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Vol. 49, Issue 187
In the news Big Lake man charged in Wasilla woman’s disappearance, death ANCHORAGE — A Palmer grand jury has indicted a Big Lake man on a first-degree murder count in the death of a Wasilla woman whose remains were found last month. Alaska State Troopers say 24-year-old Adam Drew is also charged with second-degree murder, kidnapping and weapons misconduct in the death of 57-year-old Dolly Hampton. The indictment was handed down Friday. Hampton’s family reported her missing Dec. 6. She had last been seen in the Wasilla area. Troopers on April 3 recovered human remains in a remote area near Big Lake. The state medical examiner determined that they belonged to Hampton and that she was a homicide victim. Drew has been jailed on unrelated charges since Jan. 3. He will be arraigned Wednesday.
Coast Guard rescues 5 fishermen from life raft ANCHORAGE — A Coast Guard helicopter plucked five commercial fishermen from a life raft after their fishing boat ran aground in Southeast Alaska. The crew of the Masonic, based in Sitka, radioed a mayday call just after 2:30 a.m. Tuesday and said their 62-foot fishing boat was going down. The Sitka-based helicopter and the Petersburg-based cutter Anacapa responded. The helicopter found the stricken vessel at about 4 a.m. The five crew members were in survival suits on a life raft tied to the stern of the vessel grounded on Coronation Island southeast of Sitka. Coast Guard Capt. Stephen White says the Masonic had received a commercial fishing vessel dockside examination before departing and had conducted an abandon ship drill. He says their preparation probably saved their lives. —Associated Press
Index Local................A3 Opinion........... A4 Nation..............A5 Food................A6 Sports............A10 Classifieds.... A12 Comics.......... A14 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
Softball
Annie remembers her 1st beluga
Homer gets past Soldotna
Food/A6
Sports/A10
Breezy 52/37 More weather on Page A2
CLARION P E N I N S U L A
Wednesday, May 8, 2019 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
$1 newsstands daily/$1.50 Sunday
SoHi, SoPrep to consolidate By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
Starting this fall, Soldotna Prep School will be closed and consolidated into Soldotna High School. The Kenai Penin-
sula Borough School District Board of Education unanimously voted to consolidate the two schools at Monday’s board meeting. This fall, the ninth graders originally housed in Soldotna Prep will be
joining the 10th, 11th and 12th grade students already using the Soldotna High campus. Tenured teachers will move and continue teaching at Soldotna High. The district does not know
which non-tenured teachers, who still do not have contracts, will be retained until budget concerns are resolved. The district says Soldotna High School will be able to accomSee SOHI, page A2
Behind the scenes at Nikiski’s power plant By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
In Roald Dahl’s famous children’s book “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” a handful of guests are given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to look inside the operations of a place that many relied on without knowing how it works or what it does. While not quite as mysterious as Wonka’s chocolate factory, Homer Electric Association’s Combined Cycle Power Plant in Nikiski is not often visited by members of the public, even though it provides power to nearly everyone living on the peninsula. On Thursday, HEA offered a rare opportunity for the public to tour its Nikiski power plant — no golden tickets necessary. The two tours were led by Larry Jorgensen, director of power, fuels and dispatch, who un-
HEA Director of Power, Fuels and Dispatch Larry Jorgensen explains how the aircooled condenser at the Nikiski Power Plant operates during a tour on Thursday. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
fortunately left his purple suit and top hat at home. The tours took place on the same day as HEA’s annual
meeting of the members, giving HEA members an opportunity to experience what it takes on a day-to-
day basis to keep the lights on. The Nikiski Combined See HEA, page A16
Court system works toward electronic filing JUNEAU (AP) — The Alaska court system is working to switch to electronic filing, with goals of reducing workloads for clerks, eliminating delays and improving access to records. The change has been years in the making, with one targeted completion date missed and another in jeopardy. Employees at Kenai Peninsula courthouses have been part of a pilot program for electronic filing and document management systems involving limited case types. The court system plans to expand the pilot effort to include criminal cases and bring on certain outside users, KTOO Public Media reported. Tracey Buie, who manages the court system’s efiling implementation, said converting to electronic documents means revamping many procedures. Mistakes can happen with paper filing, said records clerk Amanda BeebeBay, who works at the state courthouse in Juneau. “Because we are handfiling, it’s very easy to accidentally put, you know, this into 2-18 instead of 1-218,” she said amid shelves See COURT, page A3
