Peninsula Clarion, August 25, 2019

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Voters to weigh in on charter change Races for City Council positions are mostly unopposed. By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion

Kenai The city of Kenai has two council positions open. Jim Glendening and Glenese Pettey, who currently serve on the Kenai City Council, are running for seats in unopposed races. The city also has an elected mayoral position up for election. The current mayor, Brian Gabriel, is the only candidate running for Kenai city mayor. The city also has two propositions for residents to weigh on. Proposition A asks voters if the city’s charter should be changed to eliminate the requirement of candidates running for mayor or city council to provide a nominating petition with 20 signatures. The resolution was passed July 3 by the Kenai City Council, and will now go to the voters. “It is in the city’s best interest to eliminate the petition requirement for candidacy as requiring a candidate to submit a petition with signatures of 20 or more voters merely presents an inconvenience to candidates and creates administrative work for the city without any real benefit to the public,” the resolution reads. Proposition B has to do with when council members and the mayor’s terms begin after the election. The current city charter requires the term of office to begin the second regular council meeting after the election. The proposition asks voters if that charter should be changed to have terms begin the Monday following election certification.

Soldotna The city of Soldotna has two city council positions up for a vote. The seats belong to current council members Tim Cashman and Lisa Parker. Parker is See election, Page A3

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As Swan Lake fire grows, plans put in place Cooper Landing residents briefed on evacuation possibilities. For future traffic delays on the Sterling Highway, control points will be established at Mile 71 near Watson Lake and Mile 53 near the Resurrection Trailhead. By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion

The Swan Lake Fire grew by another 4,000 acres Friday night, and on Saturday the borough released details about their transportation and evacuation plans for the Sterling Highway. During the community meeting in Cooper Landing Saturday night, Kenai Peninsula Borough Emergency Manager Dan Nelson laid

out the borough’s plans for handling road closures and potential evacuations going forward. Nelson said during the meeting that for future traffic delays on the Sterling Highway, control points will be established at Mile 71 near Watson Lake and Mile 53 near the Resurrection Trailhead. These control points will use flaggers and nearby pullouts to allow people to turn around and prevent congestion in populated areas.

In the event that a closure is expected to last more than six hours, an additional control point will be established at the Sunrise Inn in Cooper Landing. This control point will allow local traffic coming into Cooper Landing from the east, but travelers coming into the area will be directed by state troopers and local law enforcement to either turn around or pull over to the highway’s shoulder in an attempt to minimize the congestion that has occurred in Cooper Landing during recent closures. In the event that an evacuation is warranted, the Department of Transportation, with the assistance of Granite Construction, will make both

lanes of the Sterling Highway move in one direction and establish turnarounds to assist drivers in adjusting to the new traffic pattern. Public information officer Sarah Gracey said on Saturday that fire crews in the area of the Seven Lakes Trail south of the Sterling Highway initiated structure protection operations around public use cabins on Friday, as the fire made its way about 3 miles east from where it initially crossed the highway on the western side. The growth also prompted a temporary traffic delay on the highway Friday night so that aerial teams could perform water drops in the area. A large column of smoke

Inside ■■ Officials brief community on Caribou, North Lake fires. Page A2 ■■ Brazil deploys troops to battle Amazon wildfires. Page A5 located about 1.5 miles south of the highway threatened to delay traffic again on Saturday, but the highway did remain open for the day. Further delays could still be possible, and motorists should check 511.Alaska.gov for the latest updates before traveling in the area. Gracey said that hotshot See fire, Page A2

Flood advisories may extend By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion

Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce also spoke to the crowd and gave appreciation to the emergency responders and veterans in the community. “Can I just say God bless America, and this is the greatest place on earth,” Pierce said in his speech. After his speech, Dunleavy stayed for a while to chat with residents and briefly spoke to the Clarion about the wildfires in the area. Dunleavy recently issued a disaster declaration for the Kenai Peninsula and Matanuska-Susitna Boroughs and made additional state resources available to those areas

A flood advisory for the Snow River looks to expire Sunday, but advisories for the Kenai River and Kenai Lake may be extended. Jessica Cherry, senior hydrologist Alaska Pacific River Forecast Center, said the Snow River crested Saturday, and if the river drops below the action stage by noon Sunday it may expire. The Kenai River, however, is not expected to crest until later Sunday. Flood advisories for the Kenai River and Kenai Lake, which includes areas from Cooper Landing to Skilak Lake, may be extended past Sunday. Flooding 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 a Kenai Peninsula Borough update. The event is known as jökulhlaup, an Icelandic term describing a sudden water release from glaciers or glacierdammed lakes. Flooding has the potential to impact Swan Lake Fire firefighting efforts, but not yet affected operations. Sarah Gracey, public information officer for the Great Basin Incident Management Team, said on Saturday that fire crews have been relying on local boat operators with knowledge of the area to transport them across the river, but that they have not been impacted by the flooding on the Kenai River. On Friday, crews were able to make it about 1 mile into the Surprise Creek trail to begin establishing control lines. Snow River flooding has also affected Alaska Railroad operations on the peninsula. The railroad stopped running trains between Moose Pass and Seward last week and will likely not restart service until early next week. Stephanie Wheeler, regional

See honor, Page A2

See river, Page A3

Brian Mazurek / Peninsula Clarion

Rep. Ben Carpenter (left) , R-Nikiski, presents an award Saturday to Jerry Dzugan, executive director of the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association, for the organization’s outstanding support of the commercial fishing industry during Industry Appreciation Day in Kenai.

Honoring industries that go above, are always there By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion

Food and fun were in no short supply at this year’s Industry Appreciation Day. Held every August in Kenai, the day is organized by the Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District and the Alaska Oil and Gas Association as a way to celebrate the industries at the heart of the peninsula’s economy. The celebration took place from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday at the Kenai Park Strip and featured raffles, frozen T-shirt contests, buoy pull races and free food. The local 4-H chapters served up this year’s grand champion hog while volunteers

from Home Depot taught kids how to build birdhouses. About halfway through the day, there was an award ceremony that honored individuals and businesses in four industries — oil and gas, commercial fish, tourism and health care. The awards were presented by Tim Dillon, executive director of KPEDD, Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel, Sen. Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, and Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski. Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who is touring the areas of the Kenai Peninsula and the Mat-Su Valley that have been impacted by several wildfires, gave a speech to the crowd before the award ceremony and noted that “the Kenai really likes to celebrate.”

Trustworthy boat raffle sends $15K to youth sports By Joey Klecka Peninsula Clarion

The annual Trustworthy Hardware Willie Boat raffle event brought in $15,000 for local youth sports and sent home a lucky winner with a new Willie drift boat Friday afternoon in Soldotna. The boat raffle, now in its 11th year, sold 1,000 tickets for $50 a ticket in 2019, helping to bring in $50,000 of fundraising in less than three weeks. After expenses, Trustworthy Hardware co-owner Scott Miller said $15,000 went

to funding youth sports for the community. The event is primarily a fundraiser for Soldotna youth sports, a list that includes Soldotna Little League, youth girls soccer, Pop Warner football, Whalers wrestling, Soldotna Silver Salmon swimming and the Soldotna Youth Rodeo. “This is a really good event,” Miller said. “It’s just been a great week.” The funds also go to help the Wounded Heroes event, a See raffle, Page A2

Trustworthy Hardware co-owner Brian Miller (middle) joins Kenai Peninsula Saints Pop Warner players Clayton McDonald (left) and Jameson Curren in picking a ticket in the Soldotna Trustworthy Youth Raffle event Friday in Soldotna. Joey Klecka Peninsula Clarion


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