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Pickleball
Wrestling
Area interest in racquet sport grows
Bulldogs seek state championships
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Sports/B-1
CLARION
Intermittent clouds 26/19 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
Friday-Saturday, December 12-13 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 45, Issue 63
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.
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Empowering women
By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
To place your vote and comment, visit our Web site at www. peninsulaclarion. com.
In the news Alaska regents OK tobacco ban
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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The University of Alaska is going smoke-free. KTUU reports the university’s regents voted Thursday to make all campuses smokeand tobacco-free by Dec. 1, 2015. The regents are meeting this week in Anchorage. All three chancellors of the UA system supported the ban. The resolution bans cigarettes, cigars, hookahs, water pipes, e-cigarettes, e-cigars and vape pens. It also forbids their use anywhere on a campus, including trails, parking lots and university-owned streets and sidewalks. People will be allowed to smoke in their cars as long as they are not parked in a university-owned parking garage. University of Alaska President Pat Gamble says giving people a year before the ban goes into effect gives them time to adjust.
Inside ‘Tribal regulations of pot are going to have to dovetail with tribal values.’ ... See page A-6
‘Access to the internet is as important to learning today as traditional textbooks were fifty years ago.’ ... See page A-7
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Nation.................... A-6 World..................... A-8 Sports.....................B-1 Classifieds............ C-3 Comics.................. C-7
Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
Roach trial to be held in Feb.
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion
Kenai Police Officer Jay Sjogren demonstrates a maneuver to Sara Benrhouma, of Kasilof, during a Teens on Target selfdefense class on Thursday in Kenai.
Program teaches firearm use and self-defense to teenage girls By BEN BOETTGER Peninsula Clarion
Kenai Police officer Alex Prins wrapped his arms around officer Jay Sjogren, gripped his hands together and squeezed. Sjogren looked at the five onlooking girls and grinned before lifting his foot and slamming it down on Prins’ black-booted toes. Prins grimaced and then switched positions with Sjogren to demonstrate a cringe-worthy shin-scraping maneuver — several of the girls giggled during
KPBSD seeks better outreach So far, meetings are poorly attended By KELLY SULLIVAN Peninsula Clarion
Early in 2014 school principals nominated community members to serve as intermediaries between the district and local schools dubbing them Key Communicators. Leaders from the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District visited three schools in Homer, Soldotna and Seward in November for the first meetings aimed at clearing up misconceptions and bridging gaps in communication, said KPBSD Interim Superintendant Sean Dusek. Turnout for the first round of meeting was weak, he said. The next meeting is tentatively set for February. See KPBSD, page A-12
the demonstration. The two officers spent two hours on Thursday teaching the teens how to recognize dangerous situations and escape potential attackers during a session of the ongoing Teens on Target program, a course for teenage girls, at the Snowshoe Gun Club in Kenai. Officers from the Kenai police department come out each year to teach a special personal defense session to the Teens on Target students. During regular sessions, the Teens on Target
course teaches firearm safety, handling, and use. Instructor Elaina Spraker took off her shoes to join the girls practicing self-defense moves on mats laid out on the floor, while her husband Ted Spraker looked on. The Sprakers have been co-teaching Teens on Target and Women on Target, a similar class for adults, since they founded the program in 2008. This year’s class, which has been running since September, has attracted eight regular students interest-
ed in learning responsible gun use. Four students are returning after completing the class last year. Elaina Spraker said that the inspiration for Teens on Target came from a conversation with the couple’s son, now 24, whom she said enjoyed going to the woods to shoot with his friends. Elaina Spraker asked him whether his girlfriend, who sometimes went on the shooting trips, enjoyed it as much as he did. See CLASS, page A-12
Driving toward recovery Program offers transportation to cancer patients By Ian Foley Peninsula Clarion
Cancer patients lacking means of transportation in communities around the Kenai Peninsula will soon be able to attend their treatments more easily, thanks to the American Cancer Society’s Road to Recovery program. The Road to Recovery program allows volunteer drivers to take patients to and from treatments when necessary. The American Cancer Society has been organizing rides for cancer patients in various parts the contiguous United States since the 1960s, but it wasn’t until 1981 that the program was officially named Road to Recovery. The program has been in Alaska for more than a decade in places such as Anchorage and Fairbanks, but the increase in cancer treatment centers on the Kenai Peninsula has led to more demand for the Road to Recovery Program in areas like Soldotna, Nikiski and Kenai, said Kathy Archey, a Mission Delivery Specialist for the American Cancer Society. Archey, who serves as the coordinator of the program in Alaska, said that it’s disheartening to see patients without rides. She hopes that with the help of volunteers, the problem will be alleviated.
