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Vol. 49, Issue 265
1st day of school for Cooper Landing delayed By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
Tuesday was the first day of school for hundreds of students across the Kenai Peninsula. For children living the Cooper Landing area, however, school was closed due to Swan Lake Fire activity. Heavy smoke and fire activity continue to persist near the small central peninsula community. The Cooper Landing School is scheduled to open Wednesday with a two-hour delay. A final determination about a full-day closure will be made no later than 9 a.m. Wednesday. The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s communications liaison, Pegge Erkeneff, said it’s quite possible school will be canceled in Cooper Landing. The two-hour delay gives the district time to assess fire activity in the area. “We’re working closely with the Office of Emergency Management and incident management teams to make sure all of our students and staff are safe,” Erkeneff said. Tuesday morning in Sterling traffic — backed up from overnight road closures due to the Swan Lake Fire — made it difficult for students at River City Academy, Skyview Middle School, Soldotna High School and Sterling Elementary School. Apple Bus Company, the company contracted to transport students to and from school, was unable to go past Feuding Lane in Sterling, a Tuesday morning news update from the district said. Apple Bus stopped at Feuding Lane to pick up students who were able to meet the bus. The students in Sterling who were unable to get to school were not counted as absent. Sunday and Monday, two small fires ignited in the southern peninsula. Erkeneff said the district sent parents and staff at Kachemak-Selo School, Razdolna School and Voznesenka School with information about smoke impacts and the nearby fires. Families in the areas of these schools were not impacted by a Level 1 evacuation alert.
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Dunleavy reluctant to consider oil taxes By Peter Segall Juneau Empire
Gov. Mike Dunleavy repeated on Tuesday that he is not at this time considering reducing the state’s oil tax credits to help balance the state’s budget. In a press conference with reporters, Dunleavy once again expressed his desire to resolve the state’s $1.6
billion deficit by reducing state spending rather than consider new sources of revenue. “We’re going to do the best we can to get as close as possible to closing this gap,” he said during the conference in Anchorage. “My plan is to continue to work at reducing this deficit as much as we possibly can as soon as we possibly can.”
But more and more, the public has called the current oil tax system into question in the midst of the state’s budget turmoil, which on Monday saw $650 million in cuts to state programs, including $50 million to Medicaid and $70 million to the University of Alaska. In July, protesters marched on the Governor’s Mansion in Juneau, many of them
carrying signs reading, “it’s the oil tax credit,” as a solution to the state’s budget woes. In the statehouse, some legislators have said that the state should look at oil taxes as a source of revenue. Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, said on the floor of the Senate last month that choosing between a full PFD and state programs was
a “false dichotomy,” and that oil taxes should be considered to bolster the state’s budget. The state currently offers oil producers a per-barrel tax credit on a sliding scale maxing out at $8-per-barrel. When the price of oil drops below $80-per-barrel, the tax credit rises to $8 dollars, See taxes, Page A16
Drought persists on peninsula By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
and protect about 30 cabins and homes in the popular recreation area, which is accessible by fourwheeler and snowmachine trails from East End Road. Harrel said the fire did not immediately threaten the homes. About 1 p.m. Monday, Homer resident Ian Pitzman reported the fire via an inReach satellite communications device to his wife,
It’s been 23 days since the central peninsula felt rain, and residents can expect those dry conditions to continue for at least a few more days. Lucas Boyer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the forecast is showing isolated, chance showers on Friday and through the weekend. But, because of the dry pattern the Kenai Peninsula and Southcentral Alaska are experiencing, those chance shower events could be hit or miss, he said. Kenai and the central peninsula haven’t received any measurable amount of rain since July, when it rained almost an inch between July 26-28. Aug. 8, the Kenai Peninsula was placed into a moderate drought stage. The map was updated Aug. 15 to show a severe drought in the northern part of the Kenai Peninsula, a portion of the Matanuska Susitna Borough and Anchorage, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Kodiak Island is also experiencing a drought. On Monday, the city of Kodiak asked their residents to reduce their water consumption to curb a potential water shortage, a Monday press release from the city said. “After unusually hot weather and in preparation of a potentially dry fall, the City of Kodiak is asking customers for a voluntary reduction of water usage,” the release said. “The reduction of usage is being requested because the potential for a water supply shortage continues to increase.” The city of Kodiak receives their water from two sources, the Pillar Creek Reservoir and the Monashka Reservoir. The Monashka is the city’s main water supply, where about 6.3 million gallons of water are used a day, on average, the release said. The U.S. Drought Monitor — produced in partnership with the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
See caribou, Page A2
See drought, Page A16
Victoria Petersen / Peninsula Clarion
A truck on the Sterling Highway plows through ash produced by the Swan Lake Fire on Tuesday.
