Peninsula Clarion, February 01, 2015

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Here and now Living in the moment harder with new tech Community/C-1

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On ice Soldotna takes down Kenai Central Sports/B-1

CLARION P E N I N S U L A

FEBRUARY 1, 2015 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

Vol. 45, Issue 104

50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday

Out-of-towners weigh in on Soldotna vote Some see home rule question affecting all peninsula residents By IAN FOLEY Peninsula Clarion

Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion

Above: Central Emergency Services firefighter Sam Evanoff runs through his morning routine at the Funny River Fire Station on May 1, 2014 in Funny River, Alaska. CES has struggled to maintain staffing at its () stations and Evanoff worked a shift alone at the remote station. The department recently launched a volunteer program which aims to triple its volunteer base and add more people on each shift to its outlying stations. Below: In this August 6. 2014 file photo, a firefighting trainer talks about smoke behavior during a day of training drills at Central Emergency Services. CES plans to expand its training program to accommodate a burgeoning volunteer force. C

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Calling for volunteers CES revamps program, adds live-in firefighters in some spots By Rashah McChesney Peninsula Clarion

If all goes as planned, the central Kenai Peninsula should see a surge in the number of personnel responding to fires and medical emergencies. Central Emergency Services launched a campaign to recruit volunteers in a effort to triple the department’s current volunteer staffing. CES has struggled to keep more than one person at a time at some of the outlying stations in its 1,000 square mile fire service area, and is estimated to be at minimum staffing for about

A meeting for interested volunteers will be held on Monday Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. at the ERC, 253 Wilson Lane in Soldotna.

See VOTE, page A-2

State lawmakers riled up over federal actions

85 percent of the year according to department data. For Funny River and Kasilof, that can mean a greater response time to fires or emergency situations where more than one person is needed to be effective. See RECRUITS, page A-2

By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press

Fire Island wind turbine expansion plans suspended happened after Alaska Railbelt utilities declined to purchase the company’s power following two years of negotiations. Fire Island Wind, a subsidiary of CIRI, ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Plans to add turbines to the Fire Island Wind had hoped to begin construction on the turproject were suspended this month when bines this spring and finish by the end of the project ran into a hitch: No one wants the year. At a cost of $50 million, 11 new turto buy the power. Suzanne Gibson, senior director of en- bines would add just over 20 megawatts ergy development for Cook Inlet Region of capacity to the Railbelt region from Inc., said the independent power producer Fairbanks to Seward, or enough to power had to cancel construction and shipping roughly 7,000 additional homes, accordcontracts that would have added 11 wind ing to Gibson. That would be on top of the turbines to Anchorage’s Fire Island. That 17.6 megawatts the 11 turbines now on the island produce. Gibson said Fire Island Wind was offering to sell power Obituaries..................... A-3 from Phase 2 of the Opinion......................... A-4 Sunny project for 6.2 cents Alaska........................... A-5 25/3 a kilowatt-hour, Nation........................... A-6 slightly higher than World............................ A-8 the cost of gas-fired For complete weather, Cops/courts................ A-10 power generation see page A-XX Sports........................... B-1 but less than the Check us out online at Community................... C-1 www.peninsulaclarion.com project’s 9.7-cent Weddings...................... C-1 rate for Phase 1. To subscribe, call 283-3584. Dear Abby..................... C-2 But utilities Crossword..................... C-2 say that 6.2 cents Horoscope.................... C-2 comes with added Classifieds................... C-3 costs as the power Mini Page...................... C-9 is moved throughTV...................... Clarion TV SUZANNA CALDWELL Alaska Dispatch News

Today’s Clarion

For one Alaskan group, Tuesday’s special election in Soldotna is more than just an issue for the city. Members of Alaskans for Grocery Tax Relief Now believe that Soldotna’s decision on whether to elect a charter commission and potentially become a home rule city is important for residents around Kenai Peninsula. A grassroots group with members from all over the peninsula, Alaskans for Grocery Tax Relief Now believes that if Soldotna becomes a home rule city, a 3 percent tax on non-prepared foods will continue to be levied during the winter months. To spread their message, the organization has recently placed several signs around Soldotna prompting voters to vote against home rule. The signs show a pink pig with “Home Rule = More Taxe$” written on it. A 2008 initiative currently grants the city power to collect a 3 percent food tax on non-prepared food during wintertime. A measure to rescind the tax will be on the October ballot. Should Soldotna vote to become a home rule city, the city could continue to levy the tax. James Price, co-chair of Alaskans for Grocery Tax Relief Now, said he wants voters to understand what they are voting for. “I’m afraid if the process isn’t stopped, home rule is going to be shoved down our throats,” Price said. Despite being a resident of Nikiski, Price thinks no grocery tax is good for more than just Soldotna residents. “I believe this is good for the entire community,” Price said. “I believe the grocery tax exemption is popular with the people.” Tara Kain, owner of a natural foods store in Homer and cochair of Alaskans for Grocery Tax Relief Now, said that she believes having a grocery tax will harm citizens. Kain said that she has seen people around the peninsula struggle to afford food when taxes have been levied. “It’s a big concern for me and for our communities,” Kain said. “It does affect those inside the city and outside the city.” Soldotna City Council member Keith Baxter said that the Alaskans for Grocery Tax Relief signs aren’t accurate as far as home rule is concerned and would not lead to more taxes.

AP Photo/Alaska Dispatch News, Loren Holmes

In this photo taken Sept. 24, 2014, wind turbines spin on Fire Island at sunset just off shore from Anchorage, Alaska. Plans to add turbines to the Fire Island Wind project were suspended this month when the project ran into a hitch: No one wants to buy the power.

out the transmission grid. Interior Alaska’s Golden Valley Electric Association said that by the time it received the power, it would be at about double the original cost and not economical. “We really looked at it closely because if it would have lowered members’ rates we would have jumped on board,” said Mike Wright, GVEA vice president of transmission and distribution. “But it just came out too high because of the logistics.” See WIND, page A-2 C

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JUNEAU, Alaska — One Alaska state senator is advocating an act of civil disobedience against the federal government and another referenced Alaskans “packin’ heat” at the end of a poem skewering federal actions. The pushback against federal overreach continues at the Alaska Capitol, days after President Barack Obama pro-

posed that most of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge be protected as wilderness, including the refuge’s potentially oil-rich coastal plain. That proposal likely faces long odds in the Republicancontrolled Congress. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, RAlaska, and chair of the Senate energy committee, has said Obama is “going after something that is not possible in this Congress. But See FED, page A-5

Alaska halibut catch gets first increase in years By MOLLY DISCHNER Associated Press

JUNEAU, Alaska — Fishermen in Alaska will have access to slightly more halibut this year than last. The International Pacific Halibut Commission voted Friday in Vancouver, British Columbia, for a total catch in Alaska of 21.215 million pounds, up from 19.705 million pounds in 2014. That’s

the first time in a decade the commission has increased the catch. The six-member panel meets annually to set the halibut catch limits from Northern California to the Bering Sea. There are three commissioners from the U.S. and three from Canada. The Alaska catch limit is divided between several areas, and includes commercial and charter halibut sec-

See CATCH, page A-2


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