‘Sometimes they’re alone and they don’t have anyone to bring them back and forth.’ — Jennifer Bostelman, office coordinator Peninsula Radiation Oncology Center She said she needs at least three volunteers before the program can function properly on the peninsula, which she hopes to have in the coming days or weeks, but she would like more. Currently, the Road to Recovery program has nearly 40 active volunteers throughout Alaska who drive patients to and from cancer treatment centers, Archey said. Before volunteers can participate in the program, they must first have a reliable car, valid driver’s license, car insurance and a good driving record. Volunteers must also participate in an online training course pertaining to the program. After all the steps are completed, they communicate with the community’s driver coordinator who will help facilitate the organization of patient’s rides. Archey said that the volunteers have been a pleasure to work with. “It’s a very rewarding job,” she said. “Everyone is so compassionate.” C
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The program will allow patients to reach treatment centers in Soldotna, such as Peninsula Radiation Oncology Center, Katmai Oncology, Cottonwood Health Center and Peninsula Internal Medicine. According to the American Cancer Society and Archey, there are no strict rules about how far people can drive, but volunteers are not expected to drive more than 45 miles one way. “We are so grateful for (for the Road to Recovery program),” said Jennifer Bostelman, the Front Office Coordinator Peninsula Radiation Oncology Center. “We have so many patients who travel back and forth (from all over the peninsula) to here to get to their treatments every day, Monday through Friday. Sometimes they are alone and they don’t have anyone to bring them back and forth.” Bostelman said that people in the community are eager to help any way they can. “Everybody just wants to See ROAD, page A-12
A trial date in the case against the president of the Alaska Veterans Outreach Boxes for Heroes organization has been delayed another three months while the man charged with scheming to defraud the community recovers from surgery. Frank Roach, 55, was indicted May 4, 2012 on nine counts – scheme to defraud, first-degree theft and seven counts of second-degree theft. Scheme to defraud and first-degree theft are class B felonies and carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine. At a trial call hearing Frank Roach Wednesday, Kenai Superior Court Judge Carl Bauman set a new trial date in the Roach case for Feb. 23, 2015. Roach’s attorney Greg Parvin requested a new date because he said his client had surgery scheduled for Friday and would be in recovery when the trial was scheduled to start on Monday. Neither Parvin or Roach, who both participated in the hearing telephonically, specified Roach’s medical condition or procedure. Charles Agerter state prosecutor with the Office of Special Prosecutions and Appeals, said he objected to the continuance because the news of the surgery “came up at the last minute.” Agerter took over the case from Chief Assistant Attorney General Robert Henderson on Sept. 29. “Plenty of defendants have medical issues,” Agerter said. “I don’t blame the defense. It is just frustrating to hear about this a week before the trial. This case has been around a long time.” Agerter said he would need another month to gather witnesses for trial. A trial date has been pushed back since 2012 while Roach has changed attorneys and battled health complications. Roach missed a representation hearing in August while he was in Wasilla receiving medical care for a “life-threatening” condition, Bauman said. On September 5, Parvin became the fourth attorney appointed to represent Roach. On Wednesday, Roach said after the surgery he would still need time to recover before he could meet with his attorney. Parvin’s office submitted a letter to the court dated Dec. 10 that notified the court of Roach’s mediSee ROACH, page A-12