Fire crews battle Swan Lake blaze after weekend of expansion Teams are working to create new control lines and keep the fire away from the highway. By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
Fire crews battling the Swan Lake Fire prioritized protecting the Sterling Highway Tuesday in an attempt to keep the roadway open to traffic. The highway was closed on Sunday night after the Swan Lake Fire exhibited intense growth and
crossed the road in several places. By noon on Monday the highway was reopened, but within a few hours the fire began backing toward the highway from the south, prompting another closure at 6:30 p.m. that lasted through the night. At 10 a.m. on Tuesday the highway was opened again to one-lane traffic and pilot car operations. By that time, however, the closures had already impacted hundreds of travelers. As of mid-afternoon Tuesday, traffic was flowing steadily through
Cooper Landing, Nikiski resident Byron Grenier said. Grenier tried to make it through Cooper Landing on Sunday, but was prevented by the road closure. He tried again Monday, but had to turn back after traffic stopped in the evening. “I got there around 6:20. The road closed at 6:15 so I ended up turning back,” Grenier said. Grenier was able to make it through Tuesday afternoon. He said he didn’t spot any flames See swan, Page A3
New fire flares up near Caribou Lake By Michael Armstrong Homer News
In the midst of wildland fires at the south North Fork Road near Homer and along the Sterling Highway near Cooper Landing, firefighters on Monday responded to a third fire on the Kenai Peninsula. This time at Caribou Lake about 25 miles northeast of Homer. As of Tuesday morning, smokejumpers and air crews were on the
50- to 100-acre fire about 1.5 miles northwest of the lake. On Monday, two air tankers with retardant, an Alaska Division of Forestry helicopter and Fire Boss float planes dropped retardant and water on the fire burning in black spruce and grass. A bulldozer also is on scene to start building containment lines, said Sam Harrel, an Alaska Division of Forestry public information officer. Crews worked to suppress the fire
UA cancels emergency financial declaration By Ben Hohenstatt Juneau Empire
The University of Alaska Board of Regents canceled its earlier declaration of financial exigency, though regents said there are still major financial concerns ahead. The decision to rescind a declaration of exigency, which was made last month, came by a unanimous vote of the University of Alaska Board of Regents in an emergency
meeting held Tuesday in the Butrovich Building at University of Alaska Fairbanks. The declaration would have allowed the university to make drastic cuts to address a more than $130 million cut to university funding that was included in Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s budget vetoes unveiled in late June. It also damaged the university’s credit rating, according to Moody’s Investor Service. Since then, Dunleavy has
agreed to a smaller $70 million cut spread out over three years with $25 million coming this year, which set the stage for Tuesday’s meeting. By canceling exigency, union employees will go back to receiving a contractstipulated one-year notice of termination rather than 60 days. Exempted employees will go back to 12 weeks of notice rather than eight weeks, said Robbie Graham, associate vice president
public affairs for University of Alaska. While financial exigency is no longer a certainty, it’s not totally off the table in the opinion of Regent Dale Anderson, who objected to a motion to rescind the declaration in order to voice concerns. “I’m going to raise an objection to the motion. Only for the opportunity to speak to the use of exigency in the future,” Anderson said.
“It is a $70 million reduction. I don’t want us to be lulled into an assumption that all is well because this year’s cut is only $25 million.” Regent Karen Perdue also called for caution and said a rigorous approach will need to be taken when envisioning a new status quo for the university. “We don’t have the luxury of time, even though it might See UA, Page A16