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In the news Juneau man dies of stab wounds; police detain suspect JUNEAU — Juneau police have detained a 39-year-old man in a fatal stabbing. Police say 47-year-old William Campbell was stabbed early Thursday morning and he died en route to medical treatment in Seattle. Police took a 911 call shortly before 12:30 a.m. reporting a fistfight on a downtown street. As officers responded, a second call came in reporting a man had been stabbed. Officers found Campbell on the ground bleeding from the torso. The man being held in connection with the stabbing was immediately taken into custody. Emergency responders rushed Campbell to Bartlett Regional Hospital. He was diagnosed in critical condition with three stab wounds and doctors determined he should be transferred to Seattle. Campbell died on the flight later Thursday morning. Police say charges are pending against the man taken into custody.
Student grant will aid animal care in rural Southwest ANCHORAGE — Remote villages in Southwest Alaska will receive animal care assistance through a private grant announced by the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Students from UAF and Colorado State University will use the $450,000 grant from PetSmart Charities to assist a veterinarian and a veterinary technician with work in villages surrounding Bethel. A mobile program established with the YukonKuskokwim Health Corp. will provide about 3,000 spay and neuter surgeries. The clinic will also treat certain diseases and work to prevent disease transmission between humans and animals. About 30 veterinary students are expected to participate. UAF and CSU have collaborated on a veterinary degree program since 2015. Students can study for two years at UAF and complete their degrees with two years at the CSU campus in Fort Collins. — Associated Press
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Education group sues Dunleavy By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
An education advocacy group, Coalition for Education Equity, is suing the governor and state education commissioner for failing to release $20 million appropriated for public schools during last year’s Legislature. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Alaska Superior Court in Anchorage, asserts Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development Dr. Michael Johnson have violated the state constitution by impounding the $20 million in education funds. The Coalition sent a letter
Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during his budget roadshow at the Cannery Lodge Monday, March 25, in Kenai,. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
to the Dunleavy administration on April 24, asking for the one-time funding to be distributed by April 30, or a
lawsuit would follow. In his supplemental budget released in January, Dunleavy canceled the $20
Kenai City Council votes down onsite marijuana use
million in one-time funding. His office argues the fate of the one-time spending is now in the Legislature’s hands — whether they choose to delete it or allow it to be released, Matt Shuckerow, Dunleavy spokesman said in a statement. The governor’s office is not commenting on the lawsuit. According to the law, the money must be distributed by the end of the fiscal year, which ends June 30. The coalition’s complaint argues the governor has no veto power over statute enacted by a former governor. The one-time education funding was enacted by the Legislature through Senate Bill 142 and signed into law
Kenai City Council voted down an ordinance that would allow onsite marijuana consumption in retail stores at their council meeting Wednesday night. Alaska recently became the first state to legalize onsite cannabis consumption at
See SUE, page A2
See VOTE, page A2
By KAT SORENSEN Peninsula Clarion
Congress attempts to strengthen Roadless Rule By Alex McCarthy Juneau Empire
Environmentalists in Alaska and throughout the country expressed their elation Thursday as members of Congress introduced legislation to strengthen the 2001 Roadless Rule.
