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Too cute
Award
This pooch looks pretty in pink
Soldotna Chamber recognizes distillery
Pet Tails/A-15
Business/A-5
CLARION
Sunny, cold 13/1 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2015 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 45, Issue 100
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Ruffner to step down
Question Should portions of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge be opened to oil exploration? n No, the refuge should be protected as wilderness. n Yes, exploration should be allowed to proceed right away. n Exploration shouldn’t be banned forever, but now is not the right time.
Watershed Forum executive director leaving after 18 years
To place your vote and comment, visit our Web site at www. peninsulaclarion. com.
In the news Kenai looks at Old Town traffic flow
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A public meeting will be held on Feb. 3 to discuss the possibility of changing the direction of traffic flow on Petersen Way, Alaska Avenue, and a portion of Mission Avenue and Overland Avenue. The meeting will take place from 6-7 p.m. in the Kenai City Council Chambers located at 210 Fidalgo Avenue, Kenai. To request a copy of a map depicting the roadways that will be discussed at the meeting, please contact Willie Anderson in the Planning Department at 907-283-8237 or wanderson@kenai.city. Questions regarding this meeting should be directed to Rick Koch, City Manager, at 907-283-8222 or rkoch@ kenai.city.
State wants to ensure feds honor Medicaid expansion promise JUNEAU (AP) — State health commissioner Valerie Davidson says Alaska’s participation in Medicaid expansion would be made contingent upon the federal government paying at least 90 percent of the cost. She said the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have negotiated that provision with other states. The federal government is expected to cover the full cost of expansion in states opting for it through 2016. The federal contribution would decline after that, reaching 90 percent by 2020, where it’s supposed to stay.
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Business................ A-5 Nation.................... A-6 World..................... A-7 Sports.....................A-8 Classifieds........... A-11 Comics................. A-14 Pet Tails............... A-15 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
By KELLY SULLIVAN Peninsula Clarion
numerous activities including yoga and tai chi in order to keep seniors active. “I think we have healthier seniors,” Craig said. “We have a wonderful population of seniors on the Kenai Peninsula that want to stay healthy and keep their brains active.” Other facilities in the region are also busy. At Heritage Place, a nursing facility located in Soldotna, 57 of its 60 licensed beds were occupied as of Monday. Charlie Franz, administrator of Heritage Place, said that he hasn’t seen an unusual or dras-
After 18 years as the executive director of the Kenai Watershed Forum, Robert Ruffner announced Friday that he will be stepping down. “It was not an easy decision to leave,” Ruffner said. “This is something I have struggled with for a while.” Robert Ruffner Ruffner said he is not going to rush the exit process, which will be steadily carried out for the next six months. The forum works with groups and organizations across the Kenai Peninsula. Ensuring those connections are left in a stable position is a priority, he said. The forum’s board of directors will be tasked with selecting the next executive director, Ruffner said. If they ask for input, he will offer his opinion, he said. “The organization has a stellar board of directors and staff and is financially very healthy,” Ruffner said. “Right now is
See SENIOR, page A-10
See FORUM, page A-10
Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion
Bingo!
Barbara Aase and her son Scott Aase near the end of a game Tuesday at the Peninsula Oilers Baseball Club/ Bingo Hall in Kenai. The two play at the hall between two and three times per week, Scott Aase said. “Sometimes you win, not very often though. It helps you practice hand eye coordination,” he said.
Borough population aging By IAN FOLEY Peninsula Clarion
New data shows that Kenai Peninsula Borough residents are both older and younger than average. According to a report released by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the Gulf Coast Region of Alaska, the economic region which includes the Kenai Peninsula Borough, has the highest percentage of residents aged 65 years or older. In 2014, the report estimated that senior citizens made up 13 percent of the Gulf Coast Re-
gion’s population. The borough contributed heavily to that figure by having 14 percent of its population be 65 years of age or older. In the state of Alaska, senior citizens make up 10 percent of the total population. While the borough has an older population compared to most of Alaska, it is still has a lower percentage of senior citizens than the national average. In 2013, the most recent age data available from the U.S. Census Bureau, 14.1 percent of the United States population was 65 or older. That same year, only 13.6 percent of borough residents were 65 or older.
Rachael Craig, director of the Kenai Senior Center and Vintage Pointe Manor, said that she has seen a significant increase in seniors during her 14-year tenure. She said that in the past she recalled having 25 people require home meal deliveries, and now that number has nearly tripled. Craig said that Vintage Pointe, a 40-unit housing complex for independent seniors, has a waiting list 130 people long. Craig said that advancement in health services has helped the aging population. She also said that the Senior Center provides
Big hopes for tiny homes By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
A new community group has some tiny ideas that aim to make a big impact for the disadvantaged. Soldotna resident Krista Schooley, a homeless advocate, started The Habitation — Tiny House Community for the Homeless. The concept is to create a low-cost, self-build and self-sustaining community for adults in need, she said. Schooley said with a housing shortage on the Kenai Peninsula, homelessness has been a
problem in the area that needs to be addressed. The project is in its infancy and no land has been acquired. Schooley said the goal right now is to rally support as a way to get like-minded people that like to help volunteer together and brainstorm how Schooley’s vision can become a reality. Schooley and Kenai Peninsula College student Davina Schultz, hosted a community meeting Saturday, which was attended by 15 people. Schultz, 19, used to be homeless as a teenager, but is now working on building a tiny cabin to live
in with her boyfriend on Funny River Road. The group met for two hours in Kenai and brainstormed some of the challenges involved with how the community project could be funded and managed. Schooley said the feedback from everyone involved has been “extremely positive.” “I’m looking to get people in the community to volunteer their time and who have a heart to help,” she said. “We are in the beginning stages and I wanted to give a general idea of what this could look like and See TINY, page A-10
Illustration courtesy Krista Schooley
An artist rendition of what a tiny home community for the homeless could look like. A community action group organized by homeless advocate Krista Schooley is looking for feedback in hopes of creating a self-sustaining community for people in need.
Lawmakers grapple with marijuana regulations By MOLLY DISCHNER Associated Press
JUNEAU — Alaska lawmakers are grappling with how to decriminalize marijuana after voters in November approved a ballot initiative to legalize the substance. The House and Senate judiciary committees are considering bills that would decriminalize marijuana in certain situations and create new laws, including making it illegal to provide pot to minors and adding the drug to the state’s existing open container laws.
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But the bill being considered doesn’t make marijuana outright legal and it doesn’t stop police from arresting someone for possession. Instead, if an adult is arrested for possession and appears before a judge, then a section of the law kicks in that says the person can’t be convicted of a crime. The so-called defense route was defended by Sen. Lesil
McGuire, R-Anchorage, who said during a hearing Monday that it seemed simpler than writing a bill that detailed every situation in which marijuana was illegal. Marijuana advocates have said that route undermines voters’ intent. During the joint meeting of the judiciary committees, Deputy Public Defender Tracey Wollenberg agreed that it wasn’t what the voters approved and suggested using language from the initiative to make pot legal in state statutes. Wollenberg said making someone appear in court leaves C
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more to individual judges’ discretion, such as how much evidence is required, before letting someone off or convicting them. McGuire and House Judiciary Chairwoman Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, R-Anchorage, indicated during the hearing that they may request another version of the bill, which makes it legal outright for someone 21 years or older to possess an ounce or less of marijuana. Other lawmakers raised additional issues with the bill that could require amendments. Sen. Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, pointed out that alcohol is
allowed to be consumed in motorhomes when they are camping, and a similar provision may be added for marijuana. Sen. Bill Wielechowski, DAnchorage, asked for a comparison of how minors are penalized in the current draft and for alcohol violations, and for those to be aligned. The joint committee hearing will continue Wednesday, with invited testimony from proponents of legalization. McGuire has said she hopes the Senate bill will pass by Feb. 24, when the voter initiative goes into effect.