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CLARION
Breezy 41/34 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2014 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 45, Issue 59
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Board mulls tobacco ban
Question Did you go shopping during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend? n Yes, we hit the Black Friday sales; n Yes, we shopped at some local small businesses; n Yes, we visited craft fairs/bazaars; n All or a combination of the above; 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.
In the news M K
Skier killed in avalanche ANCHORAGE (AP) — Alaska State Troopers say a man died after being caught in an avalanche while skiing. Troopers say the victim of the avalanche that was reported Saturday evening is tentatively identified as 35-yearold Eric Peterson of Delta Junction. Troopers say 63-year-old Michael Hopper was skiing with Peterson when they were caught in the avalanche in the Rainbow Mountains near the Richardson Highway. Hopper told authorities it took him 2-to-3 hours to dig himself out and once he was free, he found Peterson’s glove. He then dug into the snow and found Peterson dead. According to troopers, Hopper flagged down a passing motorist on the highway and contacted troopers. Troopers were among responders to the scene, where conditions are unstable with heavy snow. Conditions will be evaluated before a body recovery is attempted.
Inside ‘It’s a way for the kids to feel like they were involved.’ ... See page B-1
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Nation/World.......... A-5 Sports.....................A-6 Schools.................. B-1 Classifieds............. B-3 Comics................... B-6 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
Regents to vote on issue
Photos by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion
Two potters discuss a glaze near a table of goods for sale during the Kenai Potters Guild sale Saturday in Kenai. The Guild will begin offering lessons in January.
Thrown together
Kenai Potters Guild holds sale, plans classes By BEN BOETTGER Peninsula Clarion
Members of the Kenai Potters Guild contributed work to the Guild’s annual Christmas show, which was held on Saturday in the Guild’s studio at the Kenai Fine Arts Center. The variety of work on display ranged from functional items such as mugs, vases, teapots, and plates to purely decorative sculptures of cats and grinning faces. The pieces for sale had been donated to by the Pottery Guild members who created them, while the sale’s proceeds would help maintain the studio and its equipment. “There are so many fees,” said Guild member Christina
Kramer. “It’s kind of expensive to run the kilns and pay for everything. So the sale helps.” The non-profit Potter’s Guild has existed since 1973, and is housed in a leased studio at the Kenai Fine Arts Center. Among the equipment the Guild makes available to members are two electric kilns, a larger gas-fired kiln, a work table, and six potter’s wheels. Guild treasurer Karen Monelle said that the Guild’s membership includes both amateur and professional potters, and that the established members teach two yearly classes for beginners. Clay fish dangle from a wind chime at the Kenai Potters “We have a wide range of Guild sale Saturday in Kenai. The Guild holds intermittent See GUILD, page A-10 sales and will hold another one on Mother’s Day.
FAIRBANKS (AP) — The University of Alaska Board of Regents is set to consider implementing a tobacco ban on all campuses. The issue is scheduled for a vote Thursday at the regents’ meeting at the University of Alaska Anchorage, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported. The proposal would halt the use of tobacco almost everywhere on UA properties. Forms of tobacco under the ban would include cigarettes, chewing tobacco and electronic cigarettes. The proposal is the result of a September request to UA President Pat Gamble by regents, who wanted a draft of a tobacco-free policy they could consider. Under the proposed ban, tobacco use would be prohibited in all forms in most areas, including building interiors and campus trail systems. Tobacco use would be allowed in private vehicles not parked in a UA garage. Also exempt would be remote research sites and fenced construction zones, as well as tobacco use for research, ceremonial purposes and pesticides. Chancellors at each campus would direct implementation dates. But if the ban passes, it could go into effect no later than Dec. 1, 2015. The call for tobacco free campuses has grown in recent years, and students have testified at regents’ meetings in favor of tighter restrictions on tobacco. Earlier this year, University of Alaska Anchorage students approved a non-binding measure to prohibit tobacco on campus. At the University of Alaska Fairbanks, a 2013 employee survey on whether to go tobacco-free deadlocked with a 387-387 vote.
Business outlook positive Sobriety brings We’re projecting for stability for 2014 to have a better year on net inshelter manager come after tax, but By ELWOOD BREHMER Morris News Service-Alaska/
Alaska Journal of Commerce
“Slow and steady” was the motto for most of Alaska’s banks and credit unions in the third quarter. Total assets grew 3 percent combined at five of the major state banks for the quarter. Similar asset growth was 5.9 percent year-over-year. Northrim Bank had the largest year-over-year asset growth at 20.6 percent, following its acquisition of Juneau-based Alaska Pacific Bank. Denali State Bank was the only one of the five to post quarterly and yearly asset declines, both in the 7 percent range. With 2.8 percent growth in the third quarter, First National Bank Alaska assets grew to more than $3.2 billion. All of the state’s major credit unions also saw year-over-year asset growth for the quarter as well. The largest percentage increase was at Denali Alaskan Federal Credit Union with an 8.7 percent asset expansion.
very comparable to last year.’
— Craig Ingham, Mt. McKinley Bank CEO Net income results were mixed compared to the second quarter but positive year-overyear at the banks. FNBA pushed its third quarter income to more than $9.3 million, an 11.5 percent increase quarter-to-quarter and had a 12.2 percent increase year-over-year. Northrim saw its income decline 9.6 percent from earlier in the year but achieved 16.6 percent income growth from the third quarter of last year. Fairbanks institutions Mt. McKinley Bank and Denali State Bank saw income growth on both comparisons.
Mt. McKinley CEO Craig Ingham has a positive outlook on the year overall. “We’re projecting for 2014 to have a better year on net income after tax, but very comparable to last year,” Ingham said. The mixed results also extended to the credit unions. Alaska USA Federal Credit Union had a 28.7 percent decline in year-to-date income, while Credit Union 1 grew its net earnings more than 35 percent. The most significant increase was at Juneau’s True North Federal Credit Union, which had a 41.1 percent increase in income. Loan activity picked up slightly from the second quarter when businesses around the state waited for voters to settle the oil tax debate in August. Wells Fargo Alaska Regional Business Banking Manager Darren Franz said his company’s state portfolio will likely end up growing about $80 million when all of the third quarter loans are funded. See BIZ, page A-10 C
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By DOROTHY CHOMICZ Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
FAIRBANKS (AP) — Allan Lamprey is a happy man. He may not be rich or live in a mansion, but he has a tidy little apartment and a steady and fulfilling job as the men’s shelter manager at the Fairbanks Rescue Mission. This may not seem like much to many people but it means a lot to Lamprey, because it wasn’t long ago that he was was one of the many homeless men who call the shelter their temporary home. Lamprey, an earnest and quiet man in his mid-50s, recently sat down in his office at the busy shelter and talked about his journey from homeless alcoholic to sober and productive member of
society. Born and raised in Arlington, Virginia, Lamprey started drinking when he was 13 and started doing hard drugs at 17. He left home at 18 and made his way by Greyhound bus to California, where he worked a variety of jobs and went from one failed relationship to another. “The woman I was living with threw me out, so I packed up and left. I worked in warehouses, cooked in restaurants, was a lot attendant at used car dealership,” Lamprey said. “I’d get in a good relationship, the drugs and alcohol would take over and I’d once again become homeless.” Lamprey traveled all over the Lower 48 but mostly stayed in California. He See SHELTER, page A-10