Peninsula Clarion, February 08, 2015

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Dig in Food by any other name still tastes sweet Community/C-1

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Sunday

Snow fun Youth rules the day at borough ski meet Sports/B-1

CLARION P E N I N S U L A

FEBRUARY 8, 2015 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

Vol. 45, Issue 110

50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday

Cost savings in Medicaid? Report: Program expansion would save state millions By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion

Hot spot

A group gathers around a fire during the Frozen River Festival at Soldotna Creek Park on Saturday. The event featured live music, bonfires, food vendors, games and a beer garden with all proceeds going to charity.

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JUNEAU — Expanding Medicaid coverage would save Alaska money, a new state health department report said. The report, released Friday, says the state will be able to offset new costs associated with expansion by reducing or eliminating contributions to programs that provide health care to those who would be eligible for Medicaid. It cites a possible $6.1 million in savings next year — including $4.1 million associated with providing health care to inmates — should the state opt for expansion. The issue is a priority for Gov. Bill Walker, who campaigned on it last year. But it’s also expected to be debated by lawmakers grappling with how to deal with budget defi-

cits exacerbated by a crash in oil prices. Concerns have been raised about the cost, as well as whether the federal government will continue to uphold its end of the deal. The federal government is expected to pay 100 percent of costs through 2016, stepping down after that to a minimum level of 90 percent by 2020. The Senate Finance Committee has hired former state health commissioner Bill Streur to review the impacts of expansion. Streur served under Walker’s predecessor, Gov. Sean Parnell, who resisted expansion despite broad-based support, citing cost concerns. Health commissioner Valerie Davidson has said the state’s participation would be made contingent upon the federal match not falling below 90 See COST, page A-2

Taking the LEED

Refuge delays visitor center opening for certification By BEN BOETTGER Peninsula Clarion

The new visitor center building that the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge has been constructing since last year at its Ski Hill Road headquarters in Soldotna is expected to start operation on March 25, according to project manager Jason Hayes of the Fish and Wildlife Service Division of Engineering. Refuge staff originally planned to open the building in February, but Hayes said that date has been delayed by a procedure to flush the building’s air. The flushing is necessary for the building to earn a certification under

the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards required for all federal buildings. The procedure involves moving 14,000 cubic feet of air through the building over a period of 30 days in order to clear its atmosphere of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. “You know whenever you get into a new car or a new house and it’s got that new-house smell? That’s pretty much what you’re smelling ­— volatile organics,” said Hayes. “Those are emitted by almost all construction materials when you build a building. The idea with the flush-out period ... is you get those materials out of the building before you move in. It’s just improved

air quality for the people working the building.” Hayes said that the level of VOCs in the building was higher than expected due to the fact that exhibits were moved into the new visitor’s center prior to testing. “All the exhibits are made out of stuff that’s low VOC, but there’s a lot of material that actually does contain VOCs, like your foams, your plastics, your paints,” said Hayes. LEED standards are designed to create buildings that “save money and resources and have a positive imPhoto courtesy Kenai National Wildlife Refuge pact on the health of occupants, while promoting renewable, clean energy,” In this photo provided by the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, workers from See REFUGE, page A-2 Split Rock Studios install exhibits in the new refuge visitor center.

Chugach Forest unaffected by snowmobile rule By IAN FOLEY Peninsula Clarion

When it comes to how snowmobile use is managed, the Chugach National Forest is one step ahead of many other national parks around the country. On Jan. 27, the U.S. Forest Service issued a new policy mandating that all U.S. forests have clear areas designated areas for “over-snow vehicle” use. The move was made to

allow forest access to users of snowmobiles as well as other recreational users. Roughly 60 percent of national forests with adequate snowfall for snowmobile use in the United States will be affected by the change, according to a U.S. Forest service press release. The Chugach National Forest already designates areas and will be unaffected by the rule. Before the ruling, each state’s forest agency had the

Today’s Clarion A few clouds 12/1 More weather on page A-14

Opinion......................... A-4 Alaska........................... A-5 Nation........................... A-8 World.......................... A-10 Police/courts............... A-12 Sports........................... B-1 Community................... C-1 Weddings...................... C-1 Dear Abby..................... C-2 Crossword..................... C-2 Horoscope.................... C-2 Classifieds................... C-3 Mini Page.................... C-10 TV...................... Clarion TV

Inside ‘Putin is still not weak enough to accept that, and the West is not strong enough to insist on its terms.’

power to determine whether an area was designated for use of over-snow vehicles, according to the press release. For the 60 percent of forest that must change, “the Responsible Official will establish a system of routes and areas to provide for over-snow vehicle use,” according to the release. The rule becomes effective Feb. 27, according to the U.S. Forest Service. In the press release, U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell

‘We already do that with our winter motorized forest order.’ — Mona Spargo, Chugach National Forest public affairs specialist explained the ruling. “The Forest Service always seeks to provide a wide range of motorized and non-motorized recreational opportunities,” Tidwell wrote.

In an email, Mona Spargo, public affairs specialist for the Chugach National Forest, explained how the Chugach already complies with the ruling. “What this rule is really say-

ing is that if we manage for over-the-snow use we need to tell people how we are managing our lands, by letting them know what use can occur where,” Spargo wrote. “We already do that with our winter motorized forest order.” Spargo said that more than a dozen areas of the Chugach are closed due to the habitat, but other than those parts, the whole forest is open. She said that in her experience, snowSee RULE, page A-2

Schools adjust to new evaluations By KELLY SULLIVAN Peninsula Clarion

Elementary level educators are reporting the progress of their students by way of a new grading system. Students in kindergarten through sixth grade in the Ke... See page A-10 nai Peninsula Borough School District are now being evaluCheck us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com ated with the Standards Referenced Scoring Scale, said DiTo subscribe, call 283-3584. rector of Elementary Education Christine Ermold. Improvement is now rated on a 0-4 scale, and that scale is applied to specified areas of learning, Ermold said. Includ-

ing fourth- through sixth-graders in the new system began at the start of the 2015 school year, Ermold said. There are two versions of the new report cards that schools and teachers can choose to use. One option summarizes six different categories or “strands” of language arts, five categories or “domains” of mathematics, and general summaries of science, social studies and health units, which the scale is not applied to. The second option extends the “strands” and “domains” even further providing examples in the areas of “measureC

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ment and data,” for example, to what degree the student is demonstrating understanding. Behavior is not included in the academic scores. “It is a great level of information than has been given to them in the past,” Ermold said. The system is just another step in the evolution of report cards used in the school district, Ermold said. Administration has been revising evaluations for 15 years, she said. Students in kindergarten through third grade have been evaluated on the scale in various subjects since 2011, Ermold said. In 2012 some

schools started using the number system in all areas of the report card. Starting in 2013, the scale was used in all kindergarten through third grade classes, plus at a handful of pilot schools in fourth through sixth grades across the district, she said. “After the pilot project was completed last year, and additional adjustments were made based on input from teachers and parents, the new reporting system was rolled out districtwide in the elementary programs this fall,” Ermold said. See SCHOOL, page A-2


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