UAA graduates some of the school’s last teachers By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
Many of Alaska’s newest educators walked across the stage at the state’s largest university to graduate last weekend. Many of them were also the last to come out of the University of Alaska Anchorage’s School of Education initial licensure programs. Kelsey Hernandez graduated on Sunday with a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and an associate of applied science degree in early childhood development. After this semester, the program she graduated in will no longer exist in the University of Alaska system. “They have completely cut it,” Hernandez said. “It’s not being picked up by UAF or UAS. It feels like we don’t
tion and fund the programs that actually provide. Hernandez said the first thing she’s going to do after she graduates is take a nap and then find work somewhere in the state. Jennifer Hoeldt also graduated on Sunday with a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and an associate of applied science degree in early childhood development. She said she’s excited she and her classmates made it through the program. “But also sad we’re not going to have it in Anchorage anymore,” she said. She said she hopes to find a job within the Anchorage Students wait to graduate at the University of Alaska Anchorage’s spring commenSchool District. cenet ceremony on Sunday in Anchorage. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula In January, the UniverClarion) sity of Alaska Anchorage’s count, like we don’t matter. dren who need services is void. I don’t know how we’re School of Education was It’s even sadder because the increasing and there aren’t going to do it now as a state notified its accreditation was See UAA, page A16 growing population of chil- enough educators to fill the if we don’t prioritize educa-
Environmental organizations to sue Forest Service By Alex McCarthy Juneau Empire
Eight conservation groups filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service this week in an attempt to stop a recordbreaking timber project from starting up in Southeast Alaska.
The Forest Service has been working to offer more than 200 million board feet of Tongass old-growth timber over the next 15 years, and the process is nearing completion. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, asserts that the Forest Service is violating the National Environmental Policy Act and
failing to comply with the Forest Service’s own Tongass Management Plan by moving so quickly. On its website, the Forest Service has described the project — called the Prince of Wales Landscape Level Analysis Project (POW LLA) — as aiming to “improve forest ecosystem
health” and to “provide economic development through an integrated approach to meet multiple resource objectives.” Environmental groups have been skeptical of this explanation, saying that the sale would pave the way for old-growth logging and road-building throughout
the region. Conservation advocates have said this would be the largest timber sale in the United States in decades. The Forest Service has approved 67 square miles of logging on Prince of Wales Island, according to a release from conservation groups Tuesday, but has See SUE, page A16
Moose kills and bear season ramp up Fischer addresses proposed By KAT SORENSEN Peninsula Clarion
Moose calves are a fun sight to observers, but a delicious sight to bears. “Tis the season for being especially cautious in the out of doors as moose begin having their calves and bears go looking for an easy meal,” forest technician
Irene Lindquist said in a release. Tsalteshi Trails reported a dead moose on the trail on Monday. Trail officials warned to stay away from the Coyote Trail due to the possibility of bears in the area before Tsalteshi’s Facebook page reported the moose had been removed Tuesday night.
There is also a new adult moose kill on Resurrection Pass Trail about 4.6 miles in just above Juneau Falls. According to Lindquist, bears have been feeding on the carcass. Lindquist also warned recreaters and hunters to be cognizant of bear baiting rules and requirements. See RAMP page A16
constitutional changes JUNEAU (AP) — The last surviving delegate to the Alaska Constitutional Convention says he was “appalled” by a proposed change to the Constitution he says would place limits on taxation. Vic Fischer testified before a state House committee Tuesday. He
says a constitutional change proposed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy would undermine an existing constitutional principle stating that the power of taxation shall never be surrendered. Dunleavy has proposed a constitutional See AMEND, page A3