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Vol. 49, Issue 220
In the news Soldier dies in rollover of military vehicle in Alaska ANCHORAGE — A soldier died when his military vehicle rolled during training in Interior Alaska. The Army says the crash killed 25-year-old Spc. Marquise Gabriel Elliott on Friday in the Yukon Training Area at Fort Wainwright. Elliott was driving with one passenger when the vehicle rolled. He was treated at the scene by medics and flown by military helicopter to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The passenger was treated in the field for injuries to his lower extremities. Both soldiers were from the 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment. Elliott was from Charlotte, North Carolina. He joined the Army in October 2015. He was assigned to Alaska in April 2016. Elliott served in Afghanistan from September 2017 to May 2018.
Juneau fire chief uses garden hose to slow apartment fire JUNEAU — Juneau’s fire chief used a garden hose to fight a fire he spotted as he drove by. The Juneau Empire reports Chief Rich Etheridge was heading downtown Thursday when he saw dark smoke coming south of the Macaulay Salmon Hatchery. Etheridge turned his car around and saw that the smoke was pouring from an upstairs apartment. A building owner was trying to put the fire out with a garden hose. Etheridge took the hose, punched out a window and sprayed water onto the fire until fire trucks arrived. Assistant Chief Ed Quinto says the fire could have spread quickly in the wooden apartment building if Etheridge had not intervened. — Associated Press
Correction The article “What to do with rhubarb” story published, Monday, June 17, stated residents can bring any amount of rhubarb they desire to the Rhubarb-Palooza event. Residents can bring no more than 30 pounds of rhubarb to the event.
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Assembly meeting controversy Satanic Temple invocation prompts protest, walkouts By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
A member of the Satanic Temple offered an invocation at Tuesday’s Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting, prompting walkouts from about a dozen attendees and borough officials, and a protest outside the building. The invocation was the first given by the Satanic Temple since the borough changed its invocation policy in November. The new policy allows for anyone in the borough to offer an invocation, no matter their religion. The change in policy came after the Alaska Superior Court found the former policy unconstitutional and in violation of the state’s constitution’s establishment clause. In her invocation, Iris Fontana — a member of the Satanic Temple and the prevailing plaintiff in the lawsuit against the borough — called
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Russian River and Upper Kenai limits increased By KAT SORENSEN Peninsula Clarion
Demonstrators hold signs outside the Kenai Peninsula Borough building in protest of an invocation by a member of the Satanic Temple on Tuesday in Soldotna. (Photo courtesy Aud Walaszek)
the room to be present, and for attendees to clear their minds. She asked listeners to embrace the impulse to eat
from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. “Let us demand that humans be judged for their ac-
tions,” she said. No one is required to participate in assembly inSee TEMPLE, page A2
As of Wednesday at 12:01 a.m., the bag limit on the Russian River and Upper Kenai will become nine fish per day with 18 fish in possession. This Fish and Game emergency order will be in effect until July 7. “We opened the waters of the sanctuary and increased the bag limit from three to six last week and sockeye salmon keep pouring into the Russian River,” Area Management Biologist Colton Lipka said in a press release. “With these numbers, it is appropriate to increase the limits and allow anglers an opportunity to harvest more See FISH, page A2
Lawmakers collect pay despite not finishing on time By Alex McCarthy Juneau Empire
Legislators wasted very little time in ensuring they got per diem back payments for the recently finished special session. Four hours and nine minutes after the Alaska
Legislature adjourned its 29-day special session this past Thursday, the Legislative Council voted to allow lawmakers to get all of their per diem payments for that session. They voted to do that despite House Bill 44, which passed into law last year and states that
legislators wouldn’t receive a per diem — a daily payment meant to cover living and eating expenses — if they didn’t pass a budget on time. This year, the Legislature didn’t pass a budget until June 10. The Legislative Council, which is a group of 14
senators and representatives in leadership positions that makes decisions related to the Legislature, met Thursday afternoon to discuss a couple items including the per diem question. Megan Wallace, director of Legislative Legal Services, presented to the
council and said it’s possible to interpret HB 44 as allowing lawmakers to get per diem after the fact. The members of the council then voted 12-2 to allow themselves and other legislators to collect per diems for the 29 prior days. See DIEM, page A15
Nikiski turns out for a day of family fun Seward,
Homer receive federal shipyard grants
By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
Nikiski residents flocked to the North Peninsula Recreation Center on Saturday to play carnival games, eat local food, listen to live music and win all sorts of prizes during the annual Family Fun in the Midnight Sun festival. Both the Nikiski Pool and the Rec Center had full parking lots, and cars lined the road trying to find space. Family Fun in the Midnight Sun is the largest community event in Nikiski — and one of the oldest on the peninsula. Rachel Parra, director of the North Peninsula Recreation Service Area, said that the festival draws more than 1,000 people every year and that this year saw an even bigger crowd than usual. This year’s festival started Saturday morning See PARK, page A15
By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
A boy tries his hand at the Compass Dunk Tank during the Family Fun in the Midnight Sun festival at the North Peninsula Recreation Center in Nikiski on Saturday. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Louisiana country singer to play concert in the park By joey klecka Peninsula Clarion
The third week of the Levitt AMP Soldotna Music Series will bring another Outside music artist with a long resume of talent. Country singer and songwriter Meghan Linsey will grace the stage at Soldotna Creek Park tonight for the Wednesday evening music series, which attracted close to 2,000 in the first week. Linsey will follow an opening gig featur-
See PARK, page A15
The crowd listens to the music at Soldotna Creek Park during the Levitt AMP Soldotna Music Series on Wednesday, June 12. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration announced that more than $1 million in grants will be awarded to support capital improvements at shipyards in Homer and Seward. The $1,580,351 is part of a $19.6 million nationwide grant package to support efficiency and competitiveness at local See SHIP, page A2
Climate change forcing some villages to relocate QUINHAGAK (AP) — Accelerating erosion is forcing villages in western Alaska to begin making plans to move, officials said. Erosion caused by climate change threatens village infrastructure and could force the relocation of communities such as Quinhagak, Alaska’s Energy Desk reported Monday. A 2012 state report listed Quinhagak’s sewer lagoon and multipurpose building as top priorities for replacement or repair because of erosion and thawing
permafrost. Erosion now threatens Quinhagak’s airstrip, water treatment plant and water and sewer system, officials said. Quinhagak’s sewer lagoon and the building holding the laundromat and health clinic have experienced the worst impacts, creating a public health problem, said tribal administrator Ferdinand Cleveland. The village installed thermosiphons, systems designed to keep the ground from thawing, See FORCE, page A3