Peninsula Clarion, January 14, 2015 by Sound Publishing

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CLARION

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P E N I N S U L A

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

Vol. 45, Issue 89

Question Should lawmakers be constitutionally prohibited from using the earnings of the Alaska Permanent Fund to pay for state government? n Yes n No To place your vote and comment, visit our Web site at www. peninsulaclarion. com. Results and selected comments will be posted each Tuesday in the Clarion, and a new question will be asked. Suggested questions may be submitted online or e-mailed to news@peninsulaclarion.com.

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T200 postponed Race organizers hope for snow by Feb. 21 By IAN FOLEY Peninsula Clarion

Due to the lack of snow on the Kenai Peninsula, the 2015 Tustumena 200 sled dog race has been postponed. Originally scheduled for Feb. 7, the race will now take place on Feb. 21, pending more snowfall. The 200-mile sled dog race has been held since 1984 and the race’s trails extend through the Caribou Hills and other parts of the Kenai Peninsula. Last year,

the race was canceled due to similar weather constraints. Tami Murray, race director of the T200, said that while some people are disappointed, others are relieved. “The mushers are very pleased that we’re not canceling,” Murray said. “We’re giving it a chance. They’re fine with the date we’ve chosen.” Murray said that the race has been postponed several times in its history. Normally when a race is postponed, race organiz-

ers try to push it back a week, but this year Iditarod drop bag preparation would conflict with a one-week delay. “It takes about a week to put the trail in, so we need a week,” Murray said. “It gives mushers time to plan. A lot of them come from all over the state.” The race can’t be held later than Feb. 21, because many teams need time to rest and prePhoto courtesy Tami Murray/T200 pare for the Iditarod on March 7. This photo taken Saturday shows the lack of snow around FredMurray said that because of die’s Roadhouse in the Caribou Hills, one of the T200 Sled Dog See T200, page A-14 Race checkpoints. The race has been postponed until Feb. 21.

Nikiski shows support for staff

In the news Seismologists detect record number of quakes in 2014 C

ANCHORAGE (AP) — Alaska experienced a busy year underground in 2014, according to experts who record the state’s earthquakes. The Alaska Earthquake Information Center detected 40,686 quakes in the state and bordering parts of Canada, significantly more that the previous high of nearly 32,000 in 2003, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported. In 2013, 28,000 earthquakes were detected with the center’s seismometer network. “We’ve blown away those benchmarks,” said state seismologist Michael West. “There’s never been a year where we identified 40,000 earthquakes in a year.” Most of the 2014 earthquakes were not felt by people, West said, and were in the range of magnitude 2 or 3. With more than 400 recording stations across Alaska, and up-to-date maintenance, the health of the seismic network is better than ever, West said. Technological advances in instruments and software also have improved the center’s ability to detect earthquakes, he said. Those two reasons don’t explain the increase, however. “Then the third one, which is actually of interest, is the Earth itself,” West said. “Even when you strip away those other two, there really have been a disproportionate number of earthquakes in Alaska in the past year.”

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School board hears from community By KELLY SULLIVAN Peninsula Clarion

and businesses with the services they need.” According to council members Robert Molloy, Harry Knackstedt, and Brian Gabriel, one of those non-sexy things may be the city’s purchasing policy. The three of them plan to consider reforms. “Primarily, I’m looking at the purchasing code as it impacts professional services,” Knackstedt said. “How requests for proposals are done, how they are reviewed. It’s something I want to go through and kind of streamline a little bit.” Knackstedt, Molloy, and Gabriel also plan to take a look at Kenai’s comprehensive

More than a dozen community members spoke in support of the Nikiski Middle-High School administration and staff during the public presentation period at Monday’s Kenai Peninsula Borough School Board of Education meeting. The turnout was prompted by the school district’s investigation of two Nikiski MiddleHigh school administrators and two teachers. The district’s investigation began on Dec. 19 following formal complaints lodged by parents of “sexually suggestive” behavior at the school’s Christmas assembly. By the call to order at 7 p.m., it was standing room only in the Kenai Peninsula borough assembly room. Nikiski’s school colors adorned many audience members. Following nearly one hour of public comment, the school’s principal Dan Cartsens made a statement. Carstens said at no time did he intend to offend anyone with the content presented during the assembly. He said his only motivation was to further build on his relationships with students at the school. “Moving forward, I make connections with students and become a pillar in our community,” Carstens said. Ben Carpenter, one of the

See KENAI, page A-5

See SCHOOL, page A-14

Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion

Working by torchlight

Eric Thomason, of Kenai, works on one of Snug Harbor Seafoods owner Paul Dale’s boats on Tuesday in Kenai.

Kenai city council plans for 2015 By BEN BOETTGER Peninsula Clarion

Now that 2015 has arrived, some members of Kenai’s city council are making plans for action. “I could go on and on about the things Kenai needs,” said Kenai Mayor Pat Porter. Her list includes an upgraded junk car ordinance, refurbishment of the city’s soccer fields, baseball diamonds, and parks, and designs for a possible amphitheater and convention center. Other council members said that rather than making definite plans, they are approaching the year with readiness for whatever problems it may present.

“I don’t have anything that’s pressing for me,” said council member Terry Bookey. “I’m going to see how the year goes, what comes up. I think the best-laid plans are sometimes thwarted just by what comes up inadvertently.” Council member Ryan Marquis said that he also intends to take a responsive, rather than active, stance. “I do not currently have any planned legislation to propose,” Marquis said. “Some people measure legislative success by the number of laws they can get passed in their career. I

tend to think it’s an equally important job to try and prevent new laws from being created, or at least speaking out against them.” When asked what issues he’d like the city to look at in 2015, Marquis said that taking care of basic procedures would be his priority. “The city should be concerned with some of the nutsand-bolts functions of the city; you know, the non-sexy stuff like wastewater system upgrades, street and light repairs, etc.,” Marquis said. “I want to see the city continue to be a place that provides residents

‘Try It Once’ to get active Program helps beginners try new activities By IAN FOLEY Peninsula Clarion

Try It Once, a program for people who are nervous about trying a new activity, will be held for the first time on Jan. 20 at the Nikiski Pool. Hosted by the Central Peninsula Change Club, in conjunction with the Cooperative Extension Service, Try It Once hopes to make people in the central peninsula area more active by offering one-off, begin-

ner-level classes for a variety of activities. The inaugural class, Lap Swimming for Fitness, is led by certified strength and conditioning specialist Angie Brennan, who will teach beginners how to design personal swim workouts as well as inform participants about pool etiquette. The instructor will show participants who enjoy the class how to continue in other programs. Linda Tannehill, an agent for

the Cooperative Extension Service and member of the Central Peninsula Change Club, said that classes are for beginners, people needing a refresher, people who want to be with other beginners, or for those who aren’t sure if they want to make a large financial investment with a longer course. “Our goal is to increase physical activity in the central peninsula area,” Tannehill said. “Not everybody wants to do See ONCE, page A-14 C

Fish and Game sportfish director gets new job By RASHAH McCHESNEY Peninsula Clarion

Longtime Alaska Department of Fish and Game employee Charles “Charlie” Swanton has been appointed to the Deputy Commissioner’s position within the department. Swanton has also been nominated as the state’s Commissioner for the Pacific Salmon Commission. Swanton, who is currently attending a Pacific Salmon

Commission meeting in Vancouver, according to Fish and Game staff, has been the director of the department’s Division of Sportfish for seven years. “He stepped right into it,” said Fish and Game Deputy Commissioner Kevin Brooks. “That was part of getting him into the seat because there’s meetings this week and then additional ones next week as well. People fish in the sumSee FISH, page A-14