The rule, commonly referred to as simply the Roadless Rule, protects almost 60 million acres of National Forest Service land from roadbuilding or development. This includes 7.4 million acres in the Tongass National Forest. The legislation intro-
duced this week, known as the Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2019, would permanently protect the areas defined in the original Roadless Rule. It comes as the National Forest Service is considering an Alaskaspecific Roadless Rule that could open up some of the
roadless areas for development. U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, and U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, introduced the legislation. Cantwell spokesperson Bryan Watt said via email that this legislation would effectively
prohibit the Forest Service from introducing a statespecific Roadless Rule, and that “the only way to change it would be legislation, rather than through agency rulemaking,” Watt said. Dru Fenster, public affairs specialist for the Forest See RULE, page A3
A local success story 40 years in the making By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
Shop Talk When Alyeska Tire owner Jerry Wortham first opened a used car lot in Kenai in 1978 with his then-partner, former Borough Mayor George Navarre, he was more interested in supporting his family than creating a tire store dynasty on the peninsula. “If you had asked me 40 years ago if I thought I’d be sitting here in the position I am now, with eight locations and the volume we have now, I would have told you you were nuts,” Jerry said during an interview on April 26. “I got off the plane in Fairbanks in 1976, and I remember it so well because I had $76 in my pocket.” Fast forward to today, and
Alyeska Tire employee John Wilson balances a tire at the store in Kenai on Thursday. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
he and his son Craig operate a multimillion dollar company with seven retail stores
in Kenai, Soldotna, Homer, Fairbanks, Wasilla and Anchorage, as well as a distri-
bution center in Anchorage. Each of their seven retail locations sell a wide variety
of tires and do some maintenance work including oil changes, but the K-B Drive location in Soldotna focuses on truck and tractor tires. Their base of operations is now at that truck tire center on K-B Drive, but Jerry said his heart will always belong to the Kenai location. “It was 20 years before I started doing any expansion, so I worked at the Kenai store myself for a long, long time,” Jerry said. Jerry and his wife Carla have three sons including Craig, who all worked for the company at one point or another, pumping gas and hauling tires even as young kids. Jerry admitted that Craig was the last one he expected to join in the business with him. Craig agreed with that sentiment. Craig said he came back See SHOP, page A2
Lawmaker takes issue with Black History Month bill By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
JUNEAU — A Republican lawmaker who was the lone no vote on a bill to make February Black History Month in Alaska on Thursday suggested that issue should not be a focus so late in the legislative session.
Rep. David Eastman of Wasilla said that as a state, “I believe we’re not doing right by African Americans or any Alaskans today. I think passing a new law saying how much politicians care about African Americans is fundamentally dishonest.” “I think Alaskans deserve to feel safe in their homes,
and I think we should be focusing on giving that back to them right now,” he told The Associated Press, adding later that the bill is “not what I was sent here to focus on right now.” Thursday marked the 108th day of the 121-day session. Bills addressing crime, a top issue heading into the session, continue to
be worked on. Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, an Anchorage Democrat and one of three black Alaska state lawmakers, sponsored the bill to establish Black History Month. With the House’s 37-1 vote, it passed the Legislature Thursday and next goes to the governor. Grey-Jackson said she
watched the House floor vote and was moved to tears. Eastman, who frequently speaks on the House floor, did not speak on the bill before voting Thursday. GrayJackson said she was glad he didn’t speak. “The only thing I cared about, because I knew he was going to vote no, was See BILL, page A3
OrchestrAle brew makes debut Sunday By JOEY KLECKA Peninsula Clarion
Sunday will see a brew debut with a musical twist. Kenai River Brewing Company will go public with its new signature beer, OrchestrAle, at a fundraising event to support the Kenai Peninsula Orchestra. The event, which will take place at the Kenai Fine Art Center Sunday from 3 to 6 p.m., will introduce the new concoc-
tion to the public with 100% of funds raised going to the orchestra. KPO artistic director and orchestra conductor Tammy Vollom-Matturro said the idea for a new batch of brew was born after seeing the success of the “Tsalteshi Trail Ale,” which was produced by the Soldotna-based brewery in partnership with Tsalteshi Trails Association in winter of 2017/18. Vollom-Matturro said she met with Kenai River Brewing owner Doug
Hogue to come up with a similar idea. “I talked to him about working with the orchestra because he loves contributing to the community and nonprofits,” Vollom-Matturro said. “We got together and talked about what kind beer to brew … and he put his brewers on it.” Kenai River Brewery production manager Joe Gilman played a role in creating OrchestrAle, along with fellow brewer Havilah Tuite. Gilman
said the new beer is a Belgian-style saison, the first of its kind crafted at Kenai River Brewery’s current location, which opened in 2016. “They decided what they wanted for the best beer,” Gilman said. “They decided what character they wanted.” Tuite said OrchestrAle was brewed to be a crisp, light ale that features a fruity flavor with some spices added to it. Tuite said it was about a twoweek process to create the
new batch. “We let the yeast do the flavoring for us,” Tuite said. “And it worked out pretty well.” Vo l l o m - M a t t u r r o teaches at Kenai Middle School and said one of orchestra’s board members came up with the name. “I haven’t even gotten to taste it yet,” VollomMatturro said. “I’m excited to see what it’s about. It’s just a cool thing to see.” The evening will also
See ALE, page A3