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CLARION
Flurries 35/26 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2014 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 45, Issue 60
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Arctic driller set to plead guilty
Question Do you prefer natural or artificial Christmas trees? n We like to find a natural tree in the woods and cut it down ourselves. n We like to find a place to buy a natural tree. n We prefer an artificial tree. 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 Fleener names Walker adviser on M Arctic issues K
ANCHORAGE (AP) — Craig Fleener, the one-time running mate of Gov. Bill Walker, has been named a special assistant to Walker, advising him on Arctic issues. Fleener ran for lieutenant governor alongside Walker as part of an independent ticket but stepped aside to make way for Democrat Byron Mallott after the August primary. Fleener, a former deputy commissioner of Fish and Game, is a former chairman of Gwich’in Council International, a permanent participant in the Arctic Council, according to a biography provided by the governor’s office. Fleener told KTUU Alaska is the reason the U.S. is an Arctic nation. He says he wants to make sure the interests of Alaska and Alaskans are at the fore of decisionmaking. He said his immediate goals include helping the state adapt to climate change.
Inside ‘The Afghan security forces are capable.’ ... See page A-6
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By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
Photo by Dan Balmer/Peninsula Clarion
Nikiski resident Paul Hadella pays for his groceries while cashier Chasityanne Kameroff bags up his items Monday at the Country Foods IGA in Kenai. A petition that aims to repeal a Kenai Peninsula Borough ordinance that authorizes general law cities to collect sales taxes on non-prepared food in the winter months, was certified Friday and will be on the October 2015 ballot. Petition organizer James Price said he also plans to start an initiative in Kenai to end the city’s sale tax on groceries.
Grocery tax measure on ballot Voters to decide on issue in 2015 borough election By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
A petition that aims to rescind a Kenai Peninsula Borough grocery tax ordinance has been certified and will be put on the October 2015 ballot. Proposition 1 seeks to repeal a 2008 borough ordinance that authorized general law cities in the borough to collect 3 percent sales taxes on non-prepared foods during the wintertime. Volunteers for the referendum gathered 1,800 signatures, more than the 1,600 needed, and the borough clerk’s office certified the petition Friday. The proposition will be placed before the voters in the Oct. 6, 2015 regular borough election.
Nikiski resident James Price, one of the drivers behind the petition, started his efforts to remove the winter sales tax on non-prepared foods more than seven years ago. The referendum is a response to action the borough assembly took with an ordinance in 2008, which Price says “circumvented” a 2008 citizens’ initiative to end sales tax on certain groceries between September 1 and May 31, he said. While the 2008 grocery tax initiative passed with 60 percent of the vote, the ordinance that passed three weeks prior to the election granted the borough authority that required general law cities like Soldotna, Homer and Seldovia to levy a sales tax.
The borough does not collect sales tax on groceries in the winter, but large grocery stores like Walmart, Fred Meyer and Safeway reside in incorporated cities, which collect their own sales tax. The 2008 referendum only took away half of the grocery tax because of the borough’s action, Price said. His goal is to eliminate all winter grocery tax to ease the burden of high food costs to families. “(The tax) is proportionately harder for families and people on a fixed income,” he said. “It’s not the best way to fund their municipalities. There are better ways to get taxes.” The Soldotna City Council adopted a resolution in 2008 that requested the See TAX, page A-10
JUNEAU — A company that operated a drill ship off Alaska’s Arctic coast has agreed to plead guilty to environmental and maritime crimes as part of a deal with prosecutors. The agreement calls for Noble Drilling U.S. LLC to plead guilty to eight felony counts and pay an $8.2 million fine, plus $4 million in community service payments. The charges and the agreement, which must be approved by a judge, were made public Monday. Noble operated the drill ship Noble Discoverer and the drill unit Kulluk in support of efforts by Royal Dutch Shell PLC to drill offshore in 2012. According to the agreement, Noble Drilling’s violations included keeping false records or failing to record details surrounding its handling of oil on the vessels, and failing to notify the U.S. Coast Guard of hazardous conditions aboard the Noble Discoverer. “During 2012, the Noble Discoverer experienced numerous problems with its main propulsion system, including its main engine and its propeller shaft, resulting in engine shut-downs, equipment failures and unsafe conditions,” according to the plea agreement. See PLEAD, page A-10
Fish and Game forecasts higher sockeye harvest By RASHAH McCHESNEY Peninsula Clarion
If everything goes as forecast, Upper Cook Cook Inlet fishermen should see a total run of 5.8 million sockeye during the 2015 fishing season. Of those, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game estimates that about 2.1 million will make it past boats, beach nets, dipnets and individual lines in the water to their natal
streams — leaving a harvest of about 3.7 million fish. Fish and Game staff on Monday released the 2015 Upper Cook Inlet Sockeye Salmon Forecast; the document outlines harvest predictions in several major systems in the Cook Inlet including the Kenai and Kasilof rivers, the Susitna River, the Crescent River and Fish Creek. On the Kenai River, biologists are calling for a total
run of about 3.6 million fish which is about 200,000 fewer than the 20-year average, according to the forecast. The run should be primarily composed of four- and five-yearold sockeye, according to the report. On the Kasilof River, more nearly 1.1 million sockeye are forecasted to return which is about a 12 percent increase from the 20-year average. Biologists estimate that the run
should be primarily three- and four-year-old fish. In the northern part of the inlet, Susitna River and Fish Creek sockeye salmon runs are each expected see far fewer fish than 20-year averages for the two systems with 276,000 predicted to return to the Susitna and 61,000 to Fish Creek. Biologists also estimated commercial harvests of the other four species of salmon
returning to the Cook Inlet. Chum salmon at 176,000 and coho salmon at 161,000 are predicted to be caught in the largest volume while 98,000 pink salmon are predicted to be caught. The fleet is expected to catch about 6,700 king salmon in 2015, according to the report. Reach Rashah McChensey at rashah.mcchesney@peninsulaclarion.com.
Judge clarifies order Learning to ask the question in Pebble Mine case Program seeks to promote suicide awareness By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
JUNEAU — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, while a lawsuit is pending, must stop all work related to a process that could restrict or prohibit development of the Pebble Mine, a federal judge says. The action comes after U.S. District Judge H. Russel Holland last month restrained the EPA from taking any action toward a possible decision to veto a mine project until he ruled on the merits of a lawsuit brought by the group behind the mine,
the Pebble Limited Partnership. The partnership sued earlier this year over an EPA study that concluded large-scale mining posed significant risk to salmon in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region. The study provided the basis for the agency to invoke a rarely used process under the Clean Water Act that mine supporters fear could result in the project’s veto before it goes through the permitting process. The EPA sought clarification last week on what Holland’s order encompassed. See PEBBLE, page A-10
By EMILY RUSSO MILLER Morris News Service-Alaska/ Juneau Empire
Talking about suicide is hard. Talking about suicide with a person you think may be considering it is even harder. “‘Are you considering suicide?’ Doesn’t really just roll off the tongue, does it?” James Gallanos, a prevention coordinator for the state, asked 60 or so people packed inside the Juneau-Douglas High School library Thursday night. It may be awkward, but C
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‘The biggest thing is getting through those stigmas of talking about suicide. People can feel really uncomfortable, and you have to make them comfortable.’ — Kevin Ritchie, Juneau Suicide Prevention Coalition directly asking that question Persuade, Refer. QPR’s motsaves lives, said Gallanos, to is “Ask a question, save a who gave a free training ses- life.” sion on a suicide prevention The three Rotary Clubs in technique called Question, See ASK, page A-10