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Vol. 49, Issue 254
In the news
2 men drown in Kasilof River
Two men were found dead in the Kasilof River Sunday afternoon. The two Kasilof residents — Harold Andrew Crossett, 57, and Reuben Arthur Kimball, 64, — were found 1 mile up from the mouth of the river, according to an Alaska State Trooper dispatch. The two had gone canoeing on the river, troopers reported. Neither were wearing life preservers and both are believed to have drowned. The next of kin have been notified. Foul play is not suspected at this time. — Staff
NFL
El Paso, Dayton shooting victims remembered
Patriots’ Brady talks about new extension
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70/54 More weather, Page A2
W of 1 inner Awa0* 201 Exc rds fo 8 e r Rep llence i o n rt * Ala ska P i n g ! res
CLARION P E N I N S U L A
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Tuesday, August 6, 2019 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Man pointing gun in Anchorage park shot by police ANCHORAGE — A man who pointed a BB gun at police was shot and wounded by officers at a park on the city’s east side. The man was taken to a hospital afterward. His condition was not released. Police say an officer on patrol near David Rose Park saw a man pointing a gun at houses and people. See news, Page A2
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Invocation ordinance likely to be pulled By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
An ordinance eliminating invocations during Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meetings is scheduled for a vote at Tuesday’s meeting, however, the ordinance’s sponsor is likely to withdraw the item completely. Assembly member Willy Dunne sponsored an ordinance that would end the practice of offering of invocations before the beginning of assembly meetings. The ordinance would put that question to
the residents for a vote. “It was my intention when I first proposed the ordinance to have it repealed based on voter approval,” Dunne said. “I later found out it would only be an advisory vote.” The assembly has the authority to amend its meeting agenda without voter approval. Dunne said he had concerns about the advisory vote, which is not binding. The ordinance was introduced just weeks after a resident and member of the Satanic Temple, Iris Fontana, provided an invocation at
the June 18 meeting, which prompted walkouts from borough officials and a protest outside the borough building. In a June 20 memo from Dunne to the assembly, he said recent invocations have resulted in controversial and divisive actions in the community. “Borough assembly policy states that invocations are presented to meet the spiritual needs of assembly members,” the memo reads. “However, recent invocations See invocation, Page A3
Brian Mazurek / Peninsula Clarion file
Debbie Hamilton gives an invocation March 5 at the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly Meeting in Soldotna.
Multiple hooks, bait restricted in Kenai River
4 believed to be on plane in deadly crash ANCHORAGE — Four people are believed to have been aboard a plane that crashed near Girdwood with no survivors. National Transportation Safety Board Alaska chief Clint Johnson says reports indicate four people were aboard the plane when Piper PA-22 crashed Sunday outside Girdwood. Johnson says NTSB investigators were heading to the crash site with Alaska State Troopers on Monday. Alaska State Troopers in a web posting say the crash happened near Eagle Glacier south of Anchorage. The crash was at about the 5,000foot elevation on Goat Mountain. Johnson says the plane crashed under unknown circumstances some time after takeoff from Girdwood. Troopers say an Alaska National Guard helicopter responded, and the crew confirmed the crash and that there were no survivors.
Mostly sunny
By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion file
Researcher Kim Ovitz observes a group of Cook Inlet beluga whales milling in a bend of the Kenai River by Cunningham Park on April 10, 2018, in Kenai.
Whale watchers
Citizen science beluga monitoring effort to begin on Kenai, Kasilof Rivers By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
The Alaska Beluga Monitoring Partnership is offering residents the opportunity to help scientists understand more about Cook Inlet beluga whales. The partnership — a collaboration of several organizations, including Beluga Whale Alliance, Defenders of Wildlife and the Alaska Wildlife Alliance — seeks to help facilitate beluga monitoring from citizen scientists. From Aug. 14 to Nov. 15, monitoring events will take place in sites at the mouth of Twentymile River and at Bird Point near Girdwood, at Ship Creek in Anchorage and at the Kenai and Kasilof Rivers. Kimberly Ovitz, a citizen science monitoring coordinator with the partnership, said anyone can be involved with the effort.
