Ben Boettger

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Kenai election results official with 24.9 percent voter turnout

The final results of Kenai’s Oct. 4 election confirm the unofficial preliminary results: Brian Gabriel beat Hal Smalley for the seat of Kenai mayor, and… Continue reading

First snow of season leads to traffic accidents

Monday morning brought light snow to some parts of the Kenai Peninsula for the first time this season. Shortly after 6 a.m, the Alaska Department… Continue reading

Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Kenai Peninsula Borough School District teacher for the visually-impaired Jordana Engebretson (left) helps blindfolded student Steven Smith type a message on her computer, which has a text-to-speech program that reads back the letters and words Smith types, during RIver City Academy's Blindness Challenge on Thursday, Oct. 13 in Soldotna.

Students learn about challenges of visual impairment

Of the Kenai Peninsula School District’s approximately 8,900 students, three are blind. Jordana Engebretson, the district’s teacher for the visually impaired, said this is an… Continue reading

Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Kenai Peninsula Borough School District teacher for the visually-impaired Jordana Engebretson (left) helps blindfolded student Steven Smith type a message on her computer, which has a text-to-speech program that reads back the letters and words Smith types, during RIver City Academy's Blindness Challenge on Thursday, Oct. 13 in Soldotna.

School district meetings consider budget options

Staff in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, teachers and members of the public began brainstorming how to reconcile an expected budget cut last week.At… Continue reading

School district to hold budget meetings

At a series of public meetings on Oct. 13, the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District will begin confronting a budget for next year that may… Continue reading

Kenai passes watered down cat ordinance

Kenai municipal code — which previously stated that free-roaming animals in the city can be impounded by animal control officers — now has an addition… Continue reading

Redoubt Chamber Orchestra to play varied concert

Audiences at Redoubt Chamber Orchestra’s Evening of Classics concert — 7 p.m Friday at Soldotna’s Christ Lutheran Church — will hear a little of the… Continue reading

Gabriel leads mayoral race; Glendening and Pettey win Kenai council seats

On Tuesday night, Kenai mayoral candidate Brian Gabriel lead opponent Harold “Hal” Smalley by 76 votes, with absentee ballots yet to be counted, according to… Continue reading

Kenai council considers city manager candidates

Kenai City Council members have selected five finalists for the position of Kenai City Manager from 28 applicants. The council is expected to hire a… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Ivy Howland hesitates before bidding on the lino-block print "Great Horned Owl" by Kathryn Zerbe at the Kenai Fine Arts Center's annual Harvest Art Auction fundraiser on Saturday, Oct. 1 in Old Town Kenai. Howland ended up winning her bid on the black and white owl print for $110.

Photo: The agony and the ecstasy

Ivy Howland hesitates before bidding on the lino-block print "Great Horned Owl" by Kathryn Zerbe at the Kenai Fine Arts Center's annual Harvest Art Auction… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Ivy Howland hesitates before bidding on the lino-block print "Great Horned Owl" by Kathryn Zerbe at the Kenai Fine Arts Center's annual Harvest Art Auction fundraiser on Saturday, Oct. 1 in Old Town Kenai. Howland ended up winning her bid on the black and white owl print for $110.
Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Fresh asphalt paving on the taxiways and tie-down area of the Kenai Municipal Airport sits ready for use Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016 in Kenai, Alaska. The airport's recently finished taxiway rehabilitation replaced pavement from the 1980s that was buckled from frost heave and sat on a foundation of logs and debris laid during the airport's founding as a World War II-era military airbase. The renovation also improved the lights - the lightpoles surrounding the tie-down lot on the left are shorter and more directional LED lights, while the pavement-embedded marker lights on the right side of the taxiway are less exposed than the older post-mounted lights on the left.

Kenai airport taxiway renovated

Editor's note: This story has been changed to correct a misspelling of Derek Leichliter's name. The Kenai Municipal Airport’s freshly paved tie-down lot and taxiways were… Continue reading

Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Fresh asphalt paving on the taxiways and tie-down area of the Kenai Municipal Airport sits ready for use Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016 in Kenai, Alaska. The airport's recently finished taxiway rehabilitation replaced pavement from the 1980s that was buckled from frost heave and sat on a foundation of logs and debris laid during the airport's founding as a World War II-era military airbase. The renovation also improved the lights - the lightpoles surrounding the tie-down lot on the left are shorter and more directional LED lights, while the pavement-embedded marker lights on the right side of the taxiway are less exposed than the older post-mounted lights on the left.

Kenai candidates speak on budget, land, and business

On Oct. 4 Kenai voters will chose two new city council members from the five candidates running in this year’s election. The two candidates who… Continue reading

Kenai mayoral candidates express views

In the Oct. 4 municipal election, current Kenai City Council member Brian Gabriel is running for the Kenai mayor’s seat against his former Kenai Central… Continue reading

Kenai council race has 5 candidates; mayoral race 2

Editor's note: This story has been changed to correct the year Hal Smalley termed out of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly, and also the spelling… Continue reading

School buses to share the load in southern peninsula

Among the budget-driven changes coming to the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is a new busing system that will change start times for 10 South… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion The fascade of the former Alaskalanes bowling alley in Kenai displays a sign from its present owners, the city of Kenai, on Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016 in Kenai Alaska. Kenai has recieved four bids for the building to date, two of which are still under consideration.

Kenai bowling alley sale discussion continues

The city of Kenai’s municipal assets include twelve wooden bowling lanes, a collection of bowling balls and pins, a pin-setting machine from the mid-1980s, a… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion The fascade of the former Alaskalanes bowling alley in Kenai displays a sign from its present owners, the city of Kenai, on Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016 in Kenai Alaska. Kenai has recieved four bids for the building to date, two of which are still under consideration.

Kenai Council postpones cat leash ordinance

Kenai cats could join dogs on the list of animals that city code requires to be restrained either by a leash, fence, or building. The… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Jimbo prepares to take off from the home of Robert (right) and Dawn Stiver on Wednesday, Sept. 21 near Soldotna.

Hiromu Jimbo just keeps pedaling

This summer Robert and Dawn Stiver and their son Zach were caribou hunting around mile 85 of the Denali Highway. Stopping to pick berries by… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Jimbo prepares to take off from the home of Robert (right) and Dawn Stiver on Wednesday, Sept. 21 near Soldotna.

Agrium seeking DEC permit to discharge from Nikiski plant

Editor's note: This story has been changed to include further information from Agrium's Government Affairs Manager Adam Diamond. The Alberta-based fertilizer producer Agrium has applied… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion The interior of the former Kenai Fire Department Number 3 fire truck is shown as the truck sits in the yard of Freddie Pollard's machine shop on Thursday, Sept. 8. Former Kenai Mayor John Williams is leading an effort to restore the 1941 Chevrolet truck to driveable condition.

Former Kenai mayor seeks to restore fire truck

Former Kenai Mayor John Williams is leading an effort to restore a World War II-era Kenai Fire Department engine. Williams said he plans to put… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion The interior of the former Kenai Fire Department Number 3 fire truck is shown as the truck sits in the yard of Freddie Pollard's machine shop on Thursday, Sept. 8. Former Kenai Mayor John Williams is leading an effort to restore the 1941 Chevrolet truck to driveable condition.