Peninsula Clarion, February 09, 2015

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Rewards

Legend

Peninsula schools support good acts

Former Tar Heels coach Smith dies

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Sports/A-8

CLARION

Cloudy 18/14 More weather on Page A-2

P E N I N S U L A

Vol. 45, Issue 111

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2015 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

Question

Sun day, fun day

Would you like to see Sarah Palin run for president in 2016? n Yes n No

50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday

Driver dies in fight with Anch. cops

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.

By DAN JOLING Associated Press

In the news Sam Smith wins three grammys

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LOS ANGELES — Sam Smith’s soulful sound and heartbreaking songs resonated with fans — and his breakthrough was solidified when he took home three of the top four Grammy Awards on Sunday, though Beck earned a surprise win for album of the year. “I want to thank the man who this record is about ... Thank you so much for breaking my heart because I have four Grammys,” said the British singer, who won best new artist, song and record of the year for “Stay with Me” and best pop vocal album for “In the Lonely Hour.” Smith, along with Beyonce, Pharrell and Ed Sheeran, lost album of the year Sunday to Beck’s “Morning Phase,” which also won best rock album. Smith said backstage he was surprised Beyonce didn’t win, but said Beck deserved to walk away with the trophy. Kanye West, who famously interrupted Taylor Swift when she beat Beyonce at the MTV Video Music Awards, briefly walked onstage when Prince announced Beck’s name. Some in the audience seemed shocked, from Pharrell to Questlove to Beck himself. Beck’s album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and sold about 300,000 units. He last won a Grammy in 2000. -Associated Press

Index Local...................... A-3 Opinion.................. A-4 Alaska....................A-5 Nation.................... A-6 World..................... A-7 Sports.................... A-8 Schools................ A-11 Classifieds............ A-13 Comics................. B-16 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.

Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion

Kimberly Noriega, Alex Martin and Summer Cartier stack chunks of condensed snow and ice to build the walls of their fort, Thursday in Kenai, Alaska. The three friends, who all live in the same apartment complex, were able to spend time working on the project during the two-day school closures for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District parent, teacher conferences. For more photos see the Schools page on A-12.

Kenai exhibition honors Dena’ina By IAN FOLEY Peninsula Clarion

On Friday, people from all over Alaska gathered at the Kenai Visitor Center for the Dena’ina winter celebration and the Dena’inaq’ Huch’ulyeshi: The Dena’ina Way of Living exhibition. Alexandra Lindgren, Kenaitze elder and director of tribal government, said she was excited about the events. “We’re celebrating the fact that the exhibit is here, and we’re also celebrating with our community partners, neighbors and friends the fact that it’s winter,” Lindgren said. “Winter is the time to meet together and share songs and stories, and to connect with those who share the land with us.” Throughout the day, Homer musician Atz Kilcher and Kenaitze tribal member Bunny Swan preformed songs and stories honoring Dena’ina culture. Several Kenaitze tribal members provided fry bread and salmon dip. The Kenai exhibition is a condensed version of one held at the Anchorage Museum. The original exhibition was held from Sept. 15, 2013 to Jan. 12, 2014, according to

Photo by Ian Foley/ Peninsula Clarion

Attendees at the Dena’ina Heyi Winter Celebration watched musical performances while eating fry bread to celebrate the “Dena’inaq’ Huch’ulyeshi: The Dena’ina Way of Living,” organized by the Anchorage Museum Friday at the Kenai Visitors and Cultural Center.

the Anchorage Centennial website. More than 160 Dena’ina artifacts were gathered from private lenders and museums around the globe, according to the site. Co-curator Aaron Leggett said the Anchorage exhibition was seven years in the making. He said preparation included finding Dena’ina objects and consulting with experts and scholars. “It was a massive undertaking,” Leggett said.

Dena’ina culture. Leggett said that it was important to offer several types of displays, including video, iPad and audio presentations, because people learn in many different ways. Leggett said having audio was an integral part of the exhibition. “That was one of the number one drivers for the exhibition was the incorporation of the Dena’ina language,” Leggett said. The exhibition in Kenai runs through May 10. What happens to the exhibition after that has yet to be decided. “We’re hopeful some form of (the exhibit) will stay here in Kenai,” Leggett said. “We just have to work out the specific details and find an appropriate location.” While the future of the traveling exhibition is unclear, Leggett said he was more concerned about the future of the Dena’ina youth. “That’s what it’s about — the next generation,” Leggett said. “Get them excited about (culture) and hopefully they will want to know more about it.”

Leggett said that he thought the Kenai exhibit looked great, but the size of the Kenai Visitor’s Center limited the amount of artifacts that could be displayed. “Wouldn’t it be great if (people) could see pieces collected by Captain Cook, or a Dena’ina war club?” Leggett asked. Because many artifacts couldn’t be displayed due to limited space, several multimeReach Ian Foley at Ian.fodia installations are in place to teach about various aspects of ley@peninsulaclarion.com

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A man who drove erratically on Anchorage streets, rammed patrol cars and exchanged shots with police died Sunday morning outside a 15th Avenue home. That man’s name was not immediately released and police are investigating whether he was killed by officers or by his own hand. The incident began about 9 a.m. Sunday with calls to police dispatchers that a man in a pickup was driving dangerously in east Anchorage near Reka Drive and Pine Street. Officers on patrol tried to stop him, police said in a release. The pickup driver was able to elude officers until he drove into a snowbank. Officers used patrol cars to hem him in to prevent him from driving off, police said, but the driver rammed the patrol cars and pointed a gun at officers. Police backed up and the man drove off. Police chose not to pursue. Police a short time later took additional calls that the pickup was moving erratically, this time driving into oncoming traffic on Boniface Parkway near Northern Lights Boulevard. Police again chased after the truck. It came to a stop at 15th Avenue and Medra Street. The man in the pickup got out and pointed his gun at officers, police said. Both the man and the officers fired weapons, police said. The man moved toward a home and more shots were fired, police said. The man was declared dead just after 10 a.m. Police Chief Mark Mew told the Alaska Dispatch News at the shooting scene that he could not say whether the man was shot by officers or if he killed himself. Police closed 15th Avenue as they investigated.

Kodiak gathers warm coats for kids in Barrow By JULIE HERRMANN Kodiak Daily Mirror

KODIAK, Alaska — Sending more than 100 warm winter coats for children without adequate winter gear in Barrow took the coordination of Rotary clubs across Alaska. With a mild winter so far in Kodiak, many students go to school in jackets or sweatshirts, but in Barrow, having a warm winter coat is required to go to school, said Sandy Solenberger, who recently moved back to Kodiak with her husband, Tom, after living in Barrow. In Barrow, all school buses have both a driver and an attendant, and the attendant makes

sure each child has a coat before they get on the bus, and makes sure someone is at home to make sure the child gets inside before the child is dropped off in the evening, Solenberger said. The average high from December to March is below 0-degree Fahrenheit and below freezing from October to May. Whenever they go anywhere at school, even just from the classroom to the cafeteria, which doesn’t require going outside, students are required to take their coats with them, Solenberger said, just in case there’s a fire drill or some sort of emergency requiring going outside. A staff member at the North Slope Borough School

District keeps a closet of coats to distribute whenever she hears about a need. “Her stock was way down,” Solenberger said. The North Slope Borough employees held a fundraiser and gave the money to the Barrow-Nuvuk Rotary, of which the Solenberger’s daughter, Diana, is a member. “You can’t shop from Barrow,” Solenberger said, so Diana contacted her parents to ask for help from the Kodiak rotary clubs. In Kodiak, Tom Solenberger contacted the buyer for Mack’s who researched what they currently had on sale and gave the Rotary a discount on the alC

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ready discounted items. “We were able to buy topquality children’s parkas and snow pants for $15 each,” Sandy said. On top of that, the Salvation Army had a stock of new winter coats donated by Fred Meyer, which they turned over to the project. To ship the coats from one end of the state to the other took the work of yet another rotary member. An Alaska Airlines employee is also a member of the Barrow Rotary Club. She contacted the cargo desk and Alaska Airlines agreed to donate the shipping, Sandy Solenberger said. Although this is the first

time the rotary has sent coats to Barrow, it’s not the first time they’ve distributed coats to those in need. Annually, the rotary and the Salvation Army partner for the Coats for Kids program in Kodiak, and years ago, the rotary sent packages of winter gear to children in Siberian Russia. That one took a lot of cooperation as well with people contacting other people they knew along the way, including in Japan and Vladivostok, Russia. For Tom Solenberger, that’s what rotary is all about. “Everyone’s kicking in,” Tom said. “A lot of people cooperated to make something happen.”


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