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Meaning
Level up
Refuge looks to name moose statue
Former stars play college basketball
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Sports/B-1
Sunny 36/26 More weather on Page A-2
CLARION P E N I N S U L A
Friday-Saturday, February 27-28, 2015 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska 50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Vol. 45, Issue 127
Question Do you agree with the University of Alaska Regents’ decision to raise tuition? n Yes, it’s appropriate given the anticipated budget shortfall. n No, it’s not fair to students. To place your vote and comment, visit our Web site at www. peninsulaclarion. com.
In the news Donut chain won’t open as planned in Alaska
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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A popular national donut chain won’t be opening stores in the nation’s northernmost state as planned. Krispy Kreme in 2013 announced that its first Alaska store would open on March 1, 2015. But the opening will now be months away. Lafeea Watson with Krispy Kreme says in an email that the franchisee hasn’t broken ground yet, so there’s no possibility of a March opening. The franchisee, North to Alaska LLC, says it will have three stores in Anchorage and one in Wasilla.
Correction In a Feb. 26 article titled “Prisoner attack results in further charges,” the acronym CSO was incorrectly defined. It is a Court Services Officer. In a Feb. 19 article titled “Early kings run closed” the area of the Kenai River closed to early king salmon run fishing was listed incorrectly. It is downstream of Skilak Lake. The Clarion regrets the errors.
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Nation.................... A-5 World..................... A-7 Religion.................. A-9 Sports.....................B-1 Recreation............ C-1 Classifieds............ C-3 Comics.................. C-8 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
In-stream flow comments open DNR accepting public feedback on Chuitna water reservation application By BEN BOETTGER Peninsula Clarion
On Feb. 23 the Alaska Department of Natural Resources announced that it would receive public comment on an application for legal protection of the flow of Middle Creek, a tributary of the west Cook Inlet’s Chuitna River. The application was made by the nonprofit Chuitna Citizen’s Coalition in 2009 in order to preserve the salmon habitat of Middle Creek against a proposed coal mining operation by Delaware-based
PacRim Coal that would de-water the creek and remove the streambed. An in-stream flow reservation is a water right granted to preserve the value of a body of water in its natural setting. The reservation can be granted for uses such as recreation, sanitation, navigation, and habitat protection — as in the case of Chuitna Citizens’ Coalition, which hopes to protect Middle Creek’s salmon spawning ground. During the 15-day comment period, ending on March 10, members of the public will be able to submit comments
on the proposed reservation via email, fax, or in person at DNR’s Anchorage office. The comment period is part of the adjudication process that DNR began in 2013 at the instigation of a state court after a lawsuit by the Chuitna Citizens’ Coalition regarding DNR’s inaction since their 2009 application. Judge Mark Rindner ruled that DNR must begin adjudicating the decision within 30 days of the ruling on October 14 of that year. Dave Schade, DNR’s Chief of Water Resources, will decide whether or not
to grant the in-stream flow reservation. Schade said that since the court ruling, he has been gathering information to complete the case file for the decision. “We now have complete files,” Schade said. “We’ve done analysis of the information that the applicant, Chuitna Citizen’s Coalition Inc., has submitted, so now we’re going out to public notice, so that people can view the file, add information, act in support of, object if they have any adverse position to take, and then we can do analysis of the informaSee STREAM, page A-10
Tests for Echo
CPH looks for new electronic medical records system By RASHAH McCHESNEY Peninsula Clarion
Whether in response to looming deadlines for a federal mandate, or a push for better integration between off-campus clinics and the main campus, Central Peninsula Hospital is searching for a high-tech upgrade for its electronic medical records. Employees at Central Peninsula Hospital spent three weeks in February hearing from three vendors who are in competition to land a multi-million dollar contract to provide a new electronic health records system to replace the hospital’s 15-yearold system. Between the different de-
partments of the hospital, its clinics and the private clinics it supports, the hospital’s information technology manager estimates there are more than 100 different types of software contributing information to a patient’s medical record. “That system is old, it’s dated and we’ve got to do something new,” said CPH External Affairs Manager Bruce Richards. “(It) is a clunky system. There’s a lot of logging in and logging out and
if you want to get a picture of someone’s medical history, some of it might be over here and over there ... it’s not very conducive to good patient care. It’s time consuming.” The hospital’s main goal is to consolidate all of the information into one place — but it also must meet federal guidelines for “meaningful use” of certified electronic health record, or EHR, technology to avoid being penalized under a 2009 act that established an incentive program for certain health care providers to adopt new technology. CPH Information Services Director
Bob Wattam said the hospital’s current system, provided by a Massachusetts-based company called MEDITECH, meets the initial requirements to be certified for meaningful use. However as those requirements become more stringent, upgrades will be needed. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, or ARRA, the meaningful use requirements are broken up into three phases. At their most basic, stage one requires the digitization of health records; stage two expands into quality measurement, clinical decision support
and information exchange; and stage three seeks to improve health outcomes for patients and populations, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services definitions. See SYSTEM, page A-10
Woman accused of assault sees trial delay By RASHAH McCHESNEY Peninsula Clarion
A Sterling woman accused of dragging a 14-year-old boy off of his bicycle and sexually assaulting him, may not see trial until late in 2015 after a Tuesday hearing revealed that her lawyer was not ready to proceed with the case. While Laurel Lee originally asked the judge to hold her lawyer, public advocate DinaMarie Cale, to a previously scheduled trial date in March — the hearing ended with Lee and Cale agreeing to a conference that would allow them to negotiate a later date.
Cale, who ran into scheduling difficulties with several cases Tuesday, said she would try to be prepared for the trial by July. During a hearing about a different case, Kenai Superior Court Judge Carl Bauman suggested that Cale work to be more timely with scheduling her cases. “There are only so many of this trial level that one person can be effective in doing in the amount of time that I’m being asked to do these trials,” Cale said. Bauman responded that perhaps Cale needed to trim back her case load.
During the hearing on Lee’s case, a lawyer from the district attorney’s office agreed to a later date but asked that there be no more continuances in the case if it were scheduled to go to trial in September. Lee, however, said she was unwilling to wait several months before trial — citing the state’s Criminal Rule 45 which gives defendants the right to a speedy trial. Under rule 45, a defendant charged with a felony, a misdemeanor, or a violation shall be tried within 120 days. However, there are exceptions for things like motions, examinations and hearings on
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competency. “I’m bankrupt. I’m paying $1,200 a month,” she said gesturing to the monitoring bracelets she must wear as one of the conditions of her release. Bauman said the monitoring was a condition of her release and that she could have chosen another avenue. “You don’t have to incur the expense. There’s room in jail ma’am,” he said. Lee was charged on Oct. 1, 2014 after Alaska State Troopers allege she forced a minor into the woods near the Sterling Highway and sexually assaulted him. She was charged with first-
degree sexual assault, kidnapping and second-degree sexual abuse of a minor. Lee faces between 20 to 99 years in prison with and up to $500,000 in fines under the first-degree charges. The sexual abuse of a minor charge carries a prison term of up to 10 years and a fine of up to $100,000. If convicted, she would have to register as a sex offender. Lee’s next scheduled court appearance is a trial call on March 11 at 2:30 p.m. Reach Rashah McChesney at rashah.mcchesney@peninsulaclarion.com.