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W of 1 inner Awa0* 201 Exc rds fo 8 e r Rep llence i o n rt * Ala ska P i n g ! res
CLARION P E N I N S U L A
Vol. 50, Issue 36
In the news
Jimmy Carter hospitalized, faces surgery
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Tuesday, November 12, 2019 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
The budget meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday; school board to meet Wednesday to discuss board vacancy. Peninsula Clarion
Parents, staff and community members are invited to give their input in the district’s budget process. The Kenai Peninsula
$1 newsstands daily/$1.50 Sunday
Borough School District will hold public budget meetings at 19 different schools on Tuesday night to discuss the district’s annual budget process. Next year’s budget is currently being built and parents, staff and community
members can attend Tuesday’s meeting to learn how they advocate for matters most to them, a Nov. 5 press release from the district said. “The annual budget for the district and its 42 diverse schools is the foundation for quality instruction and school culture, ensuring all learners can pursue their dreams in a rigorous, relevant and responsive
environment,” the release from the district said. The meetings will begin at 6 p.m., and school principals and district leadership will help facilitate the meetings, which will include a live video-streamed presentation from the district. Information on the district’s budget can be found on its website at www.kpbsd. k12.ak.us.
Trial opens in 2013 death of Homer man
Miss Alaska Teen, Miss Alaska both from Fairbanks FAIRBANKS — Fairbanks has been well represented in pageants this year as the newly crowned Miss Alaska USA 2020 and Miss Alaska Teen USA 2020 both hail from the city. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported Monday that Hannah Carlile accepted the Miss Alaska USA crown and Jadyn Fraser was awarded the Miss Alaska Teen USA crown Nov. 2. Officials say the pageant in Anchorage was a preliminary event to the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants.
Kuskokwim River village resident held in death CROOKED CREEK — A rural Alaska man is being held in Bethel on suspicion of first-degree murder. Alaska State Troopers announced Sunday they had arrested 30-yearold Ronald Waskey of Crooked Creek in the death of 26-year-old Evan Waskey. Troopers did not indicate how Evan Waskey died or whether the two men were related. Troopers just after 6 a.m. Saturday received a report of Evan Waskey’s death. Troopers say the men had gotten into a fight. Officers from Bethel and Aniak responded and made the arrest. Online court documents do not list Ronald Waskey’s attorney. Crooked Creek is a village of 94 on the See news, Page A3
Index
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Meetings on school budget, board vacancy set By Victoria Petersen
Former President Jimmy Carter has been admitted to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, for a procedure to relieve pressure on his brain, caused by bleeding due to his recent falls. Story, Page A11.
Cloudy
School sites will be established at Aurora Borealis Charter School, Chapman School, Cooper Landing School, Homer Middle School, Hope School, Kaleidoscope School of Arts and Science, Kenai Central High School, Moose Pass School, Nanwalek School, Nikiski Middle-High School, See school, Page A3
NOAA moves to protect whales The proposed critical habitats of the humpbacks will not affect fishing or recreational boating. By Michael Lockett Juneau Empire
Michael Armstrong / Homer News
Lee John Henry is brought into the Homer courtroom for his arraignment Oct. 17, 2016, in Homer. Henry is charged with firstdegree murder in the July 2013 death of Mark Matthew in Homer.
By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
A Homer man charged with murder three years ago will have his day in court this Tuesday in the Homer Courthouse. The trial for Lee John Henry, 58, will begin Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. in Homer, with jury selection beginning Wednesday. Kenai Superior Court Judge Lance
Joanis will be presiding over the case. Henry was indicted by a grand jury in October of 2016 on one count of firstdegree murder, three counts of second-degree murder, one count of manslaughter and one count of firstdegree murder. The charges are in relation to the death of Mark Matthews, 61, in 2013 near the Poopdeck Trail in Homer. Matthews was
found with injuries to the left side of his head and his pockets turned Mark inside out. Matthews in During a 2013. trial call on Thursday, Public Defender Teri Hobart and District Attorney Scot Leaders had a disagreement over the
use of DNA analysis in the trial. Henry was not present in the courthouse Thursday but was listening in telephonically. Hobart had filed a motion earlier that morning requesting to dismiss the results of a DNA test from 2015. Joanis said that the motion filed by Hobart and issues regarding the DNA testing would be addressed at trial Tuesday.
Honoring those who serve Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, shares his story of serving in the military and encouraged others to do the same at a Veterans Day memorial service and celebration organized by VFW Post 10046, along with American Legion Post 20 and AmVets. The event was held at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Monday. Victoria Petersen / Peninsula Clarion
NOAA’s fisheries division, the National Marine Fisheries Service, has proposed creating a number of critical habitat sites ranging from the Channel Islands in southern California to the Bering Sea, including the waters off Juneau. The critical habitats, created with the aim of protecting the feeding areas of three separate groups of humpback whales, or Megaptera novaeangliae, will not affect anything except for federal agencies seeking to use those waters for other purposes, said Lisa Manning, an official with NOAA. Her presentation to the public on the proposed habitats was held at University of Alaska Southeast on Thursday evening, and was attended by more than 30 people. “A critical habitat does not establish a sanctuary or preserve. It does not affect recreational activities. It does not affect private lands,” Manning said. “It only affects federal activities.” The proposed habitats, which cover 175,182 square nautical miles in total, are the traditional feeding areas of three of the 14 major humpback whale distinct population segments (DPS), Manning said. The three groups that come to See whales, Page A2
Soldotna woman wins state savings scholarship By Brian Mazurek
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Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584. Brian Mazurek / Peninsula Clarion
Soldotna resident Marta Taylor (right) receives a check for a $25,000 scholarship from Lael Oldmixon, director of Alaska 529, at Froso’s restaurant in Soldotna on Monday.
A Soldotna woman received an unexpected birthday gift on Monday while out to lunch with her family — a $25,000 scholarship. Earlier this year, Marta Taylor checked a box on her application for the Alaska Permanent Fund dividend designating that half of her check be put into an Alaska 529 education savings account. Little did she know, checking that box put her in the running for Alaska 529’s
Scholarship Account Giveaway, which randomly selects one person to receive $25,000 from that savings account. Taylor was already celebrating her birthday at Froso’s with her family when she received the good news. Representatives from the Education Trust of Alaska, the group that manages the 529 savings accounts through T. Rowe Price, flew down from Fairbanks to present Taylor with a birthday cake and a giant check. “This is crazy … that’s a lot of
money!” Taylor said. Rather than using the money for her own tuition she intends to give the scholarship to her daughter, Ella Czarnezki, who is in 10th grade at River City Academy and plans to attend college in a few years. “An education is such a gift, and to have money to put towards it in Ella’s case is just incredible. I’m thrilled.” Taylor is currently taking online classes to obtain her degree in computer science See state, Page A2