Peninsula Clarion, January 29, 2015

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On ice

View Artist gains new sense of place

Brown Bears look to keep momentum going

Arts & Entertainment/B-1

Sports/A-8

CLARION

Cloudy 18/9 More weather on Page A-2

P E N I N S U L A

THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

Vol. 45, Issue 102

50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday

Pot bill on hold

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. 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.

In the news C Y

State to appeal M court decision in K school funding case JUNEAU (AP) — The state plans to appeal a court ruling that invalidated a requirement that local school districts help pay for education. The Department of Law, in a release, also said the state will request a stay of the ruling. It says that would ensure municipalities continue contributing until the case is decided by the Alaska Supreme Court or the school funding system is changed by the Legislature, another option. A judge in November found the contribution was a dedicated fund, violating a state constitutional provision. The lawsuit was filed by the Ketchikan Gateway Borough. Attorney General Craig Richards says Alaska has a history of local governments, the state and federal aid contributing to education. He says the state believes in the constitutionality of a system of shared support and local control.

Correction A story in Wednesday’s Clarion incorrectly listed the date of the next Board of Education meeting. It is Monday, Feb. 2. The Clarion regrets the error.

Index Opinion.................. A-4 Nation/World.......... A-5 Sports.....................A-8 Arts........................ B-1 Classifieds............. B-3 Comics................... B-6 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.

Lawmakers wait for rewrite of marijuana regulations By MOLLY DISCHNER Associated Press

JUNEAU — Bills that would decriminalize small amounts of marijuana have been put on hold while lawmakers wait for a new draft that better reflects the intent of voters. During a joint session of the House and Senate Judiciary committees Wednesday, Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, R-Anchorage, said the bills, versions of which were introduced in both the House and Senate, are being rewritten. The bills were intended to legalize 1 ounce or less of marijuana for adults 21 and older. But they raised concerns from marijuana legalization supporters and the state’s public defender agency. They said the method proposed for decriminalizing the drug didn’t match what voters asked for in approving an initiative that would legalize recreational use of pot. Amy Saltzman, a legislative staff member working on the bill, said lawmakers still want to pass a version of the bill by Feb. 24, when the marijuana initiative is set to take effect. Sen. Lesil McGuire, R-

Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion

In this June 26, 2013 file photo, Alaska State Troopers and Nikiski paramedics respond to a standoff on Miller Loop Road during an incident that was characterized as an attempted murder. A group of community members in Nikiski is seeking support to form a service area board, in part because the entity could contract with law enforcement agencies to provide more police oversight in the area.

Police service area for Nikiski? Community group examines law enforcement options By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion

More than 10 years after Nikiski voters rejected the formation of a police service area, a similar ordinance is in the works and could be brought back on the October ballot. A Nikiski community action group tasked with evaluating law enforcement options

in response to rising property crime issues, received support from the Nikiski Community Council to work toward a proposition that, if approved, would organize a Nikiski law enforcement service area. The proposed service area would encompass the same boundaries as the Nikiski Fire Service Area, which covers 6,000 square miles including multiple industrial complexes

and extends out to the western shore of the Cook Inlet. Nikiski resident Ben Carpenter presented the results of the committee’s findings at a Nikiski Community Council meeting Monday at the Nikiski Senior Center. The committee requested a letter of support from the council and $500 that will go toward community meetings to educate people about the proposition.

While the group has met with the Alaska State Troopers and talked about reallocating more troopers to the area, Carpenter said that agency is focused on highway patrol and emergency response. If the community wants to properly address the drug problem that has fueled the rash of thefts, Nikiski needs its own police force, he said. See POLICE, page A-10

See HOLD, page A-10

Homeless Connect event returns to peninsula By BEN BOETTGER Peninsula Clarion

The fourth annual Homeless Connect Event will be held today at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex. The event is produced by a coalition of local action groups, led this year by the United Way’s executive director Lisa Roberts. Roberts said that the organizations involved include the LeeShore Center, Kenai Peninsula Community College, the Bishop’s Attic thrift store, and the Kenaitze Indian Tribe. The organizers will gather a variety of aid workers at the sports center to provide free services for those struggling to escape homelessness and those struggling to avoid it. These services will include

haircuts and massages, food, medical and mental health care, the distribution of donated clothing, and information regarding housing, public benefits, employment services, resume creation and job interviewing, disability resources, and veteran services. Roberts said that approximately 60 people attended last year’s event. “This year we’re expecting more,” Roberts said. “Homelessness doesn’t necessarily go away. With the hardness of the economy and a lot of things that are going around, a lot of people are one paycheck away from being homeless. We see that it’s not really getting any better.” In addition to providing services, the event will contribute

to the knowledge of its nationwide parent organization, Project Homeless Connect. Upon arrival, attendees fill out information sheets to help generate statistics on the scope and nature of the homeless problem. “The reason we do this event is to get some numbers,” said Roberts. “The numbers that we collect here go into a major database throughout the country, so that (Project Homeless Connect) can keep track of what they think is going on. Homelessness is difficult because there are so many variables to it.” Roberts said that identifying these variables is important for both awareness of the problem and for finding solutions. “We put it into a format See EVENT, page A-10

Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion

Rose Bezilla gives Anthony Griglione, of Soldotna, a massage during last year’s Project Homeless Connect event at the Kenai Mall on Jan. 28, 2014. Bezilla joined several other volunteers who served the area’s homeless population and connected them with a variety social service agencies. This year’s event is today the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex.

Revenue from traffic Hanley: Education will have citations fluctuates to be protected at some level By KELLY SULLIVAN Peninsula Clarion

Traffic citation fine collection accounts for a chunk of annual revenue for Kenai Peninsula municipalities — albeit a fluctuating one. The city of Soldotna approved $55,155 in revenue from traffic fines for their 2015 operating budget, said Soldotna Finance Director Melanie Imholte. The previous year $67,771 had been approved, she said.

In 2013, the Soldotna Police Department issued 1,031 citations, and 1,123 in 2014, Imholte said. The city does not compile this information in a way that will show what infractions the citations were issued for, she said. While the city issued fewer tickets in 2013, it collected nearly $12,500 more in revenue from citations that year. The city of Kenai spends nearly $3 million a year operating its police department, said See TRAFFIC, page A-10

By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press

JUNEAU — State education commissioner Mike Hanley said the department, schools and districts will have to work to find efficiencies in light of the state’s budget deficit. But he said education will have to be protected at some level and expects there to be a conversation as to what that C

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level should be. Alaska faces a projected multibillion-dollar budget deficit amid a crash in oil prices. Gov. Bill Walker has said he wants to insulate education to the greatest extent possible, but he also has said

nothing is off the table as the state cuts costs. He said the state would continue to invest in education but not at the rate it could have when oil prices were much higher. He has proposed cutting about $50 million in additional aid to schools between fiscal years 2016 and 2017, $32 million of which was tagged for next year and $19 million for 2017, his office said. See SCHOOL, page A-10


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