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Vol. 49, Issue 217
In the news Fairbanks woman changes plea in shooting death of husband FAIRBANKS — A Fairbanks woman has changed her plea in the shooting death of her husband. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports 49-year-old Mary Edna Gansman on Monday pleaded guilty to seconddegree murder in the death of 66-year-old Steve Hallonen. The plea agreement calls for Gansman to serve 20 years in prison. Gansman will be sentenced Nov. 26. Investigators determined that Gansman shot Hallonen multiple times on Dec. 9, 2016, at their west Fairbanks home.
Military begins work on site to become new village BETHEL — The U.S. military has begun construction work on a site expected to become the new location of an Alaska village. KYUK-AM reported Wednesday that the U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps started work Tuesday at Mertarvik, a nearby site where the village of Newtok will be relocated. Officials in the village on the Ningliq River invited the U.S. Department of Defense to develop the area northwest of Bethel for its Innovations Readiness Training. Officials say the training allows reserve forces to practice setting up infrastructure in unfamiliar environments. Officials say military personnel will use the next 10 weeks to construct a gravel road, landfill, heavy equipment shop, and four homes in Mertarvik. — Associated Press
Fish count Anchor River kings • June 12 — 184 • 2019 YTD — 1,984 • 2018 YTD — 500
Kenai River early run kings • June 12 — 121 • 2019 YTD — 2,453 • 2018 YTD — 1,820
Russian River early run sockeye • June 12 — 8,209 • 2019 YTD — 21,974 • 2018 YTD — 757
Index Local................A3 Opinion........... A4 Nation..............A6 Religion............A7 Sports..............A8 Classifieds.... A11 Comics.......... A14 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
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Gov calls special session in Wasilla By Alex McCarthy Juneau Empire
Alaska’s lawmakers are going back to school. An hour after the Legislature wrapped up its first special session, Gov. Mike Dunleavy called the Legislature into another session — one that will begin July 8 at Wasilla Middle School. The session is specifically for legislators to set an amount for this year’s Alaska Permanent Fund dividend, according to Dunleavy’s announcement. During the 29-day special session, the Legislature passed an operating budget that is $190 million lower than last year’s budget and passed a crime bill that increases sentences for many crimes. Lawmakers were unable to reach an agreement on the amount of the PFD, with both houses split on the issue. Dunleavy has said he will veto any dividend legislation that does not include a
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Swan Lake fire doubles overnight By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, left, expresses his displeasure with Sen. John Coghill, R-North Pole, right, as Sen. Tom Begich listens, during debate on the capital budget in the Senate at the Capitol on Thursday. (Michael Penn/Juneau Empire)
$3,000 PFD for this year. A working group of four senators and four representatives began meeting this week to
start drafting recommendations for the Legislature on the future of the dividend. Legislators will also have
to reach an agreement about how to fund the state’s capital budget, which allocates monSee CALLS, page A2
Two hand crews have been dispatched to the Swan Lake fire after it nearly doubled in size overnight, reaching 6,951 acres as of Thursday morning. The fire was caused by lightning June 5 and is burning in a limited protection area of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. On Wednesday night the fire continued to spread, stretching west toward the burn scar of the 2017 East Fork fire. According to a June 13 update from the Division of Forestry, winds coming from the south on Wednesday pushed the fire further into the refuge and away from the Sterling highway. At its closest point, the See FIRE, page A3
New chef brings fresh menu to Cooper Landing By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
Chef Katherine O’LearyCole has only been in Alaska for two months, and her ambitious menu offers something fresh for diners at Cooper Landing’s Kingfisher Roadhouse. Nearly half of the food is vegetarian, with one whole side of the menu offering plant-based options, most of which could also be considered vegan or gluten-free. She was offered the job, her first chef de cuisine position, in January and spent every spare second she had planning out her menu. Her yearslong cooking career and love of plant-based foods influenced the menu. “My long history of being interested in plant-based foods started the moment it clicked in my 8-year-old brain that shrimp have a poop
Chef Katherine O’Leary-Cole, the newest chef at Cooper Landing’s Kingfisher Roadhouse, is pictured in Cooper Landing. (Photo courtesy of O’Leary-Cole)
line, because they were animals,” she said. “That’s it, I love animals. No meat, ever.”