“You don’t have to be a scientist or a researcher,” she said. “It’s open to anyone. You don’t have to have had experience observing belugas in the past, or really any other animal. It’s really just a great opportunity for people to come out and learn more about their ecosystem, enjoy being outside and to contribute conservation recovery of this species in Cook Inlet.” Volunteers will learn more about the Cook Inlet beluga whales and their conservation needs, receive training on how to identify and record data on beluga distribution and behavior in the field and participate in beluga monitoring sessions at one of the partnership’s sites. Data collected will be shared with researchers and federal agency personnel to inform beluga research and management. The data will also be incorporated into NOAA’s Beluga Sightings Database
and Ecosystem Portal. The Cook Inlet beluga whale population has declined by nearly 75% since 1979, from about 1,300 whales to an estimated 328 whales in 2016, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the federal agency that has managed the Cook Inlet beluga population since its 2008 listing as an endangered species. According to the agency, the Cook Inlet beluga whale population is declining by 0.4% each year. Scientists are exploring a number of factors that may be inhibiting the population recovery, including noise. Belugas have sharp hearing. They use sounds to find each other and echolocation, a series of sound signals called clicks, to find food. “Pervasive noise throughout the See whale, Page A3
The use of bait and multiple hooks in the Kenai River is prohibited starting Tuesday, a press release from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said. The ban is effective until 11:59 p.m. Aug. 15, and includes an area from the river’s mouth upstream to Skilak Lake. The ban on bait and multiple hooks is an effort to continue protection of the late-run king salmon, the release said. Anglers are only allowed to use one unbaited, single-hook, artificial lure in the Kenai River. Anglers are also reminded that king salmon fishing closed Aug. 1, including catch and release fishing. Hooked king salmon may not be retained or possessed, and king salmon may not be removed from the water. When fishing for coho salmon, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game advises residents to avoid fishing in areas of the river where king salmon are concentrated, and to cut leaders and lines to avoid stressing incidentally hooked king salmon. As of Aug. 3, the sonar estimate of the king salmon passage into the Kenai River was 9,586 fish. The projected sport harvest and catch and release mortality of king salmon in the Kenai River upstream of the sonar through the end of the season is estimated to be approximately 507 fish, the release said. Projections to achieve the sustainable escapement goal have been dropping in August, with a lower than anticipated entry of king salmon past the sonar. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is restricting the harvest of Kenai River king salmon in the commercial fishery as well.
State seeks review of options for psychiatric facility By Becky Bohrer Associated Press
JUNEAU — State health department officials want to take another look at options for running Alaska’s state-owned psychiatric facility, including privatization. The request for proposals was released Monday, the same day Gov. Mike Dunleavy and department officials touted progress at the Alaska Psychiatric Institute. The state Department of Health and Social Services has been under contract with Wellpath Recovery Solutions to stabilize the facility and take steps to bring it to full operation. The contract is set to run through 2019. The facility has been under scrutiny
from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which the state said found more than 80 deficiencies between July and December 2018. State officials said Monday that the facility is now considered to be in good standing with federal requirements. The federal agency, in a report, said an unannounced visit last month found the facility to be in “substantial compliance.” Dunleavy, speaking to reporters at the Anchorage facility, said the Alaska Psychiatric Institute was failing in its mission when he took office in December. He said things are moving in the right direction, citing as an example an increased number of patients who can be accepted
due to additional staffing. But he said there remains room for “a lot of improvement.” Health Commissioner Adam Crum said there is a demand nationally for psychiatric care providers and that hiring psychiatric nurses and psychiatric nurse assistants has been difficult. Albert Wall, a deputy health commissioner, said the number of available beds has more than doubled over the last eight months. It remains below an 80-bed target. Rep. Ivy Spohnholz, co-chair of the House Health and Social Services Committee, said she hasn’t seen a concerted effort from the administration to fill positions at the facility. The Anchorage Democrat also said
she sees no need to do another study. The request for proposals seeks an analysis of privatization options, such as having an outside party assume hospital management and operations. Other areas the state wants studied include maintaining state ownership and operation but looking for more efficiencies or contracting for certain services. It also seeks analysis on whether and how the facility could remain exclusively state run. The state has studied privatization before. A 2017 consultant’s report called the full privatization option it analyzed cost prohibitive. Wall said a lot has changed since that report was written and it was determined that a fresh look was needed.