Ashlyn O'Hara

Jacquelynn Tomrdle, left, and Nicole Murphy, right, present on behalf of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Students in Transition program at the Kenai Peninsula Association of Realtors award ceremony at Kenai Catering on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

2 KPBSD staff appointed to state homeless education group

The state group is tasked with reviewing and updating Alaska’s McKinney-Vento policies and procedures

Jacquelynn Tomrdle, left, and Nicole Murphy, right, present on behalf of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Students in Transition program at the Kenai Peninsula Association of Realtors award ceremony at Kenai Catering on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai City Clerk Shellie Saner (right) administers an oath of office to Henry Knackstedt during a Kenai City Council meeting on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023 in Kenai, Alaska. Knackstedt was elected to the council during the Oct. 3 election. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai council swears in 2 new members

Henry Knackstedt and Phillip Daniel took their oaths of office

Kenai City Clerk Shellie Saner (right) administers an oath of office to Henry Knackstedt during a Kenai City Council meeting on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023 in Kenai, Alaska. Knackstedt was elected to the council during the Oct. 3 election. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Brochures advertise information about the Safe School Helpline near the entrance to Hope School on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2023, in Hope, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

School district launches anonymous helpline

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District staff, students and community members can anonymously report concerns affecting district schools

Brochures advertise information about the Safe School Helpline near the entrance to Hope School on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2023, in Hope, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The entrance to the George A. Navarre Admin Building in Soldotna, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion file)

Assembly OKs overhaul of borough gravel pit regs

The unanimous vote in support of the ordinance caps more than a year of work by an assembly material site subcommittee

The entrance to the George A. Navarre Admin Building in Soldotna, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion file)
Mary Lou Bottorff, a survivor of Holy Cross Mission, holds a picture taken of her en route to Holy Cross Mission taken in Nome in 1948, when she was eight years old, inside the Tyotkas Elder Center on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

‘You don’t understand unless you lived it’

On day of remebrance, two elders share stories of childhood in a boarding school

Mary Lou Bottorff, a survivor of Holy Cross Mission, holds a picture taken of her en route to Holy Cross Mission taken in Nome in 1948, when she was eight years old, inside the Tyotkas Elder Center on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A plow truck clears snow from the Kenai Spur Highway on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022 in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

DOT commissioner: New road maintenance strategy could reduce brine use by 40%

Vehicle corrosion and associated costs, threats to public safety and environmental impacts were the top concerns

A plow truck clears snow from the Kenai Spur Highway on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022 in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
From left, Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education members Jason Tauriainen, Kelley Cizek, Dianne MacRae and Penny Vadla are sworn in by District Secretary Nikkol Sipes during a special school board meeting on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

School board swears in new members, reorganizes

Kelley Cizek, Dianne MacRae, Jason Tauriainen and Penny Vadla took oaths of office during the meeting

From left, Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education members Jason Tauriainen, Kelley Cizek, Dianne MacRae and Penny Vadla are sworn in by District Secretary Nikkol Sipes during a special school board meeting on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A copy of “If You Lived Here, I’d Know Your Name” is held on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, near Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Off the Shelf: Haines obituary writer charms in slice-of-life collection

Heather Lende’s “If You Lived Here, I’d Know Your Name” is as much about Lende as it is about Haines

A copy of “If You Lived Here, I’d Know Your Name” is held on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, near Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A lone voter fills in their ballot at Soldotna Prep School in Soldotna, Alaska, during Election Day on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Borough, Soldotna, Seward certify election results

Results for multiple borough seats came down to just a handful of votes.

A lone voter fills in their ballot at Soldotna Prep School in Soldotna, Alaska, during Election Day on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Laura Burke speaks during a community conversation on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Home-school meeting draws dozens

The event was hosted by the Kenai Peninsula Borough and the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District

Laura Burke speaks during a community conversation on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Finance Director Liz Hayes, left, testifies before the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly during a budget work session on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Finance Director Liz Hayes, left, testifies before the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly during a budget work session on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche presents information about the borough during a chamber luncheon on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Micciche talks home-schooling, emergency services at joint chamber luncheon

He opened Thursday’s presentation by summarizing the results of a community survey that the borough circulated shortly in February

Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche presents information about the borough during a chamber luncheon on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Me at Rabbit Lake on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023 near Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Jake Dye).

Out of the Office: Risk and Reward

I sometimes find my love for being outdoors dampened by feelings of anxiety. I’ve always been what people may call a nervous individual, and that… Continue reading

Me at Rabbit Lake on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023 near Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Jake Dye).
Kenai City Hall on Feb. 20, 2020, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai outlaws marijuana drive-thrus

The state, during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowed marijuana establishments to operate drive-thru or walk-up windows

Kenai City Hall on Feb. 20, 2020, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Phil Daniel, left, joins supporters of both himself and Teea Winger in waving signs on the corner of Bridge Access Road and the Kenai Spur Highway in Kenai, Alaska, for election day on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Phil Daniel, left, joins supporters of both himself and Teea Winger in waving signs on the corner of Bridge Access Road and the Kenai Spur Highway in Kenai, Alaska, for election day on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly Candidate Bill Elam waves signs on election day on Tuesday, Oct 3, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Voters take to the polls during Tuesday municipal election

Poll workers report low turnout across the central peninsula

Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly Candidate Bill Elam waves signs on election day on Tuesday, Oct 3, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Aurora Borealis Charter School Art and Music Teacher Eleanor Van Sickle leads students in a performance of "Autumn Canon," a Hungarian song at a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meeting on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Student serenade

Aurora Borealis Charter School students sing at the assembly during the regular school board meeting on Monday

Aurora Borealis Charter School Art and Music Teacher Eleanor Van Sickle leads students in a performance of "Autumn Canon," a Hungarian song at a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meeting on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna Elementary School Principal Dr. Austin Stevenson walks amid natural gas pipes anchored to the outside of school on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

High costs stall work on school bond

A cost estimate for the reconstruction of Soldotna Elementary School came back $13.5 million over budget

Soldotna Elementary School Principal Dr. Austin Stevenson walks amid natural gas pipes anchored to the outside of school on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Mount Redoubt can be seen across Cook Inlet from North Kenai Beach on Thursday, July 2, 2022. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

Alaska not included in feds’ proposed 5-year oil and gas program

The plan includes a historically low number of proposed sales

Mount Redoubt can be seen across Cook Inlet from North Kenai Beach on Thursday, July 2, 2022. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board Member Debbie Cary speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. Cary also served on the borough’s reapportionment board. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

School board president receives award for meritorious service

Debbie Cary, of Ninilchik, is the Alaska Superintendent Association’s 2024 recipient of the Don MacKinnon Excellence in Education Award

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board Member Debbie Cary speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. Cary also served on the borough’s reapportionment board. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)