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Vol. 49, Issue 266
School starts without a new contract Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
The school district and two employee associations have not reconvened after efforts to come to a contract agreement fell short Aug. 13. School began Tuesday for majority of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, and teachers are starting another school year without a contract. For over a year, contract negotiations between the borough school district and the associations have snagged on the rising cost of health care. A previous agreement effective through June 2018 remains in use for employees without contracts. After negotiations ended Aug. 13, the Kenai Peninsula Education Association and Kenai Peninsula Education Support Association were waiting for the district to analyze the cost of their most recent proposal, requiring an estimate from the broker. The broker was unable to get the estimate to the district by last weekend, and the two employee associations are waiting on a response from the district, Kenai Peninsula Education Association President David Brighton said. The associations hope to meet with the district soon, and reach an agreement, but if no agreement can be made the employee associations said they will be ready to strike in September, according to a Monday Facebook post from the Kenai Peninsula Education Association. After contract negotiations with the district hit a standstill, peninsula educators and staff voted May 22 to strike, with more than 75% of certified staff voting “yes” on a walkout. The associations planned to choose a strategic time to start the strike. District employees cannot be fired for participating in a legal strike. What happens if a contract can’t be settled and employees go on strike? In an August press release from the district, communications liaison Pegge Erkeneff said a work See school, Page A3
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Canceled
Seward Salmon Derby winners take home prize
Travel, activities ban affects local sports
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Thursday, August 22, 2019 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
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Fires prompt emergency declaration By Brian Mazurek and Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce declared a disaster emergency Wednesday in response to several active wildfires on the peninsula. “The severity and magnitude of these fires is beyond the authority and capacity of the Kenai Peninsula Borough, a second class borough of the State of Alaska, to provide effective response,” the declaration said. The declaration cites the Swan Lake Fire near Sterling, which has been burning in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge since June 5, as threatening severe damage to life and property. Two other fires — near Caribou Lake and North Fork Road near Homer — are also burning. In the declaration, Pierce said the borough has expended significant resources in coordinating with the state to assist in the fire response. The disaster declaration requests Gov. Mike Dunleavy to declare a disaster emergency, which would allow for disaster assistance to the Kenai Peninsula by making available resources as needed in the ongoing response. The declaration may also provide individual assistance for affected property owners with property that was damaged as a result of the fires. The declaration said the fire, which has caused and is still causing multiple closures of the Sterling Highway, has had significant impacts to transportation for individuals, businesses and of commodities to and from communities. “You had literally thousands of cars waiting in line — remember we had a Level 1 evacuation plan for Cooper Landing and we had in excess of 1,500 cars in Cooper Landing,” Pierce said during the Borough Assembly Meeting Tuesday night. “Imagine if See emergency, Page A3
Courtesy Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Management
Fire crews are briefed on the day’s operations at the Otter Creek Spike Camp on Wednesday.
Caribou Lake Fire now at 700 acres; North Fork Fire danger is less By Michael Armstrong Homer News
As firefighters mopped up an almost 60-acre wildland fire on the south end of North Fork Road, attention shifted on Wednesday to a fire near Caribou Lake that grew from 50 acres on Monday to 700 acres on Tuesday. Both fires threaten homes and cabins in areas north and east of Homer. Officials on Wednesday also imposed a total burn ban for Southcentral Alaska, including the Kenai Peninsula and the MatanuskaSusitna Borough, including in Kachemak Bay State Park land. That means no open fires of any kind, including campfires, warming fires and barbecue grills. Propane or gas grills that can be turned off are still allowed. A burn suspension for larger fires and burn barrels was already in place. While the cause of the North Fork and Caribou Lake fires remain under investigation, officials are tentatively
saying the fires were human caused because there were no lightning strikes or possible natural causes. There were 28 crew members fighting the Caribou Lake Fire on Wednesday, with Kachemak Emergency Services firefighters driving in by all-terrain vehicles to support a Redding, California, hotshot crew of 20. Air tankers are doing retardant drops, and Fire Boss planes have been scooping water out of the lake. “They’re going to concentrate on the west side of the lake,” said KESA Chief Bob Cicciarella. “There’s a forecast of high winds tonight and tomorrow. They want to get a good handle on that west side.” KESA volunteer firefighters have been stretched thin fighting both fires. Eighteen to 26 structures are threatened at Caribou Lake, said Bridget Bushue, a public information officer with the Bureau of Land Management through the Alaska Interagency Information Center.
Caribou Lake is a popular recreational area about 25 miles northeast of Homer and accessible by snowmachine and four-wheeler trail from East End Road. Cicciarella said access on the trail has been good, with few wet spots. At the North Fork fire, 42 people have been working the fire that started Sunday evening. A bulldozer line now encircles the fire about 1.5 miles east of the Sterling High between Homer and Anchor Point. KESA first responded to the fire about 6:45 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 18. Anchor Point Emergency Services also responded. The south North Fork Road area is in the KESA service area just south of the Anchor Point service area. The initial attack included helicopters with bucket drops and the Fire Boss planes. The Zigzag Hotshot Crew from Portland, Oregon, arrived Monday to assist the Yukon Hotshot Crew. See caribou, Page A3
Flood advisory issued for Kenai Lake, Upper Kenai River Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
A flood advisory was issued Wednesday by the National Weather Service for the areas of the Kenai Lake and Kenai River from Cooper Landing to Skilak Lake. The advisory is effective until Friday. A Flood Advisory means river or stream flows are elevated, or ponding of water in urban or other areas is occurring or is imminent, according to the advisory. Kenai Lake and Cooper Landing are some of the locations that may experience
flooding, the advisory said. Primrose Campground near Seward may also experience flooding, according to an update from the Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Management. The Snow Glacier dammed lake is releasing at this time, causing water levels on the Snow River to steadily rise. A significant water level increase is expected at Kenai Lake this weekend. Water may continue to rise on Kenai Lake and the Kenai River through the weekend and early next week. On the Kenai River below Skilak Lake water levels will
see a moderate increase by early next week. “There is considerable uncertainty of water volumes released and drain rates during glacial dammed lake outbursts,” the advisory said. The flood advisory is due to the Snow Glacier dammed lake releasing, located in the headwaters of the Snow River near Moose Pass, which is an outburst event that occurs every couple of years, according to the borough’s update. The Snow River flows from an 8-mile long glacier in See flood, Page A2
Erin Thompson / Peninsula Clarion
The Kenai River meets Kenai Lake on Friday, Aug. 9, in Cooper Landing.
Planned Parenthood in Alaska loses state, federal funding By Peter Segall Juneau Empire
On Monday, as Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced cuts to the state budget, including $50 million for Medicaid, Pl a n n e d Pa re nt h o o d affiliates nationwide decided to withdrawal from the Title X federal funding program.
That decision will make access to health care in Alaska more difficult, according to Jessica Cler, Alaska Director of Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii, the advocacy arm of Planned Parenthood in Alaska. “This withdrawal (of federal funding) hits Alaska
the hardest,” Cler said in a phone interview Tuesday. “We already know that access to health care is a challenge here, from provider shortages to the high cost. So with the gag rule on top of the drastic budget cuts from the governor … health care is going to be increasingly hard to access and will particularly
hurt low-income folks the hardest.” Planned Parenthood withdrew from the program because of a new rule, known as the gag rule, imposed by the Trump administration that prevents recipients of Title X federal funding from informing their patients of how or where they can
access abortion. “We believe it is unethical to not give the most accurate information to our patients,” Cler told the Empire. “That includes telling them how to access abortion.” The new rule allows for clinics to tell patients that abortion See funds, Page A2