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Soldotna student dies in rollover A Soldotna High School student died last Thursday in a motor vehicle collision along the Sterling Highway. At about 7:30 a.m. on Oct. 17, Macie SchroederDalebout, 17, of Soldotna, was driving a 2005 Kia Sorento northbound on the Sterling Highway, according to a dispatch from the Alaska State Troopers. Around mile 100.5 of the Sterling Highway, Schroeder-Dalebout lost control of her vehicle after sliding on a patch of ice. This caused the vehicle to roll into the ditch on the northbound side. Troopers determined during investigation that Schroeder-Dalebout was not wearing her seatbelt and was ejected from the vehicle. Schroeder-Dalebout was pronounced dead at the scene of the rollover. A passerby witnessed the rollover and called State Troopers immediately. Alcohol and/ or drugs are not considered to be a factor in the collision. Schroeder-Dalebout was a senior at Soldotna High School, and her classmates mourned her passing at a volleyball game Friday Night against Kenai Central High School. “I definitely think this win was for Macie,” senior Bailey Armstrong said on Friday night. “I think we had to think of it, not as she’s gone, but let’s play for Macie. Let’s do it for her.”
High school finds success with no-phone policy ANCHORAGE — An Anchorage high school has adopted a no-cellphone policy to reduce distractions caused by the devices, officials said. The 67 students at Lumen Christi High School must leave phones in designated shelves or plastic pockets in their homerooms, The Anchorage Daily News reported Sunday. “There had been just too many disruptions, and too many distractions,” said Principal Brian Ross. “We’ve become almost addicted to this technology.” Students must relinquish their phones until the school day is over See NEWS, Page A2
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Alaska Yes responds to APOC allegations By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
Alaska Yes Inc has responded to a complaint, denying many of the allegations that they violated several campaign laws. The complaint was filed against the nonprofit in September by Alaska Public Offices Commission staff. In a Sept. 23 memo from Campaign Disclosure Coordinator Thomas Lucas to Alaska Public Offices Commissioners, he wrote that Alaska Yes Inc had violated several campaign laws, including failing to register as a group in a timely matter, failing to file campaign disclosure reports, failing to report non-monetary contributions to the John Quick campaign, using Alaska Yes expenditures to support Quick and failing to identify the true source of funds used in expenditures. Quick ran for the Nikiski seat on the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly, but lost to Jesse Bjorkman.
An Oct. 16 letter response from Elizabeth Leduc, an attorney representing Alaska Yes Inc in the APOC investigation, refutes specific allegations made by the commission’s staff. In their memo, Alaska Public Offices Commission defines Alaska Yes Inc as a “group,” which is defined as “any combination of two or more individuals acting jointly who organize for the principal purpose of influencing the outcome of one or more elections and who take action the major purpose of which is to influence the outcome of an election.” In Leduc’s letter, she said Alaska Yes Inc does not qualify as a group because the nonprofit was not created for the purpose of influencing an election. According to APOC’s memo, Alaska Yes Inc began making expenditures prior to an Aug. 31 fundraiser, but did not register as a group with Alaska Public Offices Commission until Sept. 5, and only did so as an entity, not as
VICTORIA PETERSEN / PENINSULA CLARION
A sign opposing Proposition 1 stands along Kalifornsky Beach Road near Soldotna on Sept. 18. The ads were paid for by Alaska Yes, according to a disclaimer on the sign.
a group, violating campaign law AS 15.13.050. An affidavit from Peter Zuyus, Alaska Yes Inc president and chairperson, says that their organization’s first expenditure was made on or around
Sept. 10, with the purchase of signs opposing Proposition 1. However, Facebook’s ad library, which archives information about See YES, Page A3
‘Not all wilderness is created equal’ State Sen. Micciche seeks clarification on Swan Lake Fire Management By Victoria Petersen and Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
In the wake of the Swan Lake Fire, Sen. Peter Micciche (R-Kenai/ Soldotna) is requesting a frank discussion on wildlife management policies. Micciche sent a letter Thursday addressed to Andy Loranger, manager of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, and Francisco Sanchez, Seward District Ranger for the Chugach National Forest, where he raised some concerns and asked for clarification about the management of the Swan Lake Fire this past summer. In the letter, Micciche questioned the effectiveness of federal wildland policy, which allows fires to burn as long as there is no immediate threat to life and property. “While this policy seems to make some sense when fires are in remote areas of federal land, it seems to be an imprudent policy when in close proximity to communities,” Micciche said in the letter. “In other words, not all wilderness is created equal.” The Swan Lake Fire first began on June 5 when lightning struck in a remote part of the refuge. By the end of July the fire was nearly under control at about 102,000 acres, and fire management was scaled back significantly after several inches of rain slowed the growth of the blaze. In August, a high wind event coupled with record high dryness and heat quickly made the Swan Lake Fire the largest and most expensive fire in the nation, ultimately billowing to over 160,000 acres. The fire’s expansion filled communities with smoke during peak tourist and fishing seasons, triggered two evacuation warnings for the communities of Sterling and Cooper Landing and prompted numerous closures of the Sterling Highway causing freight delays. In the letter, Micciche said that his constituents raised concerns to him regarding the management of the fire during the peak of its
BRIAN MAZUREK / PENINSULA CLARION
Trees burned by the Swan Lake Fire and knocked down by gusts of wind can be seen here along the Sterling Highway on Aug. 30.
activity in August. “Many have asked why the importance of wildlands and wildlife seems to outweigh the importance of human life and property,” Micciche said in the letter. “Now is the time to ask those questions, understand the policies of fire management on federal lands in the proximity of communities and request revisions to those policies with a scalable approach with a priority for human and property safety.” The Clarion attempted to reach Loranger and Sanchez by phone for comment but did not receive a response from either. The letter was also sent to all other Kenai Peninsula lawmakers, Senator Lisa Murkowski, Senator Dan Sullivan, Congressman Don Young, Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce and the state Department of Natural Resources Commissioner
COURTESY PHOTO
State Sen. Peter Micciche (R-Soldotna) listens to testimony in Juneau in this undated photo.
Corri Feige. Micciche requested this meeting to be in early November, and his office
has stated that all parties involved have responded positively to the request.
Diplomat: Trump linked Ukraine aid to probe demand By Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jalonick and Matt Lee Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A top U.S. diplomat testified Tuesday that President Donald Trump was holding back military aid for Ukraine unless the country agreed to investigate Democrats and a company linked to Joe
Biden’s family, providing lawmakers with a detailed new account of the quid pro quo central to the impeachment probe. In a lengthy opening statement to House investigators obtained by The Associated Press, William Taylor described Trump’s demand that “everything” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wanted, including vital aid to counter Russia, hinged on
making a public vow that Ukraine would investigate Democrats going back to the 2016 U.S. election as well as a company linked to the family of Trump’s potential 2020 Democratic rival. Taylor testified that what he discovered in Kyiv was the Trump administration’s “irregular” back channel to foreign policy led by the president’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and
“ultimately alarming circumstances” that threatened to erode the United States’ relationship with a budding Eastern European ally facing Russian aggression. In a date-by-date account, detailed across several pages, the seasoned diplomat who came out of retirement to take over as charge d’affaires at the See DIPLOMAT, Page A16