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AST encourages selfies from backcountry travellers
Soldotna nabs dual win over Kenai
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CLARION
Snow 22/10 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
Friday-Saturday, january 23-24, 2015 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 45, Issue 97
Question Which team do you think will win the Super Bowl? n The Seattle Seahawks n The New England Patriots 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 Collins named special investigator for Nat. Guard claims C
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JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Attorney General Craig Richards has hired a retired state court judge to serve as a special investigator to look into allegations of sexual assault and other misconduct within the Alaska National Guard. Patricia Collins is expected to look at each allegation that has been made and determine if it was adequately investigated by law enforcement and handled appropriately by prosecutors. She also has been asked to determine whether cases should be investigated further. Her work is to span the time period between September 2010 and November 2014. Richards says Collins is to produce a confidential report by the end of April and another report that will be made public about a month later. Richards says the contract with Patricia Collins is for up to $50,000, plus reasonable expenses.
Inside ‘What we expect from the fish board — from any government body, for that matter — is a fair, open and transparent process.’ ... See page A-4
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Nation.................... A-5 World..................... A-7 Sports.....................B-1 Classifieds............ C-3 Comics.................. C-9
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Taking priority Feds open subsistence gillnetting on the Kenai, Kasilof rivers
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nglers on the most heavily used river in the state will be joined by another group of fishermen this year after the Federal Subsistence Board on Thursday voted to allow subsistence gillnetting on the Kenai River. The board also voted to allow the gear type on the Kasilof River after receiving proposals from the Ninilchik Tribal Council asking for a community set gillnet fishery for subsistence users. While the new fisheries primarily target sockeye salmon — subsistence users are allowed 4,000 per year in the Cook Inlet — the potential to harvest other species of fish was an ongoing sticking point in the discussion. Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists were concerned
about resident species such as Dolly Varden and rainbow trout and the beleaguered king salmon runs. While the Ninilchik Tribal Council argued that the gillnets will catch far fewer king salmon than sport and commercial users do, state biologists said they were concerned that the new fishery is ill-prepared and potentially harmful to conservation efforts on struggling species. The Federal Subsistence Board operates as part of the U.S. Department of the Interior to control federal subsistence. It is made up of the regional directors of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U.S. Forest Service, and there are three public members ap-
pointed by the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture: two represent rural subsistence users and one is the Federal Subsistence Board chairman. The tension between state management and federal management caused frustration among state biologists who attended the meeting. Matt Miller, Fish and Game Regional Fisheries Management Coordinator for Southcentral Cook Inlet, said the two have different directives and adding gillnetting to a river that had faced severe conservation restrictions from state biologists was frustrating and confusing. “It’s a non-selective gear type in an era of conservation. If you don’t say no to gillnets on the Kenai, what will you say no to?” See NETS, page A-10
By RASHAH McCHESNEY and DANIEL SUMMERS Morris News Service Alaska
Tyonek man jailed for Facebook post By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
A Tyonek man was arrested Tuesday over a threatening Facebook post that left village residents concerned for their welfare. He told Alaska State Troopers he made the post after learning that his underage daughter had been molested. The Soldotna Public Safety Communication Center received a call Monday afternoon from Marilyn Johnson, principal of the Tebughna School in Tyonek who said she was fearful of what could happen to students and staff after reading a Facebook post from 26-yearold Justin Trenton. Troopers were unable to fly to Tyonek until Tuesday morning because of weather conditions.
In the meantime, citizens patrolled the town until troopers arrived. Trenton was charged with second-degree terroristic threatening, a class C felony. If convicted, the maximum penalty is five years in prison and a $50,000 fine. According to a trooper affidavit filed in court Tuesday, the responding trooper Sgt. Eugene Fowler obtained a copy of Trenton’s Facebook post. The post, which has since been deleted from Trenton’s page, alleged he knew about some people who molested his underage daughter and he let it be known he knew about it and would press charges. “I personally will be going around looking to soak myself in your blood,” Trenton wrote. “I got nothing going for me so
don’t think I won’t come at you for the (expletive) finish. All you sick (expletive) better run and get the hell out of the village before I get to you.” The K-12 Tebughna School, which serves 31 students, went into a “modified lockdown,” on Tuesday, according to a Facebook post from the Kenai Peninsula School District spokesperson Pegge Erkeneff. Erkneff wrote in a Wednesday email that the district would not be issuing a formal release of information on the matter. Parents were notified Monday evening that the school would be on a modified lockdown, which calls for the front doors to be locked and shades drawn over the windows, but classes remain in session. School activities returned to normal Wednesday, according
to the district post. When troopers contacted Trenton at his house, he stated he wasn’t going to harm anyone and he made the statements to “wake up the village” and “make them do something about the perverts that were preying on the children.” Trenton told troopers he understood he scared everyone and shouldn’t have worked it the way he did. Tyonek located on the western shore of Cook Inlet across from Nikiski, has a population of about 170 people. Trenton is currently jailed at Wildwood Pretrial Facility. His next court date is Jan. 30 in Kenai District Court. Reach Dan Balmer at daniel.balmer@peninsulaclarion. com.
Soldotna to vote on charter commision By KELLY SULLIVAN Peninsula Clarion
During a special election on Feb. 3, Soldotna voters will determine if the process for developing a home rule law charter will begin. If the formation of a charter commission is approved, the seven candidates receiving the most votes will fill the seven seats. Commission candidate, and city council member Pete Sprague, said this will be the first real step in starting the home rule process. “This is not the last step, this is one of the very early steps
in the process,” Sprague said. “Nothing has been decided at this point.” Sprague said the process of building a charter will be a lengthy, but very public process. “The process needs to be open and it will be,” said commission candidate and Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly President Dale Bagley. “Meetings will be open to the public, and will be advertised.” During his time on the assembly, Bagley noticed significant freedoms Kenai and Seward had as home rule cities that the city of Soldotna could not exercise. Many candidates
have cited concerns about the city’s revenue sources as a reason for pursuing a seat on the charter commission. Commission candidate, and owner of Birch Ridge Golf Course, Patrick Cowan said he was worried about the future of the city’s ability to collect sales tax during the winter season, which is nearly 90 percent of Soldotna’s revenue during those months. Soldotna services over 25,000 people annually, even though it is such a small geographical area, Cowan said. Commission candidate, and city council member, Keith Baxter said he is not going into C
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the process with preformed conclusions. According to Alaska statute, the charter commission will be provided model charters to look at as examples. Soldotna resident Jerry Farrington, who has been advocating for widening city driveway widths, said he is hoping to come up with a charter that equally benefits the public and the city government. Farrington said he hoped to be of assistance to the city, and that the public will take an interest in the process. Meetings of the charter commission shall be open to the See VOTE, page A-9
KPB adds oil & gas advisor By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
Despite concerns about the state’s fiscal situation, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Tuesday approved the addition of a new special assistant to the mayor, a job that will focus attention to see the AK LNG project come to fruition. The assembly voted 6 to 3 to approve a new special assistant to the mayor’s office to focus on oil, gas and mining issues. Assembly members Wayne Ogle, Kelly Wolf and Stan Welles voted no. The three dissenting voters expressed their concern of spending for a position they questioned could have been delegated amongst present personnel. The position earns an annual salary of $98,171, including benefits and travel expenses, is expected to cost $161,800. The job, which Mayor Mike Navarre said he hopes to fill by the start of February, would be prorated to cost $67,500 for this fiscal year budget cycle, which ends on June 30. Navarre said the jobholder’s primary responsibilities would be to evaluate policies and legislation related to the Nikiski AK LNG gasline project. He said with the Legislature back in session, they are expected to discuss the tax structure and change the payment in lieu of taxes, which would have significant consequences to the borough. “If the LNG facility is built to its magnitude, it would more than quadruple the existing tax base for the Kenai Peninsula. The revenues are significant,” Navarre said. “It’s an investment in our future. We would be penny-wise and pound-foolish in terms of protecting future revenues and the ability to address economic impacts for a project this size.” Assemby member Kelly Cooper said she sees the immediate significance of having someone in Juneau with the borough’s interests in mind to help move the project forward. Ogle said in his mind Navarre, who is on the LNG advisory committee, is the best candidate suited for the job between his contacts from 12 years in the state Legislature. He said he would’ve liked to see the mayor’s office form a focus group and as the project develops use staff resources to monitor the situation. “I have enormous respect for the mayor’s capabilities and ability to know what’s going on,” Ogle said. “I don’t feel like we are in a climate to ramp up another high level position in borough government.” Navarre said with his current responsibilities as mayor he couldn’t spend the entire legislative session at the state capital. The special assistant would closely monitor and gather intelligence during the session and then inform the mayor when he would need to be in Juneau, he said. Wolf suggested the job could See ADVISOR, page A-10