Y
K
Wildcard
Pet care
NFL teams ready for postseason
How to look after a dog at subzero
Sports/B-1
Recreation/C-1
CLARION
Mostly sunny 26/7 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
Friday-Saturday, January 2-3, 2015 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 45, Issue 79
Question How long are you able to keep your New Year’s resolutions? n At least until Jan. 2; n I usually make it into February; n Through the summer; n I’ve kept a resolution until I’ve met a goal or for a whole year; n I don’t make resolutions.
To place your vote and comment, visit our Web site at www. peninsulaclarion. com.
In the news State submits air quality regulations
M K
FAIRBANKS (AP) — Alaska environmental regulators have submitted the state’s plan for addressing the chronic pollution in the area during winters. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports the state Department of Environmental Conservation adopted new regulations Wednesday that tackle air-quality measures. The state had a year-end deadline set by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Regulations combine existing rules, research and scientific modeling in Alaska’s State Implementation Plan.
Of note Clarion to lose Parade magazine Beginning with Sunday’s edition, the Peninsula Clarion will no longer be able to offer Parade magazine. Parade was recently acquired by Athlon Media Group, and the Clarion has been notified that the company is no longer distributing its products in our market. USA Weekend, which the Clarion carried prior to offering Parade, is no longer available as it has ceased publication. While we are disappointed to no longer have a national magazine in our Sunday paper, the Peninsula Clarion will continue to provide our digital and print readers with plenty of local content, including news, sports and features. — Will Morrow, editor
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Nation.................... A-5 World..................... A-6 Religion..................A-7 Sports.....................B-1 Recreation..............C-1 Classifieds............ C-3 Comics.................. C-7 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Still in the works
Small steps move erosion project forward
Variety of emergency response needs change
By BEN BOETTGER Peninsula Clarion
Which moves faster: the geological process of bluff erosion, or the bureaucratic process of project funding? According to a 2007 Army Corps of Engineers report, Kenai’s bluffs retreat 3 feet each year. For the past 20 years, the city of Kenai has named the problem of vanishing blufftop property as a top priority, and is currently attempting to solve it through a collaboration with the Army Corps of Engineers. While 2014 didn’t see a sweeping solution to the problem, it may have seen some slow steps forward. The city’s project focuses on 5,000 feet of bluff on the north bank of the Kenai river mouth. This bluff reaches from the Pacific Star Seafood Cannery to Beluga Lookout RV park, encompassing much of Kenai’s Old Town. The 2007 report estimates that between 20 and 30 buildings in this neighborhood could be affected by erosion within the next 50 years. Erosion has already forced the relocation of buildings and utility lines from this area. Another cost is lost development in Kenai’s downtown, where businesses may be reluctant to invest because of the instability of the property.
‘Armor the toe’ An Army Corps study found that Kenai’s bluff is made of a layer of sand sitting on clay. While the sandy upper layer is washed down the slope, the clay beneath is eroded by tides. In June 2011, the Corps presented its engineering solution: to “armor the toe” of the bluff with heavy rocks that will allow fallen sand to remain around its base. The shielding rocks will be backed with material removed from the top of the bluff, giving support and decreasing the bluff’s steepness. “The toe of the slope is the key to everything that happens there,” said Kenai city manager Rick Koch, who has worked closely with the Corps on the project. “The toe of the slope never stabilizes. Material falls to the toe of the slope, and gets washed away. If the material that fell down the toe
CES sees new pattern
By BEN BOETTGER Peninsula Clarion
Graphic by Ben Boettger and Florence Struempler
The tide and wind waves eat at the bottom of Kenai Bluff during high tide below Toyon Way in Kenai in this June 2013 photo. As of May 2014, the city of Kenai received three grants for the bluff erosion project, totaling $4 million from the state to fund a final feasibility study to stabilize the bluff. The project has been a top priority for the last 20 years. Clarion file photo
of the slope stayed there, at some point that bluff would reach what’s called a natural angle of repose, and it would start to re-vegetate itself. But because it doesn’t, because that material is washed away, we get that continual motion of 3 feet a year.” The Corps’ technical feasibility study, which established the practicality and effectiveness of the armored toe solution, was the first step toward construction. Koch said that while that study was being done, the Corps simultaneously conducted others, including a cost feasibility and a cultural resources study. “At the end of all of that, they have these pieces of an overall study,” said Koch. “Where we’re at now in the process is pulling all the studies together. This is the final feasibility study.” After the final feasibility study is complete the environ-
mental impact of the bluff modification will be assessed, then the Corps can start construction. The process of finding and appropriating funding has stalled the launch of the final feasibility study since 2011.
Funding the project The Corps predicts that completing the study will require a budget of $650,000. An agreement between the city of Kenai and the Army Corps of Engineers allows each entity to contribute 50 percent of that amount. The Kenai city council voted to enter the agreement in September 2011, but David Martinson of the Corps of Engineers, project director of the final feasibility report, said that the Corps did not officially enter the agreement because it has not yet received federal government funding for its half. As of May 2014, Kenai
had received three grants for the bluff project, totaling $4 million, from the State Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. Other sources of funding include a $2 million bond proposal and contributions from the Borough for cost of materials. With this budget, and the expectation of other state and federal funding, Koch said that the city has money prepared for not only its $325,000 share of the final feasibility study, but for its share of the eventual construction as well. The Corps has not been as quick to produce its half of the cost. A 2011 report by the Congressional Research Service found that, nationwide, the Army Corps of Engineers had a roster of unfunded projects worth $62 billion. Among this backlog is the final feasibility study for Kenai’s bluff See BLUFF, page A-8
This season, Central Peninsula Emergency Services responded to little more than half the number of structure fires that they were called to last year. Between Nov. 1 and the end of December 2014, CES dealt with six structure fires, according to its Health and Safety officer Brad Nelson. During the same period in 2013, CES responded to 11 structure fires. Nelson said that the decrease might be attributable to this winter’s warmer temperatures. “If I were just to make a very general broad-stroke statement, I’d think that it’s the fact that we haven’t had the need for as much heat (in homes),” said Nelson. “We haven’t seen the chimney fires that we typically see. Normally we have almost one a week. We had one (on Dec. 29), but we hadn’t seen one of those in a while. I’d feel safe making the assumption that the lack of bitter cold has had an effect on that.” In addition to heating fires, another hazard that has been lessened by the warm winter is frozen pipes — or rather the measures that some homeowners take to prevent them. “We’ve seen fires from people using arc-welders, or electricity, trying to thaw pipes,” Nelson said. “Heat-tape trying to thaw pipes. They’ll put heaters in their crawl-spaces trying to thaw pipes. So we’ll see a danger from that.” So far, Nelson said, his department hasn’t seen any pipeheating fires, or fires caused by the winter hazard of gas mains broken open by falling ice. However, Nelson did find that CES calls for vehicle accidents have increased. Between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31, 2013, CES responded to 34 accidents. During the same span of 2014, CES has been to 49 accidents. Nelson speculated that the frequent freezing and thawing of ice on the road surfaces may have contributed to the accident rate, but said that the increase ran counter to his intuition. “It just seems like we have See CES, page A-8
Pick.Click.Give. provides funding for non-profits By IAN FOLEY Peninsula Clarion
From Jan. 1 through March 31, Alaskans filing for a Permanent Fund dividend will have more opportunity to donate to charity as the Pick.Click.Give. program returns for a seventh year. While the program has been successful statewide, several organizations on the Kenai Peninsula have received significant support from donors. Pick.Click.Give. allows people to donate to eligible nonprofits when completing an online PFD application. PFD recipients can choose from a list of 540 non-profits located throughout the state. People can donate from as little
as $25 all the way up to the full amount of a PFD. Pledged donations can be changed online up until August 31. Heather Beaty, the program manager for Pick.Click.Give., said that the program has grown considerably since its first year in 2009. According to the program’s website, 5,173 people pledged $545,000 to eligible non-profits in 2009, whereas 26,773 people pledged $2,771,400 in 2014. “It’s a vehicle for Alaskans to participate in individual philanthropy,” said Beaty. The Kenai Peninsula Food Bank is one of many local nonprofits helped by Pick.Click. Give. Linda Swarner, the Execu-
tive Director of the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank, said that Pick.Click.Give. has been a boon for the non-profit. In 2014, the food bank received $19,278 from generous Alaskans. “It’s helpful for our organization, because it’s undesignated funds,” Swarner said. “That pays for gas to heat the building and the electricity, because we don’t get funds that are designated for that. We get funds designated for food and programs, but they don’t ever say ‘Well, we want to pay for your electricity.’’’ Swarner said that the food bank processes a million pounds of food a year, so it requires a lot of money to keep the organization runC
M
Photo by Ian Foley/Peninsula Clarion
The Kenai Peninsula Food Bank advertises Pick.Click.Give on Tuesday in Soldotna.
ning. “I think people are hearing She said more and more more about the program and it’s money is being donated each an easy way to give,” Swarner year, which she attributes to said. people knowing about Pick. Swarner hopes in 2015, the Click.Give. See PICK, page A-8