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Vol. 49, Issue 261
In the news
Fire bolstered by heat, dry conditions
Consistent high temperatures and dry conditions on the peninsula have caused the Swan Lake Fire to flare up once again, according to a Wednesday update from the Alaska Division of Forestry. While the fire has not experienced any substantial perimeter growth, interior islands of green fuels and other ground fuels continue to burn. According to the update, a substantial amount of precipitation is needed to prevent deeper layers of ground fuel from burning. The peninsula is currently experiencing a moderate drought. Water drops from helicopters were used on Tuesday to cool an area near the Sterling Highway above Upper Jean Lake. The 102,548-acre fire is burning in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge east of Sterling and north of the Sterling Highway and is currently 80% contained. There is no immediate threat to property values in the area, however some closures remain in effect. Due to the ongoing fire activity, refuge managers have closed Mystery Creek Road and the Enstar Pipeline right of way. Smoke from the fire is visible from the Sterling Highway between Mileposts 65 and 75. Motorists are advised to use caution when driving through the fire area. For more information about the fire, call the incident management team at 208-391-3488. — Brian Mazurek
Research center funds slashed FAIRBANKS — Budget cuts by Alaska’s governor include funding for the state’s Cold Climate Housing Research Center, officials said. The center in Fairbanks was among the line-item budget vetoes signed into law last week by Gov. Mike Dunleavy, The Fairbanks Daily NewsMiner reported Tuesday. The center’s $750,000 line-item was among the $34.7 million in cuts from the capital budget. The center specializes in developing and testing energy efficient and cold climate-centered building designs. Dunleavy vetoed more than $400 million from the state operating budget in June. — Associated Press
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Home runs
Homer arts center features storytelling project
Nationals, Phillies, White Sox pound out wins
Arts & Entertainment / A9
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Cloudy 72/51 More weather, Page A2
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A conversation with Sen. Murkowski By Victoria Petersen and Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski visited the Kenai Peninsula on Wednesday. In between visiting the Alaska Municipal League summer conference, hearing an update from fire crews on the Swan Lake Fire and attending the Jr. Classic at the Kenai River, Murkowski sat down with the Clarion to share her thoughts on issues facing the state and area.
Permanent fund dividend While the Alaska Permanent Fund dividend is a state issue, Murkowski said
she’s been paying attention to ongoing conversations regarding this year’s dividend and the future of the fund. She said she wants to ensure Alaskans have dividends into the future. “This is about us as Alaskans being able to share the benefits of these resources that we’ve been blessed with,” Murkowski said. “Making sure we have a sustainable dividend is important to me.” As a receiver of the PFD since its inception, Murkowski said she recognizes the good the annual check has done, both to her family and other Alaskans. She said the dividend helped her family create a nest egg that allowed her to provide an education to
her children, who are now out of college. She also said the dividend has clear benefits for Alaskans with lower incomes and who live a subsistence lifestyle. But, she said she’s been disappointed in some of the recent conversations around the dividend that she’s heard among Alaskans. “I feel that we have gotten to this point where it is more about ‘me and my dividend’, not about making sure our state is being cared for,” Murkowski said. “We’re having important discussions now. These discussions have gone on over the years. I have been really disappointed in some of the conversations I have heard among Alaskans
Erin Thompson / Peninsula Clarion
Clarion reporters Brian Mazurek and Victoria Petersen interview Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Wednesday at the Peninsula Clarion in Kenai. Murkowski discussed issues such as the Alaska Permanent Fund dividend, the Pebble Mine project and Alaskarelated legislation.
where it just seemed that the tone was more one of ‘what I want’ rather than ‘what we need as a state.’”
Murkowski said she’s encouraging state lawmakers See senator, Page A15
No deal yet in contract talks By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
reflected the life cycle of a salmon. After the morning activities, the kids were given life jackets and a lunch. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, RAlaska, was in attendance, as she is every year, and gave the kids a pep talk before they hit the water. Prior to getting on the boats, some of the kids shared their thoughts on the trip. Some had been fishing on the Kenai River before, and some had never been fishing at all. Lylah Woodhouse, who came up from Connecticut this summer to spend time with her dad, was a first-time fisherwoman. “I’m excited, and nervous,”
The school district and two education associations met Tuesday night and deliberated over a set of district proposals, but failed to resolve the ongoing contract dispute. The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District presented the Kenai Peninsula Education Association and the Kenai Peninsula Education Support Association two proposals that would raise health insurance deductibles, change some benefits and lower premiums. Kenai Peninsula Education Association President David Brighton said the associations are concerned about the increase to the deductible and out-of-pocket maximums in the district’s plans. He said the proposed plans would still be unaffordable to too many of the associations’ members. “We’re concerned that you can’t access health care if you can’t afford the deductibles,” Brighton said. “The reduction in premium is pretty minimal for anyone who is on our highdeductible plan now, for about half of our employees.” Since 2017, the district has provided employees with two options for health care benefits, which include a high-deductible plan and a traditional plan. Employees pay 10% of the costs for the high-deductible plan, and 15% of the costs for the traditional plan. During Tuesday night’s negotiations, the associations also offered a proposal to the school district. Brighton said the associations hope to meet with again with the district later this week, potentially on Saturday. Brighton said he thought the
See classic, Page A3
See talks, Page A2
Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, gives a pep talk Wednesday to the participants of the Kenai River Jr. Classic at the Harry Gaines Fish Camp in Soldotna.
Angling & learning Jr. Classic invites kids to catch salmon on the Kenai, and learn about water safety and conservation By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
For the 14th year of the Kenai River Jr. Classic, more than 100 kids from Kenai and Anchorage spent the day on the Kenai River fishing for salmon while learning important lessons about water safety and conservation. The event is organized each year by the Kenai River Sport Fishing Association, and Executive Director Ben Mohr said fishing on the Kenai is an opportunity that a lot of kids never get the chance to experience. The Sport Fishing Association’s goal with the annual Jr. Classic is to teach kids about all that Alaska has to offer on “one of
the most incredible rivers in the world.” This year about 40 kids from the peninsula and almost 70 kids from military families stationed at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson participated in the classic at no cost to the families. After being bused down from Anchorage thanks to Premier Alaska Tours, the kids spent the morning at the Harry Gaines Fish Camp playing games and participating in aquaticthemed educational activities. Volunteers from the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, for example, set up an area where the kids could practice their casting, taught them about the anatomy of a salmon and made key chains that
‘Blazing Guns’ opens new Kenai Performers theater season By Joey Klecka Peninsula Clarion
The Kenai Performers will kick off a fresh season of shows this weekend with the melodrama barnburner “Blazing Guns at Roaring Gulch.” The play will begin a stretch of six productions for the theater troupe, including “Lost in Yonkers” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” that will continue over the winter and into
next spring. Directed by Terri Burdick, who has taken on around a half dozen directing roles in her time with the Kenai Performers, the play includes a solid mix of young talent and returning stars. “One of my goals directing is I want to always have some new people,” Burdick said. Burdick said three of the cast members have less than a year of experience with Kenai Performers
but have taken to the stage with gusto — helped along by a handful of veteran actors. The show is a classic western melodrama, Burdick said, complete with onstage antics that she said should have the audience laughing. Melodramas are meant to be outrageous, silly and over the top, and “Blazing Guns” is no different, she said. See theater, Page A3
If you go “Blazing Guns at Roaring Gulch” will open Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. The show runs this weekend and the weekend of Aug. 23-25. The show will also have a special intermission which will include dessert, with pie a la mode being served to the audience.