Her stance on eating meat has since relaxed — she used to refuse things like chicken
stock and marshmallows — but now will occasionally indulge in a meat delicacy such
as sashimi or foie gras. “I gravitate towards plant-based meals, but will definitely eat a chicken entrée I mistakenly cooked for a wrong ticket pickup or eat a beef stew if my grandmother cooks it for Christmas,” she said. O’Leary-Cole didn’t go to culinary school, but she’s spent years in the kitchen. She previously worked at a restaurant in Arkansas, called Tusk and Trotter. She spent time teaching an Italianthemed wine pairing and vegetarian four-course dinner class at a culinary store in Arkansas. She planned a series of vegetarian openfire dinners as a pop-up restaurant that took place at her cabin. She traveled around to different cities working in the best restaurants she could find. She also volunteered to cook a vegetarian dinner for 300 guests to support her loSee MENU, page A3
Homer conference gathers authors from around nation By Michael Armstrong Homer News
This year’s 18th annual Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference brings together writers and readers of all ages from the Lower 49 states, Alaska and the lower Kenai Peninsula. Add to that group one very pregnant writer from Tooele, Utah. “I’m really excited,” said Phoebe J. Aubrey, who’s expecting a child on June 28. “I think if I weren’t I would chicken out.” Aubrey is one of about 17 people from the Outside visiting Homer this weekend for the meeting of writers, poets, readers and agents held June
Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference keynote speaker Diane Ackerman. (Photo provided; Sue Michlovitz)
15-17 at Land’s End Resort. Conference Coordinator Carol Swartz said that about 15% of the attendees are from
states like California, Colorado, Maryland, Hawaii and Georgia. Another 28% come from the lower peninsula,
Kiters to hit the beach By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
This Saturday, Kenai residents should keep an eye on the skies — not for birds, or planes, or even Superman, but for kites. The first-ever Kenai Kite Festival, organized by the City of Kenai, will be held at the Kenai North Beach via Spruce Street from noon to 2 p.m. Residents can bring their own kites
or come to the Kenai Library on Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. to make a diamond kite for free out of materials donated by Spenard Builders Supply. On Saturday, the first 50 kids to arrive will receive free kites donated by Walmart as well as free Kite Festival T-shirts. The idea for the festival was sparked by Kenai Library Director Mary Jo Joiner about three months
ago during a planning meeting with other city officials. “We were trying to come up with a way to highlight the fact that Kenai has a beach,” Joiner said. “And all of sudden the thought occurred to me — let’s fly kites!” Members from Alaskiters, a kite-flying club based in Anchorage, will be coming down to help See KITE, page A15
34% from Anchorage and the rest from elsewhere in Alaska. This year’s keynote speaker, writer and poet Diane Ackerman, will host a free public reading at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Mariner Theatre. An author of 24 works of poetry and nonfiction, Ackerman wrote “A Natural History of the Senses,” and is best known for her book, “The Zookeeper’s Wife,” which was made into a movie. Other conference faculty will read at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Alice’s Champagne Palace and at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Land’s End Resort. Reading Sunday are Kazim Ali, Christian Kiefer, Martha Amore, Rosemary McGuire, Barrie
Jean Borich, Elena Passarello and Erin Coughlin Hollowell. Reading Monday are Richard Chiappone, Ishmael Hope, Janet Lee Carey, Nancy Lord, Jamie Ford, Tess Taylor and BJ Hollars. Aubrey, 23, graduated this spring with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. She applied for a Blessing/Kagel creative writing scholarship from BYU hoping to work with a mentor in writing. She got the form by mistake for a scholarship to attend a writing conference. She’s expecting her second biological child and also has a step-daughter with her See WRITE, page A15
Sterling Highway collision stalls traffic for 6 hours By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
An accident on the Sterling Highway Wednesday night brought traffic to a standstill for six hours, according to a June 13 dispatch from the Alaska State Troopers. On June 12 at about 8 p.m., troopers based in Anchor Point responded to a head-on collision that
occurred at Mile 126 of the Sterling Highway near Corea Bend between Ninilchik and Clam Gulch. According to the dispatch, witnesses on scene reported that a Monte Carlo drove into oncoming traffic and hit a Toyota. The Toyota reportedly swerved into a nearby guardrail to avoid the collision. The driver of the Monte See STALL, page A3