He said he never met his grandfather because of a family feud. Although he doesn’t know how the dog tag got lost, Dustin Vogelar said he knows his grandfather was stationed in Alaska for a few years during the war, came home afterward and died in 1994. “It would have been nice to meet him and see what we had in common,” he said. Dustin Vogelar said he is very grateful to have connected with Gandolfo over his grandfather.
Inside ‘It’s not ideal, but it’s better than getting nothing done.’ ... See page A-5
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.
A salute to veterans
Above: Kenai resident Betty Osborn, retired from the U.S. Air Force, stands for the signing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and posting of the colors Monday at the Kenai Senior Center. The community gathered for an evening of remembrance and celebration of veterans the day before Veterans Day. Local veterans organizations will host Veterans Day observances at 11 a.m. at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex today. Right: Students with the Mountain View Elementary School Choir sing patriotic songs Monday at the Kenai Senior Center. The concert was part of a evening of festivities to celebrate and remember veterans. Photos by Dan Balmer/Peninsula Clarion
See COUNT, page A-10
Escape leads to security review of Kenai facility By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
State officials plan to review the Kenai Peninsula Youth Facility security policies after five inmates escaped following a riot that left two guards seriously injured Friday night. Karen Forrest, director of the state division of Juvenile Justice, said she is “saddened” by the incident that took place Friday when seven juvenile prisoners “engaged in a plot to overtake the staff at the facility and escape,” according to an
affidavit filed in Kenai Court Saturday. All five of the escapees were captured by Saturday night. Kenai police and Alaska State Troopers captured three of the five prisoners an hour after their escape. The three were found hiding in a Dumpster in the Kenai Multipurpose Facility parking lot at about 9:20 p.m. One of the three boys, Cody Rosenthal, 18, was taken to Wildwood Pretrial Facility where he was booked for riot, second-degree escape and second-degree theft. Rosenthal,
Responders rescued in attempt to rescue stranded boater By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
In an attempt to rescue a stranded boater Sunday night, four Central Emergency Services responders became stranded themselves before the five were rescued hours later. CES received a distress call at about 4:30 p.m. Sunday from a boater, Eric Ohlson, 47, of Anchorage, who experienced engine failure on his 22-foot vessel on Upper Skilak Lake. CES Health and Safety Officer Brad Nelson said the 22foot rigid hull inflatable rescue boat was deployed from the Funny River fire station. With no natural light and high winds by the time the crew of
four left the boat launch, the responders had limited visibility on the choppy water, he said. “It seemed like an easy rescue at first,” he said. “(The crew) got out into the water and it was nasty and windy out there and the waves pushed them into rocks and they got stuck.” The rescue boat ran aground near Caribou Island. Nelson said instead of risking another boat to get stuck in the rough conditions, Alaska State Troopers dispatched an aerial rescue through the Rescue Coordination Center. Master Sgt. Armando Soria, a controller with the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center said they received notification See RESCUE, page A-10
who turned 18 in September, was housed at the youth facility for “multiple criminal charges,” according to the affidavit. The other two juveniles, both 16, were captured Saturday in Nikiski and returned to the youth facility. Kenai police also arrested Sharon Berghone, 63, and Larry Crouse, 41, for harboring the two escapees. Berghone was charged with two counts of hindering prosecution in the first-degree, while Crouse was charged with one count of hindering prosecution. Both charges are class C felo-
nies and Berghone and Crouse were taken to Wildwood Pretrial Facility. Forrest said her department is immediately dealing with the aftermath and is taking a closer look at what led up to the situation, examining their policies and learning from what took place. “The event was impactful to the two people injured, the parents, to those who responded and the youths themselves,” Forrest said. “We are working to respond and move forward and learn from the event. If
there any practices that could help prevent this we want to know that.” The riot started while the nine teenagers were involved in a game activity at the 10-bed facility on Marathon Road. After assaulting the two guards, a set of keys was stolen from one of the guards and five juveniles escaped through the front doors, according to the affidavit. Two juvenile detention center guards were taken to Central Peninsula Hospital for serious injuries after they were attacked See ESCAPE, page A-10
Soldotna drivers getting used to roundabouts By KELLY SULLIVAN Peninsula Clarion
Since the end of construction on the Binkley Street improvements, residents have been getting used to the new traffic patterns along Soldotna’s main roadway. “The intersections that were transformed into mini roundabouts have almost no wait times and very little congestion,” said Soldotna police officer Tobin Brennan. “The new intersections are doing their job.” Drivers are still getting used to the new system, so minor mishaps are not uncommon at this point, Brennan said. Around six fender benders have been reported C
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‘We knew there would be a learning curve. It is to be expected when people are introduced to a whole new traffic pattern.’ — Soldotna police officer Tobin Brennan to the police department since construction began in May, he said. The most common issues Soldotna police are seeing are drivers failing to slow down as they approach the intersec-
tion, Brennan said. Officers also notice people who don’t yield to traffic already in the roundabout or acknowledge pedestrians attempting to cross through the intersections, he said. Once the police department began recording multiple instances of those issues, they started increasing traffic patrols along Binkley Street, Brennan said. “We knew there would be a learning curve,” Brennan said. “It is to be expected when people are introduced to a whole new traffic pattern.” Officers who notice drivers committing infractions have given out verbal warnings and See DRIVE